;)
August 5, 2022
Evening Update:
Kim Bellware, et al., of the Washington Post: "A Texas jury has determined Infowars host Alex Jones must pay the parents of a Sandy Hook school shooting victim $45.2 million in punitive damages. The Friday decision comes a day after the same jury awarded the plaintiffs $4.1 million in compensatory damages, culminating the final phase of a defamation case first brought in 2018 over Jones's repeated false claims that the deadliest elementary school shooting in U.S. history was a hoax."
** Tony Romm of the Washington Post: "Sen. Kyrsten Sinema (D-Ariz.) said she would soon be ready to 'move forward' on a revised version of Senate Democrats' health care, climate and deficit-reduction package, after party leaders agreed to scale back some of their original tax proposals. The new approach -- along with other changes to the proposal known as the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 -- satisfied Sinema's chief concerns and helped set in motion a plan to approve it as soon as this weekend. In a statement, Sinema said Democrats had 'agreed to remove' a key tax policy targeting wealthy investors that aimed to address what is known as the 'carried interest loophole.' She also said they had made additional changes to a second provision that aims to impose a new minimum tax on corporations that currently pay nothing to the U.S. government. The revisions would benefit manufacturers, according to two people familiar with the matter.... Democrats opted to seek a new 1 percent tax on corporate stock buybacks, a move that would make up at least some of the revenue that might have lost as a result of the changes...." A Guardian story is here. ~~~
~~~ Marie: Still, there certainly will be less "inflation reduction" with Sinema's changes. She is, as you know, a captive of wealthy donors, especially those from the financial biz. ~~~
~~~ Alexander Bolton of the Hill: "Senate Majority Leader Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) announced that the Senate will begin consideration of a $740 billion budget reconciliation package that would reform the tax code and tackle climate change on Saturday afternoon, setting up a weekend of around-the-clock votes.... If a majority of senators vote to proceed to the legislation, they will then debate for up to 20 hours before holding an open-ended series of votes, known as a vote-a-rama, before a final up-or-down vote, which is now expected Sunday or perhaps early Monday morning. The announcement signals that Schumer expects maverick Sen. Kyrsten Sinema (D-Ariz.) to vote with all 49 other members of the Senate Democratic caucus to proceed to the legislation, the Inflation Reduction Act, which would spend $369 billion on an energy and climate program and spend more than $300 billion to reduce the deficit." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)
Yasmeen Abutaleb of the Washington Post: "The White House summoned China's ambassador on Thursday to condemn Beijing's escalating actions against Taiwan and reiterate that the United States does not want a crisis in the region, after a visit to the island by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) sharply escalated tensions in the Taiwan Strait this week.... China's show of force against Taiwan on Thursday included firing missiles into the sea and threatening the island's territorial waters. Taiwan said China fired 11 ballistic missiles into the waters off its northeastern and southwestern coasts, and Japanese officials said five Chinese missiles landed in Japan's exclusive economic zone." ~~~
~~~ Olivia Olander of Politico: "The Pentagon has directed the aircraft carrier USS Ronald Reagan to remain in the area near Taiwan 'to monitor the situation' as China launches missiles in the region, the White House announced on Thursday. In addition, the U.S. has delayed a planned test of a Minuteman III intercontinental ballistic missile to avoid increasing tensions, National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby told reporters." ~~~
~~~ Vincent Ni of the Guardian: "China has halted ties with the US on a range of critical issues, from talks on the climate crisis to dialogue between their militaries, following the visit by the US House speaker, Nancy Pelosi, to Taiwan. The announcement of the countermeasures came as Beijing conducted military drills surrounding the island of Taiwan. Earlier, China announced sanctions against Pelosi and her direct family members. Beijing called Pelosi's visit 'vicious and provocative'. The cancelled interactions ranged from climate talks, to dialogue between the leaders of Chinese and US military theatres, to a working meeting of Chinese and US defence ministries and a consultation mechanism on maritime military safety between the countries. Analysts say the suspension of such activities threaten to break what the White House calls 'guardrails' between the two countries, which could prevent the situation from spiralling out of control."
Katelyn Polantz, et al., of CNN: "... Donald Trump's legal team is in direct communication with Justice Department officials, the first sign of talks between the two sides as the criminal probe into January 6, 2021, accelerates, sources familiar with the matter tell CNN. The talks revolve around whether Trump would be able to shield conversations he had while he was president from federal investigators.... The Trump team's discussions are with the US attorney's office in Washington, DC, which is in charge of the investigation, and its top January 6 prosecutor Thomas Windom, the sources said."
Dan Mangan of CNBC: "... Donald Trump 'probably' will be indicted on criminal charges along with officials in his White House as part of a Justice Department investigation of efforts to reverse the 2020 election results nationally, ex-Attorney General Eric Holder said in an interview Thursday. But Holder suggested that before that happens, Trump is more likely to first face possible criminal charges from the Georgia state prosecutor who is investigating attempts by Trump and his allies to undo President Joe Biden's win there in 2020." ~~~
~~~ Eric Bradner of CNN: "Wyoming Rep. Liz Cheney said if the Justice Department does not prosecute ... Donald Trump for his role in the insurrection at the US Capitol and 'the facts and the evidence are there,' the decision could call into question whether the United States can 'call ourselves a nation of laws.'"
Brittany Shammas, et al., of the Washington Post: "Infowars founder Alex Jones must pay $4.1 million in compensatory damages to the parents of a 6-year-old boy [Jesse Lewis] killed in the Sandy Hook mass shooting, an Austin jury announced Thursday, after the right-wing conspiracy theorist's false claims that the deadliest elementary school shooting in U.S. history was a 'giant hoax' created a 'living hell' for the family.... But it remains to be seen how much Jones, 48, might be ordered to pay in punitive damages. The jury is expected to return Friday to weigh that amount -- a sum that could be considerably higher." The AP's report is here. ~~~
~~~ Luke Broadwater & Maggie Haberman of the New York Times: "The lawyer for plaintiffs who are suing the conspiracy theorist Alex Jones said Thursday that he plans to turn over two years of text messages from Mr. Jones's phone to the House committee investigating the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol. The lawyer, Mark Bankston, who represents Sandy Hook parents suing Mr. Jones in defamation lawsuits for lies he had spread about the 2012 school shooting, said in court in Austin, Texas, that he planned to turn over the texts unless a judge instructed him not to do so.... The judge, Maya Guerra Gamble, who appeared unsympathetic to requests from Mr. Jones's lawyers that Mr. Bankston return the materials to them.... A person familiar with the House committee';s work said the panel had been in touch with the plaintiffs" lawyers about obtaining materials from Mr. Jones's phone." ~~~
~~~ Marie. According MSNBC's Ali Velshi, when Bankston informed Jones' lawyers that he had received the text messages, Jones' lawyers wrote back, "Please disregard," which does not constitute a legal demand for return of the texts. Commenters in yesterday's thread were discussing the incompetence of wingers' lawyers; I'd say this is one more example.
** Dana Milbank of the Washington Post from his book about the crackup of the Republican party: "On Sept. 27, 1994, more than 300 Republican members of Congress and congressional candidates gathered where the insurrectionists would one day mount the scaffolding.... 'Newt! Newt! Newt! Newt!' the candidates and lawmakers chanted.... The pejoratives piled up in Gingrich's shouted, finger-wagging harangue.... The rise of Gingrich and his shock troops set the nation on a course toward the ruinous politics of today.... Republicans have become an authoritarian faction fighting democracy -- and there's a perfectly logical reason for this: Democracy is working against Republicans.... Concurrent with the rise of Gingrich was the ascent of conservative talk radio, followed by the triumph of Fox News, followed by the advent of social media.... The biggest cause is race.... Because Trump is merely a reflection of the sickness in the GOP, the problem won't go away when he does.... Republicans ... destroyed truth, they destroyed decency, they destroyed patriotism, they destroyed national unity, they destroyed racial progress, they destroyed their own party, and they are well on their way to destroying the world's oldest democracy." Includes audio of Milbank reading from his book. ~~~
~~~ Marie: While I agree with Milbank's analysis in general, I would attribute the fall of the Republican party to the success of the civil rights movement, not only for racial, ethnic & religious minorities but also for women, gays, people with disabilities. Until the 1960s, there were many liberal Republicans and the "Solid South" was solidly Democratic. But the Warren court & LBJ changed all that, and Southern Democrats (and Dixiecrats!) became Republicans -- because they were racists. Moderate Republicans from other parts of the country quickly became an endangered species. Now most are gone, replaced by the Gym Jordans & Steve Kings. As the parties became more homogeneous, the GOP morphed into the party of racists, anti-feminists & anti-gays. And now -- as Milbank notes, out of necessity -- it also is the party of anti-truth, anti-democracy & pro-authoritarianism. Although Milbank does write about Nixon's "Southern Strategy," the evolution of the Republican party took longer than he lets on. ~~~
~~~ For Instance. Dave Weigel & Isaac Arnsdorf of the Washington Post: "It was a Trump rally with a Hungarian accent. Viktor Orban, the Hungarian prime minister who has consolidated autocratic power with hard-right opposition to immigration and liberal democracy, addressed a crowd of thousands of American admirers [at a CPAC convention] in Dallas on Thursday with a red-meat speech that could have easily been delivered by any Republican candidate on the campaign trail this year. Orban presented the two countries as twin fronts in a struggle against common enemies he described as globalists, progressives, communists and 'fake news.'... Orban's latest controversy: a speech in which he railed against Europe becoming 'mixed race,' saying that Europeans did not want to live with people from outside the continent.... Orban has found defenders among prominent American conservatives, including ... Donald Trump, Fox News host Tucker Carlson and Ohio Senate candidate J.D. Vance. On his way to Dallas, Orban stopped to visit Trump at his golf club in Bedminster, N.J. In a statement, Trump called Orban his 'friend.'... Orban spoke to a half-full but enthusiastic ballroom, receiving a standing ovation and frequent bursts of applause and cheers.... 'The mother is a woman, the father is a man, and leave our kids alone,' Orban said, cracking a smile as many in the crowd got up and cheered." CNN's report is here.
~~~ Not satisfied with wrecking the country, Republicans work to wreck Earth: ~~~
David Gelles of the New York Times: "Nearly two dozen Republican state treasurers around the country are working to thwart climate action on state and federal levels, fighting regulations that would make clear the economic risks posed by a warming world, lobbying against climate-minded nominees to key federal posts and using the tax dollars they control to punish companies that want to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Over the past year, treasurers in nearly half the United States have been coordinating tactics and talking points, meeting in private and cheering each other in public as part of a well-funded campaign to protect the fossil fuel companies that bolster their local economies. Last week, Riley Moore, the treasurer of West Virginia, announced that several major banks -- including Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan and Wells Fargo -- would be barred from government contracts with his state because they are reducing their investments in coal, the dirtiest fossil fuel.... At the nexus of these efforts is the State Financial Officers Foundation, a little-known nonprofit organization based in Shawnee, Kan...." ~~~
~~~ Marie: A photo of Riley Moore accompanying the article pictures a handsome young man looking ever-so-smug. When he looks in a mirror, he should see a monster.
Abbott, Ducey Stunts Stress East-Coast Cities. Miriam Jordan of the New York Times: "A political tactic by the governors of Texas and Arizona to offload the problems caused by record levels of migration at the border is beginning to hit home in Washington, [D.C.,] as hundreds of undocumented migrants arriving on the governors' free bus rides each week increasingly tax the capital's ability to provide emergency food and housing. With no money and no family to receive them, the migrants are overwhelming immigrant nonprofits and other volunteer groups, with many ending up in homeless shelters or on park benches. Five buses arrived on a recent day, spilling young men and families with nowhere to go into the streets near the Capitol. Since April, Texas has delivered more than 6,200 migrants to the nation's capital, with Arizona dispatching an additional 1,000 since May. The influx has prompted Muriel E. Bowser, Washington's Democratic mayor, to ask the Defense Department to send the National Guard in.... A vast majority of recent bus riders are Venezuelans fleeing their crisis-ridden country, and many have also been arriving in New York, often via Washington. Eric Adams, mayor of New York City, announced emergency measures on Monday to enable the city to quickly build additional shelter capacity.... Gov. Greg Abbott of Texas and Gov. Doug Ducey of Arizona, both Republicans, blame President Biden for record numbers of migrants crossing the southern border." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)
Hannah Natanson of the Washington Post: "Rural school districts in Texas are switching to four-day weeks this fall due to lack of staff. Florida is asking veterans with no teaching background to enter classrooms. Arizona is allowing college students to step in and instruct children. The teacher shortage in America has hit crisis levels -- and school officials everywhere are scrambling to ensure that, as students return to classrooms, someone will be there to educate them.... Experts point to a confluence of factors including pandemic-induced teacher exhaustion, low pay and some educators' sense that politicians and parents -- and sometimes their own school board members -- have little respect for their profession amid an escalating educational culture war that has seen many districts and states pass policies and laws restricting what teachers can say about U.S. history, race, racism, gender and sexual orientation, as well as LGBTQ issues. (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)" ~~~
~~~ Marie: Who wants to be a teacher if you have to pretend there's no such thing as sex and that slavery made for a safe and comfy "lifestyle," you have to fend off threats from angry parents, and if you're gay or non-Christian, you pretty much have to go back in the closet?
Alex Horton of the Washington Post: "An Air Force explosives expert has been charged in connection with a suspected insider attack that wounded four other U.S. troops at an austere outpost in Syria earlier this year, a highly unusual case of alleged betrayal in an organization that prizes fidelity above all else. Tech. Sgt. David D. Dezwaan Jr. is accused of aggravated assault, reckless endangerment and wrongfully obtaining classified information, among other crimes, the Air Force said Thursday. The charges stem from a military investigation into the April incident at Green Village, a base the Americans share with partner forces in eastern Syria."
Dan Diamond of the Washington Post: "Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra declared the monkeypox outbreak a public health emergency on Thursday in an effort to galvanize awareness and unlock additional flexibility and funding to fight the virus's spread.... The health secretary is also considering a second declaration empowering federal officials to expedite medical countermeasures, such as potential treatments and vaccines, without going through full-fledged federal reviews. That would also allow for greater flexibility in how the current supply of vaccines is administered, Becerra said." (This is an update of a story linked yesterday afternoon.)
Vimal Patel of the New York Times: “A federal judge on Thursday sentenced a West Virginia man to more than three years in prison for sending threatening emails to Anthony Fauci, including one in which he said the immunologist and his family would be beaten to death and set on fire, prosecutors said. The man, Thomas Patrick Connally Jr., 56, had pleaded guilty in May to making threats against a federal official and also admitted to sending threatening messages to other health officials, including Francis Collins, the former director of the National Institutes of Health, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office in Maryland."
Beyond the Beltway
Arizona Gubernatorial Race. Jonathan Cooper of the AP: "Kari Lake, a former news anchor who ... embraced by Donald Trump and his staunch supporters, won the Republican primary for Arizona governor on Thursday. Lake's victory was a blow to the GOP establishment that lined up behind lawyer and businesswoman Karrin Taylor Robson in an attempt to push their party past the chaotic Trump era. Lake said she would not have certified President Joe Biden's 2020 victory and put false claims of election fraud at the center of her campaign.... Lake will face Democratic Secretary of State Katie Hobbs in the November election."
Florida. More on DeSantoni. (OR Moron DeSantolini. Florida Politics: "Gov. Ron DeSantis is suspending State Attorney Andrew Warren of the 13th Judicial Circuit [Hillsborough County], replacing the progressive prosecutor with County Judge Susan Lopez [whom DeSantis appoint to her judgeship].... 'Andrew Warren has put himself publicly above the law,' DeSantis said. 'The Constitution of Florida has vested the veto power in the Governor, not an individual State Attorney.' In announcing Warren's suspension, the Governor cited Warren's refusal to enforce bans on abortion and gender-affirming surgery. Most recently, Warren pledged he would not enforce Florida's new law banning abortions after 15 weeks of pregnancy following the overturning of Roe v. Wade. 'It's been a very, very troubling record,' DeSantis said. 'They're literally chopping off the private parts of kids.' Warren, who was elected in 2016 and re-elected in 2020, has pushed for justice reform throughout his tenure. Under the state constitution, a Governor has the power to suspend a local official for 'misfeasance, malfeasance, neglect of duty, drunkenness, incompetence, permanent inability to perform official duties, or commission of a felony.' The suspension, though, is not a permanent removal from office. Warren can dispute the suspension and a trial in the Senate could be held to reinstate him or uphold DeSantis' suspension and remove him from office." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ~~~
~~~ Marie: It's worth noting that Warren, contrary to DeSantis's claims is not exercising "veto power." Rather, he is exercising prosecutorial discretion, which is SOP. More important, Warren is an elected official, not an appointee. That is to say, DeSantolini is unilaterally overruling the voters, who elected Warren twice. On the other hand, it's nice to see that Ron has such a grasp of (and such fluency in) medical procedures. ~~~
~~~ ** Update. The New York Times story is here. Marie: To make my points, Patricia Mazzei writes: "In June, Mr. Warren, a Democrat, was among 90 elected prosecutors across the country who vowed not to prosecute those who seek or provide abortions after the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade.... The decision immediately raised concerns among Democrats, including Mr. Warren, who say that the governor has become increasingly heavy-handed.... Mr. Warren said in a statement that his suspension 'spits in the face of the voters.... The people have the right to elect their own leaders -- not have them dictated by an aspiring presidential candidate who has shown time and again he feels accountable to no one.'... On Thursday, the two leading Democrats vying to challenge him, Representative Charlie Crist and Nikki Fried, the state's agriculture commissioner, reacted to Mr. Warren's suspension by referring to Mr. DeSantis in statements as a 'wannabe dictator' (Mr. Crist) and a 'dictator' (Ms. Fried)." ~~~
~~~ Marie: Years ago, when I was on a small town council in New Jersey, the majority of the council passed an ordinance with which I didn't agree. I happened to see the county prosecutor -- a Republican -- a little later. I guess he saw an article in the local newspaper about the ordinance, which probably noted I was the sole vote against the ordinance. He confided in me he had no intention to prosecute any cases that might be brought under the ordinance. As I wrote, this is SOP.
Georgia. Ava Sasani of the New York Times: "Georgia's abortion ban counts a fetus as a person. And now, so does its tax code. The state's Department of Revenue announced this week that 'any unborn child with a detectable human heartbeat' can be claimed as dependent, providing a $3,000 tax exemption for each pregnancy within a household, months before the child is born. Georgia’s law bans most abortions after six weeks, which is usually around when doctors can begin to detect fetal cardiac activity. The announcement marks a new frontier of anti-abortion policymaking in a post-Roe America, where conservative lawmakers have moved beyond banning abortion, and are now trying to expand the legal rights and protections afforded to a fetus under 'fetal personhood' laws. Georgia, Alabama and Arizona have passed abortion bans that include language broadly defining a fetus as a person."
Kentucky. Nicholas Bogel-Burroughs of the New York Times: “Federal officials on Thursday charged four current and former police officers in Louisville, Ky., who were involved in a fatal raid on the apartment of Breonna Taylor, accusing them of several crimes.... The charges stem from a nighttime raid of Ms. Taylor's apartment in March 2020, during which officers knocked down Ms. Taylor's door and fired a volley of gunshots after her boyfriend shot an officer in the leg, believing that intruders had burst into the home. Two officers shot Ms. Taylor, a 26-year-old emergency room technician, who was pronounced dead at the scene. Merrick Garland, the attorney general, said at a news conference that members of an investigative unit within the Louisville Metro Police Department had included false information in an affidavit that was then used to obtain a warrant to search Ms. Taylor's home." An ABC News story is here. MB: Huh. I wonder why these officers weren't charged with Trump's DOJ was running this. (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)
Puerto Rico. Perry Stein of the Washington Post: "Federal law enforcement agents on Thursday arrested former Puerto Rico Gov. Wanda Vázquez Garced, charging her in a bribery scheme that was allegedly aimed at financing her failed 2020 gubernatorial campaign, the Justice Department said.... Officials said that said that while Vázquez Garced was governor in 2019 and 2020, she allegedly took campaign donations from a banker, Julio Martin Herrera Velutini, and a former FBI agent, Mark Rossini, who was consulting for the bank. Herrera Velutini's bank was under investigation by the regulatory agency that oversees Puerto Rico's financial institutions. He and Rossini allegedly paid more than $300,000 to consultants who supported Vázquez Garced's campaign. In exchange for the campaign donations, the governor allegedly said she would appoint a new commissioner to the regulatory agency of Herrera Velutini's choosing. In February 2020, Vázquez Garced demanded the resignation of agency head. She appointed a new director a few months later, according to the federal indictment. Vazquez Garced, Herrera Velutini and Rossini are each charged with conspiracy, federal programs bribery and wire fraud." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ~~~
~~~ Marie: "... to the regulatory agency of Herrera Velutini's choosing." Well, that's confusing. From the wording, I thought HV got to pick which regulatory agency for which he wanted VG to appoint a new commissioner. But reading the whole graf (more than once), I think VG promised HV he could pick whoever he wanted to head up the regulatory agency that oversees the banks.
Wyoming Congressional Race. Mariana Alfaro of the Washington Post: "Former vice president Dick Cheney, in a campaign ad for his eldest daughter Rep. Liz Cheney (R-Wyo.), said ... Donald Trump is a 'coward' and the greatest threat to the nation in its 246-year history.... 'A real man wouldn't lie to his supporters. He lost his election, and he lost big. I know it, he knows it, and deep down I think most Republicans know it.' Liz Cheney faces a tough primary on Aug. 16 for Wyoming's sole congressional seat, with Trump-backed Harriet Hageman favored to win."
Way Beyond
Ukraine, et al.
The New York Times' live updates of developments Friday in Russia's war on Ukraine are here. The Guardian's live updates for Friday are here. The Guardian's summary report is here. ~~~
~~~ The Washington Post's live briefings for Friday are here: "Three ships are carrying grain from Ukraine's Black Sea ports to a world worried about food security. In Moscow, WNBA superstar Brittney Griner's lawyers pledged to appeal a 9½-year prison sentence, as U.S. officials urge Moscow to accept an offer to free Griner..... [President] Biden described Griner's verdict as 'unacceptable,' after a Russian judge in the trial on drug charges handed down a prison sentence close to the maximum possible.... [Vladimir] Putin is set to meet his Turkish counterpart, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, in the Russian resort city of Sochi on Friday, their second meeting in 2½ weeks."
Robyn Dixon & Mary Ilyushina of the Washington Post: "A Russian judge on Thursday handed down a harsh, 9½-year prison sentence for WNBA star Brittney Griner, rejecting the player's plea for leniency and her apology for 'an honest mistake' in bringing less than a gram of cannabis oil into the country in February.... Her fate is now in the hands of Russian President Vladimir Putin, who will make the final decision on any prisoner swap. She also was fined 1 million rubles ($16,590)." MB: Of course this is an "offense" that is not illegal in many U.S. states & probably would not be prosecuted where it may be illegal, especially with a doctor's note saying she needed the cannibis for pain control. (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)
Iceland. Tourists Behaving Badly, Ctd. Michael Levenson of the New York Times: "Three tourists were injured in Iceland Wednesday night as they trekked across rough terrain to a volcanic eruption drawing awe-struck onlookers to its sputtering fountains of red-hot lava, a spokeswoman for Iceland's civil protection agency said. The injuries, including a broken ankle, were not serious, but they underscored the risks that tourists face trying to hike to the lava flowing from the Fagradalsfjall volcano in southwest Iceland, the spokeswoman, Hjordis Gudmundsdottir, said in an interview on Thursday."
Understatement of the Year. The conditions were very adverse. -- Laurent Camprubi, after surviving under his sailboat in rough seas for 16 hours ~~~
~~~ Spain. Lindsey Bever & Paulina Villegas of the Washington Post: "A French sailor trapped beneath a capsized sailboat in the Atlantic Ocean used an air bubble to stay alive until his rescue 16 hours later, according to Spanish coast guard officials. The sailor, who has been identified by Spanish news media as Laurent Camprubi, sent out a distress signal on Monday when his sailboat ... capsized about 14 miles from the coast of Spain's Sisargas Islands.... In a rescue mission that has been described as 'on the edge of the impossible,' rescue crews battled the rough seas. Vicente Cobelo, a member of the coast guard's special operations team, told the laSexta TV station that when the rescuer banged on the boat Monday night to see whether there were any survivors, he got a response.... But the waters were too rough to attempt a rescue. So the team had to wait until next morning to try again." With video. MB: This has nothing to do with politics, but the story was too amazing to pass up.
Lebanon. Sarah Dadouch of the Washington Post: "On a nationwide day of mourning, Beirut's port burned.... It was two years to the day after a fire in a hangar at the port triggered one of history's largest nonnuclear explosions, a blast that killed 200 people and leveled vast swaths of the capital. The current fire is triggering anger and fear here.... Family members, activists and others were marching to an overlook to mark the anniversary and again demand justice and accountability when parts of the silos began to fall.... Three weeks ago, the oils from the grains [stored in the silos] sparked a fire, which has been growing and licking the gutted sides of some of the 157-foot-tall structures ever since. On Sunday, four of 16 silos in the port's northern bloc began collapsing. On Thursday, the flames continued to weaken the structures. Four more silos leaned to the side and then fell, throwing up a cloud of sand-colored dust a few hundred feet away from the marchers." ~~~
~~~ Marie: Not mentioned in the story is that first Ukrainian grain-carrying ship to leave port. It was bound for Lebanon. Is that grain going to end up in hungry people's mouths or in an unstable silo in Beirut?
News Ledes
CNBC: "Hiring in July was far better than expected, defying signs that the economic recovery is losing steam, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported Friday. Nonfarm payrolls rose 528,000 for the month and the unemployment rate was 3.5%, easily topping the Dow Jones estimates of 258,000 and 3.6% respectively. Wage growth also surged higher, as average hourly earnings jumped 0.5% for the month and 5.2% from the same time a year ago. Those numbers add fuel to an inflation picture that already has consumer prices rising at their fastest rate since the early 1980s. Markets initially reacted negatively to the report, with Dow Jones futures down more than 120 points."
Washington Post: "Two men and two women were hospitalized with life-threatening injuries Thursday evening after an apparent lightning strike in Lafayette Square, just north of the White House, according to D.C. fire officials. The four adults were found just before 7 p.m. in the center of the park, in a grove of trees about 100 feet southeast of the statue of Andrew Jackson, fire department spokesman Vito Maggiolo said at a news briefing Thursday night. The U.S. Secret Service and the U.S. Park Police rendered aid to the victims, which fire officials credited to the ability of the victims to initially survive." Apparently the four had sought shelter under the trees. ~~~
~~~ New York Times Update: Two of the people hit by lightning have died. They were a couple in their 70s from Janesville, Wis.. MB: I find it hard to believe that any American about my age doesn't know that you don't stand under trees during a thunderstorm. As amazed as we little children may have been by the instruction, we were taught in grade school that lightning will jump -- or run underground -- from a tree to a person standing under it. ~~~
~~~ Washington Post Update: A third person -- a 29-year-old man -- has died of injuries sustained in the lightning strike.
Share Article
Reader Comments (5)
Who else thinks it’s hysterical to hear wannabe authoritarian dictator DeSantolini sniff about how he can’t abide no Demycrap who won’t hunt down abortion doctors and women trying to get abortions because he’s all about the rule of law?
This from a star of a political party held together by treason, lawlessness, and a toxic disregard for the will of the voters. It’s like Don Corleone demanding a stand against organized crime.
Likewise funny to hear Darth (Of COURSE there’s weapons of mass destruction!) Cheney come down against lying. If I met the guy and he said “Hey, you’re looking great”, I’d have to run for the nearest mirror to make sure.
@AK: The DeSantis quote from The Tampa Bay Times story; "Our government is a government of laws, not a government of man".
Guess in Georgia pregnant people renting a motel room in facilities where kids are not free will now be paying for that extra person they have tucked inside them.
Advice to motel managers: Keep those test kits handy.
So many situations now that will require a medical exam in the great state of Georgia...
The CPAC get together cheered on Orbán as he spelled out his Goulash democracy––-the GOP's playbook for this country. Years ago Bill Clinton hosted Viktor at the White House extolling his "youthful and vigorous and progressive leadership." Then in 2002 Orbán lost a reelection to a Socialist coalition and resolved to return to power and change "the rules of the game" so that he would never lose again. Fatty finds his brother in arms in this guy and so do many in the party of "Christian Nationalism."
I find all this sickening and scary and even with the win in Kansas––that light in the tunnel––-I'm afraid–-for this country's prospect for righting all these wrongs. Chris Wray at this week's hearing said the incidents of criminal behavior has exceeded two fold. So even as we are making progress in passing the "big bill on the hill" and finally putting Briana Taylor's killers in jail and Alex Jones fat ass in the hot seat we just have to look at Arizona and tremble!
Ah, cheer up, ducky! This is America–--for god's sake. ( which might very well be the problem)