August 18, 2026

Everything Is Going Very Smoothly

Jenny Gross of the New York Times: “Two ships in the Strait of Hormuz were attacked in recent days..., maritime officials said on Tuesday, as a declining number of vessels brave the dangerous passageway. Both vessels were hit by unknown projectiles as they passed through the strait, according to the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations agency. A crew member on one ship that was sailing close to Oman was killed, the Joint Maritime Information Center, a multinational organization, said. On the other vessel, there was a 'crew casualty,' U.K. maritime officials said. Iran has not commented on either attack.” The link is a gift link. 

Joe Rennison & Gregory Schmidt of the New York Times: “Investor angst over stubborn inflation, unsustainable government deficits and rampant spending on artificial intelligence helped send borrowing costs to multiyear highs across the world this week. The yield on the 30-year U.S. Treasury bond rose on Tuesday to 5.3 percent, its highest level since 2007. Similar bonds in Canada, Japan, Germany and elsewhere also traded at their highest yields in at least a decade. The yields underpin interest rates on long-dated consumer borrowing like mortgages, with the rise adding to everyday citizens’ concerns over affordability that have taken hold both domestically and abroad. That is a problem for government leaders, including ... [Donald] Trump, whose administration has pointed to bond yields as a barometer of success in improving affordability. So far, Mr. Trump has shown no signs that he is willing to ameliorate two of the drivers of rising yields by either taking aggressive steps to rein in government borrowing or quickly ending the war with Iran, which had been contributing to elevated fuel prices and inflation.” The link is a gift link. 

An Oldie But Goodie:

Dan Diamond, et al., of the Washington Post: “Historic preservationists on Tuesday asked the Supreme Court to keep ... Donald Trump’s ballroom construction on hold while litigation plays out, warning of an administration effort to 'outrun judicial review.' The National Trust for Historic Preservation, which sued last year to halt the project, said Trump had exceeded his authority by attempting to build the planned $400 million ballroom by soliciting private donations rather than seeking congressional approval. They also criticized the White House for racing to complete its construction, with administration officials last week telling the high court that work is '65 percent complete' and that it is too late to stop the project.”

A Whistleblower Confirms the Obvious. Jeremy Roebuck of the Washington Post: “The Trump administration task force charged with investigating antisemitism on Ivy League campuses pressured universities into punitive settlements despite turning up little to no evidence of systemic abuse, according to a whistleblower complaint made public Tuesday. The complaint — filed by Haley Van Erem, a former career attorney in the Justice Department’s civil rights division who said she was involuntarily detailed to work on the probes last year — alleged that the outcomes of investigations into schools like Harvard, Brown and Columbia were 'predetermined without regard to the evidence' in a 'politically mandated effort' to suspend their government funding and grab headlines. When career attorneys raised objections that the evidence did not support the administration’s position or the tactics it was pursuing, including targeting Muslim professors for interviews, they were overruled and ignored, she said.... Van Erem’s attorneys filed her complaint Monday with the Republican chairs and senior Democrats on the House and Senate Judiciary committees. The document was released Tuesday by Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-Maryland), the top Democrat on the House Judiciary Committee.”

Jim Rutenberg & John Koblin of the New York Times: “ABC sued the Federal Communications Commission on Tuesday, accusing the agency of violating the First Amendment in its efforts to possibly strip the network’s local broadcasting licenses. The company asked a federal court to stop the F.C.C. from pursuing the regulatory moves, which the network said posed an 'existential threat' to its operations.” The link is a gift link. Politico's story is here.

Paul Waldman: Natalie Harp "is about to be a full-fledged character in the dramedy of the Trump White House, discussed in the news and recognized by ordinary people. And while the White House and its allies are pretending to be outraged about that fact, it’s completely appropriate and long overdue. There is literally no single person who spends as much time at the side of the president of the United States as her [she!]; the idea that it should somehow be off-limits to discuss her role is bonkers.... In this White House, she’s an incredibly important figure. She is the most important channel through which he receives and distributes information, and because Trump is impulsive, mercurial, and has the emotional regulation of a toddler, the person most responsible for determining his psychological state is central to the work of the administration. I have no opinion on whether Trump and Harp are having an affair. He cheated on all his wives, and there’s no reason to believe he isn’t still doing it with somebody or other; it might be Harp, or it might not be." ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: The Trump crew can express all the feigned outrage they want. First of all, it's sexist: commentators knock the men in Trump's orbit all the time, so there's no reason not to criticize Harp. Being "a conventionally attractive wom[a]n," as Josh Marshall put it, is not a free pass. Second, you know Trump is loving this: he's a fat, unattractive, sickly 80-year-old man in diapers, and the fact that he's getting press as the "love interest" of "a conventionally attractive woman" less than half his age must be flattering. He's old Henry VIII, without the talent and intelligence.

Marie: There was a part of Trump's Oval office putdown of CNN reporter Kristen Holmes that I didn't understand, even though I saw the clip twice: "... You’re very disrespectful in front of this young man, okay? Don’t you find her disrespectful? He understands...." ~~~

~~~ Andrew Feinberg of the Independent Provides the Explanation. And It's Bad: “Donald Trump berated a female CNN reporter in the Oval Office on Monday, awkwardly trying to rope in a 10-year-old boy seated in front of him to make his case for cutting her off, then turning to the teenage lifeguard who rescued that child to support him in his media bashing. Trump was hosting Ryder Williams, the 16-year-old lifeguard from Santa Cruz, California, who was filmed last month pulling Nathaniel Rai, 10, from heavy surf at Seabright State Beach. Sitting with them in the Oval Office was Nathaniel himself. The rescue went viral and prompted the president to invite Williams to the White House for what he called 'a High Civilian Honor.' As the reporter, veteran CNN correspondent Kristen Holmes, tried to ask the president whether there are sufficient supplies and food aboard U.S.S. Abraham Lincoln, he angrily cut her off and cited Rai’s presence as a reason to do so. 'Quiet! You're very disrespectful in front of this young man,' Trump said. The president then turned to Williams, seated beside him, and asked: 'Don't you find her disrespectful?' 'He understands. Quiet!' Trump further berated the reporter." ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: Enlisting a confused 10-year-old and a teenager in your petty grievances is far more reprehensible than the petty grievances themselves. It's one thing for a POTUS* to pick on a female reporter; the power dynamic is grossly skewed. But dragging a 10-year-old into it? Really? And a teenager who thinks he's there to get an award? Have you no sense of decency, sir, at long last? Nope.

Jake Spring of the Washington Post: “The Trump administration Tuesday proposed a full repeal of a rule that for decades has prevented road-building and logging inside tens of millions of acres of near-pristine national forests, a move that environmental advocates fear could fragment already-threatened woodlands. The Agriculture Department said that the 2001 Roadless Area Conservation Rule, often called the 'roadless rule,' was outdated and that greater flexibility was needed to combat the growing threat of wildfires on public land. Roads can provide greater access for firefighting crews and can serve as firebreaks.... The existing rule also prohibits commercial logging in areas that the Forest Service has officially designated as 'inventoried roadless areas,' or areas of national forest deemed to be generally undeveloped. Advocacy groups criticized the move as opening up vast areas of largely untouched forests to degradation. They argue the changes could lead to more fires as humans, who are the cause of 9 out of 10 fires, gain easier access to remote areas....” ~~~

     ~~~ Lisa Friedman & Maxine Joselow of the New York Times: are much more direct than is Spring in pinpointing the administration's real motivate. Here's their lede: “The Trump administration on Tuesday advanced a plan to open nearly 45 million acres of wilderness in national forests to road construction and logging, removing protections that had been in place for a quarter century.” The link is a gift link.

Silvia Foster-Frau of the Washington Post: “Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison filed a lawsuit Tuesday against Texas Gov. Greg Abbott, alleging the governor is refusing to extradite a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent charged with shooting an immigrant during Operation Metro Surge. Christian Castro, 52, is facing four counts of assault and one count of falsely reporting a crime related to a Jan. 14 incident in which prosecutors allege he fired through the front door of a Minneapolis home he knew was occupied. Hennepin County Attorney Mary Moriarty and Ellison have sent letters to Abbott urging him to sign off on the officer’s extradition after Castro was charged in May. Last week, Ellison warned Abbott he would sue if he did not authorize Castro’s extradition by the end of the day Monday.... A spokesperson for the Texas governor’s office said he would not comment on 'pending extradition matters.'” ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: According to my, uh, lawyer Art Intel, "... U.S. states must honor each other's extradition requests under Article IV, Section 2 of the U.S. Constitution and the federal Extradition Act. When a governor receives a proper demand from another state, they have a legal duty to arrest and return the fugitive."  

We all know Trump's executive order prohibiting "vats of vaccine" being administered to babies was stupid on a number of levels. Here are some important ones: ~~~  

~~~ AP via PBS: “Public health experts have been quick to condemn an executive order from ... Donald Trump aimed at upending childhood vaccinations in the U.S., but the biggest obstacles may be the unprecedented financial and logistical challenges it would impose on parents, health providers and drugmakers. Monday's announcement by the Republican president calls for separating combination shots — including the measles, mumps and rubella, or MMR, vaccine — into separate injections. Appointments for that and other vaccinations should be spaced out whenever possible, the order states. To accomplish that, drugmakers would need to revive a slate of individual vaccines that have not been widely used in the U.S. for decades. They would also have to build new manufacturing plants capable of producing millions more vaccine doses than the nation currently uses.

“For parents, unbundling the MMR vaccine and spacing out the shots would mean returning to the doctor's office many more times than is currently needed. Those appointments could also strain pediatricians who typically administer the shots, while driving up costs tied to syringes and other medical supplies. Studies in the U.S. and other countries have shown that combination vaccines increase the likelihood that children will be fully protected from infectious diseases before starting school.” Thanks to RAS for the link.

     ~~~ Marie: Obviously, in a reasonably well-functioning administration, even contemplating a decision like this would involve input from and coordination among stakeholders and experts. But no. Trump thinks his dictatorial pronouncements are "wins," and this was another "win" he wanted to slip in before the fall elections. Reality and everybody else be damned. 

~~~~~~~~~~ 

How Trump Spent a Summer Weekend. Heather Cox Richardson: "From Friday through Sunday, Trump continued his now-habitual weekend flooding of social media with fantasies that he is smart, beloved, and powerful." Quite a read. 

Trump Threatens to “Bomb the Shit Out of” Ally Oman. Rachel Chason of the Washington Post: “... Donald Trump on Monday threatened to bomb Oman, which has been in talks with Iran about a solution to reopen the Strait of Hormuz.... Asked [during a Fox 'News' interview] about the negotiations between Iran and Oman regarding control of the strait, Trump said, 'If Oman gets in the way, we’ll bomb the s--- out of them,' according to Fox News correspondent Trey Yingst, who was recounting his conversation with Trump. According to Yingst, Trump also said that Iran should 'wave the white flag of surrender,' but the president indicated he did not have a timetable for ending the war.” (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~

     ~~~ Luke Broadwater of the New York Times: “The latest threat toward Oman, which has facilitated talks between the United States and Iran for years and maintains that it is still a neutral mediator, came as Mr. Trump found himself without much leverage to reach the goals he set out at the start of the war.... It was the second time this year the president has threatened the country. After it emerged in May that Oman had discussed partnering with Iran to charge fees for ships to pass through the strait, Mr. Trump snapped. 'Oman will behave just like everybody else, or we’ll have to blow them up,' Mr. Trump told reporters that month. 'They understand that. They’ll be fine.'” The link is a gift link. (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~

~~~ Zachary Basu of Axios: "Trump has spent his second term battering U.S. allies, humiliating their leaders and using decades-old security relationships to settle personal and political scores. The Iran war has only deepened those impulses: Trump is growing angrier at allies that stayed out of the conflict — and punishing them as he struggles to end it.... The same war fueling Trump's fury at U.S. allies is also exposing the limits of American hard power.... Trump is teaching America's partners to prepare for a world in which Washington may not be there when they need it. That gives them every incentive to hedge against the U.S. — and gradually erodes the network of relationships that has amplified American power for generations."

David Halbfinger & Adam Rasgon of the New York Times: “Jared Kushner..., [Donald] Trump’s son-in-law and senior aide, met for several hours with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel in Jerusalem on Monday in an effort to break a logjam over Mr. Trump’s plan for the future of the war-ravaged Gaza Strip. Mr. Kushner traveled to the region with representatives of Mr. Trump’s Board of Peace after Mr. Netanyahu rejected a deal for Hamas to disarm. A 15-point 'road map' that Hamas agreed with the Board of Peace called for the militant group to lay down its weapons and for Israeli forces to withdraw from Gaza. Mr. Trump’s announcement last month that the Board of Peace had secured Hamas’s agreement to disarm briefly raised hopes for progress. The president’s plan had been stalled for months over Hamas’s resistance to disarming and Israel’s continuing airstrikes and military operations in Gaza.” The link is a gift link. MB: No doubt Jared is perturbed that the failure of the Bored of Peas proposal is holding up his plans for the Kushner Gaza Beach Resort Hotel. 

Trump thought posting this was a good idea.

~~~ Paul Krugman Gets to the Heart of the Problem: “I know that Donald Trump does something new and terrible every day, sometimes several times a day. Yet his betrayal of South Korea in favor of his 'very good relationship with Kim Jong Un' stands out even among his many betrayals.... North Korea isn’t simply a bad government, just another murderous authoritarian regime. It is something that has become rare, even among dictatorships: a full-blown totalitarian state, in which the government controls every aspect of life and even thinking dissident thoughts is a crime.... North Korea is ... arguably the worst regime on the planet. South Korea is, by contrast, one of the happiest stories in history.... Trump clearly prefers a nightmarish, totalitarian dictatorship ... to a vibrant, successful democracy. A democracy, by the way, that more than 36,000 Americans gave their lives to defend during the Korean War. America has a president who hates everything our nation was supposed to stand for.” ~~~

~~~ Steve Benen of MS NOW: “Throughout Donald Trump’s first term, the president went to bizarre lengths to cozy up to North Korea, a longtime enemy of the United States, while alienating South Korea, a longtime U.S. ally.... We do not yet know for certain whether the president’s rhetoric reflects reality. Trump said he’d directed the Pentagon to 'substantially reduce' the U.S. role in the military exercises, but he claims all sorts of things, many of which prove baseless. Indeed, the long-planned exercises began Monday as scheduled.... Democratic Sen. Jack Reed of Rhode Island, the ranking member on the Senate Armed Services Committee..., [said in a] written statement..., 'This is another inane, haphazard decision by President Trump and his chaotic administration. America’s alliances are built on trust and strength. When President Trump cuts military exercises to flatter a dictator or punishes South Korea for declining to join a war he started, all of our allies — and adversaries — think that America’s commitments are negotiable. Kim Jong Un has won a propaganda victory and South Korea, one of our strongest allies, has been punished for no reason beyond Trump’s ego.'” ~~~

~~~ Lim Hui Jie of CNBC: “South Korean President Lee Jae Myung said Tuesday that maintaining peace was 'most important' for the country, but it needs to prepare for the 'worst case scenario.' His comments come after ... Donald Trump ordered Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth to 'substantially reduce' joint drills with Seoul so as to not 'send a signal that is totally inappropriate and hostile' to North Korea.”

Tara Copp of the Washington Post: “A U.S. Navy destroyer experienced a complete loss of power while deployed in the South China Sea last month, leaving sailors without drinkable water, meals, running toilets or air conditioning for four days. The USS Benfold was sailing with the George Washington carrier strike group July 24 when an 'engineering casualty involving its generators' caused a complete loss of power aboard the ship, a U.S. 7th Fleet spokesman, Cmdr. Matthew Comer, said in a statement. The Navy did not immediately address questions about why it did not disclose the incident until now.... Other ships traveling in the carrier strike group, including the cruiser USS Robert Smalls, helped provide meals to the Benfold as the ship was towed into port in the Philippines. Once there, the crew was provided contracted housing and meals off the ship, [a 7th Fleet spokesman] said.” 

Pete Would Like to Help, But He's Busy Politicking. Bayliss Wagner of the New York Times: “Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth campaigned on Monday in Iowa for Representative Zach Nunn, stepping into the political arena in a way previous leaders of the Pentagon have avoided. Mr. Hegseth appeared at a veteran-focused fund-raising event at the Iowa State Fair alongside Mr. Nunn, who is one of the most vulnerable House Republicans in this year's midterms. [Mr. Hegseth] touted Mr. Nunn’s candidacy and was sharply critical of previous Democratic administrations.... 'According to the lawyers, I’m only here in a personal capacity today, as a veteran and a patriotic American,' he said. 'I have to say that,' he added.” The link is a gift link. 

Scott Nover of the Washington Post: “The White House on Monday leveled a sharply personal attack against CNN reporter Kristen Holmes after she asked ... Donald Trump a pointed question during a news conference, crossing a barrier rarely breached by politicians to invoke her children. 'Jon Ossoff said you’d rather travel with your aide Natalie Harp and build the ballroom than do your job as president,' Holmes said. 'What is your response?' Trump answered Holmes’s question with an insult to Sen. Jon Ossoff (D-Georgia), whom he called a 'Pee-wee Herman look-alike.'... At another point, the president shushed [Holmes]: 'Quiet. Quiet. Quiet. You’re very disrespectful in front of this young man, okay? Don’t you find her disrespectful? He understands. Quiet. Who are you with?' 'I’m with CNN,' Holmes replied. 'Fake news. You’re fake news. You’re loud. You’re a loud, boisterous person. You’re fake news,' Trump said. 'Be quiet, be quiet, be quiet. You’re a fake reporter, and you report fake news.'...

“Then the White House’s 'rapid response' account on X took up the altercation, posting a video clip of the exchange and assailing Holmes as a 'disgraceful, humiliating embarrassment to her alleged profession.' In a follow-up tweet, the account dipped into a more personal line of attack: 'Someday, your children will come across your disgusting and inhumane question,' the White House wrote. 'They will be sickened and embarrassed to have a parent be so callous and vindictive. It’s quite troubling.'” A Guardian story is here. Related stories re: Ossoff & Harp linked below. ~~~

~~~ Shelby Talcott of Semafor: “[White House] communications director Steven Cheung dubbed [Jon Ossoff] 'the biggest cuck loser in politics' on X. White House spokesman Davis Ingle slammed Ossoff as 'a cringeworthy, feminine theatre kid cosplaying as Barack Obama.'... [Ossoff's] comment that Trump 'wants to build his ballroom and travel with Natalie' landed as 'a cheap shot,' one administration official said.”

Ann Marimow of the New York Times: “The Supreme Court for a second time refused a request by ... [Donald] Trump to review a $5 million civil judgment against him after a jury found in 2023 that he had sexually abused and defamed the writer E. Jean Carroll. The announcement on Monday did not include the justices’ reasons, which is typical when the court issues routine orders. There were no noted dissents. Mr. Trump paid Ms. Carroll in July, a few days after the court initially turned away the president’s appeal. He also made a long-shot request to the justices that they reconsider, which the court formally declined on Monday. The president has separately asked the Supreme Court to overturn a much larger award of $83.3 million that a jury ordered him to pay in 2024 for defaming Ms. Carroll in 2019, after she accused him of a decades-old rape. The justices are on summer recess and not expected to consider whether to take up that case until late September at the earliest.” The link is a gift link.  (Also linked yesterday.) An ABC News story on the ruling was linked yesterday.

It's Okay If I Do It. Chris Cameron of the New York Times: Donald “Trump voted by mail ahead of Florida’s Republican primary on Tuesday, according to the White House, participating for at least the third time in a practice that he has railed against for years and has equated to cheating.” The link is a gift link. Here's a Politico story. ~~~

~~~ Marie: You may think Trump's voting my mail is hypocritical. It is not. Whoever votes by mail -- himself included -- is cheating, as far as Trump is concerned. It's just that cheating is a way of life for Donald: cheating his contractors, cheating on his taxes, cheating on his wives, even cheating death. Cheating is a source of pleasure -- and often income -- for him. Oh, did I mention cheating at golf? ~~~ 

~~~ Marie's Sports Report. Rick Reilly in a Washington Post op-ed: “You people make me sick. Just because ... Donald Trump is 80 years old with a pancake-flat golf swing and the chipping skills of Edward Scissorhands, you refuse to believe he could shoot a 70 and hog two trophies a couple of weeks ago at his Bedminster course in New Jersey. He says he 'won' both the senior (over 50) and super senior (over 60) titles by shooting 10 strokes below his age — which is like kicking a 120-yard field goal in snowshoes.” Read on. For you sports fans, the link is a gift link. 

Owen Scott of the Independent: “Georgia Sen. Jon Ossoff hit out at the commander-in-chief’s priorities in a scathing rally speech in Atlanta Sunday, criticizing the handling of the Iran war, the recently revealed decoy Air Force One operation and alluding to morale issues on board the USS Abraham Lincoln. 'While the sailors on the Lincoln fight his war, while he fruitlessly drains our munitions and oil reserves, the president sleeps through his meetings, Ossoff said. 'He golfs and trades stocks. See, he doesn’t want to do his job.... He wants to build his ballroom and travel with Natalie on their apparently defenseless flying palace gifted by the Emir of Qatar,' Ossoff added to a roar of applause.” (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~

~~~ Josh Marshall of TPM: "Given that Natalie Harp is not only a conventionally attractive women but also Trump’s type, there’s an obvious and understandable inclination to imagine that they are involved in a sexual relationship. Perhaps they are.... If they are having an affair, mostly who cares? There are so many other higher priority dangers this rapidly-fading, degenerate man-child poses to our country and our future.... The more public-relevant issue with Harp is that she appears, from pretty credible reporting, to be a key vector for Trump’s incoming and outgoing information.  She notoriously carries with her a portable printer and batteries so she can print out flattering press coverage.... Then Trump ... adopts [the far-right absurdities] as his own.... Harp seems to be the vector for a lot of that." (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~

~~~ So then watch this video, which obviously was recorded during the 2024 presidential campaign. That's Harp sitting next to Trump and typing up his social media posts: ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: So who do you suppose is typing out those infamous 500-word social media posts at 2:00 in the morning? I'm guessing it's not the author of COVFEFE.... 

The Arrogancy* Takes Another Hit. Chris Cameron of the New York Times: “A federal judge in Maryland blocked the Trump administration from abandoning a planned move for the F.B.I. from its crumbling headquarters in Washington to a new facility in Prince George’s County, Md. In a 47-page ruling, Judge Theodore Chuang of the Federal District Court in Maryland wrote that “the F.B.I. erroneously concluded” that it could select a new headquarters for itself without consulting Congress. In reality, Judge Chuang wrote, Congress had already approved the Biden administration plan for the F.B.I. to move to Maryland. Congress had not signed off on the Trump administration’s decision to end that plan and instead move the agency to the Ronald Reagan Building in downtown Washington — a building that was recently vacated by the U.S. Agency for International Development.... The ruling is almost certainly not the end of the lengthy dispute over the F.B.I.’s future headquarters. Presidents, lawmakers and agency officials have for years jockeyed over the effort to relocate the country’s premier law enforcement agency. In the meantime, the F.B.I. continues to operate from its old headquarters, an aging colossus veiled in netting to keep concrete from falling on passers-by.” The link is a gift link.

Here's How Republicans Are Managing Your Money. Steve Thompson & Riley Beggin of the Washington Post: “The U.S. national debt is likely to surpass $40 trillion this week, months earlier than forecasters previously expected, in part because of billions of dollars in lost revenue from ... Donald Trump’s invalidated tariffs. The lost revenue has forced the U.S. Treasury Department to borrow more rapidly to cover the nation’s bills: Six months ago, the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office projected that total borrowing would top out at $39.4 trillion this fiscal year. But on Monday, Treasury reported that the debt stood at $39.9 trillion and counting. The faster accumulation of debt means the next deadline for raising the legal limit on borrowing is also likely to arrive ahead of schedule.”

Maia Spoto & Murray Carpenter of the New York Times: “The Department of Homeland Security said its inspector general would investigate an agent’s decision to open fire on a Colombian immigrant last month in Maine. But scant information about the inquiry has frustrated the victim’s family. The man, Johan Sebastián Durán Guerrero, was killed by an immigration agent during a July 13 confrontation in the coastal city of Biddeford. Neither the D.H.S. nor Immigration and Customs Enforcement has said publicly whether Mr. Durán Guerrero, 25, was the target of the enforcement operation. But the D.H.S. defended the officer who opened fire, saying he had done so while 'fearing for public safety.' In an effort to draw attention to the many unanswered questions, Democratic members of Congress held a public forum on Monday in Biddeford and were joined by Mr. Durán Guerrero’s relatives in demanding more information. The auditorium where the forum was held was packed, with about 200 people, many of them wearing T-shirts and carrying placards critical of ICE. The crowd punctuated the lawmakers’ comments with raucous applause, and occasional chants of 'ICE out,' and 'abolish ICE.'” The link is a gift link.

Gabby Birenbaum of the Texas Tribune: "U.S. Customs and Border Protection Commissioner Rodney Scott announced that his agency is pausing construction work in Big Bend National Park while he conducts an 'on-the-ground evaluation,' reversing course after heavy machinery had begun moving dirt.... Scott’s announcement comes amid massive outcry from local residents, businesses and law enforcement officials. Many have derided plans to build border infrastructure in the parklands and called for CBP officials to engage with their concerns. It was not immediately clear how long CBP plans to implement the pause. The federal government plans to build an access road and vehicle barriers in the park, a treasured spot for generations of Texans.” 

The Dangerous Cult of the Stupid. Teddy Rosenbluth, et al., of the New York Times: “At a time when measles and other potentially deadly diseases are spreading, more American children are receiving exemptions allowing them to attend school without the routine childhood shots that can protect against those illnesses. Roughly 4 percent of kindergartners in the United States were given a nonmedical exemption for at least one vaccine during the 2025-26 school year, an 18 percent jump from the previous year, according to new data released on Monday by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. That rise, the largest annual increase recorded in more than a decade, comes as a growing number of states look to loosen vaccine mandates or even do away with them entirely.” The link is a gift link. ~~~

~~~ "Cassidy's Kids." Scott Lemieux in LG&$: "Meanwhile, the man who could have stopped RFK Jr. and didn’t [-- Senator/Doctor Bill Cassidy (R-La.) --] remains unrepentant even though it failed to even save his miserable political career.... [Cassidy went on CNBC & declared that when he voted to confirm RFKJ, he could see into the future and know that Kennedy was lying to him when he pledged not to change the vaccine regimen.] Who could have predicted that the nation’s most prominent opponent of vaccines, who was appointed to a position for which he was wholly unqualified solely because of his opposition to vaccines, would undermine vaccinations? It is simply impossible to know something like this, or whether it will be hot in Phoenix in July." 

Michael Gold of the New York Times: “The House Ethics Committee announced on Monday that it was investigating whether Representative Jimmy Gomez had engaged in inappropriate sexual contact with a House staffer, as the California Democrat conceded he had made 'personal mistakes' outside his marriage. Mr. Gomez, 51, who represents parts of Los Angeles, said in a statement that he regretted his mistakes, but he denied any wrongdoing, saying that his actions 'were consensual in nature and haven’t violated the law or House Ethics rules.... House rules instituted in 2018, after the #MeToo movement focused attention on sexual misconduct in the workplace, forbid members from engaging in sexual conduct with their own aides or those working on committees on which they serve. But the rules do not bar lawmakers from having relationships with other staff members whom they do not supervise.” The link is a gift link.

Zach Schonfeld of the Hill: “The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) asked the Supreme Court on Monday to hear its challenge to Texas’s law requiring public school classrooms to post the Ten Commandments.  Representing a group of parents from various faiths, the civil liberties organization says the law violates the First Amendment’s religious protections.”

Tina Gets a New Job. Maybe. Jack Healy of the New York Times: “Two months after her early release from prison, the election denier Tina Peters has a new job prospect: helping to oversee voting in a conservative corner of Northern California where claims of election fraud have taken root.... On Sunday..., Clint Curtis, the clerk and registrar of voters in Shasta County, Calif., told a conservative radio host that he was planning to bring Ms. Peters on board next month as the new assistant registrar of voters.... Ms. Peters, who was a Colorado county clerk, was convicted in 2024 for tampering with voting machines in a scheme to show that the 2020 election was rigged against ... [Donald] Trump. It was unclear how real Mr. Curtis’s job offer actually was or whether Ms. Peters would accept it. Ms. Peters’s prison sentence was commuted, but the terms of her parole limit her ability to leave Colorado. And Mr. Curtis will only be in office until January, after losing the June election to a former elections official whom he had fired.” The link is a gift link.

Dan Watson of the New York Times: “A federal judge on Monday ordered the release of a Kentucky woman who was accused of vandalizing the World War II Memorial in Washington last week, rejecting a request from prosecutors that she remain in custody while awaiting trial on two felony charges. Federal prosecutors led by Jeanine Pirro, the U.S. attorney for the District of Columbia, asked the court to reverse the decision, arguing that Melissa L. Farris posed an 'exceptionally high risk of flight.'” The link is a gift link. Politico's story is here.

Annals of "Journalism," Ctd. Margaret Sullivan: The White House Correspondents Association's reaction to Donald Trump's leaving them as unwitting human shields aboard a falsely-dubbed "Air Force 1" was incredibly weak.  

~~~~~~~~~~

U.K. Sam Blewett of Politico: “... Prime Minister Andy Burnham engaged with messages ... with someone posing as White House chief of staff Susie Wiles before becoming suspicious that the contact was illegitimate, the officials said.” MB: Uh, excellent security system you Brits have there. (Also linked yesterday.)