What I Learned Reading Saturday's Comments

Akhilleus: "Fat Hitler’s excuse for hitting our neighbors with tariffs, his favorite economic cudgel ... is fentynal.... But there’s something that causes far more deaths per year than fentynal, almost three times as many, but it’s something he and his billionaire bros work hard to make worse on an hourly basis: Poverty." A report in the U.C. Riverside News, which Akhilleus linked, says, "A University of California, Riverside, (UCR) paper published Monday, April 17, in the Journal of the American Medical Association associated poverty with an estimated 183,000 deaths in the United States in 2019 among people 15 years and older."

According to this CDC press release (will we be getting reports like this anymore?), 74,702 American residents died of fentanyl overdoses in 2023, a slight decrease from the previous year. So there's the arithmetic.

As for blaming Canada for fentanyl deaths in the U.S., RAS linked this Globe & Mail report: “The Trump administration is using misleading fentanyl figures to justify tariffs against Canada, relying on a dataset that includes drugs traced to Mexico, a Globe and Mail investigation has found. Citing U.S. Customs and Border Protection data, the White House has asserted that 43 pounds of fentanyl was intercepted at the border last fiscal year, marking a 'massive 2,050 per cent increase' compared with the year prior, when two pounds of the deadly synthetic drug was seized.... Donald Trump has invoked the 43-pound figure as grounds for threats of punishing trade measures.... However..., U.S. border agents confirmed to The Globe that the agency’s methodology for attributing seizures to the northern border doesn’t hinge on whether the fentanyl ... came from Canada. It could have been seized hundreds of kilometres inland, and it may have no ties to Canada whatsoever.” (P.S. If the link doesn't work for you, Google the story. The G&M firewalled me when I tried RAS's link, but Google let me thru.)

Then laura h. linked this New York Times op-ed by Brian Goldstone: “The very phrase 'working homeless' should be a contradiction, an impossibility in a nation that claims hard work leads to stability. And yet, their homelessness is not only pervasive but also persistently overlooked — excluded from official counts, ignored by policymakers, treated as an anomaly rather than a disaster unfolding in plain sight. Today, the threat of homelessness is most acute not in the poorest regions of the country, but in the richest, fastest-growing ones. In places like these, a low-wage job is homelessness waiting to happen.”

My dentist's assistant isn't homeless. But she is a 40-year-old married mother who told me yesterday that for the first time in her adult life she is not holding down three jobs at once to keep her family solvent. A friend of mine is looking for a rental apartment, so yesterday I noodled around the Internet to see what I could find for her. I could not find one place in a fairly wide geographical area that looked both decent and affordable. And I would not say this is a "rich, fast-growing" part of the country. But I would say it's unaffordable. My own house, which I purchased 10 years ago, has trebled in value; I have made some valuable improvements (that is, ones the tax man knows about) but nothing that would even come close to doubling the value of the property, much less trebling it. So "working homeless"? Of course.

Of course, this isn't all I learned in Saturday's Comments. But these three comments fit together in a way that gives us a jarring picture of just how terrible the Trump/Project 2025 policies are. They are designed to impoverish and kill as many people as possible. And of course, they use lies to "justify" the policies and distractions -- fentanyl! from Mexico! and Canada! -- to make sure the dimwits don't notice the damage Trump & the Trumpettes are raining down on them. Democrats sort of know this, but they are remarkably complacent. They should be shouting their objections. They should be educating voters. They should be proposing solutions. They are not. They are not. They are not.

P.S. To add meat to the theme, late Saturday night, Ken. W. added this Reuters story to the Comments: “The Trump administration has pulled the plug on a team of tech-savvy civil servants that helped to build the Internal Revenue Service’s free tax-filing service and revamp websites across government, a spokesperson for the General Service Administration said on Saturday. GSA’s Director of Technology Transformation Services Thomas Shedd notified employees of a digital service team known as 18F that their jobs had been terminated as they had been identified as 'non-critical.' Roughly 90 18F employees were immediately locked out of their devices.... Billionaire Elon Musk ... earlier this month responded to a post on X that called 18F a 'far-left government-wide computer office' by saying the group has been 'deleted.'” As Ken wrote, “Of course they did.” ~~~

     ~~~ The Musk/Trump administration will do anything to punish, harass and overburden people of low and modest incomes. And, as you can see from Musk's one-word rejoinder, he will carelessly hurt people based on casually-conceived, unsupported rumors. He's a natural sadist.

The Conversation -- March 2, 2025

Nicholas Riccardi of the AP: "During his first six weeks in office..., Donald Trump has embarked on a dizzying teardown of the federal government and attacks on long-standing institutions in an attempt to increase his own authority. He has pardoned those who attacked the U.S. Capitol to overturn his 2020 election loss, placed loyalists atop the FBI and military, and purged the Department of Justice, which dropped investigations against Trump allies. He declared control over independent agencies such as the Federal Election Commission, punished media outlets for coverage he dislikes and his allies suggested he could defy court orders. Those who monitor democracy across the globe had warned that a second Trump term could endanger America's 240-year experiment with democracy. His opening weeks in office have done nothing to dispel those concerns. 'Trump is using the classic elected authoritarian playbook,' said Brendan Nyhan of Dartmouth College, who joined more than 800 other political scientists in signing a letter warning that Trump is undermining the rule of law and the basic constitutional principle of checks and balances. 'It's almost embarrassing how crude it is.'"

Luke Broadwater del New York Times: Donald "Trump firmó una orden que designa el inglés como lengua oficial de los Estados Unidos, informó el sábado la Casa Blanca. La orden no requería ningún cambio en los programas federales y parecía ser en gran medida simbólica. Pero el pronunciamiento supuso la mayor victoria hasta la fecha para el movimiento English-only del país, vinculado desde hace tiempo a los esfuerzos por restringir la educación bilingüe y la inmigración a Estados Unidos. Más de 30 estados ya han designado el inglés como lengua oficial .... La orden ejecutiva anula un mandato de la era Clinton que obligaba a las agencias y a los beneficiarios de fondos federales a proporcionar asistencia lingüística a las personas que no hablan inglés, pero permite a las agencias mantener las políticas actuales y proporcionar documentos y servicios en otros idiomas.... Los informes de la orden prevista el viernes fueron rápidamente vitoreados por aquellos alineados con las políticas antiinmigración del Sr. Trump."

Okay, in case your Spanish (or this DeepL program) sucks, here's the story en Inglés. (I immediately found one mistake in the DeepL Spanish, so it may have many): ~~~

~~~ Luke Broadwater of the New York Times: Donald "Trump signed an order designating English as the official language of the United States, the White House said on Saturday. The order did not require any changes to federal programs and appeared to be largely symbolic. But the pronouncement was the biggest victory yet for the country's English-only movement, which has long been tied to efforts to restrict bilingual education and immigration to the United States. More than 30 states have already designated English as their official language.... The executive order rescinds a Clinton-era mandate that required agencies and recipients of federal funding to provide language assistance to non-English speakers, but allows agencies to keep current policies and provide documents and services in other languages.... Reports of the planned order on Friday were quickly cheered by those aligned with Mr. Trump's anti-immigration policies."

Marcy Wheeler lays out "five ways Trump is sabotaging the United States." Thanks to RAS for the link.

"Go Ski in Russia." Common Dreams: "Over a thousand Vermonters lined both sides of Route 100 in Waitsfield, Vermont, Saturday morning protesting Vice President JD Vance, who was visiting nearby Sugarbush Resort this weekend with his family.... Protesters shouted obscenities and waved signs as the Vance motorcade rolled past. 'Vance is a traitor. Go Ski in Russia,' one sign read." MB: Thank you, Vermont. (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~

     ~~~ Nevertheless, He Persisted Fled. Coral Marcos of the Guardian: "While Vance, who admitted Friday he has never been to Ukraine, fled to an undisclosed location to evade protesters, some commentators noted that Zelenskyy, who stayed in Ukraine during Russia's invasion, was returning to a Kyiv still under attack.... The aggressive meeting led to protests in cities and towns across the US, including New York, Los Angeles and Boston, where hundreds gathered to express their support for Ukraine and Zelenskyy. Videos posted on social networks showed hundreds of demonstrators gathered in New York's Times Square, many carrying the blue-and-yellow flag of Ukraine on their backs. In Los Angeles county, a pro-Ukraine crowd rallied in front of a SpaceX's facility, and protesters in Boston held an 'emergency rally' for 'fair peace' for Ukraine at Boston Common." See also NYT & AP stories linked below on more U.S. protests against Presidents* Trump & Musk.

Evan Halper, et al., of the Washington Post: "Elon Musk is trying again on his demand that every federal worker justify their employment weekly. And again, the hastily executed initiative is sowing confusion and resistance throughout the workforce, with many agency heads openly defying it. A second round of emails instructing more than 2 million workers to reply with bullet points listing five things they accomplished over the week ... came a week after the billionaire ... warned those who did not respond to an identical order last weekend that it would be taken as a resignation.... 'The President has made it clear that this is mandatory for the executive branch,' Musk wrote on X on Saturday morning.... Even so, guidance telling workers to ignore the emails came from across the chain of command -- from managers, supervisors or other department leaders who did not wait for instructions from agency heads.... The State Department ... sent a brief note early Saturday telling staff to do nothing with the email.... Employees at the [Energy D]epartment said their Trump-appointed leadership appears to be growing exhausted by the haphazard DOGE directives, as the confusion they are creating diverts workers' attention and agency resources away from the task of implementing the president's far-reaching orders to gut climate programs, cut clean energy subsidies and enable more fossil fuel production." ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: Yes, yes, what's left of the Energy Department's staff must get back to its important work of destroying Earth. ~~~

~~~ Evan Halper & Hannah Natanson of the Washington Post: "Amid the tumult of mass firings, the Trump administration's dismissal of workers who maintain America's nuclear weapons delivered perhaps the greatest shock. These are people with highly sensitive jobs, the Energy Department would later acknowledge, who should have never been fired. Almost all the workers were rehired in an embarrassing about-face, a prominent example of how the administration has had to reverse dismissals in multiple instances where its scattershot approach caused deeper damage to agencies than anticipated. The employees of the National Nuclear Security Administration are stewards of a sprawling government system that keeps 5,000 nuclear warheads secure and ready. They make sure radiation doesn't leak, weapons don't mistakenly detonate and plutonium doesn't get into the wrong hands.

"Yet late the night before Valentine's Day, the Trump administration perfunctorily fired 17 percent of the National Nuclear Security Administration's workforce, over the strenuous objections of senior nuclear officials.... The novice cost-cutters installed at the Energy Department, several nuclear workers interviewed said, appeared to lack a basic understanding of the work of the NNSA, an arm of the department that is a key pillar of the national defense.... The administration's cost-cutting blitz, rushed and lacking transparency, has forced it into other reversals after the practical or political implications of certain firings became clear."

Rubio Is Killing People to Please Trump, and He Knows It. Anna Barry-Jester & Brett Murphy of ProPublica: "After the Trump administration moved to freeze nearly $60 billion in foreign aid in January, officials like Secretary of State Marco Rubio repeatedly assured Americans that lifesaving operations would continue. 'We don't want to see anybody die,' he told reporters in early February.... In late January, Rubio and one of his top aides, Peter Marocco, said ... dozens of [programs] could continue, granting them temporary waivers while the officials conducted what they have called a 'targeted, case-by-case review' of all foreign aid programs managed by the State Department and USAID. That review, they said, would take three months. Four weeks later, on Wednesday, Rubio and Marocco completely ended nearly 10,000 aid programs in one fell swoop -- including those they had granted waivers just days earlier -- saying the programs did not align with Trump's agenda. The move consigns untold numbers of the world's poorest children, refugees and other vulnerable people to death.... The U.S. has also refused to pay almost $2 billion that the government owes aid organizations for work they've already completed."

David Fahrenthold, et al., of the New York Times: "Even after Mr. Musk's group deleted several large erroneous claims from its [so-called 'wall of receipts'] last week, The New York Times found that it had added new mistakes -- claiming credit for 'canceling' contracts that had actually ended under previous presidents, [including George W. Bush, 20 years ago]. 'These are not savings,' said Lisa Shea Mundt, whose firm, The Pulse of GovCon, tracks federal spending. 'The money's been spent. Period. Point blank.' These mistakes do not mean DOGE has not made cuts to the federal government. It has, deeply, by pushing widespread layoffs of employees and cancellations of active contracts, and by helping instigate the demise of the U.S. Agency for International Development. But the repeated errors have raised questions about the quality and veracity of the information that the Musk team is putting out.... The mistakes also seem to call into question the team members' competence -- whether they understand the government well enough to cut it while avoiding catastrophe....

"Mr. Musk's group has said that it has saved taxpayers $65 billion, by cutting contracts, leases, federal employees and other items in the federal budget. But it has itemized only two of those categories: cancellations of contracts and leases. When adding up DOGE's claimed savings for each item, those categories collectively account for about $10 billion, less than one-sixth of the total. When DOGE first published its list of canceled contracts, there were about 1,100 examples. The five largest were wrong."

Raphael Satter of Reuters: "The Trump administration has pulled the plug on a team of tech-savvy civil servants that helped to build the Internal Revenue Service's free tax-filing service and revamp websites across government, a spokesperson for the General Service Administration said on Saturday. GSA's Director of Technology Transformation Services Thomas Shedd notified employees of a digital service team known as 18F that their jobs had been terminated as they had been identified as 'non-critical.' Roughly 90 18F employees were immediately locked out of their devices.... Elon Musk ... earlier this month responded to a post on X that called 18F a 'far-left government-wide computer office' by saying the group has been 'deleted.'" Thanks to Ken W. for the link. As he wrote last night, "Of course they did." Politico's story is here. ~~~

~~~ ⭐A Letter from 18F to the American People: "For over 11 years, 18F has been proudly serving you to make government technology work better. We are non-partisan civil servants. 18F has worked on hundreds of projects, all designed to make government technology not just efficient but effective, and to save money for American taxpayers. However, all employees at 18F -- a group that the Trump Administration GSA Technology Transformation Services Director called 'the gold standard' of civic tech -- were terminated today at midnight ET.... Before today's RIF, DOGE members and GSA political appointees demanded and took access to IT systems that hold sensitive information. They ignored security precautions.... We came to the government to fix things. And we're not done with this work yet. More to come."

Social Security keeps 18 million seniors out of poverty every year. Trump and Musk are lying about it for one reason: so they can cut, privatize & dismantle it. We must EXPAND Social Security benefits, not cut them. And I am introducing a bill to just that. -- Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), on X ~~~

~~~ Marco Margaritoff of the Huffington Post: "Elon Musk is calling Social Security a 'Ponzi scheme,' prompting suspicion that the world's richest man is merely hoping to privatize a social safety net that has existed since the 1930s -- and has kept millions of elderly, poor and disabled Americans from destitution. The billionaire argued Friday on 'The Joe Rogan Experience' podcast that the United States government is 'one big pyramid scheme' before blasting Social Security as 'the biggest Ponzi scheme of all time.'... Musk ... added that 'people are living way longer than expected' and thus the government's obligation to pay the debt 'will be much worse in the future.' The Social Security Administration has said it could face a shortage of funds by 2035. But

Zach Montague of the New York Times: "A federal judge in Washington on Saturday blocked ... [Donald] Trump from ousting the leader of a federal watchdog agency, saying that the effort to remove the official without due cause had violated the law. In an order on Saturday evening, Judge Amy Berman Jackson granted a permanent injunction against the government, allowing Hampton Dellinger to remain the head of the Office of Special Counsel, which protects federal whistle-blowers. The order required the Trump administration to recognize Mr. Dellinger's authority in that position, barring it from taking any action to 'treat him in any way as if he has been removed' or otherwise interfere with his work. The administration immediately moved to challenge the ruling, starting an appeals process that appeared likely to end at the Supreme Court." Politico's report is here.

Isabelle Taft, et al., of the New York Times: "Thousands of people gathered on Saturday at national parks from California to Maine to protest the Trump administration's firing of at least 1,000 National Park Service employees last month. A group called Resistance Rangers -- consisting of about 700 off-duty rangers, including some who were fired from the National Park Service -- tried to organize protests at each of the country's 433 national park sites on Saturday to stand up against what they see as threats to public lands, including the job cuts. By the afternoon, there were protests at at least 145 sites...."

Rodrique Ngowi & Jonathan Cooper of the AP: "Demonstrators gathered outside Tesla stores across the U.S. Saturday to protest the automaker's billionaire CEO, Elon Musk, and his push to slash government spending on behalf of ... Donald Trump. The demonstrations are part of a growing backlash in North America and Europe to Musk's disruptive role in Washington. Critics of Trump and Musk hope to discourage and stigmatize purchases of Tesla, the electric car company that is the world's most valuable automaker."

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New York. Nicholas Fandos & Emma Fitzsimmons of the New York Times: "Former Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo announced on Saturday that he would run for mayor of New York City, upending the race to unseat Eric Adams and setting up an audacious comeback attempt three years after he resigned in disgrace. With near-universal name recognition, deep-pocketed supporters and a decade as governor, Mr. Cuomo is expected to quickly assume front-runner status for the June Democratic primary, albeit with hefty baggage. In a 17-minute video announcing his run, Mr. Cuomo, 67, attempted to reintroduce himself to New Yorkers on his preferred terms: as a tested manager, law-and-order moderate and forceful leader capable of rescuing a city that he said 'feels threatening, out of control, and in crisis.' He blamed 'failed Democratic leadership' but did not explicitly mention Mr. Adams, and said he would try to work with ... [Donald] Trump where he could.... Mr. Cuomo has spent years and millions of taxpayer dollars for legal fees fighting to clear his name after 11 sexual harassment accusations prompted his resignation in August 2021. To win, he will have to convince New Yorkers that he is innocent -- or at least to look beyond his transgressions and a field of newer talent."

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Israel, et al. Eve Sampson & Isabel Kershner of the New York Times: "Israel announced on Sunday morning that it was halting the entry of all goods and humanitarian assistance Gaza immediately, hours after proposing a temporary extension of the now-expired cease-fire with Hamas. The drastic step to block aid appeared to be aimed at pressuring Hamas into accepting the new framework -- and to make the Israeli government's negotiating position clear. Under Israel's proposal for an extension, which it attributed to the U.S. envoy to the region, Steve Witkoff, half of the remaining hostages held in Gaza would be released to Israel on the first day of the agreement. If, at the end of the temporary extension -- stretching until the end of Passover on April 20 -- a permanent truce had been reached, the rest of the hostages would then be returned." ~~~

     ~~~ Here are the Washington Post's live briefings for Sunday.

Ukraine, et al. Mark Landler & Stephen Castle of the New York Times: "European leaders scrambled on Sunday to salvage Ukraine's relationship with the United States, after a bitter rupture last week between President Volodymyr Zelensky and ... [Donald] Trump. They pledged to assemble a European 'coalition of the willing' to develop a plan for ending Ukraine's war with Russia, which they hope could win the backing of a skeptical Mr. Trump. Gathering in London at the invitation of Prime Minister Keir Starmer of Britain, the leaders vowed to bolster support for Ukraine. But they also expressed hope that Mr. Zelensky and Mr. Trump could repair their breach, underscoring Europe's reluctance to cast off a trans-Atlantic alliance that has kept the peace for 80 years. 'We have to bridge this,' Mr. Starmer said on Sunday to the BBC before the leaders began arriving at Lancaster House, near Buckingham Palace. 'We have to find a way where we can all work together.'" ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: I do realize that diplomats often have to baby tyrants, but I think Europeans would do well to try a different tack with our tyrant. At best, say it's a shame he doesn't want to play in their playpen anymore; that they love the U.S. and they love Americans, but that Putin's puppets Don & JayDee are just out of step with American/Western ideals. Sad! Update: Now, the following works for me: ~~~

     ~~~ Norway. Alex Evans of the Daily Express: “A petrol giant in Norway has announced a ban on fuel sales to all US forces following Donald Trump's treatment of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky at the White House, it has been reported. Norwegian firm Haltbakk Bunkers announced it will stop providing fuel to all American forces in Norway as it declared 'No fuel to Americans!'. The firm posted on social media to declare its support for Zelensky as it dealt a hammer blow to US President Trump following the heated spat televised from the Oval Office. It said: 'We have today been witnesses to the biggest s***how ever presented "live on tv" by the current American president and his vice president. Huge credit to the president of Ukraine restraining himself and for keeping calm even though USA put on a backstabbing tv show. It made us sick....'" ~~~

~~~ Mark Santora & Andrew Kramer of the New York Times: "In one jaw-dropping meeting, the once unthinkable fear that Ukraine would be forced to engage in a long war against a stronger opponent without U.S. support appeared to move exponentially closer to reality.... An immediate result was that Ukrainians, including opposition politicians, were generally supportive of Mr. Zelensky on Saturday for not bending to Mr. Trump despite tremendous pressure.... Mr. Zelensky signaled on Saturday that he had not completely given up hope of repairing the relationship with Mr. Trump. Posting on social media, he went out of his way to thank the United States, perhaps trying to address Mr. Trump's complaint on Friday that he was ungrateful.... At the same time, Mr. Zelensky began laying the groundwork for moving ahead with the European countries that have stood by Kyiv's side. Ukraine announced plans on Saturday for a joint weapons venture with France that would be financed by the interest earned from frozen Russian assets. Later in the day, Mr. Zelensky met with Prime Minister Keir Starmer of Britain, who has been a supporter of the Ukrainian president in the face of Mr. Trump's harsh rebukes.... The real affront that prompted the spectacle, many Ukrainians and analysts believe, is that Mr. Zelensky pushed back against some of Mr. Trump's terms."

The Conversation -- March 1, 2025

"Go Ski in Russia." Common Dreams: "Over a thousand Vermonters lined both sides of Route 100 in Waitsfield, Vermont, Saturday morning protesting Vice President JD Vance, who was visiting nearby Sugarbush Resort this weekend with his family.... Protesters shouted obscenities and waved signs as the Vance motorcade rolled past. 'Vance is a traitor. Go Ski in Russia,' one sign read." MB: Thank you, Vermont.

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Marie: Sorry, I've been adding links up past 10 am ET.

So here we are, for the first time in our lives, the enemy of democratic Europe.

Shawn McCreesh of the New York Times: "One of the most surreal moments of Friday's Oval Office showdown between ... [Donald] Trump and President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine came at the very end. After all the shouting and the saber-rattling and the lecturing and the pleading and the politicking had ceased, the American president shifted a little in his seat and shared an observation. 'This is going to be great television,'.... It was a conclusion as startling as it was fundamentally Trumpian." ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: Although video of the encounter will be studied as long as anyone cares about how this country fell, it is not "great television." Trump and his collaborators wrote the script & produced the show, but it was a monumental dud. It depicts, not great television but the sickening climactic moment in a thumping American tragedy. A tragedy is self-imposed. Trump, Vance and their Republican quislings caused the debacle, but voters who set them in position to do so are ultimately responsible. If you missed it, watch as much as you can stomach: ~~~

     ~~~ The New York Times excerpts parts of a transcript of the meeting.

I have determined that President Zelenskyy is not ready for Peace if America is involved, because he feels our involvement gives him a big advantage in negotiations. I don't want advantage, I want PEACE. He disrespected the United States of America in its cherished Oval Office. He can come back when he is ready for Peace. -- Donald Trump, lying in a media post ~~~

~~~ Peter Baker of the New York Times: "The United States' relationship with Ukraine erupted in a storm of acrimony on Friday as ... [Donald] Trump and Vice President JD Vance berated President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine in an explosive televised Oval Office showdown and abruptly cut short a visit meant to coordinate a plan for peace. In a fiery public confrontation unlike any seen between an American president and foreign leader in modern times, Mr. Trump and Mr. Vance castigated Mr. Zelensky for not being grateful enough for U.S. support in Ukraine's war with Russia, and sought to strong-arm him into making a peace deal on whatever terms the Americans dictated. With his voice raised and temper flaring, Mr. Trump threatened to abandon Ukraine altogether if Mr. Zelensky did not go along. After journalists left the Oval Office, Mr. Trump canceled the rest of the visit, including a planned joint news conference and signing ceremony for a deal on rare minerals, and U.S. officials told the Ukrainians to leave.... ...

"Even as he shouted at the Ukrainian leader..., the president spoke of Mr. Putin as if they were friends, saying that the Russian leader has 'been through a lot with me' in enduring the 'Russia hoax,' referring to the investigation of Mr. Putin's clandestine efforts to help Mr. Trump win the 2016 election. The confrontation provided a major boost to Mr. Putin.... The White House later sent out Senator Lindsey Graham, Republican of South Carolina and a close Trump ally, to tell reporters that Mr. Zelensky should consider stepping down. 'He either needs to resign and send somebody over that we can do business with or he needs to change,' Mr. Graham said on the White House driveway. In a later interview with Fox News, Mr. Zelensky refused to apologize to Mr. Trump, but expressed regret about the exchange and appreciation to the United States for its support. 'We are thankful and sorry for this,' he said."

     ~~~ Michael Birnbaum & Matt Viser of the Washington Post: "... Donald Trump ripped into Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in the Oval Office on Friday, in a remarkable encounter that could determine a generation of war and peace in Europe but that at times felt more like a barroom brawl with furious demands from Trump and Vice President JD Vance for respect and gratitude from the wartime Ukrainian leader. The heated back and forth -- with Trump, Zelensky and Vance at times shouting over each other -- was a striking breach of Oval Office comity, where even tough encounters have typically happened with calm voices and diplomatic language.... Zelensky pushed back against Trump, urging him to offer security guarantees, emphasizing Putin's aggression, and, as things grew heated, chided Vance for speaking about Ukraine without having visited the country. Zelensky left shortly after 1:40 p.m., with a planned press conference canceled and Trump writing on social media: 'He disrespected the United States of America in its cherished Oval Office. He can come back when he's ready for Peace.' Also cut short were plans for Trump and Zelensky to finalize an agreement granting the U.S. limited access to Ukraine's mineral rights." (Also linked yesterday.)

Today, it became clear that the free world needs a new leader. It's up to us, Europeans, to take this challenge. -- European Union foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas ~~~

~~~ Tim Balk of the New York Times: "European leaders quickly pledged their continued support for Ukraine on Friday after ... [Donald] Trump's blistering criticism of Ukraine's president, Volodymyr Zelensky, in a meeting at the White House. Leaders lined up behind Ukraine and praised its embattled president, the statements coming one after the other: from France, Germany, Poland, Spain, Denmark, the Netherlands, Portugal, the Czech Republic, Norway, Finland, Croatia, Estonia, Latvia, Slovenia, Belgium, Lithuania, Luxembourg and Ireland. Canadian, Australian and New Zealand leaders added their voices to the Europeans'. Even as Western leaders generally shied away from explicitly criticizing Mr. Trump..., many in Europe addressed their statements of encouragement directly to Mr. Zelensky." Politico's report is here.

David Sanger of the New York Times: "After five weeks in which President Trump made clear his determination to scrap America's traditional sources of power -- its alliances among like-minded democracies -- and return the country to an era of raw great-power negotiations, he left one question hanging: How far would he go in sacrificing Ukraine to his vision? The remarkable showdown that played out in front of the cameras early Friday afternoon from the Oval Office provided the answer.... What Mr. Trump really wants, one senior European official said this week before the blowup, is a normalization of the relationship with Russia.... If that means rewriting the history of Moscow's illegal invasion three years ago, dropping investigations of Russian war crimes or refusing to offer Ukraine long-lasting security guarantees, then Mr. Trump ... is willing to make that deal.... Mr. Trump makes no secret of his view that the post-World War II system, created by Washington, ate away at American power.... In the five weeks since his second inauguration, Mr. Trump has begun exercising a plan to destroy that system."

Marie: Robert Farley of LG&$ also speaks for me when he writes, "I don't know if I've ever been this ashamed of a US President."

M. Gessen of the New York Times: "President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine understands the enormity of the threat [posed by Vladimir Putin's plan to reorganize the world as Joseph Stalin did at the 1945 Yalta Conference], not only to his country but to Europe, for which Ukraine has served as a deadly buffer zone. But on Friday, when he tried to talk about this threat during an Oval Office meeting, Trump and Vice President JD Vance became furious.... What happens if Russia unleashes its aggression against Europe, unchecked or even aided by the United States? The exact contours of the looming catastrophe are impossible to predict." ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: One piece of this tragedy: in his desperate campaign to cement his place in the dictators' club, Trump has no idea that he is not a strong man aligning himself with other strongmen, but a pawn of Putin. And his place in the dictators' club, if indeed the others fully accept him, will not be at the top. He's merely an aged, middling, pathetic dictator-among-others.

Tom Nichols of the Atlantic: "All of the ghastliness inflicted on Zelensky today should not obscure the geopolitical reality of what just happened: The president of the United States ambushed a loyal ally, presumably so that he can soon make a deal with the dictator of Russia to sell out a European nation fighting for its very existence.... This meeting reeked of a planned attack, with Trump unloading Russian talking points on Zelensky (such as blaming Ukraine for risking global war), all of it designed to humiliate the Ukrainian leader on national television and give Trump the pretext to do what he has indicated repeatedly he wants to do: side with Russian President Vladimir Putin and bring the war to an end on Russia's terms. Trump is now reportedly considering the immediate end of all military aid to Ukraine because of Zelensky's supposed intransigence during the meeting. Vance's presence at the White House also suggests that the meeting was a setup.... Marco Rubio -- in theory, America's top diplomat -- was also there, but he sat glumly and silently while Vance pontificated like an obnoxious graduate student." Read on. Thank you to laura h. for this gift link.

Bret Stephens of the New York Times: "Volodymyr Zelensky, Ukraine's embattled democratic leader, came to Washington prepared to sign away anything he could offer ... [Donald] Trump except his nation's freedom, security and common sense. For that, he was rewarded with a lecture on manners from the most mendacious vulgarian and ungracious host ever to inhabit the White House.... This was a day of American infamy.... If there's one silver lining to this fiasco, it's that Zelensky did not sign the agreement on Ukrainian minerals that was forced on him this month by Scott Bessent, the Treasury secretary who's the Tom Hagen character in this protection-racket administration.... But if it's a financial payback that the Trump administration seeks, the best place to get it is to seize, in collaboration with our European partners, Russia's frozen assets and put them into an account by which Ukraine could pay for American-made arms. If the United States won&'t do this, the Europeans should...."

Josh Kovensky of TPM: "... Donald Trump and Vice President J.D. Vance moved to betray a key U.S. ally that has lost hundreds of thousands of people in fending off a Russian invasion on Friday, taunting Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky at an Oval Office meeting after spending weeks trying to undermine the bilateral relationship. The Oval Office blowup, in which Trump and Vance berated Zelensky as ungrateful while dismissing the prospect that Russian President Vladimir Putin might renege on a potential ceasefire agreement, is a culmination in a weeks-long campaign to choreograph an end to U.S. support for Ukraine."

David Frum of the Atlantic: "... Trump and Vance have revealed to Americans and to America's allies their alignment with Russia, and their animosity toward Ukraine in general and its president in particular. The truth is ugly, but it's necessary to face it.... The national-security system of the West is led by two men who cannot be trusted to defend America's allies -- and who deeply sympathize with the world's most aggressive dictator.... We're witnessing the self-sabotage of the United States. 'America First' always meant America alone, a predatory America whose role in the world is no longer based on democratic belief.... The American people need to reckon with the mess Trump and Vance are making of this country's once-good name -- and the services they are performing for dictators and aggressors.... The pro-Trump party exposed its face to the world in the Oval Office today. Nobody who saw that face will ever forget the grotesque sight." Thanks to laura h. for this gift link. (Also linked yesterday.)

Maureen Dowd of the New York Times points to some of the ironies of the Trump/Vance ambush: "It was a sickening spectacle: the man who tried to upend democracy bullying the man who is fighting for democracy.... Pretty rich for a draft dodger to lecture a man whose name has become synonymous with wartime bravery.... JD Vance, a malign presence who has said he does not care a fig about Ukraine, chided Volodymyr Zelensky for not being grateful enough to America, i.e. Trump.... The bust of Churchill so beloved by Trump watched over the three men as they sparred.... Can you imagine Churchill's chilly disdain for Trump's protection-racket demand for Ukraine's minerals?" Trump's calling out Zelensky for wearing an outfit a little fancier than Elon Musk wears to formal White House meetings. Trump's finding common cause with Putin for the hardship poor Vlad "went through" in during the Russia election-tampering investigation. Trump's complaining that Zelensky showed "hatred" for Putin, who without provocation has been waging war on Ukraine for years in an attempt to take over all or parts of it; Trump "doesn't understand why Zelensky is not happy with Putin for invading the smaller country and beating the bejesus out of it, for decimating a generation of young Ukrainian soldiers, for breaking cease-fires and committing war crimes."

Oh, How Could This Have Happened? Giselle Ewing of Politico: "A staffer from TASS, a Russian [state media] outlet that often promotes glorified coverage of Russian leader Vladimir Putin, was briefly in the room for ... Donald Trump's bilateral meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. American media mainstays Reuters and the Associated Press were not granted access. According to the White House, the Russian reporter's presence was unplanned [and unapproved].... The White House did not address how the unapproved reporter was able to gain access to the Oval Office. The moment marks just the latest turn in the ongoing saga of the White House backlash against mainstream news." ~~~

~~~ AND This. Anthony Orrico of the Irish Star: "The boyfriend of Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) mocked the outfit of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky during the chaotic Oval Office meeting with ... Donald Trump and Vice President J.D Vance. Real America's Voice host Brian Glenn, who is dating the MAGA congresswoman..., apparently took exception with the fact that the Ukrainian leader was not wearing a suit. 'I will wear [a suit] after this war finishes. Maybe something like yours, maybe something better,' Mr. Zelensky retorted."

Kevin Breuninger of CNBC: "... Donald Trump plans to sign an executive order making English the official language of the United States, three White House officials told CNBC on Friday. The order would establish a national language for the first time in U.S. history. Trump's order would also rescind former President Bill Clinton's August 2000 directive requiring agencies and other recipients of federal funds to provide services for those with limited English proficiency, according to a fact sheet shared with CNBC." MB: This is embarrassing, especially in a country where so many native-born Americans speak only English (that includes me). We are such undereducated rubes, and now Trump plans to remind us of it. (Also linked yesterday.)

Digby, in Salon, psychoanalyzes Little Donnie: "... the motive that is driving him to do everything he's doing is simple: vengeance.... It's now gone far beyond his desire to hurt individuals -- he's intent upon seeking revenge against the country itself, maybe even the whole world. Trump is seething with anger and resentment at having been officially exposed as a sexual predator, a fraud, a coup plotter and a thief. He's still upset about the Russia Investigation, which he even brought up again on Thursday, explaining that he and Vladimir Putin were bonded over it so he feels he can trust the Russian dictator. Imagine the fury and frustration he feels at people knowing, no matter how much he says otherwise, that he lost the 2020 election and couldn't admit it. The damage to his fragile psyche is overwhelming and all he wants now is to wreak revenge on his enemies.... Donald Trump is 78 years old and he's been frustrated his whole life that he couldn't ever seem to get the respect he believed he deserved. Now, having been restored to this position of power with no one to stop him, he's settling accounts." Thanks to Akhilleus for the link. See also his commentary in today's thread.

Peter Navarro Is Still Crazy. Connor Stringer of the Telegraph, republished by Yahoo! News: "A top White House official has threatened to redraw the Canadian border amid Donald Trump's ambition to turn the country in America's '51st state'. Peter Navarro ... is pushing US negotiators to discuss reworking the border with their Canadian counterparts, The Telegraph can reveal. 'Navarro recommended revising the Canada-US border, which is just crazy and dangerous,' a source close to negotiations told The Telegraph. Canada has now instructed its delegates to withdraw from negotiations with the US until Jameson Greer and Howard Lutnick, two incoming members of Mr Trump's cabinet, are confirmed by the senate. Mr Greer and Mr Lutnick are viewed by Ottawa as being less extreme." Thanks to RAS for the link. (Also linked yesterday.)

Madeleine Ngo & Eileen Sullivan of the New York Times: "Federal workers started to receive emails late Friday evening asking them to provide a list of accomplishments from the week, a reprise of a request by Elon Musk that spread fear and confusion through the government just days ago.... Like the earlier email..., the email on Friday from the Office of Personnel Management ... directed [employees] to send approximately five bullets describing what they achieved this week. But it also said that, going forward, employees would be expected to complete the task weekly by Monday at 11:59 p.m. Eastern time.... It is unclear what consequences, if any, there will be if employees fail to comply with the new directive."

Julian Mark, et al., of the Washington Post: "Agencies across the federal government are dismantling offices that enforce civil rights and antidiscrimination laws under a Trump administration push to shrink the workforce, weakening the government's ability to deliver on legal obligations to protect workers' rights. [For instance,] the Social Security Administration this week announced it was closing its Office of Civil Rights and Equal Opportunity, where about 150 people worked investigating civil rights complaints, preventing harassment and ensuring accommodations for people with disabilities.... Leaders at the Labor Department are planning to cut by 90 percent the Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs.... The moves signal the Trump administration's intent to deliver on U.S. DOGE Service plans for workforce cuts laid out in a series of documents..., which initially contemplated eliminating the civil rights functions altogether in violation of federal law. The in-agency equal opportunity offices are mandated by statute to ensure employees receive equal opportunity...." (Also linked yesterday.)

This is Donald Trump making good on a very specific promise from Project 2025, and that is dismantling and privatizing NOAA, forcing Americans to pay for things like weather data and lifesaving weather alerts. This is going to have profound negative consequences on the day-to-day lives of Americans. -- Rep. Jared Huffman (D-Calif.), at a news conference Friday ~~~

~~~ Christopher Flavelle, et al., of the New York Times: "The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, one of the world's leading centers of climate research, has been hit by a new round of departures, just 24 hours after [about 800 probationary] employees were fired. About 500 employees left the agency on Friday after taking the so-called deferred resignation offer.... Under that program, staff at NOAA and other agencies have been told that they can stop working now and be paid through September.... The two rounds of departures together represent about 10 percent of NOAA's roughly 13,000 employees.... Almost 200 of the roughly 500 departures were by people who work in the National Weather Service, a division within NOAA.... NOAA has been singled out for especially deep cuts by members of the Trump administration. Project 2025, the policy blueprint published by the Heritage Foundation that is reflected in many of the actions taken by the administration so far, calls the agency 'one of the main drivers of the climate change alarm industry.'" ~~~

~~~ Scott Dance & Kasha Patel of the Washington Post: "The National Weather Service Employees Organization, the union representing 4,000 workers, argued the [employee terminations], part of the administration's swift and broad moves to shrink the federal workforce, could leave some offices incapable of tracking weather hazards around the clock.... Private-sector forecasters, meteorologists and researchers around the world rely on the agencies' weather and climate data.... About half of the Weather Service's forecast offices were already understaffed, according to a congressional analysis released last year." The article examines ways in which the weather services may/will be affected.

Nick Miroff & Maria Sacchetti of the Washington Post: "The Trump administration has directed federal officers to identify immigrants who can be rapidly removed from the United States without a court hearing... [A] memo circulated at U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement on Feb. 18 details the agency's latest strategy to accelerate removals and identifies their potential targets. More than 1 million migrants who were admitted to the United States through an array of initiatives during President Joe Biden's administration could be flagged for 'expedited removal' proceedings, though officials have instructed immigration officers to pore over the nearly 8 million deportation cases on their dockets to find more. Migrants could be speedily deported if they crossed the border illegally, were waved into the country on parole or with a notice to report to immigration authorities, and have not applied for asylum, the memo said. Immigrants who arrived legally through a port of entry also may be targeted if they lacked immigration documents or misrepresented themselves, the memo said." ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: IOW, not criminals and rapists. ~~~

~~~ Jacob Bogage, et al., of the Washington Post: "Internal Revenue Service leaders rejected a recent request from immigration enforcement officials to divulge the home addresses of 700,000 people suspected of being in the country illegally, rebuffing a Trump administration attempt to leverage the tax service to assist a sweeping immigration crackdown. In a memo obtained by The Washington Post, Department of Homeland Security authorities asked the IRS on Thursday to connect the names of potentially undocumented immigrants with the people's last known addresses, phone numbers and email addresses. It follows a DHS request roughly two weeks ago that would allow immigration officials to provide a list of names to the IRS in hopes of obtaining home addresses from the tax agency.... DHS's Thursday memo also asked the IRS to deploy dozens of highly skilled IRS auditors and criminal investigators to launch probes of businesses suspected of hiring immigrants not authorized to work in the United States....

"At the end of the workday Friday..., a new acting IRS commissioner, Melanie Krause, took over the agency and quickly indicated she was interested in exploring how to comply with the DHS request.... The memo and requests have prompted deep alarm within the IRS, the people said. Providing taxpayer information to third parties is punishable by civil and criminal penalties, and other government entities are forbidden from ordering tax investigations. People familiar with the DHS's requests described them as 'Nixonian.'... The IRS has reassured undocumented immigrants for years that their information is confidential and that it would be safe for them to file income tax returns reflecting their earnings without fear of being deported." Emphasis added. Thanks to Ken W. for the link.

Spencer Hsu of the Washington Post: "Seven top leaders of the U.S. attorney's office for Washington, D.C., were demoted to misdemeanor and entry-level intake positions Friday, according to people familiar with the matter, in the latest Trump administration purge of career Justice Department prosecutors who handled politically sensitive cases. The prosecutors are among a larger group targeted for 'retribution' by ... Donald Trump and loyalists, including interim U.S. attorney Ed Martin, because of their roles in Jan. 6 Capitol seditious conspiracy and riot cases and others, including ones involving Trump allies such as advisers Stephen K. Bannon and Peter Navarro.... The seven prosecutors were notified by email Friday morning of their immediate removal from high-ranking supervisory or senior roles in the federal criminal division of the nation's largest U.S. attorney's office."

Lauren Irwin of the Hill: "Joshua Stueve, a top spokesperson for the Department of Justice (DOJ), has resigned, citing a 'toxic work environment' in his letter to leadership. 'Simply put, I cannot continue to serve in such a hostile and toxic work environment, one where leadership at the highest levels makes clear we are not welcomed or valued, much less trusted to do our jobs,' wrote Stueve, who is not a political appointee and has served in administrations run by both parties." (Also linked yesterday.)

Michael Shear of the New York Times: "The F.B.I. on Friday gave ... [Donald] Trump the boxes of materials the bureau had seized during a search of his Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida in 2022, the White House announced." MB: The article does not make clear whether or not Trump received the classified documents and other government-owned property & docs the National Archives asked for. Shear writes that "the president and his allies said they would seek the return of the files that had been seized.... Alina Habba, the counselor to the president, told reporters that the boxes included personal items from Mr. Trump and his family." But IMO "included personal items" does not mean "excluded government-owned property." And it does seem highly likely that Patel or Bove would give Trump everything he (allegedly!) stole. ~~~

     ~~~ Update. Perry Stein of the Washington Post: "White House spokesperson Steven ... Cheung did not say Friday whether the classified items found by the FBI were among the materials being handed over."

Martin Matishak of the Record: "Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth last week ordered U.S. Cyber Command to stand down from all planning against Russia, including offensive digital actions, according to three people familiar with the matter. Hegseth gave the instruction to Cyber Command chief Gen. Timothy Haugh, who then informed the organization's outgoing director of operations, Marine Corps Maj. Gen. Ryan Heritage, of the new guidance, according to these people.... While the full scope of Hegseth's directive to the command remains unclear, it is more evidence of the White House's efforts to normalize ties with Moscow after the U.S. and international allies worked to isolate the Kremlin over its 2022 invasion of Ukraine." MB: I'm not familiar with the Record, but Matiskak reported for Politico for five years, so he knows how to do the job.

DOD Spokesman Wants Press to Root for Trump. Sarah Rumpf of Mediaite: "Chief Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell had an off-the-record meeting with reporters Thursday afternoon that did not go well, according to a report by Status newsletter scribe Oliver Darcy.... Parnell's media confab came just a few weeks after the DOD booted The New York Times, CNN, NBC News, Politico, and NPR from their physical offices within the Pentagon and replaced them with more MAGA-friendly outlets like Breitbart and One America News Network, although the left-leaning Huffington Post was also included.... '... the meeting quickly went off the rails' when the reporters started asking questions, and 'things grew quite strange and adversarial' as Parnell began firing questions back at them.... Parnell 'then asked the room full of assembled journalists whether they were "rooting" for the president to succeed.' Wrote Darcy: '... Parnell ... questioned why it would be unfair for him to expect that the reporters cheer on Trump. A reporter answered that it was not their job to root for or against a subject that they cover, but to simply report the facts.... Parnell quipped back, 'So it's our job to let you publish stories that trash the warfighter?'" Thanks to Akhilleus for the link. Darcy's post is firewalled. ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: As far as I can tell, Parnell has no journalistic experience, which many departmental spokespeople do, for obvious reasons. He does, however, have a few things in common with Pete Hegseth: he has served in the military and his ex-wife accused him of physical abuse.

DEA Pauses Help for Poorer Student Borrowers. Tara Bernard of the New York Times: "Federal student loan borrowers are temporarily unable to apply to income-driven repayment plans, a decades-old safety net that ties their monthly loan payment size to household income levels, as the U.S. Education Department reviews a recent federal court ruling. The department closed applications to the repayment plans last week after the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit upheld and expanded a temporary suspension of the Saving on a Valuable Education plan, known as SAVE. That income-driven program, a centerpiece of the Biden administration's policy agenda with eight million enrolled borrowers, generated lower payments than previous plans. Given its high cost, SAVE became the target of two separate legal challenges last spring by two groups of Republican-led states, which argued that the Biden administration had overstepped its authority. The SAVE plan has been in legal limbo ever since, and participants' payments have been on hold since last summer. But last week, applications to the three other income-driven plans were also taken down -- older programs that hadn't been subject to any litigation."

Judge Calls Bull on DOJ Lawyers. Aishvarya Kavi & Zach Montague of the New York Times: "A federal judge said on Friday that it seemed 'factually inaccurate' for the Trump administration to keep insisting that Elon Musk has no formal position in an operation that has led to mass firings of federal workers and the hobbling of the nation's foreign aid agency. The judge, Theodore D. Chuang of the U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland, prodded government lawyers repeatedly for additional clarity on Mr. Musk&'s role in a case that directly challenges the constitutionality of the task force known as the Department of Government Efficiency.... On Friday, Joshua E. Gardner, a lawyer in the Justice Department's civil division, denied that Mr. Musk had any role with the Department of Government Efficiency.... The judge declined to issue an immediate decision." The article details an instance in which Judge Chuang tripped up the government's lawyer.

Nick Corasaniti of the New York Times: "The Democratic Party sued ... [Donald] Trump on Friday, contending that his assertion of control over independent executive-branch agencies, which include the bipartisan Federal Election Commission, violated federal election law."

Tesla Fires Employee for Objecting to Musk's Pro-Nazi Post. Jack Ewing, et al., of the New York Times: "Tesla has fired a manager who objected to a social media post by Elon Musk, the chief executive, that referred to Nazi leaders. It was the latest example that public criticism of the boss was unacceptable in the Musk business empire. Jared Ottmann, a manager and engineer who worked with Tesla's battery suppliers, said he had been fired because he criticized Mr. Musk for a post on X that used the names of Nazis like Heinrich Himmler and Hermann Göring in a series of wordplay. 'Stop Göring your enemies,' Mr. Musk wrote on Jan. 23, adding, 'Bet you did Nazi that coming.' He punctuated the post with a laughing-while-crying emoji. Mr. Ottmann said on LinkedIn in late January that he was offended that Mr. Musk had referred 'as a joke' to Nazis who were responsible for genocide.... Mr. Musk's companies, which include SpaceX and X, have a history of punishing dissent.... The firings are at odds with Mr. Musk's often-stated goal to defend free speech."

Annals of "Journalism," Ctd. David Folkenflik of NPR: "More than 75,000 digital subscribers to The Washington Post have cancelled since its owner, billionaire Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, announced on Wednesday that he would radically overhaul the paper's opinion pages to reflect libertarian priorities and to exclude opposing points of view." MB: I doubt Bezos cares much; his goal is to please Trump, et al., in order to increase the bottom line of his other, lucrative enterprises. (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~

     ~~~ There Are No Concidences in Washington. Jaden Amos of Axios: Donald "Trump said in an interview with The Spectator that he had dinner Wednesday night with Amazon founder and Washington Post owner Jeff Bezos.... The dinner between Trump and Bezos happened the night Bezos announced changes to the Washington Post opinion section." (Also linked yesterday.)

News Ledes

New York Times: "After days of a cautious optimism and two weeks in a hospital with pneumonia in both lungs, Pope Francis on Friday suffered another respiratory crisis, renewing concerns about the prognosis for the leader of the Roman Catholic Church. The Vatican said on Friday night that Francis, who is 88 and has a history of respiratory ailments, suffered a bronchial spasm that caused him to inhale his vomit after a coughing fit. That, in turn, caused a 'worsening of the respiratory picture,' and required aspiration."

New York Times: "The actor Gene Hackman most likely died nine days before his and his wife's bodies were found in their secluded home near Santa Fe, N.M., the authorities said on Friday, as the central question of how they died remained unanswered. By examining Mr. Hackman's pacemaker, a pathologist determined that the device's last recorded 'event' was on Feb. 17, indicating that Mr. Hackman died then, Sheriff Adan Mendoza of Santa Fe County said in a news conference. Mr. Hackman, 95, and his wife, Betsy Arakawa, 65, were found dead on Wednesday, in separate rooms of their home in a gated community."