September 16, 2025

Brooks Barnes of the New York Times: “Robert Redford, the big-screen charmer turned Oscar-winning director whose hit movies often helped America make sense of itself and who, offscreen, evangelized for environmental causes and fostered the Sundance-centered independent film movement, died early Tuesday morning at his home in Utah. He was 89.”

Jess Bedayn, et al., of the AP: “Prosecutors brought an aggravated murder charge on Tuesday against the man accused of assassinating Charlie Kirk and outlined evidence including a text message confession to his partner and a note left beforehand that said he had the opportunity to kill one of the nation’s leading conservative voices 'and I’m going to take it.' The charge means 22-year-old Tyler Robinson could face the death penalty if convicted of killing Kirk last week at Utah Valley University in Orem....” ~~~

     ~~~ The New York Times liveblog has more details.  

Pam Bondi Is an Idiot. Glenn Thrush & Alan Feuer of the New York Times: “Attorney General Pam Bondi provoked a broad backlash this week after announcing she would 'absolutely target' protesters engaging in 'hate speech' — and claiming she had authority to investigate businesses that refused to print memorial vigil posters for the conservative activist Charlie Kirk.... It is not clear under what authority Ms. Bondi planned to bring 'hate speech' cases when the First Amendment provides sweeping protections for free speech that does not directly incite violence.... 'Someone needs to explain to Ms. Bondi that so-called “hate speech,” repulsive though it may be, is protected by the First Amendment,' Brit Hume, the longtime Fox News host, wrote on social media. 'She should know this.'... She seemed to back away from ... her remarks on Tuesday morning, writing on social media that 'hate speech that crosses the line into threats of violence is NOT protected by the First Amendment. It’s a crime.'” ~~~

     ~~~ Erica Orden of Politico: “Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor appeared to take aim at recent remarks by Attorney General Pam Bondi vowing to 'target' anyone who uses 'hate speech' following the killing of conservative activist Charlie Kirk. 'Every time I listen to a lawyer-trained representative saying we should criminalize free speech in some way, I think to myself, that law school failed,' Sotomayor said while speaking on a panel Tuesday morning at New York Law School.” ~~~

     ~~~ Looks Like Smartypants Ted Passed Constitutional Law. Jacob Wendler of Politico: “Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) defended constitutional protections for hate speech in the aftermath of the fatal shooting of conservative organizer Charlie Kirk.... '“The First Amendment absolutely protects speech,” Cruz said Tuesday at Politico’s AI & Tech Summit in Washington. 'It absolutely protects hate speech. It protects vile speech. It protects horrible speech. What does that mean? It means you cannot be prosecuted for speech, even if it is evil and bigoted and wrong.'  At the same time, Cruz endorsed 'naming and shaming' as 'part of a functioning and vibrant democracy,' citing English philosopher John Stuart Mill’s famous axiom that free and plentiful expression is the best antidote to undesirable speech.” ~~~

     ~~~ Charles Cooke of the (right-wing) National Review was fairly apoplectic when he wrote the rebuttal to Bondi's "false, incorrect, imaginary" assertions. ~~~ 

     ~~~ Donald Trump Is an Idiot. Giselle Ewing of Politico: “...  Donald Trump didn’t appear to take issue with Bondi’s comments. Asked by reporters about the attorney general’s remarks Tuesday, Trump returned to a suggestion he has previously floated — that members of the media should be targeted for their coverage of his administration — which he claimed was 'hate.' 'We’ll probably go after people like you because you treat me so unfairly, it’s hate. You have a lot of hate in your heart,' Trump said, responding to a question from ABC’s Jonathan Karl.” ~~~

     ~~~ OR, as Tommy Christopher of Mediaite put it, “... Donald Trump openly threatened ABC News Chief Washington Correspondent Jonathan Karl when Karl grilled him about the threatened crackdown on so-called 'hate speech.'...” MB: Of course it doesn't matter to Blondie what opinion writers, or senators or even Supreme Court justices think; her sole audience is Delusional Donnie.

Taylor Telford & Faiz Siddiqui of the Washington Post: “The wave of companies and other institutions firing or suspending employees over what they’ve said in reaction to last week’s killing of conservative influencer Charlie Kirk has expanded in recent days, as some of his supporters in and outside the government amp up a push against speech they say crosses lines. The Secret Service, several U.S. airlines, Office Depot, and Nasdaq said they were among more than 30 employers that have sanctioned or fired employees in reaction to their statements about Kirk’s killing. Roughly three dozen workers are reported to have been suspended or fired over their responses to Kirk’s killing, including employees of Clemson University, MSNBC, the Federal Emergency Management Agency and the Carolina Panthers. Several local fire departments and school districts said they had also suspended or terminated employees over their remarks.”

Eric Tucker of the AP: “ FBI Director Kash Patel clashed with skeptical Democrats at a contentious Senate oversight hearing Tuesday, defending his record amid criticism that he has politicized the nation’s premier federal law enforcement agency and pursued retribution against perceived adversaries of ... Donald Trump.... The appearance Tuesday before the Senate Judiciary Committee represented the first oversight hearing of Patel’s young but tumultuous tenure.... Democrats ... suggested his firing of experienced agents and supervisors was a troubling about-face from his confirmation hearing pledge in January that he would not look 'backwards' or seek retaliation as director. 'I’m not going to mince words: you lied to us,' said Sen. Richard Blumenthal, a Connecticut Democrat. Patel angrily disputed that suggestion, and said that though he could not discuss the specifics of those firings due to the litigation. 'Anyone that’s been terminated failed to meet the needs of the FBI and uphold their constitutional duties.'” ~~~

~~~ Glenn Thrush & Alan Feuer of the New York Times: “Chris Meyer, a field agent assigned to fly the F.B.I. director Kash Patel’s plane..., knew he was in trouble ... when a pro-Trump influencer claimed, without a wisp of proof, that he was 'THE' main agent in the Mar-a-Lago documents investigation. Mr. Meyer said he was never assigned to that case.... No matter. Last month, Mr. Patel summarily fired Mr. Meyer and another top agent in the Washington, D.C., field office who had been targeted by the right, Walter Giardina. Mr. Patel did so after being told that the terminations were unlawful and that pushing out Mr. Giardina, who was caring for his dying wife, would be 'inexcusably cruel,' according to a lawsuit filed by three F.B.I. supervisors also dismissed by Mr. Patel. The allegations by Mr. Meyer and Mr. Giardina, reported for the first time in their own words, offer an unusual glimpse into the nation’s top law enforcement agency.... They also raise fundamental questions about Mr. Patel’s treatment of the bureau’s career work force — and why he personally fired two respected midlevel agents he accused of weaponizing the F.B.I. against Mr. Trump without a formal internal investigation.”

Marie: Oh, I just found out from Rebecca Shoenkopf of Wonkette that a Senate panel is chatting with Kash Patel about criming and so forth. So you can watch it here -- or on your own teevee, I'd guess. 

Beth Reinhard & Kadia Goba of the Washington Post: “The House Oversight Committee on Tuesday released documents from convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein’s estate, as well as testimony by former Attorney General William P. Barr about the federal investigation into Epstein. The committee also released letters from two other former attorneys general, Alberto Gonzalez and Jeff Sessions, who were subpoenaed by the committee to answer questions on the federal inquiry into Epstein; they said had no information relevant to Epstein’s case.”

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Smart people don't like me. -- Donald Trump, at his Bedminster golf club, Saturday. Thanks to digby for the catch & Akhilleus for the link 

U.K. officials, including King Charles, plan to lay out the red carpet for Fat Hitler, but some Brits have better ideas: ~~~

Holly Bishop of the Independent: “A giant picture of Donald Trump and Jeffrey Epstein has been unveiled outside of Windsor Castle ahead of the US president’s visit to the UK. Footage shared by political campaign group Everyone Hates Elon on Monday (15 September) shows several individuals unfurling the picture, which the group says was funded by donations from the British public.” ~~~

~~~ Lily Ford of the Hollywood Reporter: Britain's “Channel 4 is welcoming Donald Trump to the U.K. with a special program: an unbroken catalogue of over 100 falsehoods, distortions and inaccuracies he’s come up with since taking office in January.... The British channel has vowed to put a spotlight on his prolific oeuvre of untruths.' On Sep. 17 from 10 a.m. local time, Channel 4 will broadcast Trump v the Truth, the longest uninterrupted reel of untruths running over several hours. The statements will be punctuated by 'brief text-based fact-checks, offering viewers the truth behind the tweets, speeches and soundbites.'”

The Most Corrupt Presidency* in U.S. History. Eric Lipton, et al., of the New York Times: At the heart of a relationship between Donald Trump & his inner circle on the one hand, and the sheikhs of the United Arab Emirates on the other “are two multibillion-dollar deals. One involved a crypto company founded by the Witkoff and the Trump families that benefited both financially. The other involved a sale of valuable computer chips [controlled & limited by the U.S. government because of national security concerns] that benefited the Emirates economically. While there is no evidence that one deal was explicitly offered in return for the other, the confluence of the two agreements is itself extraordinary. Taken together, they blurred the lines between personal and government business and raised questions about whether U.S. interests were served.... The back-to-back deals violate longstanding norms in the United States for political, diplomatic and private deal-making among senior officials and their children, according to three ethics lawyers interviewed by The Times. And they have generated alarm among some former government officials.” The link is a gift link because everybody ought to have know what crooks Trump, Wykoff & the whole gang are. (Also linked yesterday.) 

Pay attention. Something dark might be coming.... The murder of Charlie Kirk could have united Americans to confront political violence. Instead, Trump and his anti-democratic radicals look to be readying a campaign to destroy dissent. -- Sen. Chris Murphy (D-Conn.), social media post Sunday ~~~

~~~ So that was Sunday. Let's see what happened Monday. -- Marie Burns ~~~

~~~ Katie Rogers & Zolan Kanno-Youngs of the New York Times: Donald “Trump and his top advisers threatened on Monday to unleash the power of the federal government to punish what they alleged was a left-wing network that funds and incites violence, seizing on Charlie Kirk’s killing to make broad and unsubstantiated claims about their political opponents. Investigators were still working to identify a motive in the death of Mr. Kirk, a prominent conservative activist who was shot last week in Utah. The Republican governor of Utah, Spencer Cox, has said that the suspect had a 'leftist ideology' and that he acted alone. But Mr. Trump and his top allies suggested that the suspect was part of a coordinated movement that was fomenting violence against conservatives, without presenting evidence that such a network existed.... 

“Mr. Trump said ... that he was talking to the attorney general, Pam Bondi, about bringing charges under the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act against some of the people that you’ve been reading about that have been putting up millions and millions of dollars for agitation.'... Democrats have warned that the Trump White House could be using Mr. Kirk’s killing as a pretense to go after political dissent, not just hate speech or violence.” (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~

~~~ Iris Sentner of Politico: “JD Vance ... on Monday hosted [Charlie] Kirk’s popular daily radio show, parading a slate of the most powerful figures in the White House into his official office for what amounted to both a tribute and promises of retribution for an audience that at time exceeded 250,000 on Rumble. Vance pledged to crack down on the 'radical left lunatics,' while Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller said he’d use the Department of Justice and the Department of Homeland Security to disrupt unspecified networks that are responsible for provoking violence.” (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~

     ~~~ Jacob Knutson of Democracy Docket, Marc Elias' voting rights organization, on the Trump administration's push to "suppress political activity." Knutson gives the story an obvious slant, but his facts appear to be accurate. Facts, of course, have a well-known liberal bias. ~~~

     ~~~ BTW, if you're like Donnie & JayDee and all their little friends and you can't think of a single "radical right lunatic" who might have committed political violence, Akhilleus has a nice list in today's Comments. Funny, though, it looks like Trump pardoned most of them. ~~~  

~~~ Aaron Blake of CNN: “... Donald Trump and his MAGA allies have continued casting the [Charlie Kirk murder] as proof that political violence is the domain of the left — much more so than the right. 'When you look at the problems, the problem is on the left,'  the president told reporters Sunday. 'It’s not on the right.' 'While our side of the aisle certainly has its crazies, it is a statistical fact that most of the lunatics in American politics today are proud members of the far left,' Vice President JD Vance said Monday while guest hosting Kirk’s podcast.... But Trump and his allies are cherry-picking evidence and misleading about recent violent episodes. They’re also casting stones from a glass house.... In fact, Trump has spent the last decade saying conspicuously violent things and often flirting with the prospect of justified violence by his supporters – including as recently as Friday.” ~~~

~~~   Oh, not fair. Donald Trump is so bipartisany. Just ask him: "Uh, something, something, Tim Walz' fault." ~~~

~~~ Erica Green of the New York Times: Donald “Trump ... said on Monday that he would have ordered American flags to half-staff to honor Melissa Hortman, the Minnesota state representative who was gunned down along with her husband in their home this summer, if he had been 'asked' to by the Democratic governor of her state. Mr. Trump, in response to a question about whether the honor should have been extended in light of the tributes the White House has paid to Charlie Kirk, the assassinated conservative activist, initially said that he was not familiar with her, until the slain lawmaker was identified as a Democrat. 'Well, if the governor had asked me to do that, I would have done that, but the governor of Minnesota didn’t ask me,' Mr. Trump said, not identifying by name the governor, Tim Walz, who was the Democratic vice-presidential nominee in the last election. In the days after the assassination in Minnesota, Mr. Trump said he saw no reason to speak to Mr. Walz. On Monday, Mr. Walz’s office issued a statement in response to the president’s remarks.... 'Governor Walz wishes that President Trump would be a President for all Americans​,' it read....” The link appears to be a gift link. ~~~

~~~ Michael Luciano of Mediaite: “Attorney General Pam Bondi said the Department of Justice is considering bringing charges after a now-fired Office Depot employee refused to print flyers advertising a vigil for Charlie Kirk. 'We’re looking at that,' she said on Fox News on Monday night.” ~~~

     ~~~ Evan Hurst of Wonkette, in his rundown of the news -- which is way funnier than mine -- is wondering, "Do you think this means the Christian Nazi cake bakers have to make cakes for gay weddings now? Ha ha! Not [how] Christian fascism works." ~~~ 

~~~ Hannah Knowles, et al., of the Washington Post: “The 22-year-old suspect in Charlie Kirk’s killing appears to have confessed to friends in an online chat shortly before turning himself in to law enforcement.... 'Hey guys, I have bad news for you all,' said a message from an account belonging to the suspect, Tyler Robinson, on the online platform Discord. 'It was me at UVU yesterday. im sorry for all of this.' The message was sent Thursday night, about two hours before officials said Robinson was taken into custody. A member of the group chat shared an image of the conversation with The Post.... Discord provided a copy of the message with the confession to authorities....” ~~~

~~~ Paul Krugman: “What I want to focus on here ... are Kirk’s views on gender and society, because I think much of his widespread appeal was based on those views.... This radical change in women’s career perceptions [which began in the 1940s] had huge effects on how women lived their lives.... In essence, Charlie Kirk argued that [what economist Claudia Goldin called the 'quiet revolution'] was all a mistake and should be reversed: 'Having children is more important than having a good career....' Kirk was calling on America to stop being the society it is and go back to being the kind of society it hasn’t been for generations. Or, rather, he wanted us to enact his fantasy about what our society once was like.... Notably, Kirk’s revanchism was never accompanied by any substantive descriptions of policies to create the social change he wanted.... The horror of Charlie Kirk’s murder shouldn’t prevent us from admitting that his influence was largely built on catering to white male resentment.”

More Murder on the High Seas. Eric Schmitt, et al., of the New York Times: “The U.S. military struck a boat for the second time this month..., [Donald] Trump said on Monday, as his administration continued its deadly campaign against Venezuelan drug cartels that it has accused of bringing fentanyl into the United States. The strike occurred in international waters and killed three people, Mr. Trump said in a social media post. 'This morning, on my Orders, U.S. Military Forces conducted a SECOND Kinetic Strike against positively identified, extraordinarily violent drug trafficking cartels and narcoterrorists in the SOUTHCOM area of responsibility,' Mr. Trump wrote, referring to the U.S. military’s Southern Command. Mr. Trump claimed that the boat was heading to the United States and linked it to 'drug trafficking cartels' that he said posed a threat to the country. The president said the people killed were 'positively identified,' but he did not identify a specific organization with which they were alleged to be associated.” An NBC News story is here. ~~~

     ~~~ Trump's Lies Are Getting More Fantastic. Ewan Palmer of the Daily Beast, republished by Yahoo! News: “... Donald Trump has justified targeting an alleged Venezuelan drug boat by wildly claiming that nearly the entire U.S. population died from overdoses last year. Reporters asked the 79-year-old Trump to respond to Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro’s claim that the U.S. killing of 11 suspected drug smugglers in the Caribbean Sea was 'illegal.'... and whether he was concerned Venezuela would retaliate. 'What’s illegal are the drugs that were on the boat, and the drugs that are being sent into our country, and the fact that 300 million people died last year from drugs, that’s what’s illegal,' Trump said. For Trump’s claim to be accurate, it would mean nearly 90 percent of the current U.S. population of about 340 million died from drug overdoses last year.... In the 12 months ending March 2025, there were nearly 75,000 drug overdose deaths in the U.S.... Even giving Trump the benefit of the doubt by suggesting he meant worldwide deaths, the ... World Health Organization (WHO) reported in June 2024 that drug use accounted for 600,000 deaths globally.”

Luke Broadwater & Emily Cochrane of the New York Times: Donald “Trump on Monday signed an order creating a federal task force and authorizing the use of the National Guard to crack down on crime in Memphis over the concerns of local Democratic lawmakers who are wary of a surge of policing from Washington. Speaking from the Oval Office alongside Gov. Bill Lee of Tennessee and the state’s two Republican senators, Marsha Blackburn and Bill Hagerty, all Republicans, Mr. Trump said the task force would be a “replica” of the large show of police and military forces currently on display in Washington. Mr. Trump said he would also consider sending federal law enforcement officials into Chicago, St. Louis and New Orleans.... Details were scarce on Mr. Trump’s plans for Memphis, which he announced days earlier in an interview on Fox News, but the president said multiple federal agencies would be involved.”

Sahil Kapur of NBC News: "A standoff over how to prevent a government shutdown intensified Monday as ... Donald Trump called on Republicans to write a funding bill on their own and cut Democrats out of the process. But any funding bill, including a stopgap to buy more time, requires 60 votes to pass the Senate, where Republicans control 53 seats and therefore need at least seven Democratic votes. Democratic leaders say Republicans are following Trump’s wishes and are refusing to negotiate, making a shutdown likelier. Congress has until 11:59 p.m. Sept. 30 to find a solution or the government will shut down."

Joe Rennison of the New York Times: Donald “Trump on Monday proposed to reduce the frequency that public companies report financial information to their investors and the public, suggesting cutting requirements in half by going to two, instead of four, reports a year. 'This will save money, and allow managers to focus on properly running their companies,' Mr. Trump said in a post on Truth Social. Public companies in the United States have been required to publish quarterly reports for more than 50 years. Many markets in Europe require companies to report only twice a year.”

Free Press? Nope. Niha Masih of the Washington Post: “... Donald Trump filed a defamation lawsuit Monday against the New York Times and several of its reporters, accusing the newspaper of libeling him in several articles in the lead-up to last year’s presidential election. In a Truth Social post late Monday, Trump described the 174-year-old newspaper as 'one of the worst and most degenerate newspapers in the History of our Country.... The New York Times has been allowed to freely lie, smear, and defame me for far too long, and that stops, NOW!'... In Monday’s lawsuit, Trump said that to win the presidency in 2024, he had to overcome 'persistent election interference from the legacy media,' which he said was led by the New York Times. He also railed against the newspaper’s front-page endorsement of Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris, describing it as 'deranged.'”

Heather Cox Richardson saw this coming: “'This is the story of a dictator on the rise,' I wrote [six years ago Monday], 'taking control of formerly independent branches of government, and using the power of his office to amass power.' Readers swamped me with questions. So I wrote another post answering them and trying to explain the news, which began breaking at a breathtaking pace. And so these Letters from an American were born.... The patterns I saw six years ago are slicing to the heart of both the mechanics and the soul of the United States.”

Kyle Stewart, et al., of NBC News: "Jeffrey Epstein's estate has turned over additional documents to the House Oversight Committee, including a previously redacted name from the late sex offender's now-notorious 50th birthday book...." 

Jake Spring & Hannah Natanson of the Washington Post: “The Trump administration has ordered the removal of signs and exhibits related to slavery at multiple national parks, according to four people familiar with the matter, including a historic photograph of a formerly enslaved man showing scars on his back. The individuals ... said the removals were in line with ... Donald Trump’s March executive order directing the Interior Department to eliminate information that reflects a 'corrosive ideology' that disparages historic Americans. National Park Service officials are broadly interpreting that directive to apply to information on racism, sexism, slavery, gay rights or persecution of Indigenous people.”

Marie: Sorry, I thought I linked this yesterday. I did not: ~~~

~~~ Jonathan Mahler of the New York Times Magazine: “...  an extraordinarily successful scientific [cancer] research system — one that took decades to build, has saved millions of lives and generated billions of dollars in profits for American companies and investors — is being dismantled before our eyes. In a matter of months, the Trump administration has canceled hundreds of millions of dollars in cancer-related research grants and contracts, arguing that they were part of politically driven D.E.I. initiatives, and suspended or delayed payments for hundreds of millions more. It is trying to sharply reduce the percentage of expenses that the government will cover for federally funded cancer-research labs. It has terminated hundreds of government employees who helped lead the country’s cancer-research system and ensured that new discoveries reached clinicians, cancer patients and the American public. And the president’s proposed budget for the next fiscal year calls for a more-than-37-percent cut to the National Cancer Institute — the N.I.H. agency that leads most of the nation’s cancer research — reducing it to $4.5 billion from $7.2 billion. Adjusting for inflation, you have to go back more than 30 years to find a comparably sized federal cancer-research budget.” The link is a gift link. (Also linked yesterday.)

Apoorva Mandavilli of the New York Times: “Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has added five new members to a scientific advisory committee that recommends which vaccines Americans should take and when, the Department of Health and Human Services announced on Monday. The announcement came three days before the panel, called the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices, was scheduled to meet. The members are expected to decide on guidelines for important vaccines, including the shots for Covid-19 and hepatitis B.... Like other members currently on the committee, some of the new additions have expressed skepticism about vaccines or vaccine mandates.” The article names the new members.

Jodi Cohen & Jennifer Richards of ProPublica: "The U.S. Department of Education has pulled funding for programs in eight states aimed at supporting students who have both hearing and vision loss, a move that could affect some of the country’s most vulnerable students.... They got caught in the Trump administration’s attacks on diversity, equity and inclusion.... The funding, which was expected to continue through September 2028, will stop at the end of the month.... The [Education Department complained to] the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction, which oversees the [deafblind] project, [about its] policy of ensuring that women, minorities and disabled veterans would be included in the hiring process." The U.S. Department also was concerned that Wisconsin used the words "transition" (as in transitioning from one grade to another) and "privilege" because program staff had received a thank-you letter from a parent who said it was a privilege to work with them. MB: All of the states being shut out have some Democratic representation in Washington and most voted for Harris in 2024. (Also linked yesterday.) 

Zach Schonfeld of the Hill: “A federal appeals court Monday refused the Trump administration’s   request to permit Federal Reserve board of governors member Lisa Cook’s firing before this week’s Fed meeting, setting the stage for a potential Supreme Court battle. Cook is set to participate in the Fed’s upcoming vote on interest rate cuts after a judge last week ruled her firing likely unlawful and reinstated her as the litigation proceeds. The 2-1 ruling from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit keeps that ruling intact, rejecting Trump’s bid to fire Cook over mortgage fraud accusations, for now.... Judge Brad Garcia wrote for the majority. Garcia was joined by U.S. Circuit Judges Michelle Childs, both nominated to the bench by former President Biden.... Judge Gregory Katsas, the panel’s sole Trump appointee, dissented.” (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~

     ~~~ Josh Gerstein & Kyle Cheney of Politico: “The decision leaves the president just hours to ask the Supreme Court to oust [Lisa Cook] before a critical interest-rate setting meeting kicks off Tuesday.” The appeals court order is here. (Also linked yesterday.) The AP report is here. ~~~

~~~ Reuters, republished by CNBC: “The property tax authority in Ann Arbor, Michigan, said that Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook hasn’t broken rules for tax breaks on a home there that Cook declared her primary residence.... Cook has at times lived elsewhere and city records indicate she sought permission from Ann Arbor authorities to rent out the Michigan home on a short-term basis. Temporary absence from the home or renting it out short-term wouldn’t disqualify her from a tax exemption in Ann Arbor, the tax official said. 'Living elsewhere temporarily does not necessarily make an owner ineligible for a principal residence exemption,' said [City Assessor Jerry] Markey.” ~~~

~~~ MEANWHILE, in the Senate. Sylvan Lane of the Hill: “The Senate voted Monday to confirm ... [Donald] Trump’s top White House economist to the Federal Reserve board of governors. Senators voted along party lines, 48-47, to approve the nomination of Stephen Miran, chair of the White House Council of Economic Advisers (CEA), to the remaining four months of a term on the Fed board.... He has promised to take an unpaid leave of absence from the White House until the expiration of his term in January.... Miran is expected to be sworn in as a Fed governor with enough time to vote Wednesday on whether the Fed should cut rates.” (Also linked yesterday.) The New York Times report is here.

Noah Robertson of the Washington Post: “Congress is inching toward a bipartisan agreement to reverse the Trump administration’s recent renaming of several Army bases across the southern United States that had long been politically controversial for honoring Confederate leaders. Tucked within the National Defense Authorization Act passed by the Republican-led House last week is a measure that, if adopted by the Senate, would block Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s reversal of a separate base-renaming effort that was directed by Congress five years ago. The 2020 initiative resulted in nine Army posts originally recognizing Confederates — in Alabama, Georgia, Louisiana, North Carolina, Texas and Virginia — being re-designated to honor others, such as women, minorities, generals and a military family. The Pentagon did away with those changes earlier this year. The Senate’s defense policy bill, which has not come up for a vote, would overrule Hegseth only for the three bases in Virginia, though the two Democratic senators from Georgia are offering an amendment that would add the two bases in their state.” MB: There are a number of scenarios in which this won't happen, so I'm not counting my traitors before they're dispatched. ~~~

~~~ BUT Also This. Benjamin Guggenheim & Jordain Carney of Politico: “A group of GOP senators are working on legislation to extend Affordable Care Act subsidies with policy changes designed to win over conservatives.... This group has gotten 'technical assistance' from the Senate Finance Committee, which has jurisdiction over the subsidies.... The Obamacare subsidies are set to expire at the end of this year.” MB: Lest you think Senate Republicans might be showing some guts and standing up to Trump, the reporters write, ... “a growing number of Republicans say failure to act on such an extension would be a political mistake heading into the midterms.” 

William Rashbaum, et al., of the New York Times: “Maurene Comey, a federal prosecutor who handled criminal cases against Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell, is contesting her abrupt July firing in a lawsuit that challenges Donald J. Trump’s claim of sweeping presidential power. Ms. Comey, whose father, James B. Comey, is a former F.B.I. director, says in the lawsuit filed on Monday that she was never given a reason for her dismissal. She contends that no plausible explanation exists other than that she is the daughter of one of the president’s best-known adversaries — or her perceived political affiliations. Ms. Comey is among many federal prosecutors and Justice Department officials who have been fired in President Trump’s second term, with no reason given beyond Article II of the Constitution, which broadly describes the president’s powers.... Ms. Comey’s lawsuit, filed in federal court in Manhattan, names as defendants the Office of the President, the Justice Department, Attorney General Pam Bondi and others, and calls her firing from the U.S. attorney’s office for the Southern District of New York illegal.” (Also linked yesterday.)

Annals of “Journalism,” Ctd. Benjamin Mullin of the New York Times: “Karen Attiah, an opinion columnist for The Washington Post, said she was fired last week after posting on social media about gun violence and 'racial double standards' following the assassination of the right-wing influencer Charlie Kirk. In a post on Substack announcing her firing, Ms. Attiah cited several social media posts made in the wake of Mr. Kirk’s death that expressed antipathy toward political violence and frustration with the lack of effort to curb gun violence. In one post, she criticized inaction from 'white America,' which she said 'is not going to do what it needs to do to get rid of guns in their country.' She wrote that The Post said her social media posts were 'unacceptable,'  'gross misconduct' and endangered 'the physical safety of colleagues,'  charges she rejects.” (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~

     ~~~ Here is Attiah's Substack essay. MB: See, at the Bezos Post, an opinion writer can have opinions, and she can be Black, but she cannot under any circumstance express the true opinions of a Black lady opinion writer. I believe Charlie Kirk himself explained why when he said (as cited by Attiah), "Black women do not have the brain processing power to be taken seriously." 

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 California. Laurel Rosenhall of the New York Times: “Arnold Schwarzenegger told voters on Monday to reject Gov. Gavin Newsom's ballot measure to temporarily gerrymander California’s congressional districts, his first public rebuke since the proposal was placed on the November ballot. Mr. Schwarzenegger, the actor and former Republican governor of California, helped create the state’s independent redistricting system to prevent politicians from drawing district boundaries more than a decade ago, and he still considers the approach a key piece of his legacy.” Here's the AP's story.

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Israel/Palestine, et al. New York Times: “The Israeli military said on Tuesday that it had launched a ground incursion into Gaza City overnight, embarking on a risky operation to take control of a key urban area even as hundreds of thousands of Palestinian residents remain there. This is the lede in the pinned item on a liveblog at 5:00 am ET.“