COVID fourth leading cause of death: https://www.usnews.com/news/health-news/articles/2023-05-04/covid-dropped-to-4th-leading-cause-of-death-in-us-last-year . For the prior 3 years, COVID was the third leading cause of death, behind only heart disease and cancer. COVID drops to fourth as “injuries” moves into third. This category includes drug overdoses, which are at record levels and exceeded 100,000 in 2022. COVID deaths for the 12 months ended May 4, 2023 are 134,121 (calculated from: https://www.worldometers.info/coronavirus/country/us/ ). The pandemic is not over, and we are not out of the woods yet.
WHO considers end of global COVID emergency: https://www.usnews.com/news/world/articles/2023-05-04/who-experts-weigh-up-whether-world-ready-to-end-covid-emergency . As you can see, the discussion is more political than medical. This is inappropriate, in my view.
Deferred COVID vaccine sales boost Moderna: https://money.usnews.com/investing/news/articles/2023-05-04/moderna-beats-covid-vaccine-sales-expectations-as-deferred-revenue-rolls-in .
WSJ: North Carolina passes 12-week abortion ban: https://www.wsj.com/articles/north-carolina-passes-12-week-abortion-ban-39b06537 .
Markets ignore Powell and price in rate cut as soon as June: https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/markets/taking-out-the-hike-that-just-happened-traders-ignore-powell-and-begin-pricing-in-a-fed-rate-cut-as-soon-as-june/ar-AA1aKAHv?ocid=hpmsn&cvid=a28b8008bf6e44279e2ff1ce7ee4cf76&ei=36 . Looking over the last 12 months, Powell has said exactly what the Fed would do, and they’ve followed through every time. Also, every time the market has ignored Powell, to its detriment. In my view, the same thing is happening yet again. The Fed will not back off rates until inflation is close to 2%. We are nowhere near there. As readers know, I believe the bond market has been irrational on this point for the last year, and has not changed.
WSJ: Once again, we fail to understand economics: https://www.wsj.com/articles/a-debt-deal-could-help-solve-the-countrys-inflation-problem-bef121c . Mr. Ip has this backward, as he often does. In a smoothly running economy, interest rates should be driven by inflation. That is, if inflation is X%, bond rates should be about (X+3)%, giving lenders a real rate of return. Mr. Ip contends the opposite (that interest rates should drive inflation), and that is not true. If it was, for the long period that the Fed held interest rates near 0%, inflation should have been negative. More: Canada sees inflation as sticky: https://www.wsj.com/articles/bank-of-canadas-macklem-warns-inflation-could-get-stuck-materially-above-target-b48e3464 .
Prominent Russian defense lawyers flee the country: WSJ: https://www.wsj.com/articles/faced-with-jail-for-defending-kremlin-opponents-russian-lawyers-are-leaving-9cb1069e .
WSJ: Drone attacks hit Russian supply lines: https://www.wsj.com/articles/crescendo-of-attacks-target-russian-supply-lines-ahead-of-expected-offensive-5bd48a28 . This of course is standard tactical procedure to halt advances and/or force retreats.
WSJ: Biden expected to nominate Air Force chief to replace Mark Milley as chairman of the Joint Chiefs: https://www.politico.com/news/2023/05/04/biden-cq-brown-air-force-00095387 . WSJ: More: https://www.wsj.com/articles/biden-to-tap-air-force-general-as-next-chairman-of-the-joint-chiefs-of-staff-2feda02 .
The smell around Clarence Thomas has reached the level of rotting flesh: https://newrepublic.com/post/172423/clarence-thomas-harlan-crow-story-tuition . This may be the first time we’ve provided a link to The New Republic. I know it primarily as a conservative voice from the late 70’s to the early 90’s, but it has been more liberal both before and since. What this article highlights is that Thomas reports some of his gifts, but not those involving Harlan Crow, even when the Crow gifts are essentially identical to the reported gifts. Here is the original Pro Publica reporting: https://www.propublica.org/article/clarence-thomas-harlan-crow-private-school-tuition-scotus .
Three conclusions are inescapable. First, Harlan Crow has lavished gifts on Thomas and his family that cannot in any way be described as “hospitality”. Second, Thomas has made a conscious decision to hide those gifts, even in some cases where disclosure was required under federal law. And third, this is way outside of the standard of “appearance of impropriety” we apply to all judges and most certainly to the Supreme Court.
History tells us that at any time before 2015, a justice discovered even with lesser improprieties has resigned from the Court (example: Abe Fortas). Since 2015, we have lived through the GOP-sponsored divisiveness of the political environment, the corruption of the former Republican Party, and the behavior of our former president. Justice Thomas has decided to be another pig at the trough and believes he can get away with it. He may be right, and does not care if he takes the country and the Court down with him.
Ex-Proud Boys leader Enrique Tarrio guilty of seditious conspiracy: https://apnews.com/article/jan-6-enrique-tarrio-seditious-conspiracy-trial-f8738f17552cda21eef6d89504da2a0e . As noted here previously, the Proud Boys are well-known in Portland for their repeated incitement of violence here. Indeed, the picture of Tarrio in the article is from one such event in Portland on August 17, 2019. Just for the record, all of these neo-fascists met in DC the evening before January 6: https://www.cnn.com/2022/05/24/politics/oath-keepers-proud-boys-video-meeting-released/index.html . WSJ: More: https://www.wsj.com/articles/four-proud-boys-found-guilty-of-seditious-conspiracy-f967f523 .
Details of Orange Julius deposition played for jury at E. Jean Carroll rape trial: https://news.yahoo.com/in-deposition-played-for-jury-trump-told-e-jean-carrolls-lawyers-he-had-the-right-to-be-insulting-164131669.html . As mentioned yesterday, OJ’s lawyers are not putting on a defense and OJ will not testify. These details show us why the plaintiff played segments of OJ’s deposition. His testimony is a complete disaster. OJ basically says that historically “stars” get to mistreat women, and he’s a star. On a relative basis, it really is outrageous that an OJ supporter would question Biden’s competence. OJ is a total nut. More: https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/donald-trump/jury-civil-rape-trial-see-video-trump-confusing-e-jean-carroll-ex-wife-rcna82852?icid=recommended . The NBC coverage emphasizes that OJ misidentified a photo of E. Jean Carroll as Marla Maples, his ex-wife. This undercuts OJ’s “She’s not my type” comment about Carroll.
WSJ: Both sides rest in OJ rape case trial: https://www.wsj.com/articles/e-jean-carroll-and-donald-trump-rest-cases-in-civil-rape-trial-928f560f . However, the judge said he would consider a motion for OJ to testify should it be filed before 5 pm Sunday. Based on the reporting in the preceding paragraph, I would think Pineapple Taco will not let OJ testify.
OJ ordered to pay legal fees of New York Times in the ridiculous lawsuit he filed against them: https://okmagazine.com/p/donald-trump-ordered-pay-legal-fees-judge-dismisses-lawsuit/ . The legal losses are beginning to accumulate for OJ this year. Hey, his opponents are not tired of winning, right?
WSJ: OJ’s attorneys seek to move hush-money case to federal court: https://www.wsj.com/articles/judge-to-consider-limits-on-donald-trumps-airing-of-evidence-in-hush-money-case-5c61fd06 . Even the Journal’s writer is skeptical of this request, but to some extent the result may depend on which federal judge considers this request to remove, if it gets that far.
Arizona Supreme Court sanctions Kari Lake’s attorneys: https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/politics-news/kari-lakes-lawyers-sanctioned-false-election-claims-rcna82992 . One of Lake’s attorneys seems to suggest they will continue with this nonsense. The result will be that the sanctions get much larger. Rule No. 1 is what it is.