On this edition of “Behind the Camera” Cindy Abbott Letro interviews Sara Shaak, a Producer on “Cold Brook” filmed in western and Central New York. “Cold Brook” is directed by western New York native and veteran film actor William Fichtner.
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National News
‘Out of their minds’: DOJ’s ‘bulldozer’ threat to Statue of Liberty astonishes
A Justice Department lawyer astonished onlookers by arguing in federal court that the Trump administration could "bulldoze" the Statue of Liberty if they moved too quickly to be stopped.
The lawyer appeared Friday morning for oral arguments before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit over President Donald Trump's controversial White House ballroom project, which is under construction on the site of East Wing he ordered demolished last year without warning, and Judge Patricia Millett pressed the attorney on the matter.
"If the government decides very quickly to bulldoze the Statue of Liberty, the people whose ancestors — that was the first thing they saw coming to this country, but the govt moved too fast — nothing can be done?" she asked, according to Politico's Kyle Cheney, who was in the courtroom.
"I think that's right, yes," agreed the attorney, who was not identified by the reporter.
The courtroom exchange stunned social media users.
"They’re out of their minds," marveled Fox News contributor Jessica Tarlov.
"There is nothing left of the Justice Department I worked at," lamented former federal prosecutor Joyce Vance.
"We voted to make him God Emperor of the United States," quipped HuffPost's S.V. Dáte.
"I honestly thought this was a joke," offered The Bulwark's Cathy Young.
"The Trump Admin talking about bulldozing the Statue of Liberty … sick, sick stuff," muttered California Gov. Gavin Newsom's official account.
"Feels like we should have the 'You Can't Just Bulldoze the Statue of Liberty Act' introduced and passed rather quickly now, right Congress?" suggested political strategist Thomas C. Bowen.
"I don't think this is going to help the DOJ," commented attorney Kevin Baum.
"Under Lujan itself, the lawyer’s answer is almost certainly wrong," opined law professor Michael Morley. "A tourist, or even better an art or architecture specialist, who had bought a ticket to fly to New York at a particular time to go look at or study the statue would almost certainly have standing to challenge its destruction. The destruction of the statute would be a tragedy and should absolutely never occur and there should be some way to stop it. It’s not clear that aesthetic injury *should* be sufficient to satisfy article III? Standing doesn’t even seem to be the biggest hurdle under currently doctrine here? I’m not sure who would have a cause of action to challenge the destruction?"
National News
Trump’s latest Oval Office nap reignites fears days before 80th birthday: MS NOW
Continuing questions about Donald Trump’s health were not helped on Thursday during an Oval Office press availaibility that led to more questions about his ability to keep up at his current pace.
On MS NOW’s “Morning Joe,” co-hosts Johnathan Lemire and Willie Geist highlighted the 79-year-old president “slumped’ in his chair as EPA Head Lee Zeldin talked about clean coal, with the two pundits observing the president was clearly asleep.
That led to jokes about the president’s people defining the napping as an extended “blink,” with Lemire commenting, “I believe the White House pushback of ‘’He was blinking, you moron, ‘is how they would engage reporters who would point out on Twitter that the president seemed to be asleep.”
“So this was yesterday, the scene here,” he added as a clip of the president with his eyes closed ran. “And there's other footage where he seems fully slumped to sleep to one side of his chair, and then he kind of shifts and falls asleep on the other side of the chair. I mean, it's a long blink. We could count it off if you'd like.”
“But this is becoming almost a daily occurrence,” he pointed out. “And as much as the White House likes to push back on this, there are questions about, you know, his health, his fitness. He had another physical at Walter Reed a week or so back. We haven't really gotten much in the way of results. A week from Sunday, he turns 80.”
He then pointed out, “We heard for four years about 'Sleepy Joe Biden.' You know, not that I like to credit John Heilemann with much, but the ‘Confession or projection’ construct here works really well. This is clearly, you know, President Trump projecting his own perhaps frailties and need for naps during the day.”
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