The Conversation -- December 26, 2024

~~~ Darlene Superville of the AP: "The bald eagle, a symbol of the power and strength of the United States for more than 240 years, earned an overdue honor on Tuesday: It officially became the country's national bird. President Joe Biden signed into law legislation sent to him by Congress that amends the United States Code to correct what had long gone unnoticed and designate the bald eagle -- familiar to many because of its white head, yellow beak and brown body -- as the national bird. The bald eagle has appeared on the Great Seal of the United States, which is used in official documents, since 1782, when the design was finalized. The seal is made up of the eagle, an olive branch, arrows, a flag-like shield, the motto 'E Pluribus Unum' and a constellation of stars. Congress that same year designated the bald eagle as the the national emblem, and its image appears in a host of places, ranging from documents and the presidential flag to military insignia and U.S. currency, according to USA.gov. But it had never been officially designated to be what many had just assumed it was -- the national bird. The bald eagle is indigenous to North America."

Marie: In the right-hand column of Reality Chex. you'll find President Biden's Christmas message, hoping and praying for peace and love and all that. By contrast, there's this, from the most hateful, most mirthless bully in the USA: ~~~

~~~ Adam Edelman of NBC News: "... Donald Trump took aim at Canada, Greenland and the Panama Canal in a series of Christmas Day social media posts that suggested the United States could take control of all three. Writing on his Truth Social platform, Trump kicked off the lengthy posts by wishing a merry Christmas to all, 'including to the wonderful soldiers of China, who are lovingly, but illegally, operating the Panama Canal.'... Trump then mocked Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, whom he referred to as 'governor,' and suggested once again that the United States could annex Canada as its 51st state. He wrote that 'if Canada was to become our 51st State, their Taxes would be cut by more than 60%, their businesses would immediately double in size, and they would be militarily protected like no other Country anywhere in the World.' Trump continued his post by addressing 'the people of Greenland, which is needed by the United States for National Security purposes and, who want the U.S. to be there, and we will!'... Trump also mocked President Joe Biden as 'a man who has absolutely no idea what he is doing' and sent season's greetings to the 'radical left lunatics.'" ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: Gee, I guess that means Trump wished us season's greetings. Fortunately, we didn't have to wish him a Merry Christmas, because it would be kinda cruel, knowing as we do that he has no idea how to have a merry day. ~~~

     ~~~ Phillip Nieto of Mediaite adds some more of Trump's diabolical Christmas wishes. Last week, I watched this video of Mary Trump's describing Trump family Christmas traditions. It's kind of boring, but it does help explain why Trump is so dismissive of what is a joyous day for millions of people around the world. ~~~

~~~ Lisa Friedman of the New York Times: "... Donald J. Trump on Wednesday named a Florida county commissioner to serve as his ambassador to Panama, a few days after Mr. Trump called for the United States to assert control over the Panama Canal. Kevin Marino Cabrera, the District 6 commissioner of Miami-Dade County and the vice chairman of its International Trade Consortium, worked for the Trump campaign in 2020 and won Mr. Trump's endorsement in January when he ran for vice chairman of the Florida Republican Party. This year, he served as the state's representative to the Republican National Committee platform committee.... Mr. Cabrera's views on the Panama Canal are unknown, but in a social media post on Wednesday, he thanked Mr. Trump for the appointment and wrote, 'Let's get to work!'"

A Christmas Message from Trump's Border Czar: No Stable, No Manger, No Crib for a Bed. Nick Miroff of the Washington Post: "U.S. immigration authorities will once more put families with children in detention centers when ... Donald Trump returns to office next month, according to incoming White House 'border czar' Tom Homan. U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement will look to hold parents with children in 'soft-sided' tent structures similar to those used by U.S. border officials to handle immigration surges, Homan said. The government will not hesitate to deport parents who are in the country illegally, even if they have young U.S.-born children, he added, leaving it to those families to decide whether to exit together or be split up.... As acting director of ICE during Trump's first term, Homan drove the 'zero tolerance' policy that separated more than 4,000 children from their parents soon after they crossed the border into the United States."

Brianna Tucker of the Washington Post: "Former president Bill Clinton was discharged from a hospital in Washington on Tuesday, a day after being admitted with a fever. Angel Ureña, Clinton's deputy chief of staff, said the former president was treated for the flu."

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Israel/Palestine, et al. Yan Zhuang & Rawan Ahmad of the New York Times: "Five journalists were killed early Thursday when their vehicle was hit by an Israeli strike in the Nuseirat area of Gaza, according to the local authorities and Palestinian news media reports. The Israeli military said its air force had struck a vehicle overnight in Nuseirat with a 'terrorist cell' from the militant group Palestinian Islamic Jihad inside. Reports about journalists being targeted were 'fake claims,' Nadav Shoshani, an Israeli military spokesman, said on social media. The media office of Gaza's Hamas-run government said five journalists from Al Quds Today, a Palestinian television channel, were killed in an Israeli strike on their broadcast vehicle. The office said this brought the number of journalists killed in Gaza to 201 since the start of the war in October last year. The vehicle, bearing the word 'Press' in red letters, was hit near the gates of Al Awda Hospital, according to a post on social media from Quds News Network, another Palestinian news outlet.... The local government and Al Quds Today identified the five killed as Faisal Abu Al-Qumsan, Fadi Hassouna, Ibrahim Al-Sheikh Ali, Ayman Al-Jadi, and Mohammed Al-Lada'a. The Palestinian Journalists Syndicate condemned the strike and described it as a 'war crime,' calling for the protection of Palestinian journalists."

So much for any brief showing of decency from Trump's friend Putin: ~~~

~~~ Ukraine/Russia, et al. Pjotr Sauer of the Guardian: "Christmas morning in Ukraine was overshadowed by a massive Russian aerial attack using cruise missiles to target energy infrastructure across the country, which Volodymyr Zelenskyy condemned as 'inhuman'. 'Today, Putin deliberately chose Christmas to attack. What could be more inhuman? More than 70 missiles, including ballistic missiles, and more than a hundred attack drones,' the Ukrainian president said on Telegram. He said there had been hits and blackouts in several regions. 'The targets are our energy. They continue to fight for a blackout in Ukraine,' he said. The attack left half a million people in Kharkiv region without heating, in temperatures just a few degrees celsius above zero, while there were blackouts in the capital, Kyiv, and elsewhere." The New York Times report is here. ~~~

     ~~~ Ashleigh Fields of the Hill: "President Biden on Wednesday denounced Russia's latest attack on Ukraine, declaring the wave of missiles and drones 'outrageous.'" President Biden's full statement is here, via the White House.

U.K. Stephen Castle of the New York Times: "King Charles III on Wednesday thanked the medical workers in Britain who helped treat him and his daughter-in-law, Catherine, Princess of Wales, after their cancer diagnoses, and praised communities that came together after anti-immigrant riots gripped the country in the summer. In his annual Christmas message, the British monarch spoke from the chapel of a former hospital, rather than from a royal palace, in a rare departure that was designed to emphasize his appreciation for health workers and volunteers." Here's Charles now! With musical accompaniment, fore & aft: ~~~

BTW, Akhilleus says he has found the antidote to Mariah Carey's "All I Want for Christmas Is You." MB: Uh, perhaps not an antidote, but it does prove that Carey's is not the worst rendition possible. (One commenter on the Toad's page writes, "My favorite thing to do around Christmas time is to drive around with my windows down blasting this and watch peoples' reactions. It will never not be funny." I am not as cruel as that commenter, but I would blast it at Carey's house in my own little act of retribution. (Maybe not. Carey lives in a Tribeca penthouse which she purchased for $9MM in 1999 with the wages of schlock. The downstairs neighbors don't deserve this.)

The Conversation -- December 25, 2024

The Best U.S. President Ever ... was of course fictitious:

In anticipation of our own bleak midwinter, an English classic, lyrics by Christina Rossetti:

The guys remind us we mustn't forget Hanukkah, which begins today: ~~~

~~~ Here's another version of that popular modern Christmas song:

Marie: Thanks to Akhilleus for the link to the video that follows. And I do promise to try, I really do, but don't count on me: ~~~

~~~ Because I just can't stop myself from bitching about the Worst Christmas Song Ever, although it is much improved by James Corden, Lady Gaga & others: ~~~

~~~ And it turns out the biggest problem really is Mariah Carey, because ~~~

Finally, speaking of your classical pieces, even the Silent Monks cannot resist Handel's "Messiah":

The Conversation -- December 24, 2024

Natalia Vasilyeva of the New York Times: "A Russian court sentenced a U.S. citizen on Tuesday to 15 years in a high-security prison for espionage, state media outlets reported, prompting speculation that the Kremlin might seek to use him as leverage in negotiations for a future prisoner swap. The man, Eugene Spector, was already serving a three-and-a-half-year sentence for a 2021 bribery conviction when he was charged with spying. On Tuesday, the Moscow City Court convicted him of espionage and sentenced him to an additional 13 years, for a total of 15 years, at the end of a closed-door trial, according to Russian state news agencies."

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It Ain't Funny, McGee. David Sanger & Lisa Friedman of the New York Times: "Over the past two days..., Donald J. Trump has made clear that he has designs for American territorial expansion, declaring that the United States has both security concerns and commercial interests that can best be addressed by bringing the Panama Canal and Greenland under American control or outright ownership. Mr. Trump's tone has had none of the trolling jocularity that surrounded his repeated suggestions in recent weeks that Canada should become America's '51st state.'... Instead, while naming a new ambassador to Denmark -- which controls Greenland's foreign and defense affairs -- Mr. Trump made clear on Sunday that his first-term offer to buy the landmass could, in the coming term, become a deal the Danes cannot refuse. He appears to covet Greenland both for its strategic location at a time when the melting of Arctic ice is opening new commercial and naval competition and for its reserves of rare earth minerals needed for advanced technology.... On Saturday evening, he had accused Panama of price-gouging American ships traversing the canal, and suggested that unless that changed, he would abandon the Jimmy Carter-era treaty that returned all control of the canal zone to Panama....

~[Mr. Trump's] statements -- and the not-so-subtle threats behind them — were another reminder that his version of 'America First' is not an isolationist creed. His aggressive interpretation of the phrase evokes the expansionism, or colonialism, of President Theodore Roosevelt, who cemented control of the Philippines after the Spanish-American War. And it reflects the instincts of a real estate developer who suddenly has the power of the world's largest military to back up his negotiating strategy.... Arctic experts did not dismiss Mr. Trump's Greenland bid as a joke." ~~~

     ~~~ Will Weissert, et al., of the AP: "Trump has long threatened allies with punitive action in hopes of winning concessions. But experts in both countries are clear: Unless he goes to war with Panama, Trump can't reassert control over a canal the U.S. agreed to cede in the 1970s." The reporters then write a brief history of the canal. ~~~

     ~~~ Maria Paul of the Washington Post also writes a brief history of the Panama Canal.

     ~~~ AND Sen. Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.) seems to think Trump has a voter "mandate" to do what he wants with the Panama Canal & Greenland. Michael Luciano of Mediaite reports. MB: So the whole world has to abide by MAGA wants & wishes. It doesn't matter that the people of, say, Panama and Greenland, would vehemently oppose ceding their lands to the U.S. I know Marsha is not going to win the Stupidest Senator contest, but Lordy, she's tryin'.

Frances Robles of the New York Times: "... Donald J. Trump signaled a return to his first term's maximum-pressure policies against left-wing regimes on Sunday when he named a longtime foreign policy hawk known for hard-line positions on Cuba to be the special envoy for Latin America. His choice, Mauricio Claver-Carone, 49, is a lawyer, blogger, lobbyist and former Treasury Department official. Mr. Claver-Carone served as deputy assistant to the president and senior director for Western Hemisphere affairs at the National Security Council during Mr. Trump's first term."

Marie: I had thought of the anti-woke movement as just racist whining & propaganda. It is that, but it's also a massive, childish temper tantrum: ~~~

~~~ Reuters (which now seems to be subscriber-firewalled), via the Guardian: "... Donald Trump has said he will rename Denali, Alaska natives' name for North America's tallest mountain, after William McKinley, the 25th US president who was assassinated in 1901. Democratic former president Barack Obama in 2015 officially renamed the mountain as Denali, siding with the state of Alaska and ending a decades-long naming battle. The peak had been officially called Mount McKinley since 1917.... The mountain ... was named Mount McKinley in 1896 after a gold prospector exploring the region heard that McKinley, a champion of the gold standard, had won the Republican nomination for president.... The US department of the interior, in the 2015 order that was signed by Obama changing the name to Denali, noted that McKinley had never visited the mountain and had no 'significant historical connection to the mountain or to Alaska.' Denali, the local Athabascan name, meaning 'the High One,' was officially designated as the peak's name in 1975 by the state of Alaska, which then pressed the federal government to also adopt the name." Thanks to Ken W. for the link. (Also linked yesterday.)

Brian Stelter of CNN: "The incoming chairman of the Federal Communications Commission is sending a stern message to the owners of television stations and networks. And he is using ABC's recent settlement with ... Donald Trump as a news peg of sorts. Brendan Carr, a Trump-appointed commissioner who will become chairman next month, wrote to Disney CEO Bob Iger over the weekend about the Disney-owned ABC network's negotiations with its affiliated stations across the United States. Carr used that narrow issue to advance some broad points about the state of the industry and to signal that he intends to wield a heavy hand in the top FCC role -- taking a very different approach than his predecessors.... [In his letter to Iger,] Carr cites polling data and says, 'ABC's own conduct has certainly contributed to [an] erosion in public trust. For instance, ABC News recently agreed to pay $15 million to President Trump's future presidential foundation and museum and an additional $1 million in attorney fees to settle a defamation case.' Carr then delineates between national networks and loal stations (which are licensed by the FCC), saying, 'Americans largely hold positive views of their local media outlets.'... In effect, he is positioning himself as a friend to local media -- and an antagonist to corporate owners." ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: The national networks, as I recall, are each limited to owning no more than seven local affiliates (the O&Os). The FCC does not license the networks, but, as Stelter writes, it does license all affiliates and other local stations. In his letter to Iger, Carr seems to be threatening not to license ABC's O&Os.

Isaac Schorr of Mediaite: "Elon Musk ... is a paid subscriber to a virulently racist X account. Musk not only follows an account called 'Boer' (@twatterbaas) but is one of two accounts to pay it for 'bonus content and extra perks.'... The account has touted rape rates in 'Black ruled countries, used pictures to suggest that the country was better off under racial apartheid, asked 'why do blacks like to destroy and break what white man made?' and urged 'these racist blacks of #SouthAfrica to stop being selfish and transfer the strategical jobs and planning to us whites of this country.'" MB: For some reason, I'm not surprised.

Whoops! They Did It Again. Lisa Friedman & Maggie Haberman of the New York Times: "The initial [continuing resolution to keep the federal government open] included a provision that would have ensured care through about 2040 for victims of the terrorist attack on the World Trade Center, as well as the police officers, nurses, firefighters and volunteers who inhaled toxic fumes, dust and smoke at ground zero. [After Elon Musk & Donald Trump objected to the bill,] the House on Friday passed a measure that ... did not include ... the formula to ensure long-term funding for the Sept. 11 health program. Democrats said they put the blame for its elimination squarely on Mr. Musk and Mr. Trump. A spokesman for [Senate Majority Leader Chuck] Schumer said that he and Democrats pushed to include the health fund in the final package, but that Republicans rejected it.... Representative Jerrold Nadler, Democrat of New York, said that without the new funding formula, the World Trade Center fund was likely to go into deficit in 2027. He said time was running out to ensure funding."

A Christmas Story. As predicted, your happy holidays report is about to drop. From the New York Times' livebog of Trump transition developments: "The House Ethics Committee is expected to accuse former Representative Matt Gaetz, Republican of Florida, President-elect Donald J. Trump's former pick for attorney general, of regularly paying for sex, possessing illegal drugs and having sexual relations with an underage girl, according to a draft of the panel's report. The report, which is expected to be released in final form on Monday, found that from at least 2017 to 2020, Mr. Gaetz 'regularly paid women for engaging in sexual activity with him'; and, in 2017, 'engaged in sexual activity with a 17-year-old girl,' the draft said. The Ethics Committee found that from 2017 to 2019, Mr. Gaetz used or possessed illegal drugs, including cocaine and ecstasy 'on multiple occasions,' and accepted lavish gifts, including transportation to and lodging in the Bahamas, in excess of permissible amounts. 'Representative Gaetz has acted in a manner that reflects discreditably upon the House,' the draft report stated." (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~

     ~~~ Update. Olivia Beavers of Politico: "Gaetz has repeatedly denied that he broke any laws. 'These claims would be destroyed in court -- which is why they were never made in any court against me,' he told POLITICO Friday morning. But the committee's 37-page report, which it decided to release in a secret vote earlier this month, alleges several instances of illegal conduct by ... Donald Trump's one-time pick to serve as attorney general. Gaetz withdrew from consideration as Trump's AG last month as the potential public release of the investigation weighed on his chances of Senate confirmation. 'The Committee concluded there was substantial evidence that Representative Gaetz violated House Rules, state and federal laws, and other standards of conduct prohibiting prostitution, statutory rape, illicit drug use, acceptance of impermissible gifts, the provision of special favors and privileges, and obstruction of Congress,' the ethics panel said in its report, adding that he 'knowingly and willfully sought to impede and obstruct' the investigation." CNN's report is here. (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~

     ~~~ Michael Schmidt of the New York Times lists some takeaways from the committee report. (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~

     ~~~ Here's the Ethics Committee report, via the House. ~~~

     ~~~ Andrew Solender of Axios: "The House Ethics Committee's report into former Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.) had been poised to stay officially buried -- until two centrist Republicans on the panel unexpectedly voted to release it.... Reps. Dave Joyce (R-Ohio) and Andrew Garbarino (R-N.Y.) sided with the committee's five Democrats in voting to release the report, two sources familiar with the matter told Axios.... The vote, which took place quietly earlier this month, defied House Speaker Mike Johnson's (R-La.) urging that the report stay under wraps. Gaetz, who has denied any wrongdoing, filed an 11th-hour lawsuit Monday morning seeking to block the report's publication, alleging it 'contains untruthful and defamatory information.' The effort failed...." ~~~

     ~~~ Josh Gerstein, et al., of Politico: "The House Ethics Committee report about former Rep. Matt Gaetz offers some hints about why the Justice Department decided not to prosecute the former Florida congressman after a wide-ranging federal investigation into whether he committed sex trafficking. The decision likely stemmed from concerns about the strength of the evidence and the department's history of applying sex-trafficking laws narrowly, former prosecutors said Monday.... A law enforcement official said all DOJ decisions about Gaetz were made by career prosecutors." The reporters delve into like DOJ considerations re: existing law. ~~~

     ~~~ David Firestone of the New York Times: "There is so much repellently sleazy behavior documented in the House Ethics Committee report about Matt Gaetz that a reader has to stop every few pages to look away and focus on what still seems astounding: This is the man that Donald Trump wanted to be the attorney general of the United States, the highest-ranking law enforcement official in the land, the leader of the Department of Justice. Trump wanted to give that position to a man who paid at least half a dozen women for sex, according to the report.... 'Representative Gaetz took advantage of the economic vulnerability of young women to lure them into sexual activity for which they received an average of a few hundred dollars after each encounter.'

"Trump wanted to give the Justice Department to a man the committee says committed the statutory rape of a 17-year-old girl. A man who is accused of setting up a phony email account at his office in the House to buy illegal drugs and who then used the drugs to facilitate sexual misconduct. A man who accepted impermissible gifts and plane trips, according to the report, and who used the power of his office to help a woman with whom he was having sex.... When you read through the details, you can see the commonality between the two men, and the reasons Trump held Gaetz in high esteem. It's not just the contempt for women as disposable commodities for hire or plunder; it's the contempt for the law." ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: Just as an aside, I can't help but notice that Mike Johnson has unusual ideas about sex. He encourages his son to monitor his own viewing of online (and presumably legal) porn, but he worked to hide allegations that a Congressman engaged in unlawful sex with young women (which involved the use of a Congressional office to obtain illegal drugs). And Bible Mike opposes family decisions to assist young people in lawful transgender medical treatments. I can't even find a pattern here. Is Mike for illegal sexploitation and against legal sex-related activities and procedures? Even that's not clear.

Catie Edmondson of the New York Times: "Just a few years ago, Representative Kay Granger of Texas made history when she became the first Republican woman to lead the powerful House Appropriations Committee. But her ascent on Capitol Hill reached a coda over the weekend when a conservative outlet in Texas revealed that Ms. Granger had not voted in the House since July and has been living in an independent living facility -- an arrangement her office had not disclosed. Ms. Granger, 81, stepped down as the top Republican on the Appropriations Committee in March and said she would not seek re-election, but she continued to serve out the rest of her term.... A person familiar with the situation .... [said ] that the Texas Republican had been in touch with the party's leaders and would have returned to Washington if she was needed for a vote.... Beyond raising questions about whether Ms. Granger and her team had misled constituents about her fitness to serve, the episode brought renewed attention to how Capitol Hill is powered by a crop of septuagenarians and octogenarians, including some who refuse to relinquish power even far past their primes."

Ryan Reilly of NBC News: "Shane Lamond, the former head of the Metropolitan Police intelligence unit in Washington who was indicted last year for feeding information to a Proud Boys leader, was found guilty on Monday. Proud Boys chief Enrique Tarrio is serving 22 years after being convicted of seditious conspiracy in connection with the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol. U.S. Judge Amy Berman Jackson returned the verdict on Monday finding Lamond guilty of four counts, including obstruction of justice and three counts of lying to investigators, a spokesperson for the U.S. Attorney's Office said. The verdict followed a bench trial which featured contentious testimony from Tarrio, who insisted that he'd been contemporaneously lying to his fellow Proud Boys about receiving information from a source in the Metropolitan Police Department." The Washington Post's report is here.

Darlene Superville of the AP: "President Joe Biden on Monday signed into law a defense bill that authorizes significant pay raises for junior enlisted service members, aims to counter China's growing power and boosts overall military spending to $895 billion despite his objections to language stripping coverage of transgender medical treatments for children in military families. Biden said his administration strongly opposes the provision because it targets a group based on gender identity and 'interferes with parents' roles to determine the best care for their children.' He said it also undermines the all-volunteer military's ability to recruit and retain talent.... The Senate forwarded the bill to Biden after passing it last week by a vote of 85-14. In the House, a majority of Democrats voted against the bill after House Speaker Mike Johnson insisted on adding the provision to ban transgender medical care for children. The legislation easily passed by a vote of 281-140." ~~~

     ~~~ Here's President Biden's statement on the bill, via the White House.

Anthony Adragna of Politico: "President Joe Biden has vetoed bipartisan legislation that would have added dozens of new federal judge positions in the coming years. The president had threatened to veto the bill because he didn't want to give the president-elect new appointment opportunities, according to one of the outgoing president's closest allies."

Ah, a Real Christimas Story. Sara Ruberg of the New York Times: "About one million taxpayers who were eligible for a pandemic-era tax credit in 2021 but did not claim it can expect a lump sum from the Internal Revenue Service in the coming weeks. The I.R.S. announced on Friday that it would start sending automatic payments of up to $1,400 to those who qualified for the 2021 Recovery Rebate Credit but did not properly claim it on their tax return. The agency estimates it will send about $2.4 billion out to taxpayers by the end of January. Danny Werfel, the I.R.S. commissioner, said the payments came after the agency reviewed its internal data and noticed that about a million taxpayers overlooked the 'complex credit' when filing in 2021. He said in a statement that taxpayers would not be required to amend their filings and would receive their payments automatically. Here's what you need to know."

David Lynch & Jeff Stein of the Washington Post: "A high-level government review board has told the White House it is unable to reach a consensus on the national security risks involved in Nippon Steel's proposed acquisition of U.S. Steel, likely setting the stage for President Joe Biden to kill the deal. The Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS) ... said Monday that allowing the Japanese industrial giant to purchase the once-iconic U.S. company could lead to a reduction in domestic steel output, which would represent 'a national security risk.' Nippon Steel said it could eliminate that risk by appointing U.S. citizens to top management and board of director positions at U.S. Steel. But the committee was divided in its view of whether those remedies would be sufficient. With the Treasury-led panel deadlocked, the final decision now falls to the president, who is legally require to act within 15 days. Biden has publicly opposed the transaction since March, saying it was 'vital' that U.S. Steel, the nation's third-ranked steel producer, remained American-owned." The AP's report is here.

Lola Fadulu of the New York Times: "Luigi Mangione, the 26-year-old man charged with murder in the killing of UnitedHealthcare's chief executive, pleaded not guilty on Monday as he was arraigned in New York State Supreme Court. The Manhattan district attorney's office has charged Mr. Mangione with first-degree murder, a terrorism-related offense, as well as two variations of second-degree murder and weapons charges. He faces the possibility of life in prison without parole." (Also linked yesterday.)

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Arkansas. AP: "A federal judge on Monday struck down key parts of an Arkansas law that would have allowed criminal charges against librarians and booksellers for providing 'harmful' materials to minors. U.S. District Judge Timothy Brooks found that elements of the law are unconstitutional. 'I respect the court's ruling and will appeal,' Arkansas Attorney General Tim Griffin said in a statement to The Associated Press. The law would have created a new process to challenge library materials and request that they be relocated to areas not accessible to children. The measure was signed by Republican Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders in 2023, but an earlier ruling had temporarily blocked it from taking effect while it was being challenged in court. 'The law deputizes librarians and booksellers as the agents of censorship; when motivated by the fear of jail time, it is likely they will shelve only books fit for young children and segregate or discard the rest,' Brooks wrote in his ruling." MB: Brooks is an Obama appointee.

New York. Ed Shanahan of the New York Times: "Gov. Kathy Hochul of New York has ordered that 13 corrections officers and a prison nurse be fired after the fatal beating of an inmate in an attack that their union called 'incomprehensible. 'Officials have released few details about the assault that led to the death on Dec. 10 of the inmate, Robert L. Brooks, beyond that it had occurred the day before at the Marcy Correctional Facility in central New York and had been at least partly captured on video. The state's corrections commissioner, Daniel F. Martuscello III, announced the death of an unnamed inmate on Dec. 15, saying it had occurred after a 'use of force' by Marcy prison staff members. Mr. Brooks, 43, was identified as the victim on Dec. 16. He had been serving a 12-year sentence after pleading guilty in Monroe County in 2017 to first-degree assault in the stabbing of a former girlfriend, according to state prison records and local news reports. The Oneida County medical examiner's office will conduct an autopsy to determine the cause of Mr. Brooks's death, officials said."

News Lede

Washington Post: "Former president Bill Clinton was hospitalized Monday afternoon in Washington 'for testing and observation after developing a fever,' a Clinton spokesman said. Clinton was admitted to MedStar Georgetown University Hospital, Angel Ureña, deputy chief of staff for Clinton, wrote on X." The NBC News report is here.