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
Jun252020

The Commentariat -- June 26, 2020

Afternoon Update:

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

Alana Wise of NPR: "The White House Coronavirus Task Force renewed calls for vigilance on Friday, acknowledging rising cases across Southern states and in parts of California....Vice President Pence insisted 'this moment is different' than what the United States was grappling with two months ago, noting that the percentage of people requiring hospitalization from the virus was considerably lower than it was early on during the pandemic and the number of fatalities are declining. 'We're in a much better place,' Pence said. But he urged young people to take precautions to avoid spreading the disease to more vulnerable people. The group's first briefing in weeks [was.] held at the Department of Health and Human Services rather than at the White House...." Mrs. McC: Not clear from this report if any medical experts were invited to speak or if it was all political people; I'll try to find out more later.

Teo Armus of the Washington Post: "With coronavirus infections rapidly spreading across the American South and West and more states making masks a requirement, dozens of sheriffs ... are staging a rebellion against state governments. An adherence to their interpretation of Constitution, they say, comes before any kind of public health advice." Thanks to Ken W. for the link. Mrs. McC: I have a comment on the sheriffs in today's thread.

Caitlin Oprysko & Quint Forgey of Politico: "A pair of GOP governors on Friday moved to impose new mitigation measures in their states amid record numbers of new coronavirus infections, with both Texas Gov. Greg Abbott and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis ordering bars closed and Texas placing new restrictions on other businesses the governor said were linked to the virus's resurgence. Texas and Florida are among around a dozen other states that have hit the brakes on reopening their economies amid a resurgence of the virus across the South and West affecting more than half of the states in the country. That both governors -- who are close allies of ... Donald Trump and were criticized for resisting calls to lock down their states in the pandemic's early days -- have not only pressed pause on reopening but reimposed some restrictions, speaks to the severity of the outbreaks in two of the most populous states in the country."

Ha Ha Ha. Max Cohen of Politico: "... Donald Trump on Friday morning canceled his scheduled weekend trip to his private golf club in Bedminster, N.J. The trip had drawn criticism as Trump said he would not follow New Jersey guidelines and would ignore a mandatory 14-day quarantine for travelers coming from states with coronavirus spikes. Trump visited Arizona on Tuesday amid a rapid rise in cases there. White House spokesman Judd Deere had justified the decision by claiming 'the president of the United States is not a civilian.' New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy [D] told CNN that Trump did not have to follow the quarantine guidelines because he is considered an essential worker." Mrs. McC: Trump is neither "essential" nor a "worker."

... Aamer Madhani & Jonathan Lemire of the AP: "... Donald Trump a href="https://apnews.com/cb405a4a771fad613e6e29d69a237052" target="_blank">is sharpening his focus on his most ardent base of supporters as concern grows inside his campaign that his standing in the battleground states that will decide the 2020 election is slipping. Trump turned his attention this week to 'left wing mobs' toppling Confederate monuments and visited the nation's southern border to spotlight progress on his 2016 campaign promise to build a U.S.-Mexico border wall. He ignored public health experts warning Americans to avoid large gatherings by holding two large campaign events in Oklahoma and Arizona, parts of the country where coronavirus infections are surging. With his rhetorical turn, Trump is feeding red meat issues to a base that helped spur his upset victory over Hillary Clinton in 2016. But he risks appearing to ignore larger issues that are jolting the country, like the pandemic and racial injustice, while underplaying economic issues, even though polling shows that to be an area where Trump performs relatively well."

Marie Fazio of the New York Times: "A Mississippi man was charged in connection with a phone call threatening to kill a United States representative and his staffers, federal prosecutors said on Wednesday. The man, Newton Wade Townsend, 52, of Brandon, Miss., was charged on Tuesday with threatening a public official. Court records, which only identify the congressman by the initials B.T., said that the threat was made on June 1. Congressman Bennie Thompson, a Democrat, said that he received a threat from Mr. Townsend on his office phone, and that the Capitol Police investigated the matter.... Mr. Thompson is the only black legislator, and the only Democrat, representing Mississippi in Congress."

~~~~~~~~~~

The Trumpidemic, Ctd.

The New York Times' live updates for coronavirus developments Thursday are here. "The United States on Thursday reported more than 41,000 new coronavirus cases, a record total for the second straight day, as a nationwide sense of urgency grew and caseloads soared in Southern and Western states that were far removed from the worst early outbreaks. In an apparent sign of that urgency, the White House said that its coronavirus task force planned to reconvene on Friday for its first briefing in nearly two months. Thursday's grim record came as at least four states -- Alabama, Alaska, Montana and Utah -- reported their largest daily totals. Emphasis added. (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~

~~~ The Washington Post's live updates for Thursday are here. The 38,173 new infections reported by state health departments Wednesday underscored the changing geography of the U.S. outbreak. The bulk of the cases were posted in Texas, Florida and California, while Oklahoma also set a new statewide record in infections." (Also linked yesterday.)

CDC: 23 Million Americans Have Contracted Coronavirus. Lena Sun & Joel Achenbach of the Washington Post: “The number of Americans who have been infected with the novel coronavirus is likely 10 times higher than the 2.3 million confirmed cases, according to the head of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. 'Our best estimate right now is that for every case that's reported, there actually are 10 other infections,' CDC Director Robert Redfield said Thursday on a call with reporters. Using that methodology pushes the tally of U.S. cases to at least 23 million. Redfield said the larger estimate is based on blood samples collected from across the country that look for the presence of antibodies to the virus. For every confirmed case of covid-19, 10 more people had antibodies, he said.... The CDC also update its guidance Thursday to help people understand their risk for severe illness from covid-19...." A Hill report is here. (Also linked yesterday.)

Paul Krugman: "What went wrong? The immediate answer is that many U.S. states ignored warnings from health experts and rushed to reopen their economies, and far too many people failed to follow basic precautions like wearing face masks and avoiding large groups.... I keep seeing statements to the effect that Americans were too impatient to stay the course, too unwilling to act responsibly. But this is deeply misleading, because it avoids confronting the essence of the problem. Americans didn't fail the Covid-19 test; Republicans did. After all, the Northeast, with its largely Democratic governors, has been appropriately cautious about reopening, and its numbers look like Europe's."

Sahil Kapur of NBC News: "The Trump administration is asking the Supreme Court to wipe out Obamacare, arguing that the individual mandate is unconstitutional and that the rest of the law must be struck down with it. The late-night brief, filed Thursday in the middle of the coronavirus pandemic, carries major implications for the presidential election. If the justices agree, it would cost an estimated 20 million Americans their insurance coverage and nullify protections for pre-existing conditions.... For the roughly 25 million people out of work and collecting jobless benefits, the ACA's marketplaces and Medicaid expansion provide avenues to gain subsidized health insurance with consumer protections." ~~~

     ~~~ Tim Elfrink & Meagan Flynn of the Washington Post: "The filing came the same day that a government report showed nearly half a million Americans turned to the ACA in April and May amid covid-19′s economic devastation.... "... survivors [of the coronavirus], having struggled and won the fight of their lives, would have their peace of mind stolen away at the moment they need it most,' [Joe] Biden said. 'They would live their lives caught in a vise between Donald Trump's twin legacies: his failure to protect the American people from the coronavirus, and his heartless crusade to take health-care protections away from American families.'... 'President Trump and the Republicans' campaign to rip away the protections and benefits of the Affordable Care Act in the middle of the coronavirus crisis is an act of unfathomable cruelty,' [House Speaker Nancy] Pelosi, who on Wednesday filed a bill to expand the ACA, said in a statement."

Sam Stein & Lachlan Markay of the Daily Beast: "Donald Trump's reelection campaign manager, Brad Parscale, is one of a group of campaign staffers in quasi-quarantine after he attended a rally in Oklahoma last weekend where eight campaign aides tested positive for the novel coronavirus. Trump campaign spokesman Tim Murtaugh announced on a conference call Thursday that, 'as a precaution,' staff who made the trip to Tulsa were 'working remotely' and would be tested for COVID before returning to work.... Parscale returned to his home in Florida after the rally in Tulsa, and Murtaugh told The Daily Beast that he flew commercial." Mrs. McC: Too bad, fellow travelers & crew. You breathed Brad's air. And of course the same could be said for those unknowingly traveling with all the other Trump campaign staff who decamped from Tulsa to their homes hither & yon. Donald Trump may make you sick.

Wherein Trump Once Again Demonstrates He Doesn't Know What "Sarcasm" Is. Jordan Muller of Politico: "... Donald Trump on Thursday said he had 'sarcastically' claimed that a decrease in coronavirus testing would lower U.S. infection rates, adding a new twist to the weeklong scramble by the White House to clarify the president's comments on virus testing. 'Sometimes I jokingly say, or sarcastically say, if we didn't do tests we would look great,' Trump said in an interview and Fox News town hall with Sean Hannity. 'But you know what? It's not the right thing to do.' The president's comments come nearly a week after he claimed at a campaign rally in Tulsa, Okla., that he'd ordered a slowdown in coronavirus testing. Trump on Tuesday insisted he was serious in slowing down testing, even after senior White House officials said the president made the comment in jest. 'I don't kid,' Trump said when pressed by reporters on Tuesday. 'Let me make it clear.' The president's comments at the Tulsa rally sparked days of jockeying by officials and White House aides to defend the president's statements." ~~~

     ~~~ Mrs. McCrabbie: What you have here is one of those rare brief moments when a campaign advisor was able to persuade Trump to try to say something reasonable & responsible. But it won't be long before the real Donald Trump gets back to whining about testing without caveats.

Accentuate the Positive, Eliminate the Negative. Amber Phillips of the Washington Post: "Key members of the Trump administration, including the president and vice president, are holding up data [on the coronavirus] in a way that allows them to publicly argue it's not all that bad. Other Republicans are threading hopeful news with more realistic assessments and cautions. We saw that Wednesday after Vice President Pence's lunch with Republican senators.... Here's what Pence and Republicans who talked to reporters said after his lunch on Capitol Hill about the coronavirus. 1. Infections are rising, Pence told senators, but the mortality rate is not.... 2. Only 12 states are experiencing increased cases.... 3. 'I think compared to where we were, we're in a much better situation, but everybody knows it's very fragile and we've got to stay after it,' Sen. John Cornyn (R-Tex.) told reporters.... 4. Increased testing is what's increasing the number of coronavirus infections.... 5. Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) urged taking precautions for the virus, and cited potentially encouraging stats alongside his warnings."

Arizona. Jeremy Duda, et al., of the Washington Post: "Arizona is facing more per capita cases than recorded by any country in Europe or even by hard-hit Brazil.... Maricopa County, which includes Phoenix, is recording as many as 2,000 cases a day, 'eclipsing the New York City boroughs even on their worst days,' warned a Wednesday brief by disease trackers at Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, which observed, 'Arizona has lost control of the epidemic.'... Physicians, public health experts, advocates and local officials say the crisis was predictable in Arizona, where local ordinances requiring masks were verboten until Gov. Doug Ducey (R) reversed course last week. State leaders did not take the necessary precautions or model safe behavior, these observers maintain, even in the face of compelling evidence and repeated pleas from authoritative voices.... At critical junctures, blunders by top officials undermined faith in the data purportedly driving decision-making.... And ... as the state began to reopen despite continued community transmission, an abrupt and uniform approach -- without transparent benchmarks or latitude for stricken areas to hold back -- led large parts of the public to believe the pandemic was over." ~~~

     ~~~ Mrs. Bea McCrabbie: And that's why Donald Trump went to Phoenix this week & spoke -- sans mask, of course -- at a megachurch packed with non-masked young people.

Texas, et al. Manny Fernandez & Sarah Mervosh of the New York Times: "Just 55 days after reopening Texas restaurants and other businesses, Gov. Greg Abbott on Thursday hit the pause button, stopping additional phases of the state's reopening as new coronavirus cases and hospitalizations soared and as the governor struggled to pull off the seemingly impossible task of keeping both the state open and the virus under control. The announcement by Mr. Abbott -- which allows the many shopping malls, restaurants, bars, gyms and other businesses already open to continue operating -- was an abrupt turnaround and came as a growing number of states paused reopenings amid rising case counts. The latest developments call into question any suggestion that the worst of the pandemic has passed in the United States, as rising outbreaks in the South and the West threaten to upend months of social distancing meant to help keep the virus at bay."

Annals of "Journalism," Ha Ha Ha. Hannity Kills. No, Really. Christopher Ingraham of the Washington Post: "In recent weeks, three studies have focused on conservative media's role in fostering confusion about the seriousness of the coronavirus. Taken together, they paint a picture of a media ecosystem that amplifies misinformation, entertains conspiracy theories and discourages audiences from taking concrete steps to protect themselves and others. The end result, according to one of the studies, is that infection and mortality rates are higher in places where one pundit who initially downplayed the severity of the pandemic -- Fox News' Sean Hannity -- reaches the largest audiences.... [An Annenberg/U. of Illinois peer-reviewed study] found that people who got most of their information from mainstream print and broadcast outlets tended to have an accurate assessment of the severity of the pandemic and their risks of infection. But those who relied on conservative sources, such as Fox News and Rush Limbaugh, were more likely to believe in conspiracy theories or unfounded rumors, such as the belief that taking vitamin C could prevent infection, that the Chinese government had created the virus, and that the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention was exaggerating the pandemic's threat 'to damage the Trump presidency.'" (Also linked yesterday.)

Nelson Schwartz of the New York Times: "Nearly 1.5 million workers filed new claims for state unemployment insurance last week, the Labor Department reported Thursday, the 14th week in a row that the figure has topped one million. An additional 728,000 filed for benefits from Pandemic Unemployment Assistance, a federally funded emergency program aimed at covering the self-employed, independent contractors and other workers who don't qualify for traditional unemployment insurance." (Also linked yesterday.)

** Paying the Dead. Erica Werner of the Washington Post: "The federal government sent coronavirus stimulus payments to almost 1.1 million dead people totaling nearly $1.4 billion, Congress' independent watchdog reported Thursday.... The U.S. Government Accountability Office, an independent investigative agency that reports to Congress, issued the finding as part of a comprehensive report on the nearly $3 trillion in coronavirus relief spending approved by Congress in March and April. It said it had received the information from the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration in an accounting as of April 30." An NBC News story is here. Thanks to Ken W. for the link. (Also linked yesterday.)


Mrs. McCrabbie: Joe Scarborough, of all people, made a fine little speech on his show this morning: "Donald Trump has been busy this week. He praised 'stop and frisk' during national protests over police brutality. He filed a brief in support of killing the Affordable Care Act, including the provision that allows Americans to obtain insurance for pre-existing conditions during a pandemic [stories linked below]. And he said 'crazy' Democrats were harder to deal with than autocratic leaders, like those of North Korea, Russia & China." Paraphrase.

Family Matters. Josh Gerstein of Politico: "A revealing book set to be published next month by Mary Trump, niece of ... Donald Trump, moved closer to publication on Thursday after a probate court judge in New York turned down a bid to block release of the unflattering account. President Trump's brother Robert asked for a restraining order against publication, citing a nondisclosure agreement contained in a settlement involving the estate of their father Fred, who died in 1999.... Judge Peter Kelly of Queens County Surrogate Court said his court was not the proper venue for the dispute over the book, which he found to be far afield from matters involving the distribution of Fred Trump's estate. Kelly dismissed the legal application, calling it 'fatally defective.'... The lawyer who filed the application, Charles Harder, said he would take the request to another New York court." (Also linked yesterday.) A New York Times story is here. ~~~

~~~ Michael Kranish of the Washington Post, who has not been able to either read the book or interview Mary Trump, still manages to write an interesting background piece. "A description of the book from publisher Simon & Schuster suggests it will draw heavily on her studies of family dysfunction, with Mary using her clinical background to dissect 'a nightmare of traumas, destructive relationships and a tragic combination of neglect and abuse,' including 'the strange and harmful relationship between' her late father and Donald Trump."

** Barr, a Corrupt Toady from the Git-go. Benjamin Weiser, et al., of the New York Times: "Shortly after he became attorney general last year, William P. Barr set out to challenge a signature criminal case that touched President Trump's inner circle directly, and even the president's own actions: the prosecution of Michael D. Cohen, Mr. Trump's longtime fixer.... At one point during the discussions, Mr. Barr instructed Justice Department officials in Washington to draft a memo outlining legal arguments that could have raised questions about Mr. Cohen's conviction and undercut similar prosecutions in the future.... Mr. Cohen was convicted and sentenced in December 2018, before Mr. Barr was sworn in, so there was little he could do to change the outcome of the case.... The debate between Mr. Barr and the federal prosecutors who brought the case against Mr. Cohen was one of the first signs of a tense relationship that culminated last weekend in the abrupt ouster of Geoffrey S. Berman, the United States attorney in Manhattan. It also foreshadowed Mr. Barr's intervention in the prosecutions of other associates of Mr. Trump.... More than any other federal prosecutor's office, the Manhattan office had pursued investigations that angered Mr. Trump.... After Mr. Barr was sworn in, one of his first actions was to seek briefings on politically sensitive investigations in the office and elsewhere, people briefed on the discussions said." ~~~

     ~~~ Mrs. McCrabbie: As Lawrence O'Donnell pointed out, at noon on January 20, 2021, it's likely Donald Trump, a/k/a Individual 1, will make himself available for indictment for the same charges for which Michael Cohen went to jail.

~~~ That Would Be a "No." Shayna Jacobs of the Washington Post: "President Trump's nominee to take over the Manhattan federal prosecutors office after the abrupt dismissal of U.S. Attorney Geoffrey Berman refused on Thursday to say whether he would recuse himself from pending investigations involving Trump's interests and associates if confirmed for the post. Appearing before a House Financial Services subcommittee, Securities and Exchange Committee Chairman Jay Clayton sought to deflect Democrats' questions about his selection for the job and the circumstances under which Berman was removed over the weekend, characterizing the Senate confirmation process as 'way down the road.' But when pressed by Rep. Carolyn B. Maloney (D-N.Y.) to 'commit, right here, to recusing yourself' from matters in which the president has a personal stake, Clayton demurred." Politico's story is here. (Also linked yesterday.)

Trumped-up Charges: Trump Creates a Pentagon Crisis. Helene Cooper & Eric Schmitt of the New York Times: "The Pentagon is facing a hemorrhage of talent as senior officials resign amid continued efforts by the White House to purge those perceived as political foes, including the Army lieutenant colonel [Alexander Vindman] who testified in the House impeachment hearings. The challenge of managing White House pressures and concerns about morale inside the Pentagon confronts Defense Secretary Mark T. Esper, who is already in a precarious position with President Trump. The White House had made clear [to Pentagon officials] ... that Mr. Trump did not want to see Colonel Vindman promoted, the officials said. In fact, when they saw an earlier draft version of the list two weeks ago, National Security Council staff members even told their Defense Department counterparts they had evidence of misconduct by Colonel Vindman. No such evidence materialized.... The Army kept [Vindman's] name on the list, and sent it back to Mr. Esper, putting the defense secretary exactly where he did not want to be: in the cross hairs of the commander in chief." (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~

~~~ Politicizing the Pentagon. Missy Ryan, et al., of the Washington Post: "The White House is intensifying an effort to hire Pentagon personnel with an undisputed allegiance to President Trump at a moment when his relationship with Defense Secretary Mark T. Esper has become strained, current and former officials said. The changes in mid-level leadership are poised to create a more avowedly political Defense Department and could erode the influence of Esper, who spoke out against Trump's proposed deployment of active-duty troops to quell unrest in U.S. cities after the killing of George Floyd in the custody of Minneapolis police." (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~

~~~ It isn't only the Pentagon: ~~~

~~~ Nathaniel Weixel of the Hill: "A whistleblower says the Trump administration continues to retaliate against him, stating in an updated complaint on Thursday that top officials are actively trying to discredit him and prevent him from being successful in a new role. Rick Bright, who led the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA) until he was demoted in late April, said in an amended complaint he has been 'deliberately impeded' in his role at the National Institutes of Health, which 'does not remotely utilize his expertise or experience.' According to the updated complaint, Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Alex Azar told HHS employees to refrain from doing anything that would help Bright be successful in his new role, and HHS employees were warned that Azar was 'on the warpath' in response to Bright's allegations."

Dahlia Lithwick of Slate writes of John Bolton's "original sin," which she characterizes as nihilism. "The maddening thing about Bolton’s book is his definition of the 'axis of adults' who ostensibly populate this mythical room where it happened. It now seems that they are sufficiently adult to profit off that service but not grown up enough to safeguard a desperately faltering democracy." Mrs. McC: It's fair to say that the entire Republican party -- and what they call "conservatism" -- is nihilistic. Their only purpose is to gain & maintain the power to do nothing.


Mihir Zaveri of the New York Times: New York City "Mayor Bill de Blasio has ignited a new feud with President Trump by ordering the words 'Black Lives Matter' to be painted in large yellow letters on the street outside of Trump Tower. The words are expected to be painted in the coming week on Fifth Avenue, between 56th and 57th Streets, according to the city.... In a tweet in response, Mr. Trump referenced Mr. de Blasio's plan to paint 'the fabled & beautiful Fifth Avenue, right in front of Trump Tower/Tiffany' and sought to play up animosity between the Black Lives Matter movement and the police in New York City. Mr. Trump falsely said in the tweet that Black Lives Matter protesters in the city had shouted chants encouraging the killing of police officers.... Mr. Trump, who has a history of denigrating black people, said in another tweet on Thursday that a leader of Black Lives Matter in the New York area had committed treason in statements he made about burning down 'the system' if meaningful change did not materialize." ~~~

     ~~~ Mrs. McCrabbie: It's notable that Trump thinks it's horrible to remind wealthy Tiffany shoppers that black lives matter. The suggestion is that Tiffany's is reserved for white people who are disgusted by the very notion that black lives matter. This is fundamentally sicko. ~~~

~~~ MEANWHILE. Felicia Sonmez, et al., of the Washington Post: "The House on Thursday passed an expansive Democratic-led measure that would revamp law enforcement practices following the public clamor for change after the death of George Floyd. The largely party-line vote of 236 to 181 epitomized the polarized debate in recent weeks, despite public polling showing broad support for some restrictions on law enforcement after the high-profile deaths of Floyd and other African Americans at the hands of police. With the Trump administration threatening a veto, most House Republicans lined up against the Democratic proposal and instead indicated support for a narrower proposal offered by Senate Republicans. Only three Republicans -- Reps. Will Hurd (Tex.), the lone black GOP House member; Brian Fitzpatrick (Pa.), and Fred Upton (Mich.) -- broke ranks and joined Democrats in backing the House bill."

Dan Lamothe & Souad Mekhennet of the Washington Post: "As Ohio National Guard soldiers were dispatched to help quell unrest in Washington, D.C., one was keeping a secret from his commanders: He had frequently espoused neo-Nazi views among like-minded friends. Pfc. Shandon Simpson had participated in a white supremacist channel on the Telegram messaging app called RapeWaffen Division.... On Twitter, Simpson tried to recruit fascists to join him in a new group, used an image of Nazi Party leader Richard Walther Darré as his profile picture and marked the 75th anniversary of Adolf Hitler's death on April 30.... Simpson is one of several service members whose actions have come under scrutiny in recent months as the U.S. military grapples with white extremism in its ranks. The military has wrestled with the problem for decades, but the issue is receiving new attention amid a broader conversation about race and discrimination prompted in part by the death of George Floyd...."

Leah Asmelash of CNN: "NASA is renaming its headquarters [in Washington, D.C.,] after Mary W. Jackson, the agency's first African American female engineer who helped inspire the story behind the book and film 'Hidden Figures.'... Jackson began her career with NASA at the segregated West Area Computing Unit of the agency's Langley Research Center in Hampton, Virginia, NASA said. A mathematician and an aerospace engineer, Jackson led programs aimed at uplifting women within NASA. She retired from NASA in 1985 and passed away in 2005, at the age of 83." (Also linked yesterday.)

Arizona. Simon Romero, et al., of the New York Times: "It was another gruesome video of policing in America -- a naked Latino man, his face covered by a mesh spit guard, his hands cuffed behind him as he lay dying face down on the ground at his grandmother's house. He pleaded for water more than a dozen times, saying he could not breathe as police officers restrained his legs and torso. This time, the scene was [Tucson,] a southern Arizona city with a politically moderate image, a large Latino population and a Police Department said to be relatively progressive.... Still unanswered is why it took the police two months to release the video taken by officers' body cameras when Mr. Lopez's family had almost immediately asked to see it.... Three officers involved in Mr. Lopez's death resigned before the public release of the video, and Chris Magnus, Tucson's police chief, offered to resign. But [Mayor Regina] Romero said on Thursday that Chief Magnus should remain in the job...."

North Carolina. Tom Foreman, Jr., of the AP: "Three members of a North Carolina police department have been fired after a department audit of a video recording captured one of the officers saying a civil war was necessary to wipe Black people off the map and that he was ready. The Wilmington Police Department took the action on Tuesday against Cpl. Jessie Moore, and officers Kevin Piner and Brian Gilmore. Each was accused of violating standards of conduct, criticism and use of inappropriate jokes and slurs." (Also linked yesterday.)

Presidential Race

Nate Cohn of the New York Times: "President Trump has lost significant ground in the six battleground states that clinched his Electoral College victory in 2016, according to New York Times/Siena College surveys, with Joseph R. Biden Jr. opening double-digit leads in Michigan, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin. Mr. Trump's once-commanding advantage among white voters has nearly vanished, a development that would all but preclude the president's re-election if it persisted. Mr. Biden now has a 21-point lead among white college graduates...." ~~~

~~~ Reality Chek. Geoffrey Skelley of 538: "... both Biden's average support and margin over Trump are historically large -- the largest of any contender since Bill Clinton in 1996.... But before you declare Biden the winner, remember his lead is not insurmountable.... At this point in the 1988 cycle, Michael Dukakis led nationally by almost 5 points.... So Trump still has plenty of time to recover enough ground to win in the Electoral College even if he loses the national popular vote -- after all, he did it in 2016."

Max Cohen of Politico: "... Former Vice President Joe Biden on Thursday ripped ... Donald Trump's response to the coronavirus pandemic and put forward his vision for expanding health care access by building on Obamacare. '[Trump's] like a child who can't believe this has happened to him -- all his whining and self-pity,' Biden said at a speech in Lancaster, Pa. 'Well, this pandemic didn't happen to him. It happened to all of us. And his job isn't to whine about it. His job is to do something about it, to lead.' During the speech in a recreation center gym, Biden called on the Trump administration to stop its ongoing lawsuit against the Affordable Care Act, warning that it could lead to millions of Americans losing coverage." (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~

~~~ Reid Epstein of the New York Times: "Former Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr. on Thursday laced into President Trump, condemning him for saying he had ordered a slowdown of coronavirus testing and comparing the sitting president to a whiny child. 'He admitted telling people, and I quote, "You have to slow the testing down -- slow it down, please,"' said Mr. Biden.... 'He thinks that finding out that more Americans are sick will make him look bad. That's what he's worried about -- he's worried about looking bad.'... Mr. Biden called on Americans to wear masks in public to protect themselves and others. He began his remarks wearing what has become his signature black face mask, which hung from his left ear for the opening minutes of his speech. As he finished and walked off stage, Mr. Biden reattached the mask."

Jim Acosta, et al., of CNN: "... Donald Trump appears at one of the weakest points of his presidency, with few signs the mounting health and civic crises he currently faces will subside and a spate of national polls indicating if the election were held today, he would lose badly. Trump still enjoys the sizable advantages afforded an incumbent president and, particularly in his own era, five months can feel like several lifetimes. Yet people who have spoken to the President recently say he seems aimless as coronavirus cases surge and as a national racial reckoning reaches entities from NASCAR to Disney. Instead of engaging on those matters, Trump has retrenched into the very conduct many believe is the root of his current political predicament.... He has rejected public surveys showing him trailing former Vice President Joe Biden by double digits, claiming they are flawed attempts to suppress the vote.... He has shown almost no willingness to change course."

John Wagner of the Washington Post: "Carly Fiorina, the former chief executive officer of Hewlett-Packard who sought the Republican presidential nomination four years ago, said in a new podcast that she plans to vote for Democrat Joe Biden in the fall. Fiorina said she continues to be a registered Republican but considers the election a 'binary choice' and has made clear she cannot support President Trump.... Fiorina has said she voted for Trump four years ago, despite disparaging comments he made about her looks. 'Look at that face!' Trump said to Rolling Stone. 'Would anyone vote for that? Can you imagine that, the face of our next president?'" A CNN story is here. (Also linked yesterday.)


Adam Liptak of the New York Times: "The Supreme Court sided on Thursday with the Trump administration’s efforts to speed the deportation of asylum seekers, ruling that a law limiting the role of federal courts in reviewing those decisions was constitutional.... Thursday's decision ... barred immigrants whose asylum claims were rejected in bare-bones proceedings from filing petitions for habeas corpus.... Justice Samuel A. Alito Jr., writing for the five more conservative justices in the 7-to-2 decision, said asylum claims threatened to overwhelm the immigration system." (Also linked yesterday.)

Ben Sisario of the New York Times: "The Dixie Chicks are now the Chicks. The platinum-selling country trio, which in 2003 became pariahs in Nashville for criticizing President George W. Bush on the eve of the American-led invasion of Iraq, has changed its name, apparently in tacit acknowledgment of criticism over its use of the word 'Dixie,' a nostalgic nickname for the Civil War-era South. The group made the change stealthily on Thursday, releasing a new video as the Chicks and adjusting its social media presence. Representatives for the band confirmed the new name. But the three women of the group -- Natalie Maines, Emily Strayer and Martie Maguire, who have been among the most outspoken figures in the conservative world of country music -- made little immediate comment. In a brief statement on its new website, the band states simply: 'We want to meet this moment.'" (Also linked yesterday.)

Comments Off
Wednesday
Jun242020

The Commentariat -- June 25, 2020

Late Morning/Afternoon Update:

CDC: 23 Million Americans Have Contracted Coronavirus. Lena Sun & Joel Achenbach of the Washington Post: "The number of Americans who have been infected with the novel coronavirus is likely 10 times higher than the 2.3 million confirmed cases, according to the head of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. 'Our best estimate right now is that for every case that's reported, there actually are 10 other infections,' CDC Director Robert Redfield said Thursday on a call with reporters. Using that methodology pushes the tally of U.S. cases to at least 23 million. Redfield said the larger estimate is based on blood samples collected from across the country that look for the presence of antibodies to the virus. For every confirmed case of covid-19, 10 more people had antibodies, he said.... The CDC also updated its guidance Thursday to help people understand their risk for severe illness from covid-19...." A Hill report is here.

Max Cohen of Politico: "... Former Vice President Joe Biden on Thursday ripped ... Donald Trump's response to the coronavirus pandemic and put forward his vision for expanding health care access by building on Obamacare. '[Trump's] like a child who can't believe this has happened to him -- all his whining and self-pity,' Biden said at a speech in Lancaster, Pa. 'Well, this pandemic didn't happen to him. It happened to all of us. And his job isn't to whine about it. His job is to do something about it, to lead.' During the speech in a recreation center gym, Biden called on the Trump administration to stop its ongoing lawsuit against the Affordable Care Act, warning that it could lead to millions of Americans losing coverage."

Trumped-up Charges: Trump Creates a Pentagon Crisis. Helene Cooper & Eric Schmitt of the New York Times: "The Pentagon is facing a hemorrhage of talent as senior officials resign amid continued efforts by the White House to purge those perceived as political foes, including the Army lieutenant colonel [Alexander Vindman] who testified in the House impeachment hearings. The challenge of managing White House pressures and concerns about morale inside the Pentagon confronts Defense Secretary Mark T. Esper, who is already in a precarious position with President Trump. The White House had made clear [to Pentagon officials] ... that Mr. Trump did not want to see Colonel Vindman promoted, the officials said. In fact, when they saw an earlier draft version of the list two weeks ago, National Security Council staff members even told their Defense Department counterparts they had evidence of misconduct by Colonel Vindman. No such evidence materialized.... The Army kept [Vindman's] name on the list, and sent it back to Mr. Esper, putting the defense secretary exactly where he did not want to be: in the cross hairs of the commander in chief." ~~~

~~~ Politicizing the Pentagon. Missy Ryan, et al., of the Washington Post: "The White House is intensifying an effort to hire Pentagon personnel with an undisputed allegiance to President Trump at a moment when his relationship with Defense Secretary Mark T. Esper has become strained, current and former officials said. The changes in mid-level leadership are poised to create a more avowedly political Defense Department and could erode the influence of Esper, who spoke out against Trump's proposed deployment of active-duty troops to quell unrest in U.S. cities after the killing of George Floyd in the custody of Minneapolis police."

That Would Be a "No." Shayna Jacobs of the Washington Post: "President Trump's nominee to take over the Manhattan federal prosecutors office after the abrupt dismissal of U.S. Attorney Geoffrey Berman refused on Thursday to say whether he would recuse himself from pending investigations involving Trump's interests and associates if confirmed for the post. Appearing before a House Financial Services subcommittee, Securities and Exchange Committee Chairman Jay Clayton sought to deflect Democrats' questions about his selection for the job and the circumstances under which Berman was removed over the weekend, characterizing the Senate confirmation process as 'way down the road.' But when pressed by Rep. Carolyn B. Maloney (D-N.Y.) to 'commit, right here, to recusing yourself' from matters in which the president has a personal stake, Clayton demurred." Politico's story is here.

Adam Liptak of the New York Times: "The Supreme Court sided on Thursday with the Trump administration's efforts to speed the deportation of asylum seekers, ruling that a law limiting the role of federal courts in reviewing those decisions was constitutional.... Thursday's decision ... barred immigrants whose asylum claims were rejected in bare-bones proceedings from filing petitions for habeas corpus.... Justice Samuel A. Alito Jr., writing for the five more conservative justices in the 7-to-2 decision, said asylum claims threatened to overwhelm the immigration system."

Family Matters. Josh Gerstein of Politico: "A revealing book set to be published next month by Mary Trump, niece of ... Donald Trump, moved closer to publication on Thursday after a probate court judge in New York turned down a bid to block release of the unflattering account. President Trump's brother Robert asked for a restraining order against publication, citing a nondisclosure agreement contained in a settlement involving the estate of their father Fred, who died in 1999.... Judge Peter Kelly of Queens County Surrogate Court said his court was not the proper venue for the dispute over the book, which he found to be far afield from matters involving the distribution of Fred Trump's estate. Kelly dismissed the legal application, calling it 'fatally defective.'... The lawyer who filed the application, Charles Harder, said he would take the request to another New York court."

Ben Sisario of the New York Times: "The Dixie Chicks are now the Chicks. The platinum-selling country trio, which in 2003 became pariahs in Nashville for criticizing President George W. Bush on the eve of the American-led invasion of Iraq, has changed its name, apparently in tacit acknowledgment of criticism over its use of the word 'Dixie,' a nostalgic nickname for the Civil War-era South. The group made the change stealthily on Thursday, releasing a new video as the Chicks and adjusting its social media presence. Representatives for the band confirmed the new name. But the three women of the group -- Natalie Maines, Emily Strayer and Martie Maguire, who have been among the most outspoken figures in the conservative world of country music -- made little immediate comment. In a brief statement on its new website, the band states simply: 'We want to meet this moment.'"

The New York Times' live updates for coronavirus developments Thursday are here. The Washington Post's live updates for Thursday are here. "The 38,173 new infections reported by state health departments Wednesday underscored the changing geography of the U.S. outbreak. The bulk of the cases were posted in Texas, Florida and California, while Oklahoma also set a new statewide record in infections."

** Paying the Dead. Erica Werner of the Washington Post: "The federal government sent coronavirus stimulus payments to almost 1.1 million dead people totaling nearly $1.4 billion, Congress' independent watchdog reported Thursday.... The U.S. Government Accountability Office, an independent investigative agency that reports to Congress, issued the finding as part of a comprehensive report on the nearly $3 trillion in coronavirus relief spending approved by Congress in March and April. It said it had received the information from the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration in an accounting as of April 30." An NBC News story is here. Thanks to Ken W. for the link.

Nelson Schwartz of the New York Times: "Nearly 1.5 million workers filed new claims for state unemployment insurance last week, the Labor Department reported Thursday, the 14th week in a row that the figure has topped one million. An additional 728,000 filed for benefits from Pandemic Unemployment Assistance, a federally funded emergency program aimed at covering the self-employed, independent contractors and other workers who don't qualify for traditional unemployment insurance."

Annals of "Journalism," Ha Ha Ha. Hannity Kills. No, Really. Christopher Ingraham of the Washington Post: "In recent weeks, three studies have focused on conservative media's role in fostering confusion about the seriousness of the coronavirus. Taken together, they paint a picture of a media ecosystem that amplifies misinformation, entertains conspiracy theories and discourages audiences from taking concrete steps to protect themselves and others. The end result, according to one of the studies, is that infection and mortality rates are higher in places where one pundit who initially downplayed the severity of the pandemic -- Fox News' Sean Hannity -- reaches the largest audiences.... [An Annenberg/U. of Illinois peer-reviewed study] found that people who got most of their information from mainstream print and broadcast outlets tended to have an accurate assessment of the severity of the pandemic and their risks of infection. But those who relied on conservative sources, such as Fox News and Rush Limbaugh, were more likely to believe in conspiracy theories or unfounded rumors, such as the belief that taking vitamin C could prevent infection, that the Chinese government had created the virus, and that the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention was exaggerating the pandemic's threat 'to damage the Trump presidency.'"

Leah Asmelash of CNN: "NASA is renaming its headquarters [in Washington, D.C.,] after Mary W. Jackson, the agency's first African American female engineer who helped inspire the story behind the book and film 'Hidden Figures.'... Jackson began her career with NASA at the segregated West Area Computing Unit of the agency's Langley Research Center in Hampton, Virginia, NASA said. A mathematician and an aerospace engineer, Jackson led programs aimed at uplifting women within NASA. She retired from NASA in 1985 and passed away in 2005, at the age of 83."

Tom Foreman, Jr., of the AP: "Three members of a North Carolina police department have been fired after a department audit of a video recording captured one of the officers saying a civil war was necessary to wipe Black people off the map and that he was ready. The Wilmington Police Department took the action on Tuesday against Cpl. Jessie Moore, and officers Kevin Piner and Brian Gilmore. Each was accused of violating standards of conduct, criticism and use of inappropriate jokes and slurs."

John Wagner of the Washington Post: "Carly Fiorina, the former chief executive officer of Hewlett-Packard who sought the Republican presidential nomination four years ago, said in a new podcast that she plans to vote for Democrat Joe Biden in the fall. Fiorina said she continues to be a registered Republican but considers the election a 'binary choice' and has made clear she cannot support President Trump.... Fiorina has said she voted for Trump four years ago, despite disparaging comments he made about her looks. 'Look at that face!' Trump said to Rolling Stone. 'Would anyone vote for that? Can you imagine that, the face of our next president?'" A CNN story is here.

~~~~~~~~~~

The Trumpidemic, Ctd.

The New York Times' live updates for coronavirus developments Wednesday are here. "More than 35,000 new coronavirus cases were identified across the United States on Tuesday, according to a New York Times database, the highest single-day total since late April and the third-highest total of any day of the pandemic. As the United States continues to reopen its economy, case numbers are rising in more than 20 states, mostly in the South and West. Florida on Wednesday reported a new daily high of 5,508 cases. Texas reported more than 5,000 cases on Tuesday, its largest single-day total yet. Arizona added more than 3,600 cases, also a record. And in Washington State, where case numbers are again trending upward, the governor said residents would have to start wearing masks in public." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ~~~

~~~ The Washington Post's live updates for Wednesday are here. "Across the United States, more than 36,000 new infections were reported by state health departments on Wednesday -- surpassing the previous single-day record of 34,203 set on April 25. Texas, Florida and California led the way, with all three states reporting more than 5,000 new cases apiece. Three states -- California, Florida and Oklahoma -- reported record highs in new single-day coronavirus cases, while hospitalizations hit a new peak in Arizona, where intensive care units have quickly filled."

Nomaan Merchant & Juan Lozano of the AP: "Hospital administrators and health experts warned desperately Wednesday that parts of the U.S. are on the verge of becoming overwhelmed by a resurgence of the coronavirus, lamenting that politicians and a tired-of-being-cooped-up public are letting a disaster unfold. The U.S. recorded a one-day total of 34,700 new COVID-19 cases, the highest in two months, according to the count kept by Johns Hopkins University. The number of new cases per day is now running just short of the nation's late-April peak of 36,400." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)

Ryan Grenoble of the Huffington Post: "COVID-19 testing centers across five states are set to lose federal funding next week after the Trump administration decided not to extend the program that established them. As a result, 13 testing sites across Colorado (1), Illinois (2), New Jersey (2), Pennsylvania (1) and Texas (7) will likely close if those states are unable to replace the necessary funding.... Donald Trump this week repeatedly called for a slowdown in COVID-19 testing, because the surge in new cases they help reveal is making his administration's response look bad.... 'It's pretty clear to me, and I think it's clear to all of us, that with the uptick of cases, now is not a time to retreat from our vigilance in testing,' Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas) said in a statement, distancing himself from the decision."

Texas. Caitlin O'Kane of CBS News: "Texas Governor Greg Abbott [R] said Wednesday the state is facing a 'massive outbreak' in the coronavirus pandemic and that greater restrictions may be necessary. Abbott made the comments during an interview with CBS affiliate KFDA-TV in Amarillo, Texas."

West Virginia. AP: "... Gov. Jim Justice forced out the commissioner of his public health bureau on Wednesday, hours after he publicly questioned the accuracy of the state's coronavirus data and detailed growing outbreaks in about a dozen counties. The abrupt resignation of Cathy Slemp, who was also a state health officer, came after the Republican governor vented during a news conference that West Virginia's active virus caseload may have been overstated.... Slemp, who was a regular feature of the governor's daily virus news conferences, has decades of public health experience.... Justice, a billionaire coal businessman without previous political experience, had showered Slemp with praise as he hosted press conferences about the virus during the outbreak...."

David Li of NBC News: "Visitors from coronavirus hot spots will have to quarantine for 14 days if they set foot in New York, New Jersey or Connecticut, the governors of those northeastern states said Wednesday. Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, Florida, North Carolina, South Carolina, Washington, Utah and Texas have high, current infection rates to warrant this new quarantine advisory, New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo said." ~~~

~~~ Dan Mangan of CNBC: "The White House said Wednesday that ... Donald Trump will not change his plan to travel to New Jersey this weekend despite a new order by the governor requiring visitors who have been in states with high numbers of coronavirus cases to quarantine for 14 days. 'The president of the United States is not a civilian,' said White House spokesman Judd Deere, when asked about Trump's compliance with the quarantine order given his travel Tuesday to Arizona, which has seen a rise in the rate of its Covid-19 cases. 'Anyone who is in close proximity to him, including staff, guests, and press are tested for COVID-19 and confirmed to be negative,' Deere said in a statement.... 'Anyone traveling in support of the president this weekend will be closely monitored for symptoms and tested for COVID and therefore pose little to no risk to the local populations.'" Trump, as we know, went maskless in an Arizona mega-church full of maskless, screaming kids earlier this week. ~~~

     ~~~ Mrs. Bea McCrabbie: Actually, the POTUS* is a civilian. That's the whole idea behind the Constitution's Article II (you do remember Article II, don't you, Donnie?), which makes the civilian president, rather than a military leader, the commander-in-chief. And those "traveling in support of the president"? Most of them are probably civilians, too. Deere's assertion that "With regard to Arizona, the White House followed it's COVID mitigation plan to ensure the President did not come into contact with anyone who was symptomatic or had not been tested," is nonsense. Trump came into contact with some 3,000 people who had not been tested.

Trump Thinks He Can Get an Electoral College Vote in Maine. Jeff Stein & Rachel Siegel of the Washington Post: "The White House ordered the Department of Agriculture on Wednesday to extend farm bailout aid to the U.S. lobster industry, which has suffered under strained trade relations with China and tit-for-tat tariffs that significantly reduced exports to one of its biggest foreign markets. The order, signed by President Trump on Wednesday, comes weeks after a group of lobster fishermen in Maine asked the president for help.... On Wednesday night, Trump blamed ... Barack Obama for the decline of the lobster and fishing industries, despite the fact that the U.S. lobster trade was hurting under the current administration's trade war with China.

Dan Diamond of Politico: "Former national security adviser John Bolton's memoir has renewed concerns that ... Donald Trump undermined his administration's early attempts to grapple with China's spreading coronavirus outbreak out of concern for his personal relationship with President Xi Jinping.... Trump publicly praised China's handling of its outbreak across January and February, even as his health and national security deputies concluded that China was concealing information.... [Trump's tweets praising Xi] were counterproductive, said two current and one former official, noting that China had yet to provide key information about the virus' origins or allow U.S. health officials into the country; negotiations would stretch on through February.... Despite being out of the White House at the time, Bolton asserts in his memoir that Trump took steps to restrict information in the United States about the virus 'for fear of adversely affecting the elusive definitive trade deal with China, or offending the ever-so-sensitive Xi.'"

Erica Werner of the Washington Post: "Vice President Pence urged GOP senators on Wednesday to focus on 'encouraging signs' despite a recent spike in coronavirus cases in numerous states as various localities move swiftly to reopen their economies, according to several people present. Pence made the remarks in a closed-door lunch with Republican senators on Capitol Hill as lawmakers have begun to express alarm because of rising infection rates in Florida, Arizona, Texas and several other states, some of which are likely to be critical to the outcome of the presidential race in the fall and control of the Senate." Mrs. McC: Here's a heretofore secret videotape of the closed-door session:

Another Rat Leaves the Sinking Ship. Robert Costa, et al., of the Washington Post: "One of President Trump's senior economic officials has abruptly left the White House in the middle of the economic crisis caused by the coronavirus pandemic. He becomes the second senior White House economic official whose departure was announced this month. Tomas J. Philipson, acting chairman of the White House Council of Economic Advisers, will leave his post by the end of June, White House spokesman Judd Deere said in an email. The announcement comes two days after Kevin Hassett, a senior White House economic official and Philipson's predecessor as chair of the CEA, announced he would also be stepping down." A Politico story is here.

Kellyanne Warms to Racist Term. Max Cohen of Politico: "White House counselor Kellyanne Conway reacted to ... Donald Trump's use of 'kung flu' first by explaining that Trump used the phrase to highlight the origins of the coronavirus in China -- and then by suggesting she disagreed with him. Weeks ago, Conway blasted the phrase as 'highly offensive."'But on Wednesday, she initially reacted to a reporter's question about the president's repeated use of 'kung flu' by criticizing the Chinese government. 'My reaction is that the president has made very clear he wants everybody to understand, and I think many Americans do understand, that the virus originated in China,' Conway said." Mrs. McC: As Conway herself pointed out in March, when she so strongly objected to the term, her children are one-quarter Asian-American. But to hell with kids, I guess.

Carol Leonnig & Joshua Partlow of the Washington Post: "Dozens of Secret Service officers and agents who were on site for President Trump's rally in Tulsa last week were ordered to self-quarantine after two of their colleagues tested positive for the novel coronavirus, part of the fallout from Trump's insistence on holding the mass gathering over the objections of public health officials. The Secret Service instructed employees who worked the Tulsa event to stay at home for 14 days when they returned from the weekend trip, according to two people familiar with the agency's decision. The order came in the wake of the discovery -- hours before the president's Saturday evening rally -- that at least six advance staffers who helped organize the trip had tested positive for the virus, including two Secret Service employees. Another two advance staffers tested positive after Trump returned to Washington on Sunday."


Alexander Mallin & Luke Barr of ABC News: "Two Justice Department whistleblowers appeared before the House Judiciary Committee Wednesday to outline a series of allegations regarding what they described as political meddling in department affairs under ... Donald Trump and Attorney General William Barr. Aaron Zelinsky, a department attorney who withdrew from the prosecution of Trump-ally Roger Stone after Barr intervened in the sentencing process, and John Elias, a former acting chief of staff in the antitrust division under Assistant Attorney General Makan Delrahim, both testified that they felt department leadership had wrongfully intervened in typically-sensitive law enforcement matters purely to benefit Trump's interests. (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ~~~

~~~ Zelinksy Names Names. Kyle Cheney of Politico: "A federal prosecutor offered lawmakers on Wednesday a roadmap to investigate alleged political interference in the sentencing of longtime Donald Trump confidant Roger Stone. Aaron Zelinsky, one of four lead prosecutors in the Stone case, told the House Judiciary Committee that senior officials -- including the head of the Justice Department's public corruption unit -- freely discussed concerns that they were being pressured to go easy on Stone during sentencing." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ~~~

~~~ Nicholas Fandos, et al., of the New York Times: "Two Justice Department officials recounted to Congress in stinging detail on Wednesday how political appointees had intervened in criminal and antitrust cases to advance the personal interests of President Trump and Attorney General William P. Barr.... The two accounts painted a damning portrait of the Justice Department under Mr. Barr, made all the more remarkable given that the witnesses were both still department employees.... Democrats turned frequently to a third witness, Donald B. Ayer, who was deputy attorney general under President George Bush and warned that under Mr. Barr, the country was 'on the way to something far worse than Watergate.'... Not long after the hearing got underway, the Justice Department announced that Mr. Barr had agreed to appear himself before the panel on July 28. Democrats had been threatening to issue a subpoena for his appearance." ~~~

~~~ Matt Zapotosky & Karoun Demirjian of the Washington Post: "A federal prosecutor's testimony Wednesday that he was pressed by supervisors to offer a more lenient sentencing recommendation for a friend of President Trump's capped a remarkable four-month stretch in which Attorney General William P. Barr has seemed to repeatedly bend the Justice Department to Trump's political interests -- generating significant controversy but no personal consequence, legal analysts said. Since February, Barr has intervened in two criminal cases to the benefit of those who once advised Trump; ousted a U.S. attorney who is investigating Trump's personal lawyer; and dutifully implemented Trumps vision for a forceful crack down on demonstrators in the District protesting police violence.... But lawmakers, who already held Barr in contempt last year for defying congressional subpoenas, seem to have little in the way of practical recourse." ~~~

     ~~~ Mrs. McCrabbie: It isn't that Congress can do nothing; Congress has the power to impeach & remove Barr. It's that Congressional Republicans -- who of course control the Senate -- refuse to do anything. They are part of the vast right-wing conspiracy. ~~~

~~~ Aaron Blake of the Washington Post cites major takeaways from the House hearing. ~~~

~~~ Colin Kalmbacher of Law & Crime: "A federal court issued a brief order on Wednesday afternoon in an apparent attempt to make sure that Attorney General Bill Barr's DOJ isn't exerting improper influence over prison stint of ... Donald Trump's longtime confidant and political advisor Roger Stone. The order just so happened to come down on the same day so-called whistleblowers testified about the DOJ's controversial intervention in Stone's sentencing recommendations. U.S. District Judge Amy Berman Jackson advised the Department of Justice (DOJ) to come prepared in a filing due Thursday with some sort of precedent in the district -- or by way of an agency internal policy -- that would support delaying the start of Stone's imprisonment any further."

MEANWHILE. Charlie Savage of the New York Times: "A divided federal appeals court panel ordered an immediate end on Wednesday to the case against Michael T. Flynn, President Trump's former national security adviser -- delivering a major victory to Mr. Flynn and to the Justice Department, which had sought to drop the case. In the ruling, two of three judges on a panel for the Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia ordered the trial judge overseeing the matter, Judge Emmet G. Sullivan, to immediately dismiss the case withoutfurther review. The third accused his colleagues of 'grievously' overstepping their powers, and the full appeals court has the option of reviewing the matter. The order -- a so-called writ of mandamus -- was rare and came as a surprise, taking its place as yet another twist in the extraordinary legal and political drama surrounding the prosecution of Mr. Flynn, who twice pleaded guilty to lying to F.B.I. agents in the Russia investigation about his conversations in December 2016 with the Russian ambassador to the United States." A Politico story is here. Mrs. McC: You don't have to be a genius to guess which judges were Republican appointees & which was an Obama appointee. (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)

Aaron Keller of Law & Crime: "A federal grand jury on Wednesday returned yet a third charging document against WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange. The new document, a second superseding indictment, 'broaden[s] the scope of the conspiracy surrounding alleged computer intrusions with which Assange was previously charged,' the U.S. Department of Justice said.... Assange is in the U.K. The U.S. government has asked that he be extradited here to face the charges."


John Avlon of CNN rails against Donald Trump for falsely accusing President Obama (and others) of treason.

You know all that stuff in John Bolton's book about how Trump was so accommodating to Xi Jinpeng at the same time he was pretending to be "tough on China"? You know how Trump said it was all lies? Well, now there's this: ~~~

~~~ Andrew Desiderio of Politico: "On June 2, Sen. Kevin Cramer (R-N.D.) signed on as a co-sponsor of a bill to punish China for undermining Hong Kong's independence. Two weeks later, he turned around and blocked it -- at the request of the White House. As a result, the bipartisan bill, which imposes mandatory sanctions over China's continued incursions into Hong Kong's internal affairs, is stalled on Capitol Hill even as it has broad bipartisan support."


Devlin Barrett & Matt Zapotosky of the Washington Post: “U.S. marshals have been told they should prepare to help protect national monuments across the country, according to an email directive viewed by The Washington Post, as President Trump has vowed stern punishment for those who vandalize or destroy such structures as part of police violence protests.... Earlier Wednesday, defense officials said that the Army activated about 400 unarmed members of the Washington, D.C., National Guard to 'prevent any defacing or destruction' of monuments."

Seung Min Kim of the Washington Post: "Senate Democrats on Wednesday blocked a Republican-drafted bill aimed at overhauling the nation's policing practices ... spelling a potential death knell to efforts at revisions at the federal level in an election year. In a 55-to-45 vote, the legislation written primarily by Sen. Tim Scott (R-S.C.) failed to advance in the Senate, where it needed 60 votes to proceed. Most Democratic senators said the bill fell far short of what was needed to meaningfully change policing tactics and was beyond the point of salvageable.... GOP senators privately offered amendment votes meant to address several criticisms of the bill that [Minority Leader Chuck] Schumer and Sens. Kamala D. Harris (D-Calif.) and Cory Booker (D-N.J.) laid out in a letter to [Majority Leader Mitch] McConnell on Tuesday. The Democrats turned down that offer, according to two GOP officials who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss procedural deliberations, and also rejected a subsequent offer of more amendment votes. Scott privately told Democrats that if they did not get votes on amendments they sought, that he, too, would help them filibuster his own bill...." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) An NBC News story is here.

Arizona. Simon Romero of the New York Times: "The police chief of Tucson, Ariz., abruptly offered to resign on Wednesday while releasing a video in which a 27-year-old Latino man, Carlos Ingram Lopez, died in police custody two months ago. The video, taken by police officers' body cameras and not made public until Wednesday, depicts a gruesome episode on April 21. Before his death, Mr. Lopez is seen handcuffed while pleading repeatedly in English and Spanish for water and for his nana, or grandmother. Chief Chris Magnus said officers did not use a chokehold on Mr. Lopez. But he said they violated training guidelines by restraining the victim in a prone position, face down, for about 12 minutes before Mr. Lopez went into cardiac arrest and died at the scene. While he was restrained, Mr. Lopez told the officers he could not breathe. The autopsy report said the cause of death was a combination of physical restraint and cardiac arrest involving cocaine intoxication. Three officers resigned from the department last Thursday, Chief Magnus said."

Georgia. Christina Carrega of ABC News: "A Georgia grand jury indicted the three men arrested and charged in connection with the alleged murder of Ahmaud Arbery. Cobb District Attorney Joyette M. Holmes announced on Wednesday that a grand jury voted to indict Gregory and Travis McMichael along with William Bryan for the felony murder and aggravated assault that resulted in Arbery death.... 'The presentation took an hour and a half and the true bill came back in 10 minutes,' Holmes said during a press conference on Wednesday afternoon." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) A New York Times story is here.

New York. Trolling Trump. Larry Celona & Julia Marsh of the New York Post: "Mayor Bill de Blasio is planning to install a massive Black Lives Matter mural right outside Trump Tower in Manhattan ... sometime before July 4th weekend.... The installation is one of seven that will pop up across all five boroughs. Three are now planned for Manhattan -- along Centre Street in Lower Manhattan, Adam Clayton Powell Jr. Boulevard in Harlem and in front of Trump Tower." Mrs. McC: Another reason for Trump to be glad he's now a Florida man.

Wisconsin. Yes, Some Protesters Are Violent & Stupid. Molly Beck & Lawrence Andrea of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: "Fury exploded outside the Wisconsin State Capitol on Tuesday night as protesters smashed windows at the statehouse, attacked a state senator, and tore down two iconic statues -- including one of an abolitionist who died trying to end slavery during the Civil War. The unrest began earlier Tuesday following the arrest of a Black man who was arrested after bringing a megaphone and a baseball bat into a Capitol square restaurant. It followed weeks of mostly peaceful protests of the death of George Floyd.... [The protesters' actions] prompted Gov. Tony Evers on Wednesday to put the Wisconsin National Guard on notice to protect state buildings, including the Capitol. During the melee late Tuesday, Democratic state Sen. Tim Carpenter was assaulted after filming the protesters." ~~~

~~~ Update. Scott Bauer & Todd Richmond of the AP: "Wisconsin's governor activated the National Guard on Wednesday to protect state properties after a night of violence that included the toppling of two statues outside the state Capitol, one of which commemorated an abolitionist Civil War hero."

Elections 2020

Reid Epstein of the New York Times: "The Democratic National Convention will move out of Milwaukee's professional basketball arena, and state delegations are being urged not to travel to the city because of concerns about the coronavirus pandemic, party officials said Wednesday. Former Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr. still intends to travel to Milwaukee to accept his party's presidential nomination, his campaign manager said, but neither his campaign nor the Democratic National Committee has made firm commitments that Mr. Biden will attend. The Democratic convention will be 'anchored' in Milwaukee, but the four-night mid-August event will 'include both live broadcasts and curated content from Milwaukee and other satellite cities, locations and landmarks across the country,' according to a news release."

Tim Murphy of Mother Jones: "Tens of thousands of absentee ballots still remain to be counted, and the race is not likely to be called for days. But [Rep. Eliot] Engel's [D-N.Y.] opponent, 44-year-old former middle school principal Jamaal Bowman, declared victory on Wednesday morning after election-day returns gave him a commanding 27-point advantage over the incumbent.... Engel was endorsed by both of the state's Democratic senators, Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, and Westchester County's own Hillary Clinton."


Moo-Fucking-Hoo. Kate Irby of the Fresno Bee: "A judge has ruled that Rep. Devin Nunes [R] has no right to sue Twitter over statements made by a fake Internet cow, someone parodying his mother and a Republican strategist. Judge John Marshall said in a decision Friday that Twitter was 'immune from the defamation claims of' Nunes, R-Tulare, due to federal law that says social media companies are not liable for what people post on their platforms.... The case [is still] pending against the two parody Twitter accounts and [Republican strategist Liz] Mair. But it's a blow to Nunes nonetheless, as he was trying to push Twitter into revealing the identities of the two accounts, who have been mocking him online anonymously." Mrs. McC: Of course the biggest "blow to Nunes" is that Judge Marshall removed the deep pockets from the case, meaning there's no chance of a hefty nuisance settlement being laid out for Devin.

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Tuesday
Jun232020

The Commentariat -- June 24, 2020

Afternoon Update:

The New York Times' live updates for coronavirus developments Wednesday are here. "More than 35,000 new coronavirus cases were identified across the United States on Tuesday, according to a New York Times database, the highest single-day total since late April and the third-highest total of any day of the pandemic. As the United States continues to reopen its economy, case numbers are rising in more than 20 states, mostly in the South and West. Florida on Wednesday reported a new daily high of 5,508 cases. Texas reported more than 5,000 cases on Tuesday, its largest single-day total yet. Arizona added more than 3,600 cases, also a record. And in Washington State, where case numbers are again trending upward, the governor said residents would have to start wearing masks in public." ~~~

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

Nomaan Merchant & Juan Lozano of the AP: "Hospital administrators and health experts warned desperately Wednesday that parts of the U.S. are on the verge of becoming overwhelmed by a resurgence of the coronavirus, lamenting that politicians and a tired-of-being-cooped-up public are letting a disaster unfold. The U.S. recorded a one-day total of 34,700 new COVID-19 cases, the highest in two months, according to the count kept by Johns Hopkins University. The number of new cases per day is now running just short of the nation's late-April peak of 36,400."

Seung Min Kim of the Washington Post: "Senate Democrats on Wednesday blocked a Republican-drafted bill aimed at overhauling the nation's policing practices ... spelling a potential death knell to efforts at revisions at the federal level in an election year. In a 55-to-45 vote, the legislation written primarily by Sen. Tim Scott (R-S.C.) failed to advance in the Senate, where it needed 60 votes to proceed. Most Democratic senators said the bill fell far short of what was needed to meaningfully change policing tactics and was beyond the point of salvageable.... GOP senators privately offered amendment votes meant to address several criticisms of the bill that [Minority Leader Chuck] Schumer and Sens. Kamala D. Harris (D-Calif.) and Cory Booker (D-N.J.) laid out in a letter to [Majority Leader Mitch] McConnell on Tuesday. The Democrats turned down that offer, according to two GOP officials who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss procedural deliberations, and also rejected a subsequent offer of more amendment votes. Scott privately told Democrats that if they did not get votes on amendments they sought, that he, too, would help them filibuster his own bill...."

Charlie Savage of the New York Times: "A divided federal appeals court panel ordered an immediate end on Wednesday to the case against Michael T. Flynn, President Trump's former national security adviser -- delivering a major victory to Mr. Flynn and to the Justice Department, which had sought to drop the case. In the ruling, two of three judges on a panel for the Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia ordered the trial judge overseeing the matter, Judge Emmet G. Sullivan, to immediately dismiss the case without further review. The third accused his colleagues of 'grievously' overstepping their powers, and the full appeals court has the option of reviewing the matter. The order -- a so-called writ of mandamus -- was rare and came as a surprise, taking its place as yet another twist in the extraordinary legal and political drama surrounding the prosecution of Mr. Flynn, who twice pleaded guilty to lying to F.B.I. agents in the Russia investigation about his conversations in December 2016 with the Russian ambassador to the United States." A Politico story is here. Mrs. McC: You don't have to be a genius to guess which judges were Republican appointees & which was an Obama appointee.

Alexander Mallin & Luke Barr of ABC News: "Two Justice Department whistleblowers appeared before the House Judiciary Committee Wednesday to outline a series of allegations regarding what they described as political meddling in department affairs under ... Donald Trump and Attorney General William Barr. Aaron Zelinsky, a department attorney who withdrew from the prosecution of Trump-ally Roger Stone after Barr intervened in the sentencing process, and John Elias, a former acting chief of staff in the antitrust division under Assistant Attorney General Makan Delrahim, both testified that they felt department leadership had wrongfully intervened in typically-sensitive law enforcement matters purely to benefit Trump's interests. ~~~

~~~ Zelinksy Names Names. Kyle Cheney of Politico: "A federal prosecutor offered lawmakers on Wednesday a roadmap to investigate alleged political interference in the sentencing of longtime Donald Trump confidant Roger Stone. Aaron Zelinsky, one of four lead prosecutors in the Stone case, told the House Judiciary Committee that senior officials -- including the head of the Justice Department's public corruption unit -- freely discussed concerns that they were being pressured to go easy on Stone during sentencing."

Georgia. Christina Carrega of ABC News: "A Georgia grand jury indicted the three men arrested and charged in connection with the alleged murder of Ahmaud Arbery. Cobb District Attorney Joyette M. Holmes announced on Wednesday that a grand jury voted to indict Gregory and Travis McMichael along with William Bryan for the felony murder and aggravated assault that resulted in Arbery death.... 'The presentation took an hour and a half and the true bill came back in 10 minutes,' Holmes said during a press conference on Wednesday afternoon."

~~~~~~~~~~~

The New York Times' live updates for coronavirus developments Tuesday are here. The Washington Post's live updates for Tuesday are here. (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)

** USA = Shithole Country. Matina Stevis-Gridneff of the New York Times: "European Union countries rushing to revive their economies and reopen their borders after months of coronavirus restrictions are prepared to block Americans from entering because the United States has failed to control the scourge, according to draft lists of acceptable travelers seen by The New York Times. That prospect, which would lump American visitors in with Russians and Brazilians as unwelcome, is a stinging blow to American prestige in the world and a repudiation of President Trump's handling of the virus in the United States, which has more than 2.3 million cases and upward of 120,000 deaths, more than any other country." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)

Quint Forgey of Politico: "... Donald Trump on Tuesday insisted he was serious when he revealed that he had directed his administration to slow coronavirus testing in the United States, shattering the defenses of senior White House aides who argued Trump's remarks were made in jest. 'I don't kid. Let me just tell you. Let me make it clear,' Trump told reporters, when pressed on whether his comments at a campaign event Saturday in Tulsa, Okla., were intended as a joke." (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~

~~~ Evidently, That Was a Big Fat Lie, Because ... Brianna Ehley of Politico: "The government's top infectious disease expert told a House hearing Tuesday that he and other health officials have not been told to slow coronavirus testing, just hours after ... Donald Trump again suggested he had asked for fewer tests. Anthony Fauci ... told the House Energy and Commerce Committee that the administration continues to focus on scaling up testing capacity and that, to his knowledge, none of the White House coronavirus task force members had been told to do otherwise. 'It's the opposite,' Fauci said in response to a question referencing Trump's remarks. 'We're going to be doing more testing, not less.'" (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ~~~

~~~ Sheryl Stolberg & Noah Weiland of the New York Times: "Dr. Anthony S. Fauci told Congress on Tuesday that he was seeing a 'disturbing surge' of infections in some parts of the country, as Americans ignore social distancing guidelines and states reopen without adequate plans for testing and tracing the contacts of those who get sick. Dr. Fauci's assessment, delivered during a lengthy hearing before the House Energy and Commerce Committee, painted a much grimmer picture of the coronavirus threat than the one given by President Trump, who claimed last week that the virus that had infected more than two million Americans and killed more than 121,000 would just 'fade away.' 'The virus is not going to disappear,' said Dr. Fauci, the nation's top infectious disease expert, who testified that the virus was not yet under control in the United States." ~~~

~~~ Lauren Neergaard & Ricardo Alonso-Zaldivar of the AP: "The next few weeks are critical to tamping down a disturbing coronavirus surge, Dr. Anthony Fauci told Congress on Tuesday -- issuing a plea for people to avoid crowds and wear masks just hours before mask-shunning ... Donald Trump was set to address a crowd of his young supporters in one hot spot."

In Search of a Scapegoat. Nancy Cook & Adam Cancryn of Politico: "White House officials are putting a target on the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, positioning the agency as a coronavirus scapegoat as cases surge in many states and the U.S. falls behind other nations that are taming the pandemic. Trump administration aides in recent weeks have seriously discussed launching an in-depth evaluation of the agency to chart what they view as its missteps in responding to the pandemic including an early failure to deploy working test kits, according to four senior administration officials.... Aides have also discussed narrowing the mission of the agency or trying to embed more political appointees in it.... Politically, Trump aides have also been looking for a person or entity outside China to blame for the coronavirus response and have grown furious with the CDC...." (Also linked yesterday.)

Scott Bixby of the Daily Beast: "With more than 50,000 confirmed cases of COVID-19 and nearly 1,400 deaths, Arizona has become the newest hot spot for the coronavirus outbreak in the United States. But inside the Dream City Church in Phoenix, where thousands of young conservatives packed shoulder to shoulder on Tuesday afternoon for ... Donald Trump's second in-person rally since March, the message from the president and his supporters on the pandemic could not have been more triumphant. 'The long, slow surrender is over,' Trump told the cheering crowd of roughly 2,900 supporters, most of them college-aged. 'We are going to be stronger than ever before, and it's gonna be soon.'" More on Trump's Arizona excursion linked under "Elections 2020" below.

D'Angelo Gore of FactCheck.Org: "Contrary to President Donald Trump's repeated claims that he inherited a Strategic National Stockpile with 'empty' or 'bare' cupboards, the federal government had more ventilators in stock than it ended up distributing amid the COVID-19 pandemic, FactCheck.org has learned. The SNS had 16,660 ventilators 'immediately available for use' when the federal government began deploying the breathing machines to states to treat critically ill COVID-19 patients in March, according to a Department of Health and Human Services spokesperson. None of those ventilators was bought by the Trump administration, the spokesperson told us. In a separate email to us on June 17, another HHS spokesperson said the federal government has distributed 10,640 ventilators during the pandemic." --s (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)

Minnesota. So there was this warm, fuzzy Amazon ad on my teevee where this Amazon worker and loving mom personalized how proud she was to help Amazon make America safe for everyone, when I read this: Ahiza García-Hodges, et al., of NBC News: "An Amazon warehouse in Minnesota was the site of a spike in COVID-19 cases, according to newly released data from the Minnesota Department of Health. The warehouse in Shakopee, Minn., had 88 positive cases in about 70 days. It employs about 1,000 people, meaning about 1 in 12 employees contracted the virus. The cases were reported from April 4 to June 14, with most occurring between late April and mid-May. The Minnesota health department said the outbreak at the Shakopee warehouse is one of the biggest it has seen but not the worst. A meatpacking plant in Cold Spring, Minn., saw 194 cases in May. Amazon's situation has improved since implementing new state recommendations and were working to mitigate spread, according to state health officials."


** Karoun Demirjian, et al., of the Washington Post: "A federal prosecutor and another Justice Department official plan to tell Congress on Wednesday that Attorney General William P. Barr and his top deputies issued inappropriate orders amid investigations and trials 'based on political considerations' and a desire to cater to President Trump. Aaron Zelinsky, an assistant U.S. attorney in Maryland formerly detailed to Robert S. Mueller III's Russia investigation, will tell the House Judiciary Committee that prosecutors involved in the criminal trial of Trump's friend Roger Stone experienced 'heavy pressure from the highest levels of the Department of Justice to cut Stone a break' by requesting a lighter sentence, according to Zelinsky's prepared remarks. The expectation, he intends to testify, was that Stone should be treated 'differently and more leniently' because of his 'relationship with the President.'... Zelinsky will be joined by John Elias, an official in the Justice Department's Antitrust Division, who will say that Barr ordered staff to investigate marijuana company mergers simply because he 'did not like the nature of their underlying business.'..." This is a major update of a story linked yesterday afternoon. ~~~

~~~ Nicholas Fandos, et al., of the New York Times: "Senior law enforcement officials intervened to seek a more lenient prison sentence for President Trump's friend and ally Roger J. Stone Jr. for political reasons, a former prosecutor on the case is expected to testify before Congress on Wednesday, citing his supervisor's account of the matter.... [Prosecutor Aaron] Zelinsky is expected to be joined by another current Justice Department employee, John W. Elias, a senior career official in the antitrust division, who will tell the committee that under Attorney General William P. Barr's leadership, the division was forced for political reasons to pursue unjustified investigations of the fledgling legal marijuana industry and an antipollution pact between California and several automakers.... At least in the case of Mr. Zelinsky, the secondhand nature of his account of the intervention by Mr. Barr and the acting U.S. attorney in Washington[, D.C.,] at the time, Timothy Shea, could undercut some of its potential force." A Politico story is here. ~~~

~~~ Dan Friedman of Mother Jones has a facsimile of Aaron Zelinsky's prepared testimony here.

[Barr] obfuscated and misled the American public about the results of the Mueller investigation. He wrongfully interfered in the day-to-day activities of career prosecutors, and continues to do so, bending the criminal justice system to benefit the President's friends and target those perceived to be his enemies. -- 65 George Washington U. Law School Faculty Members ~~~

~~~ Chandelis Duster of CNN: "Law professors and faculty from George Washington University Law School, Attorney General William Barr's alma mater, said in a letter Tuesday he has 'failed to fulfill his oath of office to "support and defend the Constitution of the United States."' The rebuke comes after continued fallout over the departure of Geoffrey Berman, the federal prosecutor ousted over the weekend by the Trump administration, and is the latest in a chorus of criticism over Barr's actions as attorney general. Barr received his Juris Doctor degree from the law school in 1977 and while serving as attorney general under then-President George H.W. Bush he received an honorary degree from the university in 1992. In a bi-partisan statement signed by 65 faculty and professors from the law school, the group wrote that Barr's actions as attorney general 'have undermined the rule of law, breached constitutional norms, and damaged the integrity and traditional independence of his office and of the Department of Justice.' Signatories to the letter include president and CEO of the National Bar Association Alfreda Robinson and interim dean of the school Christopher Alan Bracey."


There Are Very Fine People on the White Supremacy Side. Maggie Haberman & Jonathan Martin of the New York Times: "President Trump has repeatedly pushed inflammatory language, material and policies in recent days that seek to divide Americans by race as he tries to appeal to his predominantly white base of voters four months before Election Day rather than try to broaden his support. Trailing in national polls and surveys of crucial battleground states, and stricken by a disappointing return to the campaign trail, Mr. Trump has leaned hard into his decades-long habit of falsely portraying some black Americans as dangerous or lawless. And he has chosen to do so at one of the most tumultuous periods in decades as Americans protest recent episodes of police brutality against black people.... Over the last few days the president has tweeted context-free videos of random incidents involving black people attacking white people and baselessly argued that President Barack Obama ... committed 'treason.' In an interview with the Catholic News Agency that was posted online on Monday, Mr. Trump said he planned to sign an order to protect national monuments at a time when statues of Confederate generals are being torn down across the country. 'We're going to do an executive order,' Mr. Trump said. 'We're going to make the cities guard their monuments, this is a disgrace.'" ~~~

     ~~~ Andrew Desiderio & Marianne Levine of Politico: "Senate Republicans on Tuesday distanced themselves from ... Donald Trump's claim that former President Barack Obama committed 'treason,' refusing to back up the unfounded allegation that has fueled the president's revenge campaign against his predecessor.... Accusing Obama of treason was a bridge too far, they said. 'I don't think that President Obama committed treason,' said Sen. Thom Tillis (R-N.C.), who is up for reelection this year. 'I don't know what he's talking about,' added Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.). 'I don't have any evidence to believe he committed treason.'... Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine), one of Trump's more vocal GOP critics, said that she did not see the president's comments but that 'obviously, he shouldn't have said that.'"

Julie Zauzmer & Fenit Nirappil of the Washington Post: "An attempt by activists to create an 'autonomous zone' outside the White House has reignited tensions between President Trump and Mayor Muriel E. Bowser about who controls D.C. streets.... More than 100 police officers and a trash truck moved people and tents Tuesday from the autonomous zone, which is modeled after Seattle's 'Capitol Hill Autonomous Zone,' where the city had withdrawn police forces and allowed protesters to camp out.... Trump tweeted Tuesday: 'There will never be an "Autonomous Zone" in Washington, D.C., as long as I'm your President. If they try they will be met with serious force!' The mayor['s office] ... said she wanted to keep the plaza safe for demonstrators."; ~~~

     ~~~ Rachel Lerman of the Washington Post: "Twitter said [Trump's] tweet violates its policy prohibiting abusive behavior and specifically 'the presence of a threat of harm against an identifiable group.'... The warning label hides the president's tweet, and users must click in to view the text."

Catie Edmondson of the New York Times: "Senate Democrats said on Tuesday that they would block Republicans' attempts to advance a narrow bill to encourage police departments to revise their practices, rejecting the measure as 'woefully inadequate' and setting up a clash that could mark the death of a fledgling congressional effort to address racial bias in law enforcement. Their decision, outlined the day before a planned test vote on the Republican bill, reflected deep opposition to the measure among Democrats and civil rights leaders, who have dismissed the legislation as an antiquated and inadequate response to systemic racism in policing amid a national outcry for an overhaul."

Liz Clarke of the Washington Post: "NASCAR driver Bubba Wallace was not the target of a hate crime, the FBI concluded Tuesday, after completing its investigation into an incident involving a noose in the garage stall of the series' only African American driver. After 48 hours that rattled and then galvanized stock-car racing at a fraught moment for the sport and the nation, the FBI said no federal charges would be filed after it determined that the noose had been there since at least October 2019 and that 'nobody could have known' that Wallace's team would be assigned to that stall." A New York Times story is here. An AP story is here.

Kentucky. Will Wright of the New York Times: "The Louisville Metro Police Department on Tuesday fired one of the three officers involved in the fatal shooting of Breonna Taylor, the most significant action yet in a case that has drawn public outrage for the killing and the fact that no criminal charges have been filed. In a termination letter posted to the department's Twitter account, Chief Robert Schroeder accused the former officer, Brett Hankison, of violating its policy on the use of deadly force, saying he 'wantonly and blindly' fired 10 shots into Ms. Taylor's apartment on March 13."

Family Matters

Maggie Haberman of the New York Times: "President Trump's family is seeking a temporary restraining order to try to block publication of a tell-all book by the president's niece, Mary L. Trump. Ms. Trump is the daughter of the president's late brother, Fred Trump Jr., and her book, 'Too Much and Never Enough: How My Family Created the World's Most Dangerous Man,' is scheduled to be published by Simon & Schuster on July 28. Mr. Trump's younger brother, Robert S. Trump, requested the restraining order on Tuesday in a filing in Queens County Surrogate's Court, where the estate of the president's father, Fred Trump Sr., was settled." An NBC News story is here. ~~~

~~~ Mack Burke of the Commercial Observer: "The massive retail condominium owned by Kushner Companies at 229 West 43rd Street in Midtown Manhattan is headed for a Uniform Commercial Code (UCC) foreclosure auction scheduled for June 30[.]" --s (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ~~~

~~~ Wendy Siegelman in Medium (Dec 2017): "The Wall Street Journal reported Friday that Federal prosecutors in New York are looking at the loan made by Deutsche Bank to Jared Kushner's real estate company a month prior to the 2016 election related to the deal with [Soviet-born oligarch Lev] Leviev. The New York Times also reported on Friday about the subpoena issued out of the Eastern District of New York. The Brooklyn U.S. attorney's office sent a request mid-November to Kushner Companies for information related to a $285 million Deutsche Bank loan which was used to refinance the purchase of retail space at 229 West 43rd Street in the old New York Times Building." --s (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)


Bible Boy. Pranshu Verma of the New York Times: "Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, an evangelical Christian, created a commission last July to provide a new vision for human rights policy that would more closely align with the 'nation's founding principles' and uphold religious freedom as America's most fundamental value. Human rights scholars have criticized the panel, saying it is filled with conservatives intent on promoting views against abortion and marriage equality. Critics also warn the commission sidesteps the State Department's internal bureau tasked with promoting human rights abroad. And former agency officials caution that elevating the importance of religion could reverse the country's longstanding belief that 'all rights are created equal' -- and embolden countries that persecute same-sex couples or deny women access to reproductive health services for religious reasons." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)

Em Steck, et al., of CNN: "The White House's nominee for a top Pentagon post repeatedly spread conspiracy theories that a former CIA director tried to overthrow ... Donald Trump and even have him assassinated in newly discovered comments from radio and television appearances as well as on social media. Retired Army Brig. Gen. Anthony Tata, who was nominated to become the under secretary of defense for policy at the Department of Defense, promoted conspiracy theories that John Brennan, the former CIA director, wanted to oust Trump from office, and pushed a bogus conspiracy theory that Brennan sent a coded tweet to order the assassination of Trump in 2018." Mrs. Mc.C: "In a real administration, this revelation of course would be immediately disqualifying; in the Trump administration, it's a recommendation.

Elections 2020

Christina Cassidy, et al., of the AP: "Voters endured 90-minute waits in Kentucky's second-largest city, but the biggest hurdle in Tuesday's congressional primaries seemed to be what wasn't happening: quick counting of mail-in ballots in that state and New York. Final results in top races seemed unlikely for days. In the day's foremost contests, two young African American candidates with campaigns energized by nationwide protests for racial justice were challenging white Democratic establishment favorites for the party's nominations. First-term state legislator Charles Booker was hoping a late surge would carry him past former Marine fighter pilot Amy McGrath for the Democratic Senate nomination from Kentucky. And in New York, political newcomer Jamaal Bowman was seeking to derail House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Eliot Engel's bid for a 17th term in Congress." ~~~

~~~ The New York Times is updating some election results here. ~~~

~~~ Ally Mutnick & James Arkin of Politico, with few races called, report on early returns in high-profile races. ~~~

~~~ North Carolina. Gary Robertson of the AP: "A 24-year-old real estate investment CEO won Tuesday's Republican primary runoff for a western North Carolina congressional seat over ... Donald Trump's endorsed candidate for the nomination. Madison Cawthorn handily defeated Lynda Bennett to complete an upset for the GOP nomination in the 11th Congressional District. Bennett had received the president's backing on Twitter and the earlier endorsement of Trump Chief of Staff Mark Meadows, who until recently had held the seat. Cawthorn, who also supports Trump, won by a roughly 2-to-1 margin while handing a setback for the president, who had recorded a phone message for Bennett's campaign.... [Cawthorn will] face Democrat Moe Davis, a former military prosecutor, and other party nominees in November. The district is still considered Republican-leaning despite recent boundary changes following litigation." ~~~

     ~~~ Mrs. McCrabbie: Of course Cawthorn is a jerk, too. He "got help from a super PAC that backs candidates allied with Sen. Rand Paul."

Alexander Burns, et al., of the New York Times: "Joseph R. Biden Jr. has taken a commanding lead over President Trump in the 2020 race, building a wide advantage among women and nonwhite voters and making deep inroads with some traditionally Republican-leaning groups that have shifted away from Mr. Trump following his ineffective response to the coronavirus pandemic, according to a new national poll of registered voters by The New York Times and Siena College. Mr. Biden is currently ahead of Mr. Trump by 14 percentage points, garnering 50 percent of the vote compared with 36 percent for Mr. Trump. That is among the most dismal showings of Mr. Trump's presidency.... Mr. Trump has been an unpopular president for virtually his entire time in office. He has made few efforts since his election in 2016 to broaden his support beyond the right-wing base that vaulted him into office with only 46 percent of the popular vote and a modest victory in the Electoral College." Message from Hillary: Don't count your chickens.... ~~~

     ~~~ Mrs. McCrabbie: Hope Sulzberger is ready for a cease-and-desist letter from the Trump campaign for publishing a totally fake poll.

The Fierce Urgency of Now. Matt Viser of the Washington Post: President "Obama and [Vice President] Biden made their first joint appearance in years, the former partners allied as they attempt to defeat President Trump. Obama was the main draw at a virtual fundraiser for Biden, raising more than $7.6 million from 175,000 individual donors, according to Biden's campaign. The campaign collected another $3.4 ;million at a separate event held for high-dollar donors.... Obama launched into an in-depth criticism of Trump, without mentioning him by name...."

Tim Reid of Reuters: "Dozens of Republican former U.S. national security officials are forming a group that will back Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden, people familiar with the effort said, in a further sign that ... Donald Trump has alienated some members of his own party. The group will publicly endorse Biden in the coming weeks and its members plan to campaign for the former vice president who is challenging Trump in the Nov. 3 election, the sources said. It includes at least two dozen officials who served under Republican Presidents Ronald Reagan, George H.W. Bush and George W. Bush, with dozens more in talks to join, the sources added. They will argue that another four years of a Trump presidency would endanger U.S. national security and that Republican voters should view Biden as the better choice despite policy differences, the sources said."

Jonathan Lemire & Aamer Madhani of the AP: "... Donald Trump drew something closer to the jam-packed audience of political supporters he's been craving as hundreds of young conservatives filled a Phoenix megachurch Tuesday to hear his call for them to get behind his reelection effort. The crowded Dream City Church for the gathering of Students for Trump offered a starkly different feel compared to Trump's weekend rally in Tulsa, Oklahoma, his first of the coronavirus era, which drew sparser attendance. Trump hailed the 'patriotic young Americans who stand up tall for America and refuse to kneel to the radical left.... You are the courageous warriors standing in the way of what they want to do and their goals,' he told the boisterous crowd. 'They hate our history. They hate our values, and they hate everything we prize as Americans.'" ~~~

     ~~~ Mrs. McCrabbie: Yes, yes "they" do. Because the history you "stand up tall" for is slavery. Because the values you espouse are white supremacy, fundamentalist Christian bigotry & anti-science mumbo-jumbo. And because everything you prize is mean & moronic.

Way Beyond the Beltway

Juan Cole: "As if the coronavirus pandemic, depression-era unemployment, and Mad President in the White House were not enough, Mother Nature has decided to remind us what the Big Kahuna really is. It is the climate emergency.... The small Siberian town of Verkhoyansk had a temperature of 100.4° F. on Sunday, something that has never happened since Thomas Edison's incandescent light bulb was first used outside in 1880, and likely hasn't happened for millions of years. AP reports that 680,000 acres are on fire. In.The.Arctic. These fires are not just a summer phenomenon, and are being called 'Zombie fires' because they have kept being rekindled since last winter." --s (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)

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