A Sad State of Affairs

State Lines in the Sand, Shohei's Deal

Kate Cox was in a state. Her doctors had informed her that her fetus had no chance of survival and that a failure to end the pregnancy would mean significant future health risks. But Kate Cox was also in another state: Texas. In that state, abortions are heavily restricted and legal exceptions are nearly impossible to identify. Last week, after compounding her health crisis and multiple ER visits with a legal fight in Texas courts for her right to access health care, a Texas court ruled that Cox qualified for an exception and could end her pregnancy. "Texas attorney general, Ken Paxton, responded with a brazen threatto prosecute 'hospitals, doctors, or anyone else' who would assist in providing the procedure." Thus, Cox was barred from vital health care while the Texas Supreme Court considered the case. At that point, Kate Cox traveled to another state to terminate her pregnancy. While she was away, the Texas Supreme Court ruled against her. The awful American divide now includes access to health care. One Texas case shows why women can’t rely on legal exceptions to abortion bans.

+ "Texas law does not allow for criminal or civil penalties against the mother for seeking an abortion. But even that could change. Some local jurisdictions in Texas and anti-abortion activists want to make it illegal to leave those jurisdictions to get an abortion, by targeting what they call 'abortion trafficking.' Idaho lawmakers passed a similar law last year; it is currently on hold while litigation challenging it moves through the federal courts." TNR: How Texas Tried to Torture a Woman for Being Pregnant.

+ WaPo (Gift Article): Pharmacies share medical data with police without a warrant. "The revelation could shape the debate over Americans’ expectations of privacy as Texas and other states move to criminalize abortion and drugs related to reproductive health."

2

Netanyahu's in Charge?

We've seen plenty of evidence of the divide between how Biden and Bibi describe postwar-Gaza. Biden promotes a two-state solution with a leading role for the Palestinian Authority. Netanyahu is quite clear his current government would never go for that. The divide is getting a lot more public. Biden tells donors Israel is losing support, Netanyahu must change his government.

+ "'Israel’s security can rest on the United States, but right now it has more than the United States. It has the European Union, it has Europe, it has most of the world supporting them,' Biden said to donors during a fundraiser Tuesday. 'They’re starting to lose that support by indiscriminate bombing that takes place.'"

+ Here's the latest from CNN, BBC, and Times of Israel.

3

There Must Be 50 Million Ways to Leave Your Broker

"By 78, he said he was worth at least $50 million. And, according to his family, he was starting to show signs of dementia. What followed over the next half-decade was an almost total wealth wipeout, as Peter’s wife, Yoon, said they increasingly depended on JPMorgan’s advice for managing their portfolio, only to watch it lurch ever closer to zero." Bloomberg (Gift Article): JPMorgan Is in a Fight Over Its Client’s Lost $50 Million Fortune. "The couple’s situation spotlights an issue that has always lurked on Wall Street but is surging in scale as the baby boom generation retires with a record stockpile of wealth. Legions of boomers have enough saved to be deemed “accredited” or “sophisticated” investors under US securities laws, qualifying them to buy into riskier, complex asset classes with juicy commissions for intermediaries. Yet many of those clients will inevitably face cognitive decline. The industry lacks a formal system to detect when that happens." (The industry does however have a system to detect when a portfolio's value goes from $50 million down to near nothing.)

4

You Know the Type

"Mr. Soboroff backed out of a deal with the actress Angelina Jolie, refusing to part with Hemingway’s typewriter after she agreed to pay $250,000 for it. While reports at the time indicated Ms. Jolie was the one to walk away, Mr. Soboroff said he canceled the transaction when he learned that she intended to give the machine to her husband, Brad Pitt, for him to use. Mr. Soboroff might have allowed Mr. Pitt to bang away on Harold Robbins’s or Mae West’s machines, he said, but Hemingway’s typewriter was sacred." Times have changed and Steve Soboroff is ready to sell his collection of typewriters, no questions asked. NYT (Gift Article): You Can Buy Hemingway’s Typewriter. But Would You Use It? (I would never allow anyone to purchase the MacBook Air I used for NextDraft, as I'd be too worried someone would use it to type bad puns.)

5

Extra, Extra

Democracy, Anyone? "The visit comes as a deal for a supplemental funding package that includes crucial aid for the war-torn country remains logjammed by congressional Republicans who want the Biden administration to make concessions on border security and immigration policy in exchange for the aid package. A deal remains unlikely with a holiday recess looming." What to know about Ukrainian President Zelensky’s crucial day in Washington. Putin's murder spree has caused death and destruction in Ukraine. And to his own people. Russia has lost 87% of troops it had prior to start of Ukraine war, according to US intelligence assessment.

+ Monopoly Sci: "After just a few hours of deliberation, the jury unanimously answered yes to every question put before them — that Google has monopoly power in the Android app distribution markets and in-app billing services markets, that Google did anticompetitive things in those markets, and that Epic was injured by that behavior." Jury decides Google has illegal monopoly in app store fight.

+ Harvard Yardstick: "In this tumultuous and difficult time, we unanimously stand in support of President Gay." Harvard President Claudine Gay to stay in office with unanimous support from university board.

+ A Scheme Deferred: I was so bummed that Shohei Ohtani signed with the evil Dodgers that I didn't even cover it yesterday. But the structure of his mega-contract is certainly newsworthy. The deal is worth $700 million. But all but $2 million of a year of that money will be deferred. "The payment deferrals will free the Dodgers to spend more around Ohtani as they seek to build a perennial championship contender with the two-way superstar."

+ Flame Thrower: A celebrations continued for the swearing in of Poland's new, more moderate government, a far-right lawmaker offered a very unwelcome reminder of the country's past. Polish far-right lawmaker extinguishes Hanukkah candle in parliament.

+ Red Card: "Justice Minister Yilmaz Tunc said Koca and two others were formally arrested for 'injuring a public official.' All Turkish league football has been suspended." Turkey referee punched: Ankaragucu president Faruk Koca arrested after attack.

+ Off the Cough: What's The Deal With That Cough Everyone Seems To Have Right Now? "It's not COVID or the flu. If you've been sick for a few weeks and have tested negative for everything, here's what's going on."

6

Bottom of the News

"'Hydrating serums make you look really glowing and some of them prevent wrinkles and lines,' Hennie said, noting that if she learns something is meant as an antiaging product, she’ll give it to her mom." WSJ (Gift Article): Why Tweens Can’t Live Without $62 Face Cream.

+ Your cat likes to kill stuff. A lot of stuff. Often just for fun. Just so you know who you're dealing with. Killer kitties: cats are eating 2,000 species, including hundreds that are at risk.

+ Google's always interesting look at the year in search.