Politics

Romney weighs in on higher taxes on billionaires: Well, first of all, it’s not a good idea to tell billionaires, don’t come to America, don’t start your business here, to tell the Steve Jobs and the Bill Gates and people like that, this isn’t the place to begin your business, go somewhere else. That’s a bad idea. But, number two, …

The New York Times reports: President Recep Tayyip Erdogan of Turkey stepped back on Monday from a threat to expel 10 Western ambassadors, averting a diplomatic storm that analysts and diplomats were warning would bring economic disaster upon Turkey and a lasting rupture in the NATO alliance. In what seemed to be a calculated move, the 10 embassies involved issued …

The New York Daily News reports: The push for an AirTrain to LaGuardia might be dead — but talk of a new subway line to the airport from Astoria is gaining steam. Sen. Michael Gianaris (D-Queens), whose political base is Astoria, backs extending the N/W train to LaGuardia by building new subway tracks above the Grand Central Parkway — which …

Politico Europe reports: German Chancellor Angela Merkel is worried “it is getting harder and harder” to find compromises between European Union countries on hot-button issues like migration and the rule of law. “It is imperative to do everything possible to find a way to keep Europe together,” Merkel said in a wide-ranging interview published in Saturday’s edition of German newspaper …

The Hill reports: Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) on Sunday laughed off a question about whether she would run for reelection in 2022, saying she would consult with her family before making her decision public. Pelosi appeared surprised when CNN’s “State of the Union” host Jake Tapper asked about whether she would run again for her congressional seat, which she has …

Euronews reports: A Turkish law banning insults against President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has been condemned by the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR). The court said the law against attacks on the “image” of the head of state was “not in keeping with the spirit of the European Convention”. The ruling followed a case against a young Turkish man who …

The Hill reports: Turkish President Tayyip Erdoğan announced on Saturday that he had called on his foreign minister to banish 10 ambassadors from Western countries, including the United States, after they called for the “urgent release” of a Turkish philanthropist. “I gave the necessary order to our foreign minister and said what must be done: These 10 ambassadors must be …

Bloomberg News reports: The U.S. Supreme Court said it will hear arguments over Texas’s sharp restrictions on abortion, leaving the law in place for now while raising the stakes in what will be a transformational term for reproductive rights. The decision to let the law stay in effect came over the dissent of Justice Sonia Sotomayor. The measure bans abortion …

Gothamist reports: New York’s Cannabis Control Board issued regulations Thursday to allow medical marijuana users and their caregivers to grow their own supply at home. The proposal, now open to public comment for 60 days, would permit the cultivation of up to six marijuana plants in a private residence. The regulation will take effect after the commentary period closes and …

Mediaite reports: Senator Joe Manchin (D- WV) swiftly denied a report he is considering leaving the Democratic party. Mother Jones reported Wednesday Manchin has been talking to associates about leaving the party. Manchin was asked by reporters about this and said rather bluntly, “I can’t control rumors, and it’s bullshit. Bullshit spelled with a B-U-L-L, capital B!” Manchin is one …

Mother Jones reports: In recent days, Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W. Va.) has told associates that he is considering leaving the Democratic Party if President Joe Biden and Democrats on Capitol Hill do not agree to his demand to cut the size of the social infrastructure bill from $3.5 trillion to $1.75 trillion, according to people who have heard Manchin discuss …

The New York Times reports: A Brazilian congressional panel is set to recommend mass homicide charges against President Jair Bolsonaro, asserting that he intentionally let the coronavirus rip through the country and kill hundreds of thousands in a failed bid to achieve herd immunity and revive Latin America’s largest economy. A report from a congressional investigation, excerpts from which were …

Via press release from the White House: General Colin Powell was a patriot of unmatched honor and dignity. The son of immigrants, born in New York City, raised in Harlem and the South Bronx, a graduate of the City College of New York, he rose to the highest ranks of the United States military and to advise four Presidents. He …

USA Today reports: Texas’ ban on abortion after six weeks of pregnancy returned to the Supreme Court on Monday after the Biden administration sought emergency review of a lower court’s ruling that allowed the controversial law to remain in place. The appeal gives the high court a chance to temporarily block enforcement of the most restrictive abortion law in the …

Politico reports: Two longtime House Democratic incumbents will call it quits this week. Rep. Mike Doyle of Pennsylvania, who has served 26 years in the House, is expected to announce his retirement later Monday, according to multiple sources familiar with the plans. And Rep. David Price of North Carolina, first elected in 1986, will also leave the House next year. …

The Miami Herald reports: After months of open speculation and exploratory meetings around the state, Miami state Sen. Annette Taddeo is making it official: she is running to be Florida’s next governor. Taddeo, 54, filed campaign documents with Florida’s Division of Elections on Monday morning. Her entry shakes up a Democratic field that has been so far dominated by two …

From the office of former President George W. Bush: Laura and I are deeply saddened by the death of Colin Powell. He was a great public servant, starting with his time as a soldier during Vietnam. Many Presidents relied on General Powell’s counsel and experience. He was National Security Adviser under President Reagan, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff …

Axios reports: Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-La.), a physician, told me during an “Axios on HBO” interview that he favors cognition tests for aging leaders of all three branches of government. Cassidy, a gastroenterologist, told me during our wide-ranging interview in Chalmette, La., that in your 80s, you begin a “rapid decline.” Noting he wasn’t talking about specific people, Cassidy said: …

The Associated Press reports: Removing the flipping obscenities from license plates on Maine’s roads and highways isn’t going to happen overnight, even though a law banning such profanities in a state where such regulation has been unusually lax goes into effect Monday. Currently, there are license plates with salty language including f-bombs, references to anatomy and sex acts, and general …

USA Today reports: Jussie Smollett will face a Chicago trial jury starting in late November, after a judge denied his latest motion to dismiss disorderly conduct charges arising from an alleged hoax hate crime he reported in 2019. During a mostly behind-closed-doors virtual hearing in Chicago Friday, Judge James Linn allowed one of the newest members of Smollett’s sprawling team …