March 9, 2023
Afternoon Update:
** Manhattan D.A. Likely to Indict Trump. William Rashbaum, et al., of the New York Times: "The Manhattan district attorney's office recently signaled to Donald J. Trump's lawyers that he could face criminal charges for his role in the payment of hush money to a porn star, the strongest indication yet that prosecutors are nearing an indictment of the former president, according to four people with knowledge of the matter. The prosecutors offered Mr. Trump the chance to testify next week before the grand jury that has been hearing evidence in the potential case, the people said. Such offers almost always indicate an indictment is close; it would be unusual for the district attorney, Alvin L. Bragg, to notify a potential defendant without ultimately seeking charges against him. In New York, potential defendants have the right to answer questions in the grand jury before they are indicted, but they rarely testify, and Mr. Trump is likely to decline the offer. His lawyers could also meet privately with the prosecutors in hopes of fending off criminal charges. Any case would mark the first indictment of a former American president, and could upend the 2024 presidential race."
Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-Md.) on the House floor, Wednesday:
Charlie Savage of the New York Times: "About three years ago, a Federal Bureau of Investigation analyst violated the rules for searching a repository of messages intercepted by the program by making overly broad queries about an undisclosed member of Congress. The conversation about that incident, which became public with few other details in a footnote of a report that was declassified in December, underwent a startling twist on Thursday at a House Intelligence Committee hearing. An Illinois Republican, Representative Darin LaHood, identified himself as that lawmaker. 'I have had the opportunity to review the classified summary of this violation, and it is my opinion that the member of Congress who was wrongfully queried multiple times solely by his name was, in fact, me,' he said from the dais. Mr. LaHood ... is the leader of a bipartisan working group of Intelligence Committee members who are trying to persuade Congress to reauthorize the warrantless surveillance law in question, known as Section 702.... Elected to Congress in 2014, Mr. LaHood is a former federal counterterrorism prosecutor and the son of Ray LaHood, who was also a Republican member of Congress from Illinois and later served as transportation secretary in the Obama administration. Mr. LaHood provided no further details about the incident. But he ... call[ed] the queries about communications involving a member of Congress an egregious violation that betrayed trust in government surveillance power and could be 'seen as a threat to the separation of powers.' At the same time, he made clear that he still believes that Congress must reauthorize Section 702...."
New York. Hurubie Meko of the New York Times: "In 2004, police officers showed the image of a young Black man to a witness, who chose him from an array of six as a suspect in a fatal shooting in Brooklyn's East Flatbush neighborhood. That identification withstood scrutiny through an indictment, trial and appeals over more than 18 years. The Brooklyn district attorney's office said Thursday that detectives, prosecutors and the original trial's judge knew from the outset that the photo in the array wasn't actually of the man they wanted to arrest, but they proceeded anyway. A report by the agency's conviction review unit said that the two men shared a name, and they had addresses in the same precinct, but investigators knew early on that they were different people. [Sheldon] Thomas, 35, appeared in court on Thursday afternoon before Matthew J. D'Emic, a judge with the Brooklyn Supreme Court who ordered him freed."
Texas. Jennifer Rubin of the Washington Post: "Five pregnant women and two doctors filed suit in Texas this week claiming that the state's six-week abortion ban violates the state constitution's due process and equal protection guarantees. The complaint asks that, at a minimum, the court declare a woman can obtain an abortion when a physician in good faith finds the patient suffers a condition of complication that 'poses a risk of infection, bleeding, or otherwise makes continuing a pregnancy unsafe for the pregnant person; a physical medical condition that is exacerbated by pregnancy' that can't be effectively treated or where 'the fetus is unlikely to survive the pregnancy and sustain life after birth.'... The bracing and enlightening facts set out in the complaint should be mandatory reading for lawmakers who want to strip women of essential health care. Unlike most suits that are brought by advocacy groups, this action has real, live plaintiffs with heart-wrenching personal stories[.]"
Justine McDaniel, et al., of the Washington Post: "Failures by the railroad company operating the train that derailed and caused a chemical disaster in East Palestine, Ohio, left emergency responders 'scrambling' as they grappled with the possibility of a major explosion, some witnesses and lawmakers told Congress on Thursday. Speaking at a morning Senate hearing on the Feb. 3 derailment -- where lawmakers grilled Norfolk Southern CEO Alan H. Shaw and pressed Environmental Protection Agency regional administrator Debra Shore on the response to the fiery crash -- an emergency management director said officials were confused and misled by the railway's lack of communication as they tried to determine whether to allow Norfolk Southern to do a 'controlled release' of toxic vinyl chloride. With the area under threat of a potentially deadly explosion, Norfolk Southern personnel did not come to officials' meetings -- and decision-makers learned partway through their planning that the company 'wanted to' release chemicals from five tank cars, not one, said Eric Brewer..., director of emergency services in Beaver County, Pa., which neighbors East Palestine.... Even as Shaw promised lawmakers that Norfolk Southern 'runs a safe railroad,' another one of its trains went off the tracks in Alabama partway through the hearing. That followed another Norfolk Southern derailment in Ohio earlier this month."
Update: Rachel Pannett & Liz Goodwin of the Washington Post: "Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) is being treated for a concussion after falling Wednesday evening, and is expected to remain hospitalized 'for a few days,' a spokesperson announced Thursday afternoon." This is the new lede to a story by Pannett, linked below. An ABC News story is here. MB: Now I'm a little sorry I made a joke, not about McConnell's fall or his injury, but about who caused it. As for the guy at whose expense the joke was aimed: he still deserves it.
That Day Tourists Secretly Trashed a GOP Senator's Office. Ryan Reilly & Sahil Kapur of NBC News: "Two years ago, a mob of rioters ... viciously assaulted police, smashed out windows, stormed into an office, flipped over a giant conference table and barricaded themselves inside the U.S. Capitol, readying themselves for a fight with police inside a suite of 'hideaway' offices for U.S. senators. One of the offices, federal prosecutors recently disclosed, belonged to Republican Jim Risch, the 79-year-old junior senator from Idaho, where [Donald] Trump is tremendously popular. Video shows a rioter -- who has pleaded guilty to driving a stun gun into ... police officer [Michael Fanone]'s neck, nearly killing him -- smashing out Risch's window overlooking the Washington Monument and the national mall in an attempt to let more rioters into the building. Additional video released this week shows Risch's trashed desk.... A review of Risch's public statements on the Jan. 6, 2021, riot show no indication that he has ever mentioned what happened to his office that day. Asked by NBC News this week about his office being trashed and told about the new footage of rioters in his hideaway, Risch demurred."
In case you think self-described "conservatives" are dedicated to protecting personal freedom, as they claim: ~~~
~~~ Michelle Boorstein & Heather Kelly of the Washington Post: "A group of conservative Colorado Catholics has spent millions of dollars to buy mobile app tracking data that identified priests who used gay dating and hookup apps and then shared it with bishops around the country. The secretive effort was the work of a Denver nonprofit called Catholic Laity and Clergy for Renewal, whose trustees are philanthropists Mark Bauman, John Martin and Tim Reichert.... The use of data is emblematic of a new surveillance frontier in which private individuals can potentially track other Americans' locations and activities using commercially available information.... The project's existence reflects a newly empowered American Catholic right wing that sees enforcing its interpretation of church teaching on sexuality and gender as an existential issue for the church and that no longer trusts bishops to do so."
Ohio. Marty Schladen of the Ohio Capital Journal: "After more than nine hours of deliberation, a jury on Thursday found former Ohio House Speaker Larry Householder [R] and state Republican Chairman Matt Borges guilty of felony racketeering charges in connection with a billion-dollar utility bailout that was passed in 2019.... U.S. District Judge Timothy Black will schedule a sentencing hearing shortly.... Former U.S. Attorney David DeVillers said it was likely the biggest bribery and money laundering scandal in Ohio history.... Akron-based FirstEnergy and other utilities paid tens of millions into an effort to elect friendly lawmakers in 2018 who would vote to make Householder speaker the following year. Immediately after taking the speaker's gavel, Householder worked furiously to pass a $1.3 billion bailout, the vast majority of which benefited FirstEnergy subsidiary FirstEnergy Services.... [Later,] Householder took control of the push to block the repeal, while Borges assisted....
~~~~~~~~~~
Jeff Stein of the Washington Post: "The White House will revive calls for transformative economic policy proposals with its 2024 budget proposal on Thursday, potentially previewing President Biden's reelection campaign -- and teeing up new battles with Republicans as the government draws closer to what could be a catastrophic default on the national debt.... The policies are also aimed at drawing a sharp contrast in spending battles with GOP lawmakers, who hope to use the nation's borrowing limit -- which must be raised sometime this summer to avoid a potentially catastrophic default on U.S. debt payments -- to secure cuts to many of the kinds of programs Biden is trying to boost.... White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said Wednesday that the president's budget would also achieve nearly $3 trillion in deficit reduction over the next decade, with the administration accusing the GOP of trying to increase the deficit through its push to extend parts of the 2017 tax cuts under ... Donald Trump that are due to expire." The AP's story is here.
Carol Rosenberg of the New York Times: "The U.S. military on Wednesday repatriated a U.S.-educated Saudi engineer who had been held for more than 20 years at Guantánamo Bay under suspicion of having made bombs for Al Qaeda, but was never brought to trial. The transfer of the detainee, Ghassan Abdullah al-Sharbi, 48, was authorized in September by Defense Secretary Lloyd J. Austin III after months of diplomatic efforts by the Biden administration but was then delayed for reasons U.S. officials declined to explain. The repatriation reduced the detainee population at the U.S. military prison in Cuba to 31 men, 17 of whom are approved for resettlement or repatriation after security agreements are reached with countries willing to take them in."
Carl Hulse of the New York Times: "The Senate on Wednesday voted overwhelmingly to block a new District of Columbia criminal code that reduces mandatory minimum sentences for some violent offenses, with Democrats bowing to Republican pressure to take a hard line on crime in a move that underscored the rising political potency of the issue ahead of the 2024 elections. The 81-to-14 vote, with one senator voting 'present,' [-- Raphael Warnock (D-Ga.)] cleared the Republican-written measure to undo the District's law, sending it to President Biden, who after initially opposing it abruptly changed course last week and said he would sign it."
Show Me the Documents! Charlie Savage of the New York Times: "A top Democratic senator on Wednesday criticized the Biden administration for refusing to show Congress classified documents found at the homes of Donald J. Trump, Joseph R. Biden Jr. and Mike Pence, tying the renewal of a surveillance law to how forthcoming it chooses to be. The admonition, by Senator Mark Warner, a Virginia Democrat who is chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee, came during a hearing on worldwide threats at which top national security officials urged Congress to reauthorize the law, which is set to expire this year."
Amy Wang of the Washington Post: "Sen. Markwayne Mullin (R-Okla.) and Teamsters General President Sean O'Brien got into a heated verbal exchange Wednesday in a Senate committee hearing focused on the right of workers to organize unions.... O'Brien, as well as some of the others on the panel, repeatedly argued that corporations were making record profits while workers -- many of whom have risked their lives to provide essential goods and services during the coronavirus pandemic -- were not enjoying the same payouts.... Mullin, who owns a plumbing company..., [complained about union intimidation,] then asked about O'Brien's salary, before cutting him off and reading off numbers from a piece of paper comparing what he said O'Brien made in 2019 with what the average UPS feeder driver made.... Mullin accused O'Brien of 'sucking' money out of people's paychecks and 'forcing them to pay dues.'... Thrusting his finger at the witness panel, Mullin told O'Brien to shut his mouth..., which prompted O'Brien to mock Mullin for his 'tough guy' act.... 'We create opportunity because we hold -- we hold greedy CEOs like yourself accountable,' O'Brien said.... '... I kept my salary down at about $50,000 a year because I invested every penny into it," Mullin said.... 'You mean you hid money?' [O'Brien said].... After the hearing concluded..., O'Brien tweeting a link to a Tulsa World article that said Mullin's reported assets had jumped from a range of $7.3 million to $29.9 million at the end of 2020 to a range of $31.6 million to $75.6 million a year later." ~~~
Rachel Pannett of the Washington Post: "Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) has been hospitalized following a fall at a hotel in Washington, his spokesperson said late Wednesday. The 81-year-old senator was attending a private dinner at a local hotel when he tripped, spokesman David Popp said in a statement. 'He has been admitted to the hospital where he is receiving treatment,' he added, without providing any further details on his condition." Hotel Manager Fred McCarthy, a cousin of House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, has given Fox "News" host Tucker Carlson exclusive access to several hours of hotel security footage which the popular Fox personality says will prove he was peacefully walking through the hotel lobby and did not violently push Leader McConnell to the floor and kick the elderly Senator in the head. Story tonight at 8:00 o'clock Eastern/7:00 Central. ~~~
~~~ The AP's report is here.
Annie Grayer, et al., of CNN: "Republicans in the House are beginning to plot multiple probes into the 2021 Capitol attack, including looking into the Democratic-led select committee's actions from the last Congress, the security failures from that day and potentially even the treatment of January 6 defendants.... GOP Rep. Barry Loudermilk of Georgia, an ally of [Speaker Kevin] McCarthy's, will now lead a new GOP probe into January 6.... The Georgia Republican is expected to focus on the select committee and what he's called security failures leading up to the attack.... [MB: That's rich because] Loudermilk emerged as a figure in the January 6 committee's investigation for a tour he gave to a group of constituents the day before the attack. US Capitol Police have concluded after reviewing security footage that 'there is no evidence' the Georgia congressman led a reconnaissance tour with Trump supporters trying to learn more about the Capitol complex." MB: Oddly, members of Loudermilk's little private tour group took photos of back stairwells & Capitol hallways, not exactly normal tour highlights. And as Grayer & others reported last June, "The House select committee investigating the January 6, 2021, US Capitol riot has released footage that shows one of the individuals to whom ... Loudermilk ... gave a tour on January 5 was outside the building during the insurrection screaming threats about House Speaker Nancy Pelosi." ~~~
~~~ MEANWHILE, Jim & Margie Organize a Field Trip. Jordain Carney of Politico (March 7): ">Oversight Committee Chair James Comer (R-Ky.) and Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) told Politico on Tuesday night that their aides are working to set up a congressional delegation to visit individuals jailed on Jan. 6, when a mob of ... Donald Trump's supporters breached the Capitol. Greene -- a member of the Oversight Committee -- would lead the trip, which would not be limited to panel members." MB: Actually, I think these prisoners are in jail because prosecutors have charged them for their participation in the insurrection and judges have not released them on bond. Most or all were jailed after January 6, 2021. ~~~
~~~ The Hill has more. Comer says the purpose of the trip is to look into "the human rights abuse." Margie calls this group of defendants "the patriot wing" of the jail.
Marie: Nancy Pelosi populated the January 6 committee with respected members of Congress, many with relevant experience, as well as a staff if former prosecutors, investigators and other professionals to delve into the causes and events of the insurrection. Kevin? He's got TuKKKer, Loudermilk, Margie & Jimbo. Outstanding.
Judge Censures Trump Lawyer. Quentin Young of Colorado Online: "Jenna Ellis, the Colorado attorney who was ... Donald Trump's senior legal advisor as he tried to overturn his 2020 election loss, has been censured by a Colorado judge for misconduct. The public censure order was signed Wednesday by Presiding Disciplinary Judge Bryon M. Large, who oversees lawyer discipline cases in Colorado. As part of an agreement in the case, Ellis admits that multiple statements she made in late 2020 about the presidential election being stolen were 'misrepresentations.'... Ellis also agreed that she, 'through her conduct, undermined the American public's confidence in the presidential election, violating her duty of candor to the public,' Large wrote, adding that 'a selfish motive' and 'a pattern of misconduct' were aggravating factors in the case... [A statement] by the Colorado Attorney Regulation Counsel Jessica Yates ... said [her office] is not currently pursuing any other charges against Ellis." MB: So I assume that means Ellis won't be disbarred. Politico's story, by Kyle Cheney, is here.
Judge Issues Summary Judgment Against Trumpies. Adam Klasfeld of Law & Crime: "Right-wing activists Jacob Wohl and Jack Burkman's robocalls targeting Black voters violated the Voting Rights Act and Ku Klux Klan Act -- and the question isn't close enough to require a jury, [Senior U.S. District Judge Victor Marrero] ruled.... Marrero ... found that the evidence 'establishes that the neighborhoods that Defendants targeted were not accidental or random,' finding that a reasonable jury couldn't escape the conclusion that the pair wanted to 'deny the right to vote specifically to Black voters.'... Recorded by a woman identifying herself as 'Tamika Taylor,' the robocalls largely targeted diverse regions with the false message that 'if you vote by mail, your personal information will be part of a public database that will be used by police departments to track down old warrants, and [will] be used by credit card companies to collect outstanding debt.'"
Plan D. Alexander Burns in Politico Magazine: "Weeks before the 2020 election, a secret 87-page document ... organized by an opaque advocacy group, known as the Hub..., outlined in matter-of-fact language the threat posed by Donald Trump's still-to-come campaign of election denial. The private paper -- the existence of which has not been reported before -- forecast with chilling confidence the likelihood of violence during the presidential handover and proposed a far-reaching set of political reforms to thwart Trumpism in the future.... [The document, known as 'Plan D,'] is a catalog of the defects in America's electoral process and political culture that made it vulnerable to a rampaging demagogue -- defects that some Democrats wanted to fix with drastic measures.... It is impossible not to be struck [now] by the sense of urgency in the text -- and the speed with which the impatient demand for fundamental change to American politics has dissipated among most Democrats.... The group behind Plan D saw deep reform to the political system as a survival imperative for Democrats.... Among the targets of that proposed overhaul: a Senate biased toward rural red states, a Supreme Court stacked with right-wing appointees and an Electoral College that overruled the popular vote twice in two decades."
Fox Entertainment Network
"Florida Man." Michael Scherer, et al., of the Washington Post: Donald "Trump's advisers see in Fox News leadership a clear adversary in their march back to the White House and have sought to foster a divide between [Fox News] executives and 'the brave and patriotic' opinion hosts with whom he continues to have relationships.... Several of Fox News's most high-profile figures continue to speak to the former president and work with his team.... At the same time, [Rupert] Murdoch's media outlets have lavished attention and praise on Trump's principal rival, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R), who publicly credits the network in his new book -- which is published by another company controlled by Murdoch -- with aiding his rise in politics. The DeSantis book was heavily promoted last week when the governor made at least five live appearances on the network, according to a tally by Media Matters for America.... The [Murdoch-owned] New York Post covered Trump's campaign announcement with the diminutive cover line, 'Florida man makes announcement,' and an article identified the former president as a 'retiree' and 'avid golfer.' A separate cover of the tabloid, after the midterm elections last year, described him as 'Trumpty Dumpty' who 'couldn't build a wall' and 'had a great fall.'"
Nicholas Confessore & Jim Rutenberg of the New York Times: "Ever since taking over Fox's 8 p.m. hour in 2017, [Tucker] Carlson had maintained a carefully calibrated distance from [Donald] Trump, using inflammatory segments about a border invasion and the 'replacement' of native-born Americans by immigrants to appeal to Mr. Trump's base -- while minimizing how often he discussed Mr. Trump, whom he regarded as erratic and undisciplined.... But in the months after the Jan. 6 attacks, 'Tucker Carlson Tonight' doubled down on a pro-Trump narrative that both Mr. Carlson and his bosses knew was rooted in a lie.... In 2021 nearly half of Mr. Carlson's shows -- more than 100 episodes -- featured segments downplaying the Capitol riot, casting the insurrectionists as innocent citizens seeking legitimate redress for election fraud, and suggesting the riot itself was a 'false flag' operation orchestrated by federal law enforcement to entrap Trump supporters.... Within 24 hours of the polls closing, he declared that the election had been 'seized from the hands of voters,' and that the final results would finally be determined by 'lawyers and courts and clearly corrupt, big-city bureaucrats.'" Read on. ~~~
~~~ Marie: So it turns out TuKKKer always "passionately hated" Trump. Since I never watch Fox "News," I had no idea that TuKKKer had kept his distance from Trump until Trump lost the 2020 election. And maybe I've been a little unfair to TuKKKer in following Akhilleus' spelling of his name, inasmuch as it looks as if Trump forced TuKKKer to be a racist; after all, if TuKKKer couldn't stomach Trump, he had to feed something to the Trumpenlumpen, and the something he hit on was racist content. (Of course, even after TuKKKer changed his tune about backing Trump, he was still good with the racism: "big city bureaucrats"? We know what that means, don't we?)
And the Emmy for Best Actor in a Cable News Show Goes to ... TuKKKer Carlson! Jack Shafer of Politico: "It has been self-evident for a long time to almost every astute observer of Tucker Carlson ... that he doesn't believe half of the things he says on his show.... His support of [Donald] Trump and many Trump-adjacent issues has been one of convenience, and when not a matter of convenience, a measure of his fear of Trump. [Twenty years ago, Carlson criticized his Fox predecessor Bill O'Reilly for being a phony, but after Carlson failed at several media ventures, he] began to cultivate the deep phoniness that had made O'Reilly so popular. He co-opted O'Reilly's everyman schtick, his bluster, his truth-teller guise, and his populism, and he soared in the ratings. When Fox dumped O'Reilly in 2017 -- not for breaking character, as Carlson had predicted, but following allegations of sexual harassment -- Carlson became the network's face. And, finally, a towering success."
Aw, Poor TuKKKums. Christopher Cadelago of Politico: "The White House joined in widespread condemnation of Fox News star Tucker Carlson on Wednesday, singling out the prime-time ratings king for his misleading portrayal of the U.S. Capitol riot on Jan. 6, 2021.... 'We agree with the chief of the Capitol Police and the wide range of bipartisan lawmakers who have condemned this false depiction of the unprecedented, violent attack on our Constitution and the rule of law -- which cost police officers their lives,' White House spokesperson Andrew Bates said. 'We also agree with what Fox News's own attorneys and executives have now repeatedly stressed in multiple courts of law: that Tucker Carlson is not credible,' Bates added. The statement was a rare rebuke of Carlson by name, suggesting an escalation of tensions between the White House and the conservative-leaning, beleaguered cable giant." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) The New York Times story is here.
Oliver Darcy of CNN: "Dominion Voting Systems and Fox News traded barbs in new court filings Wednesday, with the election technology company accusing Fox of wanting a 'license to knowingly spread lies,' and the right-wing channel claiming the lawsuit is an 'unprecedented assault on the First Amendment.' The filings tee up a high-stakes hearing in two weeks, where a Delaware state judge will hear arguments on 'summary judgment' -- or whether he should decide the case before it goes to trial. Most legal experts expect that the case will ultimately proceed to trial before a jury in mid-April.... Among the thousands of pages of documents [Dominion has filed] include repeated statements from Fox Corporation chairman Rupert Murdoch rejecting conspiracy theories about Dominion that his own network promoted after the 2020 election."
Erik Wemple of the Washington Post describes five big takeaways from Dominion's docu-dump this week.
Michael Bender of the New York Times: "The man who accused Matt Schlapp, the head of one of the nation's largest conservative advocacy groups, of groping him after a campaign event last year in Georgia agreed on Wednesday to drop his anonymity in a lawsuit against Mr. Schlapp after a judge stipulated that doing so was necessary for the case to proceed. The man, Carlton Huffman, 39, a longtime political aide, said he had sought anonymity in his initial lawsuit out of concern about potential retaliation from supporters of ... Donald J. Trump."
Luke Broadwater of the New York Times: "The online health insurance marketplace for members of Congress and Washington, D.C., residents was subjected to a hack that compromised the personal identifying information of potentially thousands of lawmakers, their spouses, dependents and employees, according to a letter from House leaders informing their colleagues about the breach and a memo from the Senate's top security official.... The cause, size and scope of the data breach affecting D.C. Health Link was not immediately known.... But the online health insurance marketplace serves about 11,000 members of Congress and their staffs, and nearly 100,000 people overall. 'This breach significantly increases the risk that members, staff, and their families will experience identity theft, financial crimes, and physical threats -- already an ongoing concern,' [House Speaker Kevin] McCarthy and [Democratic Leader Hakeem] Jeffries wrote." An NBC News story is here.
Ian Duncan of the Washington Post: "Major freight railroads have agreed among themselves to adopt new safety measures, pledging to expand a network of sensors designed to catch overheating bearings and setting a common standard for when those sensors warn train crews to stop and look for danger. The Association of American Railroads announced the steps Wednesday, saying the measures demonstrated the industry's commitment to acting swiftly on safety as the National Transportation Safety Board continues to probe last month's derailment and chemical spill in East Palestine, Ohio.... The measures were announced on the eve of the first congressional hearing on the East Palestine derailment and come as lawmakers and Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg push the industry to improve its safety record."
Beyond the Beltway
Arizona. Neil Vigdor of the New York Times: "An Arizona county is being sued by the state's Democratic attorney general after it transferred voting oversight to the county's Republican recorder, who has cast doubts about past election results in a place where ... Donald J. Trump won nearly 60 percent of the vote in 2020. It is the latest clash between Democrats in statewide office and Cochise County, a deeply Republican area in southeastern Arizona, where conspiracy theories about voter fraud and irregularities still swirl. The county's nonpartisan elections director, Lisa Marra, announced in January that she would resign, citing threats against her after she refused to comply with rogue election directives from the Republicans who control county government, including plans to count ballots by hand after last year's midterm elections. She recently accepted a position with the secretary of state's office."
Arkansas, the Dickensian State. Jacob Bogage of the Washington Post: "Arkansas Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders (R) signed into law this week legislation that rolls back significant portions of the state's child labor protections. The law eliminates requirements for the state to verify the age of children younger than 16 before they can take a job.... Republican leaders in Congress tapped Sanders, 40, the youngest governor in the nation, to deliver the GOP response to President Biden's State of the Union address last month." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ~~~
~~~ The New Civil Rights report is here, published by Alternet. David Badash notes, "While Republican governors and lawmakers across the country have taken up the mantle of 'parents' rights' as they support bans on books, sex education, and any discussion of LGBTQ people, Governor Huckabee has removed the right of parents to be informed of or consent to their young minor children getting a job." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)
California. Niha Masih of the Washington Post: "California on Wednesday suspended a $54 million contract with Walgreens over the pharmacy chain's decision not to distribute mifepristone in at least 20 states, including some where abortion is legal, as conflict over the drug used in medication abortions continues to escalate. 'California will not stand by as corporations cave to extremists and cut off critical access to reproductive care and freedom,' Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) said in a statement. Noting that the state has one of the largest economies in the world, he added that 'we will leverage our market power to defend the right to choose.'" An NBC News story is here.
Florida, the Fascist State, Intimidates & Infuriates Families. Caitlin Gibson of the Washington Post: "Under Gov. Ron DeSantis (R)..., Florida families are now facing a slew of new laws and policy proposals that touch nearly every stage of parenting -- from the reproductive health care a pregnant mother can receive, to the books available for an elementary school student to read, to the diversity and social culture awaiting students on college campuses.... Parents who do not support these measures describe feeling both fearful and furious. Some have embraced activism for the first time, while longtime advocates have grown more outspoken." Gibson runs down a staggering list of all the restrictions DeSantis & Co. have imposed on parents & their children.
Kentucky. Glenn Thrush of the New York Times: "The police department in Louisville, Ky., engaged in a yearslong pattern of discriminatory law enforcement practices, the Justice Department said on Wednesday after conducting a two-year investigation prompted by the fatal shooting of Breonna Taylor by the police in 2020. Attorney General Merrick B. Garland, appearing in Louisville alongside the city's mayor and acting police chief, announced an agreement to overhaul policing practices he said had led to systemic discrimination against Black people, including Ms. Taylor. Ms. Taylor, a Black medical worker, was shot and killed by police officers assigned to a drug enforcement unit in March 2020 during a botched raid of her apartment. In a damning 90-page report, investigators painted a grim portrait of the Louisville Metro Police Department, detailing a variety of serious abuses, including excessive force; searches based on invalid and so-called no-knock warrants; unlawful car stops, detentions and harassment of people during street sweeps; and broad patterns of discrimination against Black people and people with behavioral health problems." An AP report is here. (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)
Michigan. Joey Cappelletti of the AP: "Michigan's Democratic-led House approved legislation Wednesday that would repeal the state's 'right-to-work' law that was passed more than a decade ago when Republicans controlled the Statehouse. Repealing the law, which prohibits public and private unions from requiring that nonunion employees pay union dues even if the union bargains on their behalf, has been a top priority for Democrats since they took full control of the state government this year.... Supporters of the repeal, who poured into the gallery above the House chambers, cheered loudly as the legislation passed along party lines late Wednesday. Legislation restoring the state's prevailing wage law, which requires contractors hired for state projects to pay union-level wages, was also approved by the House. Both bills will need to pass the state Senate before being sent to Democratic Gov. Gretchen Whitmer [D] for final approval."
North Carolina. Paul Duggan of the Washington Post: "A failed North Carolina congressional candidate who was endorsed by ... Donald Trump in 2020 pleaded guilty Wednesday to committing a felony campaign-finance violation during her bid to replace former House member Mark Meadows (R), a political ally and family friend, after Meadows chose not to seek reelection. Lynda Bennett, 65, admitted in U.S. District Court in Washington that she borrowed $25,000 from a family member in late 2019 and illegally funneled the money, in her own name, into her Republican campaign in North Carolina's 11th Congressional District. Disguising the source of the $25,000 violated a campaign-finance law that limited House-race contributions from outside parties to a total of $5,600 in the 2020 election cycle, authorities said in a court filing. As a candidate, Bennett was not subject to the restrictions and could loan or donate as much money as she wanted." CNN's story is here.
Virginia. Erik Ortiz of NBC News: "The city prosecutor in Newport News, Virginia, said Wednesday that he would not seek charges against the 6-year-old boy who shot his elementary school teacher in January but has yet to decide whether any adults associated with the case could be held criminally liable."
West Virginia. Andrew Jeong of the Washington Post: "An empty freight train derailed when it hit a rockslide after turning a corner in a remote area near Sandstone, W.Va., spilling an unknown amount of diesel into the nearby New River. West Virginia Gov. Jim Justice (R) and the train company tried to assure residents about safety after the incident drew comparisons to last month's derailment of a freight train in East Palestine, Ohio, that released toxic chemicals into the environment after it crashed.... Parts of the train caught fire, with at least one fuel tank falling into the river, Terry Fletcher, a spokesman for the state's Department of Environmental Protection said at a news conference."
Way Beyond
Ukraine, et al. The Washington Post's live briefing of developments Thursday in Russia's war on Ukraine are here: "Dozens of missiles rained down on several parts of Ukraine early Thursday, killing at least five people. President Volodymyr Zelensky said Russia fired 81 missiles across the country, with critical infrastructure and residential buildings hit Ukraine's armed forces said that it had intercepted 34 of those 81 missiles and four Iranian-made Shahed drones.... Russia used Kinzhal hypersonic weapons in the missile attack, Ukraine's armed forces said. The weapons -- which Ukraine is unable to intercept -- were first used in Ukraine last March and have been several times since then. Russian President Vladimir Putin boasted in 2018 that the missile traveled at 10 times the speed of sound and could evade air defenses, and President Biden said last March that the missile was 'almost impossible to stop.' The head of the International Atomic Energy Agency urged immediate action after the strikes forced the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant to run on emergency power for the sixth time since Russia launched its invasion last year.... Yevgeniy Prigozhin, head of the Wagner mercenary group, claimed his forces took control of the 'entire eastern part' of Bakhmut, in an audio recording released Wednesday on Telegram.... U.S. Director of National Intelligence Avril Haines said Putin is facing 'considerable constraints' and may see prolonging the war as his 'best remaining pathway to eventually securing Russia's strategic interests in Ukraine.' She made the remarks to a panel of senators at an annual hearing on global security threats.... Germany and Poland announced they will deliver 28 Leopard 2 tanks to Ukraine this month."
Charlie Savage of the New York Times: "The Pentagon is blocking the Biden administration from sharing evidence with the International Criminal Court in The Hague gathered by American intelligence agencies about Russian atrocities in Ukraine, according to current and former officials briefed on the matter. American military leaders oppose helping the court investigate Russians because they fear setting a precedent that might help pave the way for it to prosecute Americans. The rest of the administration, including intelligence agencies and the State and Justice Departments, favors giving the evidence to the court, the officials said. President Biden has yet to resolve the impasse, officials said. The evidence is said to include details relevant to an investigation the chief prosecutor of the International Criminal Court, Karim Khan, began after Russia's invasion of Ukraine a year ago. The information reportedly includes material about decisions by Russian officials to deliberately target civilian infrastructure and to abduct thousands of Ukrainian children from occupied territory."
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