If Donald Trump survives in the job for his whole term, he has 1,130 days left in office. |
• The giant “Thomas” wildfire in California has sparked new evacuations: With 60-mph winds pushing the 12-day-old fire ever closer to an enclave of wealthy homes in the mountains of Santa Barbara County northwest of Los Angeles, authorities have ordered residents to flee the approaching flames. The evacuation area is now 17 miles long and 4 miles wide. More than 1,000 buildings, most of them residences, have been destroyed. and 18,000 more are at risk. These include the home of Oprah Winfrey. Some 8,300 firefighters, 78 bulldozers and 29 helicopters have been marshaled to beat back the flames, but the fire is still only about 40 percent contained.
• ACLU files for restraining order because Trump administration is blocking two 17-year-old women from getting abortions. The two undocumented immigrants are being held in U.S. custody. One of them is now in her second trimester of pregnancy and rapidly approaching the time when she won’t be able to get the procedure:
In addition to getting the procedures, the ACLU is also seeking a court order that would stop the federal government from making teens tell parents or sponsors they are pregnant or from any retaliation against them for deciding to have an abortion. According to the filing, government policies require that minors tell parents and sponsors over the minors’ objections and that “compels minors to attend ‘life-affirming’ spiritual counseling.” The ACLU said the two teenagers are at risk of being subjected to this policy and that it violates the minors’ Fifth and First Amendment rights.
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MIDDAY TWEET
• “Science-based” no longer allowed in official documents by Trump regime: Given the way Republicans make policy now, taking out “science-based” may be accurate. Next up: Forbidding the State Department from mentioning “diplomacy”; taking the “wild” out of any references to Wilderness designations; removing “intelligence” so that it’s just the Central Agency from now on; and yanking “Safety” and “Health” to make it simply the Occupational Agency.
• A comparison of how government policy treats new moms: In France, inadequately. In the United States, far, far worse.
6-year-old writes a letter telling Santa Claus he’s a fraud. Spelling has been corrected to make it easier to read:
Dear Santa,
Santa I'm only doing this for the class. I know your naughty list is empty. And your good list is empty. And your life is empty. You don't know the trouble I've had in my life. Good bye.
Love,
I'm not telling you my name."
The trouble? His brother.