New York Times: “A body believed to be of the suspect in a Kentucky highway shooting that left five people seriously injured this month was found on Wednesday, the authorities said, ending a manhunt that stretched into a second week and set the local community on edge. The Kentucky State Police commissioner, Phillip Burnett Jr., said in a Wednesday night news conference that at approximately 3:30 p.m., two troopers and two civilians found an unidentified body in the brush behind the highway exit where the shooting occurred.... The police have identified the suspect of the shooting as Joseph A. Couch, 32. They said that on Sept. 7, Mr. Couch perched on a cliff overlooking Interstate 75 about eight miles north of London, Ky., and opened fire. One of the wounded was shot in the face, and another was shot in the chest. A dozen vehicles were riddled with gunfire.”
To keep the Conversation going, please help me by linking news articles, opinion pieces and other political content in today's Comments section.
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New York Times: “Hvaldimir, a beluga whale who had captured the public’s imagination since 2019 after he was spotted wearing a harness seemingly designed for a camera, was found dead on Saturday in Norway, according to a nonprofit that worked to protect the whale.... [Hvaldimir] was wearing a harness that identified it as “equipment” from St. Petersburg. There also appeared to be a camera mount. Some wondered if the whale was on a Russian reconnaissance mission. Russia has never claimed ownership of the whale. If Hvaldimir was a spy, he was an exceptionally friendly one. The whale showed signs of domestication, and was comfortable around people. He remained in busier waters than are typical for belugas....” ~~~
~~~ Marie: Oh, Lord, do not let Bobby Kennedy, Jr., near that carcass. ~~~
~~~ AP Update: “There’s no evidence that a well-known beluga whale that lived off Norway’s coast and whose harness ignited speculation it was a Russian spy was shot to death last month as claimed by animal rights groups, Norwegian police said Monday.... Police said that the Norwegian Veterinary Institute conducted a preliminary autopsy on the animal, which was become known as 'Hvaldimir,' combining the Norwegian word for whale — hval — and the first name of Russian President Vladimir Putin. 'There are no findings from the autopsy that indicate that Hvaldimir has been shot,' police said in a statement.”
New York Times: Botswana's “President Mokgweetsi Masisi grinned as he lifted the diamond, a 2,492-carat stone that is the biggest diamond unearthed in more than a century and the second-largest ever found, according to the Vancouver-based mining operator Lucara, which owns the mine where it was found. This exceptional discovery could bring back the luster of the natural diamond mining industry, mining companies and experts say. The diamond was discovered in the same relatively small mine in northeastern Botswana that has produced several of the largest such stones in living memory. Such gemstones typically surface as a result of volcanic activity.... The diamond will likely sell in the range of tens of millions of dollars....”
Click on photo to enlarge.
~~~ Guardian: "On a distant reef 16,000km from Paris, surfer Gabriel Medina has given Olympic viewers one of the most memorable images of the Games yet, with an airborne celebration so well poised it looked too good to be true. The Brazilian took off a thundering wave at Teahupo’o in Tahiti on Monday, emerging from a barrelling section before soaring into the air and appearing to settle on a Pacific cloud, pointing to the sky with biblical serenity, his movements mirrored precisely by his surfboard. The shot was taken by Agence France-Presse photographer Jérôme Brouillet, who said “the conditions were perfect, the waves were taller than we expected”. He took the photo while aboard a boat nearby, capturing the surreal image with such accuracy that at first some suspected Photoshop or AI."
Washington Post: “'Mary Cassatt at Work' is a large and mostly satisfying exhibition devoted to the career of the great American artist beloved for her sensitive and often sentimental views of family life. The 'at work' in the title of the Philadelphia Museum of Art show references the curators’ interest in Cassatt’s pioneering effort to establish herself as a professional artist within a male-dominated field. Throughout the show, which includes some 130 paintings, pastels, prints and drawings, the wall text and the art on view stresses Cassatt’s fixation on art as a career rather than a pastime.... Mary Cassatt at Work is on view at the Philadelphia Museum of Art through Sept. 8. philamuseum.org”
New York Times: “Bob Newhart, who died on Thursday at the age of 94, has been such a beloved giant of popular culture for so long that it’s easy to forget how unlikely it was that he became one of the founding fathers of stand-up comedy. Before basically inventing the hit stand-up special, with the 1960 Grammy-winning album 'The Button-Down Mind of Bob Newhart' — that doesn’t even count his pay-per-view event broadcast on Canadian television that some cite as the first filmed special — he was a soft-spoken accountant who had never done a set in a nightclub. That he made a classic with so little preparation is one of the great miracles in the history of comedy.... Bob Newhart holds up. In fact, it’s hard to think of a stand-up from that era who is a better argument against the commonplace idea that comedy does not age well.”
Washington Post: “An early Titian masterpiece — once looted by Napolean’s troops and a part of royal collections for centuries — caused a stir when it was stolen from the home of a British marquess in 1995. Seven years later, it was found inside an unassuming white and blue plastic bag at a bus stop in southwest London by an art detective, and returned. This week, the oil painting 'The Rest on the Flight into Egypt' sold for more than $22 million at Christie’s. It was a record for the Renaissance artist, whom museums describe as the greatest painter of 16th-century Venice. Ahead of the sale in April, the auction house billed it as'the most important work by Titian to come to the auction market in more than a generation.'”
Washington Post: The Folger Shakespeare Library in Washington, D.C., which houses the world's largest collection of Shakespeare material, has undergone a major renovation. "The change to the building is pervasive, both subtle and transformational."
Are you better off today than you were four years ago? Here's Rhode Island casting its delegate votes for president in the 2020 virtual Democratic National Convention": ~~~
~~~ Robert Draper, in the New York Times Magazine, profiles President Biden.
Peter Baker & Zolan Kanno-Youngs of the New York TimesevaluateKamala Harris's tenure as vice president.
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Presidential Race
Maureen Dowd of the New York Times, as she is wont to do, airs top Democrats' dirty laundry, even if she has to make up some stuff. (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ~~~
Ezra Klein of the New York Times on what unites Democrats: Democrats "are unified in wanting to use the government to make people's lives better.... The modern Republican Party, by contrast, is built upon a loathing of the government.... [Democrats] are unified in believing Trump must be stopped. And so it is not quite true that this election is just a contest between Kamala Harris and Donald Trump. It is that, but it is also a contest between Donald Trump and the Democratic Party."
Marianne LeVine & Isaac Arnsdorf of the Washington Post: At a rally in Wilkes-Barre, Pa., Saturday "Donald Trumpfixated on Vice PresidentKamala Harris's appearance in terms he acknowledged were offensive, rejecting pressure from GOP allies to emphasize policy differences over personal attacks.... He appeared to take exception to a Wall Street Journal column that listed Harris's appearance as one of her political assets, saying, 'I am much better looking than her. I'm a better-looking person than Kamala.' He also said he mistook an illustration of Harris on the cover of Time Magazine for the actresses Sophia Loren or Elizabeth Taylor.... Trump repeatedly described Harris as a 'lunatic' and mocked her laugh. 'As soon as she laughs, the election's over,' he said.... In other recent remarks, Trump suggested Harris's appearance would undermine her with world leaders, saying they would view her as a 'play toy' and declining to specify why." ~~~
~~~ Marie: Sophia Loren? She hasn't made a film in a decade. Elizabeth Taylor? She's been dead for more than a decade. I pay far, far less attention to Hollywood celebrities than does Trump, but even I could come up with the names of contemporary beautiful movie stars without thinking too hard about it. ~~~
~~~ Meredith McGraw of Politico: "For ... Donald Trump, the 2024 race is a contest between him and Vice PresidentKamala Harris. And President Joe Biden. During a rally in Wilkes Barre, Pennsylvania, on Saturday, Trump repeatedly blamed Harris and Democrats for Biden dropping out of the race more than a month ago -- undermining Harris' legitimacy as a candidate and highlighting his one-time opponent. He claimed, without evidence, that the upcoming Democratic National Convention in Chicago next week is 'rigged' because Biden isn't on the ticket.... Trump also brought up Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro, a finalist to be Harris' running mate before she tapped [Minnesota Gov. Tim] Walz, and he claimed without evidence she did not pick him because he is Jewish. 'I don't think he's good but they turned him down because he's Jewish. That's why they turned him down, and I'll tell you this, any Jewish person that votes for her or a Democrat needs to go out and have their head examined,' Trump said."
Annals of "Journalism," Ctd. James Fallows, in a Substack post, calls out the mainstream press for their coverage of presidential elections. "Eight years ago, the New York Times, the Washington Post, and other leading news organizations raced to publish embarrassing secrets about the Hillary Clinton campaign, extracted and fed through Wikileaks by Russian-led email hackers.... This past weekend Politico reported that it, plus the NYT and the Washington Post, had again received hacked data, this time about the Trump campaign. The hacking was again foreign-directed, apparently from Iran. But this time the news outlets thought it wiser not to publish info aimed at disrupting a campaign.... Regardless of rationale, as a blunt reality the editors' decision in 2016 enabled (and probably elected) Donald Trump. Their decision in 2024 protects him." And this: "Especially after Robert Hur's notorious description of Joe Biden as 'an elderly man with a poor memory,' the state of Joe Biden's cognition became the 'but her emails!' of 2024.... [The MSM has covered every Biden gaffe while ignoring his mastery of the facts.] Over the past ten days..., nearly everything [Donald Trump] has said ... has been a fantasy or a lie. And yet: No major news organization has yet run even one serious story about the state of Trump's cognition and thus of his fitness for office. We saw dozens of these about Biden; so far, none about Trump." ~~~
~~~ Marie: In 2016, Donald Trump said, "I could stand in the middle of Fifth Avenue and shoot somebody, and I wouldn't lose any voters, OK?" What we've learned is also accurate: "I could stand in the middle of Fifth Avenue and shoot somebody, and the New York Times would give me a pass, OK?"
Bad, Bad Willie Brown. Heather Knight & Shawn Hubler of the New York Times: "Willie Brown, the former mayor of San Francisco, had a message for ... Donald J. Trump on Saturday afternoon: Keep my name out of your mouth or get sued. He stood with his longtime lawyer, Joe Cotchett, on a sidewalk in downtown San Francisco, outside John's Grill, the Saturday spot on Mr. Brown's lunchtime rotation, and told reporters that he would sue Mr. Trump for slander and defamation if he repeated his concocted helicopter story one more time. 'He's never brought a lawsuit in his life,' Mr. Cotchett said of Mr. Brown. 'But you know who's pushing him to it? A guy by the name of Trump.'... Mr. Trump ... said that Mr. Brown, who dated Vice President Kamala Harris in 1994 and 1995, said 'terrible things' about Ms. Harris just before they almost plummeted to their deaths. 'He was not a fan of hers very much, at that point,' Mr. Trump said. Mr. Brown promptly called the tale a lie -- saying he had never ridden in a helicopter with Mr. Trump and had never told him disparaging things about Ms. Harris. In fact, he repeatedly told reporters that he respected her and desperately hoped that she would beat the man with whom he had never ridden in a helicopter."
News Ledes
New York Times: "Heavy rainfall in southwestern Connecticut led to mudslides, washed-out roads and flash flooding on Sunday, while thunderstorms sweeping through New York City disrupted flights and train service. The National Weather Service declared a flash flood emergency or flash flood warning into Sunday evening for parts of Fairfield, New Haven, Litchfield and Hartford Counties, as overfilled rivers crested their banks and additional thunderstorms were predicted. Emergency crews carried out widespread water rescues, especially in the Southbury area, and several mudslides were reported, according to the Weather Service."
New York Times: "Alain Delon, the intense and intensely handsome French actor who, working with some of Europe's most revered 20th-century directors, played cold Corsican gangsters as convincingly as hot Italian lovers, died on Sunday. He was 88."
Erica Green, et al., of the New York Times: "Vice President Kamala Harrisunspooled her economic agenda on Friday in her first major policy address, casting her vision as one for the future and ... Donald J. Trump's as of the past, as she argued that she would improve the lives of middle-class Americans and benefit generations of their descendants. In a roughly 30-minute speech in Raleigh, N.C., she painted a sharp contrast between herself and Mr. Trump, who has spent more time attacking President Biden's economic policies than laying out his own.... In her speech, Ms. Harris emphasized middle-class Americans' everyday experiences, like sitting at the kitchen table paying their bills or browsing grocery-store shelves. She detailed how she would build what she called an 'opportunity economy' that would lower the cost of living, provide economic security and remove barriers to building generational wealth.... Much of Ms. Harris's agenda represents an expansion of policies proposed by Mr. Biden in his latest presidential budget and during his re-election campaign....
"On Friday, the Trump campaign called the vice president 'Comrade Kamala' and said she had gone 'full communist' in a news release." MB: Seems like a well-reasoned critique, dunnit? (Also linked yesterday.)
Alex Henderson of AlterNet: "During a lighthearted conversation about food with ... Kamala Harris, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz humorously said he likes 'white guy tacos' -- meaning hard taco shells with 'ground beef and cheese' as opposed to authentic Mexican tacos with soft corn tortillas. 'Black pepper is the top of the spice level in Minnesota,' Walz joked.... Walz's comments have been drawing fake outrage ... from MAGA Republicans who believe he is disparaging white people." MB: When the leader of your party is a humorless sociopath (have you ever seen him laugh?) who would never, ever, under any circumstance, engage in self-deprecating humor, you might be dumb enough to be outraged by self-deprecating humor. (Also linked yesterday.)
Remember the Emails! Marie: I'm almost surprised the WashPo editors didn't get upset about white guy tacos. But that could be next, because in today's paper they're "disappointed" that Walz's running mate -- as part of her foreshortened presidential campaign -- outlined economic policies that include some voter-popular gimmicks. "Even adjusted for the pandering standards of campaign economics..., Ms. Harris's speech Friday ranks as a disappointment." Hmmm. Are they disappointed that Donald Trump's economic plan is a Project 2025 disaster with the extra added attraction of an economy-busting 20 percent tariff on imports? Are they disappointed that Donald Trump doesn't think much of the Medal of Valor because recipients may be "losers" who have died or been severely injured in earning the medal? Are they disappointed that Donald Trump calls Kamala Harris names that are sexist, racist, obscene and generally disparaging? Or are they disappointed that Bobby Kennedy, Jr., dumped a dead bear in Central Park? I'll admit the editors' economic analysis is okay; I just don't think Kamala Harris is the candidate to target right now. But, hey, it's great the Post decided not to publish any juicy content from the purloined Trump emails. I hope they'll send me a back copy of John Podesta's tips for creamy risotto, though.* ~~~
~~~ * Truth be told, that's the way I've been making risotto for decades, and Podesta is right about breaking down the starch. I don't make risotto often because I have to stand at the stove for 45 minutes stirring stock into arborio rice. I think I got the recipe from the original Craig Claiborne NYT cookbook.
Ezra Klein of the New York Times: "... the 2024 election is ... about gender. In Donald Trump and in Tim Walz, you have two very different, but very explicit, archetypes, visions of what it means to be a man. Trump's pitch is built on what I would call an almost cartoonish overperformance of masculinity, which is aimed at alienated young men.... But in Tim Walz, Democrats have found their own version of a male archetype: a football coach, a soldier, a guy who will fix your car, but also an ally, a man comfortable being in the role of supporting women, a man unthreatened by social change, a man even excited by it. And then there's family.... What does it mean to be pro-family? Is it to support people in finding the life path they want to walk, whether that's becoming a parent or not?... Or is it to use policy and culture to push people to have children?" Klein interviews two writers, Christine Emba of the Atlantic & Zack Beauchamp of Vox, who have written on these topics. An interesting conversation.
~~~ Marie: A topic Klein & his guests don't discuss is the accessibility of the three types of masculinity the writers define: Trump's comic he-man, Vance's "neopatriarchy" & Walz's strong nice guy. The appeal of Trump's phony persona is precisely that it is not realistically achievable. Even the quasi-delusional realize they are not likely to become masters of the universe. But it's fun to watch supermen in movies and associate yourself with someone who appears to be super-rich and who posed as the leader of the free world. On the other hand, a man could be expected to achieve Vance's or Walz's masculine ideal, so these images of masculinity present real challenges. They require hard, sustained work. And even then, for many reasons, a man might not get there. He cannot fail at being Trump because he doesn't have to try. He can fail at being Vance or Walz, because to many people, he should be like one or the other of them. If Vance brings down Trump, or irony of ironies, it will be because he turns off the lazy, good-for-nothing hillbillies he condemns in his best-selling book.
Maggie Haberman & Jonathan Swan of the New York Times: "... Donald J. Trumphas begun preparing for his debate with Vice President Kamala Harris and has brought in the former Democratic congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard to help sharpen his attacks in a recent practice session at his private club and home, Mar-a-Lago.... Ms. Gabbard, who left the Democratic Party after her 2020 presidential run and has rebranded herself as a celebrity among Trump's base of support, has long been friendly with Mr. Trump and was briefly considered to be his running mate. But her involvement in Mr. Trump's debate preparation ... was partly because of her own performance in a 2019 Democratic presidential primary debate, when Ms. Gabbard eviscerated Ms. Harris in a memorable onstage encounter.... Ms. Gabbard's attacks in that July 2019 debate, however, all came from the left. Ms. Gabbard said during that debate that Ms. Harris, when she was a district attorney in San Francisco, 'put over 1,500 people in jail for marijuana violations and then laughed about it when she was asked if she ever smoked marijuana." The Hill's story is here.
Michael Gold of the New York Times: "... Donald J. Trump on Thursday described the Presidential Medal of Freedom, which honors civilians, as being 'much better' than the Medal of Honor, because service members who receive the nation's highest military honor are often severely wounded or dead. Mr. Trump's remarks follow a yearslong series of comments in which he has appeared to mock, attack or express disdain for service members who are wounded, captured or killed, even as he portrays himself as the ultimate champion of the armed forces. At a campaign event at his golf club in Bedminster, N.J., billed as a discussion about fighting antisemitism, Mr. Trump recounted how he awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom to Miriam Adelson, the Israeli-American widow of the casino magnate Sheldon Adelson. Ms. Adelson, who attended the event, is among his top donors. 'It's actually much better, because everyone gets the Congressional Medal of Honor, that's soldiers, they're either in very bad shape because they've been hit so many times by bullets, or they're dead.' Mr. Trump said, using a common misnomer for the military award. 'She gets it, and she's a healthy, beautiful woman.'" The Guardian's story is here. (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~
No, the Medal of Honor is not the equivalent of the medal Trump gave to Rush Limbaugh and Jim Jordan. No, they are not 'rated equal.' Not even close. Every single member of the military knows the significance of the MEDAL OF HONOR. Every single Commander in Chief in the history of America knows the significance of this medal ... except Donald Trump -- Amy McGrath, former Marine pilot, in a tweet
Marie: Trump may think troops are suckers & losers, but he plans to make those suckers and losers work on his little domestic projects: ~~~
~~~ Charlie Savage, et al., of the New York Times: "In his first term in office, Mr. Trump never realized his expansive vision of using troops to enforce the law on U.S. soil. But as he has sought a return to power, he has made clear that he intends to use the military for a range of domestic law enforcement purposes, including patrolling the border, suppressing protests that he deems to have turned into riots and even fighting crime in big cities run by Democrats.... During his time out of power, allies of Mr. Trump have worked on policy papers to provide legal justifications for the former president' intent to use the military to enforce the law domestically -- particularly on immigration.... But ... an internal email from a group closely aligned with Mr. Trump ... shows that, privately, the group was also exploring using troops to 'stop riots' by protesters....
"A post-Civil War law called the Posse Comitatus Act generally makes it a crime to use regular federal troops for domestic policing purposes. However, an 1807 law called the Insurrection Act creates an exception to that ban. It grants presidents the emergency power to use federal troops on domestic soil to restore law and order when they believe a situation warrants it. Those federal troops could either be regular active-duty military or state National Guard soldiers the federal government has assumed control over."
Dana Milbank of the Washington Post: "Republicans [-- like strong> Kellyanne Conway, Peter Navarro, Kevin McCarthy, Nikki Haley, Vivek Ramaswamy & Frank Luntz --] are begging Donald Trumpto stop being so insulting.... They all might as well ask Trump to abandon Mar-a-Lago and move into a double-wide. Trump abandon insults? They are the very essence of the man." MB: Milbank's column is worth reading if you have a WashPo subscription. I experimented here with what the Post calls a "gift link." I don't know how or if it works. It may count against the number of articles/month you can access. Anyway, Milbank puts in one place quite a few of the insults Trump has dished out recently and a number of the more outlandish lies Trump has told. (Also linked yesterday.)
Jennifer Rubin of the Washington Post: "... Trump's delusions have gotten wilder, his thinking more scattered.... A glitch-plagued X interview (unable to start for 45 minutes) with Elon Musk ... only made things worse. People on social mediareflected shock at hearing him slur and ramble his way through a softball interview. His obsession with President Joe Biden, who is no longer running, sounds like Trump cannot cope with his actual opponents. A much less alarming performance in the debate effectively ended President Biden's campaign. Had the media been conscientiously covering Trump, the public would understand these bizarre outings as part of his noticeable cognitive decline.... The media's refusal to convey Trump's unfitness amounts to misleading the public." (Also linked yesterday.)
Say, here is a news story that might help Donald Trump understand that rising sea levels do not create more waterfront property. It involves a multimillionaire, a disappearing beachfront, a lawsuit, and a sports franchise. Maybe some aspect of all that could pique Trump's attention. ~~~
~~~ Broad Beach Is Not So Broad Anymore. Maria Paúl of the Washington Post: "... in recent years, sea level rise and erosion have washed away nearly all of the dunes in [the] Malibu neighborhood [of Broad Beach,] turning sand into a premium commodity and a source of conflict between neighbors. Now, the Milwaukee Brewers baseball team's principal owner, multimillionaire Mark Attanasio, is up to bat in the dispute. His neighbor accused him in court last week of stealing the neighborhood's scarce public sand and using it for an ongoing construction project at his home.... Between June and July, the suit alleges, construction machinery descended into the neighborhood -- and 'at times restricted public access to the entirety of Broad Beach.' The 'enormous excavators' transferred large amounts of sand from the beach's tidal zone to Attanasio's property, leaving traces of gasoline residue in the water and sand, the lawsuit states.... According to a research article published in the Pacific Historical Review in 2023, the high tide line in Broad Beach began moving landward about two feet each year starting in 1974 -- resulting in 'a loss of sixty-five feet of beach by the start of the twenty-first century.'" (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~
~~~ In yesterday's Comments, both NiskyGuy & Patrick provided plausible explanations as to why Trump thinks rising seas create more waterfront property. One of the reasons, as Patrick noted in passing, is that Trump is a moron. But Patrick's main point, which appears at the end of the Comments, well may be the "real reason" Trump is so confused. In all seriousness, it sometimes takes a very nimble mind to understand a simple one. So thank you, gentlemen.
Marie: You know how we all say we like government to be transparent? Well, you couldn't get much more transparent than sleazeball Rep. Jim Comer (R-Ky.) ~~~
~~~ Jordain Carney of Politico: "Oversight Chair James Comer (R-Ky.) on Friday announced that he is opening an investigation into [Gov. Tim] Walz's work related to China, including coordinating student trips, and sent a letter to FBI DirectorChristopher Wray requesting a swath of documents and any correspondence with Walz related to China. 'Americans should be deeply concerned that Governor Walz, Kamala Harris's vice-presidential running mate, has a longstanding and cozy relationship with China.... The American people deserve to fully understand how deep Governor Walz's relationship with China goes,' Comer said in a statement. Walz in 1989 went to China as part of a teach-abroad program. He also helped coordinate trips for students and has visited China more than 30 times -- two details highlighted by Comer as part of the groundwork for his investigation.... Walz has also been critical of China, particularly on human rights. During his time in Congress he served on the Congressional-Executive Commission on China, which focuses on the issue." The Washington Post's story is here.
Will Sommer of the Washington Post: Premise for a sitcom episode: a Marxist writer finds a Project 2025 dufflebag at a Washington, D.C. corner where people leave free stuff. That really happened, but other than the Heritage Foundation siccing the cops on the writer, the story ends not with a bang but a whimper.
Congressional Crime Blotter
Mark Morales of CNN: "Former New York Rep. George Santosis expected to plead guilty Monday to federal charges relating to fraudulent activity during his 2022 midterm campaign, according to multiple sources familiar with the deal. Santos, who was expelled from the House last year, previously pleaded not guilty to 23 federal charges, including allegations of fraud related to Covid-19 unemployment benefits, misusing campaign funds and lying about his personal finances on House disclosure reports."
Buh-Bye, Bob. Tracey Tully of the New York Times: "Senator Robert Menendez, a famously pugnacious Democrat whose five-decade political career came to a crashing halt last month when he was convicted of corruption, has run his final race for re-election. After resisting what felt all-but inevitable to people close to the senator, Mr. Menendez pulled his name from November's ballot hours before the Friday deadline. He had planned to run as an independent.... Mr. Menendez, 70, was found guilty of taking bribes and acting as an agent of Egypt after a two-month trial in Manhattan, and he had virtually no chance of winning re-election." (Also linked yesterday.) Politico's report is here.
So you thought the Supremes were away for the summer, some enjoying luxury vacations at exotic ports of call on somebody else's dime? Apparently, not entirely ~~~
~~~ Abbie VanSickle & Michael Shear of the New York Times: "The Supreme Court on Friday temporarily continued to block Education Department rules intended to protect transgender students from discrimination based on their gender identity in several Republican states that had mounted challenges. The emergency order allowed rulings by lower courts in Louisiana and Kentucky to remain in effect in about 10 states as litigation moves forward, maintaining a pause on new federal guidelines expanding protections for transgender students that had been enacted in nearly half the country on Aug. 1. The order came in response to a challenge by the Biden administration, which asked the Supreme Court to intervene after a number of Republican-led states sought to overturn the new rules. The decision was unsigned, as is typical in such emergency petitions. But all nine members of the court said that parts of the new rules -- including the protections for transgender students -- should not go into effect until the legal challenges are resolved."
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Florida Woman. Annie Correal of the New York Times: "A white woman in Florida who shot a Black neighbor who confronted her at the door of her home last year in a case that prompted national outrage was found guilty of manslaughter on Friday by a jury in Marion County, Fla. Susan Lorincz, now 60, shot Ajike (A.J.) Owens last June as the 35-year-old mother of four stood outside a door to Ms. Lorincz's home in Ocala, a city about 80 miles northwest of Orlando. The two neighbors had been involved in an ongoing dispute over neighborhood children -- including Ms. Owens's -- playing near Ms. Lorincz's home, the authorities said. After Ms. Lorincz argued with the children and threw things at them, Ms. Owens went to Ms. Lorincz's door to confront her, the police said. Ms. Lorincz fired a handgun through the door, striking Ms. Owens in the chest. She was not armed." ~~~
~~~ Marie: The story is fine, but the headline is of a genre that irritates me: "Florida Woman Found Guilty of Manslaughter in Fatal Shooting of Black Neighbor." Too often journalists -- but in this case, the headline writer -- assume that if a subject is an American person, s/he's a white person. Here, where race matters, that's what happens. A person shot a Black person. This elevates the perp -- "Florida woman" -- to being more important or more human or more relatable or something than the "Black neighbor" she shot dead. I wouldn't mention this, except that it's a common assumption among journalists, so I suppose among Americans. A "typical" or "average" or "normal" American is white. That isn't even statistically true anymore.
Georgia. The Times They Are A'Changin', After All. Ron Harris of the AP: "A large bronze statue of the late civil rights icon leader and Georgia congressman John Lewis was installed Friday, at the very spot where a contentious monument to the confederacy stood for more than 110 years in the town square before it was dismantled in 2020.... The obelisk [memorial to the Confederacy] was erected by the United Daughters of the Confederacy in 1908."
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Ukraine/Russia. Constant Méheut of the New York Times: "Ukraine has destroyed a critical bridge and appears to have targeted at least one more in Russia's western Kursk region as it tries to sever Russian supply lines and consolidate its territorial gains, a dozen days into its startling cross-border offensive. Analysts say the destruction of the bridge -- which spanned the Seym River near the town of Glushkovo, about 10 miles west of the battle zone in Kursk -- could hamper Russia's response to the Ukrainian attack by making it harder to move troops and materiel, although there are alternative routes."
Buh-Bye, Bob. Tracey Tully of the Washington Post: "Senator Robert Menendez, a famously pugnacious Democrat whose five-decade political career came to a crashing halt last month when he was convicted of corruption, has run his final race for re-election. After resisting what felt all-but inevitable to people close to the senator, Mr. Menendez pulled his name from November's ballot hours before the Friday deadline. He had planned to run as an independent.... Mr. Menendez, 70, was found guilty of taking bribes and acting as an agent of Egypt..., and he had virtually no chance of winning re-election.
Michael Gold of the New York Times: "... Donald J. Trump on Thursday described the Presidential Medal of Freedom, which honors civilians, as being 'much better' than the Medal of Honor, because service members who receive the nation's highest military honor are often severely wounded or dead. Mr. Trump's remarks follow a yearslong series of comments in which he has appeared to mock, attack or express disdain for service members who are wounded, captured or killed.... At a campaign event at his golf club in Bedminster, N.J., billed as a discussion about fighting antisemitism, Mr. Trump recounted how he awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom to Miriam Adelson, the Israeli-American widow of the casino magnate Sheldon Adelson. Ms. Adelson, who attended the event, is among his top donors. 'It's actually much better, because everyone gets the Congressional Medal of Honor, that's soldiers, they're either in very bad shape because they've been hit so many times by bullets, or they're dead.' Mr. Trump said, using a common misnomer for the military award. 'She gets it, and she's a healthy, beautiful woman.'" The Guardian's story is here. ~~~
No, the Medal of Honor is not the equivalent of the medal Trump gave to Rush Limbaugh and Jim Jordan. No, they are not "rated equal." Not even close. Every single member of the military knows the significance of the MEDAL OF HONOR. Every single Commander in Chief in the history of America knows the significance of this medal ... except Donald Trump -- Amy McGrath, former Marine pilot, in a tweet
Erica Green, et al., of the New York Times: "Vice President Kamala Harrisunspooled her economic agenda on Friday in her first major policy address, casting her vision as one for the future and ... Donald J. Trump's as of the past, as she argued that she would improve the lives of middle-class Americans and benefit generations of their descendants. In a roughly 30-minute speech in Raleigh, N.C., she painted a sharp contrast between herself and Mr. Trump, who has spent more time attacking President Biden's economic policies than laying out his own.... In her speech, Ms. Harris emphasized middle-class Americans' everyday experiences, like sitting at the kitchen table paying their bills or browsing grocery-store shelves. She detailed how she would build what she called an 'opportunity economy' that would lower the cost of living, provide economic security and remove barriers to building generational wealth.... Much of Ms. Harris's agenda represents an expansion of policies proposed by Mr. Biden....
"On Friday, the Trump campaign called the vice president 'Comrade Kamala' and said she had gone 'full communist' in a news release." MB: Seems like a well-reasoned critique, dunnit?
Alex Henderson of AlterNet: "During a lighthearted conversation about food with ... Kamala Harris, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz humorously said he likes 'white guy tacos' -- meaning hard taco shells with 'ground beef and cheese' as opposed to authentic Mexican tacos with soft corn tortillas. 'Black pepper is the top of the spice level in Minnesota,' Walz joked.... Walz's comments have been drawing fake outrage ... from MAGA Republicans who believe he is disparaging white people." MB: When the leader of your party is a humorless sociopath (have you ever seen him laugh?) who would never, ever, under any circumstance, engage in self-deprecating humor, you might be dumb enough to be outraged by self-deprecating humor.
Dana Milbank of the Washington Post: "Republicans [-- like Kellyanne Conway, Peter Navarro, Kevin McCarthy, Nikki Haley, Vivek Ramaswamy & Frank Luntz --] are begging Donald Trumpto stop being so insulting.... They all might as well ask Trump to abandon Mar-a-Lago and move into a double-wide. Trump abandon insults? They are the very essence of the man." MB: Milbank's column is worth reading if you have a WashPo subscription. I experimented here with what the Post calls a "gift link." I don't know how or if it works. It may count against the number of articles/month you can access. Anyway, Milbank puts in one place quite a few of the insults Trump has dished out recently and a number of the more outlandish lies Trump has told.
Jennifer Rubin of the Washington Post: "... Trump's delusions have gotten wilder, his thinking more scattered.... A glitch-plagued X interview (unable to start for 45 minutes) with Elon Musk ... only made things worse. People on social mediareflected shock at hearing him slur and ramble his way through a softball interview. His obsession with President Joe Biden, who is no longer running, sounds like Trump cannot cope with his actual opponents. A much less alarming performance in the debate effectively ended President Biden's campaign. Had the media been conscientiously covering Trump, the public would understand these bizarre outings as part of his noticeable cognitive decline.... The media's refusal to convey Trump's unfitness amounts to misleading the public."
Say, here's a news story that might help Donald Trump understand that rising sea levels do not create more waterfront property. It involves a multimillionaire, a disappearing beachfront, a lawsuit, and a sports franchise. Maybe some aspect of all that could pique Trump's attention. ~~~
~~~ Broad Beach Is Not So Broad Anymore. Maria Paúl of the Washington Post: :... in recent years, sea level rise and erosion have washed away nearly all of the dunes in [the] Malibu neighborhood [of Broad Beach,] turning sand into a premium commodity and a source of conflict between neighbors. Now, the Milwaukee Brewers baseball team's principal owner, multimillionaire Mark Attanasio, is up to bat in the dispute. His neighbor accused him in court last week of stealing the neighborhood's scarce public sand and using it for an ongoing construction project at his home.... Between June and July, the suit alleges, construction machinery descended into the neighborhood -- and 'at times restricted public access to the entirety of Broad Beach.' The 'enormous excavators' transferred large amounts of sand from the beach's tidal zone to Attanasio's property, leaving traces of gasoline residue in the water and sand, the lawsuit states.... According to a research article published in the Pacific Historical Review in 2023, the high tide line in Broad Beach began moving landward about two feet each year starting in 1974 -- resulting in 'a loss of sixty-five feet of beach by the start of the twenty-first century.'"
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Yasmeen Abutaleb & Cleve Wootson of the Washington Post: "President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris, touting their efforts to lower prescription drug prices for Medicare recipients, hosted their first joint appearance since Biden ended his reelection bid, a policy event that quickly took on the tone and feel of a campaign rally.... The appearance was billed as an official White House policy event, but it had clear political implications, and Biden leaned into them from the first minute of his remarks. 'Folks, I have an incredible partner in the progress we've made,' he said, adding, 'She's going to make one hell of a president.' Harris, for her part, spent much of her speech heaping praise on Biden and his leadership. 'I can speak all afternoon about the person that I am standing on the stage with,' she said. 'There's a lot of love in this room for our president, and I think it's for many, many reasons.' As the crowd chanted, 'Thank you, Joe,' the president brought his hand to his chest and nodded. The event reflected a complex political moment for the Democratic leaders, as Biden seeks to burnish his legacy while also boosting Harris, and Harris seeks to make the case for her candidacy while honoring Biden." ~~~
~~~ Noah Weiland & Rebecca Robbins of the New York Times: "The Biden administration on Thursday unveiled the results of landmark drug price negotiations between Medicare and pharmaceutical companies, allowing President Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris to cast themselves as confronting the drug industry on behalf of older Americans at a critical moment in the presidential campaign. The negotiated prices, which take effect in 2026, are expected to save billions of dollars for Medicare, which is funded by taxpayers. But they will lead to direct out-of-pocket savings for only a subset of the millions of older Americans who take the drugs subject to negotiations. Other provisions of the law that created the drug negotiation program, such as capping patients' expenses for insulin and their yearly out-of-pocket drug costs, will do more to save older Americans money at the pharmacy counter. The 10 drugs subject to negotiations include widely used blood thinners and arthritis medications. Had the new prices been in effect last year, administration officials said, Medicare would have saved $6 billion, which would have reduced its spending on those drugs by 22 percent." The AP's story is here. ~~~
~~~ Marie: Yes, it's a dirty trick to "cast yourself" as a champion of older Americans just because you do something to champion older Americans. President Biden noted during the announcement that not a single Republican voted for the bill allowing the administration to negotiate with big Pharma. Vice President Harris, presiding over the Senate, broke the tie that allowed Democrats to pass the bill. Oh, why can't we get better reporters?
Jamelle Bouie of the New York Times: "Apart from Donald Trump, the basic problem of the Republican Party's so-called fever -- the extent to which it has been captured by nihilists and ideological extremists -- is that the party is untethered from any electoral dynamic that might force it to moderate its behavior.... The ambitious Republican politician has one option if he or she hopes to advance within the party: rigid commitment to ideological purity. The only way to get ahead is to out-conservative -- or now, out-MAGA -- your rivals.... The ability to win power without winning votes is a powerful disincentive to change.... A more democratic American democracy -- where majorities elect and majorities rule -- would force the Republican Party to try, once again, to compete for national majorities.... If Democrats win control of Washington in November, they should make reforming our democracy a priority, since even without Trump, the sickness in the Republican Party will remain." Bouie suggests solutions: end the Electoral College, gerrymandering & the Senate filibuster; pass the Voting Rights Act, grant D.C. statehood, & reform the judiciary.
Presidential Race
Jeff Stein & Dan Diamond of the Washington Post: "Vice President Kamala Harris on Friday unveiled an aggressively populist economic agenda, providing the most detailed vision yet of her governing priorities since becoming the Democratic Party's presidential nominee. Ahead of a speech in North Carolina, Harris's campaign announced support for more than a dozen economic policies aimed at 'lowering costs for American families,' including some that went beyond what President Biden had promised. The most striking proposals were for the elimination of medical debt for millions of Americans; the 'first-ever' ban on price gouging for groceries and food; a cap on prescription drug costs; a $25,000 subsidy for first-time homebuyers; and a Child Tax Credit that would provide $6,000 per child to families for the first year of a baby's life." Politico's report is here.
Reversal of Fortunes. Lenny Bronner of the Washington Post: "Since President Joe Biden exited the presidential race on July 21 and passed the baton to Kamala Harris, his vice president, the race has effectively reversed itself. It is no exaggeration to state that Harris would be the favorite to win the White House, according to our polling model, if the presidential contest were held today. Relative to the day that Biden dropped out, Harris has gained two percentage points nationally and, as of Sunday, leads in our national polling average. In swing states, she has gained an average of 2.1 points since June 21 and leads in 2 of 7 of them.... Harris still trails Trump in the electoral college tally if the election were held today and every state votes as their polling average currently demonstrates. Nonetheless, she would be the favorite if voters today went to the polls because Harris now has more paths to the presidency than Donald Trump -- that is, she is competitive in more states that could add up to 270 votes or an electoral college victory."
Michael Shear, et al., of the New York Times on how President Biden decided to drop out of the presidential race: "People close to President Biden say he believes he could have won a second term. But he came to realize that the fight would rip apart the Democratic Party that he had served his whole life.... The president would be pitted against his donors, half of his party in Congress and Democratic voters who had concluded that he was too old to win." Interesting read.
Nathaniel Rakich of 538 reports on the popularity ratings of vice-presidential candidates over the past two decades and finds out that Tim Walz is nearly the most popular and JD Vance is the least popular, based on favorability-unfavorability ratings. MB: I suppose I should caution you that the most popular of the veep candidates in the lot was John Edwards (in 2004): not only did his ticket lose the race, it came out years later that he had fathered a child as a result of an affair he had while his well-liked wife was dying of cancer, AND he was indicted (but not convicted) for violating campaign finance laws in service of his efforts to cover up the affair. Beware the charmer. I can't recall what I thought of him in 2004, but in 2008, when he ran against Obama & Clinton, I thought he was a roaring phony.
Michael Gold of the New York Times: "Toward the end of a meandering news conference..., Donald J. Trump on Thursday insisted he was 'entitled' to continue his barrage of personal attacks against Vice President Kamala Harris, even as Republican allies are pushing him to shift his tone and emphasize policy issues. Saying he was 'very angry' at Ms. Harris, Mr. Trump told reporters outside the clubhouse of his golf course in Bedminster, N.J., that he had little respect for his Democratic opponent. 'I don't have a lot of respect for her intelligence, and I think she'll be a terrible president,' he said.... The former president said that he didn't need to moderate his tone to win the Republican primary, insisting that he was now running a 'very calm campaign'... 'I'm a very calm person.' Still..., Mr. Trump bounced between his proposals to fight inflation, his dry recitation of economic figures that he used to criticize Ms. Harris and the Biden administration and a number of other wide-ranging tangents, including complaints about Hillary Clinton, windmills, the news media and President Biden's decision to exit the race." Politico's report is here. ~~~
~~~ Alex Wagner of MSNBC pointed out that Trump claimed during this little economic lecture that "more than 100 percent of job creation [under the Biden administration] has gone to migrant workers." MB: Yesterday I told you I could learn a lot about economics by listening to Trump, and here he goes and proves it again. Who knew that if business created 100 new jobs, they would give, say, 115 of them to foreigners. It's much like his assertion that rising seas create more beachfront property. In Trumpworld, the arc of the universe bends toward impossible. ~~~
~~~ ⭐AP: "At his New Jersey golf club, [Donald Trump] blended falsehoods about the economy with misleading statements and deeply personal attacks about his Democratic opponent, Vice President Kamala Harris. Here's a closer look at the facts." MB: Includes an explanation of Trumparithmetic."
~~~ Marie: I do want to congratulate Trump's excellent campaign staff for staging a talk supposedly highlighting the growing cost of necessities for ordinary Americans -- complete with tables-full of grocery-story props like Cheerios & Campbell's Soup -- at one of his fancy, members-only private golf clubs. Definitely how to showcase a real Man of the People.
Michelle Goldberg of the New York Times: "Though [Donald Trump] made successful electoral appeals to the working class -- particularly the white working class -- his record on labor was that of a standard conservative Republican. He appointed union busters to the National Labor Relations Board, the federal agency that enforces labor law. His Department of Labor reversed the 'persuader' rule, which had forced transparency on companies waging anti-union propaganda campaigns. His Supreme Court appointees dealt a severe blow to public sector unions in the Janus decision, an outcome Trump celebrated. His signature policy accomplishment was a tax cut that disproportionately benefited the rich. Nevertheless, Trump's jocular delight in a centibillionaire's [Elon Musk's] war on labor shocked some of his populist sympathizers.... In his first presidential campaign..., [Trump] regularly attacked Wall Street and corporate America.... But since then..., many Silicon Valley titans, Musk chief among them, lining up behind Trump. So have many figures on Wall Street.... These multimillionaires and billionaires are the people whose approbation Trump has always wanted, and whose financial support he needs...." ~~~
~~~ Marie: I can think of a couple of reasons a person would vote for Donald Trump: (1) he's White like me; or (2) he'll make me richer. But I can't think of a single reason for any demographic or interest group -- including the super-rich -- to like him. You name a group and I'll give you a significant reason for that group to dislike or downright detest him. For instance, as an exemplar of the ultra-rich -- many of whom are rather intelligent, well-educated and sophisticated -- he makes them look like boobs. He exposes their avarice & their corruption. There are reasons they didn't invite him to their parties before he became president*. But if you're living on the other end of the economic scale -- if you're a poor white guy living in a studio apartment above a garage in a back yard in a dumpy small-town neighborhood -- Donald Trump will do nothing to help you and he will scam you if he can.
Maggie Haberman & Jonathan Swan of the New York Times: "Donald J. Trump's campaign is bringingCorey Lewandowski, his first 2016 campaign manager who was fired during that cycle [after manhandling a female reporter], onto its staff, along with a small group of new additions for the final push of the 2024 race, the former president and his top advisers said in a statement.... Mr. Lewandowski, who was on contract advising the Republican National Convention for its events in Milwaukee, is a divisive and yet consistent presence in Mr. Trump's world.... In 2021, Mr. Trump and his allies removed Mr. Lewandowski from his leadership role at an early version of a super PAC that was in place to support an eventual third Trump presidential campaign. That move came after a Trump donor accused Mr. Lewandowski of making unwanted sexual advances at an event." Politico's story is here. MB: Should help with the ladies' vote.
I Bring You Glad Tidings: The Jesus Grift Is Working. Shane Goldmacher, et al., of the New York Times: "Donald J. Trump's latest financial disclosure lists more than $100 million in liabilities stemming from three civil lawsuits he lost in New York that required him to obtain bonds to pay the judgments -- but also profits from licensing fees at Trump-branded properties in Dubai and Oman, as well as income that he made from his post-presidential books, including a Trump-endorsed Bible.... He also reported a $300,000 royalty payment for 'The Greenwood Bible,' which appears to be for a version of the Bible that Mr. Trump and the singer Lee Greenwood have endorsed. The Bible is on sale online for $60 with a copy signed by Mr. Trump selling for $1,000. 'Yes, this is the only Bible endorsed by President Trump!' the site advertises."
digby looks intoDonald Trump's absurd claims that rising sea levels will create more beachfront property, but it's nothing to worry about because the seas will rise only an eighth-of-an-inch in 400 years. In fact, the seas have risen on average more than an eighth-of-an-inch every year since 1901, and failing to curb emissions could increase sea levels by as much as 5 feet by the end of the century. MB: I don't know how long Trump has been telling the 1/8" porkie, but I've heard him make the senseless, counterintuitive beachfront expansion claim before. His brain doesn't work right. When he calls Kamala Harris (or anyone else) "stupid," he is projecting on an elementary level. Thanks to RAS for the link. (Also linked yesterday.)
Simon Levien & Maggie Astor of the New York Times: "Gov. Tim Walz of Minnesota and Senator JD Vance of Ohio have agreed to participate in at least one vice-presidential debate this fall, with both candidates accepting an invitation from CBS News to face off on Oct. 1. The network announced Wednesday on the social media platform X that it had offered Mr. Walz and Mr. Vance ... four potential dates: Sept. 17, Sept. 24, Oct. 1 and Oct. 8. 'See you on October 1, JD,' Mr. Walz wrote in response. The Harris campaign confirmed that it had accepted the network's invitation for that day. On Thursday, Mr. Vance said he had accepted the Oct. 1 invitation, as well. He also said he was willing to have a second, earlier debate on Sept. 18, a date offered by CNN." (Also linked yesterday.)
Curt Devine, et al., of CNN: "For nearly two hours [last month, key Project 2025 author Russell Vought] talked candidly about his behind-the-scenes work to prepare policy for ... Donald Trump, his expansive views on presidential power, his plans to restrict pornography and immigration, and his complaints that the GOP was too focused on 'religious liberty' instead of 'Christian nation-ism.' But the men Vought was talking to [-- whom he thought were relatives of a rich donor --] actually worked for a British journalism nonprofit and were secretly recording him the entire time.... Vought said his group, the Center for Renewing America, was secretly drafting hundreds of executive orders, regulations, and memos that would lay the groundwork for rapid action on Trump's plans if he wins, describing his work as creating 'shadow' agencies. He claimed that Trump has 'blessed' his organization and 'he's very supportive of what we do.'... A Trump spokesperson declined to comment on the video, but his campaign has stressed that he sets his own agenda and that Project 2025 and other outside conservative groups don't speak for him." MB: Vought was director of Trump's Office of Management & Budget. (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~
~~~ Marie: AND here's something I didn't know about Russ Vought till Alex Wagner pointed it out: he also was a leader of the Republican party's platform committee. The party's presidential nominee, as is the usual practice of both parties, controls the party's platform. So Vought was the architect of both Project 2025 and the GOP's official platform. Obviously, Trump's policies (as expressed in the party platform) and Project 2025 are, at the core, one in the same. ~~~
~~~ Philip Bump of the Washington Posthas more. ~~~
~~~ Eric Hananoki of Media Matters: "During a recent interview, Trump National Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt criticized the media for talking 'about Project 2025, which has nothing to do with our campaign.' Media outlets should be skeptical about denials like that for many reasons, including the fact that Leavitt herself worked on Project 2025.... CNN reported that 'at least 140 people who worked in the Trump administration had a hand in Project 2025.'" ~~~
~~~ More on Project 2025 (or "Project 25," as Trump calls it. Thanks to RAS for the link: ~~~
These leaked Project 2025 training videos aren't helping conservatives beat the "weird" allegations pic.twitter.com/7p1HZhZ36R
Kate Kelly of the New York Times: "The Secret Service has bolstered ... Donald J. Trump's security in a variety of ways since the assassination attempt on him last month, several people familiar with the matter said on Thursday, including by temporarily shifting part of President Biden's protective team to Mr. Trump. The Secret Service has also secured ballistic glass, which is designed to repel bullets, to provide enhanced protection for Mr. Trump at future outdoor campaign rallies, those people added...." The Washington Post story, which is here, reports that the ballistic glass is already available to President Biden & Vice President Harris. An ABC News report on the plan to use ballistic glass is here.
Devlin Barrett & Josh Dawsey of the Washington Post: "FBI agents probing alleged Iranian hacking attempts directed at the Trump and Biden-Harris campaigns have gathered evidence that indicates one of the targets was senior Trump adviserSusie Wiles, multiple people familiar with the investigation told The Washington Post. Investigators are still working to determine whether the hacking efforts targeting Wiles were successful.... While investigators say a particular set of cyber hacking attemptsin June was directed by Iran, agents are also looking for evidence that other more sophisticated efforts have been launched by other nations."
If You Can't Do the Time.... Erica Orden of Politico: "Attorneys for Donald Trump asked the judge overseeing the former president's Manhattan criminal case to postpone his sentencing, now set for Sept. 18, until after November's presidential election. In a letter to the court dated Wednesday but made public Thursday, Trump's lawyers noted that the sentencing for the Republican presidential nominee's conviction on falsifying business records to cover up a hush money payment to a porn star is currently scheduled to take place after the start of early voting. And they argued that the sentencing should be delayed in order to allow Trump to weigh appellate options in response to Justice Juan Merchan's upcoming ruling on whether Trump's conviction should be tossed out in light of the Supreme Court's July 1 decision on presidential immunity. Merchan is set to rule on Sept. 16, two days before the scheduled sentencing, on whether the presidential immunity decision should have an impact on Trump's conviction." (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~
~~~ Marie: Joyce Vance said on MSNBC that since sentencing does not change the outcome of a criminal trial, Trump's argument lacks merit.
Yvonne Sanchez of the Washington Post: "Mark Meadows, who was Donald Trump's White House chief of staff, has askedthat the Arizona election-subversion-related prosecution against him be moved from state court to federal court -- the same legal maneuver he unsuccessfully tried in a separate election interference case in Georgia.... Meadows has pleaded not guilty to nine felonies related to his alleged role in trying to subvert Joe Biden's win in Arizona after the 2020 presidential election."
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Texas. Sorry, Greggers. Laura Strickler & Didi Martinez of NBC News: "Republican National Convention delegates erupted in applause last month when Texas Gov. Greg Abbottdoubled down on his commitment to send buses full of migrants to blue cities.... But the buses have not been rolling on a consistent basis for months because of a steep drop in the number of migrants apprehended at the southern border, according to officials and migrant shelter operators in Texas and in a half-dozen big cities across the U.S." (Also linked yesterday.)
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Israel/Palestine, et al.
The New York Times' live updates of developments Friday in the Israel/Hamas war are here.
Louisa Loveluck, et al., of the Washington Post: "During more than 19 months in power, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's coalition government has dramatically expanded Israel's footprint in the occupied West Bank -- accelerating a long-term campaign by the country's settler movement to thwart the creation of a Palestinian state. The government has approved strategic land seizures -- almost 6,000 acres this year alone -- and major settlement construction, escalated demolition of Palestinian property and increased state support for illegally built settler outposts. Together, they mark the most significant territorial changes in the West Bank in decades. While the Biden administration insists that any diplomatic solution to the war in Gaza include a path to an independent Palestinian state, radical Jewish settlers and their far-right political backers, who have ascended to the highest levels of Israel's government, are redrawing the map in real time -- making the two-state solution envisaged in past peace accords effectively impossible."
Russia. Anton Troianovski & Ivan Nechepurenko of the New York Times: "A court in Russia sentenced a dual citizen of Russia and the United States on Thursday to 12 years in prison on accusations that she committed treason by donating money -- about $50 -- for Ukraine's armed forces. The court, in the city of Yekaterinburg, claimed to have found that the funds donated by the woman, Ksenia Karelina, 32, 'were subsequently used to purchase tactical medicine, equipment, weapons and ammunition' for Ukraine." (Also linked yesterday.)
Ukraine, et al. Julian Barnes & Eric Schmitt of the New York Times: "Ukraine's incursion into a sliver of Russia is likely to make it harder for Moscow to mount a major renewed offensive in Ukraine's east and is the kind of surprise operation that could eventually impose real costs on the Kremlin, according to U.S. officials. The Ukrainian strike, and its continued success, could ultimately have strategic significance, though U.S. officials caution that they will need to see how it plays out to draw firmer conclusions. It could also help rebuild sagging morale among Ukraine's troops and war-weary population, the officials said. The incursion, into the Kursk region of Russia, stands in stark contrast to Ukraine's failed counteroffensive in southern Ukraine last summer. This offensive was developed in secret, devised to divert Russian troops away from the front lines in Ukraine and seize territory to use as a bargaining chip." ~~~
~~~ Siobhan O'Grady of the Washington Post: "Ukraine's offensive into Russia has expanded to the region of Belgorod, with fierce fighting underway there as Kyiv's forces in the neighboring region of Kursk showed signs of solidifying control Thursday. The new details about the fighting in Belgorod, described by Ukrainian soldiers wounded there and evacuated across the border to Ukraine's Sumy region, came as Ukraine on Thursday appointed a military commander to manage the parts of Kursk it has taken."
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