Late Morning/Afternoon Update:
Amy Forliti & Scott Bauer of the AP: "A suburban Minneapolis police officer who said she confused her handgun for her Taser was convicted of manslaughter Thursday in the death of Daunte Wright.... The mostly white jury deliberated for about 27 hours over four days before finding former Brooklyn Center officer Kim Potter guilty of first-degree and second-degree manslaughter. Potter, 49, faces about seven years in prison on the most serious count under the state's sentencing guidelines, but prosecutors said they would seek a longer term." The Washington Post's story is here.
Kyle Blaine & Veronica Stracqualursi of CNN: "President Joe Biden says he supports making an exception to the Senate filibuster rules in order to pass voting rights legislation. 'If the only thing standing between getting voting rights legislation passed and not getting passed is the filibuster, I support making the exception of voting rights for the filibuster,' Biden told ABC News' David Muir in an interview that aired Thursday morning. It's the most direct answer Biden has given on his position on the filibuster and voting rights."
Lock 'Em Up. Laurence Tribe, Donald Ayer & Dennis Aftergut in a New York Times op-ed: Attorney General Merrick "Garland's success depends on ensuring that the rule of law endures. That means dissuading future coup plotters by holding the leaders of the insurrection fully accountable for their attempt to overthrow the government. But he cannot do so without a robust criminal investigation of those at the top, from the people who planned, assisted or funded the attempt to overturn the Electoral College vote to those who organized or encouraged the mob attack on the Capitol. To begin with, he might focus on Mark Meadows, Steve Bannon, Rudy Giuliani, John Eastman and even Donald Trump — all of whom were involved, in one way or another, in the events leading up to the attack. Almost a year after the insurrection, we have yet to see any clear indicators that such an investigation is underway, raising the alarming possibility that this administration may never bring charges against those ultimately responsible for the attack."
The New York Times' live updates of Covid-19 developments Thursday are here. The Washington Post's live Covid-19 updates for Thursday are here: "The United States logged a seven-day average coronavirus case count of 168,981 on Wednesday, amid a nationwide spike driven partly by the omicron variant, Washington Post figures show, surpassing a summer peak of just over 165,000 infections on Sept. 1."
Rebecca Robbins & Carl Zimmer of the New York Times: 'The Food and Drug Administration on Thursday authorized a second antiviral pill for Covid but said it should not be a preferred treatment.The F.D.A. cleared the pill, developed by Merck and known as molnupiravir, for adults who are vulnerable to becoming severely ill from Covid and for whom alternative Covid treatment options authorized by the F.D.A. are 'not accessible or clinically appropriate.' Older people and those who have conditions like obesity, diabetes and heart disease would be eligible to get a prescription for Merck's pills if they get sick from the coronavirus and cannot get treatments such as Pfizer's newly authorized pills or monoclonal antibody treatments. Both vaccinated and unvaccinated people will be eligible. The treatment -- to be taken as 40 pills over five days -- is expected to be available within a few weeks. Merck's pill works by introducing errors into the virus's genes to stop it from replicating, which has raised concerns about the risk that it could cause reproductive harm. The F.D.A. said that women who were pregnant should generally not take the pills, but that there could be exceptions." The AP's report is here.
AP: "The vehicle stolen at gunpoint in Philadelphia from U.S. Rep. Mary Gay Scanlon was found in neighboring Delaware with five suspects inside, who were in police custody Thursday, police said. Scanlon's blue Acura MDX was located Wednesday night in Newark, Delaware, about 45 miles (74 kilometers) from Philadelphia, Delaware State Police said."
Russia. Isabelle Khurshudyan & Mary Ilyushina of the Washington Post: "Russian President Vladimir Putin, in a marathon annual news conference Thursday, blamed the West for tensions on the Ukraine border and fears of war, but stopped short of issuing any pronouncements likely to drive further escalation. One of his most prominent television appearances of the year, the appearance, which lasted about four hours, was an opportunity for him to convince Russians that Kyiv's westward turn is an urgent security threat to Moscow -- one that could justify military action.... Though Putin was given two opportunities to say definitively that Russia would not invade Ukraine, he instead reiterated his demand for a promise in writing that NATO would not expand eastward."
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Nick Anderson & Jeff Stein of the Washington Post: "The Biden administration ... announced Wednesday it will extend a pause on federal student loan payments through May 1 as the omicron variant threatens to hurt the U.S. economy. President Biden depicted the move as an essential step to help borrowers at a moment of ongoing public health challenges. Until now, the payment moratorium had been scheduled to end in a little more than a month." A CBS News story is here.
Mike Baker, et al., of the New York Times: "The F.B.I. set up extensive surveillance operations inside Portland[, Oregon]'s protest movement, according to documents obtained by The New York Times and current and former federal officials, with agents standing shoulder to shoulder with activists, tailing vandalism suspects to guide the local police toward arrests and furtively videotaping inside one of the country's most active domestic protest movements. The breadth of F.B.I. involvement in Portland and other cities ... became a point of concern for some within the bureau and the Justice Department who worried that it could undermine the First Amendment right to wage protest against the government.... In Portland, federal teams were initially dispatched in July 2020 to protect the city's federal courthouse after protesters lit fires, smashed windows and lobbed fireworks at law enforcement personnel in the area. But the F.B.I. role quickly widened, persisting months after activists turned their attention away from the courthouse, with some targeting storefronts or local institutions whose protection would normally be up to the local police."
Luke Broadwater of the New York Times: "The House committee investigating the Capitol attack asked Representative Jim Jordan of Ohio on Wednesday to sit for an interview with its investigators, in the latest step the panel has taken to dig into the role that members of Congress played in trying to undermine the 2020 election. The committee's letter to Mr. Jordan, an ally of ... Donald J. Trump, says that investigators want to question him about his communications related to the run-up to the Capitol riot.... Mr. Jordan, a Republican, was deeply involved in Mr. Trump's effort to fight the election results.... [Committee chair Bennie] Thompson [D-Miss.] also said the committee wanted to ask Mr. Jordan about any discussions involving the possibility of presidential pardons for people involved in any aspect of Jan. 6.... Mr. Thompson noted that Mr. Jordan told the Rules Committee in November, 'I have nothing to hide.'" An NPR report is here. ~~~
~~~ Caroline Vakil of the Hill: "Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) said on Wednesday that he has 'real concerns' about the House select committee investigating the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol, which requested to sit down with him in a letter earlier in the day." MB: Yeah, his "real concern" is that the committee will send a letter of referral to the DOJ, not for failure to comply with a lawful subpoena but for acts of sedition. That would concern me, too.
Still Crazy After All These Years. Beth Reinhard & Mariana Alfaro of the Washington Post: "Rep. Scott Perry (R-Pa.) has been fanning false claims for years, long before his efforts to overturn the 2020 election based on ... Donald Trump's baseless allegations drew the attention of the House committee investigating the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol. In the fall of 2017, Perry claimed a former House aide to Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-Fla.) orchestrated 'massive' data transfers that amounted to a 'substantial security threat,' according to Fox News. [False.]... Around the same time, Perry suggested then-CNN host Chris Cuomo was exaggerating the lack of water and electricity in hurricane-devastated Puerto Rico. [Wrong.]... In January 2018, Perry speculated about an Islamic State connection to the mass shooting in Las Vegas the previous year.... [Bull.] Last year, he was among 18 House Republicans to vote against a resolution condemning QAnon.... [This year, Perry] told journalist Greta Van Susteren that allowing more Afghan refugees into the country would lead to 'little girls raped and killed in the streets.'"
Katelyn Polantz of CNN: "Michael Flynn has swiftly lost his bid in court to block a possible House select committee subpoena for his phone records and to hold off demands he speak to the panel investigating January 6. The ruling Wednesday comes one day after he asked a federal judge in Florida for a temporary restraining order.... District Judge Mary Scriven in Tampa said in the decision that Flynn did not meet the procedural requirements to make the case for emergency intervention, and that he could refile his request in the future...."
Rachel Weiner of the Washington Post: "A New York man who was a member of the Proud Boys pleaded guilty Wednesday to obstructing Congress and conspiring to obstruct law enforcement during the pro-Trump riot on Jan. 6. The plea to the felony charge is significant because Matthew Greene, 34, of Syracuse admitted coordinating with other New York-based members of the extremist group at the front of the Capitol mob, although there is no evidence he actually entered the building. Greene is the first self-admitted member of the Proud Boys to plead guilty in a felony conspiracy case stemming from the riot and agree to cooperate with law enforcement. He is set to be sentenced March 10." An AP story is here.
The Big Lie, Ctd. Amy Gardner, et al., of the Washington Post: "More than a year after Donald Trump lost the presidency, election officials across the country are facing a growing barrage of claims that the vote was not secure and demands to investigate or decertify the outcome, efforts that are eating up hundreds of hours of government time and spreading distrust in elections. The ongoing attack on the vote is being driven in part by well-funded Trump associates, who have gained audiences with top state officials and are pushing to inspect protected machines and urging them to conduct audits or sign on to a lawsuit seeking to overturn the 2020 results. And the campaign is being bolstered by grass-roots energy, as local residents who have absorbed baseless allegations of ballot fraud are now forcing election administrators to address the false claims. The fallout has spread from the six states where Trump sought to overturn the outcome in 2020 to deep-red places such as Idaho, where officials recently hand-recounted ballots in three counties to refute claims of vote-flipping, and Oklahoma, where state officials commissioned an investigation to counter allegations that voting machines were hacked." ~~~
~~~ Marie: All this trouble & expense to assuage the ego of one crazy narcissist. It's amazing to behold.
Your Tax Dolllars Being Sucked Down the Rabbit Hole. Matt Zapotosky of the Washington Post: "Special counsel John Durham's review of the FBI investigation into possible coordination between Donald Trump's 2016 presidential campaign and the Russian government has cost U.S. taxpayers about $3.8 million since October 2020, according to a Justice Department report released Wednesday.... The tally is not a complete accounting of Durham's expenses since his investigation began in the spring of 2019.... Democrats and others have long asserted that Durham's investigation is a political stunt meant to undercut a legitimate FBI probe that dogged Trump's presidency."
Margot Sanger-Katz of the New York Times: "A record number of Americans -- 13.6 million -- have signed up for health plans through the Affordable Care Act's marketplaces for 2022, after Congress lowered the cost of Obamacare insurance, the Biden administration boosted advertising and the pandemic disrupted many Americans' employer-provided coverage. The Covid-19 public health emergency helped usher in an era of greater generosity and expanded outreach to the uninsured that many of Obamacare's original authors had long called for. The increased enrollment, covering at least two million more Americans than in any previous year, was particularly pronounced in states like Georgia and Texas that have high rates of uninsurance and declined to expand Medicaid to cover their poorest adults."
** Jason Stanley in the Guardian: "The history of racism in the US is fertile ground for fascism. Attacks on the courts, education, the right to vote and women's rights are further steps on the path to toppling democracy[.]... Writing in [1995 in] the era of the 'super-predator' myth (a Newsweek headline the next year read, 'Superpredators: Should we cage the new breed of vicious kids?'), [celebrated U.S. writer Toni] Morrison unflinchingly read fascism into the practices of US racism. Twenty-five years later, those 'forces interested in fascist solutions to national problems' are closer than ever to winning a multi-decade national fight. The contemporary American fascist movement is led by oligarchical interests for whom the public good is an impediment, such as those in the hydrocarbon business, as well as a social, political, and religious movement with roots in the Confederacy. As in all fascist movements, these forces have found a popular leader unconstrained by the rules of democracy, this time in the figure of Donald Trump." ~~~
~~~ Marie: You may be too busy to read Stanley's essay right now. If so, bookmark it to save it for later. Stanley puts the U.S.'s facist movement in the context of other successful facist government takeovers.
Presidential Election 2024
Meryl Kornfield of the Washington Post: "President Biden said Wednesday he would run for reelection in 2024 if he's 'in good health,' adding he was eager to possibly face Donald Trump. The president, confirming his past comment that he would seek four more years in the White House in an interview with ABC 'World News Tonight' anchor David Muir, said he would run again if his health did not deteriorate. Asked if he would run against Trump if the former president was the Republican nominee, Biden chuckled and said he would. 'Why would I not run against Donald Trump as the nominee?' Biden asked. 'That would increase the prospect of running.'" The ABC News story is here.
Cancun Cruz: It's My Turn. Mariana Alfaro of the Washington Post: "Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Tex.) is expressing optimism about his odds of securing the 2024 Republican presidential nomination even as ... Donald Trump hints that he might run again. In an interview with the Truth Gazette, a conservative outlet run by 15-year-old Brilyn Hollyhand, Cruz said he would 'absolutely' consider a run for the White House in 2024. In fact, Cruz said he thinks it is very likely that Republican voters will give him the nomination. Noting that he ended up 'placing second' during the 2016 GOP primaries, Cruz said there is a historical precedent for runner-up candidates like him to get the nod the next time they jump into the presidential race." Politico's report is here. MB: As horrifying as it is to imagine President Ted, a 15-year-old "conservative" is equally horrifying. Hey, kid, you should be out protesting racial injustice & anti-abortion measures. Lose Cruz.
The Pandemic, Ctd., Brought to You by the Unvaccinated
** This article by Derek Hawkins & Lindsey Bever of the Washington Post tells you what do if you get -- or think you may have got -- a breakthrough case of Covid-19. Access is free to nonsubscribers.
Carl Zimmer & Emily Anthes of the New York Times: "Three separate teams of scientists on two continents have found that Omicron infections more often result in mild illness than earlier variants of the coronavirus, offering hope that the current surge may not be quite as catastrophic as feared despite skyrocketing caseloads. The researchers examined Omicron's course through populations in South Africa, Scotland and England. The results in each setting, while still preliminary, all suggested that the variant was less likely to send people [to] hospitals."
** Carolyn Johnson of the Washington Post: "Federal regulators Wednesday authorized the first easy-to-take pill to treat covid-19, a five-day regimen developed by Pfizer.... Tens of thousands of pill packs of Pfizer's Paxlovid are sitting in a Pfizer warehouse in Memphis, ready to be loaded onto trucks and planes in anticipation of the green light from the Food and Drug Administration. But as omicron cases skyrocket nationwide, doctors are expected to quickly burn through that initial supply of Paxlovid, which has shown to be 89 percent effective at keeping high-risk patients from developing severe illness when given within three days of symptoms starting." The AP's report is here.
Andrew Jeong of the Washington Post: Several lawmakers have tested positive for Covid-19 in recent days. Among them are Rep. Barbara Lee (D-Calif.), Gov. Tim Walz (D-Minn.), Gov. Larry Hogan (R-Md.). All had been fully-vaccinated. Walz's family also was infected; his son had not received a booster shot. MB: Rep. Jim Clyburn, (D-S.C.) the Majority Whip, also says he has tested positive & is not experiencing symptoms (reported on MSNBC).
Adam Liptak of the New York Times: "The Supreme Court said on Wednesday evening that it would hold a special hearing next month to assess the legality of two Biden administration initiatives aimed at addressing the coronavirus. One requires large companies to have their workers get coronavirus vaccines or be tested weekly, while the other requires health care workers at hospitals that receive federal money to be vaccinated against the virus. The court said it would move with exceptional speed, setting the cases for argument on Friday, Jan. 7. The justices had not been scheduled to return to the bench until the following Monday." The AP's report is here.
Extreme Denialism: It's Not Covid. It's Anthrax! David Gilbert of Vice: "A group of unvaccinated people who attended a huge conspiracy conference [-- ReAwaken America --] in Dallas earlier this month all became sick in the days after the event with symptoms like coughing, shortness of breath, and fever. Instead of blaming the global COVID pandemic, however, the conspiracy theorists think they were attacked with anthrax.... The anthrax claim was first made by Joe Oltmann on his Conservative Daily podcast earlier this week.... 'There's a 99.9% chance it's anthrax,' Oltmann said on his podcast.... The conference, run by Tulsa businessman Clay Clark, was headlined by figures like disgraced former national security adviser Michael Flynn, former Trump adviser Roger Stone, and MyPillow CEO Mike Lindell. Eric Trump ... also spoke at the event.... No one involved in the event has publicly entertained the idea that these illnesses could have been caused by COVID-19." ~~~
~~~ Marie: The theory is that the anthrax was spread via a fog machine used at the event. I expect a liberal was operating the machine. If the Omicron variant causes only mild symptoms even for unvaccinated people, millions of anti-vaxxer Americans will never admit they had Covid.
South Africa. Max Bearak of the Washington Post: "South Africa's huge wave of omicron cases appears to be subsiding just as quickly as it grew in the weeks after the country first announced to the world that a new coronavirus variant had been identified. South Africa's top infectious-disease scientist, who has been leading the country's pandemic response, said Wednesday that the country had rapidly passed the peak of new omicron cases and, judging by preliminary evidence, he expected 'every other country, or almost every other, to follow the same trajectory.'"
Beyond the Beltway
Colorado. Amanda Holpuch of the New York Times: "Prosecutors in Colorado have started a process that could reduce the penalty for a truck driver who was sentenced this month to 110 years in prison for his role in a 2019 crash that killed four people. The lengthy sentence, which was handed down on Dec. 13, drew scrutiny from the judge and from more than four million people who signed an online petition calling for it to be reduced. On Tuesday, just over a week after the truck driver, Rogel Aguilera-Mederos, was sentenced, Gov. Jared Polis of Colorado said that his office was reviewing the driver's application for clemency. Also on Tuesday, the First Judicial District Attorney's Office in Colorado said it had filed a motion to reconsider the penalty.... Mr. Aguilera-Mederos was driving a truck on Interstate 70 in Lakewood, Colo., just west of Denver, on April 25, 2019, when it crashed into several cars, killing four people. He said malfunctioning brakes were the main cause of the crash. Prosecutors argued that he was responsible for the deaths because of the decisions he made while driving, including not steering the truck onto a runaway truck ramp along the highway."
New York. Benjamin Weiser, et al., of the New York Times: "The jurors in the Ghislaine Maxwell sex-trafficking trial were sent home by the judge on Wednesday after a second full day of deliberating without reaching a verdict." The jury will return Monday.
Pennsylvania. Mariana Alfaro of the Washington Post: "Rep. Mary Gay Scanlon (D-Pa.) was carjacked at gunpoint in her Philadelphia district Wednesday afternoon, an incident that Mayor Jim Kenney (D) called appalling. Scanlon was not injured in the attack, a spokeswoman said. The lawmaker had just left a meeting in FDR Park in Philadelphia when she was attacked around 2:45 p.m.... Philadelphia police told 6ABC, a local news station, that the carjacking occurred after a tour that included members of Congress. Two armed men approached Scanlon as she walked to her blue 2017 Acura MDX and demanded the keys to the car. They then drove off with the vehicle, according to the station. The vehicle contained Scanlon's personal and work phones, as well as her identification.... Kenney, a two-term mayor, recently has been vocal about his frustration with crime in the city.... Kenney and other city leaders blamed state lawmakers for the levels of violence and demanded that the legislature allow the Philadelphia City Hall to manage its own gun control." ABC News' story is here.
South Dakota. A Christmas Card, a Murder Confession. Jessica Lipscomb of the Washington Post: "Ten days before Christmas, Boyd VanVooren, the police chief in Milbank, S.D., called resident Brent Monroe Hanson to the station. VanVooren had ... a Christmas card and a question [for Hanson]. Hanson, 57, was awaiting trial on charges that he assaulted his brother's wife, who lived in the upstairs apartment of a property they all shared. VanVooren asked whether there had been any further issues at home with Hanson's brother and sister-in-law. 'They no longer live here,' Hanson answered, according to a police report.... VanVooren later asked where Hanson's brother had moved. Hanson drew his thumb across his neck, 'indicating a "slashing motion,"' the report says. 'I snapped,' Hanson continued.... 'I killed them on Sunday.' Officers ... found Hanson's brother, Clyde Hanson, and sister-in-law, Jessica Hanson, dead inside. Jessica Hanson was nine months pregnant, according to police; her unborn child had also died."
Way Beyond
Hong Kong. Rhoda Kwan of the Guardian: "Hong Kong's oldest university has removed a statue mourning those killed in Beijing's Tiananmen Square in 1989 and posted guards at the site where it has stood for more than 20 years. The move prompted criticism of the university and the Hong Kong authorities, with academics and experts saying the removal of the sculpture was an attempt at 'rewriting history'. The 8-metre-tall (26ft) Pillar of Shame by the Danish sculptor Jens Galschiøt was one of the few remaining public memorials in the territory commemorating the bloody crackdown that is a taboo topic in mainland China, where it cannot be publicly marked. It had sat on the University of Hong Kong (HKU) campus since 1997, the year the city was handed back to China."
News Lede
New York Times: "Joan Didion, whose mordant dispatches on California culture and the chaos of the 1960s established her as a leading exponent of the New Journalism, and whose novels 'Play It as It Lays' and 'A Book of Common Prayer' proclaimed the arrival of a tough, terse, distinctive voice in American fiction, died on Thursday at her home in Manhattan. She was 87."
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