The Ledes

Friday, October 4, 2024

CNBC: “The U.S. economy added far more jobs than expected in September, pointing to a vital employment picture as the unemployment rate edged lower, the Labor Department reported Friday. Nonfarm payrolls surged by 254,000 for the month, up from a revised 159,000 in August and better than the 150,000 Dow Jones consensus forecast. The unemployment rate fell to 4.1%, down 0.1 percentage point.”

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Public Service Announcement

Washington Post: "Americans can again order free rapid coronavirus tests by mail, the Biden administration announced Thursday. People can request four free at-home tests per household through covidtests.gov. They will begin shipping Monday. The move comes ahead of an expected winter wave of coronavirus cases. The September revival of the free testing program is in line with the Biden administration’s strategy to respond to the coronavirus as part of a broader public health campaign to protect Americans from respiratory viruses, including influenza and respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), that surge every fall and winter. But free tests were not mailed during the summer wave, which wastewater surveillance data shows is now receding."

Washington Post: “Comedy news outlet the Onion — reinvigorated by new ownership over this year — is bringing back its once-popular video parodies of cable news. But this time, there’s someone with real news anchor experience in the chair. When the first episodes appear online Monday, former WAMU and MSNBC host Joshua Johnson will be the face of the resurrected 'Onion News Network.' Playing an ONN anchor character named Dwight Richmond, Johnson says he’s bringing a real anchor’s sense of clarity — and self-importance — to the job. 'If ONN is anything, it’s a news organization that is so unaware of its own ridiculousness that it has the confidence of a serial killer,' says Johnson, 44.” ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: I'll be darned if I can figured out how to watch ONN. If anybody knows, do tell. Thanks.

Washington Post: “First came the surprising discovery that Earth’s atmosphere is leaking. But for roughly 60 years, the reason remained a mystery. Since the late 1960s, satellites over the poles detected an extremely fast flow of particles escaping into space — at speeds of 20 kilometers per second. Scientists suspected that gravity and the magnetic field alone could not fully explain the stream. There had to be another source creating this leaky faucet. It turns out the mysterious force is a previously undiscovered global electric field, a recent study found. The field is only about the strength of a watch battery — but it’s enough to thrust lighter ions from our atmosphere into space. It’s also generated unlike other electric fields on Earth. This newly discovered aspect of our planet provides clues about the evolution of our atmosphere, perhaps explaining why Earth is habitable. The electric field is 'an agent of chaos,' said Glyn Collinson, a NASA rocket scientist and lead author of the study. 'It undoes gravity.... Without it, Earth would be very different.'”

The New York Times lists Emmy winners. The AP has an overview story here.

New York Times: “Hvaldimir, a beluga whale who had captured the public’s imagination since 2019 after he was spotted wearing a harness seemingly designed for a camera, was found dead on Saturday in Norway, according to a nonprofit that worked to protect the whale.... [Hvaldimir] was wearing a harness that identified it as “equipment” from St. Petersburg. There also appeared to be a camera mount. Some wondered if the whale was on a Russian reconnaissance mission. Russia has never claimed ownership of the whale. If Hvaldimir was a spy, he was an exceptionally friendly one. The whale showed signs of domestication, and was comfortable around people. He remained in busier waters than are typical for belugas....” ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: Oh, Lord, do not let Bobby Kennedy, Jr., near that carcass. ~~~

     ~~~ AP Update: “There’s no evidence that a well-known beluga whale that lived off Norway’s coast and whose harness ignited speculation it was a Russian spy was shot to death last month as claimed by animal rights groups, Norwegian police said Monday.... Police said that the Norwegian Veterinary Institute conducted a preliminary autopsy on the animal, which was become known as 'Hvaldimir,' combining the Norwegian word for whale — hval — and the first name of Russian President Vladimir Putin. 'There are no findings from the autopsy that indicate that Hvaldimir has been shot,' police said in a statement.”

New York Times: Botswana's “President Mokgweetsi Masisi grinned as he lifted the diamond, a 2,492-carat stone that is the biggest diamond unearthed in more than a century and the second-largest ever found, according to the Vancouver-based mining operator Lucara, which owns the mine where it was found. This exceptional discovery could bring back the luster of the natural diamond mining industry, mining companies and experts say. The diamond was discovered in the same relatively small mine in northeastern Botswana that has produced several of the largest such stones in living memory. Such gemstones typically surface as a result of volcanic activity.... The diamond will likely sell in the range of tens of millions of dollars....”

Click on photo to enlarge.

~~~ Guardian: "On a distant reef 16,000km from Paris, surfer Gabriel Medina has given Olympic viewers one of the most memorable images of the Games yet, with an airborne celebration so well poised it looked too good to be true. The Brazilian took off a thundering wave at Teahupo’o in Tahiti on Monday, emerging from a barrelling section before soaring into the air and appearing to settle on a Pacific cloud, pointing to the sky with biblical serenity, his movements mirrored precisely by his surfboard. The shot was taken by Agence France-Presse photographer Jérôme Brouillet, who said “the conditions were perfect, the waves were taller than we expected”. He took the photo while aboard a boat nearby, capturing the surreal image with such accuracy that at first some suspected Photoshop or AI." 

Washington Post: “'Mary Cassatt at Work' is a large and mostly satisfying exhibition devoted to the career of the great American artist beloved for her sensitive and often sentimental views of family life. The 'at work' in the title of the Philadelphia Museum of Art show references the curators’ interest in Cassatt’s pioneering effort to establish herself as a professional artist within a male-dominated field. Throughout the show, which includes some 130 paintings, pastels, prints and drawings, the wall text and the art on view stresses Cassatt’s fixation on art as a career rather than a pastime.... Mary Cassatt at Work is on view at the Philadelphia Museum of Art through Sept. 8. philamuseum.org”

New York Times: “Bob Newhart, who died on Thursday at the age of 94, has been such a beloved giant of popular culture for so long that it’s easy to forget how unlikely it was that he became one of the founding fathers of stand-up comedy. Before basically inventing the hit stand-up special, with the 1960 Grammy-winning album 'The Button-Down Mind of Bob Newhart' — that doesn’t even count his pay-per-view event broadcast on Canadian television that some cite as the first filmed special — he was a soft-spoken accountant who had never done a set in a nightclub. That he made a classic with so little preparation is one of the great miracles in the history of comedy.... Bob Newhart holds up. In fact, it’s hard to think of a stand-up from that era who is a better argument against the commonplace idea that comedy does not age well.”

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Oct062024

The Conversation -- October 6, 2024

Presidential Race

Problem Solver. Reid Epstein of the New York Times: “Vice President Kamala Harris met with North Carolina and federal emergency officials on Saturday in Charlotte as she continued to help oversee the disaster response in the Southeast after Hurricane Helene. Ms. Harris participated in a storm response briefing at a North Carolina Air National Guard base at Charlotte’s airport, where she was joined by Gov. Roy Cooper of North Carolina and Mayor Esther Manheimer of Asheville, N.C., which was particularly hard-hit. The vice president praised local officials and residents for their response to the storm.... The vice president’s office said 74 percent of those who reported losing access to electricity during the storm have had it restored. The Federal Emergency Management Agency, which is overseeing the federal response, has more than 700 people in North Carolina, Ms. Harris’s office said.... In addition to reviewing the official storm response, Ms. Harris visited a volunteer center, where she briefly joined them making packages of donated necessities — including things like canned food, formula, diapers and flashlights — for North Carolinians stranded by the storm.” ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: Perhaps the reason we didn't see Trump doing anything menial like packaging relief supplies he pretended to donate is that he never mastered a grunt job like the one Harris held at McDonald's. Or maybe he's just too old & feeble to lift canned goods & flashlights. Oh, and the only way we'll ever see him fording a flooded street in search of storm victims is if some fan Photoshops his fat head onto an actual rescuer's body. (See below.)

Part of the Problem. Marie: Here's one of a number of fake photos of Trump's "rescue efforts" in hurricane-devasted zones. People really think Former President* Narcissist P. Sociapath is risking his own life struggling through knee-deep floodwaters to save his fellow citizens in distress:

~~~ Maxine Joselow, et al., of the Washington Post: “Across the Southeast, false rumors and conspiracy theories are flying about [Hurricane] Helene, which ... [has caused] at least 229 deaths in six states. The misinformation is adding to the chaos and confusion in many storm-battered communities, including many rural areas that lack power and cell service, leading locals to rely on word of mouth.... In places with internet access, such falsehoods have flourished on social media platforms such as X. The tech company has pulled back on efforts to combat misinformation after its takeover by billionaire Elon Musk, prompting concern from many disaster experts.... The Federal Emergency Management Agency has been updating a webpage seeking to dispute common rumors, while the North Carolina Department of Public Safety has done the same....

“Donald Trump has amplified the false claim about [FEMA money being spent on undocumented] migrants during campaign rallies and on his platform, Truth Social. And Mark Robinson, the embattled Republican nominee for governor of North Carolina, has repeatedly alleged that there has been no state government response to Helene, even though [Gov. Roy] Cooper [D] has traversed the affected areas, visiting emergency operations centers and meeting with storm survivors.... North Carolina state Sen. Kevin Corbin, a Republican, slammed the rampant misinformation Thursday in a Facebook post, tagging several GOP colleagues.... Musk, whose 200 million X followers make him [X’s] most influential user, sent at least 12 posts Friday amplifying criticism of the Biden administration’s response to Helene, much of it based on false or misleading claims.”

Michael Gold & Maggie Haberman of the New York Times: “Donald J. Trump returned to Butler, Pa., on Saturday for a massive rally at the fairgrounds where he was struck in July by a would-be assassin’s bullet.... His speech quickly swung from a somber commemoration of the slain firefighter, Corey Comperatore, to a somewhat subdued, sanded-down version of his standard attacks on his opponent, complete with exaggerations and falsehoods. Mr. Trump commended his own performance in the face of adversity and brought out one of his biggest backers, the billionaire Elon Musk, who jumped up and down on the stage.” The Guardian's report is here. ~~~

~~~ Ryan Mac of the New York Times: “Elon Musk, the billionaire head of Tesla and SpaceX, strode onto the stage to cheers at Donald J. Trump’s rally on Saturday night, lifted his arms above his head and jumped into the air — twice — exposing his navel as his shirt rode up.... Mr. Musk publicly endorsed Mr. Trump in the minutes after a gunman tried to kill the former president on July 13 in Butler, Pa., in a post on X, the social media platform he owns.... 'President Trump must win to preserve the Constitution,' Mr. Musk said, after bounding to the mic with his hands in the air. 'He must win to preserve democracy in America.... The other side wants to take away your freedom of speech,' Mr. Musk said at the rally. 'They want to take away your right to bear arms. They want to take away your right to vote, effectively.'” MB: Musk's ability to turn reality on its head is quite impressive. 

Katie Rogers of the New York Times tells you everything you might want to know -- and more -- about Melania's "memoir." (Also linked yesterday.)

Maureen Dowd of the New York Times: “Vance’s performance was chilling. Once I thought Trump would be an aberration for Republicans. But on Tuesday night, I saw the future of the party and it was lies piled on lies, and darkness swallowing darkness.” (Also linked yesterday.)

Marie: RAS links to an interesting post by Steve M. on JD Vance & his promoters at the NYT. The post is particularly interesting to me because Steve saw what was going on in real time, and -- even though I was paying attention to politics then -- JayDee was completely off my radar. (Also linked yesterday.)

Annie Karni of the New York Times: “Representative Eli Crane, a first-term Republican from Arizona, has been everywhere that will have him, promoting conspiracy theories about the assassination attempts against Mr. Trump, despite all evidence that such theories are false. And far from sidelining or attempting to silence him, Republican leaders have given him a prominent platform to air his outlandish claims at the highest levels.... Mr. Crane, a tattooed former member of the Navy SEALs and a onetime contender on 'Shark Tank,' now is part of a different type of reality show.... He has ... established a reputation for extreme language and tactics.... Mr. Crane’s efforts have received a major boost from the right-wing media echo chamber, making him all but impossible for the Republicans on the official task force to ignore. So instead of trying to quiet him, House Republicans have accommodated him.” MB: Nice try at crazy, Eli, but still more plausible than "'they' control the weather." (Also linked yesterday.)

Donald's Site, Where Scammers Go to Scam. Matt Novak of Gizmodo: Donald Trump's failing social media site cynically named Truth Social "has ... been flooded with scammers who are swindling users out of enormous sums of money. We’re talking about people who’ve lost hundreds of thousands of dollars in a relatively short period of time.... Truth Social seems to be a target-rich environment for people who are easy to con.... Complaints filed with the FTC ... seem to involve plenty of elderly fans of Donald Trump.... The scams happening on Truth Social appear to be most commonly pig butchering, a method of gaining someone’s trust while getting them to give you increasingly large amounts of money, all while making it seem like the victim is making wise investments." The story includes summaries of multiple complaints made to the FTC. Thanks to RAS for the link.

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Colorado. Who Could Have Predicted This? Amy Hanson of the AP: “A rural Colorado county courthouse beefed up security Friday after threats were made against staff and a judge who sentenced former county clerk Tina Peters to nearly nine years behind bars and admonished her for her role in a data breach scheme catalyzed by the lie that the 2020 election was stolen from ... Donald Trump. Courthouse staff in Grand Junction, Colorado, received multiple threats that were being vetted by law enforcement while extra security was provided, said spokesperson Wendy Likes with the Mesa County Sheriff’s Office.” (Also linked yesterday.) 

Idaho. AP: “Tensions rose during a bipartisan forum this week after an audience question about discrimination reportedly led an Idaho state senator to angrily tell a Native American candidate to 'go back where you came from.' Republican Sen. Dan Foreman left the event early after the outburst and later denied making any racist comments in a Facebook post.... In his Facebook post, Foreman called the incident a 'quintessential display of race-baiting' and said the Democratic attendees made personal attacks and 'proclaimed Idaho to be a racist state.'... He did not respond to a voice message from The Associated Press seeking comment.” (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~

     ~~~ Which is worst? (a) A state senator is a blatant racist. (b) A state senator is incredibly stupid. (c) People voted for this guy.

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Israel/Palestine, et al.

Liam Stack, et al., of the New York Times: “... Israel escalated its fight against Hezbollah in Lebanon on Saturday.... Israeli strikes appeared to hit the Dahiya, an area south of Beirut, where Hezbollah holds sway and where the Israeli military late on Friday again issued evacuation warnings for civilians.... Fighting expanded across the region, with the United States Central Command striking Iranian-backed Houthi militants in Yemen and Israeli forces warning residents in two areas in the central Gaza Strip to evacuate, presumably in preparation for stepped up military action there....”

Niha Masih, et al., of the Washington Post: “French President Emmanuel Macron urged countries to stop providing weapons to Israel for its war in the Gaza Strip and expressed concern that the civilians of Lebanon could face a similar fate as those in Gaza.... France itself, Macron said, was not delivering any weapons.... Macron said Lebanon should not be allowed to 'become a new Gaza.'... At a summit for francophone leaders in Paris on Saturday, Macron appeared to take a jab at the United States, by far Israel’s largest supplier of weapons: 'If we call for a cease-fire, consistency is to not provide weapons of war,' he said. 'And I think that those who provide them cannot every day call for a cease-fire alongside us and continue to supply them.'” MB: That does seem logical, doesn't it?

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