February 19, 2023

** Peter Baker of the New York Times: "Former President Jimmy Carter, who at 98 is the longest living president in American history, has decided to forgo further medical treatment and will enter hospice care at his home in Georgia, the Carter Center announced on Saturday." The AP's story is here. (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ~~~

     ~~~ Here's the statement from the Carter Center.

Michael Crowley & David Sanger of the New York Times: "Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken held what American officials described as a confrontational meeting with his Chinese counterpart on Saturday night in Munich, warning him that the flight of a Chinese surveillance balloon across the United States 'must never happen again.' He also cautioned Beijing against providing 'material support' to Russia's war in Ukraine, a prospect he later suggested China was now 'strongly' considering. The U.S. description of the meeting, which resumed diplomatic contact between Washington and Beijing after it broke down over the balloon episode, said nothing about how the Chinese official, Wang Yi, responded. But a brief summary on official Chinese state media described an equally sharp exchange. Mr. Wang, according to that account, said it was up to the United States to 'solve the damage caused by the indiscriminate use of force' when it shot down the large balloon off South Carolina."

Marie: I heard on TV yesterday that Donald Trump gave $1mm to the fake audit of Arizona's 2020 presidential election results. I didn't know that, so I checked it out. Here's the nearly month-old story I missed: ~~~

     ~~~ Brendan Fischer & Ed Pilkington of the Guardian (Jan. 27): "One of the enduring mysteries surrounding the chaotic attempts to overturn Donald Trump's defeat in the 2020 presidential battle has been solved: who made a secret $1m donation to the controversial election 'audit' in Arizona?... The person who partially bankrolled the failed attempt to prove that the election was stolen from Trump was ... Trump. An analysis by the watchdog group Documented has traced funding for the Arizona audit back to Trump's Save America Pac. The group tracked the cash as it passed from Trump's fund through an allied conservative group, and from there to a shell company which in turn handed the money to contractors and individuals involved in the Arizona audit." Various officials, including Republican leaders in the Arizona state senate who approved the fraudit, denied that Trump had anything to do with funding the stunt.

Beyond the Beltway

Florida. Timothy Bella & Hannah Natanson of the Washington Post: "A Florida teacher was fired this week after posting a video of empty bookshelves that Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) called 'a fake narrative' at a time when teachers in the state are removing or covering books in public schools to comply with new state laws. Brian Covey, a substitute teacher at Mandarin Middle School in Jacksonville, posted a video to Twitter last month showing rows of empty bookshelves at the school's library. Covey is one of several teachers in Duval and Manatee counties who've posted photos or videos in recent weeks showing how school districts are responding to new Florida laws regarding books and materials available to children in classrooms and libraries.... When DeSantis was asked about the empty bookshelves in the viral video at a news conference on Tuesday, the governor denounced it as misinformation.... Covey pointed out to The Post that the 6,000 books approved by the state is 0.375 percent of the 1.6 million book titles that Duval County Public Schools says need to be reviewed."

Michigan. Neil Vigdor of the New York Times: "Michigan Republicans on Saturday picked Kristina Karamo to lead the party in the battleground state, fully embracing an election-denying Trump acolyte after her failed bid for statewide office, one in which she unsuccessfully sued to throw out mail-in votes in Detroit and refused to concede. Ms. Karamo won a majority of delegate votes at the state party's convention in Lansing, the state capital, after three rounds of voting that -- slowed by paper ballots and hand counting -- went on hours longer than the period for which the party had originally rented the convention space. Her victory appeared to be an upset of Matthew DePerno, another vocal champion of ... Donald J. Trump's election falsehoods who had his backing in the leadership contest.... The fractured state G.O.P. now appears to have either purged or alienated more moderate voices and is plotting a defiant course as the 2024 presidential election approaches." Beginning with Paragraph 20, Vigdor describes the election shenanigans that made both Karamo & DePerno popular among the delegates. MB: The wingnuts love the crazy.~~~

     ~~~ The AP's report is here. MB: It is less flattering to the party than the Times story.

Way Beyond

Canada. Ian Austen of the New York Times: "One of the biggest political issues in Canada in recent years has been whether Prime Minister Justin Trudeau abused his authority by imposing never before used emergency powers to end protests against Covid regulations that had paralyzed the capital and shut down a border crossing that disrupted billions in trade. On Friday, a public inquiry concluded that Mr. Trudeau was justified in imposing the sweeping measures because it was the only way to restore order and safety and protect the country's economy. At the same time, the judge who oversaw the inquiry said the need to apply such drastic action was the result of a breakdown in policing and a failure of coordination among politicians across various levels of government."

Turkey, Syria. Kelly Cho of the Washington Post: "More than 46,400 people have died across Syria and Turkey after earthquakes tore through the region nearly two weeks ago, officials said. In the final days of search and rescue operations, emergency workers have managed to extract a handful of individuals from the rubble alive.... AFAD [-- Turkey's disaster management agency --] expects to end most of its rescue efforts Sunday night, according to VOA News."

Ukraine, et al. The Washington Post's live briefing of developments Sunday in Russia's war on Ukraine are here: "Ukraine is dominating the agenda at the Munich Security Conference. As the first anniversary of Russia's invasion nears, Vice President Harris reaffirmed the Biden administration's commitment to supporting Kyiv and, in her address to the annual gathering of officials from across the world, accused Russia of committing 'crimes against humanity' in Ukraine.... Russia's ambassador to Washington, Anatoly Antonov, hit back at U.S. allegations of crimes against humanity, accusing the Biden administration of attempting to 'demonize Russia.'... Balloons spotted by Ukraine's Armed Forces over Kyiv and Dnipro in the past week were probably Russian, said Britain's Defense Ministry. The balloons, which carried radar reflectors, 'likely represent a new tactic by Russia to gain information about Ukrainian air defence systems and compel the Ukrainians to expend valuable stocks of surface to air missiles and ammunition,' the ministry said."

News Ledes

New York Times: "Richard Belzer, who became one of American television's most enduring police detectives as John Munch on 'Law & Order: Special Victims Unit' and several other shows, died on Sunday at his home in Beaulieu-sur-Mer, France. He was 78."

New York Times: "An auxiliary bishop of the Archdiocese of Los Angeles was fatally shot at his home on Saturday afternoon, the police said. Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department deputies responding to an emergency medical call found the Roman Catholic bishop, David O'Connell, at his home with a gunshot wound around 1 p.m., the department said. He was pronounced dead at the scene, the authorities said. The circumstances leading to the shooting and the precise nature of the medical call were not immediately clear. The Los Angeles County Sheriff's Office said that it was investigating Bishop O'Connell's death as a murder. Bishop O'Connell, 69, lived in Hacienda Heights, a suburban community in the San Gabriel Valley.... In a statement, José H. Gomez, the archbishop of Los Angeles, described Bishop O'Connell as a 'peacemaker with a heart for the poor and the immigrant.'"

February 18, 2023

Afternoon Update:

** Peter Baker of the New York Times: "Former President Jimmy Carter, who at 98 is the longest living president in American history, has decided to forgo further medical treatment and will enter hospice care at his home in Georgia, the Carter Center announced on Saturday." The AP's story is here.

~~~~~~~~~~

Katie Rogers of the New York Times: "The United States on Friday called off the search for two of the unidentified flying objects that the military shot out of the sky this month, raising the possibility that the devices will never be collected and analyzed, according to a U.S. military official.... The punishing terrain and weather conditions were part of the reason. American authorities had been trying to reach remote areas of Alaska and Lake Huron for two of the objects, but on Friday a U.S. official said the conditions made it too difficult to pinpoint the objects. The Canadian search for the third object over the Yukon was still continuing, the official said." ~~~

~~~ Tara Copp & Lolita Baldor of the AP: "The U.S. has finished efforts to recover the remnants of the large balloon that was shot down off the coast of South Carolina, and analysis of the debris so far reinforces conclusions that it was a Chinese spy balloon, U.S. officials said Friday. Officials said the U.S. believes that Navy, Coast Guard and FBI personnel collected all of the balloon debris off the ocean floor, which included key equipment from the payload that could reveal what information it was able to monitor and collect. U.S. Northern Command said in a statement that the recovery operations ended Thursday and the final pieces are on their way to the FBI lab in Virginia for analysis. It said air and maritime restrictions off South Carolina have been lifted."

Meghann Myers of the Military Times: "The Defense Department dropped a trio of new policies Thursday aimed at closing some of the gaps that the overturn of Roe v. Wade opened up in service members' ability to access reproductive health care. They include fully paid travel expenses for troops who have to go out of state to obtain an abortion and up to three weeks of leave, including to accompany a dependent or spouse, whether it's for an abortion or a fertility treatment. The new regulations also give service members until 20 weeks to notify commanders of a pregnancy." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ~~~

     ~~~ Mr. Potato Head's Revenge. Connor O'Brien of Politico: "Republican Sen. Tommy Tuberville plans to delay the approval of civilian Pentagon nominees and top military promotions after the Defense Department moved ahead with a new policy aimed at shoring up troops' access to abortion services. The Alabama Republican announced Friday that he will hold up the speedy confirmations and promotions over the policies rolled out on Thursday.... Placing a hold on personnel picks means Majority Leader Chuck Schumer will need to convene additional procedural votes, which makes confirming largely uncontroversial nominees much more time-consuming. The holds on general and flag officers are especially inconvenient and could delay dozens, or even hundreds, of top promotions. The Senate usually clears military promotions in large batches with little opposition or fanfare, which Tuberville's objection would upend."

Alexander Bolton of the Hill: "Sen. Rick Scott (R-Fla.) has amended his 12-point Rescue America plan to say that his proposal to sunset all federal legislation in five years does not apply to Social Security, Medicare or the U.S. Navy. After taking relentless fire from President Biden, Democrats and even fellow Republicans, Scott has amended Point Six of his plan, which includes the sunset proposal, to make 'specific exceptions of Social Security, Medicare, national security, veterans benefits, and other essential services.' 'Note to President Biden, Sen. Schumer and Sen. McConnell -- As you know, this was never intended to apply to Social Security, Medicare, or the U.S. Navy, Scott states in bolded language.... In an op-ed published Friday in The Washington Examiner, Scott said Democratic leaders and McConnell played 'gotcha politics' with his plan." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ~~~

     ~~~ Carl Hulse of the New York Times: "As recently as this week, [Sen. Scott] defended the idea that all federal spending must be reconsidered in order to tackle the debt. The senator's retreat was the latest evidence that Republicans, who have long called for revisions to Medicare and Social Security to help rein in the nation's soaring debt, have fully backed off from such proposals -- at least for now -- taking them off the table in spending talks this year with the White House and congressional Democrats." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ~~~

~~~ Mike & Nikki Didn't Get the Memo. Steve Benen of MSNBC: The Daily Beast reports, "'... Mike Pence became the latest prominent Republican to propose sunsetting Social Security and Medicare on Thursday, telling Fox News that "we can replace the New Deal with a better deal."... Pence said it was time to talk "about reforming entitlements" during the current debt ceiling negotiations. "I think we can replace the New Deal programs with a better deal," he declared.'... Nikki Haley ... this week ... said she also wants 'a new system' of social insurance programs for younger American workers. This dovetailed with her previous rhetoric about targeting Social Security and Medicare."

Perry Stein of the Washington Post: "Justice Department officials searched former vice president Mike Pence's Washington office and found no documents with classified markings, an aide to Pence said Friday. The officials removed one binder containing three redacted documents from the office of Pence's political advocacy group, Advancing American Freedom, according to Pence aide Devin O'Malley."

Hannah Rabinowitz of CNN: "A Republican strategist was sentenced Friday to 1.5 years in prison for facilitating an illegal contribution from a Russian businessman to Donald Trump's presidential campaign in 2016. Jessie Benton, who worked for the pro-Trump super PAC and was a longtime aide to former GOP Rep. Ron Paul, was convicted by a federal jury in November on several charges, including conspiring to solicit an illegal foreign campaign contribution. Both the Trump campaign and Trump himself were not aware of the scheme involving Russian money, the Justice Department has said. According to evidence presented at trial, Benton helped a Russian national secure a ticket to a Republican National Committee event in 2016.... The Russian national paid Benton $100,000 to get the ticket.... Benton created a fake invoice suggesting he had received the money for consulting services, donated $25,000 of that money under his own name to the RNC to get a ticket to the event and pocketed the remaining $75,000. A veteran GOP operative, Benton has now been convicted of crimes related to the 2016 and 2012 elections.... Trump pardoned Benton for [the 2012] crimes in late 2020...." ~~~

     ~~~ From Benton's Wiki page: "Benton is closely associated with the Paul family, having served as a campaign manager for both Ron Paul and Rand Paul. He is married to Valori Pyeatt, Ron Paul's granddaughter. Benton served as the campaign manager of Republican Mitch McConnell, until resigning on August 29, 2014, amid rumors surrounding campaign finance allegations during the 2012 presidential election."

Education Is for Dummies. Paul Krugman of the New York Times: "Ron DeSantis ... has been trying to position himself as America's leading crusader against wokeness. And lately higher education has become his most visible target.... Not that long ago most Americans in both parties believed that colleges had a positive effect on the United States. Since the rise of Trumpism, however, Republicans have turned very negative.... MAGA politicians began peddling scare stories about education.... And right-wingers also greatly expanded their definition of what counts as 'liberal propaganda.'... And so a large segment of the population -- the segment DeSantis is courting -- has become hostile to higher education as a whole.... For now, the important thing to understand is that people like DeSantis are attacking education, not because it teaches liberal propaganda, but because it fails to sustain the ignorance they want to preserve." Thanks to P.D. Pepe for the link. (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)

Bowdlerizing Dahl. Hayden Vernon of the Guardian: "Roald Dahl's children's books are being rewritten to remove language deemed offensive by the publisher Puffin. Puffin has hired sensitivity readers to rewrite chunks of the author's text to make sure the books 'can continue to be enjoyed by all today', resulting in extensive changes across Dahl's work. Edits have been made to descriptions of characters' physical appearance. The word 'fat' has been cut from every new edition of relevant books, while the word 'ugly' has also been culled, the Daily Telegraph reported. Augustus Gloop in Charlie and the Chocolate Factory is now described as 'enormous'. In The Twits, Mrs Twit is no longer 'ugly and beastly' but just 'beastly'. Hundreds of changes were made to the original text -- and some passages not written by Dahl have been added." ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: See, folks. You don't have to ban books; you can just gut them till they're boring & unrecognizable (and why not give yourselves a co-authorship credit).

Noam Scheiber of the New York Times: "A federal judge in Michigan issued an injunction on Friday banning Starbucks from firing U.S. workers because they seek to form a union or engage in other collective activities. The move is the first nationwide judicial mandate related to the labor campaign that has led to the unionization of more than 275 company-owned Starbucks stores in little more than a year. Starbucks said it would appeal the decision. Experts said the injunction would allow the National Labor Relations Board to come before the judge and seek more rapid reinstatement of workers who it believed had been terminated for union organizing." The Hill's report is here. ~~~

~~~ Capitalism Is Awesome, Ctd.

Peter Eavis & Mark Walker of the New York Times: "The rate of accidents on Norfolk Southern's railway increased in each of the last four years, according to a recent company presentation. The record has worsened as executives at Norfolk Southern and other railroads have been telling investors on Wall Street that they can bolster their profit margins by keeping a lid on costs. At the same time, railway companies have lobbied against new rules aimed at making trains safer.... Over the past five years, [Norfolk Southern] paid shareholders nearly $18 billion through stock buybacks and dividends -- twice as much as the amount it invested in its railways and operations.... On Friday, Senator Maria Cantwell [D-Wash.] announced an investigation by the Senate Commerce Committee, which she leads, into railroads' handling of hazardous materials.... Criticisms that railroads are putting profits over other concerns echo the complaints of railroad union members who nearly went on strike last year."

Lauren Gurley of the Washington Post: "One of the country's largest food sanitation service providers has paid $1.5 million in penalties for illegally employing at least 102 children to clean 13 meatpacking plants on overnight shifts, the Labor Department announced Friday. The company, Packers Sanitation Services, allegedly employed minors as young as 13 to use caustic chemicals to clean 'razor-sharp saws,' head splitters and other dangerous equipment at meatpacking facilities in eight states, mostly in the Midwest and the South, in some cases for years. The plants are operated by some of the country's most powerful meat and poultry producers, including JBS Foods, Tyson and Cargill. Those companies were not charged or fined. Investigators learned in recent months that at least three children suffered injuries, including a chemical burn to the face, while sanitizing kill floors and other areas of slaughterhouses in the middle of the night.... Packers is privately owned by Blackstone, one of the world's largest private equity firms, and employs roughly 17,000 workers." The Huffington Post story is here.

Annals of "Journalism," Ctd.
(With an Awesome Capitalism Subtext)

Oliver Darcy of CNN: "After the [2020] election, an incensed Trump had attacked Fox News and encouraged his followers to switch to Newsmax, a smaller right-wing talk channel that was saturating its airwaves with election denialism. Trump was enraged that Fox News was the first network to call the critical swing state of Arizona for now-president Joe Biden. And he couldn't stand that the network, rightfully, declared Biden as the winner of the presidential contest. In the days and weeks after the presidential contest had been called, Fox News' audience listened to Trump and rebelled against the channel. Fox News shed a chunk of its audience while Newsmax gained significant viewership.... Rupert Murdoch, the Fox Corporation chairman, emailed Suzanne Scott, the Fox News chief executive..., and stressed to her, 'everything at stake here.'"

Aaron Blake of the Washington Post has some takeaways from the Dominion Voting Systems motion for summary judgment against Fox "News" that gives us a good idea of how Fox "adjusted" their content to fit viewer expectations rather than facts: "The filing is rife with examples of Fox News hosts and executives worrying that departing from Trump's line, or questioning his team's claims, might hurt their business model.... Bill Sammon, then Fox News senior vice president, added to the laments at one point, saying, 'It's remarkable how weak ratings' make 'good journalists do bad things.'... The filing repeatedly shows Fox News hosts and superiors objecting to how their colleagues fact-checked the Trump team's claims.... Reporter Kristin Fisher fact-checked [Rudy] Giuliani and [Sidney] Powell's Nov. 19 news conference, saying, 'So much of what he said was simply not true or has already been thrown out in court.'... Fisher said afterward she was reprimanded by her boss, Bryan Boughton.... The filing also makes clear that Fox acknowledged, broadly speaking, that the likes of Giuliani and Powell were not to be taken seriously. But such figures still got platforms on the network.... Fox executives also seemed to understand their hosts were too willing to broadcast wild claims." See also yesterday's links.

Here's Dominion's motion for summary judgment.

Marcy Wheeler: "With its filing, Dominion has given a snapshot of the ways and whys in which Fox News helped magnify false voter fraud claims, especially (though not exclusively) those of Sidney Powell.... Fox appears to have perceived that they had to play along with Trump's false claims or risk permanent damage to their brand.... [Sean] Hannity described how much reporting the truth (and Chris Wallace serving as a competent moderator for a Presidential debate) had undermined Fox's brand.... The response to [Fox 'News' reporter] Jacqui Heinrich's fact check of a Trump tweet is particularly stunning, as Hannity immediately called to have her fired for uttering the truth.... After Hannity 'dropped a bomb' about Heinrich's fact check with Scott, Heinrich deleted her tweet.... Keep in mind not just how [Dominion] proves Fox to be nothing but a propaganda platform aiming to help the Republican Party, but also the evidence it makes available to Jack Smith as he considers charges against those who used false claims about voting fraud to gin up a coup attempt.... Fox did all this ... knowing the intent was to harm the United States.... 'On November 18,' [according to the brief, 'Tucker producer Alex] Pfeiffer texted Carlson that powerful election fraud allegations like Powell's "need to be backed up" and could lead to undermining an elected president if Biden's confirmed,to which Carlson responded, "Yep. It's bad."'"

digby: "Whether or not [Jack] Smith can use any of this in a criminal case is unknown. But it certainly informs it."

Michelle Goldberg of the New York Times: "... as an explosive new court filing in Dominion Voting Systems' defamation lawsuit against Fox News demonstrates, in trying to explain why [Tucker] Carlson and many of his colleagues do what they do, we shouldn't underestimate simple greed. The brief ... offers a portrait of extravagant cynicism. It reveals how obsessed Carlson and other leading Fox News figures were with audience share, and their fear of being outflanked by even further-right outlets like Newsmax.... Hyping false claims about election fraud was a way for Fox to win its audience back.... The [Dominion] brief reveals that some of [Sidney Powell's] claims about Dominion were based on an email [she] had received from someone who claimed to be capable of 'time travel in a semiconscious state.'... [When] Carlson hosted MyPillow founder Mike Lindell ... and let him sound off about Dominion without resistance..., MyPillow ... was Carlson's single biggest advertiser."

Michael Luciano of Mediaite: "On the night of Jan. 6, 2021, Fox News host Tucker Carlson referred to ... Donald Trump as 'a demonic force..., a destroyer. But he's not going to destroy us,' in a text to his producer after Trump's supporters stormed the Capitol that day.... On his show, Carlson has downplayed the Capitol riot and even referred to it as an 'election justice protest.'" The post contains an excerpt of the Dominion filing showing how panicked TuKKKer was after the network called Arizona for Joe Biden.

Erik Wemple of the Washington Post: "Even the generous protections of U.S. libel might not save Fox News in this case."

Steve M., with a sobering reality check: "The $1.6 billion in damages Dominion is seeking seems like a lot of money, but it's about a month and a half of revenue for Fox Corporation.... It seems quite possible that the decision to spread these lies made Fox more money than it will ever pay out. The viewers are back. Tucker Carlson is the most politically influential media figure in America. At Fox, life is good. So it was probably worth the cost."

Here's one time somebody at Fox showed some sense: ~~~

     ~~~ Annie Grayer of CNN: "... Donald Trump tried to call into Fox News after his supporters attacked the US Capitol on January 6, 2021, but the network refused to put him on air, according to court filings from Dominion Voting Systems.... The House select committee that investigated the January 6 attack did not know that Trump had made this call, according to a source familiar with the panel's work.... [Trump's] His newly revealed call to Fox News shows some of the gaps in the record that still exist, due to roadblocks the committee faced. 'The afternoon of January 6, after the Capitol came under attack, then-President Trump dialed into Lou Dobbs: show attempting to get on air,' Dominion lawyers wrote in their legal brief. 'But Fox executives vetoed that decision,' Dominion's filing continued.... The network rebuffed Trump because 'it would be irresponsible to put him on the air' and 'could impact a lot of people in a negative way,' according to Fox Business Network President Lauren Petterson, whose testimony was cited by Dominion in the new filing. Dobbs show on Fox Business -- in which he routinely promoted baseless conspiracies about the 2020 election – was canceled a few weeks after the January 6 insurrection."

Michael Grynbaum & John Koblin of the New York Times: "Don Lemon, the CNN morning-show anchor, faced an internal rebuke from the chairman of his own network on Friday after his on-air comments about women and aging set off an uproar inside the cable news channel. CNN's chairman, Chris Licht, opened his daily 9 a.m. editorial call by saying that the remarks by Mr. Lemon, which were widely viewed as sexist and insensitive, had left him 'disappointed.'... Mr. Lemon, a CNN veteran with a history of televised gaffes, roiled colleagues on Thursday when he asserted on-air that Nikki Haley, the 51-year-old Republican presidential candidate, 'isn't in her prime, sorry.... A woman is considered to be in her prime in her 20s and 30s and maybe 40s,' Mr. Lemon said, to the visible dismay of his 'CNN This Morning' co-anchors Poppy Harlow and Kaitlan Collins. He refused to back down after Ms. Harlow questioned his remarks, telling her to 'look it up.' On Friday, a far more contrite-sounding Mr. Lemon addressed the matter in a six-minute monologue to the CNN newsroom. 'I am sorry,' Mr. Lemon said. 'I did not mean to hurt anyone. I did not mean to offend anyone.' He added that 'the people I'm closest to in this organization are women,' citing a list of female colleagues including the anchors Dana Bash and Erin Burnett." MB: Yeah, some of his best friends are women. And they are in their prime. (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ~~~

~~~ MEANWHILE, in Canada, Apparently No Longer in Her Prime. Norimitsu Onishi of the New York Times: "A household name in Canada for decades, [Lisa] LaFlamme was unceremoniously dismissed last summer by CTV, the country's largest private television network, after what her employer described as a 'business decision' to take the program 'in a different direction.'... Her departure set off multifaceted debates across Canada, especially after The Globe and Mail newspaper reported it may have been linked to Ms. LaFlamme-s hair -- which she had chosen to let go gray during the pandemic when hair salons and other businesses shut down. The network's owner, Bell Media, which denied that 'age, gender and gray hair' had been factors, named a 39-year-old male correspondent, Omar Sachedina, as her successor." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)

Ashley Parker & Justine McDaniel of the Washington Post: "A Washington Post analysis of seven high-profile cases in which people died after use of force by police officers -- from the fatal injury of Freddie Gray in police custody in 2015 to the death of [Tyre] Nichols last month -- found a familiar pattern: The initial police version of events was misleading, incomplete or wrong, with the first accounts consistently in conflict with the full set of facts once they finally emerged. In cases where the police are later accused of excessive and unwarranted use of force, the first draft of history is almost always written in part by those same officers, who often portray the police in flattering ways and the alleged suspect in less flattering ones."

Beyond the Beltway

South Carolina. Nicholas Bogel-Burroughs of the New York Times: "Prosecutors trying to convict Alex Murdaugh of murder in the killing of his wife and son revealed on Friday that the two victims had discovered bags of pills in Mr. Murdaugh's computer bag a month before the killings, disclosing the surprising new evidence of a possible motive before resting their case against the prominent lawyer. 'When you get here we have to talk,' Mr. Murdaugh's son, Paul Murdaugh, said in a May 2021 text to his father. 'Mom found several bags of pills in your computer bag.' The message bolsters the prosecution's argument that at the time of the murders, a 'perfect storm' was approaching Mr. Murdaugh, 54, that threatened to expose his embezzlement of millions of dollars from his law firm and clients, as well as his lavish spending on his addiction to painkillers." ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: BTW, I recently discovered that Law & Crime covers the Murdaugh trial every day the court is in session, and the site also apparently runs video of the trial in progress.

Tennessee. Jessica Jaglois & Joseph Goldstein of the New York Times: "The five former officers accused of killing Tyre Nichols, a 29-year-old Black man pulled over for a traffic stop, pleaded not guilty on Friday to second-degree murder charges a month after police and traffic cameras captured the officers punching, kicking and striking Mr. Nichols with a baton. The five men -- Tadarrius Bean, Demetrius Haley, Emmitt Martin III, Desmond Mills Jr. and Justin Smith -- also face additional charges, including official misconduct, official oppression and kidnapping. They were formally arraigned on Friday in a brief court proceeding, less than a month after top police officials fired the officers." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)

Wat Beyond

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

     ~~~ The Washington Post's live briefings for Saturday are here: "Global political and defense leaders, including Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Vice President Harris, are in Munich, Germany, for a security conference focused heavily on the war in Ukraine. Harris will make public remarks later Saturday, a day after she met with French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz.... Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko offered to manufacture Su-25 fighter jets for Russia during a summit with Putin. The two largely avoided discussion about the war, despite their meeting occurring a week before the first anniversary of the Russian invasion, The Washington Post reported."

Niha Masih of the Washington Post: "More than 30,000 members of the Wagner Group, a Russian mercenary outfit, have been injured or killed in Ukraine, the White House estimates. Of those, about 9,000 were killed in action, National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said at a briefing Friday.... The group was designated a transnational criminal organization by the United States in January. Of the 9,000 or so mercenaries killed, half lost their lives in the two months since mid-December, Kirby said. Russian activists and U.S. officials have said that Wagner has boosted its ranks by recruiting prisoners, many of whom are poorly trained and ill-equipped to fight. A video that circulated last year appeared to show [Putin ally Yevgeniy] Prigozhin promising inmates a pardon after six months of fighting."

February 17, 2023

Afternoon Update:

Tara Copp & Lolita Baldor of the AP: "The U.S. has finished efforts to recover the remnants of the large balloon that was shot down off the coast of South Carolina, and analysis of the debris so far reinforces conclusions that it was a Chinese spy balloon, U.S. officials said Friday. Officials said the U.S. believes that Navy, Coast Guard and FBI personnel collected all of the balloon debris off the ocean floor, which included key equipment from the payload that could reveal what information it was able to monitor and collect. U.S. Northern Command said in a statement that the recovery operations ended Thursday and the final pieces are on their way to the FBI lab in Virginia for analysis. It said air and maritime restrictions off South Carolina have been lifted."

Meghann Myers of the Military Times: "The Defense Department dropped a trio of new policies Thursday aimed at closing some of the gaps that the overturn of Roe v. Wade opened up in service members' ability to access reproductive health care. They include fully paid travel expenses for troops who have to go out of state to obtain an abortion and up to three weeks of leave, including to accompany a dependent or spouse, whether it's for an abortion or a fertility treatment. The new regulations also give service members until 20 weeks to notify commanders of a pregnancy."

Alexander Bolton of the Hill: "Sen. Rick Scott (R-Fla.) has amended his 12-point Rescue America plan to say that his proposal to sunset all federal legislation in five years does not apply to Social Security, Medicare or the U.S. Navy. After taking relentless fire from President Biden, Democrats and even fellow Republicans, Scott has amended Point Six of his plan, which includes the sunset proposal, to make 'specific exceptions of Social Security, Medicare, national security, veterans benefits, and other essential services.' 'Note to President Biden, Sen. Schumer and Sen. McConnell -- As you know, this was never intended to apply to Social Security, Medicare, or the U.S. Navy, Scott states in bolded language.... In an op-ed published Friday in The Washington Examiner, Scott said Democratic leaders and McConnell played 'gotcha politics' with his plan." ~~~

     ~~~ Carl Hulse of the New York Times: "As recently as this week, [Sen. Scott] defended the idea that all federal spending must be reconsidered in order to tackle the debt. The senator's retreat was the latest evidence that Republicans, who have long called for revisions to Medicare and Social Security to help rein in the nation's soaring debt, have fully backed off from such proposals -- at least for now -- taking them off the table in spending talks this year with the White House and congressional Democrats."

Education Is for Dummies. Paul Krugman of the New York Times: "Ron DeSantis ... has been trying to position himself as America's leading crusader against wokeness. And lately higher education has become his most visible target.... Not that long ago most Americans in both parties believed that colleges had a positive effect on the United States. Since the rise of Trumpism, however, Republicans have turned very negative.... MAGA politicians began peddling scare stories about education.... And right-wingers also greatly expanded their definition of what counts as 'liberal propaganda.'... And so a large segment of the population -- the segment DeSantis is courting -- has become hostile to higher education as a whole.... For now, the important thing to understand is that people like DeSantis are attacking education, not because it teaches liberal propaganda, but because it fails to sustain the ignorance they want to preserve." Thanks to P.D. Pepe for the link.

Annals of "Journalism," Ctd. Michael Grynbaum & John Koblin of the New York Times: "Don Lemon, the CNN morning-show anchor, faced an internal rebuke from the chairman of his own network on Friday after his on-air comments about women and aging set off an uproar inside the cable news channel. CNN's chairman, Chris Licht, opened his daily 9 a.m. editorial call by saying that the remarks by Mr. Lemon, which were widely viewed as sexist and insensitive, had left him 'disappointed.'... Mr. Lemon, a CNN veteran with a history of televised gaffes, roiled colleagues on Thursday when he asserted on-air that Nikki Haley, the 51-year-old Republican presidential candidate, 'isn't in her prime, sorry.... A woman is considered to be in her prime in her 20s and 30s and maybe 40s,' Mr. Lemon said, to the visible dismay of his 'CNN This Morning' co-anchors Poppy Harlow and Kaitlan Collins. He refused to back down after Ms. Harlow questioned his remarks, telling her to 'look it up.' On Friday, a far more contrite-sounding Mr. Lemon addressed the matter in a six-minute monologue to the CNN newsroom. 'I am sorry,' Mr. Lemon said. 'I did not mean to hurt anyone. I did not mean to offend anyone.' He added that 'the people I'm closest to in this organization are women,' citing a list of female colleagues including the anchors Dana Bash and Erin Burnett." MB: Yeah, some of his best friends are women. And they are in their prime. ~~~

~~~ MEANWHILE, in Canada, Apparently No Longer in Her Prime. Norimitsu Onishi of the New York Times: "A household name in Canada for decades, [Lisa] LaFlamme was unceremoniously dismissed last summer by CTV, the country's largest private television network, after what her employer described as a 'business decision' to take the program 'in a different direction.'... Her departure set off multifaceted debates across Canada, especially after The Globe and Mail newspaper reported it may have been linked to Ms. LaFlamme's hair -- which she had chosen to let go gray during the pandemic when hair salons and other businesses shut down. The network's owner, Bell Media, which denied that 'age, gender and gray hair' had been factors, named a 39-year-old male correspondent, Omar Sachedina, as her successor."

Tennessee. Jessica Jaglois & Joseph Goldstein of the New York Times: "The five former officers accused of killing Tyre Nichols, a 29-year-old Black man pulled over for a traffic stop, pleaded not guilty on Friday to second-degree murder charges a month after police and traffic cameras captured the officers punching, kicking and striking Mr. Nichols with a baton. The five men -- Tadarrius Bean, Demetrius Haley, Emmitt Martin III, Desmond Mills Jr. and Justin Smith -- also face additional charges, including official misconduct, official oppression and kidnapping. They were formally arraigned on Friday in a brief court proceeding, less than a month after top police officials fired the officers."

~~~~~~~~~~

Peter Baker of the New York Times: "President Biden sought to calm the furor over Chinese aerial spying on Thursday, reassuring Americans that the latest objects shot down were not tied to Beijing and announcing that he planned to speak with President Xi Jinping to keep lines of communication open. In his first extended statement about the spate of floating craft above North America, Mr. Biden said the original Chinese spy balloon downed by an American missile on Feb. 4 represented a 'violation of our sovereignty' that was 'unacceptable.' But he said the three objects shot down since then were likely research balloons, not spy craft.... The uproar on Capitol Hill over the Chinese balloon and the three other objects in recent days has forced the White House to recalibrate its public message in response to both the domestic politics at home and the diplomatic challenge abroad." ~~~

     ~~~ Zeke Miller & Chris Megerian of the AP: "President Joe Biden said Thursday that the U.S. is developing 'sharper rules' to track, monitor and potentially shoot down unknown aerial objects, following three weeks of high-stakes drama sparked by the discovery of a suspected Chinese spy balloon transiting much of the country. The president has directed national security adviser Jake Sullivan to lead an 'interagency team' to review U.S. procedures after the U.S. shot down the Chinese balloon, as well as three other objects that Biden said the U.S. now believes are most likely 'benign' objects launched by private companies or research institutions. While not expressing regret for downing the three still-unidentified objects, Biden said he hoped the new rules would help 'distinguish between those that are likely to pose safety and security risks that necessitate action and those that do not.'" (Also linked yesterday.)

Michael Shear & Lawrence Altman of the New York Times: "President Biden is a 'healthy, vigorous, 80-year-old,' his doctor said Thursday following a physical exam conducted just weeks before the oldest president in American history is expected to say he is running for a second term. Kevin C. O'Connor, the president's longtime physician, said in a letter released by the White House that Mr. Biden's health has not changed much since his last physical about 15 months ago. He said Mr. Biden is 'fit to successfully execute the duties of the presidency, to include those as chief executive, head of state and commander in chief.'"

Annie Karni of the New York Times: "Senator John Fetterman, Democrat of Pennsylvania, who was hospitalized last week after feeling lightheaded, checked himself into Walter Reed National Military Medical Center on Wednesday night to receive treatment for clinical depression, his office said on Thursday.... [Mr. Fetterman's spokesman] said that after undergoing an evaluation on Monday by Dr. Brian P. Monahan, the attending physician in Congress, Mr. Fetterman followed the recommendation for inpatient care at Walter Reed." An AP story is here. (Also linked yesterday.)

Stephanie Lai & Jim Tankersley of the New York Times: "A sweeping new entitlement program to provide medical care to millions of veterans who may have been exposed to trash burn pits on U.S. military bases around the world may increase federal spending on veterans by at least $400 billion and as much as $789 billion over a decade, according to the official budgetary scorekeepers in Congress. In an outlook on the nation's debt released on Wednesday, the Congressional Budget Office, a nonpartisan federal agency, reported that deficits would increase by $1.5 trillion because of legislative changes made since May, attributing more than half of that sum to costs associated with veterans' benefits from the Honoring Our PACT Act." MB: Yeah, well, consider that a cost of our never-ending wars. And the cost to us ordinary taxpayers is nothing compared to the cost to those who got sick or died because of exposure to the burn pits.

CNN is live-updating developments in the Fulton County, Georgia, special grand jury looking into efforts to overturn the 2020 presidential election. The judge in the matter released a partial grand jury report late this morning:

"A judge in Fulton County, Georgia, has made public some parts of a report from a special grand jury that investigated Donald Trump's actions after the 2020 election in the state.... The special grand jury recommended that the Fulton County district attorney consider indicting some witnesses for perjury.... The special grand jury in Georgia that investigated Donald Trump's attempts to overturn the 2020 election 'unanimously' concluded that there wasn't widespread voter fraud, rejecting Trump's conspiracy theories after hearing 'extensive testimony' from election officials, poll workers and other experts." (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~

~~~ The New York Times liveblog is here. (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~

~~~ Marie: The portions of the report that have been released are short. You can read them here, where they are attached as exhibits to the judge's order.

Rachel Weiner of the Washington Post: "Leaders in the far-right Proud Boys group, accused in federal court of plotting to use violence to keep Donald Trump in power, are asking the Justice Department to help them force the former president to testify. 'At all times relevant, Trump was president of the United States, and it's the government's obligation to produce him,' attorney Norm Pattis said in court Thursday. His client, Joseph Biggs, is one of five defendants accused of engaging in a seditious conspiracy to attack the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021. Pattis did not explain what defendants hope to learn from Trump, only that he was joined in the subpoena effort by attorneys for co-defendant Dominic Pezzola. He said he needed help from the government to serve a subpoena on Trump because the U.S. Secret Service continues to protect the former president.... The subpoena effort is almost certain to fail." An NBC News story is here.

In Today's Tales from the Darkside. Timothy Bella of the Washington Post: "As Infowars founder Alex Jones is facing bankruptcy for damages he owes to the families of victims of the mass killing at Sandy Hook Elementary School, a new filing shows the right-wing conspiracy theorist has been 'holding firearms' for people who participated in events in D.C. on Jan. 6, 2021.... Jones's personal financial disclosures were shared in a bankruptcy filing on Tuesday that was obtained by The Washington Post. In the section of the bankruptcy statement that asks Jones to identify property he owns or controls for somebody else, he described the items he has in limited detail. 'Holding firearms for certain January 6th participants to be provided,' the entry says." MB: I should think the FBI would want to know a little more about this unusual arrangement.

Independent investigative journalist Murray Waas relates how, on January 20, 2021, on his last full day in office, Donald Trump declassified about a thousand pages of records related to the Russia investigation, and around that time shared about 30 pages of these documents with right-wing writer John Solomon, who wrote stories based on those pages. BUT on the morning of January 20, Mark Meadows wrote a memo saying the docs were not really declassified and the he "was 'returning the bulk of the ... documents to the Department of Justice' because of concerns by the department that their release would violate the Privacy Act." And it all gets murkier from there, as Solomon told Waas contradictory stories about who conveyed the documents to him. MB: I'd take all this with a grain of salt, since all of the principles in the story are liars. But -- if Waas' reporting is accurate -- this does show how Trump intended to use classified material to his advantage and to declassify what he thought would put his supposed enemies in a bad light. Moreover, if Trump's declassify-and-release stunt set the hair of even Mark Meadows on fire, it's obvious that Trump was cavalier with classified documents. And that was before he distributed them around his various homes and used one of them as a nightlight cover. Not that this surprises any of us.

** Jeremy Peters & Katie Robertson of the New York Times: "Newly disclosed messages and testimony from some of the biggest stars and most senior executives at Fox News revealed that they privately expressed disbelief about ... Donald J. Trump's false claims that the 2020 election was stolen from him, even though the network continued to promote many of those lies on the air. The hosts Tucker Carlson, Sean Hannity and Laura Ingraham, as well as others at the company, repeatedly insulted and mocked Trump advisers, including Sidney Powell and Rudolph W. Giuliani, in text messages with each other in the weeks after the election, according to a legal filing on Thursday by Dominion Voting Systems.... The messages also show that such doubts extended to the highest levels of the Fox Corporation, with Rupert Murdoch, its chairman, calling Mr. Trump's voter fraud claims 'really crazy stuff.'... Dominion is suing Fox for defamation in a case that poses considerable financial and reputational risk for the country's most-watched cable news network.... The brief shows that Fox News stars and executives were afraid of losing their audience, which started to defect to the conservative cable news alternatives Newsmax and OAN after Fox News called Arizona for Mr. Biden. And they seemed concerned with the impact that would have on the network's profitability.... The law shields journalists from liability if they report on false statements, but not if they promote them." ~~~

     ~~~ NPR's report, by David Folkenflik, is here. ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: Calling Jack Smith! Calling Jack Smith! Aren't the Fox people part of the vast right-wing conspiracy to overturn the government? They spread lies specifically to incite their dimwitted viewers, they hosted the liars & nodded along purposely not debunking the lies, they knew they were perpetrating a scam. If you're not going to charge them, Jack, at least call them in for questioning to ruffle their chicken feathers.

The Pandemic, Ctd. Akshay Syal of NBC News: "Immunity acquired from a Covid infection provides strong, lasting protection against the most severe outcomes of the illness, according to research published Thursday in The Lancet -- protection, experts say, that's on par with what's provided through two doses of an mRNA vaccine. Infection-acquired immunity cut the risk of hospitalization and death from a Covid reinfection by 88% for at least 10 months, the study found."

Beyond the Beltway

No More Bodice-Rippers! Hallie Lieberman of the Guardian: "A wave of proposed legislation pushed by Republicans across the US at the state level is aimed at outlawing aspects of sexuality that could have a huge impact on Americans' private lives and businesses. Opponents to the laws before legislatures in various states say the planned new legislation could spawn prosecution of breast-pump companies in Texas for nipples on advertising, or a bookstore might be banned from selling romance novels in West Virginia, or South Carolina could imprison standup comics if a risque joke is heard by a young person. The bills are part of a post-Roe nationwide strategy by the religious wing of the Republican party.... They range from banning all businesses that sell sex-related goods to anti-drag queen bills." MB: Yes, it would be horrifying if the kiddies found out that women -- like men -- have nipples and that women's nipples can perform a life-giving function.

Arizona. Jacques Billeaud of the AP: "An Arizona appeals court has rejected Republican Kari Lake's challenge of her defeat in the Arizona governor's race to Democrat Katie Hobbs, denying her request to throw out election results in the state's most populous county and hold the election again. In a ruling on Thursday, the Arizona Court of Appeals wrote Lake, who claimed problems with ballot printers at some polling places on Election Day were the result of intentional misconduct, presented no evidence that voters whose ballots were unreadable by tabulators at polling places were not able to vote. The court said that even a witness called by Lake to testify had confirmed that ballots that couldn't initially be read at polling places could still ultimately have their vote counted."

Idaho. State Republicans Would Criminalize Giving Covid Vaccines. Alexandra Duggan of KTVB Boise: "Two Idaho lawmakers have introduced a bill to charge those who administer mRNA vaccines with a misdemeanor. Sen. Tammy Nichols, R-Middleton, and Rep. Judy Boyle, R-Midvale, sponsored HB 154. It was introduced in the House Health & Welfare Committee on Feb. 15 by Nichols."

Louisiana. Remy Tumin of the New York Times: "A police officer in Shreveport, La., was arrested on Thursday and charged with negligent homicide in the Feb. 3 killing of an unarmed Black man, the Louisiana State Police said as it released body camera footage of the fatal encounter. Alonzo Bagley, 43, was killed at his apartment complex after officers responded to a report of domestic disturbance just before 11 p.m. According to the Louisiana State Police, Mr. Bagley jumped from a second-story balcony and ran after the police entered the apartment. They ran after him, and about a minute later, Officer Alexander Tyler, 23, who is white, shot Mr. Bagley in the chest. He was later pronounced dead at a nearby hospital."

Ohio. Scott Dance, et al., of the Washington Post: "Nearly two weeks after a massive train derailment and fire unleashed a glut of toxic chemicals on [East Palestine, Ohio]..., the nation's top environmental regulator on Thursday told unnerved, exasperated residents that the Biden administration will make sure the disaster gets cleaned up -- and that those responsible for it are held accountable. 'This incident has understandably shaken this community to its core,' Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Michael Regan said in an afternoon news conference here, acknowledging the lack of trust many residents have expressed about the response to the Feb. 3 disaster.... The Ohio derailment has raised questions about the federal government's oversight of hazardous material shipments, and created a massive political headache for the Biden administration. Elected leaders in both parties have said the White House should have acted more swiftly to the rail disaster.... White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said Thursday that ... representatives from multiple federal agencies have been on the ground in East Palestine, some since Feb. 4, helping state and local officials respond to the catastrophe."

Tennessee. Santos 2.0. Another GOP Congressman with a Fake Résumé. Phil Williams of WTVF Nashville: "If you believe Middle Tennessee's newest congressman, he's not only a businessman, he's also an economist, a nationally recognized expert in tax policy and health care, a trained police officer, even an expert in international sex crimes. But an exclusive NewsChannel 5 investigation discovered that Andy Ogles' personal life story is filled with exaggerations.... There's little evidence that Ogles ever received any formal training in economics [or that he was an expert on tax policy and health care]." As for his claimed career as a law enforcement officer specializing in human trafficking, "Ogles was sworn in as a volunteer reserve deputy with the Williamson County Sheriff's Office in July 2009.... He lost that position two years later for not meeting minimum standards, making no progress in field training and failure to attend required meetings." There's no record of his having done any work related to international human trafficking." ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: I'm wondering if the Republican Congressional Campaign Committee conducts seminars in the basement of the Capitol, teaching ne'er-do-wells how to fake their CVs.

Way Beyond

Ukraine, et al. The Washington Post's live briefing of developments Friday in Russia's war on Ukraine is here: "Political, intelligence and defense leaders from across the world gathered in Germany for the start of the annual Munich Security Conference, as Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky warned that a long-anticipated Russian offensive had already begun. Both Vice President Harris and Secretary of State Antony Blinken are attending the meeting, with Harris set to co[n]vey the United States' continuing commitment to Kyiv. On the ground in Ukraine, heavy fighting continues in Bakhmut, the eastern city that military experts say has become a symbolic rather than strategic target. Yevgeniy Prigozhin, the leader of the Wagner Group, a Kremlin-linked mercenary organization, told state media that Russia would not encircle the battered city until March or April.... Russian shelling in Bakhmut killed five civilians, injured nine and destroyed many residential buildings on Thursday, the office of Ukraine's prosecutor general said....

"Russian spy agencies have experienced greater damage after a year of war in Ukraine than they have since the end of the Cold War, The Post reports. The campaign to catch Russian spies appears to have caught Moscow off guard, blunting their ability to carry out espionage operations. The United States and its partners in the Group of Seven are planning to hit Russia with major new sanctions coinciding with the war's first anniversary on Feb. 24, a senior U.S. official said Thursday, according to AFP."

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

Australia. Frances Vinall of the Washington Post: "Indigenous Australians will launch a campaign Saturday to change the constitution and ensure that Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders' views are better represented in Parliament, part of a years-long effort to ensure they are consulted on major policy initiatives. The effort to have the Voice to Parliament enshrined in the country's founding document is a 'once-in-a-generation opportunity,' Minister for Indigenous Australians Linda Burney said last month. The Voice, as it is shortened Down Under, would give First Nations people a right to express their views on policy through representatives elected by their communities. Lawmakers would not be bound to follow the body's advice but they would be required, at least, to listen."

News Lede

Mississippi. New York Times: "A 52-year-old man armed with three guns went on a shooting rampage in a rural Mississippi county on Friday, killing six people, including his ex-wife, and shocking a community that had not seen such mass violence in more than two decades, the authorities said. The man, Richard Dale Crum, of Arkabutla, Miss., who was in custody by Friday afternoon, began his killing spree around 11 a.m. when he drove to a convenience store in his hometown, which has about 290 residents, and fatally shot a man who appeared to have no connection to him, said Brad Lance, the Tate County sheriff.... By early afternoon, deputies in Arkabutla, an unincorporated community about 45 miles south of Memphis, realized they were dealing with multiple killings, several crime scenes and questions about what had possibly driven a local resident to fatally shoot six people, including some he apparently didn't know."