SELF-DESCRIBED “PAPER OF RECORD” WONDERS HOW NEWS DISAPPEARED: NY Times on Virginia’s unresolved scandals: ‘It just went poof.’

OH THANK GOODNESS — ANOTHER TEN-YEAR EXTENSION. Beto O’Rourke Warns: Only 10 Years Left to Act on Climate Change.

THE 21ST CENTURY ISN’T TURNING OUT AS I’D HOPED: Number of 2019 measles cases already surpasses total for 2018.

AT AMAZON, Shop Amazon Warehouse Deals – Deep Discounts on Open-box and Used Products.

Plus, Shop Amazon Outlet – Clearance, Markdowns and Overstock Deals.

I DO NOT TRUST THE INTERNET OF THINGS: Whopping 217.5% Increase in Cyber Attacks on ‘Smart Home’ Connected Devices in 2018. “Are your doorbell and baby monitor putting you at risk for a cyber attack?”

I’ve automated many of the lights and blinds in our home, but all on an inward-facing intranet. Anything mission critical — involving water, gas, or entry — is strictly analog.

THE POWER LINE MID-WEEK IN PICTURES: BIDENFREUDE EDITION.

HMM: Et #MeToo, Bloomberg? The former mayor is reconsidering a 2020 run after watching allegations against Joe Biden surface. Watching them surface, or causing them to surface?

THE LITTORAL COMBAT SHIP CONTINUES TO SLIP: A long post with a title that says it all: “It Seemed Like A Good Idea At The Time.” The post touches on the major issues nagging the LCS, to include the multitude of problems with the ship’s “mission modules,” vulnerabilities in its computerized combat systems and structural flaws.

GOOD LORD: Nxivm member admits to enslaving woman in a locked room for 2 years.

“I knowingly and intentionally harbored Jane Doe 4, a woman whose identity is known to me, in a room in the home in the Northern District of New York,” said Lauren Salzman to Brooklyn federal court Judge Nicholas Garaufis last week.

Salzman told the judge she held the woman hostage between March 2010 and April 2012 “and threatened to deport Jane Doe 4 back to Mexico if she did not complete labor requested by myself and others,” court transcripts said.

The 42-year-old defendant also admitted during the proceeding to being a member of Nxivm’s secret inner organization, DOS, which prosecutors have accused of starving and branding women.

At least one DOS member was also coerced into having sex with cult leader Keith Raniere, according to the government.

DOS was pitched as a women’s empowerment group but was actually grooming its members to have sex with Raniere, the feds claim.

“Smallville” actress Allison Mack and Seagram’s heiress Clare Bronfman have also been charged for their roles in Nxivm.

Plus: “Salzman’s guilty plea last Monday did not appear on any public calendar, and portions of the transcript are redacted — leading to speculation she may cooperate against her fellow cult members at trial.”

NO. GO AWAY. Flu Season Isn’t Over Yet — and More Serious Strains Are On the Rise, CDC Says.

ANALYSIS: TRUE. The Democratic Party Is Being Corbynized.

Related: “A Jewish New York City councilman was removed from the immigration committee Monday, days after he received backlash for tweeting, ‘Palestine does not exist.’”

Gentlemen, this is New York City council. You can’t employ facts here!

More: Rep. Ilhan Omar Facing Results of Campaign Finance Probe.

OH: Klobuchar Claims She Will Take on Pharma, Has Taken $400,000 From the Industry.

INTERESTING: Hands-only CPR increases cardiac arrest survival. Advantages: People are more willing to do it since they don’t have to swap spit with a stranger, and it actually seems to work better. I suspect all that chest compression manages to move a fair amount of air through the lungs by itself, and you’re not stopping with the heart compressions to do breaths.

BABY STEPS: U.S. ambassador and sanctions cause drop in German-Iran trade. “9% drop in German exports to Iran.”

The report notes that Britain, France, and Germany are still working to undermine the post-Obama sanctions regime through “a financial mechanism called Instex.”

Thanks, guys.

OVER AT THE PJM LIVE BLOG: Joe Biden, Hunter Biden, George Soros, Ukraine, and Russian Collusion.

SORRY, SLS: NASA chief says a Falcon Heavy rocket could fly humans to the Moon.

ANNIKA HERNROTH-ROTHSTEIN REPORTS FROM VENEZUELA: The Wise Are Running for Their Lives’: Venezuela Simmers With Violence as Putin Sends in Russian Troops. “If the war starts, we can’t have you at a hotel, because the hotels will be some of the first targets for the regime and the Russians. We will move you into my house and we will have our base there for as long as this takes. But please, Annika, understand what I am saying—there will be bodies all over the streets, this war has only two possible endings—a new government or an emboldened old one with no restraints and no consequences.”

BOOM: U.S. halts F-35 equipment to Turkey, protests its plans to buy from Russia.

BEING EVIL: Google employees demand removal of conservative member from AI-ethics council.

I’M EXPECTING AN EARTH-SHATTERING KABOOM: What If We Blew Up All The World’s Nukes at Once?

FLASHBACK: Facebook Hearings Reveal How Government Regulations Work. “They will advocate some institutionalized changes in the way social media should work. Every change will involve compliance costs. Facebook will make sure that it can comply…and that its competitors cannot without great expense. That will give them a distinct advantage in the marketplace, make it more difficult for startups to compete, and guarantee this platform a leading place by law. This is why Mark readily agreed to be regulated. Regulations always work to the advantage of the largest market players.”

CULTURE OF CORRUPTION: Baltimore Mayor Pugh to take leave of absence in midst of ‘Healthy Holly’ book controversy. “Baltimore Mayor Catherine Pugh, facing a call by Gov. Larry Hogan for a criminal investigation into the book deal that paid her hundreds of thousands of dollars, announced Monday that she will take an indefinite leave of absence because of her health. . . . Under the deal with the medical system, UMMS paid Pugh $500,000 for copies of the books while she served on its board. UMMS paid $100,000 in each of five transactions in 2012, 2013, 2015, 2017 and 2018 to purchase 20,000 copies of her self-published books at $5 per book. Pugh was among nine members of the 30-person UMMS board that had contracts or other business deals with the medical system. Pugh and two other board members have resigned. Several others were placed on leave. On Monday, The Sun reported that health insurer Kaiser Permanente also paid Pugh more than $100,000 to purchase copies of her books from 2015 to 2018. In September 2017, the city’s spending board, which Pugh sits on and controls, awarded Kaiser a $48 million contract to provide health insurance to city employees from 2018 through 2020, with options to renew.”

THE HOTTEST OF HOT TAKES: The greatest Beatle? Pete Best.