Monday, Oct. 16
á Congressional
Democrats criticized Tom Marino, President Donald TrumpÕs nominee to lead the
Office of National Drug Control Policy, after the Washington Post and 60
Minutes reported he helped steer legislation that made it harder for the DEA to
take enforcement actions against giant drug companies. https://www.washingtonpost.com/powerpost/manchin-calls-on-trump-to-withdraw-marinos-nomination-as-drug-czar-in-wake-of-post60-minutes-probe/2017/10/16/b73ee1be-b287-11e7-be94-fabb0f1e9ffb_story.html?hpid=hp_hp-top-table-low_marino-1213pm%3Ahomepage%2Fstory&utm_term=.681fde9dfc95
á Sen. Claire McCaskill (D-Mo.) also said Monday that she would introduce legislation that would repeal the Ensuring Patient Access and Effective Drug Enforcement Act of 2016, which Marino helped pass. The law, she said, Òhas significantly affected the governmentÕs ability to crack down on opioid distributors that are failing to meet their obligations and endangering our communities.Ó
á
Attorney General Jeff Sessions sent an experienced
federal hate crimes lawyer to Iowa to help prosecute a man charged with
murdering a transgender high school student last year. Sessions has brought
several hate crime cases and has publicly praised tough prosecution in such
cases. He has also brought several hate crime cases, including one against a
man accused of burning a mosque. He condemned white supremacist violence in
Charlottesville, Va., far more forcefully than Trump, and has been tough on
hate crimes. He has tied enforcement of those crimes to his tough stance
against violence, and has publicly applauded aggressive hate crime
prosecutions.
https://www.nytimes.com/2017/10/15/us/politics/jeff-sessions-transgender.html?emc=edit_nn_20171016&nl=morning-briefing&nlid=81621366&te=1
á
The U.S. military said it would practice
evacuating noncombatant Americans out of South Korea in the event of war and
other emergencies, as the U.S. and the Republic of Korea began a joint naval
exercise. https://www.nytimes.com/2017/10/16/world/asia/us-drills-evacuate-civilians.html?src=twr
á
The U.S. Supreme Court denied an appeal
in the case of a statue of the Ten Commandments in Bloomfield, New Mexico,
leaving a 2014 federal district court order to remove the monument intact. The
ruling cited the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment, which says,
ÒCongress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or
prohibiting the free exercise thereof.Ó The Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals
upheld that ruling two years later.http://nmpoliticalreport.com/630247/supreme-court-rejects-ten-commandments-monument-appeal/
á
North KoreaÕs deputy U.N. ambassador warned
Monday that the situation on the Korean peninsula Òhas reached the touch-and-go
point and a nuclear war may break out any moment.Ó https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/asia_pacific/north-korea-says-a-nuclear-war-may-break-out-any-moment/2017/10/16/1b4e879e-b2c5-11e7-9b93-b97043e57a22_story.html?tid=pm_world_pop&utm_term=.6455006f5f69
Tuesday, Oct. 17
á
Trump announced Tom Marino, his nominee to be the
nationÕs drug czar, is withdrawing his name from consideration for the job.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/post-politics/wp/2017/10/17/trump-says-drug-czar-nominee-tom-marino-is-withdrawing-after-washington-post60-minutes-investigation/?utm_term=.1da108da2d84&wpisrc=al_alert-COMBO-politics%252Bnation&wpmk=1
á Two Democratic
members of TrumpÕs election integrity commission, Maine Secretary of State
Matthew Dunlap and Alabama Probate Judge Alan L. King said in separate letters
that they are being excluded from information about the commissionÕs activities
since its last meeting on Sept. 12. https://apnews.com/bbeec75d754a4f738acffacb1523429e/Trump-voting-commission-criticized-for-lack-of-transparency
á
Sen. Rand Paul is prepared to vote ÒnoÓ on the
Senate GOP budget if leaders do not agree to cut billions in spending from the
plan, he said in an interview.
http://www.politico.com/story/2017/10/17/rand-paul-oppose-senate-gop-budget-243864
á
Sen. Lamar Alexander, Republican, said he and
Sen. Patty Murray have reached a bipartisan deal to provide finding for health
care subsidies which Trump said last week he was cutting off. https://www.nytimes.com/2017/10/17/us/politics/alexander-murray-deal-obamacare-subsidies.html
á
A federal judge on Tuesday largely blocked the
Trump administration from implementing the latest version of the presidentÕs
controversial travel ban, setting up yet another legal showdown on the extent
of the executive branchÕs powers when it comes to setting immigration policy.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/federal-judge-blocks-trumps-third-travel-ban/2017/10/17/e73293fc-ae90-11e7-9e58-e6288544af98_story.html?utm_term=.849beef2567a&wpisrc=al_alert-COMBO-politics%252Bnation&wpmk=1
á
Georgia Republican state Rep. Betty Price, the
wife of Tom Price, TrumpÕs former health secretary who resigned last month
after criticism of his extravagant travel expenses, suggested quarantining
people with HIV and/or AIDS at a House study committee meeting addressing the
barriers to adequate healthcare for HIV-positive people. https://www.lgbtqnation.com/2017/10/gop-lawmaker-wants-quarantine-people-hiv-since-no-longer-die-readily/
Wednesday, Oct. 18
á
A federal judge on Wednesday ordered the U.S.
government to allow an undocumented teenager in its custody to have an
abortion, after saying she was ÒastoundedÓ the Trump administration was trying
to prevent the procedure. https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/immigration/judge-trump-administration-cancannot-block-abortion-for-pregnant-undocumented-teen/2017/10/18/82348e08-b406-11e7-be94-fabb0f1e9ffb_story.html?utm_term=.f1eb6fb37952&wpisrc=al_alert-COMBO-politics%252Bnation&wpmk=1
á
President Donald TrumpÕs former press secretary
Sean Spicer met with special counsel Robert Mueller's team on Monday for an
interview that lasted much of the day, according to multiple people familiar
with the meeting.
http://www.politico.com/story/2017/10/17/sean-spicer-mueller-russia-probe-243882
á
A federal judge dismissed a libel lawsuit filed
against The Associated Press by a Russian oligarch whose business dealings with
former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort have been
scrutinized by investigators probing Russian influence in the 2016 presidential
election. Russian industrialist and investor Oleg Deripaska
sued the AP in May, saying the news outlet falsely implied that he was paying Manafort for work to advance the goals of the Russian
government and Russian president Vladimir Putin. http://politi.co/2ywnJjW
á
Attorney General Jeff Sessions testified before
the Senate Judiciary Committee for five hours, but refused to answer an number
of questions about his conversations with Trump. https://www.nytimes.com/2017/10/18/us/politics/sessions-senate-judiciary-committee-hearing.html?emc=edit_nn_20171018&nl=morning-briefing&nlid=81621366&te=1
Thursday, Oct. 19
á A federal judge
refused to clear former Sheriff Joe ArpaioÕs criminal
record after he was pardoned by Trump in August. He had been found guilty of
criminal contempt of a federal court order after a five-day bench trial earlier
this year. U.S. District Judge Susan R. Bolton said the pardon freed Arpaio from possible punishment but did not change the
underlying facts of the case. https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/morning-mix/wp/2017/10/20/federal-judge-refuses-to-erase-joe-arpaios-conviction-despite-trump-pardon/?tid=ss_mail&utm_term=.ff217a36a978
Friday, Oct. 20
á
The White House signaled to Senate Republican
negotiators Friday that it wants a bipartisan health-care bill, such as that
crafted by Alexander and Murray, to include retroactive relief for individuals
and employers subject to the Affordable Care ActÕs insurance mandate, a request
that is sure to alienate Democrats, and possibly tank the legislation.https://www.washingtonpost.com/powerpost/white-house-pushing-for-new-concessions-in-bipartisan-health-bill-including-retroactive-mandate-relief/2017/10/20/35329200-b5d0-11e7-a908-a3470754bbb9_story.html?utm_term=.4973ebef7020&wpisrc=al_alert-politics&wpmk=1
á
A D.C. appeals court panel upheld undocumented
teenÕs right to abortion but declined to order the federal government to
immediately allow the procedure, instead giving the Department of Health and
Human Services 11 days, until Oct. 31, to find a sponsor to take custody of the
girl. If no sponsor is found, the girl must be allowed to have the abortion,
the appeals court said. https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/immigration/appeals-court-weighs-whether-immigrant-teen-can-be-denied-abortion-while-in-us-custody/2017/10/20/ab414d2a-b50c-11e7-9e58-e6288544af98_story.html?utm_term=.18efc55058ff&wpisrc=al_alert-COMBO-politics%252Bnation&wpmk=1
á
The Education Department rescinded 72 policy
documents that outline the rights of students with disabilities as part of the
Trump administrationÕs effort to eliminate regulations it deems
superfluous.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/education/wp/2017/10/21/devos-rescinds-72-guidance-documents-outlining-rights-for-disabled-students/?undefined=&utm_term=.c774ddd8e361&wpisrc=nl_most&wpmm=1
Saturday, Oct. 21
á
The five living former presidents appeared
together for the first time since 2013 at a concert to raise money for victims
of hurricanes in Texas, Florida, Louisiana, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin
Islands. https://apnews.com/913c7566b55840128b58d17577abf273/Former-presidents-call-for-unity-at-hurricane-aid-concert
Sunday, Oct. 22
á
The Environmental Protection Agency confirmed it
has canceled the speaking appearance of three agency scientists who were
scheduled to discuss climate change at a conference on Monday in Rhode Island,
according to the agency and several people involved.
https://www.nytimes.com/2017/10/22/climate/epa-scientists.html?emc=edit_nn_20171023&nl=morning-briefing&nlid=81621366&te=1