December 14, 2021

Late Morning/Afternoon Update:

Marie: Patrick's comment, below, reminded me of something I first heard to the teevee yesterday. Eli Honig, a former prosecutor & a CNN pundit, pointed to a question Liz Cheney asked in her prepared remarks Monday: "Did Donald Trump, though action or inaction, corruptly seek to obstruct or impede Congress's official proceeding to count electoral votes?" Good question, said Honig. If it sounded like legalese, that's because it was; according to Honig, the language comes right from federal criminal law: it's a crime to obstruct Congress. Honig said Congress may make a criminal referral to the DOJ.

Hannah Rabinowitz of CNN: "A Georgia man who drove cross-country with an assault rifle and threatened to kill House Speaker Nancy Pelosi was sentenced to 28 months behind bars in an emotional hearing on Tuesday. Cleveland Meredith Jr. pleaded guilty in September to sending threatening communications. Though he missed the January 6 rally because of car troubles, Meredith was one of the first people charged in relation to the Capitol riot after his mother reported concerning texts to the FBI on January 7. Agents found Meredith in a hotel one mile from the Capitol with thousands of rounds of ammunition, a handgun and an assault rifle stashed in his trailer.... He will get credit for the 11 months he has already spent behind bars."

The New York Times is live-updating developments in the aftermath of the Midwest tornadoes. The Washington Post's live updates are here.

Devlin Barrett, et al., of the Washington Post: "D.C. Attorney General Karl A. Racine (D) on Tuesday sued the Proud Boys and Oath Keepers over the Jan. 6 attack on Congress, seeking to use a law written to cripple the Ku Klux Klan to exact stiff financial penalties from the far-right groups that Racine alleges were responsible for the violence. The lawsuit filed in federal court in Washington, D.C., cites the modern version of an 1871 law known as the Ku Klux Klan Act, which was enacted after the Civil War to safeguard government officials carrying out their duties and protect civil rights. Two similar suits have been filed already this year related to Jan. 6 -- one by Rep. Bennie G. Thompson (D-Miss.), the chair of the House Homeland Security Committee, and another by a number of police officers who fought the rioters that day." ~~~

     ~~~ Jessica Schneider of CNN: "More than two dozen members of the Proud Boys and Oath Keepers are being sued by District of Columbia Attorney General Karl Racine in an effort to recover the millions of dollars the city spent to defend the US Capitol during the January 6 attack. The lawsuit filed Tuesday in federal court in Washington, DC, accuses 31 members of the extremist groups of 'conspiring to terrorize the District' on January 6, calling their actions 'a coordinated act of domestic terrorism.'"

Michael Nedelman of CNN: "Pfizer's updated results for its experimental treatment for Covid-19 showed it cut the risk of hospitalization or death by 89% if given to high-risk adults within a few days of their first symptoms, the company announced in a news release Tuesday. Pfizer hopes it can eventually offer the pills, under the name Paxlovid, for people to take at home before they get sick enough to go to the hospital. Paxlovid combines a new antiviral drug named nirmatrelvir and an older one called ritonavir. After a month of follow-up, the study found five hospitalizations and no deaths among 697 people who received the drug within the first three days of symptoms. Among 682 who received placebo, 44 were hospitalized, including 9 who died. All of the adults in this study were unvaccinated."

~~~~~~~~~~~

** Luke Broadwater & Alan Feuer of the New York Times: The House committee on the January 6 insurrection "voted 9 to 0 on Monday evening to recommend that [Mark] Meadows be charged with criminal contempt of Congress for defying its subpoena, after Mr. Meadows shifted from partially participating in the inquiry to waging a full-blown legal fight against the panel, in line with [Donald] Trump's directive to stonewall the investigation.... According to dozens of text messages that members of the panel read aloud on Monday, Mr. Meadows fielded requests from terrified lawmakers and even members of Mr. Trump's family begging for Mr. Trump to call off the rioters on Jan. 6, and Mr. Meadows told people that day that he was trying to persuade the president to do so.... The committee found that Mr. Meadows, a former congressman from North Carolina who led the right-wing House Freedom Caucus, essentially served as Mr. Trump's right-hand man throughout various steps of the effort to undermine the 2020 election." NPR's report is here. The Guardian's story is here. ~~~

~~~ Jeremy Barr of the Washington Post: "Three Fox News hosts who have been among Donald Trump's most ardent media boosters were so horrified by the Jan. 6 riot at the U.S. Capitol that they begged the then-president's chief of staff to convince him to intercede, according to newly aired messages from that day. 'Mark, the president needs to tell people in the Capitol to go home,' Fox News prime-time star Laura Ingraham texted Mark Meadows. 'This is hurting all of us. He is destroying his legacy.... Ingraham, as well her colleagues Sean Hannity and Brian Kilmeade, urged Meadows to implore Trump to take the riot seriously.... The texts stand in contrast with some of the messages that Ingraham, Hannity and Kilmeade sent to Fox News viewers in appearances on the night of Jan. 6.... Ingraham ... suggested on-air that some of the rioters might have been left-wing agitators rather than Trump supporters.... suggested on-air that some of the rioters might have been left-wing agitators rather than Trump supporters.... Hannity ... also cast doubt about whether Trump supporters were largely responsible." CNN's story is here. ~~~

~~~ Paul LeBlanc of CNN: "Donald Trump Jr. said in a series of text messages to then-White House chief of staff Mark Meadows that his father needed to 'condemn' the US Capitol insurrection as it unfolded. The messages from Trump Jr. -- which the House select committee investigating the January 6 riot revealed before voting to hold Meadows in contempt of Congress -- provide a window into the kind of urgent messages that top Trump surrogates and officials traded as the riot unfolded." ~~~

~~~ Rep. Liz Cheney (R-Wy.), committee vice-chair, reads from some text messages Meadows received during the insurrection: ~~~

~~~ ** Greg Sargent of the Washington Post: "In his new book, former White House chief of staff Mark Meadows offers up a version of Donald Trump's conduct on Jan. 6 that is almost comically sanitized.... In a passage that would embarrass a North Korea disinformation specialist, Meadows writes that the mob assault left Trump 'mortified.' The House select committee examining Jan. 6 has just released its report recommending contempt charges against Meadows for defying its subpoena. It blows a big hole in Meadows's pleasing little propaganda piece.... The report reads like a blueprint for a coup -- not just for the attempt that just happened, but also for a future one." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ~~~

~~~ Philip Bump of the Washington Post: "What we currently understand about the White House's effort [to flip the presidential election results] is that it was largely focused on the finalization of the electoral vote. On Jan. 6, that culminated with Trump's attempts to pressure Vice President Mike Pence into rejecting the submitted votes from several states.... This effort sat on the foundation of months of false claims from Trump about voter fraud and operated in parallel with efforts by Trump and his allies to get institutional buy-in on those assertions. His consideration of overhauling the leadership at the Justice Department to put pressure on Georgia, his call to officials in that state, his embrace of debunked allegations from there and elsewhere.... At the same time, there was an enormous and robust economy for other nonsense and conspiratorial thinking outside of the administration.... Then there was the violence on Jan. 6, an occurrence that was entirely a function of Trump's claims about the election and his calls for people to show up in Washington on that day." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ~~~

~~~ Luke Broadwater of the New York Times has more on the House committee report laying out "its case for a contempt of Congress charge against Mark Meadows..., presenting evidence of Mr. Meadows's deep involvement in the effort to overturn the 2020 presidential election." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ~~~

~~~ David Leonhardt of the New York Times: "... American politics today ... may ... be in the midst of a radical shift away from the democratic rules and traditions that have guided the country for a very long time. An anti-democratic movement, inspired by Donald Trump but much larger than him, is making significant progress.... The movement has encountered surprisingly little opposition.... The main battlegrounds are swing states where Republicans control the state legislature, like Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)

Marie: Yesterday afternoon I watched President Biden speaking off the cuff to reporters about the tornadoes & FEMA's reponse & so forth. Three things struck me: (1) his compassion for those affected by the tornadoes; (2) his knowledge about minutia on a number of related topics; (3) Donald Trump lobbing rolls of paper towels at Puerto Rican hurricane victims. How any single person, including Marjorie Traitor Greene, could prefer to Trump to Biden really is beyond me. Here's video of Biden's remarks. You can drop in anywhere and you'll see what I mean. ~~~

~~~ The New York Times' live updates of developments re: the tornadoes that devastated parts of four U.S. states are here: "After grimly fluctuating death tolls since Friday's devastating swarm of tornadoes, Gov. Andy Beshear of Kentucky said on Monday that there were 64 confirmed deaths in the state, though he expected that number to rise as crews continued to search through the ruins." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ~~~

     ~~~ The Washington Post's live updates of developments stemming from the tornadoes are here: "President Biden will travel to Kentucky on Wednesday to assess the impact after a string of tornadoes killed at least 64 there and at least 13 people in numerous other states." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)

Nick Miroff of the Washington Post: "President Biden's immigration advisers are discussing proposals to set up European-style reception centers along the Mexican border that would transform the way asylum seekers are processed and potentially curb the large-scale release of migrants into the United States, according to administration officials and others with knowledge of the conversations. The proposals remain in development, these people said, but the reception center model represents a possible breakthrough.... Katie Tobin, Biden's top immigration adviser on the National Security Council, said the administration's goal is to move in a direction 'where we are testing innovative ideas that are humane, that maintain the due process that's required in an asylum adjudication but that get us away from a system where people wait five years for a decision.'" ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: Now read Catherine Rampell's column, linked below, on Ron DeSantis's "idea" of how to get rid of immigrant children. While Democrats explore humane means to solve problems, Republicans ramp up their inherent sociopathologies. I'm not suggesting Democratic officials are perfect, but I am saying that their first impulse is to help the most vulnerable, while Republicans' first thought is how to punish them.

Michael Laris of the Washington Post: "The White House on Monday detailed elements of a multibillion-dollar plan to make electric vehicle charging 'ubiquitous,' saying a host of new and continuing efforts will help to spur a national network that will put special emphasis on disadvantaged and rural areas.... As part of a broader effort to help reduce emissions, the White House announced the creation of a Joint Office of Energy and Transportation. The office is a shared effort by the departments of Transportation and Energy that federal officials said would create a 'one-stop-shop' to help smooth the rollout and management of electric vehicle and other initiatives in the infrastructure law passed last month." MB: IOW, another example of Democrats working to solve problems. I'm so surprised the Trump administration didn't try to make sure there were charging stations in "disadvantaged areas."

Eric Schmitt of the New York Times: "None of the military personnel involved in a botched drone strike in Kabul, Afghanistan, that killed 10 civilians will face any kind of punishment after Defense Secretary Lloyd J. Austin III approved recommendations from two top commanders, a senior Pentagon official said. The Pentagon acknowledged in September that the last U.S. drone strike before American troops withdrew from Afghanistan was a tragic mistake that killed the civilians, including seven children, after initially saying it had been necessary to prevent an Islamic State attack on troops. A subsequent high-level investigation into the episode found no violations of law but stopped short of fully exonerating those involved, saying that was 'commander business.'" (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)

Trump Has Rejoined the Great Unwashed. Charlie Savage of the New York Times: "A lawyer for ... Donald J. Trump urged a federal appeals court to quash a congressional subpoena seeking years of financial records from his accounting firm, arguing on Monday that the demand is too broad and could open the door for lawmakers to routinely harass and intimidate future presidents.... Douglas Letter, a lawyer for the House of Representatives, urged the appeals court to uphold the subpoena -- including removing limits placed upon it by a district court judge in August.... 'The Constitution does draw a clear line between a president and an ex-president,' Mr. Letter said. 'An ex-president is somebody who rejoins the great unwashed.'... Questions asked by the judges -- Ketanji Brown Jackson, Judith W. Rogers and Sri Srinivasan -- gave little indication that they were likely to quash the subpoena. But the judges spent extensive time exploring whether there was a basis to narrow the scope of the subpoena...."

Juliet Macur of the New York Times: "Hundreds of female gymnasts who were sexually abused by Lawrence G. Nassar, the former team doctor of the national gymnastics team, have agreed to a $380 million settlement with U.S.A. Gymnastics and the United States Olympic & Paralympic Committee, ending the latest dark chapter in one of the biggest molestation cases in sports history. The settlement, announced on Monday during U.S.A. Gymnastics' bankruptcy proceedings in U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of Indiana, is among the largest ever for a sexual abuse case. The funds would compensate more than 500 gymnasts -- including Olympic gold medalists like Simone Biles, McKayla Maroney and Aly Raisman -- who were abused by Nassar or someone else in the sport." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)

Presidential Race 2024. DeSantis Takes on Immigrant Children. Catherine Rampell of the Washington Post: "Lately, [Republican politicians with presidential aspirations have] decided the most promising [path to the White House] is paved on the backs of vulnerable immigrant children. Among the most brazen to adopt this strategy: Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis.... Governors from such far-flung states as Arkansas, South Dakota and Florida sent their National Guard troops and highway patrol troopers to the southwestern border this year.... DeSantis, for instance, had his own photo op in July; Florida taxpayers are now on the hook for at least $1.6 million for his various border-related boondoggles.... For months, the DeSantis administration has been jerking around shelters and foster families that care for unaccompanied migrant kids, including by refusing to renew these providers' licenses.... [Florida's Lutheran Services] shelter sued over the state's unexplained stonewalling. On Thursday, on the eve of a court hearing, the new license magically materialized. DeSantis then released a confusing new 'emergency rule' the following morning, which said existing shelters could continue operating and renewing their licenses for the next 45 days only."

Kimberly Wehle in a Politico Magazine opinion piece: "By the time the Supreme Court heard oral argument recently in Jackson Women's Health Organization v. Dobbs, the Mississippi case that abortion rights supporters fear the newly conservative court will use to overturn Roe, [Brett] Kavanaugh's views on judicial respect for precedent appeared to have shifted [from what he asserted during his confirmation hearings]. 'If you think about some of the most important cases, the most consequential cases in this court's history,' he said, 'there's a string of them where the cases overruled precedent.'... But in his survey of court history, he neglected to point out a notable fact those cases have in common. In those small number of overrulings, the court has almost always expanded constitutional rights, not constrained them."

Rachel Pannett of the Washington Post: "Russia has vetoed the passage of a United Nations Security Council resolution that for the first time would have treated climate change as a threat to peace, even as many Western powers increasingly take climate risk into account as part of their security strategies. The resolution, co-sponsored by Ireland and Niger, would have required the top U.N. body to consider climate change as a possible cause of conflicts, and to look for ways to address the risks and head off potential clashes. Twelve of the Security Council's 15 members voted in favor of the resolution Monday. India voted against it, alongside Russia, while China abstained. Russia is one of the council's five veto-wielding permanent members with the power to block resolutions."

The Pandemic Ctd.

The New York Times' live updates of Covid-19 developments Tuesday are here. The Washington Post's live Covid-19 updates are here.

Julie Bosman, et al., of the New York Times: "As the coronavirus pandemic approaches the end of a second year, the United States stands on the cusp of surpassing 800,000 deaths from the virus, and no group has suffered more than older Americans.... Seventy-five percent of people who have died of the virus in the United States -- or about 600,000 of the nearly 800,000 who have perished so far -- have been 65 or older. One in 100 older Americans has died from the virus. For people younger than 65, that ratio is closer to 1 in 1,400." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)

Adam Liptak of the New York Times: "The Supreme Court on Monday refused to block New York's requirement that health care workers be vaccinated against the coronavirus even when they cite religious objections. As is often the court's practice in rulings on emergency applications, its unsigned order included no reasoning. But Justice Neil M. Gorsuch filed a 14-page dissent saying that the majority had betrayed the court's commitment to religious liberty. Justice Samuel A. Alito Jr. joined Justice Gorsuch's dissent. Justice Clarence Thomas also said he would have blocked the vaccine requirement, but he gave no reasons."

Alex Horton of the Washington Post: "The number of active-duty U.S. military personnel declining to be vaccinated against the coronavirus by their prescribed deadlines is as high as 40,000, with new Army data showing that, days ahead of its cutoff, 3 percent of soldiers either have rejected President Biden's mandate or sought a long-shot exemption. While overall the vast majority of service members are fully vaccinated, military analysts have characterized the number of refusals and holdouts as a troubling indicator in a rigid, top-down culture where decision-making often is predicated on the understanding that the troops will do as they are told. It also suggests the nation's divisive politics have influenced a small but significant segment of the Defense Department, historically an apolitical institution." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ~~~

~~~ Lolita Baldor of the AP: "The Air Force has discharged 27 people for refusing to get the COVID-19 vaccine, making them what officials believe are the first service members to be removed for disobeying the mandate to get the shots.... While the Air Force does not disclose what type of discharge a service member gets, legislation working its way through Congress limits the military to giving troops in vaccine refusal cases an honorable discharge or general discharge under honorable conditions."

The New York Times' live updates of Covid-19 developments Monday are here. The Washington Post's live Covid-19 updates for Monday are here. (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)

Lesley Wroughton of the Washington Post: "Omicron appears to cause less severe illness than earlier variants of the coronavirus but is more resistant to the two-dose Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine widely used in South Africa, according to the first major private study since omicron was first detected last month. The study by Discovery Health, South Africa's largest health insurer, of 211,000 positive coronavirus cases, of which 78,000 were attributed to omicron, showed that risk of hospital admissions among adults who contracted covid-19 was 29 percent lower than in the initial pandemic wave that emerged in March 2020." ~~~

     ~~~ Andrew Meldrum of the AP: "A two-dose Pfizer/BioNTech vaccination provides just 33% protection against infection by the omicron variant of the coronavirus, but 70% protection against hospitalization, according to a large-scale analysis in South Africa released Tuesday."

Benjamin Mueller of the New York Times: "A new Covid-19 pill from Merck has raised hopes that it could transform the landscape of treatment options for Americans at high risk of severe disease at a time when the Omicron variant of the coronavirus is driving a surge of cases in highly vaccinated European countries. But two weeks after a Food and Drug Administration expert committee narrowly voted to recommend authorizing the drug, known as molnupiravir, the F.D.A. is still weighing Merck's application. Among the biggest questions facing regulators is whether the drug, in the course of wreaking havoc on the virus's genes, also has the potential to cause mutations in human DNA. Scientists are especially worried about pregnant women, they said, because the drug could affect a fetus's dividing cells, theoretically causing birth defects. Members of the F.D.A. expert committee expressed those same concerns during a public meeting on Nov. 30." Emphasis added. (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)

Beyond the Beltway

Minnesota. Nicholas Bogel-Burroughs of the New York Times: "A federal court on Monday set a hearing for Derek Chauvin to change his plea, signaling that the former Minneapolis police officer who was convicted of murdering George Floyd intended to plead guilty to charges that he also deprived Mr. Floyd of his civil rights."

Way Beyond

Israel/U.A.E. Patrick Kingsley of the New York Times: "The Israeli prime minister met the crown prince of Abu Dhabi on Monday on the first official visit by an Israeli leader to the United Arab Emirates, a historic encounter that would have been unimaginable a few years ago and showcased the rapid realignment of the Middle East, driven by shared fears of a nuclear Iran. Naftali Bennett, the Israeli prime minister, spent four hours with the de facto Emirati leader, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Zayed -- two hours longer than planned. They met in Abu Dhabi amid renewed tensions between the United States and Israel, which opposes revived efforts by Washington to persuade Iran to curb its nuclear ambitions in exchange for sanctions relief." MB: As reflected in a photo that accompanies the story, the two men agreed that their biggest differences were their hats.

December 13, 2021

Marie: I just watched President Biden speaking off the cuff to reporters about the tornadoes & FEMA's reponse & so forth. Three things struck me: (1) his compassion for those affected by the tornadoes; (2) his knowledge about minutia on a number of related topics; (3) Donald Trump lobbing rolls of paper towels at Puerto Rican hurricane victims. How any single person, including Marjorie Traitor Greene, could prefer to Trump to Biden really is beyond me. Here's video of Biden's remarks. Drop in anywhere and you'll see what I mean.

The New York Times' live updates of developments re: the tornadoes that devastated parts of four U.S. states are here: "After grimly fluctuating death tolls since Friday's devastating swarm of tornadoes, Gov. Andy Beshear of Kentucky said on Monday that there were 64 confirmed deaths in the state, though he expected that number to rise as crews continued to search through the ruins." ~~~

     ~~~ The Washington Post's live updates of developments stemming from the tornadoes are here: "President Biden will travel to Kentucky on Wednesday to assess the impact after a string of tornadoes killed at least 64 there and at least 13 people in numerous other states."

Eric Schmitt of the New York Times: "None of the military personnel involved in a botched drone strike in Kabul, Afghanistan, that killed 10 civilians will face any kind of punishment after Defense Secretary Lloyd J. Austin III approved recommendations from two top commanders, a senior Pentagon official said. The Pentagon acknowledged in September that the last U.S. drone strike before American troops withdrew from Afghanistan was a tragic mistake that killed the civilians, including seven children, after initially saying it had been necessary to prevent an Islamic State attack on troops. A subsequent high-level investigation into the episode found no violations of law but stopped short of fully exonerating those involved, saying that was 'commander business.'"

David Leonhardt of the New York Times: "... American politics today ... may ... be in the midst of a radical shift away from the democratic rules and traditions that have guided the country for a very long time. An anti-democratic movement, inspired by Donald Trump but much larger than him, is making significant progress.... The movement has encountered surprisingly little opposition.... The main battlegrounds are swing states where Republicans control the state legislature, like Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin."

** Greg Sargent of the Washington Post:"In his new book, former White House chief of staff Mark Meadows offers up a version of Donald Trump's conduct on Jan. 6 that is almost comically sanitized.... In a passage that would embarrass a North Korea disinformation specialist, Meadows writes that the mob assault left Trump 'mortified.' The House select committee examining Jan. 6 has just released its report recommending contempt charges against Meadows for defying its subpoena. It blows a big hole in Meadows's pleasing little propaganda piece.... The report reads like a blueprint for a coup -- not just for the attempt that just happened, but also for a future one." ~~~

~~~ Philip Bump of the Washington Post: "What we currently understand about the White House's effort [to flip the presidential election results] is that it was largely focused on the finalization of the electoral vote. On Jan. 6, that culminated with Trump's attempts to pressure Vice President Mike Pence into rejecting the submitted votes from several states.... This effort sat on the foundation of months of false claims from Trump about voter fraud and operated in parallel with efforts by Trump and his allies to get institutional buy-in on those assertions. His consideration of overhauling the leadership at the Justice Department to put pressure on Georgia, his call to officials in that state, his embrace of debunked allegations from there and elsewhere.... At the same time, there was an enormous and robust economy for other nonsense and conspiratorial thinking outside of the administration.... Then there was the violence on Jan. 6, an occurrence that was entirely a function of Trump's claims about the election and his calls for people to show up in Washington on that day." ~~~

~~~ Luke Broadwater of the New York Times has more on the House committee report laying out "its case for a contempt of Congress charge against Mark Meadows..., presenting evidence of Mr. Meadows's deep involvement in the effort to overturn the 2020 presidential election." A Politico report is linked below.

The New York Times' live updates of Covid-19 developments Monday are here. The Washington Post's live Covid-19 updates for Monday are here.

Julie Bosman, et al., of the New York Times: "As the coronavirus pandemic approaches the end of a second year, the United States stands on the cusp of surpassing 800,000 deaths from the virus, and no group has suffered more than older Americans.... Seventy-five percent of people who have died of the virus in the United States -- or about 600,000 of the nearly 800,000 who have perished so far -- have been 65 or older. One in 100 older Americans has died from the virus. For people younger than 65, that ratio is closer to 1 in 1,400."

Alex Horton of the Washington Post: "The number of active-duty U.S. military personnel declining to be vaccinated against the coronavirus by their prescribed deadlines is as high as 40,000, with new Army data showing that, days ahead of its cutoff, 3 percent of soldiers either have rejected President Biden's mandate or sought a long-shot exemption. While overall the vast majority of service members are fully vaccinated, military analysts have characterized the number of refusals and holdouts as a troubling indicator in a rigid, top-down culture where decision-making often is predicated on the understanding that the troops will do as they are told. It also suggests the nation's divisive politics have influenced a small but significant segment of the Defense Department, historically an apolitical institution."

Benjamin Mueller of the New York Times: "A new Covid-19 pill from Merck has raised hopes that it could transform the landscape of treatment options for Americans at high risk of severe disease at a time when the Omicron variant of the coronavirus is driving a surge of cases in highly vaccinated European countries. But two weeks after a Food and Drug Administration expert committee narrowly voted to recommend authorizing the drug, known as molnupiravir, the F.D.A. is still weighing Merck's application. Among the biggest questions facing regulators is whether the drug, in the course of wreaking havoc on the virus's genes, also has the potential to cause mutations in human DNA. Scientists are especially worried about pregnant women, they said, because the drug could affect a fetus's dividing cells, theoretically causing birth defects. Members of the F.D.A. expert committee expressed those same concerns during a public meeting on Nov. 30." Emphasis added.

Juliet Macur of the New York Times: "Hundreds of female gymnasts who were sexually abused by Lawrence G. Nassar, the former team doctor of the national gymnastics team, have agreed to a $380 million settlement with U.S.A. Gymnastics and the United States Olympic & Paralympic Committee, ending the latest dark chapter in one of the biggest molestation cases in sports history. The settlement, announced on Monday during U.S.A. Gymnastics' bankruptcy proceedings in U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of Indiana, is among the largest ever for a sexual abuse case. The funds would compensate more than 500 gymnasts -- including Olympic gold medalists like Simone Biles, McKayla Maroney and Aly Raisman -- who were abused by Nassar or someone else in the sport."

~~~~~~~~~~

John Hudson of the Washington Post: "The Group of Seven leading industrial democracies warned Russia on Sunday of 'massive consequences' and 'severe cost' if it launches an attack on Ukraine, a day before President Biden's top diplomat for Europe travels to Kyiv and Moscow to address the high-stakes standoff. The joint statement from G-7 ministers meeting in [Liverpool, England,] said they are united in their opposition to Russia's military buildup near the border of Ukraine and called on the Kremlin to de-escalate. The statement ... is the latest effort by the Biden administration to rally international support for Ukraine as U.S. intelligence finds that the Kremlin has planned out a potential multifront offensive in Ukraine involving up to 175,000 troops. Russia has denied having any such plans." Politico's story is here. (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)

Dave Philipps, et al., of the New York Times: "A single top secret American strike cell launched tens of thousands of bombs and missiles against the Islamic State in Syria, but in the process of hammering a vicious enemy, the shadowy force sidestepped safeguards and repeatedly killed civilians, according to multiple current and former military and intelligence officials.... People who worked with the strike cell say in the rush to destroy enemies, it circumvented rules imposed to protect noncombatants, and alarmed its partners in the military and the C.I.A. by killing people who had no role in the conflict: farmers trying to harvest, children in the street, families fleeing fighting, and villagers sheltering in buildings. [The strike cell, called] Talon Anvil, was small -- at times fewer than 20 people operating from anonymous rooms cluttered with flat screens -- but it played an outsize role in the 112,000 bombs and missiles launched against the Islamic State, in part because it embraced a loose interpretation of the military's rules of engagement." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)

Amy Wang of the Washington Post: "Sen. Lindsey O. Graham on Sunday continued his criticisms of Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell for adopting a bipartisan deal that allowed Democrats to raise the debt ceiling. Graham, who has become one of ... Donald Trump's most vocal defenders, argued that someone who did not have a good working relationship with Trump could not be an effective Republican leader." MB: If Lindsey did not have so much power to do harm to this country, I would feel sorry for him. He's pathetic.

Kyle Cheney & Nicholas Wu of Politico: "Mark Meadows indicated in a Jan. 5 email that the National Guard was on standby to 'protect pro Trump people,' according to an email obtained by the House committee investigating the Capitol riot and described in a public document Sunday night. The context for the message is unclear, but it comes amid intense scrutiny of the Guard's slow response to violence at the Capitol on Jan. 6 and conflicting timelines about their response from the Pentagon and National Guard leadership. The description of the message is part of a 51-page document released Sunday by the select panel a day before it is set to vote to hold Meadows in contempt of Congress. The full House is expected to vote to hold Meadows ... in criminal contempt of Congress on Tuesday. In other messages described by the committee, Meadows appears to have asked members of Congress to help connect Trump with state lawmakers. 'POTUS wants to chat with them,' Meadows said, according to documents ... described publicly Sunday evening." ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: Thanks to Ken W. for the link. I'm with Ken's wife, who keeps wondering why clowns like Meadows aren't in jail. In fact, I suspect that one of the two big reasons Meadows decided not to cooperate with the committee (the first being fear of Trump) is that his lawyer sat him down & said, "You know you broke the law 6 ways, don't you?"

Jacob Kornbluh of the Forward: "A new Hebrew book published on Sunday by Israeli journalist Barak Ravid gives a behind-the-scenes look at what is now being revealed as a rocky U.S.-Israel relationship during the Trump administration, but one that led to normalization deals between Israel and the Arab world."

Risa Brooks & Erica De Bruin in the Washington Post's Outlook: "Democracy is most likely to break down through a series of incremental actions that cumulatively undermine the electoral process, resulting in a presidential election that produces an outcome clearly at odds with the voters' will. It is this comparatively quiet but steady subversion, rather than a violent coup or insurrection against a sitting president, that Americans today have to fear most. Five sets of actions fuel this corrosion: limiting participation in elections; controlling election administration; legitimizing and mobilizing social support for methods to obstruct or overturn an election; using political violence to further that end; and politicizing the regular military or National Guard to delegitimize election outcomes. We have identified 18 steps to democratic breakdown and assigned a score of one to three alarm bells for each step, which indicates how big a threat we believe it poses to our democracy now." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)

Oliver Darcy & Brian Stelter of CNN: "Fox News anchor Chris Wallace, one of the few high-profile news personalities who retained a reputation of integrity as the channel he worked for leaned hard into right-wing and conspiratorial programming, announced Sunday that he is departing the network and joining CNN+ to host a weekday show. Wallace made the stunning announcement of his departure from Fox News at the end of 'Fox News Sunday,' the channel's flagship weekly program that he has moderated since 2003." A New York Times story is here. MB: I don't watch Fox "News," but Wallace's departure must nearly complete the purge of any on-air personalities in touch with reality. (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ~~~

     ~~~ Erik Wemple of the Washington Post: "... the network has found its voice in [Tucker] Carlson..., [whose] extremism -- telling viewers that Democrats 'hate' America; espousing the racist 'replacement theory'; subverting science on the coronavirus -- has emerged as the network's defining ideology, a point of reckoning for colleagues wishing to practice anything approximating journalism.... Every day ... Fox News takes another step toward its destiny as The Tucker Carlson Channel. And in that future, there's no room for journalists.... Good luck, Fox News, trying to find someone to replace Wallace." ~~~

     ~~~ Any picks for Wallace's replacement? A while back, Matt Gaetz said he was interested in becoming a Fox "News" host, but apparently that didn't work out, so I guess "Gaetz on Government" is out. Kayleigh MacANinny then maybe; she's already working at Fox. Wemple suggests Fox "News" anchor Bret Baier might get the job; that seems likely, if Baier will take it.

Good Grief. Time Magazine names Elon Musk "Person of the Year."

The Pandemic, Ctd.

The New York Times' live updates of Covid-19 developments Sunday are here: "South Africa's president tested positive for the coronavirus on Sunday, as new cases continue to rise in the country. President Cyril Ramaphosa underwent a coronavirus test on Sunday, when he felt unwell after leaving a state memorial service held for former President F.W. de Klerk, according to a statement from the South African presidency. Since researchers in South Africa first detected the Omicron variant at the end of November, coronavirus cases have surged in the nation."

Way Beyond the Beltway

Russia/Ukraine. Christopher Miller of BuzzFeed News: "Satellite images provided to BuzzFeed News and a slew of social media videos show that new Russian troops and heavy artillery were moved to strategic locations right around [the time of] Biden and Putin's virtual summit.... Tanks and other menacing self-propelled artillery. A Russian Buk surface-to-air missile system like the one that shot down Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 over eastern Ukraine in 2014. Thousands more troops. Those are merely some of the Russian forces and matériel seen in videos posted to social media heading toward the Ukrainian border in the past week alone. Western and Ukrainian intelligence agencies estimate roughly 100,000 troops, along with fighter aircraft and ballistic missiles, are already in place."

December 12, 2021

John Hudson of the Washington Post: :The Group of Seven leading industrial democracies warned Russia on Sunday of 'massive consequences' and 'severe cost' if it launches an attack on Ukraine, a day before President Biden's top diplomat for Europe travels to Kyiv and Moscow to address the high-stakes standoff. The joint statement from G-7 ministers meeting in [Liverpool, England,] said they are united in their opposition to Russia's military buildup near the border of Ukraine and called on the Kremlin to de-escalate. The statement ... is the latest effort by the Biden administration to rally international support for Ukraine as U.S. intelligence finds that the Kremlin has planned out a potential multifront offensive in Ukraine involving up to 175,000 troops. Russia has denied having any such plans." Politico's story is here.

Oliver Darcy & Brian Stelter of CNN: "Fox News anchor Chris Wallace, one of the few high-profile news personalities who retained a reputation of integrity as the channel he worked for leaned hard into right-wing and conspiratorial programming, announced Sunday that he is departing the network and joining CNN+ to host a weekday show. Wallace made the stunning announcement of his departure from Fox News at the end of 'Fox News Sunday,' the channel's flagship weekly program that he has moderated since 2003." A New York Times story is here. MB: I don't watch Fox "News," but Wallace's departure must nearly complete the purge of any on-air personalities in touch with reality.

Dave Philipps, et al., of the New York Times: "A single top secret American strike cell launched tens of thousands of bombs and missiles against the Islamic State in Syria, but in the process of hammering a vicious enemy, the shadowy force sidestepped safeguards and repeatedly killed civilians, according to multiple current and former military and intelligence officials.... People who worked with the strike cell say in the rush to destroy enemies, it circumvented rules imposed to protect noncombatants, and alarmed its partners in the military and the C.I.A. by killing people who had no role in the conflict: farmers trying to harvest, children in the street, families fleeing fighting, and villagers sheltering in buildings. [The strike cell, called] Talon Anvil, was small -- at times fewer than 20 people operating from anonymous rooms cluttered with flat screens -- but it played an outsize role in the 112,000 bombs and missiles launched against the Islamic State, in part because it embraced a loose interpretation of the military's rules of engagement."

Risa Brooks & Erica De Bruin in the Washington Post's Outlook: "Democracy is most likely to break down through a series of incremental actions that cumulatively undermine the electoral process, resulting in a presidential election that produces an outcome clearly at odds with the voters' will. It is this comparatively quiet but steady subversion, rather than a violent coup or insurrection against a sitting president, that Americans today have to fear most. Five sets of actions fuel this corrosion: limiting participation in elections; controlling election administration; legitimizing and mobilizing social support for methods to obstruct or overturn an election; using political violence to further that end; and politicizing the regular military or National Guard to delegitimize election outcomes. We have identified 18 steps to democratic breakdown and assigned a score of one to three alarm bells for each step, which indicates how big a threat we believe it poses to our democracy now."

~~~~~~~~~~

Ray Hartmann of the Raw Story: "Senator Rand Paul of Kentucky dashed off a letter to President Joe Biden [Sunday] pleading for expeditious federal relief aid to victims of a deadly 200-mile tornado that struck his state Friday.... Throughout his two terms in the U.S. Senate, Paul has prided himself as a Tea Party fiscal conservative willing to say no to the most milquetoast causes if federal spending is involved. Opposing federal disaster relief is one of his pastimes."

Washington Post Editors: "Texas's six-week abortion ban is an insult to the Supreme Court, designed to eliminate abortion rights that the court has upheld for decades and to curtail the judiciary's ability to stop the state from committing this brazen legal maneuver. It threatens not only Americans who might ever need an abortion, but all manner of constitutional rights. The nation needed the court to condemn definitively Texas's ploy. A narrow majority has instead responded with a weak shrug.... If Texas's bounty system enables states to violate people's constitutional rights without direct and efficient recourse to the courts, any number of constitutional guarantees would be in danger. California could ban all guns and empower private parties to enforce the law. Vermont could ban religious services as long as legal vigilantes were the ones punishing those who disobeyed." ~~~

If the legislatures of the several states may, at will, annul the judgments of the courts of the United States, and destroy the rights acquired under those judgments, the constitution itself becomes a solemn mockery.... The nature of the federal right infringed does not matter; it is the role of the Supreme Court in our constitutional system that is at stake. -- Chief Justice John Roberts, dissent in Whole Woman's Health ~~~

~~~ Ruth Marcus of the Washington Post: "The decision in Whole Woman's Health v. Jackson ... represents the latest and perhaps most alarming indication yet of just how radical this new conservative majority is. And as the four dissenters -- including Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. -- warned, it presents a threat to the rule of law and the Constitution, not just in Texas but also nationwide.... The worst part isn't what the conservative majority is allowing Texas to do to the constitutional rights of women, although that is terrible. The worst part -- truly, the most shocking part -- is what the majority is doing to its own authority, and the authority of all federal courts presented with claims that state laws violate constitutional rights." ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: Perhaps I should add that the warnings from Roberts & Sotomayor in their dissents are not big news to the Supreme Confederates. Before they write their opinions, all the justices sit around at a table & discuss their views. So it's not as if Amy Phony Barrett first heard these warnings when she skimmed the dissents & perhaps did a head-slapper; she & her buddies heard the warnings & went ahead anyway with their ruling against the U.S. Constitution. Unless these yokels "undo" their decision in a subsequent ruling, this is the Dred Scott for the 21st century, but this times the rights of Black citizens are not the only ones on the chopping block. The Tenther Movement has moved on up -- to the Supreme Court majority. ~~~

~~~ Gavin Newsom Plays Along. Shawn Hubler of the New York Times: "Angered by the U.S. Supreme Court decision to continue allowing private citizens to sue Texas abortion providers, Gov. Gavin Newsom of California on Saturday called for a similar law giving ordinary residents legal standing to file lawsuits against purveyors of restricted firearms. 'SCOTUS is letting private citizens in Texas sue to stop abortion?!' Mr. Newsom, a Democrat, tweeted. 'If that's the precedent, then we'll let Californians sue those who put ghost guns and assault weapons on our streets. If TX can ban abortion and endanger lives, CA can ban deadly weapons of war and save lives.' The governor's response seemed to contradict his earlier criticism of the Texas law, which Mr. Newsom had previously described as a cynical attempt to undercut federal rights." MB: Um, I don't think Hubler gets it. Besides, the Texas law, until the confederate Supremes blessed it, was crap. Newsom's proposal is a slap in the collective face of the Five Farts.

Emma Brown, et al., of the Washington Post: "A retired U.S. Army colonel who circulated a proposal to challenge the 2020 election, including by declaring a national security emergency and seizing paper ballots, said that he visited the White House on multiple occasions after the election, spoke with ... Donald Trump's chief of staff [Mark Meadows] 'maybe eight to 10 times' and briefed several members of Congress on the eve of the Jan. 6 riot. Phil Waldron, the retired colonel, was working with Trump's outside lawyers and was part of a team that briefed the lawmakers on a PowerPoint presentation detailing 'Options for 6 JAN,' Waldron told The Washington Post. He said his contribution to the presentation focused on his claims of foreign interference in the vote, as did his discussions with the White House.... The PowerPoint circulated by Waldron included proposals for Vice President Mike Pence on Jan. 6 to reject electors from 'states where fraud occurred' or replace them with Republican electors. It included a third proposal in which the certification of Joe Biden's victory was to be delayed, and U.S. marshals and National Guard troops were to help 'secure' and count paper ballots in key states.... Waldron's account ... [s] that Meadows ... was more directly in contact with proponents of [baseless conspiracy] theories than was previously known.” This is an elaboration of a New York Times story, linked yesterday.

Ron Filipkowski in a Washington Post op-ed: Last winter, "... many of the activists and influencers who promoted and attended the [January 6] rally that became the violent attempt to stop the certification of President Biden's election have now turned their attention to three primary targets: school boards, city and county commissions, and secretaries of state and supervisors of elections. The new endeavors give the appearance of grass-roots efforts but feature familiar characters teaming up with organizations long involved with financing and leading disruptions, protests and disinformation campaigns on a variety of issues.... Some of these activists have harnessed the anger, fear and resentment they have helped churn up and are using it for their personal and financial benefit.... Figures like Stephen K. Bannon, Roger Stone, Alex Jones, Charlie Kirk and [Michael] Flynn are regulars on the circuit mobilizing people to take on local governments."

The Pandemic, Ctd.

Dan Diamond of the Washington Post: "A senior Trump administration official told the House panel probing the government's coronavirus response that he will not comply with their subpoena, escalating a fight with Democrats investigating the handling of the pandemic. Peter Navarro, who served as ... Donald Trump's trade adviser and closely consulted on the White House's virus strategy, cited a 'direct order' from the former president to claim executive privilege, according to a letter released on Saturday by the panel." Politico's story is here.

Beyond the Beltway

Nevada. David Charns of KLAS Las Vegas: "Las Vegas' airport will drop the McCarran name and will instead honor Nevada's longest-serving senator, Harry Reid, starting Tuesday. The airport will officially be referred to as Harry Reid International Airport. Its FAA code, LAS, will not change. The Clark County Commission voted Feb. 16 to approve the new name, and the commission stipulated that private donations would have to pay for the costs in making the change. Earlier actions leading up to the decision have included a move to raise $4.5 million in donations to pay for the name change. In October, Commissioner Tick Segerblom said $4.2 million was already in place."

Texas. David Goodman of the New York Times: "For several months now, Texas has been engaged in an effort to repurpose the tools of state law enforcement to stem the sudden increase of people crossing illegally into the country. To do this, Texas officials led by Gov. Greg Abbott developed a way around the fact that immigration enforcement is a federal government job: State and local police departments partner with the owners of borderland ranches, and use trespassing laws to arrest migrants who cross their land.... The new approach relies on the participation of local officials and, so far, it has been adopted in just two of the state's 32 border region counties.... [In Bracketville, where Abbott's troops are operating,] high speed chases are so frequent that the local school installed rock barriers to protect against crashes. Helicopters patrol the night sky.... Town residents, a majority of whom are poor and Hispanic, complain they are routinely followed by officers newly assigned to the area.... [Many of the migrants the Texas troops arrested] have languished in state prisons awaiting a hearing, raising constitutional concerns." ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: Actually, if the Whole Woman's Health ruling by the John C. Calhoun Club at the Supreme Court are precedent, there's no constitutional question at all. States' rights are settled law.

Way Beyond

Afghanistan. New York Times reporter Matthieu Aikins & photographer Jim Huylebroek document the (most recent) fall of Kabul.

News Ledes

New York Times: "Anne Rice, the Gothic novelist best known for 'Interview With the Vampire,' the 1976 book that in 1994 became a popular film starring Tom Cruise and Brad Pitt, died on Saturday. She was 80."

The Washington Post's: live updates of developments along the paths of tornado destruction in the Midwest are here. The New York Times' live updates are here.