PRESS REVIEW – Thursday, September 10: American newspapers react to the first night of the Republican midterm convention in Dallas. Plus: Five baby Southeast Asian orangutans have been found in a forest in India. Then some dystopian science news. Finally, perhaps we don’t need to do as much sport as we think. The Wall Street Journal reports that during his keynote speech, US President Donald Trump asked voters to pretend he was on the ballot. There was also a “desperate election surprise,” says The HuffPost: Trump said he would bribe every citizen with a $5,000 payment if Republicans win the midterm elections. But The HuffPost reminds that Trump does not have the legal authority to issue checks to everyone in the US, among other issues. The Atlantic asks if “Trump really wants Republicans to win the midterms.” The newspaper claims that it is currently impossible for the party to distance itself from the unpopular president. His approach “illustrates very well the drawbacks of handing over total control of a political party to an egomaniac.” But the Washington Post says that for many attendees at the convention, dubbed “Trumpapalooza” by some, “the main draw is Trump.” Many in the crowd are Trump loyalists and are “mainly here to see their man,” the newspaper writes. However, Democrats believe this will only improve their midterm prospects, as the president’s approval ratings have fallen to an all-time low. And The Daily Beast writes that the convention actually started with empty chairs. The news site says those in attendance “struggled to stay energized” and speakers “smiled as they looked out over a virtually empty arena.” Next: Five baby orangutans have been found in a forest in India, although they are native only to the islands of Borneo and Sumatra, The Guardian reports. Authorities are now investigating whether they were trafficked from Southeast Asia. International trade in orangutans has been banned by a global agreement on endangered wildlife. The World Wildlife Fund says there are about 104,000 orangutans left on the islands of Borneo and Sumatra. A century ago, the population was more than 230,000. Authorities believe the orangutans have been in the Indian state of Odisha for only a couple of days. They have been quarantined. Also: Wired writes about a “new startup that lets you freeze your eggs for free.” […] But is anything ever free? The startup is called Cofertility and promises to help women who can’t afford the expensive procedure. The problem is that clients must donate half of their eggs to donors who are willing to pay up to tens of thousands of dollars. But this practice raises both medical and ethical problems. One expert interviewed compared the practice to commercialized eugenics. Finally, The Washington Post writes that scientists compared 3- and 90-minute workouts. It turns out that just 3 minutes of intense exercise can have a more beneficial impact on our physiology and health compared to longer moderate exercise. This new and innovative study helps to answer some questions and raise many new ones… You can read our press review every morning on France 24 at 7:20 and 9:20 (Paris time), Monday to Friday.