January 22, 2022
Afternoon Update:
Michael Schwirtz, et al., of the New York Times: "The British government said Saturday that the Kremlin was developing plans to install a pro-Russian leader in Ukraine -- and had already chosen a potential candidate -- as President Vladimir V. Putin weighs whether to order the Russian forces amassed on Ukraine's border to attack.The highly unusual public communiqué by the United Kingdom's Foreign and Commonwealth Office, issued late at night in London, comes at a moment of high-stakes diplomacy between the Kremlin and the West."
Matthew Chance, et al., of CNN: "The US Embassy in Kyiv has requested that the State Department authorize the departure of all nonessential staff and their families, according to multiple sources familiar with the matter. A State Department spokesperson said they have 'nothing to announce at this time,' adding, 'We conduct rigorous contingency planning, as we always do, in the event the security situation deteriorates.'"
Griff Witte of the Washington Post: "The central committee of Arizona's Democratic Party voted on Saturday to censure Sen. Kyrsten Sinema, a symbolic rebuke that follows her decision to buck her party's leadership on an effort to scrap the filibuster. While the reprimand has no practical consequences, it reflects the growing estrangement between the first-term senator and her fellow Democrats, who have been angered by her willingness to help stymie the party's agenda on issues such as the minimum wage and voting rights. State party chair Raquel Terán said Saturday's censure vote, which was taken behind closed doors, was a direct consequence of Sinema's unwillingness to endorse Senate rule changes to pass voting rights legislation. The senator's move, she said, crossed a red line at a time when voting rights are under attack." CNN's report is here.
Tom Boggioni of the Raw Story: "In her column for the Daily Beast, longtime Washington D.C. insider Margaret Carlson claimed it is not beyond the realm of possibilities that Donald Trump will let his kids take the brunt of the prosecution for instances of fraud that are being investigated by New York Attorney General Leticia James and newly elected Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg. As Carlson notes, the children of Trump, Ivanka, Don Jr and Eric have their fingerprints all over financial documents that investigators believe show the family and the Trump Organization committed fraud. According to the columnist, 'We've been lulled into believing Donald Trump is made of Teflon.... But Trump's luck began to run out in early 2021 -- when he lost the White House, Air Force One, and his Twitter account inside a few weeks.... He could even start losing so much that he'll get sick of losing.'... You can read her whole piece here -- subscription required."
The New York Times' live updates of Covid-19 developments Saturday are here.
Mississippi. Bobby Harrison of Mississippi Today: "Every Black Mississippi senator walked out of the chamber Friday, choosing not to vote on a bill that sponsors said would prohibit the teaching of critical race theory in the state's public schools and colleges and universities. The historic, unprecedented walkout came over a vote on the academic theory that state education officials and Republican lawmakers acknowledge is not even taught in Mississippi. Republicans hold supermajority control of the Senate, meaning they can pass any bill without a single Democratic vote." ~~~
~~~ Sharif Paget of CNN: "The bill does not mention or define critical race theory. And it doesn't ban educators from teaching any specific subject matter.... The bill passed in the Senate by 32-2 after the Black lawmakers walked out. Democratic state Sens. David Blount and Hob Bryan -- both White -- were the only two legislators to vote against the bill. It now heads to the state House." ~~~
~~~ Molly Minta & Bobby Harrison of Mississippi Today: "If made into law, opponents say the bill is likely unconstitutional.... The bill states no public school or public college or university 'shall make a distinction or classification of students based on account of race' and cites specifically that critical race theory is something the legislation would 'prohibit.'... 'Universities are set up with promises of academic freedom as part of their accreditation process,' [Mississippi College constitutional law professor Matthew] Steffey said. 'It's extremely problematic for state law to try to infringe on the existing contractual rights and commitment at the individual professor level and at the university level.'... Jarvis Dortch ... of the ACLU of Mississippi, said K-12 teachers may not be able to challenge the bill if it becomes law.... Compared to university faculty, K-12 teachers have a more limited right to free speech in the classroom because they teach curriculum that is set by the state." ~~~
~~~ Marie: The likelihood that the law is unconstitutional was my first thought. Here's a summary by Donna Euben of the AAUP (American Association of University Professors) on the legal status of academic freedom.
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Ariel Gans of Medill News Service/UPI: "President Joe Biden on Friday encouraged local leaders to spend federal funds made available to them through COVID-19 relief and infrastructure packages. The money, he said while speaking at the U.S. Conference of Mayors at the Capital Hilton in Washington, D.C., is part of his administration's effort to 'invest in the future.'... He said the bipartisan infrastructure package was a good example of what can be accomplished when lawmakers tackle problems like mayors." Video of the President's remarks is here. And here's the as-delivered transcript, via the White House.
David Sanger & Ana Swanson of the New York Times: "In celebrating a $20 billion investment by Intel in a new semiconductor plant in Ohio, President Biden sought on Friday to jump-start a stalled element of his economic and national security agenda: a huge federal investment in manufacturing, research and development in technologies that China is also seeking to dominate. With two other major legislative priorities sitting moribund in Congress -- the Build Back Better Act and legislation to protect voting rights -- Mr. Biden moved to press for another bill, and one that has significant bipartisan support. But he has lost seven critical months since the Senate passed the measure, a sprawling China competition bill that would devote nearly a quarter of a trillion dollars to domestic chip manufacturing, artificial intelligence research, robotics, quantum computing and a range of other technologies. The bill amounts to the most expansive industrial policy legislation in U.S. history.... Speaker Nancy Pelosi indicated on Thursday that House committees would soon turn to negotiations with the Senate to move the China competition legislation toward a vote." ~~~
~~~ President Biden speaks at the White House Friday about the tech bill: ~~~
~~~ Don Clark in the New York Times: "Intel has selected Ohio for a new chip manufacturing complex that would cost at least $20 billion, ramping up an effort to increase U.S. production of computer chips as users grapple with a lingering shortage of the vital components. Intel said Friday that the new site near Columbus would initially have two chip factories and would directly employ 3,000 people, while creating additional jobs in construction and at nearby businesses. Patrick Gelsinger, who became Intel's chief executive last year, has rapidly increased the company's investments in manufacturing to help reduce U.S. reliance on foreign chip makers while lobbying Congress to pass incentives aimed at increasing domestic chip production. He has said that Intel might invest as much as $100 billion over a decade in its next U.S. manufacturing campus, linking the scope and speed of that expansion to expected federal grants if Congress approves a spending package known as the CHIPS Act." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)
Michael Crowley & Anton Troianovski of the New York Times: "The United States and Russia scaled back their confrontational rhetoric over Eastern European security on Friday, agreeing to extend negotiations as the Biden administration pursues a fragile diplomatic path to averting a Russian invasion of Ukraine. Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken told his Russian counterpart, Foreign Minister Sergey V. Lavrov, in a hastily scheduled meeting in Geneva that the United States would provide written responses next week to Russia's demands that the West unwind its military presence in Eastern Europe. Both sides said that the two diplomats planned to speak again after that, and they left the door open to another conversation between President Biden and President Vladimir V. Putin to try to resolve the crisis." ~~~
~~~ Matthew Lee & Jamey Keaten of the AP: "The United States and Russia sought to lower the temperature in a heated standoff over Ukraine, even as they reported no breakthroughs in high-stakes talks on Friday aimed at preventing a feared Russian invasion. Armed with seemingly intractable and diametrically opposed demands, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov met in Geneva for roughly 90 minutes at what the American said was a 'critical moment.' But there was no apparent movement on either side." (Also linked yesterday.)
Jennifer Hansler & Jeremy Herb of CNN: "The first US shipment of recently directed security assistance has arrived in Ukraine, the US Embassy in Kyiv tweeted Friday night. The shipment 'includes close to 200,000 pounds of lethal aid, including ammunition for the front line defenders of Ukraine,' according to the tweet." ~~~
~~~ BUT. Mari Eccles of Politico: "Berlin will not supply weapons to Ukraine for now amid a security crisis on the Russia-Ukraine border, German Defense Minister Christine Lambrecht said in an interview published Saturday.... Estonia, Lithuania and Latvia announced Friday they will send Stinger ground-to-air missiles to Ukraine after receiving approval from the U.S. State Department. Berlin has blocked Estonia from sending German-origin artillery to Kyiv by refusing the issue the necessary permits, according to the Wall Street Journal."
Erin Mansfield of USA Today, republished in Stars & Stripes: "USA Today confirmed with all five branches of the U.S. military that 81 people signed up for the Oath Keepers while in uniform. The names are from a hacked list that a watchdog group shared with journalists last fall.... At least 20 are still serving.... The Defense Department has known for decades that its members were joining extremist groups but often did not punish them.... [Oath Keepers sign an oath that] they would never obey potential government orders that group leaders considered acts of war or cause for a revolution.... Fourteen of the 20 service members who are still in uniform signed up for the Oath Keepers using their military email addresses. The Department of Defense generally bans service members from using military email for personal affairs and expressly bans them from using their emails in ways that would 'reflect adversely' on the military or 'other uses that are incompatible with public service.'"
Tik Root of the Washington Post: "The mobile homes in which 22 million Americans live -- also known as manufactured houses-- are governed by federal requirements that haven't changed in nearly 30 years. Spurred by a court order, the Biden administration is proposing long-awaited updates to energy-efficiency standards for manufactured homes that it projects will save mobile-home owners thousands of dollars and prevent millions of tons of greenhouse gas emissions from entering the atmosphere in the coming decades. But the new standards, due in May, have also sparked a fierce debate about costs, equity and the future of manufactured housing. The changes that the Biden administration has put forward include updates to insulation and windows, as well as heating and cooling systems."
Dana Milbank of the Washington Post: "For three months, Republican officeholders and Fox News personalities have been" claiming Joe Biden, Merrick Garland & the Biden administration in general have been labeling upstanding, concerned parents as domestic terrorists. "There's just one wee problem with the whole Biden-says-parents-are-terrorists claim, reported dozens of times on Fox News airwaves and echoed at each link down the Republican media food chain: It's horse excrement." Milbank quotes the usual suspects, among them House Minority Whip Steve Scalise, Gym Jordan, Josh Hawley, TuKKKer, Kellyanne Alternate Facts Conway. MB: I dunno. Look at Amelia from Virginia (story linked under Beyond the Beltway). She seems like a domestic terrorist to me.
Luke Broadwater & Alan Feuer of the New York Times: "Law enforcement officials, members of Congress and the House committee investigating the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol are digging deeper into the role that fake slates of electors played in efforts by ... Donald J. Trump to cling to power after he lost the 2020 election. In recent days, the state attorneys general in Michigan and New Mexico have asked the Justice Department to investigate fake slates of electors that falsely claimed that Mr. Trump, not Joseph R. Biden Jr., had won their states. Representative Mark Pocan, Democrat of Wisconsin, wrote to Attorney General Merrick B. Garland on Friday demanding an investigation into the same issue in his state. And this week, members of the House committee scrutinizing the Jan. 6 riot said that they, too, were examining the part that the bogus electoral slates played in Mr. Trump's scheme to overturn the election.... The false slates, put forth in seven contested swing states, appear to have been part of a strategy by Mr. Trump's allies to disrupt the normal workings of the Electoral College. After election officials in those states sent official lists of electors who had voted for Mr. Biden to the Electoral College, the fake slates claimed that Mr. Trump had won."
Kyle Cheney & Nicholas Wu of Politico: "As Capitol attack investigators dig into efforts by state-level Republicans to send Congress 'alternative' slates of 2020 presidential electors, they're zeroing in on the involvement of Donald Trump's White House and campaign operations.... 'We want to look at the fraudulent activity that was contained in the preparation of these fake Electoral College certificates,' said Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-Md.), a member of the Capitol riot committee. 'And then we want to look to see to what extent this was part of a comprehensive plan to overthrow the 2020 election.' The select committee is expecting a new tranche of documents from the National Archives related to its false-electors inquiry, according to its chair, Rep. Bennie Thompson (D-Miss.). The Archives has confirmed it's compiling materials on the matter, Thompson told reporters, describing the Trump political or governing apparatus's apparent involvement in the certificates as a 'concern.' Rep. Pete Aguilar (D-Calif.), another panel member, said the submission of the electoral certificates == claiming to be legitimate -- was a 'dangerous precedent.'" (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)
Patrick Marley of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: "A Milwaukee County prosecutor has consulted with [state] Attorney General Josh Kaul on whether 10 Republicans committed fraud by claiming to be presidential electors even though Donald Trump lost in Wisconsin. Assistant District Attorney Matthew Westphal sent a letter Wednesday saying Kaul's Department of Justice or federal prosecutors were best suited to investigate the matter."
Oriana Gonzalez of Axios: "The National Archives on Thursday evening released records of ... Trump's White House to the House Jan. 6 Select Committee, the agency said.... 'Yesterday evening NARA provided the Select Committee with all the records at issue in the litigation,' the National Archives said in a statement [Friday]." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ~~~
~~~ Betsy Swan of Politico: "Among the records that Donald Trump's lawyers tried to shield from Jan. 6 investigators are a draft executive order ... dated Dec. 16, 2020... that would have directed the defense secretary to seize voting machines and a document titled 'Remarks on National Healing.'... Together, the two documents point to the wildly divergent perspectives of White House advisers and allies during Trump's frenetic final weeks in office.... [The draft order] credulously cites conspiracy theories about election fraud in Georgia and Michigan, as well as debunked notions about Dominion voting machines.... The draft document labeled 'Remarks on National Healing,' also now in the select panel's possession, provides a first look at the remarks Trump would deliver the next day, which stand in jarring contrast to other rhetoric Trump employed at the time and continues to use when discussing the insurrection." The draft order is reproduced in Swan's article. The proposed speech -- from which she quotes -- is a hoot, given what Trump actually said & did. Read the whole story. (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ~~~
~~~ Marie: Swan speculates that Sidney Powell wrote the draft order: "It's not clear who wrote either document. But the draft executive order is dated Dec. 16, 2020, and is consistent with proposals that lawyer Sidney Powell made to the then-president.... In [a Dec. 18, 2020] meeting, Powell urged Trump to seize voting machines and to appoint her as a special counsel to investigate the election, according to Axios" Then Betty Cracker of Balloon Juice noticed a telltale pronoun in the draft order: "The appointment of a Special Counsel to oversee this operation and institute all criminal and civil proceedings as appropriate based on the evidence collected and provided all resources necessary to carry out her duties...." Emphasis Cracker's. She writes, "He meant Sidney Powell, fellow citizens, the Kraken lady. This slobbering lunatic[.]" C'mon, Betty, try to look at the draft order as a super-clever job application in which Powell creates a job for herself. ~~~
~~~ BTW, Swan further notes that "the draft executive order also cites two classified documents: National Security Presidential Memoranda 13 and 21." Assuming Sydney McKraken is the author of this draft order, just how did she get access to classified documents? Does she have a security clearance? If so, I doubt she got it through standard vetting. The president* can grant clearance to individuals even when they don't merit it (see Kushner, Jared), either generally or for access to specific information. But, gosh, if Trump granted clearance to Sydney, can't we infer that he was in on this plot to seize voting machines, a plot which, according to multiple legal experts on the teevee Friday, violates the Posse Comitatus Act -- an 1878 law that prevents presidents from using the military as a domestic police force.
George Conway in the Washington Post: On Wednesday, the Supreme Court "summarily rejected [Donald Trump]'s 'emergency' request to block, on grounds of executive privilege, the release of documents to the select House committee investigating the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol. The court's decision was a brutal, and personally stinging, loss for Trump.... Trump lost the case in virtually record time.... The justices actually cut back on the court of appeals&' decision [against Trump].... The justices relied solely on the reasoning that Trump's claims were so paltry, his privilege arguments so weak, that Trump would have lost even were he still in office.... The justices left open the possibility that an ex-president could assert executive privilege over the current officeholder's objection. The result was an even more devastating rejection of Trump's privilege claim -- in effect, an unambiguous, blanket holding by the Supreme Court that presidents who incite insurrections in office don't get to invoke executive privilege."
Shayna Jacobs of the Washington Post: "The retired federal judge assigned to review the contents of 18 electronic devices seized from Rudolph W. Giuliani's home and offices in Manhattan last spring has withheld about half of what ... Donald Trump's personal lawyer argued should be kept out of the hands of investigators because it was privileged. More than 3,000 communications were released to prosecutors on Wednesday.... The Manhattan U.S. attorney's office has been investigating Giuliani's dealings in Ukraine while he was representing Trump. Prosecutors have said Giuliani might have acted as an unregistered foreign agent, which was the basis for the agents' search."
Sophie Reardon of CBS News: "Former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani ['03] and retired Lt. Gen. Michael Flynn ['14] will no longer hold honorary degrees from the University of Rhode Island, the school announced Friday. The Board of Trustees and the president approved the motion after an investigation by the URI Honorary Degree Committee.... Upon review, the committee noted Giuliani's role in the January 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol last year. 'His words encouraged domestic terrorist behavior aimed at preventing Congress from certifying the outcome of the 2020 presidential election,' it said.... The committee pointed to the former general pleading guilty to 'willfully and knowingly' lying to the FBI.... The URI decision also cited two speeches Flynn gave -- one in Dallas in which he said 'a military coup was needed in the U.S.' and another in San Antonio in which he 'called for the establishment of "one religion" in the U.S.'" ~~~
~~~ Marie: I wonder if board members have learned the lesson that honoring men who are already well-known assholes can prove problematic. Nah.
Igor! A Florida Man... Larry Neumeister of the AP: "A Florida man who helped Rudy Giuliani seek damaging information against Joe Biden in Ukraine was sentenced to a year and a day in prison and fined $10,000 Friday in an unrelated campaign finance case. Igor Fruman was told to report to prison March 14. He pleaded guilty in September to a single charge of solicitation of a contribution by a foreign national. As part of the plea, he admitted soliciting a million dollars from a Russian entrepreneur, Andrey Muraviev, to donate to Republicans in Nevada, Florida and other states as part of an effort to launch a recreational marijuana business." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)
Cameron Jenkins of the Hill: "Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton (R) this week refused to turn over records of his participation at a pro-Trump rally that occurred just before supporters of the former president stormed the Capitol on Jan. 6 last year. The Travis County district attorney's office allotted Paxton four days to turn over the records or face a lawsuit, according to The Associated Press. But in a Friday letter, Paxton's office reportedly denied the district attorney's demands and refused to acknowledge any violations, the news outlet noted. The request from the DA's office comes after several Texas news outlets including The Dallas Morning News, the Houston Chronicle and the Austin American-Statesman, filed a complaint to investigate an alleged violation of open records laws.... Paxton ... made a speech at the rally detailing an unsuccessful attempt to overturn Biden's victory in the presidential election...."
Matt Zapotosky of the Washington Post: "The Justice Department on Friday arrested a Texas man and charged him with threatening election and other government officials in Georgia, in the first case brought by a task force formed over the summer to combat such threats, according to court records and a department spokesman. In an indictment, prosecutors alleged that Chad Christopher Stark posted a message on Craigslist on Jan. 5, 2021, saying it was 'time to kill' an elections official, whose name is not included in the court documents.... Georgia officials, in particular, were targeted by a flood of hostile messages after officials there refused to back ... Donald Trump's bogus claims of election fraud. Trump himself called Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger (R) the 'enemy of the people.'..." A CNN report is here. (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)
Trump Made Us Sick. Michelle Goldberg of the New York Times: "... a striking new study from Kevin B. Smith, chair of the political science department at the University of Nebraska, Lincoln, suggests the universe of people who find our politics a torment might be much larger than I'd realized. 'Politics is a pervasive and largely unavoidable source of chronic stress that exacted significant health costs for large numbers of American adults between 2017 and 2020,' writes Smith in 'Politics Is Making Us Sick: The Negative Impact of Political Engagement on Public Health During the Trump Administration.' 'The 2020 election did little to alleviate those effects and quite likely exacerbated them.'... People from both parties reported that political stress during the Trump years has damaged their health, but Democrats have, unsurprisingly, had it worse.... The country is, psychologically, in an awful place.... [Smith] speculates that even those who aren't intensely interested in politics are still affected by the ambient climate of hatred, chaos and dysfunction." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)
Maxine Joselow of the Washington Post: "The House Committee on Oversight and Reform has broadened its investigation into the role of fossil fuel companies in misleading the public about climate change, asking members of the boards of directors of ExxonMobil, BP, Chevron and Shell Oil to testify before Congress next month about their firms' commitments to curbing global warming." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)
Robert Barnes of the Washington Post: "The Supreme Court will consider limiting a controversial 2020 decision that greatly expanded the amount of Indian land in Oklahoma and disrupted criminal prosecutions in the area, the justices announced Friday. The court declined the state's request to overturn its decision in McGirt v. Oklahoma, which sided with tribal leaders in finding that a large portion of land in the eastern part of the state qualifies as an Indian reservation[.] But the justices said they will consider a more limited question: 'Whether a State has authority to prosecute non-Indians who commit crimes against Indians in Indian country."
Kate Zernicke & Madeleine Ngo of the New York Times: "Anti-abortion protesters descended on Washington from across the country on Friday for the annual March for Life, a ritual that this year took on a tone of hopeful celebration as they anticipated the Supreme Court overturning the decision that established a constitutional right to abortion half a century ago." MB: Whaddaya bet some of these same jerks who would deny women the freedom to choose also are demanding the freedom to infect others with Covid-19.
The Pandemic, Ctd.
Lena Sun, et al., of the Washington Post: "Vaccine boosters provide robust protection against severe disease from the omicron variant in the United States, according to three reports released Friday that offer the first real-world data in this country showing the utility of the additional shots in keeping vaccinated people out of the hospital. But the reports by scientists the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention are arriving late to the winter surge in coronavirus cases that have choked the corridors of hospitals across much of the country.... Despite laboratory studies that show an extra dose jacks up antibodies, repeated urgings from Biden administration officials and more recently, a succession of reports from multiple countries affirming that protection, the boosters have not been embraced by Americans to the extent the initial shots were." The article is free to nonsubscribers. (Also linked yesterday.)
Laurie McGinley of the Washington Post: "Federal regulators Friday authorized the antiviral drug remdesivir for covid-19 outpatients at high risk of being hospitalized, providing a new treatment option for doctors struggling with shortages of effective drugs to counter the coronavirus. The Food and Drug Administration said the intravenous treatment, which had been limited to patients in the hospital, could be administered to outpatients with mild-to-moderate illness. Remdesivir, manufactured by Gilead Sciences, was among the first coronavirus treatments authorized in 2020. The drug received full agency approval later that year for people 12 and older."
AP: "A U.S. judge in Texas issued a nationwide injunction on Friday barring the federal government from enforcing President Joe Biden's requirement that federal workers without qualifying medical or religious exemptions be vaccinated for COVID-19. Judge Jeffrey Brown, who was appointed to the District Court for the Southern District of Texas by ... Donald Trump, ruled that opponents of Biden’s vaccination mandate for federal employees were likely to succeed at trial and blocked the government from enforcing the requirement." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)
Ian Duncan of the Washington Post: "The U.S. Transportation Department issued an order Friday blocking 44 passenger flights by Chinese airlines after the Chinese government took the same step against American carriers as part of its strict coronavirus control policies. The restrictions begin Jan. 30 and run until March 29. They affect flights between Los Angeles and New York and five Chinese cities."
The Washington Post's live updates of Covid-19 developments Friday are here: "Unvaccinated adults age 65 or older who contracted the coronavirus were 49 times more likely to require hospitalization than seniors who had received booster vaccine doses, according to new data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.Unimmunized adults in that age group were also 17 times more likely to be admitted to a hospital than those who had received either two shots of an mRNA vaccine or one Johnson & Johnson dose. Meanwhile, unvaccinated people between 50 and 64 years old were 44 times more likely to need hospitalization compared with their boosted counterparts." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)
Virginia. Hannah Natanson of the Washington Post: "Just before the Page County School Board voted Thursday night on whether to keep requiring masks in schools -- as dozens of school districts throughout Virginia grappled this week with a hotly contested executive order from Gov. Glenn Youngkin (R) declaring masks optional -- parent Amelia King stepped to the microphone.... She threatened the board with a promise to show up with guns if it did not make masking optional for the rural Virginia district of 3,000. 'My children will not come to school on Monday with a mask on,' she said. 'That's not happening, and I will bring every single gun loaded and ready to, I will call every--' A board member interjected that King had run over her allotted three minutes of speaking time. King replied: 'Mm-hm. I'll see y'all on Monday' and stalked from the room. School officials later contacted police, who launched an investigation, and raised the alarm to federal and state officials...."
China. Amy Qin & Amy Chien of the New York Times: "China, which has largely kept the coronavirus at bay since 2020, is going to ever more extreme lengths to quell outbreaks that have proliferated around the country in recent weeks, and a growing number of people are finding their lives suddenly upended as a result." Authorities are locking people in stores & offices & strangers' homes when suspected Covid-19 cases are traced to the locales. "At least 20 million people in three cities were under full lockdown as recently as last week.... The case numbers themselves are minuscule by global standards, and no Covid deaths have been reported in China's current wave. On Friday, the health authorities reported a total of 23 new locally transmitted cases in five cities. But many cases have involved the highly transmissible Omicron variant, and with each passing day, the government's dogged pursuit of 'zero Covid' is looking harder to achieve. ~~~
~~~ Marie's Plan for 95% Vaccinations Rates in the U.S.: deport Amelia from Virginia there and a bunch of other nutters screaming "Freeedumb!" from vaccines & masks. Send them to China, where they'll be quarantined forevah to give them a taste of what it means to lose substantial freedom -- as opposed to being subjected to minor inconveniences. Publicize the plan. Most of the nitwits not yet caught up in the Freeedumb! dragnet will suddenly find masks & shots A-okay.
Michael Levenson of the New York Times: "Brian Laundrie claimed responsibility for killing his fiancée, Gabrielle Petito, the Federal Bureau of Investigation said on Friday, as it prepared to close a case that had galvanized social media and prompted widespread sleuthing by amateur detectives. The F.B.I. disclosed that a notebook that was found near Mr. Laundrie's body in October included a written confession, as the agency provided what it called a final investigative update on a case that had drawn thousands of tips from the public and engaged law enforcement agencies across the country. The F.B.I. did not reveal details of the incriminating statements other than to say that the notebook contained 'written statements by Mr. Laundrie claiming responsibility for Ms. Petito's death.'"
Beyond the Beltway
Florida. Michael Wines of the New York Times: "A federal judge handed a crucial free-speech victory to six University of Florida professors Friday, ordering the university to stop enforcing a policy that had barred them from giving expert testimony in lawsuits against the state. The stinging ruling, by Judge Mark E. Walker of U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Florida, accused the university of trying to silence the professors for fear that their testimony would anger state officials and legislators who control the school's funding.... Technically, the 74-page order limits the university only temporarily, until there is a ruling in the professors' lawsuit challenging the policy. But the judge, who was appointed in 2012 by President Barack Obama, left scant doubt that his opinion of the school's conduct was unlikely to change.... The order was a turning point in a dispute that has tarred the reputation of one of the nation's leading public universities and sparked an investigation by the body that accredits it. It also has fueled criticism of Governor Ron DeSantis, a Republican, who has denied pressuring the school to rein in faculty conduct that questions his administration's policies." ~~~
~~~ Mike Vasilinda of WJHG Panama City (January 11): "Governor Ron DeSantis declared Florida to be the freest state in America during his annual state of the state address to open the 2022 legislative session." MB: Uh-huh. It's a bit more free today, free from DeSantis, that is.
Georgia. America the Unsafe. Amy Cheng & Andrew Jeong of the Washington Post: "A British astrophysicist visiting his girlfriend just outside Atlanta was killed by a stray bullet on Jan. 16 that struck him while he was lying in bed. Matthew Willson, 31, died of a single gunshot wound to the head after being transported to a hospital, local law enforcement said Thursday.... The shooting appeared to be a 'random act involving individuals participating in the reckless discharge of' one or more firearms, Brookhaven police said in a statement."
Michigan. Timothy Bella of the Washington Post: "A Michigan judge has apologized to a 72-year-old cancer patient after she shamed him in court for not maintaining his yard and faced widespread condemnation for her harsh remarks. District Judge Alexis G. Krot told Burhan Chowdhury during a Michigan state court appearance over Zoom earlier this month that he 'should be ashamed' of himself for being unable to clean up the grass that had overtaken the property. Chowdhury struggled to breathe as he explained to the judge that he was 'very weak,' but Krot continued to criticize him for the neighborhood blight in Hamtramck, Mich., saying, 'If I could give you jail time on this, I would.'... A Change.org petition calling for her to be removed from the bench had more than 230,000 signatures as of early Friday. Krot said she recently self-reported her behavior to the Michigan Judicial Tenure Commission, which evaluates and investigates any complaints alleging misconduct by judicial officers...."
News Ledes
New York Times: "Over 500 residents in the Big Sur area in California were told to evacuate Friday night as a brush fire spread through the mountainous coastal region known for its winding turns and dramatic cliffs.... The blaze swept through an area with little or no fire history, according to the National Weather Service.... 'Anecdotally it seems as though the long-term drought is acting like a chronic illness where even recent rains' and cold winter weather 'isn't helping to keep fires from developing,' the National Weather Service said."
Washington Post: "Peru has appealed for international assistance to respond to a major oil spill connected to the eruption of an underwater volcano near Tonga last week. An Italian-flagged tanker spilled 6,000 barrels of oil in the Pacific Ocean on Jan. 15, close to La Pampilla refinery outside Lima, Peruvian authorities said. The Spanish company Repsol, which operates the refinery, blamed the volcanic eruption near Tonga that sent large tsunami waves across the ocean. The eruption triggered tsunami warnings in neighboring countries Chile and Ecuador, but Peru did not issue a similar alert. Two women in northern Peru were reportedly swept out to sea and drowned when massive waves crashed over a beach. The Italian shipping company transporting the oil said the tanker was unloading its cargo at La Pampilla, the country's largest refinery, when the terminal's underwater pipeline ruptured."
New York Times: "One New York City police officer was killed and another was critically wounded when a gunman opened fire on them inside a Harlem apartment on Friday, the police said. They were the third and fourth officers to be shot in the line of duty this week, according to the police." This is a liveblog.
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