Two of the most impressive Members of Congress come out of Colorado. One of them is Joe Neguse. RAS found him reframing a question: ~~~
Peter Charalambous & Katherine Faulders of ABC News: "A federal judge in Rhode Island has temporarily ordered the Trump administration to continue funding benefits for SNAP, the federally funded Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program. 'The court is orally at this time, ordering that USDA must distribute the contingency money timely, or as soon as possible, for the November 1 payments to be made,' said U.S. District Judge John J. McConnell Jr. After an hour-long emergency hearing, Judge McConnell ruled that the suspension of SNAP funding is arbitrary and likely to cause irreparable harm, citing the 'terror' felt by Americans who are scrambling to meet their basic nutritional needs.... The ruling came as a federal judge in Boston, in a separate case, ruled that the Trump administration's attempt to suspend SNAP funding is "unlawful," but declined to immediately order that the program be funded. U.S. District Judge Indira Talwani reserved judgment about whether to issue a temporary restraining order, instead asking the Trump administration to advise the court whether they would authorize reduced SNAP benefits for November." A Washington Post report is here.
Nick Cumming-Bruce of the New York Times: “The United Nations human rights chief has condemned the Trump administration’s military strikes on boats that it says are being used to smuggle drugs from South America, saying that they violate international law and should be investigated. Volker Türk, the U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights, said in a statement released on Friday that there was no justification under international law for the strikes, which have killed at least 61 people since the start of September.”
We Just Paid a Bundle for Kash's Date Night. Ellen Houghtaling of the New Republic, republished by Yahoo! News: “FBI Director Kash Patel met his girlfriend at Penn State this past weekend to watch a wrestling match — but his travel to the university stadium appears to have been on the American public’s dime. Patel made the trek to support his girlfriend, country singer Alexis Wilkins, who performed a song as part of 'Real American Freestyle,' a wrestling promotion co-founded earlier this year by the late Hulk Hogan. ... Former FBI agent Kyle Seraphin noted on X that it was a government jet that arrived at and departed from State College Regional Airport, the runway nearest Penn State, on Saturday. The jet owner’s listed address, according to its FAA registration, is the FBI’s national headquarters in Washington. After Penn State, the plane flew to Nashville, where Wilkins lives. The jet’s recent flight log pre–Penn State jaunt also matches Patel’s itinerary, paralleling his travel last week between Washington and Philadelphia, reported The Bulwark. It’s a bit of a hypocritical development for the former podcaster, who used to regularly chastise government officials for needless spending before joining the Trump administration.” ~~~
~~~ Ah, here's Stephen Colbert, commenting on Kash's date night: ~~~
Maxine Joselow of the New York Times: “Until recently, Forrest Smith was the sole employee at the National Park Service responsible for cleaning up dozens of abandoned oil and gas wells at national parks across the country. But last month, the Park Service did not renew Mr. Smith’s four-year contract. Now it is unclear whether anyone will clean up an estimated 93 abandoned wells on federal lands managed by the Park Service. The wells are at high risk of spewing planet-warming gases into the atmosphere and contaminating groundwater, posing significant threats to the environment and public health.... During the Biden administration, Mr. Smith was part of a four-person team that inspected and plugged abandoned wells with cement. The three other engineers left in recent months after accepting other jobs. The agency did not replace them, and it has not filled Mr. Smith’s role either, citing ... [Donald] Trump’s freeze on hiring civilian federal employees.”
Marie: Over the past several days, I have been trying to keep up with the worst racist stuff JayDee has been saying, and I have failed. Luckily, Evan Hurst of Wonkette has curated the collection for us, and lest you think JayDee is some ordinary racist prick, Hurst's summary should disabuse you of that idea as fast and as thoroughly as JayDee can sully the sitting-room settee.
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Leader of Richest Country on Earth Lets Children Starve, Ctd.
President* Useless Has an Idea. Timothy Williams of the New York Times: Donald “Trump, in a late-night social media post, called on Senate Republicans to eliminate the filibuster to force an end to the government shutdown.... The president said it was time for G.O.P. leaders 'to play their “TRUMP CARD,’” and get rid of the longstanding rule requiring most Senate legislation to have 60 votes to pass. Democrats have repeatedly blocked a measure allowing funding for the government this month, as they argue that expiring subsidies tied to the Affordable Care Act must also be reinstated.” The Hill's report is here. ~~~
~~~ President* Useless Has Another Idea. Ashley Fields of the Hill: Donald “Trump late Thursday once again slammed ObamaCare, demanding that Democrats 'do something' ahead of an imminent spike in Affordable Care Act (ACA) premiums amid the federal funding impasse. 'As I have said for years, OBAMACARE IS A DISASTER! Rates are going through the roof for really bad healthcare!!! Do something Democrats!!!' the president wrote in a Truth Social post.” MB: It's amazing how Trump aims to be a dictator in control of everything, claims he alone can fix it all, yet he is responsible for nothing. Everything, everywhere is everybody else's fault. ~~~
~~~ In today's Comments, Akhilleus has some choice insights on the GOP plan to replace Obamacare. ~~~
~~~ AND Heather Cox Richardson writes this about cutting off SNAP payments: "House speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) continues to try to pin the upcoming catastrophic lapse in Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) funding on the Democrats. But with the U.S. Department of Agriculture sitting on $6 billion in funds Congress appropriated for just such an event, the Treasury finding $20 billion to prop up Trump ally Javier Milei in Argentina, Johnson refusing to bring the House into regular session to negotiate an end to the government shutdown, and ... Donald J. Trump demanding $230 million in damages from the American taxpayer, bulldozing the East Wing of the White House to build a gold-plated ballroom that will dwarf the existing White House, and traveling to Asia, where South Korean leadership courted him by giving him a gold crown and serving him brownies topped with edible gold, blaming any funding shortfall on Democrats is a hard sell."
Tony Romm & Maya Shwayder of the New York Times: “The Trump administration on Thursday staunchly defended its decision to stop paying food stamps during the government shutdown, telling a federal court that it could not tap a tranche of available funds to provide aid to millions of poor Americans in November. The arguments at times appeared to frustrate and confound a federal judge, who promised to rule soon on a lawsuit filed by roughly two dozen states.... The legal wrangling concerned the imminent fate of the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP, which provides monthly benefits to roughly 42 million people nationally. By Nov. 1, the program is set to exhaust its remaining funds.... Entering the hearing, top officials in the Trump administration had acknowledged that they had billions of dollars left over across multiple federal accounts, including money in an emergency reserve specifically for SNAP. The amounts appeared to total more than would be needed to cover the full costs of providing food stamps ... through November.... Throughout the Thursday hearing, Judge Indira Talwani of the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts frequently expressed skepticism about the administration’s claims.” (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~
~~~ Marie: Yes but, Judge, feeding the hungry is a "Democrat program." However, here's the lede for the WashPo story: ~~~
~~~ Mariana Alfaro & Todd Wallack of the Washington Post: “A federal judge on Thursday indicated she would probably order the Trump administration to use reserves to partially fund food assistance for about 42 million Americans in November, potentially delaying a complete cutoff in benefits during the government shutdown.” MB: I wish some federal judge would order Trump to appear before her and try to explain whatever cruel or dumb stunt he's pulling in a case before her. (Also linked yesterday.)
"Too Cruel, Too Soon." Paul Krugman: "Why are these terrible things happening?... Because Republicans want them to happen. Drastic cuts in food stamps and health care programs were central planks in Project 2025, which is indeed the Trump administration’s policy platform, and were written into legislation in the One Big Beautiful Bill Act that passed last summer. But the consequences of these cruel intentions weren’t supposed to be this obvious, this early. The harshest provisions of the OBBBA were backloaded, set to kick in after the midterm elections.... Presumably Republicans believed that by the time Americans woke up to what was happening, the G.O.P. would have effectively consolidated one-party rule, making future elections irrelevant. Instead, however, the mask is being ripped off right now, well ahead of schedule." Do read the part where teevee Dr. Oz -- Trump's Medicare & Medicaid administrator --- "explains" to a reporter that health insurance premiums, contrary to the Kaiser Foundation's dire estimate, will rise only $13/year. Krugman thinks Oz is in denial. MB: I think he's an effing liar. With all due respect.
Karoun Demirjian of the New York Times: “Air traffic controller absences delayed or temporarily halted operations at airports on Thursday, as the Trump administration warned of worsening disruptions while workers go without pay. The worst of the staffing interruptions was at Orlando International Airport, where the Federal Aviation Administration warned in an advisory Thursday evening that for a period of time, 'no arrivals will be able to land as there will be no certified traffic controllers available.' By Thursday night, the airport was reporting average delays of about 2 hours and 40 minutes, with some flights delayed for nearly 12 hours, and several canceled..., John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York City entered a ground stop for certain flights because of insufficient air traffic staffing, capping a day of delays and suspended operations because of storms and an aircraft emergency. And controller shortages at Ronald Reagan National Airport, outside Washington, caused delays through the afternoon and evening.”
Adam Taylor, et al., of the Washington Post: “... Donald Trump’s announcement that he has ordered the United States to resume nuclear testing 'immediately' — a move that could overturn a global taboo against the practice that has lasted three decades — has drawn confusion and alarm from some experts, who argue that physical testing is outdated and would add momentum to an arms race it aims to counter. The move, however, relies on an argument popular within the Trump administration that testing is necessary to combat a rising proliferation threat from states like Russia, China and North Korea, all of which have modernized their systems in recent years.... Though Trump said he had directed the 'Department of War' to resume nuclear tests, the Energy Department’s National Nuclear Security Administration — not the Pentagon — would take the lead.” ~~~
~~~ Marie: However, see Tom Nichols' post, linked yesterday. Nichols emphasizes that Trump doesn't have the foggiest idea what he was writing about & got just about everything wrong in the social media post in which he made his hasty announcement. (Who would have reckoned a decade or so ago that the announcement of the end of life on Earth would come in a post on a two-bit social media platform?) While this in itself is extremely scary, it also could mean that somebody will have the guts to explain to Trump that there's testing and there's testing, and everything is going very smoothly, Sir.
Carol Leonnig, in a New York Times op-ed: “Through hundreds of interviews that my longtime Washington Post colleague Aaron Davis and I conducted, we learned first hand how a mixture of fear and stubborn bravery, gutter politics and noble intentions ultimately paved the way for the unraveling of the Justice Department.... This decline started in Mr. Trump’s first term but gained momentum in the Biden presidency.... The desperate desire of Attorney General Merrick Garland and President Joe Biden to avoid any appearance of partisanship led the department to put off looking into evidence of a potential crime and gave Mr. Trump an advantage that few appreciated at the time. Mr. Garland’s delays softened the ground and would eventually help Mr. Trump remake the Justice Department into his own cudgel.
“Mr. Trump has more recently gutted department teams that have long shielded Americans from domestic terrorism, corporate fraud and foreign manipulation of our elections. His administration has all but shuttered the department’s Public Integrity Section.... Mr. Trump has at the same time anointed himself the country’s law enforcer in chief, eliciting shock as he has bulldozed the department’s longstanding independence from the White House.... Mr. Trump has redirected the department’s traditional power ... to hound his critics and political foes.... The cumulative damage done to the once-respected Justice Department is so profound that it may not regain any semblance of its former self in our lifetimes.... Since taking office Jan. 20, Mr. Trump and his appointees have driven out or fired combined centuries’ worth of frontline expertise that will take decades to replace.” The link is a gift link. ~~~
~~~ Ken Dilanian & Carol Leonnig of MSNBC: “FBI Director Kash Patel is forcing out the special agent in charge whose name appeared in documents recently released by Senate Republicans detailing the investigation into Donald Trump’s efforts to overturn the 2020 election.... The agent, Aaron Tapp, had been named to the post in San Antonio last year. He is a 22-year FBI veteran who specialized in fraud and financial and cyber crimes, according to his LinkedIn profile. It was not immediately clear whether he would be allowed to retire from the bureau.... The removal of Tapp is the latest example of an ongoing purge by Patel of FBI agents who worked on cases that have drawn the ire of ... Trump.... 'The notion that there was something scandalous about leadership at the DOJ and FBI approving an investigation into conduct that resulted in viable criminal charges is ridiculous,' wrote conservative legal scholar Andrew McCarthy of the National Review.” ~~~
~~~ Trump-Appointed Judge Praises Trumpy-Disciplined Prosecutors. Josh Gerstein & Kyle Cheney of Politico: “Two federal prosecutors whom the Justice Department abruptly placed on leave Wednesday appeared at a sentencing hearing for Taylor Taranto, a pardoned Jan. 6 rioter who was convicted on separate charges for unrelated threats [MB: to President Obama] and firearm crimes. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Carlos Valdivia and Samuel White were placed on leave hours after describing Jan. 6 in a sentencing memo as an attack by 'thousands of people comprising a mob of rioters.' The pair looked on from the gallery as the chief of the criminal section of the U.S. Attorney’s Office in D.C., Jonathan Hornok, and another prosecutor, Travis Wolf, took their places. Near the outset of the hourlong sentencing hearing for Taranto, U.S. District Judge Carl Nichols offered an unusual tribute to the recently suspended prosecutors, who were joined by several colleagues offering support. Nichols, a Trump appointee..., praised the lawyers who were shunted aside, saying they had 'upheld the highest standards of professionalism.... In my view, both Mr. Valdivia and Mr. White did a truly excellent job in this case.'...” See also yesterday's page for links to related stories. ~~~
~~~ For more details on the Taranto case, see this Substack post by Joyce Vance. She adds, "It’s hard to overstate how serious [ostracizing Valdivia & White] is.... We are seeing prosecutors being disciplined for telling the courts the truth — in an era where this administration has increasingly withheld it from the courts. The assassination attempts against Donald Trump were taken seriously and swiftly investigated and prosecuted by the Biden administration.... Whether it was the mention of President Obama or of Donald Trump’s role in making his address public that triggered this situation, it’s utterly appalling.... If the direction to do this came from the White House, officials like [AG Pam] Bondi and [D.C. U.S. Attorney Jeanine] Pirro should have resigned rather than letting it happen." ~~~
~~~ Steve Benen of MSNBC: “The broader DOJ purge [of staff] has been underway for roughly nine months, with Attorney General Pam Bondi and other Trump appointees punishing prosecutors for resisting politically motivated cases, for criticizing the president eight years ago while in private practice and, in one recent instance, even for urging government officials to comply with a court order. For that matter, the full list of prosecutors caught up in the purge of federal law enforcement because they worked on cases the president didn’t like has been difficult to keep up with.... Some prosecutors are being punished for writing a sentencing memo using accurate words and phrases that are at odds with Trump-approved language. The politicization of federal law enforcement is ongoing, it’s getting worse and there’s no reason to be optimistic about this improving anytime soon.” ~~~
~~~ Then Again, The FBI Is Investigating the Black People! Aaron Morrison & Eric Tucker of the AP: “The Justice Department is investigating whether leaders in the Black Lives Matter movement defrauded donors who contributed tens of millions of dollars during racial justice protests in 2020, according to multiple people familiar with the matter. In recent weeks, federal law enforcement officials have issued subpoenas and served at least one search warrant as part of an investigation into the Black Lives Matter Global Network Foundation, Inc. and other Black-led organizations that helped spark a national reckoning on systemic racism, said the people, who were not authorized to discuss an ongoing criminal probe by name and spoke on condition of anonymity to The Associated Press.”
John Ismay & Hamed Aleaziz of the New York Times: “Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth moved into a home at Fort McNair traditionally reserved for the Army’s vice chief of staff.... Soon after he was sworn in as secretary of state, Marco Rubio moved in a couple doors down from ... [Hegseth]. Mr. Rubio lives there mostly alone.... Kristi Noem, the homeland security secretary, lives in 'a government representation facility' owned by the Coast Guard and is 'paying fair market rent,' according to Tricia McLaughlin, a Department of Homeland Security spokeswoman. Daniel P. Driscoll, the Army secretary, has also moved into military housing, as has the Navy secretary, John Phelan, whose home in Washington was damaged in a fire in May....”
The Arrogance of Fascism. Julian Barnes, et al., of the New York Times: “Democratic lawmakers criticized the Trump administration on Thursday for failing to share details of its targeting plans against purported drug traffickers or the legal arguments for destroying what it claims are smuggling boats. Senator Mark Warner of Virginia, the senior Democrat on the Senate Intelligence Committee, said the administration’s decision to exclude his party from a secret briefing on Wednesday about the campaign was 'corrosive to our democracy.'... The U.S. military strikes have killed at least 61 people since early September. Visibly agitated, Mr. Warner said that the Republicans-only meeting was a violation of a law requiring bipartisan briefings of congressional leaders on national security matters.... On other side of the Capitol, military legal experts had been scheduled to testify in a closed-door bipartisan briefing for the House. But the Trump administration decided not to send them.” ~~~
~~~ Melanie Zanona, et al., of NBC News: “Lawmakers from both parties criticized the Trump administration after Democrats were not invited to a briefing Wednesday on U.S. military strikes on alleged drug-carrying boats.... Sen. Mike Rounds, R-S.D., said that it was 'an unfortunate situation' that Democrats were not briefed but that he believed they would be included in future briefings.... Sen. Kevin Cramer, R-N.D., also said Democrats should have been briefed.... Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., a close ally of Trump’s, said that it 'wouldn’t be appropriate' for Democrats not to be briefed and that 'the goal is to brief everybody, not just Republicans.'... Meanwhile, the House Armed Services Committee held a bipartisan classified briefing on the strikes Thursday. But Democratic committee member Jason Crow, of Colorado, told NBC News that Pentagon lawyers were pulled away from the briefing at the last minute, so members did not get any legal justifications for the strikes, leaving him 'unsatisfied.'”
Rebecca Santana of the AP: “The Trump administration is restricting the number of refugees admitted annually to the United States to 7,500 and they will mostly be white South Africans, a dramatic drop announced Thursday that effectively suspends America’s traditional role as a haven for those fleeing war and persecution.... No reason was given for the new numbers, which were published in a notice on the Federal Register and are a steep decrease from last year’s ceiling of 125,000 set under Democratic President Joe Biden.... 'This decision doesn’t just lower the refugee admissions ceiling. It lowers our moral standing,' said Krish O’Mara Vignarajah ... of Global Refuge, one of the nationwide resettlement agencies.... Trump suspended the refugee program on his first day in office.... The International Refugee Assistance Project, which sued over the program’s suspension, said in a statement that refugees waiting to be admitted to the U.S. have already gone through rigorous security checks and are stuck in dangerous conditions.” MB: Missing from the report: terms like “racist,” “white nationalism,” “white supremacism,” etc.
Botox Barbie Is Not Impressed. Natasha Korecki of NBC News: “Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem on Thursday flatly rejected a request by Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker to suspend immigration enforcements in the Chicago area until after Halloween. Pritzker cited children’s safety and an incident from Saturday in which Customs and Border Protection agents deployed tear gas in a neighborhood where kids were preparing for a Halloween parade.... [At a hearing Tuesday, U.S. District Judge Sara Ellis told Border Patrol Commander Gregory Bovino,] 'The last thing that I will say is Halloween is on Friday. I do not, do not want to get violation reports from [attorneys] that show that agents are out and about on Halloween where kids are present and tear gas is being deployed or pepper balls are being deployed.... I expect everybody to act reasonably. You know that it is a day when people are going to be out minding their own business.”
Watch It, Cenk. Mrs. Miller Has Connections. David Edwards of the Raw Story: "MAGA influencer Katie Miller, the wife of White House Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller, suggested that ... Donald Trump's government could deport progressive pundit Cenk Uygur after she became frustrated with him during a television debate."
Danielle Doublas-Gabriel of the Washington Post: “Employees of nonprofit organizations that work with undocumented immigrants, provide gender transition care for minors or engage in public protests will have a hard time getting their federal student loans forgiven under regulations advanced Thursday by the Education Department. The 185-page rule revises eligibility requirements for Public Service Loan Forgiveness, which cancels the education debt of government and nonprofit employees after 10 years of service and 120 monthly loan payments. It will allow the education secretary to disqualify employers — not individuals — who engage in activities the department deems to have a 'substantial illegal purpose' on or after July 1 — when the rule takes effect.
“Nonprofit employees are for now eligible for student loan forgiveness if they focus on areas that serve the public good, such as education, public health or public interest law. If the rule survives expected legal challenges, it could upend a popular federal program that has provided debt relief to more than 1 million student loan borrowers.... Any payments a borrower makes on student loans after that person’s employer is kicked out of the program will not count toward forgiveness.”
Daniel Desrochers of Politico: “For the third time in three days, the Senate [voted down] ... Donald Trump’s tariffs.... This time, the vote was to end the national emergency Trump used to declare global 'reciprocal' tariffs.... The vote passed 51-47, with the same group of four Republican senators crossing party lines as on previous votes this week disapproving of Trump’s tariffs on Canada and Brazil: Rand Paul of Kentucky, Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, Susan Collins of Maine and Mitch McConnell of Kentucky. A similar vote in April failed due to the absence of McConnell and Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.). The series of symbolic rebukes this week in the Senate stood in stark contrast to Trump’s nearly weeklong trip to Asia, where he touted his use of tariffs as a means to secure new trade agreements and unprecedented foreign investment commitments. The resolution the Senate approved on Thursday takes aim at the tariffs that have served as a foundation for those agreements.”
Oh Gosh. David Gilmour of Mediaite: “The Senate’s confirmation hearing for ... Donald Trump’s surgeon general nominee, Casey Means, was abruptly postponed Thursday morning, the day it was set to begin, after she went into labor. A committee spokesperson confirmed that Means, who was reportedly set to appear virtually before the Senate Health Committee, would not be able to attend, and the hearing would be rescheduled. The hearing had been expected to spark a fierce debate over Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s 'Make America Healthy Again' movement, which has divided both medical experts and political camps.” For more on Means, see Akhilleus' commentary yesterday. (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~
~~~ Update. Here's the New York Times story. The Times story goes into Means' "qualifications" for the job. (Also linked yesterday.)
Trump Depresses Kennedy Center Ticket Sales. A Lot. Travis Andrews, et al., of the Washington Post: “After ... Donald Trump took over the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in February, he and the executive he put in charge [-- Richard Grinell --] repeatedly accused the institution’s former leadership of not doing the very thing they are responsible for: selling tickets.... According to Grenell, the center hadn’t been making money. It was too woke and niche. The new team was, in Trump’s words, going to make it 'hot' again. Nearly nine months after Trump became chair of the center and more than a month into its main season, ticket sales for the Kennedy Center’s three largest performance venues are the worst they’ve been in years.... At most, 57 percent of tickets were sold for the typical production — and some tickets may have been 'comps'... which are given away.... That compares with 93 percent sold or comped in fall 2024 and 80 percent in fall 2023.. That compares with 93 percent sold or comped in fall 2024 and 80 percent in fall 2023.... In a recent Truth Social post, Trump praised the building’s newly painted columns and referred to the center as the 'TRUMP KENNEDY, whoops, I mean KENNEDY CENTER.'”
Matthew Goldstein, et al., of the New York Times: “Weeks after Jeffrey Epstein died in federal custody in 2019..., JPMorgan Chase filed a report alerting the U.S. government to tens of millions of dollars of potentially suspicious transactions involving him and prominent Wall Street and business figures. The so-called suspicious activity report that JPMorgan filed identified transactions with Leon Black, the co-founder of private equity firm Apollo Global Management; Glenn Dubin, a well-known hedge fund manager; the lawyer Alan Dershowitz; and trusts controlled by Leslie Wexner, the retail tycoon.... JPMorgan said in its report that it was flagging about 4,700 transactions, totaling more than $1 billion, because they were potentially related to reports of human trafficking involving Mr. Epstein. It also mentioned Mr. Epstein’s wire transfers to Russian banks and sensitivities around 'his relationships with two U.S. presidents.'... The report was included in hundreds of pages of previously sealed court records that JPMorgan released on Thursday at the instruction of a federal judge, Jed S. Rakoff.” More Epstein-related news linked under “U.K.” below.
Annals of “Journalism,” Ctd. Under New Management. Justin Baragona of the Independent: “After weeks of nerve-racking anticipation, Paramount finally followed through with its 'tough day' of layoffs, which included letting roughly 100 CBS News employees go on Wednesday. All told, the sweeping cuts resulted in the loss of two streaming shows, the gutting of the network’s Saturday morning news program, and the disbanding of its race and culture unit. On top of that, eight on-air correspondents and hosts were given their pink slips – and all of them are women, with half of them people of color. According to three sources with knowledge of the situation, a male correspondent was initially included on the layoff list but was removed after he appealed directly to the new editor-in-chief, Bari Weiss, leading to another female correspondent being added to the list at the last minute. Meanwhile, a CBS News producer who was fired as part of the network-wide cuts took to social media Wednesday to suggest that executives were engaging in 'race-based layoffs,' claiming that every producer from his team who was laid off is a person of color while his white colleagues were relocated to other jobs.”
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Maryland. The Things People Do. Perry Stein of the Washington Post: “Federal officials have charged Maryland state Sen. Dalya Attar with extortion in a plot that prosecutors say involved surreptitious recordings of a political foe in bed with a romantic partner. Attar, a Democrat from Baltimore and the first Orthodox Jewish woman to serve in the state Senate, is charged with eight counts related to extortion and wiretapping that took place between 2020 and 2022, according to an indictment unsealed on Thursday in U.S. District Court in Maryland. The target of the extortion, prosecutors said, was a political consultant who worked on Attar’s 2018 House of Delegates bid and abandoned the campaign shortly before the election after the two had a falling out. The consultant is not named in court documents but was described as a dual U.S.-Israeli citizen who has worked on Democratic and Republican political campaigns. Attar was charged alongside her brother, Joseph Attar, and Kalman Finkelstein, a politically connected police officer....
“Prosecutors allege that the three named defendants then planned over WhatsApp how to track the political consultant ... and plant hidden cameras in smoke detectors at the Baltimore apartment where she was staying. The group then saved recordings of her and the romantic partner engaged in intimate moments..., eventually threatening to share them — if the political consultant spoke poorly of Attar — with 'every Rabbi in town' and matchmakers in Israel poised to help her daughters get married. The explosive allegations could derail a competitive race for Attar’s District 41 Senate seat in Baltimore, which is up for grabs in next year’s election.” MB: I'd advise Attar to give up her political career to spend more time with that nice family of hers.
~~~ Marie: It would be so refreshing if this sort of old-fashioned scandal is what was coming out of the Trump administration. Instead, we're getting graft & corruption on an unprecedented scale, rampant lawbreaking, gross incompetence, destruction of norms (and property!), waste-fraud-and-abuse, murder on the high seas, cruelty raining down on the innocent & helpless, violence against protesters & people who "look Hispanic," never-ending vindictiveness, stunning partisanship, incessant lying, etc., etc.
Ohio. Billy Witz of the New York Times: “Ohio is primed to become the latest Republican-led state to redraw its congressional map to boost the party’s chances of keeping control of the House of Representative in next year’s midterm elections. Republicans, who currently hold 10 of Ohio’s 15 seats in Congress, appeared to have struck an 11th-hour deal with Democrats that would give the Republican Party much — but not all — of what it wanted: an electoral map that tilts red in 12 of the state’s 15 districts. The map is expected to be approved Friday morning by the Ohio Redistricting Commission, the last day it can approve a map before state law requires the issue to be kicked back to the Legislature.”
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Israel/Palestine, et al. John Hudson of the Washington Post: “A classified report by a U.S. government watchdog has found that Israeli military units committed 'many hundreds' of potential violations of U.S. human rights law in the Gaza Strip that would take the State Department 'multiple years' to review, according to two U.S. officials.... The findings by the State Department’s Office of Inspector General mark the first time a U.S. government report has acknowledged the scale of Israeli actions in Gaza that fall under the purview of Leahy Laws, the landmark legislation that bars U.S. security assistance to foreign military units credibly accused of gross human rights abuses. U.S. officials ... said the watchdog findings raised doubts about the prospects for accountability for Israel’s actions given the large backlog of incidents and the nature of the review process, which is deferential to the Israel Defense Forces.”
U.K. Mark Landler of the New York Times: “Andrew, the scandal-scarred younger brother of King Charles III, will be stripped of his title as prince, an extraordinary punishment — unheard-of in the annals of the modern British royal family — that caps his fall from grace over his ties to the convicted sexual predator Jeffrey Epstein. In a statement on Thursday, Buckingham Palace said it had begun a formal process to remove the 'style, titles and honors of Prince Andrew.' The prince, it said, 'will now be known as Andrew Mountbatten Windsor,' the family name of members of the House of Windsor. The palace also said that Andrew, 65, would be evicted from his sprawling residence, Royal Lodge, and move to a private house. The announcement, in a terse three-paragraph statement, came after Britain’s royal family was plunged into a widening crisis over new disclosures about the extent of Andrew’s links to Mr. Epstein and more damning details about his alleged sexual abuse of a young woman trafficked to him by Mr. Epstein.” Politico's report is here. ~~~
~~~ Marie: Well, Uncle David did lose his king job for marrying a divorced commoner (and also maybe because David & Wallis were a couple of Nazis). Besides, Charles' effort here to shore up the monarchy might be a little more convincing had he not done so much to undermine it while he cheated on and mistreated his own wife for years.
