July 6, 2023

Late Morning/Afternoon Update:

Robyn Dixon & Catherine Belton of the Washington Post: "Wagner mercenary leader Yevgeniy Prigozhin was in Russia on Thursday, according to Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko, raising further questions about the murky agreement under which Prigozhin avoided insurgency charges for a failed rebellion that posed a brazen challenge to Russian President Vladimir Putin's authority.... On Thursday, 12 days after Prigozhin abruptly turned around columns of fighters that he had sent rolling toward Moscow, Lukashenko said the mercenary boss had been back in his home city of St. Petersburg and may have flown to Moscow on Thursday morning. Lukashenko said a final deal on the move by Prigozhin and his fighters to Belarus was still not settled.... In a sign of Prigozhin's potential vulnerability, pro-Kremlin media mounted an apparently coordinated campaign to discredit him and undermine his popularity, which had surged before his rebellion. They aired video and photos of his luxury home, showing bundles of cash, weapons, fake passports, and wigs used for disguises." The AP's report is here.

Adriana Licon & Eric Tucker of the AP: "Donald Trump's valet, Walt Nauta, made a brief court appearance Thursday as he entered a not guilty plea to charges that he helped the former president hide classified documents from federal authorities. He also hired a new Florida-based lawyer to represent him as the case moves forward. Nauta was charged alongside Trump in June in a 38-count indictment alleging the mishandling of classified documents. His arraignment was to have happened twice before, but he had struggled to retain a lawyer licensed in Florida and one appearance was postponed because of his travel troubles. Ahead of his arraignment, Nauta hired Sasha Dadan, a criminal defense attorney and former public defender whose main law office is in Fort Pierce, where the judge who would be handling the trial is based, according to a person familiar with the matter who spoke on condition of anonymity ahead of the court appearance." The Washington Post's report is here.

One Less Contender in the Miss Freedom Caucus Pageant. Brad Reed of the Raw Story: "Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) is no longer enough of a hardline right-wing lawmaker for the House Freedom Caucus. Freedom Caucus Rep. Andy Harris (R-MD) tells Politico reporter Olivia Beavers that it's his 'understanding' that Greene is no longer a member of the caucus after it took a secret vote on her expulsion last month. Beavers says that Harris also 'called it "an appropriate action,"' and cited her debt deal vote, support of [Kevin] McCarthy, and criticism of other HFC [Republicans."

Alasdair Pal of Reuters: "Australian Home Minister Clare O'Neil on Thursday called Donald Trump Jr. a 'big baby', after ... [he] cancelled a planned speaking tour. The younger Trump, who had been booked on a three-day tour of Australia that was scheduled to begin in Sydney on Sunday, cancelled the trip on Wednesday, with organisers suggesting the reason was visa issues.... But O'Neil, one of the highest-ranking ministers in the centre-left Labor government led by Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, said Trump had been granted a visa, and poor ticket sales was the reason he called off his visit.... 'Donald Trump Jr has been given a visa to come to Australia. He didn't get cancelled. He's just a big baby, who isn't very popular.' Albanese also said the eldest son of former President Donald Trump had not been blocked from entering."

Graffiti Vandal Surprised Colosseum Is Old. Elisabetta Povoledo of the New York Times: "A man seen on video last month using his keys to etch his love for his girlfriend on a wall in the Colosseum in Rome has written a letter of apology, saying he had no idea the nearly 2,000-year-old monument was so ancient. 'I admit with deepest embarrassment that it was only after what regrettably happened that I learned of the monument's antiquity,' the man — identified by his lawyer as 31-year-old Ivan Danailov Dimitrov -- wrote in a letter dated July 4 and addressed to the Rome prosecutor's office, the mayor of Rome and 'the municipality of Rome.'... Mr. Dimitrov was eventually identified by Italian military police officers who crosschecked the two lovers' names with registered guests in Rome and found they had stayed in an Airbnb rental in the Cinecittà neighborhood. Roberto Martina, the police commander who oversaw the operation, said they tracked Mr. Dimitrov to England, where he and his girlfriend, who is not under investigation, live."

Annie Palmer & Rohan Goswami of CNBC: "Just sixteen hours after launch, Instagram's text-based social network Threads has already surpassed 30 million signups, Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg said early Thursday.... As of Thursday, the app is available for download from Apple's App Store, and it's free to use.... Users are required to have an Instagram account in order to use Threads."

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Katie Rogers & Michael Crowley of the New York Times: "President Biden told Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson of Sweden on Wednesday that he was 'anxiously looking forward' to the country's acceptance into NATO, reiterating their shared goal of strengthening the Western alliance against the Russian invasion of Ukraine. In their meeting at the White House, both emphasized the potential benefits that could come from adding Sweden to the group: 'We also do think that we have things to contribute,' Mr. Kristersson told the president as they met in the Oval Office. But with less than a week until Mr. Biden and other NATO leaders are scheduled to travel to a summit in Vilnius, Lithuania, the inclusion of Sweden is still unlikely any time soon, given the continued opposition of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan of Turkey."

Oren Liebermann of CNN: "The US Navy intervened to stop Iranian Navy ships attempting to seize two oil tankers in separate incidents in the Gulf of Oman early on Wednesday morning, according to a US defense official. An Iranian ship opened fire at the tanker in the second seizure attempt, according to the official." The story gives details. Both tankers were in international waters when the Iranian Navy tried to seize them.

Ed Mazza of the Huffington Post: "Sen Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) is under fire for a Fourth of July tweet that managed to include both a false claim and a false quote. Hawley tweeted a quote he claimed to be from Founding Father Patrick Henry saying the United States was founded 'on the Gospel of Jesus Christ.'... The quote is actually from a 1956 magazine article that discussed Henry's faith." See comments in today's thread. (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~

     ~~~ Steve Benen of MSNBC writes that the magazine that published Hawley's fake quote was "a white nationalist publication." Despite being roundly lampooned in social media, Hawley has let the tweet stand. MB: Perfect Hawley reading material, though I don't suppose Hawley read the citation in the "original fake." BTW, Hawley comes honestly to his sloppy work: he clerked for CJ John Roberts, whom Garrett Epps, linked yesterday, calls "openly, flamboyantly anti-intellectual." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)

Alan Feuer & Maggie Haberman of the New York Times: "A federal magistrate judge unsealed on Wednesday additional portions of the affidavit that the F.B.I. used last summer to obtain a warrant to search for sensitive documents at Mar-a-Lago..., revealing a few new details about how that extraordinary process had unfolded. The newly unredacted sections of the affidavit suggested that prosecutors had based their search, in part, on surveillance footage from cameras near a storage room in the basement of Mar-a-Lago showing Walt Nauta, a personal aide to Mr. Trump, moving dozens of boxes in and out of the room days before federal prosecutors arrived to collect any sensitive records still in Mr. Trump's possession.... Echoing the indictment, the unredacted affidavit also noted that between May 24 and June 1, 2022, Mr. Nauta took 64 boxes out of the storage room at Mar-a-Lago but put back only 25 or 30 of them.... A long section of the affidavit that follows the assertion by prosecutors that Mr. Trump had not returned everything he should have remains under seal.... The newly unredacted portions of the affidavit also say that [Trump attorney Evan] Corcoran told the government that he had been informed that there were no classified records 'in any private office space or other location in Mar-a-Lago' -- an assertion that the search of the property revealed to be untrue." MB: Passive voice: who informed Corcoran there were no other classified docs stashed elsewhere? CNN's report is here. ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: It's astounding that a former POTUS* would be skulking about, conspiring with the help, to hide senstive documents from the government. This is so childish it's like Hardy Boys stuff though -- unfortunately for the Thief-in-Chief -- with security cameras.

Sarah Burris of the Raw Story: "Former Department of Homeland Security Chief of Staff Miles Taylor is releasing his second book, 'Blowback: A Warning to Save Democracy from the Next Trump' -- and startling excerpts are already dropping. In a piece in RealClear News Wednesday, Taylor describes Donald Trump's desperation to have his own personal military group, an idea inspired by Russian President Vladimir Putin.... There were several options given to Trump [for a withdrawal from Afghanistan], but the one that he crafted himself was to privatize the war with Trump's own mercenary force. Instead of Putin's Wagner Group, it would be Erik Prince's Blackwater, which offers troops for hire.... Trump ultimately agreed [to drop his mercenary force idea].... But a year after that, the mercenary plan came back when Trump wanted to act to overthrow the regime in Venezuela. Trump wanted a 5,000-man team.... As Trump gains traction in the Republican primary, Taylor said it has become a very real concern that such an idea could return in a second Trump administration."

Katelyn Polantz of CNN: "A former top Republican official in Arizona, who rejected pressure from Donald Trump and his allies following the former president's 2020 election defeat, told CNN Wednesday night that he has spoken with the FBI as part of the ongoing criminal probe related to efforts to overturn the vote. Former Arizona House Speaker Rusty Bowers revealed the interview with investigators lasted four hours and took place a few months ago.... Bowers said he talked with the investigators about a call he had with Trump and Rudy Giuliani after the election, and a second call from just Trump."

Meg Kinnard of the AP: "Attorney Lin Wood, who filed legal challenges seeking to overturn Donald Trump's 2020 election loss, is relinquishing his law license, electing to retire from practicing rather than face possible disbarment. Multiple states have weighed disciplining him for pushing Trump's false claims that he defeated Joe Biden. On Tuesday, Wood asked officials in his home state of Georgia to 'retire' his law license in light of 'disciplinary proceedings pending against me.' In the request, made in a letter and posted on his Telegram account, Wood acknowledges that he is 'prohibited from practicing law in this State and in any other state or jurisdiction and that I may not reapply for admission.'"

Charles Blow of the New York Times: "In the majority opinion, Chief Justice John Roberts wrote that affirmative action -- in this case, the use of race as a factor in university admissions -- cannot stand because 'eliminating racial discrimination means eliminating all of it.' But, of course, neither the court nor America itself has any desire to eliminate all of it. Reading that line was like having someone spit in my face. What the court was really signaling was that it intended to let racial imbalances born of both historical and current injustices be locked in and go unchecked.... In [Clarence] Thomas's unseemly attempts, in his concurrence, to clip the wings of the only other Black justice, Ketanji Brown Jackson -- who wrote a vigorous dissent -- and to deride what he calls her 'race-infused worldview,' he exposes the flimsiness of his argument.... 'And And [Black people's] race is not to blame for everything -- good or bad -- that happens in their lives.'... This is reductive absolutism meant to shut down debate." ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: I marvel at these cramped little wingers' self-control. I mean, they manage not to break down and run about screaming disorganized gibberish (as opposed to the organized gibberish that shows up in their opinions). If I were constricted to a worldview such as theirs, I would go mad. Like Donald Trump: he can't stand himself, he can't stand people who can't stand him, and he shows his madness almost daily by lashing out at everybody and everything. Not John Roberts. He may make sly, cutting remarks in his nasty little opinions, but there's no screaming; there's no running down the courthouse steps in insane rages. He is who he is, and he will not repent.

Philip Bump of the Washington Post: "Charles Franklin, director of the Marquette Law School Poll, recently made a point ... worth remembering as we consider evaluations of the Supreme Court and politics more broadly: A lot of Americans don't actually know enough to have informed opinions on the subjects.... '... 30% think there is a Dem appointed majority, l Franklin wrote."

Michael Shear & David McCabe of the New York Times: "... on Tuesday [a Trump-appointed federal judge] imposed temporary but far-reaching limits on how members of [President] Biden's administration can engage with social media companies. The government appealed the ruling on Wednesday. The case is a flashpoint in the broader effort by conservatives to document what they contend is a liberal conspiracy by Democrats and tech company executives to silence their views.... The case was brought by two Republican attorneys general and five individuals who campaigned against masks, argued that vaccines did not work, opposed lockdowns and pushed drugs that medical experts denounced as ineffective, like ivermectin and hydroxychloroquine. [MB: IOW, kooks.]... The judge's preliminary injunction is already having an impact. A previously scheduled meeting on threat identification on Thursday between State Department officials and social media executives was abruptly canceled by officials, according to two people familiar with the decision, which was reported earlier by The Washington Post." ~~~

This court decision further exacerbates that feeling of impunity social media companies operate under, despite the fact that they are the primary vector for hate and disinformation in society. -- Imran Ahmed, CEO of the Center for Countering Digital Hate ~~~

~~~ Tiffany Hsu & Stuart Thompson of the New York Times: "A federal judge's decision this week to restrict the government's communication with social media platforms could have broad side effects, according to researchers and groups that combat hate speech, online abuse and disinformation: It could further hamper efforts to curb harmful content. Alice E. Marwick, a researcher at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, was one of several disinformation experts who said on Wednesday that the ruling could impede work meant to keep false claims about vaccines and voter fraud from spreading.... Several researchers, however, said the government's work with social media companies was not an issue as long as it didn't coerce them to remove content.... A larger concern, researchers said, is a potential chilling effect.... [The decision] is limited on paper to the government's relationship with social media platforms, [Prof. Bond Benton of Montclair State University] said, but carried a message that misinformation qualifies as speech and its removal as the suppression of speech."

Spencer Hsu of the Washington Post: "A Navy veteran arrested with guns near former president Barack Obama's house in Washington had recently recorded himself making threatening statements regarding House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.), Rep. Jamie B. Raskin (D-Md.) and a federal facility housing a nuclear research reactor in suburban Maryland, prosecutors said Wednesday. U.S. prosecutors asked a judge to jail Taylor Taranto, 37, pending trial, saying that the QAnon conspiracy theorist showed up near Obama's home shortly after Donald Trump posted on his social media platform what he claimed was Obama's address. Taranto was armed, dangerous and in the grip of delusional thinking, prosecutors said, and had successfully eluded law enforcement for nearly a day before his arrest June 29 in a wooded area near Washington's exclusive Kalorama neighborhood."

Presidential Race 2024. Alec Hernández of NBC News: "Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis defended a controversial video Wednesday that went after ... Donald Trump over LGBTQ rights and was shared by his campaign.... The video, shared on Twitter by the DeSantis campaign's rapid response arm Friday, attacks Trump from the right and portrays him as a booster of LGBTQ rights. It features a clip of Trump saying he would 'do everything in my power to protect our LGBTQ citizens' in a speech at the 2016 Republican National Convention -- which took place shortly after the mass shooting at Pulse, a gay nightclub in Orlando in DeSantis' own state -- and shows pictures of Trump with Caitlyn Jenner, the prominent trans Olympian-turned-celebrity. The second part of the video attempts to depict DeSantis as a more masculine figure, showing headlines of his actions restricting LGBTQ rights, accompanied by pumping music and photos of muscular men." MB: The video is reportedly quite weird. Several people have pointed out that video manages to be both homophobic & homoerotic.

Geoffrey Fowler & Naomi Nix of the Washington Post: "Mark Zuckerberg has taken the wraps off Threads, a clone of Twitter designed to lure people turned off by the social network's changes under owner Elon Musk.... Before Meta's free text conversation-focused app launched late Wednesday, we had a chance to try it and quiz its makers. We found Meta has some advantages over rivals to turn Threads into a major new hub for online conversations. Most of all, it arrives with a potential audience of billions who already use Meta's photo and video-oriented Instagram, which Threads is built on top of. After the launch, Zuckerberg posted on Threads that the new social network passed 2 million sign ups in the first two hours."

Ivan Mehta of Tech Crunch: "Days after requiring users to log in to view tweets, Twitter has silently removed these restrictions. This means you can open Twitter links in a browser without an account."

Beyond the Beltway

Iowa. Hannah Fingernut of the AP: "Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds on Wednesday called a special legislative session to pursue new abortion restrictions after the state Supreme Court declined to reinstate a 2018 ban after about six weeks of pregnancy. The court was split 3-3 last month and did not issue a decision on the merits of the law, leaving open the possibility that the GOP-controlled Legislature would try to pass a similar ban. In the meantime, abortion remains legal in Iowa up to 20 weeks of pregnancy. Lawmakers will meet on July 11."

Nevada. Noel Sims of the Nevada Independent: "A top-ranking Nevada Republican has filed a federal lawsuit on behalf of four election observers challenging the recently passed state law making it a felony to harass election workers. The lawsuit, filed Thursday in federal district court by attorney and Nevada Republican National Committeewoman Sigal Chattah, alleges that SB406 would criminalize actions Chattah says are legal under Nevada laws about election observation. Nevada lawmakers this year voted unanimously in both chambers to approve SB406, which was signed into law by Gov. Joe Lombardo, a Republican, on May 24. Under the law, those who harass, intimidate or use force on election workers performing their duties in Nevada could face a felony, fine and up to four years in prison."

New York. Jeffery Mays of the New York Times: "Yusef Salaam, one of five Black and Latino men whose convictions were overturned in the 1989 rape and assault of a female jogger in Central Park, cemented his victory in a highly contested City Council primary race in Harlem, according to The Associated Press on Wednesday. Mr. Salaam, 49, held a commanding lead on Election Day, with more than twice the number of votes over his closest rival, Inez Dickens, a state assemblywoman. The New York City Board of Elections began tabulating ranked-choice votes on Wednesday, and the new ranked-choice tabulation now shows Mr. Salaam with almost 64 percent of the vote to Ms. Dickens's 36 percent."

Wisconsin. A 400-year Budget. Scott Bauer & Harm Venhuizen of the AP: "Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers [D] signed off on a two-year spending plan Wednesday after gutting a Republican tax cut and using his broad veto powers to increase school funding for centuries. Evers angered Republicans with both moves, with some saying the Democratic governor was going back on deals he had made with them.... Evers reduced the GOP income tax cut from $3.5 billion to $175 million, and did away entirely with lower rates for the two highest earning brackets. He also used his partial veto power to increase how much revenue K-12 public schools can raise per student by $325 a year until 2425."

Way Beyond

Greece. Imogen Piper, et al., of the Washington Post: "... an investigation by The Washington Post ... casts doubt on the ... main claims by Greek officials and suggests that the deadliest Mediterranean shipwreck in years was a preventable tragedy. Contrary to the coast guard account that the boat was making steady progress and determined to get to Italy, The Post found the boat's speed fluctuated dramatically -- in line with passenger recollections of engine problems -- while circling back on its route. Maritime rescue veterans and legal experts said Greek officials exploited indications that aid wasn't wanted and failed in their obligation to launch an all-hands rescue effort as soon as the precarious boat was detected.... The Post examined satellite imagery, mapped ship traffic data and integrated coordinates from distress calls and official reports and testimony. To reconstruct what happened, The Post then compared official statements, accounts from the merchant vessels and interviews with survivors, activists and maritime experts."

Ukraine, et al. The New York Times' live updates of developments Thursday in Russia's war on Ukraine are here: Playing "Where's Yevgeny?": "The president of Belarus [Aleksandr Lukashenko] told reporters that the Wagner mercenary leader Yevgeny V. Prigozhin, who led a failed mutiny in Russia, is in St. Petersburg. The claim could not be confirmed." ~~~

     ~~~ The Washington Post's live updates for Thursday are here: "In Ukraine, the death toll from a rocket attack in the western city of Lviv rose to at least four, with 34 people injured, regional governor Maksym Kozytskyi said on Telegram Thursday, after explosions rocked the city. Lviv Mayor Andriy Sadovyi called it the largest attack on civilian infrastructure in the city since the war began.... Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky urged PresidentBiden to invite his country into NATO's fold 'now' during an interview with CNN that aired late Wednesday, ahead of the bloc's July 11 summit in Lithuania."

News Ledes

CNBC: "The U.S. labor market showed no signs of letting up in June, as companies created far more jobs than expected, payroll processing firm ADP reported Thursday. Private sector jobs surged by 497,000 for the month, well ahead of the downwardly revised 267,000 gain in May and much better than the 220,000 Dow Jones consensus estimate. The increase resulted in the biggest monthly rise since July 2022."

AP: "[Wisconsin] state officials are investigating how eight people became trapped upside down on a roller coaster -- some of them for more than three hours -- at a festival in Wisconsin. The roller coaster's cars got stuck near the top of a loop around 1:30 p.m. Sunday at the Crandon International Offroad Raceway. Rescue workers arrived to find eight passengers hanging upside down from their safety harnesses. Firefighters used ladder trucks to reach them, securing each one before releasing their over-the-shoulder safety bars, the Crandon[, Wisconsin,] Fire Department said."

July 5, 2023

Afternoon Update:

Ed Mazza of the Huffington Post: "Sen Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) is under fire for a Fourth of July tweet that managed to include both a false claim and a false quote. Hawley tweeted a quote he claimed to be from Founding Father Patrick Henry saying the United States was founded 'on the Gospel of Jesus Christ.'... The quote is actually from a 1956 magazine article that discussed Henry's faith." See comments in today's thread. ~~~

     ~~~ Steve Benen of MSNBC writes that the magazine that published Hawley's fake quote was "a white nationalist publication." Despite being roundly lampooned in social media, Hawley has let the tweet stand. MB: Perfect Hawley reading material, though I don't suppose Hawley read the citation in the "original fake." BTW, Hawley comes honestly to his sloppy work: he clerked for CJ John Roberts, whom Garrett Epps, linked below, calls "openly, flamboyantly anti-intellectual."

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The D.C. fireworks were quite spectacular:

President Biden issues a statement on gun violence across the U.S. (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ~~~

     ~~~ Petula Dvorak of the Washington Post: "In America, under the tyranny of a culture that celebrates gun ownership over the unburdened pursuit of happiness, we are no longer free to feel safe[.]... We are not free from atrocity at schools, airports, military bases, movie theaters, restaurants, hospitals, swimming pools, medical offices or even someone's driveway that we may have accidentally pulled into.... We have absolutely failed the vision of our Founding Fathers for a peaceful, safe and prosperous nation if we're willing to apply rules conceived of when a breakaway people in revolt deployed muskets, flintlock pistols and hunting rifles to today, when high-tech killing machines can be bought with ease."

Tyler Pager of the Washington Post: "... President Biden is facing renewed pressure from a range of elements in his party, from liberal lawmakers to abortion rights activists, to more forcefully embrace far-reaching changes to the high court. Biden has harshly criticized the Supreme Court's sharp pivot to the right, but he has stayed away from endorsing any of the broad array of reforms -- including court expansion, term limits and mandatory retirements -- that are being pushed by the left flank of his party and increasingly backed by core parts of his base.... Democrats argue that the mounting number of what they call radical rulings by the court, along with reports that some justices have accepted lavish trips from wealthy figures, have created a crisis of legitimacy." ~~~

~~~ ** Garrett Epps in the Washington Monthly: "Until this week, every affirmative action ruling has at least paid lip service to the idea that decisions by educators should receive some deference from judges.... At the federal level, courts -- and as of this week, only courts -- dictate educational policy on questions of diversity and inclusion. We should be used to such usurpation by now. The Supreme Court majority has also assumed responsibility for climate policy, public health, firearms regulation, and Clean Water Act enforcement.... [Previously, courts] understood that the question was, 'What effect will this decision have on living human beings?' Today's Court majority freely acknowledges that courts do not have the knowledge or skills to understand the consequences of legal rules in areas like medicine, education, and public health, but instead of deferring to institutions that do, the Court's majority has proclaimed that the practical consequences of legal rules are simply no longer relevant.... [For instance, as Justice Alito effectively wrote in his Dobbs decision]: What will the new rule mean for women? Who knows -- and, for that matter, who really cares?... The majority says 'history and tradition' -- and only history and tradition' -- are the sources of constitutional law....

Not since the late Chief Justice Warren Burger -- ... [or earlier] -- has a Supreme Court justice been so openly, flamboyantly anti-intellectual as [John] Roberts.... When voting-rights advocates presented extensive evidence of the power and effect of computerized partisan gerrymandering in Gill v Whitford in 2018, Roberts shut down the inquiry.... Voting rights advocate Paul Smith vainly protested that the math 'is not complicated.' He was missing the point -- it was math, so the Chief, like Cher Horowitz in Clueless, was B-O-R-E-D. At oral argument [in the student-debt-relief case], Roberts chucked textualism and explained that the precise wording of the [Congressional] act was irrelevant...." Thanks to RAS for the link. (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ~~~

~~~ Marie: If you think a law or executive action has harmed you, your recourse is to "take it to the judge." But what if the judge is corrupt, or like Roberts, et al., pretends to be stupid to justify the results s/he wants? This is the situation in which all Americans find themselves today. Even if we had a Congress inclined to curb the third branch's claim to extreme supremacy (we don't, but it's conceivable we could get one), the Supremes would overrule it. The very best we can hope for then is a standoff/Constitutional crisis and hope that justice might prevail because the courts cannot raise an army and Congress can.

     ~~~ Update: OR, if the court gets to radical, maybe some future Democratic president and Congress will expand it. Here's a brief rundown (August 2022) of how some others countries manage their judiciaries. Of course in a country like ours, where fascists control at least one House of Congress and the Supreme Court and may soon have control of the presidency*, too, we'd have to have a revolution to modernize our system. Meanwhile, Roberts & the Dancing Alitos are laughing and tripping the light fandango, while the so-called liberal justices are left powerless to do nothing more than read scathing rebuttals from the bench.

Karoun Demirjian of the New York Times: "Republicans are deeply divided over impeaching President Biden, with newly energized lawmakers on the far right applying pressure to do so and leaders and rank-and-file members concerned they have undertaken a politically risky battle that they cannot win. A vote last month to send impeachment articles against Mr. Biden for his border policies to the Homeland Security Committee alongside the Judiciary Committee amounted to a stalling tactic by Speaker Kevin McCarthy to quell the urgent calls for action from the hard right. But it has also highlighted the rifts in the House G.O.P. over moving forward and complicating a separate monthslong drive by the panel to prepare an impeachment case against Alejandro N. Mayorkas, the homeland security secretary, for the same offenses. Neither pursuit appears to have the votes to proceed, and many Republicans are worried that without a stronger case against the president, even trying the move could be disastrous for their party." MB: But can't they impeach President Biden for being the Drug-Lord-in-Chief? (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ~~~

~~~ Katelyn Caralle of the Daily Mail: "A dispatch call reviewed by DailyMail.com reveals a preliminary test found that the white powder discovered [in the White House library] on Sunday tested positive for cocaine – and led to emergency services shutting down 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue.... The discovery came two days after recovering drug addict Hunter [Biden], 52, was last seen at the White House as he headed to Camp David with his father for the long holiday weekend.... The White House library is part of the public tour experienced by hundreds daily, meaning there could be multiple suspects. It is also two floors below the first family's living quarters.... Pro-Trump Republican Rep. Jim Banks tweeted: 'They never found cocaine in the Trump White House!... The Bidens are unfit to live in the White House!' Meanwhile, far-right Newsmax host Robb Schmitt said during a report on the cocaine discovery: 'It wouldn't be a thumpin' July 4th weekend without Hunter Biden ripping lines off of a bust of Teddy Roosevelt.'" Marie: Don't tell me you didn't predict this reaction. Gym Jordan should convene an emergency subcommittee to investigate. Subpoenas all around! (Also linked yesterday.)

Trumpy Judge Figures There Just Aren't Enough Trumpy Liars on the Internet. Cat Zakrzewski of the Washington Post: "A federal judge on Tuesday blocked key Biden administration agencies and officials from meeting and communicating with social media companies about 'protected speech,' in an extraordinary injunction in an ongoing case that could have profound effects on the First Amendment. The injunction came in response to a lawsuit brought by Republican attorneys general in Louisiana and Missouri, who allege that government officials went too far in their efforts to encourage social media companies to address posts that they worried could contribute to vaccine hesitancy during the pandemic or upend elections. The Trump-appointed judge's move could upend years of efforts to enhance coordination between the government and social media companies. The injunction was a victory for the state attorneys general, who have accused the Biden administration of enabling a 'sprawling federal "Censorship Enterprise"' to encourage tech giants to remove politically unfavorable viewpoints and speakers, and for conservatives who've accused the government of suppressing their speech." Politico's report is here. (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)

GOP Wraps Itself in Liberian Flag. Matthew Chapman of the Raw Story: "On Tuesday, the Republican Party's official Twitter account posted to mark the Fourth of July, writing, '247 years ago, our forefathers told Ol' King George to get lost! Happy Independence Day from the GOP!'... The flags they used in the graphic were not the American flag. They were the Liberian flag. The GOP's tweet was swiftly deleted -- but not before being buried in an avalanche of mockery and criticism from commenters on social media. 'You'd think they'd recognize the flag they beat cops with,' wrote the account @iputadollarin. 'BREAKING: GOP officially pledges loyalty to Liberia by posting their flag on the 4th of F**king July,' tweeted @middleageriot."

Presidential Race 2024. Democrats in Disarray! Ross Barkan of the New York Times: Many Democratic party officials -- especially those from New Hampshire -- are not happy with President Biden's plan to make South Carolina the first presidential primary state in the nation. And, as Barkan points out, South Carolina is in fact not ideal. The article goes into some of the intra-party conflicts.

Guardian & Agency: "This Monday, 3 July 2023, was the hottest day ever recorded globally, according to data from the US National Centers for Environmental Prediction. The average global temperature reached 17.01C (62.62F), surpassing the August 2016 record of 16.92C (62.46F), as heatwaves sizzled around the world."

Way Beyond the Beltway

Ukraine, et al. The New York Times' live updates of developments Wednesday in Russia's war on Ukraine are here. The Guardian's live updates for Wednesday are here. The Guardian's summary report is here. ~~~

     ~~~ The Washington Post's live briefings for Wednesday are here: "Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson is in Washington for a meeting at the White House with President Biden. The visit comes as Sweden's application to join NATO has been held up by objections from Turkey and Hungary. Kyiv and Moscow traded allegations that a false-flag attack was looming at the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant in southeastern Ukraine.... Russian and U.S. officials have had discussions on a potential prisoner swap that could include detained Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said, though they 'don't want them to be discussed in public.'... A Russian investigative journalist and a human rights lawyer were brutally beaten in Russia's Chechnya republic as they were en route to a high-profile trial Tuesday.... Two Russian regions were attacked early Wednesday and one person was wounded, authorities there said. Belgorod Gov. Vyacheslav Gladkov said the town of Valuyki -- about 110 miles east of Ukraine's Kharkiv -- was shelled for 'more than an hour.'... Belgorod and Kursk have come under fire in the past due to their proximity to the Ukrainian border."

France. Catherine Porter & Juliette Guéron-Gabrielle of the New York Times: "After five nights of fury over [Nahel] Merzouk's killing, the country has calmed down and begun to assess the damage: more than 5,000 vehicles burned, 1,000 buildings damaged or looted, 250 police stations or gendarmeries attacked, more than 700 officers injured. Some 3,400 people were arrested as a massive police presence set out to restore order. The justice system is running almost around the clock to process them. Many are being funneled through hasty trials, known as comparutions immédiates.... With comparutions immediates, justice is routinely as harsh as it is quick: Lawyers often have just 30 minutes to prepare, and cases often end in prison time.... After flooding the streets with 45,000 officers night after night, the French state is looking to send a second harsh message. Justice Minister Éric Dupond-Moretti advised prosecutors to systematically seek prison sentences for people charged with physical assault or serious vandalism.... The majority of those arrested, according to French authorities, had no prior criminal record. And most are minors...."

News Lede

New York Times: "As the long Fourth of July weekend drew to a close, a final spasm of gun violence close to midnight left four people dead and seven others wounded at an outdoor party in Shreveport, La., following earlier shootings in Philadelphia, Baltimore, Fort Worth and other cities. All told, the shootings left at least 15 people dead, and injured more than 50 others. Among those killed was a 7-year-old boy in Tampa, Fla., whose grandfather was trying to shield him from bullets fired by two groups who were arguing over someone recklessly driving a jet ski, the police said."

July 4, 2023

Afternoon Update:

President Biden issues a statement on gun violence across the U.S.

Karoun Demirjian of the New York Times: "Republicans are deeply divided over impeaching President Biden, with newly energized lawmakers on the far right applying pressure to do so and leaders and rank-and-file members concerned they have undertaken a politically risky battle that they cannot win. A vote last month to send impeachment articles against Mr. Biden for his border policies to the Homeland Security Committee alongside the Judiciary Committee amounted to a stalling tactic by Speaker Kevin McCarthy to quell the urgent calls for action from the hard right. But it has also highlighted the rifts in the House G.O.P. over moving forward and complicating a separate monthslong drive by the panel to prepare an impeachment case against Alejandro N. Mayorkas, the homeland security secretary, for the same offenses. Neither pursuit appears to have the votes to proceed, and many Republicans are worried that without a stronger case against the president, even trying the move could be disastrous for their party." MB: But can't they impeach President Biden for being the Drug-Lord-in-Chief? ~~~

~~~ Katelyn Caralle of the Daily Mail: "A dispatch call reviewed by DailyMail.com reveals a preliminary test found that the white powder discovered [in the White House library] on Sunday tested positive for cocaine -- and led to emergency services shutting down 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue.... The discovery came two days after recovering drug addict Hunter [Biden], 52, was last seen at the White House as he headed to Camp David with his father for the long holiday weekend.... The White House library is part of the public tour experienced by hundreds daily, meaning there could be multiple suspects. It is also two floors below the first family's living quarters.... Pro-Trump Republican Rep. Jim Banks tweeted: 'They never found cocaine in the Trump White House!... The Bidens are unfit to live in the White House!' Meanwhile, far-right Newsmax host Robb Schmitt said during a report on the cocaine discovery: 'It wouldn't be a thumpin' July 4th weekend without Hunter Biden ripping lines off of a bust of Teddy Roosevelt.'" Marie: Don't tell me you didn't predict this reaction. Gym Jordan should convene an emergency subcommittee to investigate. Subpoenas all around!

Trumpy Judge Figures There Just Aren't Enough Trumpy Liars on the Internet. Cat Zakrzewski of the Washington Post: "A federal judge on Tuesday blocked key Biden administration agencies and officials from meeting and communicating with social media companies about 'protected speech,' in an extraordinary injunction in an ongoing case that could have profound effects on the First Amendment. The injunction came in response to a lawsuit brought by Republican attorneys general in Louisiana and Missouri, who allege that government officials went too far in their efforts to encourage social media companies to address posts that they worried could contribute to vaccine hesitancy during the pandemic or upend elections. The Trump-appointed judge's move could upend years of efforts to enhance coordination between the government and social media companies. The injunction was a victory for the state attorneys general, who have accused the Biden administration of enabling a 'sprawling federal "Censorship Enterprise"' to encourage tech giants to remove politically unfavorable viewpoints and speakers, and for conservatives who've accused the government of suppressing their speech." Politico's report is here.

** Garrett Epps in the Washington Monthly: "Until this week, every affirmative action ruling has at least paid lip service to the idea that decisions by educators should receive some deference from judges.... At the federal level, courts -- and as of this week, only courts -- dictate educational policy on questions of diversity and inclusion. We should be used to such usurpation by now. The Supreme Court majority has also assumed responsibility for climate policy, public health, firearms regulation, and Clean Water Act enforcement.... [Previously, courts] understood that the question was, 'What effect will this decision have on living human beings?' Today's Court majority freely acknowledges that courts do not have the knowledge or skills to understand the consequences of legal rules in areas like medicine, education, and public health, but instead of deferring to institutions that do, the Court's majority has proclaimed that the practical consequences of legal rules are simply no longer relevant.... [For instance, as Justice Alito effectively wrote in his Dobbs decision]: What will the new rule mean for women? Who knows -- and, for that matter, who really cares?... The majority says 'history and tradition' -- and only history and tradition' -- are the sources of constitutional law....

Not since the late Chief Justice Warren Burger -- ... [or earlier] -- has a Supreme Court justice been so openly, flamboyantly anti-intellectual as [John] Roberts.... When voting-rights advocates presented extensive evidence of the power and effect of computerized partisan gerrymandering in Gill v Whitford in 2018, Roberts shut down the inquiry.... Voting rights advocate Paul Smith vainly protested that the math 'is not complicated.' He was missing the point -- it was math, so the Chief, like Cher Horowitz in Clueless, was B-O-R-E-D. At oral argument [in the student-debt-relief case], Roberts chucked textualism and explained that the precise wording of the [Congressional] act was irrelevant...." Thanks to RAS for the link. ~~~

~~~ Marie: If you think a law or executive action has harmed you, your recourse is to "take it to the judge." But what if the judge is corrupt, or like Roberts, et al., pretends to be stupid to justify the results s/he wants? This is the situation in which all Americans find themselves today. Even if we had a Congress inclined to curb the third branch's claim to extreme supremacy (we don't, but it's conceivable we could get one), the Supremes would overrule it. The very best we can hope for then is a standoff/Constitutional crisis and hope that justice might prevail because the courts cannot raise an army and Congress can.

~~~~~~~~~~

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. -- Declaration of Independence, adopted July 4, 1776 ~~~

~~~ NEW. Jill Lawrence in an MSNBC opinion piece: "Despite the promises of America's founding documents, on Independence Day 2023, justice, the 'equal protection of the laws' and 'life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness' are all at risk. The Supreme Court, conservative governors and gerrymandered state legislatures are racing to shrink fundamental rights and freedoms, enabled and empowered by structural inequities built into the Constitution. The result is that tens of millions of Americans are being deprived of rights that other Americans have."

     ~~~ MB: Gosh, I hope none of the perps chokes on his holiday hot dogs. ~~~

~~~ Esau McCaulley of the New York Times: "Our nation's problems and the litany of lingering injustices are not unknown to us, but there is a certain pressure to put our complaints aside around this holiday in particular. On the Fourth of July we are encouraged to unfurl our flags, belt out a rendition of God Bless America' and grill burgers in humble gratitude.... In 1852 Frederick Douglass delivered what may be his most famous address, 'What to the Slave Is the Fourth of July?'... Reflecting on the demand for patriotism, Douglass said "As a people, Americans are remarkably familiar with all facts which make in their own favor....'... But uncritical celebration is a limited and false definition of patriotism. Instead, recounting the full story of America and asking it to be better than it is can be an expression of love.... Douglass expanded the meaning of American patriotism. Rather than focusing on the gratitude the country demanded of us, he reminded the nation what it still owed its populace." ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: What we celebrate on July 4 is the Declaration of Independence, a document written by a slaveholder who fathered Black children by a woman who likely had little choice in the arrangement. And when that document declared that all men were created equal, it meant men, it meant white men, it meant propertied white men whose goal was to escape the bondage of the King's taxes. I'm sorry, but the Declaration is not a document I care to celebrate today. Or any other day.

NEW. Peter Hermann of the Washington Post: "The U.S. Secret Service is investigating a suspicious substance that prompted a brief evacuation when it was found Sunday evening inside the White House, according to law enforcement authorities. In a preliminary test, the substance, a white powder, indicated positive for cocaine, according to an official familiar with the investigation and the recording of a dispatch from a D.C. fire crew that responded to the incident."

Donald Trump Sharing Classified Info: A History. Aaron Blake of the Washington Post: "Among many striking things about the July 2021 audio of Donald Trump seeming to discuss a classified document with guests is how casual it all was.... It's as if those involved were familiar with the dance of Trump being cavalier with sensitive information. Which, even before this latest entry, is indeed what his full record demonstrates. Appearing on MSNBC over the weekend, former Trump White House press secretary Stephanie Grisham said she personally witnessed the way Trump shared information at Mar-a-Lago during his presidency.... Grisham said...: '... I watched him show documents to people at Mar-a-Lago on the dining room patio. So he has no respect for classified information. Never did.'... It's worth running through what we know about the other major episodes in re: Trump and sensitive information." Read on. ~~~

     ~~~ Story includes that time -- in the first week of his presidency* -- he left a lockbag with the key in it on his desk while others (including an AP photographer who snapped a pic) were in the room; three day later when he shared documents with Japanese PM Shinzo Abe and random guests during a Mar-a-Lardo dinner party; that time he revealed a covert CIA operation; using unsecured phones that Chinese spies hacked; that time he "revealed Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and Russian Ambassador Sergey Kislyak"; that time "he tweeted a detailed [classified] aerial image of an Iranian launchpad" despite an aide's cautioning against sending the tweet. Those of course are the instances we know about. ~~~

     ~~~ Colby Hall of Mediaite has what appears to be the full transcript of Stephanie Grisham's conversation with MSNBC's Alex Witt re: Trump's showing off classified information at Mar-a-Lardo. Marie: I'll bet for a large enough campaign donation (or, uh, other remuneration), Trump would give you a classified doc, and you could frame it & hang it on your library wall to show off to your guests, whether or not they were Chinese spies. Hell, that may already have happened. More than once.

Nick Anderson & Susan Svrluga of the Washington Post: "A civil rights group announced Monday that it has petitioned the federal government to force Harvard University to stop giving a boost to children of alumni in the admissions process, another sign of the mounting pressure on prestigious schools to change their policies following last week's Supreme Court ruling that rejected race-based affirmative action. Lawyers for Civil Rights said it filed the complaint with the Education Department, alleging that so-called legacy admissions preferences at Harvard violate federal civil rights law because they overwhelmingly benefit White applicants and disadvantage those who are of color.... About 34 percent of applicants from the United States who were children of Harvard alumni were admitted from 2009 through 2015, court records showed. That was far higher than the overall 6 percent admission rate for non-legacy applicants. Selective colleges defend legacy preferences as a legitimate way to recognize and nurture crucial ties they have with alumni. Often the alumni are donors. But the public appears to be deeply skeptical." The AP's story is here. (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)

David Siders of Politico in Politico Magazine profiles the shrinking South Baptist Convention and the sad the group had at its convention in New Orleans. "White evangelicals are a relatively small part of the nation's overall population, about 14 percent. But they play an outsize role in the Republican Party, to which they have been fused since the days of Ronald Reagan.... The problem for the Republican Party, and for the church, is that religious affiliation has for years been fading.... The Southern Baptist Convention, still the nation's largest Protestant denomination, lost nearly half a million members last year.... Rather than moderate, the [GOP] response of MAGA diehards has been to focus on invigorating the base -- which is what members of the Southern Baptist Convention seem to be doing, too." This year the centerpiece of their convention was the banning of churches with women pastors, including megachurch Saddleback in Orange County, California. (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)

Weather Reporters: Climate Change Scaredy Cats. Allison Fisher of Media Matters: "Throughout the recent record-breaking and deadly heat wave that affected millions across Texas and other parts of the Southwest, major TV networks largely failed to report on the links between climate change and the extreme heat. Over a two-week period from June 15-29, an analysis by Media Matters found: Only 5% of the 310 segments and weathercasts about the heat wave across national TV news mentioned climate change. Major cable news networks -- CNN, Fox News Channel, and MSNBC -- aired 187 segments or weathercasts about the heat wave, but only 8 mentioned climate change. MSNBC mentioned the connection between the extreme heat and climate change 5 times and CNN mentioned it 3." Oh, gosh, 5 + 3 = 8. So that would be Fox "News": zero mentions of climate change.

Elon: Procreation Is a Voter Requirement. Philip Bump of the Washington Post: "The past few months have not done much to dissuade Elon Musk from the idea that he knows more about everything than everyone. So those who managed to use the crumbling Twitter ecosystem this weekend would probably not have been surprised to see the jack of all trades weigh in on who he thinks should help guide civilization forward. 'The childless,' he wrote in response to a tweet, 'have little stake in the future.' Another user, one with a check mark next to their username, picked up the idea. 'Democracy is probably unworkable long term without limiting suffrage to parents,' they wrote, earning a 'Yup' from Musk.... [The right-wing Moms for Liberty has a similar message:] that parents should be the ultimate decision-makers." MB: Little by little, we're going to find out that the only person in the U.S. who is qualified to vote is Elon Musk.

Josh Taylor of the Guardian: "Meta's answer to Twitter, a new app called Threads, will launch on Thursday, just as users of the platform owned by Elon Musk seek out alternatives in droves. The Threads app, which is linked to Instagram, appeared in the Apple app store on Tuesday ahead of Thursday's launch. Meta has launched a countdown website for the release.... Screenshots suggest people will be able to use their Instagram handle to log in to Threads and follow their existing contacts. The app appears to share a similar user interface to Twitter, with similar features including reposting, liking and allowing users to limit who can reply to posts."

Beyond the Beltway

Florida. Gary Fineout of Politico: "A federal judge on Monday blocked a new Florida election law pushed by Republicans that puts restrictions on voter registration groups, calling it 'Florida's latest assault on the right to vote.' U.S. Chief District Judge Mark Walker granted a preliminary injunction against the law just days after it went into effect. Walker is an appointee of former President Barack Obama who has repeatedly ruled against the state in past legal challenges to election measures put in place by the GOP-controlled Legislature. 'When state government power threatens to spread beyond constitutional bounds and reduce individual rights to ashes, the federal judiciary stands as a firewall,' Walker wrote in his 58-page order that included a subtle jab at Gov. Ron DeSantis by invoking a catch phrase he often uses. 'The free state of Florida is simply not free to exceed the bounds of the United States Constitution.' The law, passed this spring by GOP legislators and signed into law by DeSantis, was a comprehensive measure that included a provision that cleared the way for the governor to run for president without having to resign his current position." ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: It would be poetic justice if DeSantis, who knows his only hope of winning the GOP presidential* primary is some development that prevents Trump from running, were prevented by his own state from running for president. There is an easy fix to this, of course, but in the meantime, it appears DeSantis' run for the White House violates state law. Anyhow, good for Judge Walker for at least temporarily halting another voter suppression law.

Florida. Digby has republished a chunk of a Wall Street Journal article on Ron DeSantis & the state legislature's anti-immigrant crackdown: "Florida's agricultural and construction industries say they are experiencing a labor shortage because a new immigration law that took effect July 1 is leading migrant workers to leave the state. The law, signed in May by Florida Gov. and GOP presidential candidate Ron DeSantis, seeks to further criminalize undocumented immigration in the state."

New Jersey. Tracey Tully of the New York Times: "For two years, a judge in New Jersey used a pseudonym to post TikTok videos of himself lip-syncing lyrics from popular rap songs. In some, he was wearing judicial robes or shown walking through a courthouse, according to the state's Advisory Committee on Judicial Conduct. Others included explicit references to violence, sex and misogyny. At least one was taken in bed. On Monday, the court system said it had filed a complaint against the Superior Court judge, Gary N. Wilcox, who will now face a hearing that could lead to discipline ranging from a reprimand to dismissal from the bench.... Several were recorded in his court chambers and included songs that contained 'profanity, graphic sexual references to female and male body parts, and/or racist terms,' according to the committee." MB: The worst thing about this judge is that he probably gave Johnny and the Dwarfs ideas for Supreme Productions, LLC. Expect to see the Dancing Alitos at on a TikTok video soon. Melodies by Phony Barrett, lyrics by O'Kavanaugh, choreography by C. Thomas, managed by G. Thomas. Copyrights: totally unnecessary.

North Carolina. Jordan Wilkie of the Guardian: "The US supreme court ruled in favor of North Carolina voting rights groups last week, which celebrated with one breath and with the next condemned the new election laws and political maps being pushed by the state's Republican-controlled legislature. 'We are still in a five-alarm fire here in North Carolina,' said Gino Nuzzolillo, campaign manager for the state's Common Cause branch, which was one of the plaintiffs that won in the case the supreme court ruled on.... North Carolina's Republican legislators can already act largely unchecked by the other branches of state government. They have a veto-proof supermajority in the state legislature and the now Republican-controlled state supreme court signaled it would not act as a check on legislative power, including by taking the rare step to reverse two recent decisions by the previously Democrat-controlled court to re-allow partisan gerrymandering and require voter ID.... North Carolina is the only state where the governor cannot veto election maps drawn by the legislature, meaning that not even split-party leadership of the executive and legislative branches is a check on gerrymandering."

Way Beyond

China. Travel Advisory. AP: "The U.S. recommended Americans reconsider traveling to China because of arbitrary law enforcement and exit bans and the risk of wrongful detentions. No specific cases were cited, but the advisory came after a 78-year-old U.S. citizen was sentenced to life in prison on spying charges in May. It also followed the passage last week of a sweeping Foreign Relations Law that threatens countermeasures against those seen as harming China's interests. China also recently passed a broadly written counterespionage law that has sent a chill through the foreign business community, with offices being raided, as well as a law to sanction foreign critics." MB: Check YouTube, folks; you can probably find some great videos of the Great Wall & the Forbidden City.

Israel. Isabel Kershner of the New York Times: "Israel launched its most intense airstrikes on the occupied West Bank in nearly two decades on Monday, and sent hundreds of ground troops into the narrow streets and alleys of the crowded Jenin refugee camp, saying it was trying to root out armed militants after a year of escalating violence there.... At least eight Palestinians were killed, according to the Palestinian health ministry.... The military said a drone attack struck a joint operations center used by militants of a group known as the Jenin Brigade in the refugee camp, and that Israeli forces also targeted a facility for weapons production and explosive device storage. Gunfire echoed through the camp as Israeli troops and armored vehicles went in, and the military said they had located and confiscated caches of weapons, hundreds of explosive devices and an improvised rocket launcher." A Guardian report is here. (Also linked yesterday.)

Senegal. Elian Peltier of the New York Times: "President Macky Sall of Senegal said on Monday that he would not seek a third term in office, putting an end to months of tensions over a hypothetical candidacy that many say would have violated the West African nation's Constitution.... Mr. Sall's speech came a month after at least 16 people died in government protests that were fueled, in part, by his refusal to say whether he would run for a third term next year. Thousands of demonstrators, most of them young, had taken to the streets to protest against what they saw as an authoritarian drift from Mr. Sall's government, and against the conviction of his main political opponent, Ousmane Sonko, on charges that his supporters said had been an attempt to sideline him.... Mr. Sall, 61, was first elected in 2012 for a seven-year term and again in 2019 for five years after he modified the Constitution, which limits presidents to two terms. He argued that the constitutional change had reset the clock to zero, but legal experts in Senegal and abroad dismissed the contention as fallacious."

Ukraine, et al. The Washington Post's live briefing of developments Tuesday in Russia's war on Ukraine is here: "Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky alleged that the Kremlin, via the Georgian government, is trying to kill Mikheil Saakashvili, who was the pro-West president of Georgia during Russia's 2008 invasion. Zelensky called on Tbilisi to stop the "demonstrative execution" of Saakashvili, who is imprisoned in Georgia, and transfer him to Ukraine -- where he is a citizen -- 'for the necessary treatment and care.' In a court appearance via videoconference, Saakashvili -- who has staged multiple hunger strikes in prison -- appeared emaciated when he lifted his shirt to reveal his torso.... The founder of the Wagner mercenary group, Yevgeniy Prigozhin, called his march on Moscow a success in an audio message, his first since calling off the mutiny aimed at Russian military leaders. In the message, posted on a Telegram channel closely associated with Wagner, he said his fighters will win the 'next victories' in the war in Ukraine.... The U.S. ambassador to Russia met with jailed Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich in Moscow's Lefortovo prison." ~~~

     ~~~ The Guardian's live updates for Tuesday are here. The Guardian's summary report is here.

News Ledes

Independence Day Eve in Guns America. New York Times: "A heavily armed gunman wearing a bulletproof vest opened fire in southwest Philadelphia on Monday evening, killing four people and injuring two others, the police said. A male suspect was taken into custody by the police just before 8:40 p.m., the authorities said, adding that they had recovered a semiautomatic rifle, a handgun and another gun in the alleyway behind the 1600 block of South Frazier Street. The dead were all men, aged between 20 and 59, the police said. Two other victims, aged 2 and 13, were hospitalized and were stable, they said." ~~~

      ~~~ Update. New York Times: “Police found a fifth victim in a southwest Philadelphia shooting, hours after a heavily armed gunman wearing a bulletproof vest opened fire on Monday evening, the police said. The fifth victim was found in a house near the shootings; there were casings that matched the other shootings, according to a police spokesperson. The dead were all men between the ages of 20 and 59, the police said."

Independence Day Eve in Guns America. CNN: "A shooting that erupted just before midnight Monday in Fort Worth, Texas, left at least three dead and eight others wounded, police said. Ten of the victims are adults and one a minor, according to a news release from the Fort Worth Police Department's homicide unit. Officers discovered multiple people shot in a parking lot in the Horne Street area of the Como neighborhood, police said. Several victims were brought to local hospitals by private vehicles, while others were transported by ambulance, authorities said. One victim was pronounced dead at the scene."

See also yesterday's News Lede on Independence Day Eve in Guns America.