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The Ledes

Thursday, March 28, 2024

The Washington Post's liveblog of developments in the Francis Scott Key bridge collapse is here: “Divers recovered the bodies of two construction workers who died when a massive cargo ship struck and collapsed a Baltimore bridge, as investigators revealed Wednesday that hazardous material was leaking from breached containers on the stranded vessel and state and federal lawmakers rushed to begin the recovery from the disaster that crippled the Port of Baltimore. Rescue crews found the victims shortly before 10 a.m. trapped in a red pickup truck in about 25 feet of water in the Patapsco River near the mid-span of the hulking wreck of the Francis Scott Key Bridge, Maryland State Police Secretary Roland L. Butler Jr. said at a news conference. The conditions were treacherous for the divers, so Butler said they were suspending the search for the bodies of four other construction workers who plunged to their deaths when the container ship in distress struck the bridge shortly before 1:30 a.m. Tuesday, causing it to fall.

“The workers are believed to be the only victims in the disaster.... The victims recovered were identified as Alejandro Hernandez Fuentes, 35, of Baltimore, and Dorlian Ronial Castillo Cabrera, 26, of Dundalk, Md. Other victims identified Wednesday were Maynor Suazo Sandoval, 38, from Honduras, and Miguel Luna, from El Salvador, who was the father of three. The names of the remaining two victims have not been released.” ~~~

~~~ CNN's live updates are here.

The Wires
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The Ledes

Wednesday, March 27, 2024

Washington Post: “As a cargo ship the size of a skyscraper drifted dangerously close to a major Baltimore bridge that carried more than 30,000 cars a day, the crew of the Dali issued an urgent 'mayday,' hoping to avert disaster Tuesday. First responders sprang into action, shutting down most traffic on the four-lane Francis Scott Key Bridge just before the 95,000 gross-ton vessel plowed into a bridge piling at about 1:30 a.m., causing multiple sections of the span to bow and snap in a harrowing scene captured on video.... Maryland Gov. Wes Moore (D) hailed those who carried out the quick work as 'heroes' and said they saved lives, but the scale of the destruction was catastrophic and will probably have far-reaching impacts for the economy and travel on the East Coast for months to come.” ~~~

     ~~~ The New York Times' live updates are here. CNN's live updates are here. ~~~

     ~~~ A Washington Post liveblog of developments is here: “Six people [-- bridge construction workers --] were presumed dead Tuesday evening, authorities announced as they shifted from a search and rescue operation to a recovery effort.... The governor declared a state of emergency, and Baltimore Mayor Brandon Scott (D) announced that the city has deployed its emergency operations plan. Vessel traffic into and out of the Port of Baltimore was 'suspended until further notice.'”

Public Service Announcement

The Washington Post offers tips on how to keep your EV battery running in frigid temperatures. The link at the end of this graf is supposed to be a "gift link" (from me, Marie Burns, the giftor!), meaning that non-subscribers can read the article. Hope it works: https://wapo.st/3u8Z705

The Hollywood Reporter has the full list of 2024 Oscar winners here.

Ryan Gosling performs "I'm Just Ken" at the Academy Awards: ~~~

Marie: If you don't like birthing stories, don't watch this video. But I thought it was pretty sweet -- and funny:

If you like Larry David, you may find this interview enjoyable:


Tracy Chapman & Luke Combs at the 2024 Grammy Awards. Allison Hope comments in a CNN opinion piece:

~~~ Here's Chapman singing "Fast Car" at the Oakland Coliseum in December 1988. ~~~

~~~ Here's the full 2024 Grammy winner's list, via CBS.

He Shot the Messenger. Washington Post: “The Messenger is shutting down immediately, the news site’s founder told employees in an email Wednesday, marking the abrupt demise of one of the stranger and more expensive recent experiments in digital media. In his email, Jimmy Finkelstein said he was 'personally devastated' to announce that he had failed in a last-ditch effort to raise more money for the site, saying that he had been fundraising as recently as the night before. Finkelstein said the site, which launched last year with outsize ambitions and a mammoth $50 million budget, would close 'effective immediately.' The New York Times first reported the site’s closure late Wednesday afternoon, appearing to catch many staffers off-guard, including editor in chief Dan Wakeford. As employees read the news story, the internal work chat service Slack erupted in what one employee called 'pandemonium.'... Minutes later, as staffers read Finkelstein’s email, its message was underscored as they were forcibly logged out of their Slack accounts. Former Messenger reporter Jim LaPorta posted on social media that employees would not receive health care or severance.”

Washington Post: “The last known location of 'Portrait of Fräulein Lieser' by world-renowned Austrian artist Gustav Klimt was in Vienna in the mid-1920s. The vivid painting featuring a young woman was listed as property of a 'Mrs Lieser' — believed to be Henriette Lieser, who was deported and killed by the Nazis. The only remaining record of the work was a black and white photograph from 1925, around the time it was last exhibited, which was kept in the archives of the Austrian National Library. Now, almost 100 years later, this painting by one of the world’s most famous modernist artists is on display and up for sale — having been rediscovered in what the auction house has hailed as a sensational find.... It is unclear which member of the Lieser family is depicted in the piece[.]”

CNN: “Jon Stewart is heading back to 'The Daily Show.' The comedian, who during his 16-year run as host of the Comedy Central program established it as an entertainment and cultural force, will return to host the show each week on Mondays starting February 12, Showtime and MTV Entertainment Studios announced Wednesday. Stewart, who returns as the 2024 presidential election season heats up, will also executive produce the show and work with a rotating line-up of comedians who will helm the program the rest of the week, Tuesdays through Thursdays.”

~~~ Marie: I don't know if this podcast will update automatically, or if I have to do it manually. In any event, both you and I can find the latest update of the published episodes here. The episodes begin with ads, but you can fast-forward through them.

Contact Marie

Click on this link to e-mail Marie.

Saturday
Jun132015

The Commentariat -- June 14, 2015

Internal links removed.

Greg Jaffe & Missy Ryan of the Washington Post: "As President Obama was weighing how to halt Islamic State advances in Iraq, some of the strongest resistance to boosting U.S. involvement came from a surprising place: a war-weary military that has grown increasingly skeptical that force can prevail in a conflict fueled by political and religious grievances. Top military officials, who have typically argued for more combat power to overcome battlefield setbacks over the past decade, emerged in recent White House debates as consistent voices of caution in Iraq. Their shift reflects the paucity of good options and a reluctance to suffer more combat deaths in a war in which America's political leaders are far from committed and Iraqis have shown limited will to fight." ...

... CW: Obviously, there are many in the military who join up because they want to go forth & conquer people, especially people who don't look like them. But today there are also a lot of military members who are there because they needed jobs. These members may not see as desirable the kind of warmongering "support" they get from nearly every GOP candidate. Maybe we'll see the Democratization of the military in the coming election.

Eric Schmitt & Steven Myers of the New York Times: "In a significant move to deter possible Russian aggression in Europe, the Pentagon is poised to store battle tanks, infantry fighting vehicles and other heavy weapons for as many as 5,000 American troops in several Baltic and Eastern European countries, American and allied officials say. The proposal, if approved, would represent the first time since the end of the Cold War that the United States has stationed heavy military equipment in the newer NATO member nations in Eastern Europe that had once been part of the Soviet sphere of influence. Russia's annexation of Crimea and the war in eastern Ukraine have caused alarm and prompted new military planning in NATO capitals."

Maureen Dowd: Everything President Obama does is wrong, Also, he does it the wrong way. Also, nobody likes him except maybe a couple of racists in the Congressional Black Caucus. Also, all the world's problems are his fault. CW BTW: For further proof of Obama's culpability in every single thing that has happened in the world since 2008, see Steve Benen's post about Jeb Bush under Presidential Race. ...

... For an ever-so-slightly more balanced take on the defeat in the House of bill that was a prerequisite to passing TPP, we turn now to Charles Pierce: "This is not a failure of presidential leadership. It's the assertion of political power from another direction. If that unnerves the Green Room consensus, that's too bad. The president got a bad beat, not because he is a bad president, but because, on this issue, on this Friday afternoon, he found himself trying to sell something to a constituency that has changed. I think he has the good sense to realize this and to adjust his strategy accordingly. At the very least, he will realize that what happened to him and to his agenda today was a long time coming." CW: If Pierce is right, what happened in the House is a good omen.

Jill Filipovic in a Washington Post op-ed: A new generation of abortion activists in not afraid of the "A" word. At first via social media, these young women have brought discussions of abortion into the mainstream. Likely as a result, "Today, the percentage of Americans who say they're pro-choice is at a seven-year high."

Jamelle Bouie: "We don't know the entirety of [Rachel] Dolezal's story, and we will likely learn more. If it's troubling, it's at least partly because it feels like Dolezal is adopting the culture without carrying the burdens. And with the fake father and the fake children, it seems like she's deceiving people for the sake of an à la carte blackness, in which you take the best parts, and leave the pain aside."

Ewen MacAskill & James Tapper of the Guardian: "Downing Street and the Home Office are being challenged to answer in public claims that Russia and China have broken into the secret cache of Edward Snowden files and that British agents have to be withdrawn from live operations as a consequence." Privacy advocates say those no substance to the story. ...

... Tom Harper, et al., of the Sunday Times: "RUSSIA and China have cracked the top-secret cache of files stolen by the fugitive US whistleblower Edward Snowden, forcing MI6 to pull agents out of live operations in hostile countries, according to senior officials in Downing Street, the Home Office and the security services. Western intelligence agencies say they have been forced into the rescue operations after Moscow gained access to more than 1m classified files held by the former American security contractor, who fled to seek protection from Vladimir Putin, the Russian president, after mounting one of the largest leaks in US history." ...

... CW: Snowden has long said that he gave up all his files to journalists. Therefore, if Snowden is telling the truth, the only way Russian & Chinese hackers could have accessed Snowden's files was through journalists. This is certainly possible, but absent any "evidence" other than the claims of unnamed sources inside the British government, who obviously aren't fans of Snowden's, I wouldn't put much store in the claims at this point.

Daniel Politi: "Polar bears have made dolphins part of their diet. For the first time, scientists have observed polar bears devouring white-beaked dolphins in the Arctic and are crediting global warming for introducing these two species to each other. 'This is the first record of this species as polar bear prey,' wrote the authors of a study that was published in the Polar Research Journal."

God News

Jim Yardley of the New York Times: "On Thursday, Francis will release his first major teaching letter, known as an encyclical, on the theme of the environment and the poor. Given the pope's widespread popularity, and his penchant for speaking out on major global issues, the encyclical is being treated as a milestone that could place the Roman Catholic Church at the forefront of a new coalition of religion and science." ...

... Laurie Goodstein of the New York Times: "Never before, church leaders say, has a papal encyclical been anticipated so eagerly by so many.... But the leaders of the Catholic Church in the United States may be harder to win over." CW: Read on. It's hard to sum up what dunderheads the U.S. Catholic bishops are.

Steve Benen: Southern Baptist pastor Robert Jeffress says treatment of U.S. Christians (no word on who the perps are) is just like Nazi treatment of Jews in pre-Holocaust days. CW: I find this extremely disrespectful to real victims of the Holocaust. And Sean Hannity is encouraging this garbage. Take that SOB off the air, Rupert.

How to console your friend on the loss of a child: tell her it was God's idea because the poor little tyke was probably going to grow up to be Hitler or Stalin or a serial killer. Via Benen. CW: In 1984, four states picked Pat Robertson to be the GOP presidential nominee.

Presidential Race

Roosevelt Island, Saturday morning.... Amy Chozick of the New York Times: "Hillary Rodham Clinton, in a speech that was at times sweeping and at times policy laden, delivered on Saturday a pointed repudiation of Republican economic policies and a populist promise to reverse the gaping gulf between the rich and poor at her biggest campaign event to date. Under sunny skies and surrounded by flag-waving supporters on Roosevelt Island in New York, Mrs. Clinton pledged to run an inclusive campaign and to create a more inclusive economy, saying that even the new voices in the Republican Party continued to push the top-down economic policies that failed us before.'" The campaign estimated attendance at 5,500:

... Here's the transcript of Clinton's speech. ...

... Jonathan Allen of Vox: "... what [Clinton] did Saturday is appeal to voters on the core policy issues that they care about and thread them together under an overarching vision of making American more fair for everyone. And she was willing to get more specific on how to do it. So, anyone who argues Clinton came up short in articulating a vision for a different version of America wasn't paying attention.... Compared to Clinton, her Republican rivals haven't been as forthcoming on how they would try to use the power of the presidency." ...

... John Cole of Balloon Juice cites Dave Weigel's tweet on reporters' snarky reactions. Some complained that "the overflow area (the overflow area!) was not that full." ...

The crowd who showed up to see Rick Santorum last week at a diner in Hamlin, Iowa. The one person who showed up to meet him said she wasn't committed to Santorum. "Santorum said he saw one person as a good crowd." The other three happened in for something to eat & agreed to sit with Santorum. Des Moines Register photo.

... Nick Gass of Politico: "No one has ever asked him for anything, [Bill] Clinton said [last week], adding that he does not know if those companies were seeking favor from his wife's position as secretary of state. Political partisans and investigative journalists have not found anything particularly odious, apart from what 'Clinton Cash' author Peter Schweizer deemed as a 'smoking gun' in the pattern of behavior."

Steve M. "Mitt Romney is hosting a little shindig in Utah this weekend featuring Sheldon Adelson and half a dozen Republican presidential aspirants. Politico's Alex Isenstadt describes the gathering in non-specific terms, as an attempt to impose order on the Republican presidential race.... So, to sum up: While Romney does want to send the message that the invitees -- Marco Rubio, Lindsey Graham, Chris Christie, Scott Walker, John Kasich, and Carly Fiorina -- could all potentially have access to Adelson's millions and his own donor network, his main goal is to prevent a primary victory by 'someone ... who I find not as attractive from a policy standpoint or another standpoint.' Rand Paul, in other words."

CW: A number of media outlets have given Jeb Bush high marks for his performance during his European Vacation. Of course, any time Scott Walker sets the bar, it's going to be low. But still, what about "Waitergaite"? Steve Benen has all the details, & they're just odd. The only part that's not surprising: Jeb blames Obama. GOP Rule No. 1: When You Screw Up, blame Obama.

Beyond the Beltway

Ron Kuznia of the Washington Post: Wealthy Californians think they should get all the water they can afford. To hell with everybody else. "In April, after Gov. Jerry Brown (D) called for a 25 percent reduction in water use, consumption in Rancho Santa Fe went up by 9 percent."

Daniel Politi of Slate: "Cleveland prosecutors have released the results of an investigation into the killing of 12-year-old Tamir Rice, who was shot and killed by a police officer.... One of the most significant appears to be that the investigators could not find a single witness who heard police officer Timothy Loehmann issue a warning before opening fire, reports the Northeast Ohio Media Group. Loehmann has said he ordered Rice to show his hands three times before opening fire." The report is here.

CW: I'd love to read this New York Times story about NYPD victim Eric Garner, but a loud Hulu ad not only plays every 30 seconds, when it starts, it throws the page back to the top. Nice job, NYT. So I quit. Update: That intrusive ad is everywhere, so no more NYT today.

Sofia Tesfaye of Salon (June 11): "Karen Fitzgibbons, a fourth grade teacher at Bennet Elementary in Wolforth, Texas, took to Facebook on Tuesday to express her frustration with the outrage in McKinney, Texas.... Fitzgibbons wrote that the she was 'ANGRY' the cop had resigned and blamed 'the blacks' for causing 'racial tension,' complaining that all the commotion had pushed her 'almost to the point of wanting them all segregated on one side of town so they can hurt each other and leave the innocent people alone.'" ...

... Jason Silverstein of the New York Daily News (June 12): "Fitzgibbons was 'relieved of her duties' due to her 'offensive, insensitive and disrespectful' post, the Frenship Independent School District announced Thursday." CW: Now she can sit home & reflect on how "the blacks" ruined her career. ...

... Andrew O'Hehir of Salon: "It is whites far more than blacks who cannot break free of the poisonous attitudes of the past.... Yet it is African-Americans who are constantly accused of fixating on ancient history, a charge presented in various ways, many of them subtler than the white-centric paranoia delivered by Fox."

News Ledes

Los Angeles Times: John "Carroll, a courageous editor whose instinct for the big story and unrelenting focus on the craft of journalism guided the Los Angeles Times to new heights, including a record 13 Pulitzer Prizes in five years, died Sunday in Lexington, Ky., of Creutzfeldt-Jakob, a degenerative brain disease. He was 73."

Daily Beast: "According to a report in the Swiss newspaper Schweiz am Sonntag, embattled FIFA President Sepp Blatter may try to stay on as president of FIFA, despite promising to step down."

AP: "The man linked to a violent assault on Dallas police headquarters on Saturday was accused two years earlier of choking his mother, then fleeing to an east Texas town where schools were locked down out of fear he would attack them as 'soft target', according to accounts from police and family members."

NBC News: "The prison worker charged with aiding in the escape of two convicted killers from a maximum-security correctional facility planned to meet the pair at midnight on the night of the escape and then leave with the escapees -- even giving them digging tools -- the district attorney said."

New York Times: "The United States carried out an airstrike in Libya early Sunday against the mastermind of the 2013 terrorist seizure of an Algerian gas plant that left 38 foreign hostages dead, American and Libyan officials said on Sunday. The Libyan government issued a statement Sunday night saying that the airstrikes killed the terrorist leader, Mokhtar Belmokhtar, and 'a number' of other Libyan terrorists in the eastern part of the country."

Reader Comments (6)

Happy birthday U. S. Army: 240 years old today!

June 14, 2015 | Unregistered CommenterBarbarossa

Sorry about talking so much about Kansas, but it's a quite extraordinary situation going on over there these days. This Slate article has some interesting Supreme Court history on the Constitutional phrase, “United States shall guarantee to every state in this union a republican form of government.”

As Brownback is threatening to pull the funds from the judiciary if they rule that some parts of his sick "experiment" are unconstitutional, particularly the funding levels of education, that would essentially deprive the state of Kansas from an entire branch of government, tilting the scales of power and moving toward a true Brownbackistan. If Brownback pulls the trigger, the author says the Kansas Supreme Court should sue his ass in federal courts. Now THAT'S a show I'd love to see!

http://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/jurisprudence/2015/06/supreme_court_showdown_in_kansas_to_save_the_judiciary_the_court_needs_to.html

June 14, 2015 | Unregistered Commentersafari

Coons, Kaine and Murphy––the new foreign policy wonks. Long article, but an important one.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/06/13/democrats-foreign-policy-leaders_n_7555224.html

June 14, 2015 | Unregistered CommenterPD Pepe

Bet everyone's been dying to know 'whatever happened to Scott Brown?' Fret no more, the Portsmouth Herald has the story!

http://www.seacoastonline.com/article/20150614/NEWS/150619571

June 14, 2015 | Unregistered CommenterMAG

Here is a little esprit de corp the Republicans have to contend with during their primary season as they come out ahead of Ted Cruz: http://www.motherjones.com/politics/2015/03/meet-ted-cruz-karl-rove-jeff-roe. Even his fellow Republicans call him a "disgusting human being". You might have to wash your hands after reading about these people, however.

June 14, 2015 | Unregistered CommenterCitizen625

@Citizen: Having just washed my hands––actually gave them a good scrub–-after reading about Jeff Roe, I take heart in that these kinds of critters tend to crumble like cookies sooner or later; Poppy Bush's guy died of a brain tumor (and recanted at the end) and Dubya's guy has pretty much run out of steam. Why Cruz would need someone like Roe is a wonder since Cruz himself can muster enough slime to cover all his opponents. These side-kicks, like Roe, if one can call them that,
are people that ride on the coat tails of the real contenders; they, themselves, could never be, thus the dirt they gather is for planting only, what is know as Bedding Men. They can wash THEIR hands and walk away while who knows what will grow in those gardens of earthly delight.

Such a schmuck!

June 14, 2015 | Unregistered CommenterPD Pepe
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