News Dump for May 9, 2024

US

Mueller, She Wrote – What Did Judge Cannon Just Do?
Yes, she indefinitely postponed the Espionage and Obstruction case in Florida, but that’s not the worst part. Not by a mile.
https://muellershewrote.substack.com/p/what-did-judge-cannon-just-do

She killed a puppy, a goat, and now her political career.
Daily Beast – Kristi Noem Bailed on Fox News Because of Snow. So They Nuked Her.
The governor’s puppy-killer book tour got more disastrous after Noem canceled an in-person Fox News appearance with Greg Gutfeld, citing bad weather in her home state.
https://www.thedailybeast.com/kristi-noem-bailed-on-fox-news-because-of-snow-so-they-nuked-her

Maybe it’s time for the House GOP to at least censure her for being disruptive.
CNN – Speaker Mike Johnson will keep his job. Here’s how a rapid-fire vote to kill Greene’s motion unfolded
GOP Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene introduced the motion to vacate after threatening to move forward with trying to remove Johnson for several weeks, although the timing took lawmakers by surprise.
https://www.cnn.com/politics/live-news/house-speaker-mike-johnson-vote-05-08-24/index.html

Did they even consider to ask him?
NBC – Barron Trump to step into the political arena as a Florida delegate at the Republican convention
The position as an at-large delegate for the Florida Republican Party will be the highest-profile political role thus far for Barron, former President Donald Trump’s youngest son.
https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/donald-trump/barron-trump-florida-delegate-republican-national-convention-rcna151388

CBS – Ascension health care network disrupted by cyberattack
The Ascension health care network announced Wednesday that its clinical operations have been disrupted by a cyberattack. In a news release, Ascension said it responded immediately, and access to some systems has been interrupted with remediation efforts in progress.
https://www.cbsnews.com/chicago/news/ascension-health-care-network-disrupted-cyberattack/

Daily Beast – Did Trump’s Legal Spokesperson Violate the Terms of His Gag Order?
Trump lawyer Alina Habba attacked Stormy Daniels’ testimony on TV, which could present a big problem for her and her client.
https://www.thedailybeast.com/did-trumps-legal-spokesperson-violate-the-terms-of-his-gag-order
FOX VIDEO: https://www.foxnews.com/video/6352499610112

AP – Biden lauds new Microsoft center on the same site where Trump’s Foxconn project failed
President Joe Biden on Wednesday laced into Donald Trump over a failed project in the previous administration that was supposed to bring thousands of new jobs into southeastern Wisconsin and trumpeted new economic investments under his watch that are coming to the same spot.
https://apnews.com/article/biden-microsoft-tech-election-2024-ec3501d041d7b8b563563b22fcc23db5

CBS – Florida sheriff deputies burst into wrong apartment and fatally shot U.S. airman, attorney says
Deputies responding to a disturbance call at a Florida apartment complex burst into the wrong unit and fatally shot a Black U.S. Air Force airman who was home alone when they saw he was armed with a gun, an attorney for the man’s family said Wednesday. Senior Airman Roger Fortson, 23, who was based at the Special Operations Wing at Hurlburt Field, was at his home at Chez Elan Apartments, around five miles from the air base, when he was killed.
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/roger-fortson-airman-killed-deputy-wrong-apartment-florida/

Daily Beast/CNN – GOP Rep Goes on Bonkers KKK Rant in Closed-Door Meeting
Rep. Scott Perry (R-PA) told lawmakers in a private briefing Tuesday that the Ku Klux Klan is “the military wing of the Democratic Party,” CNN reported, citing an audio recording of his comments.
https://www.thedailybeast.com/gop-rep-goes-on-bonkers-kkk-rant-in-closed-door-meeting-report

AP – Michigan former clerk and attorney charged after alleged unauthorized access to 2020 voter data
Former Adams Township Clerk Stephanie Scott and her attorney, Stefanie Lambert, were charged with multiple felonies, including unauthorized access to a computer and using a computer to commit a crime.
https://apnews.com/article/michigan-scott-lambert-2020-election-charges-ef4037d6aaa5b47c4c1101aa17c1bd86

BBC – Boeing whistleblower says plane parts had serious defects
Plane bodies made by Boeing’s largest supplier regularly left the factory with serious defects, according to a former quality inspector at the firm. Santiago Paredes who worked for Spirit AeroSystems in Kansas, told the BBC he often found up to 200 defects on parts being readied for shipping to Boeing.
https://www.bbc.com/news/business-68979354

AP – Stormy Daniels spars with Trump defense attorney in tense exchange over cash-for-silence transaction
Trump’s lawyers have sought to paint the porn actor as a liar and extortionist who’s trying to take down Trump after drawing money and fame from her story about him.
https://apnews.com/article/trump-trial-hush-money-stormy-daniels-d8be160e53c8050bf788d7772f483a64

WAPO – What Trump promised oil CEOs as he asked them to steer $1 billion to his campaign
Donald Trump has pledged to scrap President Biden’s policies on electric vehicles and wind energy, as well as other initiatives opposed by the fossil fuel industry.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2024/05/09/trump-oil-industry-campaign-money/

THERE’S NO SUCH FUCKING THING AS FULL TERM ABORTIONS! FULL STOP!
NBC – Robert F. Kennedy Jr. appears to surprise his running mate with his position on abortion
Kennedy and Nicole Shanahan appeared on separate episodes of Sage Steele’s podcast, with Kennedy saying women should be able to make the decision “even if it’s full-term.”
https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/2024-election/robert-f-kennedy-jr-surprise-running-mate-abortion-position-rcna151344

GIFT LINK Why is this not on streaming or broadcast?!
WAPO – How a documentary about the Jan. 6 insurrection covers new ground
“The Sixth” filmmakers Andrea Nix Fine and Sean Fine explore the attack’s impact on the Washingtonians “who just showed up to work” that day.
https://wapo.st/3WtVgGT

WORLD

GOOD!
WAPO – Biden says he will cut off offensive weapons if Israel invades Rafah
It’s the first time Biden has threatened to withhold U.S. military aid and the most direct warning he has issued to Israel in the Gaza war.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2024/05/08/biden-threatens-suspension-military-aid-israel/

The whole world is getting more violent by the day.
Guardian – Olaf Scholz condemns attacks on politicians after third assault in a week
Germany’s chancellor, Olaf Scholz, has strongly condemned a rash of attacks on politicians after a senator and former mayor of Berlin was struck over the head in a public library in the third assault on an elected official in less than a week.
https://www.theguardian.com/world/article/2024/may/08/olaf-scholz-condemns-attacks-on-politicians-after-third-assault-in-a-week

They sure do love murdering people.
BBC – Neom: Saudi forces ‘told to kill’ to clear land for eco-city
Saudi authorities have permitted the use of lethal force to clear land for a futuristic desert city being built by dozens of Western companies, an ex-intelligence officer has told the BBC.
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-68945445

ABC – 4 seriously hurt when Transair Boeing 737 skids off runway during takeoff in Senegal
The 737 plane skidded off the runway at Blaise Diagne at about 1 a.m. Thursday.
https://abcnews.go.com/International/transair-boeing-737-skids-off-runway-senegal/story?id=110062435

SCIENCE

Gizmodo – NASA’s Proposed Plasma Rocket Would Get Us to Mars in 2 Months
The space agency is investing in the development of a propulsion system that uses nuclear power to create plasma bursts.
https://gizmodo.com/nasa-pulsed-plasma-rocket-advanced-concept-mars-1851463831

So very sad.
AP – Cruise ship sails into New York City port with 44-foot dead whale across its bow
A cruise ship sailed into a New York City port with a 44-foot (13-meter) dead whale across its bow, marine authorities said. The whale, identified as an endangered sei whale, was caught on the ship’s bow when it arrived at the Port of Brooklyn on Saturday, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration fisheries spokesperson Andrea Gomez said.
https://apnews.com/article/dead-whale-cruise-ship-new-york-2b4cf15e40ea234e2a1d8cc93f6fae06

Cool!
The Verge – The world’s largest carbon removal plant is here, and bigger ones are on the way
A big new facility built to take carbon dioxide out of the atmosphere opened up in Iceland. It’s a stepping stone to bigger plans in the US.
https://www.theverge.com/2024/5/8/24151905/mammoth-carbon-removal-direct-air-capture-climeworks

So unsurprising.
CNBC – Neuralink’s first in-human brain implant has experienced a problem, company says
Elon Musk’s startup Neuralink on Wednesday said part of its brain implant malfunctioned after it put the system in a human patient for the first time. In January, Neuralink implanted the device in a 29-year-old patient named Noland Arbaugh. A number of threads have retracted from Arbaugh’s brain, Neuralink said in a blog post Wednesday.
https://www.cnbc.com/2024/05/08/neuralinks-first-in-human-brain-implant-has-experienced-a-problem-company-says-.html

NPR – Tornadoes tear through the southeastern U.S. as storms leave 3 dead
Forecasters warned a wave of dangerous storms in the U.S. could march through parts of the South early Thursday, after storms a day earlier spawned damaging tornadoes and massive hail, leaving two dead in Tennessee and one dead in North Carolina.
https://www.npr.org/2024/05/09/1250135938/deadly-tornadoes-southeast-storms

TEXAS

NBC – Feds find civil rights violations in Southlake, Texas, schools, students’ lawyers say
The district will have 90 days to reach an agreement with the Education Department on a plan to address discrimination, experts say.
https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/southlake-texas-carroll-isd-civil-rights-investigation-rcna151009

It’s the same all over Central Texas. Chokingly thick.
KXAN – Air you can wear: What’s with all the haze?
You can blame three things for this: Humidity, agricultural burning in Mexico, and particulate pollution.
https://www.kxan.com/weather/weather-blog/air-you-can-wear-whats-with-all-the-haze/

Bloomberg – Texas Spot Power Prices Jump Almost 100-Fold on Tight Supply
Spot prices at the North Hub, which includes Dallas, jumped to more than $3,000 a megawatt-hour just before 7 p.m. local time, versus about $32 at the same time Tuesday, according to data from the Electric Reliability Council of Texas.
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2024-05-08/texas-power-prices-jump-70-fold-as-outages-raise-shortfall-fears

CNN – Houston police chief retires suddenly after questions raised about more than 260,000 suspended investigations
Houston’s police chief unexpectedly retired from the force Tuesday night amid questions about a department policy that allowed hundreds of thousands of cases to be suspended, including sexual abuse cases, according to the mayor’s office. Troy Finner had served as the chief of the Houston Police Department since 2021, capping off a 34-year career with the department.
https://www.yahoo.com/news/houston-police-chief-retires-suddenly-205950333.html

MISC

Yes please! We need more humor in our lives.
WAPO – ‘The Office’ spinoff is set at a daily newspaper
A new mockumentary comedy series that takes place in the same universe as “The Office” was announced Wednesday by Peacock, set at a yet-to-be-named “dying historic Midwestern newspaper.” The new untitled series, which starts production in June, will center on a newsroom whose publisher is trying to save it with “volunteer reporters,” per the announcement.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/style/2024/05/08/the-office-returns-2024-reboot/