2 years after 58 people died at Mandalay Bay, MGM will pay $800 million, Democratic candidates spar over gun laws…--Beto slams Pete for calling his mandatory assault weapons buyback plan “a shiny object”
--Biden unveils gun plan that’s, um, moderate
--new California poll shows 3-way tie between Warren, Biden and Sanders and weak support for Harris in her home state
--juvenile crime data shows dramatic decline continues
--Beltway bible, The Hill, acknowledges the risk of voting machines
--Peurto Rico’s vulture bondholders are forced to take a haircut, as bankruptcy court reduces debts by one third
--NY Times got some financial records on Jeffrey Epstein while avoiding obvious questions
--in silly follow-up, EPA issues notice of water pollution violations in San Francisco, based only on Trump’s delusions
--Virginia doctor convicted of massive opioid distribution gets 40 years in prison
--federal judge is ready to block Trump plan to punish immigrants who get food stamps or other support
--Netanyahu’s lawyers press to dismiss his corruption charges
--deaths reported as protests continue in Haiti
--7 killed as police try to quell protests in Baghdad and across Iraq
--top Twitter exec who manages MidEast is also an officer in British military propaganda unit
--FAIR’s Alan McLeod gives a very fair appraisal of HBO’s Bill Maher—he’s not a liberal
From the impeachment file:
--Rachel Maddow and Rush Limbaugh give very different takes on impeachment
--Maddow tossed marshmallows at Hillary Clinton last night, seeing no apparent irony in HRC’s criticism of Trump’s lack of transparency
--in latest outburst, Trump demands that China’s Xi investigate the Bidens
--yesterday, Trump melted down twice in appearances with Finland’s president
--NYTimes columnist Frank Bruni mines comparisons with Clinton impeachment
--Times news story notes that Trump is a one-man-band on impeachment
--WashPost fact-checkers give Pompeo 4 pinnochios for dissembling on Ukraine phone call
--Limbaugh serves up lies and half-truths to defend Trump, but he’s got Adam Schiff’s number
--did Trump really talk about moats, bayonets and shooting immigrants?
--under pressure from judge, TrumpCo agrees to preserve documents
--as your humble host has opined, the memo of the Zelensky phone call does not appear to be complete
--Australia’s US ambassador and prime minister send conflicting messages on cooperation with Barr’s investigation of Mueller investigation
--Kurt Volker, who abruptly resigned as Ukraine envoy, is testifying behind closed doors today, with no leaks so far
--at The Intercept, Trevor Timm calls for secrecy reform, and he’s right
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