Former vice president Dick Cheney, 71, who has struggled with cardiac problems for years, is recovering from heart-transplant surgery at a Virginia hospital, according to a statement from his office. Cheney had been on a waiting list for a transplant for nearly two years after being hospitalized in 2010 for conditions related to coronary artery disease. At that time he had a left ventricular assist device (LVAD) implanted to help his heart pump.

"Although the former vice president and his family do not know the identity of the donor, they will be forever grateful for this lifesaving gift," it said.

Cheney has a history of heart trouble, suffering at least five heart attacks since 1978. His first occurred when he was 37.

More at CNN.

• Dr. Joyce Brothers, dead at 85.

• Dr. Kermit Gosnell found guilty on three counts of homicide.

• Jamelle Bouie wonders: Is impeachment just a matter of time?

• Minnesota becomes the 12th state to legalize marriage equality.

• Voters trust Hillary Clinton over GOP on Benghazi.

• Rand Paul assures evangelicals he doesn't support drug legalization.

A heavily armed gunman entered the Discovery TV building with an explosive device strapped to his body, and is reportedly holding a security guard and possibly more people hostage.

Via MSNBC:

SILVER SPRING, Md. — A gunman with an explosive device strapped to himself has entered the Discovery Communications building in Silver Spring, Md., and may have taken at least one person hostage, police said.

Montgomery County police said there may also be other explosives in the building, but they said they could not confirm reports that one or more shots had been fired.

Law enforcement authorities identified the man as James J. Lee. They told NBC News that he had a long history of protesting at the building. NBC said the man may have posted environmental and population-control demands online.

His demands are bizarre. Expect conservatives and liberals alike to point fingers at each other. Examples below:

Continue reading »

South Carolina Senate candidate Alvin Greene has been indicted on obscenity charges.

Washington Post:

Longshot U.S. Senate candidate Alvin Greene was indicted Friday on two charges, including a felony charge of showing pornography to a South Carolina college student.

A Richland County grand jury indicted Green for disseminating, procuring or promoting obscenity - a felony - as well as a misdemeanor charge of communicating obscene materials to a person without consent.

Greene, who surprised the Democratic party establishment with his primary victory, was arrested in November after authorities said he approached a student in a University of South Carolina computer lab, showed her obscene photos online, then talked about going to her dorm room.

Greene declined comment at his home. He has also refused to talk about the charge in interviews.

Jim DeMint is, I'm sure, suitably shocked. And cackling. I'm still convinced the voting machines put this idiot in the primary.

Update: And to think, he just got himself a whole new set of new advisors, too.

The most famous candidate in the country was in Columbia Thursday evening, making his way through a small crowd and shaking hands, schmoozing and introducing a member of a documentary film crew that has been following him along the most written about campaign trail in America.

The candidate is not running for president, but the U.S. Senate. His name is Alvin Greene. Maybe you’ve heard of him.

Greene was in town for a meeting of the South Carolina Democratic Party executive committee and gave a brief speech to a room of about 50 at the state party's headquarters on Hampton Street.

He asked the Democrats there -- many had recently voted down a protest to his surprise primary win June 8 over former judge and legislator Vic Rawl -- to support him in the fall election against Republican U.S. Sen. Jim DeMint, Green Party nominee Tom Clements and write-in candidate Mazie Ferguson.

There was a smattering of applause. A man shouted out “I’ll vote for you.” A woman seconded it.

Greene’s speech clocked in at around 23 seconds, which is consistent with what his campaign adviser Felipe Farley had predicted weeks ago, when he noted that Greene wasn’t going to be doing any long barnburners on the stump.

Just bizarre. That is all.

From the more candid accounts I've read, everyone who isn't paid to think otherwise thinks this is a horrible, wasteful and pointless war, one that we'll have to leave without anything like a clear victory. So, as John Kerry once said, "How do you ask a man to be the last to die for a mistake?" Perhaps Julian Assange is causing more harm than good, but maybe not:

LONDON (AP) -- WikiLeaks spokesman Julian Assange said Thursday his organization is preparing to release the rest of the secret Afghan war documents it has on file. The Pentagon warned that would be more damaging to security and risk more lives than the organization's initial release of some 76,000 war documents.

[...] The Pentagon says it believes it has identified the additional 15,000 classified documents, and said Thursday that their exposure would be even more damaging to the military than what has already been published.

Pentagon Press Secretary Geoff Morrell described the prospective publication as the "height of irresponsibility."

"It would compound a mistake that has already put far too many lives at risk," he said.

Speaking via videolink to London's Frontline Club, Assange brushed aside the Pentagon's demands that he stop publishing their intelligence. He gave no specific timeframe for the release of the 15,000 remaining files, but said his organization had gone through about half of them.

"We're about 7,000 reports in," he said, describing the process of combing through the files to ensure that no Afghans would be hurt by their disclosure as "very expensive and very painstaking."

It would put "too many lives at risk." The people who had such poor security protecting the names of informants didn't put "far too many lives at risk." The politicians who voted to keep funding what they already know is a hopeless war didn't put "far too many lives at risk", nor did the military put "far too many lives at risk" by using predator drones that keep killing civilians.

Those lives, well, they don't count. The only thing that counts are American lives, and how patriotic Americans and defense contractors feel. Just so you know!

Judge Walker has opened the door for same-sex marriage, but with a bit of a twist. The stay will remain in effect until August 18th to give the proponents of Prop 8 an opportunity to appeal to the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals.

That's not surprising, but what does surprise me is the lengthy discussion of whether those same Prop 8 proponents even have standing to file such an appeal.

Because Prop 8 was an amendment to the state Constitution, the Attorney General and Governor are the parties with standing to appeal Judge Walker's ruling. However, Jerry Brown and Arnold Schwarzenegger both declined to do so. At the trial, the original proponents were allowed to present their case instead of Brown and Schwarzenegger, but after the judge ruled, responsibility for appeal bounced back to the state.

Brown and Schwarzenegger argued that the stay should be lifted and marriages allowed immediately. What Judge Walker has done with this short extension of the stay is to allow the Prop 8 proponents to argue: a) that they have standing to appeal; and b) that the stay should be made permanent.

Judge Walker seems to think they don't have standing. Key conclusion:

Because proponents make no argument that they -- as opposed to the state defendants or plaintiffs -- will be irreparably injured absent a stay, proponents have not given the court any basis to exercise its discretion to grant a stay.

Bottom line: This is moving toward the Supreme Court. The real question is what will happen in the interim.

Chris Geidner has a quick analysis with key points. Maddow also reacts. The LA Times reports that Prop 8 proponents plan an immediate appeal.

Update #2: According to Right Wing Watch, the American Family Association is considering the possibility of dropping any challenge to Prop 8 in order to save bans on same-sex marriage in other states.

Update: It has now been confirmed. Senator Stevens was on the plane and is confirmed to have died in the crash. More information here.

Dave Dittman, a former aide and longtime family friend of former Sen. Ted Stevens, says Stevens was killed in a plane crash near Dillingham Monday night. Dittman says he received a call overnight Monday that said the former senator was dead. Nine people were on board, including former NASA Chief Sean O'Keefe. Five people were killed in the crash, but other identities were not known, nor are the conditions of the survivors.

Update #2: Former NASA administrator Sean O'Keefe and his son were also on board the plane. MSNBC reports:

Nine people were on board, including Stevens and former NASA Administrator Sean O’Keefe and his son Kevin, officials said. Sources close to the family told NBC News that Sean O’Keefe suffered a broken pelvis and other bones and was expected to survive, as was his son.

Update #3: White House statement on Sen. Stevens' death

Please be respectful with your comments. Thank you.

Alaska reporter Shannyn Moore has been sending information via Twitter regarding a crash in Dillingham, Alaska carrying 8 passengers. According to reports, Ted Stevens may have been one of those on board.

Via ADN.com:

Severe weather has hampered the rescue operation for eight people believed to be on board a GCI-owned aircraft that crashed near Dillingham on Monday night with possible fatalities, according to state and federal officials.

The Alaska Air National Guard was called to the area about 20 miles north of Dillingham at about 7 p.m. after a passing aircraft saw the wreckage, spokesman Maj. Guy Hayes said. Eight people were reported to be on board the aircraft, though their status wasn't immediately known, he said. There were possible fatalities, he said.

The story on ADN has been updated with this information about Sen. Ted Stevens:

The aircraft, which was reported overdue, bears the tail number N455A, according to the Federal Aviation Administration. That aircraft is a 1957 DeHavilland DHC-3 Otter registered to GCI, according to FAA records. The FAA did not immediately provide other information about how it knows that this is the aircraft.

Friends of former U.S. Sen. Ted Stevens said he was traveling Monday to the GCI-owned Agulowak Lodge near Lake Aleknagik, and they were concerned for him.

A woman who answered the phone at the Anchorage home of retired Air Force Gen. Joe Ralston, a good friend of Stevens, said Ralston was with Stevens' wife, Catherine, comforting her and trying to find out what was going on.

No one answered the phone at the homes of Stevens' daughter, Susan Covich, in Kenai, or his son, Ben, in Anchorage.

This photo matches the number of the airplane mentioned in the article.

Also, Todd Walker of KTUU Channel 2 reports:

Just spoke to Ben Stevens' family, they have no comment right now

The Air National Guard just released this statement:

The Alaska Air National Guard is responding to a plane crash 17-miles north of Dillingham that occurred Monday night.

The Air Force 11th Rescue Coordination Center, manned by Alaska National Guardsmen, was contacted by Dillingham Flight Service after a Good Samaritan spotted a downed aircraft around 7 p.m.

The Alaska Air National Guard's 210th, 211th and 212th Rescue Squadrons were alerted and are currently battling inclement weather en-route to the scene. They are expected to arrive at the plane crash site sometime after midnight.

The plane was reportedly carrying eight passengers and there are potential fatalities.

According to the RCC, there are five Good Samaritan medical personnel on scene assisting the plane crash victims.

More as it develops.

As that fat guy who had the movie about global warming tried to tell us, the changing weather is coming back to hit us. A record-setting heatwave in Russia has sparked massive forest fires that are destroying crops normally bought by the U.S., and their government has announced a ban on grain exports.

But hey, isn't it great that the Republicans have sworn to stop the cap-and-trade bill?

Reporting from Los Angeles and Moscow — The price of America's daily bread and meat could soar this fall, as surging wheat prices in anticipation of a Russian ban on exports stoked fears about tight supplies.

Grain shortages and food price hikes in 2007 and 2008 sparked riots worldwide, but agriculture analysts said the U.S. wheat crop has been strong, and that stockpiles of wheat and other grains worldwide are greater now than they were three years ago.

According to media reports, U.S. farmers have rushed to put out millions of bushels of wheat to bolster worldwide inventories. Wheat prices on Friday dropped by 60 cents on the Chicago Board of Trade, voiding Thursday's price run-up.

Yet analysts warned that consumers might be hit with higher prices at the grocery store in the months ahead because of a convergence of factors. With the memory of the previous food crisis still fresh, some countries and consumers may resort to hoarding, which could push prices upward. Speculators and some food companies might seek to exploit public worries.

"The situation is still in flux," said Phil Flynn, a commodities analyst at PFG Best in Chicago. "It is far too soon to say that this is over."

The price of wheat surged to a two-year high when Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin announced the ban Thursday. Wildfires and serious droughts have ravaged a large swath of central Russia this summer, destroying one-fifth of its crop. Russia is one of the world's largest wheat exporters.

The Ukraine government, also a large global wheat supplier, reportedly canceled a number of its contracts because of similar dry-weather issues.

And as an added climate-change bonus:

MOSCOW: Russia's Emergencies Minister has warned that wildfires raging in the west of the country could release radioactive nuclides from land contaminated by the Chernobyl nuclear disaster.

Sergei Shoygu said special laboratories were monitoring a potential release of contaminants in Bryansk region on the border with Ukraine, which was sprayed with caesium-137 and strontium-90 after the explosion of the power plant's fourth reactor in 1986. The alarming statement came as firefighters continued to battle hundreds of fires across central and western Russia amid the hottest temperatures in more than a century.

Wildfires around Moscow have forced the Defence Ministry to order munitions moved from a military depot near the capital, the Ria Novosti news agency reported. Elsewhere there were reports that a secret communications centre of the Russian Army had gone up in flames.

Elena Kagan has been confirmed by the Senate to become the newest Associate U.S. Supreme Court justice by a vote of 63-37. For the first time in history, three women will serve as Supreme Court justices at the same time.

As Senate confirmation battles go, this one was fairly low-key. Republicans spent a lot of time claiming she was anti-gun and pro-abortion, but with very little evidence to support their claims. The best they could do was to offer an argument about her lack of judicial experience -- an argument some Democrats also used against her.

The sole dissenting Democrat was Ben Nelson, who may call himself a Democrat, but never fails to bolster the Republican vote count. At the last minute, Sen. Scott Brown (R-MA) announced his opposition to Kagan's nomination, resting on the "lack of experience" excuse, but really just buying some political cover back home.

More from the AP on Kagan here.

People For the American Way released this statement:

“Americans should be proud that Elena Kagan was confirmed to the Supreme Court today. She brings to the bench sterling credentials and a formidable intellect. Her commitment to the Constitution and equal justice under law will serve the Court well in the decades ahead

“During her hearings, Elena Kagan spoke powerfully about the Constitution as a timeless document, constructed by its framers to be interpreted over time in light of new situations and in new contexts. She articulated a view of the Constitution and the role of judges in sharp contrast to Chief Justice Roberts’ misleading analogy to an umpire calling balls and strikes. Solicitor General Kagan made clear that she has the intellectual fortitude and the command of the law to keep faith with our Constitution--its amendments, its history, and its core values like justice and equality under the law.

“Thanks to today’s vote, the Supreme Court will have three female Justices for the first time in our nation’s history. This is an historic step forward for all Americans, and an advancement of which every citizen should be proud.”

Update: Kagan will be sworn in at 2pm on Saturday at the Supreme Court.

Judge Walker has struck down California's Proposition 8, stating that it violates the due process and equal protection rights under the Constitution. He further ordered a permanent injunction on any effort to enforce Proposition 8:

Plaintiffs have demonstrated by overwhelming evidence that Proposition 8 violates their due process and equal protection rights and that they will continue to suffer these constitutional violations until state officials cease enforcement of Proposition 8. California is able to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples, as it has already issued 18,000 marriage licenses to same-sex couples and has not suffered any demonstrated harm as a result...; moreover, California officials have chosen not to defend Proposition 8 in these proceedings.

Because Proposition 8 is unconstitutional under both the Due Process and Equal Protection Clauses, the court orders entry of judgment permanently enjoining its enforcement; prohibiting the official defendants from applying or enforcing Proposition 8 and directing the official defendants that all persons under their control or supervision shall not apply or enforce Proposition 8.

To my gay friends who I have fought alongside and cried with when it passed in November, 2008, congratulations and hugs all around. The war isn't over, but this battle was won and has a clear victor. Everyone.

The full ruling is here. I'm still reading, and will update this post as I read more.

Update #1: A stay has been filed in this case (ahead of the ruling, actually)., and KGO is reporting that it has been granted. I'm not finding any reports on that, but it's to be expected.

What happens next: Judge Walker will rule on the stay filed by proponents of Prop 8. Depending on that ruling, the 9th Circuit will get involved.

Update #2:

Michael B. Keegan, President of People For the American Way, issued the following statement:

“This is a historic day for California, and for our country. Proposition 8 took away the freedom of committed couples to make what is one of the most important decisions in any person’s life—to make a lifelong promise of caring, responsibility, love, and protection for another individual. Now, like the thousands of other California couples who have been barred from marrying who they choose, Kris Perry and Sandy Stier can have security of knowing they can receive legal protections for their family, visit each other’s hospital rooms when they are ill, and provide for each other in old age. They now have the freedom to make that lifelong commitment to each other.

“This decision is an important step in the right direction, but there’s a lot of work left to do. We will continue to work toward making America a place where all couples can enjoy the freedom and security of marriage.”

Update #3 The judge has put a temporary stay on his order until Friday in order to give both sides opportunity to prepare for the inevitable longer stay/appeal. More details here.