The Daily Show did a little comparison with a North Korea-Fox News “progagnda-off.”
Trump Goes After the Safety Net
“President Trump, spurred on by conservatives who want him to slash safety net programs, unveiled on Thursday a plan to overhaul the federal government that could have a profound effect on millions of poor and working-class Americans,” the New York Times reports.
“Produced over the last year by Mr. Trump’s budget director, Mick Mulvaney, it would reshuffle social welfare programs in a way that would make them easier to cut, scale back or restructure.”
“Among the most consequential ideas is a proposal to shift the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, a subsistence benefit that provides aid to 42 million poor and working Americans, from the Agriculture Department to a new mega-agency that would have ‘welfare’ in its title — a term Mr. Trump uses as a pejorative catchall for most government benefit programs.”
National Enquirer Let Cohen Approve Stories
“During the presidential campaign, National Enquirer executives sent digital copies of the tabloid’s articles and cover images related to Donald Trump and his political opponents to Trump’s attorney Michael Cohen is in advance of publication, according to three people with knowledge of the matter — an unusual practice that speaks to the close relationship between Trump and David Pecker, chief executive of American Media Inc., the Enquirer’s parent company,” the Washington Post reports.
“Although the company strongly denies ever sharing such material before publication, these three individuals say the sharing of material continued after Trump took office.”
U.S. Preparing to House 20K Migrant Children
“The United States is preparing to shelter as many as 20,000 migrant children on four American military bases, a Pentagon spokesman said on Thursday, as federal officials struggled to carry out President Trump’s order to keep immigrant families together after they are apprehended at the border,” the New York Times reports.
Did Cambridge Analytica Have the Hacked Emails?
Paul Wood, writing for The Spectator:
An American lawyer I know told me that he was approached by a Cambridge Analytica employee after the election. They had had the Clinton emails more than a month before they were published by WikiLeaks: ‘What should I do?’ Take this to Mueller, the lawyer replied.
House Narrowly Passes Farm Bill
“A deeply polarizing farm bill passed the House on party lines Thursday, a month after the legislation went down to stunning defeat after getting ensnared in the toxic politics of immigration,” the Washington Post reports.
“The legislation, which passed 213-211, includes controversial new work rules for most adult food-stamp recipients — provisions that are dead on arrival in the Senate.”
House Republicans Delay Immigration Vote
“Republicans faced growing opposition to their bill despite last-minute lobbying from President Trump,” the Washington Post reports.
“In the face of defeat, Republicans decided prior to an emergency closed-door meeting with rank and file members to postpone the vote until Friday.”
New York Times: “The compromise bill is facing trouble with conservatives, who would be taking a political risk by supporting a bill that has been derided as offering ‘amnesty’ to young undocumented immigrants. With its chances appearing dim, Speaker Paul Ryan declined to speculate on the House’s next move. Republicans in the Senate are backing narrow legislation to ensure that children are not taken from their parents at the border.”
Melania Trump Visits Detained Children
Daily Mail: “Melania Trump made quite the sartorial statement on Thursday when she donned a jacket with the words, ‘I REALLY DON’T CARE, DO U?’ written across the back while boarding a plane to visit immigrant children being held at the border in Texas.”
“The 48-year-old first lady was pictured arriving at Andrews Air Force Base in Maryland wearing the $39 khaki design from Zara, before boarding her plane to fly to Texas.”
Bevin Won’t Rule Out Challenge to McConnell
In an interview with the Lexington Herald Leader, Kentucky Gov. Matt Bevin (R) “did not rule out a bid against” Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) in 2020, “but said, ‘No, I’m worried about being governor. I’m the governor, that’s my focus.’”
Baldwin Leads In Re-Election Race
A new Marquette Law School poll in Wisconsin shows Sen. Tammy Baldwin (D-WI) ahead of GOP challengers Leah Vukmir (R), 49% to 40%, and Kevin Nicholson (R), 50% to 39%.
U.S. Will Stop Prosecuting Migrant Parents
The U.S. government will no longer file criminal charges against parents who cross the border illegally, a senior U.S. Customs official told the Washington Post.
“The dramatic about-face comes just one day after President Trump signed an executive order ending his administration’s widely denounced practice of separating families apprehended at the Mexico border.”
“Trump’s order said the government would maintain a ‘zero tolerance’ policy toward those who break the law, but a senior U.S. official, when asked to explain how the federal government would change enforcement practices, told The Washington Post that Border Patrol agents have been instructed to stop sending parents with children to federal courthouses for prosecution.”
Netanyahu’s Wife Charged with Fraud
Sara Netanyahu, the wife of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, was indicted “for alleged systematic fraud involving hundreds of thousands of shekels in connection with meal expenses incurred at the Prime Minister’s Residence,” Haaretz reports.
The Crisis Is Far from Over
Molly Ball: “In a presidency marked by serial outrages, the scandal over family separations at the southern border has been unlike any other. The President didn’t just say something offensive, he intentionally turned the machinery of the state on some of the world’s most vulnerable humans. He applied his signature approach–brutal toughness–to his trademark issue, immigration. He greeted criticism of his policy with mockery, falsehoods and blame-casting. He handcuffed the Republican Party and hamstrung understaffed federal agencies. All the themes of Trump’s character and Administration were embodied in this wrenching calamity.”
Republicans Don’t Have Votes for Immigration Bill
Politico: “House Republicans spent weeks crafting a ‘compromise’ immigration bill slated to hit the House floor Thursday — one that tracks with President Trump’s call to beef up border security and shield Dreamers from deportation.”
“But the only question going into the big vote is how badly it fails.”
The Washington Post reports that Speaker Paul Ryan (R-WI) “did not concede defeat” but repeatedly referenced the prospect of both bills failing and characterized scheduled votes as “a legitimate exercise.”
“Several Republican aides and lawmakers said Trump undermined prospects for success in the House on Thursday with a morning tweet that cast doubt on whether any Republican immigration legislation could pass the Senate.”
Court Allows Sales Taxes on Internet Merchants
The Supreme Court ruled that Internet retailers can be required to collect sales taxes in states where they have no physical presence, the New York Times reports.
“Brick-and-mortar businesses have long complained that they are disadvantaged by having to charge sales taxes while many of their online competitors do not. States have said that they are missing out on tens of billions of dollars in annual revenue under a 1992 Supreme Court ruling that helped spur the rise of internet shopping.”
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McAuliffe Hits the Road
“Terry McAuliffe is spending 2018 on a cross-country tour promoting the next generation of Democratic governors — and hyping himself a little along the way,” Politico reports.
“The former Virginia governor has already held fundraisers for candidates in swing states like Michigan and Ohio. He’s in talks about trips to Iowa, South Carolina and Nevada — key early states in the presidential nominating process — and helping out Georgia Democrat Stacey Abrams, who hopes to be the first Democrat to win that state’s governor’s race in two decades.”
“McAuliffe insists the activity has nothing to do with a potential run for president in 2020, saying that the midterms are his priority and that fellow Democrats have paid too little attention to state politics for too long. Republicans currently hold 33 governorships and 32 state legislatures, relegating Democrats to observer status in many states over the last decade, with huge implications on a range of policies and potentially the next round of redistricting, a favorite subject of McAuliffe’s.”
House Will Vote on Immigration Bills Today
Playbook: “This package of bills could easily go down. Meadows and his group control the House of Representatives on most days, and no matter what the leadership or Trump do, that’s the reality. If these bills fail, GOP leadership will take solace in the fact that they killed the bipartisan effort to vote on the Dream Act — a bad vote for many Republicans, they say — and gave the vulnerable members an immigration vote they needed.”
“President Trump’s ability to sway lawmakers is up for a test on the House floor today. For reasons unclear to many in the White House and some in leadership, Trump got involved in the House’s immigration process.”
“But sure… It would be embarrassing if the president is unable to corral his party around an immigration bill.”