The Full Belmonte, 6/6/2023
A key dam and power plant in Ukraine have been destroyed.
“What we know: Parts of the dam, near the front line in the country’s south, are missing, causing major flooding. Residents were ordered to evacuate this morning.
What isn’t clear: The cause of the damage. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and Ukraine’s intelligence services blame Russia.
Why this matters: It could threaten drinking water supplies, affect operations at a nuclear power plant and make it harder for Ukrainian troops to advance.” [Washington Post] Read this story
A satellite image shows water gushing from a sizeable breach in the Nova Kakhovka dam in southern Ukraine.
“Former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie is expected to announce his bid for the Republican nomination for president tonight in New Hampshire — the state where the first GOP primary is held. Christie endorsed Trump in the 2016 primary but criticized him after the Jan. 6 insurrection.” [NPR]
Charles Krupa/AP
Robert Hanssen, F.B.I. Agent Exposed as Spy for Moscow, Dies at 79
Mr. Hanssen was sentenced to life in prison in 2002, bringing to a close one of the most lurid and damaging espionage cases in American history.
By Peter Baker
Peter Baker reported from Washington. He was a correspondent for The Washington Post in Moscow when Robert Hanssen was arrested in 2001 and covered the diplomatic rupture that followed.
“Robert P. Hanssen, a former F.B.I. agent who spied for Moscow off and on for more than two decades during and after the Cold War in one of the most damaging espionage cases in American history, was discovered dead in his prison cell in Colorado on Monday, federal authorities announced. He was 79.
The Federal Bureau of Prisons said in a statement that Mr. Hanssen was found unresponsive just before 7 a.m. at the United States Penitentiary Florence, where he was serving a life sentence. He was pronounced dead after lifesaving efforts by emergency medical workers. The statement did not identify a cause.
Mr. Hanssen’s case was considered one of the most notorious spy scandals of his generation, shocking F.B.I. leaders and other government officials when they learned that one of their own had been feeding information to the other side with impunity for so many years. To this day, the F.B.I. describes him as ‘the most damaging spy in bureau history.’
In exchange for $1.4 million in cash, bank funds and diamonds, Mr. Hanssen passed along a torrent of secrets to Moscow, including one disclosing that the United States government had dug a tunnel underneath the Soviet embassy in Washington to eavesdrop on diplomatic and other communications. He also informed Moscow about three K.G.B. officers who were secretly spying for the United States, two of whom were later executed….” Read more at New York Times
Trump Lawyers Seek to Persuade Justice Department Not to Indict Former President
Meeting is latest indication that special counsel Jack Smith has wrapped up his Mar-a-Lago classified-documents probe
Former President Donald Trump’s lawyers, James Trusty, and John Rowley, were at the Justice Department on Monday. PHOTO: JACQUELYN MARTIN/ASSOCIATED PRESS
“WASHINGTON—Lawyers for Donald Trump met with Justice Department officials on Monday, according to people familiar with the matter, to argue against any indictment of the former president over his handling of classified documents at his Mar-a-Lago resort.
The meeting is the latest indication that special counsel Jack Smith, who was in attendance, has all but wrapped up his investigation into whether Trump mishandled the documents. In recent months, Smith’s team has homed in on several key pieces of evidence, including an audio recording in which Trump acknowledged he kept a classified Pentagon document about a potential attack on Iran, and extensive notes from one of his lawyers about the investigation, people familiar with the matter said.
In recent days, Smith’s prosecutors have also sought testimony related to the documents probe before a grand jury in southern Florida, in what some people familiar with the process said appeared to be an effort to tie up several loose ends.
Trump lawyers John Rowley, James Trusty and Lindsey Halligan were seen arriving at the Justice Department around 10 a.m. Monday, CBS News reported. They left less than two hours later without speaking to reporters. Trump’s lawyers had previously requested a meeting with Attorney General Merrick Garland to ‘discuss the ongoing injustice that is being perpetrated by your Special Counsel and his prosecutors.’ Neither Garland nor Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco attended the Monday meeting.
Meanwhile, questioning in Smith’s other prong of inquiry—into potential White House involvement in the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol—is broadening, people familiar with that probe say, heightening the prospect that Trump’s legal uncertainty will persist up to and beyond the 2024 election….” Read more at Wall Street Journal
Lawyers for the former president, including Lindsey Halligan, were seen arriving at the Justice Department on Monday morning and leaving less than two hours later. PHOTO: JOSE LUIS MAGANA/ASSOCIATED PRESS
Hollywood actors guild votes to authorize strike, as writers strike continues
By LINDSEY BAHR
Crowd members listen to a speaker during the "Unions Strike Back" rally, Friday, May 26, 2023, near Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles. Union members from the tourism and hospitality, Hollywood, public sector, education and logistics industries mobilized for a display of collective solidarity. (AP Photo/Chris Pizzello)
“Actors represented by the Hollywood union SAG-AFTRA voted Monday evening to authorize a strike if they don’t agree on a new contract with major studios, streamers and production companies by June 30.
The strike authorization was approved by an overwhelming margin — nearly 98% of the 65,000 members who cast votes.
The guild, which represents over 160,000 screen actors, broadcast journalists, announcers, hosts and stunt performers, begins its negotiations with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers on Wednesday, over a month after the Writers Guild of America began striking over its own dispute with AMPTP. If the actors union ultimately moves forward with the strike, it would be limited to television and film productions; news and broadcast work would not be directly affected.
At stake is increased base compensation, which actors say has been undercut by inflation and the streaming ecosystem, the threat of unregulated use of artificial intelligence, benefit plans and the burden of “self-taped auditions” — the cost of which used to be the responsibility of casting and production….” Read more at AP News
Cornel West, Progressive Scholar, Announces Third-Party Bid for President
Dr. West said he would run as part of the People’s Party, which was founded by a former campaign staff member for Senator Bernie Sanders.
By Maggie Astor
June 5, 2023
“Cornel West, the progressive activist and professor, announced a presidential campaign on Monday with the People’s Party, a third party led by a former campaign staff member for Senator Bernie Sanders.
‘I enter in the quest for truth, I enter in the quest for justice, and the presidency is just one vehicle to pursue that truth and justice — what I’ve been trying to do all of my life,’ Dr. West said in a campaign video posted on Twitter.
In the video, Dr. West said he had decided to run as a third-party candidate because ‘neither political party wants to tell the truth about Wall Street, about Ukraine, about the Pentagon, about Big Tech.’ He called former President Donald J. Trump, the front-runner for the Republican nomination, a ‘neo-fascist,’ and President Biden a ‘milquetoast neoliberal.’
Dr. West has taught at Yale, Princeton and Harvard and is currently a professor of philosophy at Union Theological Seminary. He is known for his progressive activism, including his sharp criticism of former President Barack Obama….” Read more at New York Times
Prince Harry
Prince Harry arrives at the High Court in London, Tuesday, June 6, 2023.
Kin Cheung, AP
“Prince Harry is testifying in a London court today as his yearslong battle against Britain's tabloid media reaches its most dramatic stage so far. The Duke of Sussex is facing questions in London's High Court as part of his case against a major newspaper publisher. Harry's appearance in court is extremely rare. Analysts say this is the first time a senior British royal will personally appear in the witness box since 2002. Harry alleges his phone was hacked and other illicit means were used to gather information about his life. The newspaper publisher, on the other hand, is contesting those claims, saying the duke's allegations are lacking evidence or have been brought too late.” [CNN]
California insurance market rattled by withdrawal of major companies
By MICHAEL R. BLOOD
FILE - A home burns as the Dixie fire jumps Highway 395 south of Janesville, Calif., Aug. 16, 2021. Two insurance industry giants have pulled out of the California marketplace, saying that wildfire risk and the soaring cost of construction prompted them to stop writing new policies in the nation's most populous state. (AP Photo/Ethan Swope, File)
“LOS ANGELES (AP) — Two insurance industry giants have pulled back from California’s home insurance marketplace, saying that increasing wildfire risk and soaring construction costs have prompted them to stop writing new policies in the nation’s most populous state.
State Farm announced last week it would stop accepting applications for all business and personal lines of property and casualty insurance, citing inflation, a challenging reinsurance market and ‘rapidly growing catastrophe exposure.’ The decision did not impact personal auto insurance.
‘We take seriously our responsibility to manage risk,’ State Farm said. ‘It’s necessary to take these actions now to improve the company’s financial strength.’
Allstate, another insurance powerhouse, announced in November it would pause new homeowners, condo and commercial insurance policies in California to protect current customers.
‘The cost to insure new home customers in California is far higher than the price they would pay for policies due to wildfires, higher costs for repairing homes and higher reinsurance premiums,’ Allstate said in a statement….” Read more at AP News
Oklahoma school board approves what would be the 1st taxpayer-funded religious school in US
By SEAN MURPHY
FILE - Oklahoma Attorney General Gentner Drummond speaks during an interview, Feb. 1, 2023, in Oklahoma City. The Statewide Virtual Charter School Board, a state school board in Oklahoma, voted Monday, June 5, to approve what would be the first publicly funded religious school in the nation, despite a warning from the state's attorney general that the decision was unconstitutional. Drummond had previously warned the board that such a decision clearly violated the Oklahoma Constitution. (AP Photo/Sue Ogrocki, File)
“OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — A state school board in Oklahoma voted Monday to approve what would be the first publicly funded religious school in the nation, despite a warning from the state’s attorney general that the decision was unconstitutional.
The Statewide Virtual Charter School Board voted 3-2 to approve the application by the Catholic Archdiocese of Oklahoma to establish the St. Isidore of Seville Virtual Charter School. The online public charter school would be open to students across the state in kindergarten through grade 12.
Oklahoma Attorney General Gentner Drummond had warned the board that such a decision clearly violated the Oklahoma Constitution.
‘The approval of any publicly funded religious school is contrary to Oklahoma law and not in the best interest of taxpayers,’ Drummond said in a statement shortly after the board’s vote. ‘It’s extremely disappointing that board members violated their oath in order to fund religious schools with our tax dollars. In doing so, these members have exposed themselves and the state to potential legal action that could be costly.’…” Read more at AP News
Immigration
“An investigation is underway after two private planes carrying migrants recently arrived in California's capital city of Sacramento. Investigators have determined the migrants were asylum seekers and were carrying documents purportedly from the Florida government. The state attorney general's office is working to confirm details about the migrants and who may be behind the flights. On Monday, California Gov. Gavin Newsom, a Democrat, called Republican Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, who is also running for president, a ‘small, pathetic man’ in a tweet, apparently referring to his alleged role in one of the recent flights. Last year, DeSantis sent two planes carrying migrants to Martha's Vineyard, Massachusetts. Migrants have also been bused from border towns to sanctuary cities in recent years with little to no notice.” [CNN]
Virginia plane crash
“The pilot of the unresponsive private jet that crashed and killed four people in southwestern Virginia on Sunday was seen slumped over his seat when fighter jets attempted to draw his attention mid-flight, a source told CNN. Investigators are looking into hypoxia — a shortage of oxygen in the blood — as a reason why the pilot and passengers didn't respond to attempts by air traffic controllers and other civilian aircraft to contact the ill-fated plane. The flight was cruising from East Tennessee to Long Island, New York, at 34,000 feet, an altitude where pilots have 30 to 60 seconds to don oxygen masks when the pressure drops or risk falling unconscious. Recovery efforts for the plane are expected to begin today, but investigators say it will be challenging due to the crash site's rural terrain and the aircraft's near-total destruction.” [CNN]
Haiti flooding
“More than 13,000 people have been displaced in Haiti following heavy rains over the weekend that left at least 42 people dead, according to a statement Monday from the country's Civil Protection Agency. The intense rainfall caused several rivers throughout Haiti to overflow, which in turn sparked flash floods, rockslides and landslides, according to a UN report. The floods are the latest calamity to strike a country with already weak infrastructure, which has been repeatedly wracked with criminal violence, political turmoil and natural disasters in recent years. The danger will likely continue through hurricane season, which began on June 1.” [CNN]
Microsoft to pay $20m for child privacy violations
By Max Matza
BBC News, Seattle
“Microsoft will pay $20m (£16m) to US federal regulators after it was found to have illegally collected data on children who had started Xbox accounts.
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) reached a settlement with the company on Monday, which also includes increased protections for child gamers.
Among other violations, the FTC found that Microsoft failed to inform parents about its data collection policies.
It follows a similar action against Amazon last week over its Echo devices.
The FTC said Microsoft violated the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act by not properly getting parental consent and by retaining personal data on children under 13 for longer than necessary for accounts created before 2021.
The law requires online services and websites directed towards children to obtain a parent's consent and to inform the parent about personal data being collected about their child.
Xbox users must create an account to use certain services. Information such as full name, email address and date of birth are collected as part of the set up.
Not until after obtaining personal information, such as the child's phone number, did Microsoft ask for a parent to provide permission.
From 2015 to 2020 Microsoft retained data ‘sometimes for years’ from the account set up, even when a parent failed to complete the process, the FTC said in a statement.
The company also failed to inform parents about all the data it was collecting, including the user's profile picture and that data was being distributed to third parties.
‘Regrettably, we did not meet customer expectations and are committed to complying with the order to continue improving upon our safety measures,’ Microsoft's Dave McCarthy, CVP of Xbox Player Services, wrote in an Xbox blog post.
‘We believe that we can and should do more, and we'll remain steadfast in our commitment to safety, privacy, and security for our community.’
As part of the settlement, Microsoft must also institute new safety protections for children. That includes maintaining a system to delete all personal data after two weeks if no parental consent is obtained.
The order must be approved by a federal judge before it can go into effect.
Last week, Amazon agreed to pay $25m after the FTC found that it had retained sensitive data, including voice recordings of children, for years.
Amazon's doorbell camera unit Ring also agreed to pay out $5.8m after giving employees unrestricted access to customers' data.” [BBC]
Big Tech rolls back misinformation rules
Illustration: Sarah Grillo/Axios
“Ahead of the 2024 election, the world's largest tech companies are walking back policies meant to curb misinformation around COVID-19 and the 2020 election, Axios Media Trends expert Sara Fischer writes.
Why it matters: Social media platforms are arguing that the risk of harm no longer outweighs the benefits of political dialogue. That's drawing concerns from lawmakers and consumer advocacy leaders.
YouTube last week confirmed it will reverse its election integrity policy to leave up content that says fraud, errors or glitches occurred in the 2020 presidential election.
YouTube established the policy in December 2020, after enough states had certified the 2020 election results.
The company said in a statement that leaving the policy in place may have the effect of ‘curtailing political speech without meaningfully reducing the risk of violence or other real-world harm.’
Meta yesterday reinstated the Instagram account of Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who was removed from the platform in 2021 for posting misinformation about COVID.
That content, Meta said at the time, violated its COVID misinformation rules. Meta also removed the Instagram and Facebook accounts for Kennedy's nonprofit, Children's Health Defense. Those accounts remain banned.
A Meta spokesperson said that it reinstated the account because ‘he is now an active candidate for president of the United States.’
Kathleen Hall Jamieson, director of the Annenberg Public Policy Center and founder of Factcheck.org, argues that with a few exceptions — including health threats and real-time incitement of violence — fact-checking is a stronger antidote to misinformation than blocking speech.
The best solution, she argues, is to ‘flood the zone with the best available information, make sure that when the misinformation gets up there, you've got corrective context with good information up next to it.’” [Axios]
Mixed reality's iPhone moment
Photo: Ina Fried/Axios
“Apple showed enough of its Vision Pro headset yesterday to spark excitement — but it will probably take another year or so to know if we have truly entered a new era of ‘spatial computing,’ Axios chief tech correspondent Ina Fried reports from Apple Park in Cupertino, Calif.
Why it matters: The vision Apple painted is tantalizing and expansive — but also incomplete and expensive.
Apple CEO Tim Cook unveiled the $3,499 Vision Pro — which will ship ‘early next year’ — at the company's worldwide developer conference, painting a picture of a device that can seamlessly overlay the digital and real worlds.
Apple showed the headset fulfilling a range of tasks from playing movies and games to handling work tasks via multiple virtual monitors.
A Vision Pro simulation from yesterday's outdoor Apple event. Photo: Mike Allen/Axios
Between the lines: Apple is known for picking the right moment when an emerging technology is just good enough to appeal to a wide group of customers.
How it works: Vision Pro is a bet on the power of the headset to provide a sharp enough display for text and an immersive enough canvas for immersive movies.
It's packed with 12 cameras, 5 sensors, 6 microphones and two different processors.” [Axios]
D-Day, 79 years on
Photo: Pascal Rossignol/Reuters
“Re-enactors wear U.S. military uniforms from World War II in Vierville-sur-Mer, on France's Normandy coast, this morning to mark the 79th anniversary of the epochal D-Day landing on Omaha Beach, on June 6, 1944.
Go deeper: D-Day facts & figures.” [Axios]
Binance suit could ease crypto crackdown
Illustration: Shoshana Gordon/Axios
“A top U.S. financial regulator's lawsuit against crypto's biggest strongman, Changpeng "CZ" Zhao, could lead to a détente that lends the industry the legitimacy it seeks in Washington, Axios Crypto co-author Crystal Kim reports.
Why it matters: The lawsuit is one part of a pair of developments — this one sensational, the other mundane — that could change how crypto is seen in the U.S.
1. Yesterday's SEC complaint accuses Zhao, the CEO of Binance — who once was a foil to FTX's SBF — of breaking securities laws, lying to regulators and helping criminals cover their tracks.
They're accused of allowing some users to bypass international anti-money laundering measures, which the Department of Justice has been investigating.
2. Separately, just a few blocks away from the SEC office, draft legislation was revealed last week that could create a regulatory framework for digital assets to be issued and traded in the U.S.
What's next: Binance said in a blog post that it will ‘defend [its] platform vigorously.’” [Axios]
Walmart tops Fortune 500
Data: Fortune; Chart: Axios Visuals
“Walmart led the Fortune 500 list for the 11th year in a row, and Amazon was No. 2 for the fourth year running, Hope King reports in Axios Closer.
The top 10 (U.S. companies, ranked by FY 2022 revenue):
Walmart
Amazon
ExxonMobil
Apple
UnitedHealth Group
CVS Health
Berkshire Hathaway
Alphabet
McKesson
Chevron
1 phone thing: Tweaking autocorrect
With iOS 17, you'll be able to tap the spacebar to finish words or entire sentences. Image: Apple
“Apple announced at yesterday's event for developers that it will start keeping its iPhone autocorrect feature from annoyingly correcting one of the most common expletives to ‘ducking,’ Reuters reports.
‘In those moments where you just want to type a ducking word, well, the keyboard will learn it, too,’ said Craig Federighi, Apple's SVP of software engineering.
Why it matters: Among all the quirks of ‘damn autocorrect,’ the ‘ducking’ substitution is a longstanding source of mirth and frustration.
How it works: Autocorrected words will be temporarily underlined so you know what’s been changed, and can revert back to the original word with a tap, Apple said.
Go deeper: Apple's preview of upgrades to phone, messages, FaceTime, AirDrop.” [Axios]
Good morning. We’re covering an Oklahoma school decision, a dam attack in Ukraine and Prince Harry.
A cathedral in Oklahoma City.Nathan J. Fish/The Oklahoman, via USA Today Network
Religious and public
“Religious conservatives often lament they have been on the losing end of recent social trends, and they’re not entirely wrong about that. Same-sex marriage has become legal nationwide. Church attendance is down. About 30 percent of Americans identify as having no religion.
But there are also several ways in which organized religion has been on a political winning streak. Abortion is the most obvious example, and yesterday brought another instance in a different realm: education.
State officials in Oklahoma approved the local Roman Catholic archdiocese’s request to operate a public charter school. It will be the first explicitly religious public school in the U.S. in modern times, experts say. Supporters of the school hope to use it as a test case to take to the Supreme Court and win a clear right for charter schools to offer religious instruction.
Charter schools are public schools, financed by taxpayer dollars, but given the freedom to operate more flexibly than traditional schools. Nationwide, 8 percent of public schools are charter schools. Advocates of religious charter schools argue that church groups should have the same right to manage schools as other organizations.
Opponents argue that religious charter schools erase the separation between church and state by using government funds to support religious instruction. Over time, opponents say, the growth of church-affiliated charter schools could starve traditional schools of funding and lead to increased segregation of children along religious lines. Rachel Laser, the head of Americans United for Separation of Church and State, criticized the Oklahoma decision as ‘a sea change for American democracy’ and promised to file legal action against it.
The Oklahoma board that oversees charter schools voted 3-2 to approve the new school, which will be called St. Isidore of Seville Catholic Virtual School. It will focus on students in rural areas. You can read more about the decision in this story by my colleague Sarah Mervosh.
And at the court
Whatever happens with the Oklahoma case, the Supreme Court’s Republican-appointed majority has already expanded the reach and influence of religious groups. ‘The Supreme Court has over the last few years issued an extraordinary series of decisions expanding the role of religion in public life, sometimes at the expense of other values, like gay rights and access to contraception,’ Adam Liptak, who covers the court for The Times, told me.
Between the 1950s and mid-1980s, the court sided with religious interests roughly half the time, an academic study found. Since John Roberts became chief justice in 2005, the share has jumped to more than 80 percent. By some measures, Roberts and the five other current conservative justices appear to be the six most pro-religion justices in the court’s history.
The kinds of cases the court is hearing have changed, too, Adam notes. When Earl Warren was chief justice in the 1950s and 1960s, all of the rulings in favor of religion benefited minority groups or dissenting practitioners. In the Roberts court, the winners tend to be mainstream Christians.
In cases over the past several years, the court has ruled that:
A high school football coach has a constitutional right to pray at the 50-yard line after his team’s games.
Employment discrimination laws do not apply to teachers at church-run schools whose duties include religious instruction.
A Catholic social services agency in Philadelphia can defy city rules and refuse to work with same-sex couples who apply to care for foster children.
Employers can deny contraception coverage to female workers on religious grounds.
Financial-aid programs and other government benefits for private schools cannot exclude religious schools.
Up next
In coming weeks, as the court’s current term winds down, the justices are expected to rule on two more religion cases.
One considers whether a website designer can refuse to work with same-sex couples on the grounds that forcing her to celebrate same-sex marriages would violate her free-speech rights. The justices’ comments during oral arguments suggested they were likely to side with the designer, a decision that would effectively prioritize religious rights and free speech over L.G.B.T.Q. equality. It would also suggest that L.G.B.T.Q. rights were more vulnerable than some other forms of civil rights.
In the second case, the Supreme Court seems similarly poised to rule for religion, although the oral argument suggested that the ruling might be narrow. In that case, a postal worker has asked for the right not to work on Sunday — his Sabbath — without losing his job.
For more: Adam Liptak explained the academic research about the court’s new pro-religion stance in this column.” [New York Times]
Young, wild and free: Wolverine spotted in California for only second time in last 100 years
This May 2023 image released by the National Park Service shows a rare wolverine sighting in the eastern Sierra Nevada, Calif. A wolverine was spotted three times last month in the eastern Sierra Nevada, a rare occurrence for an animal that's only been seen one other time in California over the last 100 years, state wildlife officials said. The latest wolverine appears to be a young male seeking a mate. The animal has been spotted twice in the Inyo National Forest and once in Yosemite National Park. (National Park Service via AP)
“BISHOP, Calif. (AP) — A wolverine was spotted three times last month in the eastern Sierra Nevada, a rare occurrence for an animal that’s only been seen one other time in California over the last 100 years, state wildlife officials said.
While wolverines are native to California, they’ve been essentially extinct from the state since the 1920s — likely the result of hunting and fur trapping in the decades following the gold rush, though records from the time don’t indicate what exactly caused the population to decline.
One wolverine was spotted in the state from 2008 to 2018, beginning in the Tahoe National Forest, officials said. Last month’s wolverine is likely a different one because the animal’s lifespan is usually 12 to 13 years.
The latest wolverine appears to be a young male seeking a mate. The animal has been spotted twice in the Inyo National Forest and once in Yosemite National Park….” Read more at AP News
‘Cheers’ bar sells for $675,000 at Dallas auction of items from classic TV shows
FILE - The bar used on the set of the television series "Cheers" and some costumes worn by actors on the sitcom are displayed, April 27, 2023, in Irving, Texas. The bar from the television series “Cheers” sold for $675,000 at auction over the weekend, garnering the highest bid among the nearly 1,000 props, costumes and sets from classic TV shows offered up from a collection amassed by one man over more than three decades. Heritage Auctions said that the items sold during its three-day event that wrapped up Sunday, June 4, 2023, in Dallas brought. (AP Photo/Tony Gutierrez, File)
“DALLAS (AP) — The bar from the television series “Cheers” sold for $675,000 at auction over the weekend, garnering the highest bid among the nearly 1,000 props, costumes and sets from classic TV shows offered up from a collection amassed by one man over more than three decades.
Heritage Auctions said that the items sold during its three-day event that wrapped up Sunday in Dallas brought in over $5 million. James Comisar has said that after his dream of creating a museum to house his collection failed to come together, it was time for the pieces to go to fans to enjoy.
‘The auction’s success confirmed what I have always known: that television characters are cherished members of our extended family and that their stories and our own are inseparable,’ Comisar said in a news release from the auction house.
The Batman and Robin costumes worn by Adam West and Burt Ward in the 1960s television series went for $615,000, while the set where Johnny Carson hosted guests on “The Tonight Show” went for $275,000, Heritage Auctions said.
The set from “All in the Family” — which included Archie and Edith Bunker’s living and dining rooms and stairwell — sold for $125,000, and the auction house said the same buyer also made the winning bid of $250,000 for the chairs used by the TV couple in the show’s ninth season.
The couple’s original two chairs from the show reside in the Smithsonian Institution’s National Museum of American History. Comisar said that those thrift shop chairs were given to the museum when it was thought that the show would end after its eighth season, but when it continued for a ninth, replicas were made at great cost. Those replicas — which were the chairs offered at auction — were then used in the show’s last season and in its continuation, “Archie Bunker’s Place.”” [AP News]