Prime Suspect

Democracy Dies in a Pile of Cash

Hello, I’d like to report a murder. While the plot has been in place for some time, the actual killing just took place today in Washington, DC. I’m reporting the homicide here, in this independent media source, because I’m not at all sure that the Washington paper of record still has anyone on the murder beat. Across local, international, and sports desks, the Washington Post is laying off more than 300 journalists. According to the NYT, “The cuts are a sign that Jeff Bezos, who became one of the world’s richest people by selling things on the internet, has not yet figured out how to build and maintain a profitable publication on the internet.” This point of view assumes that Bezos’ goal in owning the Post was to build a profitable publication on the internet. But it’s been a long time since we’ve seen any signs the Amazonian billionaire’s prime concern was associated with such trifles as achieving a rounding error-sized profit in a vanity project which, at $250 million, cost him roughly half as much as his yacht (which also doesn’t turn a profit). No, this was never about turning bauble into bling. It was about power and access, and sometimes those are best achieved through failure. What could make the current administration happier than the demise of the paper that exposed Watergate? Hence, the decision to go postal on the Post. As Ian Bremmer succinctly explains: “The Washington Post is a political access play for Bezos, it’s not about supporting independent media or promoting democracy. This should have been clear to all for years now. But it’s impossible to ignore today.” Under Bezos’ watch, the Post adopted the tagline, Democracy Dies in Darkness. By now, we all know better. It gets bludgeoned to death in the cold light of day.

+ The Atlantic (Gift Article) still has a crime beat. From Ashley Parker: The Murder of The Washington Post. “The least cynical explanation is that Bezos simply isn’t paying attention. Maybe—like so many of us initially—he was charmed by Lewis’s British accent and studied loucheness that mask an emperor whose bespoke threads are no clothes at all. Or maybe, as many of us who deeply love the Post fear, the decimation is the plan.”

+ Margaret Sullivan, former media columnist for WaPo, on the scene of the crime: “The hallmark (the “brand”) of the Washington Post has been accountability journalism. Thus, today’s staff decimation is Bezos’s greatest gift to Trump, so much more valuable than the Melania movie, inauguration money, etc. This disaster began, for real, with the Harris endorsement he killed.”

+ Even though the Post has been shrinking (in size and goals), it’s still been responsible for some vital reporting. Let’s hope there will still be coverage like the story I led with yesterday, one of the more important and disturbing reports from a disturbing time. This Knock Knock is No Joke.

2

Clown with Crown Wants Frown Upside Down

“’I don’t think I’ve ever seen you smile,’ Mr. Trump said in a sarcastic tone, while sitting at the Resolute Desk. ‘I’ve known you for 10 years. I don’t think I’ve ever seen a smile on your face ... You know why you’re not smiling? Because you know you’re not telling the truth ... You are so bad. You know, you are the worst reporter. No wonder. CNN has no ratings because of people like you.’” In keeping with his quiet piggy tradition of misogynistically debasing the office and the country, Trump Scolded CNN’s Kaitlan Collins for ‘Not Smiling’ (while she was asking a question about Epstein’s victims). On one side of the desk, politicians stood by silently as Trump personally attacked Kaitlin Collins. On the other side of the desk, her colleagues did the same. A country doesn’t fall this far this fast without teamwork.

3

Old Man and the Sea Change

“Sixteen years ago, at age 66, López García first tried running a mile. He’d recently retired after spending his entire working life as a car mechanic in Toledo, Spain. In all those years, he’d never trained as an athlete or exercised much at all. He couldn’t finish that first mile. He could barely start it.” Well, he improved. A lot. Now, he’s a world-record holding ultramarathoner. He can probably teach us a lot more about health and longevity than the longevity bros selling their supplements on social media. WaPo(Gift Article): At 82, he’s as fit as a 20-year-old. His body holds clues to healthy aging.

4

Baby Sitcom

“Laughter does more than increase pleasurable social contact; infant laughter, especially when it occurs in response to humor, signals a cognitive achievement. When an infant laughs at Dad wearing a spoon as a mustache, it reveals the baby’s knowledge about spoons and mustaches, as well as about the person wearing it.” NYT (Gift Article): The Evolutionary Brilliance of the Baby Giggle. (At this point, it’s pretty refreshing to see news coverage of babyish behavior that’s actually coming from babies...)

5

Extra, Extra

Pulling Out: “The Trump administration will withdraw 700 federal immigration agents from Minnesota, border czar Tom Homan said Wednesday. The move comes weeks after agents killed two U.S. citizens, sparking protests across the country.” (A drawdown is good, but there will still be more than 2,000 agents left in a city with 600 police officers. And this move follows two killings captured on video...)

+ Secrets and Nationalize: “President Trump doubled down on his extraordinary call for the Republican Party to ‘nationalize’ voting in the United States, even as the White House tried to walk it back and members of his own party criticized the idea.” (Are we really gonna have another friggin debate about whether or not this guy will try to steal an election?)

+ Immigrant Pop: “For each year from 1994 to 2023, the US immigrant population generated more in taxes than they received in benefits from all levels of government. Over that period, immigrants created a cumulative fiscal surplus of $14.5 trillion in real 2024 US dollars, including $3.9 trillion in savings on interest on the debt.” Immigrants’ Recent Effects on Government Budgets.

+ Eviction Notice: “The former Prince Andrew has moved out of his longtime home on crown-owned land near Windsor Castle earlier than expected after the latest release of documents from the U.S. investigation of Jeffrey Epstein revived questions about his friendship with the convicted sex offender.” (In the UK, an Epstein connection gets you evicted. In America, it gets you a ballroom addition.)

+ District Adherence: Supreme Court Clears Way for California Voting Map. “’Donald Trump said he was ‘entitled’ to five more congressional seats in Texas,’ Gov. Gavin Newsom of California said in a statement on Wednesday. ‘He started this redistricting war. He lost, and he’ll lose again in November.’”

+ Abducted? “The disappearance of Nancy Guthrie, the 84-year-old mother of Today show cohost Savannah Guthrie, is being investigated as an abduction, as authorities in Arizona say they are probing a possible ransom note sent to a local TV station.”

+ It’s Not All Downhill From Here: “’No doctor could endorse a normal person to go skiing, let alone competitively so,’ said Dr. Yair David Kissin, an orthopedic surgeon and knee specialist at Hackensack University Medical Center (N.J.). But Vonn is not a normal person — or even a normal competitive athlete.” Why doctors say Lindsey Vonn has ‘a great chance to perform well’ despite ACL tear.

+ Photo Finish: Here are some scenes from the 150th Westminster Dog Show, and some of the entries for Wildlife Photographer of the Year.

6

Bottom of the News

“Down the block of working-class homes, more than a dozen chairs of various shapes and vintages were securing their own rectangle of space: a sturdy dining room chair, an office chair on a swivel, two bar stools, a wrought-iron patio love seat, an orange plastic lawn chair. In Pittsburgh, it’s parking chair season.” WSJ (Gift Article): Whatever You Do, Don’t Mess With Pittsburgh’s Parking Chairs.