August 1, 2022

Afternoon Update:

** Helene Cooper, et al., of the New York Times: "The United States killed the top leader of Al Qaeda in a drone strike in Kabul, Afghanistan, over the weekend, according to current and former U.S. officials. Ayman al-Zawahri, who took over the leadership of the group after the death of Osama bin Laden, was killed in the strike, the first attack in Afghanistan since American forces left last year and a significant victory for the Biden administration's counterterrorism efforts. U.S. officials said the strike was not conducted by the military. A former official said the operation was carried out by the C.I.A." ~~~

     ~~~ Kristen Welker & Ken Dilanian of NBC News: "President Joe Biden is expected to announce Monday night that a U.S. counterterrorism operation over the weekend in Afghanistan killed top Al Qaeda leader Ayman al-Zawahiri.... Biden will give remarks about the operation at the White House at 7:30 p.m. ET...."

David Sanger & Vivian Wang of the New York Times: "Speaker Nancy Pelosi began a fraught tour of Asia on Sunday that administration officials say they now expect will include a stop in Taiwan, despite China's increasingly sharp warnings in recent days that a visit to the self-governing island would provoke a response, perhaps a military one. Ms. Pelosi arrived in Singapore on Monday, after a weekend stopover in Hawaii to consult with American commanders responsible for the Indo-Pacific. She said in a statement that she was planning to travel on with a congressional delegation for high-level meetings in Malaysia, South Korea and Japan, and did not mention Taiwan. But it would not be unusual to omit Taiwan from an announcement given security concerns, and President Biden's aides said she was expected to proceed with the plan for the highest-level visit by an American official to the island in 25 years. Ms. Pelosi could still change her mind about traveling to Taiwan, administration officials said, but added that seemed unlikely." A related CNN story is here.

Arizona. Zach Montellaro of Politico: "Mark Finchem -- a poster child for election deniers following the 2020 election -- is inching closer to becoming the chief election official in one of the most tightly divided battleground states in the country. Finchem, an Arizona state lawmaker, is running with ... Donald Trump's endorsement in Tuesday's Republican primary for secretary of state there. He has support from a coalition of other like-minded candidates running to be election administrators in their own states, which has gained traction in several other close 2020 swing states. And Finchem has a significant edge in a rare public poll of the secretary of state race published Friday."

Michigan. Dave Boucher of the Detroit Free Press: "A court order that sought to bar enforcement of a dormant law criminalizing most abortions in Michigan does not apply to county prosecutors, the Michigan Court of Appeals ruled Monday. The massively consequential ruling means the 1931 law banning all abortions except those done to protect the life of a pregnant person essentially takes effect immediately, said David Kallman, an attorney for Great Lakes Justc Center, a conservative organization representing several Michigan prosecutors who challenged the injunction. The decision could have a sweeping and drastic impact in the state, where Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, Attorney General Dana Nessel and many other pro-abortion rights advocates have fought to maintain legal access to abortion following the U.S. Supreme Court's reversal of Roe v. Wade in June."

Kathellen Kingsbury of the New York Times: Columnist Nicholas Kristof is returning to the New York Times.

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Hope Yen of the AP: "Sen. Joe Manchin, one of the Democrats' most conservative and contrarian members, declined on Sunday to endorse Joe Biden if the president seeks a second term in 2024 and refused to say whether he wants Democrats to retain control of Congress after the November elections. In a round of appearances on five news shows, the West Virginia senator also expressed hope that Sen. Kyrsten Sinema, D-Ariz., will back a Democratic package of climate, health care and tax initiatives that he negotiated.... 'I'm not getting into 2022 or 2024,' he said, adding that 'whoever is my president, that's my president.'" ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: Back in the old days, that might have been a prudent remark; today, it is dangerous to express any support for the anti-democracy party.

Ryan Reilly of NBC News: “Although the House Jan. 6 committee has presented evidence of the carnage law enforcement faced at the Capitol that day, it has devoted little time to law enforcement's failure to predict and prevent the attack -- at least not publicly. But behind the scenes, sources tell NBC News, those failures have not been forgotten. As the committee prepares for an additional round of public hearings in September, it's expected to put more focus on the intelligence and law enforcement failures at the FBI and Department of Homeland Security that left police woefully underprepared for the mob that stormed the Capitol. Those failures will also be a key component of the committee's final report on Jan. 6." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)

Meghan Mistry of ABC News: "Arizona House Speaker Rusty Bowers may lose his Republican primary for an open state senate seat this week, after he testified to the Jan. 6 committee about the pressure campaign from ... Donald Trump and his associates to undo the presidential election results in the state.... After his testimony, Bowers faced criticism for telling a reporter that he would vote for Pres. Trump in 2024. He told Karl that's absolutely not the case.... 'I'll never vote for him,' Bowers [said]. 'But I won't have to, because I think America's tired....'... In an unusual move for a state legislature race..., Trump has campaigned against Bowers in Arizona. 'Rusty Bowers, he's a RINO ... coward who participated against the Republican party in the totally partisan unselect committee of political thugs and hacks the other day, and disgraced himself, and he disgraced the state of Arizona,' he told a crowd in Prescott Valley, Arizona, on July 22." (Also linked yesterday.)

Jim Jordan Opposed to Legislating. John Dorman of Insider, republished by Yahoo! News: Rep. Jim "Jordan [Rabid-Ohio] recently told Politico that Senate Republicans who join their Democratic counterparts in supporting legislation backed by [President] Biden are 'wrong.'" Since Democrats currently control both houses of Congress, under Jordan's model, no legislation can pass except perhaps the rare bill that Democrats favor & Joe Biden opposes. Which ain't much.

Some people have been wondering how Donald Trump would profit off Ivana Trump's death. Well, here's one rather macabre way:

Fore! Katherine Tangalakis-Lippert & Isabella Zavarise of Business Insider, republished by Yahoo! News: "The location of Ivana Trump's grave -- near the first hole of the golf course at Trump National Golf Club -- may have tax implications for the business owned by the former president. Tax documents from the Trump Family Trust, published by ProPublica, show the trust sought to designate a property in Hackettstown, New Jersey, as a non-profit cemetery company, though the course itself is 20 miles away in Bedminster. Ivana Trump..., Donald Trump's ex-wife, is the first person known to have been buried at the Trump-owned golf course. Under New Jersey state tax code, any land that is dedicated to cemetery purposes is exempt from all taxes, rates, and assessments." The has modified his cemetery proposal several times. The latest-known plan is for "a 284-plot cemetery, which would have gravesites available for sale." MB: Nice. I wonder if Donald will charge Ivana's estate for the lovely plot. Thanks to Bobby Lee & Akhilleus for the lead. (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)~~~

~~~ MEANWHILE, TMZ picked up a photo of Ivana's grave, and, well, it's a hole in the ground labeled with a small, possibly slate slab engraved with Ivana's name & dates of birth & death. MB: In fairness to the Trumps, it is common practice to place a simple marker on a grave while a more elaborate one is being designed & made. (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) In yesterday's thread, some commentators had some solemn thoughts on the final resting place of the first and former Mrs. Donald Trump -- assuming the first hole is indeed the final resting place. I can't help but think Ivana's remains may become a Traveling Corpse as the outcomes of various lawsuits somewhat temporarily place them hither & yon. She will not R.I.P. ~~~

~~~ Katherine Tangalakis-Lippert of Insider, republished by Yahoo! News: "... Donald Trump's 2007 plans to build a mausoleum with four obelisks on his golf course in New Jersey were rejected by city officials.... The mausoleum would have included 'four imposing obelisks surrounding its exterior and a small altar and six vaults inside,' according to NJ.com. But, after encountering opposition from city officials who called the design 'overwhelming and garish,' Trump floated the idea of redesigning the structure as a 'mausoleum/chapel,' The Washington Post reported." MB: Of course the Trump Memorial Cemetery & Shrine would be replete with phallic symbols. Remember, this was 2007, well before Trump became president*. Imagine what-all he has in mind now. And he'll get away with it. Bedminster is about 33 miles as the crow flies from Manhattan, but you'll be able to see the Shrine de Trump from Trump Tower.

Ann Marimow, et al., of the Washington Post: "The Supreme Court's three liberal justices, in denouncing their colleagues' decision to eliminate the nationwide right to abortion, warned last month that returning this polarizing issue to the states would give rise to greater controversy in the months and years to come. Among the looming disputes, they noted: Can states ban mail-order medication used to terminate pregnancies or bar their residents from traveling elsewhere to do so?... It is possible, if not probable, that one or both of these questions will eventually work its way back to the high court." The authors relate some matters that already have arisen. MB: Those smug misogynists have created a 50-state legal morass that wont' be settled, well, ever. So besides depriving women of their rights, women -- as well as medical professionals --- don't and won't know just what options are left for pregnant people. And the federal courts, already clogged as John Roberts points out pretty much every year, will be overwhelmed.

Sarah Mervosh of the New York Times: "At least 29 states allow individuals other than police or security officials to carry guns on school grounds, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures. As of 2018, the last year for which statistics were available, federal survey data estimated that 2.6 percent of public schools had armed faculty.... In the weeks after the Uvalde shooting, lawmakers in Ohio made it easier for teachers and other school employees to carry guns.... The law in Ohio has been especially contentious because it requires no more than 24 hours of training, along with eight hours of recertification annually.... The strategy is fiercely opposed by Democrats, police groups, teachers' unions and gun control advocates, who say that concealed carry programs in schools -- far from solving the problem -- will only create more risk."

Aaron Gregg of the Washington Post: "The nation's biggest oil companies -- ExxonMobil and Chevron -- saw their profits roughly triple in the second-quarter as Russia's war in Ukraine upended global energy markets and left consumers stretching to cover record high pump prices.... The blockbuster results come a day after Europe-based Shell also posted record profits: The three, plus France's TotalEnergies, collectively earned nearly $51 billion in the most recent quarter, nearly twice what they brought in during the same three months in 2021, according to Reuters.... President Biden, facing criticism from the right over his handling of inflation and the economy, called out Exxon for making 'more money than God' in a June address.... Chevron chief executive Mike Wirth responded with a sharply worded letter admonishing the administration for its attempts, 'to criticize, and at times vilify, our industry.'"

Beyond the Beltway

Massachusetts Clear Witch. Vimal Patel of the New York Times: "Elizabeth Johnson Jr. is -- officially -- not a witch. Until last week, the Andover, Mass., woman, who confessed to practicing witchcraft during the Salem witch trials, was the only remaining person convicted during the trials whose name had not been cleared. Though she was sentenced to death in 1693, after she and more than 20 members of her extended family faced similar allegations, she was granted a reprieve and avoided the death sentence. The exoneration came on Thursday, 329 years after her conviction, tucked inside a $53 billion state budget signed by Gov. Charlie Baker. It was the product of a three-year lobbying effort by a civics teacher and her eighth-grade class, along with a state senator who helped champion the cause."

New York. Benjamin Weiser of the New York Times: "A man was arrested on Friday after he was found with a loaded AK-47 assault rifle outside the Brooklyn home of an Iranian American journalist who was the target of an international kidnapping plot said to be orchestrated by an Iranian intelligence network last year, according to the journalist, a court document and a person briefed on the matter. The journalist, Masih Alinejad, 45, has been outspoken in her criticism of the Iranian government, writing two years ago that Iranian officials had unleashed a social media campaign that called for her abduction. In a federal indictment unsealed a year ago in Manhattan, four Iranians were charged with conspiring to kidnap her and forcibly return her to Iran." The particulars of the perp's suspicious behavior are, well, mighty suspicious.

Way Beyond

Ukraine, et al.

The New York Times' live updates on developments Monday in Russia's war on Ukraine are here. ~~~

     ~~~ The Washington Post's live updates for Monday are here: "The key Black Sea port of Mykolaiv was hit by 'one of the most brutal shellings' since the war began, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said, as dozens of Russian rockets destroyed homes, schools and infrastructure. Among those killed in the city was one of Ukraine's richest business executives, who founded an agriculture company that helped facilitate the country's grain exports. Finger-pointing continues over the attack on a detention center in Russian-occupied Donetsk that killed 50 Ukrainian prisoners. Russia claimed that it invited international monitors to investigate the Olenivka prison site, but the International Committee of the Red Cross says its request to do so has not been granted. 'Granting ICRC access to POWs is an obligation of parties to conflict under the Geneva Conventions,' it tweeted."

Dalton Bennett & Kareem Fahim of the Washington Post: "The first ship carrying grain departed a Ukrainian port [at Odessa] early Monday under a United Nations-brokered deal to ease a global food crisis sparked by the Russian invasion of Ukraine."

Andrew Kramer of the New York Times: The city of "Nikopol, controlled by the Ukrainians, lies on the west bank of the Dnipro River. On the opposite bank sits a gigantic nuclear power plant -- Europe's largest -- that the Russian Army captured in March. The Russians have been firing from the cover of the Zaporizhzhia station since mid-July.... It is, in effect, a free shot. Ukraine cannot unleash volleys of shells in return using American-provided advanced rocket systems, which have silenced Russian guns elsewhere on the front line. Doing so would risk striking one of the six pressurized water reactors or highly radioactive waste in storage."

News Lede

New York Times: "One round of rainstorms after another blew through eastern Kentucky on Monday, deepening the misery of an already desperate region. Floodwaters again swallowed the roads that had recently reopened to allow emergency workers to scour the remote hills and valleys for survivors; creeks once again swelled into the streets of small towns where people had just begun the gloomy work of emptying houses of their waterlogged contents. Gov. Andy Beshear of Kentucky confirmed on Monday that the death toll from last week's floods had risen to 37, but warned that countless people were still missing."

July 31, 2022

Afternoon Update:

Ryan Reilly of NBC News: "Although the House Jan. 6 committee has presented evidence of the carnage law enforcement faced at the Capitol that day, it has devoted little time to law enforcement's failure to predict and prevent the attack -- at least not publicly. But behind the scenes, sources tell NBC News, those failures have not been forgotten. As the committee prepares for an additional round of public hearings in September, it's expected to put more focus on the intelligence and law enforcement failures at the FBI and Department of Homeland Security that left police woefully underprepared for the mob that stormed the Capitol. Those failures will also be a key component of the committee's final report on Jan. 6."

Some people have been wondering how Donald Trump would profit off Ivana Trump's death. Well, here's one rather macabre way:

Fore! Katherine Tangalakis-Lippert & Isabella Zavarise of Business Insider, republished by Yahoo! News: "The location of Ivana Trump's grave -- near the first hole of the golf course at Trump National Golf Club -- may have tax implications for the business owned by the former president. Tax documents from the Trump Family Trust, published by ProPublica, show the trust sought to designate a property in Hackettstown, New Jersey, as a non-profit cemetery company, though the course itself is 20 miles away in Bedminster. Ivana Trump..., Donald Trump's ex-wife, is the first person known to have been buried at the Trump-owned golf course. Under New Jersey state tax code, any land that is dedicated to cemetery purposes is exempt from all taxes, rates, and assessments." The has modified his cemetery proposal several times. The latest-known plan is for "a 284-plot cemetery, which would have gravesites available for sale." MB: Nice. I wonder if Donald will charge Ivana's estate for the lovely plot. Thanks to Bobby Lee & Akhilleus for the lead. ~~~

~~~ MEANWHILE, TMZ picked up a photo of Ivana's grave, and, well, it's a hole in the ground labeled with a small, possibly slate slab engraved with Ivana's name & dates of birth & death. MB: In fairness to the Trumps, it is common practice to place a simple marker on a grave while a more elaborate one is being designed & made.

Meghan Mistry of ABC News: "Arizona House Speaker Rusty Bowers may lose his Republican primary for an open state senate seat this week, after he testified to the Jan. 6 committee about the pressure campaign from ... Donald Trump and his associates to undo the presidential election results in the state.... After his testimony, Bowers faced criticism for telling a reporter that he would vote for Pres. Trump in 2024. He told Karl that's absolutely not the case.... 'I'll never vote for him,' Bowers [said]. 'But I won't have to, because I think America's tired....'... In an unusual move for a state legislature race..., Trump has campaigned against Bowers in Arizona. 'Rusty Bowers, he's a RINO ... coward who participated against the Republican party in the totally partisan unselect committee of political thugs and hacks the other day, and disgraced himself, and he disgraced the state of Arizona,' he told a crowd in Prescott Valley, Arizona, on July 22.

~~~~~~~~~~

So far, today is pretty much a no-news day. Let's keep it that way.

Peter Baker of the New York Times: "President Biden tested positive for the coronavirus again on Saturday morning, a rebound attributed to the Paxlovid treatment he was taking, but he has not experienced a recurrence of symptoms, the White House physician said. Mr. Biden 'continues to feel quite well,' the physician, Dr. Kevin C. O'Connor, said in a memo released by the White House. 'This being the case, there is no reason to reinitiate treatment at this time, but we will obviously continue close observation,' he added. The positive test, however, means that Mr. Biden will resume 'strict isolation procedures,' as Dr. O'Connor put it, in keeping with medical advice." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) Politico's report is here.

From Prima Donna #1 to Prima Donna #2. Hans Nichols of Axios: Sen. Kyrsten "Sinema [D-Az.] has given no assurances to colleagues that she'll vote along party lines in the so-called 'vote-a-rama' for the $740 billion [Schumer-Manchin] bill next week, according to people familiar with the matter.... Not only is Sinema indicating that she's open to letting Republicans modify the bill [during the vote-a-rama], she has given no guarantees she'll support a final 'wrap-around' amendment, which would restore the original Schumer-Manchin deal.... [For instance,] the private equity industry, which has contributed heavily to Sinema, is hopeful that she'll knock [out the $14BB provision on carried interest]." That could kill the deal. (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)

And to Big, Fat, Phony Liar #1. Thanks to Rockygirl for the lead. ~~~

Well, we lost all the texts about Trump telling Cuccinelli to collect all the votng machines & Secret Service agents assuring the director they had cuffed Trump in the limo & were returning him to the White House on January 6, but we do have Matt Gaetz caught on tape revealing state secrets to Roger Stone. ~~~

~~~ Jon Swaine & Dalton Bennett of the Washington Post: "As Roger Stone prepared to stand trial in 2019, complaining he was under pressure from federal prosecutors to incriminate Donald Trump, a close ally of the president repeatedly assured Stone that 'the boss' would likely grant him clemency if he were convicted, a recording shows. At an event at a Trump property that October, Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.) predicted that Stone would be found guilty at his trial in Washington the following month but would not 'do a day' in prison. Gaetz was apparently unaware they were being recorded by documentary filmmakers following Stone.... The lawmaker also told Stone during their conversation that Stone was mentioned 'a lot' in redacted portions of Mueller's report, appearing to refer to portions that the Justice Department had shown to select members of Congress confidentially in a secure room.... The committee's agreement not to discuss the redacted material with outsiders was formalized in a written deal with the Justice Department.... 'They're going to do you, because you're not gonna have a defense,' Gaetz told Stone.... At the time of the conversation, the committee was investigating whether Trump might have obstructed justice by floating possible pardons to Stone and other allies who were swept up in Mueller's investigation of Russia's interference in the 2016 election.... Trump, who publicly praised Stone for not 'flipping' on him, commuted his prison sentence before it began and eventually pardoned him." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: This should, at the very least, get Matty Bumppo bumped off the Judiciary Committee.

Beyond the Beltway

Indiana. Arleigh Rodgers & Rick Callahan of the AP: "Indiana state senators narrowly passed a near-total abortion ban Saturday during a rare weekend session, sending the bill to the House after a contentious week of arguments over whether to allow exceptions for rape and incest. The Republican-controlled Senate voted 26-20 after about three hours of debate, passing the bill with the minimum 26 votes needed to send it on to the House, which Republicans also control. The bill would prohibit abortions from the time a fertilized egg implants in a uterus. Exceptions would be allowed in cases of rape and incest, but a patient seeking an abortion for either reason would have to sign a notarized affidavit attesting to the attack.... Only eight of Senate's 50 members are women.... Ten of the Senate's 11 Democrats voted against the bill, with the 11th member absent for Saturday's debate." ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: I wonder how many of these misogynistic control freaks realize they are making their states inhospitable to educated young people. If you were a new college grad, would you start your career in Indiana?

Way Beyond

China. Kenneth Chang of the New York Times: "Debris from a large Chinese rocket re-entered Earth's atmosphere over the Indian Ocean at 12:45 p.m. Eastern time, according to the U.S. Space Command. In an update posted on the social networking site Weibo, the Chinese Manned Space Agency said most of the debris had burned up on re-entry over the Sulu Sea, a body of water between the island of Borneo and the Philippines. The possibility, however slight, that debris from the rocket could strike a populated area had led people around the world to track its trajectory for days. The administrator of NASA, Bill Nelson, issued a rebuke on Saturday, saying that China 'did not share specific trajectory information as their Long March 5B rocket fell back to Earth.'"

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

     ~~~ The Washington Post's live updates for Sunday are here: "Putin said Zircon hypersonic missiles 'have no equivalent in the world' and could ... evade any defense, and vowed to respond 'with lightning speed to anyone who decides to encroach on our sovereignty and freedom.'... The attack on Russia's Black Sea fleet headquarters, in the Crimean city of Sevastopol, sent a defiant message on Russia's Navy Day. The attack forced the cancellation of celebrations of Navy Day in Crimea, the peninsula annexed by Russia in 2014 where the Black Sea Fleet in headquartered. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky issued a mandatory evacuation order for civilians still living in the war-torn eastern region of Donetsk, saying many were refusing to leave.... Russia says it has invited representatives of the United Nations and the Red Cross to investigate the deaths of Ukrainian prisoners of war -- many of whom were members of the Azov Regiment who surrendered in Mariupol -- at a detention center in Olenivka, in a Russian-occupied sector of Donetsk. Kyiv insists Russia was behind the deaths while Russian-backed separatists allege more than 50 prisoners of war were killed in a Ukrainian missile attack."

U.K. Stephen Castle of the New York Times: "Prince Charles ... faced new scrutiny over the financing of his charities on Saturday after a report found that one organization had accepted a donation of 1 million pounds ($1.21 million) from the family of Osama bin Laden. As first reported by The Sunday Times of London, The Prince of Wales's Charitable Fund received the donation in 2013 from the brothers Bakr and Shafiq bin Laden, half brothers of Osama bin Laden, the founder of Al Qaeda and architect of the Sept. 11 attacks. News of the payment follows a series of recent royal scandals, including a report in June that Prince Charles had accepted $3.1 million in cash donations from a Qatari billionaire between 2011 and 2015, some of which was received personally in a suitcase and shopping bags."

News Ledes

New York Times: "A fast-growing wildfire fueled by strong winds from thunderstorms and high temperatures in Northern California has grown to more than 51,000 acres in two days, becoming the state's largest wildfire so far this year and forcing evacuations in rural neighborhoods. The blaze, named the McKinney fire, began burning through dry timber on Friday in the Klamath National Forest in Siskiyou County, Calif., near the Oregon state line, the authorities said."

AP: "Samuel Sandoval, one of the last remaining Navajo Code Talkers who transmitted messages in World War II using a code based on their native language, has died. Sandoval died late Friday at a hospital in Shiprock, New Mexico, his wife, Malula told The Associated Press on Saturday. He was 98. Hundreds of Navajos were recruited from the vast Navajo Nation to serve as Code Talkers with the U.S. Marine Corps. Only three are still alive today: Peter MacDonald, John Kinsel Sr. and Thomas H. Begay."

New York Times: "Nichelle Nichols, the actress revered by 'Star Trek' fans everywhere for her role as Lieutenant Uhura, the communications officer on the starship U.S.S. Enterprise, died on Saturday in Silver City, N.M. She was 89."

July 30, 2022

Afternoon Update:

Peter Baker of the New York Times: "President Biden tested positive for the coronavirus again on Saturday morning, a rebound attributed to the Paxlovid treatment he was taking, but he has not experienced a recurrence of symptoms, the White House physician said. Mr. Biden 'continues to feel quite well,' the physician, Dr. Kevin C. O'Connor, said in a memo released by the White House. 'This being the case, there is no reason to reinitiate treatment at this time, but we will obviously continue close observation,' he added. The positive test, however, means that Mr. Biden will resume 'strict isolation procedures,' as Dr. O'Connor put it, in keeping with medical advice."

From Prima Donna #1 to Prima Donna #2. Hans Nichols of Axios: Sen. Kyrsten "Sinema [D-Az.] has given no assurances to colleagues that she'll vote along party lines in the so-called 'vote-a-rama' for the $740 billion [Schumer-Manchin] bill next week, according to people familiar with the matter.... Not only is Sinema indicating that she's open to letting Republicans modify the bill [during the vote-a-rama], she has given no guarantees she'll support a final 'wrap-around' amendment, which would restore the original Schumer-Manchin deal.... [For instance,] the private equity industry, which has contributed heavily to Sinema, is hopeful that she'll knock [out the $14BB provision on carried interest]." That could kill the deal.

And to Big, Fat, Phony Liar #1. Thanks to Rockygirl for the lead. ~~~

Well, we lost all the texts of Trump telling Cuccinelli to collect all the votng machines & Secret Service agents assuring the director they had cuffed Trump in the limo & were returning him to the White House on January 6, but we do have Matt Gaetz caught on tape revealing state secrets to Roger Stone. ~~~

~~~ Jon Swaine & Dalton Bennett of the Washington Post: "As Roger Stone prepared to stand trial in 2019, complaining he was under pressure from federal prosecutors to incriminate Donald Trump, a close ally of the president repeatedly assured Stone that 'the boss' would likely grant him clemency if he were convicted, a recording shows. At an event at a Trump property that October, Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.) predicted that Stone would be found guilty at his trial in Washington the following month but would not 'do a day' in prison. Gaetz was apparently unaware they were being recorded by documentary filmmakers following Stone.... The lawmaker also told Stone during their conversation that Stone was mentioned 'a lot' in redacted portions of Mueller's report, appearing to refer to portions that the Justice Department had shown to select members of Congress confidentially in a secure room.... The committee's agreement not to discuss the redacted material with outsiders was formalized in a written deal with the Justice Department.... 'They're going to do you, because you're not gonna have a defense,' Gaetz told Stone.... At the time of the conversation, the committee was investigating whether Trump might have obstructed justice by floating possible pardons to Stone and other allies who were swept up in Mueller's investigation of Russia's interference in the 2016 election.... Trump, who publicly praised Stone for not 'flipping' on him, commuted his prison sentence before it began and eventually pardoned him." ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: This should, at the very least, get Matty Bumppo bumped off the Judiciary Committee.

~~~~~~~~~~

** The Cover-up, Ctd. Maria Sachetti & Carol Leonnig of the Washington Post: "The Department of Homeland Security's chief watchdog scrapped its investigative team's effort to collect agency phones to try to recover deleted Secret Service texts this year, according to four people with knowledge of the decision and internal records reviewed by The Washington Post. In ... February..., Inspector General Joseph V. Cuffari's office ... decided it would not collect or review any agency phones.... After discovering that some of the text messages the watchdog sought had been deleted, the Federal Protective Service ... offered their phones to the inspector general's investigators.... But late on the night of Friday, Feb. 18, one of several deputies who report to Cuffari's management team wrote an email to investigators instructing them not to take the phones and not to seek any data from them. [Cuffari is a Trump appointee.]... In addition to the Secret Service, text messages for Trump acting homeland security secretary Chad Wolf and acting deputy secretary Ken Cuccinelli are missing for a key period leading up to the Jan. 6 attack.... But Cuccinelli and Wolf both said they turned in their phones, as Wolf put it in a tweet, 'fully loaded,' and said it was up to DHS to preserve their messages.... Sen. Richard J. Durbin (D-Ill.), chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, issued a statement Friday calling the missing messages 'an extremely serious matter' and said he would ask the Justice Department to intervene." ~~~

~~~ Whitney Wild, et al., of CNN: "The embattled inspector general for the Department of Homeland Security first learned of missing Secret Service text messages in May 2021 -- months earlier than previously known and more than a year before he alerted the House select committee investigating January 6, 2021, that potentially crucial information may have been erased, according to multiple sources.... Earlier this month, Secret Service officials told congressional committees that DHS Inspector General Joseph Cuffari, the department's independent watchdog, was aware that texts had been erased in December 2021. But sources tell CNN, the Secret Service had notified Cuffari's office of missing text messages in May 2021, seven months earlier.... [A source told CNN] that key Secret Service personnel didn't realize data was permanently lost until after the data migration was completed, and erroneously believed the data was [were!] backed up. In July 2021, inspector general investigators told DHS they were no longer seeking Secret Service text messages, according to two sources. Cuffari's office then restarted its probe in December 2021. ~~~

~~~ Drew Harwell, et al., of the Washington Post: "Cybersecurity experts and former government leaders are stunned by how poorly the Secret Service and the Department of Homeland Security handled the preservation of officials' text messages and other data from around Jan. 6, 2021, saying the top agencies entrusted with fighting cybercrime should never have bungled the simple task of backing up agents' phones.... The failure has raised suspicions about the disposition of records that could provide intimate details about what happened on that chaotic day, and whose preservation was mandated by federal law.... Paul Rosenzweig, a senior policy official at the Department of Homeland Security during the George W. Bush administration..., said he polled 11 of his friends with cybersecurity backgrounds, including information-security chiefs at federal agencies, on whether any of them had ever done a migration without a plan for backing up data and restoring it. None of them had.... Several experts were critical of the Secret Service's explanation that it had asked agents to upload their own phone data to an agency drive before their phones were wiped. Cybersecurity professionals said that policy was 'highly unusual,' 'ludicrous,' ... and not something any other organization would ever do.'..." ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: IMO, there is no innocent explanation. The oopsies! and finger-pointing don't cut it.

Jeremy Peters of the New York Times: "... Fox News..., which is owned by Rupert Murdoch and boosted [Donald] Trump's ascension from real estate developer and reality television star to the White House, is now often bypassing him in favor of showcasing other Republicans. In the former president's view, according to two people who have spoken to him recently, Fox's ignoring him is an affront far worse than running stories and commentary that he has complained are 'too negative.' The network is effectively displacing him from his favorite spot: the center of the news cycle.... The snubs are not coincidental, according to several people close to Mr. Murdoch's Fox Corporation.... The skepticism toward the former president extends to ... Mr. Murdoch, the chairman, and his son Lachlan, the chief executive.... It also reflects concerns that Republicans in Washington, like Senator Mitch McConnell.... Some of the people acknowledged that Fox's current approach to Mr. Trump could be temporary." ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: Peters doesn't mention it, but I suspect Rupert soured on Trump the day Dominion Voting Systems filed its multi-million-dollar lawsuit against Fox "News." Dominion has accused Fox of defamation for spreading lies about Dominion systems. The case is moving along, & Fox's attempts to get the case dismissed have failed. The lies about Dominion began with Trump & the Trumpettes, but Fox personalities adopted and repeated the lies on-air.

David Smith of the Guardian: "Over two days [during which Donald Trump gave an even darker 'American carnage'-type speech,] Trump's allies and alumni laid out a blueprint for a return to power and a second term more authoritarian, more extreme and more ruthless than the first. The institute -- evidently untroubled by the associations of the phrase 'America First' with Nazi sympathisers who wanted to keep the US out of the second world war -- has 150 staff, including nine former Trump administration cabinet officials and more than 50 former senior staff and officials. Familiar faces such as Kellyanne Conway, Larry Kudlow and Mark Meadows were feted at the conference.... Critics have described the AFPI as a 'grift' for Trump hangers-on to make money but others perceive a 'White House in waiting', determined to avoid the mistakes of his uniquely turbulent presidency and, through 22 'policy centres', guarantee the survival of Trumpism beyond Trump."

Peter Baker of the New York Times: "After announcing in early July that she would step down, Kate Bedingfield, the White House communications director and an adviser to President Biden for years, abruptly changed her mind.... Ms. Bedingfield's about-face ... came as turnover in the West Wing has picked up, although it is still nowhere comparable to the revolving door of ... Donald J. Trump's administration." The CNN story, which broke the news, is here.

That's Better. Caroline Vakil of the Hill: "President Biden is nominating Julie Rikelman, who represented the abortion clinic in the Supreme Court case that would ultimately overturn Roe v. Wade, for a judgeship on the 1st Circuit Court of Appeals, which is based in Boston. Rikelman serves as the litigation director at the Center for Reproductive Rights and previously worked at NBC Universal as vice president of litigation."

Annie Karni & Julian Barnes of the New York Times: "Responding to a string of mass shootings, a divided House passed a ban on assault weapons on Friday, moving over the near-unanimous opposition of Republicans to reinstate a prohibition that expired nearly two decades ago.... The legislation would make it illegal to sell, manufacture, transfer, possess or import assault weapons and large-capacity ammunition feeding devices. It stands no chance of passing in the evenly divided Senate.... Still, the vote provided a way for Democrats to demonstrate to voters months before the midterm elections that they were trying to address the epidemic of gun violence in America." CNN's report is here.

Dana Milbank of the Washington Post: "Sen. Tom Cotton (R-Ark.) turned with fury on ... [Joe Manchin (D-ish-W.Va.]. 'It was obviously a double-cross by Joe Manchin,' he declared on Fox News. Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) alleged ;bad faith.' Rep. Kevin Brady (Tex.), the top Republican on the Ways and Means committee, perceived 'deceit.' What terrible thing had Manchin done...? Well, it seems Manchin, the Republicans' formerly favorite Democrat, had dared to act like a Democrat.... The episode is a key reminder that the supposed 'polarization' in American politics is not symmetrical. Democrats, after a long struggle, are finally making a bid to hold the political center.... And Republicans responded by voting against veterans and U.S. manufacturing.... Manchin, no doubt, has given his fellow Democrats fits for two years. But in one sense, he is very much one of them: He still wants to get things done. In the current American political system, only one side is even trying."

GOP Presses Google to Mail Its Spam. Isaac Stanley-Becker & Josh Dawsey of the Washington Post: "The [Republican] party's online fundraising has fallen off in recent months, declining by about 11 percent in the second quarter of the year, compared with the first, according to federal filings from WinRed, the main donation-processing portal for the Republicans. Online fundraising by Democrats increased by more than 21 percent, according to filings from the Democrats' main portal, ActBlue. It's unclear what impact Google's spam filters have had on the GOP's fundraising, if any. Nevertheless, Republicans have waged a pressure campaign that has included public Twitter offensives and private discussions with Google chief executive Sundar Pichai. GOP lawmakers have introduced draft legislation in both chambers of Congress.... The GOP's full-court press drew on the party's longtime protest that Silicon Valley is biased against conservatives -- a claim disputed by the companies.... In recent election cycles, the Republican fundraising apparatus, led by Gary Coby, a strategist for ... Donald Trump, has ratcheted up email solicitations for small-dollar contributions. Trump's PAC often sends out more than a dozen pitches a day. Many are misleading, with promises of a '700%' match but with fine print showing that donations may not specifically benefit the advertised cause...."

Bob Brigham of the Raw Story: "Notorious conspiracy theory promoting Alex Jones is again seeking bankruptcy protection since losing a defamation lawsuit after he denied that the 2012 Sandy Hook elementary school massacre occurred. 'The parent company of far-right conspiracy website InfoWars filed for U.S. bankruptcy protection on Friday as the company and its founder Alex Jones faces up to $150 million in damages in a trial over longstanding falsehoods he perpetuated about the Sandy Hook elementary school massacre,' Reuters reported Friday. 'Three other companies associated with InfoWars filed for bankruptcy protection in April, but they voluntarily ended their own case in June after failing to secure a settlement with plaintiffs in the Sandy Hook defamation lawsuit. InfoW, IW Health and Prison Planet were the debtors in that case.' The parent company is Free Speech Systems, LLC."

Apoorva Mandavilli of the New York Times: "Monkeypox, once a relatively obscure virus endemic to Africa, has bloomed into a global threat, infecting more than 20,000 people in 75 countries and forcing the World Health Organization to declare a worldwide health emergency.... This virus -- unlike the coronavirus -- is a known enemy, officials say.... But ... the virus remains a mystery in some important ways, not exactly behaving in ways that researchers saw during sporadic outbreaks in African countries. Scientists are racing to answer three questions in particular that will determine how quickly monkeypox can be stopped -- if it can be stopped at all. Exactly how is the virus spreading?... Is one dose of the vaccine sufficient?... How well does drug treatment work?"

Lola Fadulu of the New York Times: "Gov. Kathy Hochul declared a state of emergency as cases of monkeypox continue to increase rapidly in New York. The outbreak has been concentrated in New York City and reached close to 1,400 cases across the state on Friday, according to the governor's disaster declaration. The declaration authorizes state agencies to assist localities in responding to the outbreak. The governor said on Twitter that it would allow the state 'to respond more swiftly' to the outbreak."

Beyond the Beltway

Florida. "Medical Freedom." Right-Wing Loons Could Take Over Your Public Hospital. Tim Craig of the Washington Post: "... a slate of four conservative candidates [is] trying to take over control of the board that oversees Sarasota's flagship public hospital, highlighting how once-obscure offices are emerging as a new front in the political and societal battles that have intensified across the country since the start of the pandemic in 2020.... Health policy experts say the campaign is a troubling sign of how ideological divisions are spilling into the world of medical care as fights over abortion, the coronavirus and vaccines increasingly fall across party lines -- alarming doctors, hospital administrators and medical experts.... The Sarasota candidates, at least three of whom are skeptical of coronavirus vaccine mandates, are rallying behind the theme of 'medical freedom.' The term is increasingly being utilized by the conservative movement nationwide and hits a belief that patients aren't given enough control over their medical care. Proponents point to vaccine mandates and difficulty accessing unproven coronavirus treatments like Ivermectin that were touted by politicians but rejected by physicians." ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: We are seeing more & more that right-wingers are not only endangering our way of life but also our very lives. So if you're thinking, "Well, I'm not a young woman, so at least the Dobbs decision isn't going to kill me," or "I'm fully vaccinated & wear a mask, so I'm safe from Republicans' anti-vax rules," or "I'm not a veteran, so I don't have to worry about not receiving treatment for cancer caused by burn-pit exposure," etc., the right has news for you. They're gonna getcha, getcha, getcha.

Way Beyond

Ukraine, et al. The New York Times' live updates of developments Saturday in Russia's war on Ukraine are here. The Guardian's live updates are here.

Canada/Vatican. Jason Horowitz of the New York Times: "Pope Francis has called the devastation visited on generations of Indigenous people in Canada by European colonizers -- carried out with the blessing of the Roman Catholic Church -- a 'genocide' as he returned to Rome after a six-day trip to the North American country. As well as again denouncing the abuse against Indigenous people, which he had previously called 'evil,' the pope noted that the Canada visit had showed that the limitations of his mobility and the advancement of his age would force him to slow down and possibly reduce the tours that have been a hallmark of his papacy."

Netherlands. David Segal of the New York Times in a very pleasing essay on why the people of Rotterdam were incensed when a beloved (and nonfunctioning) bridge known as the Hef, was being partially & temporarily dismantled so that a super-yacht being built up-river for Jeff Bezos could pass through. The article may make you wish you lived in Rotterdam or some quaint Dutch village.

News Ledes

New York Times: "The response to some of the worst flooding in Kentucky's history was entering a pivotal phase on Saturday morning, with the confirmed death toll at 25 and the search for victims poised to accelerate over a battered stretch of central Appalachia. A cold front is expected to bring clearer weather to flood-stricken areas on Saturday, giving rescue personnel one less obstacle to contend with as they work to pluck more residents off rooftops. Nearly 300 people have been rescued in Kentucky so far, about 100 of them by aircraft, Gov. Andy Beshear told reporters on Friday." An AP report is here.

AP: "Someone beat the odds and won the $1.28 billion Mega Millions jackpot. According to megamillions.com, there was one winning ticket in the draw Friday night, and it was bought in Illinois. The winning numbers were: 13-36-45-57-67, Mega Ball: 14." MB: Somewhere there is another couple who picked the same first five numbers & a wife is telling her husband, "I told you to pick 14."