The Conversation -- November 21, 2023

Another Speaker Makes a Pilgrimage to Mar-a-Lardo. Annie Karni of the New York Times: "Speaker Mike Johnson on Monday night visited ... Donald J. Trump at his Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida, according to a person familiar with the meeting.... Mr. Johnson, who defended the former president in two Senate impeachment trials and played a lead role in trying to help him invalidate the 2020 election results, is positioning himself as the first speaker to be in complete lock step with the former president.... Last week, Mr. Johnson officially endorsed Mr. Trump -- a move former Speaker Kevin McCarthy resisted...."

George Conway, Michael Luttig & Barbara Comstock in a New York Times op-ed: "... we need an organization of conservative lawyers committed to the foundational constitutional principles we once all agreed upon: the primacy of American democracy, the sanctity of the Constitution and the rule of law, the independence of the courts, the inviolability of elections and mutual support among those tasked with the solemn responsibility of enforcing the laws of the United States. This new organization must step up, speak out and defend these ideals.... To that end, we have formed a nonprofit organization, the Society for the Rule of Law Institute, to bring sanity back to conservative lawyering and jurisprudence.... Our country ... is in a constitutional emergency, if not a constitutional crisis. We all must act accordingly especially us lawyers."

According to someone who claims to be Donald Trump's doctor, Donald's "cognitive health" is "exceptional." (Story linked below.) RAS speculates on the nature of the cognitive test the alleged doctor conducted: "I'm guessing that Trump's cognitive test didn't include questions like 'who won the 2020 presidential election?' or 'who is the current US President?' or 'how many feet are in a 10,000 square foot loft?'"

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Cristiano Lima of the Washington Post: "A Senate panel announced Monday it subpoenaed the CEOs of Elon Musk's X, Discord and Snap to testify at a hearing on children's online safety next month after 'repeated refusals' by the tech companies to cooperate with its investigation into the matter. In a rare show of force, the leaders of the Senate Judiciary Committee are seeking to force X's Linda Yaccarino, Discord's Jason Citron and Snap's Evan Spiegel to appear at the Dec. 6 session.... The committee said that in a 'remarkable departure from typical practice,' it had to 'enlist the assistance of the U.S. Marshals Service to personally serve the subpoenas' to the CEOs of Discord and X ... after their chief executives 'further refused to cooperate.'" (Also linked yesterday.)

Sarah Fortinsky of the Hill: "Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) on Sunday called on Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) to create a new Jan. 6 select committee she said would target the original members of the panel and exonerate the so-called 'MAGA' wing of the Republican Party from blame associated with the 2021 attack on the Capitol. In a post on X..., Greene outlined her vision for the committee. She said it must issue subpoenas to the original committee members, to former Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) and to the witnesses who testified." (Also linked yesterday.)

Nick Corasaniti of the New York Times: "A federal appeals court issued a ruling on Monday that would drastically weaken the Voting Rights Act, effectively barring private citizens and civil rights groups from filing lawsuits under a central provision of the landmark law. The ruling, made by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit, found that only the federal government could bring a legal challenge under Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act, a crucial part of the law that prohibits election or voting practices that discriminate against Americans based on race. The opinion is almost certain to be appealed to the Supreme Court. The court's current conservative majority has issued several key decisions in recent years that have weakened the Voting Rights Act." Politico's report is here. (Also linked yesterday.)

Alan Feuer & Charlie Savage of the New York Times: "A federal appeals court in Washington appeared to signal at a hearing on Monday that it would keep in place at least some version of the gag order placed on ... Donald J. Trump in the criminal case accusing him of plotting to overturn the 2020 election. But a three-judge panel of the court left open the possibility of adjusting the terms of the order or even narrowing the scope of the people covered by it, including by potentially freeing Mr. Trump to attack Jack Smith, the special counsel overseeing the federal cases against him." A CNN analysis is here. (Also linked yesterday.)

** Aaron Blake of the Washington Post: "... late Friday..., a [Colorado state] judge [-- Sarah Wallace --] ruled that while the former president can't be disqualified, he did incite an insurrection.... And she documented his history of promoting and legitimizing political violence -- which she said helps prove he incited the riot.... Wallace is hardly the first judge to lay blame at Trump's feet, however. Indeed, many judges have gestured in this general direction, including some Republican-appointed ones." The particulars Blake lists are interesting. (Also linked yesterday.)

Presidential Race 2024

Maggie Astor of the New York Times: "The Commission on Presidential Debates on Monday announced the dates and locations of three presidential debates to be held during the general election campaign next year, as well as one vice-presidential debate. The presidential debates are scheduled for Sept. 16 at Texas State University in San Marcos, Texas; Oct. 1 at Virginia State University in Petersburg, Va.; and Oct. 9 at the University of Utah in Salt Lake City. The vice-presidential debate is scheduled for Sept. 25 at Lafayette College in Easton, Pa. The moderators and formats for each debate are not expected to be announced until next year, but the events are scheduled to run for 90 minutes with no commercial breaks." The AP's story is here. (Also linked yesterday.)

Michael Luciano of Mediaite: "... Donald Trump posted a doctor's letter stating that he is in 'excellent health' and has lost weight thanks to 'daily physical activity.' It also says his cognitive health is 'exceptional.' On Monday, Trump posted the letter from New Jersey physician Bruce Aronwald on his Truth Social account." MB: Not a word, I surmise, about Trump's being delusional.

** Garrett Epps, in the Washington Monthly, explains why Colorado Judge Sarah Wallace got it "grievously wrong" when she decided that Donald Trump could remain on the state ballot even though, she determined, he had led an insurrection. Epps relies on the historical record. Oh, and common sense.

** Michael Bender & Michael Gold of the New York Times: Donald Trump's attacks on "the enemies within" "has sounded new alarms among experts on autocracy who have long worried about Mr. Trump's praise for foreign dictators and disdain for democratic ideals. They said the former president's increasingly intensive focus on perceived internal enemies was a hallmark of dangerous totalitarian leaders.... 'There are echoes of fascist rhetoric, and they're very precise,' said Ruth Ben-Ghiat, a professor at New York University.... Mr. Trump's shift comes as he and his allies devise plans for a second term that would upend some of the long-held norms of American democracy and the rule of law." Includes many examples of Trump's anti-democratic remarks. MB: In noting the rise of authoritarian leaders around the world, Ari Melber of MSNBC remarked, somewhat casually, "Democracy isn't inevitable." ~~~

~~~ Marie: Why anyone would vote for a fascist is beyond me. Here is an example of what happens to ordinary people who express ordinary political dissent in a country run by Trump's favorite dictator (Rachel Maddow featured this story last night): ~~~

~~~ Ivan Nechepurenko of the New York Times (Nov. 17): "A Russian court has sentenced a pacifist artist to seven years in a penal colony for leaving price tags with small antiwar messages in a supermarket, the latest example of the Kremlin's resolve to stamp out opposition to Russia's war in Ukraine. The artist, Aleksandra Y. Skochilenko, 33, was found guilty on Thursday of spreading false information about the Russian Army -- a criminal offense introduced shortly after Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine last year -- for placing the messages at her local supermarket in St. Petersburg.... Her seven-year sentence underscores the high cost of any type of antiwar activity in Russia....The Kremlin has been stating openly that the Russian state will not tolerate dissent in wartime."

Travis Gettys of the Raw Story: "A Republican pastor who coordinates the faith-based outreach for the Philadelphia chapter of Moms for Liberty was convicted a decade ago of sexually abusing a teenage boy." MB: Oh, read on. You will not be surprised to learn that Pastor Phil there claims he was the victim. (Also linked yesterday.)

The Emperor Strikes Back. Frances Vinall of the Washington Post: "X ... filed a lawsuit against Media Matters and its writer Eric Hananoki on Monday, over what it called an 'intentionally deceptive report' about antisemitism on the platform, according to a filing. Media Matters, a nonprofit based in Washington, says it engages in 'monitoring, analyzing, and correcting conservative misinformation in the U.S. media.' On the same day as the filing, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton opened an investigation into 'potential fraudulent activity' by Media Matters.... Media Matters released a report by Hananoki on Thursday, which included screenshots of mainstream advertisements appearing beside pro-Nazi content on X. A wave of businesses, including IBM, Apple and Disney, subsequently suspended advertising." CNN's report is here. ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: So that's what happens when you publish a factual report about Elon's little vanity project. Here's what happens to an ordinary person when Elon amplifies a false story about him: ~~~

~~~ Donie O'Sullivan & Audrey Ash of CNN: "... seemingly out of nowhere, Elon Musk used his considerable social media clout to amplify an online mob's misguided rants accusing ... 22-year-old [Ben Brody] from California of being an undercover agent in a neo-Nazi group.... The fact he bore a vague resemblance to a person allegedly in the group, that he was Jewish, and, that he once stated in a college fraternity profile posted online that he aspired to one day work for the government, was more than enough information for internet trolls to falsely conclude Brody was an undercover government agent (a 'Fed') planted inside the neo-Nazi group to make them look bad.... His being Jewish was relevant to them because conspiracy theories are often steeped in antisemitism -- suggesting there's a Jewish plan to control the world.... For Brody, the fallout was immediate. Overnight, he became a central character in a story spun by people seeking to deny and downplay the actions of hate groups in the United States today. The lies and taunts, which Musk engaged with on social media, turned his life upside down, Brody said. At one point, he said, he and his mother had to flee their home for fear of being attacked."

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Israel/Palestine

The Washington Post's live updates of developments Tuesday in the Israel/Hamas war are here: "Gaza's Health Ministry said it is working with the Red Cross to evacuate wounded people stranded at northern Gaza's Indonesian Hospital on Tuesday morning after the facility was bombarded . At least 12 people were killed, and dozens were injured, according to the Health Ministry. The Israel Defense Forces said militants opened fire on its troops from within the hospital and that they retaliated but no shells were fired toward the facility. The Washington Post could not independently verify either side's claims.... President Biden said Monday he believed a deal to free hostages was near."~~~

     ~~~ The New York Times' live updates for Tuesday are here. CNN's live updates are here.

Fog of War. The Mysterious Disappearance of a New Yorker Contributor. Charlie Nash of Mediaite: "Mosab Abu Toha, a Palestinian poet who has written several articles for The New Yorker magazine over the past month, has reportedly gone missing after he was detained by Israeli forces this month. In a notice on Monday, The New Yorker announced, 'Over the weekend, Israeli forces reportedly detained Abu Toha in central Gaza. His whereabouts are now unknown. The New Yorker joins other organizations in calling for his safe return.' According to the Washington Post, which spoke to Toha's colleagues and a lawyer who had been in contact with Toha's wife, he was 'attempting to evacuate to southern Gaza with his family when he was arrested by the Israeli military at a checkpoint,' along with 200 others. Several colleagues and friends of Toha, however, have claimed that he was not arrested and was instead kidnapped by Israeli forces."

The Conversation -- November 20, 2023

** Katherine Seelye of the New York Times: "Rosalynn Carter, a true life partner to Jimmy Carter who helped propel him from rural Georgia to the White House in a single decade and became the most politically active first lady since Eleanor Roosevelt, died on Sunday in Plains, Ga. She was 96." The Washington Post's obituary is here.

New York Times: Notables paid tribute to Rosalynn Carter. The Washington Post posts some condolence messages here.

The announcement of Rosalynn Carter's death by the Carter Center is here.

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Monday Afternoon:

Cristiano Lima of the Washington Post: "A Senate panel announced Monday it subpoenaed the CEOs of Elon Musk's X, Discord and Snap to testify at a hearing on children's online safety next month after 'repeated refusals' by the tech companies to cooperate with its investigation into the matter. In a rare show of force, the leaders of the Senate Judiciary Committee are seeking to force X's Linda Yaccarino, Discord's Jason Citron and Snap's Evan Spiegel to appear at the Dec. 6 session.... The committee said that in a 'remarkable departure from typical practice,' it had to 'enlist the assistance of the U.S. Marshals Service to personally serve the subpoenas' to the CEOs of Discord and X ... after their chief executives 'further refused to cooperate.'"

Sarah Fortinsky of the Hill: "Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) on Sunday called on Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) to create a new Jan. 6 select committee she said would target the original members of the panel and exonerate the so-called 'MAGA' wing of the Republican Party from blame associated with the 2021 attack on the Capitol. In a post on X..., Greene outlined her vision for the committee. She said it must issue subpoenas to the original committee members, to former Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) and to the witnesses who testified."

Nick Corasaniti of the New York Times: "A federal appeals court issued a ruling on Monday that would drastically weaken the Voting Rights Act, effectively barring private citizens and civil rights groups from filing lawsuits under a central provision of the landmark law. The ruling, made by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit, found that only the federal government could bring a legal challenge under Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act, a crucial part of the law that prohibits election or voting practices that discriminate against Americans based on race. The opinion is almost certain to be appealed to the Supreme Court. The court's current conservative majority has issued several key decisions in recent years that have weakened the Voting Rights Act." Politico's report is here.

Alan Feuer & Charlie Savage of the New York Times: "A federal appeals court in Washington appeared to signal at a hearing on Monday that it would keep in place at least some version of the gag order placed on ... Donald J. Trump in the criminal case accusing him of plotting to overturn the 2020 election. But a three-judge panel of the court left open the possibility of adjusting the terms of the order or even narrowing the scope of the people covered by it, including by potentially freeing Mr. Trump to attack Jack Smith, the special counsel overseeing the federal cases against him." A CNN analysis is here.

** Aaron Blake of the Washington Post: "... late Friday..., a [Colorado state] judge [-- Sarah Wallace --] ruled that while the former president can't be disqualified, he did incite an insurrection.... And she documented his history of promoting and legitimizing political violence -- which she said helps prove he incited the riot.... Wallace is hardly the first judge to lay blame at Trump's feet, however. Indeed, many judges have gestured in this general direction, including some Republican-appointed ones." The particulars Blake lists are interesting.

Maggie Astor of the New York Times: "The Commission on Presidential Debates on Monday announced the dates and locations of three presidential debates to be held during the general election campaign next year, as well as one vice-presidential debate. The presidential debates are scheduled for Sept. 16 at Texas State University in San Marcos, Texas; Oct. 1 at Virginia State University in Petersburg, Va.; and Oct. 9 at the University of Utah in Salt Lake City. The vice-presidential debate is scheduled for Sept. 25 at Lafayette College in Easton, Pa. The moderators and formats for each debate are not expected to be announced until next year, but the events are scheduled to run for 90 minutes with no commercial breaks." The AP's story is here.

Travis Gettys of the Raw Story: "A Republican pastor who coordinates the faith-based outreach for the Philadelphia chapter of Moms for Liberty was convicted a decade ago of sexually abusing a teenage boy." MB: Oh, read on. You will not be surprised to learn that Pastor Phil there claims he was the victim.

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Peter Baker of the New York Times: "For President Biden, who turns 81 on Monday, another birthday may bring more liability than revelry, offering one more reminder of his age to an already skeptical electorate. Unlike other presidents who have celebrated birthdays with lavish political events, Mr. Biden plans to observe his milestone privately with family in Nantucket later this week."

Jennifer Rubin of the Washington Post: "Democrats are the true majority in the House.... At a Wednesday news conference, [Democratic Leader Hakeem] Jeffries emphasized, 'House Republicans are unable to govern on their own....' Republicans just do not have a majority that can govern.... Jeffries told reporters on Wednesday, 'House Democrats came into this week with three principal objectives with respect to the continuing resolution.' He explained: 'First, no spending cuts. Mission accomplished. Second, no extreme right-wing policy changes. Mission accomplished. Third, no government shutdown. Mission accomplished.'"

Sarah Burris of the Raw Story: "Sen. Mike Lee (R-UT) shared an image of a Jan. 6 attacker with a claim that he was a secret FBI agent. He was proved wrong, but still won't delete the claim.... Lee shared the post ... [by a conspiracy theorist], saying, 'I can't wait to ask FBI Director Christopher Wray about this at our next oversight hearing. I predict that, as always, his answers will be 97% information-free.' The social media site ... included a fact-check dispelling the lie, saying, 'The person in the photo is Kevin Lyons. He has been sentenced to 51 months in prison for his illegal activities inside the Capitol on J6. He is not a police officer and is not holding a badge. He is carrying a vape and a photograph and wallet stolen from [Nancy] Pelosi's office.'" ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: I'm confused. If all the leaders of the insurrection were FBI agents, and Donald Trump will to pardon the "patriots" who stormed the Capitol, is he going to pardon the FBI agents? And what about that purge of the FBI he promised? Will he pardon these guys, then fire them? It's sad when these bozos' conspiracy theories conflict with each other. Maybe Trump, et al., are stable geniuses after all who can "hold two opposing ideas in mind at the same time and still retain the ability to function."

The Deplorables. Hannah Knowles of the Washington Post: Donald "Trump's coarseness and cruelty have come to define the Republican Party since his rise to the presidency -- and many GOP voters relish and emulate the approach, while others tolerate it.... Trump's rhetoric has alienated voters across the political spectrum and made him a particularly galvanizing opponent for Democrats. Within the GOP, however, it has spread, with others down the ballot and even some of his rivals looking to replicate his shock tactics.... Campaigning for president again, Trump's rhetoric has only escalated.... Trump's language has rubbed off on his supporters."

Elizabeth Dwoskin, et al., of the Washington Post: "Antisemitism has long festered online, but the Israel-Gaza war and the loosening of content moderation on X have propelled it to unprecedented levels, coinciding with a dramatic rise in real-world attacks on Jews, according to several monitoring organizations. Since Oct. 7, antisemitic content has surged more than 900 percent on X and there have been more than 1,000 incidents of real-world antisemitic attacks, vandalism and harassment in America, according to the Anti-Defamation League -- the highest number since the human rights group started counting.... [Elon Musk's] comments amplifying antisemitic tropes to his 163.5 million followers, his dramatic loosening of standards for what can be posted, and his boosting of voices that previously had been banned from the platform ... all have made antisemitism more acceptable on what is still one of the world's most influential social media platforms." ~~~

     ~~~ David Edwards of the Raw Story: In an exchange with Jake Tapper of CNN, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis refused to condemn Elon Musk for his antisemitic remarks. First DeSantis went the "I haven't heard that" route, then he did the what-aboutism routine and he downplayed Musk's remarks as "just blogging."

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Argentina. Jack Nicas of the New York Times: "Argentines on Sunday chose Javier Milei, a far-right libertarian who has drawn comparisons to Donald J. Trump, as their next president, a lurch to the right for a nation struggling under an economic crisis and a sign of the enduring strength of the global far right. Mr. Milei, 53, an economist and former television personality with little political experience, burst onto the traditionally closed Argentine political scene with a brash style, an embrace of conspiracy theories and a series of extreme proposals that he says are needed to upend a broken economy and government. Mr. Milei drew 56 percent of the vote, with 95 percent of the ballots counted, defeating Sergio Massa, Argentina's center-left economy minister, who had 44 percent." MB: Another reminder that it isn't only U.S. voters who are stupid.

Israel/Palestine. The Washington Post's live updates of developments Monday in the Israel/Hamas war are here: "Israel's military released footage of what it said showed Hamas members 'forcibly transporting hostages' through al-Shifa Hospital on Oct. 7, citing the video as proof that Hamas used the hospital 'on the day of the massacre as terrorist infrastructure.' Hamas, in response to the video shared Sunday, did not dispute that its hostages receive medical treatment and said some had been wounded by Israeli airstrikes.... The medical director of the Indonesian Hospital in northern Gaza told The Post that there was a strike on the facility Monday, followed by shooting in the direction of the hospital.... The World Health Organization said it evacuated 31 very sick premature infants from al-Shifa Hospital, taking them by ambulance to a facility near the Egyptian border. Two babies died the night before a U.N. team reached them, the WHO said." ~~~

     ~~~ The New York Times' live updates for Monday are here. CNN's live updates are here.

The Conversation -- November 19, 2023

** Katherine Seelye of the New York Times: "Rosalynn Carter, a true life partner to Jimmy Carter who helped propel him from rural Georgia to the White House in a single decade and became the most politically active first lady since Eleanor Roosevelt, died on Sunday in Plains, Ga. She was 96."

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President Joe Biden, in a Washington Post op-ed: "Today, the world faces an inflection point, where the choices we make -- including in the crises in Europe and the Middle East -- will determine the direction of our future for generations to come.... Both Putin and Hamas are fighting to wipe a neighboring democracy off the map. And both Putin and Hamas hope to collapse broader regional stability and integration and take advantage of the ensuing disorder. America cannot, and will not, let that happen. For our own national security interests -- and for the good of the entire world.... The Palestinian people deserve a state of their own and a future free from Hamas.... Our commitment to Ukraine today is an investment in our own security. It prevents a broader conflict tomorrow.... Our goal should not be simply to stop the war for today -- it should be to end the war forever, break the cycle of unceasing violence, and build something stronger in Gaza and across the Middle East so that history does not keep repeating itself."

Sorry, forgot to link this yesterday:

Amy Gardner of the Washington Post: "The Georgia prosecutor leading the election-interference case against ... Donald Trump and 14 remaining co-defendants requested a trial date of Aug. 5, 2024, in a motion filed Friday afternoon.... The motion is sure to draw vociferous objections from the defendants -- notably Trump, the Republican presidential front-runner, who, if nominated, would be forced to sit in an Atlanta courtroom day after day in the final weeks of the general-election campaign, and possibly on Election Day itself and into 2025. Steve Sadow, Trump's lead lawyer in the Georgia case, filed a motion later Friday objecting to the proposed trial date and requesting 'the opportunity to present oral argument in opposition to the motion at a hearing to be held at a time convenient to the Court.'... The government's motion, signed personally by Fulton County District Attorney Fani T. Willis, makes no mention of the election calendar next year. But in an appearance at The Washington Post on Tuesday, Willis objected to the idea that a person who commits a crime should not be held accountable because they are running for office." ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: One of the legal experts I saw on the teevee noted that state courts and prosecutors, unlike those in the federal system, are not bound by DOJ-type rules that prohibit bringing actions against a political candidate close to an election. Of course Trumplewhiner will object to the date, but I think an August would benefit him. (1) He will be in the news every day leading up to the election; (2) the trial would give him something to complain about every day; and (3) he's an old man and a vigorous campaign schedule would be a strain on him, both mentally & physically. And bear in mind that he will not be the only major candidate who has on his mind matters other than the election: Joe Biden has a big ole country to run.

Presidential Race 2024

More Crazy After All These Years. Dan Balz of the Washington Post: "Taking Trump seriously, as the Economist does in its new issue, is a requirement -- for the press, certainly, but also for all Americans who care about the future. The Post reported in May about 'the deepening radicalization' of Trump. The article noted that his positions 'have become even more extreme; his tone more confrontational.' In recent days, both The Post and the New York Times have published stories about what policies and actions Trump might pursue in a second term, from using the Justice Department to go after enemies to a broad immigration crackdown to purges in the executive branch."

Michael Scherer of the Washington Post: "The nation's largest Spanish-language media company, Univision, faced growing backlash Friday for its handling of a recent interview with ... Donald Trump, as major Latino advocacy groups delivered a letter of protest to the network's executives and the Congressional Hispanic Caucus prepared to request a meeting with the network. Actor and comedian John Leguizamo ... also posted a video on Instagram on Thursday night calling for a boycott of the network until it stopped its rejection of Biden ads, some of which were canceled just before the Trump interview aired.... The network, which has said it has also requested an interview with President Biden, announced a new policy of preventing opposition advertising during single-candidate interviews shortly before the Trump interview aired. The network also canceled a booking with a Biden spokeswoman to respond to the interview on a subsequent news broadcast."

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Wisconsin. Lauren Irwin of the Hill: "Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers (D), several lawmakers and the University of Wisconsin-Madison condemned a group of neo-Nazis that marched through the streets of Madison on Saturday. According to reports and videos posted on social media, the neo-Nazi group called the Blood Tribe was spotted marching through downtown Madison carrying swastika flags and doing the nazi salute." MB: The march ran along State Street, Madison's main east-west artery, which connects the UW campus to the Capitol. The march apparently started a few blocks from campus and ended on the capitol grounds.

New York. Hurubie Meko of the New York Times: "The federal government on Friday formally joined an effort to strip Mayor Eric Adams's administration of control over Rikers Island, asking a judge to hand oversight of the troubled jail complex to an outside authority. Joining lawyers who represent people detained in New York City jails, Manhattan's top federal prosecutor, Damian Williams, wrote in a court filing that the appointment of an outside authority, known as a receiver, was the only solution to the persistent violence and chaos at Rikers."

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Israel/Palestine

Karen DeYoung of the Washington Post: "Israel, the United States and Hamas have agreed to a tentative deal that would free dozens of women and children held hostage in Gaza, in exchange for a five-day pause in fighting. The release, which could begin within the next several days -- barring last-minute hitches -- could lead to the first sustained pause in conflict in Gaza, according to people familiar with its provisions."

Raja Abdulrahim of the New York Times: "Health officials in Gaza say that 5,000 Palestinian children have been killed since the Israeli assault began, and possibly hundreds more. Many international officials and experts familiar with the way death tolls are compiled in the territory say the overall numbers are generally reliable.... The furious pace of [Israeli air]strikes -- more than 15,000 to date, according to the Israeli military, including in southern Gaza as well -- makes the Israeli bombing campaign on the Palestinian territory one of the most intense of the 21st century. And it is happening in a dense urban enclave under siege with high concentrations of civilians, particularly children, setting off mounting global alarm, even from some of Israel's closest allies.... 'More and more, it seems like a war against children," said Dr. [Ghassan] Abu-Sittah of [Al-Shifa Hospital]. Two weeks ago, the emergency room at Al-Shifa registered 'Unknown Trauma Child 1,500,' Dr. Abu-Sittah said."