News Dump for Apr. 23, 2024

US

AP – Supreme Court denies request by Arizona candidates seeking to ban electronic vote tabulators
The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday declined to consider a request by Republican U.S. Senate candidate Kari Lake to ban the use of electronic vote-counting machines in Arizona. Lake and former Republican secretary of state candidate Mark Finchem filed suit two years ago, repeating unfounded allegations about the security of machines that count votes.
https://www.yahoo.com/news/supreme-court-denies-request-arizona-162633059.html

BBC – Supreme Court confronts the US homelessness crisis
The US Supreme Court confronted the nation’s homelessness crisis on Monday, weighing whether a ban on sleeping in public is cruel and unusual punishment. The court’s conservative majority appeared sympathetic to the argument that questions around homelessness should be left to local governments. Its decision is expected in early summer.
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-68876913

CNN – FBI code name for Trump classified documents probe was ‘Plasmic Echo,’ court records show
Plasmic Echo – a name that could conceivably work for 1970s rock band or could describe the supernatural goo left behind by the ghosts chased in the movie “Ghostbusters” – appears to be the code name for the FBI investigation into the mishandling of classified documents from the Trump White House.
https://www.cnn.com/2024/04/22/politics/plasmic-echo-fbi-trump-mar-a-lago-investigation/index.html

ThreadReader – There’s some wild stuff in this newly unsealed (but heavily redacted) FBI interview from a high-level Trump-world person related to the classified docs investigation. For example: the witness was afraid to have the interview recorded for fear of reprisal
https://threadreaderapp.com/thread/1782486825296068906.html
PDF: https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.flsd.648653/gov.uscourts.flsd.648653.470.4.pdf

Axios – Trump urged to return docs nearly a year before search, FBI filing says
An associate of former President Trump told the FBI of advising Trump to return documents the National Archives was seeking nearly a year before agents searched his Mar-a-Lago home, according to newly unsealed filings. The summary of the unnamed associate’s FBI interview was among a trove of documents that the judge handling Trump’s classified documents case released with redactions on Monday.
https://www.axios.com/2024/04/23/trump-classified-documents-fbi-plasmic-echo-investigation

CNN – Takeaways from the Trump hush money trial: Opening statements and the first witness
The first criminal trial of Donald Trump is officially underway. Prosecutors and Trump’s attorneys delivered opening statements and the first witness – a former National Enquirer publisher – was called Monday in the historic and unprecedented criminal trial of a former president.
https://www.cnn.com/2024/04/22/politics/takeaways-trump-trial-opening-statements-david-pecker/index.html

Politico – Prosecutors say Trump violated his gag order 10 times. The judge is finally set to weigh in.
Justice Juan Merchan has scheduled a Tuesday hearing on prosecutors’ request to hold Trump in contempt.
https://www.politico.com/news/2024/04/22/trump-hush-money-trial-gag-order-contempt-00153154

The Hill – You can now read daily transcripts of the Trump trial, here’s how
While you still can’t watch the trial of former President Donald Trump, you can now read daily transcripts of the historic hush money proceedings, the New York Court System announced Monday.
https://thehill.com/homenews/nexstar_media_wire/4613079-you-can-now-read-daily-transcripts-of-the-trump-trial-heres-how/
LINK: https://ww2.nycourts.gov/press/index.shtml

CBS – Supreme Court agrees to hear dispute over Biden administration’s “ghost guns” rule
The regulation at issue was implemented by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives in April 2022 and imposed a series of requirements on manufacturers and sellers of so-called ghost guns, which are unserialized firearms that can be assembled from kits sold online.
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/ghost-guns-supreme-court-biden-administration/

She needs a psych eval.
Meidas Touch – Kari Lake Thinks Hillary is Plotting to Assassinate Her
This was not the first time Lake has accused Hillary of plotting to assassinate her. Back when she was running for governor in 2022 she repeated the same thing:
https://www.meidastouch.com/news/kari-lake-thinks-hillary-is-plotting-to-assassinate-her

CNN – Biden administration issues new rule to protect privacy of those seeking reproductive health care: ‘No one should have to live in fear’
Patients have a right to privacy when it comes to their medical information, even when they travel to another state for an abortion, IVF, birth control or other types of reproductive health care, federal officials declared in a new rule.
https://www.cnn.com/2024/04/22/health/biden-administration-new-rule-reproductive-health-care-privacy/index.html

WFAE – North Carolina and other states can seize the estates of Medicaid recipients
Picture this scenario: You’ve lost a loved one and inherited that person’s home. But while you are still grieving the loss, you’re informed the state is seizing that property you just inherited. It can happen if your loved one was on Medicaid, as one Charlotte family found out — the hard way.
https://www.wfae.org/politics/2024-04-22/north-carolina-and-other-states-can-seize-the-estates-of-medicaid-recipients

LA Times – Suspect in break-in at Mayor Bass’ home previously convicted of assault
Ephraim Hunter, 29, allegedly broke into the Getty House in Windsor Square around 6:40 a.m. while Bass and several of her relatives were home , according to the Los Angeles Police Department. Hunter was arrested without incident, according to police, who said no one was hurt and nothing was stolen.
https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2024-04-22/mayor-bass-home-break-in-suspect-previously-convicted-of-violent-assault

The Hill – Baltimore claims Dali was ‘unseaworthy,’ accuses owners of negligence in bridge collapse
In court filings Monday, attorneys for the city of Baltimore claimed the owner of the container ship Dali – Grace Ocean Private -and its operator – Synergy Marine Group – were “grossly and potentially criminally negligent.”
https://thehill.com/homenews/state-watch/4613578-baltimore-claims-dali-was-unseaworthy-accuses-owners-of-negligence-in-bridge-collapse/

WAPO – PEN America cancels awards ceremony after controversy over Gaza
The free speech and literary nonprofit had been set to give out annual prizes on April 29, but nearly half of the nominees declined to be considered.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/books/2024/04/22/pen-america-awards-ceremony/

USA Today – Minnesota Sen. Nicole Mitchell arrested on suspicion of burglary after being found in home
Mitchell, a Democrat, was arrested after being found inside a home in Detroit Lakes, Minnesota, police say. She was booked into Becker County jail on a burglary charge.
https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2024/04/22/minnesota-senator-burglary-arrest-nicole-mitchell/73419507007/

WAPO – Google fires more workers after CEO says workplace isn’t for politics
Google fired about 20 more workers it said participated in protests denouncing the company’s cloud computing deal with the Israeli government, bringing the total number of workers fired in the past week over the issue to more than 50, according to the activist group representing the workers.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2024/04/22/google-nimbus-israel-protest-fired-workers/

Reuters – UnitedHealth says hackers possibly stole large number of Americans’ data
UnitedHealth Group said on Monday that hackers stole health and personal data of potentially a “substantial proportion” of Americans from its systems in February, as the largest U.S. health insurer scrambles to contain the damage. That theft on Feb. 21 occurred despite a ransom payment.
https://finance.yahoo.com/news/unitedhealth-says-hack-could-impact-215612097.html

AP – Arizona judge declares mistrial in the case of a rancher accused of fatally shooting a migrant
An Arizona judge declared a mistrial Monday in the case of a rancher accused of fatally shooting a Mexican man on his property near the U.S.-Mexico border. The decision came after jurors failed to reach a unanimous decision after more than two full days of deliberation in trial of George Alan Kelly, 75, who was charged with second-degree murder in the Jan. 30, 2023, shooting of Gabriel Cuen-Buitimea. The Santa Cruz County Attorney’s Office can still decide whether to retry Kelly for any charge, or drop the case all together.
https://apnews.com/article/border-rancher-migrant-killing-trial-a2ab06079d7cbdf1a1c4dcdb65d164d0

WAPO – Biden administration imposes first-ever staff minimum for nursing homes
The senior care industry lobbied furiously against the new standard, which will require a registered nurse on site at all times.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2024/04/22/nursing-home-staff-minimum/

CNN – Suspect arrested and charged with vandalizing Rutgers Islamic center, stealing Palestinian flag during Eid al-Fitr
Jacob Beacher, 24, was arrested Monday morning and charged with one count of intentional or attempted obstruction of religious practice and one count of making false statements to federal authorities, according to a news release from the US Attorney’s Office for the District of New Jersey.
https://www.cnn.com/2024/04/22/us/rutgers-university-arrest-jacob-beacher/index.html

Daily Beast – Anton Postolnikov: Russian Who Bankrolled Trump’s Truth Social Set Up Dodgy Sex Pill Sites
Russian banker—who reportedly has family links to the Kremlin—was key backer of Donald Trump’s Truth Social. But that wasn’t his only controversial project.
https://www.thedailybeast.com/anton-postolnikov-russian-who-bankrolled-trumps-truth-social-set-up-dodgy-sex-pill-sites

BBC – Mass arrests made as US Gaza campus protests spread
Protests against the war in Gaza have spread from Columbia and Yale to other US universities as officials scramble to defuse demonstrations.
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-68873825

Oh ferfucksake.
CBS – Donald Trump is about to become $1.3 billion richer. Here’s why.
The former U.S. president is set to receive a so-called earnout bonus of 36 million shares in his newly public company, Trump Media & Technology Group, as part of an incentive that was created for the company’s public market debut in March, according to a regulatory filing.
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/donald-trump-djt-stock-trump-media-and-technology-earnout/

This is so awful. Slim on details at the moment so now we wait.
ABC – Man kills wife, 3 kids in murder-suicide mass shooting; 4th child survives unharmed: Police
“It remains a mystery as to what caused Mr. Candy to murder his wife and three of his children,” police said in a statement Tuesday. “Anyone with information should call the Homicide Tip-Line at 405/297-1200.”
https://abcnews.go.com/US/5-people-including-2-kids-mysteriously-found-dead/story?id=109502368

ABC – DOJ announces $138M settlement with Larry Nassar’s victims over claims of FBI misconduct
The Justice Department on Tuesday announced it has reached a $138.7 million settlement deal with victims of the disgraced former USA Gymnastics doctor Larry Nassar to resolve their claims of wrongdoing against the FBI in its failures to investigate allegations of sexual abuse.
https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/doj-announces-138m-settlement-larry-nassars-victims-claims/story?id=109533950

WORLD

Politico – Poland: We’re ready to host nuclear weapons
Polish President Andrzej Duda said Poland is “ready” to host nuclear weapons on its territory if NATO decides to reinforce its eastern flank. “Russia is increasingly militarizing the Königsberg oblast (Kaliningrad). Recently, it has been relocating its nuclear weapons to Belarus,” Duda said in an interview published Monday by Polish outlet Fakt.
https://www.politico.eu/article/poland-ready-host-nuclear-weapons-andrzej-duda-nato/

AP – North Korean leader Kim leads rocket drills that simulate a nuclear counterattack against enemies
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un supervised salvo launches of the country’s “super-large” multiple rocket launchers that simulated a nuclear counterattack against enemy targets, state media said Tuesday, adding to tests and threats that have raised tensions in the region.
https://apnews.com/article/north-korea-kim-jong-un-rocket-salvo-launches-nuclear-counterattack-ffeae93cf7829e0a3cfccd5bf1b706b7

Newsweek – Iran Unveils New Weapon Capable of Taking Out America’s Stealth Jets
Iran recently introduced a new, enhanced version of its Bavar-373 long-range air defense system that Tehran officials claim can intercept American stealth jet fighters. The domestically produced Bavar-373 first went into service for the Iranian armed forces in 2019, and its capabilities have drawn comparisons to Russia’s S-300 mobile, long-range surface-to-air missile systems and to the U.S.-made Patriot systems.
https://www.newsweek.com/iran-new-weapon-bavar-373-defense-system-1892840

CNN – UK passes controversial bill to send asylum seekers to Rwanda after two years of challenges
The UK parliament has finally passed a contentious bill that will allow the government to send asylum seekers to Rwanda for their claims to be considered by the East African nation. Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s efforts had been stuck between opposition in the Houses of Parliament and challenges in the British courts, as lawmakers and activists have sought to scupper the legislation on human rights grounds.
https://www.cnn.com/2024/04/22/uk/uk-passes-rwanda-bill-intl/index.html

AP – Toxic: How the search for the origins of COVID-19 in China turned politically poisonous
The hunt for the origins of COVID-19 has gone dark in China, the victim of political infighting after a series of stalled and thwarted attempts to find the source of the virus that killed millions and paralyzed the world for months. The Chinese government froze meaningful domestic and international efforts to trace the virus from the first weeks of the outbreak, despite statements supporting open scientific inquiry, an Associated Press investigation found.
https://apnews.com/article/china-covid-virus-origins-pandemic-lab-leak-bed5ab50dca8e318ab00f60b5911da0c

BBC – Germany spying: Far-right party aide held in China spy probe
Prosecutors have arrested a man working for a far-right politician on suspicion of spying for China. They have identified the man as Jian G, 43, named by German media as an assistant to AfD MEP and European election candidate Maximilian Krah. Prosecutors say he was arrested in the eastern city of Dresden. They allege he passed information about the European Parliament to Chinese intelligence.
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-68880086

Kyiv Independent – Greece preparing to give Ukraine at least 1 Patriot system, possibly 2
Greece is preparing to give Ukraine at least one Patriot air defense system, the Greek media outlet Pronews reported on April 22, citing government sources. The figure could possibly be two, the source added.
https://kyivindependent.com/media-greece-preparing-to-give-ukraine-at-least-1-patriot-system-possibly-2/

AP – 5 migrants die while crossing the English Channel hours after the UK approved a deportation bill
Five people, including a child, died while trying to cross the English Channel from France to the U.K., French authorities said Tuesday, just hours after the British government approved a migrant bill to deport some of those who entered the country illegally to Rwanda.
https://apnews.com/article/france-migrants-death-english-channel-uk-00d73287212405d70fdb513cd791fcbd

SCIENCE

Guardian – Biden marks Earth Day with $7bn ‘solar for all’ investment amid week of climate action
Funds will be targeted at disadvantaged areas to create 200,000 jobs, after last week’s oil and gas lease restrictions in Alaska
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2024/apr/22/biden-earth-day-solar-investment-climate-actions

SpaceDotCom – NASA’s Voyager 1 spacecraft finally phones home after 5 months of no contact
On Saturday (April 20), Voyager 1 updated ground control about its health status for the first time in 5 months. While the Voyager 1 spacecraft still isn’t sending valid science data back to Earth, it is now returning usable information about the health and operating status of its onboard engineering systems.
https://www.space.com/voyager-1-communications-update-april-2024

TEXAS

Now kindly fuck off, Paxton.
AP – Seattle hospital won’t turn over gender-affirming care records in lawsuit settlement with Texas
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton is dropping a request for a Seattle hospital to hand over records regarding gender-affirming treatment potentially given to children from Texas as part of a lawsuit settlement announced Monday. Seattle Children’s Hospital filed the lawsuit against Paxton’s office in December in response to the Republican appearing to go beyond state borders to investigate transgender health care.
https://apnews.com/article/seattle-hospital-texas-records-paxton-e1d308835657c40e2e176d7f11d7f749

KXAN – Congressman’s office vandalized with red paint; Georgetown police investigating
The Georgetown Police Department is investigating vandalism at Congressman John Carter’s, R-Round Rock, office in Williamson County. Police said they were called to the building on Interstate 35 around 8:45 a.m. Monday for a reported possible burglary of a building and vandalism of the front door. A photo shows what appears to be red paint on the door, building and sidewalk, police said. The phrase “Free Gaza” was spray-painted on the sidewalk in red paint.
https://www.kxan.com/news/local/williamson-county/congressmans-office-vandalized-with-red-paint-georgetown-police-investigating/

AP – 2nd victim dies from injuries after Texas man drove stolen semitrailer into building, officials say
A second person has died after a Texas semitrailer driver this month plowed a stolen 18-wheeler into a public safety office where his commercial license renewal had been rejected, authorities said Monday.
https://apnews.com/article/texas-semitrailer-crash-dps-6200b7e64c8c5e50f4f054796a775e2c

MISC

So sad.
CBS – “Vibrant and beloved ostrich” dies after swallowing zoo staffer’s keys, Kansas zoo says
Karen, a “vibrant and beloved ostrich” at the Topeka Zoo, died after swallowing keys she nabbed from a staffer, the zoo announced on Facebook last week. According to the zoo, Karen “reached beyond her exhibit fence” and got the keys off the staffer before “immediately swallowing the keys.” The zoo tried both surgical and non-surgical fixes, but they were unsuccessful. Karen, a 5-year-old, was euthanized on Thursday.
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/ostrich-dies-swallowing-keys-topeka-zoo-kansas/