June 23, 2023

Late Morning/Afternoon Update:

Allison McCann & Amy Walker of the New York Times: "In the year since Roe fell, 20 states enacted laws banning or restricting abortion, forcing a rapid shift in the country;s patchwork of abortion access. Clinic owners scrambled to adjust, canceling appointments and helping patients travel elsewhere. Some clinics relocated, while others stayed open to provide the services they still could. Many simply closed, leaving behind empty buildings.... At least 61 clinics, Planned Parenthood facilities and doctors' offices stopped offering abortions in the last year. Most were in the 14 states that banned abortion outright. But the uncertainty surrounding laws in several other states also caused providers there to shut down. Physicians said the laws in some states were unclear. Others pointed to the possibility of criminal penalties, including prison time, making the prospect of offering abortion services risky. About half of the clinics have shifted their focus to other services, such as birth control and prenatal care.... At least a dozen providers moved and opened new clinics in friendlier states." ~~~

~~~ The Alito Five Don't Care about Truth OR Consequences. Linda Greenhouse of the New York Times: "The crisis in reproductive health care that Dobbs propelled is acute and growing. There have been, in other words, alarming consequences.... And so the question: A year after sowing so much chaos and misery, are any of the five members in Justice Samuel Alito's Dobbs majority sorry? Even a little?... Valuing fetal life over the lives of women and girls was no doubt a feature, not a bug, in the majority's view; that was, after all, the point of Dobbs.... So, no, I don't think the Dobbs justices are sorry. They did what they were put there to do, what they wanted to do, and they were quite explicit in washing their hands of the consequences."

Katelyn Polantz, et al., of CNN: "Special counsel Jack Smith has compelled at least two Republican fake electors to testify to a federal grand jury in Washington in recent weeks by giving them limited immunity, part of a current push by federal prosecutors to swiftly nail down evidence in the sprawling criminal investigation into efforts to overturn the 2020 election.... A parade of related witnesses are being told to appear before the grand jury with no chance for delay.... Prosecutors have played hardball with some of the witnesses in recent weeks, refusing to grant extensions to grand jury subpoenas for testimony and demanding they comply before the end of this month, sources said. In the situations where prosecutors have given witnesses immunity, the special counsel's office arrived at the courthouse in Washington ready to compel their testimony after the witnesses indicated they would decline to answer questions under the Fifth Amendment, the sources added.... The two Nevada Trump electors who were given the limited immunity -- the state's Republican Party Chairman Michael McDonald and another Nevada GOP official, Jim DeGraffenreid -- both testified before the grand jury last week."

Vaughn Hillyard & Ryan Reilly of NBC News: "Former President Trump spoke on Thursday at a fundraiser on behalf of people charged in the Jan. 6, 2021 attack on the U.S. Capitol.... 'I'm going to make a contribution,' Trump told the gathering hosted at his own private golf club in Bedminster, New Jersey. The group, Patriot Freedom Project, included at least one actual defendant along with multiple family members of those charged in the attack. An attendee of the fundraiser verified a video posted online of Trump's remarks. The former president heralded the defendants.... Trump said ... that 'BLM and antifa' were behind the Capitol attack." MB: Don't hold your breaths, suckers, waiting for the contribution.

Glenn Thrush, et al., of the New York Times: “Attorney General Merrick B. Garland defended the Justice Department's five-year investigation of Hunter Biden on Friday, forcefully rebutting claims promoted by House Republicans that he blocked federal prosecutors in Delaware from expanding the inquiry to encompass a greater range of crimes. On Tuesday, the House Ways and Means Committee released testimony from two I.R.S. officials who said that David C. Weiss, the U.S. attorney for Delaware who has overseen the inquiry, told them that Justice Department officials prevented him from bringing cases in Washington, D.C., and California. The I.R.S. officials also claimed in their testimony that Mr. Weiss told them that he was rebuffed in his request to be appointed a special counsel.... Mr. Garland denied both assertions during a news conference at the department's headquarters, saying he had given Mr. Weiss 'complete authority' to 'continue his investigation and to make a decision to prosecute any way in which he wanted to and in any district in which he wanted to.'... Mr. Garland and Mr. Weiss have both made public statements that Mr. Weiss had full authority over the case." Read on for more details.

New York. Jonah Bromwich & Hurubie Meko of the New York Times: "Amid a suicide crisis in New York City's jails, a correction officer falsified records to show that scores of her peers had taken a suicide prevention course that they had not actually completed, Bronx prosecutors and the Department of Investigation said on Friday. The Rikers Island officer, Vinette Tucker-Frederick, was said by the Bronx district attorney's office to have awarded credit for the course to 74 officers who were on leave in 2021. She gave their login information to colleagues and told them to take the digital training in the place of the absent officers, prosecutors said.... A nine-year veteran of the Department of Correction, Ms. Tucker-Frederick, 41, was charged with tampering with public records and identity theft and has been suspended indefinitely without pay."

Ukraine, et al. Tara John, et al., of CNN: "Yevgeny Prigozhin, the chief of private military group Wagner, has vowed to retaliate after accusing Russia's military leadership of killing a 'huge amount' of his forces in strikes -- prompting Russia's domestic intelligence service to open a criminal case against him. In a series of Telegram posts on Friday, Prigozhin -- who has frequently criticized Russia's traditional military hierarchy -- ... said strikes were launched 'on our camps' and that 'a huge amount of our fighters were killed, our comrades in arms. We will make a decision about how to respond to these atrocities. The next step is ours.' Russia's Ministry of Defense has denied the claims, calling it an 'informational provocation.' The mercenary then warned that retribution would be meted out." ~~~

~~~ Patrick Reevell of ABC News: "The head of Russia's Wagner mercenary group, Yevgeny Prigozhin, said the Kremlin's justifications for its invasion of Ukraine are based on lies, in another extraordinary attack on the country's military and political leadership. Prigozhin, a key ally of Putin, in a video posted Friday, contradicted the public explanations for the war, including the central claim made by Putin that the 2022 invasion was necessary to prevent an attack from Ukraine.... But in his video address, Prigozhin, whose fighters have played a leading role in the war, said that was not true and there had been no imminent risk of attack from Ukraine.... He blamed [Sergey] Shoigu, the defense ministry and a 'clan of oligarchs' for starting the war. He accused Shoigu of seeking glory and wanting 'to rob' Ukraine and divide up its assets."

Ariane de Vogue of CNN: "The Supreme Court, in an 8-1 ruling, revived the Biden administration's immigration guidelines that prioritize which noncitizens to deport, dismissing a challenge from two Republican state attorneys general who argued the policies conflicted with immigration law. The court said the states did not have the 'standing,' or the legal right, to sue in the first place in a decision that will further clarify when a state can challenge a federal policy in court going forward." At 10:30 am ET, this is a developing story. The Washington Post's story, by Robert Barnes, is here. Kavanaugh wrote the opinion. Lone dissenter: Insufferable Sam.

Niall Stanage of the Hill: "A quixotic push by Rep. Lauren Boebert (R-Colo.) to impeach President Biden was placed on the back burner Thursday. But even some Republican insiders fear the damage might already have been done. Boebert, one of the fiercest among the GOP's right-wing firebrands, surprised many of her colleagues by introducing an impeachment resolution earlier this week. The move caused disarray in the House Republican conference and the furor was only defused with a deal to send the resolution for consideration by committees.... But [Boebert] is insistent that, if it becomes clear the gambit is solely about delay, she will bring up her resolution 'every day for the rest of my time here in Congress.'... Democrats are ... convinced that the politics of the matter will play to their advantage."

Everybody Is Fed Up with Sen. Potato Head. Al Weaver of the Hill: "The chance that Sen. Tommy Tuberville (R-Ala.) will lift his hold on military promotions over the Pentagon's abortion policy anytime soon has dimmed drastically as Senate Republicans struggle to make a deal with him to end the months-long saga.... As of this week, Tuberville is holding up 250 promotions for general and flag officers that are normally approved on the Senate floor via unanimous consent, and the anger among Democrats has not dissipated.... President Biden and the Pentagon also heaped more pressure on Tuberville this week. The president referred to the 'former football coach from Alabama' during a fundraiser in Los Gatos, Calif., earlier this week, calling his hold 'bizarre.'" MB: Maybe if the Senate dining room started serving cute baked potato heads, Tuberville would take the hint.

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Peter Baker of the New York Times: "President Biden emphasized common ground with Prime Minister Narendra Modi of India during a lavish state visit on Thursday, publicly skirting points of friction over the government's crackdown on human rights in India and Russia's war in Ukraine in hopes of bolstering economic and geopolitical ties with the world's most populous nation. The president treated Mr. Modi to a day of red-carpet pageantry and showered him with expansive flattery as he sought to draw India closer at a time when the United States finds itself locked in open conflict with Moscow and in an uneasy standoff with China. But even as the leaders announced a range of initiatives, they made no evident progress resolving the disagreements that have strained the relationship in recent months. The visit's most surprising breakthrough was a modest if notable one as Mr. Biden coaxed Mr. Modi into taking questions from reporters at a joint news conference, one of the rare times the nationalist prime minister has done so in his nearly decade-long tenure. Challenged on his record on human rights and religious freedom, Mr. Modi insisted that democracy is 'in India's DNA' and denied that his government has fostered prejudice in serving its people." MB: Yeah, show me an authoritarian who isn't a lying SOS. See related story linked under "Way Beyond the Beltway" below. ~~~

     ~~~ Katie Rogers of the New York Times: "The mix of political adversaries and Biden family members created a dinner scene so dissonant that no amount of glass clinking could have drowned out the partisan undercurrents.... By the end of the dinner, the prime minister was one of the few guests who had publicly waded into politics. 'You are soft-spoken,' Mr. Modi told the president, 'but when it comes to action, you are very strong.'" Marie: Anyway, lots of glam photos. ~~~

     ~~~ Here's the official guest list, via the New York Times. Woe be the person who had to make up the seating arrangements.

Lisa Mascaro of the AP: "Eager to impeach President Joe Biden, hard-right House Republicans forced a vote Thursday that sent the matter to congressional committees in a clear demonstration of the challenge that Speaker Kevin McCarthy faces in controlling the majority party.... Rep. Lauren Boebert, backed by allies, was able to use House rules to force a snap vote on such a grave constitutional matter. The 219-208 party-line vote sent her resolution to committees for possible consideration, like any other bill. They are under no obligation to do anything.... During Thursday's debate, Republicans were admonished multiple times by the presiding officer to tone down their remarks.... In a private meeting Wednesday, McCarthy encouraged lawmakers to consider the traditional process for bringing such consequential legislation forward. Boebert had used what is called a privileged resolution to force the vote.... Rank-and-file Republicans were angry at being forced into the position of having to vote on a resolution to impeach Biden even though they had not gone through the traditional process of an impeachment inquiry. They resented a single lawmaker jumping the queue of priorities." (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~

     ~~~ Marie's Note to Rank-and-File Members: Nobody "forced" you sheeples to vote "yay." ~~~

~~~ Al Weaver of the Hill: "Senate Republicans are questioning the push by House conservatives to impeach President Biden and other administration officials, arguing the moves are a waste of time and futile efforts that likely lack an impeachable offense. Rep. Lauren Boebert (R-Colo.) surprised even her own GOP colleagues Tuesday when she filed a privileged motion that would force a vote on a resolution to impeach Biden." MB: Yeah, well, I'm mighty upset Boebert (allegedly!) plagiarized MTG's impeachment filing against Chris Wray. (Related ridiculous story linked below.) (Also linked yesterday.)

Maegan Vazquez of the Washington Post: "The House Ethics Committee announced an expanded investigation into Rep. George Santos (R-N.Y.) in a letter Thursday, to include allegations that he fraudulently obtained unemployment insurance benefits, marking a departure from the panel's typical practice of staying out of matters that coincide with federal charges against lawmakers. The move comes a month after the freshman congressman was indicted on federal charges, which allege that he defrauded his donors, used their money for his personal benefit and wrongfully claimed unemployment benefits. Santos faces seven counts of wire fraud, three counts of money laundering, one count of theft of public funds and two counts of lying to the House of Representatives on financial forms. The congressman pleaded not guilty in May...." The Hill's story is here. ~~~

~~~ Michael Gold & Grace Ashford of the New York Times: "... the names of the two guarantors [of Rep. George Santos' $500,000 bond] were unsealed [Thursday] and revealed to be two of his relatives: his father, Gercino dos Santos Jr., and his aunt Elma Preven. The disclosure put an end to weeks of speculation that was heightened by Mr. Santos's vehement opposition to making his guarantors' names public, as they are in most cases.... They did not have to put up cash or property to secure his release, but they told a magistrate judge they would be 'personally responsible' for ensuring that he appeared in court and followed the conditions of his bond. If he did not, the guarantors would be on the hook for the entirety of the $500,000 bond." The ABC News story is here. (Also linked yesterday.)

Nick Visser of the Huffington Post: Rep. Dan Crenshaw (R-Texas) thinks maybe Joe Biden is at fault for the deaths of five people on the privately owned-and-operated submersible craft Titan. "You know, we've got to look into it, see what's true and what isn't.... What appears to be the case is epic failure in leadership. Where exactly that leadership failure is, I don't know. Is it the White House, Coast Guard, Navy? I'm not sure," Crenshaw said in a statement. MB: Yeah, I'm not sure, either, Danny Boy.

Seen at the Courthouse. Ryan Reilly, et al., of NBC News: "The deputy director of Election Day operations for Donald Trump's 2020 presidential campaign appeared before a federal grand jury Thursday as part of special counsel Jack Smith's investigation into Jan. 6 and efforts to interfere with the lawful transfer of presidential power. Gary Michael Brown, who has been accused of being involved in the so-called fake electors scheme after the 2020 election, was seen headed into the third-floor grand jury space at a courthouse in Washington where a grand jury has been hearing testimony about efforts to stop the transfer of power to President Joe Biden. Stanley Woodward -- an attorney who is representing several Trump aides, including Walt Nauta, who was indicted along with Trump in the Mar-a-Lago documents case -- accompanied Brown in court Thursday." ~~~

~~~ Hugo Lowell of the Guardian: "Federal prosecutors investigating Donald Trump's retention of national security material were examining evidence within weeks of the FBI search of Mar-a-Lago last year that he might have handled classified documents at his Bedminster club in New Jersey, according to two people close to the matter. The indications of classified documents at Bedminster so alarmed prosecutors that they focused part of the investigation on whether Trump might have transported the materials or disclosed their contents there in addition to refusing to return them to the government, the people said.... Within weeks of the FBI search of Mar-a-Lago, the justice department sought to act on the indications of classified documents at Bedminster when it told the Trump legal team that prosecutors believed the former president still possessed classified materials, the people said. The message in the letter, which became a formal court motion filed under seal weeks later, was clear: arrange for new searches of all of the Trump properties because, as of that time, the only place that had been combed for classified documents was the Mar-a-Lago resort.... [Trump's] legal team ultimately decided on working with the justice department.... But when the new searches of the Trump properties by contractors took place, they found no classified documents at Bedminster, according to people familiar with what they certified...." (Also linked yesterday.)

MEANWHILE on Hollywood Blvd. Thanks to RAS for the link: ~~~

Someone did this to Donald Trump’s star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. pic.twitter.com/hYODCOfZBq

— Mike Sington (@MikeSington) June 22, 2023

L'État, C'est Moi. As Trump's Pathologies Go, So Goes the GOP. Jamelle Bouie of the New York Times: "Donald Trump did not -- and does not -- recognize any distinction between himself and the office of the presidency.... This view is as close a fundamental rejection of American constitutionalism as you can imagine -- and it helps explain much of the former president's behavior in and out of office.... For Trump, he is the president. He is the government. The documents, in his mind, belonged to him.... In addition to covering for the former president in the face of federal charges, the other Republicans vying for the nomination have adopted his view that the independence of federal law enforcement violates his (and potentially their) authority as president.... There is the recent enthusiasm among so-called nationalist or populist conservatives for using the state to enforce a particular social order.... As the Republican Party has come to shape itself around [Trump's] person, it has also adopted his worldview, which is to say, the worldview and ideology of the boss. No longer content to run government for business, the Republican Party now hopes to run government as a business.... The next Republican president, in short, will almost certainly be the worst boss you, and American democracy, have ever had."

Marie: Forgot to say: several MSNBC commentators, not to mention Adam Schiff during the hearing itself, remarked on how John Durham, during his sworn testimony yesterday, couldn't remember much of anything about the Mueller report -- like about how Trump said publicly, "Russia, if you're listening, I hope you're able to find the 30,000 emails that are missing." Then, as the New York Times reported in July 2018, "As it turns out, that same day, the Russians -- whether they had tuned in or not -- made their first effort to break into the servers used by Mrs. Clinton's personal office, according to a sweeping 29-page indictment unsealed Friday by the special counsel's office that charged 12 Russians with election hacking." But Durham had no idea. If he read the Mueller report, he had to have read it quite selectively.

Luke Broadwater & Michael Schmidt of the New York Times: "The lead I.R.S. agent investigating whether Hunter Biden committed tax crimes told Congress his team uncovered evidence that Mr. Biden had invoked his father, who was then out of office, while pressing a potential Chinese business partner in 2017 to move ahead with a proposed energy deal, House Republicans said. In testimony made public on Thursday, Gary Shapley, an I.R.S. agent since 2009 who supervised the tax agency's investigation into Hunter Biden, said his team used a search warrant to obtain a July 30, 2017, WhatsApp message from Mr. Biden to Henry Zhao, a Chinese businessman. In a summary of the message, provided to the House Ways and Means Committee by Mr. Shapley, Mr. Biden told Mr. Zhao that he was sitting with his father and that 'we would like to understand why the commitment made has not been fulfilled.... And, Z, if I get a call or text from anyone involved in this other than you, Zhang, or the chairman, I will make certain that between the man sitting next to me and every person he knows and my ability to forever hold a grudge that you will regret not following my direction.'... But it was not immediately clear whether Hunter Biden had been with his father when he sent the message or what his father ... knew about his son's negotiations with his potential Chinese partners." A Washington Post story is here. An NBC News story is here.

Presidential Race 2024. Will Weissert of the AP: "Former Texas congressman Will Hurd, a onetime CIA officer and fierce critic of Donald Trump, announced Thursday that he's running for president, hoping to build momentum as a more moderate alternative to the Republican front-runner Hurd, 45, served three terms in the House through January 2021, becoming the chamber's only Black Republican during his final two years in office." (Also linked yesterday.) The Washington Post's story is here.

"Friend-of-the-Court." Devan Cole & Audrey Ash of CNN: "Last July, [Supreme Court Justice Samuel] Alito was feted in Rome by Notre Dame's Religious Liberty Initiative, which has in recent years joined the growing ranks of conservative legal activists who are finding new favor at the Supreme Court -- and forging ties with the justices. The group's legal clinic has filed a series of 'friend-of-the-court' briefs in religious liberty cases before the Supreme Court since its founding in 2020. After the high court overturned Roe v. Wade last year, the group paid for Alito's trip to Rome to deliver a keynote address at a gala hosted at a palace in the heart of the city.... At the start of his speech, he thanked the group for the 'warm hospitality' it provided to him and his wife, which, he later said, included a stay at a hotel that 'looks out over the Roman Forum.' During various parts of the address, he gleefully mocked critics of his ruling overturning the constitutional right to abortion....

"Alito stressed in a statement to CNN that his invitation to speak in Rome was not specifically from the initiative's clinic, which submits the briefs to the court. 'My understanding is that Notre Dame Law School's Religious Liberty Initiative has a number of components, only one of which is a clinic that, like the legal clinics at many other law schools, files amicus briefs in the Supreme Court,' the statement said. 'I was not invited to speak in Rome by the clinic.'...

"A few months after Justice Amy Coney Barrett was sworn in at the Supreme Court in 2020..., she sold her private residence to a recently hired professor who was taking on a leadership position at the [Religious Liberty Initiative].... Neither Barrett's real estate deal nor Alito's appearance in Italy appear to violate any of the court's ethics rules, according to several experts interviewed by CNN."

Jesse Wegman of the New York Times: "For someone who wields unimaginable power and exudes utter confidence in his own moral rectitude, Justice Samuel Alito is an exceptionally touchy guy. Exhibit A: His decision to devote time and energy to a newspaper essay defending himself against charges of ethical and legal violations that had not yet been published, and which he considered invalid in the first place. The essay, in both form and substance, epitomizes the bitterness and superciliousness that he has demonstrated in regular doses throughout his years on the Supreme Court.... For most of his 17 years on the court, he has appeared to relish playing the role of bare-knuckled partisan soldier, standing athwart history in loyal service to a vengeful, theocratic right-wing movement that elevates religious liberty for some over basic freedoms for all....It is this odor of impunity, this mockery of legitimate critique, this disregard for the rights and freedoms of millions of Americans-- this 'stench' of politicization, as Justice Sonia Sotomayor put it during oral arguments in the case that eventually overturned Roe v. Wade == that defines today's Supreme Court." ~~~

     ~~~ They Who Shall Not Be Questioned. Marie: See also Jamelle Bouie's column, linked above, on Trump's hubris. Alito shares that same pathology, IMO. Just as Trump told Bret Baier recently that he didn't plan to debate other GOP presidential candidates because it was "unfair" for candidates with lower poll numbers to criticize him, Alito argues that's it's unfair for low-paid reporters at a nonprofit news organization to dig into his luxury vacations and implicitly criticize him for neither reporting the gifts nor recusing himself from opining on the giftor's case that came before the court.

Stephanie Kirchgaessner of the Guardian: "The rightwing billionaire real estate developer Harlan Crow is facing a possible showdown with Senate investigators looking into the financial arrangement behind lavish vacations, private flights and other perks that were given to the conservative supreme court justice Clarence Thomas but never publicly disclosed. At the centre of the Senate investigation are questions about the tax treatment of the gifts -- which could be worth millions of dollars -- and what Crow's financial treatment of those expenses might reveal about the true nature of his relationship with Thomas.... [Sen. Ron] Wyden [D-Ore.] has accused Crow of 'stonewalling' basic questions about his gifts to Thomas and his family.... He has also said he is discussing next steps to compel Crow to respond fully to his questions, including by subpoena."

John Flesher of the AP: "Chemical manufacturer 3M Co. will pay at least $10.3 billion to settle lawsuits over contamination of many U.S. public drinking water systems with potentially harmful compounds used in firefighting foam and a host of consumer products, the company said Thursday. The deal would compensate water providers for pollution with per- and polyfluorinated substances, known collectively as PFAS -- a broad class of chemicals used in nonstick, water- and grease-resistant products such as clothing and cookware. Described as 'forever chemicals' because they don't degrade naturally in the environment, PFAS have been linked to a variety of health problems, including liver and immune-system damage and some cancers." The New York Times story is here.

Michael Mitsanas of NBC News: "A local Indiana chapter of Moms for Liberty, a national conservative parents organization, apologized on Thursday for quoting Adolf Hitler in a newsletter. The Hamilton County chapter of Moms for Liberty quoted Hitler's remarks at a 1935 rally on the front page of its new newsletter on Wednesday. The quote, placed directly below the masthead, read: 'He alone, who OWNS the youth, GAINS the future.' After the Indianapolis Star first reported this story on Wednesday, the local chapter of Moms for Liberty added additional 'context' to the original newsletter, saying the quote from this horrific leader should put parents on alert.... If the government has control over our children today, they control our country's future,' the note read." MB: So, ah, first Hitler was giving good advice, then he was giving bad advice? P.S. Lose the comma after "alone."

Annals of "Journalism," Ha Ha Ha. Mia Gingerich of Media Matters: "In an abhorrent bid to further its demonization of trans people and the medical professionals who provide medically necessary care, Fox News' website is altering articles from The Associated Press and Reuters to replace the phrase 'gender-affirming care' with the terms 'sex change' or 'sex reassignment' -- phrases that the AP, trans journalists, and LGBTQ rights advocates deem outdated -- and frequently removing or replacing references to 'care' or 'medical care.' In one of the most recent examples, Fox fabricated a quote from an Oregon state senator, putting words in the mouth of an elected official. In changing the text of AP articles without disclosing the edits to its readers, Fox News is obscuring the true impact of legislation that removes a broad range of lifesaving treatment options for trans youth. Both the AP and Reuters confirmed that altering their content to change the meaning or accuracy of the reporting violates their rules."

Beyond the Beltway

Kentucky. Sarah Burris of the Raw Story: "Kentucky's GOP governor hopeful and Attorney General Daniel Cameron has been accused of taking cash from officials his office was investigating. The Daily Beast uncovered donations of $6,900 made to Cameron's office in March and April from people who run an addiction recovery center that was being investigated by the state, it reported. The donations came at the end of an investigation by his office, which began in 2022, but it wasn't until an open records request by the Beast that he recused himself from the investigation.... Edgewater Recovery Center is being investigated by the Kentucky Office of Medicaid Fraud and Abuse, which is under Cameron's office. He scored cash from the owner of the recovery center, the company's lawyer, directors of the medical unit, workers in HR and the clinical practices.... To make matters worse, Cameron attacked a local judge for doing the exact same thing at the same time."

New Mexico. Julia Jacobs of the New York Times: "The original armorer on the film 'Rust,' who was charged with involuntary manslaughter after a gun that was loaded with live ammunition fired on the set and killed the cinematographer, will face an additional charge of evidence tampering related to narcotics, a special prosecutor in the case said Thursday. The new charge against the armorer, Hannah Gutierrez-Reed, 'relates to the transfer of narcotics to another person' on Oct. 21, 2021, the day of the shooting, 'with the intent to prevent criminal prosecution,' the prosecutor, Kari T. Morrissey, said in a statement. A lawyer for Ms. Gutierrez-Reed said that she intended to plead not guilty to both the evidence tampering and the involuntary manslaughter charges." The article goes on describe discord among the investigators & prosecutors in the case. The Guardian's story is here.

Wyoming. Pam Belluck of the New York Times: "A Wyoming judge on Thursday temporarily blocked the first state law specifically banning the use of pills for abortion, the most common method in the country. Just over a week before the ban was scheduled to take effect, Judge Melissa Owens of Teton County District Court granted a temporary restraining order, putting the law on hold pending further court proceedings. Ruling from the bench after a hearing that lasted about two hours, Judge Owens said that the plaintiffs, who include four health care providers, 'have clearly shown probable success on the merits and that at least some of the plaintiffs will suffer possible irreparable injury' if the ban were to take effect." MB: Yeah, well, a photo of Judge Owens, suggests she is young enough to still be ovulating. Lady judges should not be allowed to rule on these things because obviously they are biased, not to mention they might make their rulings on a PMS day.

Way Beyond

India/Russia. Nidhi Verma of Reuters: "India's rising imports of Russian oil hit a record high of about 1.95 million barrels per day (bpd) in May denting purchases from Iraq and Saudi Arabia fell, tanker data from trade and industry sources showed. India, the world's third biggest oil consumer and importer, buys more than 80% of its oil from overseas markets. Its refiners have been gorging on Russian oil since the West imposed sanctions over Moscow for its invasion of Ukraine."

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

     ~~~ The Washington Post's live briefing for Friday is here: "Ukrainian missiles hit a bridge connecting Russian-held territory in Kherson and the Crimean Peninsula, Russian officials said Thursday.... RIA Novosti, a Russian state-operated news outlet, shared a video showing a large hole in the Chonhar bridge -- known as the 'Gate to Crimea' -- surrounded by what appeared to be missile fragments. No casualties were reported. The bridge is used by the Russian military to move between Crimea, which Russia illegally annexed in 2014, and other Russian-held areas.... The United Nations added Russia's armed forces to a list of global offenders for killing 136 children in Ukraine in 2022, according to a U.N. Security Council document seen by Reuters.... Russia Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu said that Moscow will finish forming a 'reserve army' by the end of June as well as a new army corps.... India is ready to contribute in 'any way we can to restore peace' between Russia and Ukraine, India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi said at a news conference alongside President Biden. New Delhi has rebuked Moscow for the war in Ukraine, but has not joined international sanctions and continues to buy energy and weapons from Russia."

AP: "A Moscow court on Thursday ruled that Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich must remain in jail on espionage charges until at least late August, rejecting the American journalist's appeal to be released. The 31-year-old U.S. citizen was arrested in late March while on a reporting trip. A Moscow court ruled last month to keep him in custody until Aug. 30, but his lawyers had challenged the decision." (Also linked yesterday.)

News Ledes

New York Times: "A vast multinational search for five people who had descended to view the wreckage of the sunken R.M.S. Titanic ended on Thursday after pieces of the privately owned submersible vessel that had carried them were found on the ocean floor, evidence of a 'catastrophic implosion' with no survivors, according to the U.S. Coast Guard." ~~~

~~~ New York Times: "The U.S. Navy, using data from a secret network of underwater sensors designed to track hostile submarines, detected 'an anomaly consistent with an implosion or explosion' in the vicinity of the Titan submersible at the time communications with the vessel were lost on Sunday, two senior Navy officials said on Thursday."

Washington Post: "A large tornado tore through the town of Matador, Tex., leaving four people dead and 10 injured, emergency services said early Thursday. The destructive tornado hit amid a siege of violent storms stretching from around Houston to Denver on Wednesday afternoon and night."

June 22, 2023

Late-ish Morning/Afternoon Update:

See Thursday's Ledes re: the announcement that the occupants of the Titan submersible are presumed to be dead after searchers found parts of the submersible near the Titanic and concluded that the craft experienced a "catastrophic implosion."

Lisa Mascaro of the AP: "Eager to impeach President Joe Biden, hard-right House Republicans forced a vote Thursday that sent the matter to congressional committees in a clear demonstration of the challenge that Speaker Kevin McCarthy faces in controlling the majority party.... Rep. Lauren Boebert, backed by allies, was able to use House rules to force a snap vote on such a grave constitutional matter. The 219-208 party-line vote sent her resolution to committees for possible consideration, like any other bill. They are under no obligation to do anything.... During Thursday's debate, Republicans were admonished multiple times by the presiding officer to tone down their remarks.... In a private meeting Wednesday, McCarthy encouraged lawmakers to consider the traditional process for bringing such consequential legislation forward. Boebert had used what is called a privileged resolution to force the vote.... Rank-and-file Republicans were angry at being forced into the position of having to vote on a resolution to impeach Biden even though they had not gone through the traditional process of an impeachment inquiry. They resented a single lawmaker jumping the queue of priorities." ~~~

     ~~~ Marie's Note to Rank-and-File Members: Nobody "forced" you sheeples to vote "yay."

Michael Gold & Grace Ashford of the New York Times: "... the names of the two guarantors [of Rep. George Santos' $500,000 bond] were unsealed [Thursday] and revealed to be two of his relatives: his father, Gercino dos Santos Jr., and his aunt Elma Preven. The disclosure put an end to weeks of speculation that was heightened by Mr. Santos's vehement opposition to making his guarantors' names public, as they are in most cases.... They did not have to put up cash or property to secure his release, but they told a magistrate judge they would be 'personally responsible' for ensuring that he appeared in court and followed the conditions of his bond. If he did not, the guarantors would be on the hook for the entirety of the $500,000 bond." The ABC News story is here.

Hugo Lowell of the Guardian: "Federal prosecutors investigating Donald Trump's retention of national security material were examining evidence within weeks of the FBI search of Mar-a-Lago last year that he might have handled classified documents at his Bedminster club in New Jersey, according to two people close to the matter. The indications of classified documents at Bedminster so alarmed prosecutors that they focused part of the investigation on whether Trump might have transported the materials or disclosed their contents there in addition to refusing to return them to the government, the people said.... Within weeks of the FBI search of Mar-a-Lago, the justice department sought to act on the indications of classified documents at Bedminster when it told the Trump legal team that prosecutors believed the former president still possessed classified materials, the people said. The message in the letter, which became a formal court motion filed under seal weeks later, was clear: arrange for new searches of all of the Trump properties because, as of that time, the only place that had been combed for classified documents was the Mar-a-Lago resort.... [Trump's] legal team ultimately decided on working with the justice department.... But when the new searches of the Trump properties by contractors took place, they found no classified documents at Bedminster, according to people familiar with what they certified...."

"Friend-of-the-Court." Devan Cole & Audrey Ash of CNN: "Last July, [Supreme Court Justice Samuel] Alito was feted in Rome by Notre Dame's Religious Liberty Initiative, which has in recent years joined the growing ranks of conservative legal activists who are finding new favor at the Supreme Court -- and forging ties with the justices. The group's legal clinic has filed a series of 'friend-of-the-court' briefs in religious liberty cases before the Supreme Court since its founding in 2020. After the high court overturned Roe v. Wade last year, the group paid for Alito's trip to Rome to deliver a keynote address at a gala hosted at a palace in the heart of the city.... At the start of his speech, he thanked the group for the 'warm hospitality' it provided to him and his wife, which, he later said, included a stay at a hotel that 'looks out over the Roman Forum.' During various parts of the address, he gleefully mocked critics of his ruling overturning the constitutional right to abortion....

"Alito stressed in a statement to CNN that his invitation to speak in Rome was not specifically from the initiative's clinic, which submits the briefs to the court. 'My understanding is that Notre Dame Law School's Religious Liberty Initiative has a number of components, only one of which is a clinic that, like the legal clinics at many other law schools, files amicus briefs in the Supreme Court,' the statement said. 'I was not invited to speak in Rome by the clinic.'" MB: Right.

AP: "A Moscow court on Thursday ruled that Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich must remain in jail on espionage charges until at least late August, rejecting the American journalist's appeal to be released. The 31-year-old U.S. citizen was arrested in late March while on a reporting trip. A Moscow court ruled last month to keep him in custody until Aug. 30, but his lawyers had challenged the decision."

Al Weaver of the Hill: "Senate Republicans are questioning the push by House conservatives to impeach President Biden and other administration officials, arguing the moves are a waste of time and futile efforts that likely lack an impeachable offense. Rep. Lauren Boebert (R-Colo.) surprised even her own GOP colleagues Tuesday when she filed a privileged motion that would force a vote on a resolution to impeach Biden." MB: Yeah, well, I'm mighty upset Boebert (allegedly!) plagiarized MTG's impeachment filing against Chris Wray. (Related story linked below.)

Marie: Forgot to say: several MSNBC commentators, not to mention Adam Schiff during the hearing itself, remarked on how John Durham, during his sworn testimony yesterday, couldn't remember much of anything about the Mueller report -- like about how Trump said publicly, "Russia, if you're listening, I hope you're able to find the 30,000 emails that are missing." Then, as the New York Times reported in July 2018, "As it turns out, that same day, the Russians -- whether they had tuned in or not -- made their first effort to break into the servers used by Mrs. Clinton's personal office, according to a sweeping 29-page indictment unsealed Friday by the special counsel's office that charged 12 Russians with election hacking." But Durham had no idea. If he read the Mueller report, he had to have read it quite selectively.

Presidential Race 2024. Will Weissert of the AP: "Former Texas congressman Will Hurd, a onetime CIA officer and fierce critic of Donald Trump, announced Thursday that he's running for president, hoping to build momentum as a more moderate alternative to the Republican front-runner. Hurd, 45, served three terms in the House through January 2021, becoming the chamber's only Black Republican during his final two years in office."

Marie: Apparently Trump got some word of what-all was in the discovery material Jack Smith sent over yesterday, because I hear from the teevee that he has already all-caps-lied three Liars Social messages.

~~~~~~~~~~

Toluse Olorunnipa, et al., of the Washington Post: "Denied a U.S. visa in 2005 over deadly religious riots in his home state, [India's] Prime Minister Narendra Modi came to Washington on Wednesday for a state visit that will highlight his change in fortune and growing global clout, even as concerns about human rights and democratic erosion in India are intensifying across the nation he now leads. For the man rolling out the red carpet for him, President Biden, the visit underscores both the promise of strengthening ties with the world's most populous nation and the peril of positioning his presidency as a pivotal force in the global battle between autocracy and democracy.... India is emerging as an increasingly vital player in a region the United States has prioritized in its foreign policy -- a potential bulwark against China and an increasingly powerful actor in sectors including technology, defense and the arts. But the country's tilt toward illiberalism is at odds with the kind of message Biden has embraced during his presidency...."

You honor me with your enmity. -- Rep. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.), to House Republicans, from the House floor ~~~

~~~ Luke Broadwater of the New York Times: "The G.O.P.-led House formally censured Representative Adam B. Schiff, Democrat of California, on Wednesday over his role investigating ... Donald J. Trump, the first in what could be a series of votes seeking to punish those whom Republicans have deemed the party's enemies. The censure passed by a party-line vote of 213 to 209 with six Republicans voting 'present.' The measure had the backing of Speaker Kevin McCarthy after its lead sponsor, Representative Anna Paulina Luna, Republican of Florida, altered its language to remove a multimillion-dollar fine some Republicans viewed as unconstitutional.... The House has censured members just 24 times in the chamber's history, and typically only after a finding of wrongdoing.... Democrats erupted in chants of 'Shame!' at the Republicans after the vote, and surrounded Mr. Schiff in a protective circle as he walked to the well of the House to receive the censure.... Five of the six Republicans who voted 'present' are members of the Ethics Committee. Such a vote is traditional to maintain independence in such cases for ethics panel members, who would have the task of investigating Mr. Schiff.

"Mr. Schiff, who is seeking a Senate seat and has cited the censure against him in fund-raising efforts, said he was being made a target solely because he had stood up to Mr. Trump.... Mr. Schiff led the first impeachment prosecution against Mr. Trump and served on the House committee investigating the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol." An NBC News story is here. ~~~

~~~ A Humorous Aside, via Broadwater: "Representative Lauren Boebert, Republican of Colorado and a leader of the ultraconservative House Freedom Caucus, is seeking to force a vote on impeaching [President] Biden this week. Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene, Republican of Georgia, who has been pushing to impeach the F.B.I. director Christopher Wray, on Wednesday accused Ms. Boebert of copying her impeachment articles against Mr. Biden." ~~~

~~~ Oh, well, of course there's more, too indelicate for the Grey Lady. Joe, My God: According to the Daily Beast, Greene & Boebert got into an argument on the House floor. "'I've donated to you, I've defended you. But you've been nothing but a little bitch to me,' Greene told Boebert, according to a source who witnessed the exchange. 'And you copied my articles of impeachment after I asked you to cosponsor them.'" ~~~

~~~ Donald-fearing Republicans. Jared Gans of the Hill (June 16): Donald "Trump said in a Truth Social post Friday [June 16] that any Republican who opposed the censure resolution should face a primary challenge for the GOP nomination in their next election."

Charlie Savage of the New York Times: "In a nearly six-hour hearing before the House Judiciary Committee..., John H. Durham, the Trump-era special counsel who for four years pursued a politically fraught investigation into the Russia inquiry, told lawmakers on Wednesday that F.B.I. officials had exhibited confirmation bias -- even as he defended his work against Democratic accusations that he became a partisan tool.... For years, [Donald] Trump and his allies stoked expectations that Mr. Durham would find a conspiracy lurking in the origins of the Russia investigation and would prosecute high-level officials. But Mr. Durham developed only two peripheral cases, both of which ended in acquittals.... The hearing was largely a predicable display of partisanship.... For example, Representative Matt Gaetz, Republican of Florida..., said Mr. Durham had let the country down.... 'When you are part of the cover-up, Mr. Durham, then it makes our job harder,' Mr. Gaetz said. Mr. Durham replied that Mr. Gaetz's comments were 'offensive.'...

“Throughout the hearing, Democrats pressed Mr. Durham to acknowledge or explain certain findings from a New York Times article in January examining how his inquiry became roiled by internal dissent and ethical disputes. They asked him, for example, why his longtime deputy, Nora R. Dannehy, resigned from his team in September 2020.... Mr. Durham spoke highly of Ms. Dannehy but declined to say why she had resigned." Durham told Rep. Zoe Lofgren (D-Calif.) that a trip he and then-AG Bill Barr made to Italy, also reported by the NYT, wherein Italian officials gave them a tip about financial crimes related to Trump, led to "investigative steps" that "came to nothing." ~~~

~~~ Marcy Wheeler: "... the Durham hearing gave [Rep. Adam] Schiff (and others, but especially Schiff) several opportunities to lay out just how damning the Mueller investigation results were, particularly as compared to Durham's own flimsy outcome. Each time, Durham claimed ignorance of key details of the Mueller Report.... Throughout the hearing, he stopped short of making claims that he had -- while still a prosecutor with near-total immunity -- made in his report. For example, Durham did not state, in the hearing, that Hillary [Clinton] had a plan to frame Donald Trump, as opposed to simply pointing out his very real Russian ties.... I can think of no more fitting way to end Durham's four year effort to chase the conspiracy theories of George Papadopoulos than to have Matt Gaetz accuse him of being part of a Deep State op. Durham set off in 2019 to chase down the conspiracy theories of people with close ties to Matt Gaetz. And Durham ended it by having Gaetz accuse Durham of the same things of which Durham accused others."

Tierney Sneed & Katelyn Polantz of CNN: "Special counsel Jack Smith has begun producing evidence in the Mar-a-Lago documents case to Donald Trump, according to a Wednesday court filing that hints that investigators collected for the case multiple recordings of the former president -- not just audio of an interview Trump gave at Bedminster for a forthcoming Mark Meadows memoir. Prosecutors in the filing used the plural 'interviews' to describe recordings of Trump -- made with his consent.... The first batch of discovery production -- made up of unclassified materials -- includes transcripts of witness testimony in front of the grand juries in Washington, DC, and Florida that were probing the mishandling of government documents from Trump's White House. It also includes materials collected via subpoenas and search warrants; memos detailing other witness interviews given through mid-May in the investigation; and copies of the surveillance footage investigators obtained in the probe. The first batch of evidence, provided on Wednesday, 'includes the grand jury testimony of witnesses who will testify for the government at the trial of this case,' the special counsel's office wrote." ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: Andrew Weissmann, appearing on MSNBC, said the production of evidence was unusually early and sent a message to the judge that Jack Smith wasn't kidding when he promised Trump a speedy trial. Anyhoo, let's see how long it takes Trump to lash out at former members of his administration and others, in definance of a court order, as he learns over the coming days who testified against him and what they said.

Adam Goldman & Traci Angel of the New York Times: "A former F.B.I. intelligence analyst from Kansas received nearly four years in prison on Wednesday in a case that bears parallels to that of ... Donald J. Trump, including the same charge of willful retention of national security secrets. The analyst, Kendra Kingsbury, 50, was accused of improperly removing and unlawfully taking home about 386 classified documents to her personal residence in Dodge City, Kan. She pleaded guilty to two counts of violating the Espionage Act.... Her case and punishment, and others like it involving violations of the Espionage Act, reflect how seriously the government takes such charges and offer a glimpse of how aggressively the Justice Department might pursue its case against Mr. Trump.... Ms. Kingsbury, like Mr. Trump, was accused of not being helpful or forthcoming with investigators." An NBC News story is here.

Beth Treffeisen & Glenn Thrush of the New York Times: "Jack Teixeira, the 21-year-old Air National Guardsman accused of posting a trove of secret documents to an online chat group, pleaded not guilty to six counts of federal criminal charges on Wednesday, two months after his arrest. Airman Teixeira, appearing in an orange prison uniform and fresh buzz cut, sat quietly as a federal magistrate judge read him his rights before standing to say, 'Not guilty, your honor,' during a 10-minute hearing in Worcester, Mass., attended by his family and dozens of media outlets.His lawyer asked the judge, David H. Hennessy, to reconsider an earlier decision to hold Airman Teixeira without bail indefinitely. But the judge rejected the request...."

Glenn Thrush & Alan Feuer of the New York Times: "A federal judge [Amy Berman Jackson] on Wednesday sentenced a rioter who savagely assaulted an officer [Michael Fanone] defending the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, to more than 12 years in prison, calling him a 'one-man army of hate' whose severe punishment might act as a deterrent to future acts of political violence. The 151-month sentence, handed down at a two-and-a-half-hour hearing in Federal District Court in Washington, was one of the stiffest so far in the Justice Department's sprawling investigation of the Capitol attack. It stemmed from one of the most wrenching episodes of the day, an assault on a District of Columbia police officer with a Taser-like weapon that left him unconscious and unable to return to his duties. The defendant, Daniel Rodriguez, 40, who had previously admitted to driving from California to Washington to do armed battle on behalf of ... Donald J. Trump, expressed some regret for his actions as he asked the judge for leniency. But after receiving his sentence, Mr. Rodriguez smiled and let out a defiant shout of 'Trump won!' before being led out of the room by federal marshals." The Guardian's report is here.

Karoun Demirjian of the New York Times: "Senator Chuck Schumer of New York, the majority leader, laid out a long-awaited framework on Wednesday to regulate artificial intelligence, hoping to create a path for lawmakers to adopt guardrails many industry insiders say are needed on a technology many members of Congress admit they do not understand. Mr. Schumer steered clear of endorsing any specific bills, instead calling for an approach to A.I. prioritizing objectives like security, accountability and innovation. Mr. Schumer..., instead is seeking to give lawmakers a comprehensive crash course in A.I. in a setting where partisan rancor might be set aside, before they try to impose rules on the rapidly changing industry."

Tory Newmyer of the Washington Post: "The Senate Banking Committee on Wednesday approved a bill to empower regulators to seize compensation from executives at failed banks, the first major legislative response to the banking crisis that shook the financial system this spring. The proposal, a compromise between the banking panel's leaders, Sens. Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio) and Tim Scott (R-S.C.), drew wide bipartisan support, clearing the committee by a vote of 21-2. That margin suggests the bill has momentum as it advances to the full Senate, though its timeline for action there and its prospects in the Republican-controlled House remain unclear."

Robert Barnes & John Wagner of the Washington Post: "Scrutiny of the Supreme Court intensified Wednesday after Justice Samuel A. Alito Jr. took the extraordinary step of writing an op-ed column to defend a luxury fishing trip to Alaska years ago that was partially financed by a politically active billionaire.... Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Richard J. Durbin (D-Ill.) said his panel would consider legislation after the Senate returns from its Fourth of July recess. 'The highest court in the land should not have the lowest ethical standards. But for too long that has been the case with the United States Supreme Court. That needs to change,' Durbin said in a joint statement with Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.), who chairs a subcommittee with jurisdiction over the federal judiciary.... The statement by Durbin and Whitehouse took direct aim at Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr., saying that the Supreme Court is in the midst of 'an ethical crisis of its own making' and that Roberts 'could resolve this today, but he has not acted.'" ~~~

~~~ Adam Liptak of the New York Times covers Sam Alito's Excellent Vacation (see related stories linked yesterday), and Liptak whacks Sam: Alito claimed "that he did not know of [immensely wealthy Paul] Singer's connection to the cases before the court, including one in which the court issued a 7-to-1 decision in favor of one of Mr. Singer's businesses, with Justice Alito in the majority. But Mr. Singer's connection to the case, Republic of Argentina v. NML Capital, was widely reported." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ~~~

     ~~~ Cheap Wine! Here's something funny: Alito complained about the cheap accommodations. From the ProPublica report, also linked below: writes, "At night, the lodge's chefs served multicourse meals of Alaskan king crab legs or Kobe filet. On the last evening, a member of Alito's group bragged that the wine they were drinking cost $1,000 a bottle, one of the lodge's fishing guides told ProPublica. In his [Wall Street Journal] op-ed, Alito described the lodge as a 'comfortable but rustic facility.' The justice said he does not remember if he was served wine, but if he was, it didn't cost $1,000 a bottle. (Alito also pointed readers to the lodge's website. The lodge has been sold since 2008 and is now a more downscale accommodation.)" (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ~~~

~~~ What Sam Chooses Not to Get. Philip Bump of the Washington Post: "... this debate over ethical edicts and rulemaking -- however likely to favor ProPublica's interpretation -- is beside the point. The point, instead, is that luxury recreational trips paid for by wealthy benefactors is inherently in conflict with the role of serving on the Supreme Court.... All of us hope to be considered entertaining and popular on our own merits, but those in positions of power should recognize that demonstrations of personal appreciation are not always rooted in beneficence.... The rules and guidelines addressing reporting and recusal by Supreme Court justices should be fail-safes against unscrupulous actors, not challenges to be sidestepped through clever rationalization." MB: There is a pathetic quality to Sam & Clarence, who prefer to believe that wealthy benefactors find them interesting and charming company rather than useful tools in the benefactors' big bags of tricks. You're a tool, Sambo, not a winsome party guest. (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)

~~~ Sam is so busy trying to defend his corrupt behavior with twisted arguments that you really can't blame him for not caring about the lives of women and girls. Besides, extremism in the pursuit of vice is so tiring. Or something like that: ~~~

~~~ Kim Bellware & Emily Guskin of the Washington Post: "Sweeping restrictions and even outright abortion bans adopted by states in the year since the landmark Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization ruling have had an overwhelmingly negative effect on maternal health care, according to a survey of OBGYNs released Wednesday that provides one of the clearest views yet of how the U.S. Supreme Court decision has affected women's health care in the United States. The poll by the health research nonprofit KFF reveals that the Dobbs ruling == which ended federal protection on the right to abortion -- affected maternal mortality and how pregnancy-related medical emergencies are managed, precipitated a rise in requests for sterilization and has done much more than restrict abortion access. Many OBGYNs said it has also made their jobs more difficult and legally perilous than before, while leading to worse outcomes for patients."

Beyond the Beltway

Delaware Senate Race. Luke Broadwater of the New York Times: "Representative Lisa Blunt Rochester, a Democrat, announced her campaign on Wednesday for the Delaware Senate seat being vacated by Senator Thomas R. Carper, beginning as the favorite in a race that could make her the third Black woman in U.S. history to win election to the Senate.... Ms. Blunt Rochester is the only House member in Delaware, a deep-blue state in which the winner of the Democratic primary will be heavily favored to win the general election. Powerful Democrats, including Mr. Carper, for whom Ms. Blunt Rochester once interned, and Senator Chuck Schumer of New York, the majority leader, have indicated support for her candidacy. Mr. Carper said he would do everything in his power to ensure that she won."

Florida. "Man of the People." Isaac Arnsdorf, et al., of the Washington Post: "Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis's wealthy donors and supporters lent a golf simulator to the Governor's Mansion and provided private flights to fundraisers and other political events, according to records obtained by The Washington Post. The golf simulator came from Mori Hosseini, a major home builder who chairs the University of Florida's Board of Trustees and lent the device to the Governor's Mansion in DeSantis's first year in office, according to documents released to The Post in response to a public records request. DeSantis, an avid golfer, has made his 'blue-collar' roots a key part of his appeal as a Republican candidate for president and has faced some criticism for his interactions with donors." Reuters' story is here.

Texas. Molly Hennessy Fiske of the Washington Post: "The Texas Senate voted Wednesday to begin the historic impeachment trial of Attorney General Ken Paxton on Sept. 5, and it approved rules that bar Paxton's wife from voting due to a conflict of interest. The state House last month impeached Paxton over allegations of bribery, unfitness for office and abuse of public trust, temporarily forcing him from office pending the Senate trial that could lead to his permanent ouster. Paxton's removal would require a two-thirds vote by the Senate's 18 Republicans and dozen Democrats."

Way Beyond

Ukraine, et al. The Washington Post's live briefing of developments Thursday in Russia's war on Ukraine is here: "Countries around the world announced billions of dollars in aid at the Ukraine Recovery Conference. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said the United States would give an additional $1.3 billion in the near term. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said the E.U. would provide $54.5 billion for 2024 through 2027, while South Korea will give an additional $130 million this year. More than 41 people were killed and 121 injured in a Russian-controlled part of Ukraine as a result of the Kakhovka dam disaster earlier this month, Russia's Emergency Situations Minister Alexander Kurenkov said during a government meeting, Reuters reported. More than 8,000 people were evacuated from the flood zone, he said.... Ukrainian forces are advancing in the south and firming up their defenses in the east amid 'fierce battles' with Russian forces, [Ukrainian President Volodymyr] Zelensky said Wednesday in his nightly address." ~~~

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

News Ledes

New York Times: "More vessels were expected to join the increasingly urgent search on Thursday for a submersible that disappeared over the weekend in a remote patch of the North Atlantic with five people aboard. 'Today will be a critical day in this search and rescue mission, as the sub's life support supplies are starting to run low,' Guillermo Sohnlein, who co-founded the company behind the submersible and left in 2013, said in a statement." This is a liveblog. ~~~

     ~~~ ** Update. The Titanic Claims Five More Lives: "All five people aboard the submersible that went missing on Sunday were believed to be dead, the U.S. Coast Guard said on Thursday, ending a dayslong rescue effort that gripped much of the world. 'On behalf of the United States Coast Guard and the entire unified command, I offer my deepest condolences to the families,' Rear Admiral John Mauger said in a news conference on Thursday. Earlier in the day, a remote-controlled vehicle located debris from the Titan submersible, including its tail cone, on the ocean floor, about 1,600 feet from the bow of the Titanic, he said. 'The debris is consistent with a catastrophic implosion of the vessel,' Admiral Mauger said. Stockton Rush, the chief executive of OceanGate, was piloting the submersible. The four passengers were a British businessman and explorer, Hamish Harding; a British-Pakistani businessman, Shahzada Dawood, and his teenage son, Suleman; and a French maritime expert, Paul-Henri Nargeolet, who had been on over 35 dives to the Titanic wreck site."

     ~~~ The Guardian's liveblog for Thursday is here.

June 21, 2023

Afternoon Update:

Glenn Thrush & Alan Feuer of the New York Times: "A federal judge [Amy Berman Jackson] on Wednesday sentenced a rioter who savagely assaulted an officer [Michael Fanone] defending the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, to more than 12 years in prison, calling him a 'one-man army of hate' whose severe punishment might act as a deterrent to future acts of political violence. The 151-month sentence, handed down at a two-and-a-half-hour hearing in Federal District Court in Washington, was one of the stiffest so far in the Justice Department's sprawling investigation of the Capitol attack. It stemmed from one of the most wrenching episodes of the day, an assault on a District of Columbia police officer with a Taser-like weapon that left him unconscious and unable to return to his duties. The defendant, Daniel Rodriguez, 40, who had previously admitted to driving from California to Washington to do armed battle on behalf of ... Donald J. Trump, expressed some regret for his actions as he asked the judge for leniency. But after receiving his sentence, Mr. Rodriguez smiled and let out a defiant shout of 'Trump won!' before being led out of the room by federal marshals."

Adam Liptak of the New York Times covers Sam Alito's Excellent Vacation (see related stories linked below), and Liptak whacks Sam: Alito claimed "that he did not know of [immensely wealthy Paul] Singer's connection to the cases before the court, including one in which the court issued a 7-to-1 decision in favor of one of Mr. Singer's businesses, with Justice Alito in the majority. But Mr. Singer's connection to the case, Republic of Argentina v. NML Capital, was widely reported." ~~~

     ~~~ Cheap Wine! Here's something funny: Alito complained about the cheap accommodations. From the ProPublica report, also linked below: writes, "At night, the lodge's chefs served multicourse meals of Alaskan king crab legs or Kobe filet. On the last evening, a member of Alito's group bragged that the wine they were drinking cost $1,000 a bottle, one of the lodge's fishing guides told ProPublica. In his [Wall Street Journal] op-ed, Alito described the lodge as a 'comfortable but rustic facility.' The justice said he does not remember if he was served wine, but if he was, it didn't cost $1,000 a bottle. (Alito also pointed readers to the lodge's website. The lodge has been sold since 2008 and is now a more downscale accommodation.)" ~~~

~~~ What Sam Chooses Not to Get. Philip Bump of the Washington Post: "... this debate over ethical edicts and rulemaking -- however likely to favor ProPublica's interpretation -- is beside the point. The point, instead, is that luxury recreational trips paid for by wealthy benefactors is inherently in conflict with the role of serving on the Supreme Court.... All of us hope to be considered entertaining and popular on our own merits, but those in positions of power should recognize that demonstrations of personal appreciation are not always rooted in beneficence.... The rules and guidelines addressing reporting and recusal by Supreme Court justices should be fail-safes against unscrupulous actors, not challenges to be sidestepped through clever rationalization." MB: There is a pathetic quality to Sam & Clarence, who prefer to believe that wealthy benefactors find them interesting and charming company rather than useful tools in the benefactors' big bags of tricks. You're a tool, Sambo, not a winsome party guest.

~~~~~~~~~~

Alan Feuer, et al., of the New York Times: "The federal judge presiding over the prosecution of ... Donald J. Trump in the classified documents case set an aggressive schedule on Tuesday, ordering a trial to begin as soon as Aug. 14. While the timeline set by the judge, Aileen M. Cannon, is likely to be delayed by extensive pretrial litigation -- including over how to handle classified material -- its brisk pace suggests that she is seeking to avoid any criticism for dragging her feet or for slow-walking the proceeding. In each of four other criminal trials she has overseen that were identified in a New York Times review, she has initially set a relatively quick trial date and later pushed it back. The early moves by Judge Cannon, a relatively inexperienced jurist who was appointed by Mr. Trump in 2020, are being particularly closely watched. She disrupted the documents investigation last year with several rulings favorable to the former president before a conservative appeals court overturned her, saying that she never had legitimate legal authority to intervene." Thanks to Ken W. for the link. A CNBC report is here. (Also linked yesterday.)

Another anti-Trump ad writes itself:

Stefano Dazio & Michael Blood of the AP: "An effort to disbar conservative attorney John Eastman, who devised ways to keep ... Donald Trump in the White House after his defeat in the 2020 election, will begin Tuesday in Los Angeles. Eastman is expected to spend the day testifying before the State Bar of California in a proceeding that could result in him losing his license to practice law in the state. He faces 11 disciplinary charges stemming from his development of a dubious legal strategy that was aimed at helping Trump remain in power by disrupting the counting of state electoral votes. The State Bar's counsel will seek Eastman's disbarment during a hearing before the State Bar Court that's expected to last at least eight days. If the court finds Eastman culpable of the alleged violations it can recommend a punishment such as suspending or revoking his law license. The California Supreme Court makes the final decision." (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~

     ~~~ Update. Brad Reed of the Raw Story: "John Eastman, the attorney who wrote the infamous so-called 'coup memo' that urged former Vice President Mike Pence to reject certified election results on Jan. 6, 2021, got off to a rough start in his disbarment hearing on Tuesday. As reported by NPR investigative reporter Tom Dreisbach, Eastman tried to call as an expert witness a certified public accountant named Joseph Fried who wrote an ebook about the 2020 election in which he cast doubt on the legitimacy of President Joe Biden's win. California State Bar Court Judge Yvette Roland, however, wanted no part of Fried in the hearings, as she noted he lacked any relevant experience in running elections. 'I don't see how Mr. Fried is qualified to be an expert,' she told Eastman."

Eric Lipton of the New York Times: "On a remote site at the edge of the Gulf of Oman, thousands of migrant laborers from Bangladesh, India and Pakistan are at work in 103-degree heat, toiling in shifts from dawn until nightfall to build a new city, a multibillion-dollar project backed by Oman's oil-rich government that has an unusual partner: ... Donald J. Trump.... The Oman deal has taken [Mr. Trump's] financial stake in one of the world's most strategically important and volatile regions to a new level, underscoring how his business and his politics intersect as he runs for president again amid intensifying legal and ethical troubles.... The venture puts Mr. Trump in business with the government of Oman, an ally of the United States with which Mr. Trump and his son-in-law, Jared Kushner, cultivated ties while in office and which plays a vital diplomatic role in a volatile region.... Mr. Trump was brought into the deal by a Saudi real estate firm, Dar Al Arkan, which is closely intertwined with the Saudi government. While in office, Mr. Trump developed a tight relationship with Saudi leaders.... Mr. Trump's company, the Trump Organization, has already brought in at least $5 million from the Oman deal. Under its terms, Trump Organization will not put up any money for the development.... The project could also draw scrutiny in the West for its treatment of its migrant workers...." (Also linked yesterday.)

Peter Baker of the New York Times: "President Biden said on Tuesday night that President Xi Jinping of China had been kept in the dark by his own government about the spy balloon that crossed into United States airspace this winter before being shot down by an American fighter jet. At a campaign fund-raiser in California, Mr. Biden set off into what appeared to be an unplanned riff.... 'The reason why Xi Jinping got very upset in terms of when I shot that balloon down with two boxcars full of spy equipment in it is he didn't know it was there,' Mr. Biden told about 130 guests at the big-dollar event in a private Kentfield home. 'No, I'm serious. That's what's a great embarrassment for dictators, when they didn't know what happened.' Other U.S. officials were surprised on Tuesday night that the president would discuss the sensitive information in a public setting, but one official who has been briefed on the intelligence and spoke on condition of anonymity said Mr. Biden's remarks accurately reflected the American government's private assessment." Politico's story is here. ~~~

     ~~~ Trevor Hunnicutt & Ryan Woo of Reuters: "China hit back on Wednesday after U.S. President Joe Biden referred to President Xi Jinping as a 'dictator', saying the remarks were absurd and a provocation, in an unexpected spat immediately following efforts by both sides to lower tensions. Biden's comments came just a day after top U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken visited Beijing to stabilize bilateral relations that China says are at their lowest point since formal ties were established."

Kevin Breuninger of CNBC: "The identities of the people who guaranteed Rep. George Santos' $500,000 bond in his criminal fraud case will be revealed Thursday at noon ET, a federal judge ordered Tuesday. Judge Joanna Seybert's order in U.S. District Court in Long Island came less than two weeks after the Republican lawmaker's attorney argued that the bail backers' identities should be kept private because of the 'media frenzy' surrounding the case. Other sealed documents in the case, including Seybert's full written order, are also scheduled to be unsealed Thursday, according to a docket entry in Santos' case."

Devlin Barrett & Perry Stein of the Washington Post: "President Biden's son Hunter has reached a tentative agreement with federal prosecutors to plead guilty to two minor tax crimes and admit to the facts of a gun charge under terms that would likely keep him out of jail, according to court papers filed Tuesday. Any proposed plea deal would have to be approved by a federal judge. Both the prosecutors and the defense counsel have requested a court hearing at which Hunter Biden, 53, can enter his plea. The agreement caps an investigation that was opened in 2018 during the Trump administration, and has generated intense interest and criticism since 2020 from Republican politicians who accused the Biden administration of reluctance to pursue the case. The terms of the proposed deal -- negotiated with Delaware U.S. Attorney David Weiss, a holdover from ... Donald Trump's administration -- are likely to face similar scrutiny." Thanks to Ken W. for the link. The AP's report is here. (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~

~~~ Glenn Thrush of the New York Times: "Even after [Delaware's U.S. Attorney David] Weiss [-- appointed by Donald Trump and one of only two Trump U.S. attorney holdovers --] conducted a five-year investigation that yielded evidence to charge [Hunter] Biden only on narrow charges, Republicans, including those who take a dim view of Mr. Trump's handling of classified material after he left office, have accused the White House and Mr. Garland of weaponizing the Justice Department.... House Speaker Kevin McCarthy decried the deal as evidence of a 'two-tiered' system of justice under Mr. Garland that has resulted in the aggressive prosecution of Mr. Trump, and leniency toward the president's allies and family -- although the two cases differ substantially." A Media Matters story by Matt Gertz is here. ~~~

~~~ Chris Hayes of MSNBC has a sensible take on the Hunter Biden plea deal:

     ~~~ Former U.S. Attorney Barbara McQuade said on MSNBC that the agreed-upon plea deal was an overcharge, more than prosecutors would charge against an "ordinary person." ~~~

     ~~~ Ryan Reilly of NBC News: "The charges brought against President Joe Biden's son Hunter Biden are rarely prosecuted, legal experts say.... The federal gun charge, which makes it unlawful for a drug addict to possess a weapon, is a rarely used statute that is facing legal challenges and has recently been used as a catch-all charge against white supremacists. Like the gun charge, the tax charges are rarely brought against first-time offenders and even more rarely result in jail time, Andrew Weissmann, a former FBI general counsel and NBC News contributor, tweeted Tuesday. 'This is if anything harsh, not lenient,' he wrote. Former federal prosecutor Renato Mariotti agreed.... 'If anything, Hunter Biden was treated harshly -- those crimes are rarely charged.'" ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: If you want to put Hunter Biden's crimes in context, this segment of last night's Lawrence O'Donnell's show, in which O'Donnell compares Hunter's misdemeanors with Donald Trump's felonies, is amusing. Trump, of course, thinks Hunter should go to jail, while his own excuse for stealing classified documents and storing them in the ballroom is that he had packed them with his shoes and pants, so he "didn't want to" return them in compliance with a federal subpoena. So he didn't. And that's okay.

Alito Isn't Just a Dick; He's a Corrupt Dick. Justin Elliott, et al., of ProPublica: "In early July 2008, Samuel Alito ... was on vacation at a luxury fishing lodge [in northern Alaska] that charged more than $1,000 a day.... Alito posed for a picture. To his left, ... [stood] Paul Singer, a hedge fund billionaire who has repeatedly asked the Supreme Court to rule in his favor in high-stakes business disputes. Singer ... flew Alito to Alaska on a private jet. If the justice chartered the plane himself, the cost could have exceeded $100,000 one way. In the years that followed, Singer's hedge fund came before the court at least 10 times in cases where his role was often covered by the legal press and mainstream media.... Alito did not report the 2008 fishing trip on his annual financial disclosures. By failing to disclose the private jet flight Singer provided, Alito appears to have violated a federal law that requires justices to disclose most gifts, according to ethics law experts. Experts said they could not identify an instance of a justice ruling on a case after receiving an expensive gift paid for by one of the parties.... Leonard Leo, the longtime leader of the conservative Federalist Society, attended and helped organize the Alaska fishing vacation.... The Supreme Court's head spokeswoman told ProPublica that Alito would not be commenting." But he did. ~~~

Sam Alito Is Out of Order (As Are WSJ Editorial-page Editors). Paul Farhi of the Washington Post:"Supreme Court Justice Samuel A. Alito Jr. took issue with questions raised by the investigative journalism outlet ProPublica about his travel with a politically active billionaire, and on Tuesday evening, he outlined his defense in an op-ed published by the Wall Street Journal. Yet Alito was responding to a news story that ProPublica hadn't yet published. Alito's Journal column, bluntly headlined 'ProPublica Misleads Its Readers,' was an unusual public venture by a Supreme Court justice into the highly opinionated realm of a newspaper editorial page. And it drew criticism late Tuesday for effectively leaking elements of ProPublica's still-in-progress journalism -- with the assistance of the Journal's editorial-page editors. An editor's note at the top of Alito's column said that ProPublica reporters Justin Elliott and Josh Kaplan had sent a series of questions to Alito last week and asked for a response by Tuesday at noon. The editor's note doesn't mention that ProPublica hadn't yet published its story -- nor that Alito did not provide his answers directly to ProPublica.... ProPublica published its story on Alito just before midnight on Tuesday, about five hours after the Journal published Alito's defensive column." ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: Today is the longest day of the year, a great time for an Alaska vacay! If you enjoy fishing and luxury resorts, why not phone Paul Singer and ask him to fly you to Alaska & put you up at his place? Because this is something he does, even for people, according to Insufferable Sam, with whom he has spoken on "no more than a handful of occasions."

Presidential Race 2024 Horror Story. Marie: It's the morning of November 5, 2024. You're on your way to the polls. Here are your choices for president: Republican: Donald Trump. Democrat: RFK Jr. Whatever: Cornel West. No Labels: Joe Manchin.

Nicholas Bogel-Burroughs, et al., of the New York Times: "Years before OceanGate's submersible craft went missing in the Atlantic Ocean with five people onboard, the company faced several warnings as it prepared for its hallmark mission of taking wealthy passengers to tour the Titanic's wreckage.... OceanGate's director of marine operations, David Lochridge, started working on a report around that time, according to court documents, ultimately producing a scathing document in which he said the craft needed more testing and stressed 'the potential dangers to passengers of the Titan as the submersible reached extreme depths.' Two months later, OceanGate faced similarly dire calls from more than three dozen people -- industry leaders, deep-sea explorers and oceanographers -- who warned in a letter to its chief executive, Stockton Rush, that the company's 'experimental' approach and its decision to forgo a traditional assessment could lead to potentially 'catastrophic' problems with the Titanic mission.... Mr. Rush, the company's chief executive, is one of the passengers on the vessel and was serving as its pilot when it went missing on Sunday...." An AP story is here. Related reports linked under "News Ledes."

Beyond the Beltway

Arkansas. Rick Rojas & Emily Cochrane of the New York Times: "A federal judge in Arkansas on Tuesday struck down the state's law forbidding medical treatments for children and teenagers seeking gender transitions, blocking what had been the first in a wave of such measures championed by conservative lawmakers across the country. The case had been closely watched as an important test of whether bans or severe restrictions on transition care for minors, which have since been enacted by 19 other states, could withstand legal challenges being brought by activists and civil liberties groups. It is the first ruling to broadly block such a ban for an entire state, though judges have intervened to temporarily delay similar laws from going into effect. In his 80-page ruling, Judge James M. Moody Jr. of Federal District Court in Little Rock said the law both discriminated against transgender people and violated the constitutional rights of doctors. He also said that the state of Arkansas had failed to substantially prove a number of its claims, including that the care was experimental or carelessly prescribed to teenagers." Moody is an Obama appointee. An AP story is here.

Florida. Beth Reinhard & Josh Dawsey of the Washington Post: Florida Gov. Ron "DeSantis seized on the unusual retirement of three liberal justices at once to quickly remake the [state's supreme] court. He did so with the help of a secretive panel led by Leonard Leo -- the key architect of the U.S. Supreme Court's conservative majority -- that quietly vetted judicial nominees in an Orlando conference room three weeks before the governor's inauguration.... After taking office in January 2019, DeSantis appointed three new justices in two weeks, flipping the court from what he described as a 4-3 liberal majority to a 6-1 conservative advantage. More recently, two justices appointed by past Republicans stepped down and took more lucrative jobs with allies of the governor, allowing DeSantis to handpick his own stalwarts. The governor's efforts have yielded one of the most conservative state Supreme Courts in the country, reflecting Florida's shift from a politically competitive state to a testing ground for culture war legislation over immigration, race and sex education that is now at the heart of DeSantis's presidential bid.... The governor's confidential vetting process for the high court was one of the earliest examples of what would become a signature tactic of his administration -- testing the boundaries of executive authority, while defying protocols aimed at transparency and accountability." (Also linked yesterday.)

Georgia. Jeff Amy of the AP: "Georgia's State Election Board won't take over running elections in the state's most populous county, ending an investigation that had sparked fears of partisan meddling. The board voted unanimously on Tuesday to end its performance review of Fulton County nearly two years after it had begun. Multiple board members said that they want the county to continue to work on improvements before the 2024 election and not to backslide on work already done.... Fulton County officials noted that the review panel found no violations of state law or rules across nine elections that it monitored." ~~~

~~~ Lucien Bruggeman of ABC News: "Allegations of election fraud against two Georgia election workers who became the subjects of a Trump-backed conspiracy theory in the aftermath of the 2020 election were found to be 'false and unsubstantiated,' according to an investigative report released Tuesday by the Georgia Elections Board. Ruby Freeman and her daughter, Wandrea 'Shaye' Moss, both former election workers from Fulton County, faced threats of violence from conspiracy theorists after their election-night conduct on a polling place livestream proliferated online among right-wing election deniers who believed Donald Trump won the 2020 election."

Louisiana. Ramon Vargas of the Guardian: "The last four Roman Catholic archbishops of New Orleans went to shocking lengths to conceal a confessed serial child molester who is still living but has never been prosecuted, a Guardian investigation has found. Upon review of hundreds of pages of previously secret church files, the Guardian has uncovered arguably the most complete account yet about the extremes to which the second-oldest Catholic archdiocese in the US went to coddle the admitted child molester Lawrence Hecker. Back in 1999, Hecker confessed to his superiors at the archdiocese of New Orleans that he had either sexually molested or otherwise shared a bed with multiple teenagers whom he met through his work as a Roman Catholic priest." Read on to get an idea of "shocking lengths" the archdiocese went to in order to conceal Hecker's crimes. (Also linked yesterday.)

New York. Pam Belluck & Emily Bazelon of the New York Times: "The New York State Legislature gave final approval on Tuesday to legislation that provides legal protection for New York doctors to prescribe and send abortion pills to patients in states that have outlawed abortion. The measure, along with similar new laws in several other states controlled by Democrats, could significantly expand medication abortion access by allowing more patients in states that restrict abortion to end pregnancies at home, without traveling to states where abortion is legal. The New York bill now goes to the desk of Gov. Kathy Hochul, who has indicated that she supports the idea of such a shield law. The bill stipulates that New York courts and officials will not cooperate if a state with an abortion ban tries to prosecute, sue or otherwise penalize a New York health care provider who offers abortion via telemedicine to a patient in that state, as long as the provider complies with New York law. It passed the State Assembly by a vote of 99 to 45 on Tuesday evening after clearing the Senate by a vote of 39 to 22 last month."

Way Beyond

Honduras. Emiano Mega & Joan Suazo of the New York Times: "At least 41 inmates were killed on Tuesday morning in central Honduras after a riot broke out at the country's only prison for women, one of the deadliest outbreaks of violence in the country's long-troubled prison system. Most of the victims had been burned, while others had been shot, said Yuri Mora, a spokesman for the public prosecutor's office, who added that the death toll was expected to rise as investigators combed through the detention facility in Támara, near Tegucigalpa, the capital. While the cause of the violence was not clear, the prison has been the scene of ongoing conflict between feuding gangs."

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 briefing for Wednesday is here.

News Lede

New York Times: "A Canadian surveillance aircraft looking for the missing Titan submersible and the five people on board in the North Atlantic has 'detected underwater noises in the search area,' the U.S. Coast Guard said early Wednesday. The Coast Guard said in a brief statement on Twitter that remote-operated vehicles were still searching for the Titan. Officials in the United States and Canada did not immediately respond to requests for further comment late Tuesday." This is a liveblog. It's dated June 20 but appears on the NYT June 21 online front page. ~~~

     ~~~ The Guardian's liveblog for Wednesday is here.