The Commentariat -- July 14, 2020

Afternoon Update:

Dana Rubinstein of the New York Times: "Mondaire Jones, a progressive candidate supported by the institutional left, was declared the victor in a crowded Democratic House primary in the suburbs north of New York City, all but ensuring that he will join Congress next year as among its first openly gay African-American members. The race was not called by The Associated Press until Tuesday, three weeks after the primary, even though Mr. Jones had a commanding advantage after the machine ballot count: He had twice as many votes as his closest competitor, Adam Schleifer. Mr. Jones's support grew as Primary Day drew closer, as Black Lives Matters protests galvanized voters across the district and allowed candidates, for the first time since the pandemic, to campaign in the open air." A Hill story is here.

Monica Alba & Carol Lee of NBC News: "... Donald Trump and Republican officials are preparing for the possibility of a fully outdoor convention in Jacksonville, Florida, next month as coronavirus cases in the state shatter records, according to two GOP officials involved in the planning. The president met with his top political advisers at the White House on Monday to discuss how several events, scheduled for six weeks from now, could move from an indoor venue to several outside ones. The Republican National Committee, or RNC, has already contracted with several open-air arenas, stadiums and amphitheaters to more safely bring together attendees and delegates, but it's unclear how many people total will be allowed to gather." ~~~

     ~~~ Mrs. McCrabbie: Should be fun. Huge crowds of old white folks yelling & sharing their infected spit on hot, humid August nights with thunderstorms (or hurricanes!) in the forecast.

John Kruzel of the Hill: "Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg was hospitalized on Tuesday for treatment for a possible infection after experiencing fever and chills, according to a Supreme Court spokeswoman. The 87-year-old justice also underwent a procedure Tuesday 'to clean out a bile duct stent that was placed last August,' spokeswoman Kathleen Arberg added. 'The Justice is resting comfortably and will stay in the hospital for a few days to receive intravenous antibiotic treatment,' Arberg said."

Trump Sticks up for White People, Part 1. Morgan Chalfant of the Hill: "President Trump on Tuesday asserted that 'more' white Americans die at the hands of police than Black Americans and criticized a reporter for asking why African Americans are still dying in law enforcement custody. 'So are white people. So are white people. What a terrible question to ask,' Trump told CBS News' Catherine Herridge when asked about the deaths of Black Americans at the hands of police. 'So are white people. More white people, by the way. More white people.' Police departments are not mandated to report statistics on police killings, however studies have shown that police killings disproportionately impact Black Americans. A Washington Post analysis updated earlier this year found that the rate at which black Americans are killed by law enforcement officers is over twice as high as the rate for their white counterparts. White Americans, who make up a larger share of the U.S. population, account for more deaths at the hands of police overall." ~~~

     ~~~ Grace Segers of CBS News: "One study published in 2018 found that Black men are roughly 3.5 times more likely to be killed by law enforcement than White men." ~~~

~~~ Trump Sticks up for White People, Part 2. Brett Samuels of the Hill: "President Trump on Tuesday defended a St. Louis couple that went viral after they stood outside their home brandishing weapons as a group of protesters marched by their house. 'They were going to be beat up badly, if they were lucky. OK? If they were lucky,' Trump asserted in an interview at the White House with the conservative outlet Townhall. 'They were going to be beat up badly, and the house was going to be totally ransacked and probably burned down like they tried to burn down churches,' the president continued. 'These people were standing there, never used it, and they were legal, the weapons,' Trump said. 'And now I understand somebody local they want to prosecute these people. It's a disgrace.' Mark and Patricia McCloskey made headlines late last month after video footage surfaced of them pointing guns at an informal Black Lives Matter protest that passed through their neighborhood en route to the home of Mayor Lyda Krewson (D)." ~~~

     ~~~ Mrs. McCrabbie: Trump's weird reverie is a textbook example of white racist fantasy. The racist sees some black people walk by, and he immediately imagines the black people are going to beat him up -- or worse -- then ransack & burn down his house. I don't need to tell you this is insane. The St. Louis protesters, some of whom were white, showed no indication they planned to pay any attention to the McCloseys; they were on their way to yell at the mayor. ~~~

~~~ Trump Sticks up for White People*, Part 3. CBS News: "In an interview with CBS News' Catherine Herridge, President Trump said he considers flying the Confederate flag a 'freedom of speech' issue. (Video.) *Assuming here that 99.9% of confederate flag lovers are white.

When Donald Trump thinks about climate change, the only word he can muster is "hoax." When I think about climate change, the word I think of is "jobs." -- Joe Biden, in a speech Tuesday ~~~

~~ Katie Glueck & Lisa Friedman of the New York Times: "Joseph R. Biden Jr. announced on Tuesday a new plan to spend $2 trillion over four years to significantly escalate the use of clean energy in the transportation, electricity and building sectors, part of a suite of sweeping proposals designed to create economic opportunities and build infrastructure while also tackling climate change. In a speech in Wilmington, Del., Mr. Biden built on his plans, released last week, for reviving the economy in the wake of the coronavirus crisis, with a new focus on enhancing the nation's infrastructure and emphasizing the importance of putting the United States on a path to significantly cut fossil fuel emissions."

Sahil Kapur & Julia Ainsley of NBC News: "Facing blowback and lawsuits, the Trump administration is rescinding its directive blocking international students from staying in the United States while taking online-only classes. U.S. District Court Judge Allison Dale Burroughs in Massachusetts announced Tuesday that the government and plaintiffs had reached a resolution in a lawsuit brought by Harvard University and MIT. The government was to rescind its July 6 rule that said foreign students on F-1 and M-1 visas would need to take at least some courses in person in order to legally remain in the U.S. in the fall semester amid the coronavirus pandemic." A developing story @3:40 pm ET.

The New York Times' live updates of coronavirus developments Tuesday are here: "On Monday, California, Florida and Texas recorded at least 30,000 new cases, 18 percent of the global total. France celebrated public health workers as heroes during Bastille Day, a day after granting them pay raises.... After months of equivocation over mandating face coverings to stop the spread of the coronavirus, the government of Prime Minister Boris Johnson of Britain announced on Tuesday that people in England would be required to wear masks inside shops and supermarkets."

Lily Altavena of the Arizona Republic: "In a news conference Monday..., Donald Trump was asked about Kimberly Lopez Chavez Byrd, an Arizona teacher who died after teaching a summer school class. Trump responded by saying schools should reopen. Byrd's summer school class was virtual, but she and two other teachers in the Hayden-Winkelman School District shared a classroom while they taught. All three teachers contracted COVID-19. Byrd died after she was admitted to the hospital. In Monday's briefing, a reporter asked Trump, 'What do you tell parents, who look at this, who look at Arizona where a school teacher recently died teaching summer school, parents who are worried about the safety of their children in public schools?'... He responded, 'Schools should be opened. Schools should be opened. Those kids want to go to school. You're losing a lot of lives by keeping things closed. We saved millions of lives while we did the initial closure.'" Mrs. McC: I wonder if Melanie's "I Really Don't Care" jacket comes in extra-large?

Caitlin Oprysko of Politico: "Former White House chief of staff Mick Mulvaney on Monday criticized the U.S. coronavirus testing process, calling his family's difficulties in obtaining tests and delays in the results 'inexcusable' in the seventh month of the pandemic, splitting from his former boss' repeated boasts about testing. 'I know it isn't popular to talk about in some Republican circles, but we still have a testing problem in this country,' Mulvaney wrote in an op-ed for CNBC. Mulvaney, who served in Congress before leading the White House budget office and becoming chief of staff, said his son had recently been tested for the virus and had to wait up to a week for the results, and that his daughter was turned away from getting a test before she went to visit her grandparents."

Former CDC Directors Tom Frieden, Jeffrey Koplan, David Satcher & Richard Besser in a Washington Post o-ed: "The four of us led the CDC over a period of more than 15 years, spanning Republican and Democratic administrations alike. We cannot recall over our collective tenure a single time when political pressure led to a change in the interpretation of scientific evidence.... Through last week, and into Monday, the administration continued to cast public doubt on the agency's recommendations and role in informing and guiding the nation's pandemic response. On Sunday, Education Secretary characterized the CDC guidelines as an impediment to reopening schools quickly rather than what they are: the path to doing so safely.... Unfortunately..., sound science is being challenged with partisan potshots, sowing confusion and mistrust at a time when the American people need leadership, expertise and clarity. These efforts have even fueled a backlash against public health officials across the country: Public servants have been harassed, threatened and forced to resign when we need them most."

David Edwards of RawStory: "A school district in Missouri is requiring parents to sign a waiver in case children become infected with COVID-19 and die. The 'waiver of liability' from Hazelwood School District was shared on Tuesday by attorney Natasha Scruggs. 'I feel sick reading it,' Scruggs said. The document asks parents to acknowledge that COVID-19 is a public health crisis and to relinquish their rights to hold the district responsible even if a student's death is 'caused by the negligence of carelessness' of school staff." --s

Today in Bubonic Plague News. Jon Haworth of ABC News: "Public health officials have announced that a squirrel in Colorado has tested positive for the bubonic plague. The town of Morrison, Colorado, in Jefferson County, which is just west of Denver, made the startling announcement saying that the squirrel is the first case of plague in the county.... It is possible for humans to be infected with the bubonic plague through bites from infected fleas and by direct contact with blood or tissues of infected animals such as a cough or a bite."

Trump, GOP Welcome Crazy Terrorists. Matthew Rosenberg & Jennifer Steinhauer of the New York Times: "More than two years after QAnon, which the F.B.I. has labeled a potential domestic terrorism threat, emerged from the troll-infested corners of the internet, the movement's supporters are morphing from keyboard warriors into political candidates. They have been urged on by Mr. Trump, whose own espousal of conspiracy theories and continual railing against the political establishment have cleared a path for QAnon candidates. And even as party leaders publicly distance themselves from the movement, they are quietly supporting some QAnon-linked candidates -- demonstrating the thin line they are trying to walk between radical elements among their base and the moderate voters they need to win over.... It is a development that threatens to further alienate the kinds of traditional Republican voters who typically care about lowering taxes, not chasing imaginary Satanists from the government."

Hailey Fuchs of the New York Times: "Hours after the Supreme Court rejected a last-minute legal-challenge on a 5-4 vote, the Justice Department put a 47-year-old man to death for his role in the 1996 murder of a family of three, the first federal execution in more than 17 years. The death row prisoner, Daniel Lewis Lee, 47, a former white supremacist who renounced his ties to that movement, was executed by lethal injection at the federal penitentiary in Terre Haute, Ind., the Bureau of Prisons said. He is the first of three federal death row inmates scheduled for execution this week." A CNN story is here.

Whitewashing Racism. Erik Wemple of the Washington Post: "Tucker Carlson took out the old Fox News playbook on Monday night: When bad news surfaces, attack the people who broke it, and brush aside the unflattering substance.... Instead of detailing what Neff had posted on AutoAdmit, Carlson euphemized those postings...: 'What Blake wrote anonymously was wrong. We don't endorse those words. They have no connection to the show....'... The notion that, somehow, the innermost thoughts of the show's top writer have 'no connection to the show' is like saying that pizza sauce has no connection to pizza.... The prevailing emotion from Carlson isn't regret or remorse. It's anger -- anger that he has lost his top writer to a mob of 'ghouls.'... Carlson has spent his entire career as a Fox News prime-time host -- nearly four years -- skewering those who call out President Trump for being, well, racist, sexist and other offensive things.... There was no way that he was going to use his own show to call out racism by its name."

~~~~~~~~~~

Trip Gabriel, et al., of the New York Times: "Three states with vastly different electoral profiles are holding primary elections on Tuesday: Alabama, Maine and Texas. The marquee contests include a Republican primary for Senate in Alabama in which President Trump is pursuing a personal vendetta; a Democratic primary for Senate in Maine whose winner will take on the only Republican from New England in Congress; and runoffs in two Texas House districts that are expected to be tossups in November[.] ~~~

~~~ Today is primary election day in Maine. Texas and Alabama are holding primary election runoffs today. The linked Ballotpedia page has details.

Elaina Plott of the New York Times takes a look at the Alabama GOP U.S. Senate runoff election between Jefferson Beauregard Sessions And Tommy Tuberville.

The Trumpidemic, Ctd.

There's no body count high enough for the President to pay attention to science. -- Former Secretary of Education Arne Duncan, Monday on MSNBC

The New York Times' live updates of coronavirus developments Monday are here. The Washington Post's live updates for Monday are here: "New U.S. coronavirus cases reached record levels over the weekend, with deaths trending up sharply in a majority of states, including many beyond the hard-hit Sun Belt." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)

Michael Shear & Noah Weiland of the New York Times: "A day after President Trump’s press office tried to undermine the reputation of the nation's top infectious disease expert with an anonymously attributed list of what it said were his misjudgments in the early days of the coronavirus, Dr. Anthony S. Fauci returned to the White House on Monday.... Dr. Fauci -- who has not had direct contact with the president in more than five weeks even as the number of Americans with Covid-19, the disease caused by the coronavirus, has risen sharply in the Southwest -- slipped back into the West Wing to meet with Mark Meadows, the White House chief of staff, while his allies denounced what they called a meanspirited and misguided effort by the White House to smear him." ~~~

~~~ Laurie McGinley & Yasmeen Abutaleb of the Washington Post: "A White House effort to undermine Anthony S. Fauci has drawn rebukes from public health experts, scientists and mostly Democratic politicians, who argue it is dangerous for the Trump administration to disparage a highly respected government infectious-disease expert as the novel coronavirus continues to exact a heavy toll on the nation.... Joe Biden ... tweeted Monday that 'Donald Trump needs to spend less time playing golf and more time listening to experts like Dr. Fauci.'... 'It's shocking,' said Janis Orlowski, chief health care officer of the Association of American Medical Colleges.... [MEANWHILE,] Top White House aide Dan Scavino, the White House social media director and deputy chief of staff for communications, on late Sunday shared a cartoon on his Facebook page mocking Fauci. It depicted Fauci as a faucet spewing cold water on the economy, with phrases written alongside, including 'schools stay closed this fall,' 'indefinite lockdown' and 'no NFL season.'" ~~~

~~~ Quint Forgey of Politico: "... Donald Trump on Monday shared a handful of social media posts questioning the expertise of his own public health officials, including Dr. Anthony Fauci, and suggesting their scientific counsel was intended to thwart his political standing ahead of November's general election. In a burst of early morning online activity, Trump retweeted messages from the politically conservative former game show personality Chuck Woolery ... which lamented the 'most outrageous lies' being spread about the coronavirus pandemic. 'Everyone is lying. The CDC, Media, Democrats, our Doctors, not all but most, that we are told to trust. I think it's all about the election and keeping the economy from coming back, which is about the election. I'm sick of it,' Woolery wrote in a tweet shared by the president. In another post Trump retweeted, Woolery claimed there exists 'so much evidence, yes scientific evidence, that schools should open this fall. It's worldwide and it's overwhelming. BUT NO.' Trump also retweeted a message from Mark Young, Woolery's co-host on his 'Blunt Force Truth' podcast, which asked: 'So based on Dr. Fauci and the Democrats, I will need an ID card to go shopping but not to vote?'" (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ~~~

~~~ "Toluse Olorunnipa of the Washington Post: "With tweets, impromptu interviews and unscripted remarks, President Trump has increasingly undermined the public health message of his own government, adding a sense of confusion to what has been a disjointed and ineffective response to the novel coronavirus pandemic. Public health experts say Trump's efforts to deflect blame for the surging virus have become yet another distraction making it harder to slow the spread of a covid-19.... 'When the president is calling the guidance wrong and endorsing the view that these public health experts are lying, it makes it incredibly difficult for the public to know what to do...,' said [Dr. Ben Sommers, a Harvard U. professor of public health]. 'It erodes the long-term ability of our government to provide one of its basic goals which is to protect the public safety.'... White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany used a news briefing Monday to defend ... criticisms of [Dr. Anthony] Fauci and reinforce the president's attacks on the government's health experts." ~~~

~~~ Mrs. McCrabbie: BTW, Akhilleus provides a handy test in today's Comments which lists alternative sources of information on the coronavirus. In his subtle way, Akhilleus also hints at the best answer to to the test

John Kruzel of the Hill: "Seventeen states and the District of Columbia on Monday sued to block the Trump administration from stripping foreign students of visas if their colleges move exclusively to online classes amid the coronavirus pandemic. The lawsuit comes after U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) announced last week that international students whose courses move entirely online would be required to leave the country, rescinding a previous plan to grant exemptions to student visa holders.... The challenge comes after a similar lawsuit was brought last week by Harvard and MIT, as well as litigation filed by other higher education institutions. 'The effect -- and perhaps even the goal -- is to create as much chaos for universities and international students as possible,' the Harvard-MIT lawsuit ... alleged. California also filed a lawsuit last week against the Trump administration's move." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ~~~

~~~ Collin Binkley of the AP: "More than 200 universities are backing a legal challenge to the Trump administration's new restrictions on international students, arguing that the policy jeopardizes students' safety and forces schools to reconsider fall plans they have spent months preparing. The schools have signed court briefs supporting Harvard University and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology as they sue U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement in federal court in Boston. The lawsuit challenges a recently announced directive saying international students cannot stay in the U.S. if they take all their classes online this fall." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)

Griff Witte of the Washington Post: "California Gov. Gavin Newsom on Monday announced a dramatic rollback in the state's reopening plan, ordering a wide swath of businesses to end indoor operations as coronavirus case numbers continued to climb in the nation's largest state -- and well beyond. Restaurants, wineries, movie theaters and museums were told to shut down their indoor operations, while bars were closed even for outdoor service. In hard-hit counties, hair salons, malls and fitness centers were also shuttered.... School leaders in Los Angeles, San Diego and Atlanta said their districts will begin the year online, rather than in person. Oregon's governor banned gatherings of more than 10 people inside and ordered face coverings for those who venture out. The Chicago Marathon -- not planned until mid-October -- was canceled for only the second time in its history. Meanwhile, Miami was declared the latest epicenter of the epidemic,' and a senior medical official compared it to Wuhan at the height of China's struggles with the virus." The article is free to nonsubscribers.

Texas. Nomaan Merchant of the AP: "The Texas Supreme Court on Monday upheld Houston's refusal to allow the state Republican convention to hold in-person events in the city due to the coronavirus pandemic. The court dismissed an appeal of a state district judge's denial of a temporary restraining order sought by the state Republican Party.... A separate court hearing was ongoing Monday in Harris County, where Houston is located, in which a different judge was hearing the party's arguments to allow the convention to go forward." Mrs. McC: I think I heard on the teevee that the contract contains a provision allowing either of the parties to default for health & safety reasons. (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)

Kenya Evelyn of the Guardian: "Black and Latino people in America represent nearly a third of all cases [of Covid-19] and have been nearly twice as likely to die from the virus as their White counterparts. Many health experts contend the data underscores how racial bias shapes not just policy, but also public behavior during health crises. Not only are Black and Latino Americans more likely to lack health insurance ;or live in areas without quality facilities, unconscious racial bias among medical professionals can also contribute to unequal health outcomes, with patients of color more likely to have their symptoms overlooked or pain disbelieved. Some experts point to people of color who later died of Covid-19 who were previously turned away as evidence of bias playing out in the pandemic." --s ~~~

     ~~~ Mrs. McCrabbie: This seems very likely to me. Years ago, studies showed this same sort of bias against women among medicos. Doctors were apt to attribute women's complaints about pain to hysterical hypochondria while they took men's complaints seriously. In addition, pharmaceutical trials were likely to be made only on men, so the effects of drugs on women were essentially unknown when the products went on the market.

Eric Tucker of the AP: "A federal judge on Monday demanded more information about ... Donald Trump's decision to commute the prison sentence of longtime ally Roger Stone. U.S. District Judge Amy Berman Jackson ordered that the parties provide her by Tuesday with a copy of the executive order that commuted Stone's sentence. She also asked for clarity about the scope of the clemency, including whether it covers just his prison sentence or also the two-year period of supervised release that was part of his sentence." Mrs. McC: I do hope Trump submits that stupid statement the White House released Friday night. Since the statement directly contradicts a number of Judge Jackson's rulings, she should really enjoy it. I suppose, however, DOJ will come up with something more coherent to answer the judge's order. (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ~~~

~~~ Turns out Bob Mueller didn't much care for that stupid statement either: ~~~

~~~ Katelyn Polantz & Jeremy Herb of CNN: "Former special counsel Robert Mueller chose to break his silence and defend his investigation this weekend after weeks of contemplating doing so, in part because an inflammatory and factually incorrect White House statement attacked his prosecution of ... Roger Stone, according to multiple sources familiar with the Mueller team.... Mueller has considered publicly defending his former office and their findings on Russian interference in the 2016 election for months -- especially after the Justice Department reversed his decision to prosecute former national security adviser Michael Flynn, the sources said.... The attacks by the White House justifying Stone's commutation on Friday finally pushed him to speak out and break away from his strict approach to stay above the political fray." ~~~

~~~ "That Would Be a Crime." Aaron Blake of the Washington Post: Attorney General William "Barr made his extraordinary intervention in the [Roger] Stone case in February, watering down a tough sentencing recommendation that Trump had criticized. The move filled out a picture of an attorney general repeatedly injecting himself in ways that protected Trump and his allies. But then Trump commuted Stone's sentence Friday, meaning the number of years Stone received didn't even wind up mattering. And The Washington Post and others are reporting that Trump did this despite the counsel of Barr, who earlier in the week labeled Stone's prosecution 'righteous.'... During his confirmation hearing last year..., Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) [asked Barr,] 'Do you believe a President could lawfully issue a pardon in exchange for the recipient's promise to not incriminate him?' Barr [answered,] 'No. That would be a crime.'... While Trump said he commuted Stone's sentence because the prosecution was unjust, Barr repeatedly affirmed in his ABC News interview that the prosecution was indeed appropriate and that Stone deserved his jail time."

David A. Fahrenthold & Anu Narayanswamy of the Washington Post: A deputy White House counsel allowed Donald Trump "a second 45-day extension to file his personal financial disclosure forms..., according to a letter released by the White House. The forms are supposed to detail Trump's income, debt, stock holdings and outstanding loans for 2019. They were originally due May 15, but Trump got an extension until the end of June. On June 29, Scott Gast, deputy counsel to the president, granted Trump a second extension, until Aug. 13, according to the letter. Federal law allows only two such extensions. Gast's letter said that the extension was given for 'good cause,' but did not specify what that cause was. A White House spokesperson said Trump 'has a complicated report, and he's been focused on addressing the coronavirus and other matters.' Trump appears to be the only president since 2001 to need an extension for his financial disclosure filing. For the public, Trump's filings have provided a valuable -- and rare -- insight into the president's ongoing partnerships, loans and income streams." ~~~

     ~~~ Mrs. McCrabbie: This is ridiculous. (1) Trump doesn't prepare his own financial forms. (2) Trump has not been "addressing the coronavirus." He has been watching the teevee and tweeting the vile things the crazy people say. When he isn't riding a cart around one of his golf courses.

Kyle Cheney of Politico: "The House is planning to quickly revisit its effort to obtain President Donald Trump's personal financial records, urging the Supreme Court on Monday night to take its final formal steps on the matter so lawmakers can reignite the issue in the lower courts. In a filing late Monday, the House's top lawyer, Douglas Letter, urged the justices to immediately effectuate their July 9 ruling on the House's subpoena for Trump's records. Once the ruling is in force, the House can return to the U.S. District Court judge who initially heard the case and ask for renewed consideration." --s

Ted Johnson of Deadline: "A New York Supreme Court judge has lifted a restraining order that prevented Mary Trump from publicizing her new tell-all book about her uncle ... Donald Trump, and his family. Robert Trump, the president's brother, had sought a court action to stop the publication of the book, Too Much And Never Enough: How My Family Created the World's Most Dangerous Man. He claimed that Mary Trump was bound by a confidentiality agreement that was included in the 2001 settlement of the estate of Fred Trump Sr., the family patriarch. But Judge Hal Greenwald wrote that the confidentiality clause was too broad, concluding that it had 'too many words, with too many meanings. The cost of the litigation that was settled should have been finalized with more specifics, more clarity, if the current situation was even comprehended, at the time the Agreement was signed.'" The decision is here.

** Martyn Mclaughlin of The Scotsman: "In what would be one of the most ambitious and expensive foreign projects undertaken by Donald Trump's family business since he assumed the presidency, his company has commissioned a detailed masterplan to develop as many as 225 properties, as well as leisure facilities and shops, on an expanse of rolling farmland adjacent to Turnberry's lauded Ailsa course.... [T]he Trump Organisation has yet to formally submit a planning application.... Scotland on Sunday has obtained a series of documents ... spell[ing] out the company's grand ambitions for the 114 year old resort, arguably the most prestigious of all Trump's properties.... [The project, which is] far bolder and bigger in scale than anything it has previously proposed at Turnberry has sparked concerns and renewed questions about Trump's financing.... What is self-evident is that the Trump Organisation plans to spend considerably more money on an asset which has remained stubbornly in the red." --s

Washington Post: “Months of growing animosity between Beijing and Washington escalated again Monday, when China slapped sanctions on four U.S. officials -- including three Republican members of Congress -- and Secretary of State Mike Pompeo declared most of China's maritime claims in the South China Sea 'completely unlawful.'... Pompeo's remarks on the South China Sea came just hours after China announced sanctions on four U.S. officials, including prominent Republican senators Marco Rubio (Fla.) and Ted Cruz (Tex.), for 'interfering in China's internal affairs/ through their condemnation of Beijing's human rights abuses in the country's Xinjiang region. The other Americans targeted are Sam Brownback, the Trump administration's ambassador for international religious freedom, and Rep. Christopher H. Smith (R-N.J.)."

** All the Best People, Ctd. Patrick Tucker of Defense One: "The Pentagon's new 33-year-old head of research and engineering lacks a basic science degree but brings deep connections to Donald Trump and controversial Silicon Valley venture capitalist Peter Thiel.... Defense officials announced Monday that Michael Kratsios, formerly the White House's chief technology officer, would serve as acting undersecretary for research and engineering, a post that oversees top-priority projects in hypersonics, quantum computing, microelectronics, and other fields.... Kratsios graduated from Princeton with a bachelor's degree in political science and a focus on ancient Greek democracy." --s

Elections 2020

Reid Epstein, et al., of the New York Times: As new Covid-19 cases surge in Florida, top Republicans are not committed to attending the National Convention in Jacksonville. "The G.O.P., which moved the convention to Jacksonville from Charlotte, N.C., after balking at health precautions there, now finds itself locked into a state with a far bigger virus problem, and planning an event whose attendance is waning as the pandemic escalates. 'Everybody just assumes no one is going,' said Representative Darin LaHood of Illinois, an honorary state co-chairman for the Trump campaign.... Locally elected delegates and R.N.C. members, who were more inclined to go.... Last month the [Democratic] party moved its event to a smaller venue and instructed delegates to stay home from Milwaukee, as the party transitions to a virtual gathering."

Michael Blood of the AP: "More than 100,000 mail-in ballots were rejected by California election officials during the March presidential primary.... The California secretary of state's election data obtained by the AP showed 102,428 mail-in ballots were disqualified in the state's 58 counties, about 1.5% of the nearly 7 million mail-in ballots returned.... While polling places include workers who can assist people who have questions about filling out ballots, a voter doesn't have support at home and so problems can arise.... The most common problem, by far, in California was missing the deadline for the ballot to be mailed and arrive.... Statewide, 70,330 ballots missed those marks. Another 27,525 either didn't have a signature, or the signature didn't match the one on record for the voter."

Michael Balsamo of the AP: "A U.S. district judge on Monday ordered a new delay in federal executions, hours before the first lethal injection was scheduled to be carried out at a federal prison in Indiana. The Trump administration immediately appealed to a higher court, asking that the executions move forward. U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan said there are still legal issues to resolve and that 'the public is not served by short-circuiting legitimate judicial process.' The executions, pushed by the administration, would be the first carried out at the federal level since 2003.... The new hold came a day after a federal appeals court lifted a hold on the execution of Daniel Lewis Lee, of Yukon, Oklahoma, which was scheduled for 4 p.m. EDT on Monday at the federal prison in Terre Haute, Indiana. He was convicted in Arkansas of the 1996 killings of gun dealer William Mueller, his wife, Nancy, and her 8-year-old daughter, Sarah Powell." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)

Benjamin Weiser & Nicole Hong of the New York Times: "When F.B.I. agents went to arrest Ghislaine Maxwell on the morning of July 2 on a remote property in New Hampshire, they broke through her locked gate, approached the front door and announced themselves, telling her to open the door, federal prosecutors said in newly filed court papers on Monday. Through a window, the agents saw her ... flee to another room in the house, quickly shutting the door behind her.... The agents forcibly entered and took Ms. Maxwell into custody. Prosecutors said that during a search of the house, investigators found a cellphone wrapped in tin foil on top of a desk -- which they interpreted as 'a seemingly misguided effort to evade detection' by law enforcement.... After her arrest, a private security guard who worked on the property told the F.B.I. that Ms. Maxwell's brother had hired former British military members to protect her in New Hampshire, the prosecutors said in their filing Monday."

Annals of "Journalism," Ha Ha Ha. Tucker Takes Another Spontaneous "Long-Planned" Vacation. Michael Grynbaum of the New York Times: "The Fox News star Tucker Carlson said on Monday evening that he would leave on a vacation, starting immediately, days after a writer on his program, Blake Neff, resigned over racist, sexist and misogynist messages that Mr. Neff published pseudonymously on an online message board. Mr. Carlson told viewers that he would return to his show next week and described the vacation as 'long planned,' suggesting that his time off had been set before Mr. Neff was revealed on Friday as the author of the offensive posts. It was not the first time that Mr. Carlson has announced that he would take a break from the anchor chair in the immediate aftermath of a sensitive moment for his prime-time program. Last August, Mr. Carlson went on vacation two days after he likened white supremacy to a 'hoax,' saying it was 'actually not a real problem in America.'..." Carlson called Neff's writings "wrong," "but we should also point out to the ghouls now beating their chests in triumph at the destruction of a young man, that self-righteousness also has its costs." ~~~

~~~ Mrs. McCrabbie: Whether 'tis more ghoulish to declaim against those of darker complexion and of the fairer sex, or to decry such slings and arrow, that is the question. ~~~

~~~ David Bowder of the AP: "Carlson, who said the online commentary by Blake Neff had no connection to his show, said he would be taking the rest of the week off to go trout fishing." Mrs. McC: A word to the artful angler: the fish rots from the head, Tucker.

Way Beyond the Beltway

Hong Kong. Strangling Democracy. Helen Davidson of the Guardian: "China has declared primaries held by Hong Kong's pro-democratic parties on the weekend 'illegal' and the city's leader has announced an investigation, saying that the candidates' intention to vote against government legislation could break national security laws. The primary polls, while not a formal part of Hong Kong's election process, drew an estimated 600,000 people out to vote for democracy candidates ahead of the legislative council elections scheduled for September. The extraordinary turnout in the face of warnings by authorities was interpreted by observers as an act of opposition to the national security laws imposed by Beijing on 30 June." --s

North Korea. Fred Kaplan of Slate: "A little-noticed statement last week by the sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un indicates that no more arms talks will be held anytime soon and even that the deal Kim offered at last year's summit with ... Donald Trump in Hanoi, Vietnam -- to shut down one nuclear reactor in exchange for the lifting of all U.S. sanctions since 2016 -- is now off the table.... Kim Yo-jong, first vice director of the Workers' Party of Korea's Central Committee and a woman of steadily growing power who has spoken on her older brother's behalf several times in recent months, said on Friday that another summit with Trump would be 'unpractical' and 'not serve us at all.'" --s

Poland. Bad News. Frederik Pleitgen, et al., of CNN: "Poland's incumbent President Andrzej Duda has been declared the winner of this weekend's tightly fought and divisive election. Duda, backed by the nationalist ruling Law and Justice (PiS) party, won with 51.21% of the vote, the country's election committee said Monday. The more liberal Warsaw mayor Rafal Trzaskowski, of the center-right opposition Civic Platform party (PO), garnered 48.79%." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)

The Commentariat -- July 13, 2020

Afternoon Update:

The New York Times' live updates of coronavirus developments Monday are here. The Washington Post's live updates for Monday are here: "New U.S. coronavirus cases reached record levels over the weekend, with deaths trending up sharply in a majority of states, including many beyond the hard-hit Sun Belt."

Quint Forgey of Politico: "... Donald Trump on Monday shared a handful of social media posts questioning the expertise of his own public health officials, including Dr. Anthony Fauci, and suggesting their scientific counsel was intended to thwart his political standing ahead of November's general election. In a burst of early morning online activity, Trump retweeted messages from the politically conservative former game show personality Chuck Woolery ... which lamented the 'most outrageous lies' being spread about the coronavirus pandemic. 'Everyone is lying. The CDC, Media, Democrats, our Doctors, not all but most, that we are told to trust. I think it's all about the election and keeping the economy from coming back, which is about the election. I'm sick of it,' Woolery wrote in a tweet shared by the president. In another post Trump retweeted, Woolery claimed there exists 'so much evidence, yes scientific evidence, that schools should open this fall. It's worldwide and it's overwhelming. BUT NO.' Trump also retweeted a message from Mark Young, Woolery's co-host on his 'Blunt Force Truth' podcast, which asked: 'So based on Dr. Fauci and the Democrats, I will need an ID card to go shopping but not to vote?'"

John Kruzel of the Hill: "Seventeen states and the District of Columbia on Monday sued to block the Trump administration from stripping foreign students of visas if their colleges move exclusively to online classes amid the coronavirus pandemic. The lawsuit comes after U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) announced last week that international students whose courses move entirely online would be required to leave the country, rescinding a previous plan to grant exemptions to student visa holders.... The challenge comes after a similar lawsuit was brought last week by Harvard and MIT, as well as litigation filed by other higher education institutions. 'The effect — and perhaps even the goal -- is to create as much chaos for universities and international students as possible,' the Harvard-MIT lawsuit ... alleged. California also filed a lawsuit last week against the Trump administration's move." ~~~

~~~ Collin Binkley of the AP: "More than 200 universities are backing a legal challenge to the Trump administration's new restrictions on international students, arguing that the policy jeopardizes students' safety and forces schools to reconsider fall plans they have spent months preparing. The schools have signed court briefs supporting Harvard University and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology as they sue U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement in federal court in Boston. The lawsuit challenges a recently announced directive saying international students cannot stay in the U.S. if they take all their classes online this fall."

Eric Tucker of the AP: "A federal judge on Monday demanded more information about ... Donald Trump's decision to commute the prison sentence of longtime ally Roger Stone. U.S. District Judge Amy Berman Jackson ordered that the parties provide her by Tuesday with a copy of the executive order that commuted Stone's sentence. She also asked for clarity about the scope of the clemency, including whether it covers just his prison sentence or also the two-year period of supervised release that was part of his sentence." Mrs. McC: I do hope Trump submits that stupid statement the White House released Friday night. Since the statement directly contradicts a number of Judge Jackson's rulings, she should really enjoy it. I suppose, however, DOJ will come up with something more coherent to answer the judge's order.

Nomaan Merchant of the AP: "The Texas Supreme Court on Monday upheld Houston's refusal to allow the state Republican convention to hold in-person events in the city due to the coronavirus pandemic. The court dismissed an appeal of a state district judge's denial of a temporary restraining order sought by the state Republican Party.... A separate court hearing was ongoing Monday in Harris County, where Houston is located, in which a different judge was hearing the party's arguments to allow the convention to go forward." Mrs. McC: I think I heard on the teevee that the contract contains a provision allowing either of the parties to default for health & safety reasons.

Michael Balsamo of the AP: "A U.S. district judge on Monday ordered a new delay in federal executions, hours before the first lethal injection was scheduled to be carried out at a federal prison in Indiana. The Trump administration immediately appealed to a higher court, asking that the executions move forward. U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan said there are still legal issues to resolve and that 'the public is not served by short-circuiting legitimate judicial process.' The executions, pushed by the administration, would be the first carried out at the federal level since 2003.... The new hold came a day after a federal appeals court lifted a hold on the execution of Daniel Lewis Lee, of Yukon, Oklahoma, which was scheduled for 4 p.m. EDT on Monday at the federal prison in Terre Haute, Indiana. He was convicted in Arkansas of the 1996 killings of gun dealer William Mueller, his wife, Nancy, and her 8-year-old daughter, Sarah Powell."

Bad News. Frederik Pleitgen, et al., of CNN: "Poland's incumbent President Andrzej Duda has been declared the winner of this weekend's tightly fought and divisive election. Duda, backed by the nationalist ruling Law and Justice (PiS) party, won with 51.21% of the vote, the country's election committee said Monday. The more liberal Warsaw mayor Rafal Trzaskowski, of the center-right opposition Civic Platform party (PO), garnered 48.79%."

~~~~~~~~~~

The Trumpidemic, Ctd.

The New York Times' live updates of coronavirus developments Sunday are here: "More than 15,000 new cases of the coronavirus were announced on Sunday in Florida, marking the highest single-day total of known cases in any state since the start of the pandemic.... Florida also saw single-day records in the counties that include Florida's largest cities, including Miami, Fort Lauderdale, Orlando, Fort Myers, West Palm Beach, Pensacola and Sarasota." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)

White House Puts Out Oppo Research on Fauci. Josh Lederman & Kelly O'Donnell of NBC News: "The White House is seeking to discredit Dr. Anthony Fauci, the country's leading infectious disease expert, as ... Donald Trump works to marginalize him and his dire warnings about the shortcomings of the U.S. coronavirus response. In a remarkable broadside by the Trump administration against one of its own, a White House official said Sunday that 'several White House officials are concerned about the number of times Dr. Fauci has been wrong on things.' The official gave NBC News a list of nearly a dozen past comments by Fauci that the official said had ultimately proven erroneous.... It was a move more characteristic of a political campaign furtively disseminating opposition research about an opponent than of a White House struggling to contain a pandemic that has killed more than 135,000 people, according to an NBC News tally." ~~~

~~~ Maggie Haberman of the New York Times: "President Trump's advisers undercut the nation's top infectious disease expert, Dr. Anthony S. Fauci, over the weekend, anonymously providing details to various news outlets about statements he had made early in the coronavirus outbreak that they said were inaccurate. The move to treat Dr. Fauci ... as if he were a warring political rival came as he has grown increasingly vocal in his concerns about the national surge in coronavirus cases, as well as his lack of access to Mr. Trump over the past several weeks.... The list of statements, laid out in the style of a campaign's opposition research document, was later released to several news outlets. It was an extraordinary move for the White House to provide news organizations with such a document about a health official who works for the administration and retains a high level of public trust.... Despite claims early on in the fight against the virus that they enjoyed each other's company, Mr. Trump has long been dismissive of Dr. Fauci in private, according to White House officials, taking note of the amount of time he spent on television and of when the doctor contradicted him during press briefings."

Mrs. McCrabbie: Sorry but this photo-op of Trump wearing a mask Saturday at Walter Reed Medical Center is ridiculous. He has to glower? He has to be in a hospital full of sick people to wear a mask? He has to be followed by an entourage of mask-wearing men in suits & military uniforms? Also, too, it's been reported staff had to beg him for a week before the hospital visit to don the mask, which includes the presidential* seal: ~~~

Pam Belluck of the New York Times: "Two of the Trump administration;s top health officials acknowledged Sunday that the country is facing a very serious situation with the onslaught of rising coronavirus cases in several states, striking a far more sober tone than President Trump at this stage of the pandemic in the United States. Adm. Brett Giroir, an assistant secretary with the Health and Human Services department, and Dr. Jerome Adams, the surgeon general, both emphasized their concern about surging outbreaks, many of them in areas where people have not followed recommended public health guidelines to contain the spread of the virus. Their remarks were in sharp contrast to Mr. Trump's contention just last week that 99 percent of the cases were 'totally harmless' and his boast of the country's low death rate from the virus." ~~~

~~~ MEANWHILE. Fadel Allassan of Axios: "Education Secretary Betsy DeVos told 'Fox News Sunday' that public schools that don't reopen in the fall should not get federal funds, and that the money should be redirected to families who can use it to find another option for their children.... The Trump administration is engaged in a full-court press to reopen schools this fall, despite warnings from some public health officials that the coronavirus outbreak is out of control in many states and that it will be difficult for many schools to reopen safely. Grilled by Fox's Chris Wallace on what the administration is doing to make to make it safer or more feasible, DeVos repeatedly stressed that 'kids cannot afford to not continue learning' and that she's not talking about places where the virus is 'out of control.'" ~~~

@BetsyDeVosED you have no plan. Teachers, kids and parents are fearing for their lives. You point to a private sector that has put profits over people and claimed the lives of thousands of essential workers. I wouldn't trust you to care for a house plant let alone my child. -- Rep. Ayanna Pressley (D-Mass.), in a tweet, Sunday

~~~ Dana Bash & Bridget Nolan of CNN: "Scott Brabrand, the superintendent of Fairfax County schools, says ... the best option they could come up with [was to try] to comply with US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidelines.... Education Secretary Betsy DeVos repeatedly calls out Fairfax County, Virginia, criticizing the school system's current plan for only two days a week in the classroom as insufficient. Devos has noted that it is well funded in one of the wealthiest parts of America.... 'Covid hits all of us, and the guidelines for 6 feet social distancing simply mean that you can't put every kid back in a school with the existing square footage footprint. It's just that simple,' Brabrand said flatly in response to DeVos.... He said the school system is the size of 'five Pentagons.' 'You would need another five Pentagons of space to be able to safely accommodate all of the students in Fairfax County Public Schools,' he said, which would not only be expensive but not feasible to build in the next six weeks before school starts." ~~~

     ~~~ Mrs. McCrabbie: According to the Googles, the Pentagon is 3,700,000 square feet. So, Betsy, why don't you ask the Realtor-in-Chief how to build 3,700,000 square feet of safe, wired, OSHA-compliant structures in six weeks? Maybe Donnie's friends at Fisher Industries (stories linked below) have a suggestion.

No one under the age of 20 has died of the coronavirus. We still don't know whether children can get it and transmit it to others. -- Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas), explaining to Texans on KXAS-TV Dallas why opening schools was safe, July 10 ~~~

~~~ Katherine Fung of Newsweek (July 10): "Texans under the age of 19 have accounted for more than 1,700 of the state's confirmed cases of COVID-19. Earlier in April, a 17-year-old from Dallas died from complications due to coronavirus. There has also been an increase in infections among child care operations in Texas. Nearly 600 cases of the 1,799 reported cases in those businesses were among children, according to the Texas Health and Human Services Commission.... A spokesperson for Cornyn told Newsweek that his remarks are being 'widely misinterpreted' for political reasons." Mrs. McC: If you misinterpreted Cornyn's remarks for political reasons, shame on you. Sorry I missed this earlier.

New York. Jennifer Peltz, et al., of NBC 4 New York: "New York City health officials reported zero deaths related to the novel coronavirus four months after the state's first official death was recorded on March 11. According to initial data reported by the NYC Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, no one died from the virus in New York City on July 11. Officials recorded no confirmed deaths the day before as well, but did have two probable deaths. The department's data shows there hasn't been a day without a coronavirus-related death since March 13, two days after the first reported death."

Texas. The Consequences of Choosing Trump Over Fauci. Bryan Pietsch of the New York Times: "A 30-year-old man who believed the coronavirus was a hoax and attended a 'Covid party' died after being infected with the virus, according to a Texas hospital. The man had attended a gathering with an infected person to test whether the coronavirus was real, said Dr. Jane Appleby, chief medical officer at Methodist Hospital in San Antonio, where the man died."

Trump Hits a Presidential* Milestone: 20,000 Lies & Counting. Glenn Kessler, et al., of the Washington Post: "It took President Trump 827 days to top 10,000 false and misleading claims in The Fact Checker's database, an average of 12 claims a day. But on July 9, just 440 days later, the president crossed the 20,000 mark -- an average of 23 claims a day over a 14-month period, which included the events leading up to Trump's impeachment trial, the worldwide pandemic that crashed the economy and the eruption of protests over the death of George Floyd in police custody. "The coronavirus pandemic has spawned a whole new genre of Trump's falsehoods. The category in just a few months has reached nearly 1,000 claims, more than his tax claims combined."

Justin Wise of the Hill: "President Trump late Saturday lashed out at a pair of Republican senators after they criticized his decision to commute the prison sentence of ... Roger Stone.... 'Do RINO'S Pat Toomey & Mitt Romney have any problem with the fact that we caught Obama, Biden, & Company illegally spying on my campaign? Do they care if Comey, McCabe, Page & her lover, Peter S,the whole group, ran rampant, wild & unchecked - lying & leaking all the way? NO!'"

Mariam Khan of ABC News: "House Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam Schiff, D-Calif., blasted Republicans for failing to stand up to the president and for not defending the 'rule of law,' after the president moved to commute the prison sentence of his longtime friend and former campaign adviser, Roger Stone. 'I think anyone who cares about the rule of law in this country is nauseated by the fact that the president has commuted the sentence of someone who willfully lied to Congress,' Schiff told ABC News Chief Anchor George Stephanopoulos on 'This Week' Sunday.... When asked by Stephanopoulos if Trump's action was an impeachable offense, Schiff said it would be if Trump abused the pardon power to protect himself from criminal liability. But, Schiff noted, 'If the Republicans won't even say a word, of course they're not going to vote to impeach and convict.'" (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)

Lindsey Suggests Bob Mueller Will Pay for Writing Op-Ed. Felicia Sonmez of the Washington Post: "Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Lindsey O. Graham (R-S.C.) suggested Sunday that former special counsel Robert S. Mueller III may be invited to testify before his panel, although Graham did not give any details on the timing of any potential invitation. Graham's statement came one day after Mueller defended his office's prosecution of Roger Stone ... in a Washington Post op-ed.... In his statement Sunday, Graham suggested that he had reconsidered his position on allowing Mueller to testify in light of the former special counsel's op-ed. 'Apparently Mr. Mueller is willing -- and also capable -- of defending the Mueller investigation through an oped in the Washington Post,' Graham said. 'Democrats on the Senate Judiciary Committee have previously requested Mr. Mueller appear before the Senate Judiciary Committee to testify about his investigation. That request will be granted.'" (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)

Hillel Italie of the AP: "A top prosecutor for special counsel Robert Mueller has a book coming out this fall about the two-year investigation into the alleged ties between Russia and the 2016 campaign of ... Donald Trump. Random House announced Monday that Andrew Weissmann's 'Where Law Ends: Inside the Mueller Investigation' will be published Sept. 29. Weissmann, often the target of criticism from Trump supporters, is calling the book a meticulous account of the Mueller team's probe and its ongoing battles with the Trump administration.... Weissmann said in a statement, '... the hard truth is that we made mistakes. We could have done more. 'Where Law Ends' documents the choices we made, good and bad, for all to see and judge and learn from.'" Mrs. McC: November 3 is more than 6 weeks into fall. Try to get prepublication copies out to reporters before that, Andrew.

Mrs. McCrabbie: Here's a part I accidentally left out of my outtakes from Michael Shear's NYT interview of Elaine Duke (linked yesterday), former acting Homeland Security secretary. I should have highlighted it: "She said she was especially taken aback, during the response to Hurricane Maria's devastation of Puerto Rico, when she heard Mr. Trump raise the possibility of 'divesting' or 'selling' the island as it struggled to recover. 'The president's initial ideas were more of as a businessman, you know,' she recalled. 'Can we outsource the electricity? Can we can we sell the island? You know, or divest of that asset?' (She said the idea of selling Puerto Rico was never seriously considered or discussed after Mr. Trump raised it.)" Island Swap: Buy Greenland (white people); sell Puerto Rico (browner people).

Trumpty-Dumpty's Wall Could Fall Down, Ctd.

Nomaan Merchant of the AP: "... Donald Trump on Sunday criticized a privately built border wall in South Texas that's showing signs of erosion months after going up, saying it was 'only done to make me look bad,' even though the wall was built after a months-long campaign by his supporters.... Former Trump chief strategist Steve Bannon joined the group's board and Trump ally Kris Kobach became its general counsel.... [Mrs. McC: Betsy DeVos's crazy brother Erik Prince was on the group's board, too.] The company that built the private section in January, North Dakota-based Fisher Industries, has since won a $1.3 billion border wall contract from the federal government, the largest award to date. The section in question is a roughly 3-mile (5-kilometer) fence of steel posts just 35 feet (10 meters) from the Rio Grande.... That's much closer to the river than the government ordinarily builds border barriers in South Texas because of concerns about erosion and flooding that could violate U.S. treaty obligations with Mexico.... Originally promoted by [Trump backers] We Build the Wall, the private section instead became a showcase for Fisher.... [Fisher CEO Tommy Fisher] ... promoted his company heavily on Fox News and conservative media. Another $400 million contract Fisher won last year was placed under review by the defense department's inspector general." Related ProPublica/Texas Tribune story linked yesterday. ~~~

     ~~~ Mrs. McCrabbie: Trump, the Man with the Perfect Memory and Unbelievable Cognitive Skills, seems to have forgotten that way last year he had "personally and repeatedly urged the head of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to award a border wall contract to a North Dakota construction firm whose top executive is a GOP donor and frequent guest on Fox News...," according to a May 2019 report in the Washington Post. "In phone calls, White House meetings and conversations aboard Air Force One during the past several months, Trump has aggressively pushed Dickinson, N.D.-based Fisher Industries to Department of Homeland Security leaders and Lt. Gen. Todd Semonite, the commanding general of the Army Corps.... The push for a specific company has alarmed military commanders and DHS officials." At that time, Fisher had already begun to construct the We Build the Wall section that is failing on purpose to make Trump look bad. Everything you need to know about the Trump presidency* is reflected in this story. With any luck, there will come a gusher in the Southwest on November 2, and the wall will fall down.

Another Ridiculous TrumperWhopper. Daniel Politi of Slate: Donald Trump "took to Twitter Sunday to defend his frequent trips to the golf course saying ... that his predecessor 'played more and much longer rounds.' And that was 'no problem' but when he decides to play, 'Fake News, CNN, and others' go to great lengths to get a picture and show people how the president is playing golf. 'Actually, I play VERY fast, get a lot of work done on the golf course, and also get a "tiny" bit of exercise.'... Trump went to his golf club in Sterling, Virginia, for the second time this weekend on Sunday, marking the 276th time he's visited a golf course as president.... In his whole first term in office, Obama played 113 rounds of golf, according to Golf Digest.... Trump's claim that he plays golf 'VERY fast' is also a bit suspect considering reports that it took hours for aides to reach Trump when he was golfing two weeks ago.... Even before he launched his campaign, Trump was fond of using his Twitter account to criticize Obama for playing golf."

Mark Meadows, Boy Detective. Jonathan Swan of Axios: "President Trump's chief of staff, Mark Meadows, has told several White House staffers he's fed specific nuggets of information to suspected leakers to see if they pass them on to reporters -- a trap that would confirm his suspicions.... This hunt for leakers has put some White House staffers on edge, with multiple officials telling Axios that Meadows has been unusually vocal about his tactics. So far, he's caught only one person, for a minor leak.... Trump has made clear to Meadows that an important part of his job is to 'find the leakers' -- a wickedly difficult task that has plagued all three of Meadows' predecessors."

Mike Jones of USA Today: "Just less than two weeks after one of his most prominent corporate sponsors [FedEx] urged him to change the name of his football team, Washington owner Daniel Snyder plans to announce the retirement of the 'Redskins' nickname and reveal a new team name Monday morning, a person with knowledge of the situation confirmed to USA Today Sports.... The new name remains unknown, but Warriors, Red Wolves and Redtails have ranked among the post popular choices among fans on social media. Snyder has long ignored requests of Native American tribes and other organizations to change the name because some deem the term offensive, citing the fact that the dictionary classifies it as a racial slur." Mrs. McC: Great choices, fans. Why not Injuns or Wagon Burners?

Ben Strauss of the Washington Post: "ESPN suspended its top NBA reporter, Adrian Wojnarowski, after he sent a profane email to Sen. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.), multiple people familiar with the situation said Sunday.... The suspension came after Hawley tweeted an image of an email from Wojnarowski on Friday in which the reporter responded to a news release from the senator's office with an expletive. Hawley's release had publicized a letter he wrote to NBA Commissioner Adam Silver. Hawley criticized the league for deciding to allow messages that promote social justice on its jerseys this summer but not allow messages that support law enforcement or are critical of China's Communist Party. In the email sent to Hawley's press office, Wojnarowski wrote, 'F--- You,' without censoring the expletive." Mrs. McC: Woj's brief note seems appropriate to me.

Kevin Blackstone of the Washington Post reminds us of "the most athletic activist feat during an era in which we have come to celebrate the notion of athlete activism[:]... Bree Newsome ... scal[ing] a 30-foot flagpole on the grounds of the South Carolina State House and snatch[ing] from its truck and finial with full dishonor a Confederate flag that flapped there..., as a rebuttal to racial justice for more than half a century.... She was arrested after coming down, flag in hand. '[Physicality] was significant,' Newsome Bass [now married] said. 'Because people see me do this labor of climbing up the pole as symbolic of the struggle to dismantle a white supremacist system.' A few weeks later, South Carolina removed the flag and stuck it in a museum." Newsome, who was not an athlete, got a Greenpeace activist to teach her how to climb a flagpole. (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ~~~

News Ledes

Washington Post: "Flossie Wong-Staal, a molecular virologist who led research that helped produce seminal findings about HIV -- its genetic structure, the insidious manner in which it invades the immune system, and ways of detecting and treating it, died July 8 at a hospital in La Jolla, Calif. She was 73. The cause was complications from pneumonia not related to the novel coronavirus, said her daughter Stephanie Staal."

AP: "The body of 'Glee' star Naya Rivera was found Monday at a Southern California lake, authorities said. Ventura County Sheriff's officials confirmed at an afternoon news conference that the body that search crews found floating in the northeast corner of Lake Piru earlier in the day was the 33-year-old Rivera. The discovery came five days after ... Rivera disappeared on Lake Piru, where her son was found July 8 asleep and alone on a rented pontoon boat, authorities said. Authorities said the following day that they believed Rivera had drowned, and they had shifted to working to find her body rather than find her alive." ~~~

     ~~~ AP: "'Glee' star Naya Rivera's 4-year-old son told investigators that his mother, whose body was found in a Southern California lake Monday, boosted him back on to the deck of their rented boat before he looked back and saw her disappearing under the water, authorities said. 'She must have mustered enough energy to get her son back on the boat, but not enough to save herself,' Ventura County Sheriff Bill Ayub said at a news conference."

AP: "Kelly Preston, who played dramatic and comic foil to actors ranging from Tom Cruise in 'Jerry Maguire' to Arnold Schwarzenegger in 'Twins,' died Sunday, husband John Travolta said. She was 57. Travolta said in an Instagram post Sunday that his wife of 28 years died after a two-year battle with breast cancer." Update: Preston's New York Times obituary is here.

The Commentariat -- July 12, 2020

Afternoon Update:

The New York Times' live updates of coronavirus developments Sunday are here: "More than 15,000 new cases of the coronavirus were announced on Sunday in Florida, marking the highest single-day total of known cases in any state since the start of the pandemic.... Florida also saw single-day records in the counties that include Florida's largest cities, including Miami, Fort Lauderdale, Orlando, Fort Myers, West Palm Beach, Pensacola and Sarasota."

Mrs. McCrabbie: Sorry, but this photo-op of Trump wearing a mask Saturday at Walter Reed Medical Center is ridiculous. He has to glower? He has to be in a hospital full of sick people to wear a mask? He has to be followed by an entourage of mask-wearing men in suits & military uniforms? Also, too, it's been reported staff had to beg him for a week before the hospital visit to don the mask, which includes the presidential* seal: ~~~

Justin Wise of the Hill: "President Trump late Saturday lashed out at a pair of Republican senators after they criticized his decision to commute the prison sentence of ... Roger Stone.... 'Do RINO'S Pat Toomey & Mitt Romney have any problem with the fact that we caught Obama, Biden, & Company illegally spying on my campaign? Do they care if Comey, McCabe, Page & her lover, Peter S, the whole group, ran rampant, wild & unchecked - lying & leaking all the way? NO!'"

Mariam Khan of ABC News: "House Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam Schiff, D-Calif., blasted Republicans for failing to stand up to the president and for not defending the 'rule of law,' after the president moved to commute the prison sentence of his longtime friend and former campaign adviser, Roger Stone. 'I think anyone who cares about the rule of law in this country is nauseated by the fact that the president has commuted the sentence of someone who willfully lied to Congress,' Schiff told ABC News Chief Anchor George Stephanopoulos on 'This Week' Sunday.... When asked by Stephanopoulos if Trump's action was an impeachable offense, Schiff said it would be if Trump abused the pardon power to protect himself from criminal liability. But, Schiff noted, 'If the Republicans won't even say a word, of course they're not going to vote to impeach and convict.'"

Lindsey Suggests Bob Mueller Will Pay for Writing Op-Ed. Felicia Sonmez of the Washington Post: "Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Lindsey O. Graham (R-S.C.) suggested Sunday that former special counsel Robert S. Mueller III may be invited to testify before his panel, although Graham did not give any details on the timing of any potential invitation. Graham's statement came one day after Mueller defended his office's prosecution of Roger Stone ... in a Washington Post op-ed.... In his statement Sunday, Graham suggested that he had reconsidered his position on allowing Mueller to testify in light of the former special counsel's op-ed. 'Apparently Mr. Mueller is willing -- and also capable -- of defending the Mueller investigation through an oped in the Washington Post,' Graham said. 'Democrats on the Senate Judiciary Committee have previously requested Mr. Mueller appear before the Senate Judiciary Committee to testify about his investigation. That request will be granted.'"

Mrs. McCrabbie: Here's a part I accidentally left out of my outtakes from Michael Shear's NYT interview of Elaine Duke, former acting Homeland Security secretary: "She said she was especially taken aback, during the response to Hurricane Maria's devastation of Puerto Rico, when she heard Mr. Trump raise the possibility of 'divesting' or 'selling' the island as it struggled to recover. 'The president's initial ideas were more of as a businessman, you know,' she recalled. 'Can we outsource the electricity? Can we can we sell the island? You know, or divest of that asset?' (She said the idea of selling Puerto Rico was never seriously considered or discussed after Mr. Trump raised it.)" Island Swap: Buy Greenland (white people); sell Puerto Rico (browner people).

Kevin Blackstone of the Washington Post reminds us of "the most athletic activist feat during an era in which we have come to celebrate the notion of athlete activism[:]... Bree Newsome ... scal[ing] a 30-foot flagpole on the grounds of the South Carolina State House and snatch[ing] from its truck and finial with full dishonor a Confederate flag that flapped there..., as a rebuttal to racial justice for more than half a century.... She was arrested after coming down, flag in hand. '[Physicality] was significant,' Newsome Bass [now married] said. 'Because people see me do this labor of climbing up the pole as symbolic of the struggle to dismantle a white supremacist system.' A few weeks later, South Carolina removed the flag and stuck it in a museum." Newsome, who wasn't an athlete, got a Greenpeace activist to teach her to climb a flagpole. ~~~

~~~~~~~~~~

A Reprieve for Roger

Robert Mueller, in a Washington Post op-ed, whacks Donald Trump & defends the Russia investigation & the case against Roger Stone. "... I feel compelled to respond both to broad claims that our investigation was illegitimate and our motives were improper, and to specific claims that Roger Stone was a victim of our office.... Stone was prosecuted and convicted because he committed federal crimes. He remains a convicted felon, and rightly so. Russia's actions were a threat to America's democracy.... The women and men who conducted these investigations and prosecutions acted with the highest integrity. Claims to the contrary are false." Thanks to Ken W. for the link.

Omertà. Sharon LaFraniere & Mark Mazzetti of the New York Times: "Months before F.B.I. agents arrived in darkness at his Florida home to take him into custody, Roger J. Stone Jr. promised ..., 'I will never roll on Donald Trump'.... The president's decision on Friday to commute Mr. Stone's prison sentence for impeding a congressional inquiry and other crimes was extraordinary because federal prosecutors had suspected that Mr. Stone could shed light on whether Mr. Trump had lied to them under oath or illegally obstructed justice. Even Mr. Stone suggested a possible quid pro quo, telling a journalist hours before the announcement that he hoped for clemency because Mr. Trump knew he had resisted intense pressure from prosecutors to cooperate.... Mr. Trump repeatedly praised Mr. Stone and others for refusing to aid the investigation. In a December 2018 tweet, he singled out Mr. Stone for resisting 'a rogue and out of control prosecutor,' adding, 'Nice to know that some people still have "guts!"'" Mrs. McC: The relationship between Trump & Stone is an exemplar of how the Mafia & other crime organizations operate.

Jesse Byrnes & Tal Axelrod of the Hill: "GOP Sen. Mitt Romney (Utah) on Saturday sharply condemned President Trump's commutation for ... Roger Stone.... 'Unprecedented, historic corruption: an American president commutes the sentence of a person convicted by a jury of lying to shield that very president,' Romney tweeted Saturday morning.... Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) tweeted Friday before the commutation was announced that 'in my view it would be justified' for Trump to intervene, saying, 'This was a non-violent, first-time offense.'" (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ~~~

~~~ Zach Brendza of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review: "Sen. Pat Toomey [R-Pa.] calls President Trump's commutation of Roger Stone's sentence a 'mistake.'" Mrs. McC: Toomey's "criticism" was mighty mealy-mouthed.

Emma Newburger of CNBC: "Attorney General William Barr spoke with ... Donald Trump about Roger Stone and recommended against granting him clemency, an administration official told NBC News. Other White House officials were also opposed to Trump's decision due to fears of political blowback, including Chief of Staff Mark Meadows, according to a person familiar with the matter. Another person familiar with the matter told NBC that advisors told the president that granting Stone clemency 'was a big mistake.' The official also said that the Department of Justice had nothing to do with the president's decision to commute Stone's sentence.... Barr had previously said that Stone's prosecution was 'righteous' and the sentence was fair, and defended his decision to oppose a stricter sentence for Stone."

"Worse Than Nixon." Jeffrey Toobin of the New Yorker: "... Nixon never gave a pardon, or commuted a sentence, of anyone implicated in the Watergate scandal. But, on Friday night, Donald Trump commuted the prison sentence of Roger Stone.... William Barr ... had already overridden the sentencing recommendation of the prosecutors who tried the case -- a nearly unprecedented act.... But Barr's unseemly interference ... was somehow not enough for the President.... The only trace of shame in Trump's announcement was that he delivered it on a Friday night -- supposedly when the public is least attentive.... The Stone commutation isn't just a gift to an old friend -- it is a reward to Stone for keeping his mouth shut during the Mueller investigation. It is, in other words, corruption on top of cronyism.... One of the touchstones of authoritarian political cultures is the use of the criminal-justice system to reward friends and punish enemies." (Also linked yesterday.)

Max Boot of the Washington Post: "... what makes Trump the worst president ever is not simply that he is colossally incompetent. It is that he is also thoroughly corrupt. It is hard to think of a single major decision he has made for the good of the country, rather than for his own advantage.... While seeking vengeance against those who spoke the truth about his ugly machinations, Trump has sought to reward those who broke the law on his behalf.... He is not just the worst president ever; he keeps getting worse."

Quinta Jurecic & Benjamin Wittes of Lawfare: "... the predictable nature of Trump's action should not obscure its rank corruption. In fact, the predictability makes the commutation all the more corrupt, the capstone of an all-but-open attempt on the president's part to obstruct justice in a self-protective fashion over a protracted period of time.... Trump publicly encouraged Stone not to cooperate with Robert Mueller's investigation, he publicly dangled clemency as a reward for silence, and he has now delivered. The act is predictable precisely because the corrupt action is so naked.... According to newly unsealed material in the Mueller report, [Stone is] a person who had the power to reveal to investigators that Trump likely lied to Mueller -- and to whom Trump publicly dangled rewards if Stone refused to provide Mueller with that information.... Trump clearly knew about and encouraged Stone's outreach to WikiLeaks, the unredacted report shows. Yet in written answers the president provided to Mueller's office..., Trump insisted that he did not recall ... any discussions with Stone of WikiLeaks." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)

David Frum of the Atlantic: "The amazing thing about the Trump-Stone story is how much of it happened in the full light of day.... Stone told the journalist Howard Fineman why he lied and whom he was protecting. 'He knows I was under enormous pressure to turn on him. It would have eased my situation considerably. But I didn't.' You read that, and you blink. As the prominent Trump critic George Conway tweeted: 'I mean, even Tony Soprano would have used only a pay phone or burner phone to say something like this.' Stone said it on the record to one of the best-known reporters in Washington. In so many words, he seemed to imply: I could have hurt the president if I'd rolled over on him. I kept my mouth shut. He owes me." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)

With the economy in the tank & millions of Americans out of work, the Lincoln Project -- with a little help from Trump -- obliterates Trump's only remaining campaign theme: the Nixonian, racist "law and order" dog-whistle:

Cohen's Re-imprisonment Unconstitutional. Ryan Goodman of Just Security: "On Thursday morning, Michael Cohen ... was returned to prison.... Cohen's reimprisonment followed his apparently being caught on camera at a NYC restaurant in violation of conditions of home confinement.... However..., as the New York Times' Maggie Haberman described, 'Cohen imprisonment wasn't related to NY Post photo of him at restaurant. When he went to switch from furlough to home confinement, he had to sign papers saying no media or publishing a book, which he refused to sign.'... I asked some of the country's leading First Amendment law experts for their views about the agreement Cohen was told to sign.... They are almost uniform in decrying the condition placed on Cohen by the Bureau of Prisons, an agency under William Barr's Justice Department.... Former Provost of the University of Chicago and Professor Geoffrey R. Stone calls the government's action 'patently unconstitutional.' Robert Corn-Revere says it is 'an obvious violation of his First Amendment rights.' The ACLU's Vera Eidelman writes that it is 'almost certainly unconstitutional.' Laura R. Handman ... writes that the government's action is a 'profound affront to the First Amendment ... all the more so when the content of what he would share would likely be ... information that is particularly vital to an informed public as they decide whether the President merits re-election.' Jameel Jaffer, Executive Director of the Knight First Amendment Institute at Columbia University..., also not[ed] 'this gag order is to suppress speech about the president, which is speech at the core of the First Amendment's concern.'"

The New York Times' live updates for coronavirus developments Saturday are here. (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)

Dennis Romero & Austin Mullen of NBC News: "The United States saw another record day for new coronavirus cases, surpassing 70,000 for the first time, according to an NBC News tally Friday.... Sunbelt states experiencing surges including California, Florida, Texas and Georgia contributed to the record tally. California reported 7,798 new cases Friday, and state officials said they're considering releasing about 8,000 inmates from a prison system battered by the virus. In South Florida, NBC Miami reported [t]hat seven area hospitals have no intensive care beds available as a result of being inundated with virus patients." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)

Eileen Sullivan & Erica Green of the New York Times: "Federal materials for reopening schools, shared the week President Trump demanded weaker guidelines to do so, said fully reopening schools and universities remained the 'highest risk' for the spread of the coronavirus. The 69-page document, obtained by The New York Times and marked 'For Internal Use Only,' was intended for federal public health response teams to have as they are deployed to hot spots around the country. But it appears to have circulated the same week that Vice President Mike Pence announced that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention would release new guidelines, saying that the administration did not want them to be 'too tough.' It is unclear whether Mr. Trump saw the document, nor is it clear how much of it will survive once new guidance is completed.... And as Mr. Trump and Education Secretary Betsy DeVos were trying to pressure local schools to comply with their reopening vision, the document was expressly saying the federal government should not override local judgment."

Yasmeen Abutaleb, et al., of the Washington Post: "... as the Trump administration has strayed from the advice of many of its scientists and public health experts, the White House has moved to sideline [Anthony] Fauci, scuttled some of his planned TV appearances and largely kept him out of the Oval Office for more than a month even as coronavirus infections surge in large swaths of the country. In recent days, the 79-year-old scientist and director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases has found himself directly in the president's crosshairs. During a Fox News interview Thursday with Sean Hannity, Trump said Fauci 'is a nice man, but he's made a lot of mistakes.'... Fauci has found other ways to get his message out, from online Facebook chats to podcasts and print media interviews. And in recent days, with coronavirus cases slamming hospitals in the South and West, he has been frankly critical of the U.S. response -- and implicitly, of the president." There's a rich bit about the White House's cancelling Fauci's network TV appearances after Fauci displeased King Donald.

Americans Subsidizing Hate. Roger Sollenberger of Salon: "Organizations listed as hate groups by the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) received millions of dollars in government-backed Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loans, according to data from the Small Business Administration. The Center for Media and Democracy was the first to report on the loans, which went to six nonprofits for a total of somewhere between $2,350,000 and $5,700,000.... The largest loan went to the American Family Association, which was allotted between $1 million and $2 million to support 124 jobs.... Between 2013 and 2017, the group reported combined revenues in excess of $105 million.... The SPLC listed AFA as a hate group in 2010 after former top official Bryan Fischer blamed gay men for the Holocaust.... Right-wing activist David Lane posted an article Tuesday on the AFA website calling antifa and Black Lives Matter an 'alliance between the two devils of Nazism and communism.'" --s ~~~

     ~~~ Mrs. McCrabbie: Worth remembering: those millions are more gifts than loans: if the organizations meet (or claim to meet) certain criteria, the loan amounts are forgiven.

A Grieving Young Woman Speaks Truth to Power. Marisa Iati of the Washington Post: "When her father died of covid-19 last month, Kristin Urquiza minced no words assigning blame. Mark Urquiza, 65, should still be alive, his daughter wrote in a scathing obituary, published Wednesday in the Arizona Republic. 'His death is due to the carelessness of the politicians who continue to jeopardize the health of brown bodies through a clear lack of leadership, refusal to acknowledge the severity of this crisis, and inability and unwillingness to give clear and decisive direction on how to minimize risk,' she wrote. The searing tribute encapsulates the fury of critics who say governments a multiple levels are failing at their most basic duty: keeping citizens safe. The obituary also nods at the outbreak's disproportionate impact on black and Hispanic communities, which have experienced higher rates of coronavirus-related hospitalization and death. Among the leaders whom Kristin Urquiza feels failed her father, a Mexican American resident of Phoenix who worked in manufacturing, are Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey (R) and the Trump administration. Ducey, she said, 'has blood on his hands' for beginning to reopen the state in early May, roughly three weeks before new infections started to rise quickly."

Michael Shear of the New York Times interviews Elaine Duke, the acting secretary of Homeland Security in 2017. "Ms. Duke's most lasting legacy is likely to be the memo she signed -- under pressure -- to end [DACA]. Her decision not to cite any specific policy reasons was at the heart of the Supreme Court's ruling, which said the Trump administration had failed to substantively consider the implications of terminating the program's protections and benefits. Ms. Duke said she did not include policy reasons in the memo because she did not agree with the ideas being pushed by [Stephen] Miller and [Jeff] Sessions: that DACA amounted to an undeserved amnesty and that it would encourage new waves of illegal immigration.... Ms. Duke [-- a Republican --] is the latest in a series of senior officials who have gone public to describe -- often in vivid, behind-the-scenes detail -- their discomfort and sometimes shock at the inner workings of the Trump presidency.... She described an administration that is often driven by ideology instead of deliberation, values politics over policy and is dominated by a president who embraces 'hate-filled, angry and divisive' language."

Chantal da Silva of Newsweek: "The U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agency is set to launch a six-week 'Citizens Academy' course on immigration enforcement, which will include [six days of training over a six-week period starting in September] ...for citizens on how to arrest undocumented immigrants.... Included in the course would be training in 'defensive tactics, firearms familiarization and targeted arrests.... Speaking with Newsweek on Thursday..., Chicago Congressman Jesús 'Chuy' García said he was disturbed by the program, which he fears will lead to racial profiling, surveillance and potential violence.'... As a member of Congress, García had thought a program like this would have been brought to lawmakers' attention prior to its rollout, but it never was." --s ~~~

     ~~~ Mrs. McCrabbie: Absolutely horrifying. I wouldn't be surprised if Trump turned the "graduates" of his "Citizens Academy" into troops to defend him when he loses the election and refuses to leave the White House.

Jeremy Schwarz & Perla Trevizo of The Texas Tribune & Propublica: "[Tommy Fisher, president of North Dakota-based Fisher Industries, t]he builder of a privately funded border wall along the shores of the Rio Grande, agreed to an engineering inspection of his controversial structure, which experts say is showing signs of erosion that threatens its stability just months after the $42 million project was finished.... On Wednesday, U.S. District Judge Randy Crane instructed attorneys to work out details of the inspection and to come to an agreement about fixes for a part of the 3-mile fence that violates a treaty with Mexico by deflecting too much water during floods." --s

Sopan Deb of the New York Times: "On Monday, the W.N.B.A. announced that its upcoming season would be 'dedicated to social justice with games honoring the Black Lives Matter movement.' It did not seem to be a relatively controversial or surprising message, considering how engaged W.N.B.A. players have been in the movement, which has also drawn support from a wide range of corporations and even the most controversy-averse sports leagues, like the N.F.L., since the killing of George Floyd in May. But the expression -- and the movement it supports -- bothered at least one W.N.B.A. owner, who also happens to be a sitting senator in the midst of a difficult campaign for her seat. Senator Kelly Loeffler, Republican of Georgia, is a co-owner of the Atlanta Dream and has been vocally criticizing the Black Lives Matter movement and the league's embrace of it. Loeffler is now facing widespread denunciations from players around the league. The W.N.B.A. commissioner, Cathy Engelbert, released a statement this week distancing the league from Loeffler. Now, the league is grappling with questions about whether an owner who appears to be fundamentally opposed to the league's stated values can remain in her position."

Presidential Race

Maureen Dowd compares the characters of Joe Biden & Donald Trump. Joe wins.

Fox "News" Execs Shocked & Horrified They Had a Racist on Staff. Aidan McLaughlin of Mediaite: "Fox News brass condemned the 'horrendous and deeply offensive racist, sexist and homophobic comments' secretly made by Tucker Carlson's lead writer in an internal memo sent to employees Saturday. CNN reported Friday evening that Fox News writer Blake Neff posted shockingly racist and sexist posts anonymously on an internet message board for years. The posts coincided with his time as the top writer of highly rated prime time show Tucker Carlson Tonight. Neff resigned from his position in response to CNN's reporting.... [The executives] added that Carlson will address the controversy on his show Monday night. The Fox News host did not address the CNN report on his show Friday -- though he took a vague shot at CNN."

Way Beyond the Beltway

Russia. Mary Ilyushina of CNN: Russian whistleblowers, environmental groups and reporters have exposed a huge Arctic oil spill near "the Siberian city of Norilsk, where six weeks ago a huge fuel tank at a power plant ruptured, spilling thousands of tons of diesel into the river.... The owner of the plant, the Nornickel metals giant, says the spill was quickly contained, and the damage limited." The spill has received rare public attention, including from Vladimir Putin. --s

News Lede

CNN: "Twenty-one people were injured after an explosion and fire on board a ship at the US Naval Base in San Diego, US Navy officials said. 'Seventeen Sailors and four civilians are being treated for non-life threatening injuries at a local hospital,' the US Navy said in a statement. The sailors on the USS Bonhomme Richard had 'minor injuries' from the fire and were taken to a hospital, Lt. Cmdr. Patricia Kreuzberger told CNN earlier Sunday. All of the crew is off the ship and accounted for, according to a tweet from the US Pacific Fleet Naval Surface Forces Sunday afternoon. Firefighters battled a three-alarm fire on the ship Sunday morning, SDFD's Mónica Muñoz said. Several different agencies worked to fight the blaze."