* While Republicans were having a hissy fit about President Obama attending a baseball game and doing the tango, this happened:
The Pentagon said Friday that it had killed ISIS’ finance minister, Abd al-Rahman Mustafa al-Qaduli, whom many analysts consider the group’s No. 2 leader.
Those analysts believe al-Qaduli would have been expected to take control of the day-to-day running of ISIS, also called ISIL, if its leader, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, was killed or incapacitated…
Defense Secretary Ash Carter announced the death at a news conference Friday morning.
“We are systematically eliminating ISIL’s cabinet,” Carter said, adding it was “the second senior ISIL leader we’ve successfully targeted this month.”
* When members of your party are saying this about your national convention…you have a serious problem on your hands.
“Things could get pretty testy,” the Nevada Republican told KSNV-TV, Channel 3, which reported Heller had seen recent protests at Donald Trump rallies.
“Frankly my biggest concern is security, whether or not I feel it is safe enough to attend a convention.”
* Margaret Hartmann writes about how Scalia’s absence is affecting this Supreme Court term.
When the Supreme Court hands down an evenly split ruling, the lower court’s decision stands, and no nationwide precedent is established. So, for instance, while the Obergefell v. Hodges ruling made same-sex marriage legal nationwide, not just in the handful of states where the plaintiffs reside, any 4-4 decisions will only apply in the lower court’s jurisdiction.
This week, the court handed down its first 4-4 decision since Scalia’s death, with the one-line opinion, “The judgment is affirmed by an equally divided Court.” That case wasn’t very significant, but the Court is hearing arguments in a number of cases where a 4-4 decision could have huge implications.
* Eric Holder took a break after retiring as Attorney General and is now back in action as an engaged citizen.
Former Attorney General Eric Holder and a Washington-based civil rights group are urging changes to the way the criminal justice system treats female prisoners, particularly those put behind bars by D.C.’s local courts.
A new report issued Friday notes that D.C. women who have more than nine months to serve on a sentence are sent far from the Washington area. Most go to a federal prison in West Virginia, while others are sent to Pennsylvania, Texas or Minnesota.
“Challenges that incarcerated women face are magnified by that issue,” said Holder, who served decades ago as a D.C. Superior Court judge and is now a partner at Covington & Burling. “It’s hard to keep in touch with children and family and depending on the distance it might be impossible for families to make trips to the prison.”
* On another issue related to criminal justice reform, An-Li Herring makes the moral case against solitary confinement.
Of course, some prisoners are so hopelessly violent that the only way to protect others is to isolate them. As a general matter, though, officials should presume prisoners’ humanity and resort to indefinite isolation or other life-shattering punishments only when sufficient evidence proves otherwise.
* Finally, if you’ve ever struggled with what it means to “mansplain,” Jimmy Kimmel has got you covered.
