I closed my eyes and listened to the occasional chirps of tiny birds hidden in the trees around us, the bubbling of water over rocks down below, cicadas rattling a chorus off in the distance. All sounds of the world carrying on like it always had. -- Jessi Kirby
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| FROM THE PORCH |
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| FAMILY |
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| ENVIRONMENTAL |
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| EDUCATION |
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| ADDICTION |
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| ACTIVISTS |
THE CELEBRATION: ANTI-ABORTION GROUPS
RALLY AROUND TRUMP's SCOTUS PICK — Despite Kavanaugh's past
pledge to "follow Roe v. Wade faithfully and fully"
and rulings that suggested openness to abortion and contraception,
anti-abortion activists seem convinced by the pick.
"I have great hope that ... now there may
be five judges to allow states under the authority of the 10th Amendment, to
enact their own [policies] into law on the abortion issue," said Marjorie
Dannenfelser, president of the anti-abortion group Susan B. Anthony List.
Concerned Women for America, Priests for Life and March for Life, all of which
oppose abortion, issued quick statements of support for Kavanaugh, too.
— Religious liberty advocates also
cheered the news: "[T]he Left has sought to make this vacancy
all about abortion - even though many other significant issues are at stake
including religious freedom and free speech," Tony Perkins of the Family
Research Council said, praising Kavanaugh for resisting the "growing
assault on religious freedom."
Under Trump, HHS has pushed expanded conscience
protections for health care workers aimed at letting them opt out of certain
services and potentially deny care for vulnerable populations. Such protections
could trigger future lawsuits that come before the high court.
THE CONCERN: ABORTION-RIGHTS GROUPS,
ACA DEFENDERS SOUND THE ALARM —Advocacy groups pointed to
Trump's campaign pledge to nominate judges who would reverse Roe,
regardless of the president's comments that he ignored a nominee's personal
opinions when introducing Kavanaugh last night.
"If you had any doubt about where Judge
Kavanaugh stands on safe, legal abortion, just take a look at how anti-abortion
activists are celebrating his nomination," said Erica Sackin of Planned
Parenthood.
Democrats and pro-ACA groups also warned that
Kavanaugh could be the deciding vote on Republicans' continuing push to
overturn Obamacare, with lawsuits that may strike down the ACA's protections
probably coming before the court in the near future. "America's working
families need coverage for pre-existing conditions, access to affordable health
care and critical women's health care," said Mikka Macdonald of Health
Care Voter. "Those will all be at risk if Kavanaugh is on the court."
[POLITICO Pulse, July 10, 2018]
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| MITCH MCCONNELL |
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| PAUL RYAN |
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| READ |
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| TRUMP - RUSSIA PROBE |
Russia
investigation
White House attorney Rudy
Giuliani had a lot to say yesterday about the ongoing investigation
into Russian election meddling. He told CNN's Dana Bash that the
White House contested a request from special counsel Robert Mueller to interview
White House chief of staff John Kelly. Giuliani acknowledged the White House
not agreeing to an interview with a member of Trump's staff was new, given that
other key staffers, including
Trump's son-in-law and adviser Jared Kushner, have spoken with
investigators. On ABC's "This Week," the former New York
City mayor said President
Trump asked former FBI Director James Comey to drop the probe into ex-White
House national security adviser Michael Flynn, and appeared to claim the
president asked Comey to give Flynn "a break." This is in direct
opposition to Trump's own version of events, since he has denied ever
speaking with Comey about Flynn. [Good Morning from CNN, July 9, 2018]
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| PAUL MANAFORT |
DETAILS
EMERGE ON DOJ MEETING WITH AP REPORTERS: POLITICO's Josh Gerstein reports that "lawyers
for former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort are crying foul over a meeting
Justice Department prosecutors held with four Associated Press reporters last
year as news organizations and the FBI bore down on the longtime lobbyist and political
consultant." Manafort's lawyers have argued that the off-the-record
session "was a potential conduit for improper leaks to the press about the
probe that led to two criminal cases against the former Trump campaign
chief," Gerstein writes.
-
One of the FBI memos indicated the
AP got some information about Manafort's business dealings.
"However," Gerstein adds, "the memos indicate that the bulk of
the information flow at the meeting went the other way, with the AP journalists
providing the FBI with a bevy of facts the news organization uncovered during
its inquiries into Manafort's work and finances." [Morning Media, July 9, 2018]
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| Kellyanne Conway |
"Just after arriving in Washington to work
for President Trump, Kellyanne Conway found herself in a downtown supermarket,
where a man rushing by with his shopping cart sneered, 'You ought to be ashamed
of yourself! Go look in the mirror!' 'Mirrors are in aisle 9 — I'll go get one
now,' Conway recalled replying. She brushed off the dart with the swagger of
someone raised in the ever-attitudinal trenches of South Jersey. 'What am I
gonna do? Fall apart in the canned vegetable aisle?' ... [Playbook Power Briefing, July 9, 2018]
CFIUS reform: Defense
hawks have expressed a keen interest in beefing up the Committee on Foreign
Investment in the U.S. as a way of guarding against China accessing sensitive
technology, but HASC Chairman Mac Thornberry (R-Texas) said following the meeting that Armed
Services leaders would rely on non-Armed Services conferees to work out the
final package and that other congressional leaders could weigh in as well.
Members of the two panels that produced CFIUS reform bills — House Financial
Services and Senate Banking — were named to the conference committee.
[POLITICO's Morning Defense, July 12, 2018]
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