Politics

CNN reports: Barack Obama on Friday became the first sitting U.S. president to visit Hiroshima, where he called for a “world without nuclear weapons” during his remarks at the city’s Peace Memorial Park. Obama said that “71 years ago on a bright, cloudless morning, death fell from the sky and the world was changed.” “A flash of light and a …

Via ABC News: During his appearance on “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” Thursday night, Bernie Sanders remained amenable to debating Donald Trump — a proposition raised by the presumptive Republican presidential nominee during his visit to the late-night talk show the previous evening. “You made it possible for us to have a very interesting debate about two guys who look at the …

Unreal. Via Mediaite: In what might turn out to be the political equivalent of the Rumble in the Jungle, Donald Trump and Bernie Sanders now seem to agree on facing each other ahead of the California primary. Trump appeared on Jimmy Kimmel Live! last night, where he was asked about everything from his previous support of Hillary Clinton, to using …

The Guardian reports: Sir Terence Etherton, Britain’s first openly gay senior judge, has been appointed master of the rolls, making him head of the civil judiciary in England and Wales. The 64-year-old lawyer’s promotion was confirmed by an announcement from Downing Street on Thursday morning. Etherton, who has been on the court of appeal and is currently chancellor of the …

CNN reports: Bernie Sanders stood by his suggestion that the Democratic convention will get “messy,” but his campaign manager said Tuesday the Vermont senator didn’t mean violence and that the word describes the conversations essential to doing the “business of the party.” “If we can’t get the platform planks that the Senator supports in the platform during the committee process, …

The Hill reports: Democrats on Capitol Hill are discussing whether Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz should step down as Democratic National Committee (DNC) chairwoman before the party’s national convention in July. Democrats backing likely presidential nominee Hillary Clinton worry Wasserman Schultz has become too divisive a figure to unify the party in 2016, which they say is crucial to defeating presumptive …

Some Clinton supporters say very much so: Hillary Clinton allies worried about polls that suggest a tightening general election match-up with Donald Trump are placing blame on Bernie Sanders. They say that the long primary fight with the independent senator from Vermont, which looks like it could go all the way to the Democratic convention in Philadelphia, has taken a …

Via Mediaite: On CBS’ Face the Nation, John Dickerson asked if he’s putting “kind of a target on Debbie Wasserman Schultz” in his crusade against the establishment. ‘No,” he said. I’ve known Debbie for many years. I personally like her.” But Sanders went on to say, “But do I think she’s the kind of chair that the Democratic party needs? …

One day after offering himself up to be Hillary’s running mate. The Hill reports: Cuban, who called himself an independent, said he would also be open to discussing a vice presidential spot with Trump. “I’d have the same conversation for Donald,” he said. “I think Donald has a real chance to win, and that’s scary to a lot of people. …

Mediaite recaps: Despite the loud cries from the scores of Bernie Sanders faithful, it seems likely that now the stage is set for the final two contenders for the White House to go head-to-head. The developments that have propelled Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump to the forefront of their parties have been steeped, often, in deep controversy. The primary and …

CNN reports: President Barack Obama announced Monday that the United States is fully lifting a decades-long ban on the sale of military equipment to Vietnam. In a joint news conference in Hanoi with Vietnamese President Tran Dai Quang, Obama said that the removal of the ban on lethal weapons was part of a deeper defense cooperation with the country and …

From the Atlanta Journal-Constitution: The former chairman of the Cobb County Republican Party was arrested Friday morning and charged with child molestation, jail records showed. Joseph Russell Dendy, 71, was arrested at his West Cobb home and charged with aggravated child molestation and child molestation, both felonies. He was being held at the Cobb jail without bond early Friday afternoon. …

Chris Johnson reports at the Washington Blade: Despite objections from the White House and LGBT advocates, the U.S. House late Wednesday night approved a major defense spending bill that includes a component undermining President Obama’s executive order against LGBT discrimination. After hours of debate on the measure, the House approved the fiscal year 2017 defense authorization bill by a party-line …

Via Buzzfeed: President Obama is discussing his nominee for the Supreme Court with BuzzFeed News Legal Editor Chris Geidner in a live interview from the White House. Obama nominated Judge Merrick Garland to the nation’s highest court after Justice Antonin Scalia died in February. Garland currently is the chief judge of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit. …

Politico today published a story which speculates that Bernie Sanders could “Nader” Hillary Clinton from winning the general election, a possibility that has been commented on at great length by JMG readers. The article begins: Bernie Sanders, for all his talk of revolution, never wanted to be Ralph Nader. He has a long history of keeping the Democratic Party at …

John Oliver notes that Uber drivers can often pinpoint your location more accurately than some 911 systems. Via Gizmodo: Many of the call centers that handle your emergency calls are powered by out-dated technology. John Oliver thinks that’s “fine if you’re describing a Radio Shack, but a little scary if you’re calling a place that handles emergency situations.” He reckons …

Via Politico: Republican National Committee Chairman Reince Priebus on Sunday dismissed reports that Donald Trump had once posed as his own spokesman as a “little bit odd,” and not something that’s going to change voters’ minds. “There’s going to be lots of stories,” Priebus said, who went on to say that he believes voters are more concerned about someone who …

Seriously. She said that. Via Politico: Donald Trump is a what-you-see-is-what-you-get candidate who has “elevated” the political discourse, according to the candidate’s daughter, Ivanka Trump. Speaking at a Forbes magazine women’s summit in New York, Ivanka Trump praised her father, the presumptive Republican presidential nominee, for being genuine, a quality she said is unseen in politics. “He’s honest. With him, …

ABC News reports: The presumptive Republican nominee Donald Trump continued to refuse to release his tax returns and today declined to reveal his tax rate. Joining “Good Morning America” this morning, ABC News’ George Stephanopoulos asked Trump what his tax rate is, and Trump simply replied, “It’s none of your business.” The billionaire also saying he has no foreign bank …

In a refreshing change for New York state politics, today it was a Republican former lawmaker that was sentenced to prison. Instead of a Democrat. For once. From the New York Times: Dean G. Skelos, the once powerful Republican majority leader of the New York State Senate who was convicted with his son in December on federal corruption charges, was …