The Commentariat -- April 20, 2021

Late Morning/Afternoon Update:

From the New York Times' liveblog of the trial: "Derek Chauvin was found guilty of two counts of murder on Tuesday in the death of George Floyd, whose final breaths last May under the knee of Mr. Chauvin, a former Minneapolis police officer, were captured on video, setting off months of protests against the police abuse of Black people. After deliberating for about 10 hours over two days following an emotional trial that lasted three weeks, the jury found Mr. Chauvin, who is white, guilty of second-degree murder, third-degree murder and manslaughter for the killing of Mr. Floyd, a Black man, on a street corner last year on Memorial Day." ~~~

~~~ Marty Johnson of the Hill: "Former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin has been found guilty on all charges in the murder trial of George Floyd, whose death led to months of demonstrations against police brutality last summer." ~~~

~~~ Marie: Chauvin Trial Verdicts. Count 1, unintentional 2nd-degree murder: guilty. Count 2, 3rd-degree murder, guilty. Count 3, 2nd-degree manslaugter, guilty. The judge polled the jury and sent them out; he will consult with them. Bail is revoked & defendant is remanded. Court adjourned.

The New York Times' live updates of Covid-19 developments Tuesday are here: "The United States has come a long way since Covid-19 vaccines first arrived at hospitals and long-term care facilities in December. More than 209 million doses have been administered. But the next phase of the rollout will bring new challenges, and some scientists and health officials worry that some of the most vulnerable people -- including those 65 and older -- may have trouble competing for a shot now that all adults are eligible for inoculation.... As it stands, older adults are the most vaccinated age group in the country. Yet about a fifth of those 65 and older, a group that is particularly vulnerable to serious complications and death from the virus, have not received even one shot." ~~~

~~~ The Washington Post's updates of Covid-19 developments Tuesday are here: "The coronavirus pandemic has contributed to a 'dramatic deterioration' in people's access to information around the globe, helping governments block news coverage and criminalizing reports critical of authorities' response to the crisis, Reporters Without Borders said Tuesday.... Some of the most egregious moves to silence journalists reporting on the pandemic took place in Brazil, Egypt, Iran, Venezuela and Zimbabwe, the group said."

DIY Covid Testing Now! Ken Alltucker of USA Today: "Consumers will be able to buy rapid coronavirus tests without a prescription this week at three national chain retailers, an expansion that comes as the nation's vaccination effort accelerates and states relax distancing requirements and mask mandates. Abbott Laboratories' BinaxNOW coronavirus self-test kits will be shipped to CVS Pharmacy, Walgreens and Walmart locations, and also will be sold online. The two-test kit, which last month received Food and Drug Administration emergency-use authorization for serial screening, will cost $23.99, the company said. Another rapid test made by Australia-based Ellume will be sold at CVS stores in Rhode Island and Massachusetts for $38.99. It also can be purchased online or at most CVS stores in other states by the end of May. These retail tests eliminate another barrier for people who want to test themselves without visiting a doctor or a telehealth provider. Both tests deliver results in about 15 minutes and don't require a lab."

** Thanks, Supremes! Battle of the Billionaires. Shane Goldmacher of the New York Times: "A dozen megadonors and their spouses contributed a combined $3.4 billion to federal candidates and political groups since 2009, accounting for nearly one out of every 13 dollars raised, according to a new report. The report, produced by Issue One, a nonpartisan group that seeks to reduce the influence of money in politics, shows the top 12 donors split equally between six Democrats and six Republicans. The list includes multiple Wall Street billionaires and investors, a Facebook co-founder, a shipping magnate and the heir to a family fortune dating back to the Gilded Age. The study quantifies the intensifying concentration and increasing role of the super rich in American politics following the loosening of restrictions on political spending by the U.S. Supreme Court more than a decade ago."

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Steven Weisman of the New York Times: "Walter F. Mondale, the former vice president and champion of liberal politics, activist government and civil rights who ran as the Democratic candidate for president in 1984, losing to President Ronald Reagan in a landslide, died on Monday at his home in Minneapolis. He was 93.... A son of a minister of modest means, Fritz Mondale, as he was widely known, led a rich public life that began in Minnesota under the tutelage of his state's progressive pathfinder, Hubert H. Humphrey. He achieved his own historic firsts, especially with his selection of Representative Geraldine A. Ferraro of New York as his running mate in 1984, the first woman to seek the vice presidency on a major national ticket." Politico's obituary is here. The Washington Post's obituary of Vice President Mondale is here. ~~~

~~~ Walter Mears & Kathleen Hennessey of the AP: "In the last days of his life, former Vice President Walter Mondale received a steady stream of phone calls of appreciation. Former Presidents Jimmy Carter and Bill Clinton, President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris all called to say goodbye and thank you.... Well after his bruising loss, Mondale remained a revered liberal elder -- with a list of accomplishments that are still relevant today. As a young senator, he co-wrote the Fair Housing Act of 1968, a pillar of federal civil rights legislation. He later engineered a 1975 bipartisan deal that ended the two-thirds rule for stopping filibusters, so that 60 senators instead of 67 could cut off debate. Under President Jimmy Carter, he became the first vice president with a day job, as adviser to the president, not just a bystander. He called it the 'executivization' of the vice presidency. And as a Democratic presidential nominee, he chose the first female nominee for vice president from a major party." ~~~

~~~ The statement of President Joe Biden and Dr. Jill Biden is here. ~~~

~~~ Karen Tumulty of the Washington Post: "Walter F. Mondale, who died Monday at the age of 93, will be remembered for many achievements during his nearly four decades of public service in Minnesota, on Capitol Hill, in the White House and as U.S. ambassador to Japan. But his most enduring contribution may well have been the invention of the modern vice presidency, and his creation of a template that has been followed to some degree ever since. Mondale's activist model as an all-purpose adviser and troubleshooter is one for which President Biden, a former vice president, and Kamala D. Harris, the current occupant of the office, should be grateful. Before Mondale, the vice president was largely a figurehead. When Dwight D. Eisenhower was asked to name a meaningful contribution Richard M. Nixon had made to his administration, he said -- jokingly, he would later contend -- that 'if you give me a week, I might think of one.' During John F. Kennedy's time in office, his vice president, Lyndon B. Johnson, bristled under the slights and contempt he felt from Kennedy's Ivy League circle. After Kennedy's 1963 assassination, Johnson himself went without a vice president for nearly 14 months."

Katie Benner of the New York Times: "Attorney General Merrick B. Garland said on Monday that the Justice Department was pouring resources into its effort to stop domestic violent extremists and that those who attacked the United States would be brought to justice, in a speech commemorating the 26th anniversary of the Oklahoma City bombing. As a young Justice Department official, Mr. Garland led the investigation into the 1995 attack on the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building, the worst domestic terror attack in American history. Timothy J McVeigh, an Army veteran who hoped to use violence to spark an anti-government revolution, was ultimately convicted of using a massive truck bomb to destroy the federal building and kill 168 people, including 19 children. 'Although many years have passed, the terror perpetrated by people like Timothy McVeigh is still with us,' Mr. Garland said." A USA Today story is here.

Jonathan Swan of Axios: "The State Department said Monday that the U.S. ambassador to Russia, John Sullivan, will now be returning to the United States this week before returning to Moscow 'in the coming weeks.'... The statement, from a State Department spokesperson, comes just hours after Axios reported that Sullivan had indicated he intended to stand his ground and stay in Russia after the Kremlin 'advised' him to return home to talk with his team. The Russians did not forcibly expel Sullivan as they did with 10 other U.S. diplomats in retaliation for President Biden's sanctions last week. 'Ambassador Sullivan will be returning to the U.S. this week to visit his family and meet with members of the new administration with whom he has not had a chance to consult since he agreed to continue serving in his post indefinitely,' a State Department spokesperson told Axios Monday night."

Peter Hermann & Spencer Hsu of the Washington Post: "Capitol Police officer Brian D. Sicknick suffered two strokes and died of natural causes a day after he confronted rioters at the Jan. 6 insurrection, the District's chief medical examiner has ruled. The ruling, released Monday, will make it difficult for prosecutors to pursue homicide charges in the officer's death. Two men are accused of assaulting Sicknick by spraying a powerful chemical irritant at him during the siege, but prosecutors have not tied that exposure to Sicknick's death. In an interview with The Washington Post, Francisco J. Diaz, the medical examiner, said the autopsy found no evidence the 42-year-old officer suffered an allergic reaction to chemical irritants, which Diaz said would have caused Sicknick’s throat to quickly seize. Diaz also said there was no evidence of internal or external injuries. Diaz said Sicknick suffered two strokes at the base of the brain stem caused by a clot in an artery that supplies blood to that area of the body." The AP's story is here.

Benjamin Din of Politico: "House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy said on Monday that he would introduce a resolution to censure Rep. Maxine Waters for comments she made over the weekend in Minnesota that Republican lawmakers said stoked further violence. 'This weekend in Minnesota, Maxine Waters broke the law by violating curfew and then incited violence,' he said on Twitter. 'Speaker Pelosi is ignoring Waters' behavior -- that's why I am introducing a resolution to censure Rep. Waters for these dangerous comments.' His tweet came hours after House Speaker Nancy Pelosi came to Waters' defense on Monday, saying that Waters did not need to apologize for her comments. When asked whether Waters (D-Calif.) incited violence with her comments, Pelosi told a reporter, 'No, absolutely not.'" ~~~

~~~ Gerren Gaynor of the Grio: "In an ... interview with theGrio, [Rep. Maxine] Waters dismissed suggestions that she was encouraging violence. 'I am nonviolent,' she said. The congresswoman said attempts to characterize her words and suggest otherwise is nothing more than a political tactic by the GOP.... Further clarifying her comments on being 'confrontational,' the California congresswoman said 'I talk about confronting the justice system, confronting the policing that's going on, I'm talking about speaking up. I'm talking about legislation. I'm talking about elected officials doing what needs to be done to control their budgets and to pass legislation.'"

Annie Grayer & Kristin Wilson of CNN: "Republican Rep. Steve Stivers of Ohio announced Monday on Twitter that he is leaving Congress next month to become the president and CEO of the Ohio Chamber of Commerce, giving the GOP at least temporarily one fewer vote in the narrowly divided House of Representatives." (Also linked yesterday.)

Spencer Hsu of the Washington Post: "The American Civil Liberties Union asked the Supreme Court on Monday to open a window on the government's secretive system for approving national security surveillance on U.S. soil. Transparency advocates petitioned the high court to review whether the public has a right to access the decisions of a largely secret federal surveillance court, whose growing reach and brushes with political controversy have drawn increasing attention -- and contrasting opinions about public access within the court itself. The filing comes after the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court (FISA) and an associated review panel issued rulings in September and October saying they lacked authority even to consider a public claim under the First Amendment to their secret decisions and lawmaking." An AP story is here. (Also linked yesterday.)

Michael Isikoff of Yahoo! News: "Foreign-based actors, principally in China and Russia, are spreading online disinformation rooted in QAnon conspiracy theories, fueling a movement that has become a mounting domestic terrorism threat, according to new analysis of online propaganda by a security firm. The analysis by the Soufan Center, a New York-based research firm focused on national security threats, found that nearly one-fifth of 166,820 QAnon-related Facebook posts between January 2020 and the end of February 2021 originated from overseas administrators.... The report injects a new element into the debate about how to counter QAnon -- a bizarre but increasingly widespread conspiracy movement that has pushed the idea that the U.S. government is secretly run by Satan worshipers involved in a global sex trafficking ring."

Do as I Say, Not as I Do. Nathaniel Meyersohn of CNN: Despite asking his supporters to boycott Coca Cola products, Donald Trump is still drinking Diet Coke and his resorts & Trump hotels are still serving Coke products. "A CNN reporter on April 8 enjoyed a Diet Coke at the Trump International Hotel in Washington D.C.... The soda cost $9.00, but a friendly and professional waiter did offer two free refills of the drink...."

The Pandemic, Ctd.

The New York Times' live updates of Covid-19 developments Monday are here. The Washington Post's live updates for Monday are here: "All adults in the United States are now eligible for a coronavirus vaccine -- and President Biden marked the milestone with a video urging Americans to get their shots. 'Folks, I have good news,' Biden said in a White House clip. 'Everybody is eligible, as of today, to get the vaccine. We have enough of it; you need to be protected, and you need, in turn, to protect your neighbors and your family. So please, get the vaccine.'" (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~

Beyond the Beltway

Florida. Greg Allen of NPR: "Florida's governor has signed a law that he called the 'strongest anti-rioting, pro-law enforcement measure in the country.' The law was written in response to protests around the country following the death of George Floyd at the hands of Minneapolis police. It provides new protections for police and increases the penalties for people who take part in property damage or violence during protests. Florida experienced little of the violence seen elsewhere in the country last summer following Floyd's death.... The law increases penalties for protesters who block roadways or deface public monuments. It creates a new crime, 'mob intimidation.' And it requires that anyone arrested at a protest be denied bail until their first court appearance, likely making for overnight jail stays.... Civil rights and social justice groups said it's an unconstitutional attack on free speech."

Indiana. Campbell Robertson of the New York Times: "The senior county prosecutor in Indianapolis said on Monday that his office never sought to invoke a law that could have prevented Brandon Hole from buying two firearms before he shot and killed eight people last week at a FedEx packaging warehouse. In a news conference, Ryan Mears, the prosecutor for Marion County, said his office had decided not to use Indiana's so-called red flag law last year, even though Mr. Hole's mother's warnings about her son's mental instability had prompted the police to seize a shotgun from him. The tight deadlines and constraints on evidence gathering built into the state's 16-year-old statute gave prosecutors too little time to make a convincing case to a judge, Mr. Mears said, adding that losing in court could have backfired. 'If we move forward with that proceeding, and we lose, guess what happens: that firearm goes right back to that person,' he said. 'We weren't willing to take that.'" An AP story is here.

Minnesota. Shaila Dewan, et al., of the New York Times: "The two sides in one of the nation's most closely watched police brutality trials returned one last time to the graphic video of George Floyd's final moments on Monday, with the prosecution asking jurors to 'believe your eyes' and the defense warning them not to be 'misled' by a freeze-frame view. After 14 days of testimony from policing experts, medical doctors, members of the Minneapolis Police Department and bystanders, lawyers made their closing arguments, urging the jurors to use common sense as the case was placed in their hands. The prosecution focused on the nine minutes and 29 seconds that Derek Chauvin, the white police officer charged with murder, kept his knee on the neck of Mr. Floyd, a handcuffed Black man, on a Minneapolis street last Memorial Day.... In a lengthy rebuttal, the defense emphasized the 17 minutes leading up to that time -- suggesting that Mr. Floyd had taken illicit drugs and had actively resisted when several officers tried to get him into a squad car. Mr. Chauvin's lawyer, Eric J. Nelson, repeatedly told jurors to look at the 'totality of the circumstances.'" The AP story is here. ~~~

~~~ Tim Sullivan of the AP: "More than 3,000 National Guard soldiers, along with police officers, state police, sheriffs deputies and other law enforcement personnel have flooded [Minneapolis] in recent days, with a verdict looming in the trial of Derek Chauvin, the former police officer charged with murder in the death last year of George Floyd.... Concrete barriers, chain-link fences and barbed wire now ring parts of downtown Minneapolis so that authorities can quickly close off the courthouse where the trial is being held. It's become normal in recent days to pass convoys of desert-tan military vehicles on nearby highways, and stumble across armed men and women standing guard."

New York. Jesse McKinley of the New York Times: "The New York State attorney general has opened an investigation into Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo's use of state resources as he wrote and promoted his recent pandemic memoir, the latest inquiry to engulf the embattled three-term Democrat. The investigation followed disclosures that junior staff members and senior aides worked on Mr. Cuomo's book..., including editing early drafts, sitting in on pitch meetings, and menial tasks like printing and delivering manuscript pages to the governor's mansion. Mr. Cuomo has insisted that any work done by government employees on the book -- which garnered a seven-figure advance -- was voluntary, allowing that some minor work may have been 'incidental.'"

The Commentariat -- April 19, 2021

Late Morning/Afternoon Update:

Closing arguments have begun in Derek Chauvin's murder trial. The New York Times' liveblog for today is here. The Washington Post's liveblog is here. CNN's liveblog is here.

Annie Grayer & Kristin Wilson of CNN: "Republican Rep. Steve Stivers of Ohio announced Monday on Twitter that he is leaving Congress next month to become the president and CEO of the Ohio Chamber of Commerce, giving the GOP at least temporarily one fewer vote in the narrowly divided House of Representatives."

Spencer Hsu of the Washington Post: "The American Civil Liberties Union asked the Supreme Court on Monday to open a window on the government's secretive system for approving national security surveillance on U.S. soil. Transparency advocates petitioned the high court to review whether the public has a right to access the decisions of a largely secret federal surveillance court, whose growing reach and brushes with political controversy have drawn increasing attention -- and contrasting opinions about public access within the court itself. The filing comes after the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court (FISA) and an associated review panel issued rulings in September and October saying they lacked authority even to consider a public claim under the First Amendment to their secret decisions and lawmaking." An AP story is here.

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So far, another Slow Gnus Monday. Thank you, Joe Biden.

Ishan Tharoor of the Washington Post: "Of the many fronts the Biden administration is diverging from its predecessor, the most striking -- and likely most consequential -- is on climate. For four years under ... Donald Trump, the federal government of the United States cut itself adrift from the broad international consensus. It turned its back on the Paris climate accords, undermined coordination on climate efforts at major summits, boosted the fossil fuel industry and championed narrow national interests in the face of what the U.S.'s own intelligence community sees as a looming global catastrophe. President Biden immediately shifted course. He restored American participation in the 2015 Paris climate agreement, while recognizing that the world's biggest economies are already lagging behind in the face of an escalating climate emergency. He issued executive orders mobilizing agencies across the federal government to focus on tackling climate change and has proposed a multitrillion dollar infrastructure and jobs plan that would accelerate the country';s transition to a greener economy." ~~~

~~~ Jason Samenow of the Washington Post: "White House officials have removed Betsy Weatherhead, an experienced atmospheric scientist tapped by a Trump appointee to oversee the U.S. government's definitive report on the effects of climate change, from her position. According to two officials, she has been reassigned to the U.S. Geological Survey, the Interior Department's scientific arm.... Officials at the White House Office of Science Technology Policy, which oversees the research program, made the decision to reassign Weatherhead.... Jane Lubchenco, who headed the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration during President Barack Obama's first term, leads climate matters at the OSTP.... According to people with knowledge of the situation, there was friction between Weatherhead and some of the officials among the 13 agencies participating in the research program on the direction of the report. It came as a surprise when Weatherhead was selected to lead the assessment in November because she is considered a mainstream climate scientist and does not question the seriousness of climate change like other scientists who were installed by the Trump administration to work on the issue." ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: Do you think "Weatherhead" really is Betsy's last name? And if it is, isn't it morally wrong, or at least bad karma, to remove her as head of a group assigned to assess, well, the weather? BTW, I do know the difference between "weather" and "climate," but maybe the name "Elisabetta Climatico" was taken.

Republicans Cheat at Everything. Paul Farhi of the Washington Post: "Four party-affiliated organizations, including the Republican National Committee, collectively spent more than $1 million during the past election cycle mass-purchasing books written by GOP candidates, elected officials and personalities, according to Federal Election Commission expenditure reports. The purchases helped turn several volumes into bestsellers. While there's no prohibition on such second-party purchases, a new complaint alleges that another Texas Republican, Sen. Ted Cruz, crossed the line into illegal activity when he used campaign money to boost sales of his newest book. A government watchdog organization, the Campaign Legal Center..., said Cruz's campaign committee effectively converted campaign contributions to Cruz's personal enrichment, an illegal practice."

Gary Fineout of Politico: "Matt Gaetz's political trail was not just preceded but heavily influenced by his father, a Republican multi-millionaire businessman who had a reputation for rhetorical flourishes and drag-out political fights. Don Gaetz all but paved his son's way into Florida's political world, and some suggest that his father's stature and influence is even helping his son as he faces a probe into potential sex trafficking." MB: I didn't feel like reading about Matt's hereditary issues, but maybe you will.

John Bowden of the Hill: "Nearly two-thirds of all U.S. adults surveyed in a new poll said that they believed Supreme Court justices should face term limits and leave the court after a certain amount of time on the bench. The Reuters-Ipsos survey conducted between April 15 and April 16 found that just 22 percent of respondents supported lifetime appointments for Supreme Court justices, while 63 percent supported term limits. The remainder of respondents had no opinion or were unsure. While having new faces join the court was important for many Americans, doing it without a vacancy on the court at its current size was not nearly as popular. Just 38 percent said they supported court packing, or expanding the size of the Supreme Court and adding more justices to the bench, while 42 percent opposed such an idea. The remaining 20 percent of respondents were unsure."

The Pandemic, Ctd.

The New York Times' live updates of Covid-19 developments Monday are here: "All adults in every U.S. state, Washington, D.C., and Puerto Rico are now eligible for a Covid-19 vaccine, meeting the April 19 deadline that President Biden set two weeks ago. The United States is administering an average of 3.2 million doses a day, up from roughly 2.5 million a month before. More than 131 million people, or half of all American adults, had received at least one shot as of Sunday, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and about 84.3 million people have been fully vaccinated." MB: Thank you, Joe Biden. ~~~

     ~~~ The Washington Post's live updates for Monday are here.

The New York Times' live updates of Covid-19 developments Sunday are here: "A decision about whether to resume administering the Johnson & Johnson Covid-19 vaccine should come this Friday, when an expert panel that is advising the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is scheduled to meet, according to Dr. Anthony S. Fauci, the nation's leading infectious disease expert."

Dan Diamond of the Washington Post: eBay listings of fake vaccination cards "listings are a 'perfect example' of burgeoning scams involving coronavirus vaccination cards that could undermine people's safety, as well as the success of the nation's largest mass vaccination effort, said North Carolina Attorney General Josh Stein. Individuals might use them to misrepresent their vaccination status at school, work or in various living and travel situations, potentially exposing others to risk. Stein, who led a recent effort with 47 colleagues demanding that eBay and other e-commerce platforms crack down on the scams, pointed to the FBI's warning that anyone who makes or buys a fake vaccine card is breaking the law, and said he would consider prosecution, too.... For months, officials have been a step behind the scammers, who have openly discussed strategies to fake the cards on social media, sold them on sites such as eBay and pulled blank photos off state websites. Federal officials' decision to use paper cards that can be easily photocopied or even printed off a template, rather than a digital tracking system, worsened those risks."

Beyond the Beltway

Colorado. Jaclyn Peiser of the Washington Post: "Cloaked and seated on her bench, Colorado district judge Natalie T. Chase asked two Black court employees last May to explain the Black Lives Matter movement after overhearing them talk about protests in Denver over the death of George Floyd. After hearing their explanation, Chase, who is White, said she thought the police involved in Floyd's death sound be investigated. But then she maintained that, in fact, 'all lives matter.' The incident was one of numerous claims of racist or unprofessional behavior raised against Chase, including another occasion where she used the n-word multiple times while talking to a Black colleague, court officials said. On Friday, Chase agreed to resign after the Colorado Supreme Court censured her based on a report finding that she had 'undermined confidence in the impartiality of the judiciary by expressing [her] views about criminal justice, police brutality, race and racial bias, specifically while wearing [her] robe in court staff work areas and from the bench.'... Former Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper (D) appointed Chase...."

Minnesota. Kellen Browning of the New York Times: "Tim Walz, the governor of Minnesota, on Sunday responded to reports that the state's police officers had assaulted journalists covering the unrest in a Minneapolis suburb, saying, 'Apologies are not enough; it just cannot happen.' Protests have erupted in Brooklyn Center, Minn., in the wake of the death of Daunte Wright, a 20-year-old Black man who was killed by a veteran police officer during a traffic stop. Law enforcement officers have fired tear gas or pepper spray into crowds and have made dozens of arrests. 'I think we all need to recognize the assault on media across the world and even in our country over the last few years is chilling,' Mr. Walz said in an interview with a local CBS station. 'We cannot function as a democracy if they're not there.'" ~~~

~~~ Samantha Hendrickson of the Minnesota Daily: "A new bill proposed in the Minnesota Legislature would make anyone convicted of a crime at a protest ineligible for student loans and many other forms of state financial aid. The bill, authored by Sen. David Osmek (R- Mound), states that 'A person convicted of a criminal offense related to the person's illegal conduct at a protest, demonstration, rally, civil unrest, or march is ineligible for any type of state loan, grant, or assistance, including but not limited to college student loans and grants ...' Other forms of state financial aid, including food stamps, rent assistance and unemployment benefits, are also in the bill."

Way Beyond

Ireland. Mark Landler of the New York Times: "Seeking to salve an old wound at a time of sorrow for Britain's royal family, the political leader of the Irish republican movement apologized on Sunday for the 1979 assassination of Louis Mountbatten, an uncle of Prince Philip. Mary Lou McDonald, the leader of Sinn Fein, which was once the political wing of the underground Irish Republican Army, told a London radio station, 'Of course, I am sorry that happened; of course, that is heartbreaking.' Ms. McDonald offered the landmark apology a day after Queen Elizabeth II buried her husband, Philip, in a ceremony at Windsor Castle that paid tribute to his military career. His uncle Lord Mountbatten, a celebrated commander during World War II who later served as the last viceroy of India, overseeing its partition and transition to independence, was killed after a bomb exploded on his fishing boat off the coast of Ireland."

Russia. BBC: "The US has warned Russia there will be 'consequences' if the opposition activist Alexei Navalny dies in jail. The UK, France, Germany and the European Union have also expressed their concern over his treatment. Navalny's doctors say he 'will die within the next few days' if not given urgen medical attention for acute back pain and leg numbness. Russia's ambassador to the UK has said that Navalny is attention seeking and /will not be allowed to die in prison'." ~~~

     ~~~ Update: Daria Litvinova of the AP: "The Russian state penitentiary service said Monday a decision has been made to transfer imprisoned Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny, who is in the third week of a hunger strike, to a hospital. The announcement comes two days after Navalny's physician said his health was deteriorating rapidly and the 44-year-old Kremlin critic could be on the verge of death. The state prison service, FSIN, said in a statement that Navalny would be transferred to a hospital for convicts located in another penal colony in Vladimir, a city 180 kilometers (110 miles) east of Moscow. According to the statement, Navalny's condition is deemed 'satisfactory' and he has agreed to take vitamin therapy." ~~~

~~~ Michael Schwirtz of the New York Times: "A day after the government of the Czech Republic blamed operatives from Russia's military intelligence agency for a series of mysterious explosions at an ammunition depot in 2014 and expelled 18 Russian diplomats, the Russian government announced on Sunday that 20 Czech diplomats would be ejected in response. The expulsions signal further escalation of tensions between the Kremlin and western governments, reaching an intensity not seen since the Cold War."

News Ledes

Washington Post: "The former law enforcement officer suspected of gunning down three people Sunday in Austin has been captured after a 20-hour manhunt, according to the Travis County District Attorney's Office. Authorities tracked down Stephen Nicholas Broderick, 41, an ex-detective at the Travis County Sheriff's Office, early Monday after getting two 911 calls about a man walking along a road in the Austin suburb of Manor. He had a pistol in his waistband but was taken into custody without any further violence, the Associated Press reported.

AP: "NASA's experimental Mars helicopter rose from the dusty red surface into the thin air Monday, achieving the first powered, controlled flight on another planet. The triumph was hailed as a Wright Brothers moment. The mini 4-pound (1.8-kilogram) copter named Ingenuity, in fact, carried a bit of wing fabric from the 1903 Wright Flyer, which made similar history at Kitty Hawk, North Carolina. 'We can now say that human beings have flown a rotorcraft on another planet,' project manager MiMi Aung announced to her team. Flight controllers in California confirmed Ingenuity's brief hop after receiving data via the Perseverance rover, which stood watch more than 200 feet (65 meters) away. Ingenuity hitched a ride to Mars on Perseverance, clinging to the rover's belly upon their arrival in an ancient river delta in February." A New York Times story is here. And here's video, mostly of NASA scientists cheering!

The Commentariat -- April 18, 2021

Helene Cooper, et al., of the New York Times: "Over two decades of war that spanned four presidents, the Pentagon had always managed to fend off the political instincts of elected leaders frustrated with the grind of Afghanistan, as commanders repeatedly requested more time and more troops. Even as the number of American forces in Afghanistan steadily decreased to the 2,500 who still remained, Defense Department leaders still cobbled together a military effort that managed to protect the United States from terrorist attacks even as it failed, spectacularly, to defeat the Taliban in a place that has crushed foreign occupiers for 2,000 years. The current military leadership hoped it, too, could convince a new president to maintain at least a modest troop presence, trying to talk Mr. Biden into keeping a residual force and setting conditions on any withdrawal. But Mr. Biden refused to be persuaded.... Donald J. Trump declared that all American troops were coming home -- but never carried through a plan to do so." ~~~

~~~ Maureen Dowd of the New York Times: "Taliban leaders say Americans have all the clocks, but they have all the time. The Bush administration was arrogant and ignorant about occupying this medieval moonscape. Officials thought they could bomb the bejesus out of the people who hated us.... Even Barack Obama, once so prescient on the futility of invading Iraq, was suckered by the military into a pointless surge in Afghanistan, a near tripling of troops, in 2009.... We should have respected Afghanistan's reputation as 'the graveyard of empires' and Pakistan's deserved reputation for double-dealing.... As with Vietnam, many of those in charge knew for a long time that the war was unwinnable, but they hid the evidence, giving rosy forecasts while burning through $2.2 trillion and hundreds of thousands of lives.... As vice president, Biden was a lone voice in the Oval Office objecting to the surge in Afghanistan. He told Obama, if you let them, the generals will box you in and string it out."

Ben Leonard of Politico: "President Joe Biden on Saturday denounced Russia over its treatment of prominent Putin critic Alexei Navalny amid reports his health is deteriorating in prison. 'It's totally, totally unfair,' Biden said, according to a pool report. 'Totally inappropriate.'... Navalny's doctor said Saturday he 'could die at any moment.'"

Hyung-Jin Kim of the AP: "The United States and China, the world's two biggest carbon polluters, have agreed to cooperate with other countries to curb climate change, just days before President Joe Biden hosts a virtual summit of world leaders to discuss the issue. The agreement was reached by U.S. special envoy for climate John Kerry and his Chinese counterpart Xie Zhenhua during two days of talks in Shanghai last week, the State Department said in a statement Saturday.... Kerry's Shanghai trip marked the highest-level travel to China by a U.S. official since Biden took office in January.... Biden has invited 40 world leaders, including Chinese President Xi Jinping, to the April 22-23 summit."

Ta Ta, Trumpie. Ellen Nakashima of the Washington Post: "Michael Ellis, a former Republican political operative, resigned Friday as the National Security Agency's top lawyer, having been sidelined for three months after President Biden took office. The NSA director, Gen. Paul Nakasone, had placed Ellis on administrative leave the day ... Donald Trump left the White House -- just as Ellis was taking up the position. The reasons: a pending Pentagon inspector general probe, an official told The Washington Post at the time, and a security inquiry into Ellis's handling of classified information, according to a letter from Ellis's attorney to Nakasone, a copy of which was obtained by The Post. Nakasone had agreed to install Ellis as general counsel just days earlier under orders from Trump's acting defense secretary. The role does not require Senate confirmation. The inspector general inquiry into the circumstances of Ellis's selection remains open, Nakasone told Congress on Thursday." Ellis was formerly counsel to Devin Nunes.

Interlude in the Sordid History of the Congressional White Supremacy Caucus. Daniella Diaz of CNN: "Conservative Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene is scrapping the planned launch of her 'America First' caucus after receiving blowback from leaders in her own party, despite confirming through a spokesperson on Friday that the caucus would launch.... 'The Congresswoman wants to make clear that she is not launching anything. This was an early planning proposal and nothing was agreed to or approved,' [Greene's spokesman] said in an email to CNN, referring to a flier promoting the caucus, obtained by Punchbowl News, that used inflammatory rhetoric." MB: Wow! Too racist for the Party of Racists! (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ~~~

~~~ Amy Wang & Colby Itkowitz of the Washington Post: "Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene on Saturday tried to distance herself from a document published by Punchbowl News that purportedly outlined the goals of a new 'America First Caucus' being formed by Greene and other hard-right GOP lawmakers. The document had received blowback from Democrats and some Republicans for promoting nativist policies and perpetuating the falsehood that there was widespread fraud and corruption in the 2020 election. On Saturday, Greene (R-Ga.) described the document as 'a staff level draft proposal from an outside group' and claimed she had not read it. She blasted the media for 'taking something out of context,' but did not specify to which policies in the document she objected. However, Greene did not deny plans to start an 'America First Caucus' and ended a lengthy Twitter thread by saying she supported former president Donald Trump's 'America First agenda.'... Greene and Rep. Paul A. Gosar (R-Ariz.) are reportedly behind the new caucus, according to Punchbowl News.... Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.), who faces federal and House Ethics Committee investigations over allegations of sexual misconduct and illicit drug use, tweeted Friday that he was joining Greene in the caucus." ~~~

~~~ Tommy Christopher of Mediaite gathers Twitter comments from members of Congress, "welcoming" the new White Supremacy Caucus. But some have questions. For instance, Ruben Gallego (D-Az.) wants to know, "So what kind of food will they eat in this Caucus meeting? Just purely Anglo Saxon food? What does that even look like ? Can you use spices? What about tomatoes and potatoes those were cultivated by Indigenous people of the New World?" Ted Lieu (D-Calif.) asks, "When you say Anglo-Saxon, do you mean Aryan? Or master race? Can I join? Will your caucus meetings serve tacos?" ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: According to my extensive research (I Googled "what did anglo saxons eat"): "They ate a mix of vegetables, including onions, peas, parsnips, and cabbage. Their favourite meats included deer and wild boar, which they roasted over a fire in the middle of their houses. They ate their meat with bread and washed their meal down with beer, rather than water." Margie, get your gun. A'hunting you must go.

** How the Supremes Enabled DWB Stops. Christopher Durocher in Politico Magazine: "Traffic stops figure prominently in some of the most high-profile police killings of Black people.... Five decades of Supreme Court precedent ... [have] successively opened the door to -- and given police an incentive to -- use traffic stops as an invasive tool of policing aimed mostly at people of color, primarily Black people.... The Supreme Court opened the door to legally permissible racialized policing with the 1967 case Terry v. Ohio, by allowing police to conduct certain cursory searches, now known as stop-and-frisks, based on the low legal standard of 'reasonable suspicion.'... The practice of racially profiling Black drivers was effectively endorsed by the Court in the 1996 ruling in Whren v. United States, which decided that police are allowed to use minor vehicle infractions as a pretext to initiate traffic stops with the goal of investigating other possible unrelated crimes. According to an analysis of over 100 million traffic stops, Black drivers are about 40 percent more likely to be pulled over than their white counterparts ... [and Blacks and Hispanics] are twice as likely as white drivers to have their cars searched after being pulled over.... In the earlier 1982 case Harlow v. Fitzgerald, the Court made the lethal decision to create the doctrine it called 'qualified immunity,' which has since allowed police to injure and kill with little or no consequence...." More on DWB linked under Virginia below.

Jonathan Capehart of the Washington Post: "Being Black in America is exhausting." MB: Take a walk (don't linger!) in Capehart's shoes; the rules for Black people (and I'd say for others, especially young men, who don't "look White") are different from the rules for White people.

Elahe Izadi & Sarah Ellison of the Washington Post: "A Wyoming-based Swiss billionaire who formed half of the consortium making a bid to buy Tribune Publishing Co. has backed out of the deal, according to two people familiar with negotiations. Hansjörg Wyss had joined with Maryland business executive Stewart Bainum Jr. earlier this month in submitting the $680 million proposal to a special committee of Tribune's board, in an attempt to beat out an offer from Alden Global Capital. The development casts further doubt on whether journalists at Tribune newspapers can avoid a takeover by the hedge fund, which has a reputation for deep cost-cutting."

The Pandemic, Ctd.

The New York Times' live updates of Covid-19 developments Saturday are here.

Thank You, Joe Biden, et al. Celine Castronuovo of the Hill: "Roughly half of U.S. adults have received at least one dose of the coronavirus vaccine, according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) released Saturday. Across the country, more than 128 million people ages 18 and older have received at least one shot, with more than 82 million fully vaccinated with one of the three vaccines approved for emergency use in the U.S., the CDC said. Overall, 49.7 percent of U.S. adults have received at least one vaccine dose, according to the data, and nearly a third are fully vaccinated."

The Washington Post has a story on how to handle your vaccination card. The article is free to nonsubscribers.

David Biller, et al., of the AP: "The global death toll from the coronavirus topped a staggering 3 million people Saturday amid repeated setbacks in the worldwide vaccination campaign and a deepening crisis in places such as Brazil, India and France."

Beyond the Beltway

Indiana. Andrés R. Martínez, et al., of the New York Times: "At least four of the victims [of the Indianapolis mass murder at a FedEx facility] were members of the Sikh community, and the attack renewed the fears of American Sikhs, who have over the years been accosted for wearing turbans and attacked in a house of worship.... The authorities have not said whether hate or bias might have played a role in the attack." The story has been modified to include the details reported in the item linked next. ~~~

~~~ New York Times: "Brandon Hole, the 19-year-old who the police say fatally shot eight people at a FedEx facility on Thursday night, legally purchased two semiautomatic rifles he used in the attack more than six months earlier, according to the chief of the Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department. In March of 2020, the police had seized a shotgun from Mr. Hole after his mother raised concerns about his mental state, records show. But, Chief Randal Taylor said, the fact that Mr. Hole was legally able to make the more recent gun purchases indicates that, despite his mother's warning and the police seizure of a gun, the authorities had not deemed him subject to Indiana's so-called 'red flag' law, which bars people who are found by a judge to present dangerous risk from possessing a firearm. Under the state's longstanding red flag law, the authorities have two weeks after taking someone's weapon to argue before a judge that the person is unstable and should be barred from possessing a gun for a period of time. But Chief Taylor was unsure whether a hearing like that ever took place -- even though the police never returned the shotgun they had seized last year." The item is part of a NYT liveblog.

Minnesota. Under Court Order Not to Arrest Journalists, Cops Harass Them Instead. Adrianna Rodriguez of USA Today: "Journalists covering a protest in a Minneapolis suburb [Brooklyn Center] Friday night were forced on their stomachs by law enforcement, rounded up and were only released after having their face and press credentials photographed. The incident occurred hours after a judge issued a temporary order barring the Minnesota State Patrol from using physical force or chemical agents against journalists, according to court documents. It also barred police from seizing photographic, audio or video recording equipment, or press passes. Minnesota State Patrol on Saturday said in a statement, 'troopers checked and photographed journalists and their credentials and driver's licenses at the scene in order to expedite the identification process.' While some journalists were 'detained and released during enforcement actions after providing credentials, no journalists have been arrested,' MSP said.... The court order was part of an ongoing case filed by the American Civil Liberties Union after journalists say they were targeted during protests sparked by the death of George Floyd, who was killed by former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin last year."

South Carolina. Hannah Knowles & Meryl Kornfield of the Washington Post: "An Army sergeant and instructor in South Carolina was charged Wednesday with third-degree assault after a video captured him shoving a young Black man and saying he was 'in the wrong neighborhood,' authorities said. The confrontation from earlier this week near Columbia, S.C., sparked a public outcry, and protesters crowded Wednesday on the sidewalk outside the home of the soldier, 42-year-old Jonathan Pentland, who is White.... Two reports of alleged assault were also made against the young man after deputies responded Monday, according to the sheriff's department, and they are being investigated. The young man has 'an underlying medical condition that may explain the behavior exhibited in the alleged incidents,' the agency said."

Virginia. DWB. Gary Harki of the Virginian-Pilot: "The video of Windsor Police drawing guns on Caron Nazario before pepper spraying him may have gone viral, but it wasn't a surprise to some Black people who drive up and down U.S. Route 460 between Suffolk and Petersburg. Many who use the route to travel from Hampton Roads to Virginia State University said they expect to get pulled over there on the pretext of speeding or tinted windows. They say the real reason is because they are Black.... Eight Black former VSU students and faculty ... say it's been common knowledge for decades at VSU that if you travel through the area, you'll be stopped on the pretext of speeding or a minor infraction, then get harassed by police.... In Virginia, about 20% of the state's 8.5 million residents are Black, but in Wakefield, Waverly and Windsor the percentage of cases involving Black people that land in General District Court, where speeding tickets and minor traffic citations are heard, is far higher."

Way Beyond

Myanmar. AP: "Myanmar's junta on Saturday released more than 23,000 prisoners to mark the traditional new year holiday, including at least three political detainees, and the military leader behind the February coup confirmed he would attend a regional summit later this month. It wasn't immediately clear if those released included pro-democracy activists who were detained for protesting the coup. State broadcaster MRTV said that junta chief Senior Gen. Min Aung Hlaing had pardoned 23,047 prisoners, including 137 foreigners who will be deported from Myanmar. He also reduced sentences for others. As security forces continued the deadly crackdown, unconfirmed but credible accounts with photos on social media said that three people were killed Saturday in the central city of Mogok, in Myanmar's gem mining region."

U.K. Mark Landler of the New York Times: "... Prince Philip was laid to rest on Saturday at Windsor Castle in an austere, meticulously choreographed funeral that captured his steely role in Britain's royal family and offered a solemn glimpse of its uncertain future. Queen Elizabeth II bade farewell to Philip, her husband, who died on April 9, two months shy of his 100th birthday, from solitude inside St. George's Chapel. She was clad in a mask and kept at a distance from her children and grandchildren by pandemic social distancing requirements, which limited attendance to 30 people. Her grandsons Prince William and Prince Harry were separated as well, by one of their cousins, as they walked behind Philip's coffin. This quirk of royal protocol dramatized the rift between the brothers that opened after Harry's marriage to an American former actress, Meghan Markle.... But this was a somber occasion, a family convening in sadness to mark the death of a man whom many credited with providing stability and meting out discipline to younger royals as they struggled to navigate the pressures of duty and celebrity." An AP News story is here. ~~~

~~~ Louis Lucero of the New York Times: "With coronavirus restrictions firmly in place, some of Queen Elizabeth II's relatives sat in small family groups with children and spouses to mourn Prince Philip, her husband. But she sat alone at the end of a pew, and for many watching the proceedings from home, the sight of the newly widowed queen, who will turn 95 next week, was perhaps the saddest image of the day." ~~~

~~~ The Washington Post has a slideshow of scenes from Philip's funeral. If you want to watch video highlights, this 6:15-minute Sky News reel isn't too bad.

News Ledes

Another Saturday Night. AP: "Authorities in [Kenosha,] Wisconsin pleaded Sunday for help in locating a suspect who opened fire at a tavern in a confrontation that left three people dead and two people seriously injured. Kenosha Sheriff David Beth said while the suspected shooter is still at large, the public is not believed to be in danger. The suspect apparently knew the victims and targeted them, although it is not clear whether the victims knew him The shooting happened at Somers House Tavern in Kenosha County after the suspect was asked to leave the bar and then returned and opened fire." ~~~

     ~~~ Washington Post Update: "Sgt. David Wright, a public information officer for the Kenosha County Sheriff's Department, said in a statement Sunday afternoon that a 'person of interest' was located and charged with first-degree homicide. Officials left open the possibility of additional charges as the investigation continued."

~~~ AND Sunday Morning, Too. CNN: "Three people were pronounced dead at the scene of a shooting in Austin, Texas, on Sunday, according to tweets from Austin-Travis County EMS. The shooting appears to be 'a domestic situation that is isolated,' a tweet from Austin police said. Police identified the suspect, still at large, as Stephen Nicholas Broderick, 41.... Broderick is a former Travis County Sheriff's Office detective who was charged with the sexual assault of a child, Travis County Sheriff's Office spokeswoman Kristen Dark told CNN."