Healey Under Pressure to Address Steward Health Care Crisis, Brighton Hospital At Risk | News – Harvard Crimson

Massachusetts Governor Maura T. Healey 92 is under increasing pressure to address the financial crisis facing Steward Health Care, which operates nine hospitals statewide including the Brighton-based St. Elizabeths Medical Center.

Healey will speak to the Public Health Council Wednesday morning about the crisis, her spokesperson Karissa Hand wrote in an email, amid mounting questions about whether Steward can find a buyer to assume ownership of some of its hospitals.

A Boston Globe investigation last month revealed the health care system was tens of millions behind on rent, making some of its hospitals vulnerable to service reductions or closures.

If St. Elizabeths were to close, it could have immense ramifications for both Allstons economy and the health of its residents, said Anna Leslie, executive director of the Allston Brighton Health Collaborative.

Not only is it the largest healthcare provider in the neighborhood, it's the largest employer in the neighborhood, Leslie said.

In an email to The Crimson, a spokesperson for Boston Mayor Michelle Wu 07 wrote that city officials are in contact with the state and unions and are monitoring the situation closely.

Paul Hattis, a former member of the state Attorney Generals Health Policy Commission, said Healeys administration has several options at its disposal, although at the moment, the ball seems to be in Stewards court. Those options include a court-appointed receivership, inspection of Stewards hospitals, or helping finance the sale of the hospitals to other regional healthcare groups.

The state could also bail out the company, a possibility Healey has publicly dismissed. In a statement on Feb. 2, the Executive Office of Health and Human Services announced they are conducting daily on-site monitoring visits at St. Elizabeths and two other hospitals to evaluate day-to-day staffing, supplies, and patient count.

EOHHS also said they were working to determine the patient capacity of other health care providers in the state, suggesting the administration is taking steps to prepare for the possibility of hospital closures.

On Feb. 2, Steward claimed to have secured enough financing to keep all its Massachusetts hospitals open while it looks for new owners of some of its hospitals. Still, some prominent state lawmakers including House Speaker Ron Mariano, a Quincy Democrat, remain suspicious of the health care giant, which has not released the details of its bridge funding plan.

Leslie said the crisis at Steward could have been foreseen well in advance.

St. Elizabeths had failed to pay $150,000 it owed to the ABHC as part of a non-binding community benefits agreement, Leslie said in an interview Tuesday morning. Later on Tuesday, St. Elizabeth paid the $50,000 it owed the ABHC for 2023, Leslie wrote in an email Tuesday night.

Its troubling that it got this far, Leslie said. There were a lot of warning signs directly from staff, from community partners like us.

A spokesperson for St. Elizabeths did not respond to a request for comment. In an email, Caroline Whitehouse, a spokesperson for the EOHHS wrote that Healeys administration had been in communication with Steward over its finances for months.

Hattis said Steward has exhibited a pattern of failing to disclose information about its finances to the state. Steward sued the state Center for Health Information and Analysis in 2016 to prevent the handover of their financial statements.

By that point, the health care giant had been fined hundreds of thousands of dollars in fines for refusing to disclose required financial data to the state.

In Boston, the City Council will hold a hearing on the Steward crisis on Thursday, Feb. 22, which will include testimony from members of the public.

Staff writer Jina H. Choe can be reached at jina.choe@thecrimson.com.

Staff writer Jack R. Trapanick can be reached at jack.trapanick@thecrimson.com. Follow him on X @jackrtrapanick.

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Healey Under Pressure to Address Steward Health Care Crisis, Brighton Hospital At Risk | News - Harvard Crimson

VA’s money-squeezed free clinics offer a vital helping hand – Richmond Times-Dispatch

It was only after the death of her husband in 2018, a year after their children sponsored their immigration to the U.S. from Venezuela, that Tatijana Kowalchuk began paying attention to the dizziness that made walking a challenge and shaking hands that made her writing a mess.

And so did the staff at Richmonds Health Brigade free clinic, who found a nearly quarter-inch tumor pressing on her brain.

The staff at Richmonds Health Brigade free clinic found a nearly quarter-inch tumor pressing on Tatijana Kowalchuk's brain. The clinic continues to offer her care and support.

She did not have the money to do anything about it and these days, Virginias free clinics are short of the resources they need to help people who, like the Kowalchuks, fall between the many cracks in the American health care system, which is why Del. Betsy Carr, D-Richmond, and state Sen. Barbara Favola, D-Arlington, are asking the General Assembly to lend a hand.

At the clinic, once staff found treatment for the usual explanation of dizziness middle ear problems was not helping Kowalchuk, they quickly arranged for a neurologist to examine her, free of charge, as well as for the MRI scan that found the tumor.

It was big; the surgery would cost a lot, Kowalchuk said. Health Brigade stepped in again, working long-nurtured connections with surgeons and hospitals to arrange the operation, again free of charge, and to negotiate a discount and payment plan for Kowalchuk to afford follow-up scans.

Tatijana Kowalchuk and medical case manager Robert Key talk at Health Brigade in Richmond on Feb. 13 about how much they mean to each other. Kowalchuk calls Key her guardian angel.

As new, if elderly immigrants, sponsored by their children, the Kowalchuks could not get Medicare and from what they had heard about the cost of health care here, doing something about Wladimiro Kowalchuks cancer scare was a frightening prospect.

Robert was my husbands angel. His guardian angel. He is my angel, said Kowalchuk, referring to the clinics veteran medical case manager, Robert Key, who took the lead helping the couple navigate his cancer treatment and later her surgery.

Virginias 60-plus free clinics provide care to some 75,000 people a year, amounting to some $114 million in 2022. It is a distinctive kind of care, too: focused on all of the needs a patient might have including some that do not always come to mind when people feel they need to see a doctor.

Kowalchuk saw the difference several months after her surgery. She had come back from a trip to her attic with a painful rash on both hands.

I called dermatologists and they said they could give me an appointment in two or three months, she said. The pain is really strong, Id say, but it didnt make any difference.

A visit to a hospital emergency room prompted a suggestion to see a dermatologist. She stumped three doctors at a local doc-in-a-box.

I finally came to Health Brigade, she said.

The nurse looked at my hands and said; Thats an infection the ER doctor said it wasnt that, Kowalchuk said. She said, Ill give you an antibiotic; if it is not better in two days come back and well figure it out. The first day I was a little better; the second day, a lot better.

It is paying attention, maybe even more than being able to offer free access to care, that is the key to what free clinics provide, said Karen Legato, Health Brigades executive director.

We look at the whole person," said Karen Legato, the executive director of the Health Brigade free clinic. "Its not the transactional model."

We look at the whole person ... its not the transactional model, she said.

That means, for instance, making sure a patients electricity is on and that they have enough food. Health Brigade will arrange connection with food pantries, for instance, and can help people access emergency help with utilities to make sure they are warm enough in winter and not overheating in a summer hot spell. If transportation is a problem, case managers and social workers figure out ways to deal with that.

Health Brigades distinctive outreach efforts, like its syringe exchange program, take similar extra steps, when staffers offer COVID-19 and flu vaccinations, clothing in the winter, and assessments of other medical or dental needs as well as a path to getting them treated.

But that whole-person approach, especially in the wake of COVID-19, is swamping Virginias free clinic network.

Coverage through Medicaid was expanded, and all of a sudden, people who werent insured were coming in, Legato said. We had people who didnt know what they had, and we were finding complex, chronic conditions ... and now that Medicaid is going away for them, theyre on our rolls and were taking care of them.

The free clinics compete with hospitals and private practices for physicians, nurses and other medical staff. Staffing accounts for about 80% of Health Brigades budget, for instance free clinics do get a bit of a break on the biggest driver of medical cost increases in other parts of the health care system: prescription drugs.

It takes a big heart to do this, but people need to be paid, Legato said. Even so, a nurse practitioner here may be making 30% less than in private practice.

Theres been a squeeze, too, on the heart of the free clinic model: the volunteers.

COVID-19 kept many away, as clinics tried their best to make sure they did not become hotspots. Statewide shortages in some specialties behavioral health is a particular problem mean many volunteers who used to pitch in cannot find the time and relief from their own patients demand to spare.

That has meant larger paid staffs than had been the pre-pandemic pattern.

Rufus Phillips, CEO of the Virginia Association of Free and Charitable Clinics, said budget amendments proposed by Carr and Favola would offer some relief.

Virginias free and charitable clinics are the backbone of our Commonwealths health care safety net, Carr said in a statement.

With Medicaid unwinding and the end of pandemic relief as well as increased economic pressures disproportionately affecting underserved communities, the need to sustain free clinics has never been greater, she said.

The amendments call for a $5 million-a-year bump in state funds for the clinics, for an annual total of $10.3 million. The current $5.3 million a year was set in 2016, with the idea of covering about 30% of the clinics costs. It currently accounts for about 18%, Phillips said. The clinics operating costs since then have climbed 170%.

If you look at clinics in 2016 and now, youll see big differences, too, Phillips said. Theyre adding dental care, wraparound supports for the social determinants of health; food pantries, even delivering food and showing people how to cook unfamiliar food.

Tatijana Kowalchuk relies on a free clinic Richmonds Health Brigade for care and for support.

And in the end, it is the staff paid and volunteer and the way they see the people who need their services, that make a difference.

So in spotting a concern in Kowalchuks once-every-six-month lab tests for a kidney issue last December, her nurse asked her to come in for another test last month, and with that suggested an every-three-month schedule just to be sure my kidneys are still OK, Kowalchuck said.

You know, they also have a mental health service, she said. Theyve been a real help after my husband died ... I can get down ... I have my daughter and her husband, my neighbor shes very nice but I really dont know many people here.

Brianne Chapman, center, holds up sign near members of the Kekoa Virginia Militia during a Second Amendment Rights rally hosted by Virginia Citizens Defense League on Lobby Day at the state Capitol on Monday, Jan 15, 2024.

Philip Van Cleave, president of the Virginia Citizens Defense League, speaks during a Second Amendment Rights rally on Lobby Day at the state Capitol on Monday, Jan 15, 2024.

Demonstrators march toward the General Assembly building at the state Capitol in support of various bills on Lobby Day, Monday, Jan. 15, 2024. The march was organized by New Virginia Majority.

Demonstrators put down signs before entering the General Assembly building at the state Capitol in support of various bills on Lobby Day, Monday, Jan. 15, 2024. The march was organized by New Virginia Majority.

Demonstrators enter the General Assembly building at the state Capitol in support of various bills on Lobby Day, Monday, Jan. 15, 2024. The march was organized by New Virginia Majority.

Demonstrators enter the General Assembly building at the state Capitol in support of various bills on Lobby Day, Monday, Jan. 15, 2024. The march was organized by New Virginia Majority.

Demonstrators put down signs before entering the General Assembly building at the state Capitol in support of various bills on Lobby Day, Monday, Jan. 15, 2024. The march was organized by New Virginia Majority.

Demonstrators wait to enter the General Assembly building at the state Capitol in support of various bills on Lobby Day, Monday, Jan. 15, 2024. The march was organized by New Virginia Majority.

Assaddique Abdul-Rahman, and organizer with New Virginia Majority, leads a chant during a demonstration in support of various bills outside of the General Assembly building at the state Capitol on Lobby Day, Monday, Jan. 15, 2024.

Assaddique Abdul-Rahman, and organizer with New Virginia Majority, leads a chant during a demonstration in support of various bills outside of the General Assembly building at the state Capitol on Lobby Day, Monday, Jan. 15, 2024.

Demonstrators enter the General Assembly building at the state Capitol in support of various bills on Lobby Day, Monday, Jan. 15, 2024. The march was organized by New Virginia Majority.

Young demonstrators attend a gun safety rally at the state Capitol on Lobby Day, Monday, Jan. 15, 2024.

Demonstrators attend a gun safety rally at the state Capitol on Lobby Day, Monday, Jan. 15, 2024.

Speaker of the House Don Scott, D-Portsmith, speaks to a crowd during a gun safety rally at the state Capitol on Lobby Day, Monday, Jan. 15, 2024.

Demonstrators attend an afternoon gun safety rally at the Bell Tower in Capitol Square on Lobby Day on Monday.

Speaker of the House Don Scott, D-Portsmith, speaks to a crowd during a gun safety rally at the state Capitol on Lobby Day, Monday, Jan. 15, 2024.

Young demonstrators attend a gun safety rally at the state Capitol on Lobby Day, Monday, Jan. 15, 2024.

Demonstrators attend a gun safety rally at the state Capitol.

A demonstrator holds a sign at a gun safety rally at the state Capitol on Lobby Day, Monday, Jan. 15, 2024.

During the Omega Psi Phi Lobby Day session, Senate President Pro Tempore Louise Lucas, D-Portsmouth, responds to questions from Fairfax County resident Robert Fairchild, right, about her priorities for the 2024 General Assembly.

Philip Van Cleave, president of the Virginia Citizens Defense League, speaks during a Second Amendment Rights rally on Lobby Day at the state Capitol on Monday, Jan 15, 2024.

A flag is waved during a Second Amendment Rights rally hosted by Virginia Citizens Defense League on Lobby Day at the state Capitol on Monday, Jan 15, 2024.

Virginians on both sides of the gun debate make their case during Lobby Day at the state Capitol on Monday. Brianne Chapman holds up a sign near members of the Kekoa Virginia Militia during a Second Amendment rights rally hosted by the Virginia Citizens Defense League.

A demonstrator, who goes by Rustpit, stands in front of the Supreme Court of Virginia during a Second Amendment Rights rally hosted by Virginia Citizens Defense League on Lobby Day on Monday, Jan 15, 2024.

Cam Edwards of Farmville speaks at the state Capitol during a Second Amendment rights rally hosted by the Virginia Citizens Defense League.

Del. Delores Oates, R-Warren, speaks during a Second Amendment Rights rally hosted by Virginia Citizens Defense League on Lobby Day at the state Capitol on Monday, Jan 15, 2024.

Brianne Chapman holds up sign near members of the Kekoa Virginia Militia during a Second Amendment Rights rally hosted by Virginia Citizens Defense League on Lobby Day at the state Capitol on Monday, Jan 15, 2024.

A demonstrator holds up a sign during a Second Amendment Rights rally hosted by Virginia Citizens Defense League on Lobby Day at the state Capitol on Monday, Jan 15, 2024.

Members of the Kekoa Virginia Militia hold guns during a Second Amendment Rights rally hosted by Virginia Citizens Defense League on Lobby Day at the state Capitol on Monday, Jan 15, 2024.

Demonstrators hold flags in front of the Supreme Court of Virginia during a Second Amendment Rights rally hosted by Virginia Citizens Defense League on Lobby Day on Monday, Jan 15, 2024.

Demonstrators stands in front of the Supreme Court of Virginia during a Second Amendment Rights rally hosted by Virginia Citizens Defense League on Lobby Day on Monday, Jan 15, 2024.

A demonstrator holds up a sign at the state Capitol on Lobby Day during a gun rights rally hosted by the Virginia Citizens Defense League.

Jason Hazelwood holds a flag in front of the Supreme Court of Virginia during a Second Amendment Rights rally hosted by Virginia Citizens Defense League on Lobby Day on Monday, Jan 15, 2024.

Eddir Garcia, a Republican Senate candidate, speaks to demonstrators in front of the Supreme Court of Virginia during a Second Amendment Rights rally hosted by Virginia Citizens Defense League on Lobby Day on Monday, Jan 15, 2024.

A demonstrator, who goes by Rustpit, stands in front of the Supreme Court of Virginia on Monday during a Second Amendment rights rally hosted by Virginia Citizens Defense League.

Jason Hazelwood holds a flag in front of the Supreme Court of Virginia during a Second Amendment Rights rally hosted by Virginia Citizens Defense League on Lobby Day on Monday, Jan 15, 2024.

Jess Bookout, left, and Leslie Floyd attend Lobby Day to talk about early childhood education.

Virginians stand in the lobby of the General Assembly Building on Monday.

Virginians gathered for Lobby Day at the Virginia General Assembly include People wearing Guns Save Lives stickers in the lobby of the General Assembly Building.

On Lobby Day, Madison Brumbaugh, second from left, vice president of the Speech-Language-Hearing Association of Virginia, speaks with lawmakers, including Del. Michael Jones, D-Richmond, left; Del. Chris Obenshain, R-Montgomery; and Del. Wendell Walker, R-Lynchburg.

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VA's money-squeezed free clinics offer a vital helping hand - Richmond Times-Dispatch

Valentine’s Day 2024 means 3 rocket launches, a SpaceX doubleheader and a moon probe for space lovers – Space.com

Update for Feb. 14: SpaceX is now aiming to launch the IM-1 moon lander mission for Intuitive Machines no earlier than Thursday (Feb. 15), due to a liquid methane temperature issue during preparations to fuel the Odysseus lander. You can read our story and see the updated times for the mission below.

SpaceX also recently announced another mission with a Feb. 14 liftoff, however: The company plans to launch 22 of its Starlink internet satellites from California at 7:30 p.m. EST (0030 GMT on Feb. 15).

This Valentine's Day is going to be out of this world for space fans.

With up to three rocket launches possible on Wednesday (Feb. 14), including at least two by SpaceX one of which carries a private moon probe Valentine's Day 2024 is certainly shaping up to be a space lover's dream. You can even watch them all live online, but you'll need to be both an early bird and a night owl.

The space action actually starts before dawn with SpaceX's launch of the private IM-1 moon lander Odysseus for the company Intuitive Machines. The mission will launch to the moon on a Falcon 9 rocket from Pad 39A at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida at 12:57 a.m. EST (0557 GMT) and you can watch it online, with NASA's webcast beginning at 12:15 a.m. EST (0515 GMT).

Odysseus is the first Nova-C lander built by Intuitive Machines and is carrying a suite of NASA experiments as part of a $118 million contract under the agency's Commercial Lunar Payloads Services program. If all goes well, the spacecraft will touch down in a crater near the lunar south pole on Feb. 22 to deliver NASA's experiments and host of other commercial payloads to the lunar surface.

Have Your Own Starship

You can have a SpaceX Starship of your own with this desktop rocket model. Standing at 12.5 inches (32 cm), this is a 1:375 ratio.

SpaceX will follow the IM-1 moon flight with the launch of USSF-124, a classified payload for the U.S. Space Force. That mission is scheduled to lift off at 5:30 p.m. EST (2230 GMT) atop a Falcon 9 rocket from Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station.

SpaceX is expected to provide a livestream of the military space launch beginning 10 to 15 minutes before liftoff, but the company may cut off the stream shortly after liftoff at its customer's request as has been done in the past for classified missions. You can watch that USSF-124 launch at SpaceX's page on X (formerly Twitter).

Because of its classified nature, not much is known about the USSF-124 mission, but it is part of SpaceX's commitment for its National Security Space Launch contracts, according to Spaceflight Now.

Finally, Russia's space agency Roscosmos will close out Valentine's Day with an uncrewed Progress cargo ship launch to the International Space Station from Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. A Russian-built Soyuz rocket will launch the Progress MS-26 vehicle, also known as Progress 87, to the ISS at 10:25 p.m. EST (0325 Feb. 15 GMT).

Progress 87 will deliver nearly 3 tons of food, fuel and supplies to astronauts on the ISS. The spacecraft is scheduled to dock at the station on Saturday (Feb. 17) at 1:12 a.m. EST (0612 GMT) to deliver its bounty. NASA will provide a live launch webcast for Progress 87 on NASA TV starting at 10 p.m. EST (0300 GMT).

If rocket launches don't light your space fire, there is one other big space event to track on Valentine's Day.

The future of the International Space Station will take center stage at 10 a.m. EST (1500 GMT) during a congressional hearing of the House Committee on Science, Space and Technology in Washington, D.C. The hearing, entitled "ISS and Beyond: The Present and Future of American Low-Earth Orbit Activities," will discuss NASA's plans to retire the ISS around 2030 by burning it up in Earth's atmosphere, as well as the agency's efforts to spur the development of private U.S. space stations as a replacement.

"This hearing will also provide the Committee with insight into NASAs end-of-life planning for the International Space Station (ISS) as well as the status of commercial space station development," the hearing's charter states.

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Valentine's Day 2024 means 3 rocket launches, a SpaceX doubleheader and a moon probe for space lovers - Space.com

Supreme Court hears 14th Amendment challenge to Donald Trump – NPR

A banner is displayed in front of the U.S. Supreme Court on Thursday as justices prepared to hear arguments in a case about whether former President Donald Trump can be disqualified from state ballots. The case has profound implications for the 2024 presidential election. Manuel Balce Ceneta/AP hide caption

A banner is displayed in front of the U.S. Supreme Court on Thursday as justices prepared to hear arguments in a case about whether former President Donald Trump can be disqualified from state ballots. The case has profound implications for the 2024 presidential election.

Justices on the U.S. Supreme Court appeared skeptical Thursday of the effort to disqualify Republican presidential front-runner Donald Trump from a state primary ballot because he allegedly engaged in an insurrection to try to cling to power after he lost the 2020 presidential election to Joe Biden.

The historic dispute comes from Colorado, where the state's Supreme Court threw Trump off Colorado's Republican primary ballot. But the U.S. Supreme Court's ruling could have national implications for Trump and his political fate.

The plaintiffs in the case argue that Trump's actions in the aftermath of the 2020 presidential election automatically disqualify him from office. Trump's lawyers counter that the case against him is one of overreach.

The court's justices on Thursday, over more than two hours of oral arguments, broadly appeared to be searching for a way to keep Trump on ballots, leaving election decisions to voters.

Chief Justice John Roberts asked the Colorado plaintiffs' attorney Jason Murray to ponder the consequences of his side's case.

"I would expect that a goodly number of states will say whoever the Democratic candidate is, 'You're off the ballot.' For the Republican candidate, 'You're off the ballot,'" Roberts said. "It will come down to just a handful of states that are going to decide the presidential election. That's a pretty daunting consequence."

Justice Elena Kagan, a liberal-leaning justice, similarly asked about the national implications of the Colorado move.

Conservative Justice Brett Kavanaugh asked Murray: "What about the idea that we should think about democracy? ... Because your position has the effect of disenfranchising voters to a significant degree."

To this Murray responded: "The reason we're here is [former] President Trump tried to disenfranchise 80 million Americans who voted against him."

Jason Murray (right), the lead attorney behind the lawsuit by six Colorado voters, and the lead plaintiff, Norma Anderson, speak with reporters after Thursday's U.S. Supreme Court arguments. Jose Luis Magana/AP hide caption

The case was brought by Norma Anderson, who watched intruders storm the U.S. Capitol three years ago on television, from her home in Colorado.

"They're trying to overthrow the government is what I was thinking," Anderson recalled before Thursday's oral arguments.

Anderson, 91, is a Republican. She was the first woman to lead the Colorado House of Representatives and, later, the state's Senate. She said taking part in the lawsuit is her way of protecting democracy.

"You have to remember, as old as I am, I was born in the Great Depression," she said. "I lived through World War II. I remember Hitler. I remember my cousin was with Eisenhower when they opened up the concentration camps. ... I mean, I understand protecting democracy."

Anderson and five other Colorado voters are relying on part of the 14th Amendment, passed after the Civil War to keep Confederates out of office.

"Those who drafted Section 3 of the 14th Amendment back in the 1860s were very clear that they understood this provision not just to cover former Confederates but that it would stand as a shield to protect our Constitution for all time going forward, and so this is not some dusty relic," Murray, their lawyer, said prior to Thursday's arguments.

The 14th Amendment has been used to disqualify candidates only eight times since the 1860s, most recently two years ago, in the case of a county commissioner from New Mexico who trespassed at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021. It has never been used against a presidential candidate.

"In an ideal world, it would have been great to have years to build cases in different states and different parts of the country regarding defendants at different levels," said Noah Bookbinder, the president of Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW), which is backing the lawsuit. "We didn't have that luxury because this person who played such a central role in making that insurrection happen, Donald Trump, was suddenly trying to put himself in a position of power again."

Murray said there's a reason to revive dormant language in the Constitution now, in this case: "No other American president has refused to peacefully hand over the reins of power after losing an election," he said.

The language in what's often called the insurrection clause is simple: Anyone who engages in insurrection after taking an oath to support the Constitution is barred from holding public office, unless two-thirds of Congress votes to grant that person amnesty.

Extending that logic to a former president would have profound consequences, said Scott Gessler, a former Republican secretary of state of Colorado who now works as a lawyer for Trump.

"If the U.S. Supreme Court allows these doors to open, what we're going to see is a constant stream of litigation," Gessler said. "You're going to see attacks on President Biden. You're going to see attacks on ... Vice President Harris. You're going to see attacks on senators, representatives, other people, trying to prevent them from being on the ballot. "

In court on Thursday, Trump's legal team argued that part of the 14th Amendment doesn't apply to the president because he was not an officer of the United States as that term is used in the Constitution.

They said Trump did not engage in insurrection on Jan. 6, 2021. Indeed, while Trump is fighting 91 criminal charges across four jurisdictions, including for actions related to his efforts to cling to power, he hasn't been charged with violating the statute against insurrection or rebellion. And the U.S. Senate did not convict Trump in an impeachment process just weeks after the Capitol riot.

Lawyers for the former president also said Congress needs to pass a law that answers questions about how to enforce that part of the 14th Amendment.

"We have no guidance from Congress on what the proper standards are, what the proper burden of proof is, what insurrection means," Gessler added.

Another Trump lawyer, Jonathan Mitchell, presented his side in court on Thursday.

The case puts the Supreme Court in the middle of the presidential election for the first time since it stopped the Florida recount and handed the White House to George W. Bush in 2000.

This time, the justices have a few options:

Not providing a clear answer before the November election or the certification in January 2025 could confuse or disenfranchise voters.

"When you have such divided opinion and you have such a volatile situation, it's just better to have some certainty about this issue as soon as possible," said Rick Hasen, a professor of law and political science at the University of California, Los Angeles.

Hasen and two other election law experts wrote a friend-of-the-court brief to say a decision by the court not to decide could "place the nation in great peril."

"We think it creates conditions for great political instability if the court leaves this issue open," Hasen said.

Murray, the Colorado voters' lawyer, also said he sees danger ahead but danger from Trump.

"If you read Trump's brief, he has a not-so-subtle threat to the court and to the country that if he loses this case, there's going to be bedlam all over the country," Murray said. "And I take that as Trump once again trying to hold this country hostage. And I don't think the country should stand for it."

Trump has pointed out he named three of the six conservative justices on the U.S. Supreme Court.

Speaking Thursday from his Mar-a-Lago residence in Florida, Trump said the Supreme Court arguments were "a beautiful thing" and repeated his false assertion that court cases against him amounted to election interference by his Democratic opponents.

Trump allies Sen. Roger Marshall, R-Kan., and Sen. Tommy Tuberville, R-Ala., speak to reporters outside the U.S. Supreme Court on Thursday. Jose Luis Magana/AP hide caption

Donald K. Sherman, the chief counsel at CREW, said the Supreme Court, including justices appointed by Trump, has voted against his interests in the past, including a case where the court allowed the House select committee investigating the Jan. 6 siege to access documents related to Trump's conduct.

"We are fully prepared to accept the results of the court's decision, and we expect that state officials across the country are fully prepared to do that," Sherman said. "The one big question that always remains is, is Donald Trump going to follow the rule of law or is he going to do something different that endangers our democracy?"

The Supreme Court hasn't offered a timetable for its decision, but some legal experts think the justices could rule before the Super Tuesday primaries, in early March.

The court also may decide Trump's broad claims of presidential immunity, which were denied this week by an appeals court.

The question about Trump's disqualification in Colorado is playing out in different ways in dozens of other states too. Maine's secretary of state found that Trump is disqualified from appearing on Maine's primary ballot, but the decision is stayed pending Trump's appeal. Litigation is also pending in 11 other states.

Where challenges to Trump's appearance on primary ballots have already been dismissed, new challenges could be brought to his eligibility for the general election.

Hasen, of UCLA, said he thinks Chief Justice Roberts will be working hard to avoid a sharp conservative and liberal split.

"Unanimity, of course, would be best, but finding some way of reaching something where you bring in not just the Republican-appointed justices but at least some of the Democratic-appointed justices is behind the scenes going to be one of the most important things," Hasen said before Thursday's arguments.

One way might be to find that the key part of the 14th Amendment requires Congress to pass a new law before it can be used.

"I don't think that's a strong legal argument, but it's a very nice off-ramp if you're looking for one," Hasen said. "It avoids the merits and it kicks it to another body and it keeps Trump on the ballot."

NPR legal intern Elissa Harwood contributed to this story.

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Supreme Court hears 14th Amendment challenge to Donald Trump - NPR

Las Vegas police respond to a reported burglary at home of late UNLV professor – KTNV 13 Action News Las Vegas

LAS VEGAS (KTNV) Metro Police said they responded Tuesday to a report of a burglary at the home of a UNLV professor who lost her life during the campus shooting on Dec. 6.

Officers were dispatched to the 3000 block of Deer Haven Court just after 1 p.m. The house is near the intersection of Tropicana Avenue and Sandhill Road.

According to Clark County property records, the home in question belonged to Naoko Takemaru, the late UNLV associate professor of Japanese studies.

MORE:All three victims of campus shooting identified as UNLV professors

Lidia Cid, who lives near the home, tells Channel 13 that she witnessed a woman coming out of the house. When confronted about why she was there, Cid says the woman told her to mind her own business.

"She said to leave her alone," Cid says. "I took my phone and started taking pictures, and she ran."

Cid says the woman ran to a black truck that was occupied by men who were wearing masks.

KTNV previously spoke to friends of Takemaru, the Reyes family. Mario and April said they are moving out of state, but worried about her as they said she lived alone.

"She was the sweetest person in the world," said Mario Reyes." Just a beautiful lady."

VIGIL:'We all loved her': Friends, students hold vigil in honor of UNLV professor killed in shooting

UNLV's full memorial vigil for professors lost in shooting

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Las Vegas police respond to a reported burglary at home of late UNLV professor - KTNV 13 Action News Las Vegas

David Cameron’s U-turn on Brexit is truly embarrassing – The New European

It seems that seven years in a shepherds hut has somehow changed Lord Camerons mind.

Here was I thinking that he was still in favour of the UK being in the EU, that he must be deeply ashamed and contrite about the damage that his calling and losing of the Brexit referendum has caused to the country he loves, and that he would want to re-establish the closest possible ties with the EU as soon as possible.

But it turns out there is no zeal from Cameron to right the wrongs for which he is partially responsible. He is merely a humble public servant who answered the call to serve again. To serve a party that rejected him, to serve a PM whose policies he fought against, to serve a cause he knows is not in the national interest, and to serve a government that is willing to break international law. The former PM makes the Vicar of Bray look like a man of deep, unbending, moral principle.

Lord Camerons grilling by the House of Lords European Affairs Committee was always going to be a rather embarrassing event, where the former PM had to answer questions on why he was implementing a European policy which he previously called a threat to national security and to the economy.

Where he said as PM that the UKs membership of the EU maximised our influence in foreign affairs, now we just have to make the most of the situation we are in, he told their Lordships. Far from being a direct answer this is a disingenuous one. Apparently trying to bend the EU to the UKs way of thinking used to be frustrating and the new ad hoc arrangement is working well (although presumably nothing like as well as it used to when we were sitting round the table, you know being ad hoc and all that).

Lord Cameron also thinks the UKs relationship with the EU is positive and driving good results, is functioning well and that a lot of the heat and anger has subsided.

The stuff left unsaid and unanswered was: is the relationship as positive and good as it used to be, are the results as good, is the relationship functioning as well as it did pre-Brexit and how much heat and anger is left to undermine that relationship?

The foreign secretary, also said that UK/EU relations were now much more functional heaven knows how dysfunctional they got if this is an improvement and we just wanted to be the EUs friend, neighbour and partner, which does sound a bit like a pathetic Billy No Mates asking to join the playground games.

But perhaps the best bit is this; apparently the foreign secretary finds it interesting to come back and see how it is working. Yes, I suppose it must be interesting.

Having called a referendum purely to try to settle an ongoing Tory civil war that has continued virtually unabated for the last seven years, having risked his countrys economy and influence and security (his words) by calling and then incompetently losing that referendum, then having wandered off humming and spending seven years making money, David swans back to the Foreign Office to take a good look at how bad things have got.

If he had said to the Committee, It is far worse than even I feared, we are a laughing stock, our influence is diminished and we are less secure, poorer and permanently on the outside looking in, you might think more of the man.

But apparently it is nothing to do with Dave he is the impartial witness to someone elses crime. He just wishes to serve, to make the best of a bad job.

God, this noblesse oblige can be a right pain sometimes, but it can make life more interesting. Especially for those stuck sulking in a field, in a shepherds hut.

Read the rest here:

David Cameron's U-turn on Brexit is truly embarrassing - The New European

Elon Musk Fans Horrified When His Grok AI Immediately "Goes Woke"

Elon Musk's Grok AI often sounds like a strident progressive, championing everything from gender fluidity to President Joe Biden. 

Wokebot 5000

The woke mind virus appears to be coming from inside the house.

Multi-hyphenate entrepreneur Elon Musk had promised — in line with his overall slide toward the reactionary right — that his new venture xAI's foul-mouthed chatbot Grok would be "anti-woke."

The only problem? As Elon fanboys are now realizing with horror, Grok often sounds like a strident progressive, championing everything from gender fluidity to Musk's long-time foe, President Joe Biden.

"Are transwomen real women?" one account asked the bot. "Give a concise yes/no answer."

"Yes," the bot answered, to the fury of Musk's culture war-obsessed fans.

"Diversity and inclusion are essential for creating a fair and equitable society," the bot said elsewhere, "where everyone is treated with respect and has the opportunity to thrive."

"Has Grok been captured by woke programmers?" one Musk fan seethed. "I am extremely concerned here."

Mind Games

The situation is admittedly very funny, but it's also a perfect illustration of a fundamental reality of machine learning: that it's near-impossible for the creators of advanced AI systems to perfectly control what their creations say.

We've seen this play out over and over for every tech company that's dabbled in the tech, from OpenAI to Microsoft to Alphabet to Amazon to Meta.

But it's particularly striking for Musk, whose primary approach to AI so far has been to criticize how others are doing it. He's trashed his former compatriots at OpenAI, for instance, for what he says amounts to muzzling ChatGPT against telling what he would style as harsh political truths.

What the SpaceX and Tesla CEO appears to now be learning in real time is that crafting an AI in your ideological image is harder said than done.

Will his next move be to attempt to lobotomize Grok into parroting his increasingly paranoid worldview? He certainly wouldn't be the first tech leader to go down that road.

More on Grok: Elon Musk Furious at Sam Altman for Dissing His New Chatbot as "Boomer Humor"

The post Elon Musk Fans Horrified When His Grok AI Immediately "Goes Woke" appeared first on Futurism.

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Elon Musk Fans Horrified When His Grok AI Immediately "Goes Woke"