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.”

The Wires
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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 -- July 13, 2014

Internal links, photo removed. 

Everything Is Obama's Fault. Steve Peoples of the AP: "Partly blaming unrest in the Middle East on President Barack Obama, New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie said Saturday that Obama has not spoken firmly and forcefully on Israel's behalf and that the country no longer trusts it has the full support of the United States because of him." CW: He added that Obama is also responsible for the Peloponnesian Wars, MSG in Chinese food & Bridgegate. ...

... Christie also said ObamaCare is "a failure on a whole number of levels" and should be repealed.

Maureen Dowd is still pissed off that Chelsea Clinton makes so much money: "With her 1 percenter mother under fire for disingenuously calling herself 'dead broke' when she left the White House, why would Chelsea want to open herself up to criticism that she is gobbling whopping paychecks not commensurate with her skills, experience or role in life?" ...

     ... CW: According to the report Dowd cites, by Amy Chozick of the Times, "... unlike her parents' talks, Ms. Clinton's speeches 'are on behalf of the Clinton Foundation, and 100 percent of the fees are remitted directly to the foundation,' said her spokesman, Kamyl Bazbaz, adding that 'the majority of Chelsea's speeches are unpaid.'" So I'm not sure why Dowd accuses Clinton of "wanton acquisitiveness."

Miranda Blue of Right Wing Watch: "In response to the influx of Central American children fleeing to the southern border of the U.S., the American Family Association's Bryan Fischer is repeating his belief that all national borders were determined by God and therefore anybody who crosses them without permission is directly offending the Creator." Via Steve Benen. CW: Apparently God wrote the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo & negotiated the Gadsden Purchase. It was a long, sloppy piece of work, I might add.

Here's the New York Times article, by Jason Horowitz, on Jewish Congressional Republicans, to which Citizen 625 refers in today's Comments.

Beyond the Beltway

I do not believe that human activity is causing these dramatic changes to our climate the way these scientists are portraying it. -- Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.), May 2014

Marco Rubio is an idiot. -- Mayor Philip Stoddard of South Miami, who is also a biology profressor ...

... ** Robin McKie of the Guardian: "Low-lying south Florida, at the front line of climate change in the US, will be swallowed as sea levels rise. Astonishingly, the population is growing, house prices are rising and building goes on. The problem is the city is run by climate change deniers." ...

... Let's See if Marco is a Good Catholic Boy. Tara Burton of the Atlantic: "In a talk at the Italian university of Molise, [Pope] Francis characterized concerns about the environment as 'one of the greatest challenges of our time' -- a challenge that is theological, as well as political, in nature. 'When I look at ... so many forests, all cut, that have become land ... that can [no] longer give life,' he reflected, citing South American forests in particular. 'This is our sin, exploiting the Earth.... This is one of the greatest challenges of our time: to convert ourselves to a type of development that knows how to respect creation.' And the pontiff isn't stopping there; he's reportedly planning to issue an encyclical, or papal letter, about man's relationship with the environment." Via Steve Benen. CW: This is your sin, Marco. Get right with Jesus. You, too, John I-Am-Not-a-Scientist Boehner. Et al.

Michael Wines of the New York Times: "... Alabamians who vote in Tuesday's runoff election will be able to pack heat openly and with confidence in many of the state's polling places."

Hunter Schwartz of the Washington Post: "Eight state constitutions include restrictions on people who don't believe in a supreme being. However, the Supreme Court ruled in a 1961 case that a Maryland man appointed as a notary public didn't have to declare his belief in a supreme being to hold office, arguing it violated his rights under the First and Fourteenth Amendments. Since then, these restrictions haven't been enforced, said Dave Muscato, a spokesman for American Atheists."

News Ledes

Washington Post: In a 1-0 match, Germany bested Argentina at the end of a 23-minute extra time to win the World Cup.

Reuters: "Thousands fled their homes in a Gaza town on Sunday after Israel warned them to leave ahead of threatened attacks on rocket-launching sites, on the sixth day of an offensive that Palestinian officials said has killed at least 160 people."

Reuters: "Heavy fighting broke out between rival militias near the airport of the Libyan capital Tripoli on Sunday, residents and officials said, reporting explosions and gunfire that forced the suspension of all flights."

Comments Off

Reader Comments (6)

"So I'm not sure why Dowd accuses Clinton of 'wanton acquisitiveness.'"

Because she's Dowd and it's still the 7th grade playground.

July 12, 2014 | Unregistered CommenterJames Singer

My apologies for no citation, but yesterday (I think) the NYT had an interesting article about how there may soon be zero Jews in Congress as Republicans. God Damn the people interviewed sound so bigoted and provincial I can't stand it. And, of course, the NYT just lets all that stuff pass. They really might as well be apartheid era South African whites, or Shia in Sadr city, or Sunnis in ISIS or Baptist rednecks. Who exactly is to blame for no Republican Jews in Congress? Not themselves and their party, certainly not. Do they seriously think the Rednecks, racists and Dick Cheneys wouldn't throw them under a bus once they got their money and votes?

Marie wrote about a week ago: Speaking of: "possible to criticize President Obama". Has anyone ever heard of the Obama administration suppression of the Freedom of Info Act called the "Craig Memo"? http://www.foodsafetynews.com/2014/07/letter-from-the-editor-craig-memo-neuters-48-year-old-foia/#.U7r-3dxUNjE.
Troubling, if true.

July 13, 2014 | Unregistered CommenterCitizen625

@Citizen 625: I answered that last week. Here's what I wrote:

Yesterday a commenter asked, "Has anyone ever heard of the Obama administration suppression of the Freedom of Info Act called the 'Craig Memo'?"

I replied,

"If you follow the money, you'll find that the recent disclosure of this so-called 'Craig memo' (it's not the only so-called 'Craig memo') was made by a Koch-funded group.

"The supposed memo itself has been 'reproduced' in a pdf that has no letterhead. I'm not saying it's a fake or that the White House doesn't try to control release of info; I'm saying I wouldn't take it seriously. If I see a report in a major news outlet, I'll revisit it. So far the only 'major news outlet' I've seen report on it is Glenn Beck's the Blaze."

James S. also responded to the query. Thanks.

Please bear in mind that I'm no better at Googling than the next person. In this case, it only took me 10 minutes to get some background. Other times, the question is harder -- & more time-consuming -- to answer.

As I've asked before, if you wonder about something you've read, rather than ask other readers to do your homework, do a little research yourself. If you come up with something interesting, whether or not your initial reading was worth your time, we welcome your sharing what you learned.

Thank you.

Marie

July 13, 2014 | Registered CommenterMarie Burns

Bill Maher has a good take on what he calls the "Zombie Lies" that Republicans (and Fox) perpetuate. The "everything is Obama's fault" is beginning to be so outlandish that it's ripe fodder for the comics. And by the way, Christi has lost purchase some time ago–-he needs to keep his trap shut and tend to his cover-up.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dgiiZP4Rnac

@Marie: from yesterday: got such a kick out of you delving into the Godfrey (three sticks) Cheshire's family: Sis & Buddy, Sprague and Sugar––Southern Gothic characters fer sure.

July 13, 2014 | Unregistered CommenterPD Pepe

Maybe I've been conditioned by AK and that's why what follows looks pretty tame to me, but once again one of my comments has been not included on the Times web site. Mebbe "courtesan"? Other ideas? ...

Today's politicians, even the well-heeled, have to become courtesans to get elected and to stay in office. Sometimes their family members join the family business, although the alternative can be Billy Beer and photo ops with Mo Quadaffi.

I don't particularly like Hillary Clinton. I wish that she were not the first female candidate for President who has had at least an even-money chance. Because she is, unless Elizabeth Warren can be persuaded, I will support Clinton because the alternative is to elect the party of Dick Cheney, who apparently still believes in a fictional place called Iraq that was crammed to the gills with weapons of mass destruction and where we were greeted as liberators.

And no one in his party says, Hey Gramps, lay off the Sangria.

They don't because they themselves are too busy spinning tales about how poor people crashed Wall Street because poor people not only rule America but also have the requisite free time to plan how to enslave us further.

Oh, and immigrants. In America we treat a 16-year-old who commits murder as a child and mix compassion with justice. At our border fully grown (and then some) Americans scream bile into the faces of children who have escaped from places like Tegucigalpa, which has been overrun with drug gangs and violence.

So, perhaps Bill and Hillary and maybe even Chelsea have gone from employees to bordello owners. If Hillary is the nominee in 16, she's got my vote. Better an honest courtesan than a crazy church lady."

July 13, 2014 | Unregistered CommenterJack Mahoney

Re: the US Mexico border: so God caused the United States to start the Mexican War which US Grant called [One] "of the most unjust ever waged by a stronger against a weaker nation."

Hm. That seems to apply to many of our wars, doesn't it?

July 13, 2014 | Unregistered CommenterBarbarossa
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