January 1, 2023

Bobby Calvan of the AP: "The new year began in the tiny atoll nation of Kiribati in the central Pacific, then moved across Russia and New Zealand before heading deeper, time zone by time zone, through Asia and Europe and into the Americas.... A man wielding a machete attacked three police officers near the [Times Square] celebration, authorities said, striking two of them in the head before an officer shot the man in the shoulder about eight blocks from Times Square, just outside the high-security zone.... In a sign of that hope, children met St. Nicholas in a crowded metro station in Kharkiv, Ukraine. Yet Russian attacks continued New Year's Eve. At midnight, the streets of the capital, Kyiv, were desolate. The only sign of a new year came from local residents shouting from their balconies, 'Happy New Year!' and 'Glory to Ukraine!' And only half an hour into 2023, air raid sirens rang across Ukraine's capital, followed by the sound of explosions."

Marie: Perhaps we should pause to remember that January 1 doesn't really signify anything. It's a marker of the new year first imposed by Julius Caesar in 45 BCE, and it did fall on the winter solstice. That is, January 1 meant something. In 1582, Pope Gregory's incorporated January 1 as the first day of the in his "new" or "Gregorian" calendar, which we use today. Although Caesar's calendar was meant to follow the solar year, the miscalculation of Sosigenes, Caesar's Alexandrian astronomer, meant the date gradually migrated days away from the winter solstice -- ten days away by the time Gregory imposed the calendar calculated by Jesuit astronomer Christopher Clavius. I'm not sure why Gregory & Clavius decided to stick with the old, adrift new year's day. I'd have told them to go back to using the winter solstice -- or some natural phenomenon -- to mark the first day of the year. But, hey, I'm just a girl.

News You Can Use. Shanon Osaka of the Washington Post: "Earlier this year, Congress passed the biggest climate bill in history -- cloaked under the name the 'Inflation Reduction Act.'... It could do one important thing for a country trying to move away from fossil fuels: Spur millions of households across America to switch over to cleaner energy sources with free money. Starting in the new year, the bill will offer households thousands of dollars to transition over from fossil-fuel burning heaters, stoves and cars to cleaner versions. On Jan. 1, middle-income households will be able to access over a half-dozen tax credits for electric stoves, cars, rooftop solar and more. And starting sometime in mid-2023, lower-income households will be able to get upfront discounts on some of those same appliances -- without having to wait to file their taxes to get the cash back. This handy online tool shows what you might be eligible for, depending on your Zip code and income."

The Party of Fakes

"The Invention of Elise Stefanik." Nicholas Confessori of the New York Times: "For years, [Elise] Stefanik had crafted her brand as a model moderate millennial.... But as her third term unfolded [in 2018], according to current or former friends and advisers, it was becoming painfully clear that she was the future of a Republican Party that no longer existed.... [So] she embarked on one of the most brazen political transformations of the Trump era. With breathtaking speed and alacrity, Ms. Stefanik remade herself into a fervent Trump apologist, adopted his over-torqued style on Twitter and embraced the conspiracy theories that animate his base, amplifying debunked allegations of dead voters casting ballots in Atlanta and unspecified 'irregularities' involving voting-machine software in 2020 swing states.... Ms. Stefanik's reinvention has made her a case study in the collapse of the old Republican establishment and its willing absorption into the new, Trump-dominated one.... Eager to advance..., she has spent years embedding herself wherever the action seems to be at the time."

"The Talented Mr. Santos." Azi Paybarah & Camila DeChalus of the Washington Post: "The Republican who won a congressional seat on Long Island before his claims of being a wealthy, biracial, Ukrainian descendant of Holocaust survivors were debunked had, for a while, been generally consistent about two details in his improbable life: He has long said his first name is George and his last name is Santos. But not always. Before George Santos, 34, made a name for himself in politics, he had insisted on being called Anthony -- one of his middle names -- and often used his mother's maiden name, Devolder, eventually incorporating a company in Florida with that name.... He said he is part Black. He said he is the grandson of Holocaust survivors. He claimed he helped develop 'carbon capture technology.'... Santos has already spawned new proposed legislation in Congress. Rep. Ritchie Torres (D-N.Y.) said he will introduce legislation requiring that when candidates for federal office provide details of their education, employment and military history, they do so under oath. Torres calls the bill the Stop Another Non-Truthful Office Seeker (SANTOS) Act.

"The offices of New York Attorney General Letitia James (D), Nassau County District Attorney Anne T. Donnelly (R) and Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz (D) each said they are examining whether Santos broke any laws in their jurisdiction. ABC News reported that the U.S. attorney's office in the Eastern District of New York, which covers Long Island, was also examining Santos's activities.... House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) told reporters on Wednesday that Santos is now 'tattooed' on Republicans in Congress." MB: As I said yesterday, he lied about even his name.

Adam Liptak of the New York Times: "At the end of a wrenching year at the Supreme Court, Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. devoted his annual report on the state of the federal judiciary to threats to judges' physical safety.... Some observers had hoped that the chief justice would use his year-end report for an update on the investigation announced in May into the leak of a draft opinion eliminating the constitutional right to abortion. Others had wished that he would announce revisions to judicial ethics rules in the wake of revelations about the efforts of Virginia Thomas, the wife of Justice Clarence Thomas, to overturn the results of the 2020 election." MB: But no. He smoothed an errant strand of his hair-helmet and marched on, chin-up, defiantly blind to the harm he has wreaked upon the nation. An AP report is here.

Beyond the Beltway

New York. Shelter from the Storm. Andrea Salcedo of the Washington Post: Jay Withey of Buffalo spent the night of December 23 in his truck with two strangers he had taken in to save them from the storm & subfreezing temperatures. But his truck was running out of fuel, and he could not find help. So he broke into the Cheektowaga high school. "Once both strangers had settled inside, Withey walked up to other cars stranded nearby, offering their occupants a place to spend the night.... By the end of the weekend, Withey had offered shelter to about two dozen strangers, including children and two dogs.... Once inside, Withey managed to open the cafeteria and found cereal, juice, water and coffee for the group. He cooked pizza for lunch and meatballs for dinner.... He left behind a handwritten note explaining the break-in. It read: 'To whoever it may concern, I am terribly sorry about breaking the school window and for breaking in the kitchen. Got stuck at 8 p.m. Friday and slept in my truck with two strangers just trying not to die. There were 7 elderly also stuck and out of fuel. I had to do it to save everyone and get them shelter, food and a bathroom. Merry Christmas -- Jay.'... Before the last person left on Christmas Day, the crew of strangers ... cleaned the school, washed the dishes and took out the trash before parting ways."

Way Beyond

Ukraine, et al. The Guardian's live updates of developments Sunday in Russia's war on Ukraine are here. The Guardian's summary report is here.

David Stern & Francesca Ebel of the Washington Post: "As Moscow launched a fresh barrage of strikes against Ukraine on Saturday, Russian President Vladimir Putin gave an unusually aggressive prerecorded address, which was broadcast as Russians in the Far East began their New Year's celebrations.... In the address, which was broadcast at midnight on Russian state television in line with the country's 11 different time zones, Putin said Russia was fighting in Ukraine to protect its 'motherland' and called 2022 'a year of hard, necessary decisions' and 'fateful events' that had laid the foundation of Russia's future and independence.... As the first footage of the speech was broadcast, dozens of missiles rained down on Kyiv and other regions in Ukraine."

North Korea. Hyung-Jin Kim of the AP: "North Korean leader Kim Jong Un ordered the 'exponential' expansion of his country's nuclear arsenal, the development of a more powerful intercontinental ballistic missile and the launch of its first spy satellite, state media reported Sunday, after he entered 2023 with another weapons firing following a record number of testing activities last year."

News Ledes

New York Times: "The police shot a machete-wielding man who attacked three officers on Saturday night near Times Square, injuring him and creating a chaotic scene just hours before the ball dropped to mark New Year's Day in New York City, the authorities said."

AP: Bryan Kohberger, the "suspect arrested in connection with the slayings of four University of Idaho students plans to waive an extradition hearing so he can be quickly brought to Idaho to face murder charges, his defense attorney said Saturday." ~~~

~~~ CNN: "Authorities tracked the man charged in the killings of four Idaho college students all the way to Pennsylvania and surveilled him for several days before finally arresting him on Friday, sources told CNN. Bryan Christopher Kohberger, 28, was arrested in his home state of Pennsylvania and charged with four counts of murder in the first degree, as well as felony burglary in connection with the stabbing deaths of four University of Idaho students in November, according to Latah County Prosecutor Bill Thompson. Still, investigators have not publicly confirmed the suspect's motive or whether he knew the victims. The murder weapon has also not been located, Moscow Police Chief James Fry said Friday.... Investigators honed in on Kohberger as the suspect through DNA evidence and by confirming his ownership of a white Hyundai Elantra seen near the crime scene.... The DNA was run through a public database to find potential family member matches.... Kohberger, who authorities say lived just minutes from the scene of the killings, is a PhD student in Washington State University's Department of Criminal Justice and Criminology, the school confirmed."

Guardian: "Thirteen bison have died as a result of a road crash in the dark on a Montana highway near Yellowstone national park, authorities have announced. In a statement released on Facebook, the West Yellowstone police department announced that around 6.30pm on Wednesday 'multiple bison were struck by a semi-truck near mile marker 4 on Highway 191', referring to a highway north of the town of West Yellowstone. According to the police, thirteen bison were killed after the truck smashed into a herd, with some of the bison needing to be euthanized 'due to severe injuries'."

December 31, 2022

The Guardian is liveblogging New Year's celebrations around the world.

Joan Greve of the Guardian: President Biden & Senate Majority leader Chuck Schumer aim to "repair" the fedeal judiciary.

Jim Tankersley of the New York Times: "President Biden on Friday pardoned six people, most of them for minor drug or alcohol offenses, continuing a series of drug-related reprieves this year.... The pardon list also included Beverly Ann Ibn-Tamas, 80, of Columbus, Ohio, who was convicted of second-degree murder for shooting her abusive husband nearly a half-century ago. Ms. Ibn-Tamas was pregnant at the time of the killing and testified that her husband had beaten her throughout her pregnancy, including shortly before she shot him. Her case focused new attention on battered woman syndrome. In each case, White House officials stressed that Mr. Biden was issuing pardons to people who had served their sentences and become upstanding members of their communities."CNN's story is here. (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~

     ~~~ Here's the clemency recipient list, via the White House. (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)

Friday Was Trumpty Dumpty Day:

Alan Rappeport & Jim Tankersley of the New York Times: "House Democrats on Friday released six years of ... Donald J. Trump's tax records, making the closely guarded documents public after years of legal battles and speculation about Mr. Trump's wealth and his financial entanglements.... While much of the information in the tax returns has already come to light, including through the two reports released last week [by the House Ways & Means Committee], the full records from 2015 through 2020 are expected to provide a rare window into the complexity of Mr. Trump's finances and whether he may have profited from tax policies he signed into law as president. Those include the 2017 Tax Cut and Jobs Act, which provided a series of tax breaks and cuts for businesses and wealthy people.... 'The "Trump" tax returns once again show how proudly successful I have been and how I have been able to use depreciation and various other tax deductions as an incentive for creating thousands of jobs and magnificent structures and enterprises,' [Trump wrote in a statement]." The story is developing. The AP's report is here. (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~

     ~~~ The story has been updated. New Lede: "House Democrats released six years of former President Donald J. Trump's tax records on Friday, offering new insight into his business dealings that further undermined his long-cultivated image as a wildly successful businessman." Emphasis added. ~~~

     ~~~ Jim Tankersley, et al., of the New York Times: "The documents contain new details not revealed in those earlier releases. New York Times reporters are combing the pages for key takeaways. Here is a running list.... [For instance:] As a presidential candidate in 2015, Mr. Trump said he would not take 'even one dollar' of the $400,000 salary that comes with the job.... In his first three years in office, Mr. Trump said he donated his salary quarterly. But in 2020, his last full year in office, the documents show that Mr. Trump reported $0 in charitable giving. Also in 2020, as the pandemic recession swiftly descended, Mr. Trump reported heavy business losses and no federal tax liability.... The tax law Mr. Trump signed in late 2017, which took effect the next year, contained some provisions that most likely gave him an advantage at tax time -- including the scaling back of the alternative minimum tax on high earners. But one provision in particular drastically reduced the income tax deductions Mr. Trump could claim in 2018 and beyond: limits that Republicans placed on deductions for state and local taxes paid.... Republicans ... warned Democrats that they had started down a dangerous road [by releasing Trump's returns], and that public pressure could push the incoming majority to release returns from President Biden's family or a wide range of other private individuals." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ~~~

     Judy Weil & Eugene Scott of the Washington Post also report some takeaways: "Trump's charitable contributions declined over the course of his presidency. He donated $1.8 million in 2017 and about half a million dollars in each of the next two years. In 2020, as many nonprofits intensified their calls for donations as they scrambled to help victims of the coronavirus pandemic and the associated unemployment, the Trumps reported giving no money to charity." MB: IOW, Trump treated charitable donations as tax deductions; in 2020, he claimed negative adjusted gross income, so no need for so-called charitable giving. CNN's key takeaways are here. (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~

~~~ Bernie Becker & Benjamin Guggenheim of Politico: "Donald Trump's tax returns show the former president received income from more than a dozen countries during his time in office, highlighting a string of potential conflicts of interest.... The six years of tax returns disclosed Friday show that Trump received extensive income from Canada, Ireland and the United Kingdom -- including gross business income of at least $35.3 million from Canada in 2017, the year he entered office. That year, Trump also brought in $6.5 million from China, $5.8 million from Indonesia and $5.7 million from India."

The House January 6 Select Committee released more witness transcripts Friday. Links to the transcripts are here. (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ~~~

~~~ Luke Broadwater, et al., of the New York Times: "The House committee investigating the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol on Friday released more than 40 additional transcripts of its interviews, bringing the total number of transcripts published to more than 160.... Here are some takeaways from the thousands of pages released this week."

Bad News. McKenna Oxenden of the New York Times: "Mark Meadows, a former chief of staff in the Trump White House, will not face voter fraud charges after officials determined that he did not fraudulently register to vote and cast a ballot in North Carolina during the 2020 presidential election, the state attorney general said on Friday. The attorney general, Josh Stein, said there was 'not sufficient evidence' to bring charges against Mr. Meadows or his wife, Debra Meadows. The State Bureau of Investigation conducted the investigation and found that because Mr. Meadows was 'engaged in public service' in Washington, he was qualified for a residency exception, officials said. Under North Carolina law, if a person moves to Washington or other federal territories for government service, then the individual will not lose residency status in the state."

Ryan Reilly of NBC News: "Transcripts of interviews with law enforcement officials released this week by the Jan. 6 committee reveal the panel learned that numerous security concerns had been raised in the days leading up to the attack on the Capitol.... The new revelations add to a growing body of evidence from news reports and court proceedings that illustrate how federal law enforcement officials were in possession of ample information that indicated Jan. 6 was going to be violent. As NBC News first reported last month, [committee] staffers were informed that chapters prepared by committee staff -- including material focused on law enforcement and intelligence failures -- would be cut from the final version.

"Among the revelations from the transcripts: One FBI employee wrote in a Dec. 26, 2020, memo about planning for Jan. 6 that was unfolding on a pro-Trump forum called TheDonald. 'They think they will have a large enough group to march into DC armed, and it will outnumber the police so they can't be stopped,' read the notification in the eGuardian system, which is meant to help federal, state and local law enforcement officials coordinate. 'They believe that since the election was stolen, that it's their constitutional right to over take the government and during this coup no U.S. laws apply. Another group of Proud Boys will be in DC already and are planning on blocking the roads with their cars in order to stop traffic.'... Days before the attack, the FBI lost use of the program it had been using to track threats on social media, as the bureau transitioned to a new product to gather open source information.

     ~~~ Marie: Needless to say, it defies common sense to take down a security system before its replacement is up, tested, & running properly.

Jo Becker & Julie Tate of the New York Times: "The charity, the Supreme Court Historical Society, is ostensibly independent of the judicial branch of government, but in reality the two are inextricably intertwined. The charity's stated mission is straightforward: to preserve the court's history and educate the public about the court's importance in American life. But over the years the society has also become a vehicle for those seeking access to nine of the most reclusive and powerful people in the nation. The justices attend the society's annual black-tie dinner soirees.... The society has raised more than $23 million over the last two decades. Because of its nonprofit status, it does not have to publicly disclose its donors -- and declined when asked to do so. But The New York Times was able to identify the sources behind more than $10.7 million raised since 2003, the first year for which relevant records were available. At least $6.4 million -- or 60 percent -- came from corporations, special interest groups, or lawyers and firms that argued cases before the court.... ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: It appears to me that it's way cheaper to corrupt the Supremes than it is to corrupt the president* or members of Congress. This is like bargain-basement corruption.

Jim Rutenberg, et al., of the New York Times: "Surveys [by GOP-aligned pollsters] showing strength for Republicans ... set Democratic klaxons blaring in [Washington state,] Pennsylvania, New Hampshire and Colorado. Coupled with the political factors already favoring Republicans -- including inflation and President Biden's unpopularity -- the skewed polls helped feed what quickly became an inescapable political narrative: A Republican wave election was about to hit the country.... Not for the first time, a warped understanding of the contours of a national election had come to dominate the views of political operatives, donors, journalists and, in some cases, the candidates themselves. The misleading polls of 2022 did not just needlessly spook some worried candidates into spending more money than they may have needed to on their own races. They also led some candidates -- in both parties -- who had a fighting chance of winning to lose out on money that could have made it possible for them to do so, as those controlling the purse strings believed polls that inaccurately indicated they had no chance at all.... The skewed red-wave surveys polluted polling averages, which are relied upon by campaigns, donors, voters and the news media.... Yet questionable polls were not only put out by Republicans.

Alessandra Stanley of the New York Times: "Barbara Walters, who broke barriers for women as the first female co-host of the 'Today' show and the first female anchor of a network evening news program, and who as an interviewer of celebrities became one herself, helping to blur the line between news and entertainment, died on Friday. She was 93." Walters' Washington Post obituary is here. Her ABC News obituary was here.

Marie: Maybe I should be embarrassed for never having heard of this guy, but his arrest has garnered a good deal of media attention, so here ya go: ~~~

~~~ McKenna Oxenden & Jenny Gross of the New York Times: "Andrew Tate, a former professional kickboxer and online personality who frequently made misogynistic comments to his large following on social media sites, has been remanded into custody for 30 days by a judge in Romania after the police charged him and three others with human trafficking, rape and forming an organized criminal group." ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: Oh, guess I should have watched more TuKKKer: ~~~

     ~~~ Aidan McLaughlin of Mediaite: "Clips of Tucker Carlson defending Andrew Tate have resurfaced after the kickboxer turned controversial internet personality was detained in Romania on suspicion of human trafficking, rape, and organized crime. Prosecutors said Tate, his brother and two other suspects, 'appear to have created an organized crime group with the purpose of recruiting, housing and exploiting women by forcing them to create pornographic content meant to be seen on specialized websites for a cost.'... In the months that followed, Tate -- who achieved notoriety online for his misogynistic commentary and support for former President Donald Trump -- was banned from a slew of social media platforms. As a result, he received gushing coverage from conservative media, including a lengthy interview in August with Fox News host Tucker Carlson."

For an explanation of why today's crop of right-wingers are better-viewed as "confederates" than as "conservatives," see Monoloco's post at the top of today's Comments thread.

Beyond the Beltway

Arizona. Some Bad News for Misogynists. Jack Healy of the New York Times: "Arizona cannot prosecute doctors under an 1864 ban on abortions that would have outlawed the procedure in nearly every circumstance, a state appeals court ruled on Friday. The ruling, which abortion-rights groups celebrated as a qualified victory, offers some clarity after months of uncertainty and legal fights over the fate of abortion in Arizona -- and effectively allows licensed doctors in Arizona to perform abortions through the 15th week of pregnancy. The decision resolved, for the moment, the question of which abortion ban in Arizona would be the law of the land in the wake of the Supreme Court's decision overturning Roe v. Wade, which had guaranteed a constitutional right to abortion. The Supreme Court decision effectively sent the issue back to states to decide, and many have been caught up in litigation over state bans."

Kansas 2020 Senate Race. John Hanna of the AP: "Incoming Kansas Attorney General Kris Kobach agreed to help pay a $30,000 penalty to resolve a federal complaint over the improper use of a group's email list during his unsuccessful 2020 campaign for the U.S. Senate.... The issue was the $2,000 paid by Kobach's Senate campaign to rent We Build the Wall's email list. While Kobach's campaign initially considered that to be a fair market price, the agreement said, it later conceded that it was below market value, resulting in an illegal campaign contribution from We Build the Wall. Kobach served on the group's board of directors and as its general counsel but resigned in early September, after the group and Steve Bannon ... were indicted in New York on allegations of money laundering, conspiracy and fraud... Kobach, who is a polarizing advocate of tough immigration measures, lost the Republican primary for an open U.S. Senate seat in August 2020." MB: Every little thing they do is crooked.

Way Beyond

Ukraine, et al. The New York Times' live updates of developments Saturday in Russia's war on Ukraine are here. The Guardian's live updates for Saturday are here. The Guardian's summary report is here.

Vatican. Anthony Faiola, et al. of the Washington Post: "Pope Benedict, 95, died Saturday in the Mater Ecclesiae Monastery in the Vatican." The Guardian's obituary is here. ~~~

     ~~~ The New York Times is liveblogging developments.

Brazil. Gabriela Sá Pessoa of the Washington Post: "Two days before leaving office, ending a tumultuous four years as the race-baiting, Amazon-developing, coronavirus-downplaying, vaccine-skeptical leader of Latin America's largest country, Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro remained defiant in a teary farewell address on Friday, defending his record and saying the election that led to his ouster was not impartial, but condemning violence against the result. Then he flew to Florida, Brazilian media reported, where in the past he has met with ... Donald Trump at Mar-a-Lago. He apparently planned to skip the inauguration of Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva on Sunday, when the outgoing leader traditionally presents the presidential sash to his successor, a ceremony intended to reaffirm the country's young democracy."

December 30, 2022

Afternoon Update:

Friday Is Trumpty Dumpty Day:

Alan Rappeport & Jim Tankersley of the New York Times: "House Democrats on Friday released six years of ... Donald J. Trump's tax records, making the closely guarded documents public after years of legal battles and speculation about Mr. Trump's wealth and his financial entanglements.... While much of the information in the tax returns has already come to light, including through the two reports released last week [by the House Ways & Means Committee], the full records from 2015 through 2020 are expected to provide a rare window into the complexity of Mr. Trump's finances and whether he may have profited from tax policies he signed into law as president. Those include the 2017 Tax Cut and Jobs Act, which provided a series of tax breaks and cuts for businesses and wealthy people.... 'The "Trump" tax returns once again show how proudly successful I have been and how I have been able to use depreciation and various other tax deductions as an incentive for creating thousands of jobs and magnificent structures and enterprises,' [Trump wrote in a statement]." The story is developing. The AP's report is here. ~~~

     ~~~ Jim Tankersley, et al., of the New York Times: "The documents contain new details not revealed in those earlier releases. New York Times reporters are combing the pages for key takeaways. Here is a running list.... [For instance:] As a presidential candidate in 2015, Mr. Trump said he would not take 'even one dollar' of the $400,000 salary that comes with the job.... In his first three years in office, Mr. Trump said he donated his salary quarterly. But in 2020, his last full year in office, the documents show that Mr. Trump reported $0 in charitable giving. Also in 2020, as the pandemic recession swiftly descended, Mr. Trump reported heavy business losses and no federal tax liability.... The tax law Mr. Trump signed in late 2017, which took effect the next year, contained some provisions that most likely gave him an advantage at tax time -- including the scaling back of the alternative minimum tax on high earners. But one provision in particular drastically reduced the income tax deductions Mr. Trump could claim in 2018 and beyond: limits that Republicans placed on deductions for state and local taxes paid.... Republicans ... warned Democrats that they had started down a dangerous road [by releasing Trump's returns], and that public pressure could push the incoming majority to release returns from President Biden's family or a wide range of other private individuals." ~~~

     Judy Weil & Eugene Scott of the Washington Post also report some takeaways: "Trump's charitable contributions declined over the course of his presidency. He donated $1.8 million in 2017 and about half a million dollars in each of the next two years. In 2020, as many nonprofits intensified their calls for donations as they scrambled to help victims of the coronavirus pandemic and the associated unemployment, the Trumps reported giving no money to charity." MB: IOW, Trump treated charitable donations as tax deductions; in 2020, he claimed negative adjusted gross income, so no need for so-called charitable giving. CNN's key takeaways are here.

The House January 6 Select Committee released more witness transcripts Friday. Links to the transcripts are here.

Jim Tankersley of the New York Times: "President Biden on Friday pardoned six people, most of them for minor drug or alcohol offenses, continuing a series of drug-related reprieves this year.... The pardon list also included Beverly Ann Ibn-Tamas, 80, of Columbus, Ohio, who was convicted of second-degree murder for shooting her abusive husband nearly a half-century ago. Ms. Ibn-Tamas was pregnant at the time of the killing and testified that her husband had beaten her throughout her pregnancy, including shortly before she shot him. Her case focused new attention on battered woman syndrome. In each case, White House officials stressed that Mr. Biden was issuing pardons to people who had served their sentences and become upstanding members of their communities." CNN's story is here. ~~~

     ~~~ Here's the clemency recipient list, via the White House.

Marie: Despite appearances, I have not decided to link NYT stories only if Jim Tankersley wrote them.

~~~~~~~~~~

Jim Tankersley of the New York Times: "President Biden signed a $1.7 trillion spending bill into law on Thursday, averting a shutdown and keeping the government funded through September while adding to his legacy of expanding federal programs as president.... Mr. Biden wielded his pen on the island of St. Croix, where he is vacationing through the new year. White House officials received the more than 4,000-page bill from Congress late on Wednesday afternoon and sent it to the Virgin Islands on Thursday on a commercial flight." The AP's report is here.

Lisa Rein of the Washington Post: "The Senate Finance Committee is preparing to launch a broad, bipartisan inquiry into the Social Security Administration's watchdog division, officials said, as lawmakers grow concerned that management failures are compromising its oversight mission. The committee is likely to concentrate on allegations of retaliation against whistleblowers, plummeting morale, staff attrition, hiring decisions and a declining number of investigations into fraud in the massive disability benefits program, one of the inspector general's core missions, congressional aides said.... Senate Finance Committee investigators in both parties summoned senior attorneys on the staff of Inspector General Gail S. Ennis to a briefing earlier this month to learn more about the tumult inside her office, which includes some 500 auditors, criminal investigators and attorneys, several participants said."

Luke Broadwater, et al., of the New York Times: "The House committee investigating the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol released on Thursday 19 more transcripts of its interviews, bringing its total number of transcripts published to about 120.... Here are some takeaways from the hundreds of pages of transcripts released this week, including details of police intelligence failures before the Capitol attack and insight into the delay in the response of the National Guard." ~~~

~~~ "Just Give Me Five Dead Voters." Jeremy Herb, et al., of CNN, outline some of the highlights of the transcripts released Thursday. "After the 2020 election, Sen. Lindsey Graham pledged to become a 'champion' of then-President Trump's election fraud claims -- if only Trump's advisers would give him information about dead voters, according to an account given to the January 6 committee. 'Senator Graham was saying, "Get me your information,"' Trump lawyer Christina Bobb relayed to the committee about what Graham said in a meeting days before the January 6, 2021, insurrection. 'Just give me five dead voters,' Bobb said Graham told then-White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows and others in Meadows' office at the White House.... Stephanie Grisham, a former White House press secretary and chief of staff to Melania Trump, said ... 'I heard from several people in the West Wing, more on the military aide or Secret Service side, and then a couple just people, but that he was sitting in the dining room, and he was just watching it all unfold, and that a couple of his comments -- some of his comments were that these people looked very trashy, but also look at what fighters they were.'" ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: It seems there was a lot Donald Junior couldn't remember. But, in Junior's defense, of all the witnesses with convenient memory lapses, I find Junior's most plausible in view of the videos we've seen in which he appears to be coked-up. ~~~

~~~ The House January 6 committee has released another batch of witness transcripts. Links to the newly-released transcripts are here. (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)

Here Some Fraud, There Some Fraud, Everywhere Some Fraud. Allegedly! Grace Ashford & Dana Rubinstein of the New York Times: A company called "Cleaner 123" received nearly $11,000 in payments from Rep.-elect George Santos' (R) campaign. "The expenditures were listed as 'apartment rental for staff' on Mr. Santos's campaign disclosure forms and gave the address of a modest suburban house on Long Island. But one neighbor said Mr. Santos himself had been living there for months, and two others said that they had seen Mr. Santos and his husband coming and going, a possible violation of the rule prohibiting the use of campaign funds for personal expenses. The payments to Cleaner 123 were among a litany of unusual disbursements documented in Mr. Santos's campaign filings that experts say could warrant further scrutiny. There are also dozens of expenses pegged at $199.99 -- one cent below the threshold at which federal law requires receipts. The travel expenses include more than $40,000 for air travel...." ~~~

~~~ Sarah Ellison of the Washington Post: "Months before the New York Times published a December article suggesting Rep.-elect George Santos (R-N.Y.) had fabricated much of his résumé and biography, a tiny publication on Long Island was ringing alarm bells about its local candidate. The North Shore Leader wrote in September, when few others were covering Santos, about his 'inexplicable rise' in reported net worth -- from essentially nothing in 2020 to as much as $11 million two years later. The story noted other oddities about the self-described gay Trump supporter with Jewish heritage, who would go on to flip New York's 3rd Congressional District from blue to red.... 'Interestingly, Santos shows no U.S. real property in his financial disclosure, although he has repeatedly claimed to own "a mansion in Oyster Bay Cove" on Tiffany Road; and "a mansion in the Hamptons" on Dune Road,' managing editor Maureen Daly wrote in the Leader. 'For a man of such alleged wealth, campaign records show that Santos and his husband live in a rented apartment, in an attached rowhouse in Queens.'... It was the stuff national headlines are supposed to be built on: A hyperlocal outlet like the Leader does the leg work, regional papers verify and amplify the story, and before long an emerging political scandal is being broadcast coast-to-coast. But that system, which has atrophied for decades amid the destruction of news economies, appears to have failed completely this time." ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: Not that you needed any more evidence, but it's abundantly clear that Republican "leaders" don't care who is in their caucus. A candidate need only have an "R" after her name, meet the Constitutional minimal requirements for office, & be able to win election by any means, including massive fraud. Santos has lied about every aspect of his life, right down to his family name (he claims to be the son of a woman whose "real name" was Zabrovsky -- it wasn't). And so what? ~~~

~~~ Eugene Robinson of the Washington Post: "Sooner or later, the Republican Party's devolution was bound to saddle GOP leaders with someone exactly like Rep.-elect George Santos of New York: a glib, successful candidate for high office who turns out to be pure fantasy with zero substance.... The most honest thing House Republicans could do, in my view, is welcome Santos with open arms. The party embarked on the path of make-believe politics long before Santos came onto the scene. All he did was expand the frontier.... We've had lots of metaphorical empty suits in Congress over the years. Now comes the emptiest yet."

Morgan Watson of the Louisville Courier Journal: "Former U.S. Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao and her husband, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, generally have stayed mum when ... Donald Trump slams them online, but on Thursday she responded after her ex-boss repeated a racist nickname he has used for her before. When asked about it during a televised interview with CNN, Chao called it a 'racist taunt' and said he's 'trying to get a rise out of us.... He says all sorts of outrageous things, and I don't make a point of answering any one of them,' said Chao, who was on CNN talking about Southwest Airlines' widespread and disastrous cancellations of flights this week.... Chao said Thursday it's 'helpful if the media does not repeat' the racist comment he keeps making about her."

Elon's Austerity Program: BYO Toilet Paper. Kate Conger, et al., of the New York Times: "Early on Christmas Eve, members of [Elon Musk]'s staff flew to Sacramento -- the site of one of Twitter's three main computing storage facilities -- to disconnect servers that had kept the social network running smoothly.... Over the past few weeks, Twitter had stopped paying millions of dollars in rent and services, and Mr. Musk had told his subordinates to renegotiate those agreements or simply end them. The company has stopped paying rent at its Seattle office, leading it to face eviction, two people familiar with the matter said. Janitorial and security services have been cut, and in some cases employees have resorted to bringing their own toilet paper to the office.... Since early November, Mr. Musk has sought to save about $500 million in nonlabor costs, according to an internal document seen by The New York Times. He has also laid off or fired nearly 75 percent of the company's work force since completing the purchase.... On Wednesday, users around the world reported service interruptions with Twitter."

Beyond the Beltway

Arizona. Neil Vigdor of the New York Times: "Kris Mayes, the Democratic candidate for attorney general in Arizona, prevailed on Thursday in a recount by a razor-thin margin over Abraham Hamadeh, a Republican, bringing clarity to one of the last undecided races of the midterms. The margin of victory for Ms. Mayes was 280 votes out of about 2.5 million ballots cast in the November election, said Judge Timothy J. Thomason of the Maricopa County Superior Court, who announced the recount's results in a brief judicial hearing. The recount reduced the margin between the two candidates by about half, with the Election Day results showing Mr. Hamadeh trailing Ms. Mayes by 511 votes. Mr. Hamadeh, whose legal effort to have himself declared the winner was dismissed by a judge on Friday, continued to sow doubt in the election results, saying in a post on Twitter that "we must get to the bottom of this election" and calling for ballots to be inspected. But during closing arguments in last week's trial, Mr. Hamadeh's lawyer, Timothy La Sota, acknowledged that he did not have any evidence of intentional misconduct or any vote discrepancies that would make up the gap between the candidates." CNN's report is here.

Way Beyond

Ukraine, et al.

The New York Times' live updates of developments Friday in Russia's war on Ukraine are here. The Guardian's live updates for Friday are here. The Guardian's summary report is here. ~~~

     ~~~ The Washington Post's live briefing for Friday is here: "Ukraine's air force said all 16 self-detonating drones that attacked the country were destroyed overnight. The Kyiv region's governor, Oleksiy Kuleba, also said early Friday that Ukrainian forces repelled a drone raid during the night, and air raid sirens wailed in the capital early Friday.... The conflict in Ukraine is deadlocked, according to the country's head of military intelligence, Kyrylo Budanov. 'We can't defeat [Russia] in all directions comprehensively. Neither can they,' he told the BBC in an interview. 'We're very much looking forward to new weapons supplies, and to the arrival of more advanced weapons.'"

Andrew Kramer of the New York Times: "A swarm of drones and a volley of cruise missiles rocked towns and cities across Ukraine on Thursday, the biggest assault in weeks and the latest in a wave of ever more sophisticated aerial duels pitting Russia's evolving tactics against Ukraine's growing arsenal of air defense weapons.... Ukraine's air defenses were at times overwhelmed. Iranian-made exploding drones, which Russia began acquiring last summer, were launched in a first wave, apparently to bog down air defenses before the cruise missile strikes, the Ukrainian air force said.... After the strikes, Russia's Defense Ministry released a picture on its official channel on Telegram, the social messaging app, showing a Kalibr cruise missile and a message: 'Kalibrs will never run out.' The White House condemned the strikes as part of Russia's 'barbaric war' and pledged to continue to help Ukraine defend itself."

Michael Biesecker & Erika Kinetz of the AP: "Ten months into Russia's latest invasion of Ukraine, overwhelming evidence shows the Kremlin's troops have waged total war, with disregard for international laws governing the treatment of civilians and conduct on the battlefield. Ukraine is investigating more than 58,000 potential Russian war crimes -- killings, kidnappings, indiscriminate bombings and sexual assaults. Reporting by The Associated Press and 'Frontline,' recorded in a public database, has independently verified more than 600 incidents that appear to violate the laws of war. Some of those attacks were massacres that killed dozens or hundreds of civilians and as a totality it could account for thousands of individual war crimes. As Karim Khan, chief prosecutor of the International Criminal Court in The Hague, told the AP, 'Ukraine is a crime scene." ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: I have thought for months that Vladimir Putin should be tried, in absentia, at the Hague. If he is found guilty, as he should be, he will never again be able to travel to a country that recognizes the International Criminal Court. That's not enough, but it's something.

Francesca Ebel of the Washington Post: "Russian Presiden Vladimir Putin and Chinese leader Xi Jinping met remotely via video link Friday -- an indication of Moscow's latest efforts to strengthen ties with Beijing as Russia's international isolation grows in the wake of its invasion of Ukraine.... Xi said that the leaders were regularly 'in close, strategic contact' and noted that bilateral relations between Moscow and Beijing had expanded significantly this year.

Myanmar. Mike Ives & Matt Stevens of the New York Times: "Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, Myanmar's ousted civilian leader, was found guilty of corruption on Friday and sentenced to seven years in prison, almost two years after she was first detained by the military in a coup. Ms. Aung San Suu Kyi, 77, a Nobel laureate, had already begun serving a 26-year prison sentence in connection with more than a dozen charges she has faced since being detained." The Guardian's report is here.

News Ledes

New York Times: "Police arrested a 28-year-old man on Friday and charged him with murder in connection with the brutal killing of four University of Idaho college students who were found stabbed to death overnight in a home near their campus last month. The man, Bryan C. Kohberger, was arrested in Chestnuthill Township in the Pocono Mountains region of Pennsylvania. He was scheduled to appear at an extradition hearing next week, and the police in Moscow, Idaho, scheduled a news conference for later on Friday. Mr. Kohberger was listed as a Ph.D. student at Washington State University, which is less than 10 miles from the site of the murders, and had been studying criminal justice and criminology, according to the school's website."

The Washington Post includes photos of houses along Lake Erie that were encrusted in ice during the recent storm. Yahoo! News has some of the same photos here. Once they thaw out their homes & assess the damage, the homeowners will probably never want to see another adorable white ceramic Christmas village. Anyway, the photos depict a pretty amazing scene; the Post calls the pictures "surreal," & that's right.