Tuesday Mix

HEADLINES:

• Trump hid in catering truck in secret plane swap over Iran threat, reports say (BBC)

• Trump boarded secret Turkey flight via catering truck due to Iran threat, reports say (Reuters)

• Trump executive order would split up MMR vaccine (Axios)

• RFK Jr. is targeting a decades-old loophole allowing chemicals in food supply (WP)

• Earthquake Hits Colombia Days After New President Takes Reins (WSJ)

• Race to find Colombia earthquake survivors with help yet to reach epicenter (CNN)

• Trump demands compensation for US from Iran (The Hill)

• Iran changed the rules in Hormuz. The Gulf is changing the rules for Iran (Al Jazeera)

• The Delusions of John Roberts (New Yorker)

• Trump drags former FBI director James Comey into Reflecting Pool debacle (Independent)

• Hegseth pushes for Pentagon funding during renaming of military base after Lindsey Graham (CNN)

• Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) didn’t rule out running for president or Senate when asked about both prospects in an ABC News interview on Sunday. “I haven’t ruled out the possibility. And I’m very humbled to the tremendous amount of support out there,” said Ocasio-Cortez regarding a potential presidential run. (HuffPost)

• The Comforting Resurgence of ‘Grandma Hobbies’ (NYT)

• Wildfires burn across western US and Canada as residents are evacuated (AP)

• Photos: European Rivers Fall to Record Lows (Atlantic)

• Lake Mead, the Nation’s Largest Reservoir, Is Smaller Than Ever (NYT)

• US court rules Meta, other tech companies must face thousands of lawsuits over social media addiction (Reuters)

• Zuckerberg manifesto pushes an open-source approach on AI as Meta releases its latest model (AP)

• How to Disable the AI Features in Gmail and Google Docs (Wired)

• The Ball in OpenAI’s court (BI)

• They said they would build AI safely. Then it went rogue. (WP)

• Dept. Of Interior Grills Up Nation’s Remaining Endangered Species (Onion)

Monday Mix

HEADLINES:

• How Roy Cohn Made Donald Trump (New Yorker)

• 7.4-Magnitude Earthquake Shakes Colombia (NYT)

• At least 13 killed in Ukrainian drone strike deep into Russia (BBC)

• Iran says Oman deal is in ‘final stages’ but US must act to open Hormuz (Reuters)

• Rather than capitulating to the US, Iran toughens its demands over the vital Strait of Hormuz (CNN)

• Oil Prices Climb and Stocks Dip on Stalemate in Iran War (NYT)

• Netanyahu rejects US-led 15-point Gaza peace plan in rare public break with Trump (Guardian)

• The U.S. Is Burning Through Weapons in Iran. Russia and China Are Taking Note. (NYT)

• Pentagon asks defense companies to ramp up production as stockpiles run low during Iran war (CNN)

• Blanche’s confirmation fight was tough. Being Trump’s AG may be tougher. (WP)

• Trump's immigration crackdown looms over Minnesota's bruising Senate primary (AP)

• ‘Voters are fed up’: Michigan primary forces Democratic party to accept leftwing shift (Guardian)

• El-Sayed spoke with Obama as Michigan Democrats look to unite after a bitter Senate primary (AP)

• How Jeffrey Epstein’s island became a nightmare for influencers (BI)

• Iran war renews concerns about the lasting toll of traumatic brain injuries to US troops (AP)

• Crews battle wildfires in western U.S. and Canada (NPR)

• King’s Cross in London has become a hub for AI startups (UANews)

• Universities are fighting AI cheating. But there’s a deeper problem. (WP)

• Antichrist Rolls Eyes Throughout  Peter Thiel Lecture (Onion)

The Presidential Finger

(From last year.)

Volodymyr Zelenskyy, himself a former entertainer, has finally figured out Trump’s schtick.

I recently labeled Trump “America’s Hitler,” but I didn’t mean it to be taken literally. It’s a metaphor.

After all, Hitler wasn’t addicted to social media and didn’t have to deal with it. Trump is and does.

Trump as dictator is in many ways a laughable concept, although it’s not a funny one. His main accomplishment prior to his election was as a reality TV star — one who hired or fired people, seemingly on whim.

That role has translated perfectly to his governing style, which is primarily by whim. Or for that matter, U.S. foreign policy under Trump. It can change with the click of a finger.

But the presidency isn’t a TV show, no matter how much Trump tries to treat it as such.

And this is where this piece is going to take a weird turn. Take Marry Me, the 2022 film featuring an aging pop superstar, Jennifer Lopez, impulsively marrying a schlumpy math teacher, Owen Wilson, as a gimmick all on social media.

The film is not the first to explore the space between what’s real or not regarding love or fake marriages, but it does a good job at showing how under the right circumstances, a gimmick can over time become real in the age of social media, where everything in our lives seems like it can change with the click of a finger.

And that is my issue with Trump’s regime. It seems like a gimmick, a joke, but it’s not funny, and I am deeply afraid that it is becoming all too real. He may or may not be America’s Hitler, metaphorically speaking, but he’s most definitely some sort of a B-movie version, streaming on a platform near you.

HEADLINES:

• In Confirming Blanche, Senators Endorse a Justice Dept. Under Trump’s Sway (NYT)

• Trump’s top general is ‘looking for an off-ramp’ from Iran war as US military options remain limited, sources say (CNN)

• Netanyahu Rejects Trump’s Plan to Disarm Hamas (NYT)

• Iran says deal on Strait of Hormuz is close but is not enough to open the waterway (Reuters)

• What Mitch McConnell Did (Atlantic)

• The Government Shouldn’t Pick Winners and Losers in Media (Bulwark)

• ‘Communist losers’ and ‘Socialists’ (Reuters)

• The cost of waiting on the biggest merger in Hollywood history (NBC)

• Hunter Biden says Joe Biden’s cancer has spread further and is ‘very painful’ (CNBC)

• Europe’s conflict over migration (Reuters)

• U.S. Squeezes Cuba Even as It Searches for a New Regime Leader (NYT)

• Why MAGA Is So Obsessed With Fauci (Atlantic)

• How could New Mexico’s $567 million ruling change Meta? (Reuters)

• What’s the next big thing in social media? Meet 22 top VCs placing bets. (BI)

• How Elon Musk Is Re-Engineering the World (Reveal)

• Ring Launches Streaming  Service (Onion)

 

Saturday Mix

HEADLINES:

• Appeals court rules Trump can’t build White House ballroom without congressional approval (AP)

• Another court blocks White House ballroom work, teeing up a Supreme Court review (NPR)

• Trump again tries to restrict birthright citizenship after Supreme Court ruling (AP)

• Blanche Is Confirmed as Attorney General After Overcoming G.O.P. Concerns (NYT)

• ‘Whiffs of frozen hell and donkeys flying’: Senators sidestep one shutdown fight and set up another (MS Now)

• Trump declines to back Thune for another term as Senate GOP leader (The Hill)

• Senate passes Russia sanctions bill that was long championed by Lindsey Graham (NPR)

• Why the U.S. labor market is hemorrhaging workers (NBC)

• Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Pakistan to sign joint defense deal. (Reuters)

• With support for Israel roiling U.S. politics, Israelis fear a permanent shift (WP)

• Iran says deal on Strait of Hormuz is close but will not open the waterway by itself (NBC)

• Trump says war ‘can’t go much longer’ – what’s the latest on talks? (Al Jazeera)

• A deal with Iran over the Strait of Hormuz may require a compromise from Trump (PBS)

• Spain hopes to transfer migrant minors to mainland within weeks (Reuters)

• Lake Mead hits record-low water level, a ‘grim’ milestone (USA Today)

• In a Hurricane-Season Twist, the West Coast May Be the One to Watch (NYT)

• Starbucks is ending GLP-1 coverage for weight loss as employer costs climb (BI)

• Gen Z Fell Out of Love With Work. I Don’t Blame Them. (NYT)

• Social isolation can inhibit your wellbeing and success. ‘You need to make time for people,’ says expert (CNBC)

• This A.I. Just Created Viruses Not Found in Nature (NYT)

• Everyone Needs To Calm   Down, Reports Man Who Accidentally Shot Someone (Onion)

 

The Case of the Blue Bunny

In one scene in the Korean TV series “Encounter,” Jin-hyuk solves a crisis in the hotel where he works by retrieving a little girl’s stuffed animal from mountains of dirty linens in the laundry room. 

That scene came to mind this week amidst the Max Miller/Blue Bunny scandal that is rocking Capitol Hill.

In case you’ve missed it, Republican Rep. Max Miller (Ohio) stands accused of withholding his young daughter’s favorite stuffed animal, a blue bunny, as part of a messy divorce from the girl’s mother. A growing chorus of Republicans are calling on Miller to drop out of his race for re-election due to sexual abuse allegations plus the bunny matter.

According to Mother Jones, Miller has a history of withholding the bunny, which, if true, is an incredibly cruel thing to do to a young child.

In an interview with CNN’s Jake Tapper, Miller tried to avoid answering direct questions about his daughter. Tapper concluded the interview by asking if “anyone in your life is telling you that it really might be in the best interests for your daughter and for your own mental health to drop out?”

Miller answered, “My daughter is going to grow up one day, and she’s going to see all of this. And she’s not going to see that her father caved to political and social media pressures for something that he never did.”

As the New York Times has reported, “Miller is a former aide to President Trump, who has warned the congressman that the allegations were politically problematic but has stopped short of calling for him to abandon the race. During his CNN appearance, Mr. Miller compared his own defiance to that of the president, who refused to leave the 2016 presidential race after leaked audio surfaced in which he bragged about groping women.”

Is this the best Republicans can offer?

HEADLINES:

• Bunny Dolls and Disturbing Allegations: Max Miller’s Strange CNN Interview (NYT)

• Rep. Max Miller Has a History of Withholding His Daughter’s Blue Bunny (Mother Jones)

• The Coalitions That Propelled El-Sayed’s Michigan Victory (NYT)

• What a Contempt Vote for Fauci Would Mean for the Pardoned Doctor (WSJ)

• Hiring Slumps, a Worrying Sign for the Economy (NYT)

• FDA approves Moderna’s mRNA seasonal flu vaccine (ABC)

• Trump denies US weapons shortage and says information ‘leakers’ being ‘hunted down’ (BBC)

• An agreement on the Strait of Hormuz is taking shape – but not one Trump wants (CNN)

• A proposed Hormuz deal would give Iran control of inbound traffic, and Iran threatens to hit Gulf states if US launches new strikes. (Reuters)

• Pakistan Starts Sweeping New Crackdown on Journalists (NYT)

• Todd Blanche Sends Chilling Message to Every U.S. Attorney (TNR)

• Murkowski Says She Will Oppose Blanche’s Nomination for Attorney General (NYT)

• Trump’s immigration crackdown has detained dozens of military spouses and parents (AP)

• McConnell Announces Discharge From Rehabilitation Center (NYT)

• Most Americans view rising living costs as biggest barrier to a better life, survey finds (Guardian)

• Water Crisis Deepens on the Colorado River (WSJ)

• Someone Is Poisoning Trees Near Lake Tahoe (NYT)

• Hank Green found the AI problem that YouTube labels can’t catch (ArsTechnica)

• Ask your employees one question about AI. The silence will tell you everything (Fortune)

• Google Shakes Up A.I. Leadership (NYT)

• Poll: American Voters Say Greatest Concern Is Big Evil Chef Trying To Cook Them Into Stew (Onion)

A Feather on the Wind

(This is updated from 2021, just as Covid restrictions were lifted.)

“Yeah well, everyone here has got problems. Yours just may work out.” -- Rick (Casablanca)

_______

Some don’t realize it yet, but this is a moment to savor. There has not been a time quite like this one previously in most of our lifetimes.

I say *most* because I suspect there are a handful of 100-year-olds out there who know what I’m talking about.

The present moment is filled with romantic intrigue. We’ve all just stepped out of the shadows and are blinking at how bright the sun is. The tension is because we may well be headed back into the shadows all too soon.

So we’ve got to get it while we can.

Covid was the longest night we’ve ever been through, with the exception of those who live too near the arctic circle. It also was the most divisive night when it could and should have been the most unifying.

If we hadn’t fought over it so pointlessly we would have seen it as a precious chance to grasp that all of us, and I mean allof us, were in a fight for our lives against a common enemy. That the enemy was too small for the naked eye made the fight all the more intense.

The only thing I can compare this with is my imagination of that brief window of time when World War II had started in some places but not in all. Everybody knew what was coming but it wasn’t here quite yet so millions of people suddenly had life-or-death decisions to make.

Should I stay or should I go? Huge migrations occurred all over the world. Families were split up, never to reunite. Couples who had reached the tipping point of love had to decide on the spot how they really felt about each other. There might not be another chance.

***

Almost everybody I talk to around here is in transition right now and they feel a measure of urgency that is easy to perceive. It was difficult if not impossible to make big changes in their lives during the pandemic and that makes this time special.

That’s good news for me, I suppose, because I’ve always loved helping people when they are in transition. Not that being settled doesn’t have its selling points -- you know which key opens your door, you know how the seatbelt in your car works, you know what’s for breakfast and who that person in the bed next to you will be when you wake up tomorrow.

At work, you know who the boss is and who you’re the boss of -- as if *that* matters one bit in the great scheme of things.

The point is you know what is known.

But when you strike out for something new, you don’t know any of those kind of things. You may go someplace you’ve never been before, find yourself speaking a new language, eating food you’d swore you’d never try, wear a uniform you didn’t know you’d like, hold tight to somebody you barely even knew existed until recently.

One of my colleagues used to have as his mantra “change is good,” and of course he wasn’t the first to say it, just as I won’t be the last.

Like all such truisms, you can’t live by that philosophy in a literal sense because not *all* change is good for all people all of the time. Some changes are downright horrible.

But maintaining the status quo isn’t always the greatest thing either.

You just have to figure out when to listen to that little whisper that this is your time to fly, even though you don’t know which way the wind will blow.

Then call somebody who knows what it’s like to be a feather on the wind.

(2026 afternote: I'm afraid that we collectively missed that moment in 2021.)

HEADLINES:

• Trump, Hegseth clashed at Camp David over Iran missile depletion concerns (WP)

• Committee Votes to Hold Fauci in Contempt of Congress (NYT)

• El-Sayed’s victory sends tremors through Democratic Party (BBC)

• What to make of Michigan (Silver Bulletin)

• An agreement on the Strait of Hormuz is taking shape – but not one Trump wants (CNN)

• Rep. Chuck Edwards drops re-election bid after censure recommendation (Axios)

• Hacks on U.S. Water Supply Follow Years of Warnings and Neglect (NYT)

• Antitrust Trial Over Paramount-Warner Merger Set for March (WSJ)

• Inside the Oval Office Showdown Between Trump and Jeanine Pirro (NYT)

• Trump’s arch could disrupt the historical significance of many of Washington’s sites, report says (AP)

• Trump keeps making threats. The world has stopped flinching. (WP)

• ICE officials did not report the death of someone who had been detained at Delaney Hall immigration detention center last month because they had technically “released” him in the middle of a medical emergency, a U.S. congressman alleged, while addressing the recent death of another man held at the immigration jail. [HuffPost]

• The US is forging unprecedented law enforcement ties with China and Russia under FBI director Kash Patel. (Reuters)

• Judge criticizes the Justice Department as he dismisses Jan. 6 seditious conspiracy case (AP)

• C.I.A. Sets Up Secret Cuba Task Force as Trump Pressures Havana (NYT)

• Butterflies around the world are changing habitats – and experts say it’s ‘signalling a warning’ (Guardian)

• Officials Say They’ve Found the Cause of a Fire That Devastated L.A. (NYT)

• America’s capital of homebuying regret (BI)

• I’m Begging You: Never Write With A.I. (NYT)

• Ring Launches Streaming  Service (Onion)

Ellison Claims He'll Protect CNN

(In the Democratic primary for Senate in Michigan, the progressive candidate, Dr. Abdul El-Sayed, barely beat the moderate, Haley Stevens, by just under 15,000 votes or about 1% of the over 1.5 million votes cast.)

***

Corporate takeovers are difficult for journalists to cover. Most of us lack the necessary educational or professional background, and the sheer scope of these deals makes them hard to cover effectively.

These problems become magnified when they involve media institutions. So it is with billionaire David Ellison’s proposed takeover of Paramount/Warner Brothers, which includes two major news channels, CBS and CNN.

Warning signs include Ellison’s close friendship with Trump, who is particularly critical of CNN and has indicated that he’d like Ellison to get rid of CNN anchors that he dislikes.

Both of Trump’s terms in office have led to relentless attacks on media. The overall effect has weakened the ability for some news organization — notably CBS — to provide checks on Trump’s quest for authoritarian power.

CNN remains one of the only national networks that provides relatively balanced coverage of Trump’s abuses of power, which are, of course, rampant.

While CNN is far from perfect, and I could detail a long list of its shortcomings, it remains the largest and most effective network in the U.S. critical of Trump.

It is not a stretch to say that the health of our democracy now depends on CNN’s continued ability to do so.

In an op-ed in the Times, Ellison is saying all the right things in an effort to get regulators to approve his takeover:

“The issue is whether I can be trusted as a steward of Warner’s CNN. There has been speculation about my politics, my loyalties, my intentions.

“Great news organizations like CNN and CBS News are here to tell it straight down the middle. That requires newsrooms that reflect the whole world, not one side of it. And it requires independence. Our journalists will continue to answer to the facts and to all the people they serve — not to any party or cause. These were founding principles for both CNN and CBS News, for legends like Ted Turner and Edward R. Murrow, and it is exactly that kind of independence that has always fueled the greatness of ‘60 Minutes.’”

Can we take Ellison at his word? Should we?

HEADLINES:

• DOJ quietly drops Reflecting Pool charges against three others after Trump blew up at Pirro (Independent)

• Todd Blanche clears Judiciary Committee hurdle on party lines (Politico)

• Republicans Let Trump Keep Unparalleled Benefit: I.R.S. Immunity (NYT)

• What We Can Learn From Trump’s Short-Lived “Historic Breakthrough” in Gaza (Slate)

• Iran demands inbound control of Hormuz and outbound oversight, source says (Reuters)

• Netanyahu says no Israeli withdrawal from Gaza until Hamas has been completely disarmed (AP)

• Deadly Missile Attack on Kyiv Exploits Ukraine’s Depleted Air Defenses (NYT)

• Ukraine has drones that can lock onto targets when Russia severs the connection to their operators, letting them complete their attacks (BI)

• Ground Control to Major Don (Bulwark)

• China’s Quiet Quest to Dominate Latin America (Foreign Affairs)

• Spokane wildfire arson suspect had prior manslaughter conviction; blazes leave some residents with nothing (CBS)

• David Ellison: In Defense of the Paramount-Warner Deal (NYT)

• Careful what you bid for: The Ellisons’ Paramount/WBD deal is slipping toward a costly legal and financial cliff (Fortune)

• Ari Emanuel Has A Plan To Quell Fears About “Larry Ellison Controlling CNN & CBS”; TKO CEO Follows David Ellison’s NYT Rebuke Of ParaBros Suit (Deadline)

• Trump vowed to "bring free speech back",but judges in 75 cases ruled that he has stifled it. (Reuters)

• Trump Administration Plans to Upend Head Start by Deregulating It (NYT)

• A man from El Salvador has died at an immigration jail in New Jersey that has been the target of months of protests over living conditions for people detained there, federal officials said. His official cause of death will be released following further medical examination, according to ICE. [AP]

• San Francisco and LA: Two cities headed in opposite directions (The Hill)

• Five Amazon countries arrest hundreds in major crackdown on environmental crime (AP)

• ‘Not healthy’ LLM use is more common than you think (Verge)

• These Employees Like Their A.I. Boss. Its Shop Is Kind of a Disaster. (NYT)

• At colleges, the AI boom means everyone wants to dabble in computer science (AP)

• Pentagon Declassifies Files On Blimps (Onion)