Politics

CNN reports: A federal judge ruled Thursday against the administration in a challenge to a portion of the Affordable Care Act brought by the House of Representatives. At issue is the “cost sharing” provision in the law that requires insurance companies offering health plans through the law to reduce out-of-pocket costs for policy holders who qualify. The government offsets the …

Gothamist reports: New York City will impose a five cent fee on plastic and paper shopping bags starting October 1, following a contentious City Council vote Thursday afternoon. The Council voted 28-20 in favor of the legislation, which also has the support of Mayor de Blasio. The bill won’t be actively enforced until April 2017. “There is going to be …

The British press has just declared Sadiq Khan the winner in yesterday’s mayoral election in London. Above is Matt Drudge’s reaction and similar doomsday shrieking can, of course, be found at Breitbart. From the Guardian: Sadiq Khan is comfortably ahead of his rival Zac Goldsmith in the race for the London mayoralty after the majority of first-preference votes had been …

The Clinton campaign has weighed in Trump’s asinine taco bowl tweet. Via Mediaite: Clinton and her team did one better and decided to talk about what came before that picture. Specifically, they put out a video ad to remind voters and Cinco de Mayo revelers alike that Trump, who wrote on his picture that he loves Hispanics, just talked about …

The Hill today posted a video recap of the ten suckers they believe Donald Trump is considering for his running mate. Watch below. On the list: Ben Carson, Chris Christie, Marco Rubio, John Kasich, Newt Gingrich, Florida Gov. Rick Scott, New Mexico Gov. Susana Martinez, South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley, Rep. Marsha Blackburn, and retired USMC Gen. James “Mad Dog” …

Politico reports: RedState has a message for Senate Republicans: Confirm Merrick Garland for the Supreme Court now — before Hillary Clinton picks someone much worse next year. Leon Wolf, the managing editor of conservative blog RedState.com, wrote in a post Wednesday that with Ted Cruz dropping out of the race for the GOP nomination and Donald Trump positioned to take …

From the Columbus Dispatch: Ohio Gov. John Kasich abruptly canceled a planned trip to Washington today as some advisers have been suggesting he should end his presidential campaign. Kasich, who plans to make a statement in Columbus at 5 p.m. today, had planned to hold a major news conference upon his arrival at Dulles International Airport at 10:45 a.m. in …

“No, there is another.” Via Politico: John Kasich’s campaign, which pulled resources from Indiana as part of a failed agreement with Cruz to prevent Trump from reaching the necessary number of delegates to become the nominee, posted a video to his Twitter account Wednesday morning on Star Wars Day, imagining what the not-so-distant future could look like in a galaxy …

From their story: On his television show, Trump sent the losers down in an elevator. Since last June, since he came down that escalator at Trump Tower and announced he was going to run for President, what he has done is closer to throwing an entire political party down an elevator shaft. So this wasn’t just the end of the …

Bernie Sanders has been projected to win the Indiana primary. At this writing he leads Hillary Clinton by three points. With a margin this close, winning has little impact on the number of delegates to be awarded.

Comedy Central’s Larry Wilmore followed President Obama to close last night’s White House Press Correspondents Dinner with a series off jabs against the gathered media bigwigs. While Wilmore’s routine was generally met with tepid laughter or stony silence, especially from his targets at CNN, it was his final message to President Obama that caused gasps across Teabagistan and not a …

The red carpet procession has begun at this year’s White House Press Correspondents Dinner, where President Obama is expected to lob zingers at Donald Trump, who decided not to attend. Comedy Central’s Larry Wilmore is tonight’s host. Watch below.

Politico reports: A deep-pocketed conservative advocacy group opposing Merrick Garland is spending a half-million dollars in five states for a new ad proclaiming that the Supreme Court nominee is “no moderate” — the latest phase of its pricey anti-Garland campaign. The ad from Judicial Crisis Network will start running on TV and online Friday in West Virginia, Colorado, North Dakota, …

It’s your West Wing dream come true. USA Today reports: The White House press briefing room is a serious place where serious matters of state are discussed amongst serious journalists and the White House press secretary. Also, Allison Janney. Yes, friends, Romans, West Wing countrymen, Allison Janney (aka C.J. Cregg from The West Wing) made an appearance in the White …

Earlier this week Variety reported that Will Ferrell would be playing a second-term Ronald Reagan beset by the symptoms of Alzheimer’s. Not anymore: “The Reagan script is one of a number of scripts that had been submitted to Will Ferrell which he had considered,” Ferrell’s agent told The New York Post. “While it is by no means a ‘Alzheimer’s comedy’ …

Variety reports: Having already famously portrayed former President George W. Bush in various comedy sketches, Will Ferrell is now setting his sights on another former commander in chief. Sources tell Variety Ferrell is attached to star as President Ronald Reagan in the Black List script “Reagan.” Penned by Mike Rosolio, the story begins at the start of the ex-president’s second …

IMPORTANT UPDATE: The first sentence of the original ABC News report has been changed. It now reads: Former Speaker of the House John Dennis Hastert was sentenced today in federal court to 15 months in prison and two years of supervised release after he faced one of his accusers, who identified himself publicly for the first time as Scott Cross, …

Salon recaps: “Late Night” host Seth Meyers last night took a “Closer Look” at Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump’s respective prospects for running mates. Clinton shrugged off a question on the matter from a CNN reporter over the weekend, saying she’s “just working hard to win on” yesterday’s Super Tuesday in the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic. “In Hillary’s defense, it’s not …

Trump is surging on the GOP side. Politico reports: For the first time in the election cycle, Donald Trump has the support of half of Republican and Republican-leaning voters nationwide, according to the results of the latest NBC News/SurveyMonkey online weekly tracking poll released Tuesday. Ted Cruz and John Kasich, meanwhile, are stagnant or losing ground. Trump earned 50 percent, …

Actor Tim Robbins, who is one of Bernie Sanders’ most passionate supporters, today issued a tweet which appears to accuse the media of collaborating with the Clinton campaign to steal the election. As evidence of this collusion, Robbins attached a meme which compares exit polling with actual voting results. Which proves the machines are “rigged.” Robbins then attacked those that …