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.”

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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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Thursday
May042023

May 4, 2023

Late Morning/Afternoon Update:

Unholy Guacamole! Another Fat Cat Gave Huge Gifts to Clarence Thomas. Charlie Savage of the New York Times: "A Republican donor from Texas paid for two years of private-school tuition for Justice Clarence Thomas's great-nephew, a gift that the justice did not disclose, a friend of the justice acknowledged in a statement on Thursday.... In his statement, Mark Paoletta, Justice Thomas's friend and a former official for the Trump administration, argued that the justice was not required to report the tuition. He pointed to part of a 1978 law that says judges must disclose gifts to dependent children, who are defined as 'a son, daughter, stepson or stepdaughter.' Mr. Paoletta stressed that by that measure, a great-nephew does not qualify." MB: See my correction on May 5. ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: That, IMO, is ripe manure. According to ProPublica (linked below), "Thomas gained legal custody of Martin and became his legal guardian around January 1998, according to court records." These gifts were money the Thomases would have had to shell out if their ward was to attend private schools. Martin did not have other means of support, and schoolboys don't pay their own tuition. Maybe Thomas & Trump can be cellmates. I hope they both snore. ~~~

~~~ Philip Bump of the Washington Post: For a super-wealthy guy like Harlan Crow, what he is known to have paid for Clarence Thomas is akin to nickels and dimes for the rest of us. "Paying $6,000 a month for tuition, then, is the equivalent of someone worth $60,000 paying 36 cents. Buying a home for $133,000 is like someone worth $60,000 paying eight bucks.... This gap in the relative cost of luxury between the enormously wealthy and even powerful members of the D.C. establishment is precisely why it's important that transparency exist." ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: What's really sad about this is that Clarence Thomas, a descendant of slaves, decided to become the slave of rich White people. I don't think that's what "originalism" is supposed to mean. it is possible Thomas thinks he got the last laugh and fooled the old massas. He didn't.

Shawn Pogatchnik of Politico: "Donald Trump might not testify in a New York civil trial against a woman who has accused him of rape -- but was happy to brand her a 'disgrace' Thursday while golfing at his course in Ireland. The former U.S. president hopped off a golf cart to tell reporters he was flying back to New York later Thursday -- and launched a four-minute diatribe against his accuser, author E. Jean Carroll. She is suing him over an alleged 1996 attack and for defamation.... Trump -- who has provided only a taped deposition and won't be required to testify unless he chooses to do so -- left open the possibility [of testifying]. His New York legal team has ruled out the prospect.... 'I'm going to go back [to New York] and I'm going to confront this woman...,' said Trump, who repeatedly declined to call Carroll by her name and insisted he has 'no idea who she is.'"

Ben Protess, et al., of the New York Times: "Donald J. Trump is seeking to move his criminal case from New York State Supreme Court to federal court, one of his lawyers said on Thursday.... The former president's legal team will submit the so-called notice of removal in federal court in Manhattan, where a judge will then consider the request. The lawyer, Todd Blanche, disclosed the plan during an unrelated hearing on the criminal case in state court.... The effort to move the case to federal court, which is likely to be a long shot, will not have any immediate effect on the state case." An ABC News story is here. MB:Trump probably hopes to move the case to the Southern District of Florida in the chambers of dotty judge Aileen Cannon who made ridiculous (and overruled) rulings in Trump's classified documents case).

Hannah Rabinowitz & Holmes Lybrand of CNN: "Four members of the far-right Proud Boys have been found guilty of seditious conspiracy by a jury in Washington, DC, for their role to forcibly prevent the peaceful transfer of power ... after the 2020 election. Defendants Ethan Nordean, Joseph Biggs, Zachary Rehl, Enrique Tarrio and Dominic Pezzola face[d] a range of charges.... All five defendants were found guilty of other charges related to January 6, including: Obstruction of an official proceeding; Conspiracy to prevent an officer from discharging any duties; Obstruction of law enforcement during civil disorder; and Destruction of government property and aiding and abetting... The jury was unable to reach a verdict on the seditious conspiracy charge against Pezzola. The judge instructed them to continue deliberations." The story has been updated multiple times. ~~~

     ~~~ Update: "A fifth defendant, Dominic Pezzola, was found not guilty of seditious conspiracy after the jury returned for several more hours of deliberation on Thursday. Unlike the other defendants in this trial, Pezzola is not alleged to have a leadership position in the organization and was inactive in Proud Boys group chats." ~~~

     ~~~ Alan Feuer & Zach Montague of the New York Times: “The verdicts, coming after seven days of deliberations in Federal District Court in Washington, were a major blow against one of the country's most notorious far-right groups and another milestone in the Justice Department's vast investigation of the Capitol attack.... The sedition trial sprawled over the course of more than three months and was characterized by frequent delays, frayed relations between the defense and prosecution and several decisions by the presiding judge, Timothy J. Kelly, that tested the boundaries of conspiracy law. Judge Kelly's rulings allowed prosecutors to introduce damning evidence about the violent behavior and aggressive language of members of the Proud Boys who had only limited connections to the five defendants. The rulings also permitted jurors to convict on conspiracy even if they found there was no plan to disrupt the certification of the election, but merely an unspoken agreement to do so." MB: Good news for the country; bad news for the Trumpster.

~~~~~~~~~~

Jeanna Smialek of the New York Times: "Federal Reserve officials raised interest rates by a quarter-point on Wednesday in the tenth straight move in their fight against rapid inflation -- but they also opened the door to a possible pause in rate increases. Central bankers lifted rates to a range of 5 percent to 5.25 percent, a level they have not reached since the summer of 2007. The move capped the fastest series of rate increases since the 1980s, as the central bank led by Chair Jerome H. Powell attempts to slow the economy and weigh down price increases." This is part of a liveblog. (Also linked yesterday.)

"Thoughts and Prayers" Makes a "Mockery of Prayer." Sen. Raphael Warnock (D-Ga.) speaks on the Senate floor about the mass shooting in Atlanta Wednesday: ~~~

Today's Report on Donald Trump's Legal Woes

There's No Defense for Trump. Lola Fadulu, et al., of the New York Times: "A lawyer defending ... Donald J. Trump against the writer E. Jean Carroll's lawsuit accusing him of rape said Wednesday that he would present no witnesses.... On Wednesday, speaking out of the jury's presence, [Joe] Tacopina told Judge Lewis A. Kaplan of Federal District Court in Manhattan that an expert witness the defense had hoped to call on Mr. Trump's behalf was not available." A CNBC story says Tacopina told the court the witness could not appear because of "a health issue." (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~

     ~~~ The story has been updated to reflect Wednesday's other trial developments. Carroll's attorney played clips of Trump's deposition, and during the testimony of Natasha Stoynoff, a former People magazine reporter, played the "Access Hollywood" tape for the jury. Stoynoff testified that when she went to Mar-a-Lago to do a People interview on the first anniversary of Trump's marriage to Melania, Donald Trump "led her into a room, shut the door, pushed her against the wall and started kissing her. Ms. Stoynoff said she was 'flustered and sort of shocked.'... Ms. Stoynoff told the jury that she decided to write publicly about what happened [only] after Mr. Trump said during a presidential debate that he had never kissed a woman without consent. She testified that she 'felt really upset that he was lying to the American people.'"

Judge Tosses Trump's Nuisance Suit Against the New York Times. Liam Stack of the New York Times: "A New York judge dismissed ... Donald J. Trump's lawsuit against The New York Times on Wednesday, saying the newspaper's Pulitzer Prize-winning investigation into his finances was clearly protected by the First Amendment. When Mr. Trump filed the lawsuit in 2021, he accused the paper and three of its reporters of conspiring in an 'insidious plot' with his estranged niece, Mary L. Trump, to improperly obtain his confidential tax records for a series of stories published in 2018. In a ruling filed on Wednesday afternoon, Justice Robert R. Reed of State Supreme Court in Manhattan wrote that Mr. Trump's claims against The Times and its reporters 'fail as a matter of constitutional law.'... The judge also ordered Mr. Trump to pay legal expenses and associated costs for The Times and its reporters, Susanne Craig, David Barstow and Russ Buettner." The NBC News story is here.

Katelyn Polantz & Paula Reed of CNN: "Prosecutors for special counsel Jack Smith have been asking questions in recent weeks about the handling of surveillance footage from ... Donald Trump's Mar-a-Lago resort after the Trump Organization received a subpoena last summer for the footage, according to multiple sources familiar with the investigation. The handling of the footage, and how employees within the Trump Organization responded to the Justice Department's demand for it, have prompted a new round of grand jury subpoenas to top Trump employees in the last few weeks, the sources told CNN. Longtime Trump Organization executives Matthew Calamari Sr. and his son Matthew Calamari Jr. are expected to appear Thursday before the grand jury investigating possible mishandling of classified documents brought to Trump's Mar-a-Lago home, sources said. Prosecutors are expected to ask them about the handling of the surveillance footage and Trump employees' conversations following the subpoena, according to the sources." ~~~

~~~ Kristen Holmes, et al., of CNN: "Special counsel Jack Smith sat in on the federal grand jury proceeding while former Vice President Mike Pence testified for more than five hours last week, three sources familiar with the matter tell CNN. Smith and Pence interacted while Pence was at the courthouse, and one source described the interaction as respectful."

David Badash of the New Civil Rights Movement in AlterNet: "New York Attorney General Letitia James' Office was forced to request the state Supreme Court judge overseeing her $250 million fraud case against Donald Trump help resolve the failure of the ex-president, his three eldest adult children, and the Trump Organization to hand over documents required for discovery.... [James'] letter [to the Court] ... claims the Trumps have 'either ignored the inquiries, provided non-substantive responses, or passed the buck to counsel no longer engaged in the case.' She is asking 'for Defendants to provide sworn certifications detailing the process they followed for preserving, searching and producing documents in response to OAG discovery notices.'"

Isaac Arnsdorf, et al., of the Washington Post: "Using physical characteristics and interviews with family members, supporters and attorneys, The Washington Post identified five of the roughly 15 men who are featured in the video [of the 'J6 Prison Choir' in which Donald Trump appeared and has promoted]. Four of them were charged with assaulting police, using weapons such as a crowbar, sticks and chemical spray, including against Officer Brian D. Sicknick, who died the next day.... Trump recorded himself saying the Pledge of Allegiance after he heard about the production and wanted to participate, according to the campaign.... 'Our people love those people,' Trump ... [said] at [his first 2024 campaign] rally, speaking of those who were jailed. 'What's happening in that prison, it's a hellhole. ... These are people that shouldn't have been there.'" The article details the crimes the identified men have been accused or convicted of committing on January 6. Trump says the strong sales of the video make him "feel like Elvis."


FBI Arrests Another Very Fine Person. Andrea Cambron & Holmes Lybrand of CNN: “The FBI on Tuesday arrested a Florida man accused of setting off an 'explosive device' in the US Capitol tunnel during the attack on January 6, 2021. In one of the most violent scenes of the Capitol riot, a line of police officers protected an entrance to the building against violent rioters who used poles, bats, fists, stolen riot shields, chemical spray and, according to court documents, small explosives to attack the officers. Daniel Ball, 38, of Homosassa is facing multiple charges in connection with his involvement in the Capitol attack after being arrested last week by the Citrus County Sheriff's Office for allegedly assaulting seven people including two law enforcement officers in unrelated charges in Florida. Ball was identified by his probation officer, after officers showed several photos and videos of him throwing an explosive device at the lower west terrace tunnel, where officers were defending the Capitol."

From Anti-Terrorism Agent to Terrorist. Jonathan Dienst & Ryan Reilly of NBC News: "An ex-FBI official who allegedly urged rioters to 'kill' officers during the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol was previously the supervisory special agent in charge of Homegrown Violent Extremism for the FBI New York Field Office's Joint Terrorism Task Force, a senior law enforcement official told NBC News."

** Joshua Kaplan, et al., of ProPublica: "In 2008, Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas decided to send his teenage grandnephew to Hidden Lake Academy, a private boarding school in the foothills of northern Georgia.... For the previous decade, [the boy, Mark Martin,] had lived with the justice and his wife.... Thomas had taken legal custody of Martin when he was 6 years old and had recently told an interviewer he was 'raising him as a son.' Tuition at the boarding school ran more than $6,000 a month. But Thomas did not cover the bill. A bank statement for the school from July 2009, buried in unrelated court filings, shows the source of Martin's tuition payment for that month: the company of billionaire real estate magnate Harlan Crow.... Crow paid Martin's tuition the entire time he was a student there, which was about a year, former school administrator Christopher Grimwood told ProPublica.... Before and after his time at Hidden Lake, Martin attended a second boarding school, Randolph-Macon Academy in Virginia. 'Harlan said he was paying for the tuition at Randolph-Macon Academy as well,' Grimwood said, recalling a conversation he had with Crow during a visit to the billionaire's Adirondacks estate.... If [Crow] paid for all four years at the two schools, the price tag could have exceeded $150,000, according to public records of tuition rates at the schools." ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: I wonder if, on top of the flagrant corruption, there's massive tax evasion here, too. It's reasonable to suspect that Clarence & Ginni declared Martin as a dependent, and if so, that's about $150,000 in taxable income they might have neglected to declare.

Michael Schmidt, one of the authors of the NYT story (also linked yesterday) about the straw that broke TuKKKer's racist back, said on MSNBC that he thought that Carlson's firing was "a business decision." So, not outraged by racism.

Capitalism Is Awesome, Ctd. Child Slave Labor Edition. Michelle Watson of CNN: "Two 10-year-old children were found working at a Louisville McDonald's restaurant -- sometimes until 2 a.m. -- the US Department of Labor said Tuesday. The revelation was part of an investigation into the child labor law violations in the Southeast. The agency also found three franchisees that own more than 60 McDonald's locations in Kentucky, Indiana, Maryland and Ohio, 'employed 305 children to work more than the legally permitted hours and perform tasks prohibited by law for young workers,' the Labor Department said in a statement. 'Investigators from the department's Wage and Hour Division found two 10-year-old workers at a Louisville McDonald's restaurant among many violations of federal labor laws committed by three Kentucky McDonald's franchise operators,' the release said. 'Investigators also determined two 10-year-old children were employed -- but not paid -- and sometimes worked as late as 2 a.m.'"

Presidential Race 2024. Paul Farhi of the Washington Post: "Donald Trump has spent the better part of the past seven years badmouthing CNN, attacking its reporters as 'enemies of the people' and calling its reporting 'fake news.' He once tried banning one of its journalists from the White House. He routinely mocks its eroding ratings. Yet, on Monday, CNN offered to put Trump on the air live for an hour in prime time -- and Trump accepted.... CNN lined up Trump for its first 'town hall' telecast of the 2024 presidential campaign. The twice-impeached, once-indicted former president will take questions from Republican and undeclared voters in a CNN-produced event next Wednesday in New Hampshire, the state that will hold the first Republican primary next year. The announcement drew expressions of surprise and shock, aimed at both CNN and Trump." Read on. ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: Without ever mentioning CNN, Chris Hayes of MSNBC wondered how any responsible news organization could carry a livefeed in which Trump could at any time say something harmful to individuals, including public officials. Most broadcast & cable companies air "live" broadcasts on a 4- to 7-second delay in case a speaker utters a swear word. CNN should expand the delay to at least 5 minutes. Meanwhile, as Farhi reports, CNN claims it is holding its so-called town hall "to hold him to account for his words and his actions." But the people asking the questions will be from the audience, not journalists, so Farhi doesn't see how CNN plans to "hold him to account." Contributor Jeanne suggested the other day that she was boycotting CNN. So am I.

Chris Walker of Truthout: "A recent ad created by a super PAC for Donald Trump and shared by the former president's official Facebook page purports that Americans were 'better off' under his watch than they are under current President Joe Biden, depicting a series of pictures meant to stir up feelings of fear and xenophobia in viewers. Some images in the ad, however, supposedly depicting events from Biden's time in office, were actually from Trump's presidential tenure. The ad falsely says that the 'border is wide open' and derides high inflation rates that experts have repeatedly said are not attributable to Biden's policies. It urges viewers to donate to the super PAC."

Beyond the Beltway

Florida. DeSantolini Foiled. Ken Bensinger of the New York Times: "Legislation that would have sharply curbed press protections in Florida has stalled in the State Legislature and won't face a vote this year -- a rare example of forces on the right thwarting a piece of Gov. Ron DeSantis's agenda. The bills, introduced in February, proposed sweeping changes to laws that shield media outlets from liability in defamation cases and sought to make it easier for private citizens to file libel suits. Mr. DeSantis has been outspoken in advocating for laws he says would 'hold these big media companies accountable.' But Mr. DeSantis ... appears to have misjudged the issue. In addition to opposition from news outlets and free-speech groups, the legislation faced a wave of resistance from his allies, including right-wing media outlets, Christian organizations and business groups." (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~

~~~ BUT. Andrew Atterbury of Politico: "Florida Republicans passed legislation Wednesday that would make it a misdemeanor trespassing offense for someone to use certain bathrooms that don't align with their sex at birth. The bill, now headed to Gov. Ron DeSantis for his signature, is limited to people using restrooms and changing facilities in state and local government buildings, schools, colleges and detention centers.... In a major change approved with two days left of session, lawmakers significantly scaled the measure back so it no longer applies to bathrooms in restaurants, gas stations and other businesses as it did previously. Despite Republicans curtailing its scope, Democrats still vehemently opposed the legislation, arguing that the policies are targeting transgender people. Republicans, however, argue the bill is are about protecting 'public safety, decency and decorum.'" ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: I don't know if it's the state or the federal government that owns & operates Interstate highway rest stops, but I do know for certain that there is (or was) at least one unisex restroom; it's on Interstate 4 north of Orlando. ~~~

~~~ AND. Anthony Izaguierre of the AP: "Florida Republicans on Wednesday approved bills to ban diversity programs in colleges and prevent students and teachers from being required to use pronouns that don't correspond to someone's sex, building on top priorities of Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis. The two proposals were given final passage by the Republican supermajorities in the House and Senate. DeSantis is expected to sign the bills into law." MB: I'll bet Floridians are so grateful to DeSantis & his Klan for improving their lives in so many ways. But perhaps some are wondering, "Why isn't the legislature addressing mitigation of the giant seaweed blob that is hitting Florida beaches?" ~~~

~~~ The video in the tweet embedded below follows remarks made in today's commentary. Do watch the reaction of State Rep. Kelly Skidmore (D) to Rep. Jeff Holcomb (R) remark:

Georgia Senate Race 2022. Brandon Gage of AlterNet: "Failed United States Senate candidate Herschel Walker (R-Georgia) -- who had the backing of ... Donald Trump -- has been implicated in an 'unprecedented,' 'stunning,' and 'jaw-dropping' scandal involving crimes such as wire fraud and campaign finance violations.Late Wednesday evening, The Daily Beast exclusively reported that Walker solicited 'hundreds of thousands of dollars' from billionaire benefactor Dennis Washington in March of 2022 'for his own personal company -- a company that he never disclosed on his financial statements.' Correspondent Roger Sollenberger revealed that 'emails obtained by The Daily Beast -- and verified as authentic by a person with knowledge of the exchanges -- show that Walker asked Washington to wire $535,200 directly to that undisclosed company, HR Talent, LLC. And the emails reveal that not only did Washington complete Walker's wire requests, he was under the impression that these were, in fact, political contributions.'"

Mississippi Gubernatorial Race 2023. Let's Go, Brandon! No, Really. David Firestone of the New York Times: With Gov. Tate "Reeves up for re-election in November, there are once again hopes that Mississippi could ... elect a governor willing to make a break from the past. And even though Donald Trump won the state by more than 16 percentage points in 2020, there are reasons to think it could happen. For one thing, thanks to a significant scandal involving the misappropriation of welfare funds, Mr. Reeves is extraordinarily unpopular for an incumbent Republican.... For another, he has a promising and energetic Democratic opponent named Brandon Presley who has been polling fairly well and is making a strong case that the state desperately needs a change, advocating a series of popular policies that could make a real difference in the lives of Mississippians, particularly those on the lower economic rungs. The contest is already turning into one of the most interesting races of 2023."

New York. Edwin Rios of the Guardian: "A 30-year-old Black man who regularly danced in the Times Square transit hub was killed on Monday by a rider who put him in a chokehold on the New York City subway. The confrontation took place as an F train traveling north reached the Broadway-Lafayette station in SoHo. Witnesses say Jordan Neely, recognizable to some New Yorkers as a Michael Jackson impersonator, was behaving erratically at the time. Video footage captured by Juan Alberto Vazquez, a freelance journalist, and shared on Facebook, showed Neely kicking as he was held down by passengers. The man who pinned down Neely has not been identified but has been described in local reports as a 24-year-old former US Marine. The man held Neely in a chokehold with his legs wrapped around his body; Neely lost consciousness during the struggle and later died in the hospital. Neely died from compression of the neck, the city's medical examiner determined on Wednesday, classifying his death as a homicide." ~~~

     ~~~ Edward Helmore of the Guardian: "A protest on a downtown Manhattan subway platform over the death of a man suffering an apparent mental health episode aboard a train turned into an angry confrontation over policing and social welfare priorities in New York City on Wednesday.... According to police officials and video, Neely had been harassing passengers on the subway and making threats when he was placed in a minutes-long headlock by a 24-year-old former US Marine. By the time the train pulled into Broadway-Lafayette, a stop that borders the SoHo and NoliTa neighborhoods, Neely was no longer conscious. He was later pronounced dead in hospital.... Forty-eight hours later, Neely's death, and the response to it, threatens to become a flash-point highlighting what some say is a semi-sanctioned vigilante response to homelessness and the mental health crisis, with others defending the actions of the Marine who had asked fellow passengers to call 911." ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: I used to take subways all the time when I lived in Manhattan, and I can't recall ever seeing a uniformed officer on a train car.

Texas Senate Race 2024. Amy Wang & Liz Goodwin of the Washington Post: "Democratic Rep. Colin Allred (Tex.) will challenge two-term Republican Sen. Ted Cruz for his Senate seat in 2024, Allred announced Wednesday morning. In a video posted to social media, Allred showed footage from the Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection.... On that day, Allred said in the video, he heard glass breaking and texted his wife to say, 'Whatever happens, I love you,' then took off his jacket and 'got ready to take on anyone who came through that door.' He slammed Cruz for voting against the certification of election results that day and for hiding in a storage closet during the attack." ~~~

Way Beyond

Ukraine, et al.

The New York Times' live updates of developments Thursday in Russia's war on Ukraine are here. The Guardian's live updates for Thursday are here. The Guardian's summary report is here. ~~~

     ~~~ The Washington Post's live briefing for Thursday is here: "Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky arrived at the International Criminal Court in The Hague on Thursday, as the Kremlin blamed Kyiv and Washington for what it claimed was an attempt to assassinate Russian President Vladimir Putin. In a symbolic visit less than two months after the court issued arrest warrants for Putin and another senior official over the abduction of thousands of Ukrainian children, Zelensky said the Russian president would face an international war crimes tribunal once Ukraine wins the war, according to the Associated Press. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov on Thursday rejected U.S. and Ukrainian denials of involvement in what Moscow alleged was a drone attack on the Kremlin targeting Putin's residence, calling them 'absolutely ridiculous.'... The drone attack on the Kremlin was probably staged by Russia with an eye on the domestic audience, the Washington-based Institute for the Study of War said in an analysis of the incident....

"Ukraine defended itself against a wave of Russian drone attacks against Kyiv and other targets across the country, the Ukrainian air force said early Thursday, shooting down drones flying over the capital. The Ukrainian military claimed that the words 'for Moscow' and 'for the Kremlin' were written on the tails of some of the drones downed in the southern port city of Odessa.... Drone attacks targeted two separate oil refineries in southern Russia overnight, according to local authorities."

David Rising of the AP: "Russia claimed it foiled a Ukrainian drone attack on the Kremlin early Wednesday, calling it an unsuccessful assassination attempt against President Vladimir Putin and promising retaliation for what it termed a 'terrorist' act. Ukraine denied any involvement, saying Moscow could use it for further escalation of the war. Putin wasn't in the Kremlin at the time..., his spokesman Dmitry Peskov told Russia's state news agency RIA Novosti. There was no independent verification of the reported attack on the Kremlin, which Russia authorities said occurred overnight but presented no evidence in support of the claim. Nor did officials say why it took more than 12 hours to report the incident. Ukraine presidential adviser Mykhailo Podolyak denied any involvement. 'Ukraine has nothing to do with drone attacks on the Kremlin,' he said. He said the claims would provide a pretext for Russia 'to justify massive strikes on Ukrainian cities, on the civilian population, on infrastructure facilities' in coming days." (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~

     ~~~ The New York Times' liveblog says the paper has verified the video.

Brazil. Terrence McCoy & Marina Dias of the Washington Post: "Brazilian police are investigating whether former president Jair Bolsonaro tried to deceive American authorities into believing, incorrectly, that he had been vaccinated against the coronavirus so he could enter the United States, authorities said Wednesday. Federal police conducted a search and seizure operation at Bolsonaro's Brasília address early Wednesday and arrested several close associates, including a top aide tasked with carrying out Bolsonaro's administrative demands."

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Reader Comments (23)

Shhhā€¦donā€™t tell Joe Tacopina, but the extra special witness he was planning on calling to testify that his Trumpiness was always a very polite rapist isnā€™t having a ā€œhealth issueā€, heā€™s dead. But Iā€™m sure Jeffrey Epstein would have been very convincing.

May 4, 2023 | Unregistered CommenterAkhilleus

Maybe the witness was Tucker, who could show hours of Trump video where he is not raping anyone.

May 4, 2023 | Unregistered CommenterPatrick

@Akhilleus & @Patrick: Thanks for the laughs.

May 4, 2023 | Registered CommenterMarie Burns

https://www.yahoo.com/news/gop-lawmakers-wild-claim-those-
050513996-html
In the Ron DeSanitize Florida, GOP Rep. Jeff Holcomb says the
quiet part out loud on the House floor.
"Our terrorist enemies hate homosexuals more than we do."

He knows our terrorist enemies personally? He shouldn't be in
office if he's hanging out with terrorists.

May 4, 2023 | Unregistered CommenterForrest Morris

Forrest pointed us toward this wonderful quoteā€¦

ā€œOur terrorist enemies hate homosexuals more than we do." sez some DeSantolini black shirt.

Well now, since weā€™re in the Age of Hold my Beer says the Traitor, Iā€™m guessing we can expect waaaay more hatey stuff directed toward The Gays. No furrin terā€™rist gonna beat good olā€™ ā€˜merican bigots at that game. No sirree bob!

Cuz they ainā€™t good at much, but the Party of Traitors can hate like thereā€™s no tamorrah. And theyā€™s also good at cominā€™ up with unconsitushunal law-like things to prove it. Just you wait.

The really sad thing?

Theyā€™d probably get the thumbs up from the Star Chamber.

May 4, 2023 | Unregistered CommenterAkhilleus

More bullshit about (and from) TuKKKerā€¦

I just cannot buy this latest theory that Mr. White Supremacy was fired for being a racist. That could have happened five years ago! Is he a racist? Of COURSE he is. This just dawned on Fox board members last week? Do they not watch his show? This is the guy who screamed about dirty (black and brown) immigrants. Who demanded to see Ketanji Brown Jacksonā€™s LSATs, who sold the White Replacement Theory as often as the Pillow Guy hawked his bed rocks. And heā€™s been doing it for YEARS!

Recently I heard a couple of ideas that seem more plausible.

So, not long ago, King Rupert was set to get married, for, what is it? the fifth time? But he called it off. His girlfriend apparently was a fire and brimstone evangelical who told Rupes that TuKKKer was a messenger from god (yeah, like Iā€™m the hereditary King of Bongo Bong). Iā€™m guessing Rupert doesnā€™t realize that not everyone pretends to be something. This chick was the real thing. At a dinner with Rupes and TuKKKer, she pulled a out Bible (cuz doesnā€™t everyone carry around their own Bible?)ā€”at dinnerā€”and she and TuKKKs proceeded to have themselves a good old fashioned, barn burninā€™, Jumpinā€™ Jesus revival meeting.

This apparently weirded out King Rupert. He must have thought ā€œWell, itā€™s fine if she wants to pretend to be all evangelical-like but I ainā€™t listening to this bullshit every night.ā€ Wedding OFF.

But would that be enough to also be the camel killing straw where TuKKKy was concerned? Maybe, maybe not. Maybe he thought ā€œItā€™s okay for him to play Elmer Gantry to gull the rubes, but I ainā€™t gonna go along with some Bible banger on my networkā€.

Then thereā€™s this. Iā€™ve also heard it pointed out that Rupert is starting to lose his marbles. Like, a lot of them. The guy is older than dirt. This, apparently, had a lot to do with why Fox settled at the last minute. Rupert was set to take the stand on the first day of the trial. Fox could have settled this a year ago instead of going right up to the wire. But the lawyers, perhaps realizing that Murdoch was just not up for a very public trial, pictured him on the stand going full Captain Queeg, little metal balls and stories about strawberries. The whole schmeer. Nope. Fuck that. Hereā€™s your check, Dominion.

The thinking is that Rupert, after that revival meeting, plus being a little addled, woke up on Monday and said ā€œFuck it. Heā€™s outā€.

Whatever the reason, or reasons, it wasnā€™t because they all of a sudden realized they had Bull Connor on every night at eight waving a noose around.

May 4, 2023 | Unregistered CommenterAkhilleus

Has anyone officially ruled out Russia in the drone attack on the Kremlin? It was only a couple of weeks ago that they dropped bombs on themselves in Belgorod.

May 4, 2023 | Unregistered CommenterRAS

And another thingā€¦

ā€œNot how white men fight?ā€

What is he talking about? Thatā€™s exactly how some white men fight. TuKKKums is amazed because even though the sight of three Trump thugs beating the shit out of one (supposedly) Antifa guy made his little weenie wiggle, he thought ā€œThis is not how white men fightā€.

What bullshit.

Ever hear of Ahmaud Arbery? Chased down and murdered by three white guys? How about Emmett Till? Lynch mobs? And donā€™t forget TuKKKer himself.

You no doubt recall a story he used to tell about how a gay guy (according to him) once made a pass at him. Now a normal, well adjusted guy would just say ā€œSorry pal, thanks but no thanks. Not my thing.ā€ But not TuKKKer, brave and bold, testicle tanning he-man! That uppity gay guy needed a beating! But did TuKKKy do the honors by himself? Not on your life. He grabbed another bigot and together they went back and beat that guy up. Or so he says. For my money this is one of those Trump tales where people call him ā€œSirā€ and cry when they see him.

But fact or fiction, the truth is that, for TuKKker, two or three or a hundred against one IS the way certain white men fight. Him included.

A bigger piece of shit couldnā€™t be fashioned out of an Everest sized dung heap.

May 4, 2023 | Unregistered CommenterAkhilleus

RAS,

Iā€™m betting Putie was sitting on his throne in the Kremlin letting his girlfriend try out his new exploding drone. ā€œNyet! Nyet! The other way! O shitski! Duck!ā€

May 4, 2023 | Unregistered CommenterAkhilleus

" When you're a star, they let you do it."

"I could shoot someone on fifth avenue and get away with it,"

The start of something big that has mushroomed into many parts bigger than the bump and grind of the original. The payment to Stormy was, according to some, not because it would hurt Trump's run for Presidentā€“ā€“-his base thought it cool to screw a porn starā€“-but to hide this fact from Melanie who might have very well sued him for a lot more green backs. And when we bring in that porn star who had one uneventful sexual liaison with Fatty it was only because she wanted to be on The Apprentice. From little on she longed to be whitewashed from her status as "white trash" as her best friend's father called her. She had also been repeatedly raped by a neighbor when barely into her teens. Today we have multiple women coming forward with charges of not only rape but the "when you're a star..." grope and grind activity.

And I think of Melanie and Barronā€“--actually mostly Barronā€“- and wonder how they are dealing with all this. To get one's mind around the fact that this soiled, spoiled, sick fuck thinks he can become president again is the stuff of a historical fabrication except it isn't, is it?

May 4, 2023 | Unregistered CommenterP.D.Pepe

@Akhilleus: I think you're right about the reason Fox fired TuKKKer, at least about the part that Rupert couldn't handle the grilling. I don't think TuKKKer & Bartiromo would have come across very well on the stand, either. TuKKKer would have been a snide, cackling (he borrowed his laugh from Bugs Bunny) disaster, and both Bartiromo likely would have come across as addled & confused. The whole thing would have been a disaster if Dominion's lawyers were any good at examining witnesses. IOW, Fox "News" would have suffered bigly. More than $768BB bigly. I expect the legal team told the board as much.

May 4, 2023 | Registered CommenterMarie Burns

Reverend Warnock might have said it better, but on that thoughts and prayers thing:

It makes perfect sense.

Praying is wishing, not doing, It's giving up, an admission of helplessness. It's asking someone or something else to take care of a problem you can do nothing about.

It's a denial of both responsibility and agency.

It's Republican.

May 4, 2023 | Unregistered CommenterKen Winkes

@Akhilleus: Maybe reading about TuKKKer's bloodlust made Rupert and management worried about the probability of him snapping one day and shooting up the workplace. They did refuse to bring him back for one last show to say his goodbyes to his captive audience.
How many guns do you think are in the Fox offices? Do they ever do active shooter drills knowing that the crazy losers they employ probably have a higher likelihood of fantasizing about killing all their perceived enemies over every slight.

May 4, 2023 | Unregistered CommenterRAS

One other thoughtā€¦

What does it say about people who beat up someone who is against fascism (Antifa)?

ā€œYou donā€™t like fascism? Well take this!ā€ Pow, Bam, Ka-pow!

Just sayinā€™.

May 4, 2023 | Unregistered CommenterAkhilleus

Just listened to Jeff Holcomb's admission of hating homo-sexuals and my mouth is as open as the woman behind him. Wow!

Marie: Re: Tucky's "let go"ā€“--read somewhere that Murdoch heard a speech Carlson was giving at some college whose rhetoric was laced with religious connotations which enraged Murdoch ( he broke up with his latest love because of her tie to religion) but haven't heard this scenario from anyone else.

May 4, 2023 | Unregistered CommenterP.D.Pepe

I used to work for a radio news station in Los Angeles, so of course the shows were live. When they fired an on-air personality, there was always a guard to usher said "celebrity" out the door, usually right after their last show aired. The station I worked for was owned & operated by ABC, and the operations manager did the firing. The general manager was a chicken, and he would go hide out in someone's office till the coast was clear. (Not mine; my door had a window.) While I was there, none of the firings was for some dramatic cause; it was always the ratings. Gosh, maybe if those supposed celebs had been more racist, they would have lasted longer.

Anyhow, the policy was to make sure there was no chance the stars could go on the air and trash the station or say something "untoward."

May 4, 2023 | Registered CommenterMarie Burns

https://www.yahoo.com/entertainment/republicans-big-mad-biden-
sending-191128264,html?.tsrc=daily_mail&uh_test=0_00

Per Lindsey Graham "it's ridiculous theatre" about Biden sending
1500 troops to the southern border.
He claims that "when trump did something, it worked."
He also claims that trump's immigration policy had taken the problems
"off the table."
If the problems were off the table, why have we heard so many
republicans bad mouthing Biden for doing nothing about illegal
'aliens', I guess they mean aliens from Mars or something.
Me thinks that the republicans big donors don't really want the
border secured because that's how they get cheap labor.
I could be wrong. I was once before.

May 4, 2023 | Unregistered CommenterForrest Morris

@Forrest Morris:

Yeah, Lindsey, when Trump did something, it worked.

Like who can forget the kids in cages thing? Very effective. Everybody loved seeing lonely toddlers trying to sleep on concrete floors surrounded by chain link.

Oh, and that part where Trump lost thousands of those kids. The last I heard, after repeated judges' orders, the administration managed to reconnect all the kids in cages with their parents -- except a piddling 600 children. But who's counting?

And I loved that part where one of Trump's minions decided to track the menstrual cycles of individual women. What a fabulous idea!

Oh, did I mention the big, beautiful wall the Mexican government paid for? A fucking masterpiece, and not just the hundreds of miles you didn't get to so your friend Steve Bannon could scam Trumpbots into paying for the pretend-wall they said they were building. How great that Trump gave Steve-O a last-minute pardon for scamming the faithful.

As for what few feet of wall were built, Mexicans have been having contests to see who could scale the wall the fastest. But they have to be careful since Trump built the wall on unstable earth with shoddy materials that are rusting and in danger of toppling. But otherwise, THE Wall WORKED!

That's just what I remember off the top of my head. I know there's lots more that "worked." And that's why there are no more "illegals" in the U.S.A. today.

*Well, there are those unfortunate statistics that show the number of immigrants secretly crossing the border steadily increased during Trump's administration. Damned statistics.

May 4, 2023 | Registered CommenterMarie Burns

Speaking of Rupert Murdoch, check out this Vanity Fair photo of
Rupert and Ann Lesley Smith. She would have become wife number
5 but he broke it off because she was too religious. She claims she
once found Jesus in a coffee shop in Carmel and then became a street
preacher.
After seeing this photo, I'm wondering if sometimes people marry
for money.
https://www.telegram.co.uk/news/2023/03/20/vacancy-murdoch-firm-
not-ceo-photographed-holiday-ann-lesley/

May 4, 2023 | Unregistered CommenterForrest Morris

@Forrest Morris: Jesus in a Carmel coffee shop? Do we know if he ordered a latte or a frappuccino or what? What about a side order? Croissant? Hot-cross bun? Well, maybe not the hot-cross bun -- bad memories of the crucifixion and all.

May 4, 2023 | Registered CommenterMarie Burns

@Marie: Jesus was probably working there for free food and drinks.
After all, He hadn't eaten since the last supper.

May 4, 2023 | Unregistered CommenterForrest Morris

'Iā€™m going to go back [to New York] and Iā€™m going to confront this woman...,'

Yeah, right.

He'll do that right after he marches up to the Capitol with his supporters.

All talk and bluster, the chickenshit.

But I'll bet Carroll's lawyers were listening carefully to every word he said, because there's a good chance he will open his mouth and increase the damages.

May 4, 2023 | Unregistered CommenterNiskyGuy

@NiskyGuy: Right you are. I just saw a video which included Trump's remarks today about Carroll. A really good look, too; he was literally out on the golf course. And he called Carroll a "fake" and a "fraud."

Ka-ching!

May 4, 2023 | Registered CommenterMarie Burns
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