October 2, 2025

Marie: Hard to say how this happened, but Lutnick definitely did not get the memo. ~~~

~~~ Josh Christenson of the New York Post: “Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, in a notable break with the Department of Justice, claimed late pedophile Jeffrey Epstein was 'the greatest blackmailer ever' — and may have traded the feds video of his rich and well-connected associates getting massages from young women in exchange for a controversial 2008 plea deal. Lutnick made the shocking allegations to The Post’s Miranda Devine on the latest episode of 'Pod Force One,' out now. The 64-year-old cabinet secretary said Epstein himself showed off his notorious 'massage room' while giving Lutnick and his wife a tour of the infamous East 71st Street townhouse after the couple moved in next door to the since-disgraced financier in 2005. 'I say to him, “Massage table in the middle of your house? How often do you have a massage?”' Lutnick recalled. 'And he says, “Every day.”’ And then he gets, like weirdly close to me, and he says, “And the right kind of massage.”'...

“When asked by Devine whether Epstein’s rich and powerful associates ... 'could hang around him and not see what you saw, or did they see it and ignore it,' Lutnick responded, 'They participated.... They get a massage, that’s what his MO was.  “Get a massage, get a massage,” and what happened in that massage room, I assume, was on video,' the commerce secretary went on. 'This guy was the greatest blackmailer ever, blackmailed people. That’s how he had money.'” ~~~

     ~~~ Video of the full podcast is here. The interview runs more than an hour, but the Epstein part is right at the beginning.

Generalissimo Trumpo Goes to War against Chicagoans. Julie Bosman, et al., of the New York Times: “...  early on Tuesday, federal agents, using drones, helicopters, trucks and dozens of vehicles, conducted a middle-of-the-night raid on a rundown apartment building on the South Side of Chicago, leaving the building mostly empty of residents by morning and neighbors stunned. 'It felt like we were under siege,' said one bystander, Darrell Ballard, 63, showing videos on his cellphone of officers entering the apartment building in the dark. A U.S. Border Patrol official involved with the operation ... said that the effort involved nearly 300 federal agents from various agencies. The agents came from various directions around the building. The operation that night targeted an apartment complex that federal officials said was frequented by members of the Tren de Aragua gang. The Border Patrol official said that snipers rappelled down from helicopters on top of the apartment complex, as a precaution from potential violence. Federal authorities said that at least 37 people without legal immigration status were arrested, including some with criminal records.

“But activists and lawyers for some of those arrested in recent weeks said that the administration has rounded up people, including some U.S. citizens, with no history of violence in its sweeps. D.H.S. officials acknowledged that four children who are U.S. citizens were taken into custody amid the operation at the apartment complex on Tuesday until they could be placed in the care of guardians.... [Chicago Mayor Brandon] Johnson said in a statement on Wednesday that he rejects any attempt to militarize American cities. 'Chicagoans are not test subjects for the president to train our military,' he said. 'The brave men and women who sign up to serve our country do not want to be deployed against their neighbors.'” Thanks to RAS for the lead.  

Government by Thuggery. Brad Plumer & Maxine Joselow of the New York Times: “The Energy Department said on Wednesday night that it would cancel more than $7.5 billion in Biden-era awards for hundreds of energy projects, with the vast majority located in states led by Democrats. The move underscored how the Trump administration appeared to be using the government shutdown as a pretext to punish its political opponents. President Trump said this week that if Democrats in Congress did not vote for a funding bill to keep the government open, he would 'do things during the shutdown that are irreversible, that are bad for them.' In its Wednesday announcement, the Energy Department did not specify which projects would see their funding terminated. But according to an agency document reviewed by The New York Times, the list of affected projects include major upgrades to electrical grids in California, Minnesota and Oregon; efforts to reduce methane leaks from oil and gas operations in Colorado; and large hubs to produce clean-burning hydrogen fuels in California and the Pacific Northwest.”

New York Times liveblog on the federal government shutdown. From the pinned item at 10:30 am ET: “The federal government remained shut down on Thursday with no end in sight and ... [Donald] Trump calling it an 'unprecedented opportunity' to enact cuts targeting agencies that provide services cherished by Democrats. The threat came as his administration unleashed an aggressive pressure campaign using federal websites and workers themselves. Democrats showed little sign of budging from their demand for Republican concessions on health care, including extending Obamacare subsidies and reversing cuts to Medicaid and other health programs made at Mr. Trump’s direction. With the Senate off for the Yom Kippur holiday, no votes were expected before Friday.... Mr. Trump ... said in a Truth Social post that he would meet on Thursday with his budget director, Russell T. Vought, 'to determine which of the many Democrat Agencies, most of which are a political SCAM, he recommends to be cut.' His comments came a day after Vice President JD Vance insisted that the president was open to negotiating with Democrats.” ~~~

~~~ Margot Sanger-Katz & Alicia Parlapiano of the New York Times: Health insurance premium “subsidies, first passed in 2021 and extended in 2022, make health insurance less expensive for nearly all those who buy their own coverage. Since the subsidies’ creation, enrollment in Obamacare markets has more than doubled. Without them, premiums will increase for more than 20 million people next year, and an estimated two million people are expected to lose coverage. Extending the subsidies would cost the federal government around $23 billion next year and about $350 billion over the next decade, according to estimates from the Congressional Budget Office. But, without them, many Americans will face much higher costs before the midterm elections next fall — in some cases, increases of more than a thousand dollars per month.” AND THAT is what Trump & Thune & Johnson & your very own GOP Congresscritter do not want you to know.

Wherein the NYT obliquely notes that Donald Trump is a dangerous, anti-American ass: ~~~

~~~ Helene Cooper of the New York Times: “In the middle of Tuesday’s rambling speech at Marine Corps Base Quantico in Virginia..., [Donald] Trump told hundreds of the country’s military commanders his latest thinking on where they should next set their sights.... The president chose San Francisco. Chicago. New York. Los Angeles. 'We’re going to straighten that out one by one, and this is going to be a major part for some of the people in this room,' Mr. Trump ... [said], referring to what he has described as crime-filled urban hellscapes. 'It’s a war from within,' he said. In that moment, the president again pitted himself against the wishes of the country’s founding fathers, historians and former military leaders say. Mr. Trump’s suggestion that 'we should use some of these dangerous cities as training grounds for our military'  is in tension with a core principle that the country’s armed services ... should be nonpartisan. This principle, with its deep roots in American democratic traditions, is meant to ensure that the standing army initially feared by the country’s founding fathers serves the nation as a whole, and not one political party or leader.” 

Are you willing to die for Qatar? What about sacrificing the life of a son or daughter to safeguard or avenge an emir? (Bear in mind there is an upside to your sacrifice: Trump got a snazzy, gold-plated plane! [Alas, when you die, Trump will remember you only as a sucker & loser.]) ~~~  

~~~ S.V. Date of the Huffington Post: “Just months after soliciting and receiving a $400 million luxury airliner for himself from Qatar..., Donald Trump has now quietly granted the oil-rich autocracy a NATO-like defense guarantee, promising a U.S. response if it is attacked. 'The United States shall regard any armed attack on the territory, sovereignty, or critical infrastructure of the State of Qatar as a threat to the peace and security of the United States,' the Trump-signed order decrees. 'In the event of such an attack, the United States shall take all lawful and appropriate measures — including diplomatic, economic, and, if necessary, military — to defend the interests of the United States and of the State of Qatar and to restore peace and stability.'

“The order was signed the same day Trump met with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, during which Netanyahu called the Qatari prime minister to apologize for the Sept. 9 attack on Doha to kill Hamas officials. A Qatari national was also killed in the strike. The security guarantee — possibly unique in its promised protection to a country that has been treated as a partner but not a treaty ally — was not mentioned that day and was not publicized at all by the White House; instead, it came to light on Wednesday in press reports.” ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: Funny thing: Trump doesn't seem all that willing to make the same commitment to NATO countries -- even though we have a long-standing mutual defense compact to do just that and even though we are the only country that has benefited from the compact (after 9/11). P.S. News reports asserted that Trump had told Bibi to apologize to Qatar. See also Akhilleus' commentary below. 

Colby Smith of the New York Times: “Lisa Cook notched a temporary win in her legal battle against ... [Donald] Trump this week when the Supreme Court said she could remain a governor on the Federal Reserve Board. But the threat to the Fed’s longstanding independence will continue to loom large over the central bank for at least the next several months.... The court agreed to wait to rule on Ms. Cook’s status until after it hears arguments on the matter in January.”

From a New York Times liveblog: “An attack that killed two people outside a synagogue in Manchester, in northwestern England, has been declared terrorism, Britain’s counterterrorism police said Thursday. The vehicle ramming and stabbing attack, which took place on the morning of Yom Kippur, the holiest day on the Jewish calendar, injured three others, who were in serious condition on Thursday afternoon, the police said. Laurence Taylor, the head of counterterrorism policing in the U.K., said that the police believe they know the identity of the assailant but had not been able to formally confirm it. 'U.K. policing is mobilizing, and it’s mobilizing fast,' Mr. Taylor said at a news conference. 'Police forces are stepping up patrols across the country at synagogues and Jewish sites and more widely to provide reassurance to all those communities who have been affected.'”

~~~~~~~~~~ 

You are living in an autocracy. Here are some things that happen in an autocracy. Some will directly or indirectly affect you or your family. Some may not. 

Tony Romm, et al., of the New York Times: “The Trump administration took steps on Wednesday to maximize the pain of the government shutdown, halting billions of dollars in funds for Democratic-led states while readying a plan to lay off potentially droves of civil servants imminently. The moves by the White House appeared both unprecedented and punitive, underscoring the risks of a fiscal stalemate that had no end in sight. It also evinced how ... [Donald] Trump might try to leverage the governmentwide closure to achieve his agenda, slash the budget and exact revenge on his political enemies. In a series of social media posts, Russell T. Vought, the White House budget director, said the administration had paused or moved to cancel the delivery of about $26 billion in previously approved funds across a range of programs, describing the money as wasteful or in need of further review.” A Politico story is here. ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: This is not Trump retaliating against someone he thinks is his political foe; it is punishing all American who live in a blue states, no matter what their political inclinations. On Tuesday, the POTUS* suggested the military should treat Americans as the enemy during combat training in U.S. cities (IOW, shoot to kill). On Wednesday, he initiated financial punishment on millions of Americans. 

Matthew Haag of the New York Times: “The Trump administration announced on Wednesday that it would withhold $18 billion in federal funds previously awarded to New York City for two of the largest infrastructure projects in the country. The two projects — the expansion of the Second Avenue subway line and new commuter train tunnels under the Hudson River — are aimed at improving travel for millions of travelers and daily commuters and are both underway. In fact, construction has already begun on the tunnels, a $16 billion project known as Gateway that sits at the center of the busy Northeast Corridor. In a statement, Sean Duffy, the transportation secretary, said, 'The department is focusing on these projects because they are arguably the largest infrastructure initiatives in the Western Hemisphere.' Mr. Duffy said that funds for the two projects would not be distributed while the Transportation Department reviewed what it described as New York State’s 'discriminatory, unconstitutional contracting processes.' The review was in response to ... [Donald] Trump’s executive orders earlier this year targeting diversity, equity and inclusion programs, Mr. Duffy said....” (Also linked yesterday.)

Meredith Hill of Politico: “OMB chief Russ Vought told House Republicans on a private call Wednesday that the administration will start mass reduction in force moves, or firings, of federal workers 'in a day or two''... Vought and ... Donald Trump have both threatened to inflict maximum pain on Democrats during the shutdown as Senate Republicans hope to peel off additional Democrats in the coming days to vote for the GOP-led stopgap to end the standoff. A bipartisan group of senators also discussed several early off-ramp ideas on the floor earlier Wednesday.” 

Monica Alba, et al., of NBC News: “A number of federal agencies are putting out messages blaming Democratic senators for the current government shutdown, in a sharp break from how departments have handled shutdowns in the past. Traditionally, agencies provide information on the status of the funding lapse and what services won’t be available, but stay away from partisan talking points. Some civil servants, who are supposed to be nonpartisan, are being encouraged to push out the messages as well.... 'What this administration is doing is unprecedented, illegal and flat-out wrong,' said Max Stier, CEO of the nonpartisan Partnership for Public Service.” ~~~

Thank you for contacting me. On September 19, 2025, the House of Representatives passed H.R. 5371, a clean continuing resolution. Unfortunately, Democratic senators are blocking its passage in the Senate, which has led to a lapse in appropriations. Due to this lapse, I am currently in furlough status and unable to respond to emails. I will reply once government operations resume. -- Out-of-office email  message some HHS staff are required to send in response to inquiries ~~~

~~~ Dave Jamieson of the Huffington Post: “After the government shutdown began Wednesday morning, furloughed employees at an agency within the Department of Health and Human Services were told to set an out-of-office message in their email accounts blaming Democrats for the situation.... It appears to be one of several instances where Trump appointees are using government resources to attack Democrats and promote a political message during the funding standoff.... The email came from leaders of HHS’s Office of the Assistant Secretary for Administration, or ASA, which oversees human resources and information technology at the sprawling health agency. It told recipients that creating an out-of-office message was 'required' for those who wouldn’t be working during the shutdown.... 'I take that email from ASA as coercing subordinates to engage in political activity,; said one HHS employee....” ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: According to the NBC News story linked above, the language of the out-of-office message cited above was "provided by the Office of Management and Budget"; i.e., Russ Vought's office.  

The Trumpist Compact: Capitulate ... Or Else. Michael Bender of the New York Times: “The White House on Wednesday sent letters to nine of the nation’s top public and private universities, urging campus leaders to pledge support for ... [Donald] Trump’s political agenda to help ensure access to federal research funds. The letters came attached to a 10-page 'compact' that serves as a sort of priority statement for the administration’s educational goals — the most comprehensive accounting to date of what Mr. Trump aims to achieve from an unparalleled, monthslong pressure campaign on academia. The compact would require colleges to freeze tuition for five years, cap the enrollment of international students and commit to strict definitions of gender. Among other steps, universities would also be required to change their governance structures to prohibit anything that would 'punish, belittle and even spark violence against conservative ideas.' Colleges that sign the agreement would receive 'multiple positive benefits," according to a letter included with the compact signed by Education Secretary Linda McMahon; Vince Haley, the director of the White House Domestic Policy Council; and May Mailman, the White House’s senior adviser for special projects.”

Jennifer Schuessler of the New York Times: “The White House has fired members of an outside advisory group to the National Endowment for the Humanities, the latest effort to bring the agency in line with ... [Donald] Trump’s priorities. The firings were made in an email sent Wednesday morning to members of the National Council on the Humanities by Mary Sprowls, a staff member at the White House’s Office of Presidential Personnel. 'On behalf of President Donald J. Trump, I am writing to inform you that your position as a member of the National Council on the Humanities is terminated, effective immediately,' she wrote in the email.... 'Thank you for your service.' The council, whose members typically include 26 private citizens drawn mostly from the scholarly world, meets several times a year to advise the endowment’s chair on grants, as well as on ways to promote and strengthen the humanities more generally.” MB: Ronald Reagan appointed my husband to the National Humanities Council. My husband was not a Republican and certainly did not align himself with Reagan's "priorities."

JayDee Thinks Racism Is Hilarious. Erica Green of the New York Times: “Vice President JD Vance on Wednesday laughed off an A.I.-generated video that ... [Donald] Trump shared on social media, saying the president was 'joking' when he posted a meme of Representative Hakeem Jeffries, the House minority leader, with a fake mustache and a sombrero. Mr. Jeffries has said the video was racist and bigoted. Asked for his response to that, Mr. Vance said, 'I don’t even know what that means.' Speaking at a White House press briefing, Mr. Vance characterized the post as making light of lawmakers’ policy differences. The video, which was posted on Monday and falsely accuses Democrats of trying to give free health care to undocumented immigrants, depicts Mr. Jeffries, who is Black, as Mexican, with mariachi music playing in the background. 'Oh, I think it’s funny,' Mr. Vance said. 'The president’s joking, and we’re having a good time.'” ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: Pack your bags, Usha. Take the kids. Bear in mind, BTW, that the racist expression in the video does not just demean Jeffries; it stereotypes & insults all Mexican men. 

Helene Cooper & others at the New York Times review the Fat Man & Little Boy show, with a little help from some experts: “'I couldn’t be prouder of our highest-ranking leaders for maintaining an apolitical face under immense pressure,' said retired Army Maj. General Paul D. Eaton, who served in the Iraq war. He added, 'Pete Hegseth spent millions to fly in all of our generals and admirals to rant about facial hair and brag about how many pull-ups he can do, and have Donald Trump sleepwalk through a list of partisan gripes.' Senator Jack Reed of Rhode Island, the ranking Democrat of the Senate Armed Services Committee, called the gathering 'an expensive, dangerous dereliction of leadership' by the Trump administration.” (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~

~~~ Nancy Youssef & Missy Ryan of the Atlantic concentrate on Pete Hegseth's remarks, which they -- and Drunk Pete himself -- characterize as a rehash of a grievance book he wrote last year about how the military wasn't living up to his push-up and shaving standards. Thank you to akaWendy for this gift link. (Also linked yesterday.)  

Alex Horton, et al., of the Washington Post: “The Pentagon plans to impose strict nondisclosure agreements and random polygraph testing for scores of people in its headquarters, including many top officials..., escalating Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s war on leakers and internal dissent. All military service members, civilian employees and contract workers within the office of the defense secretary and the Joint Staff, estimated to be more than 5,000 personnel, would be required to sign a nondisclosure agreement that 'prohibits the release of non-public information without approval or through a defined process.'... The efforts are part of a wider strategy by the Trump administration and the Pentagon to ferret out officials deemed insufficiently loyal or who provide information to reporters.” (Also linked yesterday.)

Andrew Jeong of the Washington Post: “FBI Director Kash Patel said Wednesday he had cut the FBI’s ties with the Anti-Defamation League, a leading Jewish civil rights group that has partnered with law enforcement agencies for decades to educate authorities on extremism and antisemitism.... Patel’s decision comes as the ADL has been the target of conservative ire in recent days. Patel said the ADL had served as a 'political front' and spied on Americans. Patel also denounced the FBI’s previous involvement with the ADL, which was supported by former FBI director James B. Comey.... The ADL had listed [Charlie] Kirk’s youth group Turning Point USA on its now-closed glossary of extremism. In it, the ADL described TPUSA as a right-wing student organization that provided a 'platform for extremists and far-right conspiracy theorists.' The ADL’s 'Glossary of Extremism,' which contained more than 1,000 entries, was abruptly shut down this week.” 

RAS linked a version of this video of ICE agents chasing a Chicagoan who taunted them by yelling, "I am not a U.S. citizen." The ensuing chase does kind of suggest Drunk Pete should encourage fellow Cabinet member & Barbie gal Kristi Noem to get her troops in shape. On the other hand, I suppose their boss would just order the ICE agents to shoot the guy on the bike as part of a "training exercise": 

     ~~~ Rachel Maddow suggested the chase is best played to Benny Hill music.

Oh, gosh, here's Bible Mike appearing to agree with Rep. Madeleine Dean (D-Pa.) that Donald Trump is "unhinged" and "unwell." (She says Trump is unhinged & unwell; he says, "A lot of the folks on your side are, too."): ~~~ 

Ann Marimow of the New York Times: “The Supreme Court on Wednesday declined to allow ... [Donald] Trump to immediately remove Lisa Cook from the Federal Reserve Board, saying it would instead review the administration’s efforts to oust her and reshape the central bank at oral arguments in January. Top former Fed and Treasury officials and Ms. Cook’s legal team had warned the Supreme Court that permitting Mr. Trump to fire her while litigation over her status was underway would spur economic turmoil and undermine public confidence in the Fed.... Every living former Fed chair — Alan Greenspan, Ben Bernanke and Janet L. Yellen — joined former Treasury secretaries nominated by presidents of both parties to tell the justices in a court filing that Ms. Cook should be allowed to stay on the job while her case was being reviewed to ensure 'stability of the system that governs monetary policy in this country.'... In its two-sentence, unsigned order on Wednesday, the court deferred ruling on Ms. Cook’s status until after it heard arguments in the matter in January.” (Also linked yesterday.)

Chris Cameron of the New York Times: “A federal judge in Rhode Island on Tuesday blocked a Trump administration effort to freeze hundreds of millions of dollars in emergency preparedness funds to blue states that have opposed his mass deportation campaign. It was the second time in a week that a federal judge had blocked the Trump administration’s effort to withhold disaster preparedness funds. Last Wednesday, a judge in the Federal District Court in Rhode Island ruled in favor of a coalition of 20 states and the District of Columbia, most led by Democrats, that had sued for the release of billions of dollars in federal grants.... Days [later]..., the Federal Emergency Management Agency, which provides funding for disaster preparedness, informed 11 of those states and the District of Columbia that they would receive less than half of an expected $460 million in counterterrorism funds.... New York and Illinois, states that Mr. Trump has repeatedly targeted over policy disagreements, had their grants cut by 79 percent and 69 percent, totaling over $100 million.... [The states] quoted Kristi Noem, the head of the Department of Homeland Security, who has argued that states that do not comply with Mr. Trump’s policies 'should not receive a single dollar of the department’s money.'” (Also linked yesterday.)

Newspapers Self-Censor. Hank Kennedy of FAIR: "At a time of widespread corruption, official mendacity and general dirty dealings, it would behoove publishers and artists to aim as many satirical barbs as they can at the powerful. Yet the record of the first year of the new presidential administration shows that publishers are, for a variety of reasons, encouraging their artists to approach the president on bended knee.... While [Ann] Telnaes [the Pulitzer-Prize-winning cartoonist who quit her job at the Washington Post when the paper deep-sixed her cartoon mocking WashPo owner Jeff Bezos' supplications to Trump] provides the most famous example of this trend, she is not the only one.... Smaller newspapers have decided they can do without the controversy brought about by running political cartoons." Thanks to Akhilleus for the link.

Leo Speaks. Anthony Faiola & Victoria Craw of the Washington Post: “Making a rare foray into U.S. politics, Pope Leo XIV described the blustery talk by ... Donald Trump and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth at a meeting of military commanders on Tuesday as 'concerning,' and he called out those who describe themselves as 'pro-life' for opposing abortion but do not reject the 'inhuman treatment' of migrants and the death penalty. Since becoming pope, Leo has largely kept his distance from the news media. But in an unusual interaction late Tuesday outside his Castel Gandolfo residence in Italy, the pontiff fielded several questions from reporters, including one about the extraordinary, hastily convened meeting of senior military leaders in the United States that day, at which Trump and Hegseth gave highly partisan speeches. Leo shook his head in apparent distaste.” 

Adrian Horton of the Guardian: “Jane Fonda has relaunched the Committee for the First Amendment, the McCarthy-era initiative started by her father, Henry Fonda, with a groundswell of celebrity support. The new committee, established to protect free speech from government censorship, has the support of over 550 entertainment figures, including: Quinta Brunson, Viola Davis, Kerry Washington, Natalie Portman, Aaron Sorkin, Spike Lee, Pedro Pascal, Ben Stiller, Whoopi Goldberg, Sean Penn, John Legend, Damon Lindelof, Julianne Moore, Janelle Monáe, Barbra Streisand, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Ethan Hawke, Billie Eilish, Anjelica Huston and Judd Apatow.”

⭐Keith Schneider of the New York Times: “Jane Goodall, one of the world’s most revered conservationists, who earned scientific stature and global celebrity by chronicling the distinctive behavior of wild chimpanzees in East Africa — primates that made and used tools, ate meat, held rain dances and engaged in organized warfare — died on Wednesday in Los Angeles. She was 91.” (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~

     ~~~ Carl Zimmer & Emily Anthes of the New York Times: Scientists remember Jane Goodall.

     ~~~ In yesterday's Comments, akaWendy wrote, 

Two weeks ago, knowing little about Jane Goodall beyond her basic biograghy but, on a lark to escape the news, I went to hear her speak and emerged a fan. Surprised to learn she had been travelling something like 300 days a years for speaking engagements and to raise money and awareness for her organizations, and has been speaking to sell out audiences for years.... After her lecture, she disclosed that dogs are her favorite companions and shared a picture of 90th birthday party. 90 dog salute[.] As the event ended, she also showed this touching 2 minute clip of a chimpanzee getting released from captivity to New Island Sanctuary[.] ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: We live in a country where the POTUS* orders U.S. flags flown at half-staff in remembrance of a racist misogynist punk, but not for Jane Goodall.

Michael Rosenwald of the New York Times: “The The forensic scientist Edward T. Blake ... died on Aug. 6 at his home in Sonoma, Calif., his wife, Barbara Siegel, said. He was 80....  As the first forensic scientist to use polymerase chain reaction testing on crime-scene DNA, he was able to wring answers from evidence samples that were old, minuscule or severely degraded. His use of PCR, as the test is commonly known, sparked a movement that has freed thousands of wrongfully convicted people. Dr. Blake’s testing alone helped to exonerate more than 50, including several sentenced to death.”  

~~~~~~~~~~ 

Israel/Palestine, et al. Ephrat Livni & Liam Stack of the New York Times: “Israel intercepted more than a dozen boats with activists from around the world who were part of a flotilla trying to bring humanitarian goods to Gaza and protest the war there, according to statements from organizers early on Thursday morning. More than 150 activists from more than 20 countries had been detained, and about 30 boats are still making their way to Gaza, flotilla organizers said.... The Israeli foreign ministry had said on Wednesday night that 'several' vessels had been “safely stopped and that the passengers were being transferred to an Israeli port. The ministry posted a video that showed the Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg, one of the passengers, calmly engaging with a person wearing military gear. The boats are part of the Global Sumud Flotilla, run by activists protesting Israel’s war in Gaza by trying to deliver food and other goods to the enclave, in defiance of a longstanding Israeli blockade.”