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Success is not final, failure is not fatal: it is the courage to continue that counts.Success is not final, failure is not fatal; it is the courage to continue that counts. — Anonymous
A nation of sheep will beget a government of wolves. — Edward R. Murrow
Publisher & Editor: Marie Burns
I have a Bluesky account now. The URL is https://bsky.app/profile/marie-burns.bsky.social . When Reality Chex goes down, check my Bluesky page for whatever info I am able to report on the status of Reality Chex. If you can't access the URL, I found that I could Google Bluesky and ask for Marie Burns. Google will include links to accounts for people whose names are, at least in part, Maria Burns, so you'll have to tell Google you looking only for Marie.
The Conversation -- December 22, 2024
⭐Beth Reinhard, et al., of the Washington Post: "When President Joe Biden signed a sweeping pardon for his son this month, he sidestepped the Justice Department’s rigorous vetting process for people seeking clemency. Meanwhile, the president kept waiting hundreds of clemency applicants whom the department had recommended to the White House months and even years earlier, according to multiple sources familiar with the clemency process who spoke on the condition of anonymity to divulge sensitive information. Amid the blowback over Hunter Biden’s pardon, Biden soon announced almost 1,500 commutations, in what the White House touted as the 'largest single-day grant of clemency in modern history.' Like Biden’s son, those people were not individually vetted by the Justice Department, which carefully considers the circumstances of each case before issuing a recommendation. A Pennsylvania judge accused of taking payoffs in exchange for sending kids to juvenile detention made the list, sparking another outcry. The mass commutation benefited only those who had been released from prison into home confinement; the hundreds of people whose clemency petitions have been cleared by the Justice Department — most of whom remain behind bars — are still awaiting the president’s signature."
Trump Threatens Panama. Eric Bazail-Eimil of Politico: "... President-elect Donald Trump threatened on Saturday that the U.S. would reassume control of the Panama Canal if it felt that Panama wasn’t honoring the terms of a 1977 treaty regarding the waterway’s legal status. In two lengthy Truth Social posts Saturday evening, Trump accused Panama of charging U.S. vessels exorbitant rates to pass through the critical waterway. He also claimed that the treaties enabling Panama to take control of the canal in the first place also allow for the U.S. to take it back.... Analysts, however, do not believe that those provisions in the treaty would allow for the United States to legally retake control of the canal.... It is unclear what spurred Trump’s invective about the canal."
Man Who Saved Trump Gets Undefined State Department Job. Lisa Friedman of the New York Times: "... Donald J. Trump has tapped Mark Burnett, the producer who helped turn him into a household name with 'The Apprentice,' as special envoy to Britain.... The show, which debuted in 2004 on NBC and ran through 2017, was credited with rehabilitating Mr. Trump’s image after it was tarnished by financial difficulties. As The New Yorker put it, the reality show 'mythologized him anew, and on a much bigger scale, turning him into an icon of American success.' The show presented Mr. Trump as the ultimate successful, self-made billionaire.... It is unclear what Mr. Burnett’s duties as special envoy will be. Mr. Trump has already named Warren Stephens, an investment banker and billionaire, as his choice for ambassador to Britain.... Mr. Burnett ... was born in London... [and] was raised [MB: reared!] in Dagenham, Essex.” Friedman reprises how, right after the Washington Post published the "Access Hollywood" tape in 2016, Burnett quashed release of what might have been more damning video footage of Trump. Politico's story is here. ~~~
~~~ Robert Tait of the Guardian: Herschel Walker (Bahamas), Charles Kushner (France) and Kimberly Guilfoyle (Greece) "are among a flurry of ambassadorial nominees rolled out by Trump in recent weeks as he rushes to fill his administration at breakneck speed.... Their lack of credentials has prompted one experienced foreign policy analyst to label them a 'diplomatic clown car' – and a deliberate affront to the countries hosting them. Some appear conspicuously unschooled in the diplomatic arts; others have business links which experts say risk conflicts of interest. Unlike most countries, which fill ambassadors’ roles from the ranks of professional diplomats, it is customary for US presidents to reward allies and financial backers with ambassadorial jobs – with prize postings like London and Paris almost always going to friends of the man in the oval office. But Trump has broken new ground with the sheer volume of ambassadorial nominations – and his lack of consideration of their professional suitability." Read on.
A Congress to Remember. Paul Kane of the Washington Post: "The 118th Congress ended almost exactly as it began: with chaos in the House of Representatives that threatened to consume its GOP leader and shut down the government.... [Mike] Johnson’s dilemma is the same one that bedeviled his predecessor, Kevin McCarthy (R-California), the always-smiling speaker who proved so ineffective he didn’t last nine months in the job. Both found themselves in a predicament in which the House GOP held a majority in principle but in practice could not come together to govern. This cycle of political face-plants threatens to derail ... Donald Trump’s agenda, as well as Johnson’s hold on power.
"Johnson’s first plan ... drew the intense opposition of [Elon] Musk, who acted like the unelected prime minister demanding Republicans oppose the bill.... Dozens upon dozens of Republicans revolted at the massive size of the bill, which included three months of funding and $110 billion in disaster relief that carried an additional 1,400 pages or so of policy riders. [Johnson']s 'Plan B,' a concoction cooked up by Trump, included a few trillion dollars’ worth of new treasury borrowing authority. That bill met the same fate as many fallback plans in recent House history when the far right bucked Trump. That left Johnson scrambling Friday to beat a midnight countdown clock and ultimately reverting to a slimmed-down version of the original legislation. A simple extension of government funding and disaster funds passed after 6 p.m. Friday — but only because, as he has so often done, Johnson pleaded with Democrats to save him." ~~~
~~~ Marie: This seems a fair summary of the week that was, though I had to "edit in" tge sentence about Musk that Kane had laid in further down the story. Anyway, we cannot say that the Washington Post has failed to highlight on it's online main page a story that ridicules Congressional Republicans and doesn't do much for our president*-elect and president*-not-elected, either. ~~~
~~~ Washington Post Editors: "Mr. Trump should not have spurred a last-minute frenzy to keep the government running during the holidays when a reasonable bipartisan compromise had already been reached. The negotiators’ job was made harder by the fact that Mr. Trump and Elon Musk, the president-elect’s confidant..., seemed to be at cross-purposes in their demands. Mr. Musk said the stopgap’s spending levels were 'criminal' and called for shutting down the government until Mr. Trump’s inauguration.... Chiming in later, Mr. Trump criticized some of the spending but also issued a very different demand: that Congress lift the debt limit or eliminate it entirely.... If Mr. Trump wanted to assure Americans that his second term will be less chaotic than his first, this was not the way. If anything, the addition of Mr. Musk to the mix appears to have made things even more volatile.... Last-minute, ad hoc legislative theatrics will gain Mr. Trump — and the country — far less than a more reasonable approach would." ~~~
~~~ Minho Kim of the New York Times: "President Biden on Saturday signed the spending package that allowed federal funds to keep flowing until mid-March, formally ending the week’s unexpected drama over the issue a few hours after the deadline for a shutdown had technically passed." The AP report is here. (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~
~~~ Minho Kim of the New York Times: "... two of the measures that had been dropped from the final bill, which continued most government spending..., were salvaged as separate bills and passed by the Senate. The bills, which include funding for pediatric cancer research and changes in the terms of the lease of a Washington, D.C., stadium, passed the House in the spring, allowing them to quickly clear the Senate without amendments and through a voice vote that required unanimous consent. Here’s a rundown of how those two bills were revived at the last minute.... But three other cancer-related measures were scrapped at the end of 118th Congress. Those include a new policy that would have made it easier for low-income children on Medicaid to cross state lines for specialized cancer treatment, and two bills aimed at incentivizing pediatric cancer drug development."
~~~ Sylvan Lane of the Hill: "The top Democrat on the House Appropriations Committee accused Elon Musk of tanking a bipartisan spending bill because it included a provision that could limit his businesses’ ability to operate in China. In a Friday letter to congressional leaders, Rep. Rosa DeLauro (D-Conn.) claimed Musk derailed the deal that would have avoided a government shutdown 'in order to protect his wallet and the Chinese Communist Party at the expense of American workers, innovators and businesses.' The spending agreement released Tuesday included a bipartisan provision to limit and screen U.S. investments in China, among dozens of other proposals attached to the 1,500-page bill. As the CEO and largest stockholder in Tesla, Musk has extensive business connections to China. The company operates a major manufacturing plant in Shanghai and has sought to build deeper connections with Chinese companies.... [In his torrest of posts lambasting the original compromise bill,] Musk ... did not appear to mention restrictions on investments in China.” Thanks to Patrick for the link. ~~~
~~~ Marie: Of course we can't know what's in Musk's heart (because it's an impenetrable stone harder than diamonds), but a sensible person would share DeLauro's suspicions. Several stories, including a WashPo one I first linked last Thursday, reported on the provisions re: doing business with China. I assume Musk has legislative analysts who warn him about every piece of pending legislation that could be unfavorable to his businesses, but even if the analysts failed him, the media gave him fair warning. Musk's tirade was Wednesday; Reuters, for one, reported on the China provisions Tuesday. (The story, also republished by Yahoo! News, cites DeLauro's advocacy for the provisions. Naturally, she's hopping mad Johnson stripped the China restrictions; she's ranking member on the Appropriations Committee, so it's likely her staff wrote the provisions.
Here's a peculiar story about the 118th Congress: ~~~
~~~ WCBM (Baltimore): "Rep. Kay Granger [R] has served as the representative for Texas’s 12th Congressional District since 1997. However, she suddenly disappeared from the public eye around July this year....[Carlos Turcios,] a ... reporter at the local Dallas Express newspaper did some digging on Granger’s whereabouts. [He wrote,] 'We ... received a tip from a Granger constituent who shared that the Congresswoman has been residing at a local memory care and assisted living home for some time after having been found wandering lost and confused in her former Cultural District/West 7th neighborhood.... Two employees [at the home] confirmed that Granger is indeed living at the facility.'... Granger had already announced her retirement at the end of this Congress." ~~~
~~~ Marie: This is a sitting member of Congress. It is extremely odd that she just "went missing" and nobody, including the Speaker of the House, whose caucus held the slimmest of majorities, seemed to notice. What about her staff? There's more to this story.
After an incredible amount of thought, contemplation, and encouragement from so many, I have decided to remove my name from consideration for the United States Senate. -- Lara Trump, on X, Saturday ~~~
~~~ Cat Zakrzewski of the Washington Post: "Lara Trump announced on Saturday that she was removing herself from contention for a Florida U.S. Senate seat.... Donald Trump had previously communicated to Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis that he wanted Lara Trump to take the seat, which would be open if Florida Sen. Marco Rubio (R) is confirmed to serve as secretary of state. DeSantis is tasked with appointing Rubio’s replacement. Speculation that Lara Trump, who is married to Trump’s son Eric, would take the role increased this month after she stepped down as co-chair of the Republican National Committee.... Asked on Monday whether he expected DeSantis to appoint her, Donald Trump told reporters: 'No, I don’t, I probably don’t.... Ron’s going to have to make that decision, and he’ll make the right decision.... I also know that Lara’s got so many other things. … People want her to be on television, they want to give her contracts.'” As to those "many other things," Lara wrote, “I do have a big announcement that I’m excited to share in January, so, stay tuned.” ~~~
~~~ Marie: Oh, we will, Lara, we will. We're so "incredibly" interested in your personal journey. On another note, I wonder what Lara Trump credits as an "incredible amount of thought and contemplation" as opposed to a "credible amount of thought and contemplation." Indeed, the meaning of incredible being "impossible to believe," I do find it impossible to believe that Lara Trump puts much, if any, "thought and contemplation" into her decisions. It appears in this instance, it was Daddy Donald, he of the very good brain, who did all the thought and contemplation.
Really, My Dear, One Hasn't the Time to Report. Charlie Savage of the New York Times: "Justice Clarence Thomas failed to disclose two additional trips from a billionaire patron that had not previously come to light, Senate Democrats revealed on Saturday after conducting a 20-month investigation into ethics practices at the Supreme Court. The findings were part of a 93-page report released by Democratic staff members of the Judiciary Committee along with about 800 pages of documents. It said the two trips, both of which had been previously unknown to the public, took place in 2021 and were provided by Harlan Crow, a real estate magnate in Texas and a frequent patron of Justice Thomas’s. One trip took place that July by private jet from Nebraska to Saranac, N.Y., where Justice Thomas stayed at Mr. Crow’s upstate retreat for five days. The other came in October, when Mr. Crow hosted Justice Thomas overnight in New York on his yacht after flying him from the District of Columbia to New Jersey for the dedication of a statue.... Justice Thomas had not disclosed the trips, even after refiling some of his past financial forms, and the committee learned about them through a subpoena to Mr. Crow, the report said." The AP's report is here. (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~
~~~ Josh Gerstein of Politico: "Senate Democrats wrapped up their extensive investigation of Supreme Court justices’ ethics practices Saturday, issuing a report blasting two conservative justices [Clarence Thomas & Samuel Alito] for accepting expensive gifts from wealthy benefactors and slamming Chief Justice John Roberts for a lackadaisical response to ethical lapses by his colleagues. 'Now more than ever before, as a result of information gathered by subpoenas, we know the extent to which the Supreme Court is mired in an ethical crisis of its own making,' outgoing Senate Judiciary Chair Dick Durbin said in a statement. 'Whether failing to disclose lavish gifts or failing to recuse from cases with apparent conflicts of interest, it’s clear that the justices are losing the trust of the American people at the hands of a gaggle of fawning billionaires.'” MB: Gee, Dick, couldn't you find a better time to bury this story than the Saturday before Christmas? AND Hanukkah? (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~
~~~ The Senate Majority report, via Politico, is here. (Also linked yesterday.)
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New York. Hurubie Meko, et al., of the New York Times: "New York City’s top uniformed police officer, the chief of department, abruptly resigned Friday night following allegations of sexual misconduct, setting off local and federal investigations and extending years of turmoil at the Police Department. The former chief, Jeffrey Maddrey, submitted his resignation and Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch accepted it, according to a statement from the department on Saturday. Mayor Eric Adams had vocally supported Mr. Maddrey, a close ally, as recently as October. But on Saturday, a spokeswoman for the mayor, Kayla Mamelak Altus, said that he was working with Commissioner Tisch to conduct a 'separate departmentwide review to ensure no high-ranking officers are using their power inappropriately.'”
News Ledes
New York Times: “Rickey Henderson, the thrilling and charismatic Hall of Fame outfielder who, with his signature crouched stance, blazing speed and unlikely home run power, was widely regarded as the greatest leadoff hitter in Major League Baseball history, died on Friday. He was 65.”
New York Times: “Five people were injured on Saturday after a man drove his pickup truck through the glass doors of a J.C. Penney in a mall in Killeen, Texas, and continued to drive through the building before he was shot and killed by the police, the authorities said. At about 5 p.m., the driver, whose identity was not released, was in a black pickup truck on a highway when officers tried to stop him for possible drunken driving, said Sgt. Bryan Washko with the Texas Department of Public Safety. Instead of stopping, the driver drove to the Killeen Mall and smashed his car through the doors of the J.C. Penney, Sergeant Washko said. The man drove through the mall and hit multiple people, five of whom had injuries that were minor to severe. Those injured ranged from 6 to 75 years old, Sergeant Washko said.”
Share Article The Conversation -- December 21, 2024
Minho Kim of the New York Times: "President Biden on Saturday signed the spending package that allowed federal funds to keep flowing until mid-March, formally ending the week’s unexpected drama over the issue a few hours after the deadline for a shutdown had technically passed." The AP report is here.
Really, My Dear, One Hasn't the Time to Report. Charlie Savage of the New York Times: "Justice Clarence Thomas failed to disclose two additional trips from a billionaire patron that had not previously come to light, Senate Democrats revealed on Saturday after conducting a 20-month investigation into ethics practices at the Supreme Court. The findings were part of a 93-page report released by Democratic staff members of the Judiciary Committee along with about 800 pages of documents. It said the two trips, both of which had been previously unknown to the public, took place in 2021 and were provided by Harlan Crow, a real estate magnate in Texas and a frequent patron of Justice Thomas’s. One trip took place that July by private jet from Nebraska to Saranac, N.Y., where Justice Thomas stayed at Mr. Crow’s upstate retreat for five days. The other came in October, when Mr. Crow hosted Justice Thomas overnight in New York on his yacht after flying him from the District of Columbia to New Jersey for the dedication of a statue.... Justice Thomas had not disclosed the trips, even after refiling some of his past financial forms, and the committee learned about them through a subpoena to Mr. Crow, the report said." The AP's report is here. ~~~
~~~ Josh Gerstein of Politico: "Senate Democrats wrapped up their extensive investigation of Supreme Court justices’ ethics practices Saturday, issuing a report blasting two conservative justices [Clarence Thomas & Samuel Alito] for accepting expensive gifts from wealthy benefactors and slamming Chief Justice John Roberts for a lackadaisical response to ethical lapses by his colleagues. 'Now more than ever before, as a result of information gathered by subpoenas, we know the extent to which the Supreme Court is mired in an ethical crisis of its own making,' outgoing Senate Judiciary Chair Dick Durbin said in a statement. 'Whether failing to disclose lavish gifts or failing to recuse from cases with apparent conflicts of interest, it’s clear that the justices are losing the trust of the American people at the hands of a gaggle of fawning billionaires.'” MB: Gee, Dick, couldn't you find a better time to bury this story than the Saturday before Christmas? AND Hanukkah? ~~~
~~~ The Senate Majority report, via Politico, is here.
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⭐ Once Again, Democrats Keep the Lights On. Carl Hulse & Catie Edmondson of the New York Times: "The Senate approved a spending measure early Saturday to keep government money flowing through mid-March, sending it to President Biden for his expected signature and closing a chaotic endgame in Congress minutes after federal funding had lapsed. The 85-to-11 Senate vote followed earlier House passage of the legislation, which also provided $100 billion in disaster relief for parts of the nation still reeling from storms. The action pushed major spending decisions into 2025 and the first months of the incoming Trump administration and a fully Republican-controlled Congress. The White House said that President Biden would sign the measure on Saturday and that no agencies would shut down despite the technical lapse in funding. The end to days of shutdown drama came after House Republicans stripped out a provision demanded by ... Donald J. Trump to suspend the federal debt limit and spare him the usually politically charged task of doing so when he takes office. But that demand sparked a revolt by dozens of Republicans on Thursday and led to a major defeat on the House floor....
"Senator Chuck Schumer, Democrat of New York and the majority leader, said the final product was not all Democrats wanted, but avoided a crisis.... The vote in the House capped an extraordinary week of Republican chaos and dysfunction in which Speaker Mike Johnson cut a deal with Democrats to avert a shutdown, only to see it torpedoed by the billionaire Elon Musk and Mr. Trump, who demanded a different plan, which was promptly defeated by Republicans with help from Democrats. After the vote, Mr. Johnson, who faced questions about his ability to continue as speaker next year after the tumult of the past few days, said he had been in constant contact with Mr. Trump and had talked with Mr. Musk...." ~~~
~~~ Yesterday the New York Times liveblogged developments in the shutdown standoff in the House. Here are the Washington Post's live updates of developments in the countdown to shutdown. CNN's live updates are here. And here was the Hill's live coverage yesterday. (All linked yesterday.) ~~~
~~~ Watch the first six-and-a-half minutes for a reasonable perspective on what went down:
The Speaker did a good job here, given the circumstances. It went from a bill that weighed pounds to a bill that weighed ounces. -- Elon Musk ~~~
~~~ Marie: Just before the Alex Wagner segment embedded above aired, former Rep. Donna Edwards (D-Md.) appeared on Chris Hayes' show and pointed out that the actual dollar amount in the two versions of the spending bill was about the same; the major difference was that the new, ounces-rather-than-pounds bill contained few policy prescriptions. Policies are laid out in, you know, words, Edwards explained. Hayes agreed that Musk's lauding a bill because it "weighed less" was both absurd and stupid. ~~~
~~~ Jeff Stein, et al., of the Washington Post: "Both the original measure and the one that passed kept the government operating until mid-March and devoted about $110 billion in aid to victims of natural disasters and farmers. Brian Riedl, a senior fellow at the Manhattan Institute, a conservative-leaning think tank, pointed out that the revised legislation wouldn’t really have saved taxpayers any money, despite the shorter page count. Here are eight policies included in the original bill that Johnson and GOP leaders left out of the revised proposal." Among them, reauthorization of funding for childhood cancer research and a pay raise for members of Congress. ~~~
It’s the most incongruous messaging to say: ‘Don’t vote for this bill, it’s bloated spending. By the way, get rid of the debt ceiling so I can spend more.’... The last 24 hours does not portend well [for Republicans’ plans to tackle border and tax policies in 2025...,], as you can see from this exercise. -- Marc Short, Director of Legislative Affairs in Trump's first administration & Chief of State to Mike Pence ~~~
~~~ Some "Mandate." Marianne LeVine, et al., of the Washington Post: "Trump has repeatedly described his election victory as a 'mandate,' telling Time magazine recently that 'the mandate was massive.' Trump won the election comfortably, prevailing in every battleground state as Republicans seized full control of Congress. He also became the first Republican presidential candidate to win the popular vote in 20 years, improving on his 2016 performance. Yet the election results reflect a country that remains deeply divided, leaving the GOP with narrow margins in Congress next year. Trump’s win hinged on about 230,000 votes across three 'blue wall' states that could have tipped the race to Vice President Kamala Harris. His margin of victory in the popular vote, roughly 2.3 million, is smaller than President Joe Biden’s of more than 7 million votes in 2020. And Republicans will have an even slimmer House majority in the House than they did this year." ~~~
~~~ Marie: BTW, I'd like to remind Marc Short that raising the debt limit does not really allow the goverment or the president* to "spend more." It only allows the government to pay the bills for the spending Congress (and the president*) have previously approved.
Quack, Quack. Eric Levitz of Vox: "... this week’s government funding fight ... revealed something that could have profound implications for the next four years of governance: Trump’s power over the congressional GOP is quite limited.... House conservatives’ defiance of Trump is partly attributable to ideological differences.... For dozens of House conservatives, the idea of voting for a spending bill devoid of any major funding cuts that also suspended the debt limit was more odious than the prospect of defying Trump.... After Thursday, it appears less certain that the president-elect actually boasts [much] power over the House GOP’s backbenchers. It is worth recalling that Trump is a 78-year-old lame duck.... Trump is poised to wield a disconcerting amount of personal power over the executive branch come next year. But he may find that his capacity to dictate terms to Congress is ... limited...."
Arsonist Again Blames Fire Department for Conflagration. Michael Shear & Maggie Haberman of the New York Times: "... Donald J. Trump, who derailed a bipartisan spending deal in Congress, tried on Friday to escape responsibility for the consequences, saying it would be better to let the government shut down under President Biden’s watch than to allow a politically damaging stalemate once he takes office next month. 'This is a Biden problem to solve, but if Republicans can help solve it, they will!' Mr. Trump said in a social media post Friday morning. Earlier, at 1:16 a.m., Mr. Trump said he wanted Mr. Biden to be blamed for whatever political fallout might come, writing to Republicans: 'Remember, the pressure is on whoever is President.'... But even with a shutdown averted, the episode demonstrated a well-established pattern by Mr. Trump. He often purposely blew up congressional negotiations during his first term, often with a tweet, only to be forced to retreat or give up his position in the face of an angry reaction from both allies and adversaries.”
Maya Miller of the New York Times: "The Senate passed bipartisan legislation early Saturday that would give full Social Security benefits to a group of public sector retirees who currently receive them at a reduced level, sending the bill to President Biden. The vote to clear the measure was a lopsided 76 to 20, reflecting the broad popularity of an effort to allow approximately more than 2.8 million public pension recipients — some of them teachers, firefighters and police officers — to collect Social Security benefits at the same level as other beneficiaries. The House passed the bill by a wide margin of 327 to 75 last month after a bipartisan group of lawmakers forced it to the floor, and ... Donald J. Trump recently threw his support behind it. The rapid and resounding approval of the measure, which would cost nearly $196 billion over a decade, was notable at a time when Congress is in a protracted dispute over spending and debt, with Republicans promising huge cuts and members of both parties routinely lamenting the ballooning of the nation’s debt." MB: This must upset Ebenezer Musk, the World's Richest Man.
Maegan Flynn, et al., of the Washington Post: "Congress has passed legislation giving D.C. control of RFK Stadium and allowing the city to redevelop more than 170 acres of federal property surrounding it, a political miracle that came in the twilight hours of the year’s congressional session and after almost every avenue for the legislation appeared exhausted. The U.S. Senate passed the Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Stadium Campus Revitalization Act by unanimous consent at about 1:15 a.m. Saturday — a Hail Mary action that required the support of all senators present without objection.. The bill cleared the House in February on a broad bipartisan basis.... Passage of the legislation, which transfers control of the land to D.C. at no cost, is a tremendous win for Mayor Muriel E. Bowser (D), who for years has sought to turn the property surrounding the decaying football stadium into a major new attraction and possibly bring the Washington Commanders back to their old home. The bill, which must still be signed by the president, will allow Bowser to formally negotiate with the Commanders...."
A quarter of all the judges are now on the federal bench from the four years we were here.... It’s going to have a profound effect on people’s lives. This was an accomplishment that will last generations. -- Sen. Chuck Schumer, Majority Leader ~~~
~~~ Carl Hulse of the New York Times: "The Senate confirmed on Friday the 235th lifetime federal judge nominated by President Biden, topping the four-year record set during the first Trump administration by a single judge in a drive that significantly reshaped the federal courts to be more ethnically and professionally diverse. The approval of Serena Raquel Murillo of California to be a judge in the state’s central district wrapped up a push by Democrats to fill as many vacancies as possible on the bench before turning the majority over to Senate Republicans on Jan. 3. Democrats celebrated not only the number of judges confirmed but also their varying ethnicities and legal experience compared with the longstanding practice by past presidents of both parties of installing mostly white former prosecutors and corporate lawyers." (Also linked yesterday.) An AP story is here.
Digby in Salon lays out how Elon snookered Donald: Trump thought he could shunt Musk aside by putting him in charge of a powerless, non-governmental "commission" where Elon & Vivek would "recommend" federal spending cuts. But Elon demanded that Congress follow his cues as to how to fund the government. And then, and then. "Those rascally, backbench Tea Party/Freedom Caucus ideologues finally got the leader they've been waiting for and his name is Elon Musk, the richest man in the world.... It's Elon Musk's House now. In fact, a bunch of Republicans are proposing that they fire [Mike] Johnson and make him Speaker instead.... Trump wanted the richest man in the world by his side, for both the glamour and the lucre he brings with him, and it's blowing up in his face. How's Trump going to get rid of Musk now that he's shown he has more clout with the base than he does? Who owns the MAGA brand now? " (Also linked yesterday.)
Melissa Goldin of the AP: "... Donald Trump’s billionaire ally Elon Musk played a key role this week in killing a bipartisan funding proposal..., railing against the plan in a torrent of more than 100 X posts that included multiple false claims. The X owner ... not only used his outsize influence on the platform to help sway Congress, he did so without regard for the facts and gave a preview of the role he could play in government over the next four years.... John Mark Hansen, a professor of political science at the University of Chicago, said in an email, 'Trump’s done this kind of thing before, blowing up a bill at the last minute. This time, though, it looks like he was afraid of Musk upstaging him. Now there’s a new social media bully in town, pushing the champion social media bully around.'” Goldin lists some of the lies Musk told and reminds us, "Trump led Republicans into the longest government shutdown in history in his first term during the 2018 Christmas season, and interrupted the holidays in 2020 by tanking a bipartisan COVID-relief bill and forcing a do-over."
just seen on Fox News -- Trump narrating an ad for Trump bibles pic.twitter.com/3dC1UjHJgG
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) December 19, 2024
~~~ Philip Bump of the Washington Post: "The ad ... can most concisely be summarized as 'schlocky.'... 'We love God, and we have to protect anything that is pro-God,' the infamously areligious former president asserts as a plinky piano version of 'O, Come All Ye Faithful' plays in the background.... Trump, wearing a festive red tie with white stripes, is shown standing in front of two American flags. In the foreground, computer-generated Christmas tree ornaments and streamers dangle from the top of the screen.... The obvious question here is what advertisements for what products will air after Jan. 20.... Speaking of, Trump is going to need a Bible for that [inauguration] ceremony. What an amazing cross-branding opportunity that presents.” ~~~
~~~ Marie: Oh, Phil! It's so wrong to be cynical at Christmas time!
Heil Elon! Christopher Schuetze & Mark Landler of the New York Times: "Elon Musk, the world’s richest man and a close adviser to ... Donald J. Trump, on Friday endorsed Germany’s far-right party, a group with ties to neo-Nazis whose youth wing has been classified as 'confirmed extremist' by German domestic intelligence. 'Only the AfD can save Germany,' Mr. Musk posted to X, referring to the anti-immigrant party, the Alternative for Germany, by its German initials." Politico's story is here. MB: Oh, it was a great day for this Master of the Universe, endorsing Nazis & watching his own government nearly shutter at his behest. (Also linked yesterday.)
The chaos is only the showy part of the problem. The real problem is experienced by the people they hurt ~~~
~~~~ Zach Montague & Vimal Patel of the New York Times: "The Biden administration on Friday withdrew some of its main outstanding plans to enact significant federal student loan forgiveness and to set rules around the participation of transgender athletes on school sports teams. The regulations were, at one time, among the administration’s top education policy priorities, and the decision to pull down the proposed regulations was a tacit acknowledgment that they would go nowhere under the [incoming] administration of ... Donald J. Trump. Criticizing protections for transgender people was a central theme during Mr. Trump’s campaign, and he routinely attacked student debt reform."
Feliz Navidad, Papa Francisco! From DJT. Azi Paybarah & Michelle Boorstein of the Washington Post: "... Donald Trump announced on Friday his plan to nominate Brian Burch, president of CatholicVote and a papal critic, as the U.S. Ambassador to the Holy See.... Burch co-founded Catholic Vote, a lay advocacy group in 2005. The organization backed Trump in 2020 and 2024.... Burch has criticized Pope Francis, most notably after the pontiff moved against some conservative church leaders, ousting one in Texas after a Vatican investigation.... After Pope Francis said in 2023 that priests should be allowed to bless same-sex unions, Burch told an interviewer that the Pope had created 'confusion,' inside the church, which has historically opposed homosexuality, according to the National Catholic Reporter. Also in 2023 Burch ... suggest[ed] a connection between FBI searches of certain churches and 'the Pope and others' who had been 'railing against these same parishes.'”
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New York. Uh, Somebody in That Perp Walk Looks Familiar. Emma Fitzsimmons of the New York Times: "As perp walks go, few have been more cinematic: Luigi Mangione, handcuffed and wearing an orange jumpsuit, surrounded by a phalanx of armed law enforcement officers as they led him off a helipad. And there, in the left of the scrum, Mayor Eric Adams walked behind, wearing a navy blue overcoat and a stern look on his face.... Most mayors do not personally oversee the handling of people in federal custody.... Some legal experts and elected officials said the choreographed scene and the mayor’s appearance at the perp walk was a blatant and unnecessary attempt at self-promotion. Others worried that the spectacle would boost Mr. Mangione’s image as a folk hero."
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Canada. With Friends Like This.... Ian Austen of the New York Times: "As Prime Minister Justin Trudeau of Canada tried to reverse his plunging fortunes on Friday by rearranging his cabinet, a key political ally called Mr. Trudeau a failed leader and vowed to bring down his government. Jagmeet Singh, whose New Democratic Party has provided Mr. Trudeau’s Liberal Party with the votes it needed to move legislation through Parliament, released a scathing letter promising to bring a motion to defeat the government in the House of Commons after Parliament returns from a holiday break next month." ~~~
~~~ Ephrat Livni & Ian Austen of the New York Times: "Prime Minister Justin Trudeau of Canada is under intense pressure to step down after the abrupt and acrimonious resignation of a key deputy on Monday highlighted his deep unpopularity after nearly a decade in power.... According to a new poll by Ipsos, 73 percent of Canadians think that Mr. Trudeau should resign as leader of the Liberal Party, including 43 percent of Liberal voters." The reporters provide background, try to explain why Trudeau is so unpopular and suggest what will happen if Trudeau resigns.
Syria/U.S. That's Diplomacy! John Hudson of the Washington Post: "Senior U.S. diplomats on Friday held their first formal talks in Damascus with the leader of the Islamist rebels who overthrew the regime of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, a discussion they later characterized as 'good' and 'thorough.' During the meeting, the U.S. officials informed Ahmed al-Sharaa, head of the U.S.-designated terrorist group Hayʼat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), that the United States was lifting a $1o million bounty on him, Barbara Leaf, the top diplomat for the Middle East, told reporters. Leaf provided the assurance after he agreed to a U.S. demand that he not allow terrorist groups in Syria to pose a threat to the United States or Syria’s neighbors. 'Ahmed al-Sharaa committed to this,' she said.”
The Conversation -- December 20, 2024
⭐ From the New York Times liveblog, also linked next: "The House approved legislation on Friday to avert a federal government shutdown that was just hours away, with lawmakers extending funding into mid-March and approving disaster relief for parts of the nation still recovering from storms. The measure now goes to the Senate. The House vote came after Republicans stripped out a provision sought by President-elect Donald J. Trump to suspend the federal debt limit and spare him the usually politically difficult task of doing so when he takes office.... The measure that passed on Friday, by a vote of 366 to 34, must still be approved by the Senate and sent to President Biden to keep dollars flowing to federal agencies. Otherwise, funding will lapse at 12:01 a.m. Saturday. All 34 “no” votes were from Republicans; one Democrat, Jasmine Crockett of Texas, voted present. Senator Chuck Schumer, the majority leader, said he expected the Senate to quickly take up the bill and pass it. 'Though this bill does not include everything Democrats fought for, there are major victories in this bill for American families,' he said." ~~~
~~~ The New York Times is liveblogging developments in the shutdown standoff: "With a possible government shutdown looming at day’s end..., Donald J. Trump early Friday renewed his demand that Congress suspend the debt ceiling, intensifying a face-off with lawmakers from his own party as Republicans run short of options before a midnight deadline." ~~~
~~~ Here are the Washington Post's live updates of developments in the countdown to shutdown: "The White House Office of Management and Budget alerted federal agencies Friday morning to prepare for an imminent government shutdown, according to two people familiar with the matter who spoke on the condition of anonymity to describe internal communications. White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre lashed out at Republicans who had agreed to a bipartisan deal and then abandoned it. 'This is a mess that Speaker [Mike] Johnson created, that is his mess to fix,' she told reporters at the daily briefing, adding that there was 'still time' for Republicans to 'do the right thing.' On Capitol Hill, House Republicans were discussing voting on separate policy bills to fund the government ahead of a midnight deadline in hopes of avoiding a shutdown. They were meeting to consider separate bills that would extend current fiscal levels into the new year, send $110 billion to natural disaster victims, and another to extend the farm bill that requires reauthorization." CNN's live updates are here. ~~~
~~~ Mike Lillis, et al., of the Hill: "Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) said he has a plan C to avert a shutdown and the House will vote Friday morning on the legislation — but Republicans indicated there is not yet widespread agreement. 'Yeah, yeah, we have a plan,' Johnson said Friday morning as he entered the Capitol. 'We’re expecting votes this morning, so you all stay tuned....'” ~~~
~~~ Here's the Hill's live coverage.
A quarter of all the judges are now on the federal bench from the four years we were here.... It’s going to have a profound effect on people’s lives. This was an accomplishment that will last generations. -- Sen. Chuck Schumer, Majority Leader ~~~
~~~ Carl Hulse of the New York Times: "The Senate confirmed on Friday the 235th lifetime federal judge nominated by President Biden, topping the four-year record set during the first Trump administration by a single judge in a drive that significantly reshaped the federal courts to be more ethnically and professionally diverse. The approval of Serena Raquel Murillo of California to be a judge in the state’s central district wrapped up a push by Democrats to fill as many vacancies as possible on the bench before turning the majority over to Senate Republicans on Jan. 3. Democrats celebrated not only the number of judges confirmed but also their varying ethnicities and legal experience compared with the longstanding practice by past presidents of both parties of installing mostly white former prosecutors and corporate lawyers."
Digby in Salon lays out how Elon snookered Donald: Trump thought he could shunt Musk aside by putting him in charge of a powerless, non-governmental "commission" where Elon & Vivek would "recommend" federal spending cuts. But Elon demanded that Congress follow his cues as to how to fund the government. And then, and then. "Those rascally, backbench Tea Party/Freedom Caucus ideologues finally got the leader they've been waiting for and his name is Elon Musk, the richest man in the world.... It's Elon Musk's House now. In fact, a bunch of Republicans are proposing that they fire [Mike] Johnson and make him Speaker instead.... Trump wanted the richest man in the world by his side, for both the glamour and the lucre he brings with him, and it's blowing up in his face. How's Trump going to get rid of Musk now that he's shown he has more clout with the base than he does? Who owns the MAGA brand now? "
Heil Elon! Christopher Schuetze & Mark Landler of the New York Times: "Elon Musk, the world’s richest man and a close adviser to ... Donald J. Trump, on Friday endorsed Germany’s far-right party, a group with ties to neo-Nazis whose youth wing has been classified as 'confirmed extremist' by German domestic intelligence. 'Only the AfD can save Germany,' Mr. Musk posted to X, referring to the anti-immigrant party, the Alternative for Germany, by its German initials." Politico's story is here. MB: Oh, it's a great day for Elon, endorsing Nazis & watching his own government shutter at his behest.
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Once again, Not-President Trump -- this time with his co-president* (or his puppetmaster) Elon Musk -- has sent a normally-chaotic Washington into utter disarray. Why, one just might think this is what they want. ~~~
One or two puppet masters weigh in and extreme MAGA Republicans decide to do the bidding of the wealthy, the well-connected, the millionaires and billionaires, not working-class people all across America.... The bill that is before us today is just part of an effort to shut down the government. -- Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, on the House floor, Thursday ~~~
~~~ Jacob Bogage & Marianna Sotomayor of the Washington Post: "The federal government moved closer to a weekend shutdown Thursday, after the House overwhelmingly voted down Speaker Mike Johnson’s new plan to extend the deadline despite support from ... Donald Trump and his billionaire adviser Elon Musk. The GOP proposal would have extended federal operations into mid-March, sent more than $100 billion to natural-disaster survivors and suspended the country’s borrowing limit for two years. But it needed the support of two-thirds of the House to pass, and it went down by a 235-174 vote, with one member voting present. It wasn’t clear Thursday night what the next move will be....
"Only two Democrats supported the legislation, with 197 of them opposing it. But 38 Republicans also voted no — an indication of how difficult finding an alternative solution before the shutdown deadline may be for the GOP leader. The bipartisan legislation the House GOP scrapped Wednesday was substantially similar to the bill that Johnson tried to advance Thursday, though he dropped some provisions unrelated to spending and added — at Trump’s request — a suspension of the debt limit." This is an update of a story linked earlier Thursday. (Also linked yesterday.) Politico's story is here. ~~~
~~~ Scott Wong, et al., of NBC News: "The rejected measure leaves Congress without a clear plan to avoid a looming government shutdown with less than 30 hours left before the deadline, driving up the odds of a funding lapse just ahead of the holidays. A shutdown is scheduled to begin at 12:01 a.m. ET Saturday. Asked by reporters whether a new funding bill would be released Friday, House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., said 'we’ll see' as he left the Capitol on Thursday night." ~~~
~~~ Michael Shear of the New York Times: "... Donald J. Trump’s hammerlock on the Republican Party was shaken on Thursday night when 38 of his party’s lawmakers in the House voted to defy his command to support a spending and debt deal. Writing on social media, Mr. Trump had told Republicans to 'vote "YES" for this Bill, TONIGHT!'... For the better part of a decade, that kind of dictate has usually been enough for Mr. Trump, who has methodically seized control of the Republican Party at all levels. But [yesterday] ... Mr. Trump found out that at least some of his followers were willing to buck his leadership.... The defiance came ... from ... conservatives who would normally align themselves with Mr. Trump’s philosophy....” ~~~
~~~ Marie: But they are falling in line with Elon, aren't they? ~~~
~~~ Cat Zakrzewski, et al., of the Washington Post: "... this week, critics of the world’s richest man [Elon Musk] say he attained a new title: 'shadow president' of the United States. In a matter of hours on Wednesday, Musk wielded his powerful X account to pressure House Republicans to torpedo a spending bill that would have kept the federal government open for three months.... The second Trump-backed measure went down to a broad and swift defeat in the House on Thursday evening, raising the chances of a shutdown beginning at 12:01 a.m. Saturday. Musk’s outsize role in sending the federal government careening toward a potential shutdown before Christmas has alarmed Democrats, academics and watchdog groups, while some Republicans said his intervention was uninformed.... The outrage reverberated on X, which Musk owns and where 'President Musk' became a trending topic." See Akhilleus' comment in yesterday's thread on Mickey Musk. ~~~
~~~ Here's Donald trying to save face: ~~~
~~~ Kelsey Walsh of ABC News: "... Donald Trump, after rejecting House Speaker Mike Johnson's plan to avoid a government shutdown, worked the phones on Thursday, showing wavering confidence in Johnson and claiming he is aligned with billionaire Elon Musk, who first posted multiple calls to kill the GOP-brokered spending deal. 'If the speaker acts decisively, and tough, and gets rid of all of the traps being set by the Democrats, which will economically and, in other ways, destroy our country, he will easily remain speaker,' Trump told Fox News Digital. In an separate interview, Trump suggested that Johnson's proposed continuing resolution -- which would keep spending going at current levels -- was 'unacceptable.'... Trump also indicated that he had discussed his views on the bill with social media giant Musk and granted the billionaire permission to trash the government spending bill on his social media platform. 'I told him that if he agrees with me, that he could put out a statement,' Trump said. Musk then conducted an all-out pressure campaign flooding his platform with dozens of posts threatening members of Congress to block Johnson's government funding bill." ~~~
~~~ But Rep. Dan Goldman (D-N.Y.) is sure Elon is in charge. Michael Luciano of Mediaite reports on Goldman's comments to Chris Hayes of MSNBC: "... there does appear to be one president. It’s Elon Musk, who has his own very self-interested view of everything, including the fact that he wanted to remove restrictions on investing– U.S. companies investing in China.... He has no idea how government operates or how government runs. But he spent nearly $300 million to get Donald Trump elected. There are rumors that he is going to use X to buy or merge with Truth Social, which would give Donald Trump a tremendous windfall.... And it is very clear that Elon Musk is now calling the shots."
Elon Musk has Donald Trump in a vise.
~~~ So then Donald pulls this: ~~~
~~~ Colby Hall of Mediaite: "Trump took to social media amid growing discontent over congressional dysfunction to keep the government open over the holidays, and suggested that he’s more interested in the government shutting down over the holidays during the Biden administration than trying to help find a solution to a problem largely undermined [MB: s/b "caused"] by his most significant advisor, billionaire Elon Musk. 'If there is going to be a shutdown of the government, let it begin now, under the Biden Administration, not after January 20th, under "TRUMP."’” the President-elect wrote on Truth Social. 'This is a Biden problem to solve, but if Republicans can help solve it, they will!'” ~~~
~~~ That's right: Trump, Musk & Congressional Republicans are shutting down the government, and Trump says Biden should fix their massive fuck-up. ~~~
~~~ BUT Biden Has Left the Building. Adam Cancryn of Politico: "Joe Biden may still occupy the Oval Office, but it’s clearer than ever that he’s no longer in charge of Washington. More than a half-dozen House Democratic lawmakers said Thursday that the conference had yet to hear from the president, even as Congress scrambled to salvage a funding deal and avoid shutting down the government. In the 24 hours since ... Donald Trump and close ally Elon Musk abruptly derailed the bipartisan agreement, Biden has remained conspicuously absent outside a brief statement issued by his press secretary — and for now, Democrats said there was little clamor for him to return."
There's This. Lolita Baldor & Tara Copp of the AP: "Republicans’ decision to abandon a congressional spending plan will cost troops their paychecks over the holidays unless some agreement is reached before Friday’s deadline to prevent a government shutdown, the Pentagon warned. Even if they don’t get paid, those troops will be required to report for duty both overseas and at home, Pentagon press secretary Maj. Gen. Pat Ryder said Thursday. Without an agreement to fund the government, troops will not receive their end-of-month paychecks, reservists drilling after Friday will not be paid, and federal civilians who are required to work during a shutdown also will not be paid, he said. The military payroll is just one of thousands of federal accounts that would be affected, but one of the most visible." ~~~
~~~ AND There's This. Alice Ollstein & Gavin Bade of Politico: "The collapse of Congress’ spending negotiations is throwing the presidential transition and preparations for ... Donald Trump’s second inauguration into chaos as Washington stares down the prospect of a government shutdown just after midnight Friday. Federal agencies only this week began briefing the Trump transition’s “landing teams,” which began their work more than a month later than their predecessors. Now, if Congress can’t cut a deal in the next couple days, those agencies could be forced to furlough much of the staff doing that work and shut down the government offices where it’s taking place — impeding the incoming officials’ access to documents and further slowing down already-delayed preparations to take over the federal government next month."
Dana Milbank of the Washington Post: "They’re baaaack. Just six weeks ago, voters elected Donald Trump by the slimmest of margins in hopes that he would lower the cost of living. But Trump quickly walked back that promise, saying 'it’s very hard' to reduce prices. Instead, he has already returned the country to the unrelenting chaos, and the government to the ludicrous dysfunction, that dominated his first term. And he hasn’t even taken office yet.... [The impending government shutdown Musk & Trump caused] is just the first act of what promises to be a four-year circus.... For those too young to remember the last go-round, this is what governing looks like under Trump. Musk’s destruction of the spending bill was particularly ugly, for it showed that, with Trump in charge, an unelected megabillionaire can bring the U.S. government to a halt by employing MAGA’s trademark mixture of vitriol, threat and disinformation.... Shutting down the government because of the rants and threats of an erratic billionaire is no way to run a country. But this is where we are."
Matthew Goldstein of the New York Times: "...Donald J. Trump transferred all of his shares in the social media company that bears his name to a trust controlled by his eldest son, according to a regulatory filing on Thursday night. The filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission said Mr. Trump moved his roughly 115 million shares in Trump Media & Technology Group, the parent company of Truth Social, to the trust. He did not sell the shares or receive any financial consideration for the transfer, which was described as a gift to the Donald J. Trump Revocable Trust. Mr. Trump is the largest shareholder of Trump Media & Technology Group, and his nearly 53 percent stake is worth about $4 billion. Trump Media, which is losing money, has taken in just a few million dollars in revenue. Mr. Trump’s ownership was one of his most valuable assets based on Trump Media’s market valuation."
You know those classic rom-coms where a couple meets at work, hilarity ensues, and everything works out in the end? They are fiction, people! ~~~
~~~ Danny Hakim & Richard Fausset of the New York Times: "Georgia’s Court of Appeals on Thursday disqualified the Atlanta prosecutor who brought an election interference case against ... Donald J. Trump and his allies, a surprise move that threw the entire case into disarray. In a 2-1 decision, a three-judge panel reversed the trial judge, who in March had allowed Fani T. Willis, the district attorney of Fulton County, Ga., to keep the case, despite revelations about a romantic relationship she had with the lawyer who was hired to manage the prosecution. All three of the appeals judges are Republican appointees. While the decision is likely to be appealed to the full court, if it stands, it could doom the entire case, which is the last active criminal prosecution involving charges against Mr. Trump." (Also linked yesterday.) CNN's report is here.
Jeanna Smialek & Ana Swanson of the New York Times: "The U.S. economy is pulling ahead of its global peers. Inflation is moderating, and the Federal Reserve is cutting interest rates.... The unemployment rate is low. Consumers are spending.... Add in a decrease in unlawful southern border crossings and revved-up domestic production in several critical industries and they amount to a rough list of Donald J. Trump’s campaign promises. It’s a list of economic wins that Mr. Trump is inheriting in large part because of policies that the Federal Reserve and Biden administration have pursued in recent years.... But a variety of risks — some sheer happenstance, some floated by Mr. Trump — could interfere with that rosy outcome just as ... [he] takes office.... Economists have ... warned that Mr. Trump’s own policies could lift inflation." (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~
~~~ Marie: Partly but not wholly because Congressional Republicans oppose most laws designed to help ordinary Americans, Joe (Biden) & Jay (Powell) did not do enough to make the U.S. economy work ideally for its people. But in an irony upon irony, Joe & Jay did manage to make ours the best economy in the world, and now Trump, who promised butterflies and rainbows, is poised to wreck all that.
Nicholas Bogel-Burroughs of the New York Times: "The 26-year-old man accused of murdering a health care executive in Manhattan agreed at a court hearing on Thursday to be extradited to New York, where he is facing a first-degree murder charge. The man, Luigi Mangione, was being held at a prison in Pennsylvania after he was spotted in a McDonald’s in the central part of the state and arrested by the local police. The Manhattan district attorney’s office sought to bring him to New York to prosecute him for the death of Brian Thompson, the chief executive of UnitedHealthcare.... After his arrest last week, Mr. Mangione initially indicated through his lawyer that he would contest extradition to New York. Mr. Mangione has been represented by a lawyer in Pennsylvania, but he has also hired a prominent New York defense lawyer who formerly worked as a top prosecutor in the Manhattan district attorney’s office." (Also linked yesterday.)
Molly Nagle of ABC News: "President Joe Biden's administration will announce on Friday another $4.28 billion dollars in student loan relief for nearly 55,000 public service workers. The announcement will bring the total loan forgiveness by the Biden administration to 'approximately $180 billion for nearly 5 million Americans,' according to a fact sheet from the Department of Education. The forgiveness will be delivered to individuals enrolled in the Public Service Loan Forgiveness program (PSLF), which allows for debt forgiveness for people in jobs like firefighting, nursing and teaching after 10 years of continuous payment."
Benjamin Weiser of the New York Times: "Federal prosecutors on Thursday unsealed a murder case against the suspect in the shooting of UnitedHealthcare’s chief executive, holding out the possibility of the death penalty even after a trial on separate state charges. The federal criminal complaint against the suspect, Luigi Mangione, 26, includes one count of using a firearm to commit murder, which carries a maximum potential sentence of death, along with two stalking counts and a firearms offense. It came two days after the Manhattan district attorney filed state murder and terror charges against Mr. Mangione in the killing of the executive, Brian Thompson."
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Syria, etc. Edward Wong of the New York Times: "The State Department said early Friday that three senior American diplomats had arrived in Damascus, the capital of Syria, to meet with leaders of the militias that have seized control of the country, and to look for signs of the journalist Austin Tice and other missing U.S. citizens. They are the first American diplomats to enter Damascus since the crumbling of the old government. The visit represents a tentative step toward engagement in Syria, a nation in which U.S. involvement in recent years has usually involved the military, not diplomacy. The Biden administration has been in contact with militia leaders but has wrestled with how directly to engage, partly because the United States designated a precursor of the lead rebel group as terrorists." ~~~
~~~ Helene Cooper of the New York Times: "The Pentagon said on Thursday that 2,000 American troops were in Syria, more than twice the number officials had cited for months. Why the Defense Department delayed disclosing the number is unclear. Maj. Gen. Pat Ryder, the Pentagon press secretary, told reporters that he became aware of the additional troops on Thursday morning. They are in Syria on a 'temporary' basis, he said, to support what he called the 'core official deployed forces' participating in the Pentagon’s mission to keep Islamic State forces from reconstituting. General Ryder said the increase in the number of troops was unrelated to the fall of President Bashar al-Assad to rebel forces in early December."
Ukraine/Russia, et al. David Stern & Serhii Korolchuk of the Washington Post: "Russia unleashed a barrage of ballistic missiles on Kyiv early Friday, killing at least one person and injuring 12, city officials said. The attacks came as Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky was in Brussels, where Kyiv’s European allies are seriously considering the idea of deploying troops to Ukraine in the event of a deal with Russia to stop the war. Hours earlier, Zelensky had posted a tweet that called his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin a 'dumbass' in response to the Russian leader’s mocking remarks in a year-end news conference about a missile 'duel' with Ukraine’s allies."
The Ledes
Friday, December 20, 2024
Germany. New York Times: “A driver plowed a vehicle into a Christmas market in the city of Magdeburg in central Germany on Friday evening, killing at least two people — an adult and a small child — and injuring dozens of others, in what officials indicated was a targeted attack. The driver was arrested, the authorities said. He was identified as a 50-year-old Saudi Arabian citizen who first came to Germany in 2006 and worked as a doctor in a small town 25 miles south of Magdeburg, officials said. Saudi Arabia condemned the attack in a statement by its Foreign Ministry that did not mention the suspect. 'The Kingdom expresses its solidarity with the German people and the families of the victims.' the statement said. More than 65 people were injured, 14 of them severely, said Michael Reif, the spokesman for Magdeburg. The authorities say they believe it was a deliberate attack.” ~~~
~~~ In an early December 21 update, the Washington Post reports that at least five people were killed and more than 200 were wounded in the Christmas market attack.
New York Times: “Joanne Pierce Misko, a former Roman Catholic nun who in 1972 became one of the first two women sworn in as special agents for the F.B.I., breaking the bureau’s longstanding bar against women in frontline law-enforcement roles, died on Friday in Wheatfield, N.Y., east of Niagara Falls. She was 83.”