The Ledes

Monday, October 7, 2024

Weather Channel: “H​urricane Milton has rapidly intensified into a Category 3 and hurricane and storm surge watches are now posted along Florida's western Gulf Coast, where the storm poses threats of life-threatening storm surge, destructive winds and flooding rainfall by midweek. 'Milton will be a historic storm for the west coast of Florida,' the National Weather Service in Tampa Bay said in a briefing Monday morning.”

CNN: “This year’s Nobel Prize in physiology or medicine has been awarded to Victor Ambros and Gary Ruvkun for their work on the discovery of microRNA, a fundamental principle governing how gene activity is regulated. Their research revealed how genes give rise to different cells within the human body, a process known as gene regulation. Gene regulation by microRNA – a family of molecules that helps cells control the sort of proteins they make – ... was first revealed by Ambros and Ruvkun. The Nobel Prize committee announced the prestigious honor ... in Sweden on Monday.... Ambros, a professor of natural science at the University of Massachusetts Medical School, conducted the research that earned him the prize at Harvard University. Ruvkun conducted his research at Massachusetts General Hospital, and is a professor of genetics at Harvard Medical School.”

The Wires
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The Ledes

Sunday, October 6, 2024

New York Times: “Two boys have been arrested and charged in a street attack on David A. Paterson, a former governor of New York, and his stepson, the police said. One boy, who is 12, was charged with second-degree gang assault, and the other, a 13-year-old, was charged with third-degree gang assault, the police said on Saturday night. Both boys, accompanied by their parents, turned themselves in to the police, according to Sean Darcy, a spokesman for Mr. Paterson. A third person, also a minor, went to the police but was not charged in the Friday night attack in Manhattan, according to an internal police report.... Two other people, both adults, were involved in the attack, according to the police. They fled on foot and have not been caught, the police said. The former governor was not believed to have been targeted in the assault....”

Weather Channel: “Tropical Storm Milton, which formed in the Gulf of Mexico on Saturday, is expected to become a hurricane late Sunday or early Monday. The storm is expected to pose a major hurricane threat to Florida by midweek, just over a week after Helene pushed through the region. The National Hurricane Center says that 'there is an increasing risk of life-threatening storm surge and wind impacts for portions of the west coast of the Florida Peninsula beginning late Tuesday or Wednesday.'”

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Public Service Announcement

Washington Post: "Americans can again order free rapid coronavirus tests by mail, the Biden administration announced Thursday. People can request four free at-home tests per household through covidtests.gov. They will begin shipping Monday. The move comes ahead of an expected winter wave of coronavirus cases. The September revival of the free testing program is in line with the Biden administration’s strategy to respond to the coronavirus as part of a broader public health campaign to protect Americans from respiratory viruses, including influenza and respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), that surge every fall and winter. But free tests were not mailed during the summer wave, which wastewater surveillance data shows is now receding."

Washington Post: “Comedy news outlet the Onion — reinvigorated by new ownership over this year — is bringing back its once-popular video parodies of cable news. But this time, there’s someone with real news anchor experience in the chair. When the first episodes appear online Monday, former WAMU and MSNBC host Joshua Johnson will be the face of the resurrected 'Onion News Network.' Playing an ONN anchor character named Dwight Richmond, Johnson says he’s bringing a real anchor’s sense of clarity — and self-importance — to the job. 'If ONN is anything, it’s a news organization that is so unaware of its own ridiculousness that it has the confidence of a serial killer,' says Johnson, 44.” ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: I'll be darned if I can figured out how to watch ONN. If anybody knows, do tell. Thanks.

Washington Post: “First came the surprising discovery that Earth’s atmosphere is leaking. But for roughly 60 years, the reason remained a mystery. Since the late 1960s, satellites over the poles detected an extremely fast flow of particles escaping into space — at speeds of 20 kilometers per second. Scientists suspected that gravity and the magnetic field alone could not fully explain the stream. There had to be another source creating this leaky faucet. It turns out the mysterious force is a previously undiscovered global electric field, a recent study found. The field is only about the strength of a watch battery — but it’s enough to thrust lighter ions from our atmosphere into space. It’s also generated unlike other electric fields on Earth. This newly discovered aspect of our planet provides clues about the evolution of our atmosphere, perhaps explaining why Earth is habitable. The electric field is 'an agent of chaos,' said Glyn Collinson, a NASA rocket scientist and lead author of the study. 'It undoes gravity.... Without it, Earth would be very different.'”

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.”

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The Commentariat -- July 10, 2013

A Real Scandal. Mike DeBonis of the Washington Post: "... at least three planned Wal-Marts will not open in [Washington, D.C.,] if a super-minimum-wage proposal becomes law. A team of Wal-Mart officials and lobbyists, including a high-level executive from the mega-retailer's Arkansas headquarters, walked the halls of the John A. Wilson Building on Tuesday afternoon, delivering the news to D.C. Council members. The company's hardball tactics come out of a well-worn playbook that involves successfully using Wal-Mart's leverage in the form of jobs and low-priced goods to fend off legislation and regulation that could cut into its profits and set precedent in other potential markets. In the Wilson Building, elected officials have found their reliable liberal, pro-union political sentiments in conflict with their desire to bring amenities to underserved neighborhoods."

Michael Schmidt of the New York Times: "James B. Comey, President Obama's nominee for F.B.I. director, said on Tuesday that he no longer believed it was legal to waterboard detainees under United States law. His statements contrasted with the position he took in 2005 when, as President George W. Bush's deputy attorney general, he oversaw the government's legal opinions." ...

... Sari Horwitz of the Washington Post: "James B. Comey ... defended the National Security Agency's surveillance programs Tuesday as a critical tool for counterterrorism but said he would be open to more transparency with the secret court that oversees the government's collection operations." ...

A judge has to hear both sides of a case before deciding. What Fisa does is not adjudication, but approval. This works just fine when it deals with individual applications for warrants, but the 2008 amendment has turned the Fisa court into administrative agency making rules for others to follow. It is not the bailiwick of judges to make policy. -- Former FISC Judge James Robertson ...

... Dan Roberts of the Guardian: "A former federal judge who ... has broken ranks to criticise the system of secret courts as unfit for purpose in the wake of recent revelations by NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden. James Robertson, who retired from the District of Columbia circuit in 2010, was one of a select group of judges who presided over the so-called Fisa courts.... But he says he was shocked to hear of recent changes to allow more sweeping authorisations of programmes such as the gathering of US phone records, and called for a reform of the system to allow counter-arguments to be heard."

NEW. Greg Sargent: "The Employment Non-Discrimination Act just easily passed out of the Senate Health and Education Committee -- with three Republican Senators voting for it. The measure, which would end discrimination in hiring decisions based on sexual orientation for all but the smallest businesses, got Yes votes from co-sponsor Mark Kirk (a gay marriage supporter), as well as Lisa Murkowski and ... Orrin Hatch.... This is going to put Republicans in a difficult spot, both in the Senate and (if it passes the Upper Chamber) perhaps even more so in the House." ...

... Jeremy Peters of the New York Times: "The federal government is moving quickly to extend benefits like health care and life insurance to gay and lesbian married couples in response to the Supreme Court decision that struck down the Defense of Marriage Act. And in a sign that the political momentum from that ruling is being felt elsewhere, a Senate committee is expected to approve a bill on Wednesday that would grant protection from discrimination to people on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity. It would be the first measure of its kind to advance to the floor in either house of Congress."

Jeremy Peters: "In a move that could bring to a head six months of smoldering tensions over a Republican blockade of certain presidential nominees, Senate Democrats are preparing to force confirmation votes on a series of President Obama's most contentious appointments as early as this week. If Republicans object, Democrats plan to threaten to use the impasse to change the Senate rules that allow the minority party wide latitude to stymie action." CW: get that? Democrats "plan to threaten." They do not plan to actually change the rules.

The Saboteurs. Greg Sargent: "It's now become accepted as normal that Republicans will threaten explicitly to allow harm to the country to get what they want, and will allow untold numbers of Americans to be hurt rather than even enter into negotiations over the sort of compromises that lie at the heart of basic governing.... On Meet the Press this weekend, [Chuck] Todd ... accus[ed] Republicans of 'trying to sabotage [ObamaCare].' The current GOP campaign ... is about making it harder for uninsured Americans to gain access to coverage under a law passed and signed by a democratically elected Congress and President, and upheld by the Supreme Court...." ...

     ... To wit: Jonathan Weisman & Robert Pear of the New York Times: "House Republican leaders on Tuesday seized on the Obama administration's one-year delay of a mandate for larger employers to offer health insurance or face penalties, demanding the same postponement for the mandate on individual insurance purchases and promising a series of showdowns aimed at dividing Democrats from the White House." ...

... Emma Dumain & Meredith Shiner of Roll Call: "House GOP leaders head into a crucial immigration meeting with their rank and file Wednesday without a clear strategy for passing a bill and a host of competing factions to corral. Though the afternoon conference is being heralded as a step toward building consensus within the rank and file, members acknowledge it's unlikely to produce a unified path forward." Via Greg Sargent. ...

... Brian Beutler of TPM: "The already narrow path to enacting comprehensive immigration reform pretty much disappeared in the past 24 hours." ...

... Rebecca Leber of Think Progress: "In a joint article on Tuesday, the Weekly Standard's Bill Kristol and National Review's Rich Lowry urged House Republicans to kill comprehensive immigration reform 'without reservation,' claiming there is 'certainly no urgency to pass it.' ... The pundits do not think Hispanic voters would help the GOP in 2014 and 2016 elections. Rather than bring 11 million undocumented immigrants out of the shadows, Kristol and Lowry argue that Republicans would be better served appealing to 'working-class and younger voters concerned about economic opportunity and upward mobility.'" CW Translation: "Stick with white people." ...

... Like Li'l Randy's Favorite White Person. Alana Goodman of the "hyper-conseervative" Washington Free Beacon: "A close aide to Sen. Rand Paul (R., Ky.) who co-wrote the senator's 2011 book spent years working as a pro-secessionist radio pundit and neo-Confederate activist.... Jack Hunter ... joined Paul's office as his social media director in August 2012. From 1999 to 2012, Hunter was a South Carolina radio shock jock known as the 'Southern Avenger.' He has weighed in on issues such as racial pride and Hispanic immigration, and stated his support for the assassination of President Abraham Lincoln. During public appearances, Hunter often wore a mask on which was printed a Confederate flag. Prior to his radio career, while in his 20s, Hunter was a chairman in the League of the South, which 'advocates the secession and subsequent independence of the Southern States from this forced union and the formation of a Southern republic.'" Hunter says he's changed some of his views (CW: apparently sometime between August 2012 & now -- must have been quite an epiphany). ...

... Jonathan Chait on why racists love Li'l Randy & Big Ron: "One strange thing about Ron and Rand Paul is that racists keep popping up in their inner circles for no apparent reason. Ron Paul was surrounded by neo-Confederates and published a virulently racist newsletter.... The deep connection between the Pauls and the neo-Confederate movement ... is a reflection of the fact that white supremacy is a much more important historical constituency for anti-government ideas than libertarians like to admit." ...

... Jamelle Bouie in the American Prospect: "In 2009, [Rand Paul's] campaign spokesperson resigned after racist images were discovered on his MySpace wall, and in 2010, Paul landed in a little hot water during an interview with Rachel Maddow, when he told her that he would have opposed the 1964 Civil Rights Act for its impositions on businesses, i.e., they were no longer allowed to discriminate against blacks and other minorities.... Hiring a John Wilkes Booth sympathizer fits the picture of the Pauls as a political family that -- regardless of what's in their hearts -- is comfortable working with right-wing racists." ...

... Jed Lewison of Daily Kos: "The question I have is whether being branded as a conservative who tolerates neo-Confederate racism will be an asset or liability. In today's Republican Party, the answer isn't entirely clear." ...

... ** CW: Don't delude yourself with the notion that the Pauls are rare birds. As Scott Lemieux lays out in a Lawyers, Guns & Money post, there are five Tenthers sitting on the Supreme Court. Lemieux points out that the logic of the Roberts decision on the Voting Rights Act is exactly the same rationale that the Taney court applied in the notorious Dred Scott case, which was, um, overturned by a Civil War & two Constitutional Amendments: "Roberts's opinion rests on an utterly anachronistic vision of federal power that was highly dubious before the Civil War Amendments and was rendered completely nonsensical after they were passed. And while the moral implications of compact theory were worse in the antebellum era, as a matter of constitutional law the argument is even worse in the 21st century than it was in the middle of the 19th. The fact that this anachronistic states' rights interpretation of federal power has consistently been used to oppose federal protections of civil rights and is still being used to do so isn't a coincidence, but it's wrong on every level. We fought a civil war against the premises that Shelby County uncritically invokes. But striking down Section 4 of the Voting Rights Act is the latest example of the party of Lincoln transforming into the party of Calhoun."

Your Government Actually at Work. Jessica Silver-Greenberg & Edward Wyatt of the New York Times: "Federal regulators are cracking down on questionable debt collection practices by some of the nation's biggest lenders. The push comes after revelations that some of the same practices that have haunted the foreclosures of homes -- like robo-signing and faulty documentation -- have cropped up in efforts to recoup delinquent credit card debt.... On Wednesday, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau plans to assert at a hearing that it has the authority to regulate banks' debt collection practices under the Dodd-Frank financial overhaul law. The act bars the firms from employing 'unfair, deceptive or abusive acts.'"

"A Coup Is a Coup Is a Coup." Dana Milbank: "How long can the euphemisms endure? Egypt's interim government said Tuesday that it hopes to hold elections in six months -- at which time Egypt would again be a democracy eligible for foreign aid. It's theoretically possible the Obama administration could hold out for that long without naming the Situation in Egypt -- but that would be quite a coup."

Maureen Dowd has a date with a sexy French Socialist politician, Arnaud Montebourg. Nice working vacation.

Congressional Races

Tal Kopan of Politico: "Newark Mayor Cory Booker is blowing away the rest of the field in the Democratic primary for New Jersey’s Senate seat, according to a new poll on Tuesday. Booker had the support of 52 percent of those Democrats surveyed in the Quinnipiac poll, compared with 10 percent for Rep. Frank Pallone, who on Monday got the endorsement of the late Sen. Frank Lautenberg's family. The other candidates in the race were in single digits: Rep. Rush Holt was supported by 8 percent and Assembly Speaker Sheila Oliver got 3 percent. Booker also topped potential Republican challengers."

I've considered it because people have requested me considering it. I'm still waiting to see, you know, what the lineup will be and hoping that, there again, there will be some new blood, new energy -- not just kind of picking from the same old politicians in the state. -- Former Alaska Half-Governor & 2008 U.S. Vice Presidential Runner-Up Sarah Palin, on whether or not she will run for the U.S. Senate next year

There again, no estimate on what fraction of a grueling six-year term she could, you know, be persuaded to serve. -- Constant Weader (Thanks to Julie L. for the link.)

Local News

New York Times Editors: North Carolina "state government has become a demolition derby, tearing down years of progress in public education, tax policy, racial equality in th courtroom and access to the ballot.... North Carolina was once considered a beacon of farsightedness in the South, an exception in a region of poor education, intolerance and tightfistedness. In a few short months, Republicans have begun to dismantle a reputation that took years to build."

Bad News Bob Gets More Bad News. Jim Nolan of the Richmond Times-Dispatch: "Sean McDonnell, the 21-year-old son of Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell, was arrested Saturday in Charlottesville and charged with public swearing and intoxication.... The arrest is the latest trouble for Virginia's first family, beset by inquiries into its acceptance of personal gifts from the governor's political donors and its use of mansion resources over the last three-and-a-half years." ...

... Hot Pockets. Alix Bryan of WTVR Richmond: "On Friday, July 5, Gov. Bob McDonnell reimbursed the Commonwealth almost $2,400 for food and supplies taken by his children from the kitchen of the Virginia Executive Mansion.... Most of the items were given to three McDonnell children when they returned to college after weekend or holiday visits.... Virginia Executive Mansion chef Todd Schneider faces four felony counts of embezzlement for allegedly removing food from the kitchen. In the court documents for his own case, Schneider alleged that the governor's family took items from the executive kitchen." But the kids' pilfering is decidedly small potatoes compared to ...

... Update. Bigger Bad News for Bad News Bob. Rosalind Helderman of the Washington Post: "A prominent political donor gave $70,000 to a corporation owned by Virginia Gov. Robert F. McDonnell and his sister last year, and the governor did not disclose the money as a gift or loan.... The donor, wealthy businessman Jonnie R. Williams Sr., also gave a previously unknown $50,000 check to the governor's wife, Maureen, in 2011.... The money to the corporation and Maureen McDonnell brings to $145,000 the amount Williams gave to assist the McDonnell family in 2011 and 2012 -- funds that are now at the center of federal and state investigations....All the payments came as McDonnell and his wife took steps to promote the donor's company and its products." ...

... CW: maybe McDonnell should follow the advice of those apparently false rumors that he would resign shortly.

Nick Corasaniti of the New York Times: "Eliot Spitzer is back, and for late-night comedy writers, he might as well be manna from heaven."

News Ledes

CNN: "Iraq veteran turned pro-gun activist Adam Kokesh was arrested on two charges, including having a gun while in possession of an illicit drug, police said Wednesday. His arrest comes after authorities late Tuesday searched the suburban Washington home of Kokesh, who recently made headlines with his July Fourth video posted to YouTube in which he loaded a shotgun in the middle of the national capital's Freedom Plaza." The Washington Post story is here.

Guardian: "The defence has rested its case in the trial of the WikiLeaks source Bradley Manning, rounding off its portrayal of the US soldier as a young man who accepted that he was wrong to have leaked a vast trove of state secrets but who had no 'general evil intent' to 'aid the enemy'."

New York Times: "The new military-led government [of Egypt] accused Mohamed Morsi and his allies in the Muslim Brotherhood on Wednesday of a campaign to incite violence against their foes before and after his ouster as president, offering a new explanation for the week-old takeover and hinting that the group might be banned once again."

New York Times: Joseph "Massino, the former boss of the Bonanno crime family [who was serving two life sentences], will be released from federal custody in 60 days, a period the government requested to put in place security arrangements to keep Mr. Massino safe from what are presumed to be a considerable number of enemies. Federal prosecutors in Brooklyn had sought a reduction of Mr. Massino's sentence, citing his extensive cooperation: while incarcerated, Mr. Massino had recorded conversations with a Mafia captain, and he has provided investigators with information about hundreds of people associated with not only the Bonanno family, which Mr. Massino took control of in 1991, but also the other crime families across New York."

Orlando Sentinel: "By early Friday afternoon, jurors should be deliberating whether Neighborhood Watch volunteer George Zimmerman is a murderer. After nearly a year and a half of public debate about racial profiling and gun rights, six jurors ... will decide whether Zimmerman killed 17-year-old Trayvon Martin in self-defense or committed a crime."

Boston Globe: "Escorted by a Humvee filled with heavily armed law enforcement officers, a white prisoner van carrying Boston Marathon bombing suspect Dzhokhar Tsarnaev roared into US District Court in Boston today, rushing past about a dozen people who shouted encouragement to the alleged Islamic terrorist." ...

     ... Update: "Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, the alleged Boston Marathon bomber, made his first public appearance since the April 15 attack Wednesday in a federal court room and pleaded not guilty to a sweeping terrorism indictment that carries the possibility of the death penalty. With 30 bombing victims in the courtroom, some wearing the Boston Marathon gear, Tsarnaev entered 'not guilty' pleas in a thick accent seven times to groups of charges including using a weapon of mass destruction."

New York Times: "A federal judge on Wednesday found that Apple violated antitrust law in helping raise the retail price of e-books, saying the company 'played a central role in facilitating and executing' a conspiracy with five big publishers."

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