Tag: week

Ron DeSantis: Florida’s new governor gave the Legislature a Friday deadline to pass a bill that allowed smokable medical marijuana, and wouldn’t you know it, both chambers somehow agreed to do it in time. The winning streak continues for DeSantis and the public is noticing. That places the 40-year-old governor above most of his peers across the country and makes him the most popular in Florida in 10 years. Fueling his popularity, according to the poll? His support for popular bipartisan issues like pardoning the Groveland Four and smokable medical marijuana. Loser Port Richey: Okay, okay, we just picked the mayor of this tiny Pasco County city as a loser last month. But c’mon. We couldn’t resist returning to the well. After Dale Massad, who was then Port Richey’s mayor, was arrested last month and charged with practicing medicine without a license and attempted murder, he was replaced by Terrence Rowe — who then gets arrested last week for allegedly conspiring with Massad to intimidate a Port Richey police officer. But the City Council plans to consult with its attorney to decide what’s next.

NPR's Mary Louise Kelly speaks with Susan Glasser of The New Yorker and David Brooks of the The New York Times, about Michael Cohen's testimony and the U.S.-North Korea summit. I think... KELLY: Relief that no bad deal was cut... GLASSER: Correct, that no deal... KELLY: ...That that would be worse than... GLASSER: ...Is better than bad deal. And just because President Trump didn't make a bad deal with North Korea, just because I think most people in both parties do agree that talking even fruitlessly is better than threatening nuclear war, that doesn't mean that this wasn't an enormous embarrassment for the Trump administration and, I think, for the United States. GLASSER: ...Human rights of all kinds, I just don't - I don't see that as a win for the United States. Susan, years from now, will we remember this testimony as a footnote or the moment that winds shifted or as neither of the above? However... KELLY: 'Cause there were so many... GLASSER: Well, exactly. KELLY: David, you came at the testimony this week - your writing in The Times about it - from a moral perspective. Republicans are morally numb about Donald Trump. And every time you stereotype someone, you're ripping at it. KELLY: Words to close the week from The New Yorker's Susan Glasser and The New York Times' David Brooks.

From the border wall fight to conflict with Iran, it’s been a busy week in American politics. ___________________ Trump declares national emergency to build border wall House and Senate negotiators agreed “in principle” on Monday to provide $1.375 billion for physical barriers at the southwestern border. The deal provided much less funding than the proposal President Trump rejected in December, and his border wall took a back seat in Congress’s budget negotiations, which instead focused on the record number of immigrants in detention. (Here are five takeaways from the deal.) On the Republican end, former Gov. Bill Weld of Massachusetts announced on Friday his intention to challenge Mr. Trump for the Republican Party’s 2020 nomination. There are six women in the 2020 race, but Senator Kirsten Gillibrand of New York is the only one who has been making feminism the central theme of her candidacy. While the United States and Israel have accused Iran of instigating terrorism in the Middle East, Iran itself has also been the target of terrorist attacks. Ms. Witt was charged with spying for Iran; ex-officials say her defection severely damaged United States intelligence efforts. Additional Reading • Trump Pushes Iraq to Stop Buying Energy From Iran • Acting U.S. Defense Secretary Makes Surprise Visit to Iraq • Mike Pence Lashes European Allies for Their Stance on Iran Here’s what else happened this week: • Federal prosecutors recommended Friday that Paul Manafort, President Trump’s former campaign chairman, serve up to 25 years in prison and pay up to $25 million in fines for a fraud scheme.

The BBC’s long-running politics show This Week is to end after presenter Andrew Neil announced he was stepping down. The BBC One show, which airs on Thursdays after Question Time, will be taken off air this summer when its current series ends, the corporation said. Neil has fronted the show since it began in 2003 and regular guests include former Conservative MP Michael Portillo and shadow home secretary Diane Abbott. Sorry, this content isn't available on your device. @bbcthisweek will end after its current run, as presenter @afneil steps down from late-night presenting #bbctw — BBC News Press Team (@BBCNewsPR) February 14, 2019 Fran Unsworth, BBC director of news, said: “We couldn’t imagine This Week without the inimitable Andrew Neil, one of Britain’s best political interviewers. After 16 years, Andrew is bowing out of late-night presenting on the show, at the top of his game.” Neil will continue to present Politics Live on Thursdays, Unsworth added, and the BBC wants to keep the 69-year-old “at the heart” of its political coverage. This Week is known for its informal look at politics while Ms Abbott and Mr Portillo form an unlikely on-screen double-act, despite being on opposite sides of the political divide. The move comes amid uncertainty surrounding the BBC’s news output. Middle East editor Jeremy Bowen and other foreign correspondents have asked Lord Tony Hall to reconsider. Last year, Sunday Politics, hosted by Sarah Smith, was axed and replaced by Politics Live, which airs Monday to Friday.

Twitter What to watch for this week in New York politics: This week starts with the Martin Luther King Jr. Day holiday, which will include many commemorative events acoss the city and state. The week will feature a lot of action at the Democratically-controlled state Legislature in Albany, on Tuesday and Wednesday, as both houses continue to pass bills that have not moved in past sessions when Republicans controlled the state Senate, and at the New York City Council, where there will be a variety of committee hearings and one full-body Stated Meeting, at which new bills are first introduced and bills that have passed committee receive a floor vote. We're continuing to watch four other themes this week: next steps after Governor Andrew Cuomo's State of the State and budget presentation from last week; how the MTA Board is handling the change of L-train tunnel repair plans; what Mayor Bill de Blasio will do next in his rollout of his State of the City agenda and his pursuit of a national spotlight; and the race for New York City Public Advocate, with the Feb. 26 special election rapidly approaching. --The Committee on Land Use will meet at 11 a.m. --The Committees on Civil Service & Labor and Housing will meet jointly at 1 p.m. for an oversight hearing regarding “Section 3 hiring requirements.” --The Committee on Cultural Affairs will meet at 1 p.m. for an oversight hearing regarding “arts, culture, and Stonewall 50.” At 10 a.m. Tuesday, the New York City Advisory Commission on Property Tax Reform established by Mayor de Blasio and the City Council will hold its latest public meeting at 250 Broadway. Topics will include “social and public health issues affecting New Yorkers, including HIV/AIDS prevention and education, substance use, mental health, LGBT rights, and discrimination.” The forum will take place at the New School Auditorium in Greenwich Village. Thursday The City Council will hold a stated meeting at 1:30 p.m. Thursday. Speaker Corey Johnson will hold the usual pre-stated press conference at 12:30 p.m. Also at the City Council on Thursday: the Committee on Finance will meet at 10 a.m. to discuss proposed laws relating to property taxes. At 9 a.m. Thursday, City & State will host the P3 Summit at the Museum of Jewish Heritage, discussing public-private partnerships. At noon Thursday, the New York State Board of Elections will hold a commissioners’ meeting in Albany. E-mail Gotham Gazette executive editor Ben Max any time: bmax@gothamgazette.com (please use "For Week Ahead" as email subject).

British Prime Minister Theresa May's Brexit plan went down to an historic defeat in Parliament on Tuesday. Members of Parliament belonging to May's Conservative Party feared that if they voted down her government, it would trigger a general election and open the door to Jeremy Corbyn and his opposition Labour Party taking control of the government. If she can find consensus, she could go back to Brussels and ask for concessions, one of which would likely focus on resolution of a major sticking point in Brexit negotiations — the border between Ireland and Northern Ireland. Although May insists she won't, she could try to let the clock wind down toward the March 29 deadline to leave the European Union and use the threat of a no-deal Brexit — a prospect most Britons dread because of the economic disruption it would likely cause — to force Parliament to pass a version of her plan. But that would enrage hard-line Brexiteers in her own party and would require support from other parties in Parliament. In short, the prime minister has no good options — only bad and worse. The EU is not happy that Britain's prime minister can't get the Brexit deal — on which both the EU and U.K. agreed — through her own Parliament. Still, Brussels does not want a no-deal Brexit because it would hurt EU economies. The EU and May's government have agreed to what they call temporary arrangements to avoid a "hard" border, at least until the two sides can reach a final agreement. What is the possibility of a second referendum?

Democrats took the House, and Republicans got a stronger hold on the Senate: • The midterm elections ended Tuesday night with Democrats flipping more than two dozen Republican congressional districts to gain control of the House of Representatives. Read what the results tell us about the state of the nation. Some races — like in Florida and Georgia — are still undecided: • Election Day may be over, but there are several pivotal races across the country whose outcomes are still in doubt. • Brian Kemp, the Republican candidate for governor of Georgia, currently has 50.3 percent of the vote. If remaining ballots push that below 50 percent, the race will be decided by a runoff. Read about the women who led a parade of victories Tuesday to win control of the House for the Democrats. Read about his involvement. Mr. Trump said on Friday that he has not yet spoken to Mr. Whitaker about the special counsel investigation, and he distanced himself from the acting attorney general by suggesting that he did not know him. Additional Reading • Acting Attorney General Matthew G. Whitaker Once Criticized Supreme Court’s Power • Jeff Sessions Executed the Agenda of a President Who Could Not Look Past a Betrayal • Sessions, in Last-Minute Act, Sharply Limits Use of Consent Decrees to Curb Police Abuses Here’s what else happened this week. Mr. Trump said he would not meet with President Vladimir Putin of Russia this weekend.

Here are some of the biggest stories you might have missed (and some links if you’d like to read further). _____________________ In tragedy’s aftermath, President Trump returned to campaign mode. [Read the story] It appeared that Mr. Trump, frustrated with an inability to control the news cycle, had begun throwing out new ideas to see what might stick, regardless of the political or legal reality. [Read the story] Additional Reading • News Analysis: For Trump, Dutiful Words of Grief, Then Off to the Next Fight • Ivanka Trump and Jared Kushner Shape Trump’s Pittsburgh Response • Inside What Even an Ally Calls Trump’s ‘Reality Distortion Field’ Days before the midterms, Mr. Trump embraced a familiar refrain: Fear immigrants. Mr. Trump pushed a dark anti-immigration message in the last full week before the midterm elections, hoping it would encourage voters to reject Democrats. [Read the story] House Republicans are preparing for a Democratic takeover. In the final days of the campaign, vulnerable Senate Democrats are focusing on health care in their closing arguments — in particular, saving the Affordable Care Act’s safeguards for people with pre-existing conditions. [Read the story] Republican candidates have begun saying that they will protect people with pre-existing conditions, but an analysis from The Upshot finds that their records suggest otherwise. [Read the story] As a result of the Trump administration’s policy changes and auctioning off of millions of dollars in drilling rights, fracking is booming on public lands, according to a New York Times analysis of Interior Department data. [Read the story] Additional Reading • A Guide to the Ryan Zinke Investigations • Where Americans (Mostly) Agree on Climate Change Policies, in Five Maps • Five Midterm Votes That Could Have an Outsize Impact on Climate Change _____________________ Today’s On Politics briefing was compiled by Emily Cochrane in Washington.

From explosive devices sent to the president’s critics to an increasingly partisan divide ahead of the midterm elections, it’s been a busy week in American politics. Here are some of the biggest stories you might have missed (and some links if you want to read further). _____________________ A man was arrested in the mail bomb campaign targeting critics of the president. [Read the story] Mr. Trump vowed on Friday that those responsible for the bombing campaign would be brought to “swift and certain justice.” In a Twitter post before his update on the case, the president characterized the crimes as an obstacle for Republicans ahead of the midterms. The potential for a “blue wave” remains an open question: • Republican leaders worry that candidates for governorships and the Senate are in trouble in several key battleground states, and that difficulties could spill into House races. But her campaign — and her potential to become the first black woman elected governor of any state — remains strong. What voters can already tell us about the election: • Roughly seven million people have voted early in the midterms, far more than in previous years, and enthusiasm is high. • An estimated 12.7 million Hispanics voted in 2016, out of 27 million who were eligible — a turnout rate of about 48 percent. [Read a review of the facts] The caravan is already part of the midterm campaigns: Mr. Trump and some Republicans have been escalating attempts to tie Democrats to rampant immigration and violent crime. [Read the story] Additional Reading • How the Migrant Caravan Became a Trump Election Strategy • Trump’s Plans to Deter Migrants Could Mean New ‘Voluntary’ Family Separations • ‘Zero Tolerance’ Immigration Policy Surprised Agencies, Report Finds Foreign operatives take aim at the election — and presidential phones.

From explosive devices sent to the president’s critics to an increasingly partisan divide ahead of the midterm elections, it’s been a busy week in American politics. Here are some of the biggest stories you might have missed (and some links if you want to read further). _____________________ A man was arrested in the mail bomb campaign targeting critics of the president. [Read the story] Mr. Trump vowed on Friday that those responsible for the bombing campaign would be brought to “swift and certain justice.” In a Twitter post before his update on the case, the president characterized the crimes as an obstacle for Republicans ahead of the midterms. The potential for a “blue wave” remains an open question: • Republican leaders worry that candidates for governorships and the Senate are in trouble in several key battleground states, and that difficulties could spill into House races. But her campaign — and her potential to become the first black woman elected governor of any state — remains strong. What voters can already tell us about the election: • Roughly seven million people have voted early in the midterms, far more than in previous years, and enthusiasm is high. • An estimated 12.7 million Hispanics voted in 2016, out of 27 million who were eligible — a turnout rate of about 48 percent. [Read a review of the facts] The caravan is already part of the midterm campaigns: Mr. Trump and some Republicans have been escalating attempts to tie Democrats to rampant immigration and violent crime. [Read the story] Additional Reading • How the Migrant Caravan Became a Trump Election Strategy • Trump’s Plans to Deter Migrants Could Mean New ‘Voluntary’ Family Separations • ‘Zero Tolerance’ Immigration Policy Surprised Agencies, Report Finds Foreign operatives take aim at the election — and presidential phones.