March 13, 2023

Late Morning/Afternoon Update:

Summer Concepcion of NBC News: "President Joe Biden said Monday that people should 'rest assured' after his administration acted to ease uncertainties about the banking system in the wake of the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank last week, the second-largest bank failure in U.S. history.... 'Thanks to the quick action of my administration over the past few days, Americans can have confidence that the banking system is safe,' Biden said. 'Your deposits will be there when you need them.' Biden explained that he instructed his team to protect U.S. workers and small businesses and detailed their actions to protect customers' deposits and not put taxpayer dollars at risk, to hold those responsible accountable, and not to protect investors in the bank. The president said the management of Silicon Valley Bank and Signature Bank, a second institution that was included in the plan, would be fired. 'If the bank is taken over by FDIC, the people running the bank should not work there anymore,' he said.... The president said he will ask Congress and the banking regulators to strengthen rules for banks to make it 'less likely this kind of bank failure would happen again.'" ~~~

~~~ Tolja So. Elizabeth Warren in a New York Times op-ed: "... These recent bank failures are the direct result of leaders in Washington weakening the financial rules.... Greg Becker, the chief executive of Silicon Valley Bank, was one of the many high-powered executives who lobbied Congress to weaken the [Dodd-Frank] law. In 2018, the big banks won. With support from both parties..., Donald Trump signed a law to roll back critical parts of Dodd-Frank. Regulators, including the Federal Reserve chair Jerome Powell, then made a bad situation worse, letting financial institutions load up on risk.... S.V.B. suffered from a toxic mix of risky management and weak supervision. For one, the bank relied on a concentrated group of tech companies with big deposits, driving an abnormally large ratio of uninsured deposits.... [Similarly, New York State's Signature Bank, which the FDIC also took over this weekend, relied heavily on] risky cryptocurrency firms....Congress, the White House& and banking regulators should reverse the dangerous bank deregulation of the Trump era.... Mr. Powell's disastrous 'tailoring' of these rules has put our economy at risk, and it needs to end -- now." Read on.

Comer Pleads Ignorance of Trump Inquiry. Plus and Hunter Biden! Luke Broadwater & Jonathan Swan of the New York Times: "House Republicans have quietly halted a congressional investigation into whether Donald J. Trump profited improperly from the presidency, declining to enforce a court-supervised settlement agreement that demanded that Mazars USA, his former accounting firm, produce his financial records to Congress. Representative James R. Comer, Republican of Kentucky and the chairman of the Oversight and Accountability Committee, made clear he had abandoned any investigation into the former president's financial dealings -- professing ignorance about the inquiry Democrats opened when they controlled the House -- and was instead focusing on whether President Biden and members of his family were involved in an influence-peddling scheme. 'I honestly didn't even know who or what Mazars was,' said Mr. Comer, who was the senior Republican on the oversight panel during the last Congress, while Democrats waged a lengthy legal fight over obtaining documents from the firm." Rep. Jamie Raskin, the top Democrat on the committee, accused Comer of coordinating the shutdown with Trump's attorneys, and Raskin produced receipts. An NBC News story is here. ~~~

~~~ Zachary Cohen, et al., of CNN: "House Oversight Chairman James Comer has quietly subpoenaed Bank of America asking for records relating to three of Hunter Biden's business associates, the committee's ranking Democrat, Rep. Jamie Raskin, disclosed in a letter sent to Comer on Sunday. The subpoena was broad and called for 'all financial records spanning 14 years, beginning in 2009, according to a copy of the letter obtained by CNN. Bank of America has since turned over a considerable number of materials in compliance with the subpoena, a source familiar with the communications told CNN. The subpoena specifically targets US citizen John Robinson 'Rob' Walker and other associates of President Joe Biden's son, Hunter, who formed ... 'a joint venture' with executives of CEFC China Energy, a now-bankrupt Chinese energy conglomerate, according to the letter."

Charlie Savage of the New York Times: Beryl A. Howell, the chief judge of the D.C. Federal District Court, has reach the end of her term, and "a new chief judge, James E. Boasberg, takes over..., dropping Judge Boasberg into tangled disputes over executive privilege and other grand jury issues central to the federal special counsel investigation into the events surrounding Jan. 6, along with [Donald] Trump's handling of classified documents after leaving office. There is no obvious reason to believe that the turnover will bring a major new approach: Both are experienced jurists and Obama appointees, and in handing down sentences to ordinary Jan. 6 defendants, neither has been a particularly harsh nor usually lenient outlier.... Judge Boasberg is also a former homicide prosecutor in Washington who has been a judge for more than 20 years. He has bipartisan credentials: President George W. Bush appointed him in 2002 to the D.C. Superior Court, which handles state court-style criminal and civil cases in Washington, before President Barack Obama elevated him in 2011 to the Federal District Court." Savage provides more biographical information & touches on some of the high-profile matters Boasberg has adjudicated.

Christopher Kane of the Washington Blade: "White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre issued a statement Monday condemning the homophobic and misogynistic remarks made by former Vice President Mike Pence during the Gridiron Club dinner Saturday night. At the event, Pence said Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg -- the country's first openly gay cabinet secretary -- 'took maternity leave' following the birth of his and husband Chasten's twins in 2021, adding that the country subsequently suffered postpartum depression via airline and air travel issues. 'The former vice president's homophobic joke about Secretary Buttigieg was offensive and inappropriate, all the more so because he treated women suffering from postpartum depression as a punchline,' Jean-Pierre said in a statement she shared with the Washington Blade.... Associated Press Chief White House Correspondent Zeke Miller reported Pence's 'jokes' were not well received by the room."

Michelle Yeoh, who won the Oscar yesterday for Best Actress in a Leading Role, is also a United Nations Development Program goodwill ambassador. She writes in a New York Times op-ed about her first-hand experience of an earthquake in Nepal. "To fully recover from a disaster and be prepared for the next one, the specific needs of women and girls must be factored into the humanitarian response. Women must also play leadership roles in the recovery process. But women are woefully underrepresented in the decision making that affects their prospects of survival in times of crisis.... This year we are halfway toward the 2030 target date to achieve what the United Nations calls Sustainable Development Goals, a blueprint for a shared global vision of a world without poverty or inequality. What I have learned through my work with U.N.D.P. is that realizing these global goals will be possible only if we achieve true gender equality, everywhere, and in all aspects of life -- especially in times of crisis -- and in anticipation of the next disaster."

Ed Pilkington of the Guardian: "As Rupert Murdoch's Fox Corporation battles to contain the Dominion lawsuit scandal that has engulfed its top executives and stars, another crisis is building in the wings that has the potential to cause further turbulence for the media empire. Smartmatic's lawsuit against Fox News has attracted only a fraction of the attention garnered by the legal action of Dominion Voting Systems. Yet both firms are suing Fox for defamation related to its coverage of Donald Trump's stolen-election lie, and both pose a serious threat to Fox's finances and reputation.... Smartmatic ... [is' demanding damages of $2.7bn [in damages].... Last week the New York state supreme court in Manhattan gave the green light for the case to proceed against Fox News, the Fox Business host Maria Bartiromo, the former business anchor Lou Dobbs and Trump's former lawyer Rudy Giuliani.... Smartmatic claims that more than 100 false statements were broadcast by Fox News hosts and guests. Smartmatic was falsely said to have been involved in 2020 election counts in six battleground states -- in fact, it was present only at the count in Los Angeles county."

Gail Collins & Bret Stephens of the New York Times have a conversation about Tucker Carlson, Biden's budget proposal & oil-drilling approval, and Mitch McConnell, and the 2024 presidential election: "Stephens: They say that hypocrisy is the homage that vice pays to virtue, but in this case it's the tribute that cynicism pays to cowardice.... As for Fox, the way in which it is trying to 'respect' its viewers is to lie to them."

Marlise Simons of the New York Times: "The International Criminal Court intends to open two war crimes cases tied to the Russian invasion of Ukraine and will seek arrest warrants for several people, according to current and former officials.... The cases represent the first international charges to be brought forward since the start of the conflict and come after months of work by special investigation teams. They allege that Russia abducted Ukrainian children and teenagers and sent them to Russian re-education camps, and that the Kremlin deliberately targeted civilian infrastructure.... It was not clear whom the court planned to charge in each case.... Some outside diplomats and experts said it was possible that President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia could be charged, as the court does not recognize immunity for a head of state in cases involving war crimes, crimes against humanity or genocide. Still, the likelihood of a trial remains slim, experts say, as the court cannot hear cases in absentia and Russia is unlikely to surrender its own officials."

U.K. Karla Adam of the Washington Post: "Britain's state broadcaster and its highest-paid presenter announced Monday that they reached a deal that would put sports legend Gary Lineker back on the air after he was suspended for criticizing the government's migration policies.... The director general of the BBC, Tim Davie, apologized and said the broadcaster would launch an independent review of its social media guidelines, with a focus on freelancers, like Lineker."

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Maxine Joselow & Timothy Puko of the Washington Post: "The Biden administration will approve one of the largest oil developments ever on federal land Monday, according to three people familiar..., a day after announcing sweeping protections for more than 16 million acres of land and water in Alaska. Opponents hoped [President] Biden would reject energy giant ConocoPhillips's multibillion-dollar drilling project, called Willow, on Alaska's North Slope. But facing the prospect of having such a decision overturned in court, the administration plans to let the oil company build just three pads in the National Petroleum Reserve-Alaska (NPR-A), the nation's largest expanse of public land, these three individuals said. The decision shrinks the project from the five pads that ConocoPhillips originally proposed but allows what company officials have described as a site large enough for them to move forward and start construction within days." ~~~

     ~~~ Softening the Blow. Emily Czachor of CBS News: "President Biden is expected to prohibit oil and gas leasing across the entirety of the United States' territory in the Arctic Ocean, an administration official confirmed on Sunday.... The Biden administration will also announce its plans to issue new rules protecting more than 13 million acres in the National Petroleum Reserve in Alaska from oil and gas leasing when the president unveils his Arctic drilling declaration, the administration official said. The anticipated protections will extend to the Teshekpuk Lake, Utukok Uplands, Colville River, Kasegaluk Lagoon and Peard Bay Special Areas.... The administration hopes these restrictions will serve as a 'fire wall' that will block future gas leasing and expansion across federal lands and waters in the U.S. Arctic Ocean and on the North Slope of Alaska..., a region that is rich in petroleum and currently the focus of a mounting national controversy."

Edward Wong of the New York Times: "President Biden plans to announce on Monday a landmark agreement with the leaders of Britain and Australia to develop fleets of nuclear-powered attack submarines that the three nations would use to strengthen their naval forces across the Asia-Pacific region as China bolsters its own navy. The purchase and training agreements on submarines amount to the first concrete steps taken by the three English-speaking nations to deepen the ambitious strategic partnership called AUKUS that they announced 18 months ago."

The New York Times is live-updating developments surrounding the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank: "U.S. authorities, invoking rarely used regulatory authority, took action late Sunday to contain the damage from the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank.... Officials announced that depositors with money at the California bank, which was closed by state regulators on Friday, would be paid back in full and be able to start accessing their money on Monday morning. They also disclosed that a second bank [-- Signature Bank --] had been shuttered by New York regulators and that its depositors would also be made whole." ~~~

     ~~~ The Washington Post's story on these developments, by Jeff Stein & others, is here. An ABC News story is here. ~~~

     ~~~ Rob Wile of NBC News: "In a joint statement Sunday, the U.S. Treasury, the Federal Reserve and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. said the extraordinary measures they were taking to shore up SVB deposits would not come at taxpayers' expense.... The government also reiterated that only SVB depositors, as well as those at New York-based Signature Bank -- a second institution it took over and shut down -- would be made whole. Shareholders of the failed banks, as well as some bondholders, will 'not be protected' by the actions, the agencies' statement noted. Instead, the cost of covering the deposits, including uninsured amounts in excess of the FDIC's $250,000 limit, will be paid for in part out of the agency's Deposit Insurance Fund -- a reserve that is paid for by a quarterly fee on banks.... Funding for the emergency measures will also come from selling off SVB's assets, said Morgan Ricks, a banking professor at Vanderbilt Law School.... Assuming there are losses, Ricks said, the costs of the guarantee of all depositors will be borne by banking customers -- in other words, the wider public.... By designating their backstop measures as a 'systemic risk exception' event, Washington regulators sidestepped a vote that would otherwise be required from Congress on whether to backstop the banks' depositors...." ~~~

~~~ Pranshu Verma & Tony Romm of the Washington Post: "... Silicon Valley Bank ... chief executive Greg Becker['s] sold $3.6 million worth of shares on Feb. 27, according to SEC filings. ​​Becker is now coming under scrutiny, including from a personal acquaintance, Democratic California Rep. Ro Khanna, who said Sunday that Becker should give that money back. 'There should be a clawback of any of that money,' Khanna said in an interview with The Washington Post. 'It should be going to the depositors." MB: Gee, that's funny. The bank was about to fail & the CEO took his money out of it. Coincidence? Ha ha. ~~~

~~~ Annabelle Timsit of the Washington Post: "HSBC has agreed to buy Silicon Valley Bank's subsidiary in the United Kingdom for 1 pound -- just over $1 -- under a deal facilitated by the British government and the Bank of England following the U.S. lender's collapse."

Marie: Yesterday I opined that mike pence's decision to diss Donald Trump's January 6 attempt to, well, "hang mike pence" was a calculated one: ~~~

     ~~~ Adam Wren of Politico: Pence's "advisers ... believed [his comments condemning Trump at Saturday's Gridiron dinner] would help Pence win over his most skeptical audience these days: Washington insiders and journalists who have given him short shrift in the early 2024 primary.... While the Gridiron remarks were harsh, they were not done with a camera rolling -- though Pence's advisers disputed that played into their calculation in attacking Trump.... Pence will campaign in New Hampshire on Thursday and Iowa on Saturday...."

Azi Paybarah of the Washington Post: "House Speaker Kevin McCarthy on Sunday again defended giving access to more than 40,000 hours of security video from the U.S. Capitol when it was attacked on Jan. 6, 2021, to Fox News host Tucker Carlson, who recently used that video to describe most of the people who entered the building that day as 'peaceful, orderly and meek' individuals who 'revere' the Capitol. Appearing on Fox News's 'Sunday Morning Futures' [with Sidney Powell fangirl Maria Bartiromo,] McCarthy said he will 'slowly roll out to every individual news agency' access to the same trove, so 'they can come see the tapes as well.'... The siege led to at least seven deaths, resulted in assaults on at least 174 police officers and caused more than $2.7 billion in losses, according to a recent report from the Government Accountability Office." A Guardian story is here. ~~~

     ** ~~~ Steve M. "... Kevin McCarthy still intends to play stall ball on the release of the January 6 security videos.... It's disgraceful that our supine mainstream media hasn't been angrily demanding access to these tapes.... McCarthy is normalizing the idea of selective access to information generated by public agencies.... McCarthy compounded the offense to democracy by trotting out a whataboutist lie about January 6 that just won't die: 'McCarthy also wielded a common rightwing talking point, likening January 6 -- a violent assault linked to nine deaths including law enforcement suicides -- to protests for racial justice after the police murder of George Floyd in summer 2020 which sometimes turned violent [Guardian citation],'... McCarthy said there was 'nobody arrested' [in the Floyd protests].... 'A June 22, 2020, article from The Washington Post tallied over 14,000 arrests made since May 27. The Hill reported over 17,000 arrests had been made in the first two weeks of protests' [USA Today citation].'... 'An Associated Press review of court documents in more than 300 federal cases stemming from the protests ... shows that dozens of people charged have been convicted of serious crimes and sent to prison' [AP citation]... none of the George Floyd protests threatened our system of government. The Capitol rioters threatened to overturn a democratic election."

Beyond the Beltway

Colorado. Kyle Melnick of the Washington Post: "Colorado's Republican Party voted in former state representative Dave Williams, a 2020 election-results denier, as its leader Saturday. Williams is known for suing to get the anti-Joe Biden phrase 'Let's go Brandon' added to his name on voters' ballots last year. Williams defeated six other candidates after delivering a speech in which he promised to be a 'wartime' leader for the Colorado GOP, a two-year role."

Way Beyond

Ukraine, et al. The Washington Post's live briefing of developments Monday in Russia's war on Ukraine are here: "Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said his forces are continuing to inflict heavy losses on attacking Russian fighters in the besieged front-line city of Bakhmut, as Kremlin-backed mercenaries concede the fight is growing more difficult as they approach the city center, bombarded by artillery and tank fire. Ukraine killed 'more than 1,100' Russian fighters in Bakhmut in the past week, Zelensky said in his nightly address, while another 1,500 were out of action because of the severity of their injuries. Russian equipment and ammunition depots were also destroyed, he said."

News Lede

Washington Post: "Eight people have died and several more are believed to be missing after two fishing boats capsized late Saturday near the coast of San Diego as part of what city and federal authorities suspect was a human smuggling operation.... Agencies including U.S. Customs and Border Protection, U.S. Coast Guard, local police and state and city lifeguards all responded. When rescuers rushed to the scene, they found eight bodies on the beach and in the water. Both boats were capsized, while several life jackets and fuel barrels were strewn. No survivors were found, leaving several individuals unaccounted for, including [a] woman who had called 911."

March 12, 2023

Oren Liebermann of CNN: "The US Air Force unveiled a new color scheme for the new Air Force One jets under construction on Friday, doing away with the darker red, white, and blue chosen by ... Donald Trump and opting for a modernized version of the classic design of the president's aircraft. The color scheme also scraps the design Trump wanted for Air Force One, which featured a deep red stripe down the middle of the aircraft and a dark blue underbelly.... Trump's preferred color scheme had been rejected last year because it would require additional engineering, increasing the time it would take to build and the cost of the aircraft, which has already suffered numerous delays. The dark blue paint threatened to overheat sophisticated electronic components on board and would have required additional Federal Aviation Administration qualification testing, the Air Force said.... The [new] overall scheme stays true to the design Air Force One has sported since President John F. Kennedy was in the White House 60 years ago."

Emily Schmall of the New York Times: "The Naming Commission, a committee created by Congress in response to a public backlash against Confederate memorials in the wake of the 2020 murder of George Floyd, identified two ships to be rechristened in the Navy's fleet. One, a warship deployed in the waters off Japan, called the U.S.S. Chancellorsville after the Confederate Civil War victory in Virginia, will be renamed the U.S.S. Robert Smalls..., after Robert Smalls, a mariner who [in 1862] commandeered a Confederate ship to freedom from slavery.... The other, a Pathfinder-class oceanographic survey ship called the U.S.N.S. Maury, was named after Matthew Fontaine Maury, a U.S. Navy commander who resigned in 1861 to join the Confederate Navy during the Civil War and who is known as 'Pathfinder of the Seas' for his work charting the global paths of ocean currents. It will be rechristened the U.S.N.S.Marie Tharp, after the ocean cartographer, who helped document the phenomenon of continental drift."

Groundhog Day Moved to January 7. Paul Kane of the Washington Post: "Two months into their new majority, some House Republicans cannot stop fixating on the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol.... In deep contrast, senators have largely moved on from that horrific attack, deferring to the Justice Department's investigation.... 'I think they need to watch a little less cable TV,' Sen. John Cornyn (R-Tex.) told CNN. For more than two years running, every day the House is in session can feel as if it's Jan. 7 -- the day after.... 'We have ... a lot of people who are openly using their platforms to promote insurrectionists, to promote the idea that Jan. 6 didn't happen, that it was a friendly thing,' said Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D-Wash.).... By 2:15 p.m. on Jan. 6, as rioters began making their way into the building, the Senate was quickly locked down and was fully evacuated within 15 minutes. Almost no one saw a rioter.... When the House finally halted debate, rioters were trying to break into the chamber, forcing Capitol Police into a guns-drawn standoff by the back door." ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: Aw, Kane forgets all about the panic experienced by some senators, like Josh Hawley, who went from encouraging the insurrectionists with a fist pump ... to this: ~~~

Ben Terris of the Washington Post: "In a speech Saturday night [at the Gridiron dinner], former vice president Mike Pence delivered what amounted to his strongest rebuke of Donald Trump, criticizing the former president for his role in the lead-up to the Jan. 6 attack on the United States Capitol as well as attempts to rewrite the history of that day. 'President Trump was wrong,' Pence said. 'I had no right to overturn the election. And his reckless words endangered my family and everyone at the Capitol that day. And I know that history will hold Donald Trump accountable.... The American people have a right to know what took place at the Capitol on January 6th,' he said. 'But make no mistake about it, what happened that day was a disgrace, and it mocks decency to portray it in any other way.' [At the dinner, which typically features politicians doing their best as stand-up comics,] Pence's performance included his own attempt at a comedy routine.... 'I once invited President Trump to Bible study.... He really liked the passages about the smiting and perishing of thine enemies. As he put it, "Ya know Mike, There's some really good stuff in here."'" The AP's story is here. ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: Gosh, mikey indirectly did some smiting of TuKKKer, too. But it case you think God came to mikey in a dream and told him to go forth & speak the truth, it's more likely mikey has a new consultant who told him he might as well let loose, because bending his knee to the fatted Golden Bull was not improving mikey's political prospects. ~~~

     ~~~ Update: See NiskyGuy's comment below, which is spot-on (although perhaps it's impolite to insinuate that a God-fearing man like mikey is a flaming hypocrite).

Danny Hakim & Richard Fausset of the New York Times: After Rudy Guiliani made outlandish claims about voter fraud a Georgia state senate hearing on December 30, 2020, a "Georgia lawyer named Robert Cheeley ... spent 15 minutes laying out specious assertions that the workers were double- and triple-counting votes, saying their actions 'should shock the conscience of every red blooded Georgian' and likening what he said had happened to the 1941 attack on Pearl Harbor.... [Cheeley] was among the witnesses questioned last year by a special grand jury in Atlanta that investigated election interference by Mr. Trump and his allies, the grand jury's forewoman, Emily Kohrs, said in an interview last month." Cheeley is among those who could be indicted under Georgia's election-fraud conspiracy statues, said Norm Eisen of the Brookings Institution.

Boebert Family Values. Arwa Mahdawi of the Guardian: "Congratulations to Republican congresswoman Lauren Boebert who is becoming a grandma at the tender age of 36. Speaking at a Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) Moms for America event on Tuesday, the Colorado congresswoman shared the news that her 17-year-old son is expecting a baby with his teenage girlfriend in April.... Speaking at the CPAC event, the extremely anti-abortion Boebert said that her biggest fear was whether her son and his partner 'would choose life'. When they did, she was so proud that she decided to turn them into a parable about rural family values.... This shouldn't need to be said in 2023, but forcing teenagers to become parents isn't good for the teenagers, the baby or society in general.... Access to abortion is one way to reduce teenage pregnancies. Quality sexual health education in schools is another. Boebert, of course, is against both."

Perry Stein, et al., of the Washington Post: "The Texas judge who could undo government approval of a key abortion drug has scheduled the first hearing in the case for Wednesday but took unusual steps to keep it from being publicized, according to people familiar with the plans. The hearing will be an opportunity for lawyers for the Justice Department, the company that makes the drug and the conservative group that is challenging it to argue their positions before U.S. District Court Judge Matthew Kacsmaryk. After they do, the judge could rule at any time.... Kacsmaryk said he would delay putting the hearing on the public docket until late Tuesday to try to minimize disruptions and possible protests, and asked the lawyers on the call not to share information about it before then.... Public access to federal court proceedings is a key principle of the American judicial system, and Kacsmaryk's apparent delay in placing the hearing on the docket is highly unusual." MB: Kacsmaryk is a right-wing Trump appointee who opposes women's reproductive rights. And a lot of other human rights.

Gerrit De Vynck & Rachel Lerman of the Washington Post: "... thousands of people [are] likely to be affected by the stunning collapse of Silicon Valley Bank on Friday, marking the second-largest bank failure in U.S. history and sending shock waves through the tech and finance worlds.... Silicon Valley Bank had relationships with more than half of the venture-backed companies in the United States, according to its website.... While the government took over the bank, which is known for lending to start-ups but also does private banking providing mortgages and other services, deposits are only insured up to $250,000. The bank's assets totaled more than $200 billion. Around $42 billion was withdrawn from the bank on Thursday alone.... Start-up founders worried they'd be forced to lay off workers if money held by the bank was frozen or lost. Large companies such as connected TV provider Roku and video game maker Roblox warned investors that they had hundreds of millions in cash deposited with Silicon Valley Bank that may be in jeopardy." ~~~

~~~ Jeff Stein & Tony Romm of the Washington Post: "Federal officials faced growing pressure Saturday to bail out even the biggest customers of the collapsed Silicon Valley Bank, igniting a ferocious political debate over Washington's role in tamping down potential threats to the broader U.S. financial sector. Tech executives, former government officials and at least two Democratic lawmakers called for safeguarding depositors with money at stake in the collapse if a buyer for the bank's assets isn't found by Monday, arguing that it's the only way to limit a cascade of bigger problems." ~~~

~~~ Dan Primack of Axios: "Silicon Valley Bank on Friday paid out annual bonuses to eligible U.S. employees, just hours before the bank was seized by the U.S. government, Axios has learned from multiple sources.... The bonuses were for work done during 2022, and were previously scheduled to be disbursed on March 10. That date ultimately coincided with the bank's takeover by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation." ~~~

~~~ Hannah Levintova of Mother Jones: Silicon Valley Bank might not have failed "were it not for the work of SVB's President Greg Becker, who eight years ago asked a Senate committee to relax regulations that would soon be applied to his own bank.... A key rule in the [Dodd-Frank] law required that 'Too Big To Fail' banks -- which Dodd-Frank defined as those with more than $50 billion in assets -- undergo stricter oversight, including higher capital ratio requirements designed to shore up the big banks' ability to withstand financial shocks.... Becker [told senators] ... that there was no need for these expensive, federal-government-mandated checks because SVB's activities had a 'low risk profile' -- and because the bank was perfectly capable of keeping itself in check with its 'strong risk management practices.'... Following the hearing and three years of SVB lobbying lawmakers, Becker got his wish: In 2018, Trump signed a bill into law raising the threshold for stricter bank oversight to $250 billion in assets.... The result: major losses at the bank and, on Friday, a full-on collapse -- the exact sort of bank failure that the original regulations that Becker fought against had set out to prevent." ~~~

~~~ Ken Klipperstein of the Intercept: "After successfully lobbying, for the rollback of new rules applied to Wall Street in the wake of the financial crisis, lobbyists for Silicon Valley Bank immediately began pressing their case further to the federal authority that insures bank deposits in the event of another crisis, according to lobbying disclosures reviewed by The Intercept. The lobbying effort managed to exempt banks the size of SVB from more stringent regulations, including stress tests aimed at uncovering the type of weaknesses that led to the bank's implosion last week. Two of the bank's top lobbyists previously served as senior staffers for House Speaker Kevin McCarthy.... A chief [reason for SVB's collapse], economists say, is legislation signed into law by President Trump in 2018, which rolled back key parts of the Dodd-Frank banking regulations passed in the wake of the 2008 financial crisis. That 2018 legislation ... passed with strong support from the Republican Party and critical support from some Democrats. Among those leading the charge was then-House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy.... Other SVB lobbyists worked for political figures cutting across both parties including President Bill Clinton, former Sen. Mike Enzi, R-Wy., former Sen. Tom Coburn, R-Okla., Rep. Joe Courtney, D-Conn., former Sen. Arlen Specter D/R-Pa., and former Rep. Jay Inslee [D], now governor of Washington."

As the Cookie Crumbles. Kim Bellware of the Washington Post: "Blame the coronavirus pandemic for the wildly vacillating supply and demand [for Girl Scout cookies] over the past two years: a surplus of unsold cookies in 2021 and supply chain issues in 2022. This year is seeing similar problems. Last month, the Girl Scouts's hotly anticipated new cookie sold out faster than Beyoncé tickets, and wound up on eBay for four times the price. Louisville-based Little Brownie Bakers [-- which bakes about 75 percent of all Girl Scout cookies --] this week blamed the familiar forces of supply chain and labor shortages, with extreme weather thrown into the mix, for production delays that have disrupted this season's cookie fulfillment efforts."

The Pandemic, Ctd. Mark Johnson of the Washington Post (March 10): "In a rare show of bipartisanship near the third anniversary of the pandemic, the House voted unanimously Friday to declassify all U.S. intelligence information on the origins of the coronavirus. The 419-0 vote in favor of the bill, which passed the Senate by unanimous consent last week, sends it to President Biden's desk. If the bill is signed, the declassified information would have to be released within 90 days, although the language in the bill does not establish a mechanism for enforcement. When asked Friday evening whether he would sign the measure, Biden told reporters outside the White House, 'I haven't made that decision yet.' 'This is strong on symbolic value,' said Rep. Jim Himes (Conn.), the top Democrat on the Intelligence Committee, adding that the measure does allow Biden 'wide discretion' to withhold information to protect sources and keep methods secret."

Beyond the Beltway

** Florida. Alexandra Berzon & Ken Besinger of the New York Times: "When Gov. Ron DeSantis of Florida announced last summer that he had taken the extraordinary step of removing a local prosecutor from his job, he cast his decision as a bold move to protect Floridians. The prosecutor, Andrew H. Warren, a twice-elected state attorney for Hillsborough County and a Democrat, had signed a public pledge not to prosecute those who seek or provide abortions.... Mr. DeSantis and his advisers had failed to find a connection between Mr. Warren's policies and public safety in his community.... A close examination of the episode ... reveals ... a governor's office that seemed driven by a preconceived political narrative, bent on a predetermined outcome, content with a flimsy investigation and focused on maximizing media attention for Mr. DeSantis.... A federal judge ruled in January that the governor had violated Mr. Warren's First Amendment rights and the Florida Constitution in a rush to judgment. 'The actual facts,' Judge Robert L. Hinkle wrote, 'did not matter. All that was needed was a pretext.' Mr. DeSantis's office, the judge said from the bench, had conducted a 'one-sided inquiry' meant to target Mr. Warren. (The judge said he did not have the authority to reinstate Mr. Warren, who is appealing in state and federal court.)" ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: DeSantolini's targeting of Warren is all the evidence you need that a President* DeSantolini would not only appropriate governmental agencies and abuse his powers, he would do so specifically to undermine democratic institutions, as he did when he fired Warren, an elected official in good standing, to feed the DeSantolini program of grandstanding for political gain.

Way Beyond

Saudia Arabia/Iran/China. Peter Baker of the New York Times: The Saudi Arabia/Iran rapprochement brokered by China "is among the topsiest and turviest of developments anyone could have imagined, a shift that left heads spinning in capitals around the globe. Alliances and rivalries that have governed diplomacy for generations have, for the moment at least, been upended. The Americans, who have been the central actors in the Middle East for the past three-quarters of a century, almost always the ones in the room where it happened, now find themselves on the sidelines during a moment of significant change.... The Israelis, who have been courting the Saudis against their mutual adversaries in Tehran, now wonder where it leaves them.... [But] After decades of sometimes violent competition for leadership in the Middle East and the broader Islamic world, the decision to reopen embassies that were closed in 2016 represents only a first step.... It is conceivable that this new agreement to exchange ambassadors may not even be carried out in the end...."

Ukraine, et al. The Washington Post's live briefing of developments Sunday in Russia's war on Ukraine are here: "Kyiv is renewing calls for more ammunition and stronger air defenses after Russia fired half a dozen hypersonic missiles at Ukraine last week. In an interview with Germany's Bild am Sonntag newspaper that published Sunday, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said ammunition shortages were the 'number one' problem his country was facing and urged Berlin to speed up promised deliveries. He also called on the German government to begin training Ukrainian pilots to use Western fighter jets. Fierce fighting continues in the eastern town of Bakhmut, where Kuleba said Ukrainian troops would continue to defend. Russian fighters have taken control of most of the eastern part of the city in recent days, while Ukrainian forces are holding their ground in the west, British defense officials said.... The head of Ukraine's armed forces [Valery Zaluzhny] also asked the Pentagon's top general, Mark A. Milley, for better air defenses." ~~~

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

U.K. Andrew Das, et al., of the New York Times: "The BBC scrambled to rearrange hours of programming in real time on Saturday after the suspension of the popular host of its cornerstone soccer program set off a revolt by on-air talent, forcing the broadcaster to curtail major portions of its weekend sports coverage and leaving it to face accusations that Britain's culture wars had bled into its decision-making. The crisis began on Friday with the announcement that the BBC had suspended Gary Lineker, the former English soccer star and longtime host of the soccer program 'Match of the Day,' over comments that he made criticizing the Conservative government's immigration plans. By Saturday, the decision to remove Mr. Lineker from 'Match of the Day' ... had led not only his co-hosts but also their potential replacements, related play-by-play commentators, and even players and coaches from the Premier League to join a spreading boycott." Read on. ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: The Lineker controversy was not the only one this week that highlighted the BBC's distaste for liberal messages: ~~~

~~~ Helena Horton of the Guardian (March 10): "The BBC has decided not to broadcast an episode of Sir David Attenborough's flagship new series on British wildlife because of fears its themes of the destruction of nature would risk a backlash from Tory politicians and the rightwing press, the Guardian has been told. The decision has angered the programme-makers and some insiders at the BBC, who fear the corporation has bowed to pressure from lobbying groups with 'dinosaurian ways'."

U.K. Jim Waterson of the Guardian on PM Rishi Sunak's new heated swimming pool at his estate in North Yorkshire, which "uses so much energy" required an upgrade to the local electricity. And other stuff about Richy Rishi's luxurious lifestyle. MB: Sunak is a guy who once said he had friends who were aristocrats & friends who were upper-class but "not working-class" friends. Maybe he could let a few well-scrubbed serfs use the pool when he's in London & wouldn't have to come into direct contact with them. Sunak & his wife -- a tech heiress, are reportedly twice as rich as King Charles & Queen Camilla. Of course Charles & Camilla get state support & they inherited the use of modest housing accommodations.

News Lede

New York Times: "An audio streamer and her husband were fatally shot in Redmond, Wash., early on Friday morning by a fan who had been stalking the woman, the police said. The audio streamer, Zohreh Sadeghi, 33, and her husband, Milad Naseri, 35, were pronounced dead in a home in Redmond, about 15 miles east of Seattle, around 1:45 a.m. on Friday, said Darrell Lowe, the Redmond police chief. Ms. Sadeghi's mother, who was also in the home at the time, escaped and called the police from a neighbor's house.... [Ramin] Khodakaramrezaei, who had been stalking Ms. Sadeghi, fatally shot himself after shooting the couple, according to a Redmond Police Department news release."

March 11, 2023

Lisa Friedman of the New York Times: "In one of the most consequential climate decisions of his administration, President Biden is planning to greenlightan enormous $8 billion oil drilling project in the North Slope of Alaska, according to a person familiar with the decision. Alaska lawmakers and oil executives have put intense pressure on the White House to approve the project, citing President Biden's own calls for the industry to increase production amid volatile gas prices stemming from Russia's war against Ukraine. But the proposal to drill for oil has also galvanized young voters and climate activists, many of whom helped elect Mr. Biden and who would view the decision as a betrayal of the president's promise that he would pivot the nation away from fossil fuels. The approval of the largest proposed oil project in the country would mark a turning point in the administration's approach to fossil fuel development." CNN's story is here.

Tony Romm, et al., of the Washington Post: "A powerful group of far-right Republicans on Friday issued a new set of demands in the fight over the debt ceiling, stressing they would only supply their votes to raise the limit if they can secure about $130 billion in spending cuts, cap federal agencies' future budgets and unwind the Biden administration's economic agenda. The ultimatum from the House Freedom Caucus -- led by Rep. Scott Perry (R-Pa.) -- threatened to deal a massive blow to government health care, education, science and labor programs. Seeking tougher work requirements on welfare recipients and the repeal of federal funds to fight coronavirus and climate change, the conservatives' wish list appeared to complicate the work to clinch a deal and avert a looming fiscal calamity." MB: Yeah, and cookies & ice cream for every MOC who visits the patriots held at the D.C. jail. Now STFU. (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)

Wingers Notice Jordan Panel Is a Joke. Jacqueline Alemany of the Washington Post: "... Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) is facing growing frustrations over how he's conducted that panel's business thus far. Some leaders in [MB: oxymoron alert!] hard-right intellectual circles have critiqued the initial work of the subcommittee on the weaponization of the federal government as lackluster and unfocused, and some Republican lawmakers have privately raised concerns. Critics say the committee has been too slow to staff up, insufficiently aggressive in issuing subpoenas for interviews and testimony, and lacking in substance." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: The underlying problem is that the right's caterwaulling that everything is so unfa-a-a-ir to them is "lacking in substance." Of course, you can't tell that to these "hard-right intellectuals" because they seldom leave Right Wing World.

Dana Milbank of the Washington Post: "It doesn't seem to matter what you ask [Kevin McCarthy]. He hasn't read it, seen it or heard about it....'I didn't see what was aired,' McCarthy [said of Tucker Carlson's egregious whitewashing of the insurrection]." Among other newsworthy items McCarthy missed: Mitch McConnell's criticism of Tucker's fake report; Trump's speech on the Ellipse; "Rep. Andrew Clyde (R-Ga.) calling the insurrectionists' rampage a 'normal tourist visit"; Trump's infamous phone call to Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger; Marjorie Taylor Greene's harassing Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.), etc."'Do you agree with his portrayal of what happened that day?' [CNN's Manu] Raju pressed. 'Look,' McCarthy said. 'Each person can come up with their own conclusion.'... Given a choice between fact and fiction, between law and anarchy, between democracy and thuggery, the speaker of the House proclaimed his agnosticism. In doing so, he threw the power of the speakership behind the insurrectionists and against the constitutional order he swore to uphold.... Truth -- and this democracy -- are threatened by a dangerously weak speaker of the House, who has concluded that the only way to preserve his own power is to support Fox News in its sabotage of this country.&" ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: McCarthy is a busy man, so it's quite possible he "didn't see" the news he claims to have missed (especially matters than Fox "News" may not have aired). But he should fire his entire staff if they're not keeping him up-to-date on what the Senate Minority Leader & members of McCarthy's own caucus are doing.

Ben Protess, et al., of the New York Times: "Michael D. Cohen, the former fixer who for years did Donald J. Trump's dirty work, is expected to testify before a Manhattan grand jury next week, a sign that prosecutors are poised to indict the former president for his role in paying hush money to a porn star, according to people with knowledge of the matter.... Once he has testified, nearly every crucial player in the hush money matter will have appeared before the grand jury -- with the exception of the porn star herself, Stormy Daniels, who may not be called to testify.... Mr. Trump has consistently derided the investigation as a partisan 'witch hunt' engineered by his political enemies and has called Mr. Bragg, a Democrat who is Black, 'racist.' On Thursday, in a lengthy, unrestrained statement on Truth Social, Mr. Trump denied having an affair with Ms. Daniels and insulted her appearance while painting the investigation as part of a conspiracy to keep him from returning to the White House. He and his followers, he wrote, are 'victims of this corrupt, depraved, and weaponized justice system.'" ~~~

     ~~~ Michael Sisak & Jill Colvin of the AP: "Donald Trump's former lawyer and fixer Michael Cohen is scheduled to testify Monday before a Manhattan grand jury investigating hush-money payments made on the former president's behalf, two people familiar with the matter told The Associated Press."

Ben Protess, et al., of the New York Times: "While the facts [behind the Manhattan D.A.'s case against Donald Trump] are dramatic, the case ... would likely hinge on a complex interplay of laws. And a conviction is far from assured." The reporters outline the publicly-known facts of the case and "an untested and therefore risky legal theory...." They also report on Trump's reaction to the story that Trump was likely to be indicted. (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)

Adam Klasfeld of Law & Crime: "... Donald Trump cannot keep E. Jean Carroll from showing a jury the infamous 'Access Hollywood' tape that nearly derailed his 2016 campaign in a lawsuit accusing him of rape, a federal judge ruled. 'In this case, a jury reasonably could find, even from the "Access Hollywood" tape alone, that Mr. Trump admitted in the Access Hollywood tape that he in fact has had contact with women's genitalia in the past without their consent, or that he has attempted to do so,' Senior U.S. District Judge Lewis Kaplan wrote in a 23-page memorandum opinion." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)

Beth Reinhard & Isaac Arnsdorf of the Washington Post: "The longtime Republican campaign aide who has leveled sexual misconduct allegations against Matt Schlapp, the influential leader of the Conservative Political Action Conference, was accused last month of sexual battery. Carlton Huffman, 39, was recently ordered by a judge to stay away for one year from a Raleigh, N.C., housemate who alleged he performed unwanted sex acts on her and another woman, according to court documents filed in Wake County Superior Court. The Feb. 27 protective order was issued about one month after Huffman filed a lawsuit in Virginia alleging sexual battery and defamation by Schlapp. Schlapp has denied the claims.... Raleigh police said the case was investigated and closed; an incident report shows no charges were filed. The 19-year-old woman was granted the year-long restraining order against Huffman, while the 22-year-old obtained a protective order for 10 days; a judge then dismissed her complaint." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)

Andy Kroll & Andrea Bernstein of ProPublica, and Nick Surgey of Documented: "Leonard Leo..., the longtime Federalist Society leader [who] helped create a conservative supermajority on the Supreme Court..., declared in a slick but private video to potential donors, he planned to 'crush liberal dominance' across American life. The country was plagued by 'woke-ism' in corporations and education, 'one-sided journalism' and 'entertainment that's really corrupting our youth,' said Leo amid snippets of cheery music and shots of sunsets and American flags.... Leo revealed his latest battle plan in the previously unreported video for the Teneo Network.... Teneo is building what Leo called in the video 'networks of conservatives that can roll back' liberal influence in Wall Street and Silicon Valley, among authors and academics, with pro athletes and Hollywood producers. A Federalist Society for everything." ~~~

~~~ Michelle Goldberg of the New York Times: "Given [Leonard] Leo's past success, he should be taken seriously.... But while Leo's grandiose project could pose a danger to liberalism, it can also be seen as a sign of existential crisis on the right. It demonstrates how conservatives are relying on fantastical ideas about wokeness to tie together a movement that has otherwise lost much of its raison d'être. After all, the nearly 50-year project of ending Roe is complete. Stirring crusades against Communism and then against radical Islam have subsided. The cult of personality around [Donald] Trump has splintered. Many on the right would still like to obliterate the welfare state, but they're deeply defensive about it.... To support the weight [the right are] putting on wokeness, conservatives have had to create a hallucinatory conspiracy theory about how progressive social change works." ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: Oddly, Goldberg doesn't mention it, but I see the "war on wokeness" as a less-than-subtle "war on Black people" & other minorities, including LGBTQ+ people. At its core, it's a racist movement, and a telltale sign is that many of its leaders like Fat Leonard, Fat DeSantolini & Fat Trumpolini (see German Americans, WWI) belong to ethnic groups that were once (and sometimes still now) discriminated against by elites who claimed British heritage and long American pedigrees. Goldberg is correct; the war on wokeness comes from weakness, but it's the weakness of bullies who shoulder a huge chip of resentment over their own sense of "not belonging." This mindset works just as well for people of British and/or Scottish heritage who have not fully realized (at least in their own minds) "the American dream." If they see themselves as failures, they look for somebody else to blame.

Sarah Ellison & others at the Washington Post contrast what key figures at Fox "News" said about Donald Trump publicly vs. privately.

Martha Ross of the Mercury News: "After Kimberly Guilfoyle mysteriously left Fox News in the summer o 2018, she found herself vehemently denying news reports that said her departure was due to allegations of sexually inappropriate behavior. But her former boss, Fox News Chairman Rupert Murdoch, has apparently confirmed that he wanted her gone because of the allegations, which were detailed in a 2020 report in The New Yorker. Murdoch's concerns about Guifoyle, a former top campaign aide for Trump, were revealed in a trove of texts and emails that were recently leaked in Dominion Voting Systems' lawsuit against Fox News. Murdoch said in an email, sent in the wake of the 2020 election, that he had 'insisted' Fox News fire Guilfoyle 'for inappropriate behavior.' The 91-year-old executive also ripped into his once-popular Fox News host in other ways, according to the email, which was shared [in a tweet] by Semafor media reporter Max Tani."

Luke Broadwater of the New York Times: "The data of more than 56,000 people, including Social Security numbers and other personal information, was stolen in a hack of the online health insurance marketplace for members of Congress and Washington, D.C., small businesses and residents, officials said in a statement on Friday night. The D.C. Health Benefit Exchange Authority revealed the size and scope of the data breach on Friday.... The data stolen includes names, Social Security numbers, dates of birth, health plan information and other personal information, including home addresses, phone numbers, email addresses, ethnicity and citizenship status.It was not immediately known how many of those affected were members of Congress.... Exchange officials said they had reached out to affected enrollees to provide three years of identity and credit monitoring."

Rob Copeland, et al., of the New York Times: "Silicon Valley Bank, a lender to some of the biggest names in the technology world..., [became] the largest bank to fail since the 2008 financial crisis. The move put nearly $175 billion in customer deposits, including money from some of the biggest names in the technology world, under the control of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation. It was an extraordinary denouement less than two days after the bank shocked Wall Street and its depositors with emergency moves to raise cash and stave off a collapse in the face of withdrawal requests and a precipitous decline in the value of its investment holdings.... The F.D.I.C. created a new bank, the National Bank of Santa Clara, to hold the deposits and other assets of the failed one." (Also linked yesterday.)

2024 Presidential Race. Ashley Parker, et al., of the Washington Post: Donald "Trump -- who stoked an insurrection trying to overturn the results of the 2020 election and is running again in 2024 -- finds himself in growing peril, both legal and political. Multiple investigations into him and his actions are entering advanced stages, all while many in the Republican Party -- in private conversations and public declarations -- are increasingly trying to find an alternative to him.:

Beyond the Beltway

Tennessee. Timothy Bella of the Washington Post: "Tennessee Lt. Gov. Randy McNally (R) acknowledged Thursday that he frequently commented on racy and shirtless photos of a man on Instagram, sparking backlash from critics and LGBTQ advocates at a time when the state's No. 2 elected official has supported bills targeting the LGBTQ community. McNally, 79, repeatedly left supportive statements and emoji, some of them arguably flirtatious, on provocative and half-nude photos posted by Franklin McClure, 20..., according to the Tennessee Holler. That outlet ... reported the story Wednesday. Screenshots of McClure's Instagram posts show that McNally left heart and fire emoji from the lawmaker's verified Instagram account in response to a close-up photo of the man's backside that appears to show him only wearing briefs.... 'I'm really, really sorry if I've embarrassed my family, embarrassed my friends, embarrassed any of the members of the legislature with the posts,' McNally, who is also speaker of the state Senate, told [WTVF Nashville]." McClure "told WMC that McNally offered to help find him a job in Tennessee government." McNally's spokesman said McNally "enjoys interacting with constituents and Tennesseans of all religions, backgrounds and orientations on social media." Apparently so. I do feel sorry for McNally, who -- even at 79 -- thinks he has to hide who he is.

Texas. Eleanor Klibanoff of the Texas Tribune: "A Texas man is suing three women under the wrongful death statute, alleging that they assisted his ex-wife in terminating her pregnancy, the first such case brought since the state's near-total ban on abortion last summer. Marcus Silva is represented by Jonathan Mitchell, the former Texas solicitor general and architect of the state's prohibition on abortions after about six weeks of pregnancy, and state Rep. Briscoe Cain, R-Deer Park. The lawsuit is filed in state court in Galveston County, where Silva lives. Silva alleges that his now ex-wife learned she was pregnant in July 2022, the month after the overturn of Roe v. Wade, and conspired with two friends to illegally obtain abortion-inducing medication and terminate the pregnancy."

Way Beyond

Saudi Arabia/Iran/China. Vivian Nereim of the New York Times: "Saudi Arabia and Iran have reached an agreement, facilitated by China, to re-establish diplomatic ties after a seven-year split, the countries said on Friday, in what could be a step toward realignment between often hostile regional rivals. Saudi and Iranian officials announced the agreement after talks this week in China, which maintains close ties with both countries, in a joint statement published by the official Saudi Press Agency. Iran's state news media also announced an agreement. The two countries agreed to reactivate a lapsed security cooperation pact -- a shift that comes after years of Iranian proxies targeting Saudi Arabia with missile and drone attacks -- as well as older trade, investment and cultural accords." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ~~~

~~~ Israel. Patrick Kingsley of the New York Times: "The news of a rapprochement between Iran and Saudi Arabia on Friday was ... greeted in Israel with surprise, anxiety and introspection. It also compounded a sense of national peril set off by profound domestic divisions about the policies of the government led by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. And it seemed to catch Mr. Netanyahu -- who has long presented himself as the Israeli leader best qualified to fight Iran and most able to charm Saudi Arabia -- off guard. The announcement undermined Israeli hopes of forming a regional security alliance against Iran."

** Israel. Miriam Berger, et al., of the Washington Post: "Israeli security forces in an armored vehicle fired repeatedly into a group of civilians sheltering between a mosque and a clinic after a Feb. 22 raid in the occupied West Bank city of Nablus, killing two people, including a teenager, and wounding three others, according to witnesses and a visual reconstruction of the event by The Washington Post.... The Post reconstruction shows that, while responding to what they claimed was a gunman, Israeli forces fired at least 14 times from inside their armored vehicle.... The Israelis continued firing even after those people would have been visible from the vehicle's windows, the analysis shows.... Israeli forces killed at least 11 people during and after the raid, including several Palestinian fighters, and wounded 102, according to the Palestinian Health Ministry and social media posts by Palestinian armed groups.... Recent shootings of civilians by Israeli forces have alarmed human rights and advocacy groups, several of which called the events a result of soldiers being given impunity for unlawful violence against Palestinian civilians."

Ukraine, et al. The Washington Post's live briefing of developments Saturday in Russia's war on Ukraine is here: "Kyiv has ordered the Ukrainian Orthodox Church to leave a monastery where its headquarters is located. Ukraine's culture minister said on Telegram that the church -- which recently declared independence from the pro-war Moscow Patriarch -- 'violated the terms of the agreement regarding the use of state property.' The church said in a Facebook post that Kyiv was 'obviously biased.'" ~~~

     ~~~ The Guardian's live briefings for Saturday are here. The Guardian's summary report is here.

News Lede

Washington Post: "Heavy rains are washing out roads and leading to emergency rescues in central California as the state braces for more storms in the coming days. The California National Guard helped with at least 56 rescues in the early hours of Saturday morning after a levee breach inundated the small community of Pajaro in Monterey County. On Saturday, the governor's office said that it was working to help the largely Latino community, which has a population of just under 3,000."