Marie: Sorry, there will be no Reality Chex for the next few days. The hard drive on my computer crashed, it's 22 degrees out & my furnace crashed. I did a rudimentary set-up of a tiny laptop I bought quite a while back, but I just can't use it to work. I might be able to set up essentially blank pages for a few days, so you can comment. Those of you who wish to continue criticizing me as a sap for Trump (or for whatever other defects you may find in me), please refrain until I can get back to deleting any fairly insane accusatory comments. Thanks. ~~~
~~~ Update: Looks like there are some excellent links in the Comments.
Marie: Yesterday, I posted a link to a story by Jonathan Martin, published in Politico Magazine, which said that President Biden's top aides were discussing arranging pardons for people who committed no real crimes but nonetheless might be the targets of Trump's retribution campaign and misuse of the Justice Department. So now ~~~
~~~ Peter Baker & Erica Green of the New York Times: "President Biden's staff is debating whether he should issue blanket pardons for a swath of ... Donald J. Trump's perceived enemies to protect them from the 'retribution' he has threatened after he takes office, according to people familiar with the discussion." So, at the very least, an intentional leak.
Theodore Schleifer & Maggie Haberman of the New York Times: "Elon Musk, the world's richest man, spent over a quarter of a billion dollars in the final months of this year's election to help Donald J. Trump win the presidency, federal filings revealed on Thursday. The sum is a fraction of Mr. Musk's wealth. But it is nonetheless a staggering amount from a single donor, who poured the cash into allied groups and is now playing a role in helping shape the next administration. One of Mr. Musk's most brazen moves -- which emerged only on Thursday -- was spending $20 million to prop up a super PAC that was named after Ruth Bader Ginsburg, the late liberal Supreme Court justice, but that sought to help Mr. Trump by softening his anti-abortion positions.... Her family bitterly opposed the ads.... Mr. Musk's total spending on the election is not yet known -- and may never be. He cut other political checks to conservative down-ballot groups this cycle, including $12 million to two groups trying to elect Republican senators...."
Clare Foran, et al., of CNN: "House Republicans voted on Thursday to block a Democrat-led effort to release a long-awaited Ethics Committee report on allegations against former GOP Rep. Matt Gaetz of Florida. The House took a step to effectively shut down a resolution from Democrats that would have required the public release of the report. House GOP leaders sidelined the effort by Democrats by setting up a vote to refer the resolution to the committee, a move that blocks the report's release for now. The outcome of the vote raises the question of whether the findings of the panel's investigation will ever become public." MB: Why, it's almost as if House Republicans hate Gaetz less than they fear the Wrath of Trump. (Also linked yesterday.) The New York Times story is here.
Sarah Kliff of the New York Times: More than "500 hospitals have closed their labor and delivery departments since 2010, according to a large new study, leaving most rural hospitals and more than a third of urban hospitals without obstetric care. Those closures, the study found, were slightly offset by the opening of new units in about 130 hospitals. Even so, the share of hospitals without maternity wards increased every year, according to the study, published on Wednesday in JAMA, a prominent medical journal. Maternal deaths remained persistently high over that period, spiking during the pandemic. Because its data runs only through 2022, the study does not account for the additional challenges that hospitals have faced since the Supreme Court case that overturned Roe v. Wade that year and led many states to restrict abortion. States with abortion bans have experienced a sharp decline in their obstetrician work force." Thanks to RAS for the link.
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New York. The New York Times liveblogged developments yesterday in the search for the gunman who killed United Healthcare CEO Brian Thompson: "The authorities released two images they said may show the suspect without a face mask in the fatal shooting of the chief executive of one of the largest U.S. health insurers outside a hotel in Midtown Manhattan.... The authorities do not yet have the suspect's name but are pursuing several leads, a senior law enforcement official said." The suspect stayed at a hostel on the Upper West Side, and the photos were taken there. The photos currently are on the front page of the Times, so if you don't have a subscription, you can see them.
"Ballistics testing is continuing, the official said, but the casings appear to have been inscribed with words including 'delay' and 'deny' -- potentially references to ways that health insurance companies seek to avoid paying patients' claims.... UnitedHealthcare, one of the nation's largest health insurers, has come under fierce criticism from patients, lawmakers and others for denying patients' claims." (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~
~~~ Dionne Searcey & Madison Kircher of the New York Times: "The fatal shooting on Wednesday of a top UnitedHealthcare executive, Brian Thompson, on a Manhattan sidewalk has unleashed a torrent of morbid glee from patients and others who say they have had negative experiences with health insurance companies at some of the hardest times of their lives. 'Thoughts and deductibles to the family,' read one comment underneath a video of the shooting posted online by CNN. 'Unfortunately my condolences are out-of-network.' On TikTok, one user wrote, 'I'm an ER nurse and the things I've seen dying patients get denied for by insurance makes me physically sick. I just can't feel sympathy for him because of all of those patients and their families.' The dark commentary after the death of Mr. Thompson, a 50-year-old insurance executive from Maple Grove, Minn., who was also a husband and a father of two children, highlighted the anger and frustration over the state of health care in America, where those with private insurance often find themselves in Kafka-esque tangles while seeking reimbursement for medical treatment and are often denied." (Also linked yesterday.)
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Syria. Ben Hubbard of the New York Times: "Syrian rebels stormed into the city of Hama on Thursday as government forces withdrew, bringing the rebels one step closer to the capital Damascus, the seat of power of President Bashar al-Assad. The swift advance on Hama, one of Syria's largest cities, and the retreat of government forces were confirmed by both the rebels and the government. The advance came just days after the rebels extended their control over Aleppo, a major hub in northern Syria. In a video circulated by the rebel group leading the offensive, their leader, Abu Mohammed al-Jolani, jubilantly calls for the rebels to push on toward other Syrian cities, including the capital." (Also linked yesterday.)
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