March 17, 2023

Late Morning/Afternoon Update:

Josh Dawsey, et al., of the Washington Post: "A federal judge has at least partially granted a request from U.S. prosecutors to force an attorney for Donald Trump to testify before a grand jury about the former president's possession of classified documents after leaving office, according to two people briefed on the decision. The lawyer, Evan Corcoran, had refused to answer investigators' questions about his interactions with Trump, invoking attorney-client privilege.... U.S. prosecutors argued that there are exceptions to the privilege, including when there is evidence that a client used the attorney's legal services in furtherance of a crime. In secret court filings and a hearing held behind closed doors last week, people familiar with the matter said, prosecutors sought to show Chief U.S. District Judge Beryl A. Howell of Washington that there were grounds for a 'crime-fraud exception.' Howell agreed.... Trump's team is expected to ask incoming Chief U.S. District Judge James E. Boasberg, who succeeds the term-limited Howell as of midnight Saturday, to stay her order while they appeal, the people familiar with the matter said.&" CNN's report is here. The New York Times story is here.

Thief-in-Chief. (Allegedly)!) Jacqueline Alemany & Josh Dawsey of the Washington Post: "Federal officials cannot find two gifts received by ... Donald Trump and his family from foreign nations, including a life-size painting of Trump from the president of El Salvador and golf clubs from the Japanese prime minister, according to a new report from House Democrats. The gifts are among more than 100 foreign gifts -- with a total value of nearly $300,000 -- that Trump and his family failed to report to the State Department in violation of federal law, according to the report, which cites government records and emails. The 15-page report, a result of a year-long investigation by the House Oversight Committee..., revealed that the Trump family did not disclose dozens of gifts from countries that are not U.S. allies or have a complicated relationship with Washington. That includes 16 gifts from Saudi Arabia..., 17 gifts from India..., and at least five gifts from China. Trump reported zero gifts entirely the final year of his presidency, according to the report....

"Trump repeatedly told advisers that gifts given to him during the presidency were his and did not belong to the federal government, former chief of staff John F. Kelly and other aides have previously told The Washington Post.... Any gifts to the Trump family that were not memorialized in written communications by administration officials could still be outstanding. Republicans did not appear to participate in the investigation, which began while Democrats controlled the House.... The report also raises concerns about whether the unreported gifts may have been used by foreign governments to influence U.S. policy positions toward those countries."

Josh Dawsey of the Washington Post: "When Donald Trump called Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger on Jan. 2, 2021, in a now-infamous bid to overturn the 2020 election, he alleged that thousands of dead people had voted in the state.... But a report commissioned by his own campaign dated one day prior told a different story: Researchers paid by Trump's team had 'high confidence' of only nine dead voters in Fulton County, defined as ballots that may have been cast by someone else in the name of a deceased person. They believed there was a 'potential statewide exposure' of 23 such votes across the Peach State -- or 4,977 fewer than the 'minimum' [5,000 dead voters] Trump claimed. In a separate failed bid to overturn the results in Nevada, Trump's lawyers said in a court filing that 1,506 ballots were cast in the names of dead people and 42,284 voted twice. The researchers paid by Trump's team had 'high confidence' that 12 ballots were cast in the names of deceased people in Clark County, Nev., and believed the 'high end potential exposure' was 20 voters statewide -- some 1,486 fewer than Trump's lawyers said."

Jonathan Dienst of NBC News: "Local, state and federal law enforcement and security agencies are preparing for the possibility that ... Donald Trump will be indicted as early as next week, according to five senior officials familiar with the preparations. Law enforcement agencies are conducting preliminary security assessments, the officials said, and are discussing potential security plans in and around the Manhattan Criminal Court, at 100 Centre Street, in case Trump is charged in connection with an alleged hush money payment to Stormy Daniels and travels to New York to face any charges."

Mike Corner & Raf Casert of the AP: "The International Criminal Court said Friday that it has issued an arrest warrant for Russian President Vladimir Putin for war crimes, accusing him of personal responsibility for the abductions of children from Ukraine. It was the first time the global court has issued a warrant against a leader of one of the five permanent members of the U.N. Security Council. The ICC said in a statement that Putin 'is allegedly responsible for the war crime of unlawful deportation of (children) and that of unlawful transfer of (children) from occupied areas of Ukraine to the Russian Federation.'"

Matt Viser of the Washington Post: "Hunter Biden has filed a sweeping countersuit against the computer repair shop owner who said that Biden dropped his laptop off and never claimed it, a legal action that escalates the battle over how provocative data and images of the president's son were obtained nearly five years ago. In the counterclaim, filed on Friday morning in U.S. District Court in Delaware, Biden and his attorneys say that John Paul Mac Isaac had no legal right to copy and distribute private information. They accuse him and others of six counts of invasion of privacy, including conspiracy to obtain and distribute the data.... The move is a response to a suit filed by Mac Isaac himself last year and amended several times since, alleging that Hunter Biden defamed him by saying he had illegally accessed the data -- when in fact, Mac Isaac contends, the laptop became his property when it was abandoned in his shop." Read on. The part at the end concerning Keith Ablow -- Hunter Biden's psychiatrist, who also was a friend of Steve Bannon's -- strikes me as. um, significant, considering that Bannon was one of the people who allegedly was passing around data from the laptop.

Michelle Chapman of the AP: "The parent of Silicon Valley Bank filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy a week after the tech-focused bank failed and was seized by the U.S. government. The filing from SVB Financial Group on Friday is not a surprise, with much of the company now under the control of U.S. banking regulators."

France. Quel Désastre! Silvie Corbet & Barbara Surk of the AP: "Protests against French President Emmanuel Macron's decision to force a bill raising the retirement age from 62 to 64 through parliament without a vote disrupted traffic, garbage collection and university campuses in Paris as opponents of the change maintained their resolve to get the government to back down. Striking sanitation workers blocked a waste collection plant that is home to Europe's largest incinerator to underline their determination, and university students walked out of lecture halls to join the strikes. Leaders of the influential CGT union called on people to leave schools, factories, refineries and other work places."

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Maxine Joselow of the Washington Post: "President Biden will designate a sacred tribal site in southern Nevada as a national monument in the coming days, according to two people briefed on the decision, creating the largest protected area of his presidency yet. Biden will sign a proclamation putting hundreds of thousands of acres around Spirit Mountain -- known as Avi Kwa Ame (ah-VEE-kwah-may) in Mojave -- off limits to development under the 1906 Antiquities Act, the two individuals said."

Leo Shane of the Military Times: "Veterans Affairs leaders are changing the department's mission statement from the current male-only focus to be more welcoming to women veterans, officials announced Thursday. The current motto -- in use by VA and the Veterans Administration since 1959 -- is based on an excerpt from President Abraham Lincoln's second inaugural address: 'To fulfill President Lincoln's promise "to care for him who shall have borne the battle, and for his widow, and his orphan" by serving and honoring the men and women who are America's veterans.' It's displayed prominently at about half of all VA hospitals, cemeteries and office buildings across the country. The new motto will still be based on Lincoln's words but instead reads: 'To fulfill President Lincoln's promise to care for those who have served in our nation's military and for their families, caregivers, and survivors.'"

Amy Wang & Liz Goodwin of the Washington Post: "The Senate has advanced a bill that would repeal decades-old authorizations for use of military force for the Iraq and Persian Gulf wars, in an overwhelming show of bipartisan support for legislation that the White House has signaled it will back. The Senate voted 68 to 27 on Thursday to end debate on the bill, clearing the way for amendments and a final vote next week. If signed into law, the bill would repeal the 1991 Gulf War authorization and the 2002 Iraq War authorization. A bipartisan group of lawmakers who support the legislation argue that it is necessary to prevent abuse by presidential administrations that have -- and still could -- use the old authorizations to launch unrelated combat operations without congressional approval."

Luke Broadwater of the New York Times: "House Republicans on Thursday released financial records showing that Hunter Biden and other relatives of President Biden received more than $1 million in 2017 from an associate who had entered into a business deal with a Chinese energy company, as they hunted for evidence that the president and his family have profited improperly from his position. The disclosure came as the House Oversight Committee ramps up its investigation into the international business transactions of Mr. Biden's family, obtaining more than a decade of bank records through subpoenas and drawing accusations from Democrats of intruding into the lives of private citizens."

Marie: Gosh, I've missed hearing from Miss Margie for about two days. She's back. With a bomb. ~~~

     ~~~ Sandbagged. Aaron Blake of the Washington Post: "On Tuesday, [Marjorie Taylor] Greene and a GOP colleague floated sending the U.S. military south while citing ... [an 'explosive device' U.S. Border Patrol had found]. At a field hearing of the House Homeland Security Committee near the Texas-Mexico border, multiple Republicans pointed to the alleged explosive device. 'Chief Ortiz, are you aware that there was an explosive device found by border patrol agents on no man, in an area called no man's land?' Greene asked Border Patrol Chief Raul Ortiz. Rep. Morgan Luttrell (R-Tex.) cited 'this explosive device that was discovered by one of you border patrol agents.' Rep. Dale W. Strong (R-Ala.) labeled it an 'improvised explosive device being used against U.S. law enforcement.' Greene also tweeted a picture of the 'explosive,' accusing Mexican cartels of 'planting bombs.' Ortiz ... and another witness even seemed unfamiliar with what the Republicans were talking about. But by Wednesday afternoon, Ortiz tweeted that the item was merely a 'duct-taped ball filled with sand.'" Luttrell complained later that agents did not properly report the bomb. MB: I guess not. Finding a bag of sand, even one wrapped in duct tape, in a sandy desert probably doesn't merit an all-points bulletin. (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)

Victoria Bekiempis of the Guardian: "Federal prosecutors in Washington have reportedly told court officials a thousand more people could be charged in relation to the deadly January 6 Capitol attack. Matthew Graves, the US attorney in Washington DC, sent a one-page letter to the chief judge of Washington DC federal court, apprising her of the potential deluge of defendants, Bloomberg News reported.... Graves said in the letter that justice department officials estimated that another 700 to 1,200 defendants could face charges.... The prosecutor also said he did not know the exact proportion of misdemeanor and felony cases to come but thought there would be a larger proportion of felonies, Bloomberg said." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)

Katelyn Polantz, et al., of CNN: "At least two dozen people -- from Mar-a-Lago resort staff to members of Donald Trump's inner circle at the Florida estate -- have been subpoenaed to testify to a federal grand jury that's investigating the former president's handling of classified documents, multiple sources familiar with the investigation told CNN. On Thursday, Trump's communications aide Margo Martin, who worked in the White House and then moved with Trump to Florida, appeared before the grand jury in Washington, DC. One of special counsel Jack Smith's senior-most prosecutors was involved in the interview.... Many of the Mar-a-Lago staffers are being represented by counsel paid for by Trump entities, according to sources and federal elections records.... Meanwhile, Smith continues to pursue Trump defense lawyer Evan Corcoran. In an earlier appearance before the grand jury, Corcoran declined to answer questions about his conversations with Trump..., citing attorney-client privilege. Prosecutors are asking a judge to find that he must answer because the conversations may have been part of advancing a crime or fraud. A ruling is expected from the DC District Court on Corcoran as early as this week."

Holly Bailey of the Washington Post: Fulton County, Georgia, D.A. Fani Willis has at least three recordings of phone calls Donald Trump made to Georgia officials in an attempt to change the state's election results. Those are (1) the infamous call Trump made to Secretay of State Brad Raffensperger, where Trump threatened & cajoled Raffensperger into finding 11,780 votes for him. (2) "Trump also called Frances Watson, a top investigator in Raffensperger's office, urging her to uncover 'dishonesty' as she examined absentee mail ballots...." And (3) the call Trump made to Georgia's House Speaker "David Ralston (R), in which Ralston resisted Trump's requests to convene a special session of the legislature to overturn Biden's narrow election win," a recording grand jurors revealed this week to Atlanta-Journal Constitution reporters. MB: We'll have to leave it to Fox "News" to identify innocent explanations for these calls. Maybe TuKKKer can find snippets where Trump asks the officials about the weather or how the family is.

Sarah Ellison & Amy Gardner of the Washington Post: Sidney Powell made a dozen appearances on Fox "News," beginning November 8, 2020, a day after the major networks had called the presidential election for Joe Biden. In these appearances, Powell "helped inject far-fetched and debunked claims of widespread fraud into the mainstream -- and which are now at the heart of Dominion Voting Systems' $1.6 billion defamation lawsuit against Fox, court documents show.... She would even appear on Fox programs after a Fox Corp. senior vice president said he had privately begged the White House to disavow Powell. 'We encouraged several sources within the administration to tell reporters that Powell offered no evidence for her claims and didn't speak for the president,' executive Raj Shah wrote to his bosses on Nov. 23 -- a day after Trump lawyers issued statements saying that Powell was not a member of their team. One day later, though, Powell was back in front of Fox's cameras, telling host Lou Dobbs that in Arizona, 'there were 35,000 votes added to every Democrat candidate just to start their voting off....'" Powell's source turned out to be an email from an artist who claimed in the same email that Antonin Scalia was murdered in a human hunting expedition, that she herself was capable of time travel and that 'the wind tells me I am a ghost.'"

Bankers Saving Bankers. Rob Copeland, et al., of the New York Times: "In an extraordinary effort to stave off financial contagion and reassure the world that the American financial system was stable, 11 of the largest U.S. banks came together on Thursday to inject $30 billion into First Republic Bank, a smaller peer on the brink of collapse after the implosion of Silicon Valley Bank last week. Hatched on Tuesday during a call between Treasury Secretary Janet L. Yellen and Jamie Dimon, the chief executive of JPMorgan Chase, the plan has each bank depositing at least $1 billion into First Republic. It is meant as a show of support for First Republic and a signal to the market that the San Francisco lender's woes do not reflect deeper trouble at the bank." An NBC News story is here.

Annals of "Journalism," Ctd. Rebecca Crosby, et al., of Popular Information: "Tuesday night on Fox News, host Jesse Watters asserted that Silicon Valley Bank (SVB) 'donated $74 million to Black Lives Matter.' That was why, Watters claimed, federal regulators did not pursue more aggressive oversight of SVB's business practices. According to this theory, SVB was treated with kid gloves because it was 'woke.' Watters' claim is false. The actual amount that SVB donated to Black Lives Matter was zero. But that didn't stop similar claims from being made repeatedly on Fox News, conservative websites, and social media.... The [fake] reports are based on a database produced by the right-wing Claremont Institute." The reporters explain how Claremont came up with its fake numbers. (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)

The Pandemic, Ctd. Benjamin Mueller of the New York Times: "An international team of virus experts said on Thursday that they had found genetic data from a market in Wuhan, China, linking the coronavirus with raccoon dogs for sale there, adding evidence to the case that the worst pandemic in a century could have been ignited by an infected animal that was being dealt through the illegal wildlife trade. The genetic data was drawn from swabs taken from in and around the Huanan Seafood Wholesale Market starting in January 2020, shortly after the Chinese authorities had shut down the market because of suspicions that it was linked to the outbreak of a new virus. By then, the animals had been cleared out, but researchers swabbed walls, floors, metal cages and carts often used for transporting animal cages.... The new evidence is sure to provide a jolt to the debate over the pandemic's origins, even if it does not resolve the question of how it began."

Presidential Race 2024. Why are Republican voters so enamored of men who behave like little babies, throwing their food at the wall (Donnie) and eating pudding with their fingers (Ronnie)? ~~~

~~~ Dinner with Ron. Ken Meyer of Mediaite: "A new report on Florida Governor Ron DeSantis (R) provided further detail on his well-documented struggles with personal public engagement, a quirk that reportedly includes unorthodox table manners. A new Daily Beast report on DeSantis ... tackled concerns about his aloof persona, aversion to public interactions, and the distance he keeps from voters and reporters alike. The reporting on the governor's personality and social graces delved into 'unflattering stories' that the Beast uncovered about him from over the years...: '"He would sit in meetings and eat in front of people," a former DeSantis staffer told The Daily Beast, "always like a starving animal who has never eaten before ... getting shit everywhere."... During a private plane trip from Tallahassee to Washington, D.C., in March of 2019, DeSantis enjoyed a chocolate pudding dessert -- by eating it with three of his fingers, according to two sources familiar with the incident.'" The Beast report is firewalled. ~~~

     ~~~ Unpresidented. Marie: This could be the first time in American history we get a genuine food fight for a major party presidential nomination rather than than the usual metaphorical one.

Ashley Parker of the Washington Post: "... much of the rhetoric from the declared and potential Republican candidates [for president*] so far is remarkable for its dystopian tone. In many high-profile moments, these Republicans portray the nation as locked in an existential battle, where the stark combat lines denote not just policy disagreements but warring camps of saviors vs. villains, and where political opponents are regularly demonized."

Beyond the Beltway

Florida. Marisa Sarnoff of Law & Crime: "Public university professors in Florida may continue to share their opinions about racism, sexism, and discrimination in the classroom -- at least for now -- after three federal judges upheld a [lower-court] ban on enforcement of a controversial [anti-'woke'] law.... [The] panel upheld an injunction against the so-called 'Stop W.O.K.E. Act,' which [Gov. Ron] DeSantis has said provides teachers with 'tools to stand up against discrimination and woke indoctrination.'" Two of the appellate judges are Trump appointees.

North Dakota. Ava Sasani & David Chen of the New York Times: "North Dakota's Supreme Court upheld a lower court's decision to block a ban on abortions in the state, and said the state Constitution protects abortion rights in some situations. The ruling means abortion in the state remains legal until nearly 22 weeks after a women's last period, while the case proceeds in a lower court.... In a majority opinion, the ruling said that [the lower-court] judge was within his rights but added that the state Constitution protects 'the right to enjoy and defend life and a right to pursue and obtain safety,' which includes the right of a pregnant woman to 'obtain an abortion to preserve her life or her health.'" A CBS News report is here.

Ohio. Tom Perkins of the Guardian: "Newly released data shows soil in the Ohio town of East Palestine -- scene of a recent catastrophic train crash and chemical spill -- contains dioxin levels hundreds of times greater than the exposure threshold above which Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) scientists in 2010 found poses cancer risks. The EPA at the time proposed lowering the cleanup threshold to reflect the science around the highly toxic chemical, but the Obama administration killed the rules, and the higher federal action threshold remains in place.... The levels found in two soil samples are also up to 14 times higher than dioxin soil limits in some states, and the numbers point to wider contamination, said Linda Birnbaum, a former head of the US National Toxicology Program and EPA scientist.... The data likely confirms fears that the controlled burn of vinyl chloride in the days after the train wreck in the town created dioxin and dispersed it throughout the area, experts say, though they stressed the new data is of limited value because only two soil samples were checked."

Utah. Mary Kekatos of ABC News: "Utah Gov. Spencer Cox has signed a bill into law banning abortion clinics in the state, making it the latest to restrict the procedure since the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade. Cox, a Republican, signed H.B. 467 after it passed the state Senate on March 2 and state House on March 3, both along party lines. Abortion clinics will be required to close either by the end of the year or when their licensee expires, whichever comes first."

Virginia. Carry Me Back to Old Virginny. Christine Hauser of the New York Times: "A Virginia judge relied in part on a 19th century law that defined enslaved people as property in a recent decision to allow a divorced woman to pursue using embryos that she shared with her former husband -- a ruling that has drawn criticism.... 'It is logically possible that he could treat [sharing the embryos] as a distribution of property, but he doesn't have to go into the slave law. So that was a jump, [U.C. Davis bioethics professor Lisa] Ikemoto said. 'In a sense, he is reviving the use of a law that treated humans as property, in the 21st century. It is reprehensible and offensive.'" (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)

Washington. Justine McDaniel of the Washington Post: "A train derailed and spilled diesel fuel on tribal land in Washington, state officials said Thursday. The BNSF train derailed on the Swinomish Reservation in Anacortes, Wash., around midnight. Though it occurred next to a bay, the spill did not appear to have affected water or wildlife, the Washington Department of Ecology said Thursday afternoon. Crews installed a boom on the shoreline to contain potential pollution and were emptying and removing rail cars."

Way Beyond

Jennifer Hassan, et al., of the Washington Post: "In the past few months, numerous countries have already put restrictions on TikTok, fearing that it could be used to gain access to their citizens' data or to spread pro-Beijing propaganda. But the bans have run into free speech concerns, as well as opposition from the Chinese government. ByteDance has denied claims it is controlled by a government entity, pointing to its founding by entrepreneurs and its funding from international institutional investors. Here are some other countries that have moved to restrict or ban TikTok at home."

France. Sylvie Corbet of the AP: "French President Emmanuel Macron imposed a highly unpopular bill raising the retirement age from 62 to 64 on Thursday by shunning parliament and invoking a special constitutional power. Lawmakers were shouting, their voices shaking with emotion as Macron made the risky move, which is expected to trigger quick motions of no-confidence in his government. Riot police vans zoomed by outside the National Assembly, their sirens wailing. The proposed pension changes have prompted major strikes and protests across the country since January. Macron, who made it the flagship of his second term, argued the reform is needed to keep the pension system from diving into deficit as France's population ages and life expectancy lengthens. The decision to invoke the special power was made during a Cabinet meeting at the Elysee presidential palace, just a few minutes before the scheduled vote, because Macron had no guarantee of a majority in France's lower house of parliament." The Washington Post's story is here. (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)

Libya. Euan Ward of the New York Times: "More than 2.5 tons of natural uranium is missing from a site in war-torn Libya, the director general of the U.N. nuclear watchdog said on Wednesday, telling member states that the agency was searching for the material. The uranium ore itself poses little radiation hazard, said Sinead Harvey, a spokeswoman for the U.N. watchdog, the International Atomic Energy Agency. But she said the material, contained in 10 drums, still requires safe handling and may present 'a radiological risk as well as nuclear security concerns' if it were not found. The nuclear material was discovered to be missing on Tuesday during an inspection in Libya by the U.N. watchdog, Ms. Harvey said." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)

Ukraine, et al.

The Washington Post's live briefing of developments Friday in Russia's war on Ukraine is here: "Chinese President Xi Jinping will travel to Moscow next week and meet with ... Vladimir Putin.... Slovakia has joined Poland in announcing it will supply Kyiv with fighter jets, Slovak Prime Minister Eduard Heger said Friday. Heger said his government approved a decision to send 13 Soviet-era MiG-29 jets, a day after Poland said it would send four in the coming days. Agreement to transfer the fighter jets marks a new level of Western aid to Ukraine, and Poland and Slovakia have called on other countries to follow their lead as part of an international coalition.... Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu gave state awards to the pilots who forced down a U.S. drone earlier this week, according to his ministry, which claimed the pilots had prevented the drone from 'violating' the airspace of Russian military activity in Ukraine.... Finnish President Sauli Niinisto is in Turkey for the second day, where he is expected to hold talks with Turkish leader Recep Tayyip Erdogan. Finland requires Turkey's approval to join NATO...." ~~~

     ~~~ The Guardian's live updates for Friday are here. The Guardian's summary report is here.

AP: "Poland's president said Thursday that his country plans to give Ukraine around a dozen MiG-29 fighter jets, which would make it the first NATO member to fulfill the Ukrainian government's increasingly urgent requests for warplanes. President Andrzej Duda said Poland would hand over four of the Soviet-made warplanes 'within the next few days' and that the rest needed servicing and would be supplied later. The Polish word he used to describe the total number can mean between 11 and 19. 'They are in the last years of their functioning, but they are in good working condition,' Duda said of the aircraft." The Washington Post's story is here. (Also linked yesterday.)

Erin Banco & Sarah Aarup of Politico: "Chinese companies, including one connected to the government in Beijing, have sent Russian entities 1,000 assault rifles and other equipment that could be used for military purposes, including drone parts and body armor.... The shipments took place between June and December 2022, according to the data provided by Import Genius, a customs data aggregator. China North Industries Group Corporation Limited, one of the country's largest state-owned defense contractors, sent the rifles in June 2022 to a Russian company called Tekhkrim that also does business with the Russian state and military. The CQ-A rifles, modeled off of the M16 but tagged as 'civilian hunting rifles' in the data, have been reported to be in use by paramilitary police in China and by armed forces from the Philippines to South Sudan and Paraguay."

Rebecca Wright of CNN: "Guiding us through [an eastern Ukraine] woodland on foot, Ukrainian soldiers eventually brought us to a clearing where they showed us the wreckage of a weaponized drone which they said they shot down with their AK-47 automatic weapons over the weekend. The drone was a Mugin-5, a commercial unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) made by a Chinese manufacturer based in the port city of Xiamen, on China's eastern coast. Some tech bloggers say the machines are known as 'Alibaba drones' as they have been available for sale for up to $15,000 on Chinese marketplace websites including Alibaba and Taobao. Mugin Limited confirmed to CNN that it was their airframe, calling the incident 'deeply unfortunate.' It's the latest example of a civilian drone being retrofitted and weaponized since Russia's invasion of Ukraine, a sign of the rapidly shifting patterns of warfare."

Luis Martinez of ABC News: "U.S. European Command has released dramatic declassified video taken by the MQ-9 Reaper drone that shows the moment that a Russian Su-27 fighter jet collided with it after attempting to spray the drone with jet fuel. The video was taken from a camera on the drone's underside and shows two different passes taken by the jets to spray the drone, the second one being the collision with the propeller at the rear of the drone, which is visible in the footage.... Communications with the drone were down for a minute [where] the image can be seen pixelating into color bars.... When the video feed resumed one of the propeller blades can be seen damaged from the collision with the Russian fighter. (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ~~~

Tim Lister of CNN: "A secret plan drawn up by Russia's security service, the FSB, lays out detailed options to destabilize Moldova -- including supporting pro-Russian groups, utilizing the Orthodox Church and threatening to cut off supplies of natural gas. The document appears to have been drawn up to thwart Moldova's tilt to the West, which includes closer relations with NATO and an application to join the European Union. It repeatedly refers to the importance of preventing Moldova from joining NATO. It was obtained and first disclosed by a consortium of media, including VSquare and Frontstory, RISE Moldova, Expressen in Sweden, the Dossier Centre for Investigative Journalism, Yahoo News and Delfi." MB: Putin definitely wants his Soviet Union back.

U.K. Stephen Castle of the New York Times: "Britain on Thursday became the latest Western country to prohibit the use of TikTok on 'government devices,' citing security fears linked to the video-sharing app's ownership by a Chinese company. Speaking in Parliament, Oliver Dowden, a senior cabinet minister, announced the ban with immediate effect, describing it as 'precautionary,' even though the United States, the European Union's executive arm, Canada and India have already taken similar steps." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)

News Lede

New York Times: "Lance Reddick, a prolific actor who gained fame playing a police commander on the Baltimore crime drama 'The Wire' and later had prominent roles in the 'John Wick' movie franchise and the Amazon series 'Bosch,' died on Friday. He was 60."

March 16, 2023

Afternoon Update:

Marie: Gosh, I've missed hearing from Miss Margie for about two days. She back. With a bomb. ~~~

     ~~~ Sandbagged. Aaron Blake of the Washington Post: "On Tuesday, [Marjorie Taylor] Greene and a GOP colleague floated sending the U.S. military south while citing ... [an 'explosive device' U.S. Border Patrol had found]. At a field hearing of the House Homeland Security Committee near the Texas-Mexico border, multiple Republicans pointed to the alleged explosive device. 'Chief Ortiz, are you aware that there was an explosive device found by border patrol agents on no man, in an area called no man's land?' Greene asked Border Patrol Chief Raul Ortiz. Rep. Morgan Luttrell (R-Tex.) cited 'this explosive device that was discovered by one of you border patrol agents.' Rep. Dale W. Strong (R-Ala.) labeled it an 'improvised explosive device being used against U.S. law enforcement.' Greene also tweeted a picture of the 'explosive,' accusing Mexican cartels of 'planting bombs.' Ortiz ... and another witness even seemed unfamiliar with what the Republicans were talking about. But by Wednesday afternoon, Ortiz tweeted that the item was merely a 'duct-taped ball filled with sand.'" Luttrell complained later that agents did not properly report the bomb. MB: I guess not. Finding a bag of sand, even one wrapped in duct tape, in a sandy desert probably doesn't merit an all-points bulletin.

Rebecca Crosby, et al., of Popular Information: "Tuesday night on Fox News, host Jesse Watters asserted that Silicon Valley Bank (SVB) 'donated $74 million to Black Lives Matter.' That was why, Watters claimed, federal regulators did not pursue more aggressive oversight of SVB's business practices. According to this theory, SVB was treated with kid gloves because it was 'woke.' Watters' claim is false. The actual amount that SVB donated to Black Lives Matter was zero. But that didn't stop similar claims from being made repeatedly on Fox News, conservative websites, and social media.... The [fake] reports are based on a database produced by the right-wing Claremont Institute." The reporters explain how Claremont came up with fake numbers.

Victoria Bekiempis of the Guardian: "Federal prosecutors in Washington have reportedly told court officials a thousand more people could be charged in relation to the deadly January 6 Capitol attack. Matthew Graves, the US attorney in Washington DC, sent a one-page letter to the chief judge of Washington DC federal court, apprising her of the potential deluge of defendants, Bloomberg News reported.... Graves said in the letter that justice department officials estimated that another 700 to 1,200 defendants could face charges.... The prosecutor also said he did not know the exact proportion of misdemeanor and felony cases to come but thought there would be a larger proportion of felonies, Bloomberg said."

Virginia. Carry Me Back to Old Virginny. Christine Hauser of the New York Times: ";A Virginia judge relied in part on a 19th century law that defined enslaved people as property in a recent decision to allow a divorced woman to pursue using embryos that she shared with her former husband -- a ruling that has drawn criticism.... 'It is logically possible that he could treat [sharing the embryos] as a distribution of property, but he doesn't have to go into the slave law. So that was a jump, [U.C. Davis bioethics professor Lisa] Ikemoto said. 'In a sense, he is reviving the use of a law that treated humans as property, in the 21st century. It is reprehensible and offensive.'"

France. Sylvie Corbet of the AP: "French President Emmanuel Macron imposed a highly unpopular bill raising the retirement age from 62 to 64 on Thursday by shunning parliament and invoking a special constitutional power. Lawmakers were shouting, their voices shaking with emotion as Macron made the risky move, which is expected to trigger quick motions of no-confidence in his government. Riot police vans zoomed by outside the National Assembly, their sirens wailing. The proposed pension changes have prompted major strikes and protests across the country since January. Macron, who made it the flagship of his second term, argued the reform is needed to keep the pension system from diving into deficit as France's population ages and life expectancy lengthens. The decision to invoke the special power was made during a Cabinet meeting at the Elysee presidential palace, just a few minutes before the scheduled vote, because Macron had no guarantee of a majority in France's lower house of parliament." The Washington Post's story is here.

Libya. Euan Ward of the New York Times: "More than 2.5 tons of natural uranium is missing from a site in war-torn Libya, the director general of the U.N. nuclear watchdog said on Wednesday, telling member states that the agency was searching for the material. The uranium ore itself poses little radiation hazard, said Sinead Harvey, a spokeswoman for the U.N. watchdog, the International Atomic Energy Agency. But she said the material, contained in 10 drums, still requires safe handling and may present 'a radiological risk as well as nuclear security concerns' if it were not found. The nuclear material was discovered to be missing on Tuesday during an inspection in Libya by the U.N. watchdog, Ms. Harvey said."

Ukraine, et al. AP: "Poland's president said Thursday that his country plans to give Ukraine around a dozen MiG-29 fighter jets, which would make it the first NATO member to fulfill the Ukrainian government's increasingly urgent requests for warplanes. President Andrzej Duda said Poland would hand over four of the Soviet-made warplanes 'within the next few days' and that the rest needed servicing and would be supplied later. The Polish word he used to describe the total number can mean between 11 and 19. 'They are in the last years of their functioning, but they are in good working condition,' Duda said of the aircraft." The Washington Post's story is here.

Luis Martinez of ABC News: "U.S. European Command has released dramatic declassified video taken by the MQ-9 Reaper drone that shows the moment that a Russian Su-27 fighter jet collided with it after attempting to spray the drone with jet fuel. The video was taken from a camera on the drone's underside and shows two different passes taken by the jets to spray the drone, the second one being the collision with the propeller at the rear of the drone, which is visible in the footage.... Communications with the drone were down for a minute [where] the image can be seen pixelating into color bars.... When the video feed resumed one of the propeller blades can be seen damaged from the collision with the Russian fighter. ~~~

U.K. Stephen Castle of the New York Times: "Britain on Thursday became the latest Western country to prohibit the use of TikTok on 'government devices,' citing security fears linked to the video-sharing app's ownership by a Chinese company. Speaking in Parliament, Oliver Dowden, a senior cabinet minister, announced the ban with immediate effect, describing it as 'precautionary,' even though the United States, the European Union's executive arm, Canada and India have already taken similar steps."

~~~~~~~~~~

Matt Viser of the Washington Post: "President Biden on Wednesday touted his administration's policies on lowering the cost of prescription drugs and helping recipients of Medicare and Medicaid, programs that have become a major topic of debate as Republicans look for significant budget cuts to trim growing federal deficits. Biden also ramped up his defense of the Affordable Care Act, pointing to the dozens of times Republicans have tried to repeal the signature law signed by President Barack Obama.... Biden spoke on campus [at the University of Nevada in Las Vegas] with a group of medical professionals, dressed in lab coats and scrubs...."

Luz Lazo of the Washington Post: "A federal board on Wednesday approved a Canadian Pacific Railway merger with Kansas City Southern, creating a freight rail system linking North America. The deal is the nation's first major rail merger in more than two decades. The Surface Transportation Board, charged with regulating freight companies, said the merger will foster growth of rail traffic, support passenger operations and shift freight from highways to rail, ultimately resulting in greater safety and benefits to the environment.... The STB had been pressured to defer the decision amid public outcry over increased rail traffic and safety risks from a combined network -- concerns that were heightened last month after a Norfolk Southern train derailment released toxic fumes in northeastern Ohio. The combined company, to be called Canadian Pacific Kansas City, will connect the United States, Mexico and Canada and cover more than 20,000 miles of track -- including 8,600 miles in the United States."

The Clock Ticks on TikTok. David McCabe & Cecilia Kang of the New York Times: "The Biden administration wants TikTok's Chinese ownership to sell the app or face a possible ban, TikTok said on Wednesday, as the White House hardens its stance toward resolving national security concerns about the popular video service. The new demand to sell the app was delivered to TikTok in recent weeks.... TikTok is owned by the Chinese internet company ByteDance. The move is a significant shift in the Biden administration's position toward TikTok, which has been under scrutiny over fears that Beijing could request Americans' data from the app. The White House had been trying to negotiate an agreement with TikTok that would apply new safeguards to its data and eliminate a need for ByteDance to sell its shares in the app. But the demand for a sale ... harks back to the position of ... Donald J. Trump, who threatened to ban TikTok unless it was sold to an American company." An NPR story is here.

Annie Karni & Shawn Hubler of the New York Times: "The Senate on Wednesday confirmed Eric Garcetti, the former mayor of Los Angeles, to be the U.S. ambassador to India, ending a two-year saga that left a top diplomatic post vacant amid allegations that he mishandled workplace misconduct and sexual harassment. Mr. Garcetti was confirmed by a vote of 52 to 42, with a few Democratic senators who had expressed deep reservations voting 'no' but several more Republicans voting in favor of moving forward, effectively saving Mr. Garcetti's bid from collapse. It was a victory for President Biden, who stuck by his political ally in the face of the allegations and the prolonged process that has left the United States without a permanent envoy in one of the world's most populous and geopolitically important democracies." An AP story is here.

Joe Rennison & Jason Karaian of the New York Times: "Stock markets tumbled on Wednesday, as investors fears over the health of the banking industry resurfaced and spread around the world, undoing a rally on Tuesday when the panic appeared to pause. On Wall Street, the S&P 500 fell 1.6 percent at the open of trading, reversing all of the previous day's gains. European markets were also hard hit, with stocks of many of the region's biggest banks falling sharply, as anxiety persists about the fallout from the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank and Signature Bank, which were seized by regulators after suffering devastating runs on deposits. The catalyst for the day's turmoil appeared to be Credit Suisse, the mistake-prone Swiss bank that has struggled for years to turn around its fortunes, with customers steadily shifting their assets to rival banks. It recorded the most eye-catching decline, with its shares losing roughly 30 percent, setting yet another record low. On Wednesday, the bank's largest shareholder, Saudi National Bank, ruled out providing more money for Credit Suisse as it struggles with its latest turnaround plan." (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~

     ~~~ Michael de la Merced & Maureen Farrell of the New York Times: "Credit Suisse, the 166-year-old institution that was once an emblem of Swiss pride, is fighting for its life after investors, fearing that the bank would run out of money, dumped its stock and sent the price of insuring its debt against a default skyrocketing. After the close of trading in Europe, Switzerland's central bank, the Swiss National Bank, said it would step in and provide support to Credit Suisse 'if necessary.' Early Thursday, Credit Suisse said it would borrow up to 50 billion Swiss francs, or about $54 billion, from the Swiss National Bank to ward off concerns about its financial health. The bank also said it would seek to buy back debt of up to 3 billion Swiss francs." ~~~

     ~~~ Elliot Smith of CNBC: "Credit Suisse shares soared more than 30% at Thursday's market open after the bank said it will borrow up to 50 billion Swiss francs ($54 billion) from the Swiss National Bank. The stock's rally cooled slightly in early trading, but shares were still up 21.8% at 10 a.m. London time (6 a.m. ET)."

** Tamar Hallerman & Bill Rankin of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution: "In an exclusive interview with The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, five of the 23 special grand jurors recounted what it was like to be a pivotal -- but anonymous -- part of one of the most momentous criminal investigations in U.S. history.... [The jurors said] that they had heard a recording of a phone call [Donald] Trump placed to late Georgia House Speaker David Ralston in which the president asked the fellow Republican to convene a special session of the Legislature to overturn Democrat Joe Biden's narrow victory in Georgia.... The speaker 'basically cut the president off. He said, "I will do everything in my power that I think is appropriate."... He just basically took the wind out of the sails,' [a] juror said.... Ralston and other legislative leaders did not call a special session.... [Former. Sen. David] Perdue, a key Trump ally, was asked about a meeting at Truist Park in December 2020, during which he told Gov. Brian Kemp he wanted the legislature to convene a special session to challenge Biden's victory, a juror said....

"Two of the jurors estimated that as many as 10 witnesses invoked their Fifth Amendment rights, some doing so even when asked to describe their education.... Among the most compelling witnesses, various jurors said, were Fulton County poll workers Ruby Freeman and her daughter Shaye Moss, who had received death threats after being singled out by Trump and his then-attorney Rudy Giuliani. Another mentioned Eric Coomer, the onetime executive for Dominion Voting Systems, who left his job after being vilified. Also mentioned was Tricia Raffensperger, the wife of Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger, who broke down when describing the vitriol and threats leveled at her, one juror said.... One juror said she would cry in her car at the end of the day after hearing from witnesses whose lives had been upended by disinformation and claims of election fraud.... [One juror said, 'I tell my wife if every person in America knew every single word of information we knew, this country would not be divided as it is right now.'... 'A lot's gonna come out sooner or later,' one of the jurors said. 'And it's gonna be massive. It's gonna be massive.'" Firewalled. If you can't access the AJC story, digby has most of it here. ~~~

~~~ A CNN story about Trump's phone call to Ralston is here.

Nicki Brown of CNN: "Michael Cohen, the former personal attorney to ex-President Donald Trump, testified Wednesday afternoon in front of a New York grand jury as part of an investigation into hush money payments made to adult film star Stormy Daniels.... Cohen testified for 'a couple' of hours Wednesday following about three hours of testimony on Monday, according to his attorney, Lanny Davis.... Daniels, meanwhile, met with prosecutors with the Manhattan district attorney's office Wednesday, according to a tweet sent by her attorney."

Kyle Cheney & Jordain Carney of Politico: "Newly released video of the Capitol attack shows just how close rioters came to a senior GOP senator who was third in line for the presidency on Jan. 6, 2021. The footage, released after media requests to access videos used in connection with a Jan. 6 criminal case, shows the apparent evacuation of Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) from the Senate chamber as a uniformed officer separates him and his security detail from the first wave of rioters who had breached the building.... The video, taken by a rioter who entered the Capitol moments after the breach..., shows the Proud Boy [Dominic Pezzola] gazing past the police officer at the evacuating senator, though it's unclear if he recognized Grassley.... The footage is the latest example of how close powerful government figures came to a direct brush with the mob of ... Donald Trump's supporters.... The footage also underscores the possibility of more significant revelations about Jan. 6 sitting in the thousands of hours of security camera video that Speaker Kevin McCarthy has indicated he intends to release publicly...."

Benjamin Weiser of the New York Times: "Guo Wengui, a fugitive Chinese billionaire, was arrested on Wednesday morning in New York on charges that he orchestrated a complex conspiracy to defraud thousands of his online followers out of $1 billion, the authorities said. Federal prosecutors in Manhattan said Mr. Guo, 52, was charged with 'lining his pockets with the money he stole,' which they said included buying for himself and his close relatives a 50,000-square-foot mansion, a $3.5 million Ferrari and two $36,000 mattresses, as well as financing a $37 million luxury yacht. Mr. Guo is a business associate of Stephen K. Bannon, a onetime top adviser to ... Donald J. Trump. It was on a yacht belonging to Mr. Guo that Mr. Bannon was arrested in a fraud case in August 2020; Mr. Trump later pardoned Mr. Bannon, who had pleaded not guilty, on those charges." The ABC News story is here. (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)

Rebecca O'Brien & William Rashbaum of the New York Times: "A $19 million luxury yacht deal brokered by Representative George Santos between two of his wealthy donors has captured the attention of federal and state authorities investigating the congressman's campaign finances and personal business dealings.... Prosecutors and F.B.I. agents have sought in recent weeks to question the new owner of the 141-foot superyacht -- Raymond Tantillo, a Long Island auto dealer -- about the boat and his dealings with Mr. Santos, including his campaign fund-raising efforts. Mr. Tantillo bought the boat from Mayra Ruiz, a Republican donor in Miami. Mr. Santos negotiated the payment -- $12.25 million up front, with $6.5 million more in installments -- and advised the two on the logistics of turning over the yacht, according to a person familiar with the sale, which took place a few weeks before his election in November." MB: At least we know now where the previously-impoverished George Anthony got some of his money. (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)

Pam Belluck & Allison McCann of the New York Times: "The judge in a closely watched lawsuit seeking to overturn federal approval of a widely used abortion pill questioned lawyers publicly for the first time on Wednesday.... The judge.Matthew J. Kacsmaryk of the Northern District of Texas, said he would decide as soon as possible whether to issue a preliminary injunction that could, at least temporarily, take the pill, mifepristone, off the market.... Julie Straus Harris, [a lawyer for the Justice Department said], 'An injunction here would interfere with every state in the country' and could make abortion access difficult even in cases of nonviable pregnancies and rape." ~~~

     ~~~ Tierney Sneed of CNN: "Over the course of about four hours of arguments, a federal judge in Texas asked questions that suggested he is seriously considering undoing the US Food and Drug Administration's approval of a medication abortion drug and the agency's moves to relax the rules around its use. But the judge, US District Judge Matthew Kacsmaryk ... also indicated he was thinking through scenarios in which he could keep the drug's 2000 approval intact while blocking other FDA rules.... Here are takeaways from the hearing[.]" ~~~

     ~~~ Lindsay Whitehurst of the AP: "The case has raised concerns about court transparency and so-called judge shopping.... Research shows that medication-induced abortions are safe and effective, and they were approved by the Food and Drug Administration more than 20 years ago.... The suit was filed in Amarillo, Texas, which meant that it was assigned to U.S. District Judge Matthew Kacsmaryk, a former attorney at a Christian law firm who previously wrote critically about Roe. He was appointed by ... Donald Trump and confirmed over fierce opposition from Democrats. Medication is the most common form of abortion in the U.S.... If Kacsmaryk reverses the approval of mifepristone, it could restrict access nationwide. Such a ruling would be an unprecedented challenge to the FDA.... An appeal would go to the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals, which also leans conservative.... The volume of cases filed before Kacsmaryk and other Texas judges has raised concerns [about judge-shopping] among experts.... Kacsmaryk set the first hearing in the closely watched case on a conference call with attorneys. He also asked them to for the 'courtesy' of not publicizing the upcoming arguments...."

Rachel Cohen of Vox: "Earlier this month, Politico broke news that Walgreens, the nation's second-largest pharmacy chain, assured 21 Republican attorneys general that it would not dispense abortion pills in their states should the company be approved to dispense them. The decision was met with sharp protest by Walgreens customers, abortion rights activists, and Democrats, who accused the pharmacy of caving needlessly to pressure. But fear of state prosecution is not the only factor shaping Walgreens' decision-making. Another previously unreported constraint on the company is that its sole supplier of Mifeprex -- the brand-name drug for the abortion pill mifepristone first approved by the Food and Drug Administration in 2000 -- circulated a list to its corporate clients in January naming 31 states that it would not supply the abortion medication to.... The sole US distributor for Mifeprex is AmerisourceBergen.... Back in January, AmerisourceBergen created its list of 31 states.... Representatives from CVS and Rite Aid, which like Walgreens said they would seek certification, have remained conspicuously quiet on the issue for the last two weeks, and did not return requests for comment." So Walgreens' "decision" not to distribute mifepristone is based on its inability to obtain the drug. And if the reporting is accurate, that would mean that CBS & Rite Aid can't get the drug either. Emphasis added.

Julie Tsirkin, et al. of NBC News: "Sensitive information has been posted online from last week's 'significant data breach' of the health insurance marketplace for Washington, D.C., that affected members of Congress, according to Senate staffers briefed on the hack. In an email to Senate offices, staffers from the Intelligence Committee said they 'learned that breached information is already up on one of the big hacker breach sites.'... The information is 'easily accessible to folks who know how to look for it,' and it 'includes name, address, [Social Security number], [date of birth], desk phone number, what plan you signed up for, and how much your monthly contribution is.'"

Presidential Race 2024. Hahahahaha. Michael Bender of the New York Times: "Donald J. Trump spent much of the past year teasing a presidential campaign..., promising his rally crowds for months that they would be 'very happy' about his [decision on making another presidential* run]. Now, Mr. Trump's allies are accusing Gov. Ron DeSantis of Florida of doing the same -- but insisting that he has violated state law. MAGA Inc., a super PAC supporting Mr. Trump, filed a complaint with Florida officials on Wednesday, alleging that Mr. DeSantis ... is operating a shadow presidential campaign. The super PAC said that Mr. DeSantis should be considered a presidential candidate because he has taken meetings with donors, raised money for a political committee and toured the country to sell books, while allies are reaching out to potential campaign aides.... The pro-Trump super PAC ... is asking the state commission to impose 'the most severe penalties' under Florida ethics law, which include, among other things, impeachment, removal from office, public censure and ballot disqualification.... Mr. DeSantis has appointed five of the nine members of the commission."

Dino Grandoni of the Washington Post: "The National Audubon Society, one of the country's best-known bird conservation organizations, decided in a closed-door vote this week to retain the name of John James Audubon, famed 19th-century naturalist and wildlife illustrator who was also an unabashed enslaver. The move comes even as about half-a-dozen of the organization's regional chapters have pledged to scrub his name from their titles, part of a broader reckoning over the U.S. environmental movement's history of entrenched racism.... Susan Bell, chair of the board, declined to provide a breakdown of the final vote [of the 27-person board]." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)

Annals of "Journalism," Ctd. Dan Rosenzweig-Ziff & Sonia Rao of the Washington Post: "An Axios reporter [-- Ben Montgomery --] in Tampa said he was fired this week after he responded to a Florida Department of Education email about an event featuring Gov. Ron DeSantis (R), calling the news release 'propaganda.'" MB: I will seldom be linking Axios items in the future. This is why. ~~~

     ~~~ Hunter Walker, in TPM interviews Ben Montgomery: "In a conversation with TPM, Montgomery said he felt the situation was an example of how the DeSantis" media 'machine' was impacting the news business.... Montgomery [emailed] DeSantis' press office a message that said, 'This is propaganda, not a press release.' Alex Lanfranconi, a spokesperson for the Florida Department of Education, publicized the exchange less than an hour later by tweeting a screengrab of Montgomery's message."

Beyond the Betway

Michigan. Lauren Gurley of the Washington Post: "The Michigan Senate approved a bill to repeal the state's right-to-work laws in a major victory for organized labor, setting the state up to become one of the first to overturn such laws, which allow workers to opt out of union membership and dues payments. In a narrow 20-17 vote on Tuesday, along party lines, the Michigan Senate passed the bill to revoke the state's right-to-work laws, sending it back to the state's House for final approval. The House voted to pass a similar law last week, but must sign off on final language. Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer (D) has said she will sign the bill."

Michigan. John Flesher & Ed White of the AP: "A Wisconsin man accused of assisting the key figures in a plot to kidnap Michigan's governor pleaded guilty Wednesday to a lesser charge and will cooperate with prosecutors. Brian Higgins said he attempted to provide material support for terrorism, a crime that carries a maximum prison term of five years. He drove past Gov. Gretchen Whitmer's second home in Antrim County in 2020 while allies waited across a lake for a signal from his laser-style device. Higgins was among five men scheduled to face trial later this year in northern Michigan. They were not charged in the kidnapping conspiracy but were accused of providing key support."

Minnesota. Marie: I'm so glad this Republican state senator doesn't have to sully himself rubbing shoulders with "the poors":

Virginia. Eduardo Medina of the New York Times: "Seven sheriff's deputies in Virginia have been charged with second-degree murder in the death of a Black man with a history of mental illness who died after the officers smothered him as he lay on the ground in handcuffs and leg shackles at a hospital, his family's lawyer and a county prosecutor said on Wednesday. The man, Irvo Otieno, 28, of Henrico County, Va., whose family emigrated from Kenya when he was 4 years old, appeared to have died from asphyxiation, or oxygen deficiency, on March 6 at Central State Hospital in Dinwiddie County, his family's lawyer, Mark Krudys, said in an interview. His family says Mr. Otieno was deprived of medication while in jail that he needed for his mental illness."

Way Beyond

France. Aurelien Breeden of the New York Times: "After waves of protests and rolling strikes that disrupted public transportation and left garbage piling up, all eyes were on the French Parliament on Thursday as it prepared to vote on a measure to increase the retirement age by two years. President Emmanuel Macron's widely unpopular plans to raise the retirement age reached a critical juncture as they came up for a decisive parliamentary vote that could be extremely close. It caps a two-month showdown between the French government and labor unions that is testing Mr. Macron's political agenda." ~~~

     ~~~ Constant Méheut of the New York Times: "Hundreds of thousands of French protesters on Wednesday swarmed cities across the country, and striking workers disrupted rail lines and closed schools to protest the government's plan to raise the legal retirement age, in a final show of force before the contested bill comes to a vote on Thursday. The march -- the eighth such national mobilization in two months -- and strikes embodied the showdown between two apparently unyielding forces: President Emmanuel Macron, who has been unwavering in his resolve to overhaul pensions, and large crowds of protesters who have vowed to continue the fight even if the bill to raise the retirement age to 64 from 62 passes Parliament -- which many believe it will.... On Wednesday, a joint committee of lawmakers from both houses of Parliament agreed on a joint version of the pension bill, sending it to a vote on Thursday."

Israel. Isabel Kershner of the New York Times: "The president of Israel presented a compromise proposal on Wednesday for softening a government plan to drastically overhaul the country's judiciary -- a plan that critics say would destroy the country's liberal democratic system and that has sent hundreds of thousands of protesters into the streets in recent weeks. But Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu rejected the president's framework, reducing any likelihood of an immediate end to the country's turmoil. In an impassioned speech broadcast live in prime time on Wednesday evening, the president, Isaac Herzog, said Israel was 'in the throes of a profound crisis' and raised the specter of civil war. Israelis have been taking to the streets in rolling protests against the government/s plan."

Japan/South Korea. Michelle Lee of the Washington Post: "South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol will meet with Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida on Thursday in Tokyo, the first such summit in 12 years as the two biggest U.S. allies in Asia make cautious steps toward rapprochement after years of bitter lows in the relationship.... The summit is a reflection of South Korea's new priority of overcoming historical differences and strengthening security and diplomatic cooperation with Japan and the United States as the three seek to unite against increasing threats from North Korea and China."

Ukraine, et al.

The New York Times' live updates of developments Thursday in Russia's war on Ukraine are here. ~~~

     ~~~ The Washington Post's live briefing for Thursday is here: "Russia is attempting to retrieve the remnants of the U.S. surveillance drone that crashed into the Black Sea after a run-in with Russian warplanes amid reports that Moscow's ships had approached the site of the crash early Thursday -- approximately 56 nautical miles southwest of Crimea's southern tip. U.S. officials blamed the crash on two Russian jets dumping fuel on the drone and later colliding with a propeller on its rear, and said they were investigating its causes. 'We'll be in close coordination with allies and partners at the conclusion of the investigation,' Secretary of State Antony Blinken told reporters Wednesday on a trip to Ethiopia.... Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin and Gen. Mark A. Milley, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, spoke to their counterparts in Russia, in what was the first contact between the two militaries in months. In a news conference Wednesday, Milley said the drone incident followed a pattern of recent behavior by Russia, which included aggressive actions toward aircraft from other nations. 'We have to figure out exactly what the way ahead is,' he said. Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu blamed the crash on the drone entering a flight restriction zone unilaterally designated by Russia, he told Austin on the telephone according to a Russian Defense Ministry statement....  Austin said the U.S. military would 'continue to fly and operate wherever international law allows,' noting that the incident took place in international airspace in remarks Wednesday.... Russia, China and Iran are holding joint maritime exercises in the Gulf of Oman until March 19, the Chinese Defense Ministry said Wednesday."

Courtney Kube & Carol Lee of NBC News: "Three U.S. officials familiar with the intelligence said the highest levels of the Kremlin approved the aggressive actions of Russian military fighter jets against a U.S. military drone over the Black Sea on Tuesday. The Russian jets dropped jet fuel on the MQ-9 Reaper, an unprecedented action, and two of the officials said the intelligence suggests the intent seemed to be to throw the drone off course or disable its surveillance capabilities.... Three defense officials and one Biden administration official also said the Russians have already reached the area where the MQ-9 Reaper crashed. The Russians are actively looking for the debris with ships and aircraft, but the U.S. hasn't seen any indication that they've been able to recover any of it, officials said.... The U.S. is unlikely to try to recover the remnants of the crashed drone, according to the three U.S. officials familiar with the intelligence."

Haley Ott of CBS News: "Ukraine has invited Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis to visit the country after he called the war there a "territorial dispute" and not one of the United States' "vital national interests."... 'We are sure that as a former military officer deployed to a combat zone, Governor [Ron DeSantis] knows the difference between a "dispute" and war,' Oleg Nikolenko, a spokesperson for Ukraine's Ministry of Foreign Affairs, tweeted on Tuesday."

March 15, 2023

Afternoon Update:

Joe Rennison & Jason Karaian of the New York Times: "Stock markets tumbled on Wednesday, as investors' fears over the health of the banking industry resurfaced and spread around the world, undoing a rally on Tuesday when the panic appeared to pause. On Wall Street, the S&P 500 fell 1.6 percent at the open of trading, reversing all of the previous day's gains. European markets were also hard hit, with stocks of many of the region's biggest banks falling sharply, as anxiety persists about the fallout from the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank and Signature Bank, which were seized by regulators after suffering devastating runs on deposits. The catalyst for the day's turmoil appeared to be Credit Suisse, the mistake-prone Swiss bank that has struggled for years to turn around its fortunes, with customers steadily shifting their assets to rival banks. It recorded the most eye-catching decline, with its shares losing roughly 30 percent, setting yet another record low. On Wednesday, the bank's largest shareholder, Saudi National Bank, ruled out providing more money for Credit Suisse as it struggles with its latest turnaround plan."

Benjamin Weiser of the New York Times: "Guo Wengui, a fugitive Chinese billionaire, was arrested on Wednesday morning in New York on charges that he orchestrated a complex conspiracy to defraud thousands of his online followers out of $1 billion, the authorities said. Federal prosecutors in Manhattan said Mr. Guo, 52, was charged with 'lining his pockets with the money he stole,' which they said included buying for himself and his close relatives a 50,000-square-foot mansion, a $3.5 million Ferrari and two $36,000 mattresses, as well as financing a $37 million luxury yacht. Mr. Guo is a business associate of Stephen K. Bannon, a onetime top adviser to ... Donald J. Trump. It was on a yacht belonging to Mr. Guo that Mr. Bannon was arrested in a fraud case in August 2020; Mr. Trump later pardoned Mr. Bannon, who had pleaded not guilty, on those charges." The ABC News story is here.

Rebecca O'Brien & William Rashbaum of the New York Times: "A $19 million luxury yacht deal brokered by Representative George Santos between two of his wealthy donors has captured the attention of federal and state authorities investigating the congressman's campaign finances and personal business dealings.... Prosecutors and F.B.I. agents have sought in recent weeks to question the new owner of the 141-foot superyacht -- Raymond Tantillo, a Long Island auto dealer -- about the boat and his dealings with Mr. Santos, including his campaign fund-raising efforts. Mr. Tantillo bought the boat from Mayra Ruiz, a Republican donor in Miami. Mr. Santos negotiated the payment -- $12.25 million up front, with $6.5 million more in installments -- and advised the two on the logistics of turning over the yacht, according to a person familiar with the sale, which took place a few weeks before his election in November." MB: At least we know now where the previously-impoverished George Anthony got some of his money.

Dino Grandoni of the Washington Post: "The National Audubon Society, one of the country's best-known bird conservation organizations, decided in a closed-door vote this week to retain the name of John James Audubon, famed 19th-century naturalist and wildlife illustrator who was also an unabashed enslaver. The move comes even as about half-a-dozen of the organization's regional chapters have pledged to scrub his name from their titles, part of a broader reckoning over the U.S. environmental movement's history of entrenched racism.... Susan Bell, chair of the board, declined to provide a breakdown of the final vote [of the 27-person board]."

~~~~~~~~~~

Michael Shear of the New York Times: President "Biden traveled on Tuesday to Monterey Park, [California,] where a gunman killed 11 people in January during Lunar New Year festivities at the Star Ballroom Dance Studio, to announce a handful of steps designed to improve enforcement of existing [gun] laws that have so far failed to prevent mass shootings in one American community after another. 'Today, I'm announcing another executive order that will accelerate and intensify this work to save lives,' Mr. Biden told a small audience in Monterey Park that included family members and victims of the shooting, which terrorized the Asian American community here.... Mr. Biden, who spent time meeting privately with relatives of the shooting victims, during his public remarks offered a somber recounting -- one by one -- of the 11 people who were killed on 'a day of festivity and light turned into a day of fear and darkness.'... But the president is constrained by the Second Amendment and a political system that has so far refused to make progress on his demands for universal background checks for gun sales, a ban on assault weapons and high-capacity magazines and the repeal of immunity from liability for gun manufacturers." An NBC News story is here.

Lisa Friedman of the New York Times: "The Biden administration said Tuesday that it was withdrawing a land swap deal that would have helped to clear the way for construction of a road through a wildlife refuge in Alaska. The move is a reversal of the government's position and one that could put an end to a project that would cut through the vast wild area, originally protected under President Jimmy Carter. The land swap to create a road through Izembek National Wildlife Refuge was approved under the Trump administration to link King Cove with an airport in nearby Cold Bay. Deb Haaland, the secretary of the Interior Department, said the agency would reconsider an older land swap developed in 2013 that would allow for a road with more restricted use but would still enable Native and other community members in the remote area to access emergency medical care."

Matthew Goldstein & Katie Benner of the New York Times: "The Justice Department has opened an investigation into the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank.... The investigation is in its early stages and it is unclear just what federal prosecutors are focused on.... One potential focus could be sales of company shares by several bank executives in the weeks before the bank's failure, several legal experts said. The sales generated millions of dollars in proceeds, though some of the bank's executives sold stock pursuant to insider selling plans that set the timing of such sales in advance.... For example, under a prearranged plan, Silicon Valley Bank's former chief executive, Gregory Becker exercised options in early March that permitted him to sell shares worth about $3 million.... A number of lawyers said they expected the S.E.C. to also open an inquiry." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ~~~

~~~ As mentioned in the Comments yesterday & the day before: ~~~

     ~~~ Julian Mark of the Washington Post: "The recent implosion of Silicon Valley Bank escalated culture war arguments, as some conservative politicians ... blamed the bank's downfall on 'woke' practices. House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer (R-Ky.) called SVB 'one of the most woke banks' because of its 'ESG-type' policies -- a reference to environmental, social and corporate governance-driven investing that has been embraced by billion-dollar asset managers and scorned by conservatives of late. Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis ... said Sunday that Silicon Valley Bank's diversity, equity and inclusion requirements 'diverted from them focusing on their core mission.' And Monday, Fox News host Tucker Carlson said diversity and inclusion standards are why 'big banks are now increasingly incompetent.'... There's no evidence that SVB's sustainable investing or diversity initiatives contributed to its collapse. Experts have instead pointed to a perfect storm of SVB's significant holdings in U.S. Treasuries and the Federal Reserve's interest rate hikes. As the Fed raised interest rates, SVB's bond holdings became less valuable, and the bank sold Treasuries and mortgage-backed securities at a $1.8 billion loss. The disclosure sparked panic...." (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: Pure bull, as you might suspect. According to Paul Krugman (also linked yesterday), SVB "didn't lend [tech start-ups] a lot of money, since they were often flush with venture capital cash. Instead, the cash flow went in the opposite direction, with tech businesses depositing large sums with S.V.B. -- sometimes as a quid pro quo but largely, I suspect, because people in the tech world thought of S.V.B. as their kind of bank." And as pointed out here, there and everywhere, S.V.B. was instead investing primarily in patriotic American long-term bonds like the disappointing gifts your grandparents might have given you for your birthdays. I suppose you could indirectly blame wokeism on the bank's failure if you think that making the bank more attractive to progressives caused tech companies to park their money with S.V.B. I suppose the Comer/DeSantis/Carlson wing would be more partial to S.V.B. if they had run a more white supremacist sort of PR program. ~~~

     ~~~ Jamelle Bouie of the New York Times: Also pushing the woke theory of S.V.B. failure: Donald Trump, Jr., Stephen Miller & Josh Hawley, among others. "... this deflection is worth noting for what it represents: the relentless effort to mystify real questions of political economy in favor of endless culture war conflict.... It's not as if no one thought this collapse could happen. 'The failure of Silicon Valley Bank is a direct result of an absurd 2018 bank deregulation bill signed by Donald Trump that I strongly opposed,' Senator Bernie Sanders said in a statement on Sunday. Senator Elizabeth Warren made a similar point in an essay published in The Times on Monday [also linked below].... The people who blame wokeness for the collapse of a bank ... want to ... obscure the extent to which they and their allies are complicit in -- or responsible for -- creating an environment in which banks collapse for lack of appropriate regulation." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)

But His Laptop! Jennifer Rubin of the Washington Post: "The contents of one of [Hunter Biden's] laptops, revealed in 2020, have inspired a fantastical conspiracy theory that has been comprehensively debunked by, among others, Asha Rangappa..., of Yale University ... and [a] former FBI agent.... In October 2020, [about 50 former intelligence] officials crafted a statement that appeared in Politico alleging that appearance of the laptop and emails purporting to relate to Hunter Biden's time on the board of a Ukrainian gas company, Burisma, 'has all the classic earmarks of a Russian information operation.'... [Now], House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) and Intelligence Committee Chairman Michael R. Turner (R-Ohio) sent letters to the signatories, demanding all documents relating to the statement and directing the former officials to appear for transcribed interviews.... It isn't clear where this is going from here." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)

Sara Murray, et al., of CNN: "House Oversight Chairman James Comer said in a statement Tuesday the US Treasury Department will allow him to review certain bank activity reports related to members of the Biden family and their business partners. 'After two months of dragging their feet, the Treasury Department is finally providing us with access to the suspicious activity reports for the Biden family and their associates' business transactions,' Comer said in the statement.... Comer has claimed -- without offering any evidence -- that financial records, particularly those involving foreign business deals, could show improper influence over Joe Biden." MB: Wait, wait! Two whole months? Trump's Treasury Department "delayed" releasing Trump's tax returns for nearly four years while Trump sued to keep the returns secret. The Trump Treasury Department intended to never comply with Congressional requests for documents, even where the law explicitly stated the IRS -- a division of Treasury -- was required to do so. (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)

Judy Kurtz of the Hill: "The family of the singer behind the classic tune, 'This Land is Your Land' has a message for Sen. Josh Hawley: This song is not your song to 'co-opt.' The Missouri Republican referenced the 1940 folk music hit by Woody Guthrie last week when introducing the This Land is Our Land Act, S. 684, which would 'ban Chinese corporations and individuals associated with the Chinese Communist Party from owning United States agricultural land.'... 'In this particular case, the co-opting or parodying of the lyric by those not aligned with Woody's lyrics -- i.e. misrepresentation by autocrats, racists, white nationalists, anti-labor, insurrectionists, etc. -- is not condoned,' Nora Guthrie [-- Woody's daughter --] said. While saying she accepted 'This Land is Your Land' being used for political purposes from time to time, Guthrie explained, 'We do not consider Josh Hawley in any way a representative of Woody's values therefore we would never endorse or approve of his reference to Woody's lyrics.'" (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)

Not a good day for Kaiser Donald to visit with senators.

Hugo Lowell of the Guardian: "Federal prosecutors in New York involved in the criminal investigation into Donald Trump's social media company last year started examining whether it violated money laundering statutes in connection with the acceptance of $8m with suspected Russian ties, according to sources familiar with the matter. The company -- Trump Media, which owns Trump's Truth Social platform -- initially came under criminal investigation over its preparations for a potential merger with a blank check company called Digital World (DWAC) that was also the subject of an earlier probe by the Securities and Exchange Commission.... The extent of the exposure for Trump Media and its officers for money laundering remains unclear." Lowell provides some of the shady backstory.

Pence Traps Trump into Confessing! Philip Bump of the Washington Post, in a rather convoluted but logical argument, claims Donald Trump just acknowledged that he was responsible for the January 6 insurrection: Trump "says that Pence sending electoral slates back to states would have averted the riot by Trump supporters. This is true.... [Trump is saying that the crowd rioted because Pence didn't do the thing Trump said he could do, which the vice president couldn't. He's saying that the crowd was there to see the election results overturned and became enraged when they weren't. Trump is saying that Jan. 6 was his fault.... Trump isn't doing what he's often done before, which is to suggest that the crowd was simply a group of excited patriots who got a bit out of hand. Now he admits they were reacting to what Pence didn't do, which necessarily depends on what Trump said Pence could do." MB: Now, try to explain this to Donald Trump.

Ed Shanahan of the New York Times: "A Princeton University student was charged on Tuesday with being part of a violent mob that assaulted law enforcement officers during the Capitol riot on Jan. 6, 2021, federal prosecutors said. The student, Larry F. Giberson Jr., was among a group of rioters who pushed against a phalanx of officers defending the Capitol at a tunnel entrance, according to an affidavit filed by a federal agent. With Mr. Giberson at the front of the crowd as the confrontation unfolded, one officer was briefly crushed between the rioters and the tunnel doors, the affidavit says. Mr. Giberson, 21, waved other rioters into the tunnel and joined a second round of shoving against the officers, the affidavit says. He also tried, unsuccessfully, to start a chant of 'Drag them out!' and cheered on others as they used weapons and pepper spray to attack the police guarding the tunnel, the affidavit says."

Perry Stein, et al., of the Washington Post: "A federal judge on Wednesday will consider an unprecedented effort to undo long-standing government approval of the abortion medication used in most pregnancy terminations nationwide. U.S. District Judge Matthew Kacsmaryk is expected to question lawyers in the case that seeks to restrict access to mifepristone, the medication first approved by the Food and Drug Administration more than 20 years ago.The high-stakes hearing ... will be the first time the judge engages directly with lawyers for the Justice Department, representing the FDA; the company that manufactures and distributes the drug; and the antiabortion group challenging the medication. Kacsmaryk could rule at any time following the hearing, potentially disrupting access to the widely used drug, including in states where abortion is legal.... Kacsmaryk, a nominee of ... Donald Trump, has attracted criticism from abortion rights advocates because of his long-held antiabortion views.... Public health professionals and legal experts have denounced the lawsuit as unsupported by scientific evidence."

Vimal Patel of the New York Times: "On Tuesday, [Wellesley College] students supported a referendum that had polarized the campus and went straight to the heart of Wellesley's identity as a women's college. The referendum, which was nonbinding, called for opening admission to all nonbinary and transgender applicants, including trans men. Currently, the college allows admission to anyone who lives and consistently identifies as a woman."

Mike Isaac of the New York Times: "Meta, the owner of Facebook and Instagram, said on Tuesday that it planned to lay off about 10,000 employees, or roughly 13 percent of its work force, the latest move to hew to what the company's founder, Mark Zuckerberg, has called a 'year of efficiency.'... In November, Meta laid off more than 11,000 people, or about 13 percent of its work force at the time." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) CNBC's story is here.

Julia Jacobs of the New York Times: "The special prosecutor named to the 'Rust' case stepped down on Tuesday after lawyers for Alec Baldwin, who is being charged with involuntary manslaughter in the killing of a cinematographer on the film set, argued that her appointment as a prosecutor violated the New Mexico Constitution because she also serves as a state lawmaker. It was the second recent setback for the prosecution. Last month prosecutors downgraded the charges Baldwin faced in the killing of the cinematographer, Halyna Hutchins, after his lawyers argued that the Santa Fe County district attorney had erred by initially charging him under a law that was not passed until months after the shooting."

How to Get Two (or More!) Teslas for the Price of One. Daniel Wu of the Washington Post: "Rajesh Randev's s "car was one of two white Teslas parked next to each other on a Vancouver, B.C., street and, in a rush to pick up his children from school, he had gone to the wrong one. Somehow, his Tesla app unlocked a stranger's car -- and allowed him to drive off in it, he said.... He first told his story to Global News last week when he received no replies after reporting the incident to Tesla, he said." Meanwhile, Mohammed Esaeyh -- the brother of the owner of the car Randav was driving -- was able to get into Randev's car -- still in the parking lot -- using the owner's key card. Randev was able to drive Esaeyh's car for about an hour-and-a-half, including making a couple of stops, without any trouble. Randev & Esaeyh later met up to amicably exchange vehicles. "Tesla did not respond to requests for comment." MB: Yo, Elon! Maybe you'll want to get back to working on those Teslas.

Beyond the Beltway

Florida. Sara Boboltz of The Huffington Post: "The state of Florida moved to strip the Hyatt Regency Miami hotel of its liquor license on Tuesday in retaliation for hosting a Christmas-themed drag show, alleging that minors had been in attendance, which is against state law.... The venue had admitted minors if they were accompanied by an adult.... A department spokesperson told Insider that the Hyatt has 21 days to request a hearing and can keep selling alcohol until a final decision is made.Another Florida venue, the Broward Center for the Performing Arts in Fort Lauderdale, similarly found itself in the agency's crosshairs for hosting a Christmastime drag show last year."

Mississippi. Timothy Bella of the Washington Post: "The family of a Black man is calling for a federal investigation into his death after local authorities in Mississippi said they did not suspect foul play after the man's body was found dismembered. Police say his wounds may have been caused by an animal. Rasheem Carter, 25, called his mother for help in early October, telling her that a group of White men in three trucks were chasing him and yelling racial slurs at him in Laurel, Miss., his mother, Tiffany Carter, said at a Monday news conference in Jackson. His remains were found in the woods roughly 20 miles away outside of Taylorsville, Miss., on Nov. 2, after he had been missing for about a month." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)

Way Beyond

Ukraine, et al.

The Washington Post's live briefing of developments Wednesday in Russia's war on Ukraine is here: "Hungary further delayed NATO ratification for Sweden and Finland. The ruling Fidesz party confirmed the postponement of the process to Reuters after an opposition lawmaker said Fidesz was delaying a parliamentary session that was set for next week. Stockholm and Helsinki have sought to enter the transatlantic alliance but acceptance requires a sign-off from all NATO members. While Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban has said he supports ratification, some lawmakers in his party have dragged their feet.... Train fanatic Mikhail Korotkov spent years documenting unique trains, including a particularly unusual one belonging to Russian President Vladimir Putin. He was the first train enthusiast to post a photo of the sleek, silver train with red-and-gray detailing. But ... an intimidating transcript of his private phone conversations was delivered to him -- via messages on his YouTube page -- in what Korotkov interpreted as a threat from the Kremlin. Afraid for his safety, Korotkov has fled Russia." ~~~

     ~~~ The Guardian's live updates for Wednesday are here. The Guardian's summary report is here.

Dan Lamothe of the Washington Post: "A pair of Russian fighter jets intercepted and forced down an American surveillance drone over the Black Sea on Tuesday, U.S. officials said, with one Russian jet colliding with the propeller of the unmanned aircraft after both Russian warplanes dumped fuel on it. The incident prompted Air Force drone pilots to bring down the MQ-9 Reaper in international waters in what U.S. officials said has become a 'pattern of dangerous actions by Russian pilots' while interacting with American and allied aircraft in international airspace. The actions, U.S. military officials said in a statement, 'could lead to miscalculation and unintended escalation' between the two countries." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) The story has been updated:

"A State Department spokesman, Ned Price, told reporters that senior U.S. officials intended to communicate 'our strong objections.' 'We are summoning the Russian ambassador to the department, where we will convey this message,' Price said, adding that, in Moscow, the U.S. ambassador to Russia, Lynne M. Tracy, had relayed the Biden administration's dissatisfaction to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) The New York Times story is here. CNN's story is here. ~~~

~~~ Marie: Maybe I should mention that the U.S. drone that was downed was not some little toy like the one you gave the kids for Christmas. It looks like a real airplane, but without a pilots' cabin. There's a photo in this CNBC story.

Rubio Stands Up to DeSantis. Leo Sands, et al., of the Washington Post: "Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) is dismissing Russia's invasion of Ukraine as a 'territorial dispute and says protecting the European nation is not a vital U.S. interest.... On Tuesday, Florida Sen. Marco Rubio (R) took issue with DeSantis describing the first land war in Europe since World War II as a 'territorial dispute.' In an interview, Rubio told radio host Hugh Hewitt, 'It's not a territorial dispute in the sense that any more than it would be a territorial dispute if the United States decided that it wanted to invade Canada or take over the Bahamas.... This is an invasion,' said Rubio, vice chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee and a member of the Foreign Relations Committee, adding, 'I think we do have an interest' in the conflict." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ~~~

     ~~~ Jonathan Swan & Maggie Haberman of the New York Times: "Republican foreign policy hawks recoiled at Mr. DeSantis's statement on 'Tucker Carlson Tonight' on Fox News on Monday night, in which the governor deviated from the position held by most of the Republican establishment on Capitol Hill, including Senator Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, the minority leader.... Senator Lindsey Graham, Republican of South Carolina, said in an interview on Tuesday morning that he 'could not disagree more' with Mr. DeSantis's characterization of the stakes attached to the defense of Ukraine. 'The Neville Chamberlain approach to aggression never ends well,' said Mr. Graham.... And Senator John Cornyn of Texas told Politico he was 'disturbed' by Mr. DeSantis's comments.... Former Gov. Chris Christie of New Jersey ... said that the remarks were 'a naïve and complete misunderstanding of the historical context of what's going on,' and that authoritarians would fill the void if the U.S. retreated from global leadership.... In 2014 and 2015, after Mr. Putin annexed Crimea from Ukraine, Mr. DeSantis criticized President Barack Obama as not doing enough to support Ukraine." ~~~

     ~~~ Steve M.: "... DeSantis and Trump aren't as out of sync with the party's presidential hopefuls as you'd think. Questions about Ukraine were posed to quite a few declared and possible Republican presidential candidates. Tucker Carlson posted the responses on Twitter. South Dakota governor Kristi Noem -- a strong contender for the VP slot if Trump is the nominee -- sounded quite similar to the two front-runners[.]... Texas governor Greg Abbott probably isn't running for president, but he was sent the questionnaire, and he's also a skeptic[.]... Even Tim Scott, who's clearly supportive of aid to Ukraine, wants to sound like a skeptic[.]... And finally, I want to draw attention to the answer from one of the few declared candidates, Vivek Ramaswamy.... He wants us to be ready for a shooting war with China, and also for a shooting war with Mexico, which makes him sound a lot like Lindsey Graham, Dan Crenshaw, and Marjorie Taylor Greene, who've all recently raised the possibility of using the U.S. military in Mexico.... Ramaswamy's pounding of the China and Mexico war drums is a preview of tomorrow's Republicanism today."

News Lede

Washington Post: "An intensifying nor'easter, unleashing heavy snow, rain and strong winds, is clobbering the Northeast and the storm won't relent until Wednesday. The weight of the snow on trees and power lines combined with gusts over 40 mph has cut power to more than 250,000 customers. The highest number of outages were in eastern New York and western Massachusetts, according to the utility tracker PowerOutage.us.... Precipitation arrived late Monday and has been falling as snow -- heavy at times -- across interior regions of the Northeast and New England. The snow has been piling up, especially across higher elevations, with accumulations already around 30 inches in the hardest hit areas, and some spots likely to soar as high as three feet by the time the storm ends. Numerous businesses and schools closed Tuesday because of difficult to impossible travel conditions. Hundreds of flights have been canceled or delayed across the Northeast." ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: I don't think I have nearly 30" here (it's still dark, so I can't tell), but my power was out most of the day yesterday. It's back on now, but that doesn't mean it will stay on. Update: It's light now, and I'm looking at another of what I like to call "a fucking winter wonderland." Tree limbs are heavy with snow, and as beautiful as they may be, they also signal more power outages caused by downed limbs.