The Full Belmonte, 2/10/2023
FBI agents process material recovered from the Chinese balloon at a lab in Virginia.
PHOTO: FBI/ASSOCIATED PRESS
The Chinese balloon that floated across the U.S. was outfitted with equipment to gather intelligence, officials said.
“That included antennas likely capable of collecting communications and solar panels that could power intelligence-gathering sensors. The Biden administration is preparing to take action against China’s surveillance program, a senior State Department official said. Beijing has said the balloon was a civilian meteorological-research craft and condemned the U.S. for shooting it down. The House voted 419-0 to pass a resolution condemning China for its spy balloon. Despite escalating national-security tensions, trade between the two countries is on the rise.” [Wall Street Journal]
Turkey-Syria quake live briefing: U.S. military launches relief mission as death toll tops 22,000
“The U.S. military has begun deploying forces to assist with earthquake relief in Turkey, U.S. officials said Friday, with a Navy headquarters overseeing the mission and a Marine Corps general arriving on the ground to assess the scope of support that may be needed.
It was not immediately clear how the U.S. military also might assist in Syria, where the United States maintains a limited counterterrorism mission in the northeastern corner of the country.
Fourteen more aid trucks entered northwestern Syria on Friday, after the earthquake disaster halted deliveries to a region battered by war and already facing a humanitarian crisis. The trucks crossed from Turkey a day after the first U.N. aid convoy entered the Syrian opposition enclave since the quakes flattened entire neighborhoods on both sides of the border. In rebel-held northwest Syria, the civilian rescue group known as the White Helmets criticized what it called the slow pace of international assistance.
The combined death toll has surpassed 22,000, and the disaster has left thousands of people homeless. Rescuers in southern Turkey are fighting bitter cold to find survivors under the rubble, as efforts to help pour in from around the world….” Read more at Washington Post
FBI searches former VP Mike Pence's Indiana home for classified documents
The search follows the discovery of classified records during FBI searches of President Joe Biden's home and former office, and former President Donald Trump's estate in Florida.
“WASHINGTON – The FBI on Friday searched former Vice President Mike Pence’s home in Indiana for classified documents, following the discovery last month of a small number of records with classified markings, according to a person familiar with the matter.
Carmel, Indiana, police also said the FBI arrived at Pence's Carmel-area home Friday morning. Police said they were providing traffic control in the area and not assisting in the search.
The FBI did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
The Pence search followed the voluntary search of President Joe Biden’s former office in November; his home in Wilmington, Delaware, in December; and his Rehoboth Beach house; and the seizure of more than 100 classified documents at former President Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate during the execution of a search warrant in August.
A handful of classified documents were found Jan. 16 at Pence’s home and placed in a secure safe until the FBI retrieved them, a Pence representative told the National Archives in a letter. Pence’s lawyer characterized the records as ‘a small number of bearing classified markings that were inadvertently transported to the personal home of the former vice president at the end of the last administration.’…” Read more at USA Today
Mike Pence Subpoenaed by Special Counsel Jack Smith
Special counsel is examining efforts by Donald Trump and his allies to overturn the 2020 election
The subpoena of former Vice President Mike Pence sets the stage for a likely court battle over executive privilege.PHOTO: JOHN MINCHILLO/ASSOCIATED PRESS
“Former Vice President Mike Pence has been subpoenaed by special counsel Jack Smith, who is looking into efforts by former President Donald Trump and his allies to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election, people familiar with the matter said Thursday.
The move represents an escalation in the Justice Department investigation and sets the stage for a likely court battle over executive privilege, which lawyers for Mr. Trump have raised in recent years to block or slow the testimony of former administration officials in various probes….” Read more at Wall Street Journal
The fate of a major abortion pill
Conservative judge to rule on abortion pill lawsuit
“A decision is expected by Friday at the earliest in a Texas case attempting to reverse the FDA’s approval of mifepristone, a medication that can be used with another drug called misoprostol to end a pregnancy.
One thing to know: If the Amarillo judge rules in favor of the anti-abortion coalition, abortion access advocates say it could effectively ban mifepristone nationwide, creating severe consequences on people’s ability to access critical abortion and miscarriage care, especially after the overturning of Roe v. Wade.
•A ruling in the anti-abortion groups' favor could mean healthcare providers will be barred from prescribing mifepristone even in states where abortion is legal. In-clinic, procedural abortion care would not be affected by the ruling.
•The FDA approved mifepristone for medication abortion in 2000. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, the American Medical Association and the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists call mifepristone a safe and effective abortion medication and component of treatment and management for early pregnancy loss or miscarriage.
•Trump-appointee U.S. District Judge Matthew Kacsmaryk could grant an emergency injunction forcing the FDA to withdraw its approval of mifepristone and pull the drug off the market nationwide. While the FDA could choose to restart the approval process, this may take years.
Keep reading our explainer on the legal case.” [USA Today]
Maryland Senate President Bill Ferguson, D-Baltimore, center, stands at the podium with lawmakers during a news conference at the statehouse, Thursday, Feb. 9, 2023, in Annapolis, Maryland. State lawmakers announced support for measures protecting abortion rights, including a state constitutional amendment that would enshrine it.
Julio Cortez, AP
Dems spoil for Medicare fight
Illustration: Allie Carl/Axios
“President Biden has spent the week contrasting Republican and Democratic positions on health care and entitlements — leaning into a fight his party would love to have all the way through the 2024 election.
Why it matters: How House Republicans handle the coming debt-ceiling negotiations and spending-related decisions could hand Democrats a potent line of attack, Axios' Caitlin Owens writes.
Biden's back-and-forth with Republicans on Medicare and Social Security was one of the most memorable parts of Tuesday's State of the Union.
He followed up with a speech yesterday at the University of Tampa. He attacked GOP positions related to prescription drugs, the Affordable Care Act, Medicaid, Medicare and Social Security — some of Democrats' most comfortable policy arenas.
‘I know that a lot of Republicans, their dream is to cut Social Security and Medicare,’ Biden said. ‘Well let me say this: If that's your dream, I'm your nightmare.’
Biden name-checked Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, who is expected to run to be the GOP's presidential nominee, for choosing not to expand Medicaid in the state.
State of play: Republicans have repeatedly said they aren't pushing to cut entitlement programs.
But that commitment will clash with the party's goal of producing a budget that balances over the next decade. That's nearly impossible to do without raising taxes, or cutting defense or entitlement spending.
In a speech on the eve of the State of the Union, Speaker McCarthy explicitly said that ‘cuts to Medicare and Social Security are off the table.’
But that won't stop Dems from claiming the GOP would put voters' health care and retirement benefits at risk.
Democratic-aligned groups are already pouncing on opportunities to tie potential GOP presidential candidates to entitlement cuts.
Reality check: The Medicare Board of Trustees estimates the Medicare Trust Fund will become insolvent by 2028. So the next president will inherit a ticking time bomb.” [Axios]
Scoop: Biden's deficit-cutting plan
Illustration: Aïda Amer/Axios
“President Biden will make deficit reduction a centerpiece of his 2024 budget, coming March 9 — and aims to pressure Republicans to focus on government revenue, not just spending, Axios' Hans Nichols has learned.
Why it matters: The White House is seeking a tactical advantage in its showdown with congressional Republicans on the debt limit — and wants to test the GOP's commitment to lowering annual deficits.
The big picture: The White House — and most of Washington — is preparing for a massive debate about the national debt. Both sides want to position themselves as a prudent steward of the country's finances.
The administration plans to dust off a variety of proposed tax increases on corporations and wealthy Americans — including Biden's plan to boost rates on billionaires — to narrow the gap between what the government takes in and spends.
Biden also plans to slow the rate of some spending. Republicans have called for cuts without specifying which ones.
He hinted at that in his State of the Union: ‘The plan I'm going to show you is going to cut the deficit by another $2 trillion.’” [Axios]
South Carolina Dog Breeder Is Fatally Shot at Planned Sale of French Bulldog
The attackers also stole the puppy, the authorities said. French bulldogs have become among the most expensive dog breeds in the United States.
“Lonnie A. Ray of Darlington County, S.C., had bred and sold dogs for a while, and he knew what safety precautions to take when arranging a sale, according to Daniel Simon, the sheriff of Lee County.
On Monday night, Sheriff Simon said, Mr. Ray, 76, brought a friend along for the planned sale of a French bulldog for $2,500, which was to take place at a public spot — the parking lot of a KFC in Bishopville, S.C.
But the sale, which was planned online, never happened. Instead of encountering a buyer, Mr. Ray was attacked by three or four people and shot at least three times, the sheriff said. They also took the dog, a puppy. Mr. Ray died an hour later at Carolina Pines Regional Medical Center in Hartsville, S.C….
The brazen and deadly robbery was particularly surprising as Lee County, a community of about 16,000 people with manufacturing plants and farming area about 50 miles from Columbia, S.C., generally has only about three to five homicides a year, the sheriff said.
French bulldogs have become one of the most expensive dog breeds in the United States, with prices sometimes reaching $6,000 for a puppy. And people who have them have increasingly been the victims of gunpoint robbery in places including Miami, New York, Chicago, Houston and across California.
In 2021, Lady Gaga’s dog walker was choked and shot during a robbery of two of the singer’s French bulldogs in Los Angeles. The shooter was sentenced to 21 years in prison.
Video footage from a camera at the KFC, which is along Interstate 20, did not capture the shooting, Sheriff Simon said. The sheriff’s office is cleaning spotty footage from a surveillance camera at a nearby convenience store.
The attackers will potentially face charges including murder, attempted murder, grand larceny and possession of a weapon during a violent crime, Sheriff Simon said.
Mr. Ray, who was retired, was a dog lover who took good care of the animals he bred, which used to include hunting dogs in addition to the French bulldogs, the sheriff said. He was the father of two sons and two daughters, he said.
Mr. Ray would sell his French bulldogs when they were between six and 12 weeks old, Sheriff Simon said.
An autopsy will be performed on Mr. Ray on Friday morning, said Larry Logan, the Lee County coroner, adding that officials will then be able to confirm how many times he was shot.” Read more at New York Times
Students take shelter inside a metro station during Russian missile attacks in Kyiv, Ukraine.
Ukraine
“Air raid sirens sounded across Ukraine this morning as officials warned of potentially widespread Russian missile attacks. Explosions were reported in the Ukrainian-held city of Zaporizhzhia and the Kharkiv region, and threats of more strikes are being reported elsewhere in the country. Ukraine's main energy supply company introduced emergency power outages in the capital of Kyiv and neighboring regions in anticipation of the strikes, which have been repeatedly targeted at Ukraine's energy infrastructure. The attacks come a day after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky made a heartfelt appeal to lawmakers in Brussels to allow his country to become part of the European Union, insisting that Europe is Ukraine's ‘home.’” [CNN]
Beijing Rejects Washington’s Balloon Claims
“China’s government claims that the United States is engaging in ‘information warfare’ against China by describing the Chinese balloon downed over the Atlantic Ocean as part of China’s surveillance program.
The Chinese foreign ministry has insisted that the balloon was a civilian airship that flew off course and that the United States, in shooting it down, had overreacted.
U.S. officials have dismissed China’s accusations and refuted Beijing’s claims that the balloon was flying for civilian purposes. ‘I can assure this was not for civilian purposes. We are 100 percent clear on that,’ Air Force Brig. Gen. Pat Ryder said.
The United States has said that China’s balloon-spying program is intended to target not only the United States, but 40 countries across various continents. U.S. officials are also reportedly exploring potential punitive actions against China, as well as ‘broader efforts’ to address China’s surveillance activities.
U.S. authorities do not yet know what precisely the balloon was intended to do or where its parts were manufactured. They also said the Biden administration has declassified information gathered on the balloon to better inform the American public and the country’s allies.” [Foreign Policy]
“Zelensky pushes for quick EU membership. Speaking in Brussels, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky made the case for talks on Ukraine joining the European Union to begin this year. Zelensky traveled first to London, then to Paris, and finally to Brussels, where he addressed the European Parliament and a summit of 27 EU leaders. Zelensky made the case that Ukraine was not just fighting for itself, but for all of Europe. He also said that Ukrainian soldiers would be bolstered by membership talks beginning this year, adding, ‘When I say this year, I mean this year. Two, zero, 23.’
EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, however, has said ‘there is no rigid timeline’ for Ukrainian accession to the European Union. Zelensky also asked Slovakia’s prime minister, Eduard Heger, for his country’s Soviet-era MiG-29 fighter jets, which were grounded last year. Heger told Zelensky, ‘we will work on this.’” [Foreign Policy]
“Researchers say China linked to social media campaign. Researchers at the Australian Strategic Policy Institute, a defense think tank in Canberra, Australia, found that a network working within China has used social media to undermine confidence in Australia’s government and democracy, spreading disinformation and amplifying scandals. The network is believed to have 30 active accounts, all appearing to be women, posting in English and Mandarin.
To date, engagement with the accounts has been limited. The think tank, which gets over half its funding from Australia’s Department of Defense or other government agencies, previously attracted negative attention from China for its research on human rights abuses in Xinjiang.” [Foreign Policy]
“Japan arrested alleged crime spree ringleaders. Japanese police arrested four people who allegedly oversaw scams and robberies while in overseas jails. The men recruited people to carry out robberies—targeting the elderly and cheating them out of billions of yen—while in jail in the Philippines. Two of the men were deported to Japan from the Philippines earlier this week; the other two were deported Wednesday.
The suspected ringleader goes by ‘Luffy,’ an apparent anime reference (the popular anime One Piece has a character named Monkey D Luffy). Japanese authorities have been searching for the people behind this crime wave since the summer of 2021. The gang is thought to be connected to over 90 robberies in 14 prefectures. One this past January involved the murder of a 90-year-old woman.” [Foreign Policy]
“Anger at Saudi effort to sponsor women’s World Cup. U.S. forward Alex Morgan bashed a potential sponsorship deal between FIFA and Saudi Arabia for this summer’s women’s World Cup. The women’s World Cup is going to be held in Australia and New Zealand. The soccer federations of both countries have protested the potential deal, both citing Saudi Arabia’s human rights record, and particularly the limited rights of women and the illegality of homsexuality.
Morgan, for her part, said, I ‘think it’s bizarre that Fifa has looked to have a ‘Visit Saudi’ sponsorship for the Women’s World Cup when I would not even be supported and accepted in that country, so I just don’t understand it … Pretty much everyone has spoken out against that because morally, it just doesn’t make sense.’ U.S. Soccer also voiced its concern, saying, ‘While we cannot control how other organizations manage sponsorship selections for the tournaments we compete in, we can voice our concerns and will continue to support our players.’” [Foreign Policy]
“The naked truth. A Spanish high court ruled in favor of a man who walked naked through the streets of Valencia and was fined. The court struck down the appeal against a lower court decision to annul the fine, but admitted there was a ‘legal vacuum’ in Spanish law toward public nudity.
Indeed, public nudity has been legal in Spain since 1988, although some regions have laws regulating public nudism. Nevertheless, in this case, the court ruled that the man’s behavior did not bring about an ‘alteration of citizen security, tranquility or public order.’ The man, 29-year-old Alejandro Colomar, had also tried to attend a court hearing naked.” [Foreign Policy]
Meta
“Meta on Thursday restored Donald Trump's Facebook and Instagram accounts, allowing him to once again post on the social media platforms. Trump's reinstatement comes weeks after Facebook's landmark announcement that it would restore his access following a two-year ban in the wake of the attack on the US Capitol. With his accounts reactivated, Trump will once again gain access to huge and powerful communications and fundraising platforms just as he ramps up his third bid for the White House. However, Meta has warned that guardrails have been installed on Trump's account that could result in it being suspended again if he breaks the company's rules. Twitter restored Trump's account in November, but he hasn't posted on the platform since.” [CNN]
“Girl Reading a Letter at an Open Window” (1657-58).Melissa Schriek for The New York Times
The definitive Vermeer
“An exhibition of the 17th century Dutch painter Johannes Vermeer opens today in Amsterdam’s Rijksmuseum, a show that is probably ‘never to be replicated,’ the Times critic Jason Farago writes.
It is the most comprehensive Vermeer collection assembled, bringing together more than three-quarters of his surviving works. It took years of diplomacy to organize because no museum wants to send away its Vermeers, even for a short while. The museum has already sold more than 200,000 tickets.
Vermeer’s popularity faded for centuries after his death, but the modern world has embraced him. Perhaps that’s because, in this frantic era, his hushed scenes of writers and maids remind us ‘that we are still human, and if only we find the right master, we can slow down time,’ Jason writes.” [New York Times]
The Biggest Penguin That Ever Existed Was a ‘Monster Bird’
Fossils found in New Zealand highlight an era after the dinosaurs when giant flightless birds prowled the seas for prey.
“New Zealand has been a haven for earthbound birds for eons. The absence of terrestrial predators allowed flightless parrots, kiwis and moas to thrive. Now researchers are adding two prehistoric penguins to this grounded aviary. One species is a beefy behemoth that waddled along the New Zealand coastline nearly 60 million years ago. At almost 350 pounds, it weighed as much as an adult gorilla and is the heaviest penguin known to science.
Alan Tennyson, a paleontologist at Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa, discovered the supersize seabird’s bones in 2017. They were deposited on a beach known for large, cannonball-shaped concretions called the Moeraki Boulders. The churn of the tide cracked open several of these 57-million-year-old boulders, revealing bits of fossilized bones inside.
Dr. Tennyson and his colleagues identified the fossilized remains of two large penguins. The humerus of one, at more than nine and a half inches long, was nearly twice the size of those found in emperor penguins, the largest living penguin. Other boulders yielded bones from a smaller, more complete penguin species that also appeared to be larger than a modern emperor penguin.
The researchers described the ancient birds Wednesday in the Journal of Paleontology. They named the larger penguin Kumimanu (a mash-up of the Maori words for “monster” and “bird”) fordycei and named the smaller penguin Petradyptes (“rock diver”) stonehousei….” Read more at New York Times
“M.V.P.: Patrick Mahomes, the Chiefs quarterback, is the N.F.L.’s most valuable player for the second time in his six-year career.” [New York Times]
“Early exits: The S.E.C. will have 16 teams in 2024 after Oklahoma and Texas successfully negotiated their release from the Big 12.” [New York Times]
“A top contender: The Kevin Durant trade is still sending shock waves through the N.B.A. The Phoenix Suns jumped to No. 2 in the title odds after the move.” [New York Times]
1 food thing: Chick-fil-A cauliflower
Photo: Chick-fil-A
“Chick-fil-A is testing its first plant-based sandwich after four years in the kitchen — the Chick-fil-A Cauliflower Sandwich, made with a "tender filet cut from a whole, real cauliflower."
It's ‘similar to the original Chick-fil-A Chicken Sandwich — it is marinated, breaded with a signature seasoning, pressure-cooked, and served on a toasted buttery bun with two dill pickle chips.’
The sandwich will be available beginning Monday in three markets — Denver, Charleston, S.C., and North Carolina's Greensboro-Triad region.” [Axios]
“Lives Lived: Burt Bacharach earned a spot in the pantheon of pop songwriting, helping to compose hit songs including ‘The Look of Love’ (Dusty Springfield) and ‘What’s New Pussycat?’ (Tom Jones). Bacharach died at 94.” [New York Times]
“Bacharach in 1965 with his then-wife, actress Angie Dickinson. (AP)
His music was everywhere in the ’60s and ’70s, with songs like ‘I Say a Little Prayer,’ the Oscar-winning ‘Raindrops Keep Fallin’ on My Head’ and ‘Do You Know the Way to San Jose.’
More than 1,000 artists have recorded Bacharach’s music, and he received the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award in 2008. He was 94 years old.” [Washington Post]