The Slatest

Slatest PM: Anthony Weiner’s New Sexting Scandal

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Anthony Weiner speaks to the media after courting voters outside a Harlem subway station a day after announcing he will enter the New York mayoral race on May 23, 2013 in New York City

Photo by Mario Tama/Getty Images

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Here We Go Again: New York: “It was bound to happen sooner or later: An anonymous woman has claimed to the Arizona-based gossip and nudies site The Dirty that she carried on an explicit online affair with mayoral candidate Anthony Weiner — after he was busted and forced to resign from Congress for the exact same thing. … The relationship consisted of Anthony Weiner and Anonymous sending sexually explicit pictures of each other and having sexual conversations via phone. The best part was Anthony used an alias this time thinking this would protect him. Anthony Weiner used the name ‘Carlos Danger’ when he would email pictures of his penis via Yahoo.’”

Weiner’s Official Statement: “I said that other texts and photos were likely to come out, and today they have. As I have said in the past, these things that I did were wrong and hurtful to my wife and caused us to go through challenges in our marriage that extended past my resignation from Congress. While some things that have been posted today are true and some are not, there is no question that what I did was wrong. This behavior is behind me. I’ve apologized to Huma and am grateful that she has worked through these issues with me and for her forgiveness. I want to again say that I am very sorry to anyone who was on the receiving end of these messages and the disruption that this has caused. As my wife and I have said, we are focused on moving forward.”

Instant Analysis: Slate’s David Weigel:  “He did say that ‘other texts’ would come out, during the run-up to his campaign launch. The reasonable assumption was that other exchanges would be unearthed from his Lost Years, up to his 2011 resignation. You don’t have to endorse the finger-wagging theory of politics to ask whether continuing sexy conversations with blackmail-ready women Weiner didn’t know sort of complicates the guy’s redemption narrative. The pitch, basically was that Weiner learned his lesson. Not that he resigned and then kept trolling the Internet for girls who’d find him impressive.”

It’s Tuesday. Welcome to the Slatest PM, where we’re rounding up the day’s top stories and wondering why Anthony Weiner decided “Carlos Danger” was a good idea. Follow me, your afternoon news guide, on Twitter at @s_brodez and the whole team at @slatest.

Royal Baby Emerges: CBS News: “Prince William and Kate have introduced their newborn baby boy to the world. The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge posed for photographs with their son outside St. Mary’s Hospital in London on Tuesday evening, one day after the baby was born. They emerged from the hospital just after 7 p.m., local time. William and Kate, both 31, beamed stood with their first child in front of the hospital’s Lindo Wing, just as Prince Charles and Princess Diana did with William in 1982 and his brother, Prince Harry, in 1984.”

The Slatest: Watch the Video Here

Al-Qaida Claims Responsibility for Prison Break: Reuters: “Al Qaida claimed responsibility on Tuesday for simultaneous raids on two Iraqi prisons and said more than 500 inmates had been set free in the operation, one of its most brazen in Iraq. The Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant, formed earlier this year through a merger of al-Qaida’s affiliates in Syria and Iraq, said it had stormed Baghdad’s Abu Ghraib jail and another, some 20 km (12 miles) north of capital, after months of preparation.”

The Slatest: The Pentagon Briefs Lawmakers on a $1-Billion-a-Month No-Fly Zone in Syria

NTSB to Investigate Southwest Landing Incident: The Hill: “The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) is planning to launch a ‘full’ investigation of the crash landing of a Southwest Airlines plane at New York’s LaGuardia Airport on Monday. The NTSB said it would be joining the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) in reviewing the botched landing of Southwest’s Flight 345, which officials said landed at LaGuardia on its nose after its front landed gear collapse.”

The Slatest: Is the FDA Finally Gearing Up to Ban Menthol Cigarettes?

More Dead in Egypt Clashes: Reuters: “Nine people were killed in Cairo on Tuesday in clashes between opponents and Islamist supporters of Egypt’s deposed President Mohamed Mursi, state-run media reported, keeping the most populous Arab nation in turmoil. The violence broke out before dawn near a Brotherhood protest at Cairo University, where Mursi supporters have been camped out since the army removed the Islamist politician from power on July 3 following protests against his rule.”

The Slatest: Police Are Still Searching for Headmistress Who Fled After Fatal School Lunch Poisoning

Scandal-Plagued Virginia Governor Apologizes: Washington Post: “Gov. Robert F. McDonnell announced Tuesday that he and his wife have repaid more than $120,000 to Star Scientific chief executive Jonnie R. Williams Sr. and apologized for the first time for the controversy involving the prominent donor.“I am deeply sorry for the embarrassment certain members of my family and I brought upon my beloved Virginia and her citizens,” McDonnell said in a statement announced via Twitter. ‘I want you to know that I broke no laws and that I am committed to regaining your sacred trust and confidence. I hope today’s action is another step toward that end.’”

Paying For College: Wall Street Journal: “Parents are giving their children less cash to pay for college amid continued economic weakness, adding to pressure on students to borrow money, rely more on grants and scholarships—and in many cases, live at home. Parents shelled out an average of $5,727 from their income and savings for each child’s college costs in the 2012-2013 academic year, down more than a third from $8,752 in 2009-2010, according to an annual report on college funding by student loan provider Sallie Mae to be released on Tuesday. The share of college costs paid by parents out of income and savings fell to 27% from 37% three years ago. The figures don’t include borrowing by parents, which also declined slightly in the period.”

House Votes to Limit Snooping: Guardian: “Congressional opposition to the NSA’s bulk surveillance on Americans swelled on Tuesday as the US House prepared to vote on restricting the collection of US phone records and a leading Senate critic blasted a ‘culture of misinformation’ around government surveillance. Republican congressman Justin Amash prevailed in securing a vote for his amendment to a crucial funding bill for the Department of Defense that ‘ends authority for the blanket collection of records under the Patriot Act.’”

A Few More Quick Hits from Slate:

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