October 12, 2025

AP: “A mass shooting at a crowded bar on an idyllic South Carolina island has left four people dead and at least 20 injured, officials say. The shooting occurred early Sunday at Willie’s Bar and Grill on St. Helena Island, officials said. A large crowd was at the scene when sheriff’s deputies arrived and found several people suffering from gunshot wounds.”

Career Advancement. Yan Zhuang of the New York Times: Donald “Trump announced early Sunday that he was appointing Dan Scavino, a deputy chief of staff and one of Mr. Trump’s most trusted advisers, as the head of the presidential personnel office. Mr. Scavino will replace Sergio Gor, whom Mr. Trump in August said he would nominate to be the U.S. ambassador to India. The personnel office role has traditionally been largely administrative but can come with significant power. This could be particularly true under a president who has been focused on whether prospective staff members meet his perception of loyalty. The office helps the president hire and fire thousands of political appointees.... [Mr. Trump] added that Mr. Scavino would retain his role as deputy chief of staff.... Mr. Scavino was Mr. Trump’s golf caddy and one of the original aides in his 2016 presidential campaign. He helped craft the first Trump campaign’s social media presence, and he is among a small group of aides who have earned Mr. Trump’s confidence.”

Trump Effect Disaster. Who Could Have Seen This Coming? Ryan Woo, et al., of Reuters (Oct. 10): "China will slap port fees on U.S.-owned, operated, built, or flagged vessels on Tuesday as a countermeasure to U.S. port fees on China-linked ships starting the same day, China's transport ministry said on Friday.... There are relatively few U.S.-built or U.S.-flagged vessels conducting international trade, but China will ensnare more ships by applying levies to companies with 25% or more of their shares or board seats held by U.S.-domiciled investment funds, analysts said.... The fees announced by China, like those put in place by the U.S., 'add further complexity and cost to the global network that keeps goods moving and economies connected, and risk harming their exporters, producers, and consumers at a time when global trade is already under pressure,' said Joe Kramek ... of the World Shipping Association." Thanks to RAS for the link.

~~~ Ariana Cha of the Washington Post reports on some actual sciency opinions countering RFKJ's claim that Tylenol given to baby boys after they're circumcised may cause autism. 

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Marie: Late start today. I was posting till a little after 10:00 am ET. 

Here's an update on Trump's physical (an earlier report was linked yesterday): ~~~

~~~ Josephine Walker of Axios: Donald "Trump's second 'routine yearly checkup' on Friday determined that he is in 'exceptional health.'... 'President Trump continues to demonstrate excellent overall health,' White House physician Capt. Sean Barbabella said in a memo released Friday.... The results revealed little new info about the 79-year-old's health that wasn't shared after his April exam....  Barbabella said in the new memo: 'Comprehensive laboratory studies performed in conjunction with the visit were exceptional, including stable metabolic, hematologic, and cardiac parameters.' He added, Trump received  'preventative health screenings and immunizations, including annual influenza and COVID-19 booster vaccinations' to prepare for planned international travel." (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~

     ~~~ Dan Diamond & Victoria Craw of the Washington Post: “... some outside physicians asked why the president was making his second known visit to Walter Reed in six months and questioned the tone of the report. Jonathan Reiner, a longtime cardiologist for former vice president Dick Cheney, said the White House should be more forthcoming about the results of the latest visit as some of the tests did not appear to be routine — and as he and other medical experts argue that the job of determining a president’s fitness is too important to entrust to a handpicked physician.... Reiner and other physicians characterized the White House’s assessment of Trump’s “cardiac age” [-- which Trump's doctor Sean Barbabella said was 14 years younger than Trump's real age --] as an unusual addition to the medical report.... The White House Medical Unit on the White House grounds is staffed with clinicians who provide round-the-clock care to the president. The White House can also bring medical experts on campus as needed.” ~~~

     ~~~ See also Patrick's comment near the end of yesterday's thread. It depends upon what the meaning of "exceptional" is. MB: I agree with Patrick. "Exceptional" is similar to "remarkable"; these adjectives usually connote a positive view, but they also can mean "especially bad."  

Nepo Baby Boon. Telegraph, republished in Yahoo! News: “Barron Trump is being eyed for a top role at the streaming app TikTok. The US president’s son could be appointed to the board of the $14bn (£10.5bn) company, it was suggested, after his father sealed a deal to spin-off TikTok’s US business from its Chinese parent. Barron’s potential role was pitched by Jake Advent, Donald Trump’s former social media manager. Mr Advent is the genius mind behind a meme-filled presidential campaign that Mr Trump credits for helping to propel him to the White House a second time, nicknamed 'TikTok Jack' by the president. Speaking to the Daily Mail, Mr Advent said: 'I’m hopeful President Trump will consider appointing his son Barron and maybe other young Americans to TikTok’s board to help ensure it remains an app young people want to keep using.' Mr Trump has credited Barron for his win, saying his 19-year-old son, currently a student at New York University, helped him to win the youth vote. He also heralded the power of TikTok, which has more than 170 million users, in his campaign.”

Tony Romm, et al., of the New York Times: Donald “Trump said on Saturday that he had 'identified funds' that would allow the government to pay members of the military during the federal shutdown, even though Congress has not approved additional money for the troops. Pentagon officials said that they planned to tap about $8 billion in unspent research, testing and evaluation money from the prior fiscal year, which they would use 'to issue mid-month paychecks to service members in the event the funding lapse continues' beyond Oct. 15, the next date that they are set to be paid. Mr. Trump’s budgetary maneuvering appeared unorthodox.... It was not clear how long the Trump administration could rely on such accounting moves to pay troops in the event that Congress cannot strike a spending deal.... Mr. Trump has repeatedly pushed the limits of his power in the current shutdown. The president and his aides have lessened the pain of the closure for some, and maximized it for others, including Democrats....” (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~

     ~~~ Politico's report, by Ben Johansen & Jennifer Scholtes, is here. It adds some background that explains why Trump acted -- when GOP Congressional leadership would not.

~~~ The President* of Some Americans. Naftali Bendavid of the Washington Post: “... Donald Trump’s move to cancel projects in Democratic states during the government shutdown has prompted a furor and cries of partisanship. But it is only the latest example of his administration’s efforts to use power in ways that damage blue states and help red ones. In May, for example, the administration shifted millions of dollars from Army Corps of Engineers projects in Democratic-led states, notably California and Washington, to Republican-run ones. Last month, Trump announced he was moving U.S. Space Command headquarters from Colorado, which voted for Kamala Harris, to Alabama, which voted for him.... The president has ramped up his plans to send National Guard troops into Democratic states such as Illinois and Oregon over their governors’ objections, citing perceived crime and immigration issues.... Trump himself has often declared his intent to hurt Democratic areas and policies.... The pattern has become starker as the parties clash over the shutdown....” Read on for more examples of Trump's partisan behavior. The link is a gift link.

Everything Is Going Very Smoothly. Apoorva Mandavilli & Sheryl Stolberg of the New York Times: “The Trump administration on Saturday raced to rescind layoffs of hundreds of scientists at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention who were mistakenly fired on Friday night in what appeared to be a substantial procedural lapse. Among those wrongly dismissed were the top two leaders of the federal measles response team, those working to contain Ebola in the Democratic Republic of Congo, members of the Epidemic Intelligence Service, and the team that assembles the C.D.C.’s vaunted scientific journal, The Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report. After The New York Times reported the dismissals, two federal health officials said on Saturday that many of those workers were being brought back.... The [C.D.C.'s] entire Washington office, which was laid off on Friday, will not be rehired. Nor will employees of the office of the director of the center for injury prevention, or those at the division of violence prevention policy.” (Also linked yesterday.) Related story also linked earlier yesterday. ~~~

     ~~~ Trump Effect Disaster. Friday Night Massacre. Elizabeth Cooney, et al., of STAT News: Even after the rescissions of some CDC cuts, “... the White House is expected to cut between 1,100 and 1,200 employees at the Department of Health and Human Services, though it’s not yet clear how many will come from the CDC.... One high-ranking CDC official who just lost their job disputed characterizations of the cuts as the natural consequence of a shutdown, instead calling it the weaponization of one. 'The executive branch is using the shutdown as cover for an intentional and targeted dismantling of leadership across the agency. It’s designed to sow chaos, demoralize career staff, and cripple the federal scientific infrastructure that protects Americans’ health,' the official told STAT. 'Calling this a budget issue is a lie. It’s an abuse of power — unethical, unlawful, and profoundly dangerous.' The official said it appears that major cuts were made to the leadership of multiple centers, removing the office of director from many of them. 'It’s a massacre,' the official told STAT Saturday....” ~~~

     ~~~ Trump Effect Disaster. Cruelty Is the Point. Arthur Jones of NPR: "The nation's special education services have been significantly impacted after Friday's mass layoffs within the Department of Education and it could have an immediate impact on children with disabilities, education department sources told ABC News.... The agency enforces the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), the law creating a free and appropriate education for children with disabilities, and funds special education services to the tune of around $15 billion. [An] education department leader called the layoffs to this division 'ridiculous,' contending that families of special needs students will be harmed. 'There is a risk that the money to educate their children will not be given to the state, and that their access to support and advocacy for their children with special needs will no longer continue because there is no staff available to administer IDEA,' the department leader noted."

⭐Trump Effect Disaster. This Is INSANE. Antonio Delgado of the Miami Herald: “On the morning of Oct. 3, 2025, Subramanyam 'Subu' Vedam walked out of Huntingdon State Correctional Institution, the Pennsylvania prison that had confined him for more than four decades. The 64-year-old had spent nearly his entire adult life behind bars for a murder he did not commit. His conviction had been vacated weeks earlier after a court found that prosecutors had concealed evidence that would have dismantled the state’s case. The Centre County district attorney formally withdrew all charges a day before his expected release. But Vedam never made it home. As he stood on the threshold of freedom, officers from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement were waiting. Acting on a decades-old deportation order, they detained him and transferred him to the Moshannon Valley Processing Center, an ICE detention facility in central Pennsylvania....

“Over the decades, Vedam built a life of quiet purpose inside prison walls. By all accounts, he was a model inmate. He designed and led literacy programs, raised funds for Big Brothers Big Sisters, and tutored hundreds of fellow prisoners working toward high school diplomas. He became the first person in the 150-year history of the facility to earn a master’s degree, completing his coursework by correspondence with a 4.0 GPA.” MB: There is something fundamentally screwed-up in the mind of whoever decided Vedam should be incarcerated on the old deportation order. Obviously, Donald Trump should pardon Vedam immediately. Probably he will not. Because he too is a sick monster. The link is a gift link.

Half a Loaf. Ernesto  Londoño & Mattathias Schwartz of the New York Times: “A federal appeals court on Saturday ruled that National Guard troops could remain in Illinois under federal control. But the appeals court left in place, for now, a ruling by a district court judge on Thursday that bars those troops from being deployed into the streets over the objections of Gov. JB Pritzker of Illinois and other top Democrats in the state. The unsigned one-page order by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit did not address the question of whether ... [Donald] Trump exceeded his legal authority in attempting to send troops into the Chicago area to protect federal property and federal agents carrying out his deportation efforts. The order also did not include a rationale for the decision, which is temporary. Appeals courts often issue short, temporary rulings on time-sensitive matters....

“The ruling on Saturday allows 200 Texas National Guard troops to remain in the Chicago area without potentially being in violation a judicial order, so long as they are not deployed. Another 300 members of the Illinois National Guard have also been activated, according to a statement by Northern Command, which said the troops 'are conducting planning and training' but not 'operational activities.'” A CBS News story is here.

So Subversive! Wicked antifa radicals disguise themselves as frogs or even go buck naked! Our President* may be slack-jawed & dimwitted, but these disguises will not fool him! ~~~

I was in Portland on Tuesday, met the governor, met with the mayor, met with the chief of police. They are all lying. Dishonest people. -- DHS Secretary Kristi Noem, Cabinet meeting, Thursday  

Thoughts and prayers to Cosplay Cop Kristi who had to endure the dogs, farmer’s markets, capybaras, and marathon runners of Portland this week -- Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.), on X, Friday 

I never thought that renowned puppy-killer Kristi Noem would be so afraid of protesters wearing frog costumes and chicken costumes, but here we are. -- Portland City Councilwoman Angelita Morillo, on CNN, Thursday ~~~

~~~ Animal Army. Anna Griffin & Aaron West of the New York Times: “Exceedingly aware that the black garb worn by demonstrators in 2020 informed ... [Donald] Trump’s apocalyptic view of Portland, Ore., protesters this year have gone to the frogs — and unicorns, raccoons, sharks, bears, dinosaurs and the hot animal of this particular pop culture moment, a capybara. 'It was just to contrast the narrative that we are violent extremists,' said Seth Todd, 24, whose appearance at Portland’s Immigration and Customs Enforcement facility early in the summer as a bulbous green frog started the trend.... Outside the ICE building, demonstrators against the Trump administration’s immigration policies have blown bubbles at ICE agents, formed a flash mob to dance the 'Cha-Cha Slide,' held formal afternoon tea services and gone “ICE fishing” — tying doughnuts to poles and pretending to lure federal officers with the pastries. Cyclists are planning a special edition of Portland’s famed 'naked bike ride' past the ICE facility on Sunday.” A Common Dreams story is here.

Emily Badger & Alicia Parlapiano of the New York Times: “Elon Musk once pledged that his Department of Government Efficiency would find $1 trillion in savings in the federal budget by Sept. 30, the date the government closes its books on the fiscal year. That date has now come and gone, Mr. Musk has long since left Washington, and DOGE never came close to cutting as much money as he promised. But because its work has been obscured by crude accounting and White House maneuvers, it’s impossible to know how much DOGE and its allies actually did cut from the budget — or even what happened to that money. Outside budget experts can’t nail down a number. Even congressional appropriators — the people who decide how federal funds should be spent in the first place — don’t know. And the public may never have a clear answer.... 'The fact that Congress, who constitutionally has the power of the purse, can’t figure out what’s been going on is a deep, deep, deep constitutional issue,' said Zach Moller ... of the think tank Third Way.” Thanks to Ken W. for the link. (Also linked yesterday.)

Trump Effect Disaster. Lydia DePillis of the New York Times: “Joblessness for Black workers is rising again, two years after reaching a record low. It’s a troubling indicator: Joblessness often spikes higher for historically marginalized groups during economic downturns, and takes longer to fall. This time, the Trump administration’s assault on diversity programs and cuts to the federal work force could make it even more difficult for Black workers to recover when conditions improve. The African American unemployment rate has surged over the past four months, from 6 to 7.5 percent, while the rate for white people ticked down slightly to 3.7 percent. On top of a slowing economy, the White House’s actions have disproportionately harmed Black workers, economists said.”

⭐Trump Effect Disaster. Former Surgeons General Jerome Adams, Richard Carmona, Joycelyn Elders, Vivek Murthy, Antonia Novello and David Satcher in a Washington Post op-ed (Oct. 7): “As former U.S. surgeons general appointed by every Republican and Democratic president since George H.W. Bush..., we took two sacred oaths in our lifetimes: first, as physicians who swore to care for our patients and, second, as public servants who committed to protecting the health of all Americans. Today, in keeping with those oaths, we are compelled to speak with one voice to say that the actions of Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. are endangering the health of the nation. Never before have we issued a joint public warning like this.... Over recent months, we have watched with increasing alarm as the foundations of our nation’s public health system have been undermined. Science and expertise have taken a back seat to ideology and misinformation. Morale has plummeted in our health agencies, and talent is fleeing at a time when we face rising threats — from resurgent infectious diseases to worsening chronic illnesses.... Kennedy has become a driving force behind this crisis.” The doctors go on to outline some of Kennedy's bad acts. ~~~

~~~ Trump Effect Disaster, Ctd. Erika Edwards of NBC News: "A bubbling measles outbreak in the upstate of South Carolina has forced 153 unvaccinated children out of the classroom and into quarantine for a minimum of 21 days. In Minnesota, where a small outbreak has been growing for the last month, 118 students are also under quarantine in the Minneapolis-St. Paul area after being exposed to the highly contagious virus, health officials said Friday." (Also linked yesterday.)

Trump Effect Disaster. Classical music critic Michael Brodeur in a Washington Post op-ed: “Back in July, the Trump administration clawed back some $1.1 billion in funding for public broadcasting, effectively shuttering the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, which for nearly 60 years appropriated federal funds to organizations such as PBS, NPR and other member stations. This move was paired with a complete congressional wipeout of federal funds for public media going forward.... On Oct. 1, these funding cuts officially landed, forcing dozens of stations to cut hundreds of jobs, and putting vulnerable outlets at high risk.... Some 96 percent of the classical music on U.S. radio is broadcast over public airwaves.... The potential closure of public radio stations threatens the availability of free, over-the-air classical music for millions of people. 

“Moreover, many stations ... are closely interconnected with their respective region’s classical music scenes, maintaining long-term partnerships and symbiotic relationships that increase the visibility and viability of local arts economies.... A third impact of the cuts throws the future of music rights into question. One role of the Corporation for Public Broadcasting was to negotiate music licenses....” ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: My guess is that Trump & Republicans see cutting access to classical music -- indeed, to music of any kind -- as a plus. They think only radical liberal socialist commies listen to classical music or to other kinds of music the public broadcasting stations play -- folk music and jazz, for instance. Besides, people tend to be happier when they're listening to music; Republicans want Americans to be agitated & miserable, which are prerequisites to blowing up norms.

Kelly O'Donnell & Nick Duffy of NBC News: "Former President Joe Biden is undergoing a new phase of treatment for an aggressive form of cancer that was diagnosed in May, a spokesperson said Saturday. 'As part of a treatment plan for prostate cancer, President Biden is currently undergoing radiation therapy and hormone treatment,' according to the spokesperson for the former president. The radiation treatment is expected to span five weeks and marks a new point in his care, a source familiar told NBC News. He has already been taking a pill form of hormone medication." (Also linked yesterday.) The New York Times story is here.

Anita Gates  of the New York Times: “Diane Keaton, the vibrant, sometimes unconventional, always charmingly self-deprecating actress who won an Oscar for Woody Allen’s comedy 'Annie Hall' and appeared in some 100 movie and television roles, an almost equal balance of them in comedies like 'Sleeper' and 'The First Wives Club' and dramas like 'The Godfather' and 'Marvin’s Room,' has died. She was 79.” (Also linked yesterday.)

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California Gubernatorial Race. Laurel Rosenhall & Benjamin Oreskes of the New York Times: “The morning after an unflattering video showed Katie Porter belittling a television reporter, she raced to shore up her campaign to become California’s next governor. Ms. Porter, the leading Democrat in next year’s contest, called her top campaign aides to apologize. She exchanged text messages with union leaders who had endorsed her. By the end of the day, however, a second video surfaced, showing Ms. Porter cursing at a staff member in 2021. And California political strategists seized on the moment to try to scramble the race to lead the nation’s most populous state. The two viral clips have given momentum to powerful insiders who have been trying to draft Senator Alex Padilla to run for governor because they have been dissatisfied with the field. Two billionaires may sense a juicy opportunity to jump into the race. And other candidates wasted no time in attacking Ms. Porter.”

New York Mayoral Race. New Yorker editor David Remnick interviews Zohran Mamdani, the leading candidate for New York City mayor. Thanks to akaWendy for the link. She found the conversation compelling: ~~~

     ~~~ OR, if you prefer, there's YouTube video of the interview here.

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