Leaders in the city of Birmingham, Alabama, had long looked askance at the Confederate monument in Linn Park, a granite obelisk soaring more than 50 feet in the air near downtown. In a city with a and a nearly 75 percent African American population, the memorial seemed like a provocation even before broke out in Charlottesville, Virginia, where leaders want to remove a statue of Robert E. Lee.“With the condonement by the president of the activities that took place, or the moral equivalency of hate speech, we felt that things were beginning to get out of hand and that we needed to speak up...…Leaders in the city of Birmingham, Alabama, had long looked askance at the Confederate monument in Linn Park, a granite obelisk soaring more than 50 feet in the air near downtown. In a city with a and a nearly 75 percent African American population, the memorial seemed like a provocation even before broke out in Charlottesville, Virginia, where leaders want to remove a statue of Robert E. Lee.“With the condonement by the president of the activities that took place, or the moral equivalency of hate speech, we felt that things were beginning to get out of hand and that we needed to speak up...WW…

Testifying to the House Judiciary Committee this morning, former Special Counsel Robert Mueller reiterated that his investigation did not “totally exonerate” Donald Trump, as the president has stated. Further contradicting Trump, Mueller also said he did not find that the president did not obstruct justice.Both statements came in response to questions from Chairman Jerry Nadler, a New York Democrat, in the opening moments of the hearing.“The president has repeatedly claimed your report found there was no obstruction and it completely and totally exonerated him. That is not what your report...…Testifying to the House Judiciary Committee this morning, former Special Counsel Robert Mueller reiterated that his investigation did not “totally exonerate” Donald Trump, as the president has stated. Further contradicting Trump, Mueller also said he did not find that the president did not obstruct justice.Both statements came in response to questions from Chairman Jerry Nadler, a New York Democrat, in the opening moments of the hearing.“The president has repeatedly claimed your report found there was no obstruction and it completely and totally exonerated him. That is not what your report...WW…

A historic rise in homicides in 2020—and continued bloodshed in 2021—has incited fears that after years of plummeting crime rates, the U.S. could be headed back to the bad old days, when a crime wave gripped the country from the 1970s to the 1990s.But the FBI’s “Uniform Crime Report” for 2020, , suggests something stranger: Perhaps America is in the midst of what is specifically a violence wave, not a broad crime wave. Even as violent crime rose, led by significant jumps in murders and aggravated assaults, property crime continued a years-long decline.“There was no crime wave—there was a...…A historic rise in homicides in 2020—and continued bloodshed in 2021—has incited fears that after years of plummeting crime rates, the U.S. could be headed back to the bad old days, when a crime wave gripped the country from the 1970s to the 1990s.But the FBI’s “Uniform Crime Report” for 2020, , suggests something stranger: Perhaps America is in the midst of what is specifically a violence wave, not a broad crime wave. Even as violent crime rose, led by significant jumps in murders and aggravated assaults, property crime continued a years-long decline.“There was no crime wave—there was a...WW…

Andrew Cuomo and Donald Trump spent much of 2020 feuding—the former president sent dozens of tweets about the New York governor after the start of the coronavirus pandemic—but their quarrel obscured how much the two men have in common. They’re both boys from Queens with a brusque manner of speaking, little patience for critics, and the benefit of .In 2021, it’s becoming clear that they share more, including a dubious handling of the coronavirus, punctuated by ; allegations of sexual harassment; and a tendency to create toxic workplaces. The fallout from the governor’s scandals has revealed...…Andrew Cuomo and Donald Trump spent much of 2020 feuding—the former president sent dozens of tweets about the New York governor after the start of the coronavirus pandemic—but their quarrel obscured how much the two men have in common. They’re both boys from Queens with a brusque manner of speaking, little patience for critics, and the benefit of .In 2021, it’s becoming clear that they share more, including a dubious handling of the coronavirus, punctuated by ; allegations of sexual harassment; and a tendency to create toxic workplaces. The fallout from the governor’s scandals has revealed...WW…

Former President Donald Trump faces various legal and political challenges, but few seem to have gotten him as agitated as a routine, expected, unsigned by the Supreme Court on Monday.Trump had already lost a bid to prevent Manhattan District Attorney Cy Vance Jr. from acquiring his financial records via subpoena. The former president then sought a stay while he searched for other means to stall. As anticipated, the justices rejected the request. Trump then issued one of just a handful of public statements he’s issued since leaving office, blasting “the Continuing Political Persecution of...…Former President Donald Trump faces various legal and political challenges, but few seem to have gotten him as agitated as a routine, expected, unsigned by the Supreme Court on Monday.Trump had already lost a bid to prevent Manhattan District Attorney Cy Vance Jr. from acquiring his financial records via subpoena. The former president then sought a stay while he searched for other means to stall. As anticipated, the justices rejected the request. Trump then issued one of just a handful of public statements he’s issued since leaving office, blasting “the Continuing Political Persecution of...WW…

America as a whole has had enough of Donald Trump. Voters hold him responsible for the January 6 insurrection, they believe the Senate should have convicted him for his role, and they want him to leave national politics. But the Republican Party is another country, and they do things differently there. Its rank-and-file members didn’t support impeachment, don’t want Trump punished, and prefer him over any other potential candidate for president in 2024.How can it be that Democrats and Republicans see the former president in such divergent ways? One common answer is that, thanks to...…America as a whole has had enough of Donald Trump. Voters hold him responsible for the January 6 insurrection, they believe the Senate should have convicted him for his role, and they want him to leave national politics. But the Republican Party is another country, and they do things differently there. Its rank-and-file members didn’t support impeachment, don’t want Trump punished, and prefer him over any other potential candidate for president in 2024.How can it be that Democrats and Republicans see the former president in such divergent ways? One common answer is that, thanks to...WW…

Almost a quarter million Americans have from COVID-19. Some 77,000 are now hospitalized, about a fifth of those in the ICU. The country has been reporting roughly 150,000 cases a day for a week, and the . Hospitals, and the people who work in them, . The pandemic has been a catastrophe for months, but it seems to be reaching its worst moment in the United States, despite promising advances in .The nation cries out for leadership, yet amid one of the worst crises to face the country in decades, President Donald Trump is nowhere to be found. He is hunkered down in the White House, not giving...…Almost a quarter million Americans have from COVID-19. Some 77,000 are now hospitalized, about a fifth of those in the ICU. The country has been reporting roughly 150,000 cases a day for a week, and the . Hospitals, and the people who work in them, . The pandemic has been a catastrophe for months, but it seems to be reaching its worst moment in the United States, despite promising advances in .The nation cries out for leadership, yet amid one of the worst crises to face the country in decades, President Donald Trump is nowhere to be found. He is hunkered down in the White House, not giving...WW…

Updated at 6:37 p.m. ET on April 23, 2021.History is rewritten by the self-styled victims.Even after more than four years of rationalizing and excusing every violation by the president, Donald Trump’s enablers have their work cut out for them this week, . But, undeterred, they are still energetically devoted to the task.I warned yesterday that and convince people that it didn’t happen the way it did. The whitewashing is already in full motion. Some takes the form of dangerous disinformation—false claims, for example, that antifa was behind the siege and not Trump backers, even though Trump...…Updated at 6:37 p.m. ET on April 23, 2021.History is rewritten by the self-styled victims.Even after more than four years of rationalizing and excusing every violation by the president, Donald Trump’s enablers have their work cut out for them this week, . But, undeterred, they are still energetically devoted to the task.I warned yesterday that and convince people that it didn’t happen the way it did. The whitewashing is already in full motion. Some takes the form of dangerous disinformation—false claims, for example, that antifa was behind the siege and not Trump backers, even though Trump...WW…

As the noted, Georgians are accustomed to repulsing . So when Senator Lindsey Graham of South Carolina called Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger, a fellow Republican, to talk about the state’s , Raffensperger didn’t flinch.In , Raffensperger, who is Georgia’s top elections official, said that Graham asked whether he could discard all mail ballots in counties with higher rates of signature mismatch. Raffensperger believed Graham, a close ally of President Donald Trump, wanted him to throw out legal ballots, which Raffensperger can’t do, but which stunned him anyway. (Graham denied...…As the noted, Georgians are accustomed to repulsing . So when Senator Lindsey Graham of South Carolina called Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger, a fellow Republican, to talk about the state’s , Raffensperger didn’t flinch.In , Raffensperger, who is Georgia’s top elections official, said that Graham asked whether he could discard all mail ballots in counties with higher rates of signature mismatch. Raffensperger believed Graham, a close ally of President Donald Trump, wanted him to throw out legal ballots, which Raffensperger can’t do, but which stunned him anyway. (Graham denied...WW…

Last week, Representative Matt Gaetz that if he were ever engulfed in scandal, he wanted it to be called “Gaetzgate.” (The Floridian was replying to a groaner of an Elon Musk that he seemed to have missed; that lack of perceptiveness was an omen.)Gaetz got his wish quickly, and then some. First, there’s reportedly a into whether the 38-year-old Gaetz paid women for sex and whether he had a sexual relationship with a 17-year-old girl. Second, Gaetz has alleged that he is the subject of an extortion attempt related to this investigation. Third, CNN that Gaetz showed House colleagues nude...…Last week, Representative Matt Gaetz that if he were ever engulfed in scandal, he wanted it to be called “Gaetzgate.” (The Floridian was replying to a groaner of an Elon Musk that he seemed to have missed; that lack of perceptiveness was an omen.)Gaetz got his wish quickly, and then some. First, there’s reportedly a into whether the 38-year-old Gaetz paid women for sex and whether he had a sexual relationship with a 17-year-old girl. Second, Gaetz has alleged that he is the subject of an extortion attempt related to this investigation. Third, CNN that Gaetz showed House colleagues nude...WW…