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 -- Nov. 1, 2015

Internal links removed.

Scott Wong of the Hill: "New Speaker Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) on Sunday dismissed Democrats' calls for a paid family leave law as another 'federal entitlement,' and said his position isn't at odds with recent remarks that he wants to spend weekends with his young family in Wisconsin.... Ryan has said he wouldn't be like other modern Speakers who criss-cross the country on weekends to raise cash for the party; instead, he said he'll return home each weekend to his native Janesville, Wis., where his wife and three children live. But Democrats pounced on him, saying he's a hypocrite for wanting time with his own family while denying mandatory paid time off for other hard-working Americans."

Matt Sedensky & Nomann Merchant of the AP: "In a yearlong investigation of sexual misconduct by U.S. law enforcement, The Associated Press uncovered about 1,000 officers who lost their badges in a six-year period for rape, sodomy and other sexual assault; sex crimes that included possession of child pornography; or sexual misconduct such as propositioning citizens or having consensual but prohibited on-duty intercourse." ...

... Here the AP cites "10 cases from across the U.S. that reflect how such crimes can occur, and the devastation they leave behind. Most of the officers have been convicted and are serving time. Some await trial."

Diane Horvath-Cosper, in a Washington Post op-ed: "m an obstetrician-gynecologist. Among the many medical services I provide my patients, I perform abortions for women who need them. That's made me a target for harassment online and in person over the course of my career.... Last year, a survey conducted for the Feminist Majority Foundation found that nearly 20 percent of clinics have been subject to the most severe types of anti-abortion violence, including stalking, facility invasions and blockades.... Americans of good conscience can disagree about the morality of abortion, but we should all agree that no physicians ought to be terrorized for doing their jobs."

Guardian: "Secretary of State John Kerry said on Saturday American special operations troops being sent to Syria would only fight Islamic State militants and would not become involved in the country's long-running civil war. As he did so, US-backed rebels attacked Isis in the north-east of the country. Deputy secretary of state Antony Blinken, meanwhile, told a policy conference in Bahrain Moscow's intervention in the Syrian conflict would have the unintended consequences of drawing Russia into a quagmire and alienating Sunni Muslims across the region."

Presidential Race

John Wagner of the Washington Post: "Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) said Saturday that he thinks the Democratic race for the White House has become too personal as supporters of Hillary Rodham Clinton have accused him and his campaign of taking on a sexist tone. 'I do, and I think that is unfortunate,' Sanders told reporters at a news conference called [in Concord, N.H.,] to tout endorsements from a statewide postal workers union and two local trade unions.... Sanders has been fending off suggestions of sexism from Clinton boosters since late last week, when Clinton took issue with one of Sanders's comments on gun control from the first Democratic debate in Las Vegas. Sanders said that he favors sensible solutions to reduce violence but told Clinton that 'all the shouting in the world is not going to do what I hope all of us want.'"

Nick Gass of Politico picks out the "13 must-read Clinton e-mails." CW: If you don't read them, you'll survive. They sound like your e-mails & mine, except Ben Affleck never writes to me (as far as I recall). Also, I never want to learn how to access emoticons. I'd like to learn how to get rid of them, tho -- they pop up when I try to put letters or in parentheses. 😒

Seinfeld on the Potomac -- A Party about Nothing. David McCabe of the Hill: "mer Sen. Richard Lugar (R-Ind.) says he saw 'very little substance' on display at Wednesday night's Republican presidential debate. 'I felt that the entire portion that I watched, maybe the first hour and 20 minutes, once again was a good bit of showmanship. Very little substance in terms of what candidates are prepared to do for this country,' he [said]...." ...

, Ctd. Trip Gabriel of the New York Times: "With 10 Republican presidential candidates together at a forum [in Des Moines, Iowa,] on Saturday, three days after their raucous debate in Colorado, several took shots at their new common enemy: the debate moderators, eliciting loud applause from hundreds of Iowa voters.... But some other candidates ... argu[ed] that facing critical questions is part of auditioning for the job of presidential nominee. 'If you can't handle that stage, you’ve got no chance of handling Hillary Clinton,' said Gov. Chris Christie...." ...

... Bradford Richardson of the Hill: "Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) says the moderators at CNBC's GOP presidential debate were 'left-wing operatives' trying to weaken Republican presidential candidates. He added future debates should be hosted by moderators who have voted in the Republican primary at least once in their lives." CW: Yeah. Like Tea Party-instigator Rick Santelli & supply-sider Larry Kudlow (who is running as a Republican for the Senate). This doesn't show how right-wing Ted is; it shows what a grifter he is. He's fundraising on standing up to "left-wing operatives."

     ... So then Cruz said that instead of having to endure the "attacks" of "left-wing liberals" (a tautology, but so what?), the debates should be moderated by "real journalists." C'mon, Ted, name names: "[He] suggested a debate should be hosted by conservative radio hosts Sean Hannity, Rush Limbaugh and Mark Levin." Real journalists, all. ...

... Dave Weigel, et al., of the Washington Post: "The list of possible reforms to future Republican debates is growing as several campaigns get ready for a Sunday evening meeting in a northern Virginia hotel. There's one point of agreement: Republican National Committee chairman Reince Priebus has let them down, and it is time for the candidates to take over the process."

I say this somewhat in jest, at least there was someone who fared worse in the last debate than me: CNBC. I know I have to get better. I don't have this gigantic ego that says, 'Well they're just stupid. Iowa voters don't understand me.' But also, I'm a really competitive guy. -- Jeb Bush, at a Des Moines, Iowa, rally, Saturday ...

... Maureen Dowd, as is her wont, psychoanalyzes the Dubya & Jeb! dynamic.

Beyond the Beltway

Matt Steiner of the Colorado Springs Gazette: "Gunfire rang out Saturday morning east of downtown Colorado Springs, leaving bullet-riddled bodies lying in ... North Prospect Street and in front of a Wendy's restaurant.... Police confirmed Saturday afternoon that three victims were killed by a gunman with a rifle. The suspected shooter was killed in a shootout with police. He was gunned down by Colorado Springs police after he apparently turned and began shooting at police."

News Ledes

Washington Post: "A Russian plane that crashed in Egypt over the weekend broke up in midair, a senior Russian aviation official said after visiting the crash site in the Sinai Peninsula on Sunday. All 224 people aboard were killed. It was too early to tell what caused the disaster, said Viktor Sorochenko, an official with the Interstate Aviation Committee, according to Russia's Interfax news agency."

BBC News: "A Bangladeshi publisher of secular books has been hacked to death in the capital Dhaka in the second attack of its kind on Saturday, police say. Faisal Arefin Dipon, 43, was killed at his office in the city centre, hours after another publisher and two secular writers were injured in an attack. A local affiliate of al-Qaeda said it carried out the attacks. There has been a series of attacks on secularists since blogger Avijit Roy was hacked to death in February."

AP: "Searchers using high-tech sonars have discovered the deep-water wreckage of a vessel believed to be the cargo ship El Faro, which went missing Oct. 1 with 33 crewmembers during Hurricane Joaquin, the U.S. National Transportation Safety Board said late Saturday. The federal agency said the wreckage is some 15,000 feet below the water's surface and its identity still must be confirmed by sending down a remotely operated deep ocean vehicle."

Guardian: "Turkish voters are going to the polls in parliamentary elections that could end more than a decade of single-party rule by the Justice and Development party (AKP). Voting stations around the country opened on Sunday morning in the snap elections, which were called by the Turkish president, Recep Tayyip ErdoÄŸan, after negotiations to form a coalition with the opposition following an inconclusive vote in June fell apart." ...

     ... New York Times UPDATE: "In a stunning electoral comeback, the Islamist party of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan regained its majority in Parliament on Sunday, ensuring Mr. Erdogan's continued dominance of Turkish politics after months of political turmoil and violence. The result will permit Mr. Erdogan to maintain his position as the country's pre-eminent political figure while pushing the boundaries of the constitutional limits of the presidency, a largely ceremonial position."

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Reader Comments (1)

About the sexual misconduct of law enforcement, "(California & New York)they have no statewide system to decertify officers for misconduct". In this day and age of universal taking off of shoes at airports or nail clippers on airplanes or metal detectors at Federal buildings, what is it with the lack of policing the police? We have created metrics for everything from shoe sizes to dress sizes to pet food kibble sizes and our government can't put together a database about bad cops?
Any push-back against ungoverned institutional authority is exactly why Barry O or Hillary are so much better for the body politic than any of the Republican jokers who never met an authority they didn't want to commandeer and misdirect to their own purposes. Women, minorities and the young will seldom get ahead when the appeals process to injustice is governed exclusively by the haves.

November 1, 2015 | Unregistered CommenterCitizen625
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