In the News

Russia Didn’t Blow Up Nord Stream, US Intel Says

it's a freebie "no paywall" link from his tweet -

Russia Didn’t Blow Up Nord Stream, US Intel Says https://t.co/XoxHjgUrGE via @TPM
— Josh Marshall (@joshtpm) March 7, 2023

artappraiser 6 months 3 weeks ago

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Full Intel Committee leaders: ‘Neither one of us are satisfied’ with classified documents briefing

Surprise: we do have some grownups in Congress! What's more: broadcast media is starting to cover them again!!!

Really interesting to see more of these joint, bipartisan appearances on the Sunday shows. This one from HPSCI leaders Turner+Himes. Warner/Rubio, Gallagher/Krishnamoorthi did this recently as well. https://t.co/MB8ZeHT4pk
— Morgan Chalfant (@mchalfant16) March 5, 2023

artappraiser 6 months 3 weeks ago

Haiti’s Rural Gangs Threaten Food Production as Hunger Crisis Looms

#Caribbean | Gang violence in Haiti’s Artibonite department, a hotspot for rice cultivation, has displaced thousands and caused the closure of a major hospital. Irrigation channels in rice fields are running dry. https://t.co/R5jqKxBQSG
— InSight Crime (@InSightCrime) March 5, 2023

artappraiser 6 months 4 weeks ago

California bullet train project faces more cost increases, possible delays

Astounding. Absent institutional / legal reform, federal funding in mfg, tech, etc won’t be enough to revitalize the US. IRA and CHIPS good first steps, but by no means is the work done. https://t.co/wD509xuFb2
— Gary Wang (@Gary__Dubya) March 4, 2023

artappraiser 6 months 4 weeks ago

[Where is the GOP headed?] Vivek Ramaswamy?

Im listening... https://t.co/4okuvFZiKz
— Cassandra MacDonald (@CassandraRules) March 4, 2023

Previous thread HERE, covering 2/2 thru 3/4

artappraiser 6 months 4 weeks ago

Vigilante 'justice' threatens Syrians in Turkey's quake-hit cities

Vigilante 'justice' threatens Syrians in Turkey's quake-hit cities

@Abyasun #TurkeySyriaEarthquake https://t.co/sKYytDz0LE
— The New Arab (@The_NewArab) March 2, 2023

artappraiser 7 months 22 hours ago

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Chicago Mayor Lightfoot ousted; Vallas, Johnson in runoff

BREAKING: Former Chicago schools CEO Paul Vallas and former teacher Brandon Johnson have advanced to an April runoff in the city's mayoral race after voters denied incumbent Lori Lightfoot a second term. https://t.co/4syJjs9qP0
— The Associated Press (@AP) March 1, 2023

artappraiser 7 months 2 days ago

When the Government Makes Poverty Worse

Pennsylvania has increased spending on social welfare programs over the past few decades, but the poverty rate in the state has remained stubbornly flat, the report shows.

For individuals struggling to make ends meet, the government might be causing more problems than it is solving.https://t.co/jYQAu52H5j
— reason (@reason) March 1, 2023

artappraiser 7 months 2 days ago

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Pew Research Center study of "Black Americans"

Black History Month has come to a close, but save this thread as a resource and follow @pewidentity and @pewresearch all year to keep up with new and old findings on Black Americans!
— Pew Research Race and Ethnicity (@pewidentity) February 28, 2023

artappraiser 7 months 2 days ago

Rural Hospitals Are Shuttering Their Maternity Units

a 3rd world country if you’re not 1st class

“..one of a string of providers across the nation that have stopped providing labor and delivery care in an effort to control costs — even as maternal deaths increase at alarming rates in the United States…” https://t.co/aD2bxy5YFt
— James Wagner @[email protected] (@wagnerblog) February 28, 2023

artappraiser 7 months 3 days ago

Lutheran Church official calls for white nationalists to be excommunicated

Lutheran Church official calls for white nationalists to be excommunicated https://t.co/kSOEUT2LK4
— Raw Story (@RawStory) February 27, 2023

artappraiser 7 months 4 days ago

[CRIME News] Dozens of gang members arrested amid investigation of ‘cartel-style’ mass shooting in CA

By Mallika Kallingal and Rebekah Riess @ CNN.com, Feb. 25

Dozens of gang members were arrested and illegal guns and drugs seized during a four-day operation in Central California, the Tulare County Sheriff’s Office announced Friday.

The arrests were part of an ongoing investigation into the “Goshen Massacre,” for a “cartel-style” shooting that left six people dead, including a young mother and her 10-month-old son, on January 16. Authorities say the shooting may have been the result of a conflict with members of the Sureños, a rival gang.

A total of 97 homes were searched, 26 suspects arrested and 18 arrest warrants served during the operation. Multiple firearms and some controlled substances were also seized, a release from the sheriff’s office said [....]

PREVIOUS CRIME News thread HERE, covering Feb. 2-24

artappraiser 7 months 5 days ago

What the Data Says About the Military's Recruiting Crisis

"This recruitment crisis is partly a function of the fact that so few young people are now able to serve due to obesity, educational deficiencies, mental health problems, or criminal records." https://t.co/NpToU7nrM9
— Frank Luntz (@FrankLuntz) February 24, 2023

artappraiser 7 months 6 days ago

Chinese fighter jet confronts US Navy plane with CNN crew aboard

South China Sea erupts again. Chinese J-11 jet fighter, armed with air-to-air missiles, appeared at the rear of American P-8 patrol aircraft, passed above, settled a few 100 feet from wing of the U.S. Navy plane. CNN reporters could see the Chinese pilotshttps://t.co/K0c93scFwl
— Smita Prakash (@smitaprakash) February 25, 2023

artappraiser 7 months 6 days ago

Biden has appointed 105 federal judges, outpacing Trump, Obama and Bush

“As of Thursday, the Senate had confirmed 105 of Biden’s judicial nominees, exceeding the pace set by predecessors George W. Bush, Barack Obama and Donald Trump.

More than ¾ of Biden's confirmed nominees are women and more than ⅔ of them are non-white.”https://t.co/TRbsP7wT6x
— Frank Luntz (@FrankLuntz) February 21, 2023

artappraiser 7 months 1 week ago

Iran Nuclear Inspectors Find Uranium Enriched to 84% Purity

IAEA probes accumulation of material just shy of bomb-grade
Inspectors are preparing quarterly safeguards report on Iran

By Jonathan Tirone @ Bloomberg News, February 19

International atomic monitors in Iran last week detected uranium enriched to levels just below that needed for a nuclear weapon, according to two senior diplomats, underscoring the risk that the country’s unrestrained atomic activities could prompt a new crisis.

The International Atomic Energy Agency is trying to clarify how Iran accumulated uranium enriched to 84% purity — the highest level found by inspectors in the country to date, and a concentration just 6% below what’s needed for a weapon. Iran had previously told the IAEA that its centrifuges were configured to enrich uranium to a 60% level of purity [....]

artappraiser 7 months 1 week ago

Oregon, a hotbed of extremism, seeks to curb paramilitaries

https://t.co/f7YYTP3Xqn
— Don Haider-Markel (@dhmarkel) February 18, 2023

artappraiser 7 months 1 week ago

Putin is staring at defeat in his gas war with Europe

There's more bad news for Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Despite Russian efforts to make Europe freeze, it is on course to get through winter with its vital gas storage facilities more than half full, according to a new European Commission assessment.https://t.co/0AhjMp2Yib
— POLITICOEurope (@POLITICOEurope) February 16, 2023

artappraiser 7 months 2 weeks ago

Senator Fetterman hospitalized to treat clinical depression

Sen. John Fetterman checked himself into Walter Reed National Military Medical Center last night to receive inpatient care for clinical depression, his chief of staff said Thursday.https://t.co/eQjy131ZO8
— POLITICO (@politico) February 16, 2023

artappraiser 7 months 2 weeks ago

"Trump’s Supreme Court Picks Are Not Quite What You Think"

By David Lat & Zachary B. Shemtob @ NYTimes.com, Feb. 1

David Lat (@DavidLat), a former federal law clerk and prosecutor, writes “Original Jurisdiction,” a Substack newsletter about law and the legal profession. Zachary B. Shemtob is a former federal law clerk and practicing lawyer.

[....] Opponents of abortion got what they wanted when the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, and the ramifications of that decision can’t be overstated. But did Mr. Trump get the rest of what he wanted from the justices he appointed?

Almost six years after the first appointment, we can begin to form an answer: not entirely. While conservative, none of his three appointments are nearly as conservative — nor as consistently conservative — as Justices Thomas and Alito. The Trump appointees are also not as unified as they might initially appear.[....]

artappraiser 7 months 2 weeks ago

Senators reintroduce bipartisan bill to codify Roe

By Joseph Choi @TheHill.com, Feb. 9

A bipartisan group of senators reintroduced a bill to codify abortion protections on Thursday following President Biden’s call on Congress to pass legislation ensuring abortion access in his State of the Union address.

Sens. Tim Kaine (D-Va.), Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska), Kyrsten Sinema (D-Ariz.) and Susan Collins (R-Maine) reintroduced the Reproductive Freedom for All Act, which would block states from enacting laws that would impose an “undue burden” on previability abortions and protect access to contraception.

The senators previously introduced the bill in August, with Kaine calling it a “bipartisan compromise” to ensure reproductive freedom.

Throughout 2022, Democratic attempts to advance legislation that would enshrine access to abortions into federal law failed to advance in the evenly split Senate. Republicans in support of abortion access objected to what they felt were over-encompassing bills, while moderate Democrats Sinema, who recently changed her party affiliation, and Sen. Joe Manchin (W.Va.) opposed abolishing the filibuster in order to pass the proposed laws [....]