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This morning’s 3-by-3 travels across a hard-line Dominican president, a fatal Singapore Airlines flight, and the oldest person to visit space. Let’s fly!

Politics

• Thousands in India’s Assam state are barred from voting

With India, the world’s biggest democracy, in the middle of its general elections, thousands in the country’s northeastern state of Assam are being excluded from the process. Assam borders Bangladesh and has experienced a difficult-to-monitor combination of lawful and undocumented migration over the years, which prompted the 1997 Election Commission of India to identify 300,000 people in the state whose citizenship appeared “doubtful” and bar them from voting before doubts could be verified. Seeking to solve the decades-old citizenship problem, Prime Minister Modi passed the Citizenship Amendment Act in 2019 allowing people from six religions (but not Muslims) to be eligible for citizenship if they could prove they entered India before 2014 — ultimately creating another discriminatory policy that unjustly blocks people from the polls.

• U.S. troops have been ordered to leave Niger

After serving as a long-time anchor for U.S. counterterrorism efforts in the Sahel region of Africa, Niger has ordered American troops to withdraw completely by mid-September. Though the U.S. intends to leave behind military equipment and infrastructure in good faith, its relationship with Niger first strained when the country’s elected president was ousted by mutinous soldiers last summer, leaving a ruling junta that has showed more favor toward Russia, China, and Iran than the U.S. and France. The Sahel is a region south of the Sahara desert where al-Qaida and Islamic State affiliates are known to operate, so the U.S. hopes to find a new partner in neighboring country Chad in order to maintain its local defense.

• Will the Dominican president soften his stance on Haitian migrants?

Just elected to a second term, Dominican President Luis Abinader has many wondering if his crackdown on Haitian migrants seeking refuge from chaos and gang warfare will continue. In his first term, Abinader’s administration deported 175,000 at-risk Haitians, built a wall along the 250-mile border, and left around 130,000 people of Haitian descent stateless in the DR, even refusing to suspend deportations at the request of the United Nations high commissioner for human rights. With Haiti in the midst of a political transition after its prime minister resigned and increasing international pressures for inter-country dialogue, it remains to be seen if Abinader’s aggressiveness toward his next-door neighbor will persist.

Business

• American car companies use parts from banned Chinese supplier

A congressional report found that BMW, Jaguar Land Rover, and Volkswagen used parts made by a banned Chinese supplier, Sichuan Jingweida Technology Group (JWD). Congress passed the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act in 2021, intending to prevent the import of goods from any Chinese company presumably employing the Uyghur minority group in forced labor conditions, such as JWD. China denies any such conditions, but the criticized car companies have announced measures to increase their adherence to the law and improve their human rights practices — all while the Senate Finance Committee chairman calls for stricter oversight of the automotive industry.

• Singapore Airlines turbulence takes fatal toll

About ten hours into a flight from London to Singapore last night, Singapore Airlines SQ321 encountered severe turbulence, smashing overhead compartments, dropping oxygen masks, and sending personal items into the air. The pilots made an emergency landing in Bangkok, where the local hospital received injured passengers — a 73-year-old man died from a suspected heart condition and 71 others were injured, six severely. As one of the safest airlines whose last fatal accident was 24 years ago, the Singapore Airlines CEO has publicly apologized and committed all possible assistance and support for this rare occurrence.

• Small business owners don’t know who to vote for

A new Goldman Sachs survey of 1,259 small business owners from 47 states, Puerto Rico, Guam, and D.C. shows that 20% are undecided on who to vote for in November’s presidential election, compared to 12% undecided among the general public. Notably, 55% of participants believe that the candidates are not adequately addressing business issues such as inflation and small business tax policy. With an overwhelming 71% reporting that inflationary pressures have increased on their businesses, these owners want policymakers to focus more on matters that are pertinent to their quality of work and life.

Culture

• Controversial Trump biopic prompts lawsuit

“The Apprentice,” directed by Iranian-Danish Ali Abbasi and starring Sebastian Stan, is a depiction of Donald Trump’s rise as a young real estate developer in New York City and his pivotal relationship with mentor Roy Cohn. Premiered at Cannes Film Festival, the movie has already generated significant controversy for its detrimental portrayal of the former president — using drugs, getting cosmetic surgery, and raping his first wife. The Trump campaign is filing a lawsuit to “address the blatantly false assertions from these pretend filmmakers,” who are committed to getting distribution for their film prior to the general election.

• Caitlin Clark makes history with Wilson deal

Indiana Fever rookie Caitlin Clark has already elevated the profile of women’s basketball, entering the WNBA as the first overall pick and a record-breaking three-point shooter. After receiving high-profile endorsements from Nike, Gatorade, and State Farm, she has now signed a multiyear sponsorship, brand ambassador, and advisor deal with Wilson — the official basketball of both professional leagues. The only other athlete to ever receive such a deal was Michael Jordan, making Clark the first female athlete and putting her in legendary company so early in her career.

• 90-year-old becomes oldest person to visit space

90-year-old Ed Dwight was an Air Force pilot when President Kennedy nominated him for NASA’s nascent astronaut program, but he wasn’t selected for the 1963 class with Buzz Aldrin and Michael Collins. In fact, Black astronauts like him weren’t selected by NASA until 1978. After waiting 60 years, on Sunday, Dwight finally went to space with Jeff Bezos’s Blue Origin and fulfilled a lifelong dream, sponsored in part by the nonprofit Space for Humanity.

Written by Outer Voice founders & intern Elina Shah

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