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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Thursday
Nov042010

The Commentariat -- November 5

The Republican primaries will be a production of Fox "News."
-- Chris Wallace of Fox "News":

Charlie Savage of the New York Times compares George W. Bush's account of events in his soon-to-be pubished memoir Decision Points with news accounts of the events. Interactive.

Helene Cooper of the New York Times: "While [President Obama's] domestic agenda may end up being stalled for the next two years, national security remains his domain, no matter how unfriendly Congress may be. And the United States’ relations abroad, political and foreign policy observers say, may be the broadest avenue left for Mr. Obama to accomplish anything during the remainder of his current term."

More Bad News. Michael Shear of the New York Times: "President Obama is moving to cool down his war with the United States Chamber of Commerce, one of the most bitter political feuds of the last two years." Obama sent Tim Geithner out for a two-hour chat with Chamber CEO Tom Donohue. CW: do you think those two were discussing your interests? ...

... What a shame for the nation that President Obama doesn't have the guts to follow Paul Krugman's advice: "Mr. Obama’s economic policy ended up being a political disaster precisely because he tried to play it safe. It’s time for him to try something different."

John Dickerson of Slate: Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell says President Obama must get in line with him & support legislation that reflects "the will of the people." However, McConnell's ideas of what "the people" demand are distortions.

Mark Hosenball of Reuters: "In an e-mail to newly elected House Republicans, Eric Cantor, likely to be the next House majority leader, said the Republican leadership would spotlight oversight findings in floor debates to point up what Republicans say is excessive government spending. Every week, the Republicans plan to publicize 'one major oversight hearing ... that plays into our overall focus on job creation and reducing spending,' Cantor said."

Gene Robinson: "Nancy Pelosi ... is losing her job not because she does it poorly but because she does it so well." ...

... ** William Saletan makes a similar point in Slate: "Democrats didn't lose the battle of 2010. They won it." Congresses come and go. The healthcare law is forever. ...

... Jonathan Karl of ABC News: "High-level Democratic sources in the House tell ABC News [Speaker Nancy] Pelosi is seriously considering staying in Congress and running for the position of minority leader. Pelosi is methodically calling every Democratic House member who won on Tuesday, as well as many who lost, sources tell ABC News. In the process, she is weighing her options and gauging her support." With video. Diane Sawyer interviews Pelosi here; we embedded a clip yesterday; here's more:

... MEANWHILE. Jonathan Allen & John Bresnahan of Politico: "Utah Rep. Jim Matheson, a co-chairman of the Blue Dogs, told POLITICO on Thursday that Pelosi should not be a candidate for minority leader." ...

... AND. Brian Beutler of Talking Points Memo: "Rep. Heath Shuler (D-NC), who dodged the shellacking on Tuesday, says if Pelosi makes a play to be Minority Leader, he'll run against her." ...

     ... New York Times Update: "House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said on Friday that she would run to remain the leader of the House Democrats." ...

     ... Time Update: "Democrat Jim Clyburn announced he will challenge [Steny] Hoyer [for the No. 2 spot]. Clyburn, a South Carolina Dem, is a leading member of the Congressional Black Caucus and the highest ranking African American ever to serve in the House.

Jordan Fabian of The Hill: "House Democrats were swept out of power because party leaders tried to hard to 'appease' Republicans on major issues, said a high-profile member Thursday who lost his seat Rep. Alan Grayson (D-Fla.) said Democratic leaders should have been more aggressive and shut Republicans out of the negotiating process."

Jonathan Weisman of the Wall Street Journal: "... President Barack Obama is getting pilloried by the right on the cost of his 10-day trip to Asia, with outlandish hyperventilation going directly from suspect Indian media reports to conservative U.S. media outlets and commentators without a pause for fact-checking.... Now a new rumor has emerged courtesy of India’s NDTV. Mr. Obama, the outlet says, 'will be protected by a fleet of 34 warships, including an aircraft carrier, which will patrol the sea lanes off the Mumbai coast.' The White House called that ridiculous. But on the conservative Drudge Report website, it’s on the home page – in huge type." ...

... AND, Michele Bachmann, never one to let facts get in the way of a good rant, is outraged at the made-up cost of the India trip. With video of Bachmann being outraged & blatantly inaccurate.

California Sends a Competent Leader to Sacramento. Adam Nagourey & Jennifer Medina of the New York Times: Jerry Brown was California's youngest governor when he was elected in 1974; Tuesday he was elected as its oldest. Despite the state's deep fiscal problems, Brown knows what to do & how to do it. He's already begun meeting with state lawmakers. ...

... Florida Voters Choose a Crook. Damien Cave of the New York Times: Governor-Elect Rick Scott's "proposals, and his approach to business, suggest that residents here may soon see an approach to government closer to the conservative, budget-slashing overhaul proposed for Britain."

Nate Silver: "... polls conducted by the firm Rasmussen Reports — which released more than 100 surveys in the final three weeks of the campaign, including some commissioned under a subsidiary on behalf of Fox News — badly missed the margin in many states, and also exhibited a considerable bias toward Republican candidates." Rasmussen overestimated "the standing of the Republican candidate by almost 4 points on average."

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