Monday, Oct. 30

á      Special prosecutor Robert Mueller revealed charges against three former Trump campaign officials — former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort, his longtime business partner Rick Gates and former Trump foreign policy adviser George Papadopoulos, and unsealed a plea-deal agreement entered into with Papadopoulos on Oct. 5. Manafort and Gates, who were charged with 12 counts stemming from the investigation into Russian influence in the 2016 presidential election, pled not guilty. https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/manafort-and-former-business-partner-asked-to-surrender-in-connection-with-special-counsel-probe/2017/10/30/6fe051f0-bd67-11e7-959c-fe2b598d8c00_story.html?undefined=&utm_term=.21ba84e39851&wpisrc=nl_most&wpmm=1

á      Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly of the Federal District Court for the District of Columbia blocked enforcement of President Donald TrumpÕs order banning military service by transgender persons, saying the justification for the ban was likely unconstitutional. https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/post-nation/wp/2017/10/30/federal-judge-blocks-enforcement-of-trumps-directive-banning-military-service-by-transgender-individuals/?utm_term=.810929319667&wpisrc=al_news__alert-politics--alert-national&wpmk=1

á      Court documents revealed that Russian officials alerted the Trump campaign in April 2016 that they had thousands of Democratic emails and other ÒdirtÓ on Hillary Clinton, two months before the Russian hacking of the DNC was made public. http://nyti.ms/2zkZ0ka

á      The Washington Post reported that Papadopoulos has been working with MuellerÕs team for three months, and he is described in court documents as a Òproactive cooperator.Ó https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/powerpost/paloma/daily-202/2017/10/31/daily-202-10-takeaways-from-mueller-s-shock-and-awe-gambit/59f778d330fb0468e7653ee5/?undefined=&utm_term=.a5ffe2e200ec&wpisrc=nl_most&wpmm=1

Tuesday, Oct. 31

á      Eight people were killed and 11 seriously injured in what New York mayor Bill de Blasio termed a terror attack, when a driver, an immigrant from Uzbekistan, plowed into pedestrians and cyclists on a New York City bike path. Trump also condemned the act as a terrorist attack. . http://bit.ly/2ikTIdz

á      Federal authorities charged the 29-year-old driver they say drove a rented truck into people on a New York City bike path with providing support to a terrorist organization, alleging he was inspired by the Islamic State to inflict mayhem. https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/post-nation/wp/2017/11/01/new-york-attack-probe-expands-to-uzbekistan-as-possible-militant-links-explored/?utm_term=.a100ba6ce8ae

á      Trump criticized the diversity visa lottery program, and Senate Minority Leader Charles Shumer who helped create the program in 1990, after news reports that the alleged attacker, Sayfullo Saipov, had entered the U.S. from Uzbekistan under the program. https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/morning-mix/wp/2017/11/01/extreme-right-gins-up-a-culprit-for-n-y-terror-attack-chuck-schumer/?undefined=&utm_term=.f3f0ad2820ec&wpisrc=nl_most&wpmm=1

á      Special Counsel Mueller disclosed in a new court filing that onetime Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort keeps three U.S. passports with different identification numbers and submitted 10 passport applications in as many years, thus posing a significant flight risk. https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/public-safety/special-counsel-manaforts-stated-wealth-fluctuated-wildly-he-keeps-3-passports/2017/10/31/760021c6-be8b-11e7-8444-a0d4f04b89eb_story.html?utm_term=.546f050fea2c

Wednesday, Nov. 1

á      Trump posted a message on Twitter saying that New York terror suspect, Sayfullo Saipov, should be executed. https://www.nytimes.com/2017/11/01/us/politics/trump-new-york-attack-schumer-visa.html

á      Sam Clovis withdrew his nomination for USDAÕs top scientist post after being linked to Russia probe as one of the campaign officials of efforts by foreign policy adviser George Papadopoulos to broker a relationship between the campaign and Russian officials. Clovis had already been criticized for having no academic credentials for the scientist post and for having made controversial comments about climate change and gay rights. https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/powerpost/wp/2017/11/02/sam-clovis-withdraws-nomination-for-udsas-top-scientist-post-after-being-linked-to-russia-probe/?utm_term=.3d91bad49e73&wpisrc=al_news__alert-politics--alert-national&wpmk=1

Thursday, Nov. 2

á      House Republicans on Thursday proposed the biggest overhaul of the U.S. tax code in three decades, a plan that would cut tax rates for corporations from 35 to 20 percent, cut some individual taxes, mostly for the wealthiest, while eliminating many popular deductions. https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/economy/republican-tax-plan-to-lower-cap-on-mortgage-interest-deduction-to-500000-loans/2017/11/02/c0f594d6-bfd5-11e7-8444-a0d4f04b89eb_story.html?undefined=&utm_term=.86eb7ff82532&wpisrc=nl_most&wpmm=1

á      The National Association of Realtors and the National Federation of Independent Businesses both said they canÕt support the tax overhaul and the National Association of Home Builders had already announced it's opposition because of changes to mortgage interest deductions. https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/powerpost/paloma/the-finance-202/2017/11/02/the-finance-202-playbook-to-kill-tax-overhaul-already-written-before-bill-s-debut/59fa220a30fb0468e7654023/?undefined=&utm_term=.a9e015d68d01&wpisrc=nl_most&wpmm=1

á      The Wall Street Journal reported that the Justice Department has identified more than six members of the Russian government involved in hacking the Democratic National Committee computers during the 2016 presidential election. Prosecutors reportedly have assembled evidence to charge the Russian officials and could bring a case next year. http://on.wsj.com/2z6revZ

á      The New York Times reported that the changes in the tax code proposed by House Republicans would raise taxes on nearly 13 million tax filers who earn $100,000 a year or less, according to preliminary calculations using the open-source economic modeling software TaxBrain. http://nyti.ms/2zada4R

Friday, Nov. 3

á      In an interview, a Trump said he wanted to see the Justice Department investigate Hillary Clinton over several alleged scandals and openly stated his frustration with his inability to get the department to do his bidding in this regard. http://www.wmal.com/2017/11/03/listen-president-donald-trump-to-larry-oconnor-im-very-unhappy-the-justice-department-isnt-going-after-hillary-clinton/

á      The Trump administration released a scientific report a calling human activity the dominant driver of global warming, a conclusion at odds with TrumpÕs postions to withdraw from a key international climate accord, champion fossil fuels and reverse Obama-era climate policies. The White House did not try to prevent the release of the governmentÕs National Climate Assessment, which is mandated by law. https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/energy-environment/wp/2017/11/03/trump-administration-releases-report-finds-no-convincing-alternative-explanation-for-climate-change/?undefined=&utm_term=.d4465b3038e6&wpisrc=nl_most&wpmm=1

á      The Pentagon sent a letter to lawmakers saying the only way to locate and secure all of North KoreaÕs nuclear weapons sites is through an invasion of ground forces, and in the event of conflict, North Korea could use biological and chemical weapons. https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/securing-north-korean-nuclear-sites-would-require-a-ground-invasion-pentagon-says/2017/11/04/32d5f6fa-c0cf-11e7-97d9-bdab5a0ab381_story.html?utm_term=.4b9cfacd8afe&wpisrc=al_news__alert-national&wpmk=1

Saturday, Nov. 4

á      Former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort offered to post $12.5 million-worth of assets — including his Trump Tower apartment — as part of a bail package to ensure that he appears for the trial heÕs facing on charges of money laundering and failing to register as a foreign lobbyist. http://readersupportednews.org/news-section2/318-66/46681-manafort-proposes-125-million-bail-package

á      The Telegraph reported that Alt-Right Twitter Blogger Jenna Abrams, was, in fact, a Russian fictitious blogger. Abrams, who had more than 70,000 followers, had posts on contentious issues like the Confederate flag debate, segregation and Black Lives Matter. http://readersupportednews.org/news-section2/318-66/46670-alt-right-twitter-blogger-jenna-abrams-unmasked-as-creation-of-russian-troll-factory

Sunday, Nov. 5

á      NBC reported that Federal investigators have gathered enough evidence to bring charges in their investigation of President Donald TrumpÕs former national security adviser, Mike Flynn, and his son as part of the probe into RussiaÕs intervention in the 2016 election. https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/amp/mueller-has-enough-evidence-bring-charges-flynn-investigation-n817666

á      The Washington Post reported new polling that Trump has an approval rating lower than any previous chief executive at this point in his presidency over seven decades of polling. http://wapo.st/2lT6bdz