Politics

Senate Dems Force Wednesday Vote On Net Neutrality

The Hill reports: Democrats will force a Senate vote on Wednesday on a bill that would save the Federal Communication Commission’s net neutrality rules from repeal. Senate Democrats filed a discharge petition on the bill last week, starting the clock on the long-shot effort to preserve the Obama-era consumer protections. The legislation, introduced by Sen. Ed Markey (D-Mass.), would use …

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Retailers Group Recreates Ferris Bueller Scene To Teach Trump That Tariffs Are “B-A-D Economics” [VIDEO]

The Hill reports: Retailers are going straight to the source in an expanding effort to stop a potential flurry of steep tariffs proposed by President Trump on foreign-made goods coming into the United States. The National Retail Federation (NRF) has recreated an iconic scene with Ben Stein, an economist and an actor, about tariffs and voodoo economics in the iconic …

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John Oliver Examines Crisis In Venezuela [VIDEO]

Bustle reports: On Sunday’s episode of Last Week Tonight, host John Oliver’s Venezuela segment highlighted the dire nature of the country’s political and economic crisis. Oliver’s segment comes several days before the 2018 Venezuelan presidential election, which current president Nicolás Maduro looks likely to win. In addition to shedding light on the crisis, which has left thousands of Venezuelans impoverished …

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LIVE VIDEO: Jerusalem US Embassy Opening Ceremony

The BBC reports: A small interim embassy will start operating on Monday inside the existing US consulate building in Jerusalem. A larger site will be found later when the rest of the embassy moves from Tel Aviv. The opening ceremony was brought forward to coincide with the state of Israel’s 70th anniversary. President Trump is expected to address those attending …

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ISRAEL: Violence Erupts Ahead Of Embassy Opening, 16 Palestinians Killed, Hundreds Wounded [VIDEO]

The Associated Press reports: Thousands of Palestinian protesters converged along the border with Israel on Monday, drawing Israeli fire that killed at least 16 people in the bloodiest day of weeks of demonstrations and casting a cloud over Israel’s festive inauguration of the new U.S. Embassy in contested Jerusalem. With their anger fueled by the embassy opening, protesters set tires …

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ISRAEL: Ivanka, Jared, And Steve Mnuchin Arrive For Opening Of New US Embassy In Jerusalem [VIDEO]

The BBC reports: US President Donald Trump’s daughter Ivanka and her husband, Jared Kushner, have arrived in Israel ahead of the opening of the new US embassy in Jerusalem on Monday. The couple – both senior White House advisers – will attend the ceremony. Mr Trump himself will not be there. His decision to move operations from Tel Aviv angered …

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Trump Vows To Aid Chinese Phone Company That Shut Down After US Sanctions Banned Selling Parts To Them

Business Insider reports: President Donald Trump’s crackdown on trade claimed a massive victim this week, as the Chinese tech giant ZTE shut down most of its operations. The Commerce Department recently banned the sale of US-made parts to ZTE, crippling its operations and leading to a shutdown of its factories. In a statement Wednesday, ZTE said that “the major operating …

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Serial Adulterer Celebrates Mothers Then Goes Golfing

The Hill reports: President Trump wished Americans a happy Mother’s Day in a video message on Sunday. In the 80-second video, the president spoke about his own mother, as well as the mothers throughout U.S. history whose “love and courage and devotion” he said have helped shape the nation. “America’s strength has come from the love and courage and devotion …

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Defense Contractor To Head Trump Intel Advisory Board

Politico reports: Stephen Feinberg, a billionaire financier, will head President Donald Trump’s Intelligence Advisory Board, the White House announced on Friday. Feinberg is the co-founder, executive chairman and co-chief executive officer of Cerberus Capital Management, an investment firm that also owns defense contractor DynCorp International. Shortly after taking office in 2017, the president reportedly asked Feinberg — a Trump supporter …

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Second Dem Senator Backs Haspel For CIA Director

Manchin was first. The Hill reports: Sen. Joe Donnelly (D-Ind.) has announced he will support President Trump’s pick to lead the CIA, Gina Haspel, increasing her chances of being confirmed. Donnelly said in a statement Saturday he believes that Haspel “has learned from the past, and that the CIA under her leadership can help our country confront serious international threats …

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Sheldon Adelson Commits $30M To GOP Midterms

Fox News reports: Las Vegas casino magnate Sheldon Adelson has committed to a $30 million cash infusion for a House Republican group, a move that will boost GOP chances of fighting off energized Democrats in the midterm elections. The donation to the House GOP-aligned Congressional Leadership Fund was sealed last week when Speaker Paul Ryan and his entourage met with …

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Russian Facebook Ads Sought To Inflame Racial Discord

USA Today reports: The Russian company charged with orchestrating a wide-ranging effort to meddle in the 2016 presidential election overwhelmingly focused its barrage of social media advertising on what is arguably America’s rawest political division: race. The roughly 3,500 Facebook ads were created by the Russian-based Internet Research Agency, which is at the center of Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s February …

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Iranian Leader Trolls Trump With Fire And Fury Photo

CBS News reports: Iran Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei shared an image of himself reading the Persian-language edition of Michael Wolff’s 2018 book “Fire and Fury: Inside the Trump White House” on Friday, just days after President Trump pulled the U.S. out of the Iran nuclear agreement. Wolff’s bombshell exposé on the Trump administration shot to the top of Amazon’s …

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Trump Advisers Slam Nielsen As “Never Trumper”

Politico reports: President Donald Trump’s frustration with Kirstjen Nielsen, which boiled over Wednesday in a Cabinet meeting tirade, has been growing for weeks — stoked by associates who have privately made the case that she’s a closeted “never Trumper” who still doesn’t fully back his agenda. Trump’s advisers have been increasingly criticizing the Homeland Security chief in private conversations with …

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NEW YORK: Former Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver Guilty Of Corruption At Retrial Forced By SCOTUS Ruling

The New York Daily News reports: Former Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver was convicted Friday of corruption charges in his Manhattan Federal Court retrial. The venerable politician’s second trial ended with the jury returning its guilty verdicts on all counts shortly before 5 p.m. in only its second day of deliberations. Silver was originally convicted in November 2015 and sentenced to …

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NEW MEXICO: Local Television Runs Ad From Gay US House Candidate Saying “Fuck The NRA” [VIDEO]

The Huffington Post reports: A Democratic congressional candidate is out with a new TV ad using far more explicit language than the usual political spot. “Fuck the NRA,” Pat Davis says in the 15-second ad. “Their pro-gun policies have resulted in dead children, dead mothers and dead fathers.” Davis is an Albuquerque city council member running for the Democratic nomination …

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White House Refuses To Condemn Mocking Of John McCain’s Cancer: “I Won’t Validate A Leak” [VIDEO]

CNN reports: The White House declined to comment Friday about a purported remark about Sen. John McCain by a communications staffer. “I’m not going to comment on an internal staff meeting,” press secretary Sarah Sanders said of Kelly Sadler’s remark that McCain, who is being treated for brain cancer, is “dying.” Sanders confirmed Sadler still works at the White House. …

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REPORT: Trump And Cohen Were Informed Years Ago About Abuse Allegations Against Eric Schneiderman

Bloomberg reports: Donald Trump’s personal lawyer, Michael Cohen, was informed about allegations of sexual misconduct by then-New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman around 2013, according to a letter filed in Manhattan federal court on Friday. An attorney, Peter Gleason, submitted a letter to the court Friday explaining that two women had come to him a half-decade or more ago with …

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Cities Reject Opportunity To Host 2020 GOP Convention

Well, isn’t this a darn shame: Cities across the country are turning down the opportunity to host the 2020 Republican National Convention, where President Trump is expected to be nominated for a second term. The cities that have rejected hosting duties insist Trump and today’s divisive politics are not factors in their decisions. They instead cite high security costs and …

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Sarah Palin: Hearing That John McCain Now Says He Regrets Choosing Me Is Like A “Perpetual Gut-Punch”

The Daily Mail reports: Former Republican vice-presidential candidate Sarah Palin says hearing that Sen. John McCain now regrets choosing her as his 2008 running mate is “like a perpetual gut-punch” every time she hears about it. And the latest verdict from the ailing 81-year-old Arizona Republican, she said, is perplexing because McCain has told her very different things over and …

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