Politics

Politico reports: President Donald Trump bested Pope Francis and took the top slot this weekend among current world leaders on his favorite method of communication: Twitter. The @realDonaldTrump personal account crossed 39.7 million followers to overtake the nine different language accounts that the pope uses, making the president the most-followed world leader, according to measurements kept by public relations firm …

Pro Publica and the New Yorker jointly report that in 2012, Ivanka Trump and Donald Trump Jr. were about to be indicted on felony fraud charges related to real estate claims until a Trump attorney made a campaign donation to Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance, a Democrat and the son of the late Cyrus Vance Sr., who served as Secretary …

Talking Points Memo reports: “We are going to work something out. We have to look at their whole debt structure,” Trump said in an interview with Fox News that aired Tuesday night. “You know they owe a lot of money to your friends on Wall Street. We’re gonna have to wipe that out. That’s gonna have to be — you …

CNN reports: A number of Russian-linked Facebook ads specifically targeted Michigan and Wisconsin, two states crucial to Donald Trump’s victory last November, according to four sources with direct knowledge of the situation. Some of the Russian ads appeared highly sophisticated in their targeting of key demographic groups in areas of the states that turned out to be pivotal, two of …

The miracle of smoke alarms: President Trump said Tuesday it was a “miracle” how quickly the Las Vegas police were able to respond to the mass shooting that left nearly 60 people dead on Sunday night. Trump made the remarks on the eve of his trip to Las Vegas on Wednesday, when he is expected to meet with victims’ families …

Politico reports: Mitch McConnell did not want to discuss gun control on Tuesday. The Senate majority leader shut down all talk of legislative remedies to gun violence after a man killed 59 people in Las Vegas on Sunday night and injured hundreds more, mirroring the Tuesday morning remarks by his GOP counterpart in the House, Speaker Paul Ryan. Asked if …

The Hill reports: Fox News’s Martha MacCallum asked Rep. Steve Scalise in an interview to be aired later Tuesday if his experience and the deadly mass shooting in Las Vegas on Sunday night have changed his views about the Constitution’s Second Amendment. “I think it’s fortified it,” Scalise said. “Because first of all you’ve got to recognize that when there’s …

The anti-gay “family values” hero who last month confessed to adultery is now embroiled in another scandal. The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reports: A text message sent in January to U.S. Rep. Tim Murphy by a woman with whom he had an extra-marital relationship took him to task for an anti-abortion statement posted on Facebook from his office’s public account. “And you …

Forbes reports: “Horrific laws” condemning people to death because of whom they love are the focus of a new international proposal. “The question of the death penalty” resolution to denounce the most severe punishment for consensual same-sex relations was passed on Friday by the 47-member United Nations Human Rights Council in Geneva. Twenty-seven nations voted in favor of the resolution; …

The New York Times reports: The leader of Catalonia insisted on Monday that Sunday’s independence referendum, though marred by clashes and rejected by the Spanish government, had earned his region the right to a separate state and that he would press ahead to make the vote binding. Without specifying when, Carles Puigdemont, the Catalan leader, said he would submit the …

The New York Post reports: Former President Barack Obama and first lady Michelle are eyeing an apartment in a historic building in Manhattan, multiple sources exclusively tell Page Six. The Obamas have been looking at 10 Gracie Square on the Upper East Side, situated between East End Avenue and East River Drive and near the mayor’s residence, Gracie Mansion, according …

Bloomberg reports: President Donald Trump sent his support Monday to the victims of a shooting at a Las Vegas concert in which police said at least 50 people were killed and more than 200 were injured, making it the deadliest mass shooting in modern U.S. history. Trump has been briefed on the Sunday night incident and White House officials are …

The Associated Press reports: Catalonia’s regional government declared a landslide win for the “yes” side in a disputed referendum on independence from Spain that degenerated into ugly scenes of mayhem on Sunday, with more than 800 people injured as riot police attacked peaceful protesters and unarmed civilians gathered to cast their ballots. Catalonia has “won the right to become an …

CNN reports: Catalonia’s disputed independence referendum was in chaos on Sunday, with reports of hundreds injured as Spain’s national police launched a widespread crackdown on the vote. Catalan President Carles Puigdemont condemned “indiscriminate aggression” against peaceful voters. Spanish authorities appeared determined to deny the vote legitimacy by preventing as many people as possible from casting ballots in the referendum, which …

Via Mediaite: On Meet The Press this morning, Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin defended President Trump over questions about his combative Puerto Rico tweets. Chuck Todd opened by asking why the President seemed “so angry in his tweets” yesterday. Trump in particular blasted San Juan Mayor Carmen Yulín Cruz, and Todd asked Mnuchin why Trump wasn’t showing more “empathy” for her …

The Associated Press reports: Police in Catalonia issued an ultimatum Saturday: the separatists, parents and children who are occupying schools to use them as polling stations for a disputed referendum on the region’s independence from Spain must leave by dawn. The police deadline of 6 a.m. Sunday is designed to prevent the vote from taking place, since the polls are …

The Guardian reports: Donald Trump lashed out at the mayor of Puerto Rico’s capital city early on Saturday as the row over his administration’s response to Hurricane Maria escalated. Ahead of his visit to the US territory next week, the US president used Twitter to say of Carmen Yulín Cruz “… such poor leadership ability by the Mayor of San …

Homocon Richard Grenell history of assholery on Twitter came back to bite his Quisling ass today during his Senate confirmation hearing to be US ambassador to Germany. Chris Johnson reports at the Washington Blade: Sen. Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) took issue with Grenell’s remarks — saying he brought it up privately with the nominee and wished to bring it up publicly …

The Arizona Republic reports: U.S. Rep. Kyrsten Sinema is running for the Senate seat held by Jeff Flake, ending months of speculation about her political future and giving Democrats a top-tier fundraiser with experience on Capitol Hill. In a video announcing her bid,the Arizona Democrat recounts her upbringing in a family that fell from the middle class into homelessness. She …

The Associated Press reports: The United States is warning Americans against visiting Cuba and ordering more than half of U.S. personnel to leave the island, senior officials said Friday, in a dramatic response to what they described as “specific attacks” on diplomats. The decision deals a blow to already delicate ties between the U.S. and Cuba, longtime enemies who only …