The Ledes

Friday, September 27, 2024

New York Times: “Maggie Smith, one of the finest British stage and screen actors of her generation, whose award-winning roles ranged from a freethinking Scottish schoolteacher in 'The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie' to the acid-tongued dowager countess on 'Downton Abbey,' died on Friday in London. She was 89.”

The Washington Post's live updates of developments related to Hurricane Helene are here: “Hurricane Helene left one person dead in Florida and two in Georgia as it sped north. One of the biggest storms on record to hit the Gulf Coast, Helene slammed into Florida’s Big Bend area on Thursday night as a Category 4 colossus with winds of up to 140 mph before weakening to Category 1. Catastrophic winds and torrential rain from the storm — which the National Hurricane Center forecast would eventually slow over the Tennessee Valley — were expected to continue Friday across the Southeast and southern Appalachians.” ~~~

     ~~~ The New York Times' live updates are here.

Mediaite: “Fox Weather’s Bob Van Dillen was reporting live on Fox & Friends about flooding in Atlanta from Hurricane Helene when he was interrupted by the screams of a woman trapped in her car. During the 7 a.m. hour, Van Dillen was filing a live report on the massive flooding in the area. Fox News viewers could clearly hear the urgent screams for help emerging from a car stuck on a flooded road in the background of the live shot. Van Dillen ... told Fox & Friends that 911 had been called and that the local Fire Department was on its way. But as he continued to file the report, the screams did not stop, so Van Dillen cut the live shot short.... Some 10 minutes later, Fox & Friends aired live footage of Van Dillen carrying the woman to safety, waking through chest-deep water while the flooding engulfed her car in the background[.]”

The Wires
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The Ledes

Thursday, September 26, 2024

The New York Times:' live updates of Hurricane Helene developments today are here. “Hurricane Helene was barreling through the Gulf of Mexico on Thursday en route to Florida, where residents were bracing for extreme rain, destructive winds and deadly storm surge ahead of the storm’s expected landfall. The storm could intensify to a Category 4, if not higher, before making landfall late Thursday, and forecasters warned Helene’s anticipated large size could make its impacts felt across an extensive area. Areas as distant as Atlanta and the Appalachians are at risk for heavy rains.... Many forecast models show the storm making landfall late Thursday near Florida’s Big Bend Coast, a sparsely populated stretch....” ~~~

     ~~~ The Washington Post has forecasts for some cites in Florida, Georgia, North Carolina & Tennessee that are in or near the probable path of Helene. ~~~

     ~~~ This morning, an MSNBC weatherperson said Tallahassee (which is inland) would experience wind gusts of up to 120 m.p.h. and that the National Weather Service said expected 20-foot storm surges near the coast would be “unsurvivable.”

Help!

To keep the Conversation going, please help me by linking news articles, opinion pieces and other political content in today's Comments section.

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OR here's a link generator. The one I had posted died, then Akhilleus found one, but it too bit the dust. He found yet another, which I've linked here, and as of September 23, 2024, it's working.

OR you can always just block, copy and paste to your comment the URL (Web address) of the page you want to link.

Note for Readers. It is not possible for commenters to "throw" their highlighted links to another window. But you can do that yourself. Right-click on the link and a drop-down box will give you choices as to where you want to open the link: in a new tab, new window or new private window.

Thank you to everyone who has been contributing links to articles & other content in the Comments section of each day's "Conversation." If you're missing the comments, you're missing some vital links.

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
Jun132023

June 13, 2023

Late Morning/Afternoon Update:

Grumpy Trumpy. Shayna Jacobs, et al., of the Washington Post: "Donald Trump pleaded not guilty Tuesday to federal charges that he broke the law dozens of times by keeping and hiding top secret documents in his Florida home -- the first hearing in a historic court case that could alter the country's political and legal landscape. 'We most certainly enter a plea of not guilty,' Trump's lawyer Todd Blanche said at the arraignment in a small but packed courtroom, where Trump sat at the defense table, scowling and with his arms folded for much of the hearing. Flanked by his lawyers, Blanche and Christopher Kise, the former president listened impassively as U.S. magistrate judge Jonathan Goodman said he planned to order the former president not to have any contact with witnesses in the case -- or his co-defendant Waltine 'Walt' Nauta -- as the case proceeds. He did not speak at all except to whisper to Blanche, seated to his right, and Kise, seated to his left. Blanche objected, saying that Nauta and other potential witnesses might be members of Trump's security detail or other staffers who rely on him for their livelihood. The facts of the case, Blanche said, revolve around 'everything in President Trump's life.' The judge relented somewhat, saying that Trump should not speak to Nauta or witnesses about the facts of the case. As to which Trump employees might be affected by the restriction, the judge instructed the prosecution team to provide a list. Trump finished signing the bond paperwork at about 3:31 p.m., after it appeared it had to be returned to the defense table twice more because he and his lawyers didn't sign or initial every line needed. 'Third time's a charm,' Goodman said." ~~~

     ~~~ Rebecca Beitsch of the Hill: "Former President Trump pleaded not guilty Tuesday to charges on 37 counts following a Department of Justice indictment alleging he violated both the Espionage Act and obstructed justice in taking classified records from his presidency and refusing to return them.... Trump was accompanied by attorneys Todd Blanche, who is also representing him in a New York prosecution related to hush money payments, as well as Christopher Kise, who previously represented Trump in the Mar-a-Lago probe.... Blanche entered the not guilty plea on Trump's behalf. Trump and his co-defendant Walt Nauta, who is alleged to have aided Trump in concealing the records, were released without bond restrictions or travel restrictions."

Megan Caponovo of KCRA (Sacramento, Ca.): "While Trump and an aide charged as a co-conspirator -- Walt Nauta -- were booked in Miami federal court, Nauta was not arraigned along with Trump. Nauta, a Navy veteran who fetched Trump's Diet Cokes as his valet at the White House before joining him as a personal aide at Mar-a-Lago, was granted bond with the same conditions as Trump. But he did not enter a plea because he doesn't have a local attorney. Instead, Nauta will be arraigned on June 27 before Chief U.S. Magistrate Judge Edwin Torres. He doesn't have to attend in person."

The arraignment will not be televised. But it will be live-blogged. Here's the New York Times' liveblog. The Washington Post's liveblog is here. The AP's live updates are here.

Marie: The media are reporting that among the special favors Trump will be afforded today is that he will not have to pose for a mugshot. Instead, the U.S. Marshal's office will download a publicly-available photo. To help them out, I've provided some perfectly serviceable substitute mugshots:

Analisa Novak of CBS News: "... former House Speaker Paul Ryan believes Trump's indictment is a significant matter that goes beyond politics.... Ryan noted the indictment is related to matters of national security. 'I used to have the same documents myself as Speaker of the House,' Ryan said. 'So I think this goes beyond just some petty thing.' Ryan added that he is 'not a Trump fan,' and said that when it comes to the 2024 presidential race, 'we want a nominee who is not weighed down by so much baggage in order to win this election.'... He said candidates for the Republican presidential nomination like Nikki Haley, Tim Scott, Ron DeSantis, Mike Pence and Chris Christie are 'very viable people.'"

D.C. Grand Jury Hears from Nevada "Fake Electors." Natasha Korecki, et al., of NBC News: "... back in Washington, [a] grand jury investigating the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol and Trump's efforts to stay in office is also moving ahead in full force. Nevada GOP Chair Michael McDonald, a close Trump political ally, as well as Jim DeGraffenreid, the state party's vice chair, were spotted by NBC News entering the area where the Jan. 6 jury is meeting at the Washington federal courthouse Tuesday.... McDonald had previously confirmed to NBC News that federal authorities seized his cellphone as part of the investigation."

Kara Scannell of CNN: "A federal judge will allow E. Jean Carroll to amend her original defamation lawsuit against ... Donald Trump to include comments he made at a CNN town hall. Carroll, a former magazine columnist, asked the judgefor permission to amend the initial November 2019 lawsuit so she could try to seek additional punitive damages after Trump repeated statements a federal jury found to be defamatory.... One day [after a jury found in Carroll's favor,] Trump appeared at the CNN Republican presidential town hall and said, 'I have no idea who this woman -- this is a fake story, made up story.' He called Carroll a 'whack job' and went on a tangent about her ex-husband and pet cat. Trump's lawyer opposed the amendment and said they wanted to move to dismiss the original lawsuit, which deals with comments Trump made while president and has been held up on appeal."

~~~~~~~~~~

>The Screw-the-Constitution Defense. Jamelle Bouie of the New York Times: In the wake of the January 6 insurrection, "a few Republicans left and a few complained, but most remained loyal to the party and the president with nary a peep to make about the fact that Trump was willing to bring an end to constitutional government in the United States if it meant he could stay in office. We have been watching this dynamic play out a second time with Trump's indictment on federal espionage charges for mishandling classified documents as a private citizen. The most prominent Republican officeholders wasted no time with their full-throated denunciations of the indictment, the Department of Justice and the Biden administration.... Stretching back to Richard Nixon..., we see a pattern of presidential criminality and contempt for the Constitution, backed in each instance by most Republican officeholders and politicians.... What is striking about the Republican Party is the extent to which it has ... cultivated ... a highly instrumental view of our political system, in which rules and laws are legitimate only insofar as they allow for the acquisition and concentration of power in Republican hands." Thanks to P.D. Pepe for the lead. See also her commentary below. ~~~

~~~ The Selective-Prosecution/Presidential Deference Defense. Tom Sullivan of Hullabaloo points to a Bloomberg Law opinion piece by torture memo author John Yoo and somebody else in which the two professors explain to the Great Unwashed that "... our system has long understood that the Justice Department -- which assists the president in his duty to "take Care that the Laws be faithfully executed' -- can't prosecute every person for every violation of every federal law." On Monday afternoon, Sullivan writes, Yoo told Neil Cavuto of Fox Business that "We're breaking an institutional norm that has been there since the beginning of our country, which is leave former presidents alone." Thanks to Patrick for the lead and for this commentary: "THIS is one of my very most favoritest BS defenses, usually employed by four-year-olds: 'You didn't catch and punish everyone, so you shouldn't punish Donny even though you caught him and have the evidence.'" MB: Whaddaya bet Aileen Cannon reads Business Law and has clipped Yoo's op-ed to the inside front cover of her Trump trial file?

Spencer Hsu, et al., of the Washington Post: "Donald Trump spent the day before his historic appearance in federal court scrambling to find a qualified Florida lawyer willing to join his defense team as he faces the Justice Department's first prosecution of a former president. After touching down in Miami on Monday, Trump spent the afternoon interviewing prospective lawyers and meeting with his legal team, along with other top advisers, to discuss the case.... Several prominent Florida attorneys declined to take Trump on as a client after two of the key lawyers handling the documents matter -- Jim Trusty and John Rowley -- resigned last week, according to people familiar with the matter." ~~~

     ~~~ Hugo Lowell of the Guardian: "Donald Trump is expected to be represented at his first court appearance to face federal criminal charges ... by two of his existing lawyers, after struggling to recruit a local Florida lawyer willing to join his legal defense team. The lawyers making an appearance with Trump on Tuesday will be the top former federal prosecutor Todd Blanche and the former Florida solicitor general Chris Kise, according to people familiar with the matter. Trump's co-defendant, his valet Walt Nauta, will be represented by Stanley Woodward."

David Gilbert of Vice: "Supporters of ... Donald Trump are planning mass protests at a Miami courthouse on Tuesday, following Trump's indictment last week. Many are promising to come 'well-armed.' 'MAGA will make Waco look like a tea party,' a user with the screen name 1776take2 wrote about the planned protest on the pro-Trump messaging board known as The Donald, which was instrumental to the planning of the Capitol riot.... Over the weekend..., one user post[ed] a picture of [Attorney General Merrick] Garland and writing, 'America cannot allow this cowardly thug to destroy our democracy. This is what the Second Amendment was made for. Buy a gun or help organize your local militia today.' The former president is scheduled to appear at 3 p.m. on Tuesday at the Florida Southern District Courthouse in downtown Miami when he will be formally charged. Law enforcement is already on high alert for planned protests."

Charlie Savage of the New York Times looks at ways Judge Aileen Cannon can screw up the federal case against Donald Trump: [1.] By slowing the calendar, Trump "or another Republican nominee could enter office and shut down the case.... [2.) Cannon could require the prosecution to show classified documents] in open court[, which] could lead the government to instead drop some of the charges based on those documents.... [3. Cannon could] suppress ... evidence to protect attorney-client privilege and she does so, prosecutors could appeal -- but that would further delay the case.... [4. Cannon could essentially] put the investigators on trial.... [5.) Cannon can] accept or reject any 'for cause' challenges [to potential jurors], potentially tilting the composition of the jury.... [6.) Cannon could] acquit Mr. Trump right away." (7.) She could declare a mistrial. ~~~

~~~ Some good news maybe. Andrew Weissmann, speaking on MSNBC, said Judge Aileen Cannon likely will not be allowed to scrub testimony & evidence from Trump attorney Evan Corcoran Weissmann described the piercing of the attorney-client privilege as "already adjudicated," and not something Cannon can overturn. If she does try, no doubt an Appeals Court would overrule her, Weissmann said. As far as the issue of her recusal, Weissmann noted that Cannon's most "troubling" remark in her rulings was that Trump should receive special deference because he was a former POTUS*. This, Weissmann notes, tosses the foundational principle of equal justice. As the New York Times noted in September 2022, Cannon wrote, "'As a function of plaintiff's former position as president of the United States, the stigma associated with the subject seizure is in a league of its own.' She also noted that, because of the search of Mar-a-Lago, Mr. Trump faced 'unquantifiable potential harm by way of improper disclosure of sensitive information to the public.'" Weissmann & Mary McCord discuss some of this in this podcast, beginning at about 26 min. in. (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)

Brett Samuels of the Hill: "Former President Trump on Monday threatened to appoint a special prosecutor to specifically target President Biden and his family if he's reelected to the White House. Trump's post on Truth Social represents a brazen pledge to use the levers of government to target political rivals.... In a post on Truth Social written in all capital letters, Trump wrote: '... I will appoint a real special "prosecutor" to go after the most corrupt president in the history of the USA, Joe Biden, the entire Biden crime family, & all others involved with the destruction of our elections, borders, & country itself!'... Trump and his allies have claimed the prosecution is politically motivated and accused the Justice Department under the Biden administration of targeting a political rival.... But Biden has repeatedly declined to weigh in on the investigation into his predecessor, and a special counsel was appointed in Trump's case to maintain independence. Trump, meanwhile, has for years pushed to investigate or target his political rivals. He led chants of 'lock her up' directed at Hillary Clinton throughout his 2016 campaign and time in the White House. Trump's one-time chief of staff, John Kelly, alleged that Trump pushed for the IRS to investigate FBI officials like former Director James Comey and his deputy, Andrew McCabe."

Alexander Bolton of the Hill: "Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell (Ky.) and his deputies are steering clear of defending former President Trump from felony charges brought by the Justice Department, signaling a deep split within the GOP over how to handle the former president's legal problems.... McConnell made no mention of the indictment when he spoke on the Senate floor Monday afternoon, and he did not respond to reporters' questions as he walked to and from the Senate floor for his opening speech.... 'There are very serious allegations in the indictment, and I think the Justice Department -- as they attempt to prove their case -- they've got a high burden of proof to convince people that they're handling this fairly and as they would for any other elected official,' Senate Republican Whip John Thune (S.D.) said. Asked if he viewed the special prosecutor's case as more credible than the charges brought forth by the Manhattan attorney general, Thune replied: 'Oh yeah.'... Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas), an adviser to the Senate leadership team, offered a blunt assessment when asked about the charges that Trump violated the Espionage Act and conspired to obstruct justice. 'It's not good,' he told reporters."

Alex Griffing of Mediaite: "Sen. Tim Scott (R-SC), who is challenging Donald Trump for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination, conceded on Monday that the 37-criminal count federal indictment against the former is indeed a 'serious case with serious allegations.' Scott's initial reaction to the news Trump would be indicted was to join Harris Faulkner on Fox News last Thursday night evening and declare the Department of Justice had been weaponized against Republicans -- a regular talking point on the right. Scott spoke with reporters on Monday after a campaign stop in Spartanburg, South Carolina and despite labeling the Trump indictment 'serious,' the South Carolina senator picked up where he left off on Fox.... 'What we see today across this administration of President Joe Biden is a double standard. That double standard is both un-American and unacceptable. You can't protect Democrats while targeting and hunting Republicans.'"

S.V. Date of the Huffington Post: "Former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie (R) repeated his promise to take his 2024 primary fight directly to coup-attempting and newly indicted ... Donald Trump on Monday [during a CNN 'town hall'], telling a national TV audience that Trump's conduct is putting the country through unnecessary trauma.... 'This is vanity run amok. Ego run amok.... Everyone is blaming the prosecutors. He did this.' Christie, a former U.S. attorney, said the indictment by itself is damning ― 'the conduct in there is awful' ― but that he also expects that special counsel Jack Smith has much, much more information he hasn't yet revealed. 'There's probably about a third of the evidence they have in that indictment,' he said. He also criticized Republicans who have claimed that the "weaponization" of the Department of Justice is behind Trump's prosecution. 'We're in a situation where there are people in my own party who are blaming DOJ. How about, blame him? He did it,' Christie said."

Caroline Vakil of the Hill: “Former United Nations Ambassador Nikki Haley said Monday that former President Trump was 'incredibly reckless' if the federal charges lodged against him in an indictment over his handling of classified documents turn out to be true. Haley also criticized the FBI and the Department of Justice, joining other Republicans defending Trump who argue the former president is being treated unfairly."

Marie: MSNBC & CNN went all-in Monday with the Trump indictment. CNN even ran O.J.-type slow-car-chase video as Trump's motorcade was going to Newark Airport. Really. They just need a countdown clock to the time Trump's arraignment is supposed to start.


Mariana Alfaro, et al., of the Washington Post: "White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre violated the Hatch Act, a law that bars federal employees from promoting partisan politics while in their official capacity, for how she spoke about Republicans during official White House press briefings, a government watchdog agency found. But the agency also did not recommend any reprimand. The Office of Special Counsel, an independent agency that enforces the act, cited Jean-Pierre's use of the phrase 'mega MAGA Republicans' during news briefings leading up to the 2022 midterms as being in violation of the 1939 law, according to the letter dated June 7." The NBC News report is here.

Rachel Wiener & Dan Lamothe of the Washington Post: "Two Marines who worked in intelligence gathering and were on active duty during the Jan. 6 riot pleaded guilty Monday to their involvement with the mob at the U.S. Capitol, joining a colleague who admitted his participation last month. Sgts. Joshua Abate, 22, and Dodge Dale Hellonen, 23, were arrested in January along with Cpl. Micah R. Coomer, 24. All three pleaded to the misdemeanor charge of illegally demonstrating inside the Capitol building.... Hellonen admitted his involvement a year ago and Coomer's Facebook account was searched in August 2021."

My Kevin Is Speaker in Name Only. Annie Karni of the New York Times: "Hard-right House Republicans agreed late Monday to give their party leaders a temporary reprieve from a weeklong blockade of the House floor, allowing some legislative business to move forward on Tuesday but insisting they would withhold their support for future votes if their demands were not met.... But the agreement was only provisional, and the group of about a dozen ultraconservative lawmakers who have held the floor hostage made it clear they planned to continue using guerrilla tactics to keep a tight leash on [Speaker Kevin] McCarthy, effectively exercising veto power on what he is able to accomplish.... Members of the rebel group were explicit with Mr. McCarthy that he could not count on their support for bringing up ... legislation ... in the future, until they had worked out a power-sharing agreement that guaranteed them major influence on the legislative agenda." The Hill's report is here.

Sarah Kliff of the New York Times: "Lawyers reached a deal on Monday to keep the Affordable Care Act's mandate requiring health plans to cover preventive care at no cost to patients. A district court in Texas ruled in March that part of the requirement was unconstitutional. The decision took effect immediately.... The Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals temporarily stayed the ruling last month, bringing the health law's provision back into effect. The appeals court also asked the two parties -- a group of Texas residents and businesses challenging the law, and the Biden administration, which is defending it -- to come to a compromise on how much of the mandate should be put on hold while it weighed its decision. The deal they reached leaves the provision almost fully in tact, requiring a vast majority of health plans to continue providing preventive care at no charge. The agreement includes an exemption for the small businesses and individuals challenging the provision...."

Elahi Izadi & Will Sommer of the Washington Post: "Fred Ryan, the publisher and chief executive of The Washington Post for most of the decade since it was bought by Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, will leave the company in August, he announced Monday. Ryan, 68, will lead the newly formed nonpartisan Center on Public Civility at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Foundation. Patty Stonesifer the founding chief executive of the Gates Foundation and more recently the director of the Amazon board, was named the interim CEO of The Post on Monday, starting immediately, and is leading the search for Ryan's replacement." MB: Don't know anything about Stonesifer, but good riddance to Ryan. The Reagan Foundation is the ideal fit for him. (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)

Jeanne Whalen of the Washington Post: "Billionaire financier and philanthropist George Soros has passed control of his $25 billion grant-making foundation network to his son Alexander Soros, who intends to continue the group's focus on human rights and justice, the Open Society Foundations confirmed Monday. Alexander Soros, 37, was elected chairman of the OSF board in December, an elevation announced internally to OSF employees at the time but first disclosed publicly by the Wall Street Journal on Sunday. The younger Soros has spent two years as president of his 92-year-old father's super PAC, which supports Democratic politics and politicians, Michael Vachon, a spokesman for George Soros, said Monday. Through the PAC, George Soros was the largest individual donor in the 2022 midterm elections, The Washington Post previously reported. Alexander told the Journal that he and his father 'think alike' but that he would broaden his father's work by embracing issues such as voting and abortion rights."

Beyond the Beltway

Montana. The Kids Are All Right. Mike Baker of the New York Times: "A landmark climate change trial opened on Monday in Montana, where a group of young people are contending that the state's embrace of fossil fuels is destroying pristine environments, upending cultural traditions and robbing young residents of a healthy future. The case, more than a decade in the making, is the first of a series of similar challenges pending in various states as part of an effort to increase pressure on policymakers to take more urgent action on emissions."

Way Beyond

Ukraine, et al. The Washington Post's live briefing of developments Tuesday in Russia's war on Ukraine is here: "Civilians were killed in an overnight attack on a residential building in the city of Kryvyi Rih, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky's hometown, according to a regional governor. NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg is in Washington on Tuesday to meet with President Biden.... Ukraine said it liberated seven villages in the Donetsk and Zaporizhzhia regions over the past week, according to a statement shared by Deputy Defense Minister Hanna Maliar on Telegram, in what may be the country's first gains in its long-anticipated counteroffensive." ~~~

     ~~~ The Guardian's live updates for Tuesday are here. The Guardian's summary report is here.

News Ledes

AP: "Consumer prices in the United States cooled last month, rising just 0.1% from April to May and extending the past year's steady easing of inflation. At the same time, some measures of underlying price pressures remained high. Measured year over year, inflation slowed to just 4% in May -- the lowest 12-month figure in over two years and well below April's 4.9% annual rise. The pullback was driven by tumbling gas prices, a much smaller rise in grocery prices than in previous months and less expensive furniture, air fares and appliances."

New York Times: "Cormac McCarthy, the formidable and reclusive writer of Appalachia and the American Southwest, whose raggedly ornate early novels about misfits and grotesques gave way to the lush taciturnity of 'All the Pretty Horses' and the apocalyptic minimalism of 'The Road,' died on Tuesday at his home in Santa Fe, N.M. He was 89."

New York Times: "Treat Williams, the actor known for his roles in the movies 'Hair' and 'Deep Rising' and the TV show 'Everwood,' has died. He was 71. Mr. Williams died on Monday after an S.U.V. crashed into his motorcycle in Dorset, Vt., the Vermont State Police said in a statement."

Nigeria. New York Times: "More than 100 people died, including many who were returning from a wedding ceremony, after a river boat transporting them capsized in the early hours of Monday in Nigeria, according to residents and the local police."

Comments Off

Reader Comments (17)

Marie points out that CNN and MSNBC are going “all-in” on the Trump indictment. A more specific observation might be that CNN is going all-in…on Trump.

Chris Licht, late and unlamented CEO at CNN, the guy responsible for that horrific “town hall”, otherwise known as “An Evening with Donald Trump and his Fans”, an egregiously bad idea, was asked recently how he, in his (short lived) capacity as boss of a news organization, planned to cover Trump, given that singularly toxic candidate’s history of baseless lies, spreading of dangerous conspiracy theories, fomenting violence, and staging a murderous coup attempt.

Licht’s answer? “Same as any other candidate.”

That’s like saying you’d cover the sinking of the Titanic the same as any other boating accident.

Licht is gone. But the guy who put him there, the guy who wants CNN to be quieter, less passionate and opinionated, and more open to covering “both sides”, as if both sides are each deserving of the quiet, less opinionated and passionate approach is still in charge. That guy is the CEO of CNN’s corporate parent, Warner Discovery, David Zaslov, famous, as Variety puts it, for “taking a wrecking ball” to cable outlets he deems insufficiently profitable.

Former CNN boss, the execrable Jeff Zucker, rode the Trump Chaos train to power and riches at both NBC and CNN, because he sensed that if Trump equals eyeballs equals money, then more Trump equals a lot more money.

Look for Zaslov to try the same trick this time around.

We saw the consequences of allowing a monster to move about the media landscape unfettered and un-fact-checked. Zaslov apparently didn’t learn the lesson. Or maybe he did. And he just doesn’t care.

Money, money, money.

“An ocean liner had a bit of a problem in the North Atlantic. No biggie.”

June 13, 2023 | Unregistered CommenterAkhilleus

@Akhilleus: Or how about, “Ocean liner sank in North Atlantic. Republicans say ship's captain was not at fault, hold President Woodrow Wilson responsible”? Subhead: “Rep. Jordan says captain had perfect right to ram iceberg.”

June 13, 2023 | Registered CommenterMarie Burns

Yeah, it was a commie iceberg.

June 13, 2023 | Unregistered CommenterAkhilleus

"Most things in life, and especially a basic respect for democracy and the rule of law, have to be cultivated. What is striking about the Republican Party is the extent to which it has, for decades now, cultivated the opposite — a highly instrumental view of our political system, in which rules and laws are legitimate only insofar as they allow for the acquisition and concentration of power in Republican hands....

Most Republicans won’t condemn Trump. There are his millions of ultra-loyal voters, yes. And there are the challenges associated with breaking from the consensus of your political party, yes. But there is also the reality that Trump is the apotheosis of a propensity for lawlessness within the Republican Party. He is what the party and its most prominent figures have been building toward for nearly half a century. I think he knows it and I think they do too." Jamelle Boule

Boule mentions a few Republican presidents who flirted with this lawlessness––Nixon, Reagan, Bush II. But our present party of lawlessness strides ahead and makes no bones about where they stand. Romney and Christi the only voices to counteract their comrades to any extent.

So we will see today if Fatty's flunkies rally round with guns and threats–––crying that their captain had a perfect right to ram the iceberg!

June 13, 2023 | Unregistered CommenterP.D.Pepe

Bush II Torture Counsel John Yoo quoted by Sullivan in today's Digby's Hullabaloo:

“But our system has long understood that the Justice Department—which assists the president in his duty to ‘take Care that the Laws be faithfully executed’—can’t prosecute every person for every violation of every federal law.”

THIS is one of my very most favoritest BS defenses, usually employed by four-year-olds: " You didn't catch and punish everyone, so you shouldn't punish Donny even though you caught him and have the evidence."

Somewhere in his piece Yoo refers to "crossing the Rubicon", and Sullivan later tosses in this gem, that Yoo might have to rethink Donny's position "... if the Department means to pour the Rubicon over a cloth covering Trump’s face, Yoo might have to reassess." I.e. waterboarding is always OK and effective -- and why would you torture anyone if they weren't guilty, huh?

The movie is going to be terrific!! "All the ex-President*'s Enablers"

June 13, 2023 | Unregistered CommenterPatrick

Seems to me that the best and only way to certify that all are truly equal before the law is to energetically prosecute, not the poor and underprivileged but those privileged by virtue of their social and financial positions.

Over time we have done a very poor job of that, which is why, as I said the other day, the promise of being a nation of laws, not of men, rings very hollow.

BTW, just saw a speeding car pulled over by the Washington State Patrol on I-5. Didn't look like the car was breaking 100...

More weaponization?

June 13, 2023 | Unregistered CommenterKen Winkes

Ken: Yes to all you said and ONE of the reasons I'd like the "In God We Trust" changed to "In Truth We Trust–-fat chance that!

June 13, 2023 | Unregistered CommenterP.D.Pepe

@Ken Winkes: I guess I'll have to change my standard defense for moving violations from "Why aren't you out catching the real criminals?"* to "Why aren't you out catching Donald Trump?"

*Okay, I never really say this, and in fact, I usually agree with the officer that I committed or must have committed the offense for which he stopped me; this often gets me off with a warning or less. One time I got caught pulling a rental trailer on a New Jersey parkway -- which turns out to be illegal -- & the highway patrol officer not only let me off, he radioed the officers I would encounter ahead to let me pass. At least if you're a middle-class-looking white lady, it pays to be nice.

June 13, 2023 | Registered CommenterMarie Burns

Ha! Little did those New Jersey state cops know that Marie was transporting rocket launchers, RPGs, and a thousand pounds of C-4 in that trailer. Those polite, middle-class looking white ladies…you just can never tell!

June 13, 2023 | Unregistered CommenterAkhilleus

Foo-foo Yoo, who was or is an actual law professor at Berkeley (why? in god's name, why? when he'd fit so neatly into the Hoover Institution just across the Bay) seems to have missed the fact that previous presidents, but for the one who protested his innocence by saying "I am not a crook," but nonetheless accepted the pardon presented him by his successor, were not crooks.

Could it be that presidential non-criminality is the institutional norm (as in normal) he should be highlighting and supporting?

Naw. He's a Republican.

June 13, 2023 | Unregistered CommenterKen Winkes

That “you can’t prosecute every law breaker” defense is the same excuse they trot out for why we shouldn’t have gun laws. “Is that gonna stop all crimes? All murders? So there!”

Yeah. They’re all about zero-sum thinking. Gray areas only exist for them, when they try to wriggle out of some bullshit.

No, morons, gun controls won’t stop all murders, but it could stop many.

It’s like saying “Well, you can’t cure all diseases, so why even try? Close the hospitals. We can use the money for more guns.”

Fourth graders get this. But not the traitors.

June 13, 2023 | Unregistered CommenterAkhilleus

Marie,

Nice selection. How about including those CGI pictures of Fatty mopping up crap in a jailhouse? He’s already wearing the orange jumpsuit. I myself might just opt for a picture of the Baby Trump blimp. It captures two of his most identifiable qualities: obesity and whiny baby yowling.

June 13, 2023 | Unregistered CommenterAkhilleus

That was fast, quicker than a trip to the port a john in August.

Now he can get in his jet and fly up to Jersey where he'll rage and wail, and milk the cult faithful for every penny he can grab.

He'll never change until the steel door slams shut behind him, if then.

June 13, 2023 | Unregistered CommenterBobby Lee

OK, I admit it -- two stupid questions:
1. How does one qualify for a motorcade when being forced to make a criminal appearance before a court of law?
2. Who pays for the direct and indirect costs of it?
Just wundering...

June 13, 2023 | Unregistered Commenterunwashed

Unwashed,

He’s TFG.

Who pays? You do. And me, and all of us. Trump never pays for anything. That’s what we’re here for.

June 13, 2023 | Unregistered CommenterAkhilleus

I'll willfully contribute once he enters confinement and electronic laryngitis.

June 13, 2023 | Unregistered Commenterunwashed

“Trump finished signing the bond paperwork at about 3:31 p.m., after it appeared it had to be returned to the defense table twice more because he and his lawyers didn’t sign or initial every line needed.”

A sleazy crook and his incompetent lawyers.

June 13, 2023 | Unregistered CommenterAkhilleus
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