Julia Jacobs & Zach Montague of the New York Times: “As the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts prepares for major renovations, former project managers there have sent Congress internal documents that they say show how the institution bypassed government contracting norms in work carried out under ... [Donald] Trump. The documents — sent to a Senate and a House committee last month by lawyers for unidentified clients referred to as whistle-blowers — detail how vendors were selected for work without competitive bidding under rationales that are depicted as flawed.... 'Renovations were rushed to meet the deadlines driven by the president’s desire to host official events at the center,' the letter says. 'Federal contracting laws and regulations were ignored.'... The center said in [a] statement that it had confirmed with the Office of Management and Budget that, as an independent entity, it was not bound by federal contracting regulations and that it had updated its procurement policy to be both fair and agile when making renovations.”
“... Donald Trump has been enraged by reporting on the new Air Force One’s security flaws, according to a report. The president is 'fuming' after the scandal over the $400 retrofitted jet erupted in the press this week, sources told CNN. The story leapt into the spotlight after The New York Times asked Trump to explain why he wasn’t taking the new aircraft ... home from the NATO Summit in Turkey. Trump claimed the aircraft was instead being sent to military bases so it could be shown to soldiers. The explanation raised eyebrows and prompted intense criticism from those who didn’t believe the commander in chief.... MS NOW’s Carol Leonnig ... said US Secret Service sources have told her the president is 'embarrassed' by the Air Force One story. On Friday, the Trump administration issued subpoenas to four reporters from The Times — a shocking legal move that the outlet linked to its reporting revealing the aircraft’s security flaws.” There is speculation that Trump's anger also explains why Kash Patel had to cancel his Chicago play date at the last minute and rush to the White House.
Little Marco Gets His Wish to Be President ... Well, of Venezuela. Tyler Pager & Anatoly Kurmanaev of the New York Times: Marco Rubio “runs Venezuela from Washington. In the six months since U.S. forces blew open Mr. Maduro’s bedroom door and snatched him in the dead of night, Mr. Rubio has become the de facto viceroy of Venezuela, holding sway over a sovereign nation in a way that no American official has since L. Paul Bremer III arrived in Baghdad in 2003 to run U.S.-occupied Iraq. Mr. Rubio now effectively controls Venezuela’s finances, the distribution of its natural resources and its government.... While he has not visited Venezuela in person since the U.S. took over, the secretary of state is deeply involved in the country’s day-to-day operations, keeping in close contact with Delcy Rodríguez, who was Mr. Maduro’s vice president and now leads her country on an acting basis, with the imprimatur of the United States.... The relationship between Mr. Rubio and Ms. Rodríguez is ... a manifestation of Trump-era American power, in which the winner takes all regardless of sovereignty and international law.” The link appears to be a gift link.
Ryan Grenoble of the Huffington Post: “The country is in the midst of a nationwide outbreak of explosive diarrhea caused by a parasite the CDC stopped surveilling at the federal level in July 2025. That’s around the same time the Trump administration began haphazardly attacking and defunding federal health and science agencies under the guise of 'government efficiency,' with Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. separately also pushing out critical federal scientists and researchers. Prior to that date, a collaborative CDC program called FoodNet helped federal and state regulators track eight foodborne pathogens. Among them was cyclospora, a heat-loving spherical parasite that’s sickened 1,000 people in an ongoing outbreak in Michigan (the state’s worst), with similar illnesses cropping up in 28 other states.” ~~~
~~~ Marie: I normally would not wish illness on anyone, but let's just say that if three people must get exploding diarrhea, let those three be Donald and Elon and Bobby Jr.
Lisa Lerer of the New York Times: “On Wednesday afternoon, [Rep. Ro] Khanna [D], the congressman from Silicon Valley who is exploring a 2028 presidential run, was visiting the ruins of Khirbet Zanuta, a tiny Palestinian Bedouin village in the southern West Bank that was abandoned after escalating attacks from settlers and then demolished. Suddenly, a car of men holding guns pulled up and blocked the narrow road out of the village. The men began taunting the congressman and his team, swearing at them in Hebrew and Arabic and kicking the tires of their minibus.... Soon, a Jeep with more men arrived. When two cars from the Israeli military pulled up, Mr. Khanna assumed the soldiers were there to help him pass. Instead, the soldiers smoked cigarettes, chatted with the men and after the settlers left, moved a car to block the road, he recounted.... The military disputed that its soldiers had participated in blocking the exit and said that the identity of the armed civilian was being reviewed.” The link appears to be a gift link. ~~~
~~~ The short video here has a few stills of Khanna's captors.
Carlo Martuscelli of Politico: “Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei on Saturday swore that Iran would avenge the killing of his father, the former Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei. 'We pledge to avenge your pure blood and the blood of all the martyrs,' said Khamenei, who took his father’s place as the head of Iran’s leadership after a deadly Israeli airstrike in late February.... Mojtaba Khamenei has not been seen in public for months, and has been rumored to have been left disfigured after being injured by an airstrike.”
~~~~~~~~~~
Linda Qiu of the New York Times: “The $2.2 billion windfall ... [Donald] Trump reaped since his second term has raised questions over potential conflicts of interest and whether he has profited from public office, but Mr. Trump has dismissed any notion of impropriety. Some of Mr. Trump’s most lucrative ventures seemed to intersect directly with his administration’s policies like cryptocurrency and dealings with foreign governments. But, Mr. Trump has argued, his personal financial gains reflected a stock market benefiting everyone; his investments and business dealings were in a blind trust, not unlike other presidents; and unlike his predecessors, he donated his presidential salary. Except none of those assertions are [is!] true. Here’s a fact-check.” Emphasis added. Update: the link has been changed to one that appears to be gift link.
AP: “... Donald Trump has chosen not to sign a sweeping housing affordability bill on Friday, in protest of Congress not approving a strict voter ID bill that does not have enough support to pass. 'I will not sign the Housing Bill, which has been fully approved by Congress and sent to the White House, in PROTEST over the fact that the United States Senate is not capable of passing THE SAVE AMERICA ACT,' Trump posted on social media. Still, the housing measure could become law on Friday without Trump’s signature, as he had 10 days to issue a veto and stop the measure.” (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~
~~~ Heather Cox Richardson: Trump's tweet came “... as the National Association of Realtors reported that U.S. home prices have hit an all-time high.... As the Lincoln Project summed it up, the Republican Party’s message four months before the midterms appears to be, 'You’re not getting affordable housing unless you give up your voting rights.' His demand for the passage of a bill that most observers agree will suppress voting is only one of the ways that Trump is trying to rig the 2026 election.” ~~~
~~~ Julia Manchester of the Hill: “'THE SAVE AMERICA ACT’S non-passage is CRAZY, and a serious threat to any politician who votes against it!' Trump exclaimed in a lengthy Truth Social post.... Trump’s comments come just hours before the bipartisan housing legislation ... is automatically set to go into law at midnight if the president does veto the bill. Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) has said that Trump will not stop the legislation even if he doesn’t sign it.” (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~
~~~ Sho' Nuf. Michael Gold of the New York Times: Donald “Trump allowed a bipartisan housing bill to become law without his signature on Saturday, hours after he said he would refuse to sign it because Republicans had failed to pass an unrelated voting restriction bill that does not have enough support to clear the Senate.... The measure, the first major legislative effort to address the nation’s housing crisis in more than three decades, became law at midnight after a constitutionally mandated period without the president vetoing the measure. But Mr. Trump’s pronouncement is still a remarkable dismissal by a president of efforts by his own party to address a major political vulnerability.”
As the Bigot Tweets, Ctd. Trump Targets Five-Year-Olds. Cleve Wootson of the Washington Post: “Hateful emails and phone calls targeted a Minnesota school serving Somali families after ... Donald Trump shared a video of its kindergartners on Truth Social this week, an episode that many Somali Americans see as an escalation of a sustained campaign of political and rhetorical attacks during Trump’s second term, community leaders said. On Wednesday, Trump reposted a video from a kindergarten graduation ceremony at Gateway STEM Academy, a K-8 charter school in St. Paul. In the clip, children wearing blue graduation gowns, including girls wearing hijabs beneath their mortarboards, sing in Somali as they celebrate the end of the school year. Trump amplified another user’s caption: 'Every girl is in a hijab … in kindergarten.' The faces of the young children were clearly visible in the video shared with Trump’s 12.9 million followers.... The replies to Trump’s post quickly filled with anti-Muslim invectives, including one user who called the children 'future terrorists.'” Update: the link has been changed to a gift link.
Dan Diamond of the Washington Post: “The Trump administration is seeking to permanently fence Lafayette Square — the public park across from the White House, where tourists and protesters often congregate — as officials say they are seeking to balance Americans’ access to the famous grounds with the need to protect the president, according to a proposal released Friday afternoon. Under the plan, which was jointly crafted by the Secret Service, the White House and the Interior Department, officials laid out two options that they say would allow them to quickly close the park if they identify a security risk. The fences would be eight to nine feet tall and would replace the current 'piecemeal' system of relying on temporary fences and bollards, the proposal says. It also says that the Secret Service anticipates 'phased implementation' of the fences next year.”
~~~ Marie: My grandparents had what was called a "touring car" in the 1920s, and it had a broad running board on each side. When they traveled, my grandfather would strap wooden pens to the running boards, and the family dogs would travel in the pens. (Gail Collins, do not write! If the dogs were distressed, and a reasonable person might assume they were, no one in the family talked about that!) On one of their trips, my grandfather got lost in Washington, D.C., and drove right up to the White House (I mean, he stopped right smack-dab at the North Portico). My grandmother, who was a snooty Republican, was mortified: "Oh, dear," she exclaimed. "What will Mrs. Coolidge say!" These days, no one is susceptible to such an embarrassment. Mrs. Coolidge, as far as I know, stayed mum. ~~~
~~~ “Trump l'oeil.” Andrew Feinberg of the Independent: “... Donald Trump continues with his effort to remake the ... 'White House] to his liking, this time with a new project to reshape the iconic front entrance. Workers on a large scaffold spent hours on Thursday precisely draping a tarp over the executive residence’s north portico in preparation for renovation work, keeping with a longstanding practice of hiding construction at the White House from public view. But this tarp is no ordinary drop cloth. The massive covering was pre-printed with a shockingly accurate rendering of the very architectural feature it was intended to hide, making it appear to a casual observer as if there were no covering at all. A White House official told The Independent that the tarp is meant to shield the portico while it undergoes 'standard restoration work.'”
Questions, But Few Answers. Audra Burch & Mark Bonamo of the New York Times: “An otherwise unremarkable gas station in Bristol, Pa., lured passing drivers this week with something many had not glimpsed in months: a price of $3.47 per gallon. The former Valero station is one in a chain of 25 newly branded Freedom Fuel gas stations in the Philadelphia region, promoted by ... [Donald] Trump and the White House but with no information about who owns them — or why they are willing to undercut competitors by at least 50 cents a gallon.... On Tuesday, the White House released a video featuring a Freedom Fuel gas station in Philadelphia, with customers lauding Mr. Trump.... But a White House spokesman said the Trump administration had no role in the effort but to praise it.” ~~~
~~~ Conservative Jonathan Last of the Bulwark is appalled that Trump has foisted "Commie Gas" on unsuspecting Americans. MB: Between this secretive "Freedom Fuel" operation and the Trump government buy-in to some large corporations, I guess with know who the "communists" are.
Michael Grynbaum of the New York Times: “The Trump administration issued subpoenas on Friday to several journalists for The New York Times, after the news outlet reported this week on security concerns involving ... [Donald] Trump’s new Qatari-donated Air Force One. The subpoenas — which seek to force the reporters to testify before a federal grand jury in Manhattan on Wednesday — were an extraordinary escalation in [Mr.] Trump’s efforts to threaten and intimidate independent news organizations. In some cases, the subpoenas were delivered by federal agents who showed up at reporters’ homes. The Times denounced the administration’s actions.... The subpoenas ... were issued by Jay Clayton, the U.S. attorney in Manhattan. Mr. Clayton ... was recently nominated by Mr. Trump to serve as director of national intelligence.” Update: the link has been changed to one that appears to be a gift link. An AP report is here. ~~~
~~~ Noah Robertson of the Washington Post: “Jay Clayton, the Trump administration’s pick to lead the intelligence community, will appear before the Senate on Wednesday — weeks after ... [Donald Trump] abruptly canceled his previously scheduled confirmation hearing. The hearing before the Senate Intelligence Community could clear a path for lawmakers to replace Bill Pulte, a mortgage agency official and Trump loyalist, as the acting director of national intelligence.”
As the Court has said many times, the attack on the Capitol on January 6, 2021 was a perilous event.... It was an attack on people, including police officers, many of whom were injured. It was an attack on a coordinate branch of government — Congress — that the Founders saw fit to give a place of primacy in Article I of the Constitution. And it was an attack on the Constitution’s mechanism to facilitate the peaceful transfer of power from one president to the next. -- Judge Timothy Kelly, a Trump appointee, in reluctantly dismissing the convictions of top Proud Boys ~~~
~~~ Kyle Cheney of Politico: “The Justice Department’s most significant case stemming from the Jan. 6, 2021 attack on the Capitol — the seditious conspiracy convictions of high-ranking members of the far right Proud Boys — has officially been erased. U.S. District Judge Timothy Kelly, who presided over the six-month trial that led to the jury convictions, reluctantly granted a Justice Department motion to drop the case on Friday, concluding that he had no power to second-guess prosecutors once they decided to abandon it. 'In light of fundamental separation of powers principles … the proper course here is for the Court simply to grant the motion in full,' Kelly concluded, dismissing the case 'with prejudice,' which means a future Justice Department is barred from revisiting the charges. 'No one should mistake the Court’s granting of the Government’s motion for its agreement with those decisions,' the judge added.”
Kash Sent to the Woodshed. Carol Leonnig, et al., of MS NOW: “FBI Director Kash Patel abruptly cancelled a planned flight Friday to see his girlfriend in Chicago this weekend, after top administration officials frustrated with Patel summoned him to the White House.... The precise reasons that Patel’s political bosses demanded he cancel his trip and report to the West Wing are unclear, but several people said top Trump deputies were disturbed by a range of actions by Patel. Some found it confounding that the FBI director was leaving town amid the recent revival of the war with Iran and alleged threats against the president’s life.... Others cited two unforced errors by Patel that created bad optics for the Trump administration, the first being his early morning tweet bashing MS NOW for its coverage of his high-flying lifestyle.... The second misstep, the people said, was that extensive reports ... about taxpayers footing the bill for Patel’s globe-trotting ultimately spurred formal questions from Senate Judiciary Chairman Chuck Grassley, a critical ally of ... [Donald] Trump’s....
“The trip to Chicago was already stirring anger and controversy inside the FBI.... He was planning to attend his girlfriend Alexis Wilkins’ performance Saturday at a country music festival.... Patel’s staff had arranged for the director to make an office visit Friday to the Chicago field office to coincide with his trip.... Several FBI agents complained internally that this office visit was belatedly-added cover to justify Patel flying the director’s jet — which is estimated to cost tens of thousands of dollars for such domestic trips — to enjoy a weekend in Chicago with his girlfriend....”
~~~ Erik Wemple of the New York Times: “The New York Times said in a court filing on Friday that the Trump administration had violated the newspaper’s First Amendment rights by suing it for employment discrimination. The Times called the government’s suit an act of retaliation for its coverage of the Trump presidency. In May, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission filed a civil rights lawsuit against The Times in U.S. District Court in Manhattan, claiming that the newspaper unlawfully discriminated against a white male employee who did not get a sought-after promotion.... The Times said the E.E.O.C. had sued after President Trump and his aides lashed out at the company for its coverage of the administration, including articles about Mr. Trump’s plans to build a ballroom at the White House, his health and the war with Iran. It said the lawsuit had been filed just days after The Times published two articles about the E.E.O.C. In one, agency employees described feeling pressure to bring in cases alleging discrimination against white men and antisemitism on college campuses.”
“1000 Missiles are Locked and Loaded.”Azhar Sukri of CNBC: “... Donald Trump threatened to 'decimate and destroy' Iran if Tehran acts on threats to assassinate him, as the U.S. Treasury Department sanctioned an alleged Iranian financier. Iran said Saturday that the new financial measure was a violation of the preliminary deal the two warring countries struck last month as its foreign minister reportedly arrived in Oman for talks. '1000 Missiles are Locked and Loaded and aimed at the Islamic Republic of Iran, with thousands of more to immediately follow, should the Iranian Government act on its threat, pronounced in many corners of the Globe, to assassinate, or attempt to assassinate, the sitting President of the United States of America, in this case, ME!' Trump wrote on Truth Social late Friday U.S. time. 'Orders have already been given, and the U.S. Military is ready, willing, and able, for a one year period of time, subject to extension, to completely decimate and destroy all areas of Iran - PRAISE BE TO ALLAH!,' he added.” ~~~
~~~ Marie: I give Trump credit. Only he could make a response to a supposed plan to assassinate him sound childish. ~~~
~~~ Ellen Mitchell of the Hill: Donald “Trump on Friday claimed he has left instructions to bomb Iran ... should Tehran assassinate him. 'I’ve been on their list for a long time. That’s what we’re dealing with,' he told the New York Post. 'The only thing is, I’ve left instructions — if anything happens, to just literally bomb them at levels that they’ve never seen before.' The interview comes a day after The Wall Street Journal reported that Israel recently shared intelligence with the U.S. indicating a new plot from Iran to assassinate Trump. But CNN, citing U.S. officials, reported that the new Israeli intelligence could have been an attempt to influence Trump’s stance as he weighs whether to escalate military action against Iran.... During this week’s funeral processions for slain Iranian leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Reuters reported that mourners chanted 'Death to America,' and a banner was displayed on the streets reading, 'We Will Kill Trump.'” ~~~
~~~ Marie: Trump seems to think he'll be U.S. dictator even from the grave. Obviously, if he should die by assassination, it would up to the new president to decide what retaliatory measures should be undertaken.
Eric Schmitt of the New York Times: “U.S. forces sharply ramped up their attacks against Iran this week, hitting more than 170 Iranian military targets on Tuesday and Wednesday, the Pentagon said. It was one of the most intense rounds of strikes since the war began more than four months ago.... On Friday..., [Donald] Trump said on social media that he had agreed to continue negotiating with Iran, but that “the Cease Fire is OVER!” It was unclear what his administration’s next steps might be.... [Among the targets was] a railway bridge in northeastern Iran more than 700 miles from the [Strait of Hormuz].... Mr. Trump ,,, [said last week that] U.S. forces could target civilian infrastructure in Iran, including electricity plants and bridges, even though that could constitute war crimes.” ~~~
~~~ NEVERTHELESS. David Sanger of the New York Times: “U.S. officials said on Friday that they expected Iran would issue in coming days a public statement acknowledging that all channels through the Strait of Hormuz are open, and that Iranian forces will cease shooting at ships passing through the narrow waterway. The officials ... said that if Iran did not issue the statement and stick with it, 'we’re not going to have a good outcome for them.' In a 30-minute conversation, the officials said that Iranian negotiators had told them the drone attacks on ships passing through the strait had been conducted by rogue units of the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps who were trying to undermine the vague nuclear accord signed last month. But they said that the Trump administration planned to continue negotiating on the broader, permanent deal on the future of Iran’s nuclear program, and would respond militarily to any more strikes on ships.” An AP report is here. ~~~
~~~ Andreas Krieg in Informed Comment: "The reluctance of both Iran and the Trump administration to return to full-scale war has not changed. But the boundaries of acceptable violence under this ceasefire are unacceptable for the Gulf states, who want to return to business as usual.Washington is not helpful in this standoff, as its desperate attempts to force the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) off the Strait of Hormuz by coercion alone will not work. Punitive airpower will not make the IRGC surrender a prize it treats as a strategic spoil of war."
Markwayne Is Kristi, But Sneakier. Jazmine Ulloa, et al., of the New York Times: “The fatal shooting of a man this week by Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents in Houston has brought into focus an aggressive ramp-up of immigration arrests across the country that has largely occurred outside the public eye. From large cities like Chicago and Las Vegas to small suburbs outside Milwaukee and San Antonio, immigrants have been picked up and detained at courthouses, ICE check-ins and traffic stops, with daily arrests doubling in the last week of June and continuing to climb. 'The operations have purposely been done behind the scenes,' said Getsy Hernandez, a community organizer with Escucha Mi Voz Iowa.... In the days since [immigration agents in Houston, Texas, fatally shot Lorenzo Salgado Araujo], the killing has galvanized thousands of protesters, led to calls from local leaders and Latino civil rights groups for independent investigations and prompted promises of legal action from President Claudia Sheinbaum of Mexico.
“Federal immigration agents have shot at more than 20 people since September, nearly all of them in their cars. Some of the shootings have been fatal.... In a period of five days at the end of June, ICE officers arrested more than 10,000 people.... After a brief lull during the July 4 holiday weekend, arrests picked back up by Tuesday, the day Mr. Salgado Araujo was shot. From Tuesday through Thursday, ICE officers across the United States arrested more than 6,000 people, internal records show, a pace of about 2,000 arrests a day.” A related Texas Tribune story is here.
(~~~ Speaking of Kristi, Here's a Heartbreaking Aside. Jennifer Bahney of Mediaite: “Former Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem is reportedly divorcing husband Bryon in the wake of a bombshell report he was involved in the online cross-dressing scene. The Daily Mail first published several photos of Bryon Noem dressed up with prosthetic breasts in March. Fetish models claimed to have had an online relationship with him that involved a kink called “bimbofication,” according to the report. On Friday, the Mail quoted Kristi Noem’s mother, Corinne Arnold, about the pending divorce after 34 years of marriage and three children together.”)
Pooja Salhotra & Orlando Mayorquín of the New York Times: “Hours after three witnesses questioned the official account of how an immigration agent killed a man in Houston this week, city officials said they would begin their own investigation of the federal government’s actions. Mayor John Whitmire of Houston said he, the city’s police department and the district attorney’s office would work aggressively to obtain all evidence and uncover the truth, reversing his earlier position that the city had no jurisdiction over the case. 'We are not settling to wait for an F.B.I. report,' Mr. Whitmire said during a news briefing on Friday afternoon. 'We want answers.'”
Miriam Jordan & Madeleine Ngo of the New York Times: “The Homeland Security Department told employers on Friday that they must let go in coming weeks the hundreds of thousands of foreign workers who have been allowed to live in the United States through a humanitarian program the Trump administration has sought to dismantle. The work permits of Haitians with Temporary Protected Status will expire on July 24. Such permits will also lapse on July 17 for those from Ethiopia, Myanmar, Somalia, South Sudan, Syria and Yemen, according to notices issued for each affected country by U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, which oversees the legal immigration system. The guidance comes on the heels of the Supreme Court’s decision last month upholding the Trump administration’s authority to end protections for T.P.S. holders from Haiti and Syria. Once the terminations take effect, the recipients become vulnerable to deportation. More than 330,000 Haitians and 6,100 Syrians have been living in the country under the program....”
Trumpists Do Everything Wrong. Catrin Einhorn & Maxine Joselow of the New York Times: “The Trump administration on Friday moved to open the habitats of imperiled animals to farming, drilling, mining, real estate development and other activities in what environmentalists characterized as the most severe erosion of protections for wildlife in half a century. It did so by recasting a single word, 'harm.' For more than 50 years, the federal government has used a broader definition of harm to animals under the Endangered Species Act, a bedrock environmental law. It included any significant 'modification or degradation' of habitat that kills or injures animals by impairing their ability to eat, shelter or breed. The Supreme Court upheld this interpretation in 1995, ruling against property owners who argued that harm should only mean directly killing or injuring an endangered animal. But on Friday, the Interior Department and the Commerce Department announced a final rule that rescinded this longstanding interpretation. Under the rule, destroying an endangered species’ nest or habitat would no longer be considered illegal.” Update: the link has been changed to one that appears to be a gift link.
Ana Ley, et al., of the New York Times: Even though health inspector were not allowed beyond the food prep areas, they found plenty of dangerously unsanitary conditions and unsafe food storage practices at the Delaney Hall immigrant detention center in Newark, New Jersey. (MB: It kinda makes you sick just to read the report.) MEANWHILE, DHS Secretary Markwayne seems to be living the life of leisure & luxury. (Also linked yesterday.)
David Lawrence, formerly a top DOJ anti-trust lawyer, in a New York Times op-ed: “The day after the [Supreme C]ourt’s ruling [last week to expand the president's powers], the Trump administration lifted restrictions it had imposed on access to top artificial intelligence models from Anthropic, a leading A.I. company, seemingly on the condition that the company submit to ongoing government oversight. On Tuesday, OpenAI finally announced that it will release broadly its new artificial intelligence model, GPT-5.6, access to which has been restricted at the request of the U.S. government. Only a limited set of customers — those approved by the Trump administration — have been allowed use of the A.I. tool. These restrictions on the A.I. industry are the latest instance of the White House creating its own parallel administrative state, sidestepping Congress. Congress and the courts must push back.
“The right vigorously criticizes government control of private industry as a kind of communist central planning.... The president’s unauthorized intervention in private business poses a ... direct threat to free enterprise.... The A.I. business is not the only industry that Mr. Trump has subjected to his new form of unitary executive.... The need to rebalance power in Washington was clear before the Supreme Court’s latest round of rulings. It grows more urgent each time the executive writes and enforces its own rules.” MB: Lawrence doesn't even mention the golden opportunities for corrupt practices of which Trump will avail/has availed himself.
Ian Austen & Tyler Pager of the New York Times: “Despite the best efforts of ... [Donald] Trump, the Gordie Howe International Bridge connecting Detroit and Windsor, Ontario, will open on July 27, the government of Canada announced on Friday evening. The soaring 6.4 billion Canadian dollar ($4.5 billion) structure has reshaped the skylines of the two border cities, between which roughly $300 million in trade flows each day. It is also precisely the kind of large infrastructure project Prime Minister Mark Carney has championed as a bulwark against the economic damage caused by Mr. Trump’s trade war with Canada. Officials in Canada and the United States said on Friday that the two countries had reached a deal about how tolls would be distributed, allowing the bridge to finally open....
“In February, Mr. Trump said in a rambling social media post that he intended to block the bridge’s opening. A ceremony scheduled for early June was called off after invitations had already gone out, and the Trump administration spent the months that followed his first post offering shifting explanations for the president’s opposition. Mr. Trump’s initial post came hours after Matthew Moroun, the billionaire scion of the family that has owned the Ambassador Bridge upstream from the Gordie Howe Bridge since 1979, met in Washington with Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick....” Politico's report is here.
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Colorado Gubernatorial Race. And You Think Jared Polis Is Bad. Emily Singer of Daily Kos: "Republican primary voters really one-upped the contest for who can pick the most unpalatable nominee, officially choosing Victor Marx — a lunatic who has made wild claims about everything from killing people to being a military hero — as their nominee for governor in Colorado. Marx was officially declared the winner on Thursday evening, besting state Sen. Barbara Kirkmeyer by less than half a point 39.86% to 39.40%." Oh, read on. BTW, the media have barely mentioned this guy.
Maine Senate Race. Alec Hernandez of Politico: “Graham Platner has formally withdrawn his candidacy from the Maine Senate race, according to election officials — triggering the process to name his replacement on the ballot. 'The Secretary of State’s Office today confirmed that a formal notice has been received from U.S. Senate candidate Graham Platner,' the office said in a statement Friday. 'Because the candidate officially withdrew before 5 p.m. of the 2nd Monday in July, ... his name will not appear on the ballot, and his political party may replace him.'” ~~~
~~~ Reid Epstein & Tim Balk of the New York Times: “Maine Democrats will hold a convention on July 25 where they will select a new Senate nominee to replace Graham Platner, Charles F. Dingman, chair of the state party, said Friday. The convention will be held at the Cross Insurance Center, a small arena in Bangor, Maine, according to rules released by the state party. Maine Democrats are planning to hold county meetings to choose delegates next weekend and the state convention the weekend after that to pick a replacement for Mr. Platner, who filed paperwork to end his campaign on Friday. He had faced widespread pressure from party leaders and allies to bow out after a rape allegation, which he denies. Officials in the state are trying to create a process to choose a Platner replacement by a July 27 deadline, a herculean task for a small state party.”
New York. William Rashbaum, et al., of the New York Times: “New York City investigators and Manhattan prosecutors have opened a preliminary criminal inquiry into what caused columns inside a Midtown building to buckle this week, according to a city official and a person with knowledge of the matter.... The criminal inquiry is likely to be complex and labor intensive. The construction project at the site, the former headquarters of the drugmaker Pfizer, was set to be the largest residential conversion in the United States, and such projects can involve dozens of companies, subcontractors and developers with different roles and obligations. Piecing together what happened and why — and whether anyone was criminally responsible — can take months or years....”
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U.K. Royal Watch. Zane Irwin & Megan Specia of the New York Times: “In a step toward mending one of the world’s most-followed family feuds, Prince Harry, his wife and their two children met for the first time in years with Harry’s father, King Charles III, and Queen Camilla, Buckingham Palace said on Friday.... In 2020, Harry and his American-born wife, Meghan, stepped down from their royal duties, lost their 'royal highness' titles and moved to the United States. Friday’s visit was a sign of a détente between Harry and his father. Harry had not returned to Britain with wife and children since Queen Elizabeth II’s Platinum Jubilee in June 2022. Harry had visited his father in Britain by himself last fall.... It was the first time in several years that Charles, 77, and his grandchildren, aged 7 and 5, met in person. Buckingham Palace said there would be no images released of the family visit at Highgrove House, a country estate that is one of the king and queen’s residences.”
13 comments:
The Pro Diversity Party
T**** gas. In NE Massachusetts, it shot up from $3.72 to $3.99 in the last few days. Thanks, Obama.
Brian Beutler
"The Insurgency Will Continue Until Morale Improves
How Democratic voters began to question, and ultimately lost faith in, their party's establishment: a comprehensive history."
"These Maine librarians are helping patrons resist AI and Big Tech
In recent months, the Searsmont Town Library has added a new service for patrons: Help in removing AI from their phones and other devices.
“A lot of times, it’s just telling people that they have choices,” Library Director Steven Brown said. “Their phone came a certain way, but they don’t have to use it the way that it came.”"
Another Money Grab
"President Donald Trump’s midterm “convention” will choose neither a candidate nor a platform, but state parties are nevertheless charging as much as $20,000 to be an “honorary delegate” on the floor of the Dallas Mavericks’ arena."
When DJT finally kicks the bucket, it's gonna take lots of super-glue to seal
those lips or they just gonna keep on spitting out BS and lies forever.
It's all about who you can hire.
"Justice Department leaders plan to drop charges against the alleged mastermind of a cryptocurrency Ponzi scheme that prosecutors said defrauded investors of $722 million, reversing course on a 2019 indictment that was nearing trial. The deputy attorney general’s office in Washington recently ordered the New Jersey US attorney’s office to dismiss the prosecution with prejudice.
Facing counts of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and to sell unregistered securities, Goettsche assembled a team of lawyers with connections to the Trump administration to lobby DOJ for relief, said the individuals, who spoke anonymously about internal deliberations. The men urging the department to abandon the case included Bradford Cohen, a Florida lawyer who’s supported Trump since appearing as a contestant on his reality show, “The Apprentice.”"
Some odds and ends…with no end to the oddities in sight…
So…the Gray Lady, exhibiting its usual blend of extreme caution and pusillanimous pussyfooting when reflecting on the Domesday Book sized litany of Trumpy criminality sez “The $2.2 billion windfall ... [Donald] Trump reaped since his second term has raised questions over potential conflicts of interest and whether he has profited from public office…”
POSSIBLE conflicts of interest????
This fucking guy personally controls the destiny and success of businesses he then invests in in order to reap billions in ROI, but you’re not sure this a conflict of interest?
In other news, the Times reports that the sun may possibly influence life on earth. More investigation will be necessary.
One of the reasons we are in this horrible place is because of exactly this sort of cowardly reporting.
Next: “Trump l’oeil? Hahaha! Excellent.
Then we have the ongoing saga of Kash and Karry’s use of taxpayer money and government planes, choppers, limos, and security to visit his girlfriend and joyride around the country. So, two things about that.
First, Fat Hitler’s flunkies are perturbed that K&K whines about the coverage he gets in the media? Seriously? Their mob boss doesn’t just whine about this sort of thing, he demands reporters be hauled into court, arrested, drawn and quartered. Fuck’s sake.
Second, if Fatty gives K&K the boot, who will he pick to replace him? It will either be someone even more incompetent, or a real hard core rat fucker who will make it his mission to destroy the Orange Monster’s enemies.
Fences around Lafayette Park? Bibi must be getting a good laugh out of his “top secret intel” report that Iran’s mullahs want Fatty dead. Of COURSE they do!! This is a surprise? But now little donald probably sees assassins in his Cap’n Crunch cereal, so put up more fences! How about a moat around DC and a medieval wall with machine gun turrets every fifty feet? Why not? That taxpayer money is his personal piggy bank.
In addition to the obvious self-dealing, which as Akhilleus says the NYTimes is too cowardly to properly label, we have finally reached the stage in history that R's have been pointing to for friggin' ever: We do have a president who is running government like a business: his very own.
It's impossible for Congress, let alone the little we's who live in the real world, to find out where all the federal money now that the Pretender is treating the Federal Treasury like his personal band, is going. We get dribs and drabs, but no clear accounting of anything. From the onset, DOGE rip and tore, made false claims, ultimately saving pennies and costing dollars in amounts no one ever fully identified and reported. And those costs in deaths, inefficiencies from understaffing, consequent lawsuits and for rehiring forced b y courts or occasional outbursts of sanity are still accumulating.
Money is moved without Congressional approval from one account to another, and no one knows how much, when, where or at whose direction. The 250th celebration, all the ego-fulfillment construction projects, the non-competitive bids, the payouts, let alone the small matter of the billions in purloined Venezuela oil....is already a mess that makes Enron's dodgy books seem like elementary arithmetic. I suspect what is happening with federal expenditures will take years to untangle....if anyone ever does.
But we do have a president who is running the country like one of his own businesses, and we know how many of them ended. The R's, must be in heaven.
As seen on Bluesky, Mrs Betty Bowers calls attention to the extraordinarily tacky update to the Rose Garden The White House has become Dollar Store Caesar’s Palace
For a one hour escape from t**** news, check out the BBC program Discovering Rhapsody in Blue
@Akhilleus: Somebody should tell the New York Times editors and other media outlets what a conflict of interest is. Even Art Intel knows: "A conflict of interest is a situation where an individual's personal, financial, or social interests could compromise their professional judgment, objectivity, or duties. It occurs when competing loyalties make it difficult to act impartially for the benefit of an employer or clients."
Ergo, as I wrote the other day, if you regulate a business in which you have a financial interest -- even if you attempt to make impartial judgments, even if you succeed in that attempt -- you still have a conflict of interest, not a potential conflict of interest. The media, however, pretend that they can't nail Trump's conflict of interest unless he is found guilty of dipping into the till by a court of law.
Criminality is is NOT what a conflict of interest is. It is putting yourself is a position (or letting someone else put you in a position) in which you could benefit by your particular power to tip the scales in your direction. You don't have to actually take advantage of the situation. You don't have to do it. You just have to be there.
The Never Ending Trumpy War, Incompetence, and the Grifters
Four people are essentially responsible for Fat Hitler's War of Choice, Ego, and Stupidity. Bibi, of course, the War Whisperer "C'mon, Don, it'll be easy, drop a few bombs, kill a bunch of evil Mooslims, and you'll be a hero." Right. That's JUST how it worked out.
Just as importantly, we have to the two Grift Boys, 666 Jared and Condo Man Witkoff. To say these guys are incompetent is a dire understatement. And the incompetence is global and all consuming. First, we have to go back to the "negotiations", such as they were, of the Fat Hitler attempt to replace the well designed agreement that was put in place during the Obama administration, the one a certain moron ripped up because "no nigra is gonna beat Donald". That agreement was developed over months by professionals and experts in nuclear arms, nuclear power, and statecraft. You know who fills those roles now?
No one. Why? Trump. That's why. In the run up to the war, Witkoff and Kushner went into those negotiations with NO input from experts in nuclear power or armaments. This was beyond stupid.
"One senior European diplomat said that without such expert assistance, Witkoff and Kushner struggled to grasp the significance of different levels of enriched uranium and how they are used, and had to have it explained to them.
'How can you negotiate when you don’t understand the fundamentals?' the diplomat told Reuters."
(from a Daily Beast article, 5/21/26)
What he said. Look at it this way. Would you hire a nuclear physicist as a condo salesman? Then why would you think a condo salesman could have the foggiest notion of what the guys across the table are talking about when they bring up uranium enrichment tables?
So THAT "negotiation" failed miserably, because neither of the two knuckleheads sent over to diplomacy the thing had a clue. Oh, and by the way, a REAL expert, Joe Kent resigned as director of the National Counterterrorism Center and announced that Iran posed 'no imminent threat' to the U.S. And Kent was no Peace, Love, Dove liberal. He was a Trump guy, a former Army officer and former Central Intelligence Agency paramilitary officer who served as the director of the National Counterterrorism Center from 2025 to 2026. This guy said "Don't worry about Iran".
But Witkoff the Witless, after he failed at his job, came out and said "Aieeeee! They're gonna kill us all!"
So....next stop....WAR.
Okay, so the WAR was a HUGE fail for the Fat Fascist. Not a one of the big goals he set for his War of Ego and Idiocy were achieved, and now it's time to negotiate a peace treaty (such as it is). So who to send? The same incompetent boobs who caused the war to begin in the FIRST PLACE!
And before I forget, the fourth, and most important member of Iran War fiasco: Fat Hitler himself.
So the two idiots, with help from Shady Vance and Marco Rubio come up with something called a Memo of Understanding, which has from its signing been more like a Memo of Misunderstanding. This is because Fatty wanted something done quick and dirty, as is his wont. And. quick and dirty is the specialty of Witkoff and Kushner who needed to get out of Dodge asap to get back to grifting, their day job.
So a shitty memo, no understanding, more bombs being dropped, oil prices skyrocketing (again) and no peace in sight.
It's how he does everything. But leave us not forget that it was Witkoff and Kushner whose stupidity and incompetence started the war and keep it going even as we speak.
That's the guy who put me in here!
And Trump isn't the only one doing renovations. I guess this might be the real why Mitch's wife came back from her trip.
Though McConnell staying in the hospital for as long as possible is the best thing for this country since it means one less Republican vote to protect Trump from any accountability or support his terrible policies.
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