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PBC News & Comment: Dems Talk About Gun Laws in Las Vegas

2 years after 58 people died at Mandalay Bay, MGM will pay $800 million, Democratic candidates spar over gun laws…--Beto slams Pete for calling his mandatory assault weapons buyback plan “a shiny object”

--Biden unveils gun plan that’s, um, moderate

--new California poll shows 3-way tie between Warren, Biden and Sanders and weak support for Harris in her home state

--juvenile crime data shows dramatic decline continues

--Beltway bible, The Hill, acknowledges the risk of voting machines

--Peurto Rico’s vulture bondholders are forced to take a haircut, as bankruptcy court reduces debts by one third

--NY Times got some financial records on Jeffrey Epstein while avoiding obvious questions

--in silly follow-up, EPA issues notice of water pollution violations in San Francisco, based only on Trump’s delusions

--Virginia doctor convicted of massive opioid distribution gets 40 years in prison

--federal judge is ready to block Trump plan to punish immigrants who get food stamps or other support

--Netanyahu’s lawyers press to dismiss his corruption charges

--deaths reported as protests continue in Haiti

--7 killed as police try to quell protests in Baghdad and across Iraq

--top Twitter exec who manages MidEast is also an officer in British military propaganda unit

--FAIR’s Alan McLeod gives a very fair appraisal of HBO’s Bill Maher—he’s not a liberal

From the impeachment file:

 --Rachel Maddow and Rush Limbaugh give very different takes on impeachment

--Maddow tossed marshmallows at Hillary Clinton last night, seeing no apparent irony in HRC’s criticism of Trump’s lack of transparency

--in latest outburst, Trump demands that China’s Xi investigate the Bidens

--yesterday, Trump melted down twice in appearances with Finland’s president

--NYTimes columnist Frank Bruni mines comparisons with Clinton impeachment

--Times news story notes that Trump is a one-man-band on impeachment

--WashPost fact-checkers give Pompeo 4 pinnochios for dissembling on Ukraine phone call

--Limbaugh serves up lies and half-truths to defend Trump, but he’s got Adam Schiff’s number

--did Trump really talk about moats, bayonets and shooting immigrants?

--under pressure from judge, TrumpCo agrees to preserve documents

--as your humble host has opined, the memo of the Zelensky phone call does not appear to be complete

--Australia’s US ambassador and prime minister send conflicting messages on cooperation with Barr’s investigation of Mueller investigation

--Kurt Volker, who abruptly resigned as Ukraine envoy, is testifying behind closed doors today, with no leaks so far

--at The Intercept, Trevor Timm calls for secrecy reform, and he’s right