A day after a Texas sheriff caused an uproar by calling undocumented immigrants as “drunks,” his son was arrested on charges of public intoxication and indecent exposure, the Dallas Morning News reports.
Barr Blames ‘Moral Upheaval’ for Societal Ills
Attorney General Bill Barr decried attacks on religious values in a speech, tying a movement of “militant secularism” to societal maladies including the opioid epidemic and “an increase in senseless violence,” CNN reports.
Barr said a “moral upheaval” and decades of efforts to undermine religion had given way to growing illegitimacy rates, drug use, and “angry, alienated young males.”
Said Barr: “The campaign to destroy the traditional moral order has coincided and I believe has brought with it immense suffering and misery. And yet the forces of secularism, ignoring these tragic results, press on with even greater militancy.”
Chinese President Warns of ‘Crushed Bodies’
“Chinese President Xi Jinping warned on Sunday that any attempt to divide China will be crushed, as Beijing faces political challenges in months-long protests in Hong Kong and U.S. criticism over its treatment of Muslim minority groups,” Reuters reports.
Said XI: “Anyone attempting to split China in any part of the country will end in crushed bodies and shattered bones.”
Secret Testimony Aimed at Keeping Trump in the Dark
House Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam Schiff defended holding testimony behind closed doors in the impeachment inquiry he’s heading up against President Trump, likening this phase of the investigation to a “grand jury,” Bloomberg reports.
Said Schiff: “We want to make sure that we meet the needs of the investigation and not give the president or his legal minions the opportunity to tailor their testimony and in some cases fabricate testimony to suit their interests.”
Bonus Quote of the Day
“Look in the mirror and figure out how you want to be remembered later and how you feel about yourself today.”
— Former Gov. John Kasich, in a CNN interview, giving advice to fellow Republicans in Congress.
China Gives Up Little for Trade Truce
Wall Street Journal: “For now the truce opens an opportunity for Beijing to kick down the road concessions that it doesn’t want to make. Whether those hard issues ever get resolved is a question.”
“The Chinese leadership feels that time is on its side, believing President Trump is under pressure to make compromises as part of his re-election bid next year. But by trying to drag out the negotiations, Beijing also risks the prospect that Mr. Trump may harden his position again to show he is being tough on China—or that it may have to start over with a new Democratic president.”
Trump Orders Full Withdrawal of U.S. Forces from Syria
“President Trump has ordered a withdrawal of U.S. forces from northern Syria in the face of a Turkish military offensive targeting Kurdish fighters in the region, two days after he promised that the United States was not ‘abandoning’ its partners in the campaign against the Islamic State,” the Washington Post reports.
“Trump ordered a withdrawal of the about 1,000 U.S. troops left in northern Syria late Saturday. The president made the decision after indications that Turkey intends to expand its attack ‘farther south than originally planned and to the west.'”
Warren Extends Her Lead In the Early States
A new CBS News poll across 18 early primary and caucus states finds Elizabeth Warren leading the Democratic field with 31%, followed by Joe Biden at 25%, Bernie Sanders at 17%, Kamala Harris at 7%, Pete Buttigieg at 5% and Beto O’Rourke at 4%.
As for individual states, Warren has increased her lead over the pack in New Hampshire and pulled even with Biden in Iowa.
And Warren leads in the CBS News delegate model over Biden, too, demonstrating that she’s competitive in many regions.
Presidents of War
Now in paperback: Presidents of War by Michael Beschloss.
“From James Madison and the War of 1812 to recent times, we see them struggling with Congress, the courts, the press, their own advisors and antiwar protesters; seeking comfort from their spouses, families and friends; and dropping to their knees in prayer. We come to understand how these Presidents were able to withstand the pressures of war—both physically and emotionally—or were broken by them.”
- Amazon Kindle Edition
- Beschloss, Michael R. (Author)
- English (Publication Language)
- 700 Pages - 10/09/2018 (Publication Date) - Crown (Publisher)
Trump Calls Tlaib a ‘Despicable Human Being’
President Trump attacked Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-MI) on Twitter as “a despicable human being” after she said in an interview that House Democrats have discussed jailing allies of the president who refused to comply with subpoenas.
Trump Meets With Giuliani Over Lunch
“President Trump had lunch on Saturday with Rudy Giuliani amid revelations that prosecutors were investigating Mr. Giuliani for possible lobbying violations, and speculation that his position as the president’s personal lawyer was in jeopardy,” the New York Times reports.
“The lunch, at Mr. Trump’s golf course in Sterling, Va., was among several shows of the president’s support for Mr. Giuliani on Saturday. They seemed meant to tamp down questions about Mr. Giuliani’s status with a client famous for distancing himself from advisers when they encounter legal problems of their own.”
Hundreds of ISIS Supporters Escape
Syrian Kurdish officials said clashes near Ain Eissa, a key Kurdish-held town in northern Syria, allowed 950 Islamic State supporters to escape from a camp for displaced people near a U.S.-led coalition base, the AP reports.
Edwards Will Face Rispone In Louisiana Runoff
“Republican millionaire Eddie Rispone, making his first bid for public office, edged his way into a Nov. 16 runoff with incumbent Democratic Gov. John Bel Edwards,” the New Orleans Times-Picayune reports.
“By a margin of about 50,000 votes, Rispone, of Baton Rouge, beat his Republican rival, U.S. Rep. Ralph Abraham, to face off with Edwards, who led the field Saturday night but not by enough to win outright.”
Cockpit Tapes Confirm Russia’s Role In Airstrikes
“The Russian Air Force has repeatedly bombed hospitals in Syria in order to crush the last pockets of resistance to President Bashar al-Assad,” according to an investigation by the New York Times.
“An analysis of previously unpublished Russian Air Force radio recordings, plane spotter logs and witness accounts allowed The Times to trace bombings of four hospitals in just 12 hours in May and tie Russian pilots to each one.”
“The 12-hour period beginning on May 5 represents a small slice of the air war in Syria, but it is a microcosm of Russia’s four-year military intervention in Syria’s civil war. A new front in the conflict opened this week, when Turkish forces crossed the border as part of a campaign against a Kurdish-led militia.”
Quote of the Day
“Just impeaching Trump for his bad behavior isn’t worth it. But, if he challenges our system of checks and balances as he is doing, if he undermines our democracy, our electoral system, as he is doing, if he undermines his own oath of office as he is doing, it is a challenge to our Constitution.”
— Speaker Nancy Pelosi, in an interview with the New Yorker.
Hunter Biden Quits Board of Chinese Company
“Hunter Biden is stepping down from the board of a Chinese-backed private equity company and promising to forego all foreign work if his father, former U.S. Vice President Joe Biden, is elected president in 2020,” Bloomberg reports.
“After months of keeping a relatively low-profile as President Donald Trump leveled a barrage of unsubstantiated accusations of corruption at him, the younger Biden is publicly vowing to avoid any conflict of interest.”
Tlaib Says Democrats Could Jail Those Who Don’t Testify
Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-MI) told Deadline Detroit that House Democrats have discussed jailing allies of the president who do not comply with congressional subpoenas.
Said Tlaib: “There have been actual serious conversations about what the logistics would look like… if we did have to force someone through a court order to come before the Congressional committee. This is pretty uncharted territory for many of us and even for Congress.”
Envoy Will Testify ‘No Quid Pro’ Came from Trump
“The U.S. ambassador to the European Union, Gordon Sondland, intends to tell Congress this week that the content of a text message he wrote denying a quid pro quo with Ukraine was relayed to him directly by President Trump in a phone call,” the Washington Post reports.
“Sondland plans to tell lawmakers he has no knowledge of whether the president was telling him the truth at that moment.”
Said a person familiar with Sondland’s testimony: “It’s only true that the president said it, not that it was the truth.”
“Sondland will hold out the possibility that Trump wasn’t truthful in his denial of a quid pro quo as well as an alternative scenario in which the president’s interest in the scheme soured.”