The Full Belmonte, 12/15/2023
House passes defense bill in last minute sprint before holiday break
“The House voted Thursday to pass a critical defense policy bill known as the National Defense Authorization Act, which sets the policy agenda and authorizes funding for the Department of Defense annually.
The bill will next be sent to President Joe Biden to be signed into law. The Senate passed the bill Wednesday.
The final negotiated version of the NDAA for fiscal year 2024 authorizes $886 billion in national defense funding, an increase of $28 billion over last year.
The sweeping legislation authorizes a 5.2% pay raise for members of the military – the largest raise for service members in more than two decades – as part of a wide range of provisions related to service member pay and benefits, housing and childcare.
Read More at USA Today
Jury deliberations begin in Rudy Giuliani defamation trial
“The jury began deliberations this afternoon in Rudy Giuliani’s civil defamation trial for the baseless claims he made about two election workers in Georgia.
In a reversal, Giuliani decided not to testify in his own defense today, and the trial proceeded right to closing arguments.
The federal judge in the case already found Giuliani, the longtime ally of former President Donald Trump, defamed election workers Ruby Freeman and her daughter, Wandrea “Shaye” Moss, by falsely accusing them of election fraud.
It’s now up to the jury to decide how much Giuliani will pay in damages. The attorney for Freeman and Moss argued the women are entitled to at least $24 million each.
Giuliani’s justifications for his comments have wavered. In July, he conceded in a court filing to making false statements about the women, but outside the court on Monday, he insisted that ‘everything I said about them is true.’
The judge warned that Giuliani’s comments Monday about the women amounted to ‘defamatory statements about them yet again.’” [NBC News]
“Republican state legislators voted to withhold millions of dollars from the University of Pennsylvania’s veterinary school amid an uproar over the school’s response to antisemitism on campus.” [New York Times]
© The Associated Press / J. Scott Applewhite | The Capitol in April.
Senate in overtime for long-shot border bill
“There is a reason the Senate is called the ‘cooling saucer.’ It is rarely swift, and getting a Senate floor vote next week on what is still an outline of proposed changes to immigration law and funding for Ukraine before leaving Washington for the year would be a Mach 4 miracle.
And 100 senators would have to agree to race toward a vote before Christmas, which is not their basic DNA.
Nevertheless, President Biden says he’s open to compromise, although his team and Senate negotiators are still dissecting border proposals and not yet poring over draft legislative language.
Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) announced that his colleagues will have to cut their planned holiday recess short by returning to work Monday, giving negotiators more time to craft a possible immigration policy deal, which House lawmakers demanded in exchange for additional U.S. assistance to Ukraine.
It seems likely that the future of more than $100 billion in aid to Ukraine and Israel still will be uncertain into 2024. House lawmakers wrapped up their business and left for the year, many still adamant about opposing additional spending for Ukraine, whether leveraged for immigration reforms or not. But the ongoing negotiations may still open a door to Senate strides next week.
The border policy discussions are akin to puzzle pieces — complex and conjoined. Chief negotiators Sens. Chris Murphy (D-Conn.), Kyrsten Sinema (I-Ariz.) and James Lankford (R-Okla.) began to sound more optimistic about their progress on immigration by midweek and Ukraine’s needs moved Schumer to see how far the group might go.
Negotiators want to include new expulsion authority at the border to allow the government to turn away migrants who ask for asylum, akin to the pandemic-era policy rolled out under the previous administration and known as Title 42, the Journal reported.
It also would require that more asylum seekers are held in immigration detention for the duration of their cases and would expand the government’s ability to rapidly deport someone without a trial so long as they have been in the country less than two years, according to the Journal.
The package does not include ‘Dreamers,’ undocumented migrants who entered the U.S. as children and qualified for protection from deportation under what began as an Obama-era enforcement waiver and continues to be challenged in court.
Sinema told Politico on Thursday that she sees movement.
‘I can see the deal. We have a lot to go to get there. But I can see it. …There was a time when we were not making progress. It was feeling stalled,’ Sinema said.
‘There’s progress—it’s just exceptionally slow,’ Lankford, the lead negotiator for Republicans, told the Journal.” [The Hill]
Vaccines
“The CDC says there is an ‘urgent need’ to boost vaccination coverage across the US due to increasing levels of respiratory disease. About 7 million fewer adults have gotten their flu shot so far this season compared with the last virus season. Overall, uptake is about 36% for both adults and children, according to CDC data. Vaccination coverage for Covid-19 is also low, with just 17% of adults and about 8% of children getting the latest shot. Only about 16% of adults ages 60 and up have gotten the new vaccine for respiratory syncytial virus (RSV). Respiratory disease activity in the US is highest in the South, but quickly rising elsewhere.” [CNN]
Sex and the Cities: More women live in major East Coast counties while men outnumber them in the West
“Anyone who has suspected that there are more women than men where they live, or vice versa, will find fodder for their suspicions in new data from the U.S. Census Bureau. Whether it refutes or confirms their suspicions likely depends on where they live. Read more.
Key findings:
Among U.S. counties with 500,000 residents or more, the areas where adult women outnumber adult men most noticeably were in Baltimore, New York, Atlanta and Philadelphia, as well as Birmingham, Alabama; and Memphis, Tennessee.
The biggest imbalances of men to women, with ratios above 103 for those age 18 and over, were recorded in the West, in counties that are home to Colorado Springs, Colorado; and Austin; as well as California counties that are home to San Francisco, San Jose and Bakersfield, where agriculture and energy are two of the biggest industries.
The ratios vary by geography, in part because of the presence of certain institutions and industries with gender imbalances, like male-dominated military bases. Adding to the imbalance are the effects of historic racism in the U.S., including high rates of incarceration and the mortality gap, which have lowered the number of men in some communities, said Karen Guzzo, director of the Carolina Population Center at the University of North Carolina.” [AP News]
Storms
“A potent storm is expected to unload heavy rain and flooding on the East Coast this weekend. The storm's exact track and strength will become clearer today as it moves through Florida and into the Southeast on Saturday. By early next week, plenty of rain will continue to drench the mid-Atlantic all the way through New England, forecasts show. Strong wind gusts may also push water ashore and produce coastal flooding, especially along Florida's Gulf Coast. Dangerous surf and rip currents are likely through the weekend across the eastern Gulf of Mexico, Florida Keys and areas along the southeast Atlantic coast.” [CNN]
Youngkin's power play
Ted Leonsis — who owns the Washington Wizards and Capitals — jokes with Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin (right) and Alexandria Mayor Justin Wilson (left) at yesterday's announcement. Photo: Win McNamee/Getty Images
“Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin's (R) latest deal — hammered out behind the scenes with a friend from Northern Virginia's elite business circles — has shaken Washington, Axios D.C.'s Cuneyt Dil writes.
A new entertainment and sports mecca is set to pull the Wizards and Capitals into the suburbs.
Why it matters: The deal, revealed yesterday, is one of the biggest economic development announcements in Virginia history.
And it's one of the biggest embarrassments in years for D.C. and its government, which looks outfoxed.
Youngkin's friend — Ted Leonsis, who owns the teams — kept the Virginia courtship top secret while he sought $600 million from Washington to renovate the downtown Capital One Arena.” [Axios]
Atlanta asks federal appeals court to kill 'Stop Cop City' petition
“Lawyers for the city of Atlanta are asking an appeals court to overturn a ruling that let nonresidents collect signatures in the ‘Stop Cop City’ effort to force a referendum on a police and fire training center. Those lawyers on Thursday asked three federal judges to kill the petition drive as illegal under state law. Even a ruling that just narrows which petitions are accepted could doom the chances that opponents will have enough signatures to force a referendum, experts said. Read our earlier coverage about Cop City.” [USA Today]
FILE - Activists haul boxes of signed petitions to Atlanta City Hall, Monday, Sept. 11, 2023, to force a referendum on the future of a planned police and firefighter training center.
Miguel Martinez, AP
Four Hamas members arrested in plot to attack Jewish sites in Europe, officials say
“Seven people, including four suspected Hamas members, have been arrested across Europe for allegedly plotting to attack Jewish sites, authorities said.
The arrests were made in Denmark, Germany and the Netherlands, according to officials in the three countries.
Three of the suspects detained in Berlin, and a fourth who was arrested in the Netherlands, are longstanding members of Hamas, German prosecutors said in a statement.
A Hamas official denied the suspects are linked to the group.” [NBC News]
Israel says war against Hamas will last ‘more than several months’
“The offensive to ‘destroy’ Hamas will last ‘more than several months,’ Israel’s defense minister told a top Biden adviser today.
Jake Sullivan, President Joe Biden’s national security adviser, arrived in Tel Aviv earlier in the day to meet with Israeli officials, including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
Sullivan spoke with the officials about the possibility of transitioning from high-intensity to ‘lower-intensity’ military operations in Gaza, the White House said.
The trip comes two days after Biden warned Israel was ‘starting to lose’ support with its ‘indiscriminate bombing’ of Gaza.
Netanyahu has pushed back on criticism of the war effort in Gaza, where the death toll has surpassed 18,000, according to health officials in the Hamas-run enclave. ‘Nothing will stop us,’ Netanyahu told troops in Gaza Wednesday, according to his office.” [NBC News]
EU summit delivers mixed bag for Ukraine
Ukraine tries to hide its Western supplied artillery from Russian drones. Credit: BBC
“In a week that has already seen the US stalling in its support for Ukraine's war efforts against Russia, European Union talks in Brussels have delivered a mixed bag. On the one hand, the bloc's member states agreed to open membership talks with Kyiv. On the other, they did not approve €50bn ($55bn; £43bn) in aid to Ukraine due to Hungary's opposition. The country's strongman leader Viktor Orban, who has long taken an ambivalent stance on the war in the neighbouring eastern European country, is seen as one of the more Russian-friendly leaders in Europe. Commenting on the membership talks, Mr Orban said the process would take years and an ascension could always be blocked by Budapest's parliament. The EU's efforts to secure aid for Ukraine will continue, with negotiations expected to resume next month.” [BBC]
Putin vows no peace in Ukraine until Russia’s goals achieved
“Russian President Vladimir Putin said today there will be no peace in Ukraine until Russia accomplishes its goals, as the war nears the two-year mark.
Putin took questions during a marathon year-end news conference that lasted more than four hours. It was the first time he’s held the event since the invasion of Ukraine in 2022, after skipping it last year.
During the event, Putin seized on the waning support among Ukraine’s western allies, with billions of dollars in U.S. aid being held up by the partisan divide in Congress.
He said Ukraine has been getting ‘freebies’ and now ‘apparently it’s coming to an end little by little.’
Putin said there are currently some 617,000 Russian soldiers fighting in Ukraine. Since invading Ukraine, 315,000 Russian troops have been killed or wounded, according to recently declassified intelligence shared with Congress.” [NBC News]
Israel has used unguided ‘dumb bombs’ for almost half of its strikes on Gaza, a U.S. intelligence finding says
Palestinians inspect the damage to a family home in Rafah in southern Gaza this week. (Loay Ayyoub for The Post)
“The extensive employment of such munitions, which are less accurate than precision-guided weapons, could help to explain the war’s enormous civilian death toll, experts say. The disclosure comes as the Biden administration urges Israel to shift to ‘lower intensity’ operations through more ‘precise and surgical’ attacks.”
Read more at Washington Post
Hungry, thirsty and humiliated: Israel’s mass arrest campaign sows fear in northern Gaza
“The Israeli military has rounded up hundreds of Palestinians across the northern Gaza Strip, separating families and forcing men to strip to their underwear before trucking some to an undisclosed location. The roundups have laid bare an emerging tactic in Israel’s ground offensive, experts say.” Read More at AP News
Israel’s Other Front
A hole from a stray bullet is seen in the window of a hotel room in the Palestinian city of Jenin in the West Bank on Dec. 14.Marco Longari/AFP
“The Israeli military concluded a three-day raid in the West Bank city of Jenin on Thursday, arresting more than 100 Palestinians. According to Israeli officials, military operations targeted armed Palestinian resistance efforts in Jenin’s refugee camp and surrounding area, long accused of being a stronghold for Hamas sympathizers.
Israel said its troops discovered weapons, ammunition, and explosives while searching more than 400 buildings and that it carried out a drone strike that killed numerous people who had fired on Israeli soldiers. However, locals accused the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) of aiming to displace residents and worsen living conditions.
Images circulating on social media and verified by Reuters also showed Israeli soldiers entering a mosque and reading out a Jewish prayer from a microphone in the style of the Islamic call to prayer. The soldiers’ actions sparked anger for what the Palestinian foreign ministry said was a mockery of the religious sanctum; the Israeli army said the soldiers were immediately removed from operational activity and would be disciplined accordingly, stating, ‘The behavior of the soldiers in the videos is serious and stands in complete opposition to the values of the IDF.’
At least 12 Palestinians were killed and 34 others wounded in the three-day assault, the Palestinian Health Ministry in Ramallah said Thursday, bringing the total number of Palestinians killed in the occupied West Bank since Oct. 7 to at least 286 people, including those killed in Israeli military raids and in acts of violence by extremist Israeli settlers.
Jenin and the larger West Bank have become flash points for Israeli operations in recent months as the IDF continues its ground invasion and bombardment of Gaza. International rights groups and regional powers have decried violent Israeli settler attacks on Palestinians, and even the United States—Israel’s staunchest ally and a consistent opponent of United Nations-backed calls for a cease-fire—is currently blocking a shipment of firearms intended for Israel’s National Police out of fear that more than 27,000 U.S.-made rifles could fall into the hands of extremist Israelis living in the West Bank.
On Thursday, U.S. National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan met with top Israeli officials, including Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, to discuss the ongoing Israel-Hamas war. Conversations around continued West Bank raids, though, were sidelined for debate centered on Hamas’s underground tunnel system and what U.S. President Joe Biden recently described as Israel’s ‘indiscriminate bombing’ of civilians in his harshest critique yet of the Netanyahu administration. The White House has since tried to downplay Biden’s remarks, particularly those accusing Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of not seriously working toward establishing an independent Palestinian state.
Meanwhile, Israeli forces continued to bombard cities across Gaza, with attacks on Thursday striking civilians in the southern Gaza city of Rafah near the Egyptian border. Fearing inadequate safe zones and facing worsening food shortages, many Palestinians are urging Egypt to open its borders to grant refugees a safe haven from Israeli strikes, but Cairo has repeatedly pushed back against any such concession. The Rafah border crossing itself continues to allow small shipments of food and medical supplies into Gaza, but rights groups on the ground maintain that the goods are far from enough to address the humanitarian catastrophe there.” [Foreign Policy]
Prince Harry’s phone was hacked by a British tabloid publisher, a court ruled in a major victory for the royal.
“The civil suit against Mirror Group Newspapers has been part of a long-running effort by the royal to hit back against the British news media over its coverage of him and his family.”
Read more at New York Times
Thailand to legalize same-sex marriage
The Asian country will be the next to give citizens marriage equality.
By Bil Browning Wednesday, December 13, 2023
Thousands of LGBTQ+ people and their supporters march through central Bangkok on June 4, 2023, marking Pride month Photo: Shutterstock
“Only two Asian countries recognize same-sex marriages, but Thailand will be the next to give citizens marriage equality.
Thailand’s cabinet recently approved a bill that would legalize same-sex weddings. The amendment to the country’s laws will be submitted to the parliament this month.
The amendment to the Civil and Commercial Code will change the words ‘men and women’ and ‘husband and wife’ to ‘individuals’ and ‘marriage partners.’ The next step will be an amendment to the country’s pension fund law to recognize same-sex couples.
Only Taiwan and Nepal have granted same-sex couples equal rights currently.
Thailand has struggled with marriage equality legislation over the past few years. While it’s known as one of the most LGBTQ+-friendly countries, lawmakers have not moved beyond debate. The new government campaigned on the issue, promising to revive the effort and get the legislation passed.” [LGBT Nation]
“A step toward accession. European Union leaders gathered in Brussels on Thursday agreed to open talks on Ukraine’s EU membership bid. Opening accession talks has long been one of Kyiv’s top priorities, especially as it prepares for another harsh winter of fighting against Russia. Although Ukraine’s accession to the EU is realistically still many years away, the decision to begin talks represents a major step forward and a big win for Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. ‘This is a victory for Ukraine. A victory for all of Europe. A victory that motivates, inspires, and strengthens,’ Zelensky wrote on X, formerly Twitter, in response to the decision. The EU also agreed to open accession talks for Moldova to join the bloc.
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, who has close ties to Russian President Vladimir Putin, had previously threatened to veto any move to open Ukraine’s accession talks, but he yielded on Thursday, saying in a video on his Facebook page that he had opted to ‘stay away’ from the vote so as not to stand in the way of the bloc’s other 26 member states. However, Orban has signaled that he may oppose a $52 billion EU aid package for Ukraine that is still being debated, arguing that the aid should come only after Europe-wide elections next summer.” [Foreign Policy]
“Face to face. Guyanese President Irfaan Ali met with Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro in St. Vincent on Thursday to discuss the two nations’ ongoing territorial dispute over the contested Esequibo region. The leaders of Barbados, Dominica, and Trinidad and Tobago also attended to help mediate the talks. However, neither side appears eager to appease the other’s demands. ‘We are firm on this matter and it will not be open for discussion,’ Ali wrote on X.
Last week, Maduro ordered unprecedented steps to secure control over the oil-rich territory, which international law recognizes as part of Guyana. Both nations have long claimed sovereignty over the territory, but recent oil and natural resource discoveries as well as a looming election have made Venezuela particularly interested in taking Esequibo for itself. ‘While it is easier to stake a claim than to pitch a tent, Maduro has whipped the country into a nationalist frenzy,’ Ryan C. Berg wrote in Foreign Policy. The likelihood of Maduro backing down, therefore, remains slim.” [Foreign Policy]
“Tokyo’s cabinet reshuffle. In an effort to combat Japan’s biggest financial scandal in the ruling party’s history, four Japanese cabinet ministers resigned Thursday, including two senior members. Six senior government officials also quit. This is Prime Minister Fumio Kishida’s third cabinet reshuffle in 16 months as his Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) struggles to bolster record-low public approval ratings ahead of leadership elections next September.
LDP members have been accused of failing to report hundreds of millions of yen from fundraising efforts and instead placing the money in slush funds. Allegations also suggest that Kishida and other party members underreported fundraising income. Kishida has promised to tackle the scandal ‘head-on.’” [Foreign Policy]
“Next time you complain about a fine, take a moment to remember Vitaly Vanshelboim. The United Nations ordered the former top logistics official to personally repay $63.6 million as well as forgo one year’s salary after an internal investigation found that he had been ‘willful, reckless or grossly negligent’ in his financial practices.
The senior U.N. deputy and his boss allegedly amassed millions of dollars for the organization to boost their reputations by charging other companies extra for construction projects. Then they poorly invested around $60 million in companies all linked to one British businessman they met at a party. The U.N. only secured 10 percent of what Vanshelboim and his boss initially invested—and now it’s asking for the money back. Vanshelboim, who was fired but has not been charged with a crime, is asking the U.N. court system, which regularly handles internal personnel matters, to overturn the firing as well as the fine and order to repay the funds. The court is due to hold a virtual hearing on the case early next year.” [Foreign Policy]
“Russian President Vladimir Putin wasn’t at the European Union summit in Brussels, but he still made his presence felt.
Hungary’s Kremlin-friendly premier, Viktor Orban, followed through on his long-telegraphed threat and blocked the EU’s €50 billion ($55 billion) aid package for Ukraine.
What amounts to a victory for Putin is another blow for Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy, who returned empty handed from Washington yesterday having failed to convince the US to clear $61 billion in assistance to defend against Russia.
It’s also a setback for the 27-nation EU, which is running up against the limits of its ability to become a geopolitical player when foreign-policy decisions require unanimity. That rule allows any one member to hold the bloc’s business hostage.
Ukraine did score a symbolic victory, when Orban abstained on the issue of opening EU accession talks for Kyiv, effectively waving the process through. In practice, though, that still means many years of wrangling before membership would become a reality.
Orban has angered the rest of the bloc with his antipathy toward Ukraine, and stunned western allies by holding talks with Putin in Beijing in October.
Regardless of Orban’s motivations, however, he’s succeeded in exposing the EU’s double bind.
In opening up the accession process to Ukraine plus Moldova, while granting candidate status to Georgia, the EU is sanctioning its expansion to at least 30 members. That can only render decision-making yet more tortuous and open to the vicissitudes of individual leaders.
With skeptics of Ukraine’s defense having won recent elections in Slovakia and the Netherlands and the Putin-friendly far-right on the rise, the risk of more gridlock grows.
Something has to give.” —Richard Bravo [Bloomberg]
WATCH: Zoltan Simon reports on the deadlock from Budapest. Source: Bloomberg
“Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni has a plan to send as many as 36,000 migrants trying to reach the EU to tourist areas in Albania. But as Alessandra Migliaccio and Gresa Kraja report, the proposal faces a challenge from people who don’t want those seeking asylum to be forcibly sent there and from local people who don’t want them to come.” [Bloomberg]
By Jodi Kantor
President Donald Trump and Amy Coney Barrett. Al Drago for The New York Times
Dismantling Roe
“The Supreme Court deliberates in secret. Insiders who speak can be cast out of the fold. Learning about the justices’ internal debates over cases can require decades-long waits for their papers to become public.
But today we’re publishing an inside account, by Adam Liptak and me, of how the justices overturned Roe v. Wade.
The answer has seemed obvious: Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, the court’s foremost defender of abortion rights, died and was replaced by Justice Amy Coney Barrett, a favorite of the anti-abortion movement.
That version is incomplete.
We discovered that Barrett, whom President Donald Trump appointed to lock in the court’s conservative supermajority, opposed even hearing the case. When the jurists were debating Mississippi’s request to hear it, she said the timing was wrong, and she eventually voted against granting the case. Four justices — the minimum necessary, and all of them male — greenlighted the lawsuit that the state of Mississippi had brought, Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization.
Chief Justice John Roberts and Justice Stephen Breyer had also opposed the court’s taking the case, and they later worked together to narrow the results and preserve some portion of Roe v. Wade. Breyer, a lifelong liberal, was even willing to cut back the right to abortion in order to save it.
A leak cut off those hopes, our article shows. Whatever the leaker’s motive, Politico’s publication of Justice Samuel Alito’s draft opinion in May 2022 had the effect of cementing the votes in place.
Our story includes other revelations as well, including about how Ginsburg’s death hung over the case. The court delayed announcing its decision to hear the case, creating the appearance of distance from Ginsburg’s passing.
Our account is based on interviews with court insiders who had real-time knowledge of the events, notes, and documents. We’re also publishing excerpts from the justices’ internal messages to one another, so readers can see for themselves how court’s members communicate. As they take on one contentious issue after another — and wade right back into the abortion debate — we hope this article will help illuminate an institution that sets the rules for us all.” [New York Times]
The Bank of England is contending with higher inflation rates than many of its peers.
PHOTO: HOLLIE ADAMS/REUTERS
The world’s central banks are signaling that a victory over inflation is in sight.
“The European Central Bank and the Bank of England held interest rates steady, a day after the Fed did so. Faster-than-expected inflation declines and signs that economic growth and labor markets are cooling on both sides of the Atlantic have major central banks repositioning themselves (read for free). But officials worry about inflation rebounding if they act prematurely; they have warned that the so-called last mile, from 3% to 2% inflation, could be the hardest to achieve. Strong holiday spending added to signs the U.S. might beat inflation without a downturn. Retail sales rose a seasonally adjusted 0.3% in November from the month before, the Commerce Department said. That rebound from October’s downwardly revised 0.2% decline surprised economists expecting sales to fall last month.” [Wall Street Journal]
Investors’ growing confidence that interest rates have peaked fueled a second-straight day of gains across Wall Street.
“Stocks, bonds, oil and gold all climbed, and the Dow Jones Industrial Average hit a new record. The optimism intensified a debate about whether the rally will complicate the Fed’s inflation fight. The Fed yesterday penciled in three quarter-point rate cuts in 2024. Lower rates mean cheaper financing for companies, investors and households; less expensive mortgage rates; and looser financial conditions to boost the economy. Other investors disagreed, saying that growth remains too strong to expect rate cuts and that a more robust economy would remove the need for cuts.” [Wall Street Journal]
Andre Braugher died from lung cancer, rep for the ‘Brooklyn Nine-Nine’ star says
“Andre Braugher died from lung cancer, a representative said. Braugher generally revealed little about his private life, and his death was unexpected for many of his co-stars.” Read More at Washington Post