A Real Headline From Delaware Online: “Exclusive: Lavish Desserts Borrow Flavors From Milkshake, Boardwalk”.
Give them credit, nobody breaks stories on the Lavish Desserts beat quite like the News Journal. And, ya gotta admit, a dessert featuring a melange of milkshake and boardwalk is something nobody has ever created before. At least, I don’t think so.
Wilmington Mayor John Carney vetoed an ordinance Wednesday that would have prevented city officials from shutting off water service to vulnerable residents with delinquent bills.
In a letter sent to city councilmembers, the mayor said his office could not support the measure as it would “create an environment that incentivizes individuals not to pay for our public utilities.”
The water shutoff ordinance would have prohibited the city from discontinuing water service to households that are occupied by a senior citizen, by a person with a disability, or by a child under five years old. (Carney: ‘Fuck ’em’.)
Only households making equal to or less than 350% of the annual federal poverty level would have been eligible for the program. For a family of three, that would equate to a little over $95,500 according to the US Department of Health and Human Services.
During a July 9 council meeting, the bill’s sponsor, Councilwoman Shané Darby, said it was not about debt forgiveness but instead about ensuring an essential item for residents who can not afford it.
“It does not eliminate anyone’s responsibility to pay their water bill,” she said. “It simply ensures that the city does not use water shutoffs as a collection tool.”
Still, Carney asserted in his letter that a notice of water disconnection remains a “critical mechanism” for the city to collect overdue accounts, and keep the city’s water system financially stable.
“We cannot responsibly manage our water utility if we are prohibited from using the very tool that compels engagement and prevents further deterioration of the system,” Carney said.
He did not note what deterioration has already occurred. (I like that. Good reporting.)
John Carney: Not only the worst Governor in Delaware history, but well on his way to being the worst Mayor in Wilmington history, which is saying something. A total lack of empathy is his defining characteristic.
How Stoopid Were Those Justice Department Subpoenas Of NYTimes Reporters? We’re talkin’ Amateur Hour:
The degradation of the Justice Department in the second Trump administration is clear, is having immediate effects, and will have long-term effects. Just how degraded DOJ has become was on full display in the Southern District of New York on Thursday.
To get why Thursday’s happenings are so central to understanding how bad things have gotten, know that the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York is widely seen as one the preeminent U.S. Attorney’s Offices in the nation. Alumni of the office would say it was the key office, and it was openly (sometimes derisively) referred to as the “Sovereign District of New York,” due to the high view that members of the office held of the office.
Now, however, things look different. Over the past two weeks, the office tried to subpoena reporters from The New York Times and ensnared some of the reporters’ family members in a second set of subpoenas for phone records. When challenged, the office’s ability to carry out basic legal research and adhere to general ethical standards were called into question by U.S. District Judge Arun Subramanian in a sharp, hour-long hearing that ended with the Trump administration withdrawing the subpoenas rather than face the almost certain likelihood of Subramanian quashing them.
I highly recommend that you check this piece out. The judge unmasked these DOJ attorneys as utterly incompetent and not particularly learned in the law.
Trump Trumps Up ‘Forced Labor’ Rationale To Reinstitute Tariffs:
Donald Trump has once again inspired anger and confusion in US allies and trading partners as he imposed a wave of tariffs on more than 80 countries, replacing an expiring global duty introduced earlier this year.
The new measures effectively replace blanket 10% tariffs that Trump imposed in February. The US supreme court ruled many of those were illegal. The new levies come in at between 10% and 12.5% on countries including the UK, Mexico, Canada, Australia, India, China and the 27 countries that make up the EU.
They are imposed under section 301 of the US Trade Act of 1974, and the Trump administration has said the new measures are due to the dozens of countries failing to enforce bans on goods produced by forced labour.
The imposition of the new tariffs led to Asian stock markets taking a hammering overnight.
For many officials digesting the news on Friday, the US rationale was hard to swallow.
“You can’t say that for the European Union,” its foreign policy chief, Kaja Kallas, said on the sidelines of the Asean meeting in Manila.
“If you compare our labour laws to the ones of the United States, I mean, we have paid vacations, we have very good labour conditions for our employees, so it’s not really grounded.”
Kallas said the EU would seek clarification from Washington, adding that the bloc had honoured commitments under a transatlantic trade agreement reached in 2025 and viewed the new tariffs as a shock.
“We had a deal with America, and we have kept to that deal, that side of the deal,” she said. “That’s why this is a negative surprise that this agreement is not kept.”
Australia and Brazil described the new tariffs as unjustified and said they would seek to have them removed. Norway’s foreign minister said there was no basis for the tariff against Norway because the country already had “clear rules that are intended to prevent trade in goods produced using forced labour”.
That, of course, is not what this is about. It’s about Trump’s obsession to endlessly litigate any and all decisions that go against him. He’s still trying to get his $5 mill back from E. Jean Carroll.
The Bizarro World Of Wellness–Tide Turns In Favor Of Peptides:
A panel of advisers to the Food and Drug Administration is recommending that the federal government green-light the production of four popular peptides by specialized pharmacies in the U.S.
The actions came during a highly anticipated two-day meeting that began Thursday to consider whether current Biden-era restrictions on production of seven different peptides — none of which are approved drugs — should be lifted.
Analyses by FDA scientists didn’t support easing restrictions on BPC-157, often used for ulcerative colitis, or KPV, a peptide used for inflammation. That was also the case for two other peptides considered later Thursday: MOTS-c, used for obesity and osteoporosis, and TB-500 for wound healing.
Despite the FDA analyses, the panel voted identically for BPC-157 and KPV: 8-6 in favor and one abstention. (There were two separate votes on each peptide because there are two chemical variants under review for each one.) The advisers also voted in favor of MOTS-c and TB-500.
Here’s the headline:
The advisory panel was recently overhauled, and many of the new members have ties to the peptide industry, leading to criticism about potential conflicts of interest.
Additional voting members were added this week.
Who’dathunkit? BTW, here’s one of the ‘influencers’ who had RFK’s ear:
Some of Kennedy’s friends and associates are among the biggest proponents, including self-described “biohacker” and “longevity expert” Gary Brecka, who sells peptide injectables, patches and nasal sprays through his website for $350 to $600 each.
In a May appearance on Brecka’s podcast, Kennedy again promised to “end the war at FDA” on peptides, stem cells, psychedelics and other fringe therapies.
“Music to my ears,” Brecka replied.
Brecka declined to be interviewed for this story.
Starting Monday–we start surveying Delaware’s primary election contests. I, for one, am looking forward to it.
What do you want to talk about?
