Daily Archives

September 3, 2017

9 posts · Sunday

Trump Will End DACA Program

September 3, 2017 at 9:04 pm EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

President Trump “has decided to end the Obama-era program that grants work permits to undocumented immigrants who arrived in the country as children,” Politico reports.

“Senior White House aides huddled Sunday afternoon to discuss the rollout of a decision likely to ignite a political firestorm — and fulfill one of the president’s core campaign promises.”

“Trump has wrestled for months with whether to do away with the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, known as DACA. He has faced strong warnings from members of his own party not to scrap the program and struggled with his own misgivings about targeting minors for deportation.”

Reuters: “The president decided to delay enforcement of his decision to end the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, or DACA program, to give Congress time to devise an alternative, the two sources said on Sunday.”

Vox: How DACA works, who it protects, and what could happen to immigrants if Trump shuts it down.

Inside Job

September 3, 2017 at 4:26 pm EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

Coming soon: Inside Job: How American Elections Are Still Rigged Against Voters by Steven Rosenfeld.

“Americans are taught to cherish our democracy, especially our right to vote. But after the 2016 presidential election, we are confronted, yet again, with the reality that our system is neither free nor fair.”

Mattis Warns of ‘Massive Military Response’

September 3, 2017 at 4:24 pm EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

Defense Secretary James Mattis issued a stark warning to North Korea if it threatened the U.S. or its allies, The Hill reports.

Said Mattis: “Any threat to the United States or its territories including Guam or our allies will be met with a massive military response.”

He added: “Kim Jong Un should take heed the United Nations Security Council’s unified voice. All members unanimously agreed on the threat North Korea poses. And they remain unanimous in their commitment to the denuclearization of the Korean peninsula. Because we are not looking to the total annihilation of a country, namely, North Korea.”

Bonus Quote of the Day

September 3, 2017 at 1:22 pm EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

“I realize that I come to Italy at a time when many are questioning whether America is still committed to remaining engaged in the world, to upholding our traditional alliances, and standing up for the values we share. I also realize — and there is no point in avoiding a little straight talk here — that this doubt has much to do with some of the actions and statements of our President.”

— Sen. John McCain (R-AZ), quoted by Time magazine, at an international economic and policy conference in Lake Como, Italy.

The Next Kennedy

September 3, 2017 at 1:14 pm EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

Politico: “Democrats are in search of new leaders to take on Donald Trump, and Rep. Joe Kennedy could fit the bill. But it’s not clear he wants the job. In short order, Kennedy has garnered a loyal grassroots following with a series of viral speeches challenging Trump on everything from health care to hate speech, leading some Democrats to believe he could help fill the party’s leadership vacuum.”

“It’s a shift for someone who, despite his famous last name and wavy red mane, has kept a low profile on the national scene since being elected to the House in 2012. Loath to be seen as a political celebrity, the 36-year-old from the outskirts of Boston has put in the work of a relative back-bencher and focused on delivering for his district. … Kennedy has already proven he has the ability to harness his star power, after gaining national prominence for blasting GOP efforts to dismantle Obamacare earlier this year.”

Obama’s Letter to Trump Leaked

September 3, 2017 at 9:14 am EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

CNN has obtained a copy of the letter Barack Obama left for Donald Trump just before leaving the White House.

“Obama, when writing the letter, didn’t disclose the content even to his closest aides. Since then, however, Trump has shown the letter to visitors in the Oval Office or his private White House residence. CNN obtained a copy from someone Trump showed it to.”

Obama: An Intimate Portrait

September 3, 2017 at 8:59 am EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

Coming this fall: Obama: An Intimate Portrait by Pete Souza.

“This is the definitive visual biography of Barack Obama’s historic Presidency, captured in unprecedented detail by his White House photographer.”

Quote of the Day

September 3, 2017 at 8:14 am EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

“They were just happy. We saw a lot of happiness. It’s been really nice. It’s been a wonderful thing. As tough as this was, it’s been a wonderful thing, I think even for the country to watch it and for the world to watch. It’s been beautiful.”

— President Trump, quoted by The Hill, after visiting a shelter for hurricane victims in Houston.

North Korea Claims It Tested a Hydrogen Bomb

September 3, 2017 at 8:03 am EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

“North Korea carried out its sixth and most powerful nuclear test in an extraordinary show of defiance against President Trump on Sunday, saying it had detonated a hydrogen bomb that could be mounted on an intercontinental ballistic missile,” the New York Times reports.

“The test, which the North called a ‘complete success,’ was the first to clearly surpass the destructive power of the bombs dropped on the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki in World War II.”

Washington Post: “Even if Kim Jong Un’s regime is exaggerating its feats, scientific evidence showed that North Korea had crossed an important threshold and had detonated a nuclear device that was exponentially more powerful than its last — and almost seven times the size of the bomb that destroyed Hiroshima.”