SHORT TAKES ON THE DRIFTING WRECKAGE – AT 6:05 P.M. ET:

FILM HISTORY – FROM FOX:  It’s not quite ancient history, but it’s still a blast from the past.
A plaster sphinx has been dug up by archaeologists in the Guadalupe-Nipomo Dunes in California, KETY reports. It was part of an Egyptian movie set built for Hollywood director Cecil B. DeMille’s 1923 film, “The Ten Commandments.”  “The piece is unlike anything found on previous digs,” Guadalupe-Nipomo Dunes Center executive director Doug Jenzen told the station. “The majority of it is preserved by sand with the original paint still intact. This is significant, and shows that we’re still learning unexpected facets to film historical movie production, such as the fact that objects in black and white films were actually painted extremely intense colors.”  I think that's great.  They should allow student volunteers to help.  Of course, today that movie would be called "The 46 Commandments," and include commandments on diversity, gender identification, and cultural appropriation.

A SEX CHARGE, HANDLED WELL – FROM FOX:  New York’s Metropolitan Opera suspended its longtime conductor, James Levine, 74, after three men came forward with accusations he sexually abused them decades ago when they were teenagers.  Peter Gelb, the general manager of the Met, said the opera company was halting its four-decade relationship with Levine, and stopping the former music director’s upcoming conducting engagements, The New York Times reported.  The Met also said it’s hiring a former U.S. attorney to lead a “full and complete investigation.”  The accusations of sexual misconduct go back to 1968, according to The Times.  That is good procedure.  They didn't fire him.  They suspended him and launched a full investigation to get at the facts.  Looks like fairness to all parties, and much better than the stage-managed firings we've seen recently.

SUPREMES RULE – FROM AP:  WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court on Monday allowed the Trump administration to fully enforce a ban on travel to the United States by residents of six mostly Muslim countries.  This is not a final ruling on the travel ban: Challenges to the policy are winding through the federal courts, and the justices themselves ultimately are expected to rule on its legality.  But the action indicates that the high court might eventually approve the latest version of the ban, announced by President Donald Trump in September. Lower courts have continued to find problems with the policy.  White House spokesman Hogan Gidley said the White House is “not surprised by today’s Supreme Court decision permitting immediate enforcement of the President’s proclamation limiting travel from countries presenting heightened risks of terrorism.”   Once you get outside the lower courts of the West Coast's 9th Circuit, you generally get wiser decisions.

December 4, 2017