Opening up the reserves

Plus, the US is a "backsliding democracy" for the first time.

The US taps oil reserves to help bring down gas prices; a report labels America as a "backsliding democracy" for the first time.   Tonight's Sentences was written by Jariel Arvin. TOP NEWS Biden taps oil reserves to bring down gas prices     Joe Raedle/Newsmakers President Joe Biden announced on Tuesday the United States will release 50 million barrels of the nation's oil reserves to ease global pressure on gas prices. [Washington Post / Annie Linskey] "Consumers are facing challenges at the pump right now, and we are trying to deal with that situation and to deal with it in a smart way, in a tailored way, in an aggressive way, so that's what you're seeing today," a Biden administration official told reporters Tuesday. [NBC / Lauren Egan and Shannon Pettypiece] Averaging $3.40 a gallon, gas prices are now 50 percent higher than a year ago. Republicans have used rising fuel costs as a weapon against Biden, whose approval ratings have languished. [AP / Josh Boak and Colleen Long] Biden said Tuesday that it could take some time before drivers felt relief at the pumps. He stressed that releasing the oil was a short-term fix, but that he remains committed to a long-term goal of transitioning to clean energy. [CNN / Kate Sullivan, Betsy Klein, and Devan Cole] Other big energy consumers, including China, India, the UK, Japan, and South Korea, will also release oil from their reserves in hopes that through a coordinated effort, gas prices will fall globally. [NYT / Zolan Kanno-Youngs and Stanley Reed] The US is a "backsliding democracy" for the first time The US has been named one of the world's backsliding democracies for the first time in an annual report from a Stockholm-based think tank. [The Independent / John Bowden] The International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance's report —which analyzed trends in authoritarianism from 2020-2021 — found that democracy is decaying for 25 percent of the world's population. Brazil and India experienced some of the worst declines. [Washington Post / Miriam Berger] The report describes the decline in American democracy as part of a growing authoritarian trend in large countries. "Significantly, the United States, the bastion of global democracy, fell victim to authoritarian tendencies itself, and was knocked down a significant number of steps on the democratic scale," the report said. [Business Insider/ John Haltiwanger] The Biden administration has made promoting democracy a cornerstone of its foreign policy; US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said the world is in a "democratic recession" during a meeting with Kenyan leaders earlier this month. Blinken has said measures like fighting disinformation and voter intimidation could stop the back slide of democracy. [CBS] Support our journalism   Reader contributions help keep Vox and newsletters like Sentences free for all. Support our work with a one-time gift today. Give MISCELLANEOUS A federal jury found Walgreens, CVS, and Walmart responsible on Tuesday for failing to curb the flow of pain pills, perpetuating an opioid crisis that cost two Ohio counties $1 billion and many lives. [AP / John Seewer] Another federal jury found rally organizers liable for the deadly 2017 gathering of the far-right and counterprotesters in Charlottesville, Virginia; the jury awarded millions in damages to people affected by the violence. [Neil MacFarquhar / New York Times] Former NFL star turned TV host Michael Strahan will be the next celebrity to travel to space aboard Jeff Bezos's Blue Origin in December. [Variety / Jordan Moreau] Chinese tennis star Peng Shuai appeared in public weeks after making sexual assault allegations against a Communist Party official, but her interview with the International Olympic Committee has not alleviated concern for her safety. [Yahoo / Henry Bushnell] VERBATIM "They don't make money off a refusal to fill" [In closing arguments in an opioid crisis trial, a lawyer accused CVS and other pharmacies of putting profits over customer safety] LISTEN TO THIS     Dylan talks to Chye-Ching Huang, the executive director of the Tax Law Center at NYU Law, about the many tax provisions in Democrats' Build Back Better package.[Spotify] Read more from Vox At-home Covid-19 tests are getting better. Experts say: Stock up for winter.   The ironic spectacle of Kyle Rittenhouse's Tucker Carlson interview   The supply chain crisis, explained by Adele   What can you even say about House of Gucci? It's stupid. It's perfect.   Americans are mad about the economy, but still ready to shop     This email was sent to edwardlorilla1986.paxforex@blogger.com. Manage your email preferences or unsubscribe. If you value Vox's unique explanatory journalism, support our work with a one-time or recurring contribution.   View our Privacy Notice and our Terms of Service.   Vox Media, 1201 Connecticut Ave. NW, Floor 11, Washington, DC 20036. Copyright © 2021. All rights reserved.