January 24, 2018

Trump's Approval Ratings Plummet in Michigan, Key State That Backed Him in 2016

Source: Newsweek

Michigan seems to be flipping on President Donald Trump.

Voters in the key swing state that Trump unexpectedly won in 2016 now overwhelmingly disapprove of his performance after his first year in office, according to a new poll.

The survey, conducted by Glengariff Group Inc. on behalf of The Detroit News and WDIV, found that Trump's approval rating in the Great Lake States has dropped to 39.5 percent while his disapproval rating has risen to 54 percent. Women in Michigan voiced the loudest opposition, with 66 percent saying they "strongly" disapprove of Trump and 39 percent giving his first year in office an "F" grade.

"His approval ratings are terrible, it's that simple," Rich Czuba, who completed the study and founded the Glengariff Group, told The Detroit News. "We are the bellwether state at this point. Michigan is going to reflect what is occurring nationally."

Read more: http://www.newsweek.com/donald-trump-michigan-approval-rating-789395?utm_campaign=NewsweekTwitter&utm_source=Twitter&utm_medium=Social

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In 2008, Obama won Michigan by almost 17 percentage points over McCain (and by almost 10 percentage points over Michigan-born Romney in 2012), so there is hope that we can flip the state back to blue in 2020.

January 24, 2018

Cecile Richards Plans To Step Down As President Of Planned Parenthood, After More Than A Decade

Source: Buzz Feed News

Planned Parenthood’s Cecile Richards is planning to step down from her role as president after more than a decade at the helm, according to two sources familiar with the matter.

She has served as the president of the women’s health and reproductive rights organization since 2006. Richards, 60, has informed at least some members of the organization’s board of directors, one of the sources confirmed.

In a statement provided Wednesday afternoon, a Planned Parenthood official said, “Cecile plans to discuss 2018 and the next steps for Planned Parenthood’s future at the upcoming board meeting,” which is scheduled for late next week.

Her departure would mark a significant change for the country’s most prominent abortion rights group, a set of linked organizations known as the the Planned Parenthood Federation of America and its political arm, Planned Parenthood Action Fund. Richards was the face and voice of both, as Republicans in Congress have tried repeatedly to cut their federal funding.

Read more: https://www.buzzfeed.com/rubycramer/cecile-richards-plans-to-step-down-as-president-of-planned

January 24, 2018

Chao rebuffs Trump critics in Davos: Those who don't want to listen to him can leave

Source: Politico

Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao had a clear message Wednesday for critics of President Donald Trump during his trip to the World Economic Forum in Switzerland: If you don't want to hear from him, you can leave.

Speaking at a panel alongside other U.S. government officials during the World Economic Forum in Davos, the secretary praised the president for engaging with global leaders on economic policy by becoming the first sitting president in nearly two decades to attend the annual gathering of the world's wealthy elite.

“Davos should feel very flattered that he has chosen this as a forum,” Chao said during a session moderated by the Wall Street Journal. “Those who don’t want to listen to him can leave.”

Pressed on whether the gathering — known to attract the so-called “globalists” derided by some factions of the Republican Party — aligned with the president’s populist economic rhetoric, Chao defended the summit as a unique opportunity for world leaders to gather and exchange ideas.

Read more: https://www.politico.com/story/2018/01/24/trump-davos-critics-364964

January 24, 2018

U.K. hospital to return charity's money amid gala harassment allegations

Source: NBC News/Reuters

LONDON — A British children's hospital said it will return donations from a charity facing allegations that women were groped, propositioned and sexually harassed at a fundraising gala attended by hundreds of senior executives and lawmakers.

The men-only event at London's Dorchester Hotel featured some 100 female hostesses, including two undercover Financial Times reporters. The journalists described harassment, lewd comments and "repeated requests to join diners in bedrooms."

Thursday's event organized by the Presidents Club raised around £2 million ($2.8 million), according to the FT. It has raised more than £20 million ($28 million) over the past three decades.

The Great Ormond Street Hospital said it was shocked to learn of the behavior at the Presidents Club dinner and that it wouldn't knowingly accept donations raised this way.

Read more: https://www.nbcnews.com/storyline/sexual-misconduct/u-k-hospital-return-charity-s-money-amid-gala-harassment-n840531?cid=par-twitter-feed_20180124

January 24, 2018

ICE Agent Arrested After Sending Reporter Lewd, Sensitive Text Messages

Source: Talking Points Memo/AP

WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — An agent with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement is facing federal charges after a Wichita television news anchor told local police that he was sending her sensitive law enforcement material and text messages that were sexual in nature, newly released court documents show.

KAKE-TV Anchor Deb Farris was interviewed by the Wichita Police Department in March during which officers photographed about 185 screen shots of text messages between her and ICE Agent Andrew J. Pleviak, according to a probable cause affidavit. Farris also told police she was contemplating applying for a protection from stalking order, but had not yet done so. It is not clear if authorities are still investigating the alleged harassment.

Farris told The Associated Press on Tuesday that Pleviak first came to her asking to be her source, saying he had all kinds of information she would need for future stories.

“Then all of a sudden it turned inappropriate and he was texting me things that made me uncomfortable and I got scared,” she said, adding she contacted the Wichita Police Department who advised her to put up security cameras and make a police report. She then agreed to be interviewed by police.

Read more: https://talkingpointsmemo.com/news/ice-agent-arrested-lewd-texts-reporter?utm_content=buffer50894&utm_medium=social&utm_source=twitter.com&utm_campaign=buffer

January 24, 2018

THREAD OF OBAMA SCANDALS (Twitter thread, including the tan suit scandal)

https://twitter.com/TheLoveBel0w/status/951799802014158849



(I must have missed ONIONGATE)

January 23, 2018

White House: Graham-Durbin immigration bill 'dead on arrival'

Source: The Hill

The White House on Tuesday hardened its position against a bipartisan proposal in the Senate that would shield young immigrants living in the U.S. from deportation.

Press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders gave her strongest indication yet that President Trump would not sign the measure, written by Sens. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) and Dick Durbin (D-Ill.), if it reaches his desk.

“It’s totally unacceptable to the president and should be declared dead on arrival,” she told reporters.

President Trump previously dismissed the proposal in profane fashion when it was first presented to him in the Oval Office, remarks that helped lead to a government shutdown.

Read more: http://thehill.com/homenews/administration/370346-white-house-graham-durbin-immigration-bill-dead-on-arrival

January 22, 2018

Pennsylvania Supreme Court throws out states congressional map, ruling that gerrymandering violates

Source: The Washington Post

HARRISBURG, Pa. — Pennsylvania Supreme Court throws out state’s congressional map, ruling that gerrymandering violates constitution.

Read more: https://www.washingtonpost.com/national/pennsylvania-supreme-court-throws-out-states-congressional-map-ruling-that-gerrymandering-violates-constitution/2018/01/22/d695745a-ffa4-11e7-86b9-8908743c79dd_story.html

January 22, 2018

Trump voting commission bought Texas election data flagging Hispanic voters

Source: The Washington Post

President Trump’s voting commission asked every state and the District for detailed voter registration data, but in Texas’s case it took an additional step: It asked to see Texas records that identify all voters with Hispanic surnames, newly released documents show.

In buying nearly 50 million records from the state with the nation’s second largest Hispanic population, a researcher for the Presidential Advisory Commission on Election Integrity checked a box on two Texas public voter data request forms explicitly asking for the “Hispanic surname flag notation,” to be included in information sent to the voting commission, according to copies of the signed and notarized state forms.

White House and Texas officials said the Texas voter data was never delivered because a lawsuit brought by Texas voting rights advocates after the request last year temporarily stopped any data handoff.

The voting commission was disbanded Jan. 3 after Trump cited a host of ongoing state and federal lawsuits and resistance from state officials over the sweeping pursuit, in the name of investigating voter fraud, of information about more than 150 million voters across the country. The voting panel said it would destroy all voter data it had gathered, without detailing any data purchases.

Read more: https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/public-safety/trump-election-fraud-commission-bought-texas-election-data-flagging-hispanic-voters/2018/01/22/2791934a-fd55-11e7-ad8c-ecbb62019393_story.html?utm_term=.5f61f791cbf2

January 22, 2018

Triple treat: Supermoon, blue moon and lunar eclipse coming next week

Source: USA Today

Skywatchers will get a rare triple treat Jan. 31, with a supermoon, a blue moon and a total lunar eclipse.

How rare is the event? Even without the supermoon, it's the first blue moon total lunar eclipse in the U.S. since March 1866, less than a year after the Civil War ended, according to EarthSky.org.

A blue moon — which occur about every 2½ years — is another term for the second full moon in a single calendar month. January's first full moon occurred Jan. 1.

Though the exact moment of this full moon is 8:37 a.m. ET Jan. 31, the moon will appear plenty full for a day or two before and after that.

Read more: https://www.usatoday.com/story/tech/science/2018/01/22/supermoon-blue-moon-lunar-eclipse-coming/1052215001/?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=twitter