Extra, Extra
The Mayor: “California Gov. Gavin Newsom will appoint EMILY’s List President Laphonza Butler to fill the seat of the late Sen. Dianne Feinstein, elevating the head of a fundraising juggernaut that works to elect Democratic women who support abortion rights.” Dianne Feinstein, who will lie in state in San Francisco, was a trailblazer who led in various roles for decades. But to those of us in the Bay Area, her defining moment will always be when was thrust into the role of SF Mayor after a shocking double murder at City Hall. Here’s the moment she made the announcement. And here’s a look at Dianne Feinstein’s life in pictures.
+ Another Day, Another Trial: “The first day of the civil fraud trial against former President Donald Trump, his eldest sons, their companies and Trump Organization executives has started. Trump is in court and is attending the trial.” Of course, Trump is lashing out against yet another team of prosecutors and yet another judge. But much of this case has been decided already and it’s bad news for Trump. Here’s the latest. Meanwhile, all Trump’s lies about the election, the trials, and his political opponents are having a predictable effect. A MAGA gunman in New Mexico and ‘the end of politics’ in America.
+ The Putin Parties: NYT: “Russia’s strategy to win the war in Ukraine is to outlast the West. But how does Vladimir Putin plan to do that? American officials said they are convinced that Mr. Putin intends to try to end U.S. and European support for Ukraine by using his spy agencies to push propaganda supporting pro-Russian political parties and by stoking conspiracy theories with new technologies.” (Well, he’s already convinced Tucker Carlson, Elon Musk, and a huge swath of the House GOP. So I guess the plan is going pretty well.)
+ Numbers Racket: “When California released a revised draft of the math framework last year, I decided someone should read the whole thing, so I dove in. Sometimes, as I pored over the CMF, I could scarcely believe what I was reading. The document cited research that hadn’t been peer-reviewed; justified sweeping generalizations by referencing small, tightly focused studies or even unrelated research; and described some papers as reaching nearly the opposite conclusions from what they actually say.” The Atlantic (Gift Article): California’s Math Misadventure Is About to Go National. (From my friend Norman who is a longtime math teacher in CA and who was rooting for the US in the Ryder Cup: “This is an absolute disaster. Think the Ryder Cup to the 100th power.”)
+ The Cream Rises: “If you are a connoisseur of fancy coffee and fancy coffee shops (or even just fancy-ish), you’ve probably noticed that the price of your favorite drink is higher than it used to be.” Why your $7 latte is $7. (Consider yourself lucky. According to Trump Org valuation math, it’s worth $700.)
+ Sword Fight: “The inventor of the world’s first cosmetic penile implant says a group of Houston doctors is trying to steal his ideas. Inside the multimillion-dollar feud.” Texas Monthly: The Big Penis War.
