Bits n pieces, from east, west and beyond

East, west or beyond, sooner or later events elsewhere may have a local impact. A recent sampling:

A federal appeals court has affirmed that Mississippi can count mail ballots that are sent on time, but arrive after Election Day, Democracy Docket reported.

President Donald Trump recently claimed “permanent control over security” in Greenland. PolitiFact says the agreement actually appears to be a summation of past agreements.

On Sunday, a 28-year-old Door Dash driver from Venezuela, who entered the country legally in 2024 and had a valid work permit, was shot in the back by a federal agent in Austin, Texas. Photos showed two bullet holes in the car’s passenger side, NPR wrote. DHS says he’s in federal custody “pending removal.” On Tuesday he still had a bullet inside him. He has been denied contact with his wife. A state lawmaker demanded quick release of body cam footage and an independent investigation.

More American soldiers have died in Trump’s war on Iran than the Pentagon has admitted, with 22 dead, not 12, the Washington Post reported. The expense of the U.S. war on Iran is “about” $43.6 billion, not including damages to U.S. bases.

The IRS unpaid taxes report is being held up by the Trump Administration: The New York Times.

Headlines, for brevity: Trump calls on all nations [125] to ‘resign’ from the International Criminal Court [he objects to investigations of certain U.S. military actions and the arrest warrant for Israel’s prime minister]; Trump Officials Eject 750,000 From Obamacare Markets, Claiming Fraud [saying it will save $2.2 billion]; Thousands join protest outside Kennedy Center, expressing concern Trump might tear it down; Trump announces all 50 states joining Medicaid drug pricing model [he said “This one thing should win us the midterms”]; ICE hides locations of thousands of detainees with final removal orders [making it hard for relatives to find them, and compromising detainees’ legal options]; Trump says his planned arch would become a ‘military complex’ able to host drones and snipers [and ammo], and, Far-right Israeli minister outlines plan for removal of all Palestinians from Gaza.

War headlines: Trump says he's at Iran crossroads [he’s wondering whether to “annihilate” the Iran regime]; House votes [220-204] for a third time to end the Iran war as conflict drags on [Trump would “almost certainly” veto it]; US military says it killed four in strike on alleged drug-smuggling boat in the Caribbean [no evidence was provided that drugs were being smuggled]; Ukraine fires over 1,000 drones at Russia in 'largest ever' attack on Moscow [an oil refinery was damaged]; Articles of Impeachment [Introduced] Against [Defense Secretary Pete] Hegseth [for failure to get congressional approval for the war in Iran -- the House left early, delaying that vote until after the November elections]; Saudis tell European refiners they’ll get no crude next month [due to a drone attack on a pipeline]; DHS chief says ICE could make arrests at polling places -- ignoring ban on armed agents at voting sites, and, Oil companies report sky-high profits thanks to wartime crude prices.

Legal and courtroom headlines: The AI Industry Sounds an Existential Alarm — And the House Goes Home [the House was urged to stay in D.C. to pass AI safety guardrails]; US Judge Blocks Trump Administration's 'Loyalty' Question for Job Applicants, and, Ban on selling handguns to young adults under 21 is unconstitutional, Justice Department says [the legal opinion said 18-year-olds can vote, serve on juries, be drafted and face adult criminal penalties].

After Trump recently said MS NOW, CNN and Politico write “fake news,” he denied them White House access. He said others would follow. Fox News’ chief political analyst said Trump is dreaming “if he thinks this will lead to more favorable coverage.” “If you have a good story to tell,” Barack Obama’s Cabinet Secretary commented, “you’d want as many reporters as possible.” Digging into why Trump did this, The New York Times editorial team said “To distract from his failures.” The three dismissed news outlets sued over their rights being violated. Five major TV networks that pool coverage of Trump -- ABC, CBS, NBC, Fox and CNN -- have collectively refused to cover Trump’s media events.

In their absence, the White House launched an app where people can get “live events streamed DIRECTLY to your phone…straight from the Trump administration.” Historian Heather C. Richardson noted that “the comment feature on the channel is turned off.” Huffington Post said critics cautioned that shrinking the independent press pool and pushing a “government-branded news stream” is leaning perilously close to “state run” media. “What a novel idea -- if you don’t like the news, write it yourself,” legal analyst Joyce Vance said of the White House app. She pointed out that in an essay George Orwell said “political language is designed to make lies sound truthful and murder respectable, and to give an appearance of solidity to pure wind.”

Blast from the past: “Were it left to me to decide whether we should have a government without newspapers or newspapers without a government, I should not hesitate to prefer the latter.” Thomas Jefferson, our third U.S. president, from 1801-1809. He was born in 1743 and died July 4 of 1826.