The Conversation -- August 1, 2024

Senate Republicans Ax Expansion of Child Tax Credit; Vance AWOL. Jacob Bogage of the Washington Post: "Senate Republicans blocked legislation Thursday to cut taxes for working families and extend some corporate tax breaks, dooming a bipartisan compromise that the House had overwhelmingly approved and raising the stakes on taxes for this fall's elections. The $79 billion legislation would have expanded eligibility for the child tax credit, or CTC, among the lowest-income families and adjusted payments for inflation for the 2024 and 2025 filing years. It also would have bolstered certain business tax credits -- including deductions for research and development, interest expenses and investments in equipment -- that were limited in an effort to cap the total costs of ... Donald Trump's 2017 tax cut law.... [J.D. Vance, who pretends to support measures to encourage parents to bear more children,] missed Thursday's vote for a campaign event in Arizona and earlier in the week falsely accused Vice President Harris of opposing the child tax credit. The vice president supports the legislation, and the Biden administration issued a statement Thursday urging passage."

Here's a New York Times link to commentary by columnist Jamelle Bouie re: Donald Trump's appearance at the National Association of Black Journalists (NABJ) convention. (You have to turn on the audio.)

In today's Comments, Patrick reminds us that it isn't only Kamala Harris who turned Black:

     ~~~ Marie: What with Beyonce's song "Freedom" serving as a sort of soundtrack for Harris' presidential campaign, it's fair to say that the very good brain of Trump has discovered a conspiracy all us White people should greet with fear & awe. (It is possible that Trump got the idea that Harris "turned Black" from this SNL sketch and that he has Harris mixed up with Beyonce. Should we be surprised he can't tell the difference?)

** Jennifer Hansler, et al., of CNN: "A large-scale prisoner swap between the US and Russia is under way..., and it is expected to include Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich, former US Marine Paul Whelan and a number of Americans. The parties have agreed to a prisoner transfer and the prisoners are expected to be in the care of US officials, according to a senior administration official. The deal would end a nightmare that lasted more than five years for Whelan and more than a year for Gershkovich. Both men were designated by the US State Department as wrongfully detained." ~~~

     ~~~ A CNN liveblog is here. ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: Curiously, neither the New York Times nor the Washington Post is carrying so much as a hint of this story, fully 15 30 minutes after the first reports were published on other outlets. Forty-five minutes in here's a NYT liveblog report:

"A multicountry prisoner swap in Turkey on Thursday freed The Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich and at least one other American held in Russia, along with a leading Russian dissident, in the most far-reaching exchange between Russia and the West in decades, according to a statement by a Turkish security official that was also shared by the government media office. The exchange took place at an airport in Ankara, Turkey, and involved 24 adults who had been imprisoned in seven different countries, the official said. In addition to Mr. Gershkovich, the prisoners freed by Russia included Paul Whelan, a former U.S. Marine arrested in 2018, and the Russian dissident Ilya Yashin, the official said. The prisoners freed by the West included Vadim Krasikov, a convicted Russian assassin, the Turkish official said. The deal ... could deliver a diplomatic victory for President Biden, who has long pledged to bring home imprisoned Americans...."

[AND, as RAS quipped in today's Comments, "I guess we didn't need Trump after all."]

Katie Robertson: "Emma Tucker, the editor in chief of The Wall Street Journal, emailed staff to announce Evan Gershkovich's release. She said he would shortly get on a flight back to the United States, and she would travel to meet him when he arrives in Texas."

Katie Rogers: "In a statement, President Biden announced the release of Paul Whelan, Evan Gershkovich, Alsu Kurmasheva and Vladimir Kara-Murza, calling it a 'feat of diplomacy.'... Biden added: 'I am grateful to our allies who stood with us throughout tough, complex negotiations to achieve this outcome -- including Germany, Poland, Slovenia, Norway and Turkey. This is a powerful example of why it's vital to have friends in this world whom you can trust and depend upon.'" [MB: IOW, take that, Trump, you blowhard SOS.]

Robert Jimison: "Representative Michael McCaul, Republican of Texas and the chair of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, celebrated the news of the release in a statement and stressed the need to continue advocating for other detained Americans. 'I remain concerned that continuing to trade innocent Americans for actual Russian criminals held in the U.S. and elsewhere sends a dangerous message to Putin that only encourages further hostage taking by his regime.'"

Ivan Nechepurenko: "Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, an American broadcaster funded by the United States government, announced the release of its journalist Alsu Kurmasheva from the Russian prison."

Robertson: "Robert Thomson, the C.E.O. of News Corp, which owns The Wall Street Journal, thanked the U.S. government for its efforts in releasing Evan Gershkovich in an email to News Corp staff members...."

Robertson: "Reporters Without Borders, a press freedom advocacy group, called on the international community to not tolerate Russia's practice of state hostage-taking."

Peter Baker: "The family of Marc Fogel, an American teacher imprisoned on drug charges in Russia, expressed disappointment that he was not part of the swap. 'It is inconceivable to us that Russian dissidents would be prioritized over U.S. citizens in a prisoner exchange,' they said in a statement."

Rogers: "President Biden just walked into the state dining room accompanied by family members of the released prisoners.... 'Their brutal ordeal is over, and they're free,' Biden says, adding that the former prisoners have left Russia and are on their way home. He says he and family members were able to speak with them from the Oval Office. He calls the multi-country release 'a feat of diplomacy, and friendship.'... 'It says a lot about the United States that we work relentlessly to free Americans who were unjustly held around the world,' Biden says, adding that 70 Americans who have been unjustly detained have been released during his administration.... This is a legacy moment for the president, who makes it a point to say this release was done at his request and that freeing Americans held abroad has been a policy focus since the beginning of his presidency."

Rogers: "Biden pulls the 12-year-old daughter of Aslu Kurmasheva to his side and asks the room to sing happy birthday to her. She turns 13 tomorrow. The little girl goes back to a relative and begins to cry.... Biden takes a question on Trump, who has claimed he could get prisoners released without a swap. Biden leans into the mic to answer that one: 'Why didn't he do it when he was president?' He asks before leaving the room."

"Twenty-four prisoners were freed on Thursday in a multicountry exchange in Turkey, marking one of the broadest exchanges between Russia and the West in years. Here's what to know about all of the prisoners who were exchanged in the swap."

Nechepurenko: "Russian state television has broadcast a video of the swap showing Evan Gershkovich sitting in a passenger seat in a Russian government plane."

Rogers: "At a White House news briefing, Jake Sullivan, the president's national security adviser, said that the U.S. 'completed one of the largest and certainly one of the most complex exchanges in history.'... This was vintage Joe Biden: Rallying American allies to save American citizens and Russian freedom fighters,' Sullivan says, emphasizing just how much this is a legacy play. Sullivan just choked up with tears. 'Today was a very good day.'... If you had not had Joe Biden sitting in the Oval Office, I don't think this would've happened,' Sullivan says. This remark, coming a week and a half after Biden announced he was ending his presidential campaign, does not sound like an accident....

"Sullivan gives some detail on what happened earlier today. Biden invited families into the Oval Office after the exchange was complete. Biden conducted two calls from the Oval, one with the three American citizens on the phone. He quickly turned the phone over to family members. He made a second call to the other group of released prisoners and let family members speak with them."

David Sanger: "Those who know Sullivan can tell you he is stoic, and rarely emotional. Today is an exception, a side of him one rarely sees.... Sullivan acknowledged that there was an earlier effort to make the release of Alexei Navalny part of a deal. But his death in February scrambled the negotiation, and the swap."

Rogers: "Sullivan says that Vice President Kamala Harris engaged with Olaf Scholz, the German chancellor, at the Munich Security Conference to talk about the release of prisoners. Sullivan said that she was 'very much' a core member of 'the team that helped make this happen.'... Vice President Harris and President Biden will greet the released Americans tonight at Joint Base Andrews in Maryland, Sullivan said."

Baker: "Vladimir Kara-Murza, a permanent U.S. resident, is heading first to Germany but is expected back in the United States soon, Sullivan says."

Anton Troianovski: "Russian state television is showing President Vladimir Putin, on a red carpet on the tarmac, greeting the released Russian prisoners at Moscow's Vnukovo airport."

Christopher Schuetze: "Germany played a particularly crucial role in Thursday's prisoner swap by releasing a Russian assassin sentenced to life in prison for the murder of a former Chechen separatist fighter in Germany in 2019. Vadim Krasikov, the prisoner Germany released, was a Russian intelligence agent whom the Kremlin for years had sought to get back. Many believe him to be the most valuable Russian asset exchanged in Thursday's swap."

[Marie: I heard on the teevee that President Biden was on the phone working on the hostage exchange an hour before he put out the announcement he was ending his re-election campaign.]

Jennifer Rubin of the Washington Post: "'Weird' deprives the MAGA cult of the claim to speak for 'the people.'... Ultimately, it signifies normal Americans are laughing at them, something felon and ... Donald Trump loathes (as do all narcissists). If nothing else, it undermines his attempt to project power, invincibility and domination.... But reliance on 'weird' comes with serious potential downsides.... There is a long, sad history of writing off fascists as buffoons.... [Those who call Trump 'weird'] certainly must not downplay the threat to the most vulnerable Americans and the life-or-death implications of Trump's views.... Trump's misplaced vanity, narcissism and ignorance are laughable. But we should never forget that those very qualities make him impervious to shame and contemptuous of social norms and legal restraints.... Mockery is fine and serves a useful political and marketing purpose, but Vice President Harris and her team must be careful not to downplay the existential danger to the democratic experiment."

Jeanna Smialek of the New York Times: "Asked on Wednesday what he would do on 'Day 1' of a new presidency during a panel at the National Association of Black Journalists convention in Chicago, Mr. Trump said..., 'I bring energy way down, I bring, interest rates are down, I bring inflation way down.'... The president exerts no direct control over interest rates. The Federal Reserve sets a key policy rate, which then trickles out to influence borrowing costs across the economy, and the Fed is independent from the White House."

Arizona. Chris Cameron of the New York Times: "Abraham Hamadeh, an election denier who ran for attorney general in Arizona in 2022, won the Republican primary for the state's Eighth Congressional District on Wednesday, according to The Associated Press. Mr. Hamadeh, a former prosecutor in Maricopa County, defeated Blake Masters, another Republican who has supported ... Donald J. Trump's lies about the 2020 election. The victory by Mr. Hamadeh in the district, which encompasses suburbs north and west of Phoenix, came after an unusual last-minute turn in the race: Mr. Trump endorsed both candidates the weekend before the primary, effectively declaring that he had no preference for who won. Mr. Hamadeh emerges from a bitter primary fight, in which he and Mr. Masters lobbed harsh personal insults at each other as they tried to distance themselves from a field that also included Ben Toma, Arizona's speaker of the House, and Trent Franks, a former U.S. representative.... Mr. Hamadeh will most likely be favored this fall in his race against his Democratic opponent, Gregory Whitten, who did not face a primary challenger in the reliably Republican district."

Ronen Bergman, et al., of the New York Times: "Ismail Haniyeh, a top leader of Hamas, was assassinated on Wednesday by an explosive device covertly smuggled into the Tehran guesthouse where he was staying, according to seven Middle Eastern officials, including two Iranians, and an American official. The bomb had been hidden approximately two months ago in the guesthouse, according to five of the Middle Eastern officials. The guesthouse is run and protected by the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps and is part of a large compound, known as Neshat, in an upscale neighborhood of northern Tehran. Mr. Haniyeh was in Iran's capital for the presidential inauguration. The bomb was detonated remotely, the five officials said, once it was confirmed that he was inside his room at the guesthouse. The blast also killed a bodyguard."

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Presidential Race

Taylor Giorno of the Hill: "The United Auto Workers (UAW) endorsed Vice President Harris on Wednesday in the upcoming presidential election. UAW President Shawn Fain praised Harris ahead of her planned appearance at a rally with union members on Aug. 7 and took aim at former President Trump, the Republican presidential nominee.... Fain and Trump have sparred publicly for months. Trump called for Fain to be fired during his speech at the Republican National Convention, and the UAW hit back on the social platform X, calling the former president 'a scab and a billionaire.' Last week, Fain praised Harris for walking the picket line with UAW workers in 2019, saying Trump, who was in office at the time, 'sure as hell wasn't on the picket line.' The UAW endorsement ended weeks of speculation as to whether the union would back Harris after President Biden, endorsed by the UAW in January, exited the race on July 21." (Also linked yesterday.) The New York Times story is here.

Old Fogies for Harris. Praveena Somasundaram of the Washington Post: "Hundreds of golf carts ... supporting Vice President Harris's presidential bid [formed] a parade in The Villages, a Florida retirement community that has been a stronghold for ... Donald Trump's ... movement for nearly a decade.... The Villages Democratic Club ... expected to see around 250 people, but the attendance was at least double that. The unexpected show of support drew millions of views online.... On Sunday, the Villages MAGA Club ... announced it would host a golf cart caravan to support the Trump-Vance ticket." (Also linked yesterday.)

Brett Samuels of the Hill: "Former President Trump mocked Vice President Harris's heritage during a live interview Wednesday at the National Association of Black Journalists (NABJ) convention.... 'She was always of Indian heritage. And she was only promoting Indian heritage. I didn't know she was Black until a number of years ago when she happened to turn black. And now she wants to be known as Black,' Trump said. 'So I don't know, is she Indian, or is she Black,' he continued. 'She has always identified as a Black woman," [ABC newswoman Rachel] Scott interjected. '... I think somebody should look into [Harris' supposed change of race],' Trump said, criticizing Scott's 'hostile' and 'nasty' tone." (Also linked yesterday.)

Jonathan Weisman, et al., of the New York Times: "... Donald J. Trump questioned Vice President Kamala Harris's identity as a Black woman on Wednesday in front of an audience of Black journalists, suggesting his opponent for the presidency had adopted her racial profile as a way to gain a political advantage.... Ms. Harris has long embraced both her Black and South Asian identity. She attended Howard University, a historically Black institution, and pledged Alpha Kappa Alpha, the nation's first sorority established for Black college women. Headlines from her earliest political victories dating back to the early 2000s highlighted both identities. Mr. Trump's remarks prompted gasps and jeers from the audience at the National Association of Black Journalists in Chicago. The former president ... repeated falsehoods about a range of subjects and told the group that he was 'the best president for the Black population' since Abraham Lincoln.... He began the interview by denouncing one of the reporters on the panel, Rachel Scott of ABC News, as 'nasty' and 'rude' after she questioned him about racist statements he had made in the past...."

Of Course He Can't Handle the Truth. Brett Samuels of the Hill: "Former President Trump on Wednesday clashed with an ABC News correspondent at a convention of Black journalists, slamming her 'disgraceful' questioning after she asked why Black voters should trust him with another term. ABC News's Rachel Scott opened a question-and-answer session with Trump by citing his past comments spreading the birther conspiracy about former President Obama, his call for certain Democratic lawmakers to 'go back' to countries they came from and his meeting with a white supremacist at Mar-a-Lago. 'Why should Black voters trust you?' Scott asked. 'I don't think I've ever been asked a question in such a horrible manner. A first question. You don't even say hello, how are you,' Trump said. 'Are you with ABC, because I think they're a fake news network, a terrible network. I think it's disgraceful that I came here in good spirit. I love the Black population of this country, I've done so much for the Black population of this country.'" (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~

     ~~~ Mara Gay of the New York Times: "One reason Donald Trump may be afraid to debate Kamala Harris is that apparently all it takes to knock him off his game is a few tough questions from a Black woman.... Clearly rattled by the audacity of Black women tossing him sharp questions, Trump let his facade crumble and slipped into the racist, misogynistic tropes of his native tongue.... To win the White House in a razor-thin race, Trump lately has strained to do an impression of someone who likes Black people and respects women. The persistent problem with this strategy is that it doesn't hold up to reality." Gay publishes all of the question Scott asked that threw Trump off his game. For those of you who don't have a NYT subscription, I'll add it to today's Comments.

Glenn Kessler of the Washington Post: "In his half-hour sit-down with three journalists at NABJ..., [Donald Trump] unleashed his usual litany of falsehoods, ranging from a phony story about the ex-governor of Virginia executing a baby after birth to an absurd claim that he 'saved' historically Black colleges and universities.... Rather than repeat ourselves, we have provided links to previous fact checks at the end of this report. Instead we will focus on a fresh claim he made. When asked about pardoning people convicted of violence during the Jan. 6 attacks -- he said he would -- he resorted to whataboutism.... As part of his argument, Trump falsely claimed that 'nobody died' [as a result of the insurrection]. A Senate report said that 'seven individuals, including three law enforcement officers, ultimately lost their lives' in connection with the attack, four of them 'that day.'"

Colbert King of the Washington Post: "Trump was not speaking to [the people in the room] but to a MAGA audience beyond the Hilton Chicago that loves mocking people of color."

Marie: As a person of a certain age, I could not help thinking of another "Queens man" when I saw videotape of Trump opining on Kamala Harris' race: Archie Bunker. It took no imagination to hear Trump yelling "Stifle!" at the Black women questioning him.

Nicholas Nehamas of the New York Times: "Vice President Kamala Harris carefully hit back at ... Donald J. Trump after he questioned the legitimacy of her identity as a Black woman, saying on Wednesday that he had put on the 'same old show' of 'divisiveness and disrespect.' 'The American people deserve better,' Ms. Harris said at a convention of Sigma Gamma Rho, one of the nation's most prominent Black sororities. 'The American people deserve a leader who tells the truth, a leader who does not respond with hostility and anger when confronted with the facts. We deserve a leader who understands that our differences do not divide us '' they are an essential source of our strength.'... Ms. Harris's precisely calibrated rebuttal was perhaps an early indication of how she will respond to crude and racist attacks from Mr. Trump.... At a fund-raiser in Maine on Wednesday, Doug Emhoff, Ms. Harris's husband, said the former president's comments showed 'a lack of character' but were ultimately a 'distraction.'"

Lisa Lerer & Maya King of the New York Times: Donald Trump "has a history of using race to pit groups of Americans against one another, amplifying a strain of racial politics that has risen as a generation of Black politicians has ascended. The audacity of Mr. Trump, a white man, questioning how much a Black woman truly belongs to Black America was particularly incendiary. And it evoked an ugly history in this country, in which white America has often declared the racial categories that define citizens, and sought to determine who gets to call themselves what.... [Mr. Trump] implied [Vice President] Harris was deceiving voters and selecting an identity for political gain. He suggested to the predominantly Black audience that she was not one of them -- and to Indian Americans listening that she abandoned them, an assertion echoed by the onetime Republican presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy on Wednesday.... And by calling attention to her background, Mr. Trump seemed to be relying on an old political tactic of exoticizing nonwhite candidates.... And across social media platforms, Trump supporters circulated questions about whether her race was mentioned on her birth certificate -- a throwback to the attacks they once leveled against [President] Obama."

Cleve Wootson & Sabrina Rodriguez of the Washington Post write about "the extraordinary nature of the current moment, when the first woman of color is running for president on a major-party ticket in a country whose history includes no women and one person of color serving as president." MB: But there's another element to this "extraordinary moment": that a woman of color is running against a privileged, old, overtly-racist White man. The test is not so much between the Lady and the Trump but of us -- specifically, the Whitey-White us -- as a nation. Their relative qualifications, policies & intentions aside, are we really going to pick the KKK guy? In 2024? A hundred-and-sixty years after the Civil War? At long last, have we no sense of decency?

Leigh Tauss of the Raw Story: "Donald Trump's running mate J.D. Vance told reporters he thought Trump's controversial remarks questioning the racial identity of Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris were humorous and doubled down by attacking Harris as a 'chameleon.' 'I thought it was hysterical,' Vance was quoted as saying, according to reporting from NOTUS, a publication from the nonprofit Allbritton Journalism Institute." MB: I always enjoy getting JayDee's opinion on any subject because he is so insightful.

Calling Jews fools and suggesting they are bad or disloyal because of their political beliefs is not just some juvenile insult. It's an old antisemitic trope that goes back centuries, one of dual-loyalty. It's been used for a very long time to drive Jews out of their homes, to paint them as untrustworthy, to deny their basic dignity. -- Sen. Chuck Schumer, remarks on the Senate floor Wednesday ~~~

~~~ Al Weaver of the Hill: "Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) denounced recent remarks by former President Trump about Jewish Americans who vote Democratic as 'reprehensible and dangerous' Tuesday, arguing they are a clear example of 'unadulterated antisemitism.' Trump said in an interview that aired Monday that Democrats 'hate Israel' and that Jewish voters who support Democrats hate their religion." (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~

     ~~~ Update. Marianne LeVine of the Washington Post: "... Donald Trump falsely accused Senate Majority Leader Charles E. Schumer (D-N.Y.) of being a 'proud member of Hamas' at a rally Wednesday night, lodging another insult directed at a prominent Jewish American. 'Chuck Schumer refused to shake the Israeli prime minister's hand,' Trump told his supporters in Harrisburg, Pa. 'Chuck Schumer has become a Palestinian. Can you believe it? He's become a proud member of Hamas.' In response, Schumer said in a statement: 'The lower [Trump] drops in polls, the more unhinged he becomes.'... Trump's comments come one day after he said on a radio show that [Vice President] Harris 'doesn't like Jewish people,' even though her husband Doug Emhoff is Jewish. Trump also appeared to agree with the radio host who described Emhoff as a 'crappy Jew.' Emhoff is a leading voice in the White House's efforts to combat antisemitism.... Trump has repeatedly claimed the Democratic Party 'hates Israel' and has previously said that 'any Jewish person that votes for Democrats hates their religion.'" ~~~

     ~~~ David Moye of the Huffington Post: "Donald Trump came under fire on Tuesday after the former president agreed with an interviewer who said that Vice President Kamala Harris' husband is 'a crappy Jew, he's a horrible Jew.'... Host Sid Rosenberg said 'they tell me that this Harris husband, Doug Emhoff, is Jewish,' describing the second gentleman as 'Jewish like Bernie Sanders is Jewish' and adding, 'He's a crappy Jew, he's a horrible Jew.' As Rosenberg attacked Emhoff's faith, the non-Jewish and not particularly religious Trump repeatedly said 'yes' to the attacks." MB: If anyone had the ability to assess the quality of faith of a person he does not even know, it sure as hell would not be Donald Trump. (Also linked yesterday.)

Glenn Thrush of the New York Times: "A Justice Department watchdog criticized Attorney General William P. Barr for a 'chaotic and disorganized' response to the demonstrations spurred by George Floyd's murder in 2020 -- but found that he did not order the forced removal of protesters from a park near the White House. The four-year investigation covers one of the most polarizing moments of Donald J. Trump's presidency: his decision on June 1, 2020, to walk from the Rose Garden through Lafayette Park, which federal law enforcement officers had violently cleared of protesters, for a Bible-brandishing photo opportunity at a nearby church.... The clearing of the park by baton-wielding officers, some on horseback -- with a handful of Justice Department employees providing support -- was directed by the Park Police and the Secret Service, not the Justice Department, the report [said].... Still, the inspector general found that the attorney general, at Mr. Trump's urging, seemed eager to deploy the department's uniformed work force to prove he was willing to stand up to left-wing protesters he considered a threat to civil order." (Also linked yesterday.)

Carol Rosenberg of the New York Times: "The man accused of plotting the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, and two of his accomplices have agreed to plead guilty to conspiracy and murder charges in exchange for a life sentence rather than a death-penalty trial at Guantánamo Bay, Cuba, prosecutors said Wednesday.... The defendants Khalid Shaikh Mohammed, Walid bin Attash and Mustafa al-Hawsawi reached the deal in talks with prosecutors across 27 months at Guantánamo and approved on Wednesday by a senior Pentagon official overseeing the war court.... The case had become mired in more than a decade of pretrial proceedings that focused on the question of whether their torture in secret C.I.A. prisons had contaminated the evidence against them."

Sad Sack Saga, Ctd. Dave Collins of the AP: "Rudy Giuliani has agreed to a last-minute deal to end his personal bankruptcy case and pay about $400,000 to a financial adviser hired by his creditors, avoiding a potential deep-dive into the former New York City mayor's finances that was threatened by a federal judge. The agreement was filed Wednesday in federal court in White Plains, New York. That came nearly three weeks after a judge there threw out Giuliani's bankruptcy case after criticizing him for repeated failures to disclose his income sources and to comply with court orders." MB: Let's see if Rudy forks over the cash.

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Louisiana. Richard Webster of Verite News, published by ProPublica: "On Thursday, a Louisiana law will go into effect that will make it a misdemeanor for anyone, including journalists, to be within 25 feet of a law enforcement officer if the officer orders them back.... Louisiana is the fourth state to enact a so-called police buffer law.... Journalists say the law will make it harder to document when police use excessive force.... On Wednesday, a coalition of media companies representing a couple dozen Louisiana news outlets, including Verite News, filed suit against Louisiana Attorney General Liz Murrill, State Police Superintendent Robert Hodges and East Baton Rouge District Attorney Hillar Moore III, alleging the law violates the First Amendment."

South Carolina. AP: "The South Carolina Supreme Court ruled Wednesday that the state's death penalty, which now includes a firing squad as well as lethal injection and the electric chair, is legal. All five justices agreed with at least part of the ruling, opening the door to restart executions in a state that hasn't put an inmate to death since 2011. But two of the justices said they felt the firing squad was not a legal way to kill an inmate and one of them felt the electric chair is a cruel and unusual punishment. The death penalty law is legal because instead of seeking to inflict pain, the choice between the three execution methods makes it appear that lawmakers are genuinely against inflicting pain and making the death penalty as humane as possible, Associate Justice John Few wrote in the majority opinion. As many as eight inmates may be out of traditional appeals. It is unclear when executions could restart or whether lawyers for death row inmates can appeal the ruling."

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Israel/Palestine, et al.

The Washington Post's live updates of developments Thursday in the Israel/Hamas war are here. The New York Times' live updates are here.

Peter Baker of the New York Times: "For President Biden, the back-to-back assassinations of a Hezbollah commander in Lebanon and the political leader of Hamas in Iran have once again scrambled the geopolitical equation and revised the risk assessment.... Mr. Biden had hoped to use his remaining time in office to finally bring an end to the war in Gaza and perhaps even reach a paradigm-shifting deal with Saudi Arabia and Israel that would transform the region. Neither goal was made any easier by the targeted killings of the past couple days, at least not in the short term. But Mr. Biden's team vowed on Wednesday not to give up.... Biden administration officials said they were not informed in advance of the operation targeting Ismail Haniyeh, the political leader of Hamas based in Qatar, who was killed in an Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps guesthouse in Tehran.... Mr. Haniyeh was among the Hamas negotiators in the cease-fire talks, but the major decision maker has been Yahya Sinwar, the group's commander believed to be hiding in Gaza."

Shira Rubin of the Washington Post: "Israel's military confirmed Thursday that strikes on July 13 in southern Gaza had killed Mohammed Deif, the highest-ranking Hamas military commander to be slain by Israel during its war in Gaza.... The strikes killed at least 90 Palestinians, the Gaza Health Ministry said, hitting an area that Israel had designated a humanitarian zone for displaced families. Israel said the attack targeted a 'Hamas compound' and was based on 'surgical intelligence.' The announcement of Deif’s killing comes after the Wednesday killing of Hamas political leader Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran, which heightened fears of a wider Middle East conflict and a major blow to cease-fire negotiations to end the war in Gaza. Hamas and Iran blamed Israel for Haniyeh's assassination, but Israeli officials have declined to comment on the operation."

Anika Seth of the Washington Post: "Al Jazeera journalist Ismail al-Ghoul and cameraman Rami al-Rifi were killed in an attack on the Gaza Strip on Wednesday evening. Local reporters in Gaza said two airstrikes landed in quick succession. The first struck near the Gaza home of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh, where people were gathering after Haniyeh was killed in Tehran early Wednesday. Several news crews and independent photographers went to the house, which lies west of Gaza City in the Shati refugee camp...." A missile hit the journalists' vehicle, killing them, as the were leaving the scene.

It Could Happen Here. Venezuela. Ana Herrero, et al., of the Washington Post: "Government security forces are detaining volunteer poll watchers who monitored the presidential election here Sunday, opposition leaders said, and President Nicolás Maduro is encouraging Venezuelans to report protesters who dispute the claim that he won. More than 1,000 people have been arrested and at least 16 have been killed in mass protests since the election, government officials and civil society groups said Wednesday, as Venezuelans continued to question the reelection of the authoritarian socialist."

The Conversation -- July 31, 2024

Taylor Giorno of the Hill: "The United Auto Workers (UAW) endorsed Vice President Harris on Wednesday in the upcoming presidential election. UAW President Shawn Fain praised Harris ahead of her planned appearance at a rally with union members o Aug. 7 and took aim at former President Trump, the Republican presidential nominee.... Fain and Trump have sparred publicly for months. Trump called for Fain to be fired during his speech at the Republican National Convention, and the UAW hit back on the social platform X, calling the former president 'a scab and a billionaire.' Last week, Fain praised Harris for walking the picket line with UAW workers in 2019, saying Trump, who was in office at the time, 'sure as hell wasn't on the picket line.' The UAW endorsement ended weeks of speculation as to whether the union would back Harris after President Biden, endorsed by the UAW in January, exited the race on July 21."

Old Fogies for Harris. Praveena Somasundaram of the Washington Post: "Hundreds of golf carts ... supporting Vice President Harris's presidential bid [formed] a parade in The Villages, a Florida retirement community that has been a stronghold for ... Donald Trump's ... movement for nearly a decade.... The Villages Democratic Club ... expected to see around 250 people, but the attendance was at least double that. The unexpected show of support drew millions of views online.... On Sunday, the Villages MAGA Club ... announced it would host a golf cart caravan to support the Trump-Vance ticket."

Of Course He Can't Handle the Truth. Brett Samuels of the Hill: "Former President Trump on Wednesday clashed with an ABC News correspondent at a convention of Black journalists, slamming her 'disgraceful' questioning after she asked why Black voters should trust him with another term. ABC News's Rachel Scott opened a question-and-answer session with Trump by citing his past comments spreading the birther conspiracy about former President Obama, his call for certain Democratic lawmakers to 'go back' to countries they came from and his meeting with a white supremacist at Mar-a-Lago. 'Why should Black voters trust you?' Scott asked. 'I don't think I've ever been asked a question in such a horrible manner. A first question. You don't even say hello, how are you,' Trump said. 'Are you with ABC, because I think they're a fake news network, a terrible network. I think it's disgraceful that I came here in good spirit. I love the Black population of this country, I've done so much for the Black population of this country.'"

Brett Samuels of the Hill: "Former President Trump mocked Vice President Harris's heritage during a live interview Wednesday at the National Association of Black Journalists (NABJ) convention.... 'She was always of Indian heritage. And she was only promoting Indian heritage. I didn't know she was Black until a number of years ago when she happened to turn black. And now she wants to be known as Black,' Trump said. 'So I don't know, is she Indian, or is she Black,' he continued. 'She has always identified as a Black woman," [ABC newswoman Rachel] Scott interjected. '... I think somebody should look into [Harris' supposed change of race],' Trump said, criticizing Scott's 'hostile' and 'nasty' tone."

Al Weaver of the Hill: "Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) denounced recent remarks by former President Trump about Jewish Americans who vote Democratic as 'reprehensible and dangerous' Tuesday, arguing they are a clear example of 'unadulterated antisemitism.' Trump said in an interview that aired Monday that Democrats 'hate Israel' and that Jewish voters who support Democrats hate their religion." ~~~

     ~~~ David Moye of the Huffington Post: "Donald Trump came under fire on Tuesday after the former president agreed with an interviewer who said that Vice President Kamala Harris' husband is 'a crappy Jew, he's a horrible Jew.'... Host Sid Rosenberg said 'they tell me that this Harris husband, Doug Emhoff, is Jewish,' describing the second gentleman as 'Jewish like Bernie Sanders is Jewish' and adding, 'He's a crappy Jew, he's a horrible Jew.' As Rosenberg attacked Emhoff's faith, the non-Jewish and not particularly religious Trump repeatedly said 'yes' to the attacks." MB: If anyone had the ability to assess the quality of faith of a person he does not even know, it sure as hell would not be Donald Trump.

Glenn Thrush of the New York Times: "A Justice Department watchdog criticized Attorney General William P. Barr for a 'chaotic and disorganized' response to the demonstrations spurred by George Floyd's murder in 2020 -- but found that he did not order the forced removal of protesters from a park near the White House. The four-year investigation covers one of the most polarizing moments of Donald J. Trump's presidency: his decision on June 1, 2020, to walk from the Rose Garden through Lafayette Park, which federal law enforcement officers had violently cleared of protesters, for a Bible-brandishing photo opportunity at a nearby church.... The clearing of the park by baton-wielding officers, some on horseback -- with a handful of Justice Department employees providing support -- was directed by the Park Police and the Secret Service, not the Justice Department, the report [said].... Still, the inspector general found that the attorney general, at Mr. Trump's urging, seemed eager to deploy the department's uniformed work force to prove he was willing to stand up to left-wing protesters...."

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Despite attempts led by Republican elected officials to block our efforts, we won't stop fighting to provide relief to student loan borrowers, fix the broken student loan system, and help borrowers get out from under the burden of student debt. -- President Biden, in a statement Wednesday ~~~

~~~ Danielle Douglas-Gabriel of the Washington Post: "The Education Department on Wednesday will begin emailing millions of student loan borrowers to let them opt out of President Biden's new policy to reduce or eliminate their balances, advancing an alternative plan to the program struck down by the Supreme Court last year.... Those who are interested in receiving relief need not take any action. Those who opt-out will not be able to opt back in, according to the Education Department."

Senate Passes Child Protection Bills; House Remains Dysfunctional. Cristiano Lima-Strong of the Washington Post: "The Senate overwhelmingly passed a pair of bills to expand online privacy and safety protections for children on Tuesday, delivering a major win for parent and youth activists who have clamored for action against tech companies they say are endangering the well-being of kids. The legislation, approved 91-3, would force digital platforms to take 'reasonable' steps to prevent harms to children such as bullying, drug addiction and sexual exploitation, and it would broaden existing federal privacy protections to include kids and teens 16 years old and younger. The bills -- the Kids Online Safety Act, or KOSA, and the Children and Teens' Online Privacy Protection Act, referred to as COPPA 2.0. -- represent the most significant restrictions on tech platforms to clear a chamber of Congress in decades.

"Proponents of the measures hope Senate passage will amplify calls for the package to be taken up in the House, where the bills have garnered bipartisan support but negotiations publicly unraveled last month amid infighting between House Republican leaders.... Odds for passage in the House this year appear dim.... The House broke early for its annual August recess last week without rescheduling a markup for the bills." (Also linked yesterday.)

National Elections

Matt Viser & Cleve Wootson of the Washington Post: "Vice President Harris ... held a raucous rally [in Atlanta, Ga.,] Tuesday night and challenged Republican Donald Trump to debate her, as both the Harris and Trump campaigns are refocusing attention on this pivotal Southern state amid a political map that could be reshaped by newfound Democratic energy. Trump and his running mate, Sen. JD Vance (R-Ohio), will appear at a rally in the same venue Saturday, the Trump campaign said, marking two dueling rallies in a state increasingly at play. President Biden, who narrowly captured Georgia in 2020, had been considered by many Democrats a long shot to win it again, but that calculus could change if Harris can energize the state's voters. 'I am very clear: The path to the White House runs right through this state,' Harris said. 'You all helped us win in 2020, and we're going to do it again in 2024.'... Ahead of Harris's rally, crowds snaked around the Georgia State Convocation Center for hours, with sweaty attendees moving at a snail's pace in the 90-degree heat -- a scene that until recently was more familiar at Trump's rallies." A CBS News story is here. ~~~

     ~~~ Dance Party! Michelle Goldberg of the New York Times: "... around 10,000 people packed the [Georgia State Convocation Center] stadium [in Atlanta] for [Vice President] Harris.... [The] rally ... often felt like a dance party, and not just when the Grammy-winning rapper Megan Thee Stallion was performing. All the Democrats' fervent yearning for a fighter to take on Trump, their desperate hope for hope, has converged on a woman who until just weeks ago was regularly overlooked and underestimated." ~~~

Jarrett Renshaw & Nandita Bose of Reuters: "Vice President Kamala Harris will tour battleground states next week with her vice presidential candidate, two sources familiar with the planning said on Tuesday, a sign the selection process for her running mate is coming to a close.... The short list of candidates under consideration include Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear, Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro, U.S. Senator Mark Kelly of Arizona, Minnesota Governor Tim Walz and Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg. On Monday, North Carolina Governor Roy Cooper and Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer both indicated they were both out of the VP sweepstakes." (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~

     ~~~ Update. Reid Epstein of the New York Times: "Vice President Kamala Harris will hold her first rally with her running mate next Tuesday in Philadelphia, the first stop in a four-day tour of the battleground states next week, her campaign said on Tuesday night. Ms. Harris's campaign insisted that the travel schedule did not mean anything about whom she might select as her vice-presidential nominee, though one top contender, Gov. Josh Shapiro of Pennsylvania, was raised in the Philadelphia suburbs.... After the Tuesday rally in Philadelphia, Ms. Harris and her running mate will on Wednesday begin a circuit with stops in western Wisconsin; Detroit; Raleigh, N.C.; Savannah, Ga.; Phoenix; and Las Vegas, the campaign said." Politico's story is here.

~~~ Aaron Navarro of CBS News: "As soon as this Thursday, delegates in the Democratic Party will hold a virtual vote to select their new nominee. Vice President Kamala Harris is expected to run unopposed. Here's more on what it means and how the vote will work[.]... The vice presidential candidate does not have to be nominated at the same time as the presidential nominee. Harris must pick a running mate by Aug. 7 to comply with Ohio's current ballot deadline, which remains in effect. Harris' team is planning to finish the vetting of the VP field and expects her to pick her running mate by that date, according to a source familiar with the plans." (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~

     ~~~ Update. Colby Itkowitz of the Washington Post: "Vice President Harris is the only candidate who has qualified for the virtual roll call vote to officially select the Democratic presidential nominee. Electronic voting for the nearly 4,000 Democratic delegates will begin Thursday at 9 a.m. and end Monday at 6 p.m. Harris needs 1,976 votes to secure the nomination and is expected to far surpass that number." The NBC News report is here.

Reid Epstein & Nicholas Nehamas of the New York Times: "The race to define Vice President Kamala Harris began in earnest on Tuesday, with both her campaign and .. Donald J. Trump's team unveiling television advertisements that aim to explain her biography to voters in battleground states. Ms. Harris's new ad, her first since becoming the party's de facto nominee, labels her as 'fearless' while leaning into her time as a local and state prosecutor.... Mr. Trump's new ad, meanwhile, attacks her as being weak on the border. It suggests that she is responsible for millions of border crossings and a quarter-million deaths from fentanyl, which the ad says occurred 'on Harris's watch.' It closes with a new Trump tagline for Ms. Harris: 'Failed. Weak. Dangerously Liberal.'... Ms. Harris was not responsible for overseeing border security. Ammar Moussa, a spokesman for the Harris campaign, said in a statement that Mr. Trump had been responsible for Republicans in Congress walking away from a bipartisan immigration agreement.... The new ads will cost tens of millions of dollars and run in [battleground] states." See yesterday's Conversation for video of Harris's ad. (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~

     ~~~ Update. Alex Gangitano of the Hill: "Vice President Harris's campaign on Tuesday unveiled a new campaign video that attacks former President Trump over the U.S. southern border in response to a Trump ad targeting Harris on the issue. The new 50-second video argues that Harris wants to increase border patrol agents, invest in technology to block fentanyl from entering U.S., and spend money to stop human traffickers while Trump worked to block bipartisan legislation that would do so." ~~~

Michael Scherer of the Washington Post: "The political arm of Everytown for Gun Safety, the gun regulation group founded by former New York Mayor Mike Bloomberg, plans to spend $45 million over the coming months to elect favored candidates in eight of the states that could determine control of the White House, House, Senate and local offices. The effort will include a new student organizing drive, with plans to hire 30 new organizers for volunteer recruitment drives at 32 college and university campuses in Arizona, California, Michigan, Minnesota, North Carolina, New York, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin. The group's leaders said the effort will focus on younger voters, voters of color and suburban women, with new field offices in Arizona, Pennsylvania and Michigan."

Washington Post reporters have a follow-up report on a story linked in yesterday's Conversation about X's suspending the "White Dudes for Harris" account while the site was in the midst of raising funds for Kamala Harris Monday night. The organizer of the event Ross "Morales Rocketto said he and his team did not receive any communication from X or Musk about the suspension, but he felt the move was 'suspicious.'... This isn't the first time an account affiliated with the Harris campaign has run into trouble with its X account. On July 21, the day [President] Biden withdrew from the race and endorsed Harris, numerous X users reported that they were unable to follow an official Harris campaign account, @KamalaHQ.... [X owner Elon] Musk endorsed former president Donald Trump on the platform this month and has been using it to stump for the GOP candidate."

Wherein a Hideous Old Lump of Pitted Orange Blubber Criticizes Attractive Younger Woman's Appearance. Isaac Arnsdorf of the Washington Post: "... Donald Trump suggested that Vice President Harris wouldn't be able to stand up to world leaders because of her appearance.... 'She'll be like a play toy,' Trump -- who has a history of using sexist attacks and stereotypes in campaigns against women -- said in a Fox News interview with Laura Ingraham, a portion of which aired on Tuesday night. 'They look at her and they say, ";We can't believe we got so lucky." They're going to walk all over her.' Trump then turned to look directly at the camera and added: 'And I don't want to say as to why. But a lot of people understand it.' Trump campaign spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt said he was not referring to race or gender.... Trump has habitually criticized the appearance and intelligence of female political opponents, from Carly Fiorina to Hillary Clinton and Nikki Haley." ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: It seems to me Trump is implying that male leaders would dismiss Harris because she looks like a tart. I suspect this is because Trump believes any good-looking woman -- and especially one of color -- exists only for the carnal pleasure of powerful men. ("If you're a star, they let you do it.") But your guess is as good as -- or better than -- mine. Trump nauseates me.

Maggie Astor of the New York Times: "... Donald J. Trump, in an interview broadcast Monday night, repeated his recent assertion that Christians will never have to vote again if they vote for him this November, and brushed aside multiple requests to walk back or clarify the statement.... His interviewer on Monday, Fox News's Laura Ingraham, noted that Democrats have highlighted that quote as evidence that Mr. Trump would end elections, and urged Mr. Trump to rebut what she called a 'ridiculous' criticism. But Mr. Trump declined to do so, repeating a pattern he frequently employs in which he makes a provocative statement that can be interpreted in varying ways, and makes no attempt to quiet the uproar. This comment was especially striking, given his attempts to overturn the 2020 election and his shattering of other Democratic norms.... [In a final exchange on the topic, Ingraham] asked him, with a laugh, 'But you will leave office after four years?' 'Of course. By the way, and I did last time,' Mr. Trump said." MB: Right.

Colby Hall of Mediaite: "... Donald Trump responded to Democratic attacks that he and his MAGA supporters are 'weird' by insulting President Joe Biden's golf game. 'I'm a very good golfer. He's a terrible golfer. This guy can't hit a ball 30 yards,' Trump replied to Fox News host Laura Ingraham.... Perhaps Trump was unaware that an unprompted insult on Biden's golf game is, in and of itself, a weird reply, but he eventually got to the point. 'The whole thing is a con job,' Trump eventually said before resorting to the time-honored 'I know you are, but what am I?' retort, made famous by nearly every fourth grader across the land. 'Just plain weird. You know who's plain weird? She's plain weird. She's a weird person,' Trump said." ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: It's quite clear that Trump can't keep up with the program. Joe Biden isn't running for president. Joe Biden didn't call Trump weird. The quality of Joe Biden's golf game could not be more irrelevant. (And his game apparently not all that bad, especially for someone who didn't take up the sport till late in life and doesn't play often. Joe's got aptitude!)

Neil Vigdor of the New York Times elaborates on a story linked yesterday re: DNC nepo DNC cochair Lara Trump likened Kamala Harris to a pricey designer "trash bag." "The metaphor used by Ms. Trump was another personal attack against Ms. Harris from Republicans, who have repeatedly used her race and gender in their criticism.... At a gathering of religious conservatives on Friday, [Donald] Trump called Ms. Harris a 'bum.'"

Sad News. Meredith McGraw & Daniel Lippman of Politico: "Paul Dans, who directed The Heritage Foundation's controversial 2025 Presidential Transition Project, or Project 2025, is stepping down from his role in August, according to an internal email to staff and one person familiar with the matter. Dans' departure does not mean the project, which has been repeatedly criticized by Democrats as well as Donald Trump, is shutting down. The work of Project 2025 -- which includes policy and personnel prescriptions for a Republican administration -- will continue...." (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~

Never before has a figure with Roberts's depth and stature within the American Right tried to articulate a genuinely new future for conservatism. We are now all realizing that it's time to circle the wagons and load the muskets. In the fights that lay ahead, these ideas are an essential weapon. -- J.D. Vance, foreword to soon-to-be-published book by Project 2025 leader Kevin Roberts ~~~

     ~~~ According to MSNBC, the Daily Beast is reporting that Trump forced Dans' resignation. And the Trump campaign issued a statement Tuesday "welcoming the demise" of the project. As we know, Trump continues to have a hard time pretending he knows nothing about Project 2025 considering that Kevin Roberts of the Heritage Foundation, who says he headed up Project 2025 has written a new book with a foreword by J.D. Vance. The Guardian has more on Vance's laudatory forward to Roberts' book, including a link to the full forward, republished in the New Republic (firewalled).

"Tech Bro Elegy." Paul Krugman of the New York Times: J.D. "Vance's ascent has, to a significant degree, been powered by a small group of technology billionaires with Peter Thiel, who poured millions into Vance's 2022 Senate race, at the center.... [Vance] pitches himself as a champion of working-class America. But behind his cynical culture-warring -- behind his professed allegiance to Everyman totems like Mountain Dew -- he's closely tied to a tech-sector ethos that's anything but populist.... So, what do [the immensely wealthy tech bros who support Trump-Vance] have in common? To start, right-wing political leanings.... Some right-wing techies have also descended into conspiracism. Leading the pack, Elon Musk.... Paranoid politics comes surprisingly naturally to the ultrawealthy.... Tech-bro support for Trump and Vance also seems to have a lot to do with one specific issue: cryptocurrency.... The truth is that Bitcoin, which was introduced 15 years ago, an eon in tech time, remains economically useless: A 2022 survey found that transactions involving crypto assets 'are seldom used for payments outside the crypto ecosystem.'" (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~

     ~~~ Rachel Maddow posited last night that Trump "policy" is whatever his latest billionaire "friend" is for. So that's how he ended up with a sudden admiration for J.D. Vance & Bitcoin.

Annals of Journalism, Ctd. Elahe Izadi of the Washington Post: "A surprise announcement that Donald Trump would appear for a question-and-answer panel during the National Association of Black Journalists' annual convention in Chicago has prompted blowback from several prominent Black journalists and association members. The former president ../ will be interviewed Wednesday by three journalists -- ABC senior congressional correspondent Rachel Scott, Semafor politics reporter Kadia Goba and Fox News host Harris Faulkner -- 'on the most pressing issues facing the Black community,' NABJ said in a news release late Monday. The organization said it also invited Vice President Harris, but 'her confirmation is pending.' Karen Attiah, the 2019 NABJ journalist of the year, announced Tuesday that she would step down as convention co-chair.... Other journalists raised objections as well. TheGrio's April Ryan, who clashed repeatedly with the then-president during her time as a White House correspondent, wrote that the invitation was 'a slap in the face to the Black women journalists' who were verbally attacked by Trump."

Eileen Sullivan & Luke Broadwater of the New York Times: "The acting Secret Service director told senators on Tuesday that the agency failed on July 13 by not having a countersniper focused on the roof where a would-be assassin fired eight shots at ... Donald J. Trump, injuring him and others and killing a rally attendee. While Ronald L. Rowe Jr., the acting director, provided a more complete account of what happened that day than his predecessor did a week ago, he failed to answer a critical question about that day: Who was supposed to be watching that roof?... Mr. Rowe said he went to the site of the shooting in Butler, Pa., and ... climbed onto the building and laid on the roof so he could see the direct line that the shooter ... had to Mr. Trump. 'What I saw made me ashamed,' Mr. Rowe told a joint hearing of the Senate Homeland Security and Judiciary committees. 'As a career law enforcement officer and a 25-year veteran with the Secret Service, I cannot defend why that roof was not better secured.'" (Also linked yesterday.)

Dana Hedgpeth & Sari Horwitz of the Washington Post: "More than 900 Native American children died while being forced to attend Indian boarding schools, according to a new federal report that urges the U.S. government to formally apologize for the enduring trauma inflicted by its systematic effort to assimilate the children and destroy their culture. Many of the children were buried in at least 74 marked and unmarked burial sites at 65 former schools across the country, according to the U.S. Department of the Interior report released Tuesday. The actual number of children who died and the number of potential burial sites are probably greater, the report said."

~~~~~~~~~~

Arizona. U.S. Senate Race. Kellen Browning of the New York Times: "Kari Lake won the Republican primary for U.S. Senate in Arizona on Tuesday, according to The Associated Press, setting up a high-stakes contest in the fall for the seat of Senator Kyrsten Sinema, who is retiring. Her victory over Mark Lamb, the Pinal County sheriff, extends her three-year transformation into a fierce pro-Trump firebrand. A former news anchor, she will now face Representative Ruben Gallego, a Phoenix-area former Marine who had no opposition in the Democratic primary." An NBC News report is here. ~~~

     ~~~ Here are more results from the Arizona primary, via the New York Times.

~~~~~~~~~~

Israel/Palestine, et al.

The New York Times' live updates of developments Wednesday in the Israel wars are here. "Ismail Haniyeh, one of the most senior Hamas leaders, was assassinated in Iran, the country's Revolutionary Guards Corps and Hamas said on Wednesday, a severe blow to the Palestinian group that threatens to engulf the region in further conflict. Hamas accused Israel of killing Mr. Haniyeh, who led the group's political operations from exile in Qatar. He was in Tehran to attend the inauguration of the newly elected president of Iran, Hamas's main backer." This is the pinned item at 4:00 am ET.

Ronen Bergman, et al., of the New York Times: "Israel launched a deadly strike in a densely populated Beirut suburb on Tuesday in retaliation for a rocket attack in the Israeli-controlled Golan Heights that it blamed Hezbollah for and that killed 12 children and teenagers on a soccer field. The target of the Israeli strike in a southern suburb of Lebanon's capital was Fuad Shukr, a senior official who serves as a close adviser to Hezbollah's leader, Hassan Nasrallah, according to three Israeli security officials who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive details. The Israel Defense Forces later said in a statement that its fighter jets had 'eliminated' Mr. Shukr, but there was no confirmation from Hezbollah, the powerful Iran-backed group, and the claim could not be independently verified." Reuters' report, published in the Jerusalem Post, is here.

The New York Times' live updates of developments Tuesday in the Israel wars are here. "Israel carried out a strike in Beirut on Tuesday night, retaliating for an assault that killed 12 children and teenagers in the Israeli-controlled Golan Heights over the weekend. The Israeli military said it had targeted a commander whom it blamed for the attack, fueling Western concerns that Israel's long-running conflict with the powerful Lebanese militia Hezbollah could escalate further." This was the pinned item late yesterday afternoon ET. (Also linked yesterday.)

Venezuela. Samantha Schmidt & Ana Herrero of the Washington Post: "At least 16 people have been killed in clashes across the country since the vote Sunday, according to the rights group Foro Penal and a survey of hospitals. The dead include one soldier, the defense ministry said.... The attacks and threats are an escalation for [President Nicolás] Maduro, who claims to have won reelection Sunday despite exit polls and, the opposition says, the government's own records that show [opposition presidential candidate Edmundo] González won twice as many votes."

News Lede

Washington Post: "Boar's Head recalled seven million additional pounds of deli meat on Tuesday, expanding a recall of more than 200,000 pounds after its product was linked on Monday to a listeria outbreak that has left two people dead and sickened nearly three dozen. The expanded recall includes all meats and poultry processed at a Boar's Head facility in Jarratt, Va. The decision to broaden the recall came after the company learned from the U.S. Department of Agriculture that a sample of its liverwurst from a Maryland store that had tested positive for listeria bacteria had matched the strain in the nationwide outbreak."

The Conversation -- July 30, 2024

Sad News. Meredith McGraw & Daniel Lippman of Politico: "Paul Dans, who directed The Heritage Foundation's controversial 2025 Presidential Transition Project, or Project 2025, is stepping down from his role in August.... Dans' departure does not mean the project, which has been repeatedly criticized by Democrats as well as Donald Trump, is shutting down. The work of Project 2025 -- which includes policy and personnel prescriptions for a Republican administration -- will continue...." ~~~

Never before has a figure with Roberts's depth and stature within the American Right tried to articulate a genuinely new future for conservatism. We are now all realizing that it's time to circle the wagons and load the muskets. In the fights that lay ahead, these ideas are an essential weapon. -- J.D. Vance, forward to soon-to-be-published book by Project 2025 leader Kevin Roberts ~~~

     ~~~ According to MSNBC, the Daily Beast is reporting that Trump forced Dans' resignation. And the Trump campaign issued a statement Tuesday "welcoming the demise" of the project. As we know, Trump continues to have a hard time pretending he knows nothing about Project 2025 considering that Kevin Roberts of the Heritage Foundation, who says he headed up Project 2025 has written a new book with a forward by J.D. Vance.

Israel/Palestine, et al. The New York Times' live updates of developments Tuesday in the Israel wars are here. "Israel carried out a strike in Beirut on Tuesday night, retaliating for an assault that killed 12 children and teenagers in the Israeli-controlled Golan Heights over the weekend. The Israeli military said it had targeted a commander whom it blamed for the attack, fueling Western concerns that Israel's long-running conflict with the powerful Lebanese militia Hezbollah could escalate further."

Senate Passes Child Protection Bills; House Remains Dysfunctional. Cristiano Lima-Strong of the Washington Post: "The Senate overwhelmingly passed a pair of bills to expand online privacy and safety protections for children on Tuesday, delivering a major win for parent and youth activists who have clamored for action against tech companies they say are endangering the well-being of kids. The legislation, approved 91-3, would force digital platforms to take 'reasonable' steps to prevent harms to children such as bullying, drug addiction and sexual exploitation, and it would broaden existing federal privacy protections to include kids and teens 16 years old and younger. The bills -- the Kids Online Safety Act, or KOSA, and the Children and Teens' Online Privacy Protection Act, referred to as COPPA 2.0. -- represent the most significant restrictions on tech platforms to clear a chamber of Congress in decades.

"Proponents of the measures hope Senate passage will amplify calls for the package to be taken up in the House, where the bills have garnered bipartisan support but negotiations publicly unraveled last month amid infighting between House Republican leaders.... Odds for passage in the House this year appear dim.... The House broke early for its annual August recess last week without rescheduling a markup for the bills."

Jarrett Renshaw & Nandita Bose of Reuters: "Vice President Kamala Harris will tour battleground states next week with her vice presidential candidate, two sources familiar with the planning said on Tuesday, a sign the selection process for her running mate is coming to a close.... The short list of candidates under consideration include Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear, Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro, U.S. Senator Mark Kelly of Arizona, Minnesota Governor Tim Walz and Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg. On Monday, North Carolina Governor Roy Cooper and Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer both indicated they were both out of the VP sweepstakes." ~~~

~~~ Aaron Navarro of CBS News: "As soon as this Thursday, delegates in the Democratic Party will hold a virtual vote to select their new nominee. Vice President Kamala Harris is expected to run unopposed. Here's more on what it means and how the vote will work[.]... The vice presidential candidate does not have to be nominated at the same time as the presidential nominee. Harris must pick a running mate by Aug. 7 to comply with Ohio's current ballot deadline, which remains in effect. Harris' team is planning to finish the vetting of the VP field and expects her to pick her running mate by that date, according to a source familiar with the plans."

Eileen Sullivan & Luke Broadwater of the New York Times: "The acting Secret Service director told senators on Tuesday that the agency failed on July 13 by not having a countersniper focused on the roof where a would-be assassin fired eight shots at ... Donald J. Trump, injuring him and others and killing a rally attendee. While Ronald L. Rowe Jr., the acting director, provided a more complete account of what happened that day than his predecessor did a week ago, he failed to answer a critical question about that day: Who was supposed to be watching that roof?... Mr. Rowe said he went to the site of the shooting in Butler, Pa., and ... climbed onto the building and laid on the roof so he could see the direct line that the shooter ... had to Mr. Trump. 'What I saw made me ashamed,' Mr. Rowe told a joint hearing of the Senate Homeland Security and Judiciary committees. 'As a career law enforcement officer and a 25-year veteran with the Secret Service, I cannot defend why that roof was not better secured.'"

Reid Epstein & Nicholas Nehamas of the New York Times: "The race to define Vice President Kamala Harris began in earnest on Tuesday, with both her campaign and .. Donald J. Trump's team unveiling television advertisements that aim to explain her biography to voters in battleground states. Ms. Harris's new ad, her first since becoming the party's de facto nominee, labels her as 'fearless' while leaning into her time as a local and state prosecutor.... Mr. Trump's new ad, meanwhile, attacks her as being weak on the border. It suggests that she is responsible for millions of border crossings and a quarter-million deaths from fentanyl, which the ad says occurred 'on Harris's watch.' It closes with a new Trump tagline for Ms. Harris: 'Failed. Weak. Dangerously Liberal.'... Ms. Harris was not responsible for overseeing border security. Ammar Moussa, a spokesman for the Harris campaign, said in a statement that Mr. Trump had been responsible for Republicans in Congress walking away from a bipartisan immigration agreement.... The new ads will cost tens of millions of dollars and run in [battleground] states." ~~~

"Tech Bro Elegy." Paul Krugman of the New York Times: J.D. "Vance's ascent has, to a significant degree, been powered by a small group of technology billionaires with Peter Thiel, who poured millions into Vance's 2022 Senate race, at the center.... [Vance] pitches himself as a champion of working-class America. But behind his cynical culture-warring -- behind his professed allegiance to Everyman totems like Mountain Dew -- he's closely tied to a tech-sector ethos that's anything but populist.... So, what do [the immensely wealthy tech bros who support Trump-Vance] have in common? To start, right-wing political leanings.... Some right-wing techies have also descended into conspiracism. Leading the pack, Elon Musk.... Tech-bro support for Trump and Vance also seems to have a lot to do with one specific issue: cryptocurrency.... The truth is that Bitcoin, which was introduced 15 years ago, an eon in tech time, remains economically useless: A 2022 survey found that transactions involving crypto assets 'are seldom used for payments outside the crypto ecosystem.'" ~~~

     ~~~ Rachel Maddow posited last night that Trump "policy" is whatever his latest billionaire "friend" is for. So that's how he ended up with a sudden admiration for J.D. Vance & Bitcoin.

~~~~~~~~~~

Katie Rogers of the New York Times: "President Biden, warning that the country's courts were being weaponized as part of an 'extreme and unchecked' conservative agenda, said on Monday that he would push for legislation that would bring major changes to the Supreme Court, including term limits and an enforceable code of ethics on the justices. Mr. Biden detailed his plans in a speech at the Lyndon B. Johnson Presidential Library and Museum in Austin, Texas, his first public engagement since announcing his decision to end his presidential campaign last week.... In a social media post, Speaker Mike Johnson [R-La.] called the plan 'dead on arrival' in the House. (Mr. Biden later said onstage that Mr. Johnson's 'thinking is dead on arrival.')... Mr. Biden said, 'They're planning another onslaught attacking civil rights in America.' His remarks were met with support from others in his party, including Vice President Kamala Harris, the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee, who said she was a partner in the effort and would take up Mr. Biden's proposal in her campaign."

Presidential Race

Edward-Isaac Dovere of CNN: "Kamala Harris' plan as a running mate was to brush past JD Vance as nothing but a rubber stamp for Donald Trump. But now that she's the presumptive Democratic nominee, her campaign is seizing on the Ohio senator as a major liability, looking to her own vice presidential selection process and the contenders' public auditions to drive home the point. Vance's elevation ... is giving Harris a new opportunity to go after Trump. The message is not just that Vance is 'weird,' as the vice president said at a fundraiser this weekend, or that he has objectionable views, advisers said; it's that the Ohio senator shouldn't be a heartbeat away from the presidency, and that Trump picking him raises more questions about the top of the ticket. The strategy is also a way to put Trump's age in focus, now that President Joe Biden is not part of the conversation, by highlighting how close Vance could be to occupying the Oval Office if something were to happen to a 78-year-old president." (Also linked yesterday.)

"White Dudes for Harris." Rebecca O'Brien & Ken Bensinger of the New York Times: "On Monday night, the string of identity groups backing [Vice President] Harris [for president] reached its bizarre, and perhaps inevitable, apotheosis with the inaugural meeting of the aptly named 'White Dudes for Harris.' 'What a variety of whiteness we have here,' marveled Bradley Whitford, the 'West Wing' actor, his tongue firmly in cheek as he opened his remarks to the 60,000 or so attendees who had gathered on a live video call to show their support and raise money for Ms. Harris's nascent presidential campaign. 'It's like a rainbow of beige.'... The speakers included two white dudes on the shortlist to be Ms. Harris's running mate -- Gov. Tim Walz of Minnesota and Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg -- as well as the singers Josh Groban and Lance Bass and the actor Mark Hamill. Gov. Roy Cooper of North Carolina was there, in a suit and tie, and Gov. JB Pritzker of Illinois was too, cracking jokes about JD Vance.... Kicking off the White Dudes call was, of course, the Dude, the actor Jeff Bridges, abiding in a comfortable-looking chair....

"'They should give it a more fitting name like: Cucks for Kamala,' Donald Trump Jr. posted on X, using a term popular in some far-right circles for a weak or submissive man. ([Democratic organizer Ross] Morales Rocketto sighed. 'For whatever reason, the Republican Party has really leaned into being creeps.')"

Jonathan Cooper of the AP: "Vice President Kamala Harris highlighted endorsements from mayors of border towns in swing-state Arizona Monday as she looks to blunt the impact of Republican criticism of her handling of illegal border crossings. Harris' campaign said she was backed by the mayors of Bisbee, Nogales, Somerton, and San Luis, as well as by Yuma County Supervisors Martin Porchas and Tony Reyes. The mayors were elected without party affiliation but represent left-leaning communities. Porchas and Reyes are Democrats." ~~~

~~~ It Ain't Just Democratic Mayors. John Giles (R), the mayor of Mesa, Arizona, in an Arizona Republic op-ed: "The Republican Party with Trump at its helm continues down the path of political extremism, away from focusing on our fundamental freedoms. Now more than ever, we need leaders who will put country over party.... In Arizona, we have faced the brunt of misinformation, election denialism and an erosion of trust in our justice system.... Significant reforms to immigration and border policies that would have addressed the crisis at our southern border were blocked by Trump because he didn't want the problem solved. He wanted to exploit it for personal political gain.... It will take Arizona Republicans, independents and Democrats standing together against a far-right agenda. Let us put country over party by voting to stop Trump and protect our democracy." Giles writes that Trump made a joke of infrastructure week, while Biden & Harris brought money & improvements to Mesa.

Maeve Reston & Cleve Wootson of the Washington Post: "Seeking to capitalize on an outpouring of enthusiasm and an influx of cash, Democratic Govs. Gretchen Whitmer of Michigan and Josh Shapiro of Pennsylvania sought Monday to draw a contrast between Vice President Harris and Donald Trump, warning a packed gymnasium [in Ambler, Pa., outside Philadelphia,] that he would strip more freedoms from a vast swath of Americans.... The governors spent the afternoon blasting Trump and his running mate, Sen. JD Vance of Ohio, as self-interested, out-of-touch and destructive.... 'While he's hugging the flag, he's taking away our freedoms,' Shapiro said. 'It's not freedom to tell our kids what books they can read.... It's not freedom to tell women what they can do with their bodies.... It's not freedom to tell people they can go vote -- but he's going to pick the winner.'"

Alex Gangitano of the Hill: "Vice President Harris's campaign is doubling down on its attacks against former President Trump, accusing him of backtracking on the next presidential debate. Campaign communications director Michael Tyler said in a statement ... that Harris will be at ABC's Sept. 10 debate 00 to which Trump and President Biden had both previously agreed -- regardless of the former president's attendance.... Harris said last week she's 'ready to go' for a debate and accused Trump of backpedaling after he has suggested he may not want to participate in the established ABC debate. Her campaign also cast Trump as 'scared' to have the debate. Trump told reporters Tuesday he would 'absolutely' debate Harris but signaled he may not be willing to participate in the ABC event. His campaign said Thursday it would not agree to a general election debate with Harris until Democrats formally decide on their nominee." ~~~

     ~~~ Brett Samuels of the Hill: "Former President Trump on Monday said he would 'probably' end up debating Vice President Harris ahead of November's election, but he left the door open to backing out.... Trump listed off reasons for him not to participate even as [Fox host Laura] Ingraham warned it would allow his critics to say he's scared. Trump pointed to his lead in national and battleground state polls, though those surveys show a close race. He also argued the public knows where both candidates stand on the issues. 'The answer is yes, but I can also make a case for not doing it,' Trump added. 'Also, I don't like rewarding fake news -- They're going to make tens of millions of dollars with this debate. I don't like ABC.'"

Donald Trump's Very Bad Week. A.B. Stoddard in the Bulwark: "IT MUST BE HARD TO TRANSITION from martyr anointed by God and positioned to win in a blowout to jealous old whiner grumbling about the misunderstood relevance of Hannibal Lecter.... Within days, the vice president had captivated the nation, united her party, upended the campaign, raised record sums, tied up the race in polling, and seen a bounce in her favorability ratings. In the same stretch of time Trump had backed out of a debate, watched JD Vance become a meme, fielded concerns about what a failure it was to pick Vance, and seen his own approval rating erode under Harris's attacks.... Enraged by Harris's surge, Trump is flailing about for any attack to use on her." (Also linked yesterday.)

Behind Closed Doors. Isaac Arnsdorf of the Washington Post: "Sen. JD Vance (R-Ohio), privately told donors that running against Vice President Harris instead of President Biden made the race more challenging.... 'All of us were hit with a little bit of a political sucker punch,' Vance said about Biden's withdrawal on July 21, according to a recording of his remarks at a Saturday fundraiser in Golden Valley, Minn. 'The bad news is that Kamala Harris does not have the same baggage as Joe Biden, because ... Kamala is a lot younger. And Kamala Harris is obviously not struggling in the same ways that Joe Biden did.' Publicly, the Trump campaign has insisted that Harris replacing Biden at the top of the Democratic ticket has not changed the race, arguing that she shares responsibility for public dissatisfaction with Biden's leadership. Vance told reporters on July 22, a day after Biden dropped out of the race, that there was no difference in running against Harris vs. Biden."

Eugene Robinson of the Washington Post: "It would be strange for Democrats to attack the Republican presidential ticket for being 'weird' if it weren't true. But those men are getting weirder by the day." Last week, Vance stood behind very offensive things he has said about women and families. "The normal thing would have been for Vance to recognize that he said some dumb things and now regrets them. But being Trump's wingman means never having to say you're sorry -- actually, never being allowed to say you're sorry.... Since last fall, at campaign rallies [Trump] has been regularly telling that nonsensical story about a boat, a battery and a shark. When it was pointed out that the whole thing makes no sense and critics laughed at Trump's ignorance of basic physics, he insisted on his self-proclaimed infallibility. It's 'actually not crazy' and 'sort of a smart story,' he told one crowd.... Trump also cant stop talking about 'the late, great Hannibal Lecter.'..."

~~~ Marie: When they've got nothin', they put out slurs that are inherently racist, sexist & dehumanizing: ~~~

~~~ Michael Luciano of Mediaite: "Republican National Committee Co-Chair Lara Trump said Vice President Kamala Harris reminds her of a designer bag that was 'literally a trash bag.'... 'It reminds me of -- there was a bag that a very famous designer designed,' she said. 'This was several years ago, and it literally was a trash bag, but they sold this thing for like $2000 thinking that people will actually buy it. It's a similar situation with Kamala Harris. Nobody was interested in Kamala Harris even several months ago.' The bag Trump referred to appears to be the Men's Trash Bag Large Pouch in White made by Balenciaga. And it can be yours for a cool $1,950."

Annals of "Journalism," Ctd. Margaret Sullivan of the Guardian in a Substack essay: "This past Friday, Trump urged Christian voters in West Palm Beach, Florida to vote, but told them it would be the last time they'd need to bother.... The New York Times, among many news organizations, was slow to focus on this, though they eventually added these startling remarks to their original coverage of the speech. Later, they published a separate story focusing on the 'it will be fixed' comments.... A few days earlier, on Fox & Friends, Trump went so far as to tell the faithful not to bother to vote even now. 'My instruction -- we don't need the votes. We have so many votes.' And a week ago, at another rally, Trump put it this way: 'In four years, don't vote. I don't care. But we'll have it all straightened out, so it'll be much different.'... Ruth Ben-Ghiat, the scholar of authoritarian movements..., warned: 'Media: This should be *the* A1 story. I have studied dictatorship for years and this is it -- "you won't have to vote anymore.: Trump will never leave office if he wins in November.'... I urge news decision-makers to take Trump's authoritarian desires very seriously." (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~

     ~~~ Turns out we may not have to wait till 2028 (or 2026) to watch Trump upend election results: ~~~

     ~~~ Travis Gettys of the Raw Story: "Dozens of election conspiracists are serving in positions around the country that could help determine the outcome of this year's presidential election, according to a new report. Rolling Stone and American Doom identified at least 70 individuals working as county election officials in swings states like Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, Nevada, North Carolina and Pennsylvania who questioned the validity of Donald Trump's 2020 election loss or refused to certify results, including at least 22 who refused or delayed the certification of election results in recent years. 'I think we are going to see mass refusals to certify the election,' said Democratic election lawyer Marc Elias. 'Everything we are seeing about this election is that the other side is more organized, more ruthless, and more prepared.'" ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: This is not random "weird" information. Rachel Maddow pointed last night to a number of times Trump has told his followers they didn't need to vote even in this election. Maddow says that pro-Trump local elections officials will refuse to certify election results, so gumming up the works that state election outcomes cannot be legally determined.

Devlin Barrett & Perry Stein of the Washington Post: "The gunman who tried to kill ... Donald Trump conducted internet searches related to power plants, mass shooting events and the attempted assassination this year of Slovakia's prime minister, FBI officials said Monday, offering new details about what they described as the gunman's 'careful planning' for the attack.... He used aliases and at least some encrypted communication accounts to purchase firearm supplies and materials to build explosive devices, the officials said.... He carried a backpack and an AR-style weapon with a collapsible stock, an enhancement to weapons that makes them more compact." (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~

~~~ Hannah Rabinowitz & Holmes Lybrand of CNN: "Donald Trump has agreed to sit for a victim interview with the FBI, which is investigating this month's attempted assassination, an agency official said Monday. Victim interviews are a routine part of criminal investigations, but are voluntary." (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~

~~~ Sasha Pezenik, et al., of ABC News: Beaver County, Pa., SWAT team members at the rally during which Donald Trump was shot told ABC News "they had no contact with the agents on Trump's Secret Service detail.... The Washington Post reported over the weekend that Secret Service agents have complained they were not made aware of the warnings [that there was a suspicious person in the crowd]." (Also linked yesterday.)

Joan Biskupic of CNN: "The Supreme Court began the year poised to build on its 2022 decision overturning Roe v. Wade and to deliver a new blow to abortion access. In January, the court took the extraordinary step of letting Idaho enforce its ban on abortion with an exception only to prevent the death of a pregnant woman, despite an ongoing challenge from the Biden administration arguing that it intruded on federal protections for emergency room care. No recorded vote was made public, but CNN has learned the split was 6-3, with all six Republican-nominated conservatives backing Idaho, over objections from the three Democratic-appointed liberals. But over the next six months..., a combination of misgivings among key conservatives and rare leverage on the part of liberal justices changed the course of the case." Read on for details.

No Honor Among Drug Lords. Alan Feuer & Natalie Kitroeff of the New York Times: Circumstances leading to the arrest by U.S. officials of he arrest of Ismael Zambada García, the last remaining godfather of Mexico's Sinaloa drug cartel, were more dramatic than originally told. "Mr. Zambada García, one of his country's most wanted men, had come down from a hide-out in the mountains last week and was ambushed in the Mexican city of Culiacán at what he thought would be a friendly meeting with [El Chapo's son, Joaquín] Guzmán López, according to three federal law enforcement officials.... Mr. Guzmán López then forcibly flew Mr. Zambada García in a Beechcraft King Air turboprop across the border, where he was apprehended by U.S. federal agents, the officials said."

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Venezuela. Frances Robles, et al., of the New York Times: "Protests broke out Monday in Caracas, Venezuela's capital, with hundreds of young people marching through the streets furious over a presidential election in which the incumbent, Nicolás Maduro, declared victory despite widespread accusations of fraud, officially proclaiming the election decided without releasing the full vote counts. The United States and countries around the world denounced the official results of Sunday's vote, which did not appear to match statistical estimates based on partial counts and other data that showed the president losing by a wide margin. By Monday afternoon, the Venezuelan government announced it had kicked out the diplomatic missions of seven Latin American countries that had condemned the official electoral results. The opposition leader, María Corina Machado, announced on Monday evening that her movement had received paper tallies from 73 percent of the country's voting stations and refuted the government's claims. Those tallies showed that Mr. Maduro's opponent, Edmundo González, had received 3.5 million more votes than the president."

News Lede

New York Times: "William L. Calley Jr., who as a young Army lieutenant during the Vietnam War was the only American convicted in the murder of hundreds of unarmed, unresisting Vietnamese civilians in the atrocity known as the My Lai Massacre, died on April 28 in hospice in Gainesville, Fla, according to Social Security Administration records. He was 80.... Nearly 56 years after the killings of as many as 500 women, children and older men by Americans who attacked with automatic weapons, grenades and bayonets; raped girls and women; mutilated bodies; killed livestock, and burned the village, My Lai (pronounced Mee Lye) still reverberates as one of the worst outrages of a brutal and divisive war."