April 16, 2022

Putin's War Crimes, Ctd.

The New York Times' live updates of developments Saturday in Russia's war on Ukraine are here: "A large explosion rocked Kyiv early Saturday, and the Ukrainians claimed to have shot down missiles aimed at Odesa in the south and Lviv in the west.... The Russian government had threatened to intensify missile strikes targeting Kyiv after asserting that Ukrainian forces had attacked Russian villages near the countries' shared border. A Ukrainian military official also said Russia had fired missiles at the Lviv region in western Ukraine on Saturday morning. The head of the Lviv military administration said that Ukrainian anti-aircraft systems had destroyed four cruise missiles. There was no word on casualties or damage. At the same time, there were reports of shelling and bombardments in other towns and cities across southern and eastern Ukraine as Russian continued to move military equipment and forces into position for a renewed offensive." ~~~

     ~~~ The Washington Post's live updates for Saturday are here: "Kyiv region police said Friday that the bodies of more than 900 civilians had been tallied in the area — more than 350 of which were discovered in the Bucha suburb. The vast majority of them were found with gunshot wounds. Meanwhile, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky told CNN his country had lost 2,500 to 3,000 troops since the Feb. 24 invasion, with perhaps another 10,000 injured. Russia appears to be on the verge of capturing the devastated port city of Mariupol, which a regional leader said had been 'wiped off the face of the earth.'... Large swaths of Ukraine are littered with explosive ordinances that authorities are trying to deactivate."

Julian Barnes & James Glanz of the New York Times: "The Moskva was the pride of Russia's Black Sea Fleet, a symbol of the country's dominance of the region and a powerful war machine that had been used to launch precision cruise missiles deep inside Ukraine. Despite claims by Russia that an accidental fire broke out on the ship, U.S. officials confirmed on Friday that two Ukrainian Neptune missiles had struck the vessel, killing an unknown number of sailors and sending it and its arsenal to the bottom of the Black Sea. The sinking of the Moskva on Thursday was a grave blow to the Russian fleet and a dramatic demonstration of the current era of warfare in which missiles fired from shore can destroy even the biggest, most powerful ships. It was also the most significant combat loss for any navy since 1982, when Argentina's Air Force sank a British guided missile destroyer and other ships during the Falklands War." See also commentary at the end of yesterday's thread. ~~~

~~~ AND They Did It with Homemade Weapons. Adam Taylor & Claire Parker of the Washington Post: "Soon after Russia seized Ukraine's Crimean Peninsula in 2014, a Ukrainian defense firm used an arms show in Kyiv to unveil its latest project: an anti-ship cruise missile it called 'Neptune.' The new missile ... is in the spotlight after ... Ukrainian forces used Neptune missiles to strike and sink Russia's flagship Moskva.... The strike on Wednesday marked a major boost for Ukraine -- not only for its war effort but also for the homegrown arms industry, even as it relies on weapons donated by Western allies."

John Hudson & Jeff Stein of the Washington Post: "Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has made a direct appeal to President Biden for the United States to designate Russia a state sponsor of terrorism, one of the most powerful and far-reaching sanctions in the U.S. arsenal. Zelensky's request, which has not previously been reported, came during a recent phone call with Biden that centered on the West's multifaceted response to Russia's invasion of Ukraine, according to people familiar with the conversation. Biden did not commit to specific actions during the call, these people said, speaking on the condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive dialogue between the two leaders. The president has told his Ukrainian counterpart he is willing to explore a range of proposals to exert greater pressure on Moscow, they added." The NBC News report is here.

Drew Harwell of the Washington Post: "Ukrainian officials have run more than 8,600 facial recognition searches on dead or captured Russian soldiers in the 50 days since Moscow's invasion began, using the scans to identify bodies and contact hundreds of their families.... The country's IT Army, a volunteer force of hackers and activists that takes its direction from the Ukrainian government, says it has used those identifications to inform the families of the deaths of 582 Russians, including by sending them photos of the abandoned corpses. The Ukrainians champion the use of face-scanning software from the U.S. tech firm Clearview AI as a brutal but effective way to stir up dissent inside Russia, discourage other fighters and hasten an end to a devastating war. But some military and technology analysts worry that the strategy could backfire, inflaming anger over a shock campaign directed at mothers...."

TuKKKer the Tool. Russia's Propaganda Gold Mine: Fox "News." Stuart Thompson of the New York Times: "The narratives advanced by the Kremlin and by parts of conservative American media have converged in recent months, reinforcing and feeding each other. Along the way, Russian media has increasingly seized on Fox News's prime-time segments, its opinion pieces and even the network's active online comments section -- all of which often find fault with the Biden administration -- to paint a critical portrait of the United States and depict America's foreign policy as a threat to Russia's interests. [Tucker] Carlson was a frequent reference for Russian media, but other Fox News personalities -- and the occasional news update from the network -- were also included. Sergey Lavrov, Russia's foreign minister, who has made several false claims about the war -- including that Russia never attacked Ukraine — singled out Fox News for praise last month.... Mentions of Fox News in Russian-language media grew 217 percent during the first quarter of this year compared with the final quarter of last year...." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: Maybe TuKKKer will start sending shortwave messages to Ukrainians, urging them to surrender; Kyiv KKKarlson could be Fox's 2022 version of WWII's Tokyo Rose.

~~~ Oh, We Watch Fox "News" in Kentucky. Jonathan Edwards of the Washington Post: When the general manager of a Colton's Steak House & Grill franchise in Bardstown, Kentucky, flew a Ukrainian flag over the restaurant, "hate started coming from all fronts -- the restaurant's phone, Facebook page and reviews on Google. Over the past week, the firestorm has kept raging in Bardstown, a city of about 13,500 in central Kentucky. [Ben] Ashlock, describing himself as an uncontroversial person, said he had planned to keep the flag up until Russia left Ukraine." He has not taken down the flag, but the hate messages keep coming. Ashlock and his wife have an adopted Ukrainian son. (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)

Michael Shear of the New York Times: "President Biden and his wife on Friday reported earning $610,702 in 2021, almost the same amount the couple said they earned the year before, according to copies of their tax return made public by the White House. The release of their return -- which comes just days before Monday's deadline for Americans to file their taxes with the I.R.S. -- shows that Mr. Biden and the first lady, Jill Biden, paid $150,439 in federal income tax, for an effective rate of 24.6 percent. Most of the money Mr. Biden and his wife earned came from his $400,000 annual salary for being president and two pensions. He also reported almost $62,000 from an S corporation controlled by the Bidens, which received money in 2021 from two publishing houses, Simon & Schuster and Flatiron Books.... The president and first lady reported donations of $17,394 to 10 charities....

"The White House also released the tax returns for Vice President Kamala Harris and her husband, Doug Emhoff. The couple reported earning $1,655,563 and paying $523,371 in federal income tax, a rate of 31.6 percent. They also paid $120,517 in California income tax and $2,044 in New York income tax, according to the White House. Mr. Emhoff, who is an entertainment lawyer, also paid $54,441 in District of Columbia income tax. Their tax returns show that the couple earned money from the sale of a California property for $860,000 and from income on the memoir Ms. Harris published in 2019, 'The Truths We Hold: An American Journey.'"

     ~~~ Politico's report is here. The Bidens' return is here; the Emhoff-Harris return is here. Both are pdfs via the White House.

Drill, Baby, Drill. -- Sarah Palin's 2008 Opponent. Anna Phillips of the Washington Post: "As pressure increases on the Biden administration to lower the price of fuel, the Interior Department announced on Friday plans to hold its first onshore oil and gas lease sales since President Biden took office. The department said it plans to open roughly 144,000 acres up for lease next week and will charge oil and gas companies higher royalties to drill on federal land, raising the fees for the first time. Under the plans unveiled Friday, royalty rates would increase to 18.75 percent from 12.5 percent for oil and gas lease sales."

Eugene Scott of the Washington Post: "Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) is pushing back on lawmakers' accounts that her memory has deteriorated and she is mentally unfit to serve, insisting that she remains a productive senator at the age of 88. 'The real question is whether I’m still an effective representative for 40 million Californians, and the record shows that I am,' she said in a statement Thursday. Feinstein, who is the oldest U.S. senator, took the step of responding to a San Francisco Chronicle report that four Senate colleagues -- three of them Democrats -- and three of the lawmaker's former staffers and a California Democrat in the House said her memory is rapidly deteriorating. Various individuals said the lawmaker's staff does most of the work because of what they described as her cognitive decline." (Also linked yesterday afternoon. The original Chron report also was linked yesterday.) ~~~

~~~ Ruth Marcus of the Washington Post: "The portrayal of the 88-year-old Feinstein in an article this week in the San Francisco Chronicle was devastating, painful and, from my own reporting, accurate.... Feinstein's handling of the 2018 Brett M. Kavanaugh confirmation hearings -- in particular, her decision not to alert fellow lawmakers to the allegations by Christine Blasey Ford -- prompted a near-insurrection by her Democratic colleagues. Her performance at the 2020 confirmation hearings for Justice Amy Coney Barrett, including her post-hearing hug of Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Lindsey O. Graham (R-S.C.) and thanks for 'one of the best set of hearings that I've participated in,' was the last straw. Under pressure from Senate Democratic leader Charles E. Schumer, Feinstein announced she would step down from her position as the committee's ranking Democrat. According to the New Yorker's Jane Mayer, that took 'several serious and painful talks,' in part because 'Feinstein seemed to forget about the conversations soon after they talked, so Schumer had to confront her again.'"

This is a sh*tshow... Fix this now. -- Rep. Chip Roy, text to Mark Meadows, January 6, 2021

We are -- Mark Meadows to Chip Roy, January 6, 2021 ~~~

~~~ ** Ryan Nobles, et al., of CNN: "In the weeks between the 2020 election and the January 6 attack on the US Capitol, almost 100 text messages from two staunch GOP allies of ... Donald Trump reveal an aggressive attempt to lobby, encourage and eventually warn the White House over its efforts to overturn the election, according to messages obtained by the House select committee and reviewed by CNN. The texts, which have not been previously reported, were sent by Republican Sen. Mike Lee of Utah and GOP Rep. Chip Roy of Texas to then-White House chief of staff Mark Meadows. The text exchanges show that both members of Congress initially supported legal challenges to the election but ultimately came to sour on the effort and the tactics deployed by Trump and his team.... Lee and Roy both voted to certify the electoral results in favor of [Joe] Biden...." You can read the messages between Lee & Meadows, & between Roy & Meadows, via CNN, here. (Also linked yesterday.)~~~

     ~~~ The New York Times story, by Luke Broadwater, is here. ~~~

I don't think the president is grasping the distinction between what we can do and what he would like us to do. -- Sen. Mike Lee to Mark Meadows, January 3, 2021 ~~~

     ~~~ A Washington Post story, by Mariana Alfaro, concentrates on Mike Lee's texts: "Lee makes clear that he was working hard to assist Trump, saying in one text that he was spending '14 hours a day' on the effort and contacting state lawmakers seeking anything to give Congress a reason not to count the electoral votes for Biden on Jan. 6, 2021 and affirm his win.... Lee's willingness to support Trump's campaign to overturn the election is notable given his experience -- he clerked for Supreme Court Justice Samuel A. Alito Jr. and was mentioned as a possible Supreme Court nominee when Trump ran for office in 2016.... Lee's texts show that, soon after the election, it was Lee who encouraged Meadows to give [Sidney Release the Kraken] Powell access to Trump, saying she would help him push forward the legal challenges. He provided Meadows with Powell's contact information.... By late November, Lee had backed away from Powell and instead began encouraging Meadows to hire right-wing lawyer John Eastman. But the trust in Eastman didn't last long either...."~~~

A coup that goes unpunished is just a training exercise. -- Mehdi Hasan on MSNBC Friday ~~~

~~~ Marie: On MSNBC Friday night, Mehdi Hasan zeroed in on Lee's efforts to overturn the election by trying to get states to submit false slates of pro-Trump electors. Lee, who seems to think he's a brave defender of the Constitution, believes that it's pkay to overturn the will of the people if he can get state legislators to throw out the electors the voters chose. If he figured that was, you know, Constituional in 2020, Hasan pointed out, there's no reason it won't be okay in 2024 or in any other presidential election that goes to the Democrat.

A Different System. Marie: Mehdi Hasan listed a number of white men who knowingly cast illegal votes in the names of dead relatives & so on, who were prosecuted, and who received suspended sentences. Then he interviewed Crystal Mason, the Black Texas woman who unknowingly cast an illegal provisional vote in 2016 & was sentenced to a five-year prison term (now on appeal). Hasan asked her if she thought the difference was that those who got probation were white men and she was a Black woman. She summed up as well as anyone could the persistent stain on American "justice": "Yes, it's a different system." Yes, it is.

Paul Blumenthal of the Huffington Post: "... the $2 billion stake invested by the Saudis in [Jared] Kushner’s new private equity firm dwarfs all previous post-presidential money grabs in both size and scope.... As with so many things done by Trump and his family, Kushner's $2 billion Saudi payout highlights a preexisting malady in American life by taking it to its extreme. In this case, that malady is the commercialization of the post-presidency that has taken hold over the past 40 years.... Unlike the money made by other ex-presidents or their family members, this is a gigantic lump sum coming from a foreign government with discrete policy interests in the U.S. government that Kushner was happy to support when in the White House.... Most importantly..., Trump ... is likely to run again in 2024 and is considered the front-runner for the Republican Party nomination."

Lauren Hirsch & Kate Conger of the New York Times: "Twitter unveiled its counterattack against Elon Musk on Friday, using a strategy invented to repel corporate raiders in an attempt to block a takeover bid by the world's richest person. The strategy, known as a poison pill, would flood the market with new shares if Mr. Musk, or any other individual or group working together, bought 15 percent or more of Twitter’s shares. That would immediately reduce Mr. Musk's stake and make it significantly more difficult to buy up a sizable portion of the company. Mr. Musk currently owns more than 9 percent of the company's stock. The goal is to force anyone trying to acquire the company to negotiate directly with the board. Investors rarely try to break through a poison pill threshold, according to securities experts -- one said 'it would be financially ruinous, even for him.' But Mr. Musk rarely abides by precedent." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ~~~

~~~ Mike Masnick of TechDirt: At a TED talk, Elon Musk demonstrated how little he understands about social media content moderation. His simplistic views "sound like what the techies who originally created social media said in the early days.... All of them eventually learned that their simplistic belief in how things should work does not work in reality and have spent the past few decades trying to iterate. And Musk ignores all of that while (somewhat hilariously) suggesting that all of those things can be figured out eventually, despite all of the hard work many, many overworked and underpaid people have been doing figuring exactly that out, only to be told by Musk he’s sure they're doing it wrong.... The problem is not 'someone I dislike saying something I dislike' the problem is spam, abuse, harassment, threats of violence, dangerously misleading false information, and more. Musk not understanding any of that is just a representation of how little he understands this topic." Emphasis original. ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: A fundamental problem: people like Musk & Zuckerberg who are super-successful in one arena think their success somehow is proof that they are already very good at other arenas in which they have no experience or expertise whatsoever. When it comes to understanding human nature -- including the spammers, abusers, harassers, threateners & liars -- Musk is just another drunk pontificating from his perch at the end of the bar. Musk thinks he's David Hume, but he's really Cliff Clavin.

Beyond the Beltway

Florida. Ron DeSantis, Child Abuser. Aaron Rupar of Public Notice: "Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis has lately been surrounding himself with kids at public events, including while signing extremely controversial pieces of legislation.... To be clear, it’s standard political practice for elected officials to invite children to participate in relatively uncontroversial things like Easter egg hunts or fitness programs. But... DeSantis is ... using kids to confer legitimacy upon legislation that restricts rights and harms people. Some examples: DeSantis was flanked by kids holding 'Choose Life' signs ... when he banned abortion after 15 weeks of pregnancy. There are no exceptions or provisions in the bill for extreme cases, not even rape or incest.... He also surrounded himself with kids last month when he signed legislation threatening teachers with lawsuits if they discuss sexual orientation or gender identity' with their students." ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: I guess I think it's okay to let your young children hold signs for political candidates you endorse, perhaps because in theory your little tot could like Grampy Grassley or Auntie Margie even if the candidates have horrifying policy positions. But it's pretty disgusting to have kids brandishing support for things they obviously can't understand like abortion & LGBTQ rights.

Missouri. Alex Cooper of the Advocate: "The Missouri House approved a bill Wednesday evening that would allow school districts to vote on whether to ban trans student athletes from youth sports.... State Rep. Chuck Basye, a Republican who proposed the amendment, said it was to 'save women's sports.' In a video seen more 700,000 times on TikTok, gay Missouri lawmaker Ian Mackey called out Basye. He compared the anti-trans bill to his own experience as a queer student growing up and even brought up Basye's own gay brother." MB: Watch the video embedded in the story. If you haven't wanted to say what Mackey said on the Missouri House floor, especially if you're of a certain age, I guarantee you know a number of people who do. And BTW, Basye's clueless response to Mackey's query is classic, too. Bigotry is blinding. Thanks to Lawrence O'Donnell for the lead.

New York. Another Sinking Ship. Johnny Diaz of the New York Times: "A warship that survived Japanese air attacks in the Pacific, a typhoon and barrages of artillery fire is sinking, slowly, far from the theaters where it saw combat decades ago: moored in the waterfront of Buffalo, N.Y. The ship, the U.S.S. The Sullivans, suffered 'a serious hull breach' on Wednesday and began taking on water at its home for the last several decades, the Buffalo and Erie County Naval & Military Park, the authorities said on Thursday." MB: Probably got hit by a couple of Ukraine Neptunes.

Texas. Laura Reiley of the Washington Post: "Texas Gov. Greg Abbott (R) said Friday that there were no longer any secondary inspections of trucks crossing into his state from Mexico, announcing the end of a policy that had created multi-mile backlogs and that critics alleged had cost them millions of dollars in losses because key trade routes had ground to a halt. The announcement came after Abbott said he had reached agreements with a number of Mexican officials to improve border security." The AP report is here.

Wisconsin. Thanks, Supremes! Michael Wines of the New York Times: "The conservative majority on the Wisconsin Supreme Court voted to adopt new state legislative maps [link fixed] drawn by Republicans who control the Legislature, reversing its earlier decision that favored maps drawn by the state's Democratic governor. The court acted after the U.S. Supreme Court struck down its previous decision last month, stating in a contentious ruling that the state justices had not considered whether the Democratic-drawn map complied with the federal Voting Rights Act. The newly adopted maps -- partisan gerrymanders that had been drawn in secret in 2011 after the G.O.P. took control from Democrats in both houses of the Legislature -- essentially lock in overwhelming Republican majorities in the Assembly and the Senate for the next decade." The AP report is here. MB: I look upon this as a victory for Mitch McConnell, who is singularly responsible for the make-up of the U.S. Supreme Court.

News Ledes

Unsafe Anywhere: Shot While Shopping. AP: "Ten people were shot and two others injured in a shooting at a busy shopping mall in South Carolina's capital [Columbia] that authorities do not believe was a random attack. Three people who had firearms have been detained in connection with the Saturday afternoon shooting at Columbiana Centre, Columbia Police Chief W.H. 'Skip' Holbrook said. He said at least one of those three people fired a weapon. 'We don't believe this was random,' Holbrook said. 'We believe they knew each other and something led to the gunfire.' Authorities said no fatalities have been reported but that eight of the victims were taken to the hospital. Of those eight, two were in critical condition and six were in stable condition, Holbrook said." The Guardian's report is here.

Guardian: "Five people who provided 'critical information' that helped lead to the arrest of the man charged with this week's mass shooting in a New York subway will share a $50,000 reward, police announced."

April 15, 2022

Afternoon Update:

TuKKKer the Tool. Russia's Propaganda Gold Mine: Fox "News." Stuart Thompson of the New York Times: "The narratives advanced by the Kremlin and by parts of conservative American media have converged in recent months, reinforcing and feeding each other. Along the way, Russian media has increasingly seized on Fox News's prime-time segments, its opinion pieces and even the network's active online comments section -- all of which often find fault with the Biden administration -- to paint a critical portrait of the United States and depict America's foreign policy as a threat to Russia's interests. [Tucker] Carlson was a frequent reference for Russian media, but other Fox News personalities -- and the occasional news update from the network -- were also included. Sergey Lavrov, Russia's foreign minister, who has made several false claims about the war -- including that Russia never attacked Ukraine -- singled out Fox News for praise last month.... Mentions of Fox News in Russian-language media grew 217 percent during the first quarter of this year compared with the final quarter of last year...." ~~~

~~~ Oh, We Watch Fox "News" in Kentucky. Jonathan Edwards of the Washington Post: When the general manager of a Colton's Steak House & Grill franchise in Bardstown, Kentucky, flew a Ukrainian flag over the restaurant, "hate started coming from all fronts -- the restaurant's phone, Facebook page and reviews on Google. Over the past week, the firestorm has kept raging in Bardstown, a city of about 13,500 in central Kentucky. [Ben] Ashlock, describing himself as an uncontroversial person, said he had planned to keep the flag up until Russia left Ukraine." He has not taken down the flag, but the hate messages keep coming. Ashlock and his wife have an adopted Ukrainian son.

Eugene Scott of the Washington Post: "Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) is pushing back on lawmakers' accounts that her memory has deteriorated and she is mentally unfit to serve, insisting that she remains a productive senator at the age of 88. 'The real question is whether I'm still an effective representative for 40 million Californians, and the record shows that I am,' she said in a statement Thursday. Feinstein, who is the oldest U.S. senator, took the step of responding to a San Francisco Chronicle report that four Senate colleagues -- three of them Democrats -- and three of the lawmaker's former staffers and a California Democrat in the House said her memory is rapidly deteriorating. Various individuals said the lawmaker's staff does most of the work because of what they described as her cognitive decline." The Chron report also is linked below.

This is a sh*tshow... Fix this now. -- Rep. Chip Roy, text to Mark Meadows, January 6, 2021

We are -- Mark Meadows to Chip Roy, January 6, 2021 ~~~

~~~ Ryan Nobles, et al., of CNN: "In the weeks between the 2020 election and the January 6 attack on the US Capitol, almost 100 text messages from two staunch GOP allies of ... Donald Trump reveal an aggressive attempt to lobby, encourage and eventually warn the White House over its efforts to overturn the election, according to messages obtained by the House select committee and reviewed by CNN. The texts, which have not been previously reported, were sent by Republican Sen. Mike Lee of Utah and GOP Rep. Chip Roy of Texas to then-White House chief of staff Mark Meadows. The text exchanges show that both members of Congress initially supported legal challenges to the election but ultimately came to sour on the effort and the tactics deployed by Trump and his team.... Lee and Roy both voted to certify the electoral results in favor of [Joe] Biden...." You can read the messages among Lee, Roy & Meadows, via CNN, here.

Lauren Hirsch & Kate Conger of the New York Times: "Twitter unveiled its counterattack against Elon Musk on Friday, using a strategy invented to repel corporate raiders in an attempt to block a takeover bid by the world's richest person. The strategy, known as a poison pill, would flood the market with new shares if Mr. Musk, or any other individual or group working together, bought 15 percent or more of Twitter's shares. That would immediately reduce Mr. Musk's stake and make it significantly more difficult to buy up a sizable portion of the company. Mr. Musk currently owns more than 9 percent of the company's stock. The goal is to force anyone trying to acquire the company to negotiate directly with the board. Investors rarely try to break through a poison pill threshold, according to securities experts -- one said 'it would be financially ruinous, even for him.' But Mr. Musk rarely abides by precedent."

~~~~~~~~~~

Putin's War Crimes, Ctd.

The New York Times' live updates of developments Friday in Russia's war on Ukraine are here: "Russian forces on Friday appeared close to capturing the strategic port city of Mariupol, a development that would be a significant victory for Moscow after a series of setbacks this week.... If Mariupol falls, Russia will be able to claim the land route from Crimea that it seeks.... The loss of the Russian Navy's Black Sea Fleet flagship will make it more difficult to gain full control over Ukraine's southern coast and ultimately move on the port city of Odesa, military analysts say, although it is unlikely to derail Moscow's war campaign entirely." ~~~

     ~~~ The Washington Post's live updates for Friday are here: "Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, in his nightly address, noted the irony of Moscow refocusing its attacks on areas of eastern Ukraine [Donbas] where there are significant numbers of Russian speakers. The Kremlin is destroying Russian culture and the Russian language, he said. 'How suicidal it is for everything that Russia allegedly "protects."'" ~~~

     ~~~ The Guardian's live updates are here. The Guardian also has a summary report of what happened Thursday in the war.

Matina Stevis-Gridneff of the New York Times: "European officials are drafting plans for an embargo on Russian oil products, the most contested measure yet to punish Russia for its invasion of Ukraine and a move long resisted because of its big costs for Germany and its potential to disrupt politics around the region and increase energy prices. Having earlier this month banned Russian coal for the first time -- with a four-month transition period to wind down ongoing orders -- the European Union is now likely to adopt a similarly phased ban of Russian oil, E.U. officials and diplomats said. The approach is designed to give Germany, in particular, time to arrange alternative suppliers. The discussions come just as ... Vladimir V. Putin of Russia acknowledged on Thursday that the Western sanctions already in place had hurt his country's vital energy sector. The earliest the proposed E.U. embargo will be put up for negotiation will be after the final round of the French elections, on April 24, to ensure that the impact on prices at the pump doesn't fuel the populis candidate Marine Le Pen and hurt president Emmanuel Macron’s chances of re-election, officials said."

You Sunk My Battleship! Dan Lamothe, et al., of the Washington Post: "The flagship of Russia's Black Sea fleet sunk after an explosion 'seriously damaged' the vessel as it floated off the coast of Ukraine, Russia said Thursday, with Moscow and Kyiv offered competing claims about the cause of the destruction. Russia's defense ministry offered few other details about the missile cruiser, known as the Moskva. Earlier that day, the hobbled warship was moving under its own power, heading to the Crimean port city of Sevastopol for repairs as sailors battled a fire onboard, Pentagon spokesman John Kirby said.... Odessa's governor said the Moskva was hit by a Ukrainian anti-ship missile, an assertion backed by another American official familiar with the matter, who confirmed the strike but could not verify the specific weapons system used.... Russia, meanwhile, attributed the blow to a fire that caused ammunition stocks onboard to detonate.... After the explosion, several other Russian warships in the northern part of the Black Sea repositioned farther away from shore, the U.S. official said." Related story linked yesterday. (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) The Guardian's story is here. ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: Why would other warships would move further away from the shore if the cause of the explosion on the Moskva was not a missile hit? ~~~

     ~~~ Joanna Slater, et al., of the Washington Post: "... U.S. national security adviser Jake Sullivan called the damage to the ship a setback for Russia regardless of how it was disabled. Either it was 'just incompetence' or 'they came under attack,' he said at a breakfast. 'Neither is a particularly good outcome for them.'" ~~~

     ~~~ Also from the Slater, et al., WashPo report: "... the top U.S. commander in Europe and his staff are developing training for Ukrainian forces that will take place on the continent and teach the soldiers about weapons new to the country's arsenal, a senior U.S. defense official said Thursday. The training will focus on using 155mm howitzer cannons, counter-artillery radar and Sentinel air defense radars, and will last a few days each, the official said...."

Karen DeYoung of the Washington Post:"Russia this week sent a formal diplomatic note to the United States warning that U.S. and NATO shipments of the 'most sensitive' weapons systems to Ukraine were 'adding fuel' to the conflict there and could bring 'unpredictable consequences.' The diplomatic démarche, a copy of which was reviewed by The Washington Post, came as President Biden approved a dramatic expansion in the scope of weapons being provided to Ukraine, an $800 million package including 155 mm Howitzers -- a serious upgrade in long-range artillery to match Russian systems -- coastal defense drones and armored vehicles, as well as additional portable anti-air and antitank weapons and millions of rounds of ammunition."

David Sanger & Julian Barnes of the New York Times: "The director of the C.I.A. said [during the Q&A following a speech he gave at Georgia Institute of Technology] on Thursday that 'potential desperation' to extract the semblance of a victory in Ukraine could tempt ... Vladimir V. Putin of Russia to order the use of a tactical or low-yield nuclear weapon, publicly discussing for the first time a concern that has coursed through the White House during seven weeks of conflict. The director, William J. Burns, who served as American ambassador to Russia and is the member of the administration who has dealt most often with Mr. Putin, said the potential detonation of such a weapon ... was a possibility that the United States remained 'very concerned' about. But he quickly cautioned that so far, despite Mr. Putin's frequent invocation of nuclear threats, he had seen no 'practical evidence' of the kinds of military deployments or movement of weapons that would suggest such a move was imminent." A CBS News report is here. ~~~

~~~ Shane Harris of the Washington Post: "In his first public speech as director of the CIA, William J. Burns on Thursday called the killings of Ukrainian civilians in Bucha 'crimes' and said Russia had 'inflicted massive material and reputational damage on itself' following the invasion ordered by President Vladimir Putin seven weeks ago.... 'The crimes in Bucha are horrific. The scenes of devastation in Mariupol and Kharkiv are sadly reminiscent of the images I saw in Grozny, in Chechnya, as a young diplomat in the winter of 1994-95: Forty square blocks in the center of the city flattened by Russian shelling and bombing, leaving thousands of civilian deaths.'... On Wednesday, Victoria Nuland, the undersecretary of state for political affairs, said the United States is likely to determine that genocide has been committed."

Adam Taylor & David Stern of the Washington Post: "Ukrainian authorities announced Thursday that they had seized a sum of 154 assets from pro-Kremlin opposition politician and mogul Viktor Medvedchuk, who was captured this week following an escape from house arrest shortly after Russia invaded Ukraine. Among the long list of property seized from Medvedchuk and his family: 30 plots of land, 23 houses, 32 apartments, 26 cars and one yacht. The seizures add further intrigue to the circumstances of the escape and recapture of one of Ukraine's most notorious oligarchs, known for his close relationship with ... Vladimir Putin, who acts as godfather to Medvedchuk's daughter." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) An Insider story, republished by Yahoo! News, is here. ~~~

~~~ Andrew Kramer of the New York Times: "... in recent days, the ground has shifted dramatically under Viktor Medvedchuk, a Ukrainian politician who is a close confidant of ... Vladimir V. Putin of Russia and who had also been a client of the Republican political consultant Paul J. Manafort. Mr. Medvedchuk went into hiding early in the war, Ukrainian officials say, and was detained this week. President Volodymyr Zelensky posted on Tuesday a picture on Telegram of the politician, looking tired and disheveled, wearing handcuffs. He was arrested after violating terms of his house arrest while awaiting trial for treason, in a case opened last year. That case is related to coal trading with pro-Russian separatists, but more broadly it has to do with the swirl of financial and political intrigue surrounding Moscow's operations to influence politics in foreign countries.... Mr. Zelensky said he would seek to trade Mr. Medvedchuk to Russia for Ukrainian prisoners of war." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)

Kara Scannell of CNN: "Federal prosecutors in New York on Thursday unsealed an indictment charging a member of Russia's legislature and two of his staffers with orchestrating a propaganda and disinformation campaign targeting US lawmakers. Aleksandr Babakov, deputy chairman of the Russian State Duma, and his staffers Aleksandr Vorobev and Mikhail Plisyuk, were charged with conspiring to act in the US as an unregistered foreign agent, conspiring to violate US sanctions and conspiring to commit visa fraud. As part of the alleged scheme, in 2017, prosecutors said the men allegedly violated US sanctions laws by seeking to recruit at least one US businessman and at least one congressman with an all-expenses paid trip to attend a conference in Yalta, an area in Russian-controlled Crimea, for the benefit of Sergey Aksyonov, a Russian placed on the US sanctions list following Russia's annexation of Crimea. The congressman, who was not identified, did not accept the invitation, the indictment said." The DOJ's press release is here.

Tyler Pager & Anna Phillips of the Washington Post: "Gina McCarthy, the White House national climate adviser, is preparing to leave her post coordinating the Biden administration';s domestic climate agenda, according to three people familiar with her plans. McCarthy has not yet set a date for her departure, but she is likely to be replaced by her deputy, Ali Zaidi, though no final decisions have been made.... President Biden created the top climate position at the White House to reflect his administration's focus on combating climate change." An NBC News report is here.

Ted Kopan & Joe Garofoli of the San Francisco Chronicle: "Four U.S. senators, including three Democrats, as well as three former Feinstein staffers and the California Democratic member of Congress told The Chronicle in recent interviews that [Sen. Dianne Feinstein's] memory is rapidly deteriorating. They said it appears she can no longer fulfill her job duties without her staff doing much of the work required to represent the nearly 40 million people of California.... Some close to her said that on her most difficult days, she does not seem to fully recognize even longtime colleagues.... [One] person said that within the Senate, Feinstein has difficulty keeping up with conversations and discussions.... All of those who expressed concerns ... spoke to The Chronicle before Feinstein's husband, financier Richard Blum, who had been in very ill health as he battled cancer, died." Firewalled. ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: Whatever her mental acuity, Feinstein -- and other elderly legislators & judges -- should have the sense to retire when they're in their 70s (Ruth Bader Ginsburg). Feinstein represents a state with a population of 40 million. It is statistically impossible that there's no younger Californian who could be a better senator than an 89-year-old. To think that you're the best and only one for the job is simply hubris -- and evidence that you're not. Shame on her for running in 2018.

Maggie Haberman & Luke Broadwater of the New York Times: "The House committee investigating the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol spent roughly eight hours on Thursday questioning Stephen Miller, a top White House adviser to ... Donald J. Trump, in an at times contentious exchange that included queries about Mr. Trump's speech before a crowd the morning of the riot, according to two people familiar with the session. Investigators asked Mr. Miller repeatedly about the use of the word 'we' throughout Mr. Trump's speech on the Ellipse, outside the White House, on Jan. 6, 2021, the people said, in an apparent effort to ascertain whether the former president had been directing supporters to join him in taking action to stop Congress from certifying his defeat. Mr. Miller argued that the language was no different from any other political speech.... Mr. Miller invoked executive privilege when asked about his discussions with Mr. Trump, including a phone call that White House records show he had with the former president the morning of Jan. 6, one of the people said." ~~~

~~~ Eric Tucker & Farnoush Amiri of the AP: "Stephen Miller ... had resisted previous efforts by the committee, filing a lawsuit last month seeking to quash a committee subpoena for his phone records." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)

Oh Noes! The Trump-Made-Me-Do-It Defense Fails. Holmes Lybrand & Hannah Rabinowitz of CNN: "A January 6 rioter who claimed he was following 'presidential orders' when he stormed the US Capitol and stole liquor and a coat rack was convicted Thursday on all charges by a jury in Washington, DC. Dustin Thompson, a 38-year-old exterminator from Ohio, faced six charges -- obstructing an official proceeding, theft of government property, illegally entering the Capitol, illegally protesting in the Capitol, and two counts of disorderly conduct in the Capitol.... 'Besides being ordered by the President to go to the Capitol, I don't know what I was thinking,' Thompson told the jury Wednesday. 'I was caught up in the moment.'... After the verdict, federal Judge Reggie Walton blasted ... Donald Trump's conduct. 'The insurgency, and it was in effect that, is very troubling,' Walton said. 'I think our democracy is in trouble because unfortunately we have charlatans, like the former President, in my view, who don't care about democracy and only care about power.' The trial marked the first time a Capitol riot defendant tried to convince a jury that Trump was responsible for the violence on January 6, 2021." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) The New York Times report is here.

Glenn Thrush of the New York Times: "A federal jury on Thursday convicted a British militant accused of being a member of the brutal Islamic State cell known as the Beatles in the abduction, abuse and deaths of four Americans, a hard-won victory for the families of victims who pressured the government to bring him to justice. The jury deliberated for a day before finding El Shafee Elsheikh, 33, guilty on four counts of hostage-taking and four counts of conspiracy related to the deaths of three American men and a young woman who were captured during the Islamic State's rampage through Syria in 2012 and 2013. Mr. Elsheikh, who faces multiple life sentences, is the most prominent member of the Islamic State to be brought to trial in the United States. He was captured in Syria by a Kurdish-backed militia in 2018 as he tried to flee to Turkey." A CBS News report is here.

2024 Presidential Election. RNC Admits Its 2024 Presidential Candidate Will Be an Ignorant Dimwit. Amy Wang of the Washington Post: "The Republican National Committee on Thursday voted unanimously to withdraw from the Commission on Presidential Debates, following through on threats to bar GOP presidential nominees from participating in debates sponsored by the nonprofit organization. The RNC has accused the commission, which was repeatedly attacked by Donald Trump, of being biased in favor of Democrats.... In a statement Thursday, RNC Chairwoman Ronna [Romney] McDaniel said that her party is 'committed to free and fair debates' but that they would be held through other platforms. She did not specify them." CNN's story is here. Commentary in today's thread suggests some people are a teeny bit skeptical of the RNC's stated motives.

New York Times: "Elon Musk, the world's richest man, has ... launched a hostile bid to take over Twitter, a move that could have broad implications for a social network where world leaders, lawmakers, celebrities and more than 217 million other users conduct daily public discourse.... Mr. Musk has long used Twitter to insult critics, troll short-sellers of Tesla and propose grandiose ideas about space travel. He has also spread inaccurate information about the pandemic. He mused on Twitter about taking Tesla private in a tweet in 2018 and inaccurately claimed he had secured funding for the transaction, after which he was fined $40 million by the S.E.C.... Twitter's board is considering a defensive move known as a poison pill that would severely limit Elon Musk's ability to acquire the social media giant, two people with knowledge of the situation said. The board met on Thursday to discuss Mr. Musk's offer to buy the company.... The poison pill defense ... lets the company flood the market with new shares or allow existing shareholders other than the potential acquirer to buy shares at a discount. This dilutes the bidder's stake and makes buying shares more expensive." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) The Guardian's story is here. ~~~

     ~~~ Musk Becomes Hero to Right-Wing Liars & Propagandists. Rebecca Kern & Meredith McGraw of Politico: "Conservatives are heralding Elon Musk's bid to buy Twitter as a salve for years of feeling slighted and sidelined by the platform for their political views. The Tesla CEO and self-proclaimedfree-speech absolutist' has offered to buy Twitter for $43 billion -- a potential takeover that could lead to more controversial content allowed on the site, and be a boon for Republicans who allege Twitter censors their views.... A number of Republican lawmakers quickly applauded Musk's bid. And while [Donald] Trump has previously said he wouldn't rejoin Twitter, one former adviser said Trump would jump at the chance to get back on. Rep. Darrell Issa (R-Calif.) told Politico that Musk 'could take the company in a far better direction' for those he claimed have been unfairly silenced or censored by Twitter's assault on conservative free speech and ideas it doesn't like."

The New York Times' live updates of Covid-19 developments Friday are here: "The Food and Drug Administration granted emergency use authorization to the first Covid-19 test that can detect the coronavirus in a breath sample, within a few minutes and with a high degree of accuracy, the agency said Thursday.... The InspectIR Covid-19 Breathalyzer, which is about the size of a piece of carry-on luggage, can produce results in less than three minutes and can be used in doctor's offices, hospitals and mobile testing sites by trained operators. A single machine can analyze about 160 samples per day." ~~~

     ~~~ CNN's report on authorization of the Covid breath test is here.

Beyond the Beltway

California. Alyssa Lukpat of the New York Times: "Ed Buck, a onetime Democratic donor and activist, was sentenced by a federal judge in Los Angeles on Thursday to 30 years in prison for giving two men fatal doses of methamphetamine at his West Hollywood apartment, prosecutors said. The sentencing concludes Mr. Buck's extraordinary turn from a prominent activist to a predator. The two men, Gemmel Moore and Timothy Dean, died 18 months apart at what the Justice Department had called 'party and play' sessions at Mr. Buck's apartment. Prosecutors said he lured men to sex-fueled parties and drugged them from 2011 to 2019." The Guardian's report is here.

Florida. Arek Sarkissian of Politico: "Gov. Ron DeSantis on Thursday signed into law a measure that bans most abortions after 15 weeks of pregnancy in Florida, calling it the most significant restriction in a generation. The law will take effect on July 1. DeSantis signed the bill, HB 5, at a Spanish-speaking church in Kissimmee. The measure represents the most significant restriction on abortion in state history and comes amid other Republican-controlled states taking steps to limit abortion.... Florida's law only permits abortions to occur after 15 weeks of pregnancy in the case of a severe fetal abnormality, and it includes no exceptions for survivors of rape, incest and human trafficking."

Georgia Gubernatorial Race. Kate Brumback of the AP: "Georgia Democratic gubernatorial candidate Stacey Abrams cannot immediately begin raising and spending unlimited campaign contributions under a state law passed last year because she is not yet her party's nominee, a federal judge ruled Thursday. Abrams and her One Georgia committee filed a lawsuit last month challenging the constitutionality of the new law, which allows certain top elected officials and party nominees to create 'leadership committees' that can raise campaign funds without limits. But they also asked the judge to order the state ethics commission not to take any action against them if they continue to raise money before the primary next month.... The lawsuit noted that the new law allows Republican Gov. Brian Kemp t raise unlimited funds while Abrams is constrained by the contribution limits." ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: Obviously, the law was designed to give incumbents a big advantage over challengers. Should Abrams prevail, expect Georgia's Republican legislators would try to repeal the law.

Nebraska Gubernatorial Race. Aaron Sanderford of the Nebraska Examiner, republished in the Raw Story: "Time after time, Charles Herbster worked the crowds as he attended events, either as a candidate for Nebraska governor, a significant Republican donor or a beauty pageant judge.... He would extend a handshake to the men. But when young women reached out for a handshake, as well, on at least several occasions he pulled them into an embrace instead. Herbster, the CEO of Conklin Co. and now a frontrunner in the 2022 GOP primary race, sometimes went further, according to eight women who spoke with the Nebraska Examiner. During an event in 2019, for example, Republican State Sen. Julie Slama confirmed that as she walked by Herbster, he reached up her skirt, without her consent, and touched her inappropriately. The incident happened in the middle of a crowded ballroom at the Douglas County Republican Party's annual Elephant Remembers dinner.... Another person attending the 2019 event saw Herbster reach up Slama's skirt and had told the Examiner about it. That witness and two others said they saw Herbster grope another young woman on her buttocks at the same event.... [Six] women said Herbster groped them on their buttocks, outside of their clothes, during political events or beauty pageants.... A seventh woman said Herbster once cornered her privately and kissed her forcibly.... Herbster denied the women's allegations 'unequivocally.'" (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)

New York. Rebecca O'Brien of the New York Times: "Edward P. Mangano, the former Nassau County executive who for years participated in a bribery and kickback scheme, was sentenced Thursday to 12 years in federal prison for his role in what prosecutors called 'a culture of corruption' at the heart of Long Island's Republican political machine. Mr. Mangano, 60, was convicted in March 2019 on counts including bribery and wire fraud. It was the second trial in the case, after the first ended in a mistrial in 2018. He was acquitted on two counts, including an extortion charge. Mr. Mangano's wife, Linda, 59, was convicted at the same trial on four counts, including making false statements and obstruction of justice. She was sentenced in a separate proceeding Thursday, also in federal court on Long Island, to 15 months in prison." A Long Island News 12 item is here.

Ohio. Jessie Balmert & Laura Bischoff of the Cincinnati Enquirer: "For the fourth time, the Ohio Supreme Court rejected state House and Senate maps drawn by Republicans, sending mapmakers back to the drawing board. Time is of the essence because Ohio needs legislative maps by Wednesday to conduct an Aug. 2 primary -- the latest possible date, according to state election officials. But in its 4-3 decision, the Supreme Court rejected that premise, saying the primary could be held later than Aug. 2 and the map could be finished by 9 a.m. May -- the court's new deadline. 'The so-called April 20 'deadline' for implementing a General Assembly-district plan appears to be an artificial deadline that is based on a speculative, potential primary-election date for state legislative races,' according to the majority's opinion, which did not list an author." Firewalled. ~~~

     ~~~ Maybe those Republicans who can't draw a map could take lessons from Al Franken (2009 video) Why, he can draw the whole USA from memory, not just one dinky little state:

Tennessee. If Only America's Homeless Could Be More Like Hitler. Ryan Grenoble of the Huffington Post: "A Tennessee Republican wants the state's unhoused population to draw inspiration from Adolf Hitler. No, seriously. While debating a bill on Wednesday that would criminalize homeless camps on public property in the state, State Sen. Frank Niceley (R) decided to share with the chamber 'a little history lesson on homelessness.' That lesson: Hitler was homeless for a spell, too, but by golly, then he pulled himself up by his bootstraps and 'went on to lead a life that got him in the history books.'... The bill passed 22 to 10 and is now headed to Governor Bill Lee (R) for his signature." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)

Texas, D.C. Rafael Bernal of the Hill: "A second bus of Latin American asylum applicants arrived in Washington, D.C. from Texas early Thursday, as part of GOP Gov. Greg Abbott's push to augment the national visibility of the Biden administration's asylum policies. The bus, which transported 14 Nicaraguan, Cuban, Venezuelan and Colombian nationals, dropped off the prospective asylees outside of the building that houses the Washington bureau of Fox News, which broke the story. Other media organizations are also in the building.... The migrants, who are legally in the country awaiting official determination of their asylum claims, voluntarily agreed to be bussed to Washington, D.C. as part of Abbott's initiative." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)

Way Beyond

Israel. Patrick Kingsley & Raja Abdulrahim of the New York Times: "Clashes between Israeli riot police and Palestinians erupted at one of the holiest sites in Jerusalem early on Friday, the first day of a rare convergence of Ramadan, Passover and Easter, culminating weeks of escalating violence in Israel and the occupied West Bank. The clashes began at about 5:30 a.m. and lasted for more than three hours at the site, the Aqsa Mosque compound in the Old City, known to Jews as the Temple Mount -- a complex that is sacred to both religions. Tens of thousands of Muslim worshipers were gathered there for dawn prayers on the second Friday of Ramadan, the holy month of fasting." An AP story is here.

April 14, 2022

Afternoon Update:

Glub, Glub! Dan Lamothe, et al., of the Washington Post: "The flagship of Russia's Black Sea fleet sunk after an explosion 'seriously damaged' the vessel as it floated off the coast of Ukraine, Russia said Thursday, with Moscow and Kyiv offered competing claims about the cause of the destruction. Russia's defense ministry offered few other details about the missile cruiser, known as the Moskva. Earlier that day, the hobbled warship was was moving under its own power, heading to the Crimean port city of Sevastopol for repairs as sailors battled a fire onboard, Pentagon spokesman John Kirby said.... American officials said it was not yet clear whether it was hit by a Ukrainian anti-ship missile, as the governor of Odessa claimed. Russia, meanwhile, attributed the blow to a fire that caused ammunition stocks onboard to detonate.... After the explosion, several other Russian warships in the northern part of the Black Sea repositioned farther away from shore, the U.S. official said." Related story linked below. ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: Not sure why other warships would move further away from the shore if the cause of the explosion on the Moskva was not a missile hit.

Adam Taylor & David Stern of the Washington Post: "Ukrainian authorities announced Thursday that they had seized a sum of 154 assets from pro-Kremlin opposition politician and mogul Viktor Medvedchuk, who was captured this week following an escape from house arrest shortly after Russia invaded Ukraine. Among the long list of property seized from Medvedchuk and his family: 30 plots of land, 23 houses, 32 apartments, 26 cars and one yacht. The seizures add further intrigue to the circumstances of the escape and recapture of one of Ukraine's most notorious oligarchs, known for his close relationship with ... Vladimir Putin, who acts as godfather to Medvedchuk's daughter."

Oh Noes! The Trump-Made-Me-Do-It Defense Fails. Holmes Lybrand & Hannah Rabinowitz of CNN: "A January 6 rioter who claimed he was following 'presidential orders' when he stormed the US Capitol and stole liquor and a coat rack was convicted Thursday on all charges by a jury in Washington, DC. Dustin Thompson, a 38-year-old exterminator from Ohio, faced six charges -- obstructing an official proceeding, theft of government property, illegally entering the Capitol, illegally protesting in the Capitol, and two counts of disorderly conduct in the Capitol.... 'Besides being ordered by the President to go to the Capitol, I don't know what I was thinking,' Thompson told the jury Wednesday. 'I was caught up in the moment.'... After the verdict, federal Judge Reggie Walton blasted ... Donald Trump's conduct. 'The insurgency, and it was in effect that, is very troubling,' Walton said. 'I think our democracy is in trouble because unfortunately we have charlatans, like the former President, in my view, who don't care about democracy and only care about power.' The trial marked the first time a Capitol riot defendant tried to convince a jury that Trump was responsible for the violence on January 6, 2021."

New York Times: "Elon Musk, the world's richest man, has ... launched a hostile bid to take over Twitter, a move that could have broad implications for a social network where world leaders, lawmakers, celebrities and more than 217 million other users conduct daily public discourse.... Mr. Musk has long used Twitter to insult critics, troll short-sellers of Tesla and propose grandiose ideas about space travel. He has also spread inaccurate information about the pandemic. He mused on Twitter about taking Tesla private in a tweet in 2018 and inaccurately claimed he had secured funding for the transaction, after which he was fined $40 million by the S.E.C.... Twitter's board is considering a defensive move known as a poison pill that would severely limit Elon Musk's ability to acquire the social media giant, two people with knowledge of the situation said. The board met on Thursday to discuss Mr. Musk's offer to buy the company.... The poison pill defense ... lets the company flood the market with new shares or allow existing shareholders other than the potential acquirer to buy shares at a discount. This dilutes the bidder's stake and makes buying shares more expensive."

Andrew Kramer of the New York Times: "... in recent days, the ground has shifted dramatically under Viktor Medvedchuk, a Ukrainian politician who is a close confidant of ... Vladimir V. Putin of Russia and who had also been a client of the Republican political consultant Paul J. Manafort. Mr. Medvedchuk went into hiding early in the war, Ukrainian officials say, and was detained this week. President Volodymyr Zelensky posted on Tuesday a picture on Telegram of the politician, looking tired and disheveled, wearing handcuffs. He was arrested after violating terms of his house arrest while awaiting trial for treason, in a case opened last year. That case is related to coal trading with pro-Russian separatists, but more broadly it has to do with the swirl of financial and political intrigue surrounding Moscow's operations to influence politics in foreign countries.... Mr. Zelensky said he would seek to trade Mr. Medvedchuk to Russia for Ukrainian prisoners of war."

Rafael Bernal of the Hill: "A second bus of Latin American asylum applicants arrived in Washington, D.C. from Texas early Thursday, as part of GOP Gov. Greg Abbott's push to augment the national visibility of the Biden administration's asylum policies. The bus, which transported 14 Nicaraguan, Cuban, Venezuelan and Colombian nationals, dropped off the prospective asylees outside of the building that houses the Washington bureau of Fox News, which broke the story. Other media organizations are also in the building.... The migrants, who are legally in the country awaiting official determination of their asylum claims, voluntarily agreed to be bussed to Washington, D.C. as part of Abbott's initiative."

Eric Tucker & Farnoush Amiri of the AP: "Stephen Miller, who served as a top aide to ... Donald Trump, will appear Thursday before the congressional committee investigating the Jan. 6 insurrection, according to two people familiar with the matter.... He had resisted previous efforts by the committee, filing a lawsuit last month seeking to quash a committee subpoena for his phone records."

Nebraska Gubernatorial Race. Aaron Sanderford of the Nebraska Examiner, republished in the Raw Story: "Time after time, Charles Herbster worked the crowds as he attended events, either as a candidate for Nebraska governor, a significant Republican donor or a beauty pageant judge.... He would extend a handshake to the men. But when young women reached out for a handshake, as well, on at least several occasions he pulled them into an embrace instead. Herbster, the CEO of Conklin Co. and now a frontrunner in the 2022 GOP primary race, sometimes went further, according to eight women who spoke with the Nebraska Examiner. During an event in 2019, for example, Republican State Sen. Julie Slama confirmed that as she walked by Herbster, he reached up her skirt, without her consent, and touched her inappropriately. The incident happened in the middle of a crowded ballroom at the Douglas County Republican Party's annual Elephant Remembers dinner.... Another person attending the 2019 event saw Herbster reach up Slama's skirt and had told the Examiner about it. That witness and two others said they saw Herbster grope another young woman on her buttocks at the same event.... [Six] women said Herbster groped them on their buttocks, outside of their clothes, during political events or beauty pageants.... A seventh woman said Herbster once cornered her privately and kissed her forcibly.... Herbster denied the women's allegations 'unequivocally.'"

Tennessee. If Only America's Homeless Could Be More Like Hitler. Ryan Grenoble of the Huffington Post: "A Tennessee Republican wants the state's unhoused population to draw inspiration from Adolf Hitler. No, seriously. While debating a bill on Wednesday that would criminalize homeless camps on public property in the state, State Sen. Frank Niceley (R) decided to share with the chamber 'a little history lesson on homelessness.' That lesson: Hitler was homeless for a spell, too, but by golly, then he pulled himself up by his bootstraps and 'went on to lead a life that got him in the history books.'... The bill passed 22 to 10 and is now headed to Governor Bill Lee (R) for his signature."

~~~~~~~~~~

Putin's War Crimes, Ctd.

The New York Times' live updates of developments Thursday in Russia's war on Ukraine are here: "The United States is weighing whether to send a high-level official to Ukraine.... On Tuesday night, in his nightly address, [President Zelensky] said that he had 'sincere gratitude' for the $800 million in military aid that President Biden had agreed to send." ~~~

     ~~~ The Washington Post's live updates for Thursday are here.

Molly Nagle & Luis Martinez of ABC News: "Following a call with Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, President Joe Biden announced Wednesday his administration is authorizing an additional $800 million for weapons and ammunition for Ukraine, including artillery and armored personnel carriers, as it braces to defend itself from an expected new Russian offensive. Pentagon press secretary John Kirby walked reporters through the aid package in an afternoon press briefing, saying it includes 'new capabilities that we have not provided to Ukraine.'... Biden announced the $800 million package in an earlier written statement.... 'This new package of assistance will contain many of the highly effective weapons systems we have already provided and new capabilities tailored to the wider assault we expect Russia to launch in eastern Ukraine. These new capabilities include artillery systems, artillery rounds, and armored personnel carriers,' Biden said. 'I have also approved the transfer of additional helicopters. In addition, we continue to facilitate the transfer of significant capabilities from our Allies and partners around the world,' Biden added. According to the Pentagon, the list of new military hardware includes 155mm howitzer artillery -- a specific request from Ukraine -- 200 M-113 armored personnel carriers, 100 armored humvees, 300 Switchblade drones, and 11 MI-17 helicopters. The U.S. had given Ukraine five helicopters as part of an earlier shipment."

Ukrainian Military Finds an Even Better Way to Say "Go Fuck Yourself." Andrew Jeong & Russ Thebault of the Washington Post: "Late Wednesday, Odessa state regional administrator Maxim Marchenko said a Ukrainian Neptune anti-ship cruise missile had struck the [Russian navy missile cruiser] Moskva, causing serious damage.... The Kremlin [said] only that it suffered significant damage from a fire. But whatever happened to the ... Moskva -- the flagship of its Black Sea Fleet -- the episode serves as a significant morale boost for beleaguered Ukrainian forces and a major blow to Russia, military experts said.... All of the ship's approximately 500 crew members were evacuated to other Black Sea Fleet ships in the area, Russia said.... Early Thursday, the Center for Analysis of Strategies and Technologies, a Moscow-based think tank, said on its Telegram channel that it believed the ship had been sunk and sided with the Ukrainian assessment.... If the 12,000-ton Moskva went under, it would be the largest wartime sinking of a naval vessel since World War II.... The ship is named after Russia's capital and was at the center of a widely reported attack on Snake Island, when Ukrainian border guards drew global attention for insulting Russian troops during the early days of the invasion." ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: Pentagon spokesman John Kirby said on CNN at 8 am ET that the ship "is able to make its own way" and is exiting the Black Sea.

Yellin Steps Up. Alan Rappeport of the New York Times: "Treasury Secretary Janet L. Yellen on Wednesday urged China to persuade Russia to end its war in Ukraine and warned that staying on the sidelines could jeopardize China's standing in the global economy.... 'Going forward, it will be increasingly difficult to separate economic issues from broader considerations of national interest, including national security,' Ms. Yellen said in a speech to the Atlantic Council, a think tank. 'The world;s attitude towards China and its willingness to embrace further economic integration may well be affected by China's reaction to our call for resolute action on Russia.' Ms. Yellen added that Russia's actions were at odds with China's longstanding public commitments to sovereignty and territorial integrity and called on China to use its influence with Russia to end the war.... Ms. Yellen singled out countries such as China and India that have continued to engage with Russia despite the global backlash against the atrocities it has committed in Ukraine.... 'And let's be clear: The unified coalition of sanctioning countries will not be indifferent to actions that undermine the sanctions we've put in place,' she said." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ~~~

     ~~~ A transcript of Yellin's remarks, as prepared, via the Treasury Department, is here.

Andrew Higgins of the New York Times: "As ... Vladimir V. Putin of Russia vows to fight the war to its 'full completion' and his forces regroup for an expected push in Ukraine's east, NATO countries, including the United States, are scrambling to keep the weapons flowing and bulk up the country's defenses.... NATO members are already sending Ukraine bigger and better weaponry than before, including T-72 tanks and short-range air defense systems from the Czech Republic.... The [powerful but aging] S-300 [anti-aircraft] system from Slovakia is the biggest item a NATO country has sent so far.... Hungary ... has declared itself neutral in the conflict and barred weapons from passing through its own territory to Ukraine ... but it is believed to have quietly provided weapons through other countries."

Bryan Pietsch of the Washington Post: "The shipbuilder behind the world's largest yacht describes it as 'one of the most complex and challenging yachts ever built,' with 'entertainment and recreation spaces never before seen on' such a vessel, and an interior of 'rare and exclusive luxury materials.' It has two helipads and the largest yacht pool ever built, and it can accommodate 36 guests and 96 staff. And this week, it was impounded by German authorities for its ties to a Russian oligarch. Germany's federal police said Tuesday that 'through extensive investigations despite offshore concealment,' it found that the yacht is owned by Gulbakhor Ismailova, the sister of Russian billionaire Alisher Usmanov.... It is being held in the Port of Hamburg in Germany." ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: A person does wonder what will ultimately happen to these yachts that governments have seized. Will there be a super-yacht super-sale? Who will buy them? Can they be converted to other, less louche, uses?

Emily Rauhala of the Washington Post: "Russia warned Finland and Sweden on Thursday that if they join NATO, Moscow will reinforce the Baltic Sea region, including by deploying nuclear weapons. The threat came a day after Finnish officials suggested the country could request to join the 30-member military alliance within weeks and as Sweden mulled making a similar move.... NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg told reporters in Brussels last week that the two countries meet NATO standards for 'political, democratic, civilian control over the security institutions and the armed forces. If Finland were to join NATO. Russia's land border with members of the alliance would more than double." ~~~

     ~~~ Aaron Blake of the Washington Post: "... joining NATO isn't just a matter of Finland and Sweden deciding to become members; it is also about whether current members would agree to this. The conventional wisdom is that both countries would be welcomed with open arms. In the United States, that would require at least two-thirds of the Senate voting to ratify their membership. But exactly how that debate would go down could be quite interesting -- especially in light of the GOP's slight-but-significant Trump-era drift into more skepticism of NATO. And the looming unknown would be Donald Trump himself weighing in on the process -- and not necessarily in favor.... Expanding the alliance has been a consensus issue -- and even a unanimous one in 2003-2004 -- but Russia's invasion of Ukraine brings into stark relief the prospect of perceived provocation that critics had warned about." ~~~

~~~ Rachel Maddow had quite a good segment Tuesday night on Finland's many efforts to fend off Russian aggression, the latest being a likely decision to join NATO. If, like me, you know little or nothing about the "Winter War," you will find the story illuminating:

     ~~~ Early last month, only a week after Putin's invasion of Ukraine, the Washington Post published historian Gordon Sander's brief story of the Winter War, highlighting its parallels to Putin's war on Ukraine. (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) Also, in yesterday's Comments, contributor Victoria added some interesting information about the Winter War.

Katie Benner of the New York Times: "The Justice Department took steps on Wednesday to overhaul policing practices in Washington, D.C., and Springfield, Mass., such as how and when to use force, as President Biden works to fulfill his campaign promise to curb police abuses. The department said it had reached an agreement with the city of Springfield, Mass., after an investigation into its police department's narcotics bureau found a pattern of excessive force. Under that agreement, known as a consent decree, the Springfield police will improve policies and training to ensure that officers avoid the use of force whenever possible. In a separate legal filing, the Justice Department said the U.S. Park Police and the Secret Service had changed policies related to how they police demonstrations, bringing to a close a case that civil rights groups had brought against the Trump administration." ~~~

~~~ Ellie Silverman of the Washington Post: "The American Civil Liberties Union of D.C. and the Justice Department announced a settlement on Wednesday to resolve portions of four civil lawsuits sparked by the June 2020 violent and unprovoked clearing of demonstrators from Lafayette Square during protests over the police killing of George Floyd. Law enforcement authorities fired flash-bang shells, gas and rubber bullets into the crowd of hundreds of peaceful racial justice demonstrators on June 1, 2020, at Lafayette Square across from the White House. Soon after..., Donald Trump walked through the cleared park to visit the historic St. John's Church, where he posed for a photo op holding a Bible.... Civil rights groups behind the case highlighted specific aspects from the settlement in a news release, including dispersal requirements that the Park Police facilitate a safe pathway to exit and provide audible warnings. The Park Police is not permitted to revoke demonstration permits absent 'clear and present danger to the public safety,' and officers can't display gas masks and shields without a high-ranking officer's approval, 'absent exigent circumstances,' court filings show." ~~~

     ~~~ CNN's report is here. The DOJ's press release is here.

Maggie Haberman & Luke Broadwater of the New York Times: "Two of ... Donald J. Trump's top White House lawyers met on Wednesday with the House committee investigating the Capitol attack, after Mr. Trump authorized them to engage with the panel, according to a person familiar with the matter. Pat A. Cipollone, the former White House counsel, and Patrick F. Philbin, who was his deputy, met separately with the panel, two people familiar with the sessions said.... The two were not under oath and their interviews were not transcribed, but the men could return for formal interviews or deposition later, one of the people said, describing it as a typical process as investigators determine who they want to question."

Jacqueline Alemany of the Washington Post: "President Biden has authorized the National Archives and Records Administration to hand over a new tranche of Trump White House documents to the House committee investigating the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol.... In a letter transmitting notice of the White House's decision to Trump, Archivist David Ferriero writes that the archives will deliver the records to the committee April 28. It's unclear what documents exactly will be included in the latest batch...."

Manu Raju of CNN: "In the weeks after he lost the 2020 election..., [Donald] Trump was certain he could subvert the election outcome, telling [Mitch] McConnell, then the Senate majority leader, and other top Republicans that he had personally been on the phone with officials in Pennsylvania and Michigan -- and they told him they would move to keep him in power, despite the results showing [Joe] Biden had won their states..., according to a soon-to-be-released book by New York Times political reporters Jonathan Martin and Alexander Burns.... The phone call was one of the final conversations McConnell had with Trump. Their ​relationship ... effectively ended after McConnell went to the Senate floor on December 15, 2020, and acknowledged Biden's victory following states' certification of the electoral results. The two haven't spoken since...." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: Hey, January 6 committee, time to "invite" Moscow Mitch in for an interview. He seems to have relevant information that would help fill out the picture of Trump's persistent criminal effort to effect a coup.

Jacqueline Alemany & Matt Zapotosky of the Washington Post: "The Justice Department this week rebuffed a request from the House Oversight Committee for more details about the 15 boxes of White House records that ... Donald Trump improperly removed to Mar-a-Lago, hinting in a letter that an ongoing investigation prevents the department from doing so.... In the letter sent this week, [acting assistant attorney general Peter] Hyun writes that ... 'the Department previously asked NARA [National Archives] not to share or otherwise disclose to others information relating to this matter in order to protect the integrity of our ongoing work.' Hyun concludes the letter [by noting that Justice will withhold] '... information the disclosure of which might compromise open criminal investigations or prosecutions or civil cases.'" ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: That is, as Lawrence O'Donnell pointed out, the letter hinted that DOJ currently was investigating Trump for unlawful civil or criminal actions. But I'm not pinning my hopes on this. It seems likely that DOJ ultimately will decide against prosecuting Trump. Or else their target(s) may not be Trump at all but some other person or persons who ordered the transfer of the papers to Mar-a-Lardo. Trump always slips the surly bonds of justice and probably not just because the federal prison system can't find a big enough bolt of orange fabric to sew up an extra-large jump suit.

Amy Wang of the Washington Post: "Mark Meadows, a former chief of staff in the Trump White House, has been removed from the voter roll in North Carolina as the state investigates allegations that he committed voter fraud in the 2020 election.... State investigators in North Carolina launched a probe into Meadows's voter registration last month after news organizations reported he had registered to vote in 2020 using the address of a mobile home in Scaly Mountain, N.C. The former owner of the mobile home claimed Meadows never stayed there, prompting the state attorney general to request an investigation." CNN's report is here. MB: If a Texas woman can be sentenced to five years in jail for voting in an election in which she thought she was eligible to vote, it seems the chief of staff to the president* ought to be sentenced to at least 10 years for knowingly casting an illegal vote. Throw the book at him. Lock him up. (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)

The Trump-Made-Me-Do-It Defense Goes to Court. Alan Feuer of the New York Times: "An exterminator from Columbus, Ohio, [Dustin] Thompson, 38..., began spending long days on the internet [in March 2020], steeping himself in conspiracy theories about the upcoming vote.... He fully believed that if Donald J. Trump ended up losing, it would only be because the voting had been rigged, as the president had been warning publicly for months. Even after Joseph R. Biden Jr. was declared the winner, Mr. Thompson could not accept that it was true. All of this, he told a jury at his criminal trial on Wednesday, led him to Washington on Jan. 6 for a Stop the Steal rally, where he and a friend listened to Mr. Trump give an incendiary speech near the White House. In an hour on the witness stand, Mr. Thompson blamed Mr. Trump for what eventually occurred, saying that he had been answering the president's call to go to the Capitol and 'fight like hell' when he joined the throng swarming into the building and made off with a bottle of bourbon and a coat rack.... Mr. Thompson is the first defendant to attempt the argument at trial in front of a jury.... His lawyer said on Tuesday, was 'so influenced -- so used and abused' by Mr. Trump that he could not be held accountable for his behavior." ~~~

     ~~~ The NBC News story by Ryan Reilly is here: "A Trump supporter who admitted he stormed the Capitol and stole a bottle of liquor and a coat rack on Jan. 6, 2021, testified at his trial Wednesday that he was 'following presidential orders.' Dustin Thompson, 38 -- a married, college-educated Ohio resident -- told jurors he didn't have any strong male role models in his life and was hoping to gain the'respect' and 'approval' of ... Donald Trump when he entered the Capitol during the Jan. 6 riot."

Stephen Vladeck in a New York Times op-ed discusses how confederate Supreme Court justices are using the so-called "shadow docket," unsigned & usually unexplained decisions to effect sweeping rulings that affect millions of Americans. "By publicly endorsing the charge that the conservative justices are short-circuiting ordinary procedures to reach their desired results without sufficient explanation [in a dissent last week], Chief Justice Roberts provided a powerful counter to defenders of the court's behavior.... [His signing on with the liberals in this matter] also made clear what many have long suspected: The Roberts court is over.... Instead, the court's destiny increasingly appears to be controlled by Justices Brett Kavanaugh and Amy Coney Barrett."

     ~~~ Marie: So what if it turns out that the most powerful woman in the U.S. is not Nancy Pelosi or Kamala Harris -- respectively third- and second-in-line to the presidency -- but Amy Phony Barrett? Vladeck, BTW, points out why Akhilleus' handle for Barrett is apt: "She implored an audience ... just last week to 'read the opinion' before jumping to any conclusions about whether the justices are acting more like politicians than judges. Two days later, she joined the majority's unsigned, unexplained order in the Clean Water Act case, in which there was no opinion to read." Phony indeed.

Matt Zapotosky of the Washington Post: "A federal judge on Wednesday refused to dismiss Special Counsel John Durham's criminal case against Democratically connected lawyer Michael Sussmann, paving the way for the matter to head to trial. The six-page ruling was highly technical, and the judge did not offer a resounding endorsement of the special counsel's case. But it was an undeniable win for Durham, and sets the stage for a high-profile courtroom showdown next month." CNN's report is here.

Katie Glueck of the New York Times: "Just over two years after Iowa's disastrous Democratic caucuses, in which officials struggled to deliver results, party officials across the country are increasingly weighing whether to pursue their own early-state primary slots -- a dynamic set to rapidly accelerate. On Wednesday, members of the Democratic National Committee's powerful Rules and Bylaws Committee voted to begin an application process that will determine which states host the first presidential nominating contests in the 2024 cycle. The outcome may overhaul how the party's presidential nominee is chosen and reorder which constituencies have the greatest influence.... Criticism of Iowa and, to a lesser extent, New Hampshire -- two states that have long opened the presidential nominating process -- has grown louder in recent years from those who see them as unrepresentative of the party's diverse electorate." Politico's story is here. A Des Moines Register story is here.

Michelle Chapman of the AP: "Tesla CEO Elon Musk is offering to buy Twitter, saying the social media platform he has criticized for not living up to free speech principles needs to be transformed as a private company. Twitter Inc. said in a regulatory filing on Thursday that Musk, currently the company's biggest shareholder, has proposed buying the remaining shares of Twitter that he doesn't already own at $54.20 per share, an offer worth more than $43 billion. Musk called that price his best and final offer, although he provided no details on financing. The offer is non-binding and subject to financing and other conditions." ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: So we live in a country where our tax and regulatory laws make it possible for one individual to put $43 billion into a major social media outlet, giving himself sole control of content. I find this morally reprehensible. The "American dream"? I don't think so. Let's stop pretending "Russian oligarchs" are the world's worst people. We have our own. And he already has 80 million Twitter followers.

The New York Times' live updates of Covid-19 developments Thursday are here.

Heather Murphy of the New York Times: "Despite great pressure from airlines, the hospitality industry and Republican lawmakers to lift the rule requiring masks on planes and other public transportation, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention extended the federal transportation mask requirement for two weeks on Wednesday, five days before it was set to expire. The mask mandate now expires May 3, if it is not extended yet again. Dr. Ashish K. Jha, the new White House Covid response coordinator, said in an interview that the additional time will allow the C.D.C. to assess whether BA.2, a subvariant of the coronavirus, is going to become a 'ripple or a wave' in the United States. The C.D.C. will use that information to determine whether the mandate should be extended further, he said."

Beyond the Beltway

Florida. Gary Fineout of Politico: "Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, in a move that will likely trigger a huge legal fight, is pushing ahead with a new congressional map for his state that could allow Republicans to pick up an additional four seats this year. The DeSantis administration formally submitted its plan Wednesday to the GOP-controlled Legislature where leaders in that chamber have already signaled they would accept whatever proposal was offered to them. Legislators are scheduled to hold a three-and-a-half day special session next week to adopt a new map after the governor vetoed a previous plan.... Manny Diaz, chair of the Florida Democratic Party, said the map would be immediately challenged if adopted.... Any challenge in state court would wind up before the state's Supreme Court, which has undergone a huge rightward shift due to DeSantis appointments."

Florida. Lori Rosza of the Washington Post: Gov. Ron "DeSantis's decision to go after the Walt Disney Co. for its opposition to a bill banning the teaching of gender-related issues to kids younger than third grade -- dubbed the 'don't say gay' bill by its foes -- opens new front in the growing culture wars being waged by top Republican officials around the country in a midterm election year.... DeSantis's crusade against Disney could win him points among national conservatives as he considers a 2024 presidential run.... Nonetheless, Florida observers -- some of them Republicans -- say DeSantis runs a risk by taking on Disney on its home turf.... 'It's inexplicable that the governor would go after the largest employer in the state, one that attracts millions of visitors from around the world and is a huge part of our tourism industry,' said state Rep. Joseph Geller [D]. 'They call Disney the third rail of politics in Florida for a reason.'"

Florida. Eugene Scott of the Washington Post: "Two Florida men charged with filing ballots in two states in the 2020 presidential election confessed to voter fraud, according to court records. Charles F. Barnes and Jay Ketcik, residents of The Villages in Sumter County, Fla., pleaded guilty to casting more than one ballot in the election. Voter fraud is a third-degree felony that can result in a maximum five-year prison sentence. Barnes, 64, and Ketcik, 63, will be able to defer prosecution if they abide by the court-ordered requirements that State Attorney Bill Gladson set, according to pretrial intervention documents.... Ketcik, a registered Republican, was among three Central Florida residents who had expressed support for ... Donald Trump before being arrested in December.... Barnes, who has no party affiliation, was arrested in January and faced similar charges." A Raw Story report is here. (Also linked yesterday.)

Kentucky. Veronica Stracqualursi & Amanda Musa of CNN: "Kentucky's GOP-controlled legislature on Wednesday overrode Democratic Gov. Andy Beshear's veto of a broad abortion bill that bans most abortions after 15 weeks of pregnancy, restricts access to medication abortion and makes it more difficult for a minor to obtain an abortion in the state. Planned Parenthood, the American Civil Liberties Union and the ACLU of Kentucky swiftly announced plans to challenge the law. House Bill 3 prohibits a physician from performing, inducing or attempting to perform or induce an abortion after 15 weeks of pregnancy, except in a medical emergency. It does not include exceptions for cases of rape and incest."

Michigan. Anna Nichols & Ed White of the AP: "A Black man face-down on the ground was fatally shot in the back of the head by a Michigan police officer, the violent climax of a traffic stop, brief foot chase and struggle over a stun gun, according to videos of the April 4 incident released Wednesday. Patrick Lyoya, 26, was killed outside a house in Grand Rapids, Michigan. The white officer repeatedly ordered Lyoya to 'let go' of his Taser, at one point demanding: 'Drop the Taser!' Citing a need for transparency, the city's new police chief, Eric Winstrom, released four videos, including critical footage of the shooting recorded by a passenger in Lyoya's car.... State police are investigating the shooting."

Texas and Beyond. A Different Kind of Mexican Standoff. Aaron Nelsen, et al., of the New York Times: "Trucks attempting to enter Texas loaded with goods from Mexico sat motionless for hours on Tuesday as lengthy vehicle inspections ordered by Gov. Greg Abbott in a clash with the Biden administration over immigration snarled traffic at major commercial crossings. In the city of Pharr, a major international bridge over which about $12 million in produce is shipped to the United States daily has been effectively shut down in both directions since Monday as scores of drivers in Mexico set up a blockade of their own in protest over the new inspections. A similar protest by truckers also blocked a bridge into El Paso.... Mr. Abbott has sought novel strategies to insert the state into immigration enforcement.... The vehicle inspections are part of that effort: a carefully constructed policy aimed at smugglers and migrants but carried out under powers available to the state, namely vehicle safety.... Calls for the governor to end the inspection policy came not just from Democrats [like his rival in the gubernatorial race Beto O'Rourke]. The state's conservative agriculture commissioner, Sid Miller, also urged Mr. Abbott to reverse course." A related Texas Tribune story is here. (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ~~~

     ~~~ Alex Gangitano of the Hill: "The White House on Wednesday slammed Texas Gov. Greg Abbott (R) for the delays at the state's border with Mexico after he ordered state troopers to step up truck inspections.... 'Governor Abbott's unnecessary and redundant inspections of trucks transiting ports of entry between Texas and Mexico are causing significant disruptions to the food and automobile supply chains, delaying manufacturing, impacting jobs, and raising prices for families in Texas and across the country,' [Press Secretary Jen] Psaki said in a statement."(Also linked yesterday.) ~~~

     ~~~ Update. David Goodman of the New York Times: "Ratcheting up the stakes in a clash over immigration that has tangled trade routes into Texas, [Gov. Greg] Abbott said he would end the inspections only at one entry point -- the bridge between Laredo and the Mexican city of Colombia, Nuevo León -- and only because the governor of that state had agreed to increase border security on the Mexican side. The Texas police, Mr. Abbott said, would continue to stop all trucks coming from other Mexican states for safety inspections, despite increasing pressure from truckers, business groups and officials from both parties who are calling for an end to the delays that have stretched for hours and even days and sharply limited commercial traffic. 'Clogged bridges can end only through the type of collaboration that we are demonstrating today between Texas and Nuevo León,' said Mr. Abbott, a two-term Republican up for re-election this year."

~~~ Rebecca Shabad of NBC News: "A group of undocumented migrants arrived in the nation's capital Wednesday on a bus sent by Texas Gov. Greg Abbott, part of the Republican governor's strategy to oppose the Biden administration's rescinding of a Trump-era border policy. 'By busing migrants to Washington, D.C., the Biden Administration will be able to more immediately meet the needs of the people they are allowing to cross our border,' Abbott said in a statement Wednesday, adding that another busload of people are en route.The migrants, from Colombia, Cuba, Venezuela and Nicaragua, were being dropped off between Union Station and the Capitol as 'part of Governor Abbott's response to the Biden Administration's decision to end Title 42 expulsions,' his office said." MB: I'd like to see Abbott charged with human rights violations. (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)

Way Beyond

U.K. Stephen Castle of the New York Times: "By Wednesday nearly every member of [Prime Minister Boris] Johnson's cabinet had defended their boss against demands for his resignation after he was fined by the police for breaching lockdown laws in Downing Street. Only one lawmaker from his Conservative Party gave media interviews calling on him to quit. While that suggests Mr. Johnson can ride out the immediate storm, the danger is far from over for a prime minister who could face further fines in a swirling scandal called 'partygate' over lockdown-busting social events held in Downing Street and other government buildings."

U.K. Say What? Stephen Castle & Abdi Dahir of the New York Times: "Prime Minister Boris Johnson of Britain announced plans on Thursday to send some asylum seekers thousands of miles to Rwanda to have their applications processed, a significant hardening of migration policy. The British government has so far failed to curb the arrival of a small but steady flow of people making dangerous crossings, often on unseaworthy boats, across the English Channel from France, much to the frustration of Mr. Johnson. In exchange, Britain will pay Rwanda 120 million pounds, about $157 million, to finance 'opportunities for Rwandans and migrants' including education, secondary qualifications, vocational and skills training and language lessons, the Rwandan government said in a statement. Rights groups have expressed concerns that the move could encourage other nations to adopt 'offshoring' of asylum processing, and the plan was greeted with a storm of protest from opposition politicians and charities who were worried both about the principle behind the policy and the choice of Rwanda, a country whose rights record Britain has previously questioned." ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: I guess Boris was unable to cut a better deal with Somalia and Yemen.

News Lede

New York Times: "Frank R. James was held without bail on Thursday after prosecutors said he posed a continued threat in the wake of a violent and premeditated attack on New York's subway. His lawyers, who said their client had called a tip line to surrender, asked a federal judge to ensure Mr. James received psychiatric care in jail. Mr. James's brief initial court appearance marked a new stage in a case that shocked a city already on edge about subway crime." The Guardian's report is here.