The Ledes

Thursday, September 19, 2024

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

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

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

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

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

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

Click on photo to enlarge.

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

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

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

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

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

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The Commentariat -- January 20, 2016

... Haeyoun Park & Matthew Bloch of the New York Times: "Deaths from drug overdoses have surged in nearly every county across the United States, driven largely by an explosion in addiction to prescription painkillers and heroin. Some of the largest concentrations of overdose deaths were in Appalachia and the Southwest, according to new county-level estimates released by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The number of these deaths reached a new peak in 2014: 47,055 people, or the equivalent of about 125 Americans every day."

Carl Hulse of the New York Times: "The Syrian refugee issue returns to Capitol Hill on Wednesday with Senate Republicans eager to bring up a bill passed by the House in November to tighten scrutiny of those entering the United States from Syria and Iraq. Senator Mitch McConnell ... has set a vote for Wednesday afternoon on opening debate over the refugee measure, which was approved by the House before Thanksgiving in the immediate aftermath of the Paris terrorist attacks."

Julie Bosman & Mitch Smith of the New York Times: "President Obama planned to meet on Tuesday in Washington with the mayor of Flint, Mich., about the health crisis that has erupted from the city's contaminated drinking water, White House officials said. The meeting was scheduled for the afternoon, hours before Gov. Rick Snyder of Michigan [R] was to deliver his annual State of the State address in the capital, Lansing. Local news media reported that a large part of his speech would be devoted to the Flint situation and that he would discuss assistance for residents. Mr. Obama is scheduled to be in Michigan on Wednesday at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit, but the administration said he was not planning to visit Flint during the trip." ...

     ... New Lede: "Gov. Rick Snyder of Michigan issued a sweeping apology on Tuesday to the residents of Flint for a contaminated water supply. He pledged to promptly release his emails about the issue, and laid out more specifics than had previously been known about the state's handling of the matter.... Over and over on Tuesday, Mr. Snyder expressed contrition, referring to the matter as a 'crisis' and 'catastrophe,' saying 'mistakes' had been made and promising to pray for the people of Flint. But he also left residents of the city, whose population has dwindled with the departure of the auto industry to fewer than 100,000, with unanswered questions." ...

... The Detroit Free Press story, by Paul Egan & Kathleen Gray, is here. ...

... Rochelle Riley of the Detroit Free Press: Snyder's "encouraging words -- 'We are praying for you.' 'We are working hard for you.' 'We will not let you down' -- weren't hollow. I believe that he meant them. But it may have been the first time in a long time, if ever, that he spoke directly to people who aren't rich, who don't have a lot of choices and who have been using poison water for more than a year." ...

... ** Katrina vanden Heuvel of the Nation in a Washington Post op-ed: "In early 2015, shortly after his victory in a heated reelection contest, Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder (R) began exploring a run for president.... He embarked on a national speaking tour and set up a fundraising organization. Its name: 'Making Government Accountable.' As Snyder was testing the presidential waters, however, his government was being shamefully unaccountable' [to the residents of Flint].... The biggest obstacles to desperately needed public investments are politicians like Snyder who conflate 'accountability' with austerity." CW: vanden Heuvel does a good job of summarizing the fiasco. ...

... Everything Is Obama's Fault. Inexplicably, Julie Davis of the New York Times thinks the Flint fiasco is President Obama's problem.

Kelsey Snell of the Washington Post: "The federal budget deficit is expected to increase in 2016 for the first time in six years, due mostly to a massive tax package Congress passed last month as part of a year-end budget deal." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)

Adam Liptak & Michael Shear of the New York Times: "The Supreme Court said Tuesday that it would consider a legal challenge to President Obama's overhaul of the nation's immigration rules. The court ... will now determine the fate of one of his most far-reaching executive actions." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ...

... ** Greg Sargent: "This is very big news, not only because it could help determine the status of millions of undocumented immigrants whose fates are hanging in limbo, but also because it could thrust the immigration debate to the forefront right when the presidential race is hitting full boil.... Whatever happens at the Court, it's hard to see this debate playing in the GOP's favor." ...

... OR, as Brian Beutler puts it, "Great news: Unelected Supreme Court justices will decide if Obama is Caesar.... But as in previous Supreme Court cases, like King v. Burwell and others, it will also test the merits of the right's reflexive opposition to administrative action in the Obama era." ...

... Jeff Toobin in the New Yorker: "... the Court's decision today to hear the case was a victory for the President. If the Court had put off its decision for even another week or two, the clock might have run out on this year's Supreme Court term.... The question of executive authority has also split the Justices along ideological lines, but with unpredictable implications for the current case.... It will be interesting to see if [Justice] Thomas and his conservative colleagues are as solicitous of President Obama's claims as they were of President George W. Bush's. Likewise, we will see whether the liberals who slapped down Bush on Guantánamo apply the same reasoning to Obama's claims on immigration." ...

... New York Times Editors answer all of Toobin's questions: "The states should never have been allowed standing to sue in the first place, and their substantive claims are groundless.... Mr. Obama's pragmatic deportation exemption programs are well within his legal and constitutional authority. The Supreme Court explicitly stated in 2012 that the federal government had 'broad, undoubted power over the subject of immigration and the status of aliens' under the Constitution.... Congress should have passed comprehensive immigration reform years ago, rather than, say, threatening to impeach the president when he took on the issue." ...

... BUT the big question is, "What will Judge Judy decide?" Daniella Diaz of CNN: "Nearly 10% of college graduates surveyed in a poll believe Judith Sheindlin, aka 'Judge Judy,' serves on the Supreme Court.... The poll, conducted by the American Council of Trustees and Alumni in August 2015 but released in January 2016, concluded from the 1,000 surveyed that college graduates 'are alarmingly ignorant of America's history and heritage.'"

Stephanie Mencimer of Mother Jones: "The US Supreme Court now has twice heard major challenges to the Affordable Care Act, better known as Obamacare, and twice it's come down on the side of the Obama administration and upheld the law. But that hasn't kept opponents from trying again -- and again and again. Today, the court refused even to hear the latest challenge to the law, a sign that the justices are perhaps ready to move on. The case, Sissel v. HHS, involves an artist and National Guard reservist who, like other anti-ACA plaintiffs, really doesn't want to buy health insurance." CW: Oh, & Ted Cruz, along with his Senate pals John Cornyn (Texas) & Mike Lee (Utah) wrote a friend-of-the-court brief supporting Sissel.

Robert Barnes of the Washington Post: A strange First Amendment case -- or maybe it's not a First Amendment case -- gets a hearing before the Supreme Court. "... the question was what happens when the boss retaliates against an employee on the mistaken belief that the employee has" exercised his First Amendment right to support a particular political candidate. CW: This would have been a super case for moot court.

Josh Gerstein of Politico: "A federal judge has rejected President Barack Obama's assertion of executive privilege to deny Congress access to records pertaining to Operation Fast and Furious, a gunrunning probe that allegedly allowed thousands of weapons to flow across the border into Mexico. U.S. District Court Judge Amy Berman Jackson ruled Tuesday that the Justice Department's public disclosures about its response to the so-called 'gun walking' controversy undercut Obama's executive privilege claim.... Jackson, an Obama appointee, left open the possibility in her ruling Tuesday that some of the disputed records could still be held back from Congress because they contain sensitive information on law enforcement techniques, implicate foreign policy concerns or discuss matters covered by attorney-client privilege."

Zygote News Today. "The Best Interests of the Embryos." Tamar Lewin of the New York Times: "Anti-abortion groups are seeking a foothold on a new battlefield: custody disputes over frozen embryos.... As scientific advances have made frozen embryos common, they have brought new complications to divorces. Most courts have treated embryos as marital property, often favoring the party that plans not to use the embryos, emphasizing a right not to be forced to procreate.... But anti-abortion groups argue that such cases should be decided according to the best interests of the embryos, the same legal standard used in child-custody disputes."

Jane Mayer in Politico Magazine: "Charles Koch might claim that his entry into politics is new, but from its secrecy to its methods of courting donors and recruiting students, the blueprint for the vast and powerful Koch donor network that we see today was drafted four decades ago." The article is adapted from Dark Money.

Liz Sly of the Washington Post: "Russia's military intervention in Syria is finally generating gains on the ground for Syrian government forces, tilting the battlefield in favor of President Bashar al-Assad to such an extent that the Obama administration's quest for a negotiated settlement to the war suddenly looks a lot less likely to succeed.... Peace talks scheduled to start in Geneva next week are already in doubt because of disputes between Russia and the United States, their chief sponsors, over who should be invited."

Mark Hosenball, et al., of Reuters: "Three U.S. citizens who disappeared last week in Baghdad were kidnapped and are being held by an Iranian-backed Shi'ite militia, two Iraqi intelligence and two U.S. government sources said...."

Reuters: "A media outlet associated with Islamic State on Tuesday released a eulogy for 'Jihadi John', a member of the militant group who gained notoriety for his filmed execution of hostages, the monitoring organization SITE reported. The militant was identified as Mohammed Emwazi, a British citizen of Arab origin. The U.S. military said in November it was 'reasonably certain' it had killed him in a drone strike."

Andrew Roth & Brian Murphy of the Washington Post: Former U.S. Marine Amir Hekmati, who was held in an Iranian prison for more than four years, on Tuesday talked with the media about his release.

Presidential Race

On the One Hand ... On the Other Hand.... Greg Sargent tackles the question of which Democratic candidate is more electable in a general election -- Clinton or Sanders.

John Wagner of the Washington Post: "Speaking on the national holiday commemorating [Martin Luther] King's legacy, [Bernie Sanders] told an overflow crowd estimated at more than 7,000 people [in Birmingham, Ala.,] that King's work, in addition to civil rights, focused on helping poor people, regardless of race. Sanders reminded the audience that King was assassinated in 1968 in Memphis, where he had traveled to show solidarity with striking city sanitation workers. 'The fight for economic justice is exactly what this campaign is about,' Sanders said, vowing to fight to carry on King's 'radical and bold vision for America.'" ...

... Callum Borchers of the Washington Post: Bernie Sanders & his campaign have been complaining about the scant media attention he has received relative to his popularity among voters. But. "He's managed to strike a remarkable balance in which the media takes him seriously enough to note his rise but not quite seriously enough to pick apart his record in great detail. The longer he can maintain this balance, the better for him. But it can't last forever. Part of me wonders whether Sanders's desire for more coverage is actually genuine; decrying the 'corporately owned media; fits perfectly into his populist image. But ... surely, he knows that an influx of media attention would bring a level of scrutiny and negativity that he's been able to avoid so far." ...

... Paul Krugman gives Bernie the old one-two, whacking both Sanders' plan to curb Wall Street (which Krugman has done before) and his health "plan." And there's a big three: Krugman calls the health plan dishonest: "On health care: leave on one side the virtual impossibility of achieving single-payer.... The Sanders health plan looks a little bit like a standard Republican tax-cut plan, which relies on fantasies about huge supply-side effects to make the numbers supposedly add up.... And look: if the political theory behind supporting Sanders is that the American people will vote for radical change if you're honest about what's involved, the campaign's evident unwillingness to fully confront the issues, its reliance on magic asterisks, very much weakens that claim." ...

... Nick Corasaniti of the New York Times: Republican superPACs are promoting Sanders' campaign. ...

Natasha Bertrand of Business Insider: "Emails that passed through Hillary Clinton's private server while she served as US secretary of state reportedly contained intelligence so sensitive that it has since been marked beyond 'top secret,' Fox News reported on Tuesday. The network reported on the contents of a letter authored by Intelligence Community Inspector General I. Charles McCullough III. The January 14 letter to senior lawmakers has not yet been made public." CW: Gosh, I wonder how Fox got hold of the letter.

Nolan McCaskill of Politico: "Former Defense Secretary Robert Gates on Tuesday blasted the Republican field [of presidential candidates] for their rhetoric on destroying the Islamic State. 'First of all they, they don't know what they're talking about,' Gates told MSNBC's 'Morning Joe.'... Alluding to political outsiders [Donald] Trump and retired neurosurgeon Ben Carson, Gates challenged their ability to be an effective president. '... I think that if you don't have any experience in how government works, if you have never been in government, your ability to make the government work is going to be significantly reduced.'... Asked ... whether any candidate had met his criteria, Gates said, 'I don't see any.'" CW: The Bush presidents père et fils, who employed Gates in high public positions, must be thrilled to hear him deem Jeb! not qualified to fill their fancy footwear.

David Wasserman of 538: "The GOP's primary calendar is surprisingly front-loaded with states friendly to insurgents like Trump and Cruz. But because of Republican National Committee rules, all but one of these states will award their delegates on a proportional basis, intentionally making it difficult for any one candidate to build a durable or commanding lead."

Match.com, another successful hook-up. -- Diane, in yesterday Comments ...

... CW: Guess I have to mention this, since it's the top o' the news. Maggie Haberman of the New York Times: "Sarah Palin ...will endorse Donald J. Trump in Iowa on Tuesday, officials with his campaign confirmed. The endorsement provides Mr. Trump with a potentially significant boost just 13 days before the state's caucuses." CW: And a reminder that the Republican party didn't get stupid all of the sudden. A linguist should have fun with their speeches. ...

     ... Update. Jenna Johnson of the Washington Post reports on Palin's endorsement, which Palin delivered at a Trump rally in Ames, Iowa. ...

... CW: This is all I could stand, but you can hear Palin's full speech in this YouTube video, via Fox "News":

... OR, if you prefer to read it ... Kyle Blaine of BuzzFeed: "So, Uh, Here's The Full Text Of Sarah Palin's Bizarre Trump' Speech." ...

... THEN AGAIN, I particularly like Kevin Drum's annotated snippets. ...

... David Graham of the Atlantic: Why would Palin endorse Trump when he's not the most conservative candidate? Because they're both a couple of rogues who challenge Republican orthodoxies. CW: On the other hand, so is Ted Cruz. Maybe Palin has become one of the millions of people who just can't stand Ted. ...

     ... OR, maybe Palin just knows how to pick a winner. Ask Ted Cruz about that. ...

... AND, right on cue, the Palin clan rejoins the circus. Earlier in the day, Bristol Palin, daughter of Todd & Sarah, wrote a post complaining that "staffers from Ted Cruz’s office ... slam[med] my mom." CW: The Cruz campaign did not slam Sarah Palin, IMHO, but then I'll never have the grievance quotient of a Palin. ...

... BUT wait, there's more ...

... Jordan Sargent of Gawker: "Track Palin -- the 26-year-old son of Sarah Palin... -- was arrested [Monday] night, and court documents obtained by Gawker reveal more details about the bloody and frantic altercation." Thanks, Track, it wouldn't have been a Big Palin News Day without some Palin punching a woman in the face, kicking her & brandishing a gun (according to the woman, IDed as his girlfriend, Track threatened to kill himself, not her). The gun, an AR-15 rifle, was not loaded when the police found it on the kitchen counter of Sarah & Todd Palin's house. The police officer stated that Track was initially "uncooperative, belligerent & evasive." Also drunk. ...

... Steve M.: "Donald Trump got Sarah Palin's endorsement today, which is amusing because he's been portraying himself as a great defender of women, unlike that woman-hating Hillary Clinton.... Talk to us about defending women, Donald. Really, this would be the perfect time." ...

... Corn Dawg. Timothy Cama of the Hill: "Donald Trump said Tuesday that federal regulators should increase the amount of ethanol blended into the nation's gasoline supply. Speaking at an event hosted by the Iowa Renewable Fuels Association, Trump ... said the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ought to follow the ethanol volumes Congress set in 2007.... Trump spoke very briefly about the ethanol mandate at the beginning of his speech, reading from notes in a straightforward fashion, before continuing onto other subjects in the more lively manner he usually shows in stump speeches. The event came hours after Iowa Gov. Terry Branstad (R) told voters ... that they shouldn’t vote for Sen. Ted Cruz (Texas).... Branstad cited Cruz's opposition to continuing the ethanol mandate after 2022, saying Cruz is 'heavily financed by Big Oil.'"

They have this phony [unemployment] number, 5.2 percent. Everybody that quits looking for a job is considered statistically a person that has a job. It's a phony number. You probably -- real numbers like 22, 23 percent. -- Donald Trump, at Liberty University, Jan. 18

So why does Trump claim 23 percent? We have no idea, since as usual his campaign refused to explain his reasoning.... Trump's claims on the unemployment rate would not pass muster in an Economics 101 course. While he has apparently cut his estimate of the unemployment rate from 42 percent to 23 percent, his figure is still more than double the most expansive rate published by the government. -- Glenn Kessler, Washington Post

... Trump’s 'reasoning' seems like a pretty charitable description of his mental processes. -- Greg Sargent

Dana Milbank on what British members of Parliament think of Donald Trump. (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) CW: How does being reviled by our allies makes America great again.

Brendan O'Connor of Gawker: "Following Sarah Palin’s endorsement Tuesday of Donald Trump, GOP consultant Rick Wilson ... described members of the American 'alt right' (which is basically code for white supremacists) ["who think Donald Trump is the greatest thing"] as 'mostly childless single men who masturbate to anime.' The point was to discredit them as a category, bereft of any 'real' political significance.... However, it is also a discredit to those who masturbate to anime." ...

... CW: I did have to look up "anime."

I love Sarah Palin. Sarah Palin is fantastic. Without her friendship and support I wouldn't be in the Senate today. And so regardless of what Sarah decides to do in 2016 I will always remain a big, big fan of Sarah Palin's. -- Ted Cruz, minutes before Palin confirmed her endorsement of Trump

... Here's Cruz, boosting his rogue creds. Katie Glueck of Politico: "Ted Cruz on Tuesday dismissed Iowa Gov. Terry Branstad as a crony capitalist who is part of the GOP establishment, hours after the prominent Republican governor indicated that he did not want Cruz to win Iowa. 'It is no surprise that the establishment is in full panic mode,' Cruz told reporters [in Center Barnstead, N.H.]. 'We said from the beginning, that the Washington cartel was going to panic more and more. As conservatives unite behind our campaign you're going to see the Washington cartel firing every shot they can, every cannon they can. Because the Washington cartel lives on cronyism, it lives on making deals, it lives on picking winners and losers and supporting corporate welfare and cronyism. This is what people are so fed up with.'"

They sold out of those boots online. They’re made in Wisconsin. Florsheim! You know what that means? That means I did more for American business in one week than Barack Obama did in seven years! -- Marco Rubio, Waverly, Ohio, Jan. 18

His Florsheim ankle boots aren't made in the Badger State, where the company is headquartered. Florsheim told us ... Rubio's boots came from India. -- Joshua Gillin, Politifact

Now, don't say I don't cover the important stuff. -- Constant Weader

... This one does matter:

When I become president of the United States, our adversaries around the world will know that America is no longer under the command of someone weak like Barack Obama, and it will be like Ronald Reagan, where as soon as he took office the hostages were released from Iran. -- Marco Rubio, on "Meet the Press." Sunday

Rubio said that Iranian hostages were released in 1981 as Reagan took office because Iran perceived that America was 'no longer under the command of someone weak.' In reality, Reagan's foreign policy approach wasn't a factor in the hostages' release, as scholars told us. The Carter administration negotiated the deal months before Reagan's inauguration, without involvement by Reagan or his transition team. Rubio's claim is an imaginative re-reading of history. -- Angle Holan & Louis Jacobson of Politifact

Michael Barbaro of the New York Times: "Gov. Chris Christie of New Jersey and his wife, Mary Pat, underwent marriage counseling to wrestle with what he called 'really challenging times' in their relationship. They waited seven years to have children to ensure they 'definitely liked each other.' And to this day they retreat to a walk-in closet to loudly argue away from their children's earshot, according to a new book." (Also linked yesterday.)

Beyond the Beltway

Emily Reyes & Matt Lait of the Los Angeles Times: "The Los Angeles City Council agreed Tuesday to pay more than $24 million to settle lawsuits from two men who alleged that investigations by dishonest LAPD detectives led to their wrongful murder convictions and caused them to spend decades behind bars. Kash Delano Register, who won his freedom in 2013 after lawyers and students from Loyola Law School cast doubt on the testimony of a key prosecution witness, will receive $16.7 million -- the largest settlement in an individual civil rights case in the city's history, his attorneys said. Bruce Lisker, who was released from prison in 2009 after a Times investigation into his conviction, will get $7.6 million."

Ivan Penn of the Los Angeles Times: "California Atty. Gen. Kamala D. Harris is investigating whether Exxon Mobil Corp. repeatedly lied to the public and its shareholders about the risk to its business from climate change -- and whether such actions could amount to securities fraud and violations of environmental laws.

Les Zaitz of the Oregonian: "The divide among friends and neighbors over the refuge occupation boiled into the open [in Burns, Oregon,] Tuesday night in a community meeting that crackled with emotion.... In sometimes highly personal remarks, speaker after speaker vented anger -- at public officials, at the federal government and at the man in the brown cowboy hat sitting high in the bleachers to take it all in -- Ammon Bundy." ...

... Where the Deer & the Antelope Play. Katherine Krueger of TPM: Some militiamen at the Malheur Refuge call "Christians" to join them:

... CW: So did they bring these instruments with them, or did they kill off some antelope (or whatever) on the supposed refuge for the horns? ...

... Update: Sam Biddle of Gawker points out that the horns the militants are using to call Christians resemble shofars, which are traditional horns used during various Jewish high holy days.

News Lede

New York Times: "At least 19 people were killed and several wounded when militants attacked a university campus in northwestern Pakistan on Wednesday, a senior government official said.... A spokesman for the Pakistani Taliban called reporters in Peshawar to claim responsibility for the attack and say that four of their men were involved."

Comments Off

Reader Comments (27)

On Zygote News:

Or if a court decides that neither potential parent is fit, maybe the anti-abortionists could mount a campaign to build cryogenic zygote creches, with taxpayer money of course, to house those little darlings until some wonderful parent, an anti-abortionist like themselves, of course, is willing to adopt them.

That oughta keep 'em busy. These folks always think things through.

January 19, 2016 | Unregistered CommenterKen Winkes

I want to thank Palin for confirming my post yesterday. The land of the free and the home of the dumb.

January 19, 2016 | Unregistered CommenterMarvin Schwalb

http://links.newyorker.mkt4334.com/ctt?kn=2&ms=ODQ1MDU4MQS2&r=MTA5MjQwMTg0OTUxS0&b=0&j=ODQyMTA4MTcyS0&mt=1&rt=0

January 19, 2016 | Unregistered CommenterD.C.Clark

The stage was set, microphones adjusted, the candidate stands at the ready waiting for the lady to appear. Suddenly it's Shake, Rattle and Roll time––in she swishes, adorned in a black over-blouse inlaid with thousands of tiny, sliver- tinsel shimmers that were constantly in motion corresponding to the lady herself who gesticulated, gyrated and gave the distinct impression that she was addressing a huge crowd of hungry Christians anticipating the play "The Lion and the Lady" (a spin-off of the one with the tiger.) In a voice that one can only describe as screeching, she endorses the candidate in words only she understands–-no one else can ever figure out the syntax. She finishes with a flourish shouting, "This is going to be SOOOO much fun!"

And fun it might be for Sarah, but the fact that she is endorsing a man that has called McCain a loser––and denigrated his service in a war when this same McCain has stood by Palin––never wavered from saying positive things about her, how much he respects her, etc. is what I would call a turn-coat–-an insensitive slap in the face to a man that has stood by her when he could have brushed her aside and confessed what a mistake he had made. Of course you could argue that because it's McCain, he weren't never ever coulda admit that, but he wouldn't have had to stand by her and say all the nice things he does about her. True colors, folks, they come out sooner or later.

January 20, 2016 | Unregistered CommenterPD Pepe

Adolf, please pick Sarah as your VP!

The Repubs positions on everything are all related to the lowest of the low voters in early primary states. I can't wait to see what the story will be when they have to address the entire nation.

January 20, 2016 | Unregistered CommenterMarvin Schwalb

@PD Pepe: Excellent point re: McCain-Palin-Trump. And the Palins are miffed because they think Cruz "betrayed" Sarah by discouraging her from endorsing Trump?

Marie

January 20, 2016 | Registered CommenterMarie Burns

Palin-Trump! This is going to be more interesting than "House of
Cards" (which returns to the TV in March).

January 20, 2016 | Unregistered Commenterforrest morris

Sooooo....

Whadawehave taday with the Confederacy of Dunces?

Lemme see... Oh, here we go:

A screeching harpie runs around on a stage celebrating the power of hatred, bigotry, and ignorance while an orange headed clown grins like a fool and "aw shucks" in wonderment at being blessed by the presence of a barely literate self-promoter whose idea of being a "true conservative leader" is storming out of a limo to scream at partygoers as her drunken, foul-mouthed family pummels anyone they consider an "enemy".

The pinnacle of Confederate presidential politicking.

Out west, other idiots are blowing "battle trumpets" like they were Joshua fitting the Battle of Jericho. Instead of tumbling walls, their primary success was giving anyone within earshot a headache. Those Confederates! So manly and powerful. Gives me chills.

Then in Michigan, the winger governor who poured poison into Flint's water, is now blaming...ready?..."Teh Guvvament!" Oh, but don't worry, all those brain damaged kids? In true Confederate fashion, he's putting the standard response to disasters (caused by Republican Big Ideas) into action: he said a prayer for them.

Well, at least he's got a plan.

January 20, 2016 | Unregistered CommenterAkhilleus

Forrest,

It will be a "House of 'tards".

Sorry, couldn't resist.

January 20, 2016 | Unregistered CommenterAkhilleus

Curious thing about Christi revealing his marital woes having been handled by therapy and closet yammerings. Evidently it has worked like a charm because Mary Pat always has that great big laughable smile ––in every picture we see of the two of them, there she is with that wide-mouthed smile even when she was standing beside Christi as he was yelling at a certain teacher. So one could conclude, wow, there is one happy woman–––or given Christi's bombast, she's over acting. I really don't care one way or the other, but find it strange that this information would be front and center––what's the reason this should be revealed now? What I do care about is another of Christi's messages: He's denouncing Michelle Obama's work on pressing school lunch programs to offer more healthy choices. What right does she have to shove her nose into this, he says. Kids have every right to eat what they want and not have the first lady (government) interfere. As he moves his bulk around the folks he's addressing it's clear that this message makes him look and sound like a fool. Will Mary Pat, closed up in the closet later, tell him this?

January 20, 2016 | Unregistered CommenterPD Pepe

I heard a clip of Palin's endorsement just now where she kept referring to "the art of the dill" in reference to Trump. Does that make Donald The Pickle King?
The Daily News has another great cover: Palin and Trump seeming to point at each other with the heading, "I'm With Stupid."

January 20, 2016 | Unregistered CommenterVictoria D.

Ak: Your spelling was a little off. Should be "House of Turds".

January 20, 2016 | Unregistered Commenterforrest morris

Eduardo Porter, an economist, addresses the question: "The Debate On Whether America's Best Days are Past or Ahead."
http://www.nytimes.com/2016/01/20/business/economy/a-somber-view-of-americas-pace-of-progress.html?smid=nytcore-ipad-share&smprod=nytcore-ipad&_r=0

January 20, 2016 | Unregistered CommenterPD Pepe

Sorry––I pasted when I should have copied––common mistake on my part: Here's the link to article cited above––well worth the read:

http://www.nytimes.com/2016/01/20/business/economy/a-somber-view-of-americas-pace-of-progress.html?smid=nytcore-ipad-share&smprod=nytcore-ipad

January 20, 2016 | Unregistered CommenterPD Pepe

Today's Edsell, a compendium of current Republican whacko orthodoxy, interlaced with a dab of false equivalency (conservative science denial vs. let's be nicer liberal PC), and ending with a whimper. But still, a good listing of the lunacy we've come to love.

http://www.nytimes.com/2016/01/20/opinion/campaign-stops/the-price-of-republican-orthodoxy.html?action=click&pgtype=Homepage&clickSource=story-heading&module=opinion-c-col-right-region&region=opinion-c-col-right-region&WT.nav=opinion-c-col-right-region

January 20, 2016 | Unregistered CommenterKen Winkes

This URL might make getting to Edsall's column a little easier:
http://www.nytimes.com/2016/01/20/opinion/campaign-stops/the-price-of-republican-orthodoxy.html

Barely able to watch the video snippet that CW provided for she-we-should-not-name with he-we-should-avoid-naming!
But, all things considered...Mama Grizzly & the Talking Yam, a perfect match made of dazzling befuddlement!

January 20, 2016 | Unregistered CommenterMAG

Anti-abortion is such a popular cause because you can claim high morality for your god without doing anything or spending any money on others.

January 20, 2016 | Unregistered CommenterMarvin Schwalb

PD Pepe: Past. Easy.

And please oh please let Stephen Hawking's prediction come to be. We've done enough damage to the universe. It's time for some new bacteria.

Donald Trump and Sarah Palin are the same person.

I turned on All In with Chris Hayes last night. A Breaking News banner filled the bottom half of the screen. The breaking news? That Sarah Palin endorsed Donald Trump. With apologies to Rachel Maddow, I'm done with MSNBC.

January 20, 2016 | Unregistered CommenterNancy

The thing that I find most interesting about the overdose map is New York. There are communities in New York that resemble those in neighboring states, but NY remains remarkably "un-red." New York started more "blue" than its neighbors but it looks as if the others changed more.

Is New York in better shape (or does it look like it's in better shape) than its neighbors because of reporting procedures, or regulations, or some other factor? This topic isn't brought up in the article, and I don't see mention of it in the original study. Seems like a good question to ask.

The other bright spot is the upper Midwest, sort of Iowa to North Dakota, for which North Dakota is well worth looking into. There has been a surge in oil production there over this time period, and all of the hard manual labor that goes into it, but they appear to have kept pain killer overdoses in check. How?

January 20, 2016 | Unregistered CommenterNiskyGuy

There are some damn smart commenters here along with a damn smart author. I'd like to hear your thoughts on what happens the first time President Trump (because folks it is a real possibility at this point) meets a bureaucratic wall; that is, when he can't do something he vowed he would do, like build that border wall or bomb the shit out of ISIS? I say he'd quit. What say you?

January 20, 2016 | Unregistered CommenterNancy

Trump up against a do nothing Congress? He'd flip his wig, then
give them all the finger and run back to Manhattan and claim that
he showed them whose boss. And then Sarah would be POTUS
and all of those Palins would be ensconsed in the White House
throwing the good china at each other, just one loooooong party.
Don't laugh. It could well happen the way things are going.

January 20, 2016 | Unregistered Commenterforrest morris

@PD. I suspect Mary Ann's perpetual plastered on big smile is the result of a better life through chemicals.

January 20, 2016 | Unregistered CommenterDiane

A friend and colleague has just called this interesting and inspiring essay to my attention:

http://www.nytimes.com/2016/01/17/opinion/sunday/cancer-and-climate-change.html?_r=1

Though we have many mutual friends, I don't know Dr. Sellers personally. He came to GSFC after I retired. My only regret in retiring early is no longer getting to meet and work with such people. (I make up for it by working with local High School students.)

January 20, 2016 | Unregistered CommenterD.C.Clark

I sincerely wish I had said this, but alas, I saw it from a commenter to a piece on the Track Palin arrest (Gawker ?). " Sarah Palin would kick you to death at an interfaith pancake breakfast in the basement of a mega church."

That's a scene I could easily imagine.

January 20, 2016 | Unregistered CommenterDiane

@Nancy: I wouldn't be too hard on MSNBC. I think the Palin endorsement is a joke which yet holds a certain fascination for many viewers, Just like a trainwreck.

January 20, 2016 | Unregistered CommenterVictoria D.

Hate to end the day with this gem, but just learned that the Palin's are selling their 8,000 sq. ft. home in Scottsdale, Ariz. for 2.4 million. I wasn't aware they had a home in Scottsdale. One can speculate why at this time they may be putting this home on the market, but I prefer not to wonder–-the reasons are too terrifying.

http://www.businessinsider.com/sarah-palin-is-selling-her-arizona-compound-2016-1

January 20, 2016 | Unregistered CommenterPD Pepe

Re: Saunder's health-care plan
Seems to me as grounded in reality as 'trickle down economics'. Consider that comparing Canadian single payer to Saunder's is like comparing a platinum plus plus (Saunders) to nickle (Canada) and yet Canada's is going bankrupt while offering no dental, no choice, minimal vision/hearing etc etcand while the cost to a family of four is at least twice that of Saunders if you earn more than $25,000 per year.
Is every American with a company provided health-care plan going to cheerfully surrender that tax free perk? How to compensate for profit hospitals and medical services? Nationalization? I think he is as guilty of fantasy as any Republican. The difference is that he will most likely have no chance to pass any of his proposals thru a repub senate/congress. I do think a Saunders presidential run would guarantee a high election turnout....to crush the socialists and result in a republican president.

January 20, 2016 | Unregistered CommenterCowichan's Opinion
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