FOREIGN POLICY/NORTH KOREA/RUSSIA/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “President Vladimir Putin warned on Friday [9-1-17] that the standoff between North Korea and the United States was close to spilling into a large-scale conflict and said it was a mistake to try to pressure Pyongyang into halting its nuclear missile program. Putin, due to attend a summit of the […]
9/1/2017
GOP/HEALTHCARE/OBAMACARE(ACA)/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “A number of Senate Republicans are gathering behind a bipartisan push to shore up the Affordable Care Act, reflecting a growing divide between President Donald Trump and many GOP senators. Republicans brushed off a call by Mr. Trump to continue working on a repeal of the 2010 health-care law after their bill […]
9/1/2017
DREAMERS/HOUSE OF REPS/IMMIGRATION/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “Attention will immediately shift to Congress if President Donald Trump ends the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, which provides protections and work permits for young people brought to the U.S. illegally as children. The prime question is whether Republicans will be willing to give them similar protections via legislation. […]
9/1/2017
CRISIS/TEXAS: “Texas is healing fast thanks to all of the great men & women who have been working so hard. But still so much to do. Will be back tomorrow!” -Donald Trump, Twitter.com, September 1, 2017 07:58am […]
9/1/2017
JOHN KELLY/TRUMP PEOPLE: “General John Kelly is doing a great job as Chief of Staff. I could not be happier or more impressed – and this Administration continues to… get things done at a record clip. Many big decisions to be made over the coming days and weeks. AMERICA FIRST!” -Donald Trump, Twitter.com, September 1, […]
9/1/2017
HILLARY CLINTON/JAMES COMEY: “Wow, looks like James Comey exonerated Hillary Clinton long before the investigation was over…and so much more. A rigged system!” -Donald Trump, Twitter.com, September 1, 2017 06:56am […]
9/1/2017
CRISIS/TEXAS: “Texas is heeling fast thanks to all of the great men & women who have been working so hard. But still, so much to do. Will be back tomorrow!” -Donald Trump, Twitter.com, September 1, 2017 06:50am […]
9/1/2017
ECONOMY: “Stock Market up 5 months in a row!” -Donald Trump, Twitter.com, September 1, 2017 06:47pm […]
9/1/2017
BUDGET/CRISIS/TEXAS/TREASURY: “Widespread support on Capitol Hill for Hurricane Harvey relief aid could help ease passage of high-stakes fiscal legislation that Congress must approve in September, lawmakers and analysts say. As Texas and Louisiana began to regroup after the storm’s record rainfalls, both Democrats and Republicans said they hoped to pass emergency relief funding quickly when […]
9/1/2017
MEXICO/NAFTA/TRADE DEALS/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “The second round of talks to renegotiate the North American Free Trade Agreement begins here Friday [9-1-17] under a dark cloud after both the U.S. and Mexico raised the stakes dramatically in recent days. U.S. President Donald Trump has jolted the tone of the meetings with renewed calls to pull out […]
9/1/2017
DHS: “Federal authorities have been warning state and local officials since early 2016 that leftist extremists known as ‘antifa’ had become increasingly confrontational and dangerous, so much so that the Department of Homeland Security formally classified their activities as ‘domestic terrorist violence,’ according to interviews and confidential law enforcement documents obtained by POLITICO. Since well […]
9/1/2017
BUSINESS/DREAMERS/IMMIGRATION/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “Top executives at a range of companies, business groups and academic institutions banded together to voice support for an Obama-era program protecting young, illegal immigrants amid concerns that President Donald Trump could end the policy. In an open letter, more than 350 executives and other organization leaders urged Mr. Trump and congressional […]
8/31/2017
DEFENSE/DHS/LGBTQ/MILITARY/TRUMP MEMORANDA: “Text of a Letter from the President to the Speaker of the House of Representatives and the President of the Senate Dear Mr. Speaker: (Dear Mr. President:) I am transmitting an alternative plan for monthly basic pay increases for members of the uniformed services for 2018. I strongly support our men and women […]
8/31/2017
JOBS/TRUMP MEMORANDA: “Text of a Letter from the President to the Speaker of the House of Representatives and the President of the Senate Dear Mr. Speaker: (Dear Mr. President:) I am transmitting an alternative plan for pay increases for civilian Federal employees covered by the General Schedule and certain other pay systems in January 2018. […]
8/31/2017
BUDGET/CRISIS/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “In swamping large swaths of Texas and Louisiana, Hurricane Harvey also forged a new reality for President Trump and the Republicans governing Washington. Gone are the confrontational talk of a government shutdown and the brinkmanship over the debt limit. Instead, both Mr. Trump and his putative allies in Congress — many of […]
8/31/2017
IRAN/NIKKI HALEY/NUCLEAR/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT/UN: “The world’s nuclear inspectors complicated President Trump’s effort to find Iran in violation of the two-year-old nuclear accord with the United States and five other world powers, declaring on Thursday [8-31-17] that the latest inspections found no evidence that the country is breaching the agreement. Mr. Trump has made no secret […]
8/31/2017
FOREIGN POLICY/MILITARY/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “The United States and South Korea wrapped up their annual joint military exercises on Thursday [8-31-17] by flying some of their most powerful warplanes in bombing drills in a show of force two days after North Korea fired a ballistic missile over Japan. Two B-1B supersonic bombers and four F-35 stealth […]
8/31/2017
CRISIS/EPA/OBAMA/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “Explosions and fires at a Houston-area chemical plant triggered an evacuation Thursday [8-31-17] in a region still in chaos from Hurricane Harvey — and generated new criticism of President Donald Trump’s efforts to repeal the industry’s safety rules. Thursday morning’s blasts at the plant came just a day after a federal court […]
8/31/2017
BUDGET/HEALTHCARE/HHS/OBAMACARE(ACA)/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “President Donald Trump’s administration is cutting nearly $116 million from outreach programs aimed at signing people up for the Affordable Care Act, a move that has cheered the health law’s opponents but inflamed Democrats who fear the administration is undermining it. The Department of Health and Human Services plans to spend $10 […]
8/31/2017
NOMINATIONS/SEC/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “U.S. President Donald Trump is expected to nominate Columbia University law professor Robert Jackson to be a member of the Securities and Exchange Commission, a person with knowledge of the matter said on Thursday. Jackson is expected to be formally nominated on Friday, the source said. He would fill a vacant spot […]
8/31/2017
BORDER/DHS/MEXICO/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT/WALL: “The Department of Homeland Security announced Thursday [8-31-17] which vendors have been selected to build some protoypes for President Donald Trump’s promised US-Mexico border wall, a step forward for the project after months of delays. The announcement came after the Government Accountability Office on Friday dismissed a protest filed on the contract […]
8/31/2017
CRISIS/TEXAS/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “THANK YOU to all of the incredible HEROES in Texas. America is with you! #TexasStrong https://t.co/8N4ABo9Ihp” -Donald Trump, Twitter.com, August 31, 2017 03:06pm […]
8/31/2017
FOREIGN POLICY/RUSSIA/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “The US announced Thursday [8-31-17] it will shutter the Russian consulate in San Francisco, as well as annexes in Washington and New York, in response to mandated staff cuts at the US mission in Russia. The move comes one day before Moscow’s deadline for US personnel to leave their positions and […]
8/31/2017
ENERGY/RUSSIA/VENEZUELA: “The Trump administration is ready to block a Russian state-owned oil giant from gaining control of critical U.S. energy assets owned by Moscow’s ally in Venezuela, senior American officials say, a move that could feed tensions between the old Cold-War foes. Petróleos de Venezuela SA offered Russia’s PAO Rosneft nearly half of its Citgo […]
8/31/2017
CRISIS/TEXAS: “Containers of unstable chemicals stored at a Texas plant near Houston heated up and caught fire early Thursday [8-31-17] morning, hours after the facility’s owner urged residents and others to stay away. Arkema SA, an industrial chemicals manufacturer, had warned earlier in the week that heavy flooding and the loss of power in the […]
8/31/2017
HOUSE OF REPS: “The U.S. House of Representatives will vote Wednesday [8-30-17] on a sweeping proposal to speed the deployment of self-driving cars without human controls and bar states from blocking autonomous vehicles, congressional aides said. The bill, which was passed unanimously by a House panel in July, would allow automakers to obtain exemptions to […]
8/31/2017
DEMS/EPA/SCOTT PRUITT: “Democratic state officials blasted the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency on Thursday [8-31-17] for telling governors in what they describe as a ‘legally incorrect’ letter in March that they do not need to comply with a major climate change regulation. Fourteen Democratic attorneys general and officials from six cities and counties said the guidance […]
8/31/2017
BANKRUPTCY/TRUMP BUSINESS: “Donald Trump brags about how well his businesses have fared in bankruptcy. And in fact, no major U.S. company has filed for Chapter 11 more than Trump’s casino empire in the last 30 years. ‘I have used the laws of this country … the [bankruptcy] chapter laws, to do a great job for […]
8/31/2017
FOREIGN POLICY/MILITARY/NORTH KOREA: “The U.S. sent four of its most advanced fighter jets and a pair of B-1B bombers over the Korean Peninsula, alongside Japanese and South Korean jets, as a show of force in direct response to North Korea firing a missile over Japan. The Air Force flyover Thursday [8-31-17], which included a bombing […]
8/30/2017
FOREIGN POLICY/NORTH KOREA/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “In a post on Twitter on Wednesday [8-30-17], President Trump accused past administrations of paying ‘extortion money’ to North Korea and said diplomatic talks are not sufficient… It was not clear what money the president was referring to. Mr. Trump has been both open to and against talks with North […]
8/30/2017
TAXES/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “After months of vague promises of a sweeping tax overhaul, President Trump is expected on Wednesday [8-30-17] to begin a public push to enact the ambitious plan, which still lacks many crucial details. In a speech in Springfield, Mo., Mr. Trump plans to lay out the case for cutting taxes for businesses […]
8/30/2017
CRISIS/MIKE PENCE: “Vice President Mike Pence is getting a chance to survey Harvey’s wreckage. Pence is traveling to the tiny coastal town of Rockport, Texas, on Thursday to see the devastation caused by the hurricane-turned-tropical depression that set a rainfall record and severely flooded the Houston area. Harvey’s five straight days of rain totaled close […]
8/30/2017
AFGHANISTAN/MILITARY/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “The United States has about 11,000 troops in Afghanistan, the Pentagon said on Wednesday [8-30-17], acknowledging for the first time publicly that the total forces there are higher than formally disclosed in recent years. Previously, Defense Department officials had said 8,400 troops were in Afghanistan as part of NATO’s Resolute Support mission. […]
8/30/2017
FOREIGN POLICY/NORTH KOREA/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “President Trump vowed on Wednesday [8-30-17] that he would not talk to Kim Jong-un, cooling off what has become his on-again, off-again cultivation of North Korea’s rogue dictator. But if Mr. Trump’s tweet, in which he said, ‘talking is not the answer!,’ seemed to reignite tensions with North Korea, it […]
8/30/2017
CRISIS/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “First responders have been doing heroic work. Their courage & devotion has saved countless lives – they represent the very best of America! https://t.co/I0gvCQLTKO” -Donald Trump, Twitter.com, August 30, 2017 08:00pm […]
8/30/2017
MEXICO/NAFTA/TRADE DEALS: “Mexico’s leftist presidential hopeful, Andrés Manuel López Obrador, said the renegotiation of the North American Free Trade Agreement should be suspended until the country’s election next year, and he warned he would renegotiate any deal that harms Mexico’s interests if he wins the vote… His remarks came as government officials from Mexico, the […]
8/30/2017
JAMES MATTIS/LGBTQ/MILITARY: “Defense Secretary Jim Mattis plans to convene a panel of experts to help implement a ban on transgender service in the military, but there are still too few top defense officials to adequately conduct the review, a top Pentagon spokeswoman said Wednesday [8-30-17]. Like other federal agencies, the Defense Department has dozens of […]
8/30/2017
HEALTHCARE/OBAMACARE(ACA)/POLITICAL FIGURES/POLITICS: “On a swing through western Iowa this week, U.S. Sen. Chuck Grassley told constituents he is committed to working in a bipartisan way when Congress returns next month to provide storm relief, stabilize the health-care system and fund the government without drama. It is a message that has resonated with many voters as […]
8/30/2017
LEGAL/PAUL MANAFORT/RUSSIA: “Paul Manafort’s political-consulting firm was active for more than a decade doing work that often dovetailed with Russian political interests not only in Ukraine, but also in Georgia and Montenegro, other countries the Kremlin considered to be in its sphere of influence. A Wall Street Journal examination shows these efforts were broader in […]
8/30/2017
CRISIS/POLITICS/TEXAS: “As Texas continues to attempt managing the destruction from Hurricane Harvey, Congress is due to consider an appropriations package that, as is, would rescind nearly $876 million from the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s Disaster Relief Fund. But with the proposal written prior to Hurricane Harvey, lawmakers are now expected to pivot funding directives to […]
8/30/2017
HEALTHCARE/OBAMACARE(ACA): “Leaders of a dozen state-run health insurance exchanges threw their support Wednesday [8-30-17] behind congressional efforts to bolster the individual insurance markets while giving states more leeway over implementing the Affordable Care Act. The state health leaders warned that premiums would continue to climb, and state budgets would suffer, if the federal government didn’t […]
8/30/2017
ETHICS/INTERIOR/RYAN ZINKE: “The Interior Department’s inspector general said it dropped a probe into a reported threat by the agency’s head, Ryan Zinke, to Republican Senator Lisa Murkowski of Alaska to harm her state over her opposition to her party’s efforts to repeal Obamacare. In a letter on Tuesday to two congressmen who called for the […]
8/30/2017
CRISIS/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “Texas & Louisiana: We are w/ you today, we are w/ you tomorrow, & we will be w/ you EVERY SINGLE DAY AFTER, to restore, recover, & REBUILD! https://t.co/YQb82K2VSB” -Donald Trump, Twitter.com, August 30, 2017 02:38pm […]
8/30/2017
LEGAL/VOTER FRAUD/VOTING: “A lawyer representing President Donald Trump’s election fraud commission apologized to a federal judge Wednesday [8-30-17] over the panel’s failure to abide by a promise to disclose all relevant records ahead of the group’s first meeting last month. Justice Department attorney Elizabeth Shapiro said the highly scrutinized panel and its staff did not […]
8/30/2017
IMMIGRATION/LEGAL/SANCTUARY CITIES/TEXAS: “A federal judge in Texas has temporarily blocked most of a sweeping state immigration law designed to crack down on so-called sanctuary cities, less than two days before the measure was to go into effect. U.S. District Judge Orlando Garcia in San Antonio said in a 94-page ruling issued Wednesday [8-30-17] evening that […]
8/30/2017
ENERGY/FBI/POLITICS: “A Democratic U.S. senator on Wednesday urged the FBI to investigate whether billionaire investor Carl Icahn broke the law when he called for biofuels policies that would have benefited his investments while serving as an adviser to President Donald Trump. Senator Tammy Duckworth said Icahn’s guidance to Trump on the federal biofuel program may […]
8/30/2017
MILITARY/TERRORISM/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “The U.S. military on Wednesday [8-30-17] carried out an airstrike to stop hundreds of Islamic State militants evacuated from the Lebanese-Syrian border from relocating to an extremist stronghold in Syria near the border with Iraq. The airstrike came shortly after the U.S. criticized a deal brokered by the Lebanese militia Hezbollah that […]
8/30/2017
NATO/RUSSIA: “The North Atlantic Treaty Organization announced Wednesday [8-30-17] it would send three observers to Russia’s Zapad military exercise but said the invitation fell short of Moscow’s international obligations. The statement from NATO came as the U.S. took over the Baltic air-policing mission in Lithuania. The U.S. began flying seven F-15C jet fighters from the […]
8/30/2017
TAXES/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “Will be leaving for Missouri soon for a speech on tax cuts and tax reform – so badly needed!” -Donald Trump, Twitter.com, August 30, 2017 08:42am […]
8/30/2017
FAKE NEWS/MEDIA: “After reading the false reporting and even ferocious anger in some dying magazines, it makes me wonder, WHY? All I want to do is #MAGA!” -Donald Trump, Twitter.com, August 30, 2017 08:27am […]
8/30/2017
CRISIS/TEXAS/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “After witnessing first hand the horror & devastation caused by Hurricane Harvey,my heart goes out even more so to the great people of Texas!” -Donald Trump, Twitter.com, August 30, 2017 08:12am […]
8/30/2017
FOREIGN POLICY/NORTH KOREA/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “The U.S. has been talking to North Korea, and paying them extortion money, for 25 years. Talking is not the answer!” -Donald Trump, Twitter.com, August 30, 2017 07:47am […]
8/30/2017
TAXES/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “President Donald Trump heads to Missouri on Wednesday [8-30-17] to argue that a tax plan that significantly cuts business taxes would benefit middle-class workers, White House officials said. The speech in Springfield, which isn’t expected to offer new policy details, begins a new phase of the president’s direct engagement in the tax […]
8/30/2017
CAMPAIGN/RUSSIA/TRUMP BUSINESS: “Russian President Vladimir Putin’s spokesman confirmed on Wednesday [8-30-17] he had received an email in January last year from an adviser to Donald Trump about a Moscow real estate project, but said he had neither replied nor discussed it with Putin. The Washington Post reported this week that Michael Cohen, one of Trump’s […]
8/30/2017
NOMINATIONS/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT/TRUMP PEOPLE: “When President Donald Trump asked Hope Hicks to step into the role of communications director, his longtime aide hesitated before taking on a management position overseeing more than 40 staffers who work in White House media relations… After a summer of distracting staff churn, the communications director job is just one […]
8/30/2017
NAFTA/TRADE DEALS/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “As the United States, Canada and Mexico head for a second round of talks this weekend to renegotiate the North American Free Trade Agreement, President Trump is ramping up his bluster about simply terminating the pact instead. But many former trade negotiators and experts agree that the president’s threat to cancel […]
8/29/2017
BEN CARSON/HUD: “The Trump administration is planning to raise premiums and place tighter loan limits on some borrowers in a controversial mortgage program that helps seniors supplement their incomes. The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development on Tuesday [8-29-17] plans to announce the changes in a letter to lenders to the so-called reverse mortgage […]
8/29/2017
NATIONAL SECURITY/NORTH KOREA/UN: “The United Nations Security Council adopted a statement Tuesday [8-29-17] condemning North Korea ‘for its outrageous actions and threats against another U.N. member state’ in the aftermath of the country’s latest missile launch, which passed over Japan. The ‘presidential statement,’ which counts as the Council’s fastest form of reaction to unfolding events, […]
8/29/2017
JAMES MATTIS/LGBTQ/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “Defense Secretary Jim Mattis kicked President Trump’s proposed ban on transgender people serving in the military down the road, announcing that transgender service members will continue to be allowed to serve pending the results of a study. In a statement on Tuesday [8-29-17] evening, Mr. Mattis said that he was establishing […]
8/29/2017
JOBS/OBAMA/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “The White House on Tuesday [8-29-17] said it will halt a planned Obama-era rule that would have required businesses to begin collecting data about how much they pay workers of different genders, races and ethnic groups, saying it posed a burden to employers. The data-collection requirement was proposed by the Obama administration […]
8/29/2017
LEGAL/PAUL MANAFORT/ROBERT MUELLER: “Special Counsel Robert Mueller has subpoenaed the spokesman for former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort, demanding records related to his work for Mr. Manafort and seeking his testimony before a federal grand jury, according to a person familiar with the matter. Jason Maloni was served Monday [8-28-17] night with a subpoena seeking […]
8/29/2017
CRISIS/ENERGY/EPA/TEXAS: “Hobbled oil refineries and damaged fuel facilities along the Gulf Coast of Texas from Tropical storm Harvey have released more than two million pounds of dangerous chemicals into the air this week, adding new health threats to Houston’s already considerable woes. The big spike in releases, which include carcinogenic benzene and nitrogen oxide, will […]
8/29/2017
DHS/RACISM: “The Department of Homeland Security issued a confidential warning to law enforcement authorities three days before the deadly Aug. 12 Charlottesville protest rally, saying that an escalating series of clashes had created a powder keg that would likely make the event ‘among the most violent to date’ between white supremacists and anarchists… The Aug. […]
8/29/2017
LEGAL/RACISM: “New York City launched an investigation on Tuesday [8-29-17] into allegations of tenant harassment at a Queens property that has Nazi names and Confederate imagery in the building lobby. The probe is aimed at whether the rights of tenants were violated and if tenants were harassed by an alleged hostile environment at the 48-unit […]
8/29/2017
LEGAL/RUSSIA/TRUMP FAMILY/DONALD JR: “The Senate Judiciary Committee has reached an agreement and set a date for Donald Trump Jr. to testify behind closed doors to the panel, the committee confirmed on Tuesday [8-29-17]. The committee would not divulge the exact date, but another source familiar with the matter said the testimony would likely occur in […]
8/29/2017
ENERGY/NOMINATIONS/TRUMP PEOPLE: “President Donald Trump’s appointee to a Department of Energy post says inflammatory comments that appeared to have been made by him online were the result of ‘cyber attacks and Internet crimes’ committed against him over the past several years by ‘imposters in social media.’ William C. Bradford, Trump’s appointee to head the Energy […]
8/29/2017
CRISIS/TEXAS/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “President Donald Trump arrived in Texas on Tuesday [8-29-17] morning to survey the devastation from tropical storm Harvey, with scheduled stops in Corpus Christi and Austin. In Corpus Christi, a Gulf Coast city about 200 miles southwest of Houston, the president is scheduled to receive a briefing on relief efforts from local […]
8/29/2017
CONSUMER PROTECTIONS: “A top House Republican escalated pressure on Consumer Financial Protection Bureau Director Richard Cordray, accusing him of letting ‘personal political ambitions’ influencing its rule-making on high-interest lending. In a letter sent Monday [8-28-17] to Mr. Cordray, House Financial Services Committee Chairman Jeb Hensarling (R., Texas), said he was concerned about the process the […]
8/29/2017
FINLAND/TRADE DEALS/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “President Sauli Niinisto on Tuesday [8-29-17] denied that Finland was buying new fighter jets from American planemaker Boeing, following remarks by U.S. President Donald Trump. Finland is looking to replace its ageing fleet of 62 F/A-18 Hornet jets with multirole fighter aircraft in a procurement estimated at 7-10 billion euros by […]
8/29/2017
CRISIS/PIPELINES/TEXAS: “Flooding in Texas has disrupted the flow of fuel on a major pipeline that moves gasoline, diesel and jet fuel to the East Coast. The Colonial Pipeline said its system, which runs from Texas to New Jersey, is starting to have problems stemming from Hurricane Harvey. The notice from the company adds to concern […]
8/29/2017
JAPAN/NATIONAL SECURITY/NORTH KOREA/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “North Korea launched a ballistic missile over Japan Tuesday [8-29-17], the latest in a string of direct provocations that have destabilized the region and triggered global alarm. The missile—the first Pyongyang has fired over Japan’s main islands since 2009—prompted a fiery response from Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe… Mr. Abe […]
8/29/2017
NOMINATIONS/STATE/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “.@foxandfriends We are not looking to fill all of those positions. Don’t need many of them – reduce size of government. @IngrahamAngle” -Donald Trump, Twitter.com, August 29, 2017 07:26am […]
8/29/2017
CRISIS/TEXAS: “Leaving now for Texas!” -Donald Trump, Twitter.com, August 29, 2017 07:10am […]
8/29/2017
LABOR/MEXICO/NAFTA: “Emma Palacios started working in factories in this city on the Texas border in 1994, the year the North American Free Trade Agreement came into effect. Ever since, she says, it has been easy to find work at the scores of U.S.-owned factories that opened here. What’s proved harder to find is decent pay. […]
8/28/2017
POLITICS/STEVE BANNON/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “Just-departed White House chief strategist Steve Bannon is breaking from President Donald Trump in the closely watched Alabama Senate special election. During a closed-door meeting with powerful conservatives in Washington last week, Bannon declared that he’s supporting former state Supreme Court Justice Roy Moore over Trump-endorsed incumbent Sen. Luther Strange, according […]
8/28/2017
SUPREME COURT/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “The Trump administration may be headed for trouble in the Supreme Court. It has twice switched sides in important Supreme Court cases, on workers’ rights and voting rolls, abandoning the positions of the previous administration for ones favored by conservatives. Such legal U-turns can try the justices’ patience. In the Obama […]
8/28/2017
CRISIS/FEMA/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “The Federal Emergency Management Agency is calling on Americans to help with the response to Hurricane Harvey through financial donations or by assisting with search and rescue efforts, as the rainfall continues over the next few days. The federal government was focused on rescue operations on Monday morning and expected about 30,000 […]
8/28/2017
CRISIS/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “The brutal storm pummeling the Houston area is putting the brakes, at least for a time, on the area’s recent economic upswing. And the impact is quite likely to be especially deep given the crucial role the region plays in the nation’s energy, chemical and shipping industries. Despite wobbly oil prices, local […]
8/28/2017
CRISIS/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “Water poured into hospitals. Ambulances were caught up in roiling floodwaters. Medical transport helicopters were grounded by high winds. Houston’s world-renowned health care infrastructure found itself battered by Hurricane Harvey, struggling to treat storm victims while becoming a victim itself. The coming days will inevitably bring more hazards for storm-damaged hospitals and […]
8/28/2017
CRISIS/HEALTHCARE: “Doctors waded miles through Houston’s flooded roads to reach their clinics. Other medical staff camped out at their hospitals for days, catching some sleep on cots between shifts. One medical facility was forced to evacuate patients by boat. The health-care system in the nation’s fourth-largest city strained to deliver care as floodwaters thwarted cancer […]
8/28/2017
NAFTA/TRADE DEALS: “The Trump administration said Monday [8-28-17] it would delay for two months the imposition of penalties on imports of Canadian lumber, citing continuing bilateral negotiations over the nettlesome trade dispute… Mr. Ross said that penalties which had been scheduled to take effect Sept. 7 would now be delayed until Nov. 14. The U.S. […]
8/28/2017
GARY COHN/STEVE MNUCHIN/TAXES/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT/TRUMP PEOPLE: “Gary D. Cohn and Steven Mnuchin have spent months behind closed doors with Republican congressional leaders sketching the contours of an elaborate and politically difficult tax overhaul that is President Trump’s top priority. Mr. Trump hopes to jump-start the process on Wednesday [8-30-17], traveling to Springfield, Mo., for a […]
8/28/2017
IMMIGRATION/LEGAL/TRAVEL BAN/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “In the latest arguments over President Trump’s travel ban, a three-judge panel of a federal appeals court in Seattle indicated on Monday [8-29-17] that it would continue allowing grandparents and other relatives of United States residents to travel here from six predominantly Muslim countries. But the judges were less forthcoming about […]
8/28/2017
LEGAL/LGBTQ/MILITARY/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “Civil-liberties groups on Monday [8-28-17] filed two lawsuits challenging President Donald Trump’s ban on transgender service members serving in the military, arguing that the prohibitions are unconstitutional. The suits state the ban violates rights to due process of service members and those who want to join the military. One of the two […]
8/28/2017
REX TILLERSON/STATE: “Secretary of State Rex Tillerson sent a letter to Congress on Monday [8-28-17] outlining plans to eliminate many of about 70 special U.S. envoys and special representatives at the State Department. Mr. Tillerson is eyeing several posts that were given prominent roles during the Obama administration, including the special envoy for climate change, […]
8/28/2017
CRIME/LEGAL/RACISM/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “President Trump offered a fiery defense on Monday [8-29-17] of his decision to pardon Joe Arpaio, the former Arizona sheriff, as Hurricane Harvey made landfall in Texas last week — and claimed he timed it to attract maximum attention as television viewers were glued to storm coverage. Mr. Trump, who said his […]
8/28/2017
FDA: “The Food and Drug Administration is stepping up oversight of fledgling medical treatments that aim to harness the potential of stem cells—as well as some businesses that the agency said were selling unapproved and possibly harmful treatments. The FDA announced it was crafting rules to govern the development of treatments based on the cells. […]
8/28/2017
CRISIS/FEMA/NATIONAL DEBT: “Tropical Storm Harvey leaves Congress with a pair of unexpected financial challenges: further shoring up a heavily indebted federal flood insurance program and providing emergency funding for uncovered damage. Lawmakers will be under pressure when they return to Washington next week to extend the National Flood Insurance Program after the flooding disaster crippled […]
8/28/2017
CRISIS/NATIONAL DEBT: “Tropical Storm Harvey will take a financial toll on the nation’s economy, but how much of one depends on the extent of flooding in the coming days. Even after the immediate threat from Harvey has passed and the floodwaters receded, the Texas Gulf Coast faces tens of billions of dollars in property damage, […]
8/28/2017
CRISIS/GOP/POLITICS/TEXAS: “Texas Republicans in Congress once stood nearly united against a bill to send billions of dollars in aid to Northeastern states recovering from Hurricane Sandy. Sen. Ted Cruz even ripped the legislation as ‘a Christmas tree’ with billions of dollars in extraneous goodies. New York and New Jersey Republicans haven’t forgotten the slight. And […]
8/28/2017
DRUGS: “The number of drug-related overdose deaths in Connecticut is forecast to exceed 1,000 in 2017, the highest number since the opioid epidemic began and the latest indication that the crisis hasn’t abated, according to data released Monday [8-28-17]. There were 539 deaths related to drug-abuse through June 30, the state’s medical examiner said. If […]
8/28/2017
CRISIS/NATIONAL DEBT/TEXAS: “U.S. lawmakers are expected to pass a large aid package for victims of Hurricane Harvey, but specifics of the plan and its price tag are unclear as Congress awaits a funding request from the Trump administration. Rain continued to pound Houston and the Gulf Coast on Monday [8-28-17] as President Donald Trump said […]
8/28/2017
EPA/ETHICS/SCOTT PRUITT: “The frequent travels of the head of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Scott Pruitt, to Oklahoma will be investigated following congressional requests, the agency’s Office of Inspector General said on Monday [8-28-17]. Pruitt’s many travels to his home state have fueled speculation that he intends to run for the U.S. Senate from Oklahoma… […]
8/28/2017
CRISIS/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “Tropical Storm Harvey was poised to re-enter the Gulf of Mexico Monday [8-28-17] and make another landfall closer to Houston roughly two days later, prolonging the slow-motion flooding disaster that already has crippled one of the nation’s largest metropolitan areas. The storm isn’t expected to regain hurricane strength as its eye moves […]
8/28/2017
CRISIS/MIKE PENCE/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “President Donald Trump is ‘anxious’ to visit hurricane-ravaged Texas this week and convey to Texans that ‘we are with you,’ Vice President Mike Pence said Monday [8-28-17]. The White House announced Sunday that Trump will visit the state on Tuesday, and Pence said Monday that details of the trip will be […]
8/28/2017
LEGAL/RUSSIA/TRUMP PEOPLE: “Michael Cohen, an attorney for the Trump Organization, discussed a prospective real-estate deal in Moscow with Donald Trump on three occasions during the presidential campaign, Mr. Cohen said in an interview with The Wall Street Journal. In 2015, Mr. Cohen said, he informed the then-candidate that he was working on a licensing deal […]
8/28/2017
BORDER/MEXICO/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT/WALL: “Spurred by President Donald Trump’s emphatic reiteration that it will eventually pay for a wall along the U.S.-Mexico border, the Mexican government said in a statement Sunday that it will not fund such a project ‘under any circumstances.’ ‘As the Mexican government has always stated, our country will not pay, under any […]
8/28/2017
OBAMA/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT/VA/VETS: “VA Secretary David Shulkin has proved to be something unique in President Donald Trump’s Washington: an Obama appointee nominated by Trump who is beloved by almost everyone and getting stuff done. By tweaking regulations, he has managed to fire hundreds of allegedly incompetent employees, publicized waiting times at Veterans Affairs clinics, gotten […]
8/28/2017
TRUMP EXECUTIVE ORDERS: “By the authority vested in me as President by the Constitution and the laws of the United States of America, it is hereby ordered as follows: Section 1. Revocation of Executive Order 13688. Executive Order 13688 of January 16, 2015 (Federal Support for Local Law Enforcement Equipment Acquisition), is hereby revoked. Sec. […]
8/27/2017
BUSINESS/TRUMP FAMILY/IVANKA: “His vendors call him a ‘career grifter.’ His father’s creditors claim he’s a fraud and a serial extortionist who shakes people down with trumped-up threats of criminal charges. With these and other allegations piling up in court records along with judgments—against him, his wife and his businesses—for millions of dollars, his lawyers are […]