The Ledes

Thursday, September 19, 2024

New York Times: “A body believed to be of the suspect in a Kentucky highway shooting that left five people seriously injured this month was found on Wednesday, the authorities said, ending a manhunt that stretched into a second week and set the local community on edge. The Kentucky State Police commissioner, Phillip Burnett Jr., said in a Wednesday night news conference that at approximately 3:30 p.m., two troopers and two civilians found an unidentified body in the brush behind the highway exit where the shooting occurred.... The police have identified the suspect of the shooting as Joseph A. Couch, 32. They said that on Sept. 7, Mr. Couch perched on a cliff overlooking Interstate 75 about eight miles north of London, Ky., and opened fire. One of the wounded was shot in the face, and another was shot in the chest. A dozen vehicles were riddled with gunfire.”

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

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

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

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

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

Click on photo to enlarge.

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

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

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

Washington Post: “An early Titian masterpiece — once looted by Napolean’s troops and a part of royal collections for centuries — caused a stir when it was stolen from the home of a British marquess in 1995. Seven years later, it was found inside an unassuming white and blue plastic bag at a bus stop in southwest London by an art detective, and returned. This week, the oil painting 'The Rest on the Flight into Egypt' sold for more than $22 million at Christie’s. It was a record for the Renaissance artist, whom museums describe as the greatest painter of 16th-century Venice. Ahead of the sale in April, the auction house billed it as 'the most important work by Titian to come to the auction market in more than a generation.'”

Washington Post: The Folger Shakespeare Library in Washington, D.C., which houses the world's largest collection of Shakespeare material, has undergone a major renovation. "The change to the building is pervasive, both subtle and transformational."

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Tuesday
Dec072021

December 7, 2021

Afternoon Update:

Ashley Parker, et al., of the Washington Post: "President Biden and Russian President Vladimir Putin held a video call Tuesday morning focused on growing tensions over Ukraine as Russia masses troops along the border, prompting fears of a Russian invasion of the Eastern European nation." At 1:25 pm ET, this story appears to be "in progress." MSNBC just received the White House's call readout.

Luke Broadwater of the New York Times: "Mark Meadows, the former White House chief of staff under ... Donald J. Trump, on Tuesday informed the committee scrutinizing the Jan. 6 attack at the Capitol that he was no longer willing to cooperate with its investigation, reversing a deal he reached with the panel just last week to sit for an interview and provide documents.... Instead, he proposed that Mr. Meadows answer questions in writing through what he called an 'orderly process' that would create a 'clear record of questions and related assertions of privilege.' The turnabout was the second in two weeks by Mr. Meadows, who had initially refused to comply with a subpoena from House panel in line with a directive from Mr. Trump, but told the panel last week that he would be willing to provide documents and sit for a voluntary interview." CNN's story is here.

The New York Times' live updates of Covid-19 developments Tuesday are here. The Washington Post's live Covid-19 updates for Tuesday are here.

Ben Hubbard & Aurelien Breeden of the New York Times: "The French police arrested a Saudi man on Tuesday in connection with the assassination of the dissident writer Jamal Khashoggi, but French authorities warned that they were still verifying his identity. A French judicial official confirmed that the man, identified as Khalid Alotaibi, 33, was arrested at the Roissy-Charles de Gaulle airport north of Paris on the basis of an international arrest warrant issued by Turkey, just before he was to board a flight for Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. A man by that name is accused of being a member of the team that killed Mr. Khashoggi inside the Saudi Consulate in Istanbul in 2018.... If his identity is confirmed, France could extradite him to Turkey to face charges there." A BBC News report is here.

~~~~~~~~~~

President Biden, in a proclamation, on "a date which will live in infamy." ~~~

     ~~~ Audrey McAvoy of the AP: "A few dozen survivors of Pearl Harbor are expected to gather Tuesday at the site of the Japanese bombing 80 years ago to remember those killed in the attack that launched the U.S. into World War II."

Ellen Nakashima & Rick Maese of the Washington Post: "The United States will not send President Biden or any U.S. government official to the Beijing Winter Olympics in February to protest China's human rights abuses, the White House announced Monday, in a pointed snub to a country seeking to use the Games to enhance its global standing. Though largely symbolic -- the diplomatic boycott does not affect the ability of American athletes to participate in the Games -- it will be seen as a major affront by Washington's greatest military and economic competitor as China seeks to distract from its increasingly repressive policies at home and aggression abroad."

Trumped-up Charges? Charlie Savage of the New York Times: "The defense team for a cybersecurity lawyer who was indicted in September by a Trump-era special counsel asked a judge on Monday to set a trial date sooner than the prosecutor wants -- while disclosing evidence recently turned over to them that appears to contradict the charge. The materials could make it harder for the special counsel, John H. Durham, to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that the cybersecurity lawyer, Michael Sussmann, is guilty of the charge against him: making a false statement to the F.B.I. during a September 2016 meeting about possible links between Donald J. Trump and Russia. The newly disclosed evidence consists of records of two Justice Department interviews of the former F.B.I. official to whom Mr. Sussmann is accused of lying, each of which offers a different version of the key interaction than the version in the indictment. That official [-- James A. Baker --] is the prosecution's main witness.... Mr. Baker's accounts ... have been inconsistent...."

Jamie Gangel, et al., of CNN: "Marc Short, the former chief of staff to Vice President Mike Pence, is cooperating with the January 6 committee, a significant development that will give investigators insight from one of the highest-ranking Trump officials, according to three sources with knowledge of the committee's activities. CNN is also reporting for the first time that the committee subpoenaed Short a few weeks ago. Short remains one of Pence's closest advisers and is a firsthand witness to many critical events the committee is examining, including what happened to Pence at the Capitol on January 6 and how ... Donald Trump pressured the former vice president not to certify the presidential election that day."

Jonathan Weisman of the New York Times: "Representative Devin Nunes, a California Republican who emerged as one of ... Donald J. Trump's most loyal and pugnacious allies, announced on Monday that he would resign from Congress after 19 years to become the chief executive officer of Mr. Trump's new media and technology company. Mr. Nunes faced almost impossible odds in being re-elected to the Central Valley district that his family has farmed for three generations. A new map emerging from an independent citizens' redistricting commission was almost certain to flip it from a district Mr. Trump won handily to one President Biden would have won. But political analysts and politicians in the district had predicted that Mr. Nunes ... would jump to a newly created, Republican-friendly district.... Mr. Nunes's decision to take over Mr. Trump's fledgling media enterprise instead of the influential House panel that writes tax and health care policy signals where he thinks power lies in the Republican Party and the conservative movement." Politico's story is here. Thanks to Ken W. for the lead. In yesterday's thread, unwashed speculated on the role of Devin Nunes' Cow in the Trump media empire. ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: Being a member of Congress cannot be a fun job. But there's hardly a worse, more humiliating job in the U.S. than "Donald Trump employee." ~~~

     ~~~ digby is bearish: "The odds of this enterprise ever making any money are very long. Trump is a terrible businessman and what Nunes knows about running a company and social media is confined to suing a twitter user and losing. Should work out great."

~~~ Matthew Goldstein & David Enrich of the New York Times: "Securities regulators have opened investigations into the planned merger of a nascent social media company backed by ... Donald J. Trump with a so-called blank-check company that raised nearly $300 million in an initial public offering in September. The investigations by the Securities and Exchange Commission and the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority were disclosed Monday in a regulatory filing by Digital World Acquisition Corporation, the special purpose acquisition company that intends to merge with Trump Media Technology Group. Both regulators are looking for information regarding the trading in shares of Digital World. The S.E.C. is also looking into 'documents and communications' between Digital World and Trump Media.... The investigation ... comes after The New York Times reported that the chief executive of Digital World, Patrick Orlando, had talks with representatives of Trump Media as far back as March about doing a deal." The report is part of the Times' business updates for Monday. The Washington Post story is here. MB: I'll bet you're way surprised that a business deal involving Donald Trump could be suspect. (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) CNBC has a story here.

Emma Brown, et al., of the Washington Post: "In the months after ... Donald Trump lost the November election, lawyer Sidney Powell raised large sums from donors inspired by her fight to reverse the outcome of the vote. But by April, questions about where the money was going -- and how much there was -- were helping to sow division between Powell and other leaders of her new nonprofit, Defending the Republic.... Records reviewed by The Washington Post show that Defending the Republic raised more than $14 million, a sum that reveals the reach and resonance of one of the most visible efforts to fundraise using baseless claims about the 2020 election. Previously unreported records also detail acrimony between Powell and her top lieutenants over how the money -- now a focus of inquiries by federal prosecutors and Congress -- was being handled." MB: I'll bet you're way surprised that a fundraising scheme cooked up by Donald Trump's lawyer could be suspect. (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)

Audra Burch & Tariro Mzezewa of the New York Times: "The Justice Department announced on Monday that it had closed an investigation into the abduction and murder of Emmett Till, the African American teenager whose gruesome killing by two white men more than six decades ago in Mississippi helped begin the civil rights movement. In a news release dated Dec. 6, federal officials said there was not enough evidence to pursue charges in the case, which was reopened after a historian claimed in a book that Carolyn Bryant Donham, the central witness whose account of an encounter with Emmett led to his death, had recanted the most salacious portions of her story -- that he had grabbed her and made sexually suggestive remarks. Citing the statute of limitations and Ms. Donham's denial that she had ever changed her story, the Justice Department said it could not move forward with prosecuting her for perjury." A Politico report is here.

Amy Wang of the Washington Post: "Former senator Robert J. Dole, who died Sunday at age 98, will lie in state in the U.S. Capitol rotunda on Thursday, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) and Senate Majority Leader Charles E. Schumer (D-N.Y.) announced Monday."

Bob Dole, in a Washington Post op-ed. Dole "drafted early in 2021 to be published around the time of his death": "We have overcome our biggest challenges only when we focused on our shared values and experiences. These common ties form much stronger bonds than political parties. I cannot pretend that I have not been a loyal champion for my party, but I always served my country best when I did so first and foremost as an American.... By leading with a shared faith in each other, we become America at its best: a beacon of hope, a source of comfort in crisis, a shield against those who threaten freedom. Our nation's recent political challenges remind us that our standing as the leader of the free world is not simply destiny. It is a deliberate choice that every generation must make and work toward. We cannot do it divided."

Matt Schudel of the Washington Post: "Fred Hiatt, a onetime foreign correspondent who in 2000 became The Washington Post's editorial page editor and greatly expanded the global reach of the newspaper's opinion writers in the era of 9/11, the election of Barack Obama and the destabilizing presidency of Donald Trump, died Dec. 6 at a hospital in New York City. He was 66. He had sudden cardiac arrest on Nov. 24 while visiting his daughter in Brooklyn, said his wife, Margaret 'Pooh' Shapiro, and did not regain consciousness. He had been treated for heart ailments in the past." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)

The Pandemic, Ctd.

Hannah Knowles of the Washington Post: “Federal health authorities issued a warning Monday against travel to several European countries as well as Jordan and Tanzania amid growing fears of the omicron variant, telling people to make sure they are fully vaccinated if they must visit. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said to avoid travel to France, Portugal, Cyprus, Andorra and Liechtenstein, grouping all in a Level 4 category that represents a 'very high' level of the coronavirus."

Beyond the Beltway

Georgia Gubernatorial Race. Amy Gardner & Josh Dawsey of the Washington Post: Donald Trump lobbied hard to get former Sen. David Perdue (R) to run against current Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp, ensuring a nasty primary race.

Illinois. Sonia Rao of the Washington Post: "Former 'Empire' actor Jussie Smollett, facing six felony disorderly conduct charges for allegedly filing a false police report about being the victim of a hate crime, took the stand in a Chicago courtroom Monday to testify in his own defense. He reiterated his stance that there 'was no hoax.'"; Politico's report is here.

New York. Billionaire Thief. Tom Mashberg of the New York Times: "Michael H. Steinhardt, the billionaire hedge fund pioneer and one of New York's most prolific antiquities collectors, has surrendered 180 stolen objects valued at $70 million and been barred for life from acquiring any other relics, the Manhattan district attorney's office said in a statement Monday. The prosecutor's office struck an agreement with Mr. Steinhardt after a four-year multinational investigation that determined that the seized pieces had been looted and smuggled from 11 countries, trafficked by 12 illicit networks and appeared on the international art market without lawful paperwork, the office said." MB: I think the old fart should go to jail.

New York. Shayna Jacobs of the Washington Post: "A woman who says she had a years-long sexual relationship with Jeffrey Epstein told jurors on Monday that Ghislaine Maxwell played a key role in facilitating their encounters, first telling her that Epstein was a philanthropist interested in helping young people and then encouraging her to give him massages. The former British model, actress and musician testified in Maxwell's sex-trafficking trial under the pseudonym Kate, although she has been named in interviews she has given in the past about alleged abuse by Epstein. Because she was not under the legal age of consent when she was involved with Epstein, jurors in U.S. District Court in Manhattan were told she is not one of Maxwell's alleged sex-trafficking victims."

Texas. Katie Benner, et al., of the New York Times: "The Justice Department sued Texas on Monday over the state's plan to redraw its voting districts, saying it would essentially make ballots cast by Black and Latino voters count for less than those of others. In announcing the suit, Attorney General Merrick B. Garland said that the redistricting plan that the state's Republican-led legislature approved in October violates Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act, which says that voters cannot be denied equal access to the political process based on their race or ethnicity. The suit was the second in a little over a month to be filed by the Justice Department challenging Texas over voting. The department sued the state in early November over a new voting law that it argued would disenfranchise Texans who do not speak English, people with disabilities, older voters and those who live outside the United States." Politico's story is here.

Way Beyond

Germany. Geir Moulson of the AP: Chancellor Angela Merkel is "leaving office at age 67 to praise from abroad and enduring popularity at home. Her designated successor, Olaf Scholz, is expected to take office Wednesday. Merkel, a former scientist who grew up in communist East Germany, is bowing out about a week short of the record for longevity held by her one-time mentor, Helmut Kohl, who reunited Germany during his 1982-1998 tenure."

Haiti. Amanda Coletta of the Washington Post: "Three more of the 17 missionaries who were kidnapped by a notorious street gang in Haiti in October have been released, Ohio-based Christian Aid Ministries said Monday. The three, who were freed Sunday night, 'are safe and seem to be in good spirits,' the organization said in a statement. Two other members of the group were released last month; 12 remain in captivity."

Comments Off

Reader Comments (6)

Rachel Maddow once pointed out that trump was the only
president who lost the popular vote twice. Biden got a greater
percentage of the vote against an incumbent president than anyone
since 1932.
She doesn't have to point out that he also holds the record for
most lies told in 4 years, and the record for_______ (fill in the blanks).
I often wonder how to get through to the few supporters of him
that I know. It's almost impossible since they seem to be in denial,
or in another universe. On the way back from the Post Office
yesterday I greeted a neighbor with the usual how are you doing.
First thing out of her mouth was not so good since Biden has been
in office. What has he done to you personally? Well, everything he
does is wrong. What did the former president do for you?
We shouldn't talk politics she says, end of conversation.
Apparently when they can't come up with anything positive about
the former guy, it's end of conversation.
One of the Christmas cards we got yesterday started off: "This has
been the worst year of my life. Got covid in March (unvaccinated),
my girlfriend left me last summer, and Biden became president."
I will not answer that greeting. Or I may answer and ask him to just
say Merry Christmas in the future or just shut up.

December 7, 2021 | Unregistered CommenterForrest Morris

Forest: Here's the voices of those in the past that nailed Trump to a T/ but they, like the Pod people, were transformed. They look the same but they utter altogether different messages. This video should be played once again on all the news stations.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P43wDpKQxaM

Your encounter with said person is similar to my encounter with a neighbor that I wrote about. Unlike you, I wasn't that smart and got into a heated discussion. When I see her now and she asks–-and she always does––-"how are you?" I just say fine and dandy––I add the "dandy" just to let her know I'm not.

Good luck to Biden in HIS talk with Putin today. Armed with images of American racial hypocrisy, the insurrection, the shootings, etc. Putin done gots lots of damning counters to our American democracy which appears to be under water struggling to survive.

December 7, 2021 | Unregistered CommenterP.D. Pepe

@P.D.: Every single one of those Republicans in the video is the
perfect description of "talking out of both sides of the mouth"
to a tee.

December 7, 2021 | Unregistered CommenterForrest Morris

Nunez has great timing. Jumping on the Trump media train just as federal investigations are being reported. Nice of him to volunteer to be the latest fall guy.

December 7, 2021 | Unregistered CommenterRAS

Most Trump supporters that I hear have internalized his message of "They are attacking Us, not me." Criticize him, then you are criticizing them. If we could get his supporters to seperate their own identity from that of Trump and the GOP then there may be some hope to actually talk to them. Not an easy task.

December 7, 2021 | Unregistered CommenterRAS

More on the Pretender Media empire to be:

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/people-are-laughing-at-trumps-new-company-214853729.html

Sounds like another winner. Can't wait until the stock goes public.

December 7, 2021 | Unregistered CommenterKen Winkes
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