September 4, 2022

Late Morning Update:

     ~~~ Thanks to Ruben Bolling for the work & to RAS for the link.

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Katie Glueck & Michael Bender of the New York Times: "In his first rally since his home was searched by the F.B.I. on Aug. 8..., Donald J. Trump on Saturday lashed out at President Biden and federal agents, calling his Democratic rival 'an enemy of the state' and the F.B.I. and the Department of Justice 'vicious monsters.' In an aggrieved and combative speech in Pennsylvania, Mr. Trump stoked anger against law enforcement even as the F.B.I. and federal officials have faced an increase in threats following the search of Mr. Trump's residence to retrieve classified documents. Mr. Trump's remarks echoed the chain of similar, escalating attacks he wrote on his social media website this week, including posts that singled out one agent by name. That agent has retired, and his lawyers have said he did not have a role in the search." The AP's report -- written in the he-said/she-said style of "journalism," is here.

A New York Times illustrator draws many, many, many pictures of many, many, many documents, secret papers, gift boxes & other paraphernalia of all the stuff Donald Trump stole from you and refused to give back, forcing the FBI to go pick it all up under the authority of a warrant. And don't be surprised if there's more, squirreled away at Bedminister and the Kremlin, Pyŏngyang, Budapest & so forth. Scroll down the page. (Also linked yesterday.)

Ed Pilkington of the Guardian writes about the legal peril in which Trump finds himself. Pilkington doesn't cover any new ground, but what does emerge from his story is that Trump has been hoarding this stuff since he took office. As Ruth Ben-Ghiat, an NYU professor, told Pilkington, "For Trump, records are ... a measure of control -- leverage over enemies and over his inner circle. This kind of leader doesn't recognize the division between public and private. They have a proprietary mode of exercising power in which everything is theirs." And former top White House aide Stephanie Grisham has said, "At the end of each day boxes would be carried upstairs to the White House residence. 'They would get handed off to the residence and just disappear.'" MB: So who knows where the rest of Trump's massive treasure trove may have landed over the years? In a garden shed at Bedminster? In an unlocked basement closet at Trump Tower? The number of people who could gain access to some of this material is beginning to look infinite. And unknowable.

"They're Mine." Marie: Went to the grocery store Saturday morning, walked out with every damned bottle of Marie's Salad Dressing. Some silly employee came running after me, yelling, "Lady, Lady, you can't take those!" but I fixed him by showing him my drivers license with "Marie" written on it in indelible state-printed official letters, then pointing to the bottles that said right on the labels they were mine. Next week, I'm changing my name to "Paul Newman." I do like some of those "Newman's Own" pizzas, salsas & such. Maybe after I've consumed 11,000+ packages of "My Own," I'll change my name again. But it won't be to "Chef Boyardee." Update: Thanks for the support from Patrick, Akhilleus (yesterday) & Forrest (today)! Y'all made me laugh.

Hard Time for Thee But Not for Me. Andrew Kaczynski & Samantha Woodward of CNN run down a number of times when Donald Trump declared that people who mishandled classified information must be imprisoned. "Trump acknowledged in a court filing Wednesday that classified material was found at Mar-a-Lago in January, but argued that it should not have been cause for alarm...." (Also linked yesterday.)

Where Did It All Go, Rick? Shane Goldmacher of the New York Times: "By the end of July, the [National Republican Senatorial C]ommittee had collected a record $181.5 million -- but had already spent more than 95 percent of what it had brought in ... in an enormous wave of spending on digital ads ... to discover more small contributors.... The Republican group entered August with just $23.2 million on hand, less than half of what the Senate Democratic committee had ahead of the final intense phase of the midterm elections.... [Sen. Rick] Scott's enormous gamble on finding new online donors has been a costly financial flop in 2022.... Today, the N.R.S.C. is raising less than before Mr. Scott's digital splurge.... Mr. Scott's detractors accuse him of transforming the N.R.S.C. into the 'National Rick Scott Committee' -- and a vehicle for his presidential ambitions." ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: I just want to congratulate Mitch & the rest of the GOP Senate leadership for choosing a renowned grifter to manager its money.

Pam Belluck of the New York Times: "As bans and restrictions proliferate across the country, abortion pill providers are pushing the envelope of regulations and laws to meet the surging demand for medication abortion in post-Roe America. Some are using physician discretion to prescribe pills to patients further along in pregnancy than the 10-week limit set by the Food and Drug Administration. Some are making pills available to women who are not pregnant but feel they could need them someday. Some are employing a don't-ask-don't-tell approach, providing telemedicine consultations and prescriptions without verifying that patients are in states that permit abortion.... Some of the practices, like not confirming that telemedicine patients are located in states that allow abortion, may run afoul of anti-abortion state laws or fall into uncharted legal territory, but they may also be challenging to police, reproductive health experts said."

Beyond the Beltway

Texas. Keith Allen, et al., of CNN: "Texas Gov. Greg Abbott said this week that rape victims in his state can take Plan B, a pregnancy-preventing emergency contraceptive known as a 'morning-after pill.'... Emergency contraceptives are intended for use within 72 hours after sex but are most effective if taken within 24 hours.... Texas' abortion trigger-law, which passed in 2021 in anticipation of the repeal of Roe v. Wade, went into effect last month, putting in place new criminal penalties for abortion and offering an exemption only for certain health emergencies."

Way Beyond

Ukraine, et al.

The Washington Post's live briefings of developments Sunday in Russia's war on Ukraine are here: "Europe is urgently preparing for the possibility that Russia will shut off its gas supply entirely ahead of winter, a potential retaliation for their support of Ukraine. [Ukraine President] Zelensky, in his nightly address Saturday, said Europe should respond to Russia's threats with more 'unity' and by 'increasing sanctions at all levels, and limiting Russia's oil and gas revenues.'... Ukrainians line up to donate blood to save 'soldiers who are fighting for us': In Mykolaiv, a city in southern Ukraine close to the front line, hundreds of civilians and soldiers responded to a call for blood donations Saturday...." ~~~

     ~~~ The New York Times' live updates for Sunday are here. The Guardian's live updates for Sunday are here. The Guardian's summary report is here.

Marc Santora & Andrew Kramer of the New York Times: "Even as hopes were raised that a permanent presence of United Nations inspectors would help reduce the risk of disaster at the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant in Ukraine, the war once again endangered the plant's safe operation. After shelling on Friday evening, the plant lost the connection with its only remaining primary external power line, forcing it to use a lower-voltage reserve line to power the cooling equipment needed to prevent meltdowns, the International Atomic Energy Agency said in a statement on Saturday.... The decision to keep monitors at the plant despite the obvious risks underscored what [IAEA Director Rafael] Grossi called the 'unprecedented' peril of the moment. He added that putting independent nuclear experts at the plant will allow for unbiased reports on conditions in real time."

Valerie Hopkins & Ivan Nechepurenko of the New York Times: "Thousands of Russians on Saturday stood for several hours in snaking lines amid a heavy police presence to pay their respects to Mikhail S. Gorbachev, the last Soviet leader, who died on Tuesday. Many Russians blame and revile Mr. Gorbachev for the breakup of the Soviet Union, but people of all ages, many of whom stood solemnly clutching flowers outside Moscow's famed House of the Unions, said that they had come to thank him for something severely restricted today in Russia: freedom.... For many, the funeral was a vivid reminder of the rights that Russians have lost under the leadership of ... Vladimir V. Putin and as a result of the almost complete dismantling of Mr. Gorbachev's legacy, culminating with the six-month-old war that Russia is prosecuting in Ukraine to take back former Soviet territory." (Also linked yesterday.)

     ~~~ Jim Heintz & Vladimir Isachenkov of the AP: "Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, who often has been critical of the Western sanctions against Russia, was the only foreign leader who attended the farewell on Saturday. The U.S., British, German and other Western ambassadors also attended."

It Was the Economy, Stupid. Paul Krugman of the New York Times: "... in the 1950s, and even into the 1960s, many people around the world saw Soviet economic development as a success story; a backward nation had transformed itself into a major world power. (Killing millions in the process, but who's counting?)... After 1970, however, the Soviet growth story fell apart, and by some measures technological progress came to a standstill.... I don't know if it's widely appreciated just how poorly the Russian economy performed during the Boris Yeltsin years. But the numbers are sobering.... [Several factors may have] contribute[d] to the post-Gorbachev economic disaster.... The problems of the 1990s culminated in a financial crisis in 1998. After that, the Russian economy finally stabilized and resumed growth; unfortunately, it did so under the leadership of a guy named Vladimir Putin. It's doubtful whether economic recovery required the fall of democracy, but that's how it worked out.... The sad historical truth is that Gorbachev's political legacy was, to an important degree, poisoned by Russia's economic failure."

News Ledes

Washington Post: "Ten people were killed and at least 15 were injured in a rash of stabbings that put the entire Canadian province of Saskatchewan on alert while police attempted to track down the two suspects, authorities said Sunday. The suspects, named by police as Damien Sanderson, 31, and Myles Sanderson, 30, remained at large hours after authorities started receiving reports from about 5:40 a.m. local time of people being stabbed at the James Smith Cree Nation and in the village of Weldon." The Guardian's story is here. ~~~

     ~~~ The New York Times is live-updating developments.

AP: "NASA's new moon rocket sprang another dangerous fuel leak Saturday, forcing launch controllers to call off their second attempt this week to send a crew capsule into lunar orbit with test dummies. The inaugural flight is now off for weeks, if not months. The previous try on Monday at launching the 322-foot (98-meter) Space Launch System rocket, the most powerful ever built by NASA, was also troubled by hydrogen leaks, though they were smaller. That was on top of leaks detected during countdown drills earlier in the year. After the latest setback, mission managers decided to haul the rocket off the pad and into the hangar for further repairs and system updates. Some of the work and testing may be performed at the pad before the rocket is moved. Either way, several weeks of work will be needed, according to officials." ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: The real solution to the problem would be to invent a pipe & hose material that does not spring leaks under the stress of severe weather & other conditions, a material that we could use in the plumping (oops!) plumbing of our homes & buildings so that we would never, ever have to winterize our homes again. For all the useful experiments NASA may conduct, sturdy plumping (oops! again) plumbing could be its greatest contribution to humankind.

September 3, 2022

Late Morning/Afternoon Update:

Valerie Hopkins & Ivan Nechepurenko of the New York Times: "Thousands of Russians on Saturday stood for several hours in snaking lines amid a heavy police presence to pay their respects to Mikhail S. Gorbachev, the last Soviet leader, who died on Tuesday. Many Russians blame and revile Mr. Gorbachev for the breakup of the Soviet Union, but people of all ages, many of whom stood solemnly clutching flowers outside Moscow's famed House of the Unions, said that they had come to thank him for something severely restricted today in Russia: freedom.... For many, the funeral was a vivid reminder of the rights that Russians have lost under the leadership of ... Vladimir V. Putin and as a result of the almost complete dismantling of Mr. Gorbachev's legacy, culminating with the six-month-old war that Russia is prosecuting in Ukraine to take back former Soviet territory."

A New York Times illustrator draws many, many, many pictures of many, many, many documents, secret papers, gift boxes & other paraphernalia of all the stuff Donald Trump stole from you and refused to give back, forcing the FBI to go pick it all up under the authority of a warrant. And don't be surprised if there's more, squirreled away at Bedminister and the Kremlin, Pyŏngyang, Budapest & so forth. Scroll down the page.

"They're Mine." Marie: Went to the grocery stores this morning, walked out with every damned bottle of Marie's Salad Dressing. Some silly employee came running after me, yelling, "Lady, Lady, you can't take those!" but I fixed him by showing him my drivers license with "Marie" written on it in indelible state-printed official letters, then pointing to the bottles that said right on the labels they were mine. Next week, I'm changing my name to "Paul Newman." I do like some of those "Newman's Own" pizzas, salsas & such. Maybe after I've consumed 11,000+ packages of "My Own" I'll change my name again. But it won't be to "Chef Boyardee."

Ashley Strickland of CNN: "The launch team for the uncrewed Artemis I mission has recommended a 'no go' for Saturday's launch attempt after battling fueling issues. The team is awaiting the official word from the launch director on the status of the launch. Shortly before 5 a.m. ET, mission managers received a weather briefing and decided to proceed with loading propellant into the rocket. The countdown clock resumed at 7:07 a.m. ET. There was at least a 30-minute delay after a liquid hydrogen leak was detected at 7:15 a.m. ET in the quick disconnect cavity that feeds the rocket with hydrogen in the engine section of the core stage. It was a different leak than one that occurred ahead of the scrubbed launch on Monday." MB: @ 11:19 am ET, CNN reported on-air that the launch was a no-go.

Hard Time for Thee But Not for Me. Andrew Kaczynski & Samantha Woodward of CNN run down a number of times when Donald Trump declared that people who mishandled classified information must be imprisoned. "Trump acknowledged in a court filing Wednesday that classified material was found at Mar-a-Lago in January, but argued that it should not have been cause for alarm...."

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When a Speech Proves Its Point. Jana Winter of Yahoo! News: "President Biden's fiery speech in Philadelphia denouncing ... Donald Trump and what he described as'extreme MAGA ideology' has sparked online calls for violence, including death threats against the president, according to documents obtained by Yahoo News. Biden's remarks also prompted immediate concerns from senior counterterrorism officials who said they fear that calling Trump supporters extremists would be viewed as a call to arms and would only inflame an already volatile threat environment.... By Friday afternoon, posts on forums popular among white supremacists and far-right extremists called for the assassination of Biden, and named Jewish administration officials including Attorney General Merrick Garland, Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen and Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas as potential targets. Declarations of civil war were also appearing, according to documents detailing some of the threats.... Site Intelligence Group, which tracks online extremism activity, issued several threat alerts detailing calls for violence in response to Biden's speech.... 'Users advocated for Biden to be murdered and predicted violence if he continues speaking about the topic.'" ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: It seems a very strange thing for political actors to immediately prove their opponent is right. ~~~

~~~ Networks Not Worried about Fascists. Paul Farhi of the Washington Post: "While President Biden warned the nation about threats to democracy in a prime-time address on Thursday, ABC was airing a game show, 'Press Your Luck.' As Biden spelled out his objections to former president Donald Trump and 'MAGA Republicans,' NBC was broadcasting a rerun of 'Law and Order.' CBS skipped the speech to show a rerun of 'Young Sheldon.' The networks' rejection of Biden's speech -- delivered in front of Philadelphia's Independence Hall, washed in dramatic red lighting as Marines stood guard -- marked an unusual moment in the long relationship between the White House and the nation's most powerful broadcasters.... People involved in negotiations over Thursday's address said the networks deemed Biden's remarks as 'political' in nature and therefore decided not to televise it.... White House officials had earlier tried to counter the impression of partisanship, with one telling NBC News that it was 'not a speech about a particular politician or even about a particular political party.'... Biden's speech was carried live on CNN and MSNBC, but it was not aired on Fox News...." ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: Always good to remember that the suits who bring you "Press Your Luck" are not all that bright. ~~~

~~~ Fascists Not Worried about Fascists. Dana Milbank of the Washington Post: "The insurrectionists of Jan. 6 busted into the Capitol, hit police with fire extinguishers, flagpoles, bats, stun guns and pepper spray; they threatened to kill the vice president and tried to overthrow the 2020 election. And now, they want an apology. MAGA Republican leaders have fomented violence, attacked the rule of law and deceived tens of millions of people into rejecting the outcome of free and fair elections. And now, they, too, want an apology. I'm sorry, but these authoritarians have some terribly tender egos. They need to pull themselves up by their own jackboot-straps." Milbank offers his own "apologies. ~~~

     ~~~ digby assesses the responses of wingers & the press to President Biden's speech. Marie: IMO, it's political speech when you warn that your opponents are frivolously spending taxpayer dollars, for instance; it's not political speech when you warn than your opponents currently pose a genuine threat to our system of government (and, no, mask mandates are not threats to our system of government). There a vast difference between political speech and a Constitutional duty to try to protect the public from a clear & present danger. And, as noted above, like bread rising in an old bakery, that clear & present danger immediately proved itself.

Jim Tankersley of the New York Times: "Slowing job and wage growth, alongside rising labor force participation in August, is [are?] good news for President Biden and his hopes for a smooth transition to a more stable economic expansion. The jobs report on Friday was the first of the summer to support the case Mr. Biden and his economic aides have been making for months: that the economy is beginning to step down from a high-growth, high-inflation expansion coming out of the pandemic recession but avoiding another recession." (Also linked yesterday.)

Charlie Savage & Alan Feuer of the New York Times: "The F.B.I.'s search of ... Donald J. Trump's Florida club and residence last month turned up 48 empty folders marked as containing classified information, a newly disclosed court filing shows, raising the question of whether the government had fully recovered the documents or any remain missing.... The list and an accompanying court filing from the Justice Department did not say whether all the contents of the folders had been recovered. But the filing noted that the inquiry into Mr. Trump's handling of the documents remained 'an active criminal investigation.'... The list suggests the files Mr. Trump took to his Florida home were stored in a slapdash manner and appeared to underline concerns that he had not followed rules for protecting national security secrets. It also offered the clearest indication yet that promises by Mr. Trump's team that all sensitive records had been returned were untrue.... In all, the list said, the F.B.I. retrieved 18 documents marked as top secret, 54 marked as secret, 31 marked as confidential, and 11,179 government documents or photographs without classification markings." ~~~

     ~~~ Tierney Sneed of CNN: "US District Judge Aileen Cannon on Friday released a detailed inventory from the Mar-a-Lago search that the Justice Department previously filed under seal in court. The search inventory released showed that classified documents had been mixed in with personal items and other materials in the boxes in which they were stored. Federal investigators also retrieved more than 11,000 non-classified government documents. One box containing documents marked with confidential, secret and top secret classification identifications also contained '99 magazines/newspapers/press articles,' according to the inventory from last month's search filed in federal court in Florida....The court filing also provided a breakdown of the type of markings on the classified material taken from Mar-a-Lago, including 18 documents marked top secret, 54 documents marked secret and 31 documents marked confidential. In addition, federal investigators collected more than 48 empty folders with a 'classified banner' and 42 empty folders marked to return to the staff secretary or military aide." (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: Gosh, what do you supposed happened to the contents of all those empty folders that had once contained classified documents? It does not seem likely the folders were empty when they left the White House. Maybe the feds should check around at West Palm Beach U-mail stores to see if anybody came around with batches of paper & requests to "Mail these to V. Putin at the Kremlin, Moscow, Russia."

"A Crock of Shit." Glenn Thrush of the New York Times: "Former Attorney General William P. Barr dismissed ... Donald J. Trump's call for an independent review of materials seized from his Florida home on Friday -- and said an inventory of items recovered in the search last month seemed to support the Justice Department's claim that it was needed to safeguard national security. 'As more information comes out, the actions of the department look more understandable,' Mr. Barr told The New York Times in a phone interview, speaking of the decision by the current attorney general, Merrick B. Garland, to seek a search warrant of the complex at Mar-a-Lago.... 'I'm not sure the department could have gotten it back without taking action.' Asked what he thought of the argument for the appointment of a special master, an independent arbiter to review the material that could delay the investigation, Mr. Barr laughed. 'I think it's a crock of shit,' he said, adding, 'I don't think a special master is called for.'" ~~~

~~~ Trump, Under the Bus. Alex Griffing of Mediaite: "Former Trump Attorney General Bill Barr on Friday smacked down various defenses of ... Donald Trump when it comes to the FBI's execution of a search warrant at his Florida estate. During an appearance on Fox News's America Reports, Barr argued that Trump taking 'classified material' with him to a 'country club' was just as unprecedented as the federal government raiding a former president's home -- swatting down the notion that the raid was an unwarranted political move. Barr also took issue with Trump's defense that he already declassified the documents, arguing that doing so would be 'an abuse' that 'shows such recklessness that it's almost worse than taking the documents.'... 'You know, they jawboned for a year. They were deceived on the voluntary actions taken. They then went and got a subpoena. They were deceived on that,' Barr continued, laying out the FBI's cause for the raid.... '... he facts are starting to show that they were being jerked around.'" Barr also said the whole idea of a special master was a "red herring." (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~

     ~~~ Azi Paybarah of the Washington Post: "'What people are missing,' Barr told Fox News, is that documents, regardless of whether they were classified, 'still belong to the government and go to the archives.' The other documents that were seized, like news clippings, were 'seizable under the warrant because they show the conditions under which the classified information was being held,' Barr said."

Tierney Sneed & Marshal Cohen of CNN look at what they call "revelatory moments" in Thursday's hearing on Donald Trump's request for a special master: "Trump attorney Chris Kise stressed to the judge that this was an 'unprecedented situation' and there was a need 'lower the temperature on both sides.'... Later in the hearing, James Trusty, another attorney for Trump, argued..., 'So we are in a situation where, literally, they have taken a -- we have characterized it at times as "an overdue library book scenario" where there is a dispute -- not even a dispute, ongoing negotiations with NARA about archives that has suddenly been transformed into a criminal investigation.'" And so forth. MB: As Ken W. pointed out, more or less, in yesterday's Comments thread, if you stole 11,000 books, including a Gutenberg Bible & an original Shakespeare folio, from the library & refused to return them, it's unlike the librarian would treat the matter as an overdue book squabble. ~~~

     ~~~ Update. I see where George Conway agrees with Ken & me.

"The Mold Room." Rosalind Helderman & Josh Dawsey of the Washington Post: "... behind a simple door [in a basement area workers dug out after Donald Trump purchased Mar-a-Lago on the cheap], is a large closet-type space that workers once called 'the mold room' in honor of leftover stonework molds deposited in the corner.... Today, staffers think of the room more like the former president's personal closet.... It is here, in this windowless nook, where some of the nation's most sensitive secrets allegedly were stashed. The raid exposed anew the potential risks of keeping highly sensitive material at a club that hosts weddings, galas and other large events, where outsiders are common and many employees -- as well as some visitors -- are foreign nationals.... People familiar with the matter said the [surveillance] video [the FBI obtained] showed various people coming in and out of the larger storage area. People close to Trump said a variety of Mar-a-Lago and Trump staffers had access to that area beneath the public living room. Access to the closet where the documents were kept was more restricted, they said.... [Two people] agreed that only one key existed to the lock on the closet's door. A single locked door -- even one with only one key -- hardly meets the exacting specifications required by federal regulations to physically store classified documents.... ~~~

~~~ "People who have visited the club since Trump left office said they were allowed in without so much as an identification check.... According to documents filed with the Labor Department, the club got permission to hire 87 foreign waiters, cooks and housekeepers for the season that began last fall and ended this spring. The company has asked to hire 92 more to start in October.... [Joel Brenner, a] former counterintelligence officer, said the U.S. government has special rules are in place to prevent foreign nationals from having access to classified documents.... Mar-a-Lago has experienced a number of embarrassing security lapses while Trump was president and since he left Washington."

Quelle Coincidence! Jamie Gangel, et al., of CNN: "Within a week of the FBI search of ... Donald Trump's Mar-a-Lago resort, former White House chief of staff Mark Meadows handed over texts and emails to the National Archives that he had not previously turned over from his time in the administration, sources familiar with the matter tell CNN. Meadows' submission to the Archives was part of a request for all electronic communications covered under the Presidential Records Act. The Archives had become aware earlier this year it did not have everything from Meadows after seeing what he had turned over to the House select committee investigating January 6, 2021. Details of Meadows' submissions to the Archives and the engagement between the two sides have not been previously reported.... The source familiar with the discussions said that the Archives considered Meadows to be cooperating, even though the process started slowly."

Annals of Journalism & "Journalism," Ctd. Ramon Vargas of the Guardian: "A White House correspondent for CNN -- whose new leader wants the channel to adopt what he considers a more politically neutral voice to its coverage -- has departed the network after calling Donald Trump 'a dishonest demagogue' on the air. John Harwood announced his exit from CNN on his Twitter account Friday, a day after he spoke favorably of a nationally televised speech by Joe Biden in which the president said that Republican forces loyal to his Oval Office predecessor, Trump, imperiled American democracy.... 'The core point [Biden] made in that political speech about a threat to democracy is true,' Harwood said on CNN after the address, which was in primetime.... 'We're brought up to believe there's two different political parties with different points of view, and we don't take sides in honest disagreements between them. But that's not what we are talking about. These are honest disagreements. The Republican party right now is led by a dishonest demagogue.' By midday Friday, the 65-year-old Harwood tweeted that he was out at CNN.... According to the Hollywood Reporter, which cited an anonymous source with insight into the situation, Harwood learned 'last month' that he was out at the channel."

Beyond the Beltway

Texas. David Montgomery & Miriam Jordan of the New York Times: “Eight migrants drowned and 37 others were rescued as they tried to cross the raging waters of the Rio Grande to reach the United States, administration officials said on Friday. The migrants were among scores of people crossing the river near Eagle Pass, a town in southern Texas that has become a major entry point for migrants in the last year. After heavy rains, the Rio Grande is several feet higher than normal, and law enforcement officials have reported making a number of rescues, including some over the last weekend as migrants struggling to keep their heads above water were being dragged by turbulent currents. Rick Pauza, spokesman for the Customs and Border Protection office in Laredo, Texas, said in a statement that the authorities were continuing with the aid of the local fire department and sheriff's office to search for possible survivors."

I believe people should just, just be ready to get out on the streets with pitchforks and torches with how low the liberal media has become. People need to decide "Am I going to put up with this? Am I going to tolerate this, taking somebody that gives money to churches or cancer research and use that as a hit piece in the media?" I'm appalled. It's disgusting. -- Tim Michels, Wisconsin GOP gubernatorial nominee ~~~

Wisconsin Gubernatorial Race. Scott Bauer of the AP: "The Republican candidate for governor in Wisconsin endorsed by Donald Trump is calling for people to take up 'pitchforks and torches' in reaction to a story that detailed his giving to anti-abortion groups, churches and others -- rhetoric that Democrats say amounts to threatening violence. Tim Michels, who co-owns the state's largest construction company, faces Democratic Gov. Tony Evers in the battleground state. If Michels wins, he will be in position to enact a host of GOP priorities passed by the Republican-controlled Legislature leading into the 2024 presidential election. Evers has vetoed more bills than any governor in modern state history and is campaigning on his ability to serve as a check on Republicans. Michels, a multimillionaire, this week reacted strongly to a story published by the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel detailing charitable giving by he [his!] and his wife's foundation, some of which went to anti-abortion groups and churches that have taken anti-gay positions." MB: "Democrats say"?

Way Beyond

Ukraine, et al.

The New York Times' live updates of developments Saturday in Russia's war on Ukraine are here. The Guardian's live updates are here. The Guardian's latest summary report is here. ~~~

     ~~~ The Washington Post's live briefings for Saturday are here: "The European Council president accused Moscow of using 'gas as a weapon,' after the Russian energy giant said it would not reopen the Nord Stream 1 pipeline on Saturday as planned because of a leak.... Russia is holding funeral rites Saturday for Mikhail Gorbachev, laying the last Soviet leader to rest without an official state funeral.... Vladimir Putin, who disdained Gorbachev over the collapse of the Soviet Union, will not attend. Adored in the West but controversial, and at times despised, at home, Gorbachev was reportedly distraught over Russia's war in Ukraine.... The Biden administration has asked Congress to approve an additional $13.7 billion in aid for Ukraine's defenses."

Jeff Stein & Emily Rauhala of the Washington Post: "The leaders of the Group of Seven industrialized nations announced Friday that they will impose a price cap on Russian oil, aiming to undercut the Kremlin's finances while keeping energy flowing to the West. The price cap plan, a top priority of U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet L. Yellen, aims to slash the huge energy profit Russia is using to finance its war in Ukraine without creating price shocks that could cripple the global economy." ~~~

~~~ Stanley Reed of the New York Times: "Gazprom said on Friday that it would postpone restarting the flow of natural gas through a closely watched pipeline that connects Russia and Germany, an unexpected delay that appeared to be part of a larger struggle between Moscow and the West over energy and the war in Ukraine. The Russian-owned energy giant had been expected to resume the flow of gas through the Nord Stream 1 pipeline on Saturday after three days of maintenance. But hours before the pipeline was set to reopen, Gazprom said that problems had been found during inspections, and that the pipeline would be closed until they were eliminated. It did not give a timeline for restarting. The announcement had the hallmarks of a tit-for-tat move. Earlier on Friday, finance ministers for the Group of 7 countries said that they had agreed to impose a price cap mechanism on Russian oil in a bid to choke off some of the energy revenue Moscow is still collecting from Europe."

Argentina. Almudena Calatrava & Daniel Politi of the AP: "Judicial and law enforcement authorities were investigating Friday whether a Brazilian citizen who appears to have tried to assassinate Argentina's politically powerful Vice President Cristina Fernández was a lone gunman or whether he was part of a larger organization.... The only reason the assassination attempt failed was because the handgun misfired, President Alberto Fernández, who is not related to the vice president, said Thursday night in a national broadcast in which he declared a national holiday Friday in light of the incident. (Also linked yesterday.) A New York Times report is here.

News Ledes

CNN: "The launch team for the uncrewed Artemis I mission has recommended a 'no go' for Saturday's launch attempt after battling fueling issues. The team is awaiting the official word from the launch director on the status of the launch. Shortly before 5 a.m. ET, mission managers received a weather briefing and decided to proceed with loading propellant into the rocket. The countdown clock resumed at 7:07 a.m. ET. There was at least a 30-minute delay after a liquid hydrogen leak was detected at 7:15 a.m. ET in the quick disconnect cavity that feeds the rocket with hydrogen in the engine section of the core stage. It was a different leak than one that occurred ahead of the scrubbed launch on Monday." MB: @ 11:19 am ET, CNN reported on-air that the launch was a no-go.

New York Times: "A pilot who threatened to crash into a Walmart in Tupelo, Miss., on Saturday morning, then flew erratically for several hours, was taken into custody after landing in a field, officials said. The plane landed in Benton County, about 50 miles northwest of Tupelo, and the pilot was taken into custody without injury, said Connie Strickland, a dispatcher for the Benton County Sheriff's Department in Mississippi. She did not identify the pilot. The Federal Aviation Administration said a Beechcraft King Air 90 landed in a field after taking off from Tupelo Regional Airport and circling the area. The FAA said only the pilot was in the plane. The agency said it was coordinating with local law enforcement agencies and would investigate the flight." ~~~

~~~ CNN is live-updating the story of the crazy young man in a flying machine who threatened to dive into the Tupelo, Mississippi Walmart.The latest at 1:00 pm ET: "A small plane that circled for hours Saturday morning over Tupelo, Mississppi, and surrounding areas landed in a field in Ripley, Mississippi, the FAA said. A source told CNN the pilot, who police said threatened to crash the stolen plane into a Tupelo Walmart, is in custody." ~~~

     ~~~ CNN @ 11:15 am ET: "A pilot who police said threatened to crash a small plane into a Walmart in Tupelo, Mississippi, Saturday morning is still airborne. A government source familiar with the situation tells CNN the aircraft is flying over the Holly Springs National Forest. Tupelo Police are no longer in communication with the pilot, the source says. 'At this time the situation is ongoing with TPD and all Emergency Services in our area on alert,' Tupelo Police said in a news release earlier Saturday morning. 'With the mobility of an airplane of that type the danger zone is much larger than even Tupelo.'" ~~~

     ~~~ Update: At 11:37 am ET, CNN is reporting on-air that the plane is down & the pilot is in custody. It doesn't appear the plane landed at an airport. The plane was stolen & the person who flew it & threatened to crash it was an employee of the Tupelo airport.

Washington Post: "Serena Williams said what is in all likelihood her goodbye to tennis Friday night at Arthur Ashe Stadium, 23 years and 22 Grand Slam titles after winning her first here at the U.S. Open. She lost to Australia's Ajla Tomljanovic in a tense, 7-5, 6-7 (7-4), 6-1 match full of the signature power and fight she has employed to rule women's tennis for the past two decades.... After the final game, Williams held her hand over her heart and mouthed 'I love you' to the thundering spectators on their feet in Arthur Ashe Stadium, the site of six of her Grand Slam titles. Her signature twirl and wave followed some time after as she choked back tears, thanked the crowd, then paid tribute to her family -- her mother, Oracene; sisters Venus Williams nd Isha Price; and husband, Alexis Ohanian, all standing in her player box."

September 2, 2022

Late Morning/Afternoon Update:

Trump Gets the View from Under the Bus. Alex Griffing of Mediaite: "Former Trump Attorney General Bill Barr on Friday smacked down various defenses of ... Donald Trump when it comes to the FBI's execution of a search warrant at his Florida estate. During an appearance on Fox News's America Reports, Barr argued that Trump taking 'classified material' with him to a 'country club' was just as unprecedented as the federal government raiding a former president's home -- swatting down the notion that the raid was an unwarranted political move. Barr also took issue with Trump's defense that he already declassified the documents, arguing that doing so would be 'an abuse' that 'shows such recklessness that it's almost worse than taking the documents.'... 'You know, they jawboned for a year. They were deceived on the voluntary actions taken. They then went and got a subpoena. They were deceived on that,' Barr continued, laying out the FBI's cause for the raid.... '... he facts are starting to show that they were being jerked around.'" Barr also said the whole idea of a special master was a "red herring."

Jim Tankersley of the New York Times: "Slowing job and wage growth, alongside rising labor force participation in August, is [are?] good news for President Biden and his hopes for a smooth transition to a more stable economic expansion. The jobs report on Friday was the first of the summer to support the case Mr. Biden and his economic aides have been making for months: that the economy is beginning to step down from a high-growth, high-inflation expansion coming out of the pandemic recession but avoiding another recession."

Tierney Sneed of CNN: "US District Judge Aileen Cannon on Friday released a detailed inventory from the Mar-a-Lago search that the Justice Department previously filed under seal in court. The search inventory released showed that classified documents had been mixed in with personal items and other materials in the boxes in which they were stored. Federal investigators also retrieved more than 11,000 non-classified government documents. One box containing documents marked with confidential, secret and top secret classification identifications also contained '99 magazines/newspapers/press articles,' according to the inventory from last month's search filed in federal court in Florida.... The court filing also provided a breakdown of the type of markings on the classified material taken from Mar-a-Lago, including 18 documents marked top secret, 54 documents marked secret and 31 documents marked confidential. In addition, federal investigators collected more than 48 empty folders with a 'classified banner' and 42 empty folders marked to return to the staff secretary or military aide." ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: Gosh, what do you supposed happened to the contents of all those empty folders that had once contained classified documents. It does not seem likely the folders were empty when they left the White House.

Almudena Calatrava & Daniel Politi of the AP: "Judicial and law enforcement authorities were investigating Friday whether a Brazilian citizen who appears to have tried to assassinate Argentina's politically powerful Vice President Cristina Fernández was a lone gunman or whether he was part of a larger organization.... The only reason the assassination attempt failed was because the handgun misfired, President Alberto Fernández, who is not related to the vice president, said Thursday night in a national broadcast in which he declared a national holiday Friday in light of the incident.

~~~~~~~~~~

Jonathan Lemire & Meredith McGraw of Politico: "With the political winds at his back, President Joe Biden commanded a prime-time stage Thursday in Philadelphia and singled out his predecessor as an example of the extremism that he believes 'threatens American democracy' and fuels many of the Republicans on the ballot in November.... Donald Trump and MAGA Republicans represent an extremism that threatens are very Republic,' said Biden, in a rare moment of calling out his predecessor by his name.... 'For a long time, we've reassured ourselves that American democracy is guaranteed. But it is not. We have to defend it. Protect it. Stand up for it. Each and every one of us,' Biden said.... And as Biden forcefully addressed election deniers and the rise in political violence, his predecessor spent the morning defending Jan. 6 rioters.... 'I will look very, very favorably about full pardons. If I decide to run and if I win, I will be looking very, very strongly about pardons,' Trump told [a radio] show. 'I mean full pardons with an apology to many.' Trump said he met with Jan. 6 defendants earlier this week at his office and said he will be financially supporting them." ~~~

     ~~~ The Washington Post report is here.

     ~~~ Transcript of President Biden's remarks, as delivered, via the White House.

Steve M. "Is Trump really offering financial support to any of the rioters or their families? I doubt it -- although this won't prevent him from announcing the existence of a January 6 financial support fund, which will be flooded with donations, all or most of which will go straight into his pocket. Also, he might never get around to those pardons if he runs and wins, because what does he personally get out of fulfilling the promise? But making the promise is very good for his campaign. The right says that convicted January 6 insurrectionists are political prisoners in an 'American Gulag.' This is a mainstream GOP belief. So of course pardons will be promised." MB: Why didn't Trump grant these criminals amnesty before he left office? There's some kind of calculation there. Or maybe he just figured he would be right back & he could do it in, say, March 2021.

Patricia Mazzei, et al., of the New York Times: "A federal judge signaled on Thursday that she remained open to granting ... Donald J. Trump's request to appoint an independent arbiter to go through documents the F.B.I. seized from him last month, but stopped short of making a final decision. After a nearly two-hour hearing, the judge, Aileen M. Cannon of the Federal District Court for the Southern District of Florida, reserved judgment on the question of whether to appoint a so-called special master in the case, saying she would issue a written order 'in due course.' Notably, Judge Cannon did not direct the F.B.I. to stop working with the files, which the Justice Department has said have already undergone a preliminary review by law enforcement officials." Politico's story is here. MB: I think Judge Cannon is out of her depth here.

Katherine Faulders & John Santucci of ABC News: "Two former top Trump White House lawyers are expected to appear Friday before a federal grand jury investigating the events surrounding Jan. 6, sources familiar with the matter tell ABC News. Former White House counsel Pat Cipollone and former deputy White House counsel Pat Philbin were subpoenaed by a federal grand jury investigating the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol and efforts to overturn the 2020 election, ABC News reported last month. The move to subpoena the two men has signaled an even more dramatic escalation in the Justice Department's investigation into the Jan. 6 attack than previously known."

Luke Broadwater of the New York Times: "The House committee investigating the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol on Thursday asked former Speaker Newt Gingrich to sit for a voluntary interview about his involvement in ... Donald J. Trump's effort to overturn the 2020 election. In a letter to Mr. Gingrich, the Georgia Republican who held the speakership in the late 1990s, the committee said its investigators had obtained evidence that he was in contact with senior advisers to Mr. Trump about television advertisements that amplified false claims of fraud in the 2020 election and other aspects of the scheme to block the transfer of power, both before and after a mob attacked the Capitol.... [Committee chair Bennie] Thompson [D-Miss.] said Mr. Gingrich pushed messages explicitly designed to incite anger among voters, even after Georgia election officials had faced intimidation and threats of violence. In particular, Mr. Gingrich advocated promoting the false claims that election workers in Atlanta had smuggled in fake votes in suitcases.... also pushed for a coordinated plan to put forward pro-Trump electors in states won by Joseph R. Biden Jr.... On the evening of Jan. 6, Mr. Gingrich continued to push efforts to overturn the election, emailing Mr. Meadows, at 10:42 p.m. after the Capitol had been cleared of rioters, asking if there were letters from state legislators about decertifying the results of the election." A CNN report is here.

Betsy Swan of Politico: "State Sen. Doug Mastriano, the Republican nominee for governor in Pennsylvania, is suing the Jan. 6 select committee.... Mastriano filed his suit on Thursday afternoon in federal court in Washington. It names the committee itself as a defendant, as well as each member of the panel and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi. In the suit, Mastriano argues that the committee's rules and composition mean it cannot compel witnesses to sit for depositions.... In February, the committee subpoenaed Mastriano for documents and testimony. Shortly after winning the Pennsylvania GOP gubernatorial primary in May, Mastriano produced a tranche of documents for the committee. He also signaled that he would participate in a voluntary interview. But the committee insisted Mastriano be deposed on videotape, according to the lawsuit.... Mastriano's lawyer, Timothy Parlatore, told the committee he wanted to make his own recording of the interview. But the Jan. 6 panel did not allow the move, the suit said, resulting in a stalemate. Mastriano appeared for a video-conference meeting with the committee in August but left without answering questions."

Tom Jackman of the Washington Post: "A former New York City police officer and Marine Corps veteran ... was sentenced to 10 years in prison Thursday, the longest punishment handed down among the nearly 250 people sentenced so far for their roles in the [Jan. 6, 2021,] insurrection. Federal prosecutors sought a prison term of more than 17 years for Thomas Webster, 56, of Goshen, N.Y., who was the first riot defendant facing the felony charge of assaulting an officer to try his luck with a jury.... Webster took the witness stand at his trial and testified that he was acting in self-defense, saying D.C. police officer Noah Rathbun had instigated the fight. But video showed Webster yelling at police on the Lower West Plaza of the Capitol, as officers struggled to maintain a perimeter outside the building. Rathbun then pushed Webster in the face -- Rathbun testified his hand slipped off Webster's shoulder -- before Webster swung and smashed a Marine Corps flagpole on a bike rack and then tackled Rathbun. Webster pulled the officer's gas mask off, causing Rathbun to begin choking on tear gas, the officer testified." The NBC News report is here.

Alan Feuer & Ken Bessinger of the New York Times: "The top lawyer for the Oath Keepers militia, who was with the group's leader outside the Capitol on Jan. 6., 2021, was charged on Thursday with conspiring to obstruct a joint session of Congress that day as lawmakers met to certify the results of the 2020 election. The lawyer, Kellye SoRelle, was the latest member of the right-wing extremist group to be indicted in connection with the Capitol attack. The indictment, handed up in Federal District Court in Washington, also accused Ms. SoRelle, 43, of tampering with evidence connected to the Justice Department's grand jury investigation of Jan. 6 and illegally entering and remaining in a restricted area of the Capitol grounds." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)

Richard Fausset of the New York Times: "In a setback for Senator Lindsey Graham, a federal judge ruled on Thursday that prosecutors can ask him about certain elements of his November 2020 phone calls with Brad Raffensperger, the Georgia secretary of state. Mr. Raffensperger has said that in those calls, Mr. Graham suggested rejecting mail-in votes in the presidential election from counties with high rates of questionable signatures. The order from U.S. District Judge Leigh Martin May must now be taken up for consideration by the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals. It is the latest twist in a protracted legal drama in which Mr. Graham has sought to avoid appearing before a special grand jury in Atlanta that is investigating efforts by Donald J. Trump and his allies to overturn Mr. Trump's narrow loss in the state in 2020.... Judge May rejected Mr. Graham's argument that all questions about the calls should be barred. Secretary Raffensperger, the judge wrote, 'has stated publicly that he understood Senator Graham to be implying or otherwise suggesting that he (Secretary Raffensperger) should throw out ballots.' She continued: 'As the Court has previously stated, any such "cajoling," "exhorting," or pressuring of Secretary Raffensperger (or any other Georgia election officials) to throw out ballots or otherwise change Georgia's election processes, including changing processes so as to alter the state's results, is not protected legislative activity under the Speech or Debate Clause.'"

Emma Brown of the Washington Post: "Virginia 'Ginni' Thomas, the conservative activist and wife of Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas, pressed lawmakers to overturn Joe Biden's 2020 victory not only in Arizona, as previously reported, but also in a second battleground state, Wisconsin, according to emails obtained under state public-records law.... The new emails show that Thomas also messaged two Republican lawmakers in Wisconsin: state Sen. Kathy Bernier, then chair of the Senate elections committee, and state Rep. Gary Tauchen. Bernier and Tauchen received the email ... on Nov. 9, virtually the same time the Arizona lawmakers received a verbatim copy of the message from Thomas.... Thomas sent all of the emails via FreeRoots, an online platform that allowed people to send pre-written emails to multiple elected officials."(Also linked yesterday afternoon.) A CBS News report is here.

Tony Romm, et al., of the Washington Post: "Republican state attorneys general and other leading conservatives are exploring a slew of potential lawsuits targeting President Biden's plan to cancel some student debt -- challenges that could limit or invalidate the policy before it takes full effect. In recent days, a number of GOP attorneys general from states including Arizona, Missouri and Texas have met privately to discuss a strategy that could see multiple cases filed in different courts around the country.... Other influential conservatives -- including Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Tex.) and allies of the Heritage Foundation ... -- are mulling their own options as they ratchet up criticism of Biden's debt-relief plan...." MB: Bad news for young people, but good news, I guess, for Democrats. Are these bozos planning to bring these suits before the November election?

Annie Karni of the New York Times: "The Senate's Republican campaign chief on Thursday appeared to escalate an ugly quarrel with ... Senator Mitch McConnell, in the latest sign of the G.O.P.'s eroding confidence about winning back the majority in November. Without naming Mr. McConnell, Senator Rick Scott of Florida ... lashed out in a blistering opinion piece in The Washington Examiner at Republicans he said were 'trash-talking' the party's candidates, an apparent reference to comments last month in which Mr. McConnell said that 'candidate quality' could harm the G.O.P.'s chances of retaking the Senate. Mr. Scott called such remarks 'treasonous' and said those who make them should 'pipe down.' 'Unfortunately, many of the very people responsible for losing the Senate last cycle are now trying to stop us from winning the majority this time by trash-talking our Republican candidates,' Mr. Scott wrote. 'It's an amazing act of cowardice, and ultimately, it's treasonous to the conservative cause.'" (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ~~~

     ~~~ Marie. Wait, wait! It's an act of treason to suggest that Herschel Walker or Dr. Oz is unqualified to join the Senate?? Well, hang me by my toes.

Tom Cotton Finds Another Election to Deny. Rebecca Shabad of NBC News: "After Democrat Mary Peltola defeated Sarah Palin in Alaska's special election Wednesday, Sen. Tom Cotton, R-Ark., discredited the voting system used by Alaska voters that they chose to implement in their state. Cotton tweeted that Alaska's new ranked-choice voting system 'is a scam to rig elections,' casting doubt on the outcome of the process to fill the seat of late GOP Rep. Don Young. '60% of Alaska voters voted for a Republican, but thanks to a convoluted process and ballot exhaustion -- which disenfranchises voters -- a Democrat "won,'" Cotton said in a separate tweet." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: See, Tom, in theory, ranked-choice voting should have favored Palin in this election. Both she & the third-place candidate Nick Begich are Republicans. Therefore, you would expect that Palin -- rather than a Democratic candidate -- would get most of Begich voters' second-choice votes. But she didn't. Palin lost because a majority of voters didn't want the former half-governor to win this election, not because there was something unfa-a-a-air about the system. Dimwit. See also Patrick's comment near the end of yesterday's thread. ~~~

     ~~~ AND unwashed was a-wondering yesterday, "Do Rs think that ranked-choice voting is just Wordle for politics?" MB: Maybe so. Cotton thought the five letters in Alaska were P-A-L-I-N.

Christopher Flavelle, et al., of the New York Times: "... climate change has ... emerged as a growing threat to clean, safe drinking water across the country. The deluge that knocked out a fraying water plant in Jackson, Miss., this week, depriving more than 150,000 people of drinking water, offered the latest example of how quickly America's aging treatment plants and decades-old pipes can crumple under the shocks of a warming world.... Earlier this summer, more than 25,000 people lost their water, some for weeks, after deadly floods ripped through eastern Kentucky, breaking water lines as they obliterated entire neighborhoods.... Utility companies across Texas spent the summer coping with hundreds of water-main breaks as record heat baked and shifted the drought-stricken soil surrounding pipes.... And from the Gulf Coast to the East Coast, supercharged hurricanes ... now regularly debilitate water suppliers, forcing hundreds of thousands of people to boil their water or scramble for bottles days or weeks after the storms pass."

Sarah Mervosh of the New York Times: "National test results released on Thursday showed in stark terms the pandemic's devastating effects on American schoolchildren, with the performance of 9-year-olds in math and reading dropping to the levels from two decades ago. This year, for the first time since the National Assessment of Educational Progress tests began tracking student achievement in the 1970s, 9-year-olds lost ground in math, and scores in reading fell by the largest margin in more than 30 years. The declines spanned almost all races and income levels and were markedly worse for the lowest-performing students. While top performers in the 90th percentile showed a modest drop -- three points in math -- students in the bottom 10th percentile dropped by 12 points in math, four times the impact." CNN's report is here. MB: On the upside, parents, the kids are now as dumb as you are. Maybe your efforts to help them with their homework will now be useful. (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) The AP's report is here.

Benjamin Mueller of the New York Times: "The director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Thursday recommended updated coronavirus booster shots to the vast majority of Americans, adding a critical new tool to the country's arsenal as it tries to blunt an expected wintertime surge of the virus. The decision cleared the way for health workers to begin giving people the redesigned shots within days. And it marked a milestone in the fight against a rapidly shape-shifting pathogen: For the first time in the pandemic, manufacturers have capitalized on the potential of mRNA technology to begin distributing a Covid vaccine that perfectly matches the circulating strain of the virus, a feat that had long seemed improbable.... Now [vaccine recipients] face a weighty new question: how long to wait after their last vaccine dose or infection before seeking an updated booster. In authorizing the new boosters, federal regulators said on Wednesday that people needed to leave at least two months between doses. Several members of a panel of expert advisers to the C.D.C. expressed concern during a meeting on Thursday that two months was too short, but the C.D.C. pushed to endorse the same minimum interval." The Washington Post story, which is free to nonsubscribers, is here.

Beyond the Beltway

California. Brad Plumer of the New York Times: "California, with an economy that ranks as the world's fifth-largest, embarked this week on its most aggressive effort yet to confront climate change, after lawmakers passed a flurry of bills designed to cut emissions and speed away from fossil fuels. Legislators approved a record $54 billion in climate spending and passed sweeping new restrictions on oil and gas drilling as well as a mandate that California stop adding carbon dioxide to the atmosphere by 2045. And they voted to extend the life of Diablo Canyon, California's last nuclear power plant, by five years, a step once unthinkable to many environmentalists. Proponents said that California, which is again struggling to keep the lights on amid a scorching heat wave this week, needed the emissions-free electricity from the nuclear plant while other clean sources like wind and solar ramp up."

Florida. Bob Brigham of the Raw Story: "'A jury of six people found Seminole County GOP Chairman Ben Paris guilty on Thursday of a misdemeanor charge that he arranged to put his cousin's name on independent "ghost" candidate Jestine Iannotti's campaign contribution forms in 2020,' the Orlando Sentinel reported. 'Paris was sentenced to 12 months of probation and 200 hours of community service and ordered to pay roughly $42,000 -- the cost of the Florida Department of Law Enforcement investigation into the apparent vote-siphoning scheme.' Attorney Matthews Bark, who represented Paris, said his client would resign as chairman of the Seminole GOP."

Ohio Senate Race. Where's J.D.? Manu Raju & Alex Rogers of CNN: "Ohio voters will begin casting their ballots in six weeks -- and J.D. Vance has been difficult to find. The rookie GOP candidate goes days without any public events, and his campaign gives little information about his whereabouts. He has been slow to build a fundraising operation, and a ground game, and is being dramatically outspent on air while racking up a nearly $900,000 in campaign debt last quarter. And now, a super PAC with ties to Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell is planning to spend a staggering $28 million on television ads here to save a Senate seat once viewed as a lock -- and deny Democratic Rep. Tim Ryan a chance for a major, midterm upset."

Way Beyond

Ukraine, et al.

The Washington Post's live briefings of developments Friday in Russia's war on Ukraine are here: "Two IAEA inspectors will remain at the Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant 'on a permanent basis,' Mikhail Ulyanov, Russia's envoy to the agency, told The Washington Post on Friday. 'I can confirm that to the best of my knowledge this is the intention of the IAEA. We welcome this intention,' he said. An IAEA official, speaking on the condition of anonymity to discuss a sensitive matter, also said two representatives of the U.N. nuclear watchdog would stay on-site, after agency chief Rafael Mariano Grossi led a tour of the Russian-occupied facility. 'The IAEA is now there -- and it is not moving,' Grossi told reporters when he returned to territory under Ukrainian control. It was not clear how extensive his team's access will be after his departure. Grossi said the IAEA plans to establish a 'resident' presence to monitor the security of the plant and that a core team will stay there over the coming days.... 'The physical integrity of the plant has been violated several times,' according to Grossi, who said he worries about the risks 'until we have a situation which is more stable.' His agency and Kyiv have urged a military withdrawal from the site, which is controlled by Russian forces but operated by Ukrainian engineers." ~~~

     ~~~ The New York Times' live updates for Friday are here. The Guardian's live updates for Friday are here. The Guardian's summary report is here.

Russia, Where Defenestration Qualifies as a "Severe Illness." Mary Ilyushina of the Washington Post: "The chairman of Russia's second-largest oil company, Lukoil, died Thursday after reportedly falling from the window of a Moscow hospital where he was being treated after suffering a heart attack. Ravil Maganov, 67, fell from a sixth-floor window at the Central Clinical Hospital around 7 a.m. local time, the state-run Tass news agency reported. It was not clear whether Maganov's death was an accident, a suicide or something more sinister.... Lukoil confirmed Maganov's death but said only that he 'passed away following a severe illness.'... Maganov's unexplained fall is at least the sixth fatal incident this year involving high-profile Russian oil and gas executives whose lives ended in gory or murky circumstances." The Guardian's report is here.

News Lede

CNBC: "Nonfarm payrolls rose solidly in August amid an otherwise slowing economy, while the unemployment rate ticked higher as more workers rejoined the labor force, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported Friday. The economy added 315,000 jobs for the month, just below the Dow Jones estimate for 318,000 and well off the 526,000 in July and the lowest monthly gain since April 2021."