That's Stevie Wonder's new song. Rania Aniftos (BILLBOARD) reports:
Stevie Wonder wants us to come together. The legendary artist dropped a new track on Friday (Aug. 30), fittingly titled, “Can We Fix Our Nation’s Broken Heart?”
The track features a strong call for unity over an acoustic guitar as he demands in the hook: “Can we fix our nation’s broken heart?/ Are we brave enough to try?”
While the song is not political in its lyrics, the track’s release is timely with the presidential elections coming up in November. Wonder took the stage on the third night of the Democratic National Convention earlier this month, sharing some powerful remarks for the audience before performing “Higher Ground,” off his 1973 album, Innervisions. “This is a moment to tell your children where you were and what you did,” he declared. “When we stand between history’s pain and tomorrows promises we must choose courage complacency.”
Matt Friedlander (AMERICAN SONGWRITER) notes:
The song features breezy harmonica solo by Wonder, who according to info posted on his YouTube channel, also contributed piano, bass, and percussion to the track. The tune also features a fluid acoustic guitar from Japanese musician Kay-Ta. Wonder co-wrote “Can We Fix Our Nation’s Broken Heart” with Mauli Bonner, a vocal director and screenplay writer.
Wonder’s message in his new song is clear, as he implores people to find common ground
“Can we fix our nation’s broken heart? / Are we brave enough to try?” he sings. “Can we fix our nation’s broken heart, and leave a better world behind? / ’Cause if we listen to different thoughts and point of views / All my brothers and sisters, we don’t have to lose humanity / We’re family.”
The single’s cover image is a black-and-white photo of Wonder his right hand across his heart. On his jacket is a red, heart-shaped brooch.
And Damian Jones (NME) reminds:
Last year, he featured on The Rolling Stones’ ‘Sweet Sounds Of Heaven‘ alongside Lady Gaga.
More recently, he played harmonica on Beyoncé‘s ‘Jolene’ cover.
She also thanked him for playing the instrument after she accepted iHeartRadio‘s Innovator Award, from the legendary musician, earlier this year.
“Thank you so much Stevie, I love you. I love you and I honour you. I want to thank you for making a way for all of us,” she said at the time.
“I’m honoured to receive this recognition from you, Stevie Wonder. Whenever anyone asks me if there’s anyone I can listen to for the rest of my life, it’s always you. So thank you, God bless you.”
Beyoncé then added: “And thank you for playing the harmonica on ‘Jolene’.”
Closing with C.I.'s "Iraq snapshot:"
Asked what she would do on Day 1, Harris said she would look for ways to “strengthen” the middle class and start trying to implement her “Opportunity Economy” plan she laid out last week to bring prices down and try to make homes more affordable.
Specifically, Harris talked in this interview about:
- Extending a $6,000 child tax credit to families for first year of a child’s life, and her
- A $25,000 first-time homebuyer tax credit
She has noted other proposals in the course of this truncated campaign, like wanting to try to pass the John Lewis voting rights bill, which Republicans have blocked, and wanting to revive the border-security bill Biden drafted with conservative Republicans that Trump opposed and the GOP-led House then killed.
In all, the joint interview in Savannah with her running mate Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz – their first since becoming the Democratic presidential ticket – provided one of the clearest looks into Harris’ positions and her plans for the presidency.
Asked to describe her day-one objectives should she win, Harris did not list any specific steps, like signing executive actions or orders.
Instead, she reiterated her focus on strengthening the economy: “First and foremost, one of my highest priorities is to do what we can to support and strengthen the middle class.”
In the post-convention phase of the race, Harris is seeking to address scrutiny of her record and add substance to her pitch to American voters on how she would govern if elected president.
Harris also said she would be open to appointing a Republican member of her Cabinet.
"I've got 68 days to go with this election, so I'm not putting the cart before the horse," Harris said. "But I would, I think. I think it's really important. I have spent my career inviting diversity of opinion. I think it's important to have people at the table when some of the most important decisions are being made that have different views, different experiences. And I think it would be to the benefit of the American public to have a member of my Cabinet who was a Republican."
That led one MSNBC political analyst to claim the Trump campaign is derailing itself.
Noting that a complaint was made about Trump aides engaging an altercation with a cemetery staffer that then allegedly led to Trump's spokesperson attacking that person afterward, Lemire remarked, "In a normal campaign, campaign of years past, if there had been an altercation between a staffer, a campaign staffer and someone who works the cemetery, it'd be the campaign staffer immediately fired or at least suspended."
“The way we discussed and agreed, the campaign will start on September 1, in central Gaza, for three days, and there will be a humanitarian pause during the vaccinations,” said Rik Peeperkorn, the WHO representative for the Palestinian territories.
That will be followed by another three-day pause in southern Gaza, then another in the north, but more days may be needed to complete the vaccination programmes, Mr Peeperkorn said.
Mr Peeperkorn said the aim is to vaccinate 640,000 children under the age of 10 and that the campaign has been co-ordinated with Israeli authorities.
“I’m not going to say this is the ideal way forward but this is a workable way forward,” he said. “It will happen and should happen because we have an agreement.”
The pauses are not the ceasefire between Israel and Hamas that mediators from the US, Egypt and Qatar have been seeking, including in talks that are taking place this week.
An Israeli official said a tactical pause is expected to allow for vaccinations. The Israeli army has previously announced pauses in limited areas to allow for international humanitarian operations.
Mr Peeperkorn said the campaigns are being planned in close collaboration with aid agencies, Gaza's Health Ministry and other agencies.
On the non-humanitarian actions of the government of Israel, Sharon Zang (TRUTHOUT) reports:
The UN’s World Food Programme (WFP) has announced that it is suspending staff movement across Gaza after Israeli forces attacked WFP employees in a vehicle this week, as hundreds of thousands of Palestinians starve under Israel’s famine campaign.
On Tuesday, an armored WFP vehicle was approaching an Israeli checkpoint in central Gaza when Israeli forces shot the vehicle 10 times, UN spokesperson Stéphane Dujarric said. None of the staff members were hurt. The workers had been returning from escorting a convoy of trucks carrying humanitarian aid to central Gaza.
A picture of the vehicle shared by the group shows that it was clearly marked as a UN car, and WFP noted that the group had received “multiple clearances” from Israeli officials for its route.
The group said on Wednesday that its movement is paused “until further notice.” WFP Executive Director Cindy McCain condemned the attack as “totally unacceptable.”
“As last night’s events show, the current deconfliction system is failing and this cannot go on any longer,” said McCain. “I call on the Israeli authorities and all parties to the conflict to act immediately to ensure the safety and security of all aid workers in Gaza.”
This morning, THE NATIONAL notes:
An Israeli missile hit a convoy bringing supplies to a UAE hospital in Gaza, killing several people from a local transport company, aid officials said on Friday.
Thursday's strike on Salah Al Din Road targeted vehicles bringing medical supplies and fuel to the Emirates Red Crescent Hospital in Rafah, southern Gaza, said the American Near East Refugee Aid non-governmental organisation.
Sandra Rasheed, Anera’s director for the Palestinian territories, said a number of people employed by a Gazan company were killed.
“The convoy, which was co-ordinated by Anera and approved by Israeli authorities, included an Anera employee who was fortunately unharmed,” Ms Rasheed added.
She said the convoy was able to continue and deliver aid to the hospital.
An Israeli army spokesman claimed that troops opened fire after gunmen had seized the convoy. The military did not provide evidence of this.
Anera said it would release more information on Friday.
JUANA SUMMERS, HOST:
The Biden administration is urging Israel's military to make major changes to its evacuation policies in Gaza. That's according to a U.S. Embassy memo obtained by NPR. It comes after the Israeli military has significantly increased evacuation orders for Palestinians in Gaza over the past month. Those orders are driving tens of thousands of civilians into smaller and smaller areas. The memo, dated yesterday, warned that that pace of evacuation orders could, quote, "debilitate remaining humanitarian operations in Gaza." We're joined now by NPR's Kat Lonsdorf in Tel Aviv. Hi, Kat.
KAT LONSDORF, BYLINE: Hey, Juana.
SUMMERS: Kat, tell us more about this memo. Where did it come from, and what else does it say?
LONSDORF: Yeah. So it was a diplomatic cable from the U.S. Embassy in Jerusalem addressed to Secretary of State, Antony Blinken. It contained an assessment by officials from the U.S. Agency for International Development, USAID, on the effects of Israel's evacuation orders on the Palestinian population. And it had some very strong language in it. For example, it said the Israeli military, quote, "has issued evacuation orders under unsafe conditions and in quick succession and with little warning before operations begin," saying that this has led to civilian harm.
It also talked about the so-called humanitarian zones. These are small slices of land that the Israeli military says will be safe for Palestinians to shelter. The memo said they had, quote, "long been problematic." That echoes warnings from aid groups who say that it has become near-impossible to get to these areas, and Palestinians describe them as crowded, with squalid conditions, little access to clean water or bathrooms.
SUMMERS: I mean, given that in this moment evacuation orders are increasingly frequent, the timing of this memo feels really significant.
LONSDORF: Yeah. That's right. There have been at least 16 evacuation orders just this month, according to the U.N. It's a huge increase from what we've seen in the previous 10-plus months of war there. And one thing to note is that these evacuation orders don't get lifted by the Israeli military. So basically, if an evacuation order was issued back in October, when the war began, it's still in effect today. That means that areas deemed safe are steadily shrinking. The U.N. estimates more than 88% of Gaza is under evacuation orders right now.
SUMMERS: Kat, as I understand it, this memo also indicates that the U.S. government has urged the Israeli military to change the way it handles evacuations. Tell us how.
LONSDORF: Yeah. So the memo basically acknowledged that the likelihood of Israel stopping these evacuations was low. So instead, it focused on how the Israeli military could be doing them differently. It said the U.S. government has advocated for three main things - one, for Israel to rescind evacuation orders it no longer deemed necessary to allow for greater freedom of movement for people; two, to wait at least 48 hours to begin military operations after an evacuation order is issued to allow civilians more time to safely leave; and three, to protect humanitarian sites and allow for ongoing accessibility.
