Politics

NBC New York reports: Actress Cynthia Nixon has announced she will run for governor. “I love New York, and today I’m announcing my candidacy for governor,” she tweeted Monday afternoon, along with a campaign video. A short biography on her campaign website states, “Cynthia Nixon is a lifelong New Yorker and progressive activist who is running for governor to fight …

The Associated Press reports: President Donald Trump’s plan to combat opioid drug addiction calls for stiffer penalties for drug traffickers, including the death penalty where appropriate under current law, a top administration official said. It’s a fate for drug dealers that Trump has been highlighting publicly in recent weeks. Trump also wants Congress to pass legislation reducing the amount of …

CNN reports: A helicopter carrying Ivanka Trump and Jared Kushner had to return to an airport in Washington on Thursday after one of its engines failed, two law enforcement sources told CNN. President Trump’s daughter and son-in-law were flying from Washington to New York on Thursday afternoon in a two-engine helicopter when one engine failed, causing the chopper to return …

The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reports: Though he hasn’t conceded a loss to Democrat Conor Lamb in the 18th Congressional District, Republican Rick Saccone has officially secured the number of petitions needed to run in the newly-redrawn 14th District, his campaign announced Monday. In what his camp is calling a “fresh start,” the state representative will run this time in a district …

Mediaite reports: Fox & Friends were reliably horrified by actor Jim Carrey‘s harsh portrait of White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders, and they wanted everyone to know it – especially those hypocritical liberals. “There is absolutely no tolerance [from liberals for conservatism],” Turning Point USA’s Candace Owens told Fox & Friends‘ Ainsley Earhardt. “They’re completely hypocritical in every single …

Talking Points Memo reports: A trove of e-mails obtained by House Democrats reveal efforts by top State Department officials — working hand in hand with the White House, outside conservatives and right-wing media — to sideline and demote career civil servants who are seen as disloyal to President Trump. The report on the emails set off alarm bells across Washington, …

Deadline reports: Mike Pence’s family has created a children’s book about [their pet rabbit] Marlon Bundo, called “Marlon Bundo’s Day in the Life of the Vice President.” It drops Monday – the day after Oliver’s broadcast. “Unfortunately one of the stops on that book tour is at Focus on the F*cking Family,” Oliver said. “So, congratulations, Pence. You’ve managed to …

The Hill reports: Christopher Wylie, a former employee of Cambridge Analytica, claims Facebook suspended him for whistleblowing. Wylie’s claim comes after Cambridge Analytica, the data firm used by the Trump campaign during the 2016 election, was exposed for having illegally harvested the Facebook data of millions of people. On Sunday, Wylie shared a screenshot of an “account disabled” message that …

The Huffington Post reports: Jennifer Scavino, the wife of Dan Scavino, an aide to President Donald Trump who serves as White House social media director, filed for divorce in late January 2018, county records reveal. Scavino, who is one of Trump’s closest aides, holds the title of assistant to the president, the highest-ranking staff position in the White House, one …

The Washington Post reports: A D.C. lawmaker responded to a brief snowfall Friday by publishing a video in which he espoused a conspiracy theory that Jewish financiers control the weather. D.C. Council member Trayon White Sr. (D-Ward 8) posted the video to his official Facebook page at 7:21 a.m. as snow flurries were hitting the nation’s capital. The video, shot …

The Associated Press reports: San Diego Sen. Toni Atkins will make history Wednesday when she becomes the first woman and first lesbian to hold the California Senate’s top job. A former Assembly speaker, Atkins is taking over the post of Senate president pro tem from fellow Democrat Kevin de Leon as the chamber gears up for election season and faces …

Reuters reports: U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions’ testimony that he opposed a proposal for President Donald Trump’s 2016 campaign team to meet with Russians has been contradicted by three people who told Reuters they have spoken about the matter to investigators with Special Counsel Robert Mueller or congressional committees. Sessions testified before Congress in November 2017 that he “pushed back” …

GOP Sen. Rand Paul today published a blistering op-ed attacking Trump’s pick to head the CIA. An excerpt: Over the past several days, there has been an increasingly granular debate about the degree of Gina Haspel’s participation in the torturing of detainees at the CIA’s Thailand “black site,” with neocons going out of their way to try to defend the …

CNN reports: With an assist from President Trump, James Comey’s book is surging on the best sellers list. The book, “A Higher Loyalty: Truth, Lies, and Leadership,” won’t be released until April 17. But on Sunday morning it was No. 2 on Amazon’s constantly updated list of best sellers. The ranking reflects a sudden spike in pre-orders. On Saturday morning, …

NBC News reports: Democrats enjoy a 10-point advantage over Republicans in congressional preference for the 2018 midterm elections, even as President Donald Trump’s job approval rating has ticked up, the latest national NBC News/Wall Street Journal poll finds. Fifty percent of registered voters say they prefer a Democratic-controlled Congress, while 40 percent want a GOP-controlled one. That double-digit lead — …

The Associated Press reports: When the Kushner Cos. bought three apartment buildings in a gentrifying neighborhood of Queens in 2015, most of the tenants were protected by special rules that prevent developers from pushing them out, raising rents and turning a tidy profit. But that’s exactly what the company then run by Jared Kushner did, and with remarkable speed. Two …

Politico reports: President Donald Trump is “engaged in desperate and reckless conduct” against the law enforcement entities investigating his 2016 campaign, Senate minority Whip Dick Durbin said Sunday morning, actions that should push Congress to take steps to protect the office of special counsel Robert Mueller. Trump lashed out earlier Sunday against Mueller, accusing the lifelong Republican of filling his …

The Hill reports: Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) on Sunday said he believes the Senate Judiciary Committee should hold a hearing on the firing of former FBI deputy director Andrew McCabe. “I think we owe it to the average American to have a hearing in the judiciary committee where Attorney General Sessions comes forward with whatever documentation he has about the …

The Tampa Bay Times reports: Agriculture Commissioner Adam Putnam, a Republican candidate for Florida governor, attended the Republican Party of Palm Beach County’s Lincoln Day Dinner on Friday night at Mar-a-Lago. The sold-out event was headlined by former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin. Putnam tweeted thanks to host Donald Trump Jr. last night with a photo that included Mark Foley, the …

Bloomberg reports: President Donald Trump is moving his fight to keep Stormy Daniels silent about their alleged affair to federal court — and she’s now threatened with $20 million in damages if she doesn’t keep her mouth shut. The lawsuit that Daniels filed last week in California state court was moved to federal court in Los Angeles by Essential Consultants …