The Full Belmonte, 2/16/2022
“MOSCOW (AP) — Russia said Wednesday it was returning more troops and weapons to bases, yet another gesture apparently aimed at easing fears it is planning to invade Ukraine, even as the U.S. said the threat of an attack remained.
Russia has massed about 150,000 troops east, north and south of Ukraine, sparking Western concerns it was planning an assault. There have been no indications of a significant withdrawal of those forces, but this week has seen a handful of gestures from Moscow that offered hope that Europe might avoid war following weeks of escalating East-West tensions.
On Wednesday, the Russian Defense Ministry released a video showing a trainload of armored vehicles moving across a bridge away from Crimea, the Black Sea peninsula that Russia annexed from Ukraine in 2014. It said the movement was part of a return of forces to their permanent bases.
A day earlier, the ministry reported the start of a pullback of troops following military exercises near Ukraine. And Russian President Vladimir Putin signaled he wanted a diplomatic path out of the crisis, emphasizing that he did not want war and would rely on negotiations to achieve his key goal of keeping Ukraine from joining NATO.” Read more at AP News
“A disagreement over how to treat a Russian natural-gas pipeline has halted Democratic and Republican efforts to cut a deal on sanctions legislation targeting Russia, just days before many U.S. officials say an invasion of Ukraine is possible.
Senators from both parties had hoped to agree on legislation that Sen. Bob Menendez (D., N.J.), chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, dubbed the “mother of all sanctions,” part of an effort to deter Russian President Vladimir Putin from invading Ukraine by ensuring that Moscow would face painful economic measures.
At the center of the dispute are disagreements about the timing and certainty of sanctions aimed at stopping gas from flowing in the new Nord Stream 2 pipeline that connects Russia and Germany, bypassing Ukraine.
The impasse raises the risk that the White House and Capitol Hill may not have a unified message if an invasion occurs, according to people following the talks.” Read more at Wall Street Journal
A memorial was displayed near the Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Conn., following the mass shooting that left 26 dead in 2012.
PHOTO: JESSICA HILL/ASSOCIATED PRESS
“The families of several victims killed in the 2012 Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting have reached a $73 million settlement with Remington, the now-bankrupt manufacturer of the AR-15-style rifle used in the massacre that left 20 children and six adults dead in Newtown, Connecticut. The families sued Remington in 2014, alleging the gun maker should be held partially responsible for the shooting because of its marketing strategy that allegedly reinforced military-style images of combat weapons. Existing federal law usually protects many gun manufacturers from wrongful death lawsuits brought by family members, but the marketing argument in this case was a new approach. Nicole Hockley, whose 6-year-old son Dylan was killed in the shooting, called the settlement a ‘landmark, historic victory.’” Read more at CNN
“Covid-19 cases and hospitalizations are declining across the US, but more than 2,000 Americans are still dying every day due to the virus. The US is now averaging 151,056 new Covid-19 cases, according to data from Johns Hopkins University -- a stark difference from the peak of more than 800,000 cases per day a month ago. Vaccinations across the US are also slowing down. About 64% of Americans are fully vaccinated, but only 28% have received a booster dose, according to latest CDC data. Meanwhile, in Canada, some blockades at border crossings over vaccine mandates are coming to an end, but protests remain ongoing in downtown Ottawa.” Read more at CNN
“Prince Andrew has settled a federal sex-abuse lawsuit brought by one of Jeffrey Epstein’s best-known accusers. The British royal is making a substantial donation to Virginia Giuffre’s charity; no further financial details were disclosed. The settlement allows the prince to avoid a trial and any embarrassment it could bring to Buckingham Palace. Giuffre alleged that Epstein and British socialite Ghislaine Maxwell forced her to have sex with Prince Andrew when she was a teen, accusations the prince has denied.” Read more at New York Times
Former Alaska Republican Gov. Sarah Palin sued the New York Times over a 2017 editorial, in a case that has tested the scope of legal protections for the media.PHOTO: EDUARDO MUNOZ/REUTERS
“A federal jury concluded the New York Times didn’t defame Sarah Palin in a 2017 editorial, a verdict that follows a judge’s surprise announcement that he planned to rule against the former Republican vice-presidential candidate after jurors finished their work.
The verdict, delivered on Tuesday by jurors in Manhattan, is the latest chapter in a closely watched libel trial that probed the inner workings of a national news outlet and tested the scope of legal protections for the media.
Jurors reached their judgment after a weeklong trial in which Ms. Palin and leading figures from the Times testified.
Ms. Palin filed her lawsuit in 2017 shortly after the Times published an editorial about gun violence and political rhetoric. The editorial referenced a 2011 shooting that killed six people and wounded then-Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, an Arizona Democrat. It incorrectly suggested that an ad circulated by Ms. Palin’s political-action committee inspired the Arizona spree.
The Times quickly corrected the editorial and tweeted out an apology to its readers.
‘It is gratifying that the jury and the judge understood the legal protections for the news media and our vital role in American society,’ a Times spokeswoman said in a statement Tuesday.
Following the verdict, attorneys for Ms. Palin said they would consider all options, including an appeal.
Public figures face high legal hurdles in winning defamation claims against news organizations, which U.S. District Judge Jed Rakoff noted on Monday when he said he intended to dismiss Ms. Palin’s claims, no matter the jury’s verdict.
Judge Rakoff, a veteran jurist with a strong independent streak, concluded that Ms. Palin hadn’t presented sufficient evidence to prove the Times had acted with “actual malice,” meaning the outlet either knowingly published a false statement or showed a reckless disregard for the truth.
“This is an example of very unfortunate editorializing on the part of the Times,” he said, but added that the law sets a very high standard that Ms. Palin didn’t meet.
Before dismissing jurors Tuesday, Judge Rakoff told them he had also determined that the Times and its then-opinion editor James Bennet weren’t liable. ‘We’ve reached the same bottom line,’ he said.
Legal observers said judges sometimes override jury verdicts based on controlling law, but they said the timing of Judge Rakoff’s announcement was unusual. Such a ruling would typically come before jurors begin deliberating or after their work is done.
With jurors reaching the same conclusion as Judge Rakoff, Ms. Palin could face an uphill climb on appeal.” Read more at Wall Street Journal
“President Biden is opposing another effort by former President Donald J. Trump to withhold information from the House committee investigating the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol, ordering the National Archives to hand over White House visitor logs the committee is seeking.
In a letter to the National Archives, Mr. Biden’s White House counsel, Dana Remus, said Mr. Biden had rejected Mr. Trump’s claims that the visitor logs were subject to executive privilege and that “in light of the urgency” of the committee’s work, the agency should provide the material to the committee within 15 days.
Mr. Biden had similarly decided last year not to support Mr. Trump’s claim of executive privilege over other batches of White House documents and records sought by the committee. Mr. Trump went to federal court to block the release of those earlier batches but lost.
Citing in part the same reasoning as in the earlier case, Ms. Remus told the National Archives that the documents needed to be disclosed in a timely fashion because ‘Congress has a compelling need.’ She said that ‘constitutional protections of executive privilege should not be used to shield, from Congress or the public, information that reflects a clear and apparent effort to subvert the Constitution itself.’” Read more at New York Times
“The House committee investigating the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol issued six subpoenas Tuesday seeking more information about the plan to have Donald Trump electors cast votes for the former president in states that were certified as having been won by Joe Biden.
‘The Select Committee is seeking information about efforts to send false slates of electors to Washington and change the outcome of the 2020 election,’ the committee’s chair, Rep. Bennie G. Thompson (D-Miss.), said in a statement Tuesday announcing the subpoenas.
The subpoenas were sent to current and former Republican officials in Pennsylvania, Arizona and Michigan as well as to two advisers to President Donald Trump.
The Trump advisers include Michael Roman, the director of Election Day operations for Trump’s 2020 reelection campaign, and Gary Brown, his deputy director. Roman and Brown, according to Thompson’s letters, were ‘aware of, and participated in, efforts to promote unsupported allegations of fraud’ and encouraged ‘state legislators to alter the outcome of the November 2020 election by, among other things, appointing alternate slates of electors to send competing electoral votes to the United States Congress.’” Read more at Washington Post
“Babies fewer than six months old whose moms got vaccinated while pregnant were 61% less likely to be hospitalized for Covid-19. A CDC study supports the evidence that Covid-19 shots administered to pregnant women help protect their children when they’re born. Vaccination rates for pregnant women are lower than the national averages.” Read more at Wall Street Journal
“A middle-aged, mixed-race woman is the third patient to be potentially cured of HIV, with the virus in long-term remission four years after she received a transplant of stem cells harvested from an infant’s umbilical cord blood, scientists said Tuesday.
The new case, reported at the annual meeting of the Conference on Retroviruses and Opportunistic Infection, is the first time the transplant approach has been successfully reported in a mixed-race woman, an advance that reinforces the exciting concept that an HIV cure may be possible in a wider array of people by using cord blood.
In 2009, scientists first reported that a White man with leukemia, originally known to the world only as the ‘Berlin patient,’ had been possibly cured of HIV with a transplant of stem cells resistant to HIV. A decade later, the approach was used in the ‘London patient,’ a Hispanic man with Hodgkin’s lymphoma. A man in Dusseldorf, Germany, was reported to be in HIV remission after a transplant in 2019, but he was not counted by the research team as a previously cured patient.” Read more at Washington Post
“Buckle up: A large-scale, multi-hazard storm will make life wet and miserable for the central, southern and eastern U.S. Wednesday through Friday morning. Heavy snow, drenching rain with potential flooding and severe thunderstorms with possible tornadoes are all on tap, the National Weather Service said. Snow is likely Wednesday and into Thursday all the way from northern Texas to northern New England, AccuWeather said. The Weather Service said the greatest chance for disruptive snow extends from south-central Kansas through central Missouri, northern Illinois and into central Michigan. Slippery, potentially dangerous travel and school delays or cancellations are possible in Kansas City, St. Louis and Chicago, where up to half a foot of snow is possible.” Read more at USA Today
“LOS ANGELES (AP) — The family of a cinematographer shot and killed on the set of the film ‘Rust’ sued Alec Baldwin and the movie’s producers Tuesday alleging their “callous” disregard in the face of safety complaints led directly to her death.
At a news conference announcing the lawsuit, attorneys for the husband and 9-year-old son of Halyna Hutchins said that Baldwin refused training for the type of ‘cross-draw’ he was performing when he fired the shot that killed her.
Baldwin’s attorney responded that any claim the actor was reckless is “entirely false.”
The suit filed in New Mexico’s Santa Fe County in the name of Matthew and Andros Hutchins shows a text message exchange between a camera operator and a producer in which a complaint over gun safety was met with what the suit calls ‘callous sarcasm.’
The operator, Lane Luper, texted unit production manager Katherine Walters saying: ‘We’ve now had 3 accidental discharges. This is super unsafe.’
Walters responds: ‘Accidental discharge on the firearm? Awesome. Sounds good.’” Read more at AP News
“WASHINGTON—Sen. Marsha Blackburn lifted a hold on a stopgap bill needed to avoid a partial government shutdown this weekend after she won a commitment from the Biden administration that it wouldn’t fund pipes for smoking illicit substances through a substance-abuse program.
The Tennessee Republican had said she would hold up the bill until the Department of Health and Human Services clarified in writing whether it intended to pay for pipes to smoke illicit substances. The topic became a major issue in conservative circles after the Washington Free Beacon reported that a $30 million harm-reduction grant program operated by an agency within HHS could include money to put pipes in safe-smoking kits, which the report said could include crack pipes.” Read more at Wall Street Journal
“Robert Califf was narrowly confirmed by the Senate on Tuesday to lead the Food and Drug Administration following a pitched effort by the White House to shore up support.
The Senate voted 50 to 46 in favor of the confirmation, which some Democrats had opposed because of Dr. Califf’s industry ties and some Republicans refused to support amid pressure from abortion-pill opponents.
Six Republicans voted for confirmation, while four Democrats and Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders, an independent, voted against. Sen. Mike Rounds (R., S.D.) voted present.” Read more at Wall Street Journal
“Another executive at CNN has resigned due to ethical violations. Chief marketing officer Allison Gollust left after a probe of former primetime star Chris Cuomo. Gollust, Cuomo and former CNN chief Jeff Zucker were all cited for violating standards.” Read more at NPR
“WASHINGTON—Legal memos filed in recent days in the case against a former lawyer for the 2016 Clinton campaign, Michael Sussmann, reignited disputes over special counsel John Durham’s continuing probe into the origins of the FBI’s investigation into ties between the Trump campaign and Russia.
Late Friday, Mr. Durham said in a filing that his office would show at Mr. Sussmann’s trial that people affiliated with Donald Trump’s Democratic opponent, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, worked to exploit nonpublic internet traffic data they had access to, including from the White House, to establish a narrative tying Mr. Trump to Russia. The filing suggested the data included the early days of the Trump presidency.
Responding on Monday, Mr. Sussmann’s lawyers called the allegations misleading and irrelevant, and said the White House data predated Mr. Trump’s inauguration.
The dispute revolves around a highly technical analysis of internet-traffic data by security researchers in late 2016 and early 2017. Such data are frequently shared in the cybersecurity community, and obtaining it doesn’t require any computer intrusion or special legal permission, though it is technically proprietary. The data only show connections between computers and don’t reveal content of communications, and nearly all internet users generate such data as they use the web.
Mr. Sussmann has been indicted on a charge of lying to the Federal Bureau of Investigation in a 2016 meeting and has pleaded not guilty. Mr. Durham’s new allegations in the case revolve around technical matters and the filing didn’t provide extensive detail. Some of Mr. Trump’s supporters see the filing as implicating allies of Mrs. Clinton; lawyers for Mr. Sussmann and for others involved in the research say the claims are groundless.” Read more at Wall Street Journal
“Elon Musk was one of the biggest philanthropic donors in the U.S. last year, thanks to the estimated $5.7 billion worth of Tesla stock he gave away. Who got the shares that he reportedly donated in November isn’t listed in a securities filing detailing the charitable contributions. Those donations were made during the time that the Tesla chief executive sold more than $16 billion of shares in the company. Last year, he also converted about 22.9 million vested stock options into shares. Giving to charity can offset large tax bills.” Read more at Wall Street Journal
“San Francisco voters ousted three members of the Board of Education in a recall fueled by pandemic anxiety and anger.” Read more at New York Times
“Republicans boycotted a Senate meeting on Biden’s five nominees to the Federal Reserve, delaying efforts to confirm them.” Read more at New York Times
“Budget weapon | The EU’s top court ruled the bloc can use tough new powers to deny Poland and Hungary tens of billions of euros of aid for allegedly failing to abide by its democratic standards. The EU approved the tool last year after growing weary of challenges to judicial independence and the primacy of the bloc’s law, as well as an erosion of minority rights.” Read more at Bloomberg
“A war in Ukraine — even a short one, even with no U.S. troops on the ground — would ripple throughout the global economy and challenge the international order the U.S. spent decades constructing and defending.
Why it matters: An invasion could have enormous implications for the U.S. Every time Vladimir Putin provides the slightest hint of his intentions toward Ukraine, markets move and heads of state scramble, Axios World author Dave Lawler writes.
The latest: Russia today said it is returning more troops and weapons to bases — another gesture apparently aimed at easing invasion fears. (AP)
Biden warned yesterday that the threat remains urgent: ‘This is about more than just Russia and Ukraine.’
Global markets have been battered by the warnings of war, and they rose yesterday after Putin said he'd give diplomacy another chance.
Russia is a major exporter of oil and other commodities, and Biden warned that an invasion could lead to higher energy prices.
The fear of war has already driven average U.S. gasoline prices close to $4 per gallon for the first time in nearly 14 years, Axios' Nathan Bomey writes.
Russia is Europe's primary source of natural gas. Germany fears a spike in already-high prices in the event of war, possibly as retaliation for Western sanctions.
The U.S. and its allies have promised ‘unprecedented’ sanctions if Putin does invade. Those could restrict access to key technologies and make Russia even more economically reliant on China.
The Chinese government will be closely watching the West's response to the situation in Ukraine and the implications for China's own threat to bring Taiwan under its control by force.
Between the lines: Biden's speech yesterday was partly a call to arms to defend the international rules of the road — largely authored from Washington, and increasingly challenged by Moscow and Beijing.
The crisis has been a massive drain on the attention of an administration that had intended to focus on competition with China.
A full-scale war would be a hazardous endeavor for Russia, though its military capabilities far outstrip Ukraine's.
Ukraine's government, meanwhile, is contending with the threat of an invasion that could threaten the country's very existence.
The bottom line: Putin seems to be relishing his place at the top of Biden's agenda, and a chance to flex Russia's revived superpower status.
If Putin invades Ukraine, the whole world will feel it.” Read more at Axios
“Chinese President Xi Jinping won’t let Hong Kong stray far from the motherland. Not on politics, not on Covid-19.
If Xi’s determination to draw the former British colony closer to Beijing wasn’t already clear, his directive to Hong Kong leaders to contain surging infections removes any doubt.
Xi ordered the city to take ‘all necessary measures’ to halt omicron, a rare intervention in local affairs that came less than a day after Chief Executive Carrie Lam acknowledged the outbreak had overwhelmed her government.The message leaves Lam even less room to deviate from China’s Covid Zero policy, which business leaders argue threatens Hong Kong’s status as a global financial center and could deepen an exodus of talent.
China has managed to quash virus outbreaks by relying on border controls and lockdowns that experts warn would be too costly for such a densely populated and internationally dependent city.The message from Xi is especially pointed given Lam has yet to declare whether she’ll seek a second five-year term next month from a panel of 1,500 electors dominated by Beijing loyalists.
Xi has rarely issued public instructions on local Covid crises since ordering ‘government at all levels’ to contain the first outbreak in Wuhan. Days later, that city was locked down and the provincial leader was fired.The intervention drives home a deeper point about the city of 7.4 million after Beijing oversaw a purge of Hong Kong’s pro-democracy opposition last year. ‘Asia’s world city’ must look to Beijing for its future.”— Brendan Scott Read more at Bloomberg
“Emergency push | Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau defended his use of emergency powers that could freeze the bank accounts and suspend the insurance of protesters who have closed border crossings. While the move drew criticism from opposition lawmakers and civil liberties advocates, traffic reopened at demonstration sites in western Canada as protesters departed or made plans to leave.” Read more at Bloomberg
“Ethiopia eases state of emergency. Ethiopia’s parliament voted on Tuesday to lift the country’s state of emergency, in place since November when Tigray People’s Liberation Front forces came within roughly 200 miles of the capital Addis Ababa. The original order called for a six-month state of emergency, but lawmakers chose to lift it early due to the improving security situation. The fate of hundreds of ethnic Tigrayans arrested during the emergency period is not yet known.” Read more at Foreign Policy
“Workers in Belgium will have the right to request a four-day workweek under new labor laws agreed by the country’s governing coalition on Tuesday. Unlike trials in Iceland, where workers put in fewer hours for the same pay as a five-day week, workers in Belgium are expected to condense their regular workweek into four days instead. Employers don’t necessarily have to grant the request, but must put any rejection in writing.” Read more at Foreign Policy
“Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro meets Russian leader Vladimir Putin today in Moscow, where he’ll focus more on attempts to improve trade ties rather than add his voice to those seeking to end the Ukraine standoff.” Read more at Bloomberg
“Former Honduran President Juan Orlando Hernandez was arrested yesterday on a request from the U.S. to extradite him on drug charges.” Read more at Bloomberg
“The success of stars like Eileen Gu and Su Yiming has drawn Chinese viewers to the Beijing Winter Olympics in huge numbers — even as countries elsewhere tune out. Almost 600 million people, or about half China’s population, have watched the event on television. U.S. broadcaster NBC, meanwhile, is looking at what will likely be the least-watched Olympics in recent history.” Read more at Bloomberg
Su wins the silver medal in Men‘s Snowboard Slopestyle.
Photographer: Christophe Pallot/Agence Zoom/Getty Images
“$450,000 — The price of a reservation on a Virgin Galactic space flight. One-third of that amount must be put down as a deposit, and the rest must be paid before the flight. Sales to the public open tomorrow. The trip lasts 90 minutes but requires several days of spaceflight preparedness activities beforehand.
50 — The approximate number of yards Olympian Jarl Magnus Riiber skied the wrong direction before realizing his mistake, backtracking and costing himself a medal. The Nordic combined skier who hadn’t had an opportunity to practice on the Olympic track picked the incorrect lane at the fork. (Not-so-fun fact: The 24-year-old Norwegian did this once before.)
3 — The number of factors that must be in place to see the rare natural phenomenon known as ‘firefall’ at a waterfall in California’s Yosemite National Park. It requires the correct alignment between the sun and waterfall, enough water in Horsetail Fall and clear skies. The fiery, bright orange spectacle can be seen only about five to 15 minutes before sunset in mid- to late February.” Read more at Wall Street Journal
Writer P.J. O’Rourke, who spent more than two decades at various publications covering wars and regime changes, was also known for his irreverent humor and wit.PHOTO: DAVID HOWELLS/CORBIS/GETTY IMAGES
“P.J. O’Rourke, the author and political satirist, has died. He was 74 years old.
His death was confirmed by his publisher, Grove Atlantic. It said Mr. O’Rourke died Tuesday morning from complications related to lung cancer.
Mr. O’Rourke, a Republican, wrote about politics, cars, the economy and other subjects, mixing in his irreverent humor and sharp wit. He was known for his bestselling books, ‘Parliament of Whores: A Lone Humorist Attempts to Explain the Entire U.S. Government’ and ‘Give War a Chance: Eyewitness Accounts of Mankind’s Struggle Against Tyranny, Injustice and Alcohol-Free Beer.’
Mr. O’Rourke spent more than two decades at various publications covering wars and regime changes. Most recently, he was a panelist on NPR’s quiz show, ‘Wait, Wait…Don’t Tell Me!’” Read more at Wall Street Journal
“Bob Saget's family filed a lawsuit against Florida officials to block the release of records related to the "Full House" actor's death investigation, according to court documents.” Read more at USA Today
Justin Setterfield/Getty Image
“Kamila Valieva, the Russian skater at the center of a doping scandal, leads the pack after the women's figure skating short program. Although she tested positive for a banned substance, it was ruled she would be allowed to compete. Her young age makes the case particularly sensitive.
U.S. sprinter Sha'Carri Richardson called out the perceived hypocrisy of the anti-doping officials' decision. Richardson was prohibited from competing in the Summer Olympics after she tested positive for THC, the intoxicant in marijuana.” Read more at NPR
An alleged Basquiat: “Untitled (Yellow and Black Buildings).”via Orlando Museum of Art
A $100 million mystery
“Last weekend, the Orlando Museum of Art unveiled 25 paintings by Jean-Michel Basquiat. The works could be worth more than $100 million. But some experts believe they’re fakes.
The museum says Basquiat created the artworks in 1982, painting on cardboard, and sold the collection for $5,000. Aaron De Groft, the museum’s director, said he had ‘no doubt these are Basquiats,’ citing a handwriting expert, an art professor and a deceased member of a now-dissolved Basquiat authentication committee.
Basquiat made more than 2,000 works before he died in 1988. ‘Anybody with the right attitude and the right amount of money could purchase something from the painter, who was constantly in need of cash to support his various habits,’ Phoebe Hoban wrote in her biography of the artist.
But the art dealer Larry Gagosian, who lived above Basquiat’s studio, said he found the museum’s story ‘highly unlikely.’ Neither he nor Basquiat’s studio assistant knew of these 25 paintings. And there are other discrepancies: One of the works is painted on a box with a FedEx label that the company didn’t use before 1994.” Read more at New York Times
Take a look at some of the works. — Sanam Yar, a Morning writer