The Ledes

Friday, October 11, 2024

Washington Post: “Floridians began returning to damaged and waterlogged homes on Thursday after Hurricane Milton carved a path of destruction and grief across the state, the second massive storm to strike Florida in as many weeks. At least 14 storm-related deaths were attributed to the hurricane, which made landfall south of Sarasota at 8:30 p.m. Wednesday, officials said. Six of them were killed when two tornadoes touched down ahead of the storm in St. Lucie County on Florida’s central Atlantic coast. The deadly tornadoes, rising waters, torrential rain and punishing winds battered the state from coast to coast as Milton churned eastward before heading out to sea early Thursday.”

Washington Post: “Twelve people were rescued from an inactive Colorado gold mine after they were trapped 1,000 feet underground for about six hours following an elevator malfunction. One person was killed in the accident, which happened about 500 feet underground at the Mollie Kathleen Gold Mine near Cripple Creek, Colo., Teller County Sheriff Jason Mikesell said at a Thursday news conference. The site is a tourist attraction. Eleven other people aboard the elevator at the time, including two children, were rescued shortly after the mechanical malfunction, which Mikesell said 'created a severe danger for the participants.' He said four suffered minor injuries.... Twelve others in a separate group remained trapped in a mine shaft 1,000 feet underground for several hours after the incident, before they were rescued Thursday evening, Colorado Gov. Jared Polis said.”

The Wires
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The Ledes

Thursday, October 10, 2024

CNBC: “The pace of price increases over the past year was higher than forecast in September while jobless claims posted an unexpected jump following Hurricane Helene and the Boeing strike, the Labor Department reported Thursday. The consumer price index, a broad gauge measuring the costs of goods and services across the U.S. economy, increased a seasonally adjusted 0.2% for the month, putting the annual inflation rate at 2.4%. Both readings were 0.1 percentage point above the Dow Jones consensus. The annual inflation rate was 0.1 percentage point lower than August and is the lowest since February 2021.”

The New York Times' live updates of Hurrucane Milton consequences Thursday are here: “Milton was still producing damaging hurricane-force winds and heavy rainfall to parts of East and Central Florida, forecasters said early Thursday, even as the powerful storm roared away from the Atlantic coast and left deaths and widespread damage across the state. Cities along Florida’s east coast are now facing flash flooding, damaging winds and storm surges. Some had already been battered by powerful tornadoes spun out by the storm before it made landfall on the Gulf Coast on Wednesday as a Category 3 hurricane. In [St. Lucie] county [Fort Pierce], several people in a retirement community were killed by a tornado, the police said.... More than three million customers were without power in Florida as of early Thursday.” ~~~

     ~~~ Here are the Weater Channel's live updates.

CNN: “The 2024 Nobel Prize in literature has been awarded to Han Kang, a South Korean author, for her 'intense poetic prose that confronts historical traumas and exposes the fragility of human life.' Han, 53, began her career with a group of poems in a South Korean magazine, before making her prose debut in 1995 with a short story collection. She later began writing longer prose works, most notably 'The Vegetarian,' one of her first books to be translated into English. The novel, which won the Man Booker International Prize in 2016, charts a young woman’s attempt to live a more 'plant-like' existence after suffering macabre nightmares about human cruelty. Han is the first South Korean author to win the literature prize, and just the 18th woman out of the 117 prizes awarded since 1901.” The New York Times story is here.

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Public Service Announcement

Washington Post: "Americans can again order free rapid coronavirus tests by mail, the Biden administration announced Thursday. People can request four free at-home tests per household through covidtests.gov. They will begin shipping Monday. The move comes ahead of an expected winter wave of coronavirus cases. The September revival of the free testing program is in line with the Biden administration’s strategy to respond to the coronavirus as part of a broader public health campaign to protect Americans from respiratory viruses, including influenza and respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), that surge every fall and winter. But free tests were not mailed during the summer wave, which wastewater surveillance data shows is now receding."

Washington Post: “Comedy news outlet the Onion — reinvigorated by new ownership over this year — is bringing back its once-popular video parodies of cable news. But this time, there’s someone with real news anchor experience in the chair. When the first episodes appear online Monday, former WAMU and MSNBC host Joshua Johnson will be the face of the resurrected 'Onion News Network.' Playing an ONN anchor character named Dwight Richmond, Johnson says he’s bringing a real anchor’s sense of clarity — and self-importance — to the job. 'If ONN is anything, it’s a news organization that is so unaware of its own ridiculousness that it has the confidence of a serial killer,' says Johnson, 44.” ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: I'll be darned if I can figured out how to watch ONN. If anybody knows, do tell. Thanks.

Washington Post: “First came the surprising discovery that Earth’s atmosphere is leaking. But for roughly 60 years, the reason remained a mystery. Since the late 1960s, satellites over the poles detected an extremely fast flow of particles escaping into space — at speeds of 20 kilometers per second. Scientists suspected that gravity and the magnetic field alone could not fully explain the stream. There had to be another source creating this leaky faucet. It turns out the mysterious force is a previously undiscovered global electric field, a recent study found. The field is only about the strength of a watch battery — but it’s enough to thrust lighter ions from our atmosphere into space. It’s also generated unlike other electric fields on Earth. This newly discovered aspect of our planet provides clues about the evolution of our atmosphere, perhaps explaining why Earth is habitable. The electric field is 'an agent of chaos,' said Glyn Collinson, a NASA rocket scientist and lead author of the study. 'It undoes gravity.... Without it, Earth would be very different.'”

The New York Times lists Emmy winners. The AP has an overview story here.

New York Times: “Hvaldimir, a beluga whale who had captured the public’s imagination since 2019 after he was spotted wearing a harness seemingly designed for a camera, was found dead on Saturday in Norway, according to a nonprofit that worked to protect the whale.... [Hvaldimir] was wearing a harness that identified it as “equipment” from St. Petersburg. There also appeared to be a camera mount. Some wondered if the whale was on a Russian reconnaissance mission. Russia has never claimed ownership of the whale. If Hvaldimir was a spy, he was an exceptionally friendly one. The whale showed signs of domestication, and was comfortable around people. He remained in busier waters than are typical for belugas....” ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: Oh, Lord, do not let Bobby Kennedy, Jr., near that carcass. ~~~

     ~~~ AP Update: “There’s no evidence that a well-known beluga whale that lived off Norway’s coast and whose harness ignited speculation it was a Russian spy was shot to death last month as claimed by animal rights groups, Norwegian police said Monday.... Police said that the Norwegian Veterinary Institute conducted a preliminary autopsy on the animal, which was become known as 'Hvaldimir,' combining the Norwegian word for whale — hval — and the first name of Russian President Vladimir Putin. 'There are no findings from the autopsy that indicate that Hvaldimir has been shot,' police said in a statement.”

New York Times: Botswana's “President Mokgweetsi Masisi grinned as he lifted the diamond, a 2,492-carat stone that is the biggest diamond unearthed in more than a century and the second-largest ever found, according to the Vancouver-based mining operator Lucara, which owns the mine where it was found. This exceptional discovery could bring back the luster of the natural diamond mining industry, mining companies and experts say. The diamond was discovered in the same relatively small mine in northeastern Botswana that has produced several of the largest such stones in living memory. Such gemstones typically surface as a result of volcanic activity.... The diamond will likely sell in the range of tens of millions of dollars....”

Click on photo to enlarge.

~~~ Guardian: "On a distant reef 16,000km from Paris, surfer Gabriel Medina has given Olympic viewers one of the most memorable images of the Games yet, with an airborne celebration so well poised it looked too good to be true. The Brazilian took off a thundering wave at Teahupo’o in Tahiti on Monday, emerging from a barrelling section before soaring into the air and appearing to settle on a Pacific cloud, pointing to the sky with biblical serenity, his movements mirrored precisely by his surfboard. The shot was taken by Agence France-Presse photographer Jérôme Brouillet, who said “the conditions were perfect, the waves were taller than we expected”. He took the photo while aboard a boat nearby, capturing the surreal image with such accuracy that at first some suspected Photoshop or AI." 

Washington Post: “'Mary Cassatt at Work' is a large and mostly satisfying exhibition devoted to the career of the great American artist beloved for her sensitive and often sentimental views of family life. The 'at work' in the title of the Philadelphia Museum of Art show references the curators’ interest in Cassatt’s pioneering effort to establish herself as a professional artist within a male-dominated field. Throughout the show, which includes some 130 paintings, pastels, prints and drawings, the wall text and the art on view stresses Cassatt’s fixation on art as a career rather than a pastime.... Mary Cassatt at Work is on view at the Philadelphia Museum of Art through Sept. 8. philamuseum.org”

New York Times: “Bob Newhart, who died on Thursday at the age of 94, has been such a beloved giant of popular culture for so long that it’s easy to forget how unlikely it was that he became one of the founding fathers of stand-up comedy. Before basically inventing the hit stand-up special, with the 1960 Grammy-winning album 'The Button-Down Mind of Bob Newhart' — that doesn’t even count his pay-per-view event broadcast on Canadian television that some cite as the first filmed special — he was a soft-spoken accountant who had never done a set in a nightclub. That he made a classic with so little preparation is one of the great miracles in the history of comedy.... Bob Newhart holds up. In fact, it’s hard to think of a stand-up from that era who is a better argument against the commonplace idea that comedy does not age well.”

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Publisher & Editor: Marie Burns


Thursday
Jul022020

The Commentariat -- July 3, 2020

Late Morning/Afternoon Update:

The New York Times' live updates of coronavirus developments Friday are here.

Sarah Rumpf of Mediaite: "Eric Trump tweeted, and then deleted, a photo of former President Bill Clinton with Jeffrey Epstein's alleged partner-in-crime Ghislaine Maxwell, after Twitter users buried him in a deluge of photos of Maxwell appearing very chummy with his father, President Donald Trump. Eric Trump's tweet was captioned 'Birds of a feather...' and showed Clinton walking his daughter Chelsea Clinton down the aisle at her 2o10 wedding, while Maxwell is shown in the background among other wedding guests.... Twitter users responded seemingly instantaneously, posting photo after photo showing Maxwell -- and often Epstein too -- far more cozy with the current occupant of 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue."

David Rothkopf in the New York Review of Books: "If we have a president who is selfish, ignorant, venal, dishonest, racist, misogynist, and corrupt, what does it tell us that a significant minority of American citizens celebrates such a leader, while another segment of our compatriots are willing to tolerate them, at least enough to give him their votes?... We must address the root causes that enabled a man as profoundly flawed and corrupt as Trump to win high office.... Ending Trump's misrule and restoring confidence in the presidency demands the undoing of impediments to free and fair elections. That will entail root-and-branch campaign finance reform, an end to voter suppression, new defenses against foreign interference in elections, and reining in the digital disinformation engines. These are perhaps only the minimum demands for restoring American democracy."

Catie Edmondson of the New York Times: "The Senate on Thursday unanimously passed legislation to impose sanctions on Chinese officials trying to stamp out political dissent in Hong Kong, sending the measure to President Trump's desk for his signature. The passage of the bill, spearheaded by Senators Patrick J. Toomey, Republican of Pennsylvania, and Chris Van Hollen, Democrat of Maryland, comes days after Chinese leaders imposed a sweeping new security law intended to quell protests demanding free elections and greater autonomy in an escalation of Beijing's campaign to tighten its grip on Hong Kong.... The House unanimously passed the bill on Wednesday...."

Let's All Go to the Movies. Hannah Denham of the Washington Post: WalMart "will transform 160 of its store parking lots into drive-in theaters next month. Walmart is launching the program next month in partnership with Tribeca Enterprises, the New York-based media company co-founded by Robert De Niro. The locations and movie lineup will be announced on a new Walmart Drive-In website, the retailer said in a news release. It's unclear whether the movies will be new releases, but admission is free, said Walmart spokeswoman LeMia Jenkins."

Mrs. McCrabbie: Just heard on CNN that Trump went to his golf course today, and that today was the 365th day since he was sworn in that he has spent at one of his properties. That means that lazy bastard has spent a full year on vacation (or more) since being sworn in less than four years ago.

Michael Kranish of the Washington Post: "Mary L. Trump, the author of an explosive book about her uncle President Trump, asked a court to lift a restraining order against her, saying in an affidavit filed Thursday that she was misled by the family into signing a confidentiality agreement in an inheritance case two decades ago.... Mary Trump said in her affidavit that, in agreeing to the inheritance settlement, she relied on asset valuations of the family estate provided to her by Donald Trump and his siblings that she said have since been proved to be inaccurate.... She said the inaccuracy of the valuations was revealed in a 2018 investigation by the New York Times of family finances." A Daily Beast story is here.

~~~~~~~~~~

The Trumpidemic, Ctd.

The New York Times' live updates of coronavirus developments Thursday are here. The Washington Post's live updates for Thursday are here: "The United States reported at least 55,220 new coronavirus cases on Thursday, surpassing Wednesday's record of 52,789, previously the largest single-day total since the start of the pandemic, according to data collected by The Washington Post." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)

How to Spend the Independence Day Weekend -- STAY HOME! Richard Fausset, et al., of the New York Times: "In the face of cases reaching disheartening new highs, and as at least 15 states set single-day reporting records this week, health officials around the country have urged Americans to scale back their holiday plans.... Skip the party. Stay home.... ~~~

[BUT. The Saboteur-in-Chief Has Other Plans.] "In South Dakota, which has had relatively few cases of the coronavirus, President Trump has organized a fireworks show Friday evening at Mount Rushmore, an event that has come under scrutiny because thousands of people are planning to attend. The National Park Service said in an email that it 'strongly' encouraged social distancing and the use of face coverings.... Gov. Kristi Noem, a Republican who plans to attend the event, told Fox News that 'we won’t be social distancing.' In Washington, D.C., the authorities are plowing ahead with a traditional July 4 celebration. Like last year, Mr. Trump will preside over that event, and federal authorities seemed to be preparing for considerable crowds...." ~~~

~~~ Know Your U.S. History: Mount Rushmore Edition. Bryan Pietsch & Jacey Fortin of the New York Times: “In the eight decades since the carving was completed, it has never been without controversy.... Native Americans have long criticized the sculpture, in part because it was built on what had been Indigenous land.... Before he was recruited to create Mount Rushmore, [Gutzon] Borglum had been involved with another project: an enormous bas-relief at Stone Mountain in Georgia that memorialized Confederate leaders.... Mr. Borglum formed strong bonds with leaders of the Ku Klux Klan and participated in their meetings.... He also espoused white supremacist and anti-Semitic ideas.... In 2016, a report from the U.S. Geological Survey found that past pyrotechnic displays had probably caused higher concentrations of a contaminant called perchlorate in the groundwater there. Mr. Trump has tweeted in support of 'BIG FIREWORKS' returning to the monument...."

Flack & Flee: The Trump Presser. Morgan Chalfant & Brett Samuels of the Hill: "President Trump touted the new June jobs numbers at a hastily scheduled press briefing Thursday where he left before taking any questions." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ~~~

~~~ Washington Post Editors: "Mr. Trump remains in blissful denial as crisis ripples through the Sun Belt, threatening to create chaos and distress nationwide for months to come.... On Thursday, in a brief appearance before reporters, without wearing a face mask and refusing to take questions, he said, 'We have some areas where we are putting out the flames, or the fires, and that's working out well.' He went on to assert that the United States, like Europe and China, is 'getting it under control.' Some areas are suffering a 'flare up,' he acknowledged, 'and we are putting out the fires' with a strategy to 'vanquish and kill the virus.' The reality is that the virus ... is in control. Record-shattering numbers of new cases were reported Wednesday in six states.... New daily cases are increasing in 41 states compared to two weeks ago. Outbreaks and superspreader events are erupting.... Now, governors are rapidly trying to backpedal..., but it is exceedingly difficult to shift from reopening to closure again. Mr. Trump ... was characteristically only concerned with praising himself. 'We've done a historic thing,' he said, adding that he saved 'millions of lives' and now is opening up the country 'far faster than anybody thought even possible and more successfully.'" ~~~

~~~ Rachel Siegel of the Washington Post: "The U.S. unemployment rate is expected to stay above its pre-pandemic levels through the end of 2030, according to a 10-year economic report released Thursday by the Congressional Budget Office. The agency is predicting that the unemployment rate in the fourth quarter of 2030 will be 4.4 percent, down from 7.6 percent at the end of 2021 and 6.9 percent at the end of 2022.... The new projection shows the long-term impact that economists say the pandemic will have on the U.S. economy, the largest in the world. A severe disruption to production and hiring in March and April has had a jarring impact on the United States." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)

Carol Leonnig & Josh Dawsey of the Washington Post: "Vice President Pence's trip to Arizona this week had to be postponed by a day after several Secret Service agents who helped organize the visit either tested positive for the coronavirus or were showing symptoms of being infected. Pence was scheduled to go to Phoenix on Tuesday but went on Wednesday instead so that healthy agents could be deployed for his visit, according to two senior administration officials who spoke on the condition of anonymity...." Update: A New York Times story is here.

California. Zoe Richards of TPM: "More than 40 school principals in northern California have quarantined after they were exposed to the coronavirus during an in-person meeting held by a local school district. The quarantine follows news that a pre-symptomatic individual tested positive for COVID-19 within days of a June 19 meeting held by the Santa Clara County Unified School District to to discuss school reopening plans for the fall, The San Francisco Chronicle reported Wednesday." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)

Florida. Gary Fineout & Marc Caputo of Politico: "Florida set a new record for coronavirus cases, reporting more than 10,100 new infections as Vice President Mike Pence was to meet with Gov. Ron DeSantis Thursday to discuss the state's response to the outbreak. The mounting case numbers up the political pressure on DeSantis, a Republican, as Florida prepares to host marquee events of the Republican National Convention in late August, including Trump's acceptance speech." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)

Texas. Arelis Hernández & Frances Sellers of the Washington Post: "... health-care workers across Texas are seeing ... alarming predictions ... of how the coronavirus might ravage the state ... come true, with overwhelmed testing centers, lines at emergency rooms and crowded intensive care units, where it is difficult to maintain adequate numbers of specialized staff.... Gov. Greg Abbott (R), who was among the first governors to reopen businesses on May 1, again closed bars and limited restaurant capacity last week. Abbott prohibited municipalities from implementing mandates on mask wearing and social distancing, but on Friday he required all people in counties with more than 20 coronavirus cases to wear masks while in public." ~~~

~~~ As Axios puts it, " It's a dramatic reversal by the Republican governor that underscores the severity of the outbreak in Texas.... Abbott also issued a proclamation on Thursday allowing mayors and county judges to restrict outdoor gatherings of more than 10 people. But, but, but... Exceptions for masks while in public include attending church, consuming food or drink while seated at a restaurant, swimming, voting or giving a speech to a public audience."

Max Cohen of Politico: "Former presidential candidate Herman Cain announced on Thursday that he has been hospitalized with Covid-19, almost two weeks after attending ... Donald Trump’s rally in Tulsa, Okla. Cain was diagnosed with coronavirus on June 29, nine days after the president's rally, and his symptoms worsened and required hospitalization on July 1, according to a statement from his Twitter account." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)


Maggie Haberman, et al., of the New York Times: "As Mr. Trump heads to Mount Rushmore on Friday to spend the Independence Day holiday in the carved presence of presidential greatness, he is suffering through the most trying stretch of his administration thanks in large part to his self-inflicted wounds. June represented the political nadir of his three and a half years in the Oval Office, when a race in which he had been steadily trailing, but faring respectably, broke open and left him facing the possibility of not just defeat but humiliation this fall. The disconnect between the surge in coronavirus cases and Mr. Trump’s dismissive stance toward the pandemic has been particularly pronounced.... Last month’s convergence of crises, and the president’s missteps in responding to them, have been well-chronicled: his inflammatory response to racial justice protesters and his ill-considered rally in Tulsa, his refusal to acknowledge the resurgent virus or seriously address detailed reports about Russian operatives’ putting a cash bounty on American soldiers."

All the Best People, Ctd. John Hudson of the Washington Post: "President Trump’s nominee to be ambassador to Norway is facing demands that he abandon his pursuit of the diplomatic post following the unearthing of a 1994 court filing indicating his involvement in the production of a racist campaign flier against an African American politician in Georgia. According to the filing, Mark Burkhalter helped create a flier that distorted and exaggerated the features of Gordon Joyner, a candidate for county commissioner in north-central Georgia. Joyner was pictured with some features darkened, a large Afro, enlarged eyebrows and a warped eye. Joyner sued for libel, resulting in an out-of-court settlement, an apology signed by Burkhalter and three other men, and payment of an undisclosed sum. Burkhalter did not disclose his involvement in the controversy to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, according to a letter by Sen. Robert Menendez (N.J.), the panel’s ranking Democrat, that was obtained by The Washington Post." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)

Brad Reed of the Raw Story: “The Trump White House is trying to push the appointment of a right-wing conspiracy theorist to a key Defense Department position over the objections of top Pentagon officials. Foreign Policy reports that the White House earlier this year directed the Pentagon to hire Rich Higgins, a former Trump National Security Council official who was ousted in 2017 after he wrote an unhinged memo that claimed the investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election amounted to a 'Maoist insurgency' against ... Donald Trump. Although the White House initially backed off in the face of Pentagon resistance to hiring Higgins to be chief of staff to the under secretary of defense for policy, Foreign Policy’s sources say that 'the White House reached out again about Higgins this week … asking why the Pentagon had not begun the hiring process for him.'”

Betsy Swan of Politico: "One of the country’s most prominent U.S. attorneys is going to Washington. Richard Donoghue, who heads the Eastern District of New York, is taking over as the top deputy to Deputy Attorney General Jeffrey Rosen.... The role — officially titled principal associate deputy attorney general, or PADAG — is an important one, and typically involves working with the 93 U.S. attorneys working around the country." ~~~

     ~~~ Rachel Maddow thinks this move is fishy, and gosh, maybe she's right: David Shortell, et al., of CNN: The Justice Department is considering replacing the US attorney in Brooklyn with a senior department official close to Attorney General William Barr, officials briefed on the matter said.... The most recent principal associate deputy attorney general, Seth DuCharme, is now being considered by department leadership for the top role in the Brooklyn office, where he had built his career as a prosecutor.... [That is, Richard Donoghue & DuCharme would swap jobs.] In February, the Justice Department tapped Donoghue to supervise all agency investigations related to Ukraine in a move that gave Washington officials more oversight into an area of interest that had become a political minefield." ~~~

~~~ MEANWHILE. Kyle Cheney of Politico: "The former top federal prosecutor in Manhattan, who resigned last month under pressure from Attorney General William Barr, will testify to the House Judiciary Committee next week about the circumstances of his departure, according to a congressional aide. The July 9 closed-door interview will be Congress' first foray into allegations that Barr sought to remove Geoffrey Berman as U.S. attorney to assert more control over investigations that touch closely on ... Donald Trump‘s associates and personal interests."

One Military Hero Backs Another. Edward Moreno if the Hill: "Sen. Tammy Duckworth (D-Ill.) announced Thursday that she is blocking the Senate confirmation of 1,123 senior U.S. Armed Forces promotions until Defense Secretary Mark Esper confirms that he is not going to block the promotion of Lt. Col. Alexander Vindman to colonel.... She is asking for Esper to provide written confirmation that Vindman will be promoted to colonel." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)

Shayna Jacobs of the Washington Post: "Manhattan prosecutors are attempting to revive their criminal case against President Trump's former campaign chairman Paul Manafort, arguing in a filing made public Thursday that they have legal standing to bring the indictment even though a state court judge dismissed it six months ago on double jeopardy grounds. Manafort, 71, was charged in New York State Supreme Court with mortgage fraud, but his lawyers argued last year that the case too closely mirrored his 2018 federal conviction on bank fraud charges. The case was brought by Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance Jr. and widely seen as an attempt to guarantee that Manafort would still serve prison time should Trump move to pardon him. Justice Maxwell Wiley tossed it in December. The district attorney’s office filed its appeal in April. It public disclosure was delayed by the coronavirus pandemic." Thanks to Ken W. for the link.

Teo Armus of the Washington Post reports on this lovely white Michigan woman pulling a gun on a black woman and her daughter in a shopping area parking lot. Thanks to RockyGirl for the link. (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) The story has been updated, with Ben Guarino added to the byline: "Oakland County prosecutor Jessica R. Cooper charged the woman who drew the gun and the man who drove the van with one count each of felonious assault.... The married couple held Michigan concealed pistol licenses. Both the man and woman were armed."

Presidential Race

Brad Reed of the Raw Story: “A new report from Vanity Fair’s Gabriel Sherman describes ... Donald Trump as 'down in the dumps' and anxious about being remembered as a one-term 'loser.' One Republican described as'“close to the White House' tells Sherman that the president’s heart does not appear to be in the 2020 campaign, especially after his big comeback rally in Tulsa, Oklahoma spectacularly blew up in his face when he spoke before an arena that wasn’t even filled to half capacity. And Sherman’s sources say that the president may not even get to make up for the Tulsa debacle with his planned Republican National Convention rally in Jacksonville, Florida later in the summer, especially after the city mandated that residents wear face masks when using indoor public spaces.... Read the whole report here.”

Michelle Goldberg of the New York Times: “A lot of Republicans are acting puzzled about Donald Trump’s re-election pitch. 'He has no message,' one Republican source told Reuters.... [But] Trump does indeed have a re-election message, a stark and obvious one. It is 'white power.'... Trump understands that he became a significant political figure by spreading the racist lie that Barack Obama was really born in Kenya.... Trump sees clearly — more clearly than most of his party — that racism is the main thing he has to offer.” ~~~

     ~~~ Goldberg lists a remarkable number of racist things Trump has said or done in just the past week or so. Here's one: “On Tuesday, Trump tweeted that he was considering scrapping an Obama-era housing regulation that required localities to address illegal patterns of residential segregation. He claimed that the initiative, which his administration had already put in limbo, was having a 'devastating impact on these once thriving Suburban areas.' The message to his white supporters seemed clear enough: Trump is going to fight to stop people of color from coming to your neighborhood.”

Alabama Senate Race. Josh Gerstein of Politico: “A sharply divided Supreme Court stepped in on Thursday night to block a judge’s order requiring Alabama to allow some curbside voting and lift absentee-ballot witness requirements for the Republican Senate primary runoff set to take place on July 14. The justices voted, 5-4, along ideological lines to block the lower-court ruling, allowing Alabama to carry out the election under its usual rules.... Experts said the most likely explanation was a 2006 Supreme Court precedent viewed as discouraging late changes to voting procedures because of the possibility for voter confusion.... 'Supreme Court majority is not siding with voters, even during (especially during) a pandemic. This is a big deal,' Rick Hasen, a University of California law professor, wrote on Twitter. In the Alabama runoff set to take place later this month, former Sen. Jeff Sessions is facing Tommy Tuberville, a former Auburn football coach.”


Josh Gerstein & Kyle Cheney of Politico: "The Supreme Court has all but doomed House Democrats' efforts to obtain former special counsel Robert Mueller's grand jury evidence before the November elections. The justices agreed Thursday to consider whether the House should be given permission to access the grand jury secrets contained in Mueller’s final report, as well as its underlying evidence. That decision, despite two lower court rulings supporting access to the secret information, ensures that no final decision will be rendered before voters decide whether to grant Trump a second term." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)

Jim Mustian & Larry Neumeister of the AP: “British socialite Ghislaine Maxwell was arrested by the FBI on Thursday on charges she helped procure underage sex partners for financier Jeffrey Epstein. An indictment made public Thursday said Maxwell, who lived for years with Epstein and was his frequent travel companion on trips around the world, facilitated Epstein’s crimes by 'helping Epstein to recruit, groom, and ultimately abuse' girls as young as 14. It also said she participated in the sexual abuse.” Update: A New York Times story is here. (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) 

Comments Off
Thursday
Jul022020

The Commentariat -- July 2, 2020

Afternoon Update:

The New York Times' live updates of coronavirus developments Thursday are here. The Washington Post's live updates for Thursday are here.

One Military Hero Backs Another. Edward Moreno if the Hill: "Sen. Tammy Duckworth (D-Ill.) announced Thursday that she is blocking the Senate confirmation of 1,123 senior U.S. Armed Forces promotions until Defense Secretary Mark Esper confirms that he is not going to block the promotion of Lt. Col. Alexander Vindman to colonel.... She is asking for Esper to provide written confirmation that Vindman will be promoted to colonel."

Flack & Flee: The Trump Presser. Morgan Chalfant & Brett Samuels of the Hill: "President Trump touted the new June jobs numbers at a hastily scheduled press briefing Thursday where he left before taking any questions.... The decision to not take questions was particularly notable given another controversy the administration is dealing with this week: the report that Trump was briefed on intelligence that Russia paid bounties to militants in Afghanistan to attack and kill U.S. troops." ~~~

~~~ Rachel Siegel of the Washington Post: "The U.S. unemployment rate is expected to stay above its pre-pandemic levels through the end of 2030, according to a 10-year economic report released Thursday by the Congressional Budget Office. The agency is predicting that the unemployment rate in the fourth quarter of 2030 will be 4.4 percent, down from 7.6 percent at the end of 2021 and 6.9 percent at the end of 2022.... The new projection shows the long-term impact that economists say the pandemic will have on the U.S. economy, the largest in the world. A severe disruption to production and hiring in March and April has had a jarring impact on the United States."

California. Zoe Richards of TPM: "More than 40 school principals in northern California have quarantined after they were exposed to the coronavirus during an in-person meeting held by a local school district. The quarantine follows news that a pre-symptomatic individual tested positive for COVID-19 within days of a June 19 meeting held by the Santa Clara County Unified School District to to discuss school reopening plans for the fall, The San Francisco Chronicle reported Wednesday."

Florida. Gary Fineout & Marc Caputo of Politico: "Florida set a new record for coronavirus cases, reporting more than 10,100 new infections as Vice President Mike Pence was to meet with Gov. Ron DeSantis Thursday to discuss the state's response to the outbreak. The mounting case numbers up the political pressure on DeSantis, a Republican, as Florida prepares to host marquee events of the Republican National Convention in late August, including Trump's acceptance speech."

Max Cohen of Politico: "Former presidential candidate Herman Cain announced on Thursday that he has been hospitalized with Covid-19, almost two weeks after attending ... Donald Trump's rally in Tulsa, Okla. Cain was diagnosed with coronavirus on June 29, nine days after the president's rally, and his symptoms worsened and required hospitalization on July 1, according to a statement from his Twitter account."

Teo Armus of the Washington Post reports on this lovely white Michigan woman pulling a gun on a black woman and her daughter in a shopping area parking lot. Thanks to Rockygirl for the link.

All the Best People, Ctd. John Hudson of the Washington Post: "President Trump's nominee to be ambassador to Norway is facing demands that he abandon his pursuit of the diplomatic post following the unearthing of a 1994 court filing indicating his involvement in the production of a racist campaign flier against an African American politician in Georgia. According to the filing, Mark Burkhalter helped create a flier that distorted and exaggerated the features of Gordon Joyner, a candidate for county commissioner in north-central Georgia. Joyner was pictured with some features darkened, a large Afro, enlarged eyebrows and a warped eye. Joyner sued for libel, resulting in an out-of-court settlement, an apology signed by Burkhalter and three other men, and payment of an undisclosed sum. Burkhalter did not disclose his involvement in the controversy to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, according to a letter by Sen. Robert Menendez (N.J.), the panel's ranking Democrat, that was obtained by The Washington Post."

Josh Gerstein & Kyle Cheney of Politico: "The Supreme Court has all but doomed House Democrats' efforts to obtain former special counsel Robert Mueller's grand jury evidence before the November elections. The justices agreed Thursday to consider whether the House should be given permission to access the grand jury secrets contained in Mueller's final report, as well as its underlying evidence. That decision, despite two lower court rulings supporting access to the secret information, ensures that no final decision will be rendered before voters decide whether to grant Trump a second term."

Jim Mustian & Larry Neumeister of the AP: "British socialite Ghislaine Maxwell was arrested by the FBI on Thursday on charges she helped procure underage sex partners for financier Jeffrey Epstein. An indictment made public Thursday said Maxwell, who lived for years with Epstein and was his frequent travel companion on trips around the world, facilitated Epstein's crimes by 'helping Epstein to recruit, groom, and ultimately abuse' girls as young as 14. It also said she participated in the sexual abuse." Update: A New York Times story is here.

~~~~~~~~~~

** Axios: "President Trump attacked New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio on Wednesday for reallocating $1 billion from the NYPD's budget and ordering a large Black Lives Matter mural to be painted on Fifth Avenue, condemning it in a tweet as a 'symbol of hate.'... It's yet another example of the president digging in on racial issues that explicitly appeal to his base, even as his poll numbers continue to spiral in the wrong direction months ahead of the election." (Also linked yesterday.) Politico has a story here. A Washington Post story is here. ~~~

     ~~~ Mrs. McCrabbie: This is the most incendiary thing Trump ever has said or written. It's worse that "very fine people on both sides." Now we know he wears a mask after all; it's in the shape of a pointy white hood. Calling "Black Lives Matter" "a symbol of hate" is an affirmation that not only do black lives not matter, it is A-okay to shoot black people on Fifth Avenue, the site of the planned mural. For four years, I have constrained myself from hating Trump. I give up. I quit. I surrender. Uncle. I hate Donald Trump.


** As Coronavirus Cases Top 50,000, Trump Says Virus Will "Sort of Disappear."From the Washington Post's live updates, linked immediately below: "The United States reported a whopping 52,788 new coronavirus cases on Wednesday, the largest single-day total since the start of the pandemic. While President Trump speculated in a Fox Business interview that the virus was 'going to sort of disappear' at some point, many other officials are far less optimistic. Across the country, plans for a gradual return to normalcy are quickly being cast aside, with California, Michigan and New York City the latest to rethink some aspects of reopening." ~~~

~~~ The Washington Post's live updates of coronavirus developments Wednesday are here. The New York Times' live updates for Wednesday are here: "Health officials are urging Americans to scale back Independence Day plans after virus case levels reached disheartening new highs on Tuesday, with eight states setting single-day reporting records. The Oregon Health Authority warned that 'the safest choice this holiday is to celebrate at home.' In Nebraska, state leaders suggested that holiday cookout hosts keep guest lists to make contact tracing easier. In Los Angeles County, where 10,000 new cases have been announced since Friday, the public health department ordered beaches closed and fireworks shows canceled. Elsewhere, the pleas were similar: Skip the party. Stay home. Don't make a bad situation worse." (Also linked yesterday.)

Anne Gearan, et al., of the Washington Post: "Coronavirus infections in the United States surged nearly 50 percent in June as states relaxed quarantine rules and tried to reopen their economies, data compiled Wednesday showed, and several states moved to reimpose restrictions on bars and recreation. More than 800,000 new cases were reported across the country last month, led by Florida, Arizona, Texas and California -- bringing the nation's officially reported total to just over 2.6 million, according to data compiled by The Washington Post. States that took an aggressive approach to reopening led the country in infection spikes -- along with California, the nation's most populous state, where leaders have been more cautious. California on Wednesday reported 110 new deaths, more than any other state."

Jeff Cox of CNBC: "Nonfarm payrolls jumped by 4.8 million in June and the unemployment rate fell to 11.1% as the U.S. continued its reopening from the coronavirus pandemic, the Labor Department said Thursday. Economists surveyed by Dow Jones had been expecting a 2.9 million increase and a jobless rate of 12.4%. The report was released a day earlier than usual due to the July Fourth U.S. holiday.... However, because the government survey comes from the middle of the month, it does not account for the suspension or rollbacks in regions hit by a resurgence in coronavirus cases." ~~~

~~~ Fred Imbert & Thomas Franck of CNBC: "Futures contracts tied to the major U.S. stock indexes rose early Thursday as investors cheered a bigger-than-expected increase in jobs in June. Dow Jones Industrial Average futures were up 419 points, or 1.6%. S&P 500 futures and Nasdaq-100 futures gained 1.24% and 0.9%, respectively."

Alabama. Bill Hutchinson of ABC News: "Students in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, who have been diagnosed with COVID-19 have been attending parties in the city and surrounding area as part of a disturbing contest to see who can catch the virus first, a city council member told ABC News on Wednesday. Tuscaloosa City Councilor Sonya McKinstry said students have been organizing "COVID parties" as a game to intentionally infect each other with the contagion that has killed more than 127,000 people in the United States."

North Carolina. Matthew Cox of Military.com: "U.S. Army Special Operations Command officials announced today that 90 students who were going through survival training at Fort Bragg, North Carolina have tested positive for COVID-19. The soldiers were participating in the Survival, Evasion, Resistance and Escape (SERE) course, according to a news release from the U.S. Army John F. Kennedy Special Warfare Center and School.... Out of the 110 students in the course, 82 students, along with eight instructors, tested positive for COVID-19.... The course was terminated and all 110 soldiers are being quarantined for 14 days, [a spokesperson] said."

Texas. Rosalind Adams, et al., of BuzzFeed News: "At least five members of the choir and orchestra at the Dallas megachurch visited by Vice President Mike Pence this weekend tested positive for the coronavirus in June, according to Facebook posts and internal church emails reviewed by BuzzFeed News. An additional orchestra member had symptoms several days after being exposed and was awaiting a test result in mid-June.... None of those six people were at the First Baptist church in Dallas during Pence's hour-and-a-half-hour visit on Sunday, but it's unclear how many of the musicians who performed for Pence may have been exposed during previous practices and performances with those who were infected. Public health experts have expressed particular concerns about the dangers of indoor singing and wind instruments in large groups, which can readily spread the respiratory virus." ~~~

~~~ James Hibberd of Entertainment: "Vanilla Ice is throwing a Fourth of July weekend concert deep in the heart of pandemic hotspot Texas. The Iceman will cometh this Friday at a concert venue in Austin, where all the bars are otherwise closed due to COVID-19. The concert is titled the Independence Day Throwback Beach Party and it's happening due to a legal loophole, the Austin Chronicle pointed out. The venue -- Emerald Point Bar & Grill, located on the shores of Lake Travis -- is technically a restaurant, even though it also has a large capacity outdoor general admission concert space.... The concert is selling 2,500 tickets, which is roughly half of the venue's potential capacity."


** Mujib Mashal, et al., of the New York Times: "... Rahmatullah Azizi stands as a central piece of a puzzle rocking Washington, named in American intelligence reports and confirmed by Afghan officials as a key middleman who for years handed out money from a Russian military intelligence unit to reward Taliban-linked fighters for targeting American troops in Afghanistan, according to American and Afghan officials. As security agencies connected the dots of the bounty scheme and narrowed in on him, they carried out sweeping raids to arrest dozens of his relatives and associates about six months ago, but discovered that Mr. Azizi had sneaked out of Afghanistan and was likely back in Russia. What they did find in one of his homes, in Kabul, was about half a million dollars in cash." The Week has a summary report here.

Mitch Prothero of Business Insider, republished in Task & Purpose: "Taliban commanders have confirmed that Russia has offered financial and material support to its members in exchange for attacking US forces in Afghanistan.... Three separate Taliban sources told Insider that they were aware of Russian bounty payments being made -- though they stressed that only the less-disciplined elements on the fringes of the group would take up such an offer.... The three sources all confirmed that the practice takes place, and that Russia intelligence officials are known to pay. Iran and Pakistan also fund these activities...."

Michael Crowley & Eric Schmitt of the New York Times: "First President Trump denied knowing about it. Then he called it a possible 'hoax.' Next, the White House attacked the news media. And now an unnamed intelligence official is to blame. The one thing Mr. Trump and his top officials have not done is to address the substance of intelligence reports that Russia paid bounties to Taliban-affiliated fighters to kill American soldiers in Afghanistan, or what they might do in response.... On Wednesday, Mr. Trump repeated his claim that he was 'never briefed' about the intelligence, which his aides called unverified but which many U.S. intelligence officials deemed credible.... Writing on Twitter, Mr. Trump called stories about the bounties 'a made up Fake News Media Hoax started to slander me & the Republican Party.' His national security adviser, Robert C. O'Brien, said on Fox News that Mr. Trump's C.I.A. briefer, the person who delivers an in-person briefing to him every few days, had not brought it to his attention.... The person who usually handles that job is Beth Sanner, a C.I.A. analyst with three decades of experience. Ms. Sanner is said to have a good relationship with Mr. Trump, but the White House has cited her briefings before when deflecting responsibility for a crisis."

** Ellen Nakashima, et al., of the Washington Post: "The White House is not planning an immediate response to intelligence reports of Russian bounties given to Taliban-linked militants to kill U.S. and coalition forces in Afghanistan because President Trump does not believe the reports are true or 'actionable,' according to two senior administration officials. Trump is not convinced he should do anything about the bounty issue.... Some of Trump's own senior intelligence officials viewed the information as credible enough to warn the Pentagon and allies so they could ensure they had measures in place to protect their forces in Afghanistan, and to begin developing options for responding to the Russian operation, national security adviser Robert C. O'Brien said Wednesday. And though the administration has sought to downplay the veracity of the intelligence, O'Brien said the CIA has asked the Justice Department to open a leak investigation on the matter.... O'Brien told reporters Wednesday that ... as soon as the Pentagon received the information, 'we made sure we had tactics in place ... to look after our soldiers, sailors, airmen and Marines in Afghanistan.' Officials from several NATO allies in Afghanistan, however, said they were not officially informed until last week."

** Jim Sciutto of CNN: "... Donald Trump's resistance to intelligence warnings about Russia led his national security team, including those who delivered the President's Daily Brief to brief him verbally less often on Russia-related threats to the US, multiple former Trump administration officials who briefed Trump, were present for briefings and who prepared documents for his intelligence briefings tell CNN. As the White House denies Trump was briefed about Russia placing bounties on US soldiers in Afghanistan..., the question of what the President knew and when has moved to center stage. And it brings Trump's aversion to hearing negative analysis about Russia into renewed focus. Multiple former administration officials I spoke to ... paint a picture of a President often unwilling to hear bad news about Russia."

Kate Riga of TPM: "Secretary of State Mike Pompeo got testy with reporters who pressed him for answers on allegations that Russia offered bounties to Taliban-linked militants for murdered American and NATO soldiers in Afghanistan."

Fadel Allassan of Axios: "Former national security adviser John Bolton told CBS News' 'The Takeout' podcast on Wednesday that he would have personally briefed President Trump if he saw intelligence that Russian officials offered bounties to Taliban-linked militants to kill U.S. troops, but cautioned that Trump is simply not receptive to intelligence briefings.... 'The problem with Donald Trump is not that he is ... just not receptive to new facts.'... Bolton said that because of Trump's 'lack of interest in intelligence,' the briefings he receives do not have as much information as they should. He declined to comment on reports that he had been involved in briefing the president on the Russian bounty matter in 2019.... Bolton said he agreed with Susan Rice, his predecessor in the Obama administration, who wrote in an op-ed [linked below] that she would have shown the intelligence to Obama."

Emily Cochrane of the New York Times: "From the moment President Trump publicly denied knowledge of intelligence that suggested that Russia had offered bounties for killing American troops in Afghanistan, something seemed off to Representative Elissa Slotkin, Democrat of Michigan.... The emergence of the disturbing reports and Mr. Trump's responses -- a combination of denial, claims of ignorance and attacks on leakers and the news media -- have raised broader questions about how the president and his White House handle intelligence matters. And based on her personal experience, Ms. Slotkin has taken a lead role in demanding answers.... For Ms. Slotkin, the White House's explanation for Mr. Trump's ignorance of the intelligence -- that it was too uncertain to share with the president -- made no sense." The intelligence, even if sketchy, would be something a briefer would flag for any president because of its importance, Slotkin said.

Susan Rice, in a New York Times op-ed: "As a former national security adviser, I find it exceedingly difficult to believe that no one told Mr. Trump about this intelligence [about Russia paying the Taliban bounty for killing U.S. soldiers].... If Mr. Trump was told about Russian actions, why did he not respond? If he was not told, why not?... A perilous pattern persists that underscores Mr. Trump's strange propensity to serve Russian interests above America's.... Now Mr. Putin knows he can kill Americans with impunity.... At best, our commander in chief is utterly derelict in his duties, presiding over a dangerously dysfunctional national security process that is putting our country and those who wear its uniform at great risk. At worst, the White House is being run by liars and wimps catering to a tyrannical president who is actively advancing our arch adversary's nefarious interests." (Also linked yesterday.)


Sorry, Cousin Donnie. Michael Kranish of the Washington Post: "A New York court on Wednesday lifted a temporary restraining order against the publication of a book by President Trump's niece, enabling publisher Simon & Schuster to continue printing and distributing the explosive insider account by Mary L. Trump. President Trump's brother, Robert, filed a petition last week asking that Mary Trump and the publisher be prevented from publishing the book, citing a confidentiality agreement signed by Mary Trump two decades ago as part of a settlement in an inheritance dispute. On Tuesday, a state Supreme Court judge agreed to impose the restraining order to allow the parties to present their arguments next week, raising doubts about whether it would be published. However, the Supreme Court's appellate division on Wednesday lifted the restraining order that had been imposed on Simon & Schuster, while leaving in place the one regarding Mary Trump. That effectively enables the publisher to continue distributing copies of the book in preparation for the planned July 28 publication, even as the overall merits of the case are argued." ~~~

     ~~~ A Politico report, by Josh Gerstein, is here.


Mark Berman of the Washington Post: "Seattle police moved to clear a protest zone early Wednesday morning that had drawn national attention and has been marred by multiple shootings, including one that killed a teenager early this week. Police said they began taking action after Mayor Jenny Durkan (D) issued an executive order calling for the area to be vacated, aiming to end the weeks-long occupation around a police precinct. Officers began making a wave of arrests as they moved to enforce that directive, they said, and warned that anyone who remained in the area or returned could be taken into custody.... Seattle Police Chief Carmen Best issued a statement early Wednesday saying that she supports peaceful protests and would continue her department's work to engage with activists. 'But enough is enough,' Best said in a statement. 'The CHOP has become lawless and brutal. Four shootings -- two fatal -- robberies, assaults, violence and countless property crimes have occurred in this several block area. My job, and the job of our officers, is to protect and serve our community.'" A New York Times report is here. (Also linked yesterday.)

Sharpiegate, Ctd. Andrew Freedman & Jason Samenow of the Washington Post: "The inspector general for the Commerce Department sent a memo to Secretary Wilbur Ross Wednesday evening expressing 'deep concern' that the department is infringing on the office's independence by preventing the release of a final report on the investigation into a National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration statement about Hurricane Dorian in 2019. The memo by Peggy Gustafson was posted to the Office of the Inspector General's website in what marks a rare public airing in a dispute between an agency inspector general and a Cabinet secretary.... The main conclusions of the report are already publicly known as Gustafson, an appointee of President Barack Obama, posted a summary of the findings, dated June 26, late Monday night.... The summary faults the department's handling of an unsigned Sept. 6, 2019, statement from NOAA backing President Trump's erroneous statements that Hurricane Dorian posed a major threat to Alabama -- including his infamous modification of a hurricane forecast map, an incident dubbed 'Sharpiegate.'... The NOAA statement criticized its own National Weather Service office in Birmingham for issuing a tweet to calm public concern [about Trump's false claim.].... Separately, an independent NOAA report found the agency's issuance of the statement violated its scientific integrity policy." ~~~

     ~~~ Mrs. McCrabbie: Today is Thursday. Will Trump fire Gustafson tomorrow night? Or will he wait a week or two?

Elections 2020

Shane Goldmacher of the New York Times: "... Joseph R. Biden Jr. and the Democratic Party outraised President Trump and the Republicans for the second straight month in June, announcing a record haul of $141 million on Wednesday night only hours after Mr. Trump's campaign had trumpeted his own $131 million total. Both of the presidential candidates' hauls represented huge spikes from May, when Mr. Biden raised $80.8 million and Mr. Trump $74 million."

Elena Schneider of Politico: "Online donors poured a record $392 million into campaigns and causes via ActBlue in June, a sign of surging activism and political enthusiasm on the left that smashed the previous monthly high, from just before the 2018 election, by a whopping 50 percent. The eye-popping numbers on ActBlue, the favored digital fundraising platform for the Democratic Party as well as a growing host of left-leaning nonprofits, make for a startling split-screen next to Great Depression-level unemployment and spiking coronavirus cases across the country."

Another Trumperwhopper. Alexandra Jaffe of the AP: "... Donald Trump has fabricated a complaint that Democratic rival Joe Biden was fed questions at a news conference and read his answers from a teleprompter. This didn't happen. TRUMP:' Biden was asked questions at his so-called Press Conference yesterday where he read the answers from a teleprompter. That means he was given the questions, just like Crooked Hillary. Never have seen this before!' -- tweet Wednesday. [Trump repeated the false claim in two interviews.]... THE FACTS: Biden did not read answers off a teleprompter. Nor did The Associated Press, which asked the first question at the briefing, submit questions in advance.... Video footage shows that during nearly 30 minutes of Q&A..., Biden often looked directly at the reporter, not at the teleprompter.... Biden campaign national press secretary TJ Ducklo called Trump's allegation 'laughable, ludicrous, and a lie.'"

"'Experience' Is a Very Important Word." Aaron Blake of the Washington Post: "In an interview with Sean Hannity last week, President Trump was asked how he would contrast himself with Joe Biden in the 2020 election and what his second-term agenda would be. Trump offered nothing in the way of an agenda, but he did key on one thing: his 'experience.' [Mrs. McC: Word Salad Warning] 'Well, one of the things that will be really great,' Trump replied, 'you know, the word 'experience' is still good. I always say talent is more important than experience. I've always said that. But the word 'experience' is a very important word. It's an -- a very important meaning.'... A striking new poll finds, even after 3½ years of the president serving in the role, Americans still overwhelmingly say he isn't experienced enough for the job. The USA Today-Suffolk University poll asked whether people thought Trump and Joe Biden had 'the right experience to be president.' Just 37 percent said that was true of the incumbent, while an equally remarkable 67 percent said it was true of Biden." Emphasis added.

Trump Campaign Shake-up. Jonathan Swan of Axios: "Michael Glassner, the man who organizes President Trump's rallies, has been 'reassigned,' and Trump's 2016 Arizona chair Jeff DeWit will join the campaign as chief operating officer to oversee the final stretch to election day, three sources familiar with the situation tell Axios.... Jared Kushner engineered these moves. Glassner [is] a Trump campaign original dating back to 2015.... One person familiar with the shake-up defended Glassner as the unfortunate guy whose head needed to roll for the Tulsa rally debacle, where the attendance was nowhere near what the president had anticipated."

Adam Gabbatt of the Guardian: "Historically military members and veterans tend to favor Republican candidates, and Trump's relationship with the military has so far endured his attacks on military families, and the venom Trump has directed at John McCain, even after the senator died. That support held in 2018, even as voters flocked to Democrats, when Trump's Republican party still won 58% of the military vote, but with just four months to go, Trump has found himself immediately targeted over the Russian scandal. The Lincoln Project, a group of influential anti-Trump Republicans who plan to spend big money advertising against the president during the election campaign, quickly capitalized on Trump's handling of the alleged bounty plot on Saturday." --s

Tim Reid of Reuters: "Hundreds of officials who worked for former Republican President George W. Bush are set to endorse Democratic White House hopeful Joe Biden, people involved in the effort said, the latest Republican-led group coming out to oppose the re-election of Donald Trump. The officials, who include Cabinet secretaries and other senior people in the Bush administration, have formed a political action committee - 43 Alumni for Biden - to support the former vice president in his Nov. 3 race, three organizers of the group told Reuters."

Hush Money? Nah, Couldn't Be. Lachlan Markay & Sam Stein of the Daily Beast: "Last year, the Republican National Convention began cutting checks to [Chuck Labella,] a former producer of NBC's Celebrity Apprentice who was accused of having, as one contestant put it, 'all the dirt' on Donald Trump. From August 2019 through May 2020, the Committee on Arrangements for the 2020 Republican National Convention made a dozen payments totaling more than $66,000 to Labella Worldwide, Inc. for 'production consulting services.'... According to actor Tom Arnold, who was a contestant on the show and has since become a vociferous Trump critic, Labella was in possession of Trump's ostensibly salacious -- and, in political and media circles, long-sought -- behind-the-scenes Apprentice outtakes.... Trump's then personal lawyer, Michael Cohen, helped situate Labella with a close attorney, Keith Davidson, in late 2017." Davidson helped arrange hugh-money payments for Stormy Daniels.

House Race. Colorado. Crazier & Crazier. Paul Kane & Colby Itkowitz of the Washington Post: "Republican leaders stood by the upset winner of the GOP primary in a competitive House seat despite the gun rights activist's openness to the pro-Trump QAnon conspiracy theory. The National Republican Congressional Committee, overseen by top GOP leaders, embraced Lauren Boebert as their nominee Wednesday following her defeat of five-term Rep. Scott R. Tipton (R-Colo.), whom she characterized during the campaign as insufficiently supportive of President Trump. Boebert is the ninth individual to win the Republican nomination for a seat in the House or Senate who is either a full supporter of the QAnon movement or has voiced support for some of its tenets, none of which have a foundation in truth. Conspiracy theory experts consider it a webbed network filled with activists who wrongly believe a secret group of elites inside of and outside of government is working against Trump, as well as other false allegations of pedophilia among top Democratic officials."


Michael Grynbaum of the New York Times: "Fox News has fired Ed Henry, one of the network’s most prominent Washington-based journalists, after a former employee at the cable news channel accused him of sexual misconduct, the network said on Wednesday. In a memo to staff, Fox News leadership said it received a complaint last week alleging that Mr. Henry had engaged in 'willful sexual misconduct in the workplace years ago.' The network retained an outside law firm to review the claim.... A lawyer for Mr. Henry, Catherine Foti, said on Wednesday evening that the anchor denied the claim against him.... A spokeswoman for Mr. Henry's publisher, William Morrow, said on Wednesday that it would no longer release the anchor's upcoming memoir, 'Saving Colleen.' The book, about Mr. Henry's decision to donate a part of his liver to his sister, had been scheduled for September. William Morrow is a subsidiary of HarperCollins, which, like Fox News, is controlled by the Murdoch family. In 2016, Mr. Henry was forced to take a leave from Fox News after several tabloids reported that he had engaged in an extramarital relationship with a woman he had met in Las Vegas."

Ryan Mac & Caroline Haskins of Buzzfeed: "[S]everal pieces of paid content related to the Boogaloo movement on Facebook and Instagram that were uncovered by BuzzFeed News; this is despite claims by Facebook that it was doing more to take action against the group.... As right-wing extremists have used the company's tools to organize, the world's largest social network has also profited from ads pushing for white supremacy.... On Tuesday, Facebook said it would designate the Boogaloo movement as 'a dangerous organization,' banning it from the platform and Instagram. The company removed 220 Facebook accounts, 28 pages, and 106 groups, as well as 95 Instagram accounts, which made up what it called a 'violent US-based anti-government network.' Facebook also removed 400 additional groups and more than 100 pages that shared similar content." --s

Way Beyond the Beltway

China. Martha Mendoza of the AP: "Federal authorities in New York on Wednesday seized a shipment of weaves and other beauty accessories suspected to be made out of human hair taken from people locked inside a Chinese internment camp." --s

News Lede

New York Times: "Hugh Downs, whose honeyed delivery and low-key but erudite manner helped make him a familiar face and voice on television for half a century, and whose career included long stints as host of both 'Today' on NBC and '20/20' on ABC, died on Wednesday at his home in Scottsdale, Ariz. He was 99."

Comments Off
Tuesday
Jun302020

The Commentariat -- July 1, 2020

Late Morning Update:

The Washington Post's live updates of coronavirus developments Wednesday are here. The New York Times' live updates for Wednesday are here: "Health officials are urging Americans to scale back Independence Day plans after virus case levels reached disheartening new highs on Tuesday, with eight states setting single-day reporting records. The Oregon Health Authority warned that 'the safest choice this holiday is to celebrate at home.' In Nebraska, state leaders suggested that holiday cookout hosts keep guest lists to make contact tracing easier. In Los Angeles County, where 10,000 new cases have been announced since Friday, the public health department ordered beaches closed and fireworks shows canceled. Elsewhere, the pleas were similar: Skip the party. Stay home. Don't make a bad situation worse."

Susan Rice, in a New York Times op-ed: "As a former national security adviser, I find it exceedingly difficult to believe that no one told Mr. Trump about this intelligence [about Russia paying the Taliban bounty for killing U.S. soldiers].... If Mr. Trump was told about Russian actions, why did he not respond? If he was not told, why not?... A perilous pattern persists that underscores Mr. Trump's strange propensity to serve Russian interests above America's.... Now Mr. Putin knows he can kill Americans with impunity.... At best, our commander in chief is utterly derelict in his duties, presiding over a dangerously dysfunctional national security process that is putting our country and those who wear its uniform at great risk. At worst, the White House is being run by liars and wimps catering to a tyrannical president who is actively advancing our arc adversary's nefarious interests."

Axios: "President Trump attacked New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio on Wednesday for reallocating $1 billion from the NYPD's budget and ordering a large Black Lives Matter mural to be painted on Fifth Avenue, condemning it in a tweet as a 'symbol of hate.'... It's yet another example of the president digging in on racial issues that explicitly appeal to his base, even as his poll numbers continue to spiral in the wrong direction months ahead of the election."

Mark Berman of the Washington Post: "Seattle police moved to clear a protest zone early Wednesday morning that had drawn national attention and has been marred by multiple shootings, including one that killed a teenager early this week. Police said they began taking action after Mayor Jenny Durkan (D) issued an executive order calling for the area to be vacated, aiming to end the weeks-long occupation around a police precinct. Officers began making a wave of arrests as they moved to enforce that directive, they said, and warned that anyone who remained in the area or returned could be taken into custody.... Seattle Police Chief Carmen Best issued a statement early Wednesday saying that she supports peaceful protests and would continue her department's work to engage with activists. 'But enough is enough,' Best said in a statement. 'The CHOP has become lawless and brutal. Four shootings -- two fatal -- robberies, assaults, violence and countless property crimes have occurred in this several block area. My job, and the job of our officers, is to protect and serve our community.'" A New York Times report is here.

~~~~~~~~~~

The New York Times' live updates of coronavirus developments Tuesday are here. "More than 48,000 coronavirus cases were announced across the United States on Tuesday, the most of any day of the pandemic. Officials in eight states -- Alaska, Arizona, California, Georgia, Idaho, Oklahoma, South Carolina and Texas -- also announced single-day highs.... Tuesday was the fourth time in a week that the United States posted a new single-day case record. The number of new cases in the United States has shot up by 80 percent in the past two weeks, according to a New York Times database.... The increase in infections came as the leaders of the most populous counties in Texas pleaded with Gov. Greg Abbott to allow them to issue stay-at-home orders.... California’s case count has exploded in recent days -- leading the governors of New York, New Jersey and Connecticut to tell travelers from California to quarantine for 14 days, joining the ranks of travelers from other hard-hit states." (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~

~~~ The Washington Post's live updates for Tuesday are here. (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~

~~~ The New York Times has state-by-state data here.

See also story about Joe Biden's speech, linked under "Elections 2020."

Jessie Hellmann of the Hill: "Anthony Fauci, the nation's top infectious disease expert, warned members of Congress on Monday that the U.S. could reach 100,000 new COVID-19 cases per day if the country does not get a handle on the pandemic. Speaking before the Senate health committee, Fauci said..., 'We're going in the wrong direction if you look at the curves of the new cases.... We need to do something about that and we need to do it very quickly.'" (Also linked yesterday.) Update: The New York Times' story is here. ~~~

~~~ Republicans Go Medieval. Dana Milbank followed the hearing & heard Sen. Rand Paul (R-Quack) advise, "'We just need more optimism.'... Not for the first time, it feels as though 21st-century America is 14th-century Europe, reacting with all manner of useless countermeasures to the plague.... The president ridicules mask wearing as politically correct and unmanly. His campaign staff tears down social distancing signs at his mass rally. Governors of hard-hit states tamper with data, sideline public health experts and blame the spread on Latino farmworkers, civil rights demonstrations and increased testing -- anything but their reckless and premature relaxing of restrictions. And then there's Vice President Pence, head of the White House coronavirus task force. 'I'd just encourage every American to continue to pray,' he said at Friday's task force briefing."

Phil Mattingly of CNN: "The US Senate, just hours before the expiration of the small business loan Paycheck Protection Program, passed an extension of the program to August 8. The move to keep the application process for the program open comes as it was set to expire with more than $130 billion in allocated funds that remain unused. The program was designed to offer small business loans to bridge the shutdowns and help businesses keep employees in their jobs -- and in turn, the loans taken out would be forgiven, essentially shifting into a grant.... Tuesday's extension came as a surprise, even to Democrats who forced the action on the floor.... The bill, proposed by Senate Democrats, was passed by unanimous consent. The Democratic-led House would still need to act on the extension."

Your European Vacation Has Been Cancelled. Bill Chappell of NPR: "U.S. travelers won't be among those allowed to visit the European Union when the bloc begins opening its external borders on July 1. EU ambassadors endorsed a list of 15 travel partners on Tuesday, including South Korea, Japan and China -- countries that were hit early by the pandemic but have been able to bring the coronavirus under control. The U.S. was seen as a long shot to make the travel list, which requires that only those countries with epidemiological situations -- taking into account both the infection rate and current trends -- that are equal to or better than the EU's can send tourists and other nonessential visitors to the open-border region." (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~

     ~~~ CNN has the graph that explains why. (Also linked yesterday.)

Philip Rucker & Seung Min Kim of the Washington Post: "... Richard B. Cheney and his Wyoming congresswoman daughter, Liz, say wearing masks is manly. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) says there should be no stigma associated with covering one's face as public health experts advise, and House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) says doing so is essential to fully reopening the economy.... And even Sean Hannity and Steve Doocy, two of Trump's most fervent and loyal boosters on Fox News Channel, have joined the chorus of mask advocates.... The president ... has used his bully pulpit to mock others who do and to cast doubt on the efficacy of masks. But with coronavirus cases soaring across the nation -- and most precipitously across Florida, Texas and other parts of so-called Trump country -- many prominent Republicans are now ... [urging] people [to] wear masks to slow the spread of the virus and help the economy reopen safely."

James Wagner of the New York Times: "... the 2020 minor league baseball season will not happen. It is the first time in the history of Minor League Baseball, which was founded in 1901, that a season has been canceled.... Technically, the season's fate was sealed when Major League Baseball informed MiLB that it would not be providing the players needed for the season because of the national emergency brought on by the coronavirus pandemic. The MiLB Board of Trustees met earlier on Tuesday to finalize what had been apparent for months. Many of the roughly 8,000 minor league players -- those who are not part of their affiliated M.L.B. team's 60-man player pool for the 2020 season -- will miss an entire year of their careers. Most M.L.B. teams have committed to paying their minor league players, many of whom earn less than $15,000 per season, $400 a week beyond June 30." ~~~

     ~~~ Mrs. Bea McCrabbie: Too bad. I used to regularly attend L.A. Dodgers games, and years later, I sometimes went to Durham Bulls games. The Bulls games, where spectators could get up close & personal, were way more fun.


** They Followed the Money. Charlie Savage, et al., of the New York Times: "American officials intercepted electronic data showing large financial transfers from a bank account controlled by Russia's military intelligence agency to a Taliban-linked account, which was among the evidence that supported their conclusion that Russia covertly offered bounties for killing U.S. and coalition troops in Afghanistan, according to three officials familiar with the intelligence. Though the United States has accused Russia of providing general support to the Taliban before, analysts concluded from other intelligence that the transfers were most likely part of a bounty program that detainees described during interrogations.... The disclosures further undercut White House officials' claim that the intelligence was too uncertain to brief President Trump." (Also linked yesterday.) UPI has a summary report here. ~~~

     ~~~ Jerry Lambe of Law & Crime: “Following bombshell allegations that the Russian government offered Taliban militants secret bounties for killing U.S. troops, the Trump administration on Monday invited a bloc of eight GOP lawmakers to the White House for a briefing where administration officials insisted that there was conflicting intelligence on the matter. However, the White House reportedly refrained from divulging a key piece of evidence [-- the money transfers --] which legal experts say casts further doubt both on the Trump administration's shifting explanations and the president's claims that the entire story is a 'hoax.... University of Texas law professor Steve Vladeck, a noted expert in national security law and military justice..., [commented], 'It's almost impressive how the Trump White House keeps making this series of scandals *worse.* It's bad enough that they lied all weekend about what they knew and when; now it turns out that they even misled the hand-picked congressional Republicans who they 'briefed' yesterday.'" Story reports other similar comments. ~~~

~~~ Heather Caygle, et al., of Politico: "Senior House Democrats left a White House briefing on Russian bounties disappointed on Tuesday, saying they were given 'no substantive information' about allegations that the Kremlin paid Taliban militants to kill U.S. troops -- and that ... Donald Trump sat on the information for months. House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-Md.), who led a group of nearly a dozen Democrats to the White House early Tuesday, said Congress still needs to hear from the heads of various Intelligence agencies -- not White House officials -- on the stunning allegations. The Trump administration officials tasked with briefing the Democrats, Hoyer said, expressed their opinion of the allegations but didn't share the underlying evidence." (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~

~~~ Karen DeYoung, et al., of the Washington Post: "White House officials were first informed in early 2019 of intelligence reports that Russia was offering bounties to Taliban-linked militants to kill U.S. and coalition military personnel in Afghanistan, but the information was deemed sketchy and in need of additional confirmation, according to people familiar with the matter.... At a White House briefing Tuesday, press secretary Kayleigh McEnany ... said Trump is briefed only 'when there is a strategic decision to be made.'...But several people familiar with the matter noted that information is sometimes withheld from Trump, who often reacts badly to reports that he thinks might undermine what he considers his good relationship with Russian President Vladimir Putin.: ~~~

~~~ Ben Mathis-Lilley of Slate: "What was Trump doing on Feb. 27 instead of reading the brief ... that a Russian military intelligence unit may have paid bounties for killing American troops in Afghanistan...? According to the transcript of a White House Black History Month event held that Thursday, his attention was mainly occupied by the idea that he hadn't gotten enough credit for preventing a coronavirus outbreak in the United States.... On the ostensible topic of the day, Trump said that 'nobody has done more for Black people than I have' and praised himself for passing a criminal justice reform bill. The event also included minuteslong digressions about the media's alleged failure to report on the impressive size of his rally audiences, the media's alleged failure to report on Joe Biden's verbal gaffes, and CNN commentator Van Jones' failure to thank him by name for supporting the reform bill during a TV appearance.... A Feb. 27 story from the Daily Beast reported that Trump's activities that day also included a meeting, not on the official schedule, with the cast and playwright of 'a low-budget conservative play about the so-called Deep State,' the script of which drew on 'the text messages between former FBI agent Peter Strzok and former FBI lawyer Lisa Page....'"

We are tracking down the two Anarchists who threw paint on the magnificent George Washington Statue in Manhattan. We have them on tape. They will be prosecuted and face 10 years in Prison based on the Monuments and Statues Act. Turn yourselves in now! -- Donald Trump, tweet, Tuesday morning ~~~

~~~ Wanted Posters: Trump's Re-election Plan. Josh Dawsey of the Washington Post: "President Trump returned from his Virginia golf course Saturday afternoon and turned his Twitter feed into a crime blotter. In less than five minutes, the president posted 15 fliers from the United States Park Police..., complete with grainy photos of Americans suspected of vandalism at Lafayette Square. The images hearkened to the kinds of posters one would see on the wall of a local post office. The president's messages about protesters and vandals have continued apace, often in the early hours of the morning or the late hours of the evening when he is not surrounded by aides, but sometimes in interviews and executive orders.... As the country convulses from incidents of police killings, mass protests and a rapidly spreading pandemic that has led to double-digit unemployment, the president seems most intent on inflaming an already burning culture war, using his Twitter feed to focus on vandalism by protesters and the well-being of statues that have been targeted.... In several Oval Office meetings, the president has argued that looters and rioters, which have been a small part of largely peaceful protests across the country, as well as the toppling of statues, will ultimately help him win election because people will grow tired of their behavior and appreciate his harsh rhetoric." ~~~

     ~~~ Mrs. McCrabbie: As John Berman of CNN put it this morning, "Overnight, Trump tweeted that he would protect Robert E. Lee, but Lee has no chance of contracting the coronavirus." (Slight paraphrase.) ~~~

~~~ What If the Ole Boys of Mississippi Were More Woke Than the POTUS*? Mark Berman & Ben Guarino of the Washington Post: "Mississippi Gov. Tate Reeves (R) signed a bill Tuesday abandoning the state's flag and stripping the Confederate battle flag symbol from it, capping a remarkable turnaround on a banner that had flown over the state for more than a century. With Reeves's move, Mississippi will take down one of the country's most prominent Confederate tributes, withdrawing the only state flag that still bears such an emblem. The new flag's design will be determined later, but lawmakers have barred it from including the most recognizable icon of the Confederacy, which many people associate with racism, slavery and oppression."

Missouri. Lee Brown of the New York Post: "The St. Louis lawyers who pulled weapons on protesters marching past their home are being investigated for possible criminal charges, the city's lead prosecutor has revealed. Mark and Patricia McCloskey -- who went viral after brandishing an AR-15-style rifle and a silver-colored handgun, respectively -- were the only ones to lodge a police report over Sunday's confrontation, insisting they were 'victims' of threatening trespassers who entered a gated community, the St. Louis American noted. But the husband-and-wife lawyers are being probed by police and prosecutors for possible threats against the crowd, authorities announced Monday. 'I am alarmed at the events that occurred over the weekend, where peaceful protestors were met by guns,' St. Louis Prosecutor Kimberly Gardner said...." Mrs. McC: Mind you, the couple thinks they are heroes for drawing weapons to protect their mansion from noises that disturbed their dinner.

Maggie Haberman & Alan Feuer of the New York Times: "A judge in Dutchess County, N.Y., on Tuesday temporarily blocked publication of a tell-all book by President Trump's niece Mary L. Trump that is currently scheduled for release July 28. Judge Hal Greenwald of the New York State Supreme Court issued the temporary restraining order until a hearing on July 10 to decide whether Ms. Trump's book, 'Too Much and Never Enough: How My Family Created the World's Most Dangerous Man,' violated a confidentiality agreement she signed with other members of the Trump family in connection with a dispute over the estate of Fred Trump Sr., the president's father. The judge acted in response to a court action filed by Robert S. Trump, the president's brother, against Ms. Trump and Simon & Schuster, the book's publisher. Ms. Trump is the daughter of Fred Trump Jr., who died in 1981 and was estranged from his family. A lawyer for Ms. Trump, Theodore J. Boutrous, vowed to appeal the decision." A Politico story is here.

Ken Vogel & Ben Protess of the New York Times: "A handful of major donors footed the bill for nearly $500,000 worth of Vice President Mike Pence's legal fees related to the special counsel's investigation, according to a financial filing released Tuesday. Mr. Pence listed the donations as gifts on a mandatory annual financial disclosure statement covering last year."

Payments for Dead People, Not for Live Children. Michelle Singletary of the Washington Post: "IRS officials initially told the GAO that up to 450,000 low-income people did not receive the money they were due for dependent children. During testimony to the Senate Finance Committee on Tuesday, IRS Commissioner Charles Rettig revised the figure down to 365,000.... A recent report from the U.S. Government Accountability Office found that the IRS made $1.4 billion in stimulus payments to dead people. The report also revealed that from April 10 to May 17, some stimulus payment calculations did not include additional money for qualifying children, even though the recipients had correctly submitted information about their dependents to the IRS. The incomplete payments went to people who aren't required to file a federal tax return because of their low income.... The IRS told the GAO it was 'working to identify and adjust the accounts' and would make the missing payments for dependent children by the end of July."

Elections 2020

Eric Bradner of CNN: "... Joe Biden lambasted ... Donald Trump's handling of the coronavirus pandemic Tuesday, saying that Trump is 'in retreat' with more 125,000 Americans dead and the virus worsening in many states. In a speech in Wilmington, Delaware, the former vice president recounted what he cast as Trump's missteps, from Trump's early dismissals of the virus to his more recent refusals to wear a mask in public appearances. Pointing to Trump in March declaring himself a wartime president in battling the coronavirus, Biden said: 'What happened? Now it's almost July, and it seems like our wartime president has surrendered -- waved the white flag and left the battlefield.' Biden's speech tied together proposals he has issued in recent months, including calls for a national board to oversee a 'massive surge' in coronavirus testing. He framed most of his remarks as directly addressing Trump, urging the President to adopt Biden's proposals immediately." (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~

~~~ Video of the full speech is here.

Trump, Allies Encourage Foreign Intervention in Election. Paul Sonne, et al., of the Washington Post: "Last week, a Ukrainian lawmaker who was once affiliated with a pro-Russian political party and has met with [Rudy] Giuliani released 10 edited snippets of what appeared to be Biden's official vice presidential phone calls with Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko in 2016. It was the second cache of recordings the lawmaker, who studied under the KGB in Moscow in the early 1990s, has released since May.... Efforts to promote the recordings in Ukraine and the United States -- and pledges by other Trump allies to release more in the coming months -- suggest a new push by foreign forces to sway American voters in the run-up to the 2020 election, one welcomed by ... Giuliani.... The developments further illustrate Trump's willingness to benefit from foreign intervention in U.S. elections, even after being impeached for pressuring Ukraine to launch investigations into his political rivals." ~~~

~~~ Robyn Dixon & David Stern of the Washington Post: "Andriy Yermak, the chief of staff for Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, said the administration plans a new law that would make it a crime to publish secretly taped conversations of officials. The changes, he told The Washington Post in an interview by video link from Kyiv, seeks to end the 'malicious practice,' adding this was necessary to 'protect state security.' 'I want to emphasize that we regard this as a direct violation of the national security of our country,' he said." ~~~

~~~ MEANWHILE. Trump's Wiseguys. Jeremy Herb of CNN: "The Senate will incorporate the annual intelligence policy legislation into the National Defense Authorization Act -- but only after stripping language from the intelligence bill that would have required presidential campaigns to report offers of foreign election help. Sen. Mark Warner of Virginia, the top Democrat on the Senate Intelligence Committee, said Tuesday that Senate Republicans forced the removal of the election reporting provision as a condition to include the intelligence bill on the must-pass defense policy legislation. Earlier this month, the Senate Intelligence Committee approved an amendment on an 8-7 vote from Warner and GOP Sen. Susan Collins of Maine, which added a provision to the Intelligence Authorization Act requiring campaigns to notify federal authorities about offers of foreign election help."

Kaitlin Collins & Kevin Liptak of CNN: "... Donald Trump's campaign has scrapped plans to hold a rally in Alabama next weekend.... Trump was slated to travel to the state ahead of the Senate race between his former attorney general Jeff Sessions and the former Auburn University football coach Tommy Tuberville, but plans were called off as state officials voiced concerns about a mass gathering and campaign officials ultimately decided against it. A person close to the campaign said there are currently no rallies on the horizon, but aides are scoping out possible venues for when they decide to host them again."

Colorado. John Wagner of the Washington Post: "BREAKING: Colorado Democrats nominated John Hickenlooper on Tuesday to challenge Sen. Cory Gardner [R] in race that could decide control of U.S. Senate[.] The two-term former governor and onetime Denver mayor stumbled in recent weeks, as he apologized for racially insensitive comments and as an independent ethics panel found he violated Colorado's gift ban on two occasions. But the former presidential candidate prevailed over former Colorado House speaker Andrew Romanoff in the primary. Democrats see Gardner as vulnerable in the Democratic-leaning state. This story will be updated."

Kentucky. James Arkin of Politico: "Amy McGrath has fended off Charles Booker to clinch the Democratic nomination for Senate in Kentucky, setting up an expensive showdown with Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell in November. McGrath had 45 percent of the vote, compared to 43 percent for Booker when The Associated Press called the race on Tuesday -- a week after the primary which saw historic turnout and significant use of absentee ballots. Though she was the frontrunner throughout the race, McGrath faced a spirited challenge from Booker, a liberal first-term state representative who surged in momentum in just three short weeks to turn the race from a sleepy affair into one of the most closely-watched Senate primaries this year. Booker';s rise began late last month as he took part in protests against police brutality in his hometown of Louisville." The New York Times report is here. (Also linked yesterday.)

Oklahoma. Max Greenwood of the Hill: "Oklahoma voters narrowly approved a ballot measure on Tuesday to expand Medicaid under the Affordable Care Act (ACA), defying Republican state and federal officials who have long opposed such a move. The ballot measure passed by only a few thousand votes, prevailing by 50.5 percent to 49.5 percent who opposed it. Still, it makes Oklahoma the fifth state controlled by Republicans to approve Medicaid expansion through a ballot measure, joining the ranks of Idaho, Maine, Nebraska and Utah."

Alabama. Elaina Plott has a long piece in the New York Times Magazine on Jeff Sessions, who is running to reclaim his old Senate seat because, well, nobody would give him a job. He's currently in a runoff with former Auburn University football coach Tommy Tuberville, whom Donald Trump has endorsed. He came in second to Tuberville in the primary. Accompanied by a portrait photo of Sessions with a weird expression on his face. The article is titled "The Fall of Jeff Sessions...," a reminder that everyone who attaches himself to Donald Trump is toast.

California. Eric Hananoki of Media Matters: "Writer and GOP-backed House candidate Mike Cargile has frequently posted bigoted content on Facebook, including writing a racist rant in which he used the n-word and told Black people to 'quit blaming white folks for your problems. Take your black ass out there and show them kids there's a better way than husslin' on the street.' Cargile has also shared memes which questioned whether Muslim members of Congress are working with terrorists; stated that '2 illegal aliens having an anchor baby does not produce an American' and suggested that LGBTQ people are leading to the end of days. (Cargile has shared his personal Facebook page on his campaign's Facebook page.)... He is running in California's 35th Congressional District against incumbent Democratic Rep. Norma Torres."

Maine. Susan Collins Is Often "Disappointed" in Donald Trump. Josh Israel of the American Independent: Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine) "has voted with [Donald Trump] more than two-thirds of the time, according to FiveThirtyEight's tracker. She voted to give lifetime appointments to the vast majority of Trump's 200 judicial appointees, including Supreme Court Justices Neil Gorsuch and Brett Kavanaugh. She also backed the confirmation of Cabinet appointees such as Attorney General William Barr, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, and Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar. She voted to acquit Trump in February during his impeachment trial, suggesting that he had learned a 'pretty big lesson' and 'would be more cautious in the future.' She later walked back that assessment, admitting it was 'more aspirational on my part.' A review of Collins' public statements finds at least 24 instances of her expressing concern, dismay, or disagreement with Trump." Israel lists every instance.

Wisconsin. Jonathan Sadowski of Up North News: "More than 80 percent of Wisconsin's Republican legislators voted absentee in April, even though the party has continually opposed Democrats' attempts to expand mail-in voting. Proponents of mail-in voting argue that it should be easier to cast absentee ballots due to health concerns amid the coronavirus pandemic, but Republicans often make false claims that mailed ballots greatly increase the risk of fraud. The Associated Press first reported on the Republicans' voting records after liberal group A Better Wisconsin Together provided the information to the publication.... The absentee voting fraud rate is about 0.0025 percent, or just 372 possible cases out of 14.6 million votes analyzed by the Washington Post."


Adam Liptak of the New York Times: "The Supreme Court ruled Tuesday that states must allow religious schools to participate in programs that provide scholarships to students attending private schools. The decision, a victory for conservatives, was the latest in a series of Supreme Court rulings that the free exercise of religion bars the government from treating religious groups differently from secular ones. It opens the door to more public funding of religious education. Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. wrote the majority opinion in the 5-to-4 ruling. The court's four more liberal members dissented.... At the same time, writing for four justices, Chief Justice Roberts emphasized the narrowness of the court's decision. 'This case involves express discrimination based on religious identity with respect to playground resurfacing,' he wrote. 'We do not address religious uses of funding or other forms of discrimination.'" (Also linked yesterday.)

Capitalism Is Awesome, Ctd. Tiffany Hsu & Mike Issac of the New York Times: "Last Tuesday, Mark Zuckerberg, Facebook's chief executive, attended a virtual meeting with some of the company's top advertising partners [and said] ... the social network [would] keep hate speech unaltered and accessible on its site.... But over the past week, Facebook's attitude has changed. Marketing giants like Unilever, Coca-Cola and Pfizer announced that they were pausing their Facebook advertising. That outcry has grown, hitting the company's wallet. To contain the damage, Facebook began holding daily calls and sending emails to advertisers to soothe them, advertising executives said. [This] Tuesday morning, [in] another video meeting with advertisers..., [company executives] took a more conciliatory tone.... Yet even as Facebook has labored to stanch the ad exodus, it is having little effect. Executives at ad agencies said that more of their clients were weighing whether to join the boycott, which now numbers more than 300 advertisers and is expected to grow.... The big-name brands that have pulled back are recognizable and may create a trickle-down effect, analysts said." ~~~

~~~ Ben Collins & Brandy Zadrozny of NBC News: "Facebook announced Tuesday that it is removing groups dedicated to the Boogaloo extremist movement one month after federal officials alleged the anti-government network's adherents used the platform to plan the murder of a federal agent. The social media giant said it removed 220 Boogaloo Facebook groups and 95 Instagram accounts that violated its policies against organized violence. It said 400 additional groups that were tangentially associated with the movement would be taken down, too.... The Boogaloo is a heavily armed, mostly conservative libertarian militia movement with extreme anti-government views that advocates for a violent uprising targeting mostly law enforcement. The movement, which has strong ties to current and former military members, grew to tens of thousands of followers since January, mostly in Facebook groups." ~~~

Here's why Facebook is so reluctant to drop hate groups: ~~~

~~~ Ryan Mac & Caroline Haskins of BuzzFeed News: "As right-wing extremists have used [Facebook]'s tools to organize, the world's largest social network has also profited from ads pushing for white supremacy.... On Sunday, [for instance,] the @docscustomknives Instagram account placed an ad on the popular photo-sharing social network advocating that people 'join the militia, fight the state.'... The account that ran the Instagram ad was not among those that the company removed [on Tuesday]."

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