The Conversation -- December 20, 2024

⭐From the New York Times liveblog, also linked next: "The House approved legislation on Friday to avert a federal government shutdown that was just hours away, with lawmakers extending funding into mid-March and approving disaster relief for parts of the nation still recovering from storms. The measure now goes to the Senate. The House vote came after Republicans stripped out a provision sought by President-elect Donald J. Trump to suspend the federal debt limit and spare him the usually politically difficult task of doing so when he takes office.... The measure that passed on Friday, by a vote of 366 to 34, must still be approved by the Senate and sent to President Biden to keep dollars flowing to federal agencies. Otherwise, funding will lapse at 12:01 a.m. Saturday. All 34 'no' votes were from Republicans; one Democrat, Jasmine Crockett of Texas, voted present. Senator Chuck Schumer, the majority leader, said he expected the Senate to quickly take up the bill and pass it. 'Though this bill does not include everything Democrats fought for, there are major victories in this bill for American families,' he said." ~~~

~~~ The New York Times is liveblogging developments in the shutdown standoff: "With a possible government shutdown looming at day's end..., Donald J. Trump early Friday renewed his demand that Congress suspend the debt ceiling, intensifying a face-off with lawmakers from his own party as Republicans run short of options before a midnight deadline." ~~~

~~~ Here are the Washington Post's live updates of developments in the countdown to shutdown: "The White House Office of Management and Budget alerted federal agencies Friday morning to prepare for an imminent government shutdown, according to two people familiar with the matter who spoke on the condition of anonymity to describe internal communications. White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre lashed out at Republicans who had agreed to a bipartisan deal and then abandoned it. 'This is a mess that Speaker [Mike] Johnson created, that is his mess to fix,' she told reporters at the daily briefing, adding that there was 'still time' for Republicans to 'do the right thing.' On Capitol Hill, House Republicans were discussing voting on separate policy bills to fund the government ahead of a midnight deadline in hopes of avoiding a shutdown. They were meeting to consider separate bills that would extend current fiscal levels into the new year, send $110 billion to natural disaster victims, and another to extend the farm bill that requires reauthorization." CNN's live updates are here. ~~~

     ~~~ Mike Lillis, et al., of the Hill: "Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) said he has a plan C to avert a shutdown and the House will vote Friday morning on the legislation -- but Republicans indicated there is not yet widespread agreement. 'Yeah, yeah, we have a plan,' Johnson said Friday morning as he entered the Capitol. 'We're expecting votes this morning, so you all stay tuned....'" ~~~

     ~~~ Here's the Hill's live coverage.

A quarter of all the judges are now on the federal bench from the four years we were here.... It's going to have a profound effect on people's lives. This was an accomplishment that will last generations. -- Sen. Chuck Schumer, Majority Leader ~~~

~~~ Carl Hulse of the New York Times: "The Senate confirmed on Friday the 235th lifetime federal judge nominated by President Biden, topping the four-year record set during the first Trump administration by a single judge in a drive that significantly reshaped the federal courts to be more ethnically and professionally diverse. The approval of Serena Raquel Murillo of California to be a judge in the state's central district wrapped up a push by Democrats to fill as many vacancies as possible on the bench before turning the majority over to Senate Republicans on Jan. 3. Democrats celebrated not only the number of judges confirmed but also their varying ethnicities and legal experience compared with the longstanding practice by past presidents of both parties of installing mostly white former prosecutors and corporate lawyers."

Digby in Salon lays out how Elon snookered Donald: Trump thought he could shunt Musk aside by putting him in charge of a powerless, non-governmental "commission" where Elon & Vivek would "recommend" federal spending cuts. But Elon demanded that Congress follow his cues as to how to fund the government. And then, and then. "Those rascally, backbench Tea Party/Freedom Caucus ideologues finally got the leader they've been waiting for and his name is Elon Musk, the richest man in the world.... It's Elon Musk's House now. In fact, a bunch of Republicans are proposing that they fire [Mike] Johnson and make him Speaker instead.... Trump wanted the richest man in the world by his side, for both the glamour and the lucre he brings with him, and it's blowing up in his face. How's Trump going to get rid of Musk now that he's shown he has more clout with the base than he does? Who owns the MAGA brand now? "

Heil Elon! Christopher Schuetze & Mark Landler of the New York Times: "Elon Musk, the world's richest man and a close adviser to ... Donald J. Trump, on Friday endorsed Germany's far-right party, a group with ties to neo-Nazis whose youth wing has been classified as 'confirmed extremist' by German domestic intelligence. 'Only the AfD can save Germany,' Mr. Musk posted to X, referring to the anti-immigrant party, the Alternative for Germany, by its German initials." Politico's story is here. MB: Oh, it's a great day for Elon, endorsing Nazis & watching his own government shutter at his behest.

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Once again, Not-President Trump -- this time with his co-president* (or his puppetmaster) Elon Musk -- has sent a normally-chaotic Washington into utter disarray. Why, one just might think this is what they want. ~~~

One or two puppet masters weigh in and extreme MAGA Republicans decide to do the bidding of the wealthy, the well-connected, the millionaires and billionaires, not working-class people all across America.... The bill that is before us today is just part of an effort to shut down the government. -- Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, on the House floor, Thursday ~~~

~~~ Jacob Bogage & Marianna Sotomayor of the Washington Post: "The federal government moved closer to a weekend shutdown Thursday, after the House overwhelmingly voted down Speaker Mike Johnson's new plan to extend the deadline despite support from ... Donald Trump and his billionaire adviser Elon Musk. The GOP proposal would have extended federal operations into mid-March sent more than $100 billion to natural-disaster survivors and suspended the country's borrowing limit for two years. But it needed the support of two-thirds of the House to pass, and it went down by a 235-174 vote, with one member voting present. It wasn't clear Thursday night what the next move will be....

"Only two Democrats supported the legislation, with 197 of them opposing it. But 38 Republicans also voted no -- an indication of how difficult finding an alternative solution before the shutdown deadline may be for the GOP leader. The bipartisan legislation the House GOP scrapped Wednesday was substantially similar to the bill that Johnson tried to advance Thursday, though he dropped some provisions unrelated to spending and added -- at Trump's request -- a suspension of the debt limit." This is an update of a story linked earlier Thursday. (Also linked yesterday.) Politico's story is here. ~~~

     ~~~ Scott Wong, et al., of NBC News: "The rejected measure leaves Congress without a clear plan to avoid a looming government shutdown with less than 30 hours left before the deadline, driving up the odds of a funding lapse just ahead of the holidays. A shutdown is scheduled to begin at 12:01 a.m. ET Saturday. Asked by reporters whether a new funding bill would be released Friday, House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., said 'we'll see' as he left the Capitol on Thursday night." ~~~

     ~~~ Michael Shear of the New York Times: "... Donald J. Trump's hammerlock on the Republican Party was shaken on Thursday night when 38 of his party's lawmakers in the House voted to defy his command to support a spending and debt deal. Writing on social media, Mr. Trump had told Republicans to 'vote "YES" for this Bill, TONIGHT!'... For the better part of a decade, that kind of dictate has usually been enough for Mr. Trump, who has methodically seized control of the Republican Party at all levels. But [yesterday] ... Mr. Trump found out that at least some of his followers were willing to buck his leadership.... The defiance came ... from ... conservatives who would normally align themselves with Mr. Trump's philosophy...." ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: But they are falling in line with Elon, aren't they? ~~~

~~~ Cat Zakrzewski, et al., of the Washington Post: "... this week, critics of the world's richest man [Elon Musk] say he attained a new title: 'shadow president' of the United States. In a matter of hours on Wednesday, Musk wielded his powerful X account to pressure House Republicans to torpedo a spending bill that would have kept the federal government open for three months.... The second Trump-backed measure went down to a broad and swift defeat in the House on Thursday evening, raising the chances of a shutdown beginning at 12:01 a.m. Saturday. Musk's outsize role in sending the federal government careening toward a potential shutdown before Christmas has alarmed Democrats, academics and watchdog groups, while some Republicans said his intervention was uninformed.... The outrage reverberated on X, which Musk owns and where 'President Musk' became a trending topic." See Akhilleus' comment in yesterday's thread on Mickey Musk. ~~~

~~~ Here's Donald trying to save face: ~~~

     ~~~ Kelsey Walsh of ABC News: "... Donald Trump, after rejecting House Speaker Mike Johnson's plan to avoid a government shutdown, worked the phones on Thursday, showing wavering confidence in Johnson and claiming he is aligned with billionaire Elon Musk, who first posted multiple calls to kill the GOP-brokered spending deal. 'If the speaker acts decisively, and tough, and gets rid of all of the traps being set by the Democrats, which will economically and, in other ways, destroy our country, he will easily remain speaker,' Trump told Fox News Digital. In an separate interview, Trump suggested that Johnson's proposed continuing resolution -- which would keep spending going at current levels -- was 'unacceptable.'... Trump also indicated that he had discussed his views on the bill with social media giant Musk and granted the billionaire permission to trash the government spending bill on his social media platform. 'I told him that if he agrees with me, that he could put out a statement,' Trump said. Musk then conducted an all-out pressure campaign flooding his platform with dozens of posts threatening members of Congress to block Johnson's government funding bill." ~~~

     ~~~ But Rep. Dan Goldman (D-N.Y.) is sure Elon is in charge. Michael Luciano of Mediaite reports on Goldman's comments to Chris Hayes of MSNBC: "... there does appear to be one president. It's Elon Musk, who has his own very self-interested view of everything, including the fact that he wanted to remove restrictions on investing -- U.S. companies investing in China.... He has no idea how government operates or how government runs. But he spent nearly $300 million to get Donald Trump elected. There are rumors that he is going to use X to buy or merge with Truth Social, which would give Donald Trump a tremendous windfall.... And it is very clear that Elon Musk is now calling the shots."

Elon Musk has Donald Trump in a vise.

     ~~~ So then Donald pulls this: ~~~

     ~~~ Colby Hall of Mediaite: "Trump took to social media amid growing discontent over congressional dysfunction to keep the government open over the holidays, and suggested that he's more interested in the government shutting down over the holidays during the Biden administration than trying to help find a solution to a problem largely undermined [MB: s/b "caused"] by his most significant advisor, billionaire Elon Musk. 'If there is going to be a shutdown of the government, let it begin now, under the Biden Administration, not after January 20th, under "TRUMP."' the President-elect wrote on Truth Social. 'This is a Biden problem to solve, but if Republicans can help solve it, they will!'" ~~~

     ~~~ That's right: Trump, Musk & Congressional Republicans are shutting down the government, and Trump says Biden should fix their massive fuck-up. ~~~

~~~ BUT Biden Has Left the Building. Adam Cancryn of Politico: "Joe Biden may still occupy the Oval Office, but it's clearer than ever that he's no longer in charge of Washington. More than a half-dozen House Democratic lawmakers said Thursday that the conference had yet to hear from the president, even as Congress scrambled to salvage a funding deal and avoid shutting down the government. In the 24 hours since ... Donald Trump and close ally Elon Musk abruptly derailed the bipartisan agreement, Biden has remained conspicuously absent outside a brief statement issued by his press secretary -- and for now, Democrats said there was little clamor for him to return."

There's This. Lolita Baldor & Tara Copp of the AP: "Republicans'decision to abandon a congressional spending plan will cost troops their paychecks over the holidays unless some agreement is reached before Friday's deadline to prevent a government shutdown, the Pentagon warned. Even if they don't get paid, those troops will be required to report for duty both overseas and at home, Pentagon press secretary Maj. Gen. Pat Ryder said Thursday. Without an agreement to fund the government, troops will not receive their end-of-month paychecks, reservists drilling after Friday will not be paid, and federal civilians who are required to work during a shutdown also will not be paid, he said. The military payroll is just one of thousands of federal accounts that would be affected, but one of the most visible." ~~~

~~~ AND There's This. Alice Ollstein & Gavin Bade of Politico: "The collapse of Congress' spending negotiations is throwing the presidential transition and preparations for ... Donald Trump's second inauguration into chaos as Washington stares down the prospect of a government shutdown just after midnight Friday. Federal agencies only this week began briefing the Trump transition's 'landing teams,' which began their work more than a month later than their predecessors. Now, if Congress can't cut a deal in the next couple days, those agencies could be forced to furlough much of the staff doing that work and shut down the government offices where it's taking place -- impeding the incoming officials' access to documents and further slowing down already-delayed preparations to take over the federal government next month."

Dana Milbank of the Washington Post: "They're baaaack. Just six weeks ago, voters elected Donald Trump by the slimmest of margins in hopes that he would lower the cost of living. But Trump quickly walked back that promise, saying 'it's very hard' to reduce prices. Instead, he has already returned the country to the unrelenting chaos, and the government to the ludicrous dysfunction, that dominated his first term. And he hasn't even taken office yet.... [The impending government shutdown Musk & Trump caused] is just the first act of what promises to be a four-year circus.... For those too young to remember the last go-round, this is wha governing looks like under Trump. Musk's destruction of the spending bill was particularly ugly, for it showed that, with Trump in charge, an unelected megabillionaire can bring the U.S. government to a halt by employing MAGA's trademark mixture of vitriol, threat and disinformation.... Shutting down the government because of the rants and threats of an erratic billionaire is no way to run a country. But this is where we are."

Matthew Goldstein of the New York Times: "...Donald J. Trump transferred all of his shares in the social media company that bears his name to a trust controlled by his eldest son, according to a regulatory filing on Thursday night. The filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission said Mr. Trump moved his roughly 115 million shares in Trump Media & Technology Group, the parent company of Truth Social, to the trust. He did not sell the shares or receive any financial consideration for the transfer, which was described as a gift to the Donald J. Trump Revocable Trust. Mr. Trump is the largest shareholder of Trump Media & Technology Group, and his nearly 53 percent stake is worth about $4 billion. Trump Media, which is losing money, has taken in just a few million dollars in revenue. Mr. Trump's ownership was one of his most valuable assets based on Trump Media's market valuation."

You know those classic rom-coms where a couple meets at work, hilarity ensues, and everything works out in the end? They are fiction, people! ~~~

~~~ Danny Hakim & Richard Fausset of the New York Times: "Georgia's Court of Appeals on Thursday disqualified the Atlanta prosecutor who brought an election interference case against ... Donald J. Trump and his allies, a surprise move that threw the entire case into disarray. In a 2-1 decision, a three-judge panel reversed the trial judge, who in March had allowed Fani T. Willis, the district attorney of Fulton County, Ga., to keep the case, despite revelations about a romantic relationship she had with the lawyer who was hired to manage the prosecution. All three of the appeals judges are Republican appointees. While the decision is likely to be appealed to the full court, if it stands, it could doom the entire case, which is the last active criminal prosecution involving charges against Mr. Trump." (Also linked yesterday.) CNN's report is here.

Jeanna Smialek & Ana Swanson of the New York Times: "The U.S. economy is pulling ahead of its global peers. Inflation is moderating, and the Federal Reserve is cutting interest rates.... The unemployment rate is low. Consumers are spending.... Add in a decrease in unlawful southern border crossings and revved-up domestic production in several critical industries and they amount to a rough list of Donald J. Trump's campaign promises. It's a list of economic wins that Mr. Trump is inheriting in large part because of policies that the Federal Reserve and Biden administration have pursued in recent years.... But a variety of risks -- some sheer happenstance, some floated by Mr Trump -- could interfere with that rosy outcome just as ... [he] takes office.... Economists have ... warned that Mr. Trump's own policies could lift inflation." (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: Partly but not wholly because Congressional Republicans oppose most laws designed to help ordinary Americans, Joe (Biden) & Jay (Powell) did not do enough to make the U.S. economy work ideally for its people. But in an irony upon irony, Joe & Jay did manage to make ours the best economy in the world, and now Trump, who promised butterflies and rainbows, is poised to wreck all that.

Nicholas Bogel-Burroughs of the New York Times: "The 26-year-old man accused of murdering a health care executive in Manhattan agreed at a court hearing on Thursday to be extradited to New York, where he is facing a first-degree murder charge. The man, Luigi Mangione, was being held at a prison in Pennsylvania after he was spotted in a McDonald's in the central part of the state and arrested by the local police. The Manhattan district attorney's office sought to bring him to New York to prosecute him for the death of Brian Thompson, the chief executive of UnitedHealthcare.... After his arrest last week, Mr. Mangione initially indicated through his lawyer that he would contest extradition to New York. Mr. Mangione has been represented by a lawyer in Pennsylvania, but he has also hired a prominent New York defense lawyer who formerly worked as a top prosecutor in the Manhattan district attorney's office." (Also linked yesterday.)

Molly Nagle of ABC News: "President Joe Biden's administration will announce on Friday another $4.28 billion dollars in student loan relief for nearly 55,000 public service workers. The announcement will bring the total loan forgiveness by the Biden administration to 'approximately $180 billion for nearly 5 million Americans,' according to a fact sheet from the Department of Education. The forgiveness will be delivered to individuals enrolled in the Public Service Loan Forgiveness program (PSLF), which allows for debt forgiveness for people in jobs like firefighting, nursing and teaching after 10 years of continuous payment."

Benjamin Weiser of the New York Times: "Federal prosecutors on Thursday unsealed a murder case against the suspect in the shooting of UnitedHealthcare's chief executive, holding out the possibility of the death penalty even after a trial on separate state charges. The federal criminal complaint against the suspect, Luigi Mangione, 26, includes one count of using a firearm to commit murder, which carries a maximum potential sentence of death, along with two stalking counts and a firearms offense. It came two days after the Manhattan district attorney filed state murder and terror charges against Mr. Mangione in the killing of the executive, Brian Thompson."

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Syria, etc. Edward Wong of the New York Times: "The State Department said early Friday that three senior American diplomats had arrived in Damascus, the capital of Syria, to meet with leaders of the militias that have seized control of the country, and to look for signs of the journalist Austin Tice and other missing U.S. citizens. They are the first American diplomats to enter Damascus since the crumbling of the old government. The visit represents a tentative step toward engagement in Syria, a nation in which U.S. involvement in recent years has usually involved the military, not diplomacy. The Biden administration has been in contact with militia leaders but has wrestled with how directly to engage, partly because the United States designated a precursor of the lead rebel group as terrorists." ~~~

~~~ Helene Cooper of the New York Times: "The Pentagon said on Thursday that 2,000 American troops were in Syria, more than twice the number officials had cited for months. Why the Defense Department delayed disclosing the number is unclear. Maj. Gen. Pat Ryder, the Pentagon press secretary, told reporters that he became aware of the additional troops on Thursday morning. They are in Syria on a 'temporary' basis, he said, to support what he called the 'core official deployed forces' participating in the Pentagon's mission to keep Islamic State forces from reconstituting. General Ryder said the increase in the number of troops was unrelated to the fall of President Bashar al-Assad to rebel forces in early December."

Ukraine/Russia, et al. David Stern & Serhii Korolchuk of the Washington Post: "Russia unleashed a barrage of ballistic missiles on Kyiv early Friday, killing at least one person and injuring 12, city officials said. The attacks came as Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky was in Brussels, where Kyiv's European allies are seriously considering the idea of deploying troops to Ukraine in the event of a deal with Russia to stop the war. Hours earlier, Zelensky had posted a tweet that called his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin a 'dumbass' in response to the Russian leader's mocking remarks in a year-end news conference about a missile 'duel' with Ukraine's allies."

⭐Republicans will regain the Senate majority. As of Thursday, November 14, they hold 53 seats (when including Pennsylvania, where Democrat Bob Casey has not conceded).

Unless otherwise indicated, the AP has called these races:

⭐Arizona. Democratic Rep. Ruben Gallego is projected to have defeated the execrable Kari Lake.

California. Democratic Rep. Adam Schiff is projected to win. Schiff will have won both the general election and a special election to fill the seat of former Sen. Dianne Feinstein, deceased, which is currently held by Laphonza Butler, a "placeholder" appointed by Gov. Gavin Newsom (D). Schiff will be seated immediately.

Connecticut: Democrat Chris Murphy is projected to win re-election.

Delaware: Democrat Lisa Blunt is projected to win.

Florida: Republican Rick Scott is projected to win re-election.

Hawaii. Democratic Sen. Mazie Hirono is projected to win re-election.

Indiana: Republican Jim Banks is projected to win.

Maine: Independent Sen. Angus King is projected to win re-election. King caucuses with Democrats.

Maryland. Democrat Angela Alsobrooks is projected to win over former Republican Gov. Larry Hogan. Democratic Sen. Ben Cardin (D) is retiring.

Massachusetts: Democratic Sen. Elizabeth Warren is projected to win re-election.

Michigan: Democratic Rep. Elissa Slotkin is projected to win.

Minnesota. Democratic Sen. Amy Klobuchar is projected to win re-election.

Mississippi: Republican Roger Wicker is projected to win re-election.

Missouri. Republican Road Runner Sen. Josh Hawley is projected to win re-election.

Montana. Republican Tim Somebody-Shot-Me-Sometime Sheehy is projected to have defeated Sen. Jon Tester.

Nebraska. Republican Sen. Deb Fischer has held off a challenge from an Independent candidate.

Nebraska. Republican Sen. Pete Ricketts is projected to win re-election. This is a special election.

Nevada: Democratic Sen. Jacky Rosen is (at long last) projected to win re-election.

New Jersey: Democrat Rep. Andy Kim is projected to win the seat previously vacated by Democrat Bob Menendez, who resigned in disgrace after being convicted on federal bribery & corruption charges. Kim will be the first Korean-American to hold a U.S. Senate seat.

New Mexico. Democratic Sen. Martin Heinrich is projected to win re-election.

New York. Democratic Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand is projected to win re-election.

North Dakota. Republican Sen. Kevin Kramer is projected to win re-election.

⭐ Ohio. Republican Bernie Moreno is projected to have defeated Democratic Sen. Sherrod Brown. This is the second pick-up for Republicans.

⭐Pennsylvania. Republican Dave McCormick is projected to have defeated incumbent Democrat Bob Casey, although Casey has not conceded.

Rhode Island: Democrat Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse is projected to win re-election.

Tennessee: Republican Sen. Marsha Blackburn is projected to win re-election.

Texas: Republic Sen. Ted Cruz, the most unpopular U.S. senator, is projected to win re-election.

Utah. Republican Rep. John Curtis is projected to win the seat currently held by Sen. Mitt Romney (R).

Vermont: Independent Sen. Bernie Sanders is projected to win re-election.

Virginia. Democratic Sen. Tim Kaine is projected by NBC News to win re-election.

Washington. Democratic Sen. Maria Cantwell is projected to win re-election.

West Virginia: Republican Gov. Jim Justice is projected to win the seat currently held by Independent Joe Manchin, who is retiring.

Wisconsin. Democratic Sen. Tammy Baldwin is projected to win re-election. Hurrah!

Wyoming. Republican Sen. John Barrasso is projected to win re-election.

On Tuesday, December 3, the AP called the last undecided House race for the Democrat Adam Gray over incumbent Republican John Duarte of California's Central Valley, leaving the final count Democrats 215 seats and Republicans 220. (A majority is 220 218.) (NYT link.)

New York Times: "Though the G.O.P. has won more than the 218 seats necessary to control the House, ... Trump wants two of the Republican House members to serve in his administration. A third, Matt Gaetz, resigned last month after Mr. Trump announced that he intended to nominate him for attorney general."

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Germany. New York Times: "A driver plowed a vehicle into a Christmas market in the city of Magdeburg in central Germany on Friday evening, killing at least two people -- an adult and a small child -- and injuring dozens of others, in what officials indicated was a targeted attack. The driver was arrested, the authorities said. He was identified as a 50-year-old Saudi Arabian citizen who first came to Germany in 2006 and worked as a doctor in a small town 25 miles south of Magdeburg, officials said. Saudi Arabia condemned the attack in a statement by its Foreign Ministry that did not mention the suspect. 'The Kingdom expresses its solidarity with the German people and the families of the victims.' the statement said. More than 65 people were injured, 14 of them severely, said Michael Reif, the spokesman for Magdeburg. The authorities say they believe it was a deliberate attack." ~~~

     ~~~ In an early December 21 update, the Washington Post reports that at least five people were killed and more than 200 were wounded in the Christmas market attack.

New York Times: "Joanne Pierce Misko, a former Roman Catholic nun who in 1972 became one of the first two women sworn in as special agents for the F.B.I., breaking the bureau's longstanding bar against women in frontline law-enforcement roles, died on Friday in Wheatfield, N.Y., east of Niagara Falls. She was 83."

The Conversation -- December 19, 2024

Once again, Not-President Trump -- this time with his co-president* (or his puppetmaster) Elon Musk -- has sent a normally-chaotic Washington into utter disarray. Why, one just might think this is what they want. ~~~

One or two puppet masters weigh in and extreme MAGA Republicans decide to do the bidding of the wealthy, the well-connected, the millionaires and billionaires, not working-class people all across America.... The bill that is before us today is just part of an effort to shut down the government. -- Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, House floor, Thursday ~~~

~~~ Jacob Bogage & Marianna Sotomayor of the Washington Post: "The federal government moved closer to a weekend shutdown Thursday, after the House overwhelmingly voted down Speaker Mike Johnson's new plan to extend the deadline despite support from ... Donald Trump and his billionaire adviser Elon Musk. The GOP proposal would have extended federal operations into mid-March, sent more than $100 billion to natural-disaster survivors and suspended the country's borrowing limit for two years. But it needed the support of two-thirds of the House to pass, and it went down by a 235-174 vote, with one member voting present. It wasn't clear Thursday night what the next move will be....

"Only two Democrats supported the legislation, with 197 of them opposing it. But 38 Republicans also voted no -- an indication of how difficult finding an alternative solution before the shutdown deadline may be for the GOP leader. The bipartisan legislation the House GOP scrapped Wednesday was substantially similar to the bill that Johnson tried to advance Thursday, though he dropped some provisions unrelated to spending and added -- at Trump's request -- a suspension of the debt limit." This is an update of a story linked earlier Thursday.

You know those classic rom-coms where a couple meets at work, hilarity ensues, and everything works out in the end? They are fiction, people! ~~~

~~~ Danny Hakim & Richard Fausset of the New York Times: "Georgia's Court of Appeals on Thursday disqualified the Atlanta prosecutor who brought an election interference case against ... Donald J. Trump and his allies, a surprise move that threw the entire case into disarray. In a 2-1 decision, a three-judge panel reversed the trial judge, who in March had allowed Fani T. Willis, the district attorney of Fulton County, Ga., to keep the case, despite revelations about a romantic relationship she had with the lawyer who was hired to manage the prosecution. All three of the appeals judges are Republican appointees. While the decision is likely to be appealed to the full court, if it stands, it could doom the entire case, which is the last active criminal prosecution involving charges against Mr. Trump."

Jeanna Smialek & Ana Swanson of the New York Times: "The U.S. economy is pulling ahead of its global peers. Inflation is moderating, and the Federal Reserve is cutting interest rates.... The unemployment rate is low. Consumers are spending.... Add in a decrease in unlawful southern border crossings and revved-up domestic production in several critical industries and they amount to a rough list of Donald J. Trump's campaign promises. It's a list of economic wins that Mr. Trump is inheriting in large part because of policies that the Federal Reserve and Biden administration have pursued in recent years.... But a variety of risks -- some sheer happenstance, some floated by Mr. Trump -- could interfere with that rosy outcome just as ... [he] takes office.... Economists have ... warned that Mr. Trump's own policies could lift inflation." ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: Partly but not wholly because Congressional Republicans oppose most laws designed to help ordinary Americans, Joe (Biden) & Jay (Powell) did not do enough to make the U.S. economy work ideally for its people. But in an irony upon irony, Joe & Jay did manage to make ours the best economy in the world, and now Trump, who promised butterflies and rainbows, is poised to wreck all that.

Nicholas Bogel-Burroughs of the New York Times: "The 26-year-old man accused of murdering a health care executive in Manhattan agreed at a court hearing on Thursday to be extradited to New York, where he is facing a first-degree murder charge. The man, Luigi Mangione, was being held at a prison in Pennsylvania after he was spotted in a McDonald's in the central part of the state and arrested by the local police. The Manhattan district attorney's office sought to bring him to New York to prosecute him for the death of Brian Thompson, the chief executive of UnitedHealthcare.... After his arrest last week, Mr. Mangione initially indicated through his lawyer that he would contest extradition to New York. Mr. Mangione has been represented by a lawyer in Pennsylvania, but he has also hired a prominent New York defense lawyer who formerly worked as a top prosecutor in the Manhattan district attorney's office."

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Maxine Joselow of the Washington Post: "President Joe Biden announced Thursday that the United States would aim to cut its greenhouse gas emissions by between 61 and 66 percent by 2035, compared with 2005 levels, even as the nation remains far off-track from meeting the climate goal he laid out for the end of the decade. The action comes despite the fact that ... Donald Trump has vowed to scrap dozens of climate rules and policies."

This is extraordinary. The Count of Mar-a-Lardo, who is currently an unemployed layabout, is about to shut down the government of one of the most important countries on Earth (as of this writing): ~~~

~~~ Catie Edmondson & Carl Hulse of the New York Times: "A bipartisan spending deal to avert a shutdown was on life support on Wednesday after ... Donald J. Trump condemned it, leaving lawmakers without a strategy to fund the government past a Friday night deadline. Mr. Trump issued a scathing statement ordering Republicans not to support the sprawling bill, piling on to a barrage of criticism from Elon Musk, who spent Wednesday trashing the measure on social media and threatening any Republican who supported it with political ruin. It was not yet clear how Speaker Mike Johnson planned to proceed as the package.... The bill appeared doomed when Mr. Trump weighed in late Wednesday afternoon, saying lawmakers needed to pass a 'temporary funding bill WITHOUT DEMOCRAT GIVEAWAYS,' and said it should be combined with an increase in the debt ceiling.... It reflected a recognition by the president-elect that his party would have a difficult time raising the limit next year when they have full control of Congress, and that he would not want to sign such a measure." JayDee cosigned Trump's statement, and apparently Elon has a sidekick, too, as the report notes that Vivek Ramaswamy "joined" him in deriding the deal. Kinda sweet. Everybody will have someone to dance with at the inaugural ball. The AP's report is here. ~~~

     ~~~ Update. Jacob Bogage & Marianna Sotomayor of the Washington Post: "The federal government is careening toward a weekend government shutdown deadline as congressional Republicans, egged on by ... Donald Trump and Elon Musk, feud over legislation to keep agencies open over the Christmas holiday. Republicans on Wednesday rejected a plan by House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-Louisiana) for a three-month stopgap funding extension, called a continuing resolution or CR, with more than $100 billion in aid for natural disaster survivors, bipartisan health-care policy changes and other unrelated provisions. In scrapping Johnson's plan, Republicans cast doubt on his ability to maintain the speaker's gavel in next year's Congress."

     ~~~ Marie: The NYT report linked above says the government will probably run out of money in January. Still, it seems to me that Trump's push to raise the debt ceiling also is a tacit acknowledgment that he's going to drive up the national debt with his plans to continue tax cuts for corporations & the wealthy. ~~~

     ~~~ Or Is Trump Merely Elon's Puppet? Faiz Siddiqui, et al., of the Washington Post: "With a five-word post on X, [Elon] Musk threw the process [of passing a CR to keep the government running] into chaos. 'This bill should not pass,' [Musk] wrote at 4:15 a.m. Eastern time.... Over the ensuing 12 hours, Musk went on a prolific tirade against the bill -- with more than 60 updates, some of which boosted false claims -- that stood out even for a chronic poster who has commanded an audience of more than 200 million followers by broadcasting his largely uninhibited views on the site he owns. By midday, Musk's barrage was increasingly acerbic, decrying the bill as 'terrible,' criminal,' 'outrageous,' 'horrible,' 'unconscionable,' 'crazy' and, ultimately, 'an insane crime.'... 'Any member of the House or Senate who votes for this outrageous spending bill deserves to be voted out in 2 years!' Musk wrote shortly after 1 p.m. Wednesday.... Trump stayed largely silent on the measure through Wednesday afternoon, putting Musk in the unusual position of exerting more influence on the bill than the incoming president. Finally, by late afternoon, Trump, too, aired his opposition." ~~~

     ~~~ Apparently "Vice President Trump" and "President Musk" were trending on X. ~~~

     ~~~ Update. Michael Luciano of Mediaite: "'What was confusing to me is Musk sends out one of his tweets, and he says no one should do anything until January 20th when Trump gets there,' [David Axelrod] noted [on CNN last night]. 'Trump sends out a tweet saying they ought to pass a clean, a clean [continuing resolution].... So they seem to be saying different things, and eventually they're gonna have to get together and decide who the president is.' The crack prompted former Rep. Adam Kinzinger (R-IL) to laugh. Earlier in the segment, Kinzinger referred to Musk as 'President Elon.'" AND ~~~

     ~~~ Alex Griffing of Mediaite: "Rep. Daniel Goldman (D-NY) accused ... Donald Trump of being Elon Musk's 'puppet' on Wednesday after Trump followed Musk's lead in opposing House Speaker Mike Johnson's (R-LA) continuing resolution to keep the government open. 'As the shadow Pres-Elect, Elon Musk is now calling the shots for House Rs on government funding while Trump hides in Mar-a-Lago behind his handlers,' Goldman wrote on X...." MB: Ha ha. All this has to really irritate Trump.

~~~ Daniella Diaz & Katherine Tully-McManus of Politico: "Among the 100-plus tweets Musk sent as part of his campaign were a number of misleading or outright false claims -- a possible preview of the mogul's new role as co-leader of a Trump-blessed effort to slash government funding. Musk didn't seem to think a government shutdown would have significant consequences for the country.... [But] a A five-week shutdown from 2018 to 2019 caused the economy to lose about $3 billion, according to estimates from the Congressional Budget Office. The billionaire falsely claimed that members of Congress would get a 40 percent pay raise as part of the package -- something both Musk and the X account for his so-called Department of Government Efficiency got wrong.... Musk reposted a claim that the bill would provide $3 billion for a new NFL stadium in Washington. Not true.... He's also wrong that the bill shields the Jan. 6 committee -- a claim that may have helped draw Trump further into the debate." ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: Surely a number of GOP Congressmen who swore off the bill knew Musk was lying about it. But that didn't matter. ~~~

~~~ Mike Lillis of the Hill: "House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) suggested Wednesday that Democrats will oppose any federal spending bill that strays from the bipartisan deal announced a day before, accusing GOP leaders of reneging on the agreement at risk of a government shutdown. In a brief statement, Jeffries invoked the growing conservative outcry over the negotiated continuing resolution (CR) -- including opposition from ... Trump -- and warned Republicans that they will 'own' the economic and political fallout if a shutdown occurs."

Amy Gardner of the Washington Post: "The electoral college convened in all 50 states Tuesday to elect Donald Trump to be the 47th president of the United States over Vice President Kamala Harris by a vote of 312 to 226. The gatherings unfolded uneventfully.... Although Trump won the electoral college comfortably this time, and he defeated Harris in the popular vote by more than 2 million votes, his share of the popular vote when third-party candidate totals are included falls slightly below a majority, at 49.9 percent, according to data compiled by the Associated Press." (Also linked yesterday.) MB: Despite this, we are now unsure as to who will be the new president*.

Note to Justin: Relentless Bullies Are Relentless. Elena Giordiano of Politico: "Early on Wednesday ... [Donald Trump] suggested turning Canada into a part of the U.S., calling it 'a great idea.'... 'No one can answer why we subsidize Canada to the tune of over $100,000,000 a year? Makes no sense! Many Canadians want Canada to become the 51st State. They would save massively on taxes and military protection. I think it is a great idea. 51st State!!! he boomed on his social media platform.... [This and earlier] mocking posts land amid tensions between the two countries after Trump threatened to impose 25 percent tariffs on Canadian goods and accused the government of failing to address trade and immigration issues." (Also linked yesterday.)

Annals of "Journalism," Ctd. Dani Anguiano of the Guardian: "Patrick Soon-Shiong, the owner of the Los Angeles Times, reportedly asked the newspaper's editorial board to 'take a break' from writing about Donald Trump, in the latest report of the billionaire owner's growing influence over the newspaper's coverage. The newspaper and its owner were embroiled in controversy for weeks this fall after Soon-Shiong blocked the board from endorsing Kamala Harris for president. The decision led to a wave of resignations on the editorial board and the loss of thousands of subscriptions.... Earlier this month, Soon-Shiong announced plans to incorporate an artificial intelligence-powered 'bias meter' into newspaper articles. He also reportedly barred the newspaper's editorial board from publishing an editorial about Trump's cabinet picks unless it also published a piece with an opposing view.... The extent of Soon-Shiong's involvement was detailed in a memo from members of the opinion section to the newspaper's executive editor that was published in the Status newsletter by the media reporter Oliver Darcy."

Eugene Robinson of the Washington Post: "Titans of industry and commerce, beware. When you bend the knee to the Mad King, when you shower him with money and bathe him in flattery, he will receive your gifts with apparent gratitude. But he will want more. He will always want more.... In Trump's worldview, loyalty flows in one direction: toward him. Don't take my word; ask Mike Pence.... If history is any guide, reasonable people who try to work with Trump eventually reach a point where they feel they have to part ways with him. And when those reasonable people tell the world why, Trump lashes out at them."

Alan Feuer & Maggie Haberman of the New York Times: "For years..., Donald J. Trump has made it known that people he believes to be his enemies should be prosecuted.... In a report released on Tuesday, House Republicans said [former Rep. Liz] Cheney [R-Wy.] should face an F.B.I. investigation for work she did for the congressional committee that examined Mr. Trump's attempts to cling to power after he lost the 2020 election.... The House subcommittee's report detailed a road map for what [a Justice Department] inquiry might ultimately look like -- while also relieving Mr. Trump of the potentially fraught step of explicitly ordering the inquiry himself. Appearing to have it both ways, Mr. Trump seized on the House report on Wednesday morning, saying that it could present problems for Ms. Cheney, but avoiding responsibility for having been the cause of them." A similar AP report is here. ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: Wait! Doesn't Trump like to take credit for every turn of events he favors? Even if he had nothing to do with it? Well, yes, but here Trump wants the public to think that other, legitimate investigators -- prosecutors, members of Congress -- independently discovered Trump's enemies' wrongdoing and acted out of principle and the rule of law to punish/correct the bad guys. Trump can still boast that he "predicted" such actions would befall his perceived enemies. And he thinks people are dumb enough (many are!) to believe that "investigations" by toadies like Bill Barr & John Durham were a legitimate inquiries.

But the Emails! Trump & Co. Continue to Be a Major Security Threat. Alice Ollstein of Politico: "Federal officials say they're worried about sharing documents via email with Donald Trump's transition team because the incoming officials are eschewing government devices, email addresses and cybersecurity support, raising fears that they could potentially expose sensitive government data. The private emails have agency employees considering insisting on in-person meetings and document exchanges that they otherwise would have conducted electronically, according to two federal officials granted anonymity to discuss a sensitive situation. Their anxiety is particularly high in light of recent hacking attempts from China and Iran that targeted Trump, Vice President-elect JD Vance and other top officials....

"Trump -- who attacked his then-opponent Hillary Clinton over her use of a private email server for official business during his first presidential run -- is overseeing a fully privatized transition that communicates from an array of @transition47.com, @trumpvancetransition.com and @djtfp24.com accounts rather than anything ending in .gov, and uses prvate servers, laptops and cell phones instead of government-issued devices.... The White House has sent guidance to federal agencies to be cautious when communicating with the Trump transition...."

Noah Berlatsky of Public Notice reviews Trump's "Person of the Year" interview with Time magazine and is reminded "He's staggeringly unfit. Always has been. Always will be.... When it's possible to decipher what Trump is trying to say, it's apparent he was trying to strike what for him him is a conciliatory tone, at least in comparison with the terrifying interview he did with Time last spring. This time around, he made mouth noise about compromise on abortion, on Ukraine, on Israel, and even, startlingly, on trans issues.... [But] even when Trump is trying to sound reasonable, he's hampered by the fact that his knowledge of issues never goes deeper than talking points. Perhaps even worse, he's clearly in thrall to the world's worst conspiracy theorists and authoritarian rulers.... Amidst all the misty and disingenuous belching of verbiage, Trump did manage to demonstrate that to the extent he's able to actually follow through on his policy agenda, it'll be very bad news for the country." ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: A fun read, I guess, if you like scary stories. Thanks to Akhilleus for the lead, which he got via digby, who embeds an interview of Joe Biden & notes: "By contrast here's a 15 minute interview with the president everyone says is demented. Joe Biden is no Barack Obama or Bill Clinton when it comes to oratory or political analysis. But he's not Donald Trump either. It's amazing that America hates this man and loves the addled weirdo who clearly has no idea what he's talking about."

Olivia Rubin & Peter Charalambous of ABC News: "The state prosecution of Donald Trump on election interference charges in Georgia may be able to continue despite his impending inauguration, a lawyer for Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis signaled in a court filing that urged an appeals court to reject the president-elect's request to throw out the case based on presidential immunity. The filing argued that Trump's lawyers failed to demonstrate why a state prosecution would be subject to the Department of Justice memorandum prohibiting the prosecution of a sitting presidents -- which was cited by special counsel Jack Smith when he wound down his federal cases against Trump -- or impede Trump's duties as president."

Dominick Mastrangelo & Zach Schonfeld of the Hill: "... Trump's attorney unsuccessfully asked a federal judge to move forward with his lawsuit against journalist Bob Woodward over published audio tapes of interviews the famed Watergate reporter conducted with Trump for a 2020 book. U.S. District Judge Paul Gardephe, an appointee of former President George W. Bush who is overseeing the case, denied the request to expedite it around five hours after the request was filed.... The case has stalled for months as the judge weighs the defendants' bid to dismiss the lawsuit, but the sudden activity comes as Trump assumes a more emboldened posture in scrutinizing media outlets in the wake of his November presidential victory." (Also linked yesterday.)

Joe Gould of Politico: "At least a dozen senators are pushing to see the FBI's background check on Pete Hegseth, Donald Trump's embattled pick for Pentagon chief -- a rare move for the committee that oversees his confirmation and a sign the former Fox News host still faces hurdles in the Senate. Unlike some other committees, the Senate Armed Services usually limits access to these types of background checks to its two lead senators. But pressure is building from both Democrats and Republicans to provide more lawmakers with the ongoing report, whose contents could determine whether Hegseth makes it to the Pentagon.... The FBI's background investigation is expected to thoroughly examine Hegseth's personal and professional history, including interviews with associates, reviews of financial records, and queries into past legal issues."

Alexander Bolton of the Hill: "Republican Sen. Eric Schmitt (Mo.) on Tuesday blocked a request by Democratic senators to pass legislation to protect federal workers from civil servic reforms that President-elect Trump has endorsed to fight what he calls the 'deep state' in Washington, D.C. Virginia Sen. Tim Kaine (D) stood on the Senate floor Tuesday afternoon to ask for unanimous consent to pass the Saving the Civil Service Act, warning there have been 'attempts in recent years to erode the independence of the federal civil service,' referring to Trump's efforts during his first term. Kaine and other Democrats fear that Trump, now reelected, may attempt to reclassify tens of thousands of federal workers as political appointees who could be hired and fired at will." (Also linked yesterday.)

And a Very Icky Christmas to All. Alayna Treene, et al., of CNN: "The House Ethics Committee secretly voted earlier this month to release its report into the conduct of former Rep. Matt Gaetz before the end of this Congress, according to multiple sources.... The report is now expected to be made public after the House's final day of votes this year.... The vote, which has not previously been reported, amounts to a stark reversal for the panel after it had voted along party lines in late November not to release the results of the investigation. The decision to release the report suggests that some Republicans ultimately decided to side with Democrats on the matter.... When the committee voted last month to shelve the report, Gaetz was ... Donald Trump's choice to be attorney general. Since then, Gaetz withdrew himself from consideration..., though he maintains frosty relations with many in his party and is still active in GOP politics." (Also linked yesterday.) The New York Times' report is here. ~~~

     ~~~ Update. Matt Plots His Revenge. Sarah Rumpf of Mediaite: "In the wake of Wednesday's surprising report that the House Ethics Committee had taken a secret vote to release its investigatory report into Gaetz's conduct, the former congressman first replied with defiance -- insisting he had been 'FULLY EXONERATED' and his behavior had merely been 'embarrassing, though not criminal' -- before taking an even more aggressive stance.... Gaetz posted a new tweet that an unnamed person had 'suggested the following plan' to him, detailing how, despite his previously stated intentions to not return to Congress in January, he would nonetheless show up and briefly take his seat.... [Here's the plan, via Gaetz's tweet:] '1. Show up 1/3/2025 to congress 2. Participate in Speaker election (I was elected to the 119th Congress, after all...) 3. Take the oath 4. File a privileged motion to expose every 'me too' settlement paid using public funds (even of former members) 5. Resign and start my @OANN program at 9pm EST on January 6, 2025."

Paul Kiel of ProPublica: "Fourteen years ago, Congress ... created a new type of Medicare tax to capture the kinds of income the rich often enjoy: interest, dividends and capital gains from investments. A host of billionaires -- sports team owners, oil barons, Wall Street traders and others -- have managed to avoid paying it, ProPublica found.... We identified 17 people who, in the first six years of the law, 2013 through 2018, each shielded at least $1 billion in capital gains from the tax. Together, this small group, by collectively exempting more than $35 billion, saved about $1.3 billion in taxes. Most members of the group were able to sidestep the tax because of a huge gap written into the law, which allows owners to exempt gains from the sale of their businesses.... But others eluded the tax in ways that raise questions about how the law is being enforced." (Also linked yesterday.)

Jeanna Smialek of the New York Times: "Federal Reserve officials made their third and final rate cut of 2024 at their meeting on Wednesday. They also forecast two fewer rate reductions in 2025 than they had previously expected, as inflation lingers and the economy holds up.... Officials thought that it was clear that rates needed to come down notably from their 5.3 percent peak, and they have steadily lowered them to about 4.4 percent by making three back-to-back reductions. Policymakers do not want to cut rates so much that they reignite the economy, though -- and they have now arrived at a point where it is uncertain how much further rates should fall.... Markets shuddered at [the Fed's] assessment, with the dollar soaring and stocks plummeting. The S&P 500 index fell nearly 3 percent, its worst tumble since August. The Dow Jones industrial average fell for a 10th-straight day, its longest losing streak since October 1974."~~~

     ~~~ Marie: Oddly, Smialek doesn't mention anywhere in her report (as of 5 am ET) what the rate cut yesterday was, though the number does show up in an embedded chart. ~~~

     ~~~ Rob Wile of NBC News: "The Federal Reserve announced a quarter-point cut to its key interest rate Wednesday, an effort to keep what appears to be a steady but cooling economy stable." ~~~

     ~~~ John Towfighi & David Goldman of CNN: "The Dow plunged Wednesday on a disappointing outlook from the Federal Reserve. In the process, the blue-chip index extended its losing streak to 10 days -- the longest such stretch since Gerald Ford was president. The Dow Jones Industrial Average ended the day down about 1,123 points, or 2.6%, after the Fed indicated in a policy statement that it is forecasting just two interest rate cuts in 2025, not the previously projected four. The Fed now anticipates inflation will remain stubbornly above its target range for longer than it had initially expected. The Dow has fallen for 10 days in a row, the first time it has had a losing streak that long since September 20 through October 4, 1974, when the index fell for 11 sessions in a row."

Chelsia Marcius, et al., of the New York Times: "The suspect in the fatal shooting of UnitedHealthcare’s chief executive on a Manhattan sidewalk this month will now face federal charges in addition to the state murder indictment brought against him, according to three people with knowledge of the matter. It was not immediately clear what charges the suspect, Luigi Mangione, would face in the federal case, which is being brought by prosecutors with the U.S. attorney's office for the Southern District of New York. On Tuesday, state prosecutors in the office of the Manhattan district attorney, Alvin L. Bragg, indicted Mr. Mangione, 26, on three murder charges in the shooting of the executive, Brian Thompson, two of which branded him a terrorist. Federal charges, though, would potentially allow prosecutors to pursue the death penalty, which has been outlawed in New York for decades. It was not clear whether federal prosecutors would seek the death penalty, and any decision about capital punishment would most likely fall to the Justice Department once ... Donald J. Trump has taken office."

Lauren Gurley & Carolina O'Donovan of the Washington Post: "The Teamsters are launching strikes against seven Amazon warehouses Thursday, in the union's biggest provocation yet against the nation's second-largest private employer, threatening to delay some package delivery during the busy Christmas season. The strikes will take place at sites in New York City, Atlanta, San Francisco, Skokie, Ill., and Southern California. Roughly 9,000 Amazon workers around the country have joined the Teamsters, according to the union, but Amazon has refused to recognize their union and bargain with them. The Teamsters are hoping to force Amazon to the bargaining table...."

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California. L.A. Deputy Mayor in Charge of Public Safety Likely Sent Bomb Threat to City Hall. Will McCarthy of Politico: "FBI agents searched the home of Los Angeles Deputy Mayor Brian Williams this week as part of an investigation into a bomb threat made against City Hall, where Williams oversees public safety. The threat came earlier in the year and was quickly investigated by the Los Angeles Police Department, which concluded there was no imminent danger and referred the investigation to the FBI.... City police department officials in a statement said their initial investigation found Williams was 'likely' the source of the threat, and that they referred the case because the deputy mayor supervises their department. Williams has since been placed on administrative leave."

Louisiana, California. Lena Sun of the Washington Post: "An individual in Louisiana has the first severe illness caused by bird flu in the United States, federal health officials said Wednesday.... It's the first case of H5N1 bird flu in the United States that has been linked to exposure to a backyard flock, and news of the infection comes the same day California officials declared a state of emergency to confront the outbreak spreading among dairy cows."

Michigan. Chris Benson of UPI: "A Michigan man pleaded guilty to plotting a mass shooting at a local bar and Democratic Party office over his hatred for gay people after a string of other related charges, according to court documents. Mack Davis, 22, of Owosso, pleaded guilty to a single count of committing a hate crime, according to a release Tuesday by the U.S. Justice Department. He faces a maximum penalty of life in a federal prison.... The local Owosso police previously had arrested Davis in connection to separate incidents. It's alleged he fired 60 bullets from a rifle into the property of several neighbors and vandalized the car of a neighbor he knew to be gay. He then was transferred to federal custody, where he remains."

Montana. Anna Phillips of the Washington Post: "Montana's permitting of oil, gas and coal projects without consideration for climate change violates residents' constitutional right to a clean environment, the state's Supreme Court ruled Wednesday, upholding a landmark ruling in a case brought by youth activists. The 6-1 ruling is a major, and rare, victory for climate activists.... In their decision, the Montana justices affirmed an August 2023 ruling by a state judge, who found in favor of young people alleging the state violated their right to a 'clean and healthful environment' by promoting the use of fossil fuels."

~~~~~~~~~~

France. Leo Sands of the Washington Post: "Judges on Thursday convicted a Frenchman of aggravated rape and other charges, after the 72-year-old admitted to repeatedly drugging his wife and recruiting dozens of other men to rape her over almost a decade. The court in Avignon, southern France, sentenced Dominique Pelicot to 20 years in prison -- the maximum sentence allowed in French law -- after finding him guilty on all charges in a case that has shocked the world. The other 50 defendants were also found guilty of various charges: 46 of rape, two of attempted rape and two of sexual assault.... The three-month trial, which took place in an open court at the request of Pelicot's former wife Gisèle Pelicot, 72 -- who said she wanted the world to know what had happened to her -- shook the country, triggering a nationwide debate about rape as well as international scrutiny of the case."

Israel/Palestine, et al. The Washington Post's live updates of developments Thursday in Israeli's wars are here: "The United States and Arab mediators continued to push for a ceasefire in Gaza and the release of the remaining Israeli hostages held there, as CIA Director William J. Burns arrived in Qatar on Wednesday for the latest round of talks, according to a U.S. official who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive details.... Meanwhile, Israeli forces are continuing to carry out airstrikes in Gaza City and elsewhere in the Gaza Strip. A strike on one of the last functioning medical facilities in northern Gaza on Tuesday killed at least eight people, according to medics.... Israel's military said Thursday it had carried out retaliatory strikes on Houthi rebel targets in Yemen, including ports and energy infrastructure, after intercepting a projectile that was launched from Yemen. Human Rights Watch in a report Thursday accused Israel of killing thousands of Palestinian civilians in Gaza by denying them adequate access to water since October 2023, which the organization said amounts to a 'crime against humanity of extermination and acts of genocide.'"

The Conversation -- December 18, 2024

Amy Gardner of the Washington Post: "The electoral college convened in all 50 states Tuesday to elect Donald Trump to be the 47th president of the United States over Vice President Kamala Harris by a vote of 312 to 226. The gatherings unfolded uneventfully.... Although Trump won the electoral college comfortably this time, and he defeated Harris in the popular vote by more than 2 million votes, his share of the popular vote when third-party candidate totals are included falls slightly below a majority, at 49.9 percent, according to data compiled by the Associated Press."

Note to Justin: Relentless Bullies Are Relentless. Elena Giordiano of Politico: "Early on Wednesday ... [Donald Trump] suggested turning Canada into a part of the U.S., calling it 'a great idea.'... 'No one can answer why we subsidize Canada to the tune of over $100,000,000 a year? Makes no sense! Many Canadians want Canada to become the 51st State. They would save massively on taxes and military protection. I think it is a great idea. 51st State!!! he boomed on his social media platform.... [This and earlier] mocking posts land amid tensions between the two countries after Trump threatened to impose 25 percent tariffs on Canadian goods and accused the government of failing to address trade and immigration issues."

Dominick Mastrangelo & Zach Schonfeld of the Hill: "... Trump's attorney unsuccessfully asked a federal judge to move forward with his lawsuit against journalist Bob Woodward over published audio tapes of interviews the famed Watergate reporter conducted with Trump for a 2020 book. U.S. District Judge Paul Gardephe, an appointee of former President <George W. Bush who is overseeing the case, denied the request to expedite it around five hours after the request was filed.... The case has stalled for months as the judge weighs the defendants' bid to dismiss the lawsuit, but the sudden activity comes as Trump assumes a more emboldened posture in scrutinizing media outlets in the wake of his November presidential victory."

Alexander Bolton of the Hill: "Republican Sen. Eric Schmitt (Mo.) on Tuesday blocked a request by Democratic senators to pass legislation to protect federal workers from civil service reforms that President-elect Trump has endorsed to fight what he calls the 'deep state' in Washington, D.C. Virginia Sen. Tim Kaine (D) stood on the Senate floor Tuesday afternoon to ask for unanimous consent to pass the Saving the Civil Service Act, warning there have been 'attempts in recent years to erode the independence of the federal civil service,' referring to Trump's efforts during his first term. Kaine and other Democrats fear that Trump, now reelected, may attempt to reclassify tens of thousands of federal workers as political appointees who could be hired and fired at will."

And a Very Icky Christmas to All. Alayna Treene, et al., of CNN: "The House Ethics Committee secretly voted earlier this month to release its report into the conduct of former Rep. Matt Gaetz before the end of this Congress, according to multiple sources.... The report is now expected to be made public after the House's final day of votes this year.... The vote, which has not previously been reported, amounts to a stark reversal for the panel after it had voted along party lines in late November not to release the results of the investigation. The decision to release the report suggests that some Republicans ultimately decided to side with Democrats on the matter.... When the committee voted last month to shelve the report, Gaetz was ... Donald Trump's choice to be attorney general. Since then, Gaetz withdrew himself from consideration..., though he maintains frosty relations with many in his party and is still active in GOP politics."

Paul Kiel of ProPublica: "Fourteen years ago, Congress ... created a new type of Medicare tax to capture the kinds of income the rich often enjoy: interest, dividends and capital gains from investments. A host of billionaires -- sports team owners, oil barons, Wall Street traders and others -- have managed to avoid paying it, ProPublica found.... We identified 17 people who, in the first six years of the law, 2013 through 2018, each shielded at least $1 billion in capital gains from the tax. Together, this small group, by collectively exempting more than $35 billion, saved about $1.3 billion in taxes. Most members of the group were able to sidestep the tax because of a huge gap written into the law, which allows owners to exempt gains from the sale of their businesses.... But others eluded the tax in ways that raise questions about how the law is being enforced."

~~~~~~~~~~

How Not to Treat a Neighbor & Close Ally. Matina Stevis-Gridneff of the New York Times: "Prime Minister Justin Trudeau of Canada and his government were in serious trouble well before Donald J. Trump was re-elected in November.... Opinion polls show that, in national elections that must take place by the fall under Canadian electoral rules, Mr. Trudeau is unlikely to win a fourth term as prime minister. Mr. Trump has tapped into this brewing trouble, even before taking office. He has threatened to slap tariffs on Canadian goods, sending the country into panic mode. He has trolled Mr. Trudeau as the 'governor' of the 'Great state of Canada,' putting his disdain on public display and triggering debates about how or whether Mr. Trudeau should respond. And on Monday, Mr. Trump offered gleeful, acerbic commentary on the bombshell resignation of a top Canadian minister he had long disliked, showing that he is happy to mine this fraught moment in Canadian politics." (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: Sure, we can attribute a lot of Trump's disgusting behavior to little quirks like racism, misogyny and xenophobia, but a lot of it comes down to this: he's just uncouth. He doesn't know how to behave in polite company; he has never been polite company. He's a lout and a philistine, and at some level he knows it; at some level he's ashamed of it. And he deals with that secret shame with a continual bullying, bad-ass performance. He's pathetic. ~~~

~~~ Oh, Trump seems to be trolling the Bahamas, too: ~~~

~~~ Chris Cameron of the New York Times: "... Donald J. Trump selected Herschel Walker on Tuesday to be the U.S. ambassador to the small Caribbean nation of the Bahamas, turning to a longtime ally and former football star who generated national headlines in his failed run for a Senate seat in Georgia in 2022.... Mr. Walker rose to the national political stage in 2022 after he was handpicked by Mr. Trump to challenge Senator Raphael Warnock for his Senate seat in Georgia. A political neophyte buoyed by his football stardom, Mr. Walker ran a campaign shadowed by incendiary statements and damaging revelations about his personal life and business career. Mr. Warnock ultimately defeated Mr. Walker even as Republicans won every other statewide race.... Mr. Walker has no previous diplomatic experience, and no obvious ties to the Bahamas, an island nation of about 400,000 people just off the coast of Florida.... The announcement also caps a run of potential appointments for Republicans who lost recent Senate races in Georgia. Former Senator Kelly Loeffler, who was unseated by Mr. Warnock, was picked to run the Small Business Administration. And former Senator David Perdue, who lost his seat to Senator Jon Ossoff, was selected to be ambassador to China."

Catherine Rampell of the Washington Post: "Some of Trump's 1930s-ish plans [to Make America the Great Depression Again] have received a fair amount of media coverage, such as his anti-vaccine nominees for senior health jobs and his thirst for new trade wars. But less attention has been afforded to his threats to the U.S. banking system, which Trump seems intent on making more vulnerable to crises. Consider the troubling idea to abolish the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation.... [established in 1933] in response to a series of painful, 'It's a Wonderful Life'-style bank runs.... Right now seems like a peculiar time for any pre-FDIC-era nostalgia. After all, last year was the biggest year for bank failures in modern history, thanks to a crisis that took down Silicon Valley Bank, Signature Bank and First Republic. Runs on these regional banks threatened contagion across the rest of the financial system -- at least until federal regulators (including the FDIC) stepped in to stem the panic and protect depositors."

Capitulation. Brooks Barnes of the New York Times: "When Disney reached a settlement last week with ... Donald J. Trump in his defamation case against ABC News, it led to accusations that the company had caved to him.... Disney executives had anticipated the blowback. But they also determined that they had a flawed case.... At a minimum, the $205 billion company would be litigating against a vindictive sitting president and risking harm to its brand.... The concerns about the case among Disney executives, and the eventual decision to settle, involved multiple considerations, according to three people inside the company.... The settlement was recommended by Horacio Gutierrez, Disney's general counsel, and approved by Robert A. Iger, Disney's chief executive." ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: Here's another lawsuit Disney just settled. (This story seems to have received much less attention. Hmmm, could that be because the press is so much more interested in writing about, um, the press? ~~~

     ~~~ Judd Legum of Popular Information: "This week, Disney agreed to settle [a] class action lawsuit for $233 million, the largest settlement for wage theft in California history. The settlement includes over $100 million in back wages that Disney, with the help of the City of Anaheim, attempted to steal from Disneyland workers. The remainder of the settlement includes interest on the back pay, penalties, and legal fees." In 2018, an Occidental College study found that workers at Disneyland in California earned less than a living wage and their income in real dollars was dropping. Meanwhile, Legum writes, "Meanwhile, Disney CEO Bob Iger was paid $65.6 million in 2018, as much as 'the total pay of 9,284 Disneyland workers.'"

Pre-Capitulation. Nicole Sperling of the New York Times: "Pixar, a division of Walt Disney Studios, removed a transgender story line from its animated series 'Win or Lose,' which is set to start streaming in February, Disney said on Tuesday. The series follows a middle school coed softball team in the week leading up to the championship game, and each episode is told from the perspective of a different character. The character will remain in the show, Disney said, but a few lines of dialogue focused on her gender, a plot point that appeared near the end of the eight-episode series, have been edited out.... The decision to remove the story arc was made over the summer," Disney said. ~~~

     ~~~ The Hollywood Reporter story, which broke the news, is here. Reporter Pamela McClintock, BTW, writes that Trump won "a sweeping victory," which he did not. (MB: Not sure if this link [to a Politico Magazine piece] will work because the publication is billing the link as some kind of special log-in. There's a WashPo op-ed here with a similar message.) ~~~

~~~ Here's the New York Times story on Trump's suing the Des Moines Register, its parent company Gannett, and its pollster Ann Selzer. (Also linked yesterday.) I cited a Fox story in yesterday's Conversation.

Deep state traitors are coming after me, using their paid shills in legacy media.... I prefer not to start fights, but I do end them ... -- Elon Musk, in a post on his failing social media platform, after the NYT article linked next was published ~~~

~~~ Kirsten Grind, et al., of the New York Times: "Elon Musk and his rocket company, SpaceX, have repeatedly failed to comply with federal reporting protocols aimed at protecting state secrets, including by not providing some details of his meetings with foreign leaders, according to people with knowledge of the company and internal documents. Concerns about the reporting practices -- and particularly about Mr. Musk, who is SpaceX's chief executive -- have triggered at least three federal reviews, eight people with knowledge of the efforts said. The Defense Department's Office of Inspector General opened a review into the matter this year, and the Air Force and the Pentagon's Office of the Under Secretary of Defense for Intelligence and Security separately initiated reviews last month. The Air Force also recently denied Mr. Musk a high-level security access, citing potential security risks associated with the billionaire. Several allied nations, including Israel, have also expressed concerns that he could share sensitive data with others, according to defense officials....

For years, SpaceX workers responsible for upholding disclosure rules grudgingly allowed Mr. Musk to disregard many of the reporting procedures, as they did not want to lose their jobs.... Some SpaceX workers have become concerned about Mr. Musk's ability to handle sensitive information, especially as he posts openly on X.... It is unclear why Mr. Musk did not report some of this information to the government, especially since he sometimes posts on X about matters that he does not relay to the Defense Department.... As a matter of constitutional law, Mr. Trump could grant a security clearance to anyone after his inauguration, even if others in the government object." Thanks to laura h. for the link. (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: "Aye, there's the rub." Until Donald turns on Elon, Elon will do what he wants and Trump will facilitate his flouting the law & passing secrets to foreigners when he's high or whatever. And just as Trump did in 2018 when he ordered John Kelly to grant a top-secret security clearance to young Jared when numerous officials "expressed concern" about it, he will grant clearance to old Elon. "The very rich are different from you and me." Oh, and here's one of a number of reasons, all rooted in jealousy, that Donald will turn on Oligarch No. 1: ~~~

~~~ Jeremy Merrill, et al., of the Washington Post: Elon Musk, "who is the world's richest person according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index, has the most followed account on X and an audience that eclipses other top political accounts, including those of President Joe Biden, "Vice President Kamala] Harris and Trump himself, according to an analysis by The Washington Post. Musk's posts have received a total of 133 billion views since July.... That's 15 times Trump's audience in the same period and more than 16 times the combined reach of all accounts belonging to members of the incoming Congress."

Donald's Little Elves Hop on the Retribution Sleigh. Annie Karni of the New York Times: "House Republicans on Tuesday said their one-time colleague, former Representative Liz Cheney of Wyoming, should face a criminal investigation for her role on the select committee that investigated the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol. A 128-page report from the House Administration Subcommittee on Oversight said Ms. Cheney should be investigated for witness tampering. It accuses her of colluding with Cassidy Hutchinson, the former White House aide who became the committee's star witness as it examined Donald J. Trump's efforts to overturn the 2020 election. The report -- released as Mr. Trump, now the president-elect, has been promising retribution against his political enemies, including Ms. Cheney — accused Ms. Cheney of using the select committee as a tool to attack Mr. Trump. It was spearheaded by Representative Barry Loudermilk of Georgia, the chairman of the oversight subcommittee. Ms. Cheney defended her work on the select committee in a detailed statement, and called the Republicans' report 'a malicious and cowardly assault on the truth.'" ~~~

     ~~~ Lisa Mascaro of the AP: "The findings issued Tuesday show the Republican Party working to reinforce Trump's desire to punish his perceived enemies including Cheney and members of the Jan. 6 committee that the president-elect has said should be in jail."

     ~~~ Marie: Okay, Kash & Pam, this is an action item for you. Make sure Liz is on your "Naughty" list, then ram a big lump of coal down her throat.

Jacob Bogage of the Washington Post: "Congressional leaders on Tuesday unveiled a bipartisan deal to punt a government shutdown deadline into March, but House Republican infighting could still endanger any agreement and push federal agencies to the brink of shuttering this weekend.... The measure includes $110.4 billion for disaster relief and approves a pair of local priorities, clearing the way for the District of Columbia to take over land so it can negotiate with the NFL's Washington Commanders for a possible stadium and committing the federal government to pay the full cost to rebuild Baltimore's collapsed Francis Scott Key Bridge.... Congressional Republicans, led by House Speaker Mike Johnson (Louisiana), originally sought to restrict the bill to a simple funding extension.... But the non-spending priorities ... threatened to turn a routine spending short-term bill into a dreaded end-of-year 'Christmas tree,' decorated with lawmakers' pet projects, and to imperil Johnson's speakership."

Farnoush Amiri of the AP: "House Democrats on Tuesday picked 74-year-old Rep. Gerry Connolly to lead the party next year atop an influential congressional committee, pushing aside growing calls for generational change in leadership ahead of a second term for Donald Trump. In a closed-door meeting, the majority of the caucus voted for Connolly to be the top Democrat on the House Oversight Committee over 35-year-old Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, who campaigned on calls to pass the torch to younger leaders. Connolly has seniority on the committee, having served on it for 16 years. The vote was 131-84.... Connolly had unsuccessfully run for the Oversight role twice before. He was facing concerns from colleagues over his recent cancer diagnosis." ~~~

     ~~~ Paul Campos of LG&$: "Somebody posted on one of them newfangled social media sites you can access from your 'smartphone' that this feels like the dinosaurs staring dumbly up at that meteor streaking across the Atlantic, and wondering what it all means. Over the past seven years AOC has gone from a potential flash in the pan to the most impressive Democratic politician of her generation. Speaking of which, Joe Biden had been in the Senate for nearly 17 years already on the day Ocasio Cortez was born." ~~~

     ~~~ As Steve M. posted yesterday, this was Nancy Pelosi's doing. MB: Pelosi is 84 years old, and she couldn't be there for the votes in committee & in the entire caucus because she was in Luxembourg recovering from him-replacement surgery (typically, a procedure for old people), which she needed because she fell down some stairs (often happens to old people). So according to an uncredited report Campos linked, she had Steny Hoyer (Md.) -- aged 85 -- stand up and make the case for seniority -- and Connelly.

Carl Hulse of the New York Times: "Like other senators leaving the chamber next month, Senator Sherrod Brown, Democrat of Ohio, on Tuesday marked the end of his three terms with an emotional, highly personal floor speech. But he refused to call it a farewell. 'It is not -- I promise you -- the last time you will hear from me,' Mr. Brown assured his applauding colleagues as he concluded remarks that caused him to choke up several times. In an interview, Mr. Brown, 72, a progressive labor champion in the Senate since 2007, would not say what form his future political activism might take.... But he also would not rule out running for office back in Ohio or trying to return to the Senate in two years...." Video of Sen. Brown's speech is here.

Maxine Joselow of the Washington Post: "The Biden administration on Tuesday released a long-awaited analysis of the dangers that liquefied natural gas exports pose to the environment and the economy, raising a potential hurdle to a central part of ... Donald Trump's energy agenda. The Energy Department study could undermine Trump's plans to immediately issue permits for billions of dollars' worth of facilities that export liquefied natural gas, or LNG. Environmentalists plan to cite the analysis in future lawsuits over the Trump administration's approvals of these projects, which some have called 'climate bombs' because of their enormous environmental footprints.... Trump has promised to end the pause [which President Biden imposed on LNG exports] on his 'very first day back' in the White House, saying it has stifled investments and jobs in the domestic gas industry. The Trump administration is expected to rebut the study and replace it with more industry-friendly findings." ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: That's right. If you don't like a scientific analysis, just make up stuff and merrily go about your corrupt business.

Andrew Ackerman of the Washington Post: "The Federal Reserve is poised to lower interest rates Wednesday by an additional quarter percentage point while probably signaling a slower pace of cuts next year as the fight against inflation stalled this fall.... Wednesday's announcement is set to come at 2 p.m. Eastern time, at the end of the Fed's two-day policy meeting. Then, at 2:30 p.m., Fed Chair Jerome H. Powell will appear at what will be a closely watched news conference...."

Hurubie Meko of the New York Times: "Luigi Mangione on Tuesday was accused of first-degree murder in the fatal shooting of UnitedHealthcare's chief executive, a charge that branded him a terrorist.... A grand jury formally indicted [him].... 'This was a frightening, well-planned, targeted murder that was intended to cause shock and attention and intimidation,' said Alvin L. Bragg, the Manhattan district attorney, at a news conference on Tuesday.... Prosecutors said that Mr. Mangione's actions were meant to further terrorism and therefore merited a charge of first-degree murder. While some states define first-degree murder as a premeditated killing, New York requires an additional aggravating circumstance, one of which is terrorism.... Prosecutors also charged Mr. Mangione, 26, with second-degree murder in furtherance of terrorism and another count of second-degree murder. He also faces weapons charges."

News from Guantanamo. Carol Rosenberg of the New York Times: "The Pentagon said on Wednesday that it had repatriated two Malaysian men from its prison at Guantánamo Bay, Cuba, who admitted to committing war crimes for an affiliate of Al Qaeda that carried out a deadly bombing in Bali, Indonesia, in 2002. The rare transfer, a day after the Pentagon released another prisoner to the custody of Kenya, reduced the detainee population to 27 men. The freed prisoners, Mohammed Nazir Bin Lep, 47, and Mohammed Farik Bin Amin, 49, have been held by the United States since 2003.... Before they left, the men gave sworn testimony that prosecutors hope will be useful in the eventual trial of Encep Nurjaman, the Indonesian prisoner known as Hambali. Mr. Hambali is accused of being the mastermind of the Bali bombing and other terrorist attacks in 2002 and 2003...."

Clay Risen of the New York Times: "Jim Leach, a soft-spoken, cerebral Iowa Republican who spent three decades in Congress tirelessly lofting the banner for the moderate political center -- so much so that he endorsed Barack Obama in 2008 and switched parties in 2022 -- died on Dec. 11 in Iowa City. he was 82."

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Matthew Bigg of the New York Times: "Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Tuesday met with military officers in territory Israel recently took control of in Syria, and vowed that Israeli troops would remain in the country for the foreseeable future. In a statement issued from Mount Hermon, about six miles from the border of the Israeli-held Golan Heights, Mr. Netanyahu said Israeli forces would remain on the mountain 'until another arrangement is found that guarantees Israel's security.' The prime minister's trip was likely to be viewed as provocative by Syria's new leadership, which has criticized Israel's expanded military presence across the de facto border since rebels toppled President Bashar al-Assad." (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: Today, Mount Hermon may be the site of a ski resort, but it figured into a number of Old Testament stories, & it is the source of the Jordan River. It is considered a sacred mountain, and you can bet its significance was not lost on Bibi. (Some Christians place the supernatural Transfiguration there, too, so that should ensure that King Donald will support Israel's continued occupation of the area.)

Ukraine/Russia, et al. Anatoly Kurmanaev of the New York Times: "The Russian authorities said on Wednesday that they had detained a suspect in the killing of a senior military officer, Lt. Gen. Igor Kirillov, a major development in the most prominent political assassination case in the country since the start of the war in Ukraine. The suspect, a 29-year-old citizen of Uzbekistan whose name was not released, was detained in a village outside Moscow, a spokeswoman for Russia's prosecutor's office said. The spokeswoman said the detainee had confessed that Ukrainian intelligence agencies recruited him to kill General Kirillov, 54, who was in charge of the Russian military's nuclear and chemical weapons protection forces. An official with Ukraine's security service, known as the S.B.U., said on Tuesday that Ukraine had been responsible for the killing, which took place in central Moscow on Tuesday." ~~~

~~~ Aric Toler & Eve Sampson of the New York Times: "A video that an official with Ukraine's security service shared with The New York Times and other news outlets, recorded from the interior of a car, appears to show the moment that an explosion killed General Kirillov and an aide as they walked out onto a snowy Moscow street." MB: As far as I can tell (though the fault could be with my computer), the Times story includes only stills from the video. The Guardian has posted a few seconds of the video here.