Democrats

Marijuana Moment reports: Joe Biden reaffirmed that he’s opposed to legalizing marijuana without further studying its potential health risks. In an interview with The New York Times editorial board that was published on Friday, the 2020 Democratic presidential candidate was asked to explain his “more moderate approach” to cannabis policy when nearly all of his primary opponents, as well as …

Axios reports: President Trump told his health secretary yesterday that he regrets getting involved in the administration’s policy on vaping, according to two sources familiar with the conversation. “I should never have done that f***ing vaping thing,” Trump said during an impromptu call on speakerphone in an Oval Office meeting. The administration’s ban on flavored vapes is one of its …

Mediaite reports: Former South Bend Mayor and current Democratic presidential candidate Pete Buttigieg was disrupted by protesters in New Hampshire, but handled the situation by affably telling the group “I can’t make out your song!” During a campaign event in Concord, New Hampshire Friday, Mayor Pete was interrupted by 37 climate change protesters who sang and held signs claiming that …

ABC News reports: The Democratic National Committee announced the qualifying rules for the Democratic debate on Feb. 7, the first matchup after voting begins, which will be hosted by ABC News, ABC’s New Hampshire affiliate WMUR-TV and Apple News. The slightly modified criteria for the debate, which is sandwiched evenly between the Iowa caucuses on Feb. 3 and the New …

Just in from Emerson Polling: A new 7 News/Emerson College Poll of New Hampshire Democratic primary voters finds Sen. Bernie Sanders maintaining his lead with 23% of the vote, followed by former Mayor Pete Buttigieg at 18%, former V.P. Joe Biden and Sen. Elizabeth Warren at 14% each and Minnesota Sen. Amy Klobuchar at 10%. Entrepreneur Andrew Yang is at …

“I think the most important message is we are in a real struggle with a form of politics that is incredibly negative, exclusive, mean-spirited, and its going to be up to every voter, not only people who vote in Democratic primaries to recognize that this is no ordinary time. “This is an election that will have such profound impact so …

Axios reports: A 1996 law that protects online platforms from liability for material their users post should be “revoked, immediately for Zuckerberg and other platforms,” Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden said in a New York Times editorial board interview. Why it matters: Inside the industry, Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act is seen as a cornerstone of the internet’s …

The Associated Press reports: Rep. Mark Pocan, who didn’t back anyone in Wisconsin’s Democratic presidential primary in 2016, announced Thursday that this year he is endorsing Bernie Sanders, giving the Vermont senator a boost in the battleground state three months before its primary. Sanders and Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren have been battling to win over the liberal wing of the …

Politico reports: Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) raised more than $87 million for Democratic candidates in 2019, her office announced Thursday morning. The record figure represents a $37.6 million increase from the $49.5 million she raised in 2017, it noted, adding that the fundraising haul included $75 million raised directly for the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee. Pelosi’s office said she held …

The Associated Press reports: New rules that will be implemented for the Feb. 3 contest could give presidential candidates an unprecedented opportunity to spin the results. In previous years, the Iowa Democratic Party reported just one number: the number of state delegates won by each candidate. For the first time, the party will this year report two other numbers — …

Talking Points Memo reports: It’s a legal term — a noun — describing the final version of a document. The verb from which it comes, traditionally and in this legal sense, is to engross, meaning “to prepare the usually final handwritten or printed text of (an official document).” More immediately, the term engrossment is being used in connection with the …

Politico reports: Make the Road Action, an immigrant rights group, is endorsing Bernie Sanders for president, lending the Vermont senator significant political muscle in the early caucus state of Nevada and a delegate-heavy group of northeastern states. The 10-year-old organization, which mobilizes immigrants and minority communities for political action in Connecticut, Nevada, New Jersey, New York and Pennsylvania, has not …

CyberScoop reports: The Chief Information Security Officer for Democratic presidential candidate Pete Buttigieg’s campaign, Mick Baccio, has resigned. Baccio, who has been with the Buttigieg campaign since last August, told CyberScoop he left because he no longer agreed with the way senior leadership in the campaign was envisioning campaign cybersecurity. “[I left due to] fundamental philosophical differences with the campaign …

NBC News reports: House Speaker Nancy Pelosi on Wednesday announced the name of 7 House Democrats who will act as impeachment trial “managers,” and make the case against President Donald Trump in the Senate. The managers are: Reps. Adam Schiff of California, Jerry Nadler of New York, Hakeem Jeffries of New York, Jason Crow of Colorado, Zoe Lofgren of California, …

The Associated Press reports: Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam plans to declare a temporary emergency Wednesday banning all weapons, including guns, from Capitol Square ahead of a massive rally planned next week over gun rights. That’s according to two state officials who were briefed on the plans but not authorized to speak publicly about them. One official says the Democratic governor …

The Insider reports: Former New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg wasn’t on stage at the seventh Democratic presidential debate in Iowa on Tuesday. But that doesn’t mean he didn’t make a splash. Bloomberg’s campaign, which kicked off in November, was quite active on Twitter. While the six candidates on stage in Iowa duked it out over issues like healthcare, foreign policy, …

CBS News reports: Six Democratic presidential candidates will be making their case on Tuesday night from Des Moines, where the last debate before the Iowa caucuses — the first nominating contest of 2020 — will kick off at 9 p.m. ET on CNN. The stage is set for a clash between two of the top contenders and progressive allies, Senators …

The Sacramento Bee reports: California Sen. Kamala Harris’s presidential campaign is over, but she could still find herself in the White House next year. In his first California interview, former Vice President Joe Biden said he would consider Harris “for anything” she wants, including vice president. “She’s qualified to be president, and I’d consider her for anything that she would …

The Hill reports: Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) released a video slamming former Vice President Joe Biden just hours before the two are set to meet at Tuesday night’s 2020 primary debate in Iowa. The video features Sanders speechwriter David Sirota highlighting Sanders’s attacks on Biden for voting for the Iraq War while he was in the Senate, an attack line …

The Associated Press reports: Sen. Cory Booker says he is not making any immediate endorsement for president now that he has dropped out of the race for the Democratic nomination and will focus on his Senate reelection. Booker told “CBS This Morning” on Tuesday, a day after, that he eventually might endorse someone in before the party’s nominating convention this …