The Conversation -- January 2, 2025

Cecilia Kang of the New York Times: "A federal appeals court struck down the Federal Communications Commission;s landmark net neutrality rules on Thursday, ending a nearly two-decade effort to regulate broadband internet providers like utilities. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit, in Cincinnati, said that the F.C.C. lacked the authority to reinstate rules that prevented broadband providers from slowing or blocking access to internet content. The decision put an end to the Biden administration’s hallmark tech policy, which had drawn impassioned support from consumer groups and tech giants like Google and fierce protests by telecommunications giants like Comcast and AT&T.... In its opinion, a three-judge panel pointed to a Supreme Court decision in June, known as Loper Bright, that overturned a 1984 legal precedent that gave deference to government agencies on regulations." The FCC put net neutrality regulations in place during the Obama administration, but the Trump administration repealed them. At 3:30 pm ET, this is a developing story.

Andrew Solender of Axios: "House Democrats are pushing back furiously against a proposed change to House rules that would allow only Republicans to force a vote on removing the speaker of the House.... 'This makes it clear that they have no intention of working together to find common ground,' Rep. Jim McGovern (D-Mass.), the top Democrat on the House Rules Committee, said of the rules change in a statement. McGovern added: 'Instead of electing a Speaker of the House, they have decided to elect a Speaker of the Republican Conference -- held hostage by their most extreme members.'... Whereas in the last Congress, any single House member could introduce such a motion, now eight others have to co-sponsor the measure. But all nine of those lawmakers have to be members of the majority party...."

Patrick Svitek of the Washington Post: "Senate Majority Leader Charles E. Schumer (D-New York) on Thursday endorsed Ben Wikler, chairman of the Wisconsin Democratic Party, to lead the national party, making Schumer the highest-ranking Democratic official to weigh in on the race so far.... DNC members are set to pick the next chair in a Feb. 1 election. Wikler's opponents include Ken Martin, a DNC vice chair who leads the Minnesota party; Martin O;Malley, the former commissioner of the Social Security Administration and a former governor of Maryland; and James Skoufis, a New York state senator."

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Aishvarya Kavi of the New York Times: "President Biden will award the Presidential Citizens Medal, one of the nation's highest civilian honors, to 20 people on Thursday afternoon, including former Representative Liz Cheney and two close personal advisers, Ted Kaufman and Christopher J. Dodd. The recipients the president selected to be honored in his last medal ceremony have 'performed exemplary deeds of service for their country or their fellow citizens,' the White House said in a statement on Thursday." The article names all who will receive the award today. ~~~

     ~~~ Colleen Long of the AP: "President Joe Biden is bestowing the second highest civilian medal on Liz Cheney and Bennie Thompson, leaders of the congressional investigation into the Capitol riot who Donald Trump has said should be jailed for their roles in the inquiry."

Ellen Nakashima & Jeff Stein of the Washington Post: "Chinese government hackers breached a highly sensitive office in the Treasury Department that administers economic sanctions against countries and groups of individuals -- one of the most potent tools possessed by the United States to achieve national security aims, according to U.S. officials.... The hack also compromised the Treasury Department's Office of Financial Research, according to the officials. The full impact of the breach, which was disclosed by Treasury in a letter to Congress on Monday, is still being assessed. The documents accessed were unclassified and there is no evidence the hacker still has access to Treasury systems, the department said."

Jennifer Jacobs & Robert Costa of CBS News: "... Donald Trump will hold a rally-type event on Jan. 19 at the Capital One Arena in Washington, D.C., just ahead of his inauguration, according to multiple sources familiar with the planning. Capital One Arena, home of the Washington Wizards basketball team and Washington Capitals hockey team, can hold approximately 20,000 attendees. The 'Make America Great Again Victory Rally' is scheduled to kick off at 3 p.m. ET, according to a sign-up link from the Trump-Vance Inaugural Committee."

If I was giving [Trump] one piece of advice, fire every single mid-level bureaucrat, every civil servant in the administrative state. Replace them with our people. And when the courts ... stop you, stand before the country like Andrew Jackson did and say: "The chief justice has made his ruling. Now let him enforce it." -- JD Vance, in a 2021 podcast ~~~

~~~ Ruth Marcus of the Washington Post: "John G. Roberts Jr., in his year-end report on the federal judiciary, didn't call out JD Vance by name. But the chief justice took an unmistakable -- and well-deserved -- swipe at the vice president-elect over his reckless suggestions that it is sometimes acceptable to defy the rulings of federal courts.... Judicial independence, he wrote, 'is undermined unless the other branches [of government] are firm in their responsibility to enforce the court's decrees.' He cited, of course, the response to the court's 1954 ruling in Brown v. Board of Education, when governors throughout the South sought to defy court orders to desegregate public schools.... Of all the 'elected officials from across the political spectrum' who have toyed with defying court orders, the most prominent by far -- and the one who ought to know better -- is JD Vance, Yale Law School Class of 2013, whose wife, Usha, clerked for Roberts from 2017 to 2018." ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: It will be fun (and perhaps frightening) to watch a power struggle between Trump/Vance & the Supremes. But the Supremes have it coming. Every Supreme appointed by a Republican president (or president*) is a jackass, and his/her rulings often are based not on 21st-century jurisprudence & norms but on fantastic medieval beliefs (Dobbs) or "reasoning" so convoluted & politically-motivated as to defy sensible jurisprudence & common-sense(Trump).

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Glenn Thrush of the New York Times: "Investigators are looking into whether the deadly terrorist attack in New Orleans on Wednesday is linked to the detonation of a Tesla Cybertruck outside a Trump hotel in Las Vegas later in the day, but they have yet to find any connection between the two episodes, President Biden said. Local and federal law enforcement officials are trying to determine if the man who drove a truck into a crowd in the French Quarter just after 3 a.m. on Wednesday and the man who rented the Tesla that exploded in Nevada are connected beyond superficial similarities: Both men chose soft targets on New Year's Day and rented trucks through the same budget car rental app, Turo.... Mr. Biden's statement reflected the heightened sense of alarm among federal law enforcement officials who are investigating whether the New Orleans attack involved a larger cell of ISIS sympathizers -- a scenario the F.B.I. and intelligence officials have warned was a growing threat."

Louisiana. Jenna Russell, et al., of the New York Times: Just after 3 am Wednesday in New Orleans, where many were still celebrating the new year, a white pickup truck "careened onto Bourbon Street and slammed into the crowd.... Described by federal authorities as a deliberate act of terror, the attack killed at least 15 people, injured about three dozen others and left New Orleans, a city of 364,000, on edge; investigators said at a news conference on Wednesday that they believed that the driver did not act alone. The driver, who was killed in a shootout with police, was identified by the F.B.I. as Shamsud-Din Bahar Jabbar, 42, a U.S. citizen and U.S. Army veteran from Texas. He had loaded his rented truck with weapons and at least one 'potential' improvised explosive, authorities said, and an Islamic State flag was found on the trailer hitch of his rented white Ford pickup." The AP's report is here. ~~~

     ~~~ New York Times: "A day after at least 15 people were killed and dozens injured in an attack in New Orleans, a key question confronting investigators on Thursday was whether the man who rammed a pickup truck into a crowd had accomplices. The authorities have said they do not believe the suspect, Shamsud-Din Bahar Jabbar, a 42-year-old Army veteran, acted alone." This is a liveblog bearing today's date & may be updated. ~~~

     ~~~ Here is yesterday's New York Times liveblog related to the Bourbon Street massacre. The AP's live reports yesterday are here. The New Orleans Times-Picayune's live updates yesterday are here. ~~~

~~~ Marie: Donald Trump lies about everything, sometimes more than once even in a brief post. And, as Akhilleus pointed out the other day in regard to Trump's remarks on the death of President Carter, Trump can twist any event into self-congratulatory bloviation: ~~~

     ~~~ Maggie Haberman of the New York Times: "On Wednesday morning, hours after a man drove a pickup truck into New Year's Eve revelers in New Orleans, killing 10 people..., Donald J. Trump falsely suggested on social media that his condemnations of undocumented immigrants had been validated. 'When I said that the criminals coming in are far worse than the criminals we have in our country, that statement was constantly refuted by Democrats and the Fake News Media, but it turned out to be true,' Mr. Trump said on his website, Truth Social. 'The crime rate in our country is at a level that nobody has ever seen before,' he added falsely.... Officials have since identified the suspect as a U.S.-born citizen and Army veteran who lived in Texas...." A Mediaite item is here.

Nevada. Alexandra Petri, et al., of the New York Times: "One person was killed and at least seven were injured after a Tesla Cybertruck exploded outside the Trump International Hotel in Las Vegas on Wednesday morning, the authorities said.... Sheriff Kevin McMahill of the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department said during a news conference that the authorities 'believe this to be an isolated incident,' but have not yet ruled out a connection to the Wednesday morning attack in New Orleans that killed at least 15 people. The Las Vegas Police Department received a report of an explosion at the Trump Hotel at about 8:40 a.m. local time. Elon Musk, Tesla's chief executive, said in a statement on X that 'the explosion was caused by very large fireworks and/or a bomb carried in the bed of the rented Cybertruck,' and said the vehicle was functioning properly.... The driver was the only person in the truck, Mr. McMahill said, and had been killed inside the vehicle." CNN's report is here. The AP report is here.

Virginia. Luke Barr of ABC News: Brad Spafford of Virginia "allegedly had a cache of weapons, a 'go box' and used a photo of President Joe Biden for target practice, according to court documents filed by federal prosecutors this week.... 'The defendant has used pictures of the President for target practice, expressed support for political assassinations, and recently sought qualifications in sniper-rifle shooting at a local range,' prosecutors wrote.... The detention memo was filed to prevent Spafford from being released pending trial, which was granted, according to court records." See related reports in yesterday's Conversation.

News Ledes

New York Times: Just after 3 am Wednesday in New Orleans, where many were still celebrating the new year, a white pickup truck "careened onto Bourbon Street and slammed into the crowd.... Described by federal authorities as a deliberate act of terror, the attack killed at least 15 people, injured about three dozen others and left New Orleans, a city of 364,000, on edge; investigators said at a news conference on Wednesday that they believed that the driver did not act alone. The driver, who was killed in a shootout with police, was identified by the F.B.I. as Shamsud-Din Bahar Jabbar, 42, a U.S. citizen and U.S. Army veteran from Texas. He had loaded his rented truck with weapons and at least one 'potential' improvised explosive, authorities said, and an Islamic State flag was found on the trailer hitch of his rented white Ford pickup." ~~~

     ~~~ New York Times: "A day after at least 15 people were killed and dozens injured in an attack in New Orleans, a key question confronting investigators on Thursday was whether the man who rammed a pickup truck into a crowd had accomplices. The authorities have said they do not believe the suspect, Shamsud-Din Bahar Jabbar, a 42-year-old Army veteran, acted alone." This is a liveblog bearing today's date & may be updated.

The Conversation -- January 1, 2025

Peter Baker of the New York Times: "To history, the Iran hostage crisis remains the emblem of a failed presidency, a grievous wound to American stature around the world and a proximate cause of the electoral tidal wave that swept Mr. Carter out of the White House after a single term. But to at least some of those who lived it, Mr. Carter remains a figure worthy of respect and admiration for his relentless determination to bring.... "

Lost in Translation. President Carter visits David Letterman's show: ~~~

Ashleigh Fields of the Hill: "U.S. Customs and Border Patrol (CBP) announced a new low for border level crossings during the month of November...."

Andrew Solender of Axios: "C-SPAN cameras will once again be allowed to roll from inside the House chamber when lawmakers return in January to elect a speaker and certify the 2024 presidential election.... C-SPAN's special access during the protracted speaker election in 2023 gave the American public a rare glimpse into the House's usually hidden machinations. The high level of public engagement with that behind-the-scenes access led to a push to allow the independent news organization to be granted permanent permission to freely film the inside of the chamber. That push was unsuccessful, though then-House Speaker Kevin McCarthy's (R-Calif.) did reportedly expand the access of the government-run cameras in the chamber.... The cameras are always allowed on Jan. 3 because speaker elections occur before a vote can take place to pass a House rules package explicitly barring them from the chamber. But House Speaker Mike Johnson's (R-La.) office also plans to allow the cameras on Jan. 6, when lawmakers meet to certify President-elect Trump's victory, a Johnson spokesperson told Axios. The cameras are typically only allowed in special circumstances such as State of the Union addresses."

Adam Liptak of the New York Times: "Judicial independence is under grave threat on several fronts, Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. wrote on Tuesday in an unusually urgent and somber year-end report on the state of the federal judiciary. 'Violence, intimidation and defiance directed at judges because of their work undermine our Republic, and are wholly unacceptable,' he wrote. The report, which arrived in the wake of questions about the court's ethical standards and a drop in its approval ratings, said some criticism of judges' work is healthy, warranted and welcome.... The number of hostile threats and communication directed at judges has more than tripled in the past decade, he wrote.... 'Public officials, too, regrettably have engaged in recent attempts to intimidate judges -- for example, suggesting political bias in the judge's adverse rulings without a credible basis for such allegations,' Chief Justice Roberts wrote.... 'In recent years, hostile foreign state actors have accelerated their efforts to attack all branches of our government, including the judiciary,' the chief justice wrote." The linked report comes via the Court, not the NYT.

David Klepper of the AP: "The United States has imposed sanctions on two groups linked to Iranian and Russian efforts to target American voters with disinformation ahead of this year's election. Treasury officials announced the sanctions Tuesday, alleging that the two organizations sought to stoke divisions among Americans before November's vote. U.S. intelligence has accused both governments of spreading disinformation, including fake videos, news stories and social media posts, designed to manipulate voters and undermine trust in U.S. elections.... Authorities said the Russian group, the Moscow-based Center for Geopolitical Expertise, oversaw the creation, financing and dissemination of disinformation about American candidates, including deepfake videos created using artificial intelligence.... The Iranian group, the Cognitive Design Production Center, is a subsidiary of Iran's paramilitary Revolutionary Guard, U.S. officials said, which the United States has designated a foreign terrorist organization. Officials say the center worked since at least 2023 to incite political tensions in the United States." ~~~

     ~~~ The Treasury Department's press release re: the sanctions is here, via the Department.

Carol Leonnig & Emmanuel Martinez of the Washington Post: "The causes of the mistakes in Butler, [Pennsylvania, that came close to killing Donald Trump and left one spectator dead and two injured] ... had been years in the making, a Post review found.... [It was] the Secret Service's biggest security failure since the 1981 attempted assassination of President Ronald Reagan.... Three presidents and Congress have failed to

Alan Feuer of the New York Times: "A Virginia man was arrested this month with what federal prosecutors described in court papers on Monday as the largest cache of 'finished explosive devices' ever found in the F.B.I.'s history. The man, Brad Spafford, was taken into custody at a farm outside Norfolk on Dec. 17 on the basis of a single-count criminal complaint accusing him of illegally possessing an unregistered short-barrel rifle. When investigators searched his 20-acre property, in Isle of Wight County, they found in a detached garage more than 150 explosive devices -- mostly pipe bombs, some of them labeled 'lethal,' prosecutors said. They found more pipe bombs in a bedroom inside Mr. Spafford's house, loosely stuffed in a backpack that bore a patch shaped like a hand grenade and a logo reading '#NoLivesMatter,' prosecutors said.

"No Lives Matter is a nihilistic, far-right ideology that largely exists on encrypted online messaging apps like Telegram. The movement's adherents promote 'targeted attacks, mass killings and criminal activity' and have 'historically encouraged members to engage in self-harm and animal abuse' according to a threat assessment released in August by the New Jersey Office of Homeland Security and Preparedness." A CBS News report is here.

D.C. Mayor Courts the Count of Mar-a-Lardo. Meagan Flynn & Martin Weil of the Washington Post: "D.C. Mayor Muriel E. Bowser (D) met with ... Donald Trump at Mar-a-Lago on Monday, saying in a late-night statement that they discussed 'shared priorities' involving the federal workforce, buildings and park space during the 'great meeting.'... Bowser's optimistic tenor appears part of a strategy to collaborate with Trump rather than provoke him in a city where over 90 percent of voters rejected him. Trump has repeatedly antagonized the District, threatening a federal takeover in rally speeches. And, combined with a GOP Congress, D.C. is expected to be particularly vulnerable to federal intervention in its affairs. Bowser will need Trump and the federal government's buy-in on some of the District's priorities, such as redeveloping federal land at the defunct RFK football stadium and underused federal buildings."

Jerry Lambe of Law & Crime: "A federal judge in New York refused to allow Rudy Giuliani to hide a list of witnesses he plans to call at next month's trial over whether he will have to turn over his multimillion dollar Florida condominium to the two Georgia election workers he defamed to the tune of $148 million. U.S. District Judge Lewis J. Liman said on Monday that Giuliani filed his witness list under seal on Dec. 23, despite the fact that the court had 'neither directed nor permitted this list to be filed under seal.' The judge then ordered the clerk of the court to unseal the document on the court's public docket. The failure to abide by the court's processes and procedures in the latest in a long line of mishaps on Giuliani's end in the contentious litigation over how he is going to pay the massive debt he owes to Ruby Freeman and her daughter Shaye Moss."

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California. Aaron Gregg of the Washington Post: "Insurance companies that pulled back from fire-prone areas of California in recent years will have to start covering those regions again if they want to stay in the state -- but they can pass more costs on to customers. A regulation announced this week by the California Department of Insurance requires insurers to increase the writing of comprehensive policies in disaster-prone areas by 5 percent every two years up to a certain threshold. Currently, there is no requirement that insurers operate in high-risk areas at all, and some of the largest home insurers have cut their natural disaster coverage or hiked rates as climate risk grows. But in an effort to keep those firms from leaving California altogether, regulators included a concession that the industry has sought for years: the ability to include reinsurance costs in the rates that homeowners pay."

North Carolina. Sam Levin of the Guardian: "The governor of North Carolina has granted commutations to 15 people on death row on his final day in office, changing their sentences to life without the possibility of parole. Roy Cooper, a Democrat, announced his clemency action on New Year's Eve, prompting praise from opponents of capital punishment, who have advocated for mass commutations to thwart executions. Cooper's grants exclude dozens of people whose death sentences remain intact. Out of 136 people on the state's death row, Cooper had received 89 clemency petitions, according to the governor's office. His office said it considered the facts of the crime, input from prosecutors and victims, 'credible claims of innocence', the 'potential influence of race', prison conduct, a defendant's age and intellectual capacity at the time of the offense and other case factors."

Puerto Rico. Luis Ferré-Sadurní, et al., of the New York Times: "A sweeping blackout hit Puerto Rico early Tuesday morning, plunging most of the island into darkness on New Year's Eve.... Nearly 90 percent of Puerto Rico's 1.4 million utility customers were without power on Tuesday morning in what was described as a 'systemwide' blackout, according to Luma Energy, a private Canadian American consortium that took control of the U.S. territory's energy grid in 2021.... As of 11 p.m., power had been restored to 48 percent of customers, Luma said in an update late Tuesday."

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Germany. Christopher Schuetze of the New York Times: "... [German] Chancellor Olaf ... Scholz's New Year's Eve speech, which will probably be his last, comes amid unusual political turbulence in modern Germany and rising polarization in Europe. The tone of his address reflected the stakes for the country as it faces stalled economic growth, with the chancellor calling for 'solidarity' while acknowledging that life had become more expensive for many.... He also included an oblique reference to a non-German who has taken a strong, some might say baffling, interest in the country's politics: Elon Musk.... 'Where Germany goes from here will be decided by you -- the citizens,' Mr. Scholz said. 'It will not be decided by the owners of social media channels.... In our debates, one can be forgiven for sometimes thinking the more extreme an opinion is, the more attention it will garner. But it won't be the person who yells loudest who will decide where Germany goes from here. Rather, that will be up to the vast majority of reasonable and decent people.'"

Russia/Ukraine, et al. Marc Santora, et al., of the New York Times: "The Russian energy giant Gazprom said early Wednesday that it had suspended the flow of natural gas to Europe through a pipeline that had carried Soviet and Russian gas through Ukraine for nearly six decades. The move came after Ukraine had said it would not renew an agreement that allowed for the transit of Russian gas through its territory. The agreement, signed in 2019, ended on Wednesday. Gazprom made its announcement in a post on the Telegram platform, saying that the gas had stopped flowing at 8 a.m. Moscow time on Wednesday.

"Europe has sharply reduced its consumption of Russian gas since Moscow launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine nearly three years ago.... Austria, Hungary, Slovakia and several Balkan countries still rely on Russian gas delivered through Ukraine, but experts say gas in storage facilities and alternative supplies should prevent any immediate disruptions to electricity and heating in these countries."

The pipeline through Ukraine, built in the Soviet era to carry Siberian gas to European markets, was Russia's last major gas corridor to Europe after the Nord Stream pipeline to Germany was sabotaged in 2022, possibly by Ukraine, and the closure of a route through Belarus to Poland.

The Conversation -- December 31, 2024

Peter Baker of the New York Times: "Former President Jimmy Carter's state funeral at Washington National Cathedral will be held on Jan. 9, featuring a eulogy by President Biden and culminating more than a week of ceremonies and honors, organizers said on Monday. Mr. Biden also ordered the federal government to close on Jan. 9 and declared it a national day of mourning. Because of the New Year's holiday, the eight-day plan that organizers had long envisioned for Mr. Carter's memorial services will not kick off until later this week. The former president will be brought to Atlanta by motorcade and lie in repose on Saturday and Sunday at the Carter Center, which was the home of his post-presidential humanitarian work.... Mr. Carter ... will then be flown on Monday, Jan. 6, to Washington. He will lie in state at the Capitol." The NBC News report is here. (Also linked yesterday.)

     ~~~ Marie: It may not be a fortunate accident that President Carter died just before Donald Trump assumed the presidency*.

Peter Baker of the New York Times: "Former Vice President Walter F. Mondale thought he would still be around to speak at the funeral for Jimmy Carter, who was a little more than three years his senior. But even though Mr. Mondale died first, in 2021, he left behind the eulogy he planned to deliver, which will be read at Mr. Carters memorial service at Washington National Cathedral on Jan. 9 by his son Ted Mondale. Former President Gerald R. Ford, who died in 2006, likewise left a eulogy that will be read by his son, Steven Ford. In the tribute he left behind, Mr. Mondale hailed Mr. Carter especially for making human rights the centerpiece of his foreign policy, for promoting environmental measures long before the term climate change became widely known and for placing more women in high office than any of his predecessors -- including an appeals court judge named Ruth Bader Ginsburg." (Also linked yesterday.)

In today's world, some may look at Jimmy Carter and see a man of a bygone era -- with honesty and character, faith and humility.... But I don't believe it's a bygone era. I see a man not only of our times, but for all times. Someone who embodies the most fundamental human values we can never let slip away.... We may never see his like again. But we would all do well to try to be a little more like Jimmy Carter. -- President Biden, to reporters in St. Croix, Virgin Islands. ~~~

~~~ Matt Viser & Yasmeen Abutaleb of the Washington Post: "It was half a century ago when Joe Biden and Jimmy Carter met in Atlanta.... Biden was in town to deliver a speech, and Carter -- then the governor of Georgia -- invited Biden to stay at his home.... '... He actually asked my advice about running a long-shot campaign [for president]. Biden would ultimately be the first sitting U.S. senator to endorse Carter, quickly becoming perhaps his most important political ally at a time when many saw Carter's presidential ambitions as a joke. The young senator was the first major political figure outside of Georgia to back Carter, and he would campaign for him in 30 states during the 1976 election. It was the start of a decades-long friendship and political partnership, in which the two men clearly saw something of themselves in each other." (Also linked yesterday.)

Joseph Gedeon of the Guardian: "Joe Biden said Donald Trump should learn 'decency' from Jimmy Carter's legacy, in remarks delivered hours after the former president's death on Sunday.... Speaking to reporters during a family vacation in the US Virgin Islands, the outgoing US president drew sharp contrasts between Carter's character and that of his predecessor Trump, who is set to begin a second term in January. When asked if there was anything Trump could learn from Carter, Biden replied: 'Decency. Decency. Decency.'... The outgoing president spoke for nine minutes about Carter, describing him as a humanitarian, a personal friend and a 'remarkable leader'. He emphasized how Carter's values reflected on America's global standing, noting that 'the rest of the world looks to us. And he was worth looking to.'" You can hear President Biden's remarks in this YouTube video.

Paul Krugman on President Carter's bad luck. Also see Ken W.'s commentary, about the 8th post in today's thread. (Also linked yesterday.)

AP: "President Joe Biden's administration said Monday it is taking steps to bar oil, gas and geothermal development for 20 years in northeastern Nevada's Ruby Mountains. The administration said it has submitted an application to withdraw about 264,000 acres (107,000 hectares) of federal lands in the area from such leasing. That starts a 90-day public comment period on the 20-year prohibition and prevents oil, gas and geothermal development for two years during the process. The lands would remain open to mining."

Helene Cooper of the New York Times: "The United States is sending nearly $2.5 billion in security assistance to Ukraine, as the Biden administration continues to rush military aid to Kyiv in the weeks before President-elect Donald J. Trump takes office. The aid will include air defense, artillery and other critical weapons systems, President Biden said in a statement on Monday morning." (Also linked yesterday.)

Ana Swanson & David Sanger of the New York Times: "One of China's intelligence agencies hacked the U.S. Treasury Department, gaining access to the workstations of government employees and unclassified documents, the Biden administration said on Monday, the latest in a series of embarrassing surveillance operations against major American institutions.... Senior officials with access to the intelligence on the breach said that it appeared to be entirely an espionage operation and not part of other Chinese efforts to insert malicious computer code into utility grids and water supply systems.... Top Chinese officials have a deep interest in the activities of the Treasury Department, which oversees sensitive data about global financial systems ==-- and estimates of China's own troubled economy. The department also implements sanctions against Chinese firms, including, in recent times, those aiding Russia in the war against Ukraine." CNN's report is here.

House Guest or Tenant? Maggie Haberman, et al., of the New York Times: "For most of the time since Election Day..., [Elon] Musk has been using one of the cottages available for rent on Mr. Trump's property at Mar-a-Lago.... Staying right on the grounds has helped provide Mr. Musk with easy access to Mr. Trump.... The cottage ... historically has rented for at least $2,000 a night.... Mr. Musk's employees from his various businesses have also been integrally involved in the transition, vetting prospective candidates for senior administration jobs, in interviews at the Trump transition headquarters in West Palm Beach." It isn't known whether or not Trump will charge Musk rent.

Digby in Salon: "Elon Musk [has been winning] internecine GOP brawl[s] and proved that he has the next president of the United States firmly under his thumb. Trump seems to be dazzled by him and his tech-bro billionaire buds in the same way he's dazzled by Vladimir Putin. Having the richest man in the world be his friend is more meaningful to him than being president again. I think we've all been thinking that Trump was going to get jealous and kick Musk to the curb sooner rather than later. But that's no sure thing. He's lost more than a step. He's four years older than when he left the White House and he's bored with the details of the presidency. From what we're seeing, he's ready to let his bff do whatever he wants and it's becoming clear to the MAGA activists who've worshipped him that it's not going to be Musk who's kicked to the curb -- it's going to be them." A fun read. ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: There's a good chance Digby is right. After all, Trump has more in common with billionaires than he does with MAGA believers. It's true he shares the hoi polloi's ignorance, discontent, and lifetime of failure & disappointment. But because of luck, he shares economic interests with billionaires. Since he doesn't have to worry about re-election (unless he decides to run again), the mob has lost much of its utility. It's true that the madding crowd could still help Trump maintain some control over Congress, but billionaires and their campaign contributions are mighty good at that, too. AND, despite Trump's fundraising talents, it seems more likely that he himself will benefit financially far more from alliances with billionaires than from the loyalty of MAGA adherent. ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: Oh, and here's something I learned from Digby. I thought it was odd that in his pining tweet to Musk, Trump wrote, "We miss you and x!" Trump has his very own failing social media platform (which ripped off Twitter); why would he miss "x"? Turns out Musk has a child named X (full given name, "X Æ A-Xii"), and the child has been visiting Mar-a-Lardo with Elon. ~~~

~~~ AND Adam Lashinsky in a Washington Post op-ed: "... the fight over the visas is the shape of scrapes to come. Trump's new tech backers harbor decidedly different -- and much more establishment-minded -- instincts about trade, tariffs and foreign policy than the folks between the coasts who gave Trump his start. The fissure between these two branches of Trump's coalition is only likely to grow. But there is little doubt about which side will win.... Self-interest is a foundational ethos in Silicon Valley, a place where boys who read science fiction in their bedrooms and then Ayn Rand in their college dorms grew up to be today's Masters of the Universe. For years, the tech crowd tried its best to ignore Washington, barely acknowledging that their industry was built on government contracts...." Lashinsky seems to believe that the tech bros will be the winners (although he really does not make this clear, IMO). ~~~

~~~ BUT. Andrew Prokop of Vox writes that the real feud between Elon Musk & MAGA over H-1B visa is between Musk & "someone with far more power, influence, and bureaucratic savvy: Stephen Miller.... And the biggest problem for Musk and his tech allies is that, if they want H-1B expansion, they'd have to go through Miller, a formidable opponent.... Trump may say things, but it's Miller who turns those things into policy, and who knows how to slow-walk or squelch proposals he dislikes.... Finally, there's yet another twist to this messy saga -- shortly before this dispute began last week, Trump announced he'd chosen a new appointee to join Musk and Ramaswamy at DOGE. Her name? Katie Miller -- Stephen's wife. 'Congratulations to Stephen and Katie!' Trump posted."

Maggie Haberman & Jonathan Swan of the New York Times: "... Donald J. Trump endorsed Mike Johnson for another term as House speaker on Monday, roughly two weeks after Mr. Trump helped put Mr. Johnson&'s chances in jeopardy by sinking a bipartisan spending bill that the speaker had negotiated to avert a government shutdown. The announcement from Mr. Trump on his website, Truth Social, ended days of private discussions by the president-elect and his allies about whether to try to save Mr. Johnson or find another option, as some conservatives have been agitating for. The House is set to choose a speaker on Friday, just three days before Mr. Trump's Electoral College victory is certified by a joint session of Congress, and Mr. Johnson needs to cobble together a majority to keep the job." The AP story is here. (Also linked yesterday.)

Hailey Fuchs of Politico: "The House Ethics Committee closed investigations into at least four members Monday for violating campaign finance rules. The investigations involved Reps. Sanford Bishop (D-Ga.), Wesley Hunt (R-Tex.), Ronny Jackson (R-Tex.), Alex Mooney (R-W.Va.) and 'other confidential matters that have been under review.' The committee declined to disclose further details on those cases."

Perry Stein & Shayna Jacobs of the Washington Post: "A federal appeals court Monday upheld a $5 million New York civil trial jury verdict that found Donald Trump liable for sexually abusing and defaming writer E. Jean Carroll. The ruling by a three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 2nd Circuit in Manhattan said that Trump did not demonstrate that the district court 'erred in any of the challenged rulings.'... In response to the appeals court's ruling, Trump spokesman Steven Cheung said in a statement that the decision would be appealed and that the case should be dismissed." The AP report is here. (Also linked yesterday.)

Tom Jackman of the Washington Post: "Matthew M. Graves, the top federal prosecutor for the District [of Columbia], announced Monday that he was resigning his post as U.S. attorney days before ... Donald Trump takes office. Graves led what the Justice Department has called the largest investigation it has ever conducted: prosecuting those who participated in the violent attack on the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021. But Trump has promised to pardon many of the rioters, undoing much of Graves's work.... Nearly 1,600 people have been charged in the Capitol riot, and more than 1,250 have been convicted.... More than 170 Jan. 6 defendants took their cases to trial, and federal prosecutors have won 99 percent of those."

A Story to Frighten Urban Americans. Geoffrey Fowler of the Washington Post: "Living in [San Francisco]..., I have lately found myself in a game of chicken with cars driven by nothing but artificial intelligence. Waymo robot taxis, owned by the same company as Google, are everywhere in San Francisco -- and they will soon be driving themselves in six U.S. cities. During rush hour each weekday, easily two or three dozen of the white SUVs, loaded up with cameras and spinning sensors, pass by a street near my house.... When I try to cross my street at a marked crosswalk, the Waymo robotaxis often wouldn't yield to me.... Using my phone..., I documented more than a dozen Waymo cars failing to yield in the span of a week.... At my crosswalk, which is not protected by a stop sign, the Waymo would yield for me about 3 out of 10 times."

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North Dakota. Alexandra Petri of the New York Times: "The son of Senator Kevin Cramer, Republican of North Dakota, was sentenced to 28 years in prison on Monday in connection with a high-speed car chase that ended with a crash that killed a sheriff's deputy last year. Ian Cramer, 43, led the police on a highway pursuit on Dec. 6, 2023, after speeding away from a hospital in Bismarck, N.D., where his mother had tried to take him that day because he was experiencing a mental health crisis, the authorities said. The authorities were able to locate Ian Cramer in Hazen, N.D., roughly 70 miles away in Mercer County and pursued him for about five miles until he crashed into an unoccupied sheriff's patrol car that was parked on the side of a highway. The impact killed Paul Martin, 53, a Mercer County sheriff's deputy who was standing behind the car when it was struck."

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South Korea. Qasim Nauman & Choe Sang-Hun of the New York Times: "A court in South Korea cleared the way for officials to detain President Yoon Suk Yeol for questioning on Tuesday, as the authorities investigated whether his declaration of martial law this month, which plunged the country into political crisis, amounted to an insurrection. The court order stops short of a formal arrest warrant. The warrant issued on Tuesday only allowed investigators to detain him for questioning for a limited period of time; they need a separate warrant from a court to formally arrest him.... Mr. Yoon planned to ask the Constitutional Court, which is hearing his impeachment trial, to reject the validity of the detention warrant and would seek an injunction against it, said his lawyer, Yoon Kab-keun."

News Ledes

New York Times: "Linda Lavin, the Tony Award-winning Broadway actress who was best known for starring as a waitress and single mom on the long-running sitcom 'Alice,' died on Sunday in Los Angeles. She was 87."

Washington Post: "Charles Dolan, a soft-spoken media mogul who founded HBO and amassed a multibillion-dollar fortune through Cablevision, the small suburban cable company that he grew into a colossus of New York sports and entertainment, died Dec. 28. He was 98."