NEWS OF THE DAY
1 U.N. ambassador: The Senate confirmed Kelly Craft to become the next U.S. envoy to the United Nations despite Democratic concerns about her inexperience and potential conflicts of interest. Craft, a longtime GOP activist from Kentucky, is currently U.S. ambassador to Canada. She was confirmed 5634, ending a more than sevenmonth vacancy in the key diplomatic position. She and her husband, Joe Craft, have donated millions of dollars to GOP candidates, and she will be the first major political donor to occupy the top U.N. post for any administration. Joe Craft is the chief executive of Alliance Resource Partners, one of the largest coal producers in the country.
2 Navy crash: A U.S. Navy F/A18E Super Hornet jet crashed in Death Valley National Park near Father Crowley Vista Point on Wednesday morning, leaving seven visitors with minor injuries. The status of the pilot remains unknown. The crash occurred at approximately 10 a.m. Pacific time near an area often referred to as Star Wars Canyon, not far from the Naval Air Weapons Station China Lake. While it is not common for military jets to fly low over national parks, it is a standard practice in Death Valley.The Air Force and Navy have used the area for military training practices since the early 1930s.
3 Opioids lawsuit: Saying the opioid crisis requires bold measures, the state of Arizona filed an audacious lawsuit in the Supreme Court on Wednesday, asking the justices to order members of the Sackler family, which owns Purdue Pharma, to return what the state said were billions of dollars looted from the company. “We want the Supreme Court to make sure that we hold accountable those individuals who are responsible for this epidemic,” said Mark Brnovich, Arizona’s attorney general. “We allege that the Sacklers have siphoned billions of dollars from Purdue in recent years. They did this while knowing the company was facing massive financial liabilities.” Lawsuits making similar claims have been brought in several state courts. What distinguishes the new suit is that it was filed directly in the Supreme Court, which seldom hears cases until after lower courts have considered them. 4 “Alice’s Restaurant”: Whoever dumped trash at the building made famous in Arlo Guthrie’s 1967 Thanksgiving protest anthem “Alice’s Restaurant Massacree” has a sense of humor. The director of what’s now the Guthrie Center in Great Barrington, Mass., discovered this week that someone had filled the dumpster with garbage and left a grubby sofa nearby. They also left a sign that said: “Officer Obie told me to do it.” The sign was a reference to former Stockbridge Police Chief William Obanhein, the Officer Obie of the song who arrested Guthrie for illegally dumping trash. Guthrie said in a note to The Berkshire Eagle, “I hope they left an envelope with some money in it.” According to the song, an envelope with a name on it led to Guthrie’s arrest.