The Commentariat -- September 16, 2018

Afternoon Update:

** Emma Brown of the Washington Post interviews Christine Blasey Ford, a research psychologist affiliated with Stanford University, who says Brett Kavanaugh tried to rape her when they were in high school. She told no one the story in any detail until she discussed it with two therapists, beginning in 2012. Mrs. McC: Either Ford, whose professional name is Christine Blasey, is a loon or a drunken Brett Kavanaugh attacked her and would not release her. He's either lying about it now or he decided to "forget" the incident. You be the judge, because evidently the Judiciary Committee won't bother. New Rule? -- Attempted rape IOKIYAR? ...

     ... Update. Evidently So. Sheryl Stolberg of the New York Times: "However, Republicans on the committee planned on Sunday afternoon to move forward with a scheduled Thursday vote on the nomination, barring additional corroboration of Ms. Ford's account or the emergence of a new allegation." Mrs. McC: Excuse me? There's already plenty of corroboration: two therapists, the victim's husband & a lie-detector test.

... Mark Stern of Slate: "The Senate must pause the confirmation process and hold hearings -- fair hearings that heed the lessons of the Anita Hill disaster, during which senators downplayed Hill's alleged harassment and refused to hear from expert witnesses who could contextualize her experience.... The Senate Judiciary Committee's Republicans issued a statement on Sunday complaining about 'Democrats' tactics and motives,' implicitly questioning Ford's veracity. They appear predictably resistant to delaying the committee vote. It may thus fall on Collins and Murkowski to force their party to treat Ford with respect." ...

So, to summarize, a confessed serial sexual predator nominated a man who is credibly accused of attempted rape to be the key vote to strip women of reproductive freedom. -- Ian Millhiser of ThinkProgress, in a tweet

... David Atkins of the Washington Monthly: "... a Supreme Court nomination isn't a criminal trial, and an explosive allegation of this nature should instantly derail the confirmation process of a being chosen to preside over the highest court in the country, one that will have enormous power over women's bodies and their fundamental rights. It seems like outrageous hyperbole, but we must confront the dystopian reality. A president credibly accused multiple sexually assaults and who bragged forcibly grabbing women by the genitals without their consent, who was helped into office by a large number of men in powerful media positions who have also been forced out their jobs due to allegations of sexual harassment and assault as well as by the clandestine government services of a nation famous for its misogynistic exploitation of women, is nominating an accused rapist to the Supreme Court with the express intent of eliminating women's right to an abortion and other reproductive health services." ...

... Jonathan Chait: "Conservatives continue to treat [Clarence] Thomas as the innocent victim of a smear campaign, despite the voluminous evidence of his guilt that emerged after his confirmation. The most likely outcome is that Republicans would confirm a second probable perpetrator of sexual assault to the high court. On the other hand, it's not hard to imagine other possibilities.... It's perfectly obvious why Donald Trump would be eager to defend the principle that men must not have their careers derailed by accusations of sexual assault. It's less clear that 50 Republican senators will be eager to join him.... Republicans may not want spend the run-up to an election litigating an allegation that further defines their Trump-era identity as the party of unbridled male sexual entitlement. But at the moment, a question that appeared closed is suddenly very much open." ...

... "A Moral Abomination." digby: "I would just remind people who are thinking that Kavanaugh shouldn't be denied a place on the Supreme Court because of things he did in high school, that his professional life hasn't been exactly staid and upright either[.]... He isn't a learned jurist, he's a slash and burn right-wing activist. Drunken, privileged, rich boys are exactly the types they recruited for their dirty work during [the Clinton] period. And he's exactly the type the wingnut cabal that's propping up Trump to get the courts packed would put forth to ensure that their agenda is protected by any means necessary. He's a partisan hitman, not a judge.... He is a professional character assassin who is deeply morally compromised. His cruel and indecent behavior toward Vince Foster's family alone, despite knowing that it was wrong, disqualified him. This latest revelation just reinforces what we already know. He is a moral abomination who has no place on the court."

Quint Forgey of Politico: "... Donald Trump on Saturday fired his first salvo against special counsel Robert Mueller since former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort entered a plea deal with the Russia probe's federal prosecutors. 'While my (our) poll numbers are good, with the Economy being the best ever, if it weren't for the Rigged Russian Witch Hunt, they would be 25 points higher!' Trump tweeted. 'Highly conflicted Bob Mueller & the 17 Angry Democrats are using this Phony issue to hurt us in the Midterms. No Collusion!' Trump attorney Rudy Giuliani also broke his silence on Manafort's intended guilty plea earlier Saturday, alleging in a tweet that 'sources close to' Manafort's defense team told the former New York mayor that the cooperation agreement 'does not involve the Trump campaign' and that there was 'no collusion with Russia' from within the Trump campaign. Giuliani added: 'Another road travelled by Mueller. Same conclusion: no evidence of collusion President did nothing wrong.'" Mrs. McC: Nothing new here. ...

... Marcy Wheeler of emptywheel: The prosecution's exhibits in Paul Manafort's plea deal are "there to show what Paul Manafort does when he's running a campaign. Because they show that for the decade leading up to running Trump's campaign, Manafort was using the very same sleazy strategy to support Viktor Yanukovych that he used to get Trump elected. In other words, these exhibits are a preview of coming attractions.... The criminal information provided far more detail about something we had only seen snippets of in the Alex Van der Zwaan plea: Manafort's use of Skadden Arps to whitewash Yanukovych's prosecution of Yulia Tymoshenko. It describes how Manafort used cut-outs to place stories claiming his client's female opponent had murdered someone.... And it shows Manafort seeding lies that his client's female opponent had criminal intent when he knew there was no proof to back the claim.... This propaganda effort against Manafort's client's female opponent included placing stories in Breitbart."

Ben Kamisar of NBC News: "FEMA Administrator Brock Long Sunday questioned the relevance of independent studies tying thousands of deaths to the aftermath of last September's hurricane in Puerto Rico, echoing ... Donald Trump's criticism of those findings as Florence continues to batter the Carolinas. Appearing on NBC's 'Meet the Press,' Long defended the president for his response to Hurricane Maria last year and argued that findings from multiple academic studies were 'all over the place.' 'I think the president is being taken out of context there,' Long said. 'I mean, I talked to the president every day this week, and the secretary of homeland security, and we discuss what we're trying to do as a result of last year.' 'I don't know why the studies were done,' Long said when asked about Trump's claims that the study was 'done by Democrats in order to make me look as bad as possible.'" ...

... Mrs. McCrabbie: You might want to view Long's interview as part of his attempt to keep his job. ...

... "A Smooth Running Machine." William Wan & Nick Miroff of the Washington Post: "As the Federal Emergency Management Agency heads into peak hurricane season, an internal investigation has imperiled its top official, sparking a growing backlash within the agency where career officials and even some political appointees are worried there is no proven disaster manager on hand to replace him. FEMA Administrator William 'Brock' Long is said to be resisting an effort by Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen to replace him over his alleged misuse of government vehicles. The feud among senior Trump administration officials surfaced publicly in recent days as FEMA and the Department of Homeland Security raced to prepare for the arrival of Hurricane Florence. The prospect of Long's dismissal has alarmed current and former staff at FEMA and DHS, and it has captured the attention of officials on Capitol Hill, who note that the agency's No. 2 position has been vacant for nearly two years and that Trump's current nominee, Peter Gaynor, still awaits Senate confirmation. Trump's original nominee for the post, Daniel Craig, withdrew from consideration a year ago after reports surfaced that the DHS inspector general found he had falsified work and travel records while working for the George W. Bush administration."

Caitlin Oprysko of Politico: "Sen. Lindsey Graham confirmed on Sunday 'there was a point in time' when he and ... Donald Trump seriously discussed pulling U.S. military dependents out of South Korea -- a move that would have been widely seen as a precursor to military action on the peninsula. The South Carolina Republican said that at the time, 'it looked like nothing was going to happen, there was no dialogue going' with North Korea about its nuclear program, adding that 'once you start moving dependents out of South Korea, that is a signal to everybody that we're running out of time.' Graham cautioned on CBS' 'Face the Nation' that 'we're not out of the woods yet when it comes to North Korea,' but he said the Trump administration's renewed diplomatic talks have de-escalated the situation and bought time for denuclearization to be achieved peacefully." ...

     ... Mrs. McCrabbie: What could be more comforting than to know Senator War Hawk has the ear of President* Impulsive-Ignoramus?

Kate Williams of the Oregonian: "A deportation officer for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement was arrested this week on multiple counts of sodomy, Oregon State Police said Saturday. Blake V. Northway, a 55-year-old Medford[, Oregon,] resident, was taken into custody Thursday, officials said, as the result of a joint investigation between the immigration agency and state police. He has been 'relieved of all authority,' state police said in a statement and will be put on leave until the investigation is complete. According to court documents, Northway is accused of sexually abusing an underage female relative between 2009 and 2013." ...

... "All the Best People," Ctd. Opheli Lawler of New York: "Alongside the suspected serial killer who worked for Border Patrol, agents at both government organizations [ICE & the Border Patrol] have been accused of beating and sexually assaulting detained migrants."

AP: "A Palestinian assailant on Sunday fatally stabbed an Israeli settler outside a busy mall in the West Bank. The victim was identified as Ari Fuld, a U.S.-born activist who was well-known in the local settler community and an outspoken Israel advocate on social media platforms."

*****

Damian Paletta of the Washington Post: "President Trump has decided to impose tariffs on $200 billion in Chinese goods, two people briefed on the decision said, one of the most severe economic restrictions ever imposed by a U.S. president. An announcement is expected to come within days, the people said, speaking on the condition of anonymity because they weren't authorized to discuss internal plans. The new tariffs would apply to more than 1,000 products, including refrigerators, air conditioners, furniture, televisions and toys. These penalties could drive up the cost of a range of products ahead of the holiday shopping season, though it's unclear how much."

Dennis Romero of NBC News: "... Donald Trump may soon be communicating with you directly.... Next Thursday, the Federal Emergency Management Agency will do its first test of a system that allows the president to send a message to most U.S. cellphones.... The test message will have a header that reads 'Presidential Alert,' according to the agency.... The wireless emergency alerts (WEA) system was authorized by Congress in 2015 under a law that states the 'system shall not be used to transmit a message that does not relate to a natural disaster, act of terrorism, or other man-made disaster or threat to public safety.' Experts didn't appear to be too concerned that Trump, known to use his smartphone to blast opponents, berate subordinates and take shots at the news media on Twitter, could abuse WEA.... The test is supposed to take place at 2:18 p.m. EDT on Sept. 20. Under the Warning, Alert, and Response Network (WARN) Act of 2006, cellphone users cannot opt out of the presidential alerts."

When President Obama said that he has been to '57 States,' very little mention in Fake News Media. Can you imagine if I said that...story of the year! -- Donald Trump, in a tweet Friday ...

... Mrs. McCrabbie: I'd like to point out that this is one of Trump's stupidest whines ever & shows the extent of his obsessive jealousy of President Obama. This was a one-time slip-of-the-tongue Obama made during a campaign stop in 2008. As Obama noted later, he meant to say 47, which was accurate. If Trump had made it, he would have insisted thereafter that there were 57 states. Suddenly Puerto Rico & Guam & the Virgin Island & whatever would become states. And he'd been to all of them.... It isn't a mistake Obama repeated, and it wasn't a lie. It's the sort of mistake we all make occasionally. Yet Trump is comparing his thousands of lies -- averaging more than eight a day recently - to one extemporaneous goof Obama made 10 years ago. Pathetic. (BTW, the responses to Trump's tweet are great.) ...

... Christopher Cadelago of Politico has a nice summary of Trump's week that was: "... Donald Trump spent Friday confronting the deadly landfall of Hurricane Florence -- only to have that disaster eclipsed by the revelation that his former campaign manager cut a cooperation deal with special counsel Robert Mueller and that a growing #MeToo crisis is surrounding his Supreme Court nominee. The trifecta culminated a week of the president careening from one fiasco to another, before he had fully recovered from the publication of damning excerpts from Bob Woodward's new White House account 'Fear' and an op-ed published anonymously by The New York Times claiming that senior staff are working to undermine him."

"No Collusion." Ian Schwartz in Real Clear Politics: "In an interview with Hugh Hewitt on Friday, Bob Woodward said that in his two years of investigating for his new book, 'Fear,' he found no evidence of collusion or espionage between Trump and Russia. Woodward said he looked for it 'hard" and yet turned up nothing." ...

     ... Mrs. McCrabbie: I could be wrong, but I suspect we'll find out there was a lot more "collusion" between the Trump campaign & foreign entities (not necessarily all Russian) than what occurred in a 30-minute meeting "about adoption." ...

... George Packer of the New Yorker reviews Woodward's book. "At Trump's core lies a need always to look strong, which, of course, makes him look weak. In several scenes, one adviser or another struggles to find the right, flattering words that will keep the President from starting a nuclear war." ...

... Jonathan Chait draws parallels between 1930s German politicians & today's Republicans. "What makes the history pertinent ... are the eerie similarities in the behavior of the right-wing politicians who facilitated both men's rise to power." German political leaders thought they could "contain" Hitler, too. BTW, if you think Gary Cohn might be some kind of hero for "containing" Trump, Packer & Chait will disabuse of that notion. He stayed for his tax break.

Andrew Kramer of the New York Times: To collect his millions, Paul Manafort set up shell companies with fake "directors": people whose identities had been stolen. One such person is Yevgeny G. Kaseyev, a Ukrainian hairdresser whose passport was stolen. "Mr. Kaseyev said he first became aware of his unwitting role in the creation of at least three Ukrainian front companies a decade ago, when the tax police contacted him in 2007 about his purported $30 million tax liability...."

Helene Cooper of the New York Times: "Interviews with more than a dozen White House, congressional and current and former Defense Department officials over the past six weeks paint a portrait of a president who has soured on his defense secretary, weary of unfavorable comparisons to [Jim] Mattis as the adult in the room, and increasingly concerned that he is a Democrat at heart.... Over the last four months alone, the president and the defense chief have found themselves at odds over NATO policy, whether to resume large-scale military exercises with South Korea and, privately, whether Mr. Trump's decision to withdraw the United States from the Iran nuclear deal has proved effective.... Mr. Mattis himself is becoming weary, some aides said, of the amount of time spent pushing back against what Defense Department officials think are capricious whims of an erratic president." ...

     ... OR, as Benjamin Hart (or his headline writer) of New York puts it, "Mattis not enough of a suck-up for Trump; may be on the way out."

     ... Mrs. Bea McCrabbie: Here's something I didn't know: "Using his folksy manner, Mr. Mattis talked the president out of ordering torture against terrorism detainees...."

Nahal Toosi, et al., of Politico: "Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and his predecessor John Kerry clashed Friday over the latter's private meetings with Iranian officials, a remarkable war of words that had both sides accusing the other of dishonesty. Pompeo alleged that, by holding 'beyond inappropriate' meetings with Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif, Kerry was undermining U.S. foreign policy in an 'unprecedented' manner. The secretary's comments came after ... Donald Trump asserted in a tweet that Kerry's meetings with Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif were 'illegal.' Kerry and his aides dismissed such allegations as utter bunk, pointing out that Kerry had briefed Pompeo and the State Department about his discussions with Zarif. Kerry twisted the knife even more on Twitter by raising Trump's legal woes, saying the president should 'be more worried about Paul Manafort meeting with Robert Mueller than me meeting with Iran's [foreign minister].'"

** That guy Mark Judge who vouched for Brett Kavanaugh? His credibility is great! And an all-around perfect character witness. Stephanie Mencimer of Mother Jones: Judge is a "conservative" writer who wrote an "addiction memoir" titled Wasted: Tales of a Gen X Drunk. "That book chronicles Judge's time as a teenage alcoholic. Like many works of the genre, it devotes a lot of ink to the kinds of debauchery that leads to AA and recovery. While there's nothing in the book that resembles the incident reportedly described in the private letter given to the FBI, Judge says his own black-out drinking while he and Kavanaugh were Georgetown Prep students 'reached the point where once I had the first beer, I found it impossible to stop until I was completely annihilated.'... The amount of drinking Judge describes himself undertaking might suggest that his memory of those days may not be entirely reliable." Mencimer copies a compelling excerpt about Bart O'Kavanaugh. Name totally changed to protect the guilty. ...

... Heidi Bond, who clerked for Judge Alex Kozinski, in Slate: "For years, Kozinski maintained an email list known as the 'Easy Rider Gag List,' to which he would send sexually explicit and otherwise raunchy jokes; the existence of the list was first publicized in 2008.... Kozinski exposed us to this sort of material almost every day.... In his hearings, Kavanaugh was asked by Sens. Orrin Hatch and Mazie Hirono if he was aware of the email list, and if he had received emails from Kozinski with sexually explicit content.... [Kavanagh] said he couldn't recall anything like that. And, in response to a written question for the record -- 'Has Judge Kozinski ever made comments about sexual matters to you, either in jest or otherwise?' -- Kavanaugh responded, 'I do not remember any such comments.'... I do not know how it would be possible to forget something as pervasive as Kozinski's famously sexual sense of humor or his gag list, as Kavanaugh has professed to in his hearings...." Kavanaugh remained close to Kozinski for years after his clerkship ended.

Juan Lozano of the AP: "A U.S. Border Patrol agent suspected of killing four women was arrested early Saturday after a fifth woman who had been abducted managed to escape from him and notify authorities, law enforcement officials said, describing the agent as a 'serial killer.' Juan David Ortiz, 35, an intel supervisor for the Border Patrol, fled from state troopers and was found hiding in a truck in a hotel parking lot in Laredo at around 2 a.m. Saturday, Webb County Sheriff Martin Cuellar said at a news conference in the border city about 145 miles (235 kilometers) southwest of San Antonio."

Dennis Romero and Dystany Muse of NBC News: "A member of a U.S. Coast Guard team responding to Tropical Storm Florence in South Carolina appeared to flash a white power hand gesture in the background as a captain was being interviewed Friday by MSNBC. The man has since been removed from the Florence response operations and the incident is under investigation, said Coast Guard Lt. J.B. Zorn. The decision from the federal agency came after heavy backlash online to the apparent gesture captured on 'Live with Ali Velshi.'"

Election 2018

Obama Converts Wealthy Ohio Republican. Justin Wise of the Hill: "The wealthiest supporter of the GOP in Ohio said Thursday that he is no longer a member of the Republican Party. 'I just decided I'm no longer a Republican,' L Brands CEO Leslie Wexner said during a panel discussion at a leadership summit, according to The Columbus Dispatch. Wexner, who said he's been a Republican since college, added that he is now an independent, before saying that he 'won't support this nonsense in the Republican Party' anymore.... The development came just a day after former President Obama slammed GOP lawmakers during a rally in Ohio for Democratic gubernatorial candidate Richard Cordray.... Wexner called Obama's visit to Ohio this week a 'great moment for the community,' according to the Dispatch. 'I was struck by the genuineness of the man; his candor, humility and empathy for others,' Wexner said. The newspaper noted that the comments stand in stark contrast to what the GOP supporter has said about President Trump. The billionaire CEO reportedly said in a speech last year that he was 'ashamed' by Trump's response to the white supremacist rally in Charlottesville, Va.... The Ohio businessman has donated hundreds of thousands of dollars to Republican candidates and groups over the years...." (To read the original story in the Columbus Dispatch, you have to sign up.)

Beyond the Beltway

Texas Board Determined to Prove Value of Pointy-Headed Experts. Lauren McGaughy of the Dallas Morning News: "As part of an effort to 'streamline' the social studies curriculum in public schools, the State Board of Education voted Friday to adjust what students in every grade are required to learn in the classroom. Among the changes, board members approved the removal of several historical figures, including [Hillary] Clinton and [Helen] Keller, from the curriculum. The board also voted to keep in the curriculum a reference to the 'heroism' of the defenders of the Alamo, which had been recommended for elimination, as well as Moses' influence on the writing of the nation's founding documents, multiple references to 'Judeo-Christian' values and a requirement that students explain how the 'Arab rejection of the State of Israel has led to ongoing conflict' in the Middle East. The vote Friday was preliminary. The board can amend the curriculum changes further before taking a final vote in November." ...

     ... Mrs. McCrabbie: Though you may think I make up this stuff to drive you nuts, the only fictional thing in the report, as far as I know, is the Biblical character Moses.

News Ledes

Raleigh News & Observer: "At least 14 people have died in North and South Carolina as a result of Florence, now a slow-moving tropical depression that continues to pound the states with heavy rains and catastrophic flooding. The storm has increased its speed and is now moving at 8 mph across eastern South Carolina, the National Hurricane Center reported in its 5 a.m. update. The center of the storm is about 20 miles southeast of Columbia, S.C. It weakened from a tropical storm to a tropical depression early Sunday morning after the NHC reported maximum sustained speeds of 35 mph. The storm is expected to move across western North and South Carolina on Sunday and then 'recurve over the Ohio Valley and Northeast U.S. Monday and Tuesday,' according to the Hurricane Center." Nearly a million customers are without power. ...

     ... New York Times Update: "Even as the storm both lost some of its power and sped up, leaving less time for its steady rains to saturate the places in its path, the death toll increased to at least 14, and rivers were rising fast. Forecasters warned that flooding, already \ frighteningly common this weekend, was virtually certain to worsen within hours."

... The New York Times is providing free access to its Hurricane Florence coverage. The Times front page is here. "The [Washington] Post has removed article limits on coverage of Hurricane Florence to make these stories available without a subscription." The Post has links to several Florence-related stories on its front page. the (South Carolina) State home page is here. The State is granting free access to its site during the storm. The Raleigh News & Observer home page is here.

New York Times: "As Typhoon Mangkhut moved past Hong Kong and struck mainland China, the authorities in the Philippines said that landslides had buried at least two buildings where people were sheltering, sharply raising the death toll there as the extent of the damage was only beginning to become clear. The storm had weakened overnight but was still a severe typhoon, with gusts of up to 100 miles an hour, the Hong Kong authorities said. Buildings in that city swayed, trees were downed, windows shattered and hundreds of flights were canceled. On the Chinese mainland, the storm made landfall in densely populated areas in the late afternoon, including a major center of heavy industry. Hundreds of thousands of people were evacuated in Guangdong Province."

The Commentariat -- September 15, 2018

Late Morning/Afternoon Update:

That guy Mark Judge who vouched for Brett Kavanaugh? His credibility is great! And an all-around perfect character witness. Stephanie Mencimer of Mother Jones: Judge is a "conservative" writer who wrote an "addiction memoir" titled Wasted: Tales of a Gen X Drunk. "That book chronicles Judge's time as a teenage alcoholic. Like many works of the genre, it devotes a lot of ink to the kinds of debauchery that leads to AA and recovery. While there's nothing in the book that resembles the incident reportedly described in the private letter given to the FBI, Judge says his own black-out drinking while he and Kavanaugh were Georgetown Prep students 'reached the point where once I had the first beer, I found it impossible to stop until I was completely annihilated.'... The amount of drinking Judge describes himself undertaking might suggest that his memory of those days may not be entirely reliable." Mencimer copies a compelling excerpt about Bart O'Kavanaugh. Name totally changed to protect the guilty.

Dennis Romero of NBC News: "... Donald Trump may soon be communicating with you directly on your phone.... Next Thursday, the Federal Emergency Management Agency will do its first test of a system that allows the president to send a message to most U.S. cellphones.... The test message will have a header that reads 'Presidential Alert,' according to the agency.... The wireless emergency alerts (WEA) system was authorized by Congress in 2015 under a law that states the 'system shall not be used to transmit a message that does not relate to a natural disaster, act of terrorism, or other man-made disaster or threat to public safety.' Experts didn't appear to be too concerned that Trump, known to use his smartphone to blast opponents, berate subordinates and take shots at the news media on Twitter, could abuse WEA.... The test is supposed to take place at 2:18 p.m. EDT on Sept. 20. Under the Warning, Alert, and Response Network (WARN) Act of 2006, cellphone users cannot opt out of the presidential alerts."

Dennis Romero and Dystany Muse of NBC News: "A member of a U.S. Coast Guard team responding to Tropical Storm Florence in South Carolina appeared to flash a white power hand gesture in the background as a captain was being interviewed Friday by MSNBC. The man has since been removed from the Florence response operations and the incident is under investigation, said Coast Guard Lt. J.B. Zorn. The decision from the federal agency came after heavy backlash online to the apparent gesture captured on 'Live with Ali Velshi.'"

Texas Board Determined to Prove Value of Pointy-Headed Experts. Lauren McGaughy of the Dallas Morning News: "As part of an effort to 'streamline' the social studies curriculum in public schools, the State Board of Education voted Friday to adjust what students in every grade are required to learn in the classroom. Among the changes, board members approved the removal of several historical figures, including [Hillary] Clinton and [Helen] Keller, from the curriculum. The board also voted to keep in the curriculum a reference to the 'heroism' of the defenders of the Alamo, which had been recommended for elimination, as well as Moses' influence on the writing of the nation's founding documents, multiple references to 'Judeo-Christian' values and a requirement that students explain how the 'Arab rejection of the State of Israel has led to ongoing conflict' in the Middle East. The vote Friday was preliminary. The board can amend the curriculum changes further before taking a final vote in November." ...

     ... Mrs. McCrabbie: Though you may think I make up this stuff to drive you nuts, the only fictional thing in the report, as far as I know, is the Biblical character Moses.

*****

Trump: L'Opera Buffa. Mrs. Bea McCrabbie: It's not over till the fat man sings, but a full choir is in voice: Manafort, Cohen, Gates, Flynn, Papadopoulos & a couple of understudies. And of course we have no idea what-all the dozens of other witnesses have told investigators.

New York Times Editors: "How many more guilty pleas and convictions will there be in Trumpworld before all this crime starts to look -- how can we put it -- organized?"

** Spencer Hsu & Devlin Barrett of the Washington Post: "... Paul Manafort is pleading guilty Friday to two criminal charges under terms of a plea deal that includes his cooperation as a potential witness for special counsel Robert S. Mueller III. The decision by Manafort to provide evidence in exchange for leniency on sentencing is a stunning development in the long-running probe into whether any Trump associates may have conspired with Russia to influence the 2016 election. Manafort's defenders have long insisted that he would not cooperate with Mueller, and didn't know any incriminating information against the president. Prosecutor Andrew Weissmann said at the beginning of Friday's plea hearing that Manafort has agreed to cooperate with investigators.... A criminal information -- a legal document filed by prosecutors to detail the criminal conduct to be admitted by the defendant -- was filed in advance of the plea. The document shows Manafort intends to plead guilty to two crimes of the seven he faced at trial: conspiring to defraud the United States and conspiring to obstruct justice.... As part of his deal, the government plans to seize four properties, including a nearly $2 million house in Arlington, Virginia, owned by one of Manafort's daughters. The deal also calls for forfeiture of four financial accounts and a life insurance policy." (Also linked yesterday.) ...

... Here's a pdf of the charging document & exhibits, via the New York Times. (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ...

     ... Mrs. McCrabbie: From what I understand from MSNBC on-air discussions, Manafort pled guilty to all 18 charges for which he was tried in Virginia, including the 10 for which he was not convicted. In addition, he effectively pleaded guilty to all counts in the D.C. case because the two counts to which he pleaded guilty incorporated the substance of the other five counts. ...

... Sharon LaFraniere of the New York Times: "It was not immediately clear what information [Paul Manafort] might be providing to prosecutors or how the plea agreement might affect Mr. Mueller's investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 election and related questions about possible collusion by the Trump campaign and obstruction of justice by Mr. Trump. The president's personal lawyer, Rudolph W. Giuliani, quickly sought to distance Mr. Trump from the development. 'Once again an investigation has concluded with a plea having nothing t do with President Trump or the Trump campaign,' he said in a statement. 'The reason: the president did nothing wrong and Paul Manafort will tell the truth.'" (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ...

... Matthew Mosk, et al., of ABC News: "In court Friday morning, prosecutors revealed that Manafort had completed a successful meeting with investigators in which he offered them information they considered valuable. They did not specify what information he agreed to share, but made clear the cooperation would be 'broad' and would include participation in 'interviews, briefings, producing documents, [and] testifying in other matters.'... The agreement marked a significant shift for the Mueller investigation -- providing them cooperation from someone who participated in the now-infamous Trump Tower meeting, in which a Russian lawyer came to New York during the campaign promising 'dirt' on Trump's Democratic opponent. As the campaign chairman, Manafort was also privy to the inner workings of the Trump campaign for critical months in 2016." (Also linked yesterday.) ...

... Tucker Higgins of CNBC: "After Manafort ... agreed to cooperate with prosecutors working for the special counsel on Friday..., Donald Trump's legal team released the following statement attributed to Rudy Giuliani...: 'Once again an investigation has concluded with a plea having nothing to do with President Trump or the Trump campaign. The reason: the President did nothing wrong and Paul Manafort will tell the truth.' Minutes later, they ... [put out] a 'corrected' statement removed the bit about Manafort telling the truth:... 'Once again an investigation has concluded with a plea having nothing to do with President Trump or the Trump campaign. The reason: the President did nothing wrong.'" (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ...

     ... Aaron Rupar of ThinkProgress: "The revised statement leaves open the possibility that Trump and his legal team will ultimately dispute the information Manafort shares with Mueller.... It suggests the president's team is bracing for the possibility that they will have to try and assassinate Manafort's character...." Mrs. McC: Rupar is far too shy; of course Trump will trash Manafort & what he says. It's what Trump does. And Manafort is an easy guy to trash. ...

... "What Manafort Knows." Franklin Foer of the Atlantic: "... we can guess the lines of questioning that might dominate Manafort's meetings with the lawyers in the special counsel's office. The Oleg Deripaska Connection.... Deripaska might have been a crucial intermediary between Manafort and the Kremlin. The Curious Case of Konstantin Kilimnik.... Kilimnik was Manafort's primary interface with Deripaska. Manafort’s Loans.... Roger Stone.... If Mueller does intend to pursue a case against Stone, he suddenly has his oldest confidant as a cooperating witness. The Trump Tower Meeting." ...

... Trump Can't Pardon Manafort to Stop Manafort's Cooperation. Paul Rosenzweig & Justin Florence in a Washington Post op-ed: "Trump's supportive tweet about Manafort after his conviction in August on eight felony fraud counts, praising him for not cooperating with prosecutors, was widely interpreted as a hint of future presidential leniency. Trump has insisted on his 'absolute' power to pardon even himself, and his lawyers in a secret January memo to Mueller asserted the president's complete control over federal investigations as the nation's chief law enforcement officer. Trump and his team have tried to lay the groundwork for pardons to protect him from criminal charges. But ... a self-pardon, or a pardon that is self-protective and serves the same purpose as a self-pardon, would be an abuse of power that violates the Constitution and, as such, could warrant impeachment. If the president can use the pardon power to protect himself from prosecution, it would effectively transform him into an authoritarian ruler, incapable of being limited by law or any other branches of government. In constitutional terms, using the pardon power in this way would appear to violate Article II, which requires the president to 'take Care that the Laws be faithfully executed.'" ...

... Also Too. Marcy Wheeler of emptywheel: "Here's why this deal is pardon proof: 1. Mueller spent the hour and a half delay in arraignment doing ... something. It's possible Manafort even presented the key parts of testimony Mueller needs from him to the grand jury this morning. 2. The forfeiture in this plea is both criminal and civil, meaning DOJ will be able to get Manafort's $46 million even with a pardon. 3.Some of the dismissed charges are financial ones that can be charged in various states." ...

... Josh Gerstein of Politico takes a longer look at the effects of a pardon in Manafort's case. It isn't as straightforward as Wheeler suggests, & experts don't agree. Mrs. McC: Manafort, according to statements the prosecutor made in court, has already made at least two proffers. I'd assume interviewers have in writing and/or on tape every song he's sung. I don't know much about the rules of evidence, but I'd guess anything Manafort has said can be used in court, and it certainly can be used in any report Mueller makes.

Emily Fox of Vanity Fair: "In recent weeks, it has ... become common knowledge among close friends of Michael Cohen ... is talking to the Mueller team, according to people familiar with the situation." (Also linked yesterday.)

Charlie Savage of the New York Times: "What will the special counsel, Robert S. Mueller III, do when he wraps up his investigation...? The leading theory is that Mr. Mueller will write a report for his supervisor at the Justice Department. That could lead to a new fight: Mr. Trump's lawyer, Rudolph W. Giuliani, has suggested that the White House may then invoke executive privilege and order the Justice Department to keep portions of such a report confidential from Congress. But there is historical precedent for another model. Echoing a move by the Watergate prosecutor in March 1974, the grand jury with which Mr. Mueller has been working could try to send a report about the evidence it has gathered directly to the House Judiciary Committee. And on Friday, seeking to draw more attention to that option, three prominent legal analysts asked a court to lift a veil of secrecy that has long kept that Watergate-era report hidden.... [A] petition [to unseal the Nixon investigation Road Map] was filed by Benjamin Wittes, a Brookings Institution senior fellow and the editor in chief of Lawfare...; Jack Goldsmith, a Harvard Law School professor and senior Justice Department official in the George W. Bush administration; and Stephen Bates, a University of Nevada, Las Vegas, law professor who, as a federal prosecutor working for Ken Starr...." ...

     ... Mrs. McCrabbie: If there are actual national security matters revealed in the report (and there well might be, given the subjects of the investigation) sensitive material can be redacted, but the public has a right to see everything else. After all, we paid for it. All these people work for us.

The Mysterious Case of Brett Kavanaugh -- just got less mysterious:

** Ronan Farrow & Jane Mayer of the New Yorker: "On Thursday, Senate Democrats disclosed that they had referred a complaint regarding ... Judge Brett Kavanaugh to the F.B.I. for investigation. The complaint came from a woman who accused Kavanaugh of sexual misconduct when they were both in high school, more than thirty years ago. The woman, who has asked not to be identified, first approached Democratic lawmakers in July, shortly after Trump nominated Kavanaugh. The allegation dates back to the early nineteen-eighties, when Kavanaugh was a high-school student at Georgetown Preparatory School, in Bethesda, Maryland, and the woman attended a nearby high school. In the letter, the woman alleged that, during an encounter at a party, Kavanaugh held her down, and that he attempted to force himself on her. She claimed in the letter that Kavanaugh and a classmate of his, both of whom had been drinking, turned up music that was playing in the room to conceal the sound of her protests, and that Kavanaugh covered her mouth with his hand. She was able to free herself." Kavanaugh denies the allegation; the male classmate has "no recollection" of the incident. Dianne Feinstein has had the letter since late July & had kept it secret from other Judiciary Committee members -- Mrs. McC: apparently until Ryan Grim of the Intercept reported on its existence. The other members are not amused. (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ...

     ... Mrs. McCrabbie: In other words, young Brett (allegedly) attempted to rape a young woman. My only surprise here is at Feinstein's withholding this information, a lapse I find unconscionable. ...

... Update. Michael Tomasky of the Daily Beast: "... what in blazes was Dianne Feinstein thinking?... She had no right to keep [the letter] from them. For that matter, she had no right to keep it from us, the public, who also live with the consequences of a new Supreme Court.... Now, single-handedly, she has returned things to the Incompetent Democrats narrative. Well, no. Not Incompetent Democrats. Incompetent Democrat, singular. Beyond belief.... This man, if confirmed, is going to spend the next 30 or 35 years of his life deciding whether 16 year old girls like the one he allegedly attacked have any rights to control their own reproductive fates. We all know, his 'open mind' notwithstanding, that he is going to spend 30 or 35 years saying they have none." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ...

... John McCormack of the Weekly Standard: "The Kavanaugh classmate quoted in the New Yorker is Mark Judge, a writer in Washington, D.C. Judge spoke to The Weekly Standard Friday afternoon, strongly denying that any such incident ever occurred. 'It's just absolutely nuts. I never saw Brett act that way,' Judge told TWS." Mrs. McC: We should bear in mind that Judge is protecting not only Kavanaugh, but also himself, inasmuch as the accuser has apparently indicated that Judge took part in the assault. His denial is as credible as Kavanaugh's. ...

... Tara Golshan of Vox: "Sixty-five women who knew Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh in high school have testified to his good character in a letter to the Senate Judiciary Committee, in light of recently surfaced allegations that he tried to force himself on a girl during his time at Georgetown Preparatory School, an all-boys school in Bethesda, Maryland." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ...

     ... Scott Lemieux in LG&$: "Really, what Supreme Court nominee doesn't have a list of 65 random women they didn't sexually assault while attending an all-boys high school lined up?" (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ...

... ** Dahlia Lithwick of Slate: "Almost anyone who has played any part in the #MeToo movement might say with confidence that the cost of coming forward is crippling. And indeed, as soon as the New Yorker published its story, Kavanaugh defenders were quick to say that the woman, still unnamed, was a drunk and a liar.... The real tragedy is that we do not need this woman's story to understand who the current Supreme Court nominee is." Lithwick goes on to list the hard evidence that's already out there. Read it. "... demanding that any one woman bear the full professional and social and emotional cost of dismantling the machinery of men in power propping up other men in power is expecting entirely too much." ...

     ... Mrs. McC: I want to think I would have the guts to come forward and that if Dianne Feinstein stymied my effort, I'd go to the press. I'd like to think I had the guts to do what I could to stop the Kavanaugh Lithwick so clearly describes. But since I have not had to do so, I can't be certain I would (tho the odds are pretty high that I would). I disagree with the advice Lithwick says she would give the woman. Not only would I encourage her to expose Kavanaugh, I'd be there for her before, when & after she did.

Erica Ordan & Evan Perez of CNN: "Federal prosecutors in New York are weighing criminal charges against former Obama White House counsel Greg Craig as part of an investigation into whether he failed to register as a foreign agent in a probe that is linked to former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort, according to sources familiar with the matter. In addition, these sources said, prosecutors in the US Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York are considering taking action against powerhouse law firm Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP, where Craig was a partner during the activity under examination.... The investigation involving Craig and Skadden was referred to federal prosecutors in New York earlier this year by the office of special counsel Robert Mueller, CNN reported in August.... The investigation pertains to whether Craig improperly performed lobbying work on behalf of a group associated with Ukraine without registering with the Justice Department as a foreign agent."

Mrs. McCrabbie: A couple of days ago, there was this from the Capitalism Is Awesome file. There is a reason I didn't link a story about the Bezos' generosity:

... Molly Schuetz of Bloomberg: "Jeff Bezos and his wife, MacKenzie Bezos, launched a $2 billion fund to help homeless families and create a network of nonprofit preschools in low-income communities.... The move catapults the world's richest person into a rarefied group of billionaire megadonors at a time when his company, Amazon.com Inc., faces growing scrutiny over its rising power and impact on the economy." ...

... So Here's the Reason. Marina Hyde of the Guardian: "Off the top of my head, Jeff has already had two very clear chances to help homeless people and low-income families. The first was in Seattle, where Amazon is headquartered, and where the firm recently killed a proposed city tax on big firms to alleviate the homeless crisis by threatening to halt a building project. The second was by simply paying his own low-income workers better. As the old saying goes, charity begins in aisle 89 of the Amazon warehouse, where workers are so terrified of being docked points for nipping to the bathroom that they're pissing in bottles. But guys like Jeff don't want governments, or properly paid worker ants, taking credit for what is, after all, his bounty.... [If] the poor people who literally already work for you ... want to humbly queue up and apply for it via some thinly disguised hardship grant that you take the applause for, that's a different matter. Dignity is something you hand out, not something that others get to earn."

Way Beyond the Beltway

Milan Schreuer of the New York Times: "Two Russian spies caught in the Netherlands and expelled had been plotting cyber sabotage of a Swiss defense laboratory analyzing the nerve agent used to poison a former Russian agent in Britain, Swiss officials said Friday.The story -- first reported by the Dutch newspaper NRC and the Swiss newspaper Tages-Anzeiger, and confirmed by Swiss officials -- adds a new dimension to the charges by Western governments that the Kremlin is waging a sophisticated and unconventional campaign to work its will abroad, and undermine adversaries and their alliances. Britain contends that Russia sent two other spies to a quaint English cathedral city in March, carrying a military-grade poison to assassinate a turncoat former colleague, Sergei V. Skripal, which the Kremlin denies. The two men, publicly identified and charged by the British authorities, appeared on Russian television on Thursday to deny involvement in the poisoning that sickened Mr. Skripal and three others, and killed one person, insisting that they were sports nutritionists, not spies."

News Ledes

New York Times: "After slamming into the Carolina coast on Friday with powerful winds and torrential rains, Hurricane Florence left a trail of devastation as it crawled over the southeastern part of the state, posing what may be its greatest threat in the days ahead as it roars inland with what are shaping up to be record-setting quantities of water. The storm, whose destructive power was unlike any the area has seen in a generation, had already caused at least five fatalities as of Friday afternoon, and rescue crews across a wide region were attempting to pluck distressed residents from rooftops." ...

     ... New York Times Update: "Florence, the powerful storm that has already left at least nine people dead and nearly a million without power on the East Coast, continued to move inland at an ominously sluggish pace Saturday, fat with rain and threatening to deliver hardship and devastation far beyond the wind-battered coasts."

The New York Times is providing free access to its Hurricane Florence coverage. The Times front page is here. "The [Washington] Post has removed article limits on coverage of Hurricane Florence to make these stories available without a subscription." The Post has links to several Florence-related stories on its front page. the (South Carolina) State home page is here. The State is granting free access to its site during the storm. The Raleigh News & Observer home page is here.

MEANWHILE. New York Times: "Typhoon Mangkhut struck the Philippines early Saturday, after tens of thousands of people evacuated their homes to escape the 550-mile-wide storm as it roared across the Pacific. More than 12 hours after landfall, at least three deaths were reported, but there were no signs of the kind of devastation wreaked by Typhoon Haiyan five years ago. Still, officials had barely begun to assess the damage. Some places could not be contacted because of communication outages, and several provinces had suffered complete power blackouts. The ferocity of the storm -- which arrived at 1:40 a.m. with maximum sustained winds of around 120 miles per hour -- in some ways eclipsed Hurricane Florence on the other side of the world...." ...

     ... New York Times Update: "Typhoon Mangkhut, which meteorologists called the most powerful storm in the world this year, swept through the northern end of the Philippine island of Luzon, leaving at least 16 people dead and wreaking havoc. It uprooted trees, ripped off roofs, set off landslides and flooded farms and roads."

The Commentariat -- September 14, 2018

Late Morning/Afternoon Update:

Emily Fox of Vanity Fair: "In recent weeks, it has ... become common knowledge among close friends of Michael Cohen ... is talking to the Mueller team, according to people familiar with the situation."

** Ronan Farrow & Jane Mayer of the New Yorker: "On Thursday, Senate Democrats disclosed that they had referred a complaint regarding ... Judge Brett Kavanaugh to the F.B.I. for investigation. The complaint came from a woman who accused Kavanaugh of sexual misconduct when they were both in high school, more than thirty years ago. The woman, who has asked not to be identified, first approached Democratic lawmakers in July, shortly after Trump nominated Kavanaugh. The allegation dates back to the early nineteen-eighties, when Kavanaugh was a high-school student at Georgetown Preparatory School, in Bethesda, Maryland, and the woman attended a nearby high school. In the letter, the woman alleged that, during an encounter at a party, Kavanaugh held her down, and that he attempted to force himself on her. She claimed in the letter that Kavanaugh and a classmate of his, both of whom had been drinking, turned up music that was playing in the room to conceal the sound of her protests, and that Kavanaugh covered her mouth with his hand. She was able to free herself." Kavanaugh denies the allegation; the male classmate has "no recollection" of the incident. Dianne Feinstein has had the letter since late July & had kept it secret from other Judiciary Committee members -- Mrs. McC: apparently until Ryan Grim of the Intercept reported on its existence. The other members are not amused. ...

     ... Mrs. McCrabbie: In other words, young Brett (allegedly) attempted to rape a young woman. My only surprise here is at Feinstein's withholding this information, a lapse I find unconscionable. ...

... Update. Michael Tomasky of the Daily Beast: "... what in blazes was Dianne Feinstein thinking?... She had no right to keep [the letter] from them. For that matter, she had no right to keep it from us, the public, who also live with the consequences of a new Supreme Court.... Now, single-handedly, she has returned things to the Incompetent Democrats narrative. Well, no. Not Incompetent Democrats. Incompetent Democrat, singular. Beyond belief.... This man, if confirmed, is going to spend the next 30 or 35 years of his life deciding whether 16 year old girls like the one he allegedly attacked have any rights to control their own reproductive fates. We all know, his 'open mind' notwithstanding, that he is going to spend 30 or 35 yars saying they have none."

... Tara Golshan of Vox: "Sixty-five women who knew Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh in high school have testified to his good character in a letter to the Senate Judiciary Committee, in light of recently surfaced allegations that he tried to force himself on a girl during his time at Georgetown Preparatory School, an all-boys school in Bethesda, Maryland." ...

     ... Scott Lemieux in LG&$: "Really, what Supreme Court nominee doesn’t have a list of 65 random women they didn’t sexually assault while attending an all-boys high school lined up?"

CNN has just reported that as part of his plea agreement, Paul Manafort has agreed to cooperate with the government. No story up yet as the hearing is still ongoing. ...

     ... ** Update. Spencer Hsu & Devlin Barrett of the Washington Post: "... Paul Manafort is pleading guilty Friday to two criminal charges under terms of a plea deal that includes his cooperation as a potential witness for special counsel Robert S. Mueller III. The decision by Manafort to provide evidence in exchange for leniency on sentencing is a stunning development in the long-running probe into whether any Trump associates may have conspired with Russia to influence the 2016 election. Manafort's defenders have long insisted that he would not cooperate with Mueller, and didn't know any incriminating information against the president. Prosecutor Andrew Weissmann said at the beginning of Friday's plea hearing that Manafort has agreed to cooperate with investigators.... A criminal information -- a legal document filed by prosecutors to detail the criminal conduct to be admitted by the defendant -- was filed in advance of the plea. The document shows Manafort intends to plead guilty to two crimes of the seven he faced at trial: conspiring to defraud the United States and conspiring to obstruct justice.... As part of his deal, the government plans to seize four properties, including a nearly $2 million house in Arlington, Virginia, owned by one of Manafort's daughters. The deal also calls for forfeiture of four financial accounts and a life insurance policy." ...

... Here's a pdf of the charging document & exhibits, via the New York Times. ...

... Sharon LaFraniere of the New York Times: "It was not immediately clear what information [Paul Manafort] might be providing to prosecutors or how the plea agreement might affect Mr. Mueller's investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 election and related questions about possible collusion by the Trump campaign and obstruction of justice by Mr. Trump. The president's personal lawyer, Rudolph W. Giuliani, quickly sought to distance Mr. Trump from the development. 'Once again an investigation has concluded with a plea having nothing to do with President Trump or the Trump campaign,' he said in a statement. 'The reason: the president did nothing wrong and Paul Manafort will tell the truth.'" ...

... Matthew Mosk, et al., of ABC News: "In court Friday morning, prosecutors revealed that Manafort had completed a successful meeting with investigators in which he offered them information they considered valuable. They did not specify what information he agreed to share, but made clear the cooperation would be 'broad' and would include participation in 'interviews, briefings, producing documents, [and] testifying in other matters.'... The agreement marked a significant shift for the Mueller investigation -- providing them cooperation from someone who participated in the now-infamous Trump Tower meeting, in which a Russian lawyer came to New York during the campaign promising 'dirt' on Trump's Democratic opponent. As the campaign chairman, Manafort was also privy to the inner workings of the Trump campaign for critical months in 2016." ...

... Tucker Higgins of CNBC: "After Manafort ... agreed to cooperate with prosecutors working for the special counsel on Friday..., Donald Trump's legal team released the following statement attributed to Rudy Giuliani...: 'Once again an investigation has concluded with a plea having nothing to do with President Trump or the Trump campaign. The reason: the President did nothing wrong and Paul Manafort will tell the truth.' Minutes later, they ... [put out] a 'corrected' statement removed the bit about Manafort telling the truth:... 'Once again an investigation has concluded with a plea having nothing to do with President Trump or the Trump campaign. The reason: the President did nothing wrong.'"

*****

New York State Primary Results

Here are the New York Times' full results for New York's state primaries.

Shane Goldmacher of the New York Times: "Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo took a decisive step toward a third term on Thursday, quelling a liberal rebellion by turning aside the insurgent challenge of Cynthia Nixon to claim the Democratic nomination in New York. Mr. Cuomo had marshaled the support of nearly all of the state and country's most powerful Democratic brokers -- elected officials, party leaders, labor unions and wealthy real estate interests -- to defeat Ms. Nixon, beating her by 30 percentage points. The race cemented both Mr. Cuomo's standing as an unmatched force in New York politics and a merciless tactician with little regard for diplomacy." Mrs. McC: A nice way of saying he's a sleazy politician.

Jeffery Mays of the New York Times: "Letitia James became the first black woman to win a major party statewide nomination on Thursday, easily defeating three rivals in New York’s Democratic primary for attorney general. With her win, Ms. James, 59, the New York City public advocate, has positioned herself as a prominent face of resistance to the policies of President Trump, a role that the New York attorney general's office has embraced since Mr. Trump took office. 'This campaign was never really about me or any of the candidates who ran,' Ms. James said in her victory speech. 'It was about the people, but mostly it was about that man in the White House who can't go a day without threatening our fundamental rights.' With Democrats outnumbering Republicans in New York State by a margin of more than two to one, Ms. James will be heavily favored in November against the Republican candidate, Keith Wofford, 49, who ran unopposed. If Ms. James wins, she would be the first black woman to assume statewide office, just five years after becoming the first black woman elected to citywide office in New York."

Vivian Wang of the New York Times: "Years of anger at a group of Democratic state senators who had collaborated with Republicans boiled over on Thursday, as primary voters ousted nearly all of them in favor of challengers who had called them traitors and sham progressives. The losses were not only a resounding upset for the members of the Independent Democratic Conference, who outspent their challengers several times over, but also a sign that the progressive fervor sweeping national politics had hobbled New York's once-mighty Democratic machine, at least on a local level. The most high-profile casualty was Senator Jeffrey D. Klein of the Bronx, the former head of the I.D.C. In that role, he was for years one of Albany's most powerful players, sharing leadership of the chamber with his counterparts in the Republican conference and participating in the state's secretive budget negotiations."

*****

The Maria Truther. (Thanks, Steve M.!) Philip Rucker, et al., of the Washington Post: "As Hurricane Florence churned toward the Carolinas, President Trump on Thursday diverted attention from the government's preparations for the monster storm to his personal grievances over last year's Hurricane Maria by falsely claiming a conspiracy to inflate the death toll in Puerto Rico. Trump drew immediate rebukes from Democrats as well as from some Republicans for denying a sweeping study, which was accepted by Puerto Rican authorities, estimating that there were 2,975 'excess deaths' on the island in the six months after Maria made landfall. Providing no evidence, Trump incorrectly alleged that Democrats raised the death toll 'in order to make me look as bad as possible.'... Trump thoroughly mischaracterized how the death toll of 2,975 was tallied in the study, which was conducted by George Washington University.... Trump's brash comments on the deaths in Puerto Rico drew only scattered criticism among Republican lawmakers, underscoring the trepidation of most GOP politicians to cross a president who enjoys deep and solid support among the party's base voters." ...

... Lachlan Markay, et al. of The Daily Beast: "As he prepares for one natural disaster and tries to spin his way out of another, President Donald Trump, aides and friends say, is guided by a singular obsession: never to have a hurricane dubbed his 'Katrina.'... But those familiar with Trump's approach say he does in fact care about the widespread devastation and loss of life that resulted from Maria and could potentially result from Florence -- if for no other reason than he also has an intense fixation on managing public perception of his performance in these moments." --safari ...

... "Mr. President, SHUT UP." Marc Caputo of Politico: "Florida Republicans are angered by ... Donald Trump advancing a conspiracy theory casting doubt on Hurricane Maria's estimated death toll in Puerto Rico. Even Trump's two top Florida allies, Gov. Rick Scott and GOP gubernatorial candidate Ron DeSantis, disagreed with his insensitive comments. Exploding on Twitter two months before Election Day, Trump's comments have the potential to intensify Boricua voter registration efforts and perhaps election turnout. And that, Republicans and Democrats say, could prove crucial in Florida's hotly contested races for U.S. Senate and governor, which are essentially tied races.... Florida has more than 1.1 million Puerto Rican residents, and as many as 500,000 could be registered to vote among the 13 million active registered voters." ...

... New York Times Editors: "... the president's effort on Thursday to deny the nearly 3,000 American lives lost in Puerto Rico in the aftermath of Hurricane Maria last year -- and to accuse Democrats of inflating the death toll for political gain -- should amaze even the most jaundiced Trump-watcher.... The president sees the accepted death toll of nearly 3,000 as evidence of a political conspiracy against him.... Mr. Trump delivered his latest bit of mendacity with a one-two presidential Twitter punch: '3000 people did not die in the two hurricanes that hit Puerto Rico. When I left the island AFTER the storm had hit, they had anywhere from 6 to 18 deaths. As time went by it did not go up by much. Then, a long time later, they started to report really large numbers, like 3000 ...' '... This was done by the Democrats in order to make me look as bad as possible when I was successfully raising Billions of Dollars to help rebuild Puerto Rico. If a person died for any reason, like old age, just add them onto the list. Bad politics. I love Puerto Rico!'"...

... ** Zack Beauchamp of Vox: "The falsehoods ... Donald Trump tweeted Thursday morning about the Hurricane Maria death toll are disturbing. They're also a perfect encapsulation of Trump's political strategy: a complete disdain for the truth, the attribution of all dissent to partisan animus, and just-beneath-the-surface racial appeals.... It starts with saying blatantly untrue things that make Trump look better. It continues by claiming any disagreement with his version of reality is politically motivated. And all throughout, the argument involves coded or not-so-coded racial appeals, giving license for white Americans to ignore the suffering of people of color and allowing them to dismiss allegations of racial injustice as political correctness run amok.... When Trump says 'I love Puerto Rico,' he's using a cop-out he often employs when there are allegations of racial bias. During the 2016 campaign, which he kicked off by calling Mexicans rapists, he tweeted something very similar:... 'Happy #CincoDeMayo! The best taco bowls are made in Trump Tower Grill. I love Hispanics!'... In both cases, Trump is doing something offensive -- downplaying the suffering of Latino individuals and invoking Mexican stereotypes, respectively -- while insisting that he 'loves' the people he's insulting." ...

... Jack Holmes of Esquire: "The President of the United States is not fit to hold the office.... Imagine you lost a family member in a natural disaster and the President of the United States not only displayed his typically blunt indifference, but also suggested their death was faked as part of a hoax by his political opponents. Imagine he lied while doing it, making up conspiracies about how the deaths were counted.... Imagine he tried to erase you and your family for his own political gain.... After all, if the president can erase people's lives out of convenience, he cannot possibly value those lives. He is not making decisions that factor in the moral gravity of their existence. He doesn't care about them. He is not fit for the office, he cannot do the job, and every one of his spineless, disgraceful allies knows it." --safari ...

... Steve M.: "Right-wingers don't believe in statistics.... They don't believe numbers that challenge firmly held opinions -- they think undocumented immigrants are criminal-minded, so don't even bother telling them that the numbers contradict their feelings. Right-wingers believe in anecdotes -- they point to the individual deaths of Mollie Tibbetts and Kate Steinle as 'proof' that the undocumented are dangerous. They like to keep their arguments on the level of individual outrages. Trump doesn't have a specific outrage here, so he makes one up ('If a person died for any reason, like old age, just add them onto the list'). Conscientious people applying appropriate methodology are always at risk of ridicule from right-wingers -- it's an extension of the right's anti-science, anti-expertise bias." Steve has a great retort to Rush Limbaugh's "Maria-truther" rant.

William Wan & Nick Miroff of the Washington Post: "As the Federal Emergency Management Agency scrambled Thursday to prepare for Hurricane Florence, the agency's top official was battling allegations of misconduct.... FEMA has faced increasing criticism in recent days for its response to Hurricane Maria following the release of two federal reports detailing how the agency was stretched thin, overwhelmed and lacking in trained personnel, and a university study that raised the death toll in Puerto Rico to nearly 3,000. Meanwhile, FEMA administrator William 'Brock' Long spent part of Thursday deflecting questions about an internal investigation into his use of government vehicles and allegations that Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen attempted to force his resignation.... The inspector general at the Department of Homeland Security is investigating Long for allegedly using a government vehicle to travel between Washington, D.C., and his home in Hickory, N.C., where wife and two young children live, according to a DHS official familiar with the situation. A DHS official who knows him said ... Long refused to step down last week when Nielsen asked him to resign. The official said Nielsen has been trying to push him out for months, 'hounding' him about not being in the office more because he goes back to North Carolina on weekends and that Long believes Nielsen wants to replace him with someone loyal to her." ...

... Elijah Cummings Is on the Job. Colin Wilhelm of Politico: "Emails released Thursday by congressional Democrats show correspondence between first responders that appears to undermine the Trump administration's public reporting of the human toll from Hurricane Maria last year. In one email, dated Sept. 29, 2017, a first responder -- whose name has been redacted -- describes 'finding mass graves in mud slide areas,' and requests counseling support for federal first responders in the area.... Only 16 deaths were publicly acknowledged when ... Donald Trump arrived at the island days later to survey damage and meet with local officials. That number climbed to 34 hours after he left.... The emails were released as part of a call from Rep. Elijah Cummings (D-Md.) for a full congressional investigation into the aftermath of Hurricane Maria and federal government's response to the disaster. In a letter to House Oversight and Government Reform Committee Chairman Trey Gowdy (R-S.C.), Cummings asks for a further investigation into what the Trump administration knew about those additional deaths and when it was known.... Cummings also released an unclassified National Guard intelligence assessment, produced five days after Hurricane Maria hit the U.S. territory, that warns that the 'potential for government failure and resulting humanitarian crisis on Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands is high.'" ...

... Josh Israel of ThinkProgress: "[I]n the months after [Hurricane Maria, Congressional Republicans] were too busy investigating the previous administration's law enforcement efforts to bother examining why thousands of Americans were left to die [In Puerto Rico].... Unlike the years of redundant investigations into the four deaths in 2012 in Benghazi, the thousands of lives lost in Puerto Rico were not a priority for the GOP majorities in the House and Senate. This despite repeated pleas by minority Democrats for hearings." --safari

Michael Avenatti, in a New York Times op-ed, makes the case for indicting President* Trump: "No grand jury has ever indicted a president, and consequently no court,let alone the Supreme Court, has ruled on the critical question of whether the Constitution allows a president to be indicted while in office.... Provided there is sufficient evidence to support an indictment of President Trump -- and there are many indications that there is -- the special counsel ... and prosecutors from the United States Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York ... should present their evidence to grand juries. Those jurors, citizens of our communities, should then determine whether the evidence supports an indictment of Mr. Trump. The fact that Mr. Trump is a sitting president should not derail a process that applies to all Americans, regardless of stature or station. He would still have the post-indictment relief available to all citizens, including the ability to challenge the constitutionality of the indictment.... Should Mr. Trump be indicted and in the event that the case reaches the Supreme Court, Judge Kavanaugh's recusal should be mandatory."

Katherine Faulders, et al., of ABC News: "Former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort has tentatively agreed to a plea deal with special counsel Robert Mueller that will head off his upcoming trial, sources familiar with the negotiations tell ABC News. The deal is expected to be announced in court Friday, but it remains unclear whether Manafort has agreed to cooperate with prosecutors or is simply conceding to a guilty plea, which would allow him to avoid the stress and expense of trial...." ...

... Jeff Toobin believes Mueller would insist upon Manafort's cooperation. We'll see:

     ... Update. On the other hand, Chuck Rosenberg -- a more sober analyst -- told Rachel Maddow he doubts Manafort will cooperate with prosecutors. The terms of the plea deal will tell us.

... Natasha Bertrand of the Atlantic: "... Trump's and Manafort's legal interests may be more aligned than either of them have let on. According to Rudy Giuliani, the president's personal lawyer, Manafort and Trump are part of a joint-defense agreement that allows them to share confidential information about the Russia investigation under the protection of attorney-client privilege. 'All during the investigation we have an open communication with them,' Giuliani recently told Politico. 'Defense lawyers talk to each other all the time, where, as long as our clients authorize it, therefore we have a better idea of what's going to happen. That's very common.'... 'These types of agreements are very common in mob and street-gang cases,' said Elie Honig, a former assistant U.S. attorney.... The agreement provides Manafort a valuable channel into Trumpworld, one that could help him angle for a pardon if that's what he's looking for.... According to the journalist Bob Woodward's new book, Fear, Manafort is not alone in having a deal with Trump. Thirty-seven witnesses who have been called to testify so far in the Mueller inquiry are part of a joint-defense agreement with the president, which allows them to share details about what they told the special counsel."

John Bowden of the Hill: "Amazon founder and Washington Post owner Jeff Bezos sharply criticized President Trump on Thursday over his treatment of the news media, urging the president not to 'demonize' members of the press. During remarks made at the Economic Club of Washington, the billionaire called on Trump to tone down his 'dangerous' rhetoric aimed at reporters and news publications.... 'It's dangerous to demonize the media,' Bezos said. 'It's dangerous to call the media lowlifes. It's dangerous to say they are the "enemy of the people." We live in a society where it's not just the laws of the land that protect us,' he added. "It's also the social norms that protect us."

"The Best People", Ctd. Tanya Basu of The Daily Beast: "Gina Loudon, the Republican commentator and author, recently declared that she has scientific evidence that Donald Trump might be the 'most sound-minded' president in history. It's a claim that might carry more weight if her new book didn't falsely describe her as having a doctorate in psychology.... Loudon, 58, who often refers to herself as 'Dr. Gina,' does not have a psychology degree or license. But the author's bio on the jacket of her new book, Mad Politics: Keeping Your Sanity in a World Gone Crazy -- which contains theories that experts say have been dismissed by scientific research -- states she has two masters' degrees 'as well as a Ph.D in psychology.'... The publishing company, Regnery, told The Daily Beast it takes responsibility for the erroneous descriptions." --safari...

     ... UPDATE: The Daily Beast: "In the wake of a Daily Beast report [linked above] early Thursday, President Trump later in the day praised a Republican commentator who claims to use 'science' to offer glowing psychological assessments of the president despite having no clinical training. 'Gina is great!' Trump wrote on Twitter in response to a tweet promoting the book. --safari

Susan Glasser of the New Yorker: "It appears to be the embattled President against the world these days. There is, however, at least one notable exception: the increasingly warm public words he reserves for the North Korean leader, Kim Jong Un.... On Monday, the White House announced that, in response to [a new] 'very warm, very positive' note from Kim, Trump was now ordering his staff to plan for a second Trump-Kim summit meeting.... Trump's faith in the North Korean dictator is not shared by his top advisers.... For a Washington now obsessed with understanding the nature of the internal 'resistance' to Trump ... there may be no better case study than the ongoing North Korea disagreement between the unconventional President and those he has hired to advise him." --safari

D. Parvaz of ThinkProgress: "Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Wednesday certified to Congress that Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates were 'undertaking demonstrable actions to reduce the risk of harm to civilians and civilian infrastructure' in Yemen. His certification of the Saudi and U.A.E. efforts allows the U.S. to continue supporting the airstrikes, although Pompeo's statement has been called 'objectively false' by Larry Lewis, a former State Department adviser to Saudi Arabia on reducing civilian casualties, and a 'farce' by lawmakers who want to see actual accountability for Saudi actions." --safari

Good News for Despots. Matt Apuzzo & Marlise Simons of the New York Times report on the International Criminal Court & John Bolton's long opposition to it. "Mr. Bolton's comments [this week] were seen here as a threat to the institution and an invitation to world leaders to ignore the court's authority."

Obama Bought Nikki Haley Really Nice Curtains. Gardiner Harris of the New York Times: "The State Department spent $52,701 last year buying customized and mechanized curtains for the picture windows in Nikki R. Haley's official residence as ambassador to the United Nations, just as the department was undergoing deep budget cuts and had frozen hiring. The residence, in a new building on First Avenue, has spectacular views, and Ms. Haley is the first ambassador to live in it. For decades, her predecessors lived in the Waldorf Astoria hotel. But after the hotel was purchased by a Chinese insurance company with a murky ownership structure, the State Department decided in 2016 to find a new home for its top New York diplomat because of security concerns.... A spokesman for Ms. Haley said plans to buy the curtains were made in 2016, during the Obama administration. Ms. Haley had no say in the purchase, he said." Mrs. McC: Next time, try Ikea.

The Mysterious Case of Brett Kavanaugh. Lissandra Villa, et al., of BuzzFeed News: "Senate Democrats on the Judiciary Committee have referred a letter concerning Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh to the FBI. The contents of the letter have been closely guarded by Sen. Dianne Feinstein, the ranking member on the Senate Judiciary Committee, as well as California Rep. Anna Eshoo, who originally received the letter and shared it with Feinstein, according to sources familiar with the matter. But whispers of what it contains have made the rounds across Capitol Hill over the past week. The attention on it burst into the public when The Intercept published a report on the rumors surrounding the letter on Wednesday. 'This matter has been referred to the FBI for investigation,' Sen. Dick Durbin told BuzzFeed News when asked about the letter on Thursday." Mrs. McC: Okay, so we're talking about a criminal matter, probably related to sexual assault, that young Bretty is alleged to have done in high school. (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)...

     ... Update. Nicholas Fandos & Catie Edmondson of the New York Times: "Two officials familiar with the matter say the incident involved possible sexual misconduct between Judge Kavanaugh and a woman when they were both in high school.... The F.B.I. said in a statement on Thursday that it had received Ms. Feinstein's referral and included it in Judge Kavanaugh's background file. A bureau official also said that no criminal investigation had been opened related to the matter. Including the letter in Judge Kavanaugh's file allows the White House, and potentially other senators, to view its contents. A copy of the letter was included in an updated background file sent on Thursday to the office of Senator Charles E. Grassley, Republican of Iowa and chairman of the Judiciary Committee." ...

... Ronn Blitzer of Law & Crime: That means that federal investigators may have asked Kavanaugh questions about any crimes he may have committed or been accused of, as well as questions about past romantic relationships. If Kavanaugh had been accused of criminal activity -- particularly sexual misconduct -- in his past, and he lied about it during the vetting process, that itself could be grounds for criminal charges for providing a false statement to federal investigators."

The rise of the homeless American worker. --safari

Paul Krugman: "... if you want to understand why the great slump that began in 2008 went on so long, blighting so many American lives, the answer is politics. Specifically, policy failed because cynical, bad-faith Republicans were willing to sacrifice millions of jobs rather than let anything good happen to the economy while a Democrat sat in the White House." ...

     ... Mrs. McCrabbie: And if you want to understand why the stimulus package wasn't large enough -- as Krugman has repeatedly argued -- it's because Susan Collins wouldn't vote for more than $850BB. At least, unlike most Republicans, she was willing to vote for something. (The only Republican senators to vote for the 2009 stimulus package were Collins, Snowe & Specter, as I recall.)

2018 Election

Beth Fouhy of NBC News: "Former President Barack Obama on Thursday decried 'demagogues who promise simple fixes to complicated problems' -- an implicit but clear rebuke to his successor..., whom Obama suggested is regularly violating political norms and threatening basic democratic institutions. At a packed campaign rally on behalf of Richard Cordray, Ohio's Democratic candidate for governor, Obama implored supporters to vote in the midterm elections on November 6. 'You've got to vote, that's why I'm here' he said, leading the crowd in a chant of 'Vote, vote, vote.' Obama never mentioned Trump directly by name, other than a passing reference to 'the person in the White House.' But the message was unmistakable. 'None of this is normal,' Obama said."

Peddling Fear. Joshua Green of Bloomberg "[A]s part of an attempt by anxious conservatives to persuade disinterested voters to show up at the polls and save Republican congressional majorities in November[, f]ormer White House chief strategist Steve Bannon's new film, Trump @War, features scenes of the president's supporters being punched, kicked, and clubbed by anti-Trump protesters, as well as a parade of liberal celebrities wishing violence on Trump -- or, in the case of comedian Kathy Griffin, wielding a replica of his severed head. The film debuted on Sept. 12 on the conservative cable station One America News Network and will be broadcast several more times. Fox News prime-time hosts from Laura Ingraham to Sean Hannity have devoted substantial airtime to the supposed scourge of left-wing violence.... And President Trump, in an Aug. 28 White House meeting with evangelical leaders, warned... 'They will overturn everything that we've done, and they will do it quickly and violently. And violently. There is violence. When you look at antifa -- these are violent people,' Trump said.... Bannon won't disclose his backers, but says the organization is funded by 'hedge fund guys and other high-net-worth individuals' and operates independent of the White House. 'There is no coordination,' he says." [Open in private window] --safari

Lachlan Markay of the Daily Beast: "Before the National Rifle Association dropped hundreds of thousands of dollars to try toflip a competitive, Democratic-held Senate seat, the gun-rights group's chief lobbyist apparently gave the race's Republican challenger a heads-up. Chris Cox, the top political strategist for the NRA's Institute for Legislative Action (NRA-ILA), assured Montana Republican Matt Rosendale that the group would spend heavily to support his bid to unseat Sen. Jon Tester, Rosendale told attendees at a July event in Washington. PAY DIRT exclusively obtained audio of Rosendale's remarks, which good-government groups say raise serious questions of potentially illicit coordination between Rosendale and an independent political group supporting his campaign.... Rosendale's remarks are potentially problematic, as the NRA-ILA, a 501(c)(4) 'dark-money' group, is legally barred from coordinating its ad buys with a federal campaign." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)

Like Flies to Shit. David Corn of Mother Jones: "A Republican congressman [Rep. Matt Gaetz, a conservative firebrand from Florida] who earlier this year got into trouble for hobnobbing with an accused Holocaust denier [right-wing troll Charles C. Johnson] held a small fundraiser this summer, and the attendees included, yes, the very same alleged Holocaust denier. Also at the event was another GOP congressman [Rep. Dana Rohrabacher (R-Calif.)] who, too, had previously been criticized for associating with this fellow." --safari

Rebekah Entralago of ThinkProgress: "Safiya Wazir, a 27-year-old former refugee from Afghanistan who is now an American citizen, beat out four-term New Hampshire state Rep. Dick Patten (D) in the New Hampshire primary Tuesday night. If she defeats her Republican opponent in November, Wazir would become the first refugee to ever serve in public office in the state." --safari

"Capitalism is Awesome", Ctd. Wayne Drash of CNN: "A pharmaceutical company executive defended his company's recent 400% drug price increase, telling the Financial Times that his company had a 'moral requirement to sell the product at the highest price.'.... Nirmal Mulye, founder and president of Nostrum Pharmaceuticals ... raise[d] the price of an antibiotic mixture called nitrofurantoin from about $500 per bottle to more than $2,300. The drug is listed by the World Health Organization as an 'essential' medicine for lower urinary tract infections. 'I think it is a moral requirement to make money when you can,' Mulye told the Financial Times, 'to sell the product for the highest price.'... He said the real villain is the 'incompetent and corrupt' FDA, which he said has placed regulatory burdens on the industry, leading to higher drug prices.... In comments to CNN on Wednesday, Mulye said he was not quoted accurately.... The Financial Times said Wednesday it sticks by its story." --safari

Beyond the Beltway

Mark Stern of Slate: "On Jan. 8, 2019, a new governor of Florida will be sworn in. On that same day, three of the Florida Supreme Court's seven justices will complete their final terms. Based on those facts alone, you might assume that the new Florida governor will have the opportunity to select these justices' replacements. That, however, is not at all clear -- because current Republican Gov. Rick Scott has declared his intent to replace them hours before his term concludes. He is now moving forward with this plan to pack the court. And the only people who can stop him are the current justices themselves.... Scott insists that the justices' terms expire at the stroke of midnight on Jan. 8, but that his own term does not end until his successor is sworn in on that day, typically at noon." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)

Jason Hanna & Jennifer Selva of CNN: "Wednesday's shootings in which a gunman killed his former wife and four others before killing himself near Bakersfield, California, 'has implications of a domestic violence case,' Kern County Sheriff Donny Youngblood said[.] The gunman and his ex-wife had been divorced four months, and she had just filed for a new hearing regarding child support and property values, Youngblood said Thursday. The gunman killed two females and three males in three locations in a span of 30 to 35 minutes, he said. Earlier, authorities said the gunman had killed one female and four males." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)

Way Beyond

Lily Kuo of the Guardian: "[A]n estimated 1 million Muslim minorities – Uighurs, Kazakhs, Hui, Uzbeks and others -- [are being] detained in a network of internment camps in the north-western Chinese territory of Xinjiang. The camps are part of China's 'strike hard' campaign that is alleged to use extrajudicial detentions, surveillance, political indoctrination or 're-education', torture and abuse to root out extremist elements, according to a growing body of evidence that includes witness accounts, media reports, government documents and satellite images. A US congressional commission on China called it the 'the largest mass incarceration of a minority population in the world today' Beijing's restrictive policies in Xinjiang, which began after a series of ethnic riots in 2009 and have increased since 2016, are coming under global scrutiny." --safari

Nina Lahkani of the Guardian: "In a scene evocative of [Guatemala's] repressive military history, [President Jimmy Morales] claimed that the Commission Against Impunity in Guatemala (Cicig) -- a body established by the United Nations in 2007 to help dismantle powerful criminal networks -- had in fact encouraged corruption, selectively pursued criminal cases based on ideological bias and sown 'judicial terror'. Morales presented no evidence.... Meanwhile, a convoy of US-donated military jeeps encircled the Cicig headquarters where corruption cases against Morales, his family and scores of his political patrons are being investigated.... The events ... have plunged the Central American nation into political meltdown.... A day after the announcement, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo used Twitter to thank the government -- and made no mention of the commission. Countries across Latin America -- from Argentina and Brazil to Mexico and Honduras -- are currently reeling from a string of massive corruption scandals that threaten democratic institutions and economic growth.... Cicig is ... the region’s most experienced and successful crime fighting force, it offers a model for the fight against impunity." --safari

News Ledes

Weather Channel: "At least 150 people were awaiting rescue in New Bern early Friday morning as Hurricane Florence lashed the North Carolina coast with strong winds and life-threatening storm surge. As of 5 a.m. Friday, 200 people had already been rescued as waters rose on the Neuse and Trent rivers, according to Colleen Roberts, a city public information officer. New Bern, a city of about 30,000 residents, saw significant storm surge flooding as the rivers overflowed their banks and swept into town. A flash flood emergency was declared in the area that includes Carteret, Craven, Pamlico and Jones counties Friday morning." ...

... The Weather Channel, natch, has numerous Florence-related stories linked on its front page. ...

... New York Times Update: "Tropical Storm Florence continued to thrash the Carolinas on Friday evening with fierce winds, driving rain and catastrophic flooding. Downgraded from hurricane strength after making landfall near Wilmington, N.C., the storm had killed at least four people, the authorities said, and trapped hundreds of others whose rescues continued as night fell. The rains are anticipated to continue for days, and flooding is likely to worsen as more rivers spill over their banks. Among the dead were a mother and her infant child, who were killed in Wilmington, N.C., after a tree fell on their house, the police said."

... The New York Times is providing free access to its Hurricane Florence coverage. The Times front page is here. "The [Washington] Post has removed article limits on coverage of Hurricane Florence to make these stories available without a subscription." The Post has links to several Florence-related stories on its front page. the (South Carolina) State home page is here. The State is granting free access to its site during the storm. The Raleigh News & Observer home page is here.

New York Times: "Violent explosions and billowing fires tore through three towns north of Boston late Thursday afternoon, damaging dozens of houses, forcing thousands of stunned residents to evacuate and plunging much of the region into an eerie darkness. One person was killed and more than 20 were injured in the sudden string of explosions caused by gas leaks in Lawrence, Andover and North Andover as blackish-gray clouds of smoke rolled across rooftops and flames shot into the sky. Leonel Rondon, 18, was killed while he sat in a car in the driveway of a home in Lawrence, the authorities said. A chimney fell onto the car, they said, when the home, on Chickering Road, exploded." ...

... The Boston Globe has a number of related stories linked on its front page, but they're all subscriber-firewalled. ...

... New York Times Update: "State and federal authorities started investigations into the mysterious series of violent episodes as thousands of residents grew impatient to return to their homes and demanded answers to why any of it had happened. Officials said they were only beginning their inquiries and offered few answers, but attention was squarely focused on the natural gas lines of a local utility, Columbia Gas of Massachusetts, which had been working on the pipelines. The authorities were looking at the possibility that gas may have been placed under a level of pressure that was too high for the pipelines it was moving through, creating cascading crises in more than 8,500 homes and businesses across the three towns."