MAINE MASSACRE At least 16 people are dead after a man armed with an assault rifle last night gunned people down in a restaurant and a bowling alley in Lewiston, Maine. As many as 60 others were wounded, law enforcement said. 

 Lewiston is Maine’s second-largest city about 36 miles north of Portland. The area, which includes Bates College, was still in lockdown this morning as police hunt for their suspect, a man named Robert Card, 40, of Bowdoin, Maine. A certified firearms instructor and member of the US Army Reserves, he is reported to have mental health issues, including hearing voices.

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GAME OF THRONES: House Republicans yesterday elected as their new speaker an evangelical Christian and election denier who helped Donald Trump attempt to overturn the 2020 election. Political analysts were saying that one of the primary qualifications of Louisiana Rep. Mike Johnson is that he’s one of the members who has made the fewest enemies. He’s virtually unknown nationally.

  Johnson won by a vote of 220-209 against Democrat Hakeem Jeffries. 

  Johnson’s election is seen as a win for the Trump MAGA wing of the party. Johnson has voted for a national abortion ban and when the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, he called it “an extraordinary day in American history that took us almost a half-century to get to.” He opposes sending military aid to Ukraine to fight the Russian invasion.

  Going back 20 years or so, Johnson has called for the criminalization of gay sex and opposed same-sex marriage writing that, “If we change marriage for this tiny, modern minority, we will have to do it for every deviant group. Polygamists, polyamorists, pedophiles, and others will be next in line to claim equal protection.”

  That’s the new speaker of the House.

GAZA: Israeli tanks entered Gaza last night in a brief raid the military described as “part of preparations for the next stages of combat.” The tanks later pulled back out. 

  Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel is “preparing for a ground incursion” of Gaza, but that he “won’t specify” when or how it would occur. 

  Israeli attacks have already killed at least 6,547 people in Gaza and wounded more than 17,400, according to the Gaza Health Ministry said.

ORANGE ALERT: Donald Trump was ordered yesterday to a pay a $10,000 fine for breaking the judge’s gag order in his New York civil fraud trial. It’s Trump’s second violation, the first costing him $5,000.

  During a break yesterday, Trump complained to reporters that Justice Arthur Engoron was partisan, adding “with a person who’s very partisan sitting alongside him. Perhaps even much more partisan than he is.”

  Engoron took that as a dig at his court clerk, a violation of the order to avoid criticism of court personnel. After a brief hearing in which Trump claimed he had been referring to the witness, his former lawyer and fixer Michael Cohen, the judge said, “I find the witness is not credible,” and imposed the fine.

  Trump stormed out of court later when the judge denied a motion to have the case dismissed.

  After two days of testimony, Cohen told reporters that looking at Trump in court, he saw a “defeated man,” and “I saw somebody that knows that it’s the end of the Trump Organization.”

VIOLENCE FOR DEMOCRACY: Nearly a quarter of Americans believe that violence might be necessary to preserve their vision of democracy, according to a survey by Public Religion Research Institute (PRRI) in partnership with Brookings. 

  The survey found that an overwhelming majority of Americans believe US democracy is “at risk” in the upcoming presidential election. Twenty-three percent agreed with the statement that “because things have gotten so far off track, true American patriots may have to resort to violence in order to save our country.”  That’s up from 15 percent in 2021.

  Republicans supporting Donald Trump were found to be the most likely to believe violence is necessary to save the country.

FINANCING JUSTICE: Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas never paid back a $267,230 personal loan from a friend to buy his camper bus, according to a new report by Democratic members of the Senate Finance Committee. If it’s true, there are tax and ethical consequences for Thomas.

  The NY Times reports that Thomas bought his 40-foot luxury bus, a brand favored by rock bands and the wealthy, with financing by Anthony Welters, a friend who got rich in the health care industry. The loan was supposed to be interest-only for five years. Welters told the Times earlier this year that the loan had been “satisfied” in 2008 but did not say how much if any of the principal Thomas paid back.

THE SPIN RACK: Ford and the United Auto Workers have reached an agreement that will raise pay 25 percent by 2028. If they approve, 16,600 strikers will return to the job. — Acapulco took what’s described as a “catastrophic hit” from Hurricane Otis, which made landfall as a category 5. Damage is still being assessed. — A small passenger jet clipped the tail of a landing business jet at Hobby Airport in Houston Tuesday after the larger jet took off without permission. No injuries were reported but aviation officials say regular near misses are the result of understaffed traffic control facilities. — New York Democratic Rep. Jamaal Bowman has entered a misdemeanor plea deal in DC for triggering a fire alarm in a House office when there was no emergency. The theory is that he was trying to stall a vote on the government funding bill. — The estranged son of the Nashville police chief wanted in the wounding of two officers was found dead of a self-inflicted gunshot. 

BELOW THE FOLD:  Boeing says it has lost $1 billion each on the two Air Force One 747 jets it is refitting. Let’s hope that includes Bluetooth for the travelling press.

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