The Commentariat -- March 30, 2016
Sabrina Tavernise of the New York Times: "The Food and Drug Administration ... relax[ed] the requirements for taking a medication that induces abortion, a move that is expected to expand access to the procedure. The move was a victory for abortion rights advocates who had been fighting laws in states like Texas, North Dakota and Ohio that required providers to follow the requirements on the original F.D.A. labels for the drug when conducting abortions by medication."
Michael Shear of the New York Times: "President Obama on Wednesday commuted the sentences of 61 federal prisoners convicted of drug and firearm crimes, extending his efforts to reshape a criminal justice sentencing system he has said is unduly harsh, unfair to minorities and outdated. More than a third of the prisoners who will soon be released were serving life in prison as a result of federal sentencing laws that imposed severe punishments for the distribution of cocaine and other drugs."
Jordan Fabian of the Hill: "White House press secretary Josh Earnest on Wednesday condemned ... Donald Trump for standing by his campaign manager after he was charged with battery.... 'I am confident that neither President Obama nor President Bush would tolerate someone on their staff being accused of physically assaulting a reporter, lying about it and then blaming the victim,' Earnest told reporters. Earnest said Trump's response to the Lewandowski incident, as well his other controversial actions, is 'completely outside the realm of acceptable behavior.... I am also confident in telling you nobody is particularly surprised that that's behavior that Mr. Trump doesn't just seem to tolerate, he seems to encourage,' he added." ...
... Nick Gass of Politico: "Karl Rove, David Axelrod and David Plouffe are not taking kindly to Donald Trump's speculation that they roughed up reporters worse than his own campaign manager Corey Lewandowski. The three former strategists told Politico Wednesday morning that Trump is not only flat-out wrong, he's also irresponsible.... During a telephone interview with 'Fox and Friends,' co-anchor Brian Kilmeade asserted that campaign managers "should not be putting their hands on reporters," remarking, "Karl Rove didn't do it. David Plouffe didn't do it, David Axelrod didn't do it. That's why you have Secret Service and that's why you have your own security.' 'OK and you don't know that they didn't do it, because I guarantee you they did, probably did stuff that was more physical than this,' Trump replied. 'More physical, because this is not even physical. And frankly, she shouldn't have her hands on me. Nobody says that. But she shouldn't have her hands on me.'" Emphasis added. ...
... CW: No, Nick, that wasn't "speculation" on Trump's part. That was an out-and-out accusation that Rove, Plouffe & Axelrod physically, severely abused reporters. Even though those guys are public figures, they have grounds to sue Trump. Since Trump likes lawsuits so much, they should sue his ass for defamation. ...
... Peter King for Feminist of the Year. Christopher Massie of BuzzFeed: "Republican Rep. Peter King of New York defended Corey Lewandowski on Tuesday after new video emerged from the incident showing Lewandowski grabbing a reporter's arm and pulling her backwards at a Donald Trump event in early March.... 'This thing with Corey Lewandowski,' King said on Imus in the Morning. '... You know, before I saw the video yesterday, I thought he had hit her with a baseball bat or something. I haven't practiced law in a while but I never heard of somebody being charged for touching someone on the arm, unless you're talking about some kind of a sexual thing.'" ...
... No, No, Donald Trump for Feminist of the Year. Nolan McCaskill of Politico: "Donald Trump on Wednesday suggested that women should be punished for seeking abortions if the procedure is outlawed." CW: I can't tell from the reporting whether or not Trump said abortion would be illegal, but he seems to imply it. ...
... Priscilla Alvarez of the Atlantic: "In an unprecedented move Wednesday, the National Border Patrol Council announced that it is endorsing Donald Trump, a candidate it touts as 'bold and outspoken as other world leaders who put their country's interests ahead of all else.' The National Border Patrol Council, a labor union representing 16,500 agents, has refrained in the past from making such endorsements, but cited the 'lives and security of the American people' as reason enough to break with precedent." CW: Lunkheads.
Lisa Hagen of the Hill: "President Obama and Vice President Biden on Wednesday endorsed Democratic Senate candidate Katie McGinty, another sign that the party's establishment is coalescing behind her in a contentious Pennsylvania primary battle. The endorsements give the former gubernatorial chief of staff a huge boost ahead of the April 26 primary, where the candidates will vie for the chance to take on Republican Sen. Pat Toomey."
*****
Robert Barnes of the Washington Post: "The reality of an ideologically divided, evenly split, one-man-down Supreme Court became apparent Tuesday: The justices deadlocked on a major organized-labor case and tried to avoid a second stalemate by floating their own policy compromise on the Affordable Care Act's contraception mandate."
Robert Barnes: "The Supreme Court on Tuesday called for additional briefing on alternative ways that employees of religious organizations could receive contraceptive coverage mandated by the Affordable Care Act without involving the organizations themselves. The new order could mean that the court is deadlocked on the case, which was argued last week." ...
... Ian Millhiser: "The biggest birth control case to reach the Supreme Court in 40 years just got a whole lot more confusing.... The order instructs the parties in Zubik and a bevy of related cases to 'file supplemental briefs that address whether and how contraceptive coverage may be obtained by petitioners' employees through petitioners' insurance companies, but in a way that does not require any involvement of petitioners....' In other words, rather than filling out a form provided by the government..., this alternative solution would require a religious objector to 'inform their insurance company that they do not want their health plan to include contraceptive coverage' at the time when they initially contract with the insurance company. If that seems like a mighty fine hair to split, that's because it is.... If the Court is, in fact, willing to accept this solution, however, that could be a win for the government -- and for women seeking access to birth control." ...
... Hannah Levintova of Mother Jones: "The order suggests one workaround: The employer could voice their opposition to birth control in its initial contracts with insurance companies, and then leave the rest to the insurer. The insurance company would then be responsible for facilitating alternative birth control coverage, eliminating the need for groups to file any additional forms opting out of birth control coverage on religious grounds. Still, the distinction here is quite thin: if notifying the government violates a religious group's beliefs, it's unclear how shifting the process to one where they notify the insurance company instead will do much to alleviate their concerns."
Adam Liptak of the New York Times: "A case that seemed poised to deal a major blow to public unions ended in a 4-4 tie on Tuesday at the Supreme Court, effectively delivering a big victory to the unions. When the case was argued in January, the court's conservative majority seemed ready to say that forcing public workers to support unions they had declined to join violates the First Amendment. But the death of Justice Antonin Scalia in February changed the balance of power in the case, which was brought by California public schoolteachers who chose not to join unions and objected to paying for the unions' collective bargaining activities on their behalf.... Relying on a 1977 Supreme Court precedent, the appeals court in the case upheld the requirement that the objecting teachers pay fees. Tuesday's announcement, saying only that 'the judgment is affirmed by an equally divided court,' affirmed that ruling and set no new precedent." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ...
... Lyle Denniston of ScotusBlog: "The one-sentence result in Friedrichs v. California Teachers Association will leave intact, but on an uncertain legal foundation, a system of 'agency fees' for non-union teachers in California -- with the legal doubts for public workers' unions across the nation probably lingering until a ninth Justice joins the Court at some point in the future." ...
... Charles Pierce reminds us that "the current presidential election likely will shape constitutional law in this country for the next three decades or so." CW: I think that's right.
Burgess Everett of Politico: "Mark Kirk could have been in Illinois, waging what might be the most difficult reelection campaign in Congress. Instead, the Republican senator was on Capitol Hill Tuesday drawing national attention for meeting with Supreme Court nominee Merrick Garland. Kirk became the first Republican to meet with Garland, a huddle that took place in the middle of a long congressional recess and was covered by more than 50 journalists.... Sitting beside Garland in his office, Kirk lavished praise on the Illinois native as a 'brilliant' legal mind who is 'one of the most eminent jurists in the country.' Then he shifted to his own party's blockade of Garland, remarking that Republican senators who won't even meet with Garland are 'too closed-minded.'"
Matt Zapotosky & Elizabeth Dwoskin of the Washington Post: "The U.S. government's revelation that it had accessed the San Bernardino shooter's iPhone without the help from Apple ... indicates the FBI was either disguising its technical capabilities or its agents and employees remain outmatched by tech workers in the private sector.... But former FBI officials said the bureau will always face an uphill battle against private firms, which can offer much more money, a less rigorous code of conduct and more opportunities to do creative work."
Robert Pear of the New York Times: "People newly insured under the Affordable Care Act were sicker, used more medical care and had higher medical costs than those who already had coverage, the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association said Tuesday in a new study of its policyholders.... Administration officials said the study showed the need for the health care law, signed six years ago by President Obama."
Jack Shafer of Politico: "The last person in the world who should be lecturing journalists on how to do journalism is President Barack Obama.... Under his administration, the U.S. government has set a new record for withholding Freedom of Information requests, according to a recent AP investigation.... Obama's 'Insider Threat Program' has turned employees across the government into information squelching snitches. If this isn't Trumpian behavior, I don't know what is." Shafer goes on. And he's livid."
Matthew Lee & Lolita Baldor of the AP: "The State Department and Pentagon ordered the families of U.S. diplomats and military personnel Tuesday to leave posts in southern Turkey due to 'increased threats from terrorist groups' in the country." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)
Nick Gass: "Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson on Tuesday sharply criticized rhetoric about Muslims from both Ted Cruz and Donald Trump, slamming both Republican candidates for their 'counterproductive' and 'inflammatory' comments." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)
Presidential Race
Kyle Cheney of Politico: "All four early appointees of the rules committee for this year's Republican convention told Politico they're prepared to weaken or scrap a rule that could limit the convention's alternatives to Donald Trump."
Jose DelReal & Sean Sullivan of the Washington Post: "None of the three remaining Republican presidential candidates would guarantee Tuesday night that they would support the eventual GOP nominee for president, departing from previous vows to do so and injecting new turmoil into an already-tumultuous contest.... As recently as March 3, in a Fox News debate, all three said they would support the nominee.... 'I'm not in the habit of supporting someone who attacks my wife and attacks my family,' Cruz said.... Kasich said he would have to 'see what happens' in the race before he could answer the question."
... Kyle Cheney: "Donald Trump has rescinded his pledge to support the Republican nominee for president. Asked by moderator Anderson Cooper if he stood by the earlier pledge, Trump said: 'No, I don't. We'll see who it is,' he said during the CNN town hall [Tuesday night]. He said he had been treated 'unfairly' by the Republican National Committee and the GOP establishment. He said he was unsure whether the Republican establishment was plotting to take the nomination away from him during the convention in Cleveland." ...
... Claire Landsbaum of New York: "Shortly after Trump himself defended his campaign manager, Corey Lewandowski, against allegations of assault, yet another violent incident occurred at a Trump rally in Janesville, Wisconsin. A video posted to the Janesville Community Page shows a confrontation between a 15-year-old blonde girl protesting the rally and a white-haired man. The girl, who police say was groped just before the incident, appears to confront the man and attempts to punch him before an onlooker sprays her in the face with pepper spray.... Police say the victim received medical treatment.... The Janesville Police Department said in a statement that it's 'looking for two suspects: one for the sexual assault and one for the pepper spray.'" ...
... Michael Miller of the Washington Post has more on the incident. The pepper-spraying guy was wearing a "Make America Great Again" cap; one videographer said the man accused of groping the girl did not do so.
... Sociopath Runs for President. Is Winning. Eli Stokols, et al., of Politico: "... Trump spent the day on Tuesday mounting a vigorous defense for Corey Lewandowski and verbally attacking the journalist, questioning whether she made the whole thing up and is to blame in the incident.... At a rally in Janesville, Wisc., on Tuesday night ... [Trump said,] '... I'm rich, so I have tapes. Did anybody see the tapes? What did you think?' The audience responded with a resounding 'Nothing.'... Trump then shifted the blame on Michelle Fields.... 'She bolts into the picture, she hits me on the arm and then he goes by and maybe he touched her a little bit,' Trump continued. 'It was almost like he was trying to keep her off me, like he was trying to help her.'... Trump's comments at the rally follow a press conference he held with reporters, in which he again forcefully defended Lewandowski and suggested that maybe he should have pressed charges against Fields. 'Who said they were bruises from that? How do you know those bruises weren't there before?' Trump asked.... Lewandowski will be represented by Scott Richardson in West Palm Beach and Kendall Coffey in Miami. Coffey ... resign[ed] from his job as the top federal prosecutor in South Florida in 1996 after reports alleged that he had bitten a stripper." CW: Perfect! ...
... CW: This "maybe he touched her a little bit" comes after Trump has repeatedly said Lewendowski didn't touch Fields. And the "she touched me" Trump complained about earlier Tuesday (the photograph Trump tweeted as proof of the claim shows no such thing), has been escalated through "she grabbed me" (at 4:48 pm ET) until, by the early evening it became "she hit me." Pretty soon we're going to find out Fields threw Trump to the ground, bit him & stomped on him while the Secret Service stood by drinking Slurpies. ...
... Lulu Ramadan of the Palm Beach Post: "Corey Lewandowski, Donald Trump campaign manager, was charged this morning with misdemeanor battery after allegations of forcefully grabbing a reporter at a Jupiter news conference, town police confirmed this morning. Following a March 8 conference at Trump National Golf Club, Michelle Fields, a 28-year-old reporter formerly with the online Breitbart News Network, said she was grabbed on the arm by Lewandowski, 41, after she asked Trump a question about affirmative action." CW Note: You have to love the fact that the reporter who broke the story is named Ramadan. (Also linked yesterday.) ...
... Here's police video of Lewandowski manhandling Fields in an incident Lewandowski says never happened:
... Nick Gass of Politico: "Donald Trump issued his first tweets Tuesday after Florida authorities charged his campaign manager, Corey Lewandowski, with misdemeanor battery for allegedly forcefully grabbing Breitbart reporter Michelle Fields. 'Wow, Corey Lewandowski, my campaign manager and a very decent man, was just charged with assaulting a reporter. Look at tapes-nothing there!' Trump wrote. Surveillance footage from the venue at which the alleged incident took place, released Tuesday, appears to corroborate Fields' account that Lewandowski grabbed her as she sought to ask Trump a question following a March 8 news conference in Jupiter, Florida." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ...
... Update. Rebecca Savransky of the Hill: "... Donald Trump on Tuesday threatened to press charges against former Breitbart reporter Michelle Fields, claiming she grabbed him after a press conference. 'Victory press conference was over. Why is she allowed to grab me and shout questions? Can I press charges?' Trump tweeted Tuesday with a photo." ...
... Alex Griswold of Mediaite: "What makes the accusation so odd is the image Trump tweeted doesn't show her grabbing Trump. In fact, it clearly showed that Fields couldn't grab Trump; one hand was holding a phone and the other was crossed across her body." CW: Sorry, Alex, facts don't matter. ...
... Trump also tweeted Tuesday afternoon, "Why is this reporter touching me as I leave news conference? What is in her hand??" Philip Bump of the Washington Post: "Now [according to Trump], not only is Fields a liar, but Trump found her threatening. You know who didn't find her threatening? The Secret Service agent standing literally right behind her.(And we know they'll intervene.) What's in her hand? A pen, so she can write down what's being said. But notice what we're debating now!... We're debating what Fields did, which is irrelevant to both the ethical and criminal accusations against the campaign." ...
... CW: This is how Donald Trump treats a 28-year-old, now-unemployed, female reporter after his goon roughs her up. First, he denied the battery occurred, saying she made it up; second, he suggests she's unstable & has "done this kind of thing before"; third, he denies video evidence that the incident happened; & fourth, he accuses her of battery. This is how he operates. He's a thug. And before you get to thinking a Democrat would never be such a lying brute, allow me to remind you that Bill & Hillary Clinton did Steps 1 & 2 there to Monica Lewinsky. And many of us will be voting for that thug Hillary. ...
... Pema Levy of Mother Jones: "Here are all the times the Trump campaign denied" Lewandowski grabbed Fields. ...
... BTW, all the time Trump, Lewendowski & others in the Trump campaign have been denying that Lewandowski touched Fields, they had the video demonstrating that he did. Rosie Gray of BuzzFeed: The "police video" released today came from "Trump Security at Trump National in Jupiter," according to the police report. ...
... Alexandra Petri of the Washington Post: "... the Donald Trump campaign ... remains stubbornly impervious to reality.... Scroll through the comments beneath Trump's tweets and you will see people who can see the actual video footage and still don't believe it. Or they think this is how you should behave and it's fine.... All that you need for something to be true is for Donald Trump to say that it is so. And as soon as he says it is false, it is false again." ...
... Goons, Inc. Katherine Krueger of TPM: "Katrina Pierson, Donald Trump's national spokeswoman, said Tuesday that embattled top aide Corey Lewandowski would stay with the campaign even if he's convicted of a criminal battery charge in Florida." ...
... Washington Post Editors: "How did Mr. Trump react when one of his key campaign aides apparently manhandled a reporter and then denied having done so? Instead of the rigorous fact-finding and dispassionate thinking that should be prerequisites for the Oval Office, there was denial and doubling down.... A mature and respectful campaign would have responded with an acknowledgment and apology.... That Mr. Trump sees nothing wrong confirms the troubling lack of judgment that he has demonstrated repeatedly. The brazen willingness to overlook fact and evidence, and the ease with which he countenances the smearing of a victim -- these are not compatible with a presidential temperament."
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel Editors: "No to Donald Trump. No to his bigotry. No to his contempt for women and minorities. No to his vague, clueless bluster about the problems facing the nation. No to Trumpism, which runs counter to the ideals of this nation of immigrants, to the notion that by working together under the rule of law, we can protect freedom and promote inclusion and fair play. Wisconsin Republicans: Reject this un-American candidate on April 5." For a good synopsis of what's wrong with Trump, read on.
New York Times Editors: "In a recent spate of interviews, including with The Times, [Donald Trump] was unable or unwilling to clarify his disturbing views on ... critical national security issues, which sometimes shift from one minute to the next.... Mr. Trump is confronting most of these issues for the first time, and many of his thoughts are contradictory and shockingly ignorant.... Mostly, his vision of cooperation with allies depends largely on how much they would pay the United States for protection." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)
Ben Kamisar of the Hill: "Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump is threatening to skip CNN's town hall interview Tuesday night over the network's treatment of him. 'Wow, @CNN has nothing but my opponents on their shows,' he wrote on Twitter. 'Really one-sided and unfair reporting. Maybe I shouldn't do their town-hall tonight!'" (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)
Nick Gass & Katie Glueck of Politico: "Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker endorsed Ted Cruz on Tuesday, becoming the latest lawmaker to support the Texas senator as he seeks to emerge as the consensus anti-Trump choice in the Republican primary. Walker said on Charlie Sykes' radio show on WTMJ in Milwaukee that he was 'proud' to back Cruz, casting his decision as one for Cruz and not against anyone else." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ...
... Charles Pierce: "There's even some talk about Walker's potential as a vice-presidential nominee, especially among people who chose to forget what a dead fish he was on the national stage during his abortive presidential bid."
"Little Marco Will Have His Revenge." Margaret Hartmann: "Days before he dropped out of the presidential race, Marco Rubio dismissed the idea of teaming up with Ted Cruz to stop Donald Trump, saying, 'This is stuff from like House of Cards. It's not real life.' Nearly three weeks later, Rubio hasn't even endorsed Cruz, but he may be doing him a bigger -- and more Frank Underwood-esque -- favor. The Florida senator has reached out to party leaders in 21 states and territories asking them not to release the 172 delegates he won during his presidential campaign. If the state parties agree, the unprecedented move could deny Trump the 1,237-delegate majority he needs to secure the nomination, forcing a second ballot in which pretty much anyone can be selected. Rubio aide Alex Burgos confirmed that's the plan, telling NBC News that while the senator ... 'wants to give voters a chance to stop Trump.'"
Lydia Saad of Gallup: "Hillary Clinton's supporters are more enthusiastic than Sen. Bernie Sanders' supporters, 54% vs. 44%." ...
... CW: I meant to look at these Gallup results the other day, then forgot. But Amanda Marcotte, in Salon, is on it: "As anyone with a computer or TV knows, the narrative has been the opposite of what this hard polling data shows [sic!].... But if you dig in, it also becomes quickly clear that much of the online enthusiasm isn't really pro-Sanders so much as it's anti-Clinton. There are thousands, probably millions of social media messages which are more about using Sanders as a cover to harass women and their allies than as legitimate advocacy for the candidate. Remove the mansplaining, harassment, and gotcha trolling, and the amount of Sanders traffic isn't quite so awe-inspiring in volume.... It's a symptom of how male-dominated our media continues to be that this narrative is so stifled."
... Marcotte ends by citing as a "proof" a Dave Wiegel tweet: "Clinton has won around 9 m votes. Trump has won aruond 7.8 m. The stories: how Hillary's blowing it, how Trump changed everything." CW: That's not evidence of the effects of "male-dominated media" or out-and-out misogyny. That's evidence of pre-voting expectations: Hillary would sail to the nomination & Trump would flame out before super Tuesday. ...
... Besides, Marcotte totally doesn't get the whole BernieBro thing. Rebecca Caplan of the New Yorker is here to clue us in. For one thing, "a Bernie Bro is never sexist. The reason a Bernie Bro isn't voting for Hillary, that corporation-funded political witch, is because of how much a Bernie Bro loves women." ...
... Also, too, not all Sanders supporters are BernieBros. There is, for instance, actor & activist Susan Sarandon, who thinks a vote for Hillary just might postpone the revolution that's a'comin'. ...
... Steve M. does a pretty nice job of blowing Sarandon's theory: "I wish Sarandon were right about the electorate -- but if she were, our government would already look very different. The problems she thinks are pushing us to the brink of revolt are problems we're not up in arms about, except in small pockets of America. She needs to get out more, and see the rest of the country." CW: The thing is, if Trump wins, it will because somewhere in the neighbor of half of the people who went to the polls voted for him. It's unlikely that many in the Trump half will become so disillusioned they will join the revolution. If the revolution came, it would manifest more as a disorganized civil war, & President Trump would crush every pocket with gleeful gusto. Get real, Susan, & vote for Hillary.
Josh Gerstein of Politico: "Citing indications of wrongdoing and bad faith, a federal judge has overruled government objections by declaring that a conservative group is entitled to more details about how Hillary Clinton's private email account was integrated into the State Department recordkeeping system and why it was not searched in response to a Freedom of Information Act request. U.S. District Court Judge Royce Lamberth entered an order Tuesday agreeing that Judicial Watch can pursue legal discovery.... Lamberth..., [a] Reagan appointee, oversaw a series of lawsuits [during Bill Clinton's administration] over issues like access to the meetings and records of Clinton's Health Care Task Force, the maintenance of security files on GOP appointees ... and the use of Commerce Department trade missions as a reward for campaign donors."
I'll Only Debate You if You Promise to Lose, Ctd. Nick Gass: "The debate in the Democratic race has largely returned to where it was several months ago -- on the debates themselves. Hillary Clinton's campaign on Tuesday refused to budge from its refusal to participate in future debates until Bernie Sanders pledges not to launch any attacks on the former secretary of state, maintaining that the Vermont senator has not upheld the lofty ideals he set for his own campaign's rhetoric." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)
Claire Landsbaum of New York: "GOP Rips Hillary Clinton for Politicizing Hyperpolitical SCOTUS Fight."
Congressional Race
Debbie has been a strong, progressive leader in Congress and a hardworking, committed Chair of our national Party since I proudly nominated her to the role in 2011. She always stands up and fights for what is right for her district while passionately supporting middle class families. -- President Obama, endorsing Debbie Wasserman Shultz in her first primary battle since 2004 ...
... Charles Pierce says that's a joke, then recounts why it isn't funny.
Beyond the Beltway
Oliver Milman of the Guardian: "People in parts of Oklahoma and Kansas now face the same threat of destructive earthquakes as Californians, with human-induced tremors from oil and gas production helping spread earthquake vulnerability across much of the US. For the first time, the US Geological Survey mapped out areas of the country vulnerable to earthquakes caused by human activity as well as natural events and found that around seven million people in the central and eastern US are at risk from ground-shaking episodes."
John Flesher of the AP: During a hearing of a Michigan state legislative committee, a Flint water treatment official testified that a state Environmental Quality official told him not to treat the city's water supply with anti-corrosive chemicals.
Colin Campbell of the Charlotte Observer: "The state of New York and four cities across the country have banned their employees from non-essential travel to North Carolina, citing the state's new LGBT discrimination law. The new law creates a new statewide discrimination policy that doesn't protect against discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity. It was triggered by a Charlotte nondiscrimination ordinance allowing transgender people to use bathrooms of the gender with which they identify."
Gary Robertson of the AP: "North Carolina's attorney general said Tuesday he won't defend in court a new state law preventing Charlotte and other local governments from approving protections for LGBT people, calling it discriminatory and a 'national embarrassment.' Democrat Roy Cooper made the announcement during a news conference a day after gay rights advocates sued to overturn the law approved last week and signed by Republican Gov. Pat McCrory." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)
Sarah Ferris of the Hill: "Virginia Gov. Terry McAuliffe on Tuesday said he was 'very proud' to veto a GOP-led bill that would have stripped Planned Parenthood of state funding. 'We're here today to smack down the latest attack on women's health care rights,' McAuliffe said at an event attended by Planned Parenthood patients and staff." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)
The Wild, Wild East. AFP: "America's heated gun debate has reached a remote Pacific territory, with a court overturning a ban on handguns in the Northern Marianas after ruling it breached the US constitution’s second amendment. In a ruling greeted with dismay by the island territory's leaders, the US district court found the right to bear arms enshrined in the second amendment also applied to the commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI)."
Visit Rhode Island Iceland! Guardian: "Rhode Island officials have been forced to pull a new tourism video, designed to draw visitors to the state, after eagle-eyed viewers complained it showed a scene shot in Iceland's capital, Reykjavik."
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