February 17, 2023

Afternoon Update:

Tara Copp & Lolita Baldor of the AP: "The U.S. has finished efforts to recover the remnants of the large balloon that was shot down off the coast of South Carolina, and analysis of the debris so far reinforces conclusions that it was a Chinese spy balloon, U.S. officials said Friday. Officials said the U.S. believes that Navy, Coast Guard and FBI personnel collected all of the balloon debris off the ocean floor, which included key equipment from the payload that could reveal what information it was able to monitor and collect. U.S. Northern Command said in a statement that the recovery operations ended Thursday and the final pieces are on their way to the FBI lab in Virginia for analysis. It said air and maritime restrictions off South Carolina have been lifted."

Meghann Myers of the Military Times: "The Defense Department dropped a trio of new policies Thursday aimed at closing some of the gaps that the overturn of Roe v. Wade opened up in service members' ability to access reproductive health care. They include fully paid travel expenses for troops who have to go out of state to obtain an abortion and up to three weeks of leave, including to accompany a dependent or spouse, whether it's for an abortion or a fertility treatment. The new regulations also give service members until 20 weeks to notify commanders of a pregnancy."

Alexander Bolton of the Hill: "Sen. Rick Scott (R-Fla.) has amended his 12-point Rescue America plan to say that his proposal to sunset all federal legislation in five years does not apply to Social Security, Medicare or the U.S. Navy. After taking relentless fire from President Biden, Democrats and even fellow Republicans, Scott has amended Point Six of his plan, which includes the sunset proposal, to make 'specific exceptions of Social Security, Medicare, national security, veterans benefits, and other essential services.' 'Note to President Biden, Sen. Schumer and Sen. McConnell -- As you know, this was never intended to apply to Social Security, Medicare, or the U.S. Navy, Scott states in bolded language.... In an op-ed published Friday in The Washington Examiner, Scott said Democratic leaders and McConnell played 'gotcha politics' with his plan." ~~~

     ~~~ Carl Hulse of the New York Times: "As recently as this week, [Sen. Scott] defended the idea that all federal spending must be reconsidered in order to tackle the debt. The senator's retreat was the latest evidence that Republicans, who have long called for revisions to Medicare and Social Security to help rein in the nation's soaring debt, have fully backed off from such proposals -- at least for now -- taking them off the table in spending talks this year with the White House and congressional Democrats."

Education Is for Dummies. Paul Krugman of the New York Times: "Ron DeSantis ... has been trying to position himself as America's leading crusader against wokeness. And lately higher education has become his most visible target.... Not that long ago most Americans in both parties believed that colleges had a positive effect on the United States. Since the rise of Trumpism, however, Republicans have turned very negative.... MAGA politicians began peddling scare stories about education.... And right-wingers also greatly expanded their definition of what counts as 'liberal propaganda.'... And so a large segment of the population -- the segment DeSantis is courting -- has become hostile to higher education as a whole.... For now, the important thing to understand is that people like DeSantis are attacking education, not because it teaches liberal propaganda, but because it fails to sustain the ignorance they want to preserve." Thanks to P.D. Pepe for the link.

Annals of "Journalism," Ctd. Michael Grynbaum & John Koblin of the New York Times: "Don Lemon, the CNN morning-show anchor, faced an internal rebuke from the chairman of his own network on Friday after his on-air comments about women and aging set off an uproar inside the cable news channel. CNN's chairman, Chris Licht, opened his daily 9 a.m. editorial call by saying that the remarks by Mr. Lemon, which were widely viewed as sexist and insensitive, had left him 'disappointed.'... Mr. Lemon, a CNN veteran with a history of televised gaffes, roiled colleagues on Thursday when he asserted on-air that Nikki Haley, the 51-year-old Republican presidential candidate, 'isn't in her prime, sorry.... A woman is considered to be in her prime in her 20s and 30s and maybe 40s,' Mr. Lemon said, to the visible dismay of his 'CNN This Morning' co-anchors Poppy Harlow and Kaitlan Collins. He refused to back down after Ms. Harlow questioned his remarks, telling her to 'look it up.' On Friday, a far more contrite-sounding Mr. Lemon addressed the matter in a six-minute monologue to the CNN newsroom. 'I am sorry,' Mr. Lemon said. 'I did not mean to hurt anyone. I did not mean to offend anyone.' He added that 'the people I'm closest to in this organization are women,' citing a list of female colleagues including the anchors Dana Bash and Erin Burnett." MB: Yeah, some of his best friends are women. And they are in their prime. ~~~

~~~ MEANWHILE, in Canada, Apparently No Longer in Her Prime. Norimitsu Onishi of the New York Times: "A household name in Canada for decades, [Lisa] LaFlamme was unceremoniously dismissed last summer by CTV, the country's largest private television network, after what her employer described as a 'business decision' to take the program 'in a different direction.'... Her departure set off multifaceted debates across Canada, especially after The Globe and Mail newspaper reported it may have been linked to Ms. LaFlamme's hair -- which she had chosen to let go gray during the pandemic when hair salons and other businesses shut down. The network's owner, Bell Media, which denied that 'age, gender and gray hair' had been factors, named a 39-year-old male correspondent, Omar Sachedina, as her successor."

Tennessee. Jessica Jaglois & Joseph Goldstein of the New York Times: "The five former officers accused of killing Tyre Nichols, a 29-year-old Black man pulled over for a traffic stop, pleaded not guilty on Friday to second-degree murder charges a month after police and traffic cameras captured the officers punching, kicking and striking Mr. Nichols with a baton. The five men -- Tadarrius Bean, Demetrius Haley, Emmitt Martin III, Desmond Mills Jr. and Justin Smith -- also face additional charges, including official misconduct, official oppression and kidnapping. They were formally arraigned on Friday in a brief court proceeding, less than a month after top police officials fired the officers."

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Peter Baker of the New York Times: "President Biden sought to calm the furor over Chinese aerial spying on Thursday, reassuring Americans that the latest objects shot down were not tied to Beijing and announcing that he planned to speak with President Xi Jinping to keep lines of communication open. In his first extended statement about the spate of floating craft above North America, Mr. Biden said the original Chinese spy balloon downed by an American missile on Feb. 4 represented a 'violation of our sovereignty' that was 'unacceptable.' But he said the three objects shot down since then were likely research balloons, not spy craft.... The uproar on Capitol Hill over the Chinese balloon and the three other objects in recent days has forced the White House to recalibrate its public message in response to both the domestic politics at home and the diplomatic challenge abroad." ~~~

     ~~~ Zeke Miller & Chris Megerian of the AP: "President Joe Biden said Thursday that the U.S. is developing 'sharper rules' to track, monitor and potentially shoot down unknown aerial objects, following three weeks of high-stakes drama sparked by the discovery of a suspected Chinese spy balloon transiting much of the country. The president has directed national security adviser Jake Sullivan to lead an 'interagency team' to review U.S. procedures after the U.S. shot down the Chinese balloon, as well as three other objects that Biden said the U.S. now believes are most likely 'benign' objects launched by private companies or research institutions. While not expressing regret for downing the three still-unidentified objects, Biden said he hoped the new rules would help 'distinguish between those that are likely to pose safety and security risks that necessitate action and those that do not.'" (Also linked yesterday.)

Michael Shear & Lawrence Altman of the New York Times: "President Biden is a 'healthy, vigorous, 80-year-old,' his doctor said Thursday following a physical exam conducted just weeks before the oldest president in American history is expected to say he is running for a second term. Kevin C. O'Connor, the president's longtime physician, said in a letter released by the White House that Mr. Biden's health has not changed much since his last physical about 15 months ago. He said Mr. Biden is 'fit to successfully execute the duties of the presidency, to include those as chief executive, head of state and commander in chief.'"

Annie Karni of the New York Times: "Senator John Fetterman, Democrat of Pennsylvania, who was hospitalized last week after feeling lightheaded, checked himself into Walter Reed National Military Medical Center on Wednesday night to receive treatment for clinical depression, his office said on Thursday.... [Mr. Fetterman's spokesman] said that after undergoing an evaluation on Monday by Dr. Brian P. Monahan, the attending physician in Congress, Mr. Fetterman followed the recommendation for inpatient care at Walter Reed." An AP story is here. (Also linked yesterday.)

Stephanie Lai & Jim Tankersley of the New York Times: "A sweeping new entitlement program to provide medical care to millions of veterans who may have been exposed to trash burn pits on U.S. military bases around the world may increase federal spending on veterans by at least $400 billion and as much as $789 billion over a decade, according to the official budgetary scorekeepers in Congress. In an outlook on the nation's debt released on Wednesday, the Congressional Budget Office, a nonpartisan federal agency, reported that deficits would increase by $1.5 trillion because of legislative changes made since May, attributing more than half of that sum to costs associated with veterans' benefits from the Honoring Our PACT Act." MB: Yeah, well, consider that a cost of our never-ending wars. And the cost to us ordinary taxpayers is nothing compared to the cost to those who got sick or died because of exposure to the burn pits.

CNN is live-updating developments in the Fulton County, Georgia, special grand jury looking into efforts to overturn the 2020 presidential election. The judge in the matter released a partial grand jury report late this morning:

"A judge in Fulton County, Georgia, has made public some parts of a report from a special grand jury that investigated Donald Trump's actions after the 2020 election in the state.... The special grand jury recommended that the Fulton County district attorney consider indicting some witnesses for perjury.... The special grand jury in Georgia that investigated Donald Trump's attempts to overturn the 2020 election 'unanimously' concluded that there wasn't widespread voter fraud, rejecting Trump's conspiracy theories after hearing 'extensive testimony' from election officials, poll workers and other experts." (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~

~~~ The New York Times liveblog is here. (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~

~~~ Marie: The portions of the report that have been released are short. You can read them here, where they are attached as exhibits to the judge's order.

Rachel Weiner of the Washington Post: "Leaders in the far-right Proud Boys group, accused in federal court of plotting to use violence to keep Donald Trump in power, are asking the Justice Department to help them force the former president to testify. 'At all times relevant, Trump was president of the United States, and it's the government's obligation to produce him,' attorney Norm Pattis said in court Thursday. His client, Joseph Biggs, is one of five defendants accused of engaging in a seditious conspiracy to attack the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021. Pattis did not explain what defendants hope to learn from Trump, only that he was joined in the subpoena effort by attorneys for co-defendant Dominic Pezzola. He said he needed help from the government to serve a subpoena on Trump because the U.S. Secret Service continues to protect the former president.... The subpoena effort is almost certain to fail." An NBC News story is here.

In Today's Tales from the Darkside. Timothy Bella of the Washington Post: "As Infowars founder Alex Jones is facing bankruptcy for damages he owes to the families of victims of the mass killing at Sandy Hook Elementary School, a new filing shows the right-wing conspiracy theorist has been 'holding firearms' for people who participated in events in D.C. on Jan. 6, 2021.... Jones's personal financial disclosures were shared in a bankruptcy filing on Tuesday that was obtained by The Washington Post. In the section of the bankruptcy statement that asks Jones to identify property he owns or controls for somebody else, he described the items he has in limited detail. 'Holding firearms for certain January 6th participants to be provided,' the entry says." MB: I should think the FBI would want to know a little more about this unusual arrangement.

Independent investigative journalist Murray Waas relates how, on January 20, 2021, on his last full day in office, Donald Trump declassified about a thousand pages of records related to the Russia investigation, and around that time shared about 30 pages of these documents with right-wing writer John Solomon, who wrote stories based on those pages. BUT on the morning of January 20, Mark Meadows wrote a memo saying the docs were not really declassified and the he "was 'returning the bulk of the ... documents to the Department of Justice' because of concerns by the department that their release would violate the Privacy Act." And it all gets murkier from there, as Solomon told Waas contradictory stories about who conveyed the documents to him. MB: I'd take all this with a grain of salt, since all of the principles in the story are liars. But -- if Waas' reporting is accurate -- this does show how Trump intended to use classified material to his advantage and to declassify what he thought would put his supposed enemies in a bad light. Moreover, if Trump's declassify-and-release stunt set the hair of even Mark Meadows on fire, it's obvious that Trump was cavalier with classified documents. And that was before he distributed them around his various homes and used one of them as a nightlight cover. Not that this surprises any of us.

** Jeremy Peters & Katie Robertson of the New York Times: "Newly disclosed messages and testimony from some of the biggest stars and most senior executives at Fox News revealed that they privately expressed disbelief about ... Donald J. Trump's false claims that the 2020 election was stolen from him, even though the network continued to promote many of those lies on the air. The hosts Tucker Carlson, Sean Hannity and Laura Ingraham, as well as others at the company, repeatedly insulted and mocked Trump advisers, including Sidney Powell and Rudolph W. Giuliani, in text messages with each other in the weeks after the election, according to a legal filing on Thursday by Dominion Voting Systems.... The messages also show that such doubts extended to the highest levels of the Fox Corporation, with Rupert Murdoch, its chairman, calling Mr. Trump's voter fraud claims 'really crazy stuff.'... Dominion is suing Fox for defamation in a case that poses considerable financial and reputational risk for the country's most-watched cable news network.... The brief shows that Fox News stars and executives were afraid of losing their audience, which started to defect to the conservative cable news alternatives Newsmax and OAN after Fox News called Arizona for Mr. Biden. And they seemed concerned with the impact that would have on the network's profitability.... The law shields journalists from liability if they report on false statements, but not if they promote them." ~~~

     ~~~ NPR's report, by David Folkenflik, is here. ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: Calling Jack Smith! Calling Jack Smith! Aren't the Fox people part of the vast right-wing conspiracy to overturn the government? They spread lies specifically to incite their dimwitted viewers, they hosted the liars & nodded along purposely not debunking the lies, they knew they were perpetrating a scam. If you're not going to charge them, Jack, at least call them in for questioning to ruffle their chicken feathers.

The Pandemic, Ctd. Akshay Syal of NBC News: "Immunity acquired from a Covid infection provides strong, lasting protection against the most severe outcomes of the illness, according to research published Thursday in The Lancet -- protection, experts say, that's on par with what's provided through two doses of an mRNA vaccine. Infection-acquired immunity cut the risk of hospitalization and death from a Covid reinfection by 88% for at least 10 months, the study found."

Beyond the Beltway

No More Bodice-Rippers! Hallie Lieberman of the Guardian: "A wave of proposed legislation pushed by Republicans across the US at the state level is aimed at outlawing aspects of sexuality that could have a huge impact on Americans' private lives and businesses. Opponents to the laws before legislatures in various states say the planned new legislation could spawn prosecution of breast-pump companies in Texas for nipples on advertising, or a bookstore might be banned from selling romance novels in West Virginia, or South Carolina could imprison standup comics if a risque joke is heard by a young person. The bills are part of a post-Roe nationwide strategy by the religious wing of the Republican party.... They range from banning all businesses that sell sex-related goods to anti-drag queen bills." MB: Yes, it would be horrifying if the kiddies found out that women -- like men -- have nipples and that women's nipples can perform a life-giving function.

Arizona. Jacques Billeaud of the AP: "An Arizona appeals court has rejected Republican Kari Lake's challenge of her defeat in the Arizona governor's race to Democrat Katie Hobbs, denying her request to throw out election results in the state's most populous county and hold the election again. In a ruling on Thursday, the Arizona Court of Appeals wrote Lake, who claimed problems with ballot printers at some polling places on Election Day were the result of intentional misconduct, presented no evidence that voters whose ballots were unreadable by tabulators at polling places were not able to vote. The court said that even a witness called by Lake to testify had confirmed that ballots that couldn't initially be read at polling places could still ultimately have their vote counted."

Idaho. State Republicans Would Criminalize Giving Covid Vaccines. Alexandra Duggan of KTVB Boise: "Two Idaho lawmakers have introduced a bill to charge those who administer mRNA vaccines with a misdemeanor. Sen. Tammy Nichols, R-Middleton, and Rep. Judy Boyle, R-Midvale, sponsored HB 154. It was introduced in the House Health & Welfare Committee on Feb. 15 by Nichols."

Louisiana. Remy Tumin of the New York Times: "A police officer in Shreveport, La., was arrested on Thursday and charged with negligent homicide in the Feb. 3 killing of an unarmed Black man, the Louisiana State Police said as it released body camera footage of the fatal encounter. Alonzo Bagley, 43, was killed at his apartment complex after officers responded to a report of domestic disturbance just before 11 p.m. According to the Louisiana State Police, Mr. Bagley jumped from a second-story balcony and ran after the police entered the apartment. They ran after him, and about a minute later, Officer Alexander Tyler, 23, who is white, shot Mr. Bagley in the chest. He was later pronounced dead at a nearby hospital."

Ohio. Scott Dance, et al., of the Washington Post: "Nearly two weeks after a massive train derailment and fire unleashed a glut of toxic chemicals on [East Palestine, Ohio]..., the nation's top environmental regulator on Thursday told unnerved, exasperated residents that the Biden administration will make sure the disaster gets cleaned up -- and that those responsible for it are held accountable. 'This incident has understandably shaken this community to its core,' Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Michael Regan said in an afternoon news conference here, acknowledging the lack of trust many residents have expressed about the response to the Feb. 3 disaster.... The Ohio derailment has raised questions about the federal government's oversight of hazardous material shipments, and created a massive political headache for the Biden administration. Elected leaders in both parties have said the White House should have acted more swiftly to the rail disaster.... White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said Thursday that ... representatives from multiple federal agencies have been on the ground in East Palestine, some since Feb. 4, helping state and local officials respond to the catastrophe."

Tennessee. Santos 2.0. Another GOP Congressman with a Fake Résumé. Phil Williams of WTVF Nashville: "If you believe Middle Tennessee's newest congressman, he's not only a businessman, he's also an economist, a nationally recognized expert in tax policy and health care, a trained police officer, even an expert in international sex crimes. But an exclusive NewsChannel 5 investigation discovered that Andy Ogles' personal life story is filled with exaggerations.... There's little evidence that Ogles ever received any formal training in economics [or that he was an expert on tax policy and health care]." As for his claimed career as a law enforcement officer specializing in human trafficking, "Ogles was sworn in as a volunteer reserve deputy with the Williamson County Sheriff's Office in July 2009.... He lost that position two years later for not meeting minimum standards, making no progress in field training and failure to attend required meetings." There's no record of his having done any work related to international human trafficking." ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: I'm wondering if the Republican Congressional Campaign Committee conducts seminars in the basement of the Capitol, teaching ne'er-do-wells how to fake their CVs.

Way Beyond

Ukraine, et al. The Washington Post's live briefing of developments Friday in Russia's war on Ukraine is here: "Political, intelligence and defense leaders from across the world gathered in Germany for the start of the annual Munich Security Conference, as Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky warned that a long-anticipated Russian offensive had already begun. Both Vice President Harris and Secretary of State Antony Blinken are attending the meeting, with Harris set to co[n]vey the United States' continuing commitment to Kyiv. On the ground in Ukraine, heavy fighting continues in Bakhmut, the eastern city that military experts say has become a symbolic rather than strategic target. Yevgeniy Prigozhin, the leader of the Wagner Group, a Kremlin-linked mercenary organization, told state media that Russia would not encircle the battered city until March or April.... Russian shelling in Bakhmut killed five civilians, injured nine and destroyed many residential buildings on Thursday, the office of Ukraine's prosecutor general said....

"Russian spy agencies have experienced greater damage after a year of war in Ukraine than they have since the end of the Cold War, The Post reports. The campaign to catch Russian spies appears to have caught Moscow off guard, blunting their ability to carry out espionage operations. The United States and its partners in the Group of Seven are planning to hit Russia with major new sanctions coinciding with the war's first anniversary on Feb. 24, a senior U.S. official said Thursday, according to AFP."

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

Australia. Frances Vinall of the Washington Post: "Indigenous Australians will launch a campaign Saturday to change the constitution and ensure that Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders' views are better represented in Parliament, part of a years-long effort to ensure they are consulted on major policy initiatives. The effort to have the Voice to Parliament enshrined in the country's founding document is a 'once-in-a-generation opportunity,' Minister for Indigenous Australians Linda Burney said last month. The Voice, as it is shortened Down Under, would give First Nations people a right to express their views on policy through representatives elected by their communities. Lawmakers would not be bound to follow the body's advice but they would be required, at least, to listen."

News Lede

Mississippi. New York Times: "A 52-year-old man armed with three guns went on a shooting rampage in a rural Mississippi county on Friday, killing six people, including his ex-wife, and shocking a community that had not seen such mass violence in more than two decades, the authorities said. The man, Richard Dale Crum, of Arkabutla, Miss., who was in custody by Friday afternoon, began his killing spree around 11 a.m. when he drove to a convenience store in his hometown, which has about 290 residents, and fatally shot a man who appeared to have no connection to him, said Brad Lance, the Tate County sheriff.... By early afternoon, deputies in Arkabutla, an unincorporated community about 45 miles south of Memphis, realized they were dealing with multiple killings, several crime scenes and questions about what had possibly driven a local resident to fatally shoot six people, including some he apparently didn't know."

February 16, 2023

Late Morning/Afternoon Update:

Zeke Miller & Chris Megerian of the AP: "President Joe Biden said Thursday that the U.S. is developing 'sharper rules' to track, monitor and potentially shoot down unknown aerial objects, following three weeks of high-stakes drama sparked by the discovery of a suspected Chinese spy balloon transiting much of the country. The president has directed national security adviser Jake Sullivan to lead an 'interagency team' to review U.S. procedures after the U.S. shot down the Chinese balloon, as well as three other objects that Biden said the U.S. now believes are most likely 'benign' objects launched by private companies or research institutions. While not expressing regret for downing the three still-unidentified objects, Biden said he hoped the new rules would help 'distinguish between those that are likely to pose safety and security risks that necessitate action and those that do not.'"

Annie Karni of the New York Times: "Senator John Fetterman, Democrat of Pennsylvania, who was hospitalized last week after feeling lightheaded, checked himself into Walter Reed National Military Medical Center on Wednesday night to receive treatment for clinical depression, his office said on Thursday.... [Mr. Fetterman's spokesman] said that after undergoing an evaluation on Monday by Dr. Brian P. Monahan, the attending physician in Congress, Mr. Fetterman followed the recommendation for inpatient care at Walter Reed." An AP story is here.

CNN is live-updating developments in the Fulton County, Georgia, special grand jury looking into efforts to overturn the 2020 presidential election. The judge in the matter released a partial grand jury report late this morning:

"A judge in Fulton County, Georgia, has made public some parts of a report from a special grand jury that investigated Donald Trump's actions after the 2020 election in the state.... The special grand jury recommended that the Fulton County district attorney consider indicting some witnesses for perjury.... The special grand jury in Georgia that investigated Donald Trump's attempts to overturn the 2020 election 'unanimously' concluded that there wasn't widespread voter fraud, rejecting Trump's conspiracy theories after hearing 'extensive testimony' from election officials, poll workers and other experts." ~~~

~~~ The New York Times liveblog is here. ~~~

~~~ Marie: The portions of the report that have been released are very short. You can read them here, where they are attached as exhibits to the judge's order.

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Jim Tankersley & Alan Rappeport of the New York Times: "The United States is on track to add nearly $19 trillion to its national debt over the next decade, $3 trillion more than previously forecast, the result of rising costs for interest payments, veterans' health care, retiree benefits and the military, the Congressional Budget Office said on Wednesday. The new forecasts project a $1.4 trillion gap this year between what the government spends and what it takes in from tax revenues. Over the following 10 years, deficits will average $2 trillion annually as tax receipts fail to keep pace with the rising costs of Social Security and Medicare benefits for retiring baby boomers."

Peter Nicholas, et al., of NBC News: "President Joe Biden plans to deliver his most extended public remarks yet -- as early as Thursday -- about the unidentified objects that the U.S. military has been shooting down, three people familiar with the matter said. Biden will explain how he has tasked his administration with setting parameters about how to deal with aerial balloons and other objects spotted in the future."

Luke Broadwater of the New York Times: "As the new Republican-led panel tasked with investigating the weaponization of government continued this week to issue new subpoenas, those who orchestrated the inquiry that its leaders have claimed as a model are warning the chairman against allowing his work to veer into partisan territory. More than two dozen staff members from the panel formed in the 1970s that came to be known as the Church Committee sent an open letter on Wednesday to Representative Jim Jordan, Republican of Ohio and chairman of the Judiciary Committee and its powerful new subcommittee, offering advice for how he could follow in the footsteps of their panel, which uncovered decades of intelligence and civil liberties abuses under presidents of both parties and set the gold standard in Congress for scrutinizing the executive branch. The counsel is simple: Pursue a bipartisan inquiry, follow the facts, don't attempt to interfere with ongoing investigations and operate in good faith." ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: Anyone who thinks Jim Jordan is capable of, or even wants to, conduct a sensible, useful inquiry almost certainly has another think coming.

Paula Reid of CNN: "The Justice Department has informed lawyers for at least one witness that it will not bring charges against Florida GOP Rep. Matt Gaetz after a years-long federal sex-trafficking investigation, according to a source familiar with the matter." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) The New York Times story is here.

Grace Ashford, et al., of the New York Times: "... a letter filed with ethics watchdogs in the House of Representatives requesting an investigation into whether [Rep. George] Santos has violated federal immigration laws [when he married a Brazilian woman years ago]. The request was made by Malcolm Lazin, an L.G.B.T.Q. rights activist and former federal prosecutor, to the House Ethics Committee and Office of Congressional Ethics.... During the marriage, Mr. Santos's wife obtained citizenship through her husband, a United States citizen. Immigration officials have given no indication that the marriage raised any red flags.... Still, friends, former roommates and co-workers said in interviews that Mr. Santos identified as gay for his entire adult life and that he wa dating men during the period in which he was married to his ex-wife."

Michael Kranish of the Washington Post: "A senior Democrat on Tuesday renewed a request to Jared Kushner for documents outlining how the former White House official received $2 billion from a Saudi investment fund, writing that Kushner had failed to respond to an earlier inquiry and raising new questions about whether he had 'improperly traded' on his government work to benefit his financial interests. The letter from Rep. Jamie B. Raskin (Md.), the ranking Democrat on the House Oversight and Accountability Committee, cited a Washington Post story published online Saturday and other reports that he said raised disturbing questions about Kushner's relationship with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman."

Rachel Weiner, et al., of the Washington Post: “The leader of a right-wing extremist group learned days in advance that he would be arrested for his actions after a pro-Trump rally through his conversations with a D.C. police lieutenant, according to testimony in federal court Wednesday. Enrique Tarrio was arrested on Jan. 4, 2021, for his part in burning a Black Lives Matter flag stolen from a historic African American church weeks earlier.... [Shane] Lamond [-- a 22-year veteran of the D.C. police who in 2021 was head of the department's intelligence unit --] was suspended with pay from the D.C. police a year ago and is under federal investigation for his contacts with Tarrio; he has not been charged with a crime.... According to the court record, by [Jan. 4, 2021,] Lamond had been giving Tarrio inside information for at least six months....

"On Nov. 7, 2020, when news networks declared that Joe Biden had won the 2020 election over Donald Trump, Lamond offered a tip about the right-wing social media site Parler. 'Alerts are being sent out to law enforcement that Parler accounts of your people are talking about mobilizing and taking back the country and getting people spun up,' Lamond wrote. Later that day, Lamond added, 'Just giving you a heads up. Let's keep this between you and me.' Lamond said that he and Tarrio needed to talk on an encrypted application." An AP story is here. Politico's story is here.

Kaitlan Collins of CNN: "Donald Trump's former chief of staff Mark Meadows has been subpoenaed by the special counsel investigating the former president and his role in the January 6, 2021, insurrection, a source familiar with the matter told CNN. Special counsel Jack Smith's office is seeking documents and testimony related to January 6, and Meadows received the subpoena sometime in January, the source said. An attorney for Meadows declined to comment."

Mike's Got a Secret. Kyle Cheney & Josh Gerstein of Politico: "Former Vice President Mike Pence said on Wednesday that he was willing to fight all the way to the Supreme Court a bid by special counsel Jack Smith to force him to testify about Donald Trump's effort to subvert the 2020 election. 'It's unconstitutional,' Pence said during a press availability amid a trip to Iowa. He swiped at what he called the 'Biden DOJ subpoena' and said his role as president of the Senate -- which he was fulfilling on Jan. 6, 2021, when a pro-Trump mob attacked the Capitol -- makes him immune from the criminal grand jury proceedings Smith is leading." ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: Under pence's theory of the law, no one can ever question him about anything. For the purposes of evading a DOJ subpoena, pence has suddenly decided to become a member of the Senate. BUT when the January 6 committee requested his cooperation, pence refused, citing his position in the executive branch: "... the very notion of a committee on Congress, in Congress, summoning a vice president to speak about deliberations that took place at the White House, I think, would violate that separation of powers. And I think it would erode the dynamic of the office of president and vice president for many years to come."

David French of the New York Times: "... It is beyond the 'proper powers' of the Department of Justice 'to weigh whether indicting [a former president*] would be in the national interest.' Weighing the national interest is the president's purview, and the path to avoiding prosecution for the sake of national stability is through a presidential pardon, not through an exercise of prosecutorial discretion. Presidents can pardon federal crimes. They cannot pardon state crimes. But even if President Biden could pardon Trump, he should not. If the evidence clearly indicates that Trump committed a crime, he should face a jury, and if the jury convicts, he should go to prison. After the Senate failed to convict Trump in his impeachment trial, the criminal justice system is one of the last lines of defense against this malignant man and his malignant mob." ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: David French is a conservative, anti-gay opinionator who used to write for the National Review. As I recall, he's also a never-Trumper. He recently got a gig as a columnist at the so-called liberal NYT.

Danny Hakim & Richard Fausset of the New York Times: "A judge in Atlanta is expected to release portions of a report on Thursday detailing the findings of a special purpose grand jury that examined whether ... Donald J. Trump and some of his allies violated Georgia law in their efforts to overturn Mr. Trump's 2020 election loss in the state. Special grand juries cannot issue indictments, but they can recommend whether criminal charges should be sought. Earlier this week, Judge Robert C.I. McBurney of Fulton County Superior Court ruled that much of the jury's final report should not be disclosed until after Fani T. Willis, the local district attorney, makes her own charging decisions. Still, he ordered the report's introduction and conclusion to be made public, along with a section detailing the special grand jury's concerns about witnesses lying under oath."

Larry Neumeister of the AP: "... Donald Trump missed his chance to use his DNA to try to prove he didn't rape a longtime magazine advice columnist, a federal judge said Wednesday, clearing away a potential roadblock to an April trial. Judge Lewis A. Kaplan rejected the 11th-hour offer by Trump's legal team to provide a DNA sample to rebut claims E. Jean Carroll first made publicly in a 2019 book. Kaplan said that lawyers for Trump and Carroll had over three years to make DNA an issue in the case and that both chose not to do so. He said it would almost surely delay the trial scheduled to start April 25 to reopen the DNA issue four months after the deadline passed to litigate concerns over trial evidence and just weeks before trial."

Paula Reid of CNN: "The FBI has conducted two searches at the University of Delaware in connection with the investigation into President Joe Biden's handling of classified documents, a source familiar with the investigation told CNN. The previously undisclosed searches were conducted in recent weeks, with the consent and cooperation of the president's legal team, the source said. The library at the University of Delaware, Biden's alma mater, is home to an extensive collection of papers from the president's time in the Senate, according to its website." The New York Times story is here.

The Bible Tells Him So. Chris McGreal of the Guardian: "Mike Pompeo, the former US secretary of state, has defended Israel's decades-long control of the Palestinian territories by claiming that the Jewish state has a biblical claim to the land and is therefore not occupying it. Pompeo told the One Decision podcast that his religious beliefs, US strategic interests and his view of the Palestinian president, Mahmoud Abbas, as a 'known terrorist' underpinned his support as the Trump administration's top diplomat for the shift in US policy away from mediating a two-state solution and toward more openly siding with Israel. '[Israel] is not an occupying nation. As an evangelical Christian, I am convinced by my reading of the Bible that 3,000 years on now, in spite of the denial of so many, [this land] is the rightful homeland of the Jewish people,' he said."

Beyond the Beltway

Amy Gardner, et al., of the Washington Post: There is "a growing effort among state election officials, lawmakers and private-sector advocates -- most of them Democrats -- to push back against the wave of misinformation and mistrust of elections that sprang from ... Donald Trump's false claim that his 2020 defeat was rigged.... 'We want to protect the people who protect democracy,' said Michigan Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson (D), who is working with state lawmakers in Lansing to toughen penalties for threatening election officials or releasing private information about them. Benson is also drafting legislation that would make it a crime to knowingly spread misinformation about elections. Later this week, at a conference of secretaries of state in Washington, she and her counterparts from Minnesota and Arizona will promote those ideas among officials from other states."

Alabama. Maham Javaid of the Washington Post: "An Alabama man probably froze to death after being restrained in a jail's walk-in freezer or similarly frigid environment, says a lawsuit filed by the man's family, which cites footage shared by a corrections officer who spoke out against the incident. Anthony Mitchell, 33, was arrested after allegedly firing a gun during a wellness check. He was then jailed for 14 days until he was taken unconscious to the Walker Baptist Medical Center in the back seat of a police car on Jan. 26, according to the lawsuit and footage. Upon arrival, Mitchell's body temperature was 72 degrees Fahrenheit."

Florida, Etc. Tim Craig, et al., of the Washington Post: "As [Florida Gov. Ron] DeSantis (R) gears up for a potential presidential run in 2024, Black activists and political strategists around the country are organizing, protesting and preparing to highlight the particular danger they say he and his anti-'woke' movement pose to civil rights and to their push to tackle racism as a systemic issue. Some say they are determined not to repeat what they consider a tepid and belated response to ... Donald Trump's rise in 2016, and argue that DeSantis's political strategy is even more rooted in racial division than Trump's." MB: "Anti-woke" is a euphemism for homophobic racist bigotry.

New York. Jesse McKinley & Jack Higgins of the New York Times: "The gunman in a racist massacre at a Buffalo supermarket last year was sentenced to life in prison without the chance of parole on Wednesday, after apologizing for his attack amid a torrent of raw emotions from the victims' families, including one man who lunged at him in court. 'You will never see the light of day as a free man again,' the judge, Susan Eagan, said after reading a statement about the harmful effects of institutional racism and white supremacy, calling it an 'insidious cancer on our society and nation.' The sentence reflected the outcome of a guilty plea to 10 counts of first-degree murder and a single count of domestic terrorism motivated by hate, which carries a penalty of life imprisonment without parole. He was the first person in New York convicted of that domestic terrorism charge." The NBC News story is here.

Pennsylvania/Ohio. Ben Brasch of the Washington Post: "Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro (D) chastised Norfolk Southern for putting emergency responders and community members at risk by not working with state leaders two weeks ago when one of the company's trains derailed, unleashing highly toxic chemicals and causing the train cars to catch fire, displacing residents. Shapiro's letter to Norfolk Southern CEO Alan Shaw is the most prominent finger-pointing since the Feb. 3 derailment in East Palestine, Ohio, which is near the Pennsylvania border.... Chemicals from the controlled release have killed about 3,500 fish in local waterways and crews are digging out a 1,000-foot 'grossly contaminated' area near the tracks where butyl acrylate puddled and vinyl chloride burned.... [Ohio Gov. Mike] DeWine [R] announced Wednesday that tests indicated it was safe for residents on the municipal system to drink the water -- one day after Ohio officials had recommended residents drink bottled water until they had results from tests of the public system." ~~~

~~~ Campbell Robinson & Emily Cochrane of the New York Times: "Hundreds of Ohio residents gathered in a school gym on Wednesday night to demand answers about the ongoing fallout from a derailed train carrying hazardous chemicals, transforming what had been billed as an informational meeting into a heated town hall where officials with the railroad company didn't even show up.... Many residents were angry that officials had changed what had been billed as a town hall meeting to an 'informational' session with representatives from state, county and local agencies, who sat at separate tables and fielded individual questions.... Norfolk Southern officials ... pulled out hours earlier, infuriating some residents who said they wanted answers from the company."

Virginia. Richard Luscombe of the Guardian: "The Republican governor of Virginia, Glenn Youngkin, appears to have thwarted an attempt to stop law enforcement obtaining menstrual histories of women in the state. A bill passed in the Democratic-led state senate, and supported by half the chamber's Republicans, would have banned search warrants for menstrual data stored in tracking apps on mobile phones or other electronic devices. Advocates feared private health information could be used in prosecutions for abortion law violations, after a US supreme court ruling last summer overturned federal protections for the procedure. But Youngkin, who has pushed for a 15-week abortion ban to mirror similar measures in several Republican-controlled states, essentially killed the bill through a procedural move in a subcommittee of the Republican-controlled House."

Way Beyond

Ukraine, et al.

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

     ~~~ The Washington Post's live briefing for Thursday is here: "Russia launched a 'barrage' of missile strikes against critical infrastructure overnight, Ukrainian officials said. Dozens of missiles were fired at Ukraine, the General Staff of the Ukrainian army said Thursday, while critical infrastructure in Lviv was hit, according to the regional governor. Vice President Kamala Harris arrived in Germany ahead of an annual meeting of international political, intelligence and defense leaders at the Munich Security Conference, where they will discuss their response to Russia's invasion of Ukraine. Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken will also attend the meeting before traveling to Turkey and Greece.... Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko has said his country will only join Russia's war if Ukraine attacks Belarus.... Russia has lost about half of its prewar fleet of modern battle tanks in the Ukraine conflict, according to ... the International Institute for Strategic Studies, and is instead turning to older vehicles to maintain its fleet."

Marc Santora of the New York Times: "As Moscow steps up its offensive in eastern Ukraine, weeks of failed attacks on a Ukrainian stronghold have left two Russian brigades in tatters, raised questions about Russia's military tactics and renewed doubts about its ability to maintain sustained, large-scale ground assaults. The battle for the city of Vuhledar, which has been viewed as an opening move in an expected Russian spring offensive, has been playing out since the last week of January, but the scale of Moscow's losses there is only now beginning to come into focus. Accounts from Ukrainian and Western officials, Ukrainian soldiers, captured Russian soldiers and Russian military bloggers, as well as video and satellite images, paint a picture of a faltering Russian campaign that continues to be plagued by battlefield dysfunction."

Italy. Colleen Barry of the AP: "Italian former Premier Silvio Berlusconi was found not guilty Wednesday of witness tampering, in a trial related to the sexually charged 'bunga bunga' parties he held at his villa near Milan while he was in office. The six-year-old trial is the third and likely final one in a scandal that made headlines around the world in 2010 when Berlusconi -- as a sitting premier -- faced charges of having paid for sex with an underage girl. He was eventually acquitted." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)

February 15, 2023

Afternoon Update:

Paula Reid of CNN: "The Justice Department has informed lawyers for at least one witness that it will not bring charges against Florida GOP Rep. Matt Gaetz after a years-long federal sex-trafficking investigation, according to a source familiar with the matter." At 12:45 pm ET Wednesday, this is a breaking story.

Italy. Colleen Barry of the AP: "Italian former Premier Silvio Berlusconi was found not guilty Wednesday of witness tampering, in a trial related to the sexually charged 'bunga bunga' parties he held at his villa near Milan while he was in office. The six-year-old trial is the third and likely final one in a scandal that made headlines around the world in 2010 when Berlusconi -- as a sitting premier -- faced charges of having paid for sex with an underage girl. He was eventually acquitted."

~~~~~~~~~~

Ellen Nakashima, et al., of the Washington Post: "By the time a Chinese spy balloon crossed into American airspace late last month, U.S. military and intelligence agencies had been tracking it for nearly a week, watching as it lifted off from its home base on Hainan Island near China&'s south coast. U.S. monitors watched as the balloon settled into a flight path that would appear to have taken it over the U.S. territory of Guam. But somewhere along that easterly route, the craft took an unexpected northern turn, according to several U.S. officials, who said that analysts are now examining the possibility that China didn't intend to penetrate the American heartland with their airborne surveillance device." A CBS News story is here.

Justin Gomez & Alexandra Hutzler of ABC News: "White House spokesperson John Kirby said Tuesday the intelligence community is 'considering as a leading explanation' that the three objects shot down over the weekend 'could just be balloons tied to some commercial or benign purpose.' But Kirby told reporters the U.S. is still not able to call them anything other than 'objects' at this point, adding that officials are 'pretty comfortable' ruling out that the objects belonged to the U.S. government." MB: If these UFOs were legitimately floating the friendly skies, don't you suppose the owners would squawk, in the form of a lawsuit, for having their expensive projects shot down? (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ~~~

     ~~~ Update: Michael Shear & Karoun Demirjian of the New York Times: [John Kirby] "said that no company or other organization had contacted the government to say they were the owners of the objects that were shot down.... Senator Mark Warner, a Virginia Democrat who is the chairman of the committee, said the government's tracking of airborne objects launched for legitimate purposes needs to be improved.... Mr. Warner said the administration needed to be 'much more aggressive' about ensuring 'a much better notification process with the authorities' to register legitimate scientific, weather and other craft so officials would know which outliers were potentially cause for alarm." (Also linked yesterday evening.)

Amy Wang & Adrian Blanco of the Washington Post: "The Senate on Tuesday confirmed President Biden's 100th judicial nominee, marking a significant milestone in Democrats' efforts to remake the courts, after ... Donald Trump filled more than 200 judicial openings during his term in office.... On Monday night, the Senate confirmed Cindy K. Chung to be the U.S. circuit judge for the 3rd Circuit. On Tuesday, in a 54-45 vote, the Senate confirmed Gina R. Mendez-Miró to be the U.S. district judge for the District of Puerto Rico." MB: Take a look at the diversity chart embedded in the article. Not a fair comparison because Clinton served eight years & Biden only two, but Biden has appointed only five white men; Clinton appointed 197. (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)

Charlie Savage of the New York Times: "The Biden administration has agreed to brief top congressional leaders at the end of this month about the classified documents that were improperly in the custody of ... Donald J. Trump, President Biden and former Vice President Mike Pence, officials said on Tuesday. The deal for a Justice Department briefing with the so-called Gang of Eight, a select group of House and Senate members with whom the most sensitive intelligence is shared, may ease long-simmering tensions over bipartisan demands by the Senate Intelligence Committee to see the files. Still, the briefing would include only the top two members of the committee and not its rank-and-file members.... And while the Justice Department has agreed to reveal additional information about the nature of the records to the Gang of Eight, it is resisting providing access to the documents themselves, which it considers key evidence in continuing investigations. Speaking to reporters on Tuesday, the panel's chairman, Senator Mark Warner, Democrat of Virginia, said the details of what would be shared remained 'a work in progress.'" (Also linked yesterday evening.)

Farnoush Amiri & Nomaan Merchant of the AP: "House Republicans are kicking off an investigation into the origins of COVID-19 by requesting documents and testimony for current and former Biden administration officials. The Republican chairmen of the House Oversight Committee and the Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Pandemic are seeking information, including from Dr. Anthony Fauci, concerning the idea that the coronavirus leaked accidentally from a Chinese lab.... Rep. James Comer, R-Ky., chairman of the oversight committee, said Republicans will 'follow the facts' and 'hold U.S. government officials that took part in any sort of cover-up accountable.'" MB: One major problem with this so-called investigation: no normal person will give any credence to the committees' supposed findings.

Josh Marshall of TPM: "... Republicans are now aghast that anyone would be claiming they want to cut Social Security. But last year the Republican Study Committee -- a House caucus which includes about 75% of all House Republicans -- released a proposed 2023 budget which included basically every kind of Social Security cut on offer. The Blueprint to Save America proposed raising the eligibility age at first to 70 and then higher if and when life expectancy goes up; it proposed cutting (or in their words 'modernizing') the benefit formula for everyone currently 54 and under; means-testing Social Security benefits; including work requirements for some Social Security beneficiaries; and allowing people to divert payroll taxes into private investment accounts -- aka 'retirement freedom.'... RSC members are out hitting the airwaves now claiming that none of this ever happened. In fact, new RSC Chair Rep. Kevin Hern (OK), who oversaw the creation of the Blueprint, says this: 'There is NO Republican in Washington, DC, in the House of Representatives or the Senate, that wants to CUT the benefits for seniors on Social Security and Medicare. That's a falsehood. That's a lie.'" (Also linked yesterday.)

Spencer Hsu of the Washington Post: "A far-right pro-Trump activist from Southern California pleaded guilty Tuesday to using a Taser on D.C. police officer Michael Fanone as he was dragged down the steps of the U.S. Capitol in one of the most violent assaults in the Jan. 6, 2021, riot. Daniel Rodriguez, 40, of the Los Angeles area, admitted to shocking Fanone in the base of his neck as he was pulled out of the Lower West Terrace Tunnel and into the crowd. Fanone lost consciousness and was stripped of his badge and gun; he suffered a heart attack and a traumatic brain injury.... Rodriguez pleaded guilty to five felony counts including conspiracy, obstruction of an official proceeding, obstruction of justice and assaulting a law enforcement officer with a deadly or dangerous weapon."

Alan Feuer, et al., of the New York Times: "Federal prosecutors overseeing the investigation into ... Donald J. Trump's handling of classified documents are seeking to pierce assertions of attorney-client privilege and compel one of his lawyers to answer more questions before a grand jury, according to two people.... The prosecutors have sought approval from a federal judge to invoke what is known as the crime-fraud exception, which allows them to work around attorney-client privilege when they have reason to believe that legal advice or legal services have been used in furthering a crime. The fact that prosecutors invoked the exception in a sealed motion to compel the testimony of the lawyer, M. Evan Corcoran, suggests that they believe Mr. Trump or his allies might have used Mr. Corcoran's services in that way.... After his [recent] appearance in front of the grand jury, Mr. Corcoran received notice that the Justice Department was seeking to use the exception to break through his assertions of privilege [on certain questions]...." (Also linked yesterday evening.) ~~~

     ~~~ Kaitlan Collins, et al., of CNN put the DOJ's assertion more bluntly: "To overcome the shield of attorney-client privilege, prosecutors alleged in writing to the judge that the former president used his attorney in furtherance of a crime or fraud, according to one source."

Hugo Lowell of the Guardian: "Three lawyers for Donald Trump recently appeared before a federal grand jury as part of the special counsel investigation into his possible retention of national security materials at his Mar-a-Lago resort, according to two sources familiar with the matter. The lawyers -- Evan Corcoran, Christina Bobb and most recently, Alina Habba -- were involved in efforts to compile documents that had been subpoenaed. They remain among a small number of people to have searched Mar-a-Lago. Habba appeared before the grand jury in the documents case in recent weeks, the sources said, a notable development given she is not a member of the legal team defending Trump in that criminal matter and has represented the former president in civil suits."

Off with Their Heads! Alex Griffing of Mediaite: “... Donald Trump had been widely discussing with 'close associates' ahead of his 2024 presidential campaign bringing back the death penalty, expanding the execution methods used by the federal government, and even broadcasting executions as a means to deter violent crime and drug dealers, Rolling Stone reported on Tuesday, citing multiple sources close to Trump.... 'Trump has talked about bringing back death by firing squad, by hanging, and, according to two of the sources, possibly even by guillotine. He has also, sources say, discussed group executions.'" MB: I'm opposed to the death penalty, but if whatever will be will be, I can think of one traitor we could use to test the guillotine, even though the subject I have in mind is kind of a no-neck. And yes, in the national interest, broadcast the execution. (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)

Dan Mangan of CNBC: "A New York appeals court panel on Tuesday upheld a $110,000 fine on ... Donald Trump that a judge imposed last spring after he was found in contempt for failing to turn over documents to the state attorney general's office as part of an investigation of his company. The panel of five justices ruled that Trump's contempt fine for not complying with a subpoena for the records was a 'proper exercise' of the discretionary power of Manhattan Supreme Court Judge Arthur Engoron. The panel also said the fine of $10,000 per day 'was not excessive or otherwise improper, under the particular circumstances.'" (Also linked yesterday.)

Greg Sargent of the Washington Post: "Jared Kushner's dealings with the Saudi kingdom are creating a highly dubious situation. As The Post reports, just after his father-in-law's presidency ended, Kushner entered into a lucrative business arrangement that ultimately involved the Saudi crown prince. Ethics experts note that this potentially conflicted relationship appears to be continuing while Donald Trump runs for president again. This situation cries out for congressional scrutiny, and Senate Democrats are trying to provide it. But they're facing an unexpected obstacle: The Biden administration, they say, has been resistant to provide them with the documents they need to carry out that investigation.... [Senate aides] tell me they've received strong indications that administration officials are worried about the disconnect between cooperating with the probe of Kushner's Saudi-related activities and resisting myriad House GOP investigations.... The day after leaving as White House senior adviser, Kushner created a company that became a private equity fund with $2 billion from a sovereign wealth fund chaired by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.... [The Post's Michael] Kranish reports that a big question remains unanswered: whether Kushner 'talked to Mohammed during the administration about doing business with him afterward.'..." ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: Frankly, I don't see that White House records would be much help. Kushner, like all crooks, has more than one means of communication, and it's unlikely he made his deal with the Saudis on his White House phone and on White House stationery.

Mass Murder, USA. Juslie Bosman, et al., of the New York Times: "As gunshots erupted on the vast Michigan State University campus late on Monday, killing three students and injuring five others, many on campus felt a chilling sense of familiarity.... For a generation of young Americans, mass shootings at schools or colleges once considered sanctuaries for learning have become so painfully routine that some of them have lived through more than one by their early 20s.... In one TikTok video, a [Michigan State] student who was at Sandy Hook Elementary on the day of the shooting said it was 'incomprehensible' to have lived through two mass shootings in her 21 years.... Being keenly aware of the possibility of gun violence has become a trademark of the generation of adults who grew up after the Columbine High School attack of 1999...." This article also contains some information on the murder victims & the shooter.

Beyond the Beltway

California Senate Race 2024. Amy Wang of the Washington Post: "Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) on Tuesday announced she would not seek reelection in 2024, putting to rest uncertainty over whether she would seek a sixth full term as the oldest sitting senator. Feinstein, 89, said she would instead focus on accomplishing 'as much for California as I can through the end of next year' when her term ends.... Two California Democrats -- Reps. Katie Porter, 49, and Adam B. Schiff, 62 -- have already launched campaigns to fill Feinstein's seat. Rep. Barbara Lee (D-Calif.), 76, has told colleagues that she intends to run for the Senate seat as well." CNN's report is here. (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)

Florida. Nick Anderson of the Washington Post: "Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis threatened Tuesday to withdraw state support for Advanced Placement programs and expand other methods of awarding college credit to high school students, escalating a highly unusual clash that burst into public last month when his administration rejected plans for a new AP African American studies course.... DeSantis said he supports opportunities for high school students to earn college credit. 'Does it have to be done by the College Board?' he asked. 'Or can we utilize some of these other providers who I think have a really, really strong track record?' He added: 'It's not clear to me that this particular operator' -- referring to the College Board -- 'is the one that's going to need to be used in the future.'"

Ohio. Nick Keppler, et al., of the Washington Post: "Eleven days after a train derailed, spilling toxic chemicals and causing a massive fire [in East Palestine, Ohio], officials told residents Tuesday to use bottled water until testing could confirm whether the local water supply was safe to drink -- heightening concern among some locals who were already wary of returning to their homes.... The disaster's still-emerging list of effects [has become] more clear: Water officials are tracking a large plume of contamination flowing down the Ohio River; about 3,500 fish in local waterways have been killed by the chemical release; and cleanup crews are excavating a 'grossly contaminated' 1,000-foot area around the train tracks where butyl acrylate puddled and vinyl chloride burned.... Many residents pondered their options as a strong odor of chemicals continued to hang over the town.... [Gov. Mike DeWine (R)] called on Congress to reexamine regulations for trains carrying toxic substances, something some environmental advocates have long pushed for." ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: Good luck with that, Mike. As Chris Hayes pointed out on MSNBC last night, Congressional Republicans' answer to the problem is not to more strictly regulate railroads but to complain that the Transportation Secretary is gay. Also see Akhilleus' comment below, wherein we learn that Majorie Taylor Greene has become an environmentalist and pro-corporate-regulation enthusiast.

NEW. Virginia. The Dimwits of Madison County. Grace Brooks of the (Charlottesville) Daily Progress: "The Madison County School Board recently removed 22 books from the high school library in enacting a policy last fall against sexually explicit content. The banned titles included Toni Morrison's 'The Bluest Eye,' 'The Handmaid's Tale' by Margaret Atwood and Stephen King's tale of Pennywise the clown, 'It.' Board member Christopher Wingate proposed the policy, an extension of a mandate passed down the Governor Glenn Youngkin. In April, Youngkin signed a bill requiring the Virginia Department of Education to develop model policies to ensure parents are notified if students are being taught sexually explicit materials in the classroom. The bill requires local school boards to adopt the policies based on the model policies' minimum requirements." Thanks to Forrest M. for the lead. ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: Glad to read parents will be able to spend a whole year deciding what books are available for free at the school library and they can veto trash by Nobel-Prize-winning authors and other acclaimed writers. Now the kids can get more of their sexually-explicit content on actual trash Internet sites. Great!

Wisconsin. Anger Management Issues. Matt Naham of Law & Crime: "The Wisconsin woman who made global headlines after being accused of the particularly gruesome meth-fueled decapitation of her lover one year ago attacked her own defense lawyer in court Tuesday when the judge in the case suggested a trial delay was necessary." MB: I have never watched a boxing match of any sort (okay, except the fictional ones in "Rocky I"), but I guess I could be compelled to watch a match-up between this woman and Marjorie Taylor Greene. My money would be on Miss Margie.

Way Beyond

Ukraine, et al. The Washington Post's live briefing of developments Wednesday in Russia's war on Ukraine is here: "Moscow is 'preparing for more war' and Ukraine's allies should send more ammunition to help Kyiv fight off the assault, NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg said Tuesday in Brussels, where member nations' defense ministers were meeting to discuss Ukraine.... Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin also traveled to Brussels to host a gathering of the Ukraine Defense Contact Group, which includes more than 50 nations. He echoed the NATO chief's calls to help Ukraine 'meet this crucial moment in the course of the war.'... Washington and allies have 'a lot to get done' to position Ukrainian troops to use advanced weapon systems promised by the West ahead of Russia's offensive, Austin said.... Officials focused heavily on getting ammunition to Ukraine.... Moldovan President Maia Sandu accused Russia of plotting a coup in her country to install a pro-Kremlin administration and put the Eastern European nation at the disposal of Moscow's war in Ukraine, citing intelligence provided by neighboring Ukraine.... U.S. officials on Tuesday said that Iran was supplying Russia with lethal drones for use in Ukraine and that Iran hoped to become a more dominant supplier on the global stage." ~~~

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

Haiti/U.S. Maria Abi-Habib, et al., of the New York Times: "Federal agents arrested four men whom they accused of playing key roles in the assassination of Haiti's former president, U.S. prosecutors said on Tuesday, the latest step in an investigation that has implicated several American citizens. Federal court documents also stated that several 'conspirators' in the 2021 assassination of President Jovenel Moïse of Haiti met with the F.B.I. a few months before the killing, and tried to draw agents 'into a discussion about regime change in Haiti.' In response, an agent told the men 'that the F.B.I. could not help them because Haiti had to solve its own political problems." The revelation raised troubling questions about how much the United States government knew in advance of the killing. In court records, the government denied that it had any advance notice of a criminal plot."

Scotland. Severin Carrell of the Guardian: "Nicola Sturgeon will stand down as first minister of Scotland, she has announced at a press conference. In a shock decision, Scotland's longest-serving first minister said she had instructed the Scottish National party (SNP) to begin the process of electing a new leader and would remain in office until her successor is chosen. The SNP leader has had a series of political setbacks recently, including the UK supreme court defeat of her plans for a fresh independence referendum and a damaging row over a double rapist being sent to a female jail after announcing she was a trans woman.... There had been growing speculation that Sturgeon was preparing to stand down at the next Scottish parliamentary election, but not so abruptly."

News Ledes

CNN: "One person is dead and three others injured after a shooting Wednesday evening at the Cielo Vista Mall in El Paso, Texas, according to police. Two men are in custody and there is no longer a threat to the public, interim El Paso Police Chief Peter Pacillas said at a news conference Wednesday night."

New York Times: "strong>Raquel Welch, the voluptuous movie actress who became the 1960s' first major American sex symbol and maintained that image for a half-century in show business, died on Wednesday at her home in Los Angeles. She was 82."