Two thoughts on Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez’s dancing video – Washington Examiner
Two thoughts on Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez’s dancing video – Washington Examiner

I have a few thoughts regarding the video of Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., dancing. Recording during her time at Boston University, the video has some on the populist right, such as the Q Anon folks, upset.

Actually, I have just two thoughts.

She’s quite a good dancer, and … how is this relevant to her congressional service? This reminds me of the Malia Obama scandal.

CORRECTION: In a previous version of this article, the Washington Examiner erroneously stated that Ocasio-Cortez was educated at Boston College. The article has been corrected to reflect that she was actually educated at Boston University. The Washington Examiner regrets the error.

Source Article from https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/opinion/two-thoughts-on-alexandria-ocasio-cortezs-dancing-video

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Senators warm to immigration deal as shutdown solution | TheHill – The Hill
Senators warm to immigration deal as shutdown solution | TheHill – The Hill

Lawmakers are opening the door to reviving deeply polarizing immigration negotiations as they search for a way out of the partial government shutdown, which hit the two-week mark on Friday.

An agreement to overhaul the nation’s immigration laws has eluded Congress for years, underscoring the difficult path awaiting lawmakers and the White House if they decide to broaden the divisive border wall fight.

But with President TrumpDonald John TrumpDHS requesting more troops at border: report House passes legislation to re-open government despite opposition from Trump Maxine Waters: Much of my work will be undoing Mulvaney’s ‘damage’ to CFPB MORE and congressional Democrats at a stalemate with no signs of reaching an agreement to reopen roughly 25 percent of the government, making immigration reform part of the negotiations is gaining traction among senators on both sides of the aisle who are eager for a way out of the shutdown.

“It’s come back to life again,” said Sen. Richard ShelbyRichard Craig ShelbyCracks beginning to show in GOP shutdown resolve On The Money: Stocks plunge after Apple slashes earnings forecast | GOP senator calls on Congress to end shutdown without border deal | Trump’s Fed attacks pose market risks Key GOP senator: Shutdown could last for the ‘long haul’ MORE (R-Ala.), the chairman of the Senate Appropriations Committee, of a potential immigration deal. “We’ll see if it has legs.”

There’s been no formal agreement among leadership or the White House to insert an immigration overhaul into the shutdown talks, where funding for Trump’s proposed wall along the U.S.-Mexico border is the key sticking point.

Immigration reform was brought up during Wednesday’s closed-door meeting at the White House that included Trump, congressional leaders and Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen NielsenKirstjen Michele NielsenMcConnell: House government funding package a ‘total non-starter’ Shutdown halts E-Verify checks Second White House meeting scheduled as shutdown drags toward week three MORE.

Sen. Dick DurbinRichard (Dick) Joseph DurbinDurbin presses McConnell to take lead amid shutdown Dick Durbin: I’m running for reelection in 2020 Sen. Warren: The 2020 candidate who’s shown true courage MORE (D-Ill.), who attended the meeting, said the topic was broached “in a bleak way,” and he appeared wary of wading into negotiations on immigration without Trump’s clear support.

“I’ll tell ya, it’s such a bitter experience a year ago. And I told the president that I had a bitter experience,” he said Thursday, referring to the previous day’s White House meeting. “We’re not going to jump back in that until there’s a pretty clear public commitment from the president.”

The politics surrounding immigration could create more obstacles to resolving the shutdown. The issue has becoming a political lightning rod among the base in both parties.

Democratic leadership would face intense pressure from a newly muscular progressive wing to take a hardline, and Trump has shown he is susceptible to conservative criticism on immigration, which he has used as leverage to fire up his own supporters.

Sen. Roy BluntRoy Dean BluntElection agency prepares to tackle foreign interference Senate GOP: We need clarity from Trump on border demands Shutdown looms as Trump, GOP dig in on wall MORE (Mo.), a member of GOP leadership, said that while he hasn’t been involved in overall immigration discussions, expanding the scope of negotiations could be one way to break the logjam.

“You know, sometimes the best way to solve a problem is to make it bigger, and that’s always one of the options here,” he said.

With no progress on an agreement for border funding — Trump appeared to reject a $2.5 billion deal pitched by officials in his own administration — a growing number of rank-and-file members are calling for immigration to be linked to the border wall talks.

Sen. Joe ManchinJoseph (Joe) ManchinWhat a year it’s been: A month-by-month look back at 2018’s biggest stories Republicans face 2020 repeat on health care Hillicon Valley: Trump DOJ charges Chinese hackers | House Intel to give Roger Stone transcript to Mueller | Senators lift hold on FCC commish | Slack deactivates Iran-linked accounts | Dem lawmaker calls on Facebook to fire Zuckerberg MORE (D-W.Va.) proposed reviving a 2013 immigration bill during a closed-door Democratic leadership meeting this week. That bill, which passed the Democratic-led Senate but died in the GOP-controlled House, included a pathway to citizenship for the broader undocumented immigration population while also including roughly $40 billion for border security.

Sen. Lamar AlexanderAndrew (Lamar) Lamar AlexanderRomney warns Republicans about Trump Trump digs in on wall before meeting with congressional leaders Answering Sen. Alexander’s challenge: Eliminating waste from health spending in the right way MORE (R-Tenn.) is urging Trump to strike a deal on comprehensive immigration reform, arguing it could be his “Nixon to China” moment and bring an end to the partial government shutdown.

“Why would he not agree to such a thing?” Alexander said. “We could go small, we could go a little bigger … but I’d like to see the president say, ‘OK, we’ve got a new Congress. We’ve got divided government. I’m the president who can actually make this happen.’”

Other lawmakers are raising the prospect of a smaller deal that would focus on immigrants who were brought into the United States illegally when they were children.

One option getting attention from lawmakers would be to include a fix for Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) recipients. Lawmakers in both parties say they are sympathetic to immigrants who entered the country illegally as children, but they’ve punted the issue as the fate of the Obama-era program is tied up in court.

GOP Sen. Susan CollinsSusan Margaret CollinsCracks beginning to show in GOP shutdown resolve Novel international greenhouse gas commitment goes into effect The Hill’s 12:30 Report: Opening day for the 116th Congress | Dems take control of House | Historic day for Pelosi MORE (Maine) said immigration reform should be on the table after she helped craft a deal last year that included $25 billion for border security in exchange for a path to citizenship for DACA recipients.

“I certainly think it’s worth considering,” Collins said Thursday. “Had the Department of Homeland Security not blasted it the night before, it clearly would have passed with more Republican support. So I do see that as a potential path out of this impasse.”

Though it won a majority of the Senate, the immigration bill was one of four that was rejected last year. The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) slammed the bill and Trump threatened to veto it, raising questions about its chances in the current shutdown negotiations.

Meanwhile, Sen. Rob PortmanRobert (Rob) Jones PortmanIs Congress really that far behind on tech policy? No. Sens. Sanders and Feinstein oppose Israel anti-boycott provision John Kasich pitches soon to be shuttered Ohio GM plant to Elon Musk: ‘Call me’ MORE (R-Ohio) is pitching his proposal, which did not get a vote last year. That measure would establish a $25 billion border trust fund and codify protections for DACA recipients.

He argued on Thursday that it could be a “win-win” for both parties.

“That seems to me to be one where Republicans and Democrats could each find some opportunity for victory,” he said. “I think this is an example where both sides can give a little [and] we don’t have a shutdown anymore.”

Border funding in exchange for a DACA fix has been one of the broad parameters of immigration negotiations since Trump announced in September 2017 that he was ending DACA and putting the onus on Congress to find a solution. But after Trump rejected a similar offer from Senate Democrats last year, the goalposts for such a deal appear to have shifted.

Newly minted House Speaker Nancy PelosiNancy Patricia D’Alesandro PelosiHouse passes legislation to re-open government despite opposition from Trump Ocasio-Cortez after being booed voting for Pelosi: ‘Don’t hate me cause you ain’t me’ Pence backs ‘no wall no deal’ amid partial government shutdown MORE (D-Calif.) appeared to squelch talk of linking the border fight and DACA recipients late last year, telling reporters that they are “two different subjects.”

And Durbin, who characterized immigration as “near and dear to my heart,” noted that Trump said he supports and could work with Democrats on immigration reform. “But he’s said that before,” Durbin said.

“But he’s said that before,” Durbin said. “[DACA recipients] hang on every word. I do not want them to get their hopes up until there’s a clear indication that the president supports this.”

Source Article from https://thehill.com/homenews/senate/423799-senators-warm-to-immigration-deal-as-shutdown-solution

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Rashida Tlaib calls Trump an expletive during pitch to impeach – Fox News
Rashida Tlaib calls Trump an expletive during pitch to impeach – Fox News

Fresh-faced U.S. Rep. Rashida Tlaib wasted no time in calling for the impeachment of President Donald Trump just hours after being sworn in.

Speaking to a crowd of supporters Thursday night, the Michigan Democrat and one of the first Muslim women elected to Congress said of Trump: “People love you and you win. And when your son looks at you and says, ‘Momma, look you won. Bullies don’t win.’ And I said, ‘Baby, they don’t, because we’re gonna go in there and we’re gonna impeach the mother***er.’”

Tlaib’s proclamation came hours after the Detroit Free Press published her op-ed calling for Trump’s impeachment.

Video

“President Donald Trump is a direct and serious threat to our country. On an almost daily basis, he attacks our Constitution, our democracy, the rule of law and the people who are in this country,” Tlaib wrote. “Each passing day brings more pain for the people most directly hurt by this president, and these are days we simply cannot get back. The time for impeachment proceedings is now.”

To remove a sitting president, the constitution requires conviction of “treason, bribery, or other high crimes and misdemeanors.” The impeachment process would further require the consent of both the House and two-thirds of the Senate, which is still a Republican majority.

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Rep. Brad Sherman, D-Calif., on Thursday re-introduced articles of impeachment that he had filed last year with Democratic co-sponsor Rep. Al Green of Texas.

Rep. Adam Smith, D-Wash., had a more measured tone on impeachment, telling a CNN reporter on Thursday, “It’s not too soon to be talking about it. We’ll have to decide whether or not it’s the correct course of action, but certainly, we should be discussing it and asking those questions and figuring out what the best course of action is.”

Nancy Pelosi, who was re-elected to Speaker of the House Thursday, said she isn’t ruling out impeachment proceedings against President Donald Trump, depending on findings by the special counsel investigating Russia’s meddling in the 2016 election.

“We shouldn’t be impeaching for a political reason, and we shouldn’t avoid impeachment for a political reason,” she said.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Source Article from https://www.foxnews.com/politics/democrats-call-for-impeachment-on-first-day-of-new-congress

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McConnell keeps his head down as shutdown drags on – POLITICO
McConnell keeps his head down as shutdown drags on – POLITICO

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell’s position is that Donald Trump, being a Republican president, doesn’t need help getting GOP votes. | M. Scott Mahaskey/POLITICO

Government Shutdown

The Senate majority leader isn’t playing the role of deal-maker as he has in previous fights.

With the partial government shutdown closing in on two weeks and no end in sight, Mitch McConnell says Democrats are privately urging him to help find a way out of the impasse.

Not going to happen, says the Senate majority leader.

Story Continued Below

“I don’t see how that leads to an outcome. And I want to get an outcome,” McConnell said in a brief hallway interview on Thursday. “That will be determined by the president and Senate Democrats.”

The Kentucky Republican’s portrayal of himself as secondary to both President Donald Trump and Democratic leaders Nancy Pelosi and Chuck Schumer in the bitter dispute over Trump’s border wall is an unusual role for him, and he knows it. McConnell, after all, says he’s the guy that gets the government out of shutdowns, not into them.

During Barack Obama’s presidency, McConnell worked to stave off political crisis after political crisis, from ending the long government shutdown in 2013 to avoiding a “fiscal cliff” and debt default. Democrats complained McConnell stayed in the background during those disputes until he was forced to act to prevent political damage to his own party, but in each case, he was a key player in resolving the situation. McConnell might be the Republican Democrats love to hate, but he knows how to make deals, and he can deliver the votes he promises.

But this time around Democrats are claiming the GOP leader has abandoned his central role in resolving the shutdown despite his control of the Senate floor, all while undercutting Congress’ independence from the executive branch.

As Schumer, the Senate minority leader, put it: “The power to end the shutdown is in two people’s hands: Donald Trump and Mitch McConnell.”

Philosophically, McConnell sees shutdowns as a failure of governance by both parties and repeatedly predicted the GOP Congress would avoid one this time around. He even has a saying about them: “There’s no education in the second kick of the mule,” a reference to the political damage shutdowns have done to Republicans for the past two decades-plus.

Yet McConnell insisted it’s not his place to mediate this conflict after Trump rejected his short-term spending bill in December, an agreement reached with Schumer only after McConnell was led to believe Trump supported the measure. Instead, McConnell said, the whole ball game now comes down to what Pelosi and Schumer can sign onto with the president.

“It’s not complicated. I was in this role when Obama was president,” McConnell said. “[Vice President Joe] Biden and I did deals because they needed some of my votes. So now, the role is reversed. Ultimately the solution to this is a deal between the president and Nancy and Chuck, because we need some of Chuck’s votes, and obviously, we need Nancy’s support.”

McConnell’s position is that Trump, as a Republican president, doesn’t need help getting GOP votes. Those senators will be there for the president. It’s the Democratic leaders who have to find a compromise with Trump and then deliver their colleagues’ votes for that accord, according to McConnell.

“I haven’t been sidelined,” McConnell added. “There’s just no particular role for me when you have this setup.”

McConnell isn’t exactly stepping away from the dispute, and he said he’ll attend a meeting with other congressional leaders at the White House on Friday to try to jump-start stalled negotiations.

But Democrats think they can drag McConnell back into the fight now that they control the House, moving to pass bills reopening the government and daring McConnell to take them up — or face tying his majority to the shutdown.

Democrats are already making an early move to hit the Senate GOP for not doing more to stand up to Trump. With Democrats gunning to take control of the Senate in 2020, they say the public will become more and more aware that McConnell’s Senate isn’t taking up bills to reopen the government.

“The pressure will build on McConnell,” said Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.). “Because right now he has contracted out the whole Senate Republican caucus to President Trump and the White House. They’re violating their constitutional duty.”

But Democrats are likely to be waiting a long time if they want McConnell to undercut Trump and try for a second time to move legislation the president doesn’t support.

Senate Republicans were caught flat-footed and on the wrong side of their party’s leader in December after Trump and House Republicans rejected a short-term funding measure to avoid the shutdown because it lacked wall money. McConnell is up for reelection in 2020 and could pay a steep political price in a primary if he were to buck Trump on the wall now.

Some Democrats speculate that perhaps the House and Senate could even override a presidential veto. But Republicans dismiss that as pure fantasy; McConnell won’t move any bills that Trump doesn’t publicly endorse first, and rank-and-file Republicans will back him up on it.

“I don’t think there’s any alternative,” said Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) of McConnell’s shutdown positioning. “We passed a bill out of the Senate, it was voice voted, but once the president announced he wasn’t going to sign it, it’s not going to become law. We don’t have the votes to override it.”

“I don’t think there is very much he can do besides try and influence and facilitate talks,” added Sen. Joni Ernst (R-Iowa), a new member of McConnell’s leadership team. “Beyond that, you’ve got two parties that need to come together and find a solution.”

McConnell has announced publicly that he’s not going to consider any legislation until Trump backs it. With the short-term bill the Senate passed in December, there were indications from Vice President Mike Pence and White House officials that the president would sign it. But after Trump rejected it, McConnell is going to need nothing short of a public commitment of support from the president.

“It’s hard to know where he stands unless he comes out publicly. With the [continuing resolution, McConnell] at least got the impression that Trump was OK with it,” said one McConnell confidant.

In the meantime, McConnell has decided not even to take up the House-passed legislative package, despite the fact that many of the bills are ones that came through the GOP-controlled Senate Appropriations Committee.

Sen. Richard Shelby (R-Ala.), chairman of the Appropriations panel, has made clear that he doesn’t think any shutdown is worthwhile. But he cautions those who think McConnell will get caught in the middle of future battles between Trump and the Democrats.

“Don’t underestimate Mitch McConnell,” Shelby warned.

James Arkin contributed to this report.

Source Article from https://www.politico.com/story/2019/01/04/mcconnell-government-shutdown-1080027

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Fiery crash on Florida interstate kills at least 7 – CBS News
Fiery crash on Florida interstate kills at least 7 – CBS News

Two big rigs and two passenger vehicles collided and spilled diesel fuel across a Florida highway Thursday, sparking a massive fire that killed seven people, including children, authorities said. The wreck happened at 3:42 p.m. on Interstate 75 about a mile south of Alachua, near Gainesville.

The flames were fed by about 50 gallons of diesel, authorities said.

At least secedn others were critically injured, reports CBS Gainesville affiliate WGFL-TV.

Authorities initially said six had died but late Thursday night revealed a seventh victim had perished.

Florida Highway Patrol troopers said the crash involved two tractor trailers, a sedan and a passenger van, WGFL says. Lt. Patrick Riordan said two of the tractor-trailers collided and caught fire, as did the sedan.

Riordan said most of those who died were in the van, including children and adults.

Emergency crews extinguished the fire and authorities said they were investigating the crash as a homicide, but didn’t say why. The fire was so intense it damaged parts of the road, authorities said.

A spokesman for the Florida Highway Patrol told The Associated Press in a phone interview that their top priorities were to conduct a thorough investigation and to identify the deceased victims.

“There’s going to be families that need to be notified that their loves ones have perished,” said Lieutenant Patrick Riordan.

It’s unclear whether the victims were killed in the wreck or whether they burned in the fire, which would make identification more difficult, he said.

The aftermath closed part of the highway in both directions, causing massive delays.

The crash was in the northbound lanes, but southbound lanes were closed for hours to keep a route open for first responders, according to a tweet from the Alachua County Sherriff’s office, which said the emergency “required all hands on deck.” Authorities opened the northbound lanes around 8 p.m. but said southbound lanes could be closed until morning.

Debris including personal property and vehicle parts was scattered across the road, the Florida Highway Patrol said.

A helicopter arrived to search for any victims who may have been in nearby woods.

Source Article from https://www.cbsnews.com/news/fiery-crash-on-florida-interstate-kills-at-least-7/

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North Korea warns US to stop ‘meddling’ in its affairs with South Korea – USA TODAY
North Korea warns US to stop ‘meddling’ in its affairs with South Korea – USA TODAY
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President Donald Trump says he’s ready to meet again with Kim Jong Un to discuss North Korea’s nuclear weapons. In a Cabinet meeting Wednesday, Trump said he’d just received a letter from the North Korean leader. (Jan. 2)
AP

SEOUL — North Korea sent a warning to the U.S. on Thursday to avoid “meddling” in its affairs with South Korea and criticized Washington’s “unreasonable attitude” and “hostile” policies.

An editorial in the country’s state-run Rodong Sinmun newspaper blamed the U.S. for stagnation in the relationship between North and South Korea, claiming that “the United States does not want to see the improvement and development of the inter-Korean relations.”

While relations between Pyongyang and Washington remain at an impasse over North Korea’s nuclear disarmament and the lifting of international sanctions, Seoul has been pushing forward in peace gestures and engagement with the North.

The two Koreas have removed 10 guard posts in the demilitarized zone that divides the peninsula and recently held a groundbreaking ceremony on a project to connect their railroad systems. But that project and others like it cannot move much further until the U.S.-led sanctions on North Korea are lifted.

The North has also been eager to reopen a jointly run factory park in its border town of Kaesong and to resume South Korean tours to the resort area of Mount Kumgang.

“We will never tolerate the intervention and interference of the U.S. that tries to check the Korean nation’s reconciliation, unity and reunification while trying to subordinate the north-south relations to its own tastes and interests,” said the editorial.

“This is our warning in New Year,” the article concluded.

The sharp words came just a day after President Donald Trump said that he had received a “great letter” from North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and that the two would like to meet for a second time.

More: North Korea warns US sanctions could ‘block the path to denuclearization forever’

Speaking to reporters during a Cabinet meeting at the White House on Wednesday, Trump said that he and Kim have made “tremendous progress” and have “really established a good relationship.” He also claimed credit for maintaining peace on the Korean peninsula, saying that if it weren’t for the efforts of his administration, “you’d be having a nice, big, fat war in Asia.”

However, Trump said he wasn’t “in any rush” to hold the second meeting.

Trump has frequently praised Kim, saying in September that the North’s leader was “terrific” and that the two “fell in love” after their historic summit in Singapore last June.

That summit produced an agreement that North Korea would work toward a “complete denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula,” while the U.S. promised to provide security guarantees.

But more than six months later, there has been little tangible progress.

Pyongyang continues to look for relief from punishing international sanctions and an agreement for a formal end to the Korean War, while Washington is holding out for complete denuclearization, sticking to its “maximum pressure” strategy on the economic and diplomatic fronts.

In a televised New Year’s Day address, Kim said he was ready to meet again with Trump “anytime” but delivered a warning not to test North Korea’s patience over sanctions, threatening that it may have to find a “new way” to defend its interests.

If the U.S. “persists in imposing sanctions and pressure against our Republic, we may be compelled to find a new way for defending the sovereignty of the country and the supreme interests of the state,” Kim said.

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A woman dressed in a traditional gown pays her respects at statues of late North Korean leaders, Kim Il Sung, left, and Kim Jong Il, in Pyongyang, North Korea, Thursday, Feb. 16, 2017. Unaware of reports his eldest son – and current leader Kim Jong Un’s half-brother – was killed just days ago in what appears to have been a carefully planned assassination, North Koreans marked the birthday of late leader Kim Jong Il on Thursday as they do every year. Eric Talmadge, AP
Azalea, whose Korean name is “Dalle”, a 19-year-old female chimpanzee, smokes a cigarette at the Central Zoo in Pyongyang, North Korea Oct. 19, 2016. According to officials at the newly renovated zoo, which has become a favorite leisure spot in the North Korean capital since it was re-opened in July, the chimpanzee smokes about a pack a day. They insist, however, that she does not inhale. Wong Maye-E, AP
A picture released by the Rodong Sinmun, the newspaper of the ruling North Korean Workers Party, on Sept. 8, 2015, shows North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, center front, and Miguel Diaz-Canel Bermudez, second from right, a member of the Political Bureau of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Cuba and first vice-president of the Council of State, watching an art performance by the Moranbong Band and the State Merited Chorus in Pyongyang, North Korea, on Sept. 7, 2015. Bermudez led a Cuban delegation to North Korea to mark the 55th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between North Korea and Cuba. Rodong Sinmun, European Pressphoto Agency
Men and women pump their fists in the air and chant “defend!” as they carry propaganda slogans calling for reunification of their country during the “Pyongyang Mass Rally on the Day of the Struggle Against the U.S.,” attended by approximately 100,000 North Koreans to mark the 65th anniversary of the outbreak of the Korean War at the Kim Il Sung stadium, Thursday, June 25, 2015, in Pyongyang, North Korea. The month of June in North Korea is known as the “Struggle Against U.S. Imperialism Month” and it’s a time for North Koreans to swarm to war museums, mobilize for gatherings denouncing the evils of the United States and join in a general, nationwide whipping up of the anti-American sentiment. Wong Maye-E, AP
North Koreans gather in front of a portrait of their late leader Kim Il Sung, left, and Kim Jong Il, right, paying respects to their late leader Kim Jong Il, to mark the third anniversary of his death, Wednesday Dec. 17 at Pyong Chon District in Pyongyang, North Korea. North Korea marked the end of a three-year mourning period for the late leader Kim Jong Il on Wednesday, opening the way for his son, Kim Jong Un, to put a more personal stamp on the way the country is run. Kim Kwang Hyon, AP

 

Source Article from https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/world/2019/01/03/north-korea-warns-us-stop-meddling-south-korea/2478849002/

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Democrats Lay Out Their Agenda as Shutdown Fight Casts Shadow – The New York Times
Democrats Lay Out Their Agenda as Shutdown Fight Casts Shadow – The New York Times

In a speech accepting the speaker’s gavel on Thursday, Ms. Pelosi said the bill would “restore integrity to government so that people can have confidence that government works for the people, not the special interests.”

Leaning on constitutional authority to determine the parameters of House elections, the bill would effectively outlaw the gerrymandering of congressional districts, a practice employed by both Republicans and Democrats to maximize one-party control of individual states by sorting voters into districts according to their politics. Instead, states would be required to form independent commissions to draw districts based on apolitical metrics; state legislative districts would be unaffected.

Seeking to reverse Republicans’ state-level efforts to tighten access to polling places, the legislation mandates that state election officials automatically register eligible citizens to vote and outlaws certain tactics meant to remove voters from the rolls — provisions that would most likely protect minority voters.

Though it would take a constitutional amendment to limit the amount of money being spent to influence elections, the legislation would ban contributions by corporations substantially owned or controlled by foreigners and would require nonprofit organizations like unions and organizations registered under section 501(c)(4) of the tax code that participate in political activity to disclose the identity of donors who contribute more than $10,000. It would also require large digital companies to make public who is purchasing political ads, provisions included in the high-profile Honest Ads Act during the last Congress.

The legislation would also try to effectively prohibit coordination between campaigns and outside groups and expand the public financing system for House and presidential candidates. And it would require presidential inaugural committees, which are subject to very little oversight, to publicly account for their expenditures.

Directly targeting Mr. Trump, who has broken with decades of precedent by refusing to release his tax returns, the legislation would require presidents, vice presidents and candidates for those offices to make public 10 years of those files.

In response to Russian attempts to interfere in the 2016 elections, the bill would allocate money for federal grants to states to update their elections infrastructure, mandate certain routine security checks by state election authorities and require the executive branch to develop deterrence strategies.

Source Article from https://www.nytimes.com/2019/01/04/us/politics/house-democrats-ethics-voting-rights.html

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Trump admin wants to send more troops to border to string concertina wire – NBC News
Trump admin wants to send more troops to border to string concertina wire – NBC News

WASHINGTON — The Department of Homeland Security has requested more U.S. troops to be deployed at the border to add 160 miles of concertina wire on top of existing border fencing, according to three U.S. officials.

If approved by Acting Secretary of Defense Patrick Shanahan, the addition of troops to enhance the fencing could extend the military’s current deployment at the border until the end of September, based on the rate of construction, according to two officials. The military mission, which began two months ago, was set to end on Jan. 31.

The fencing that is to be reinforced with concertina wire is not new. The troops currently deployed at the border have already added concertina wire at ports of entry in Arizona, Texas and California. The request for troops to add an extra 160 miles of wire was first reported by NPR.

Construction of new barriers at the border remains a matter of debate between President Trump and Democrats in Congress. The president has refused to approve any spending bill that does not include funds for a wall, which has led to the partial shutdown of the government.

DHS is requesting more military engineers to install the concertina wire, more aviation support to move troops around the area, medical personnel and surveillance equipment, according to two sources.

If the request is approved, the Pentagon will decide how many troops to send and whether they will be active duty or National Guard troops.

The details of who will be deployed and exactly how long they will stay will be discussed at a Friday meeting between DHS and Defense Department officials, according to two sources.

Acting Secretary Shanahan spoke about the “restoration of the fences,” and “building out of additional mileage for the wall” during a Cabinet meeting at the White House Wednesday. “The threat is real. The risks are real. We need to control our borders,” Shanahan said, adding, “we’re doing additional planning to strengthen the support that we’re providing to [DHS Secretary] Kirstjen [Nielsen] and her team.”

Courtney Kube is a national security and military reporter for NBC News.

Julia Ainsley

Julia Ainsley is a national security reporter for NBC News.

Source Article from https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/immigration/trump-admin-wants-send-more-troops-border-string-concertina-wire-n954521

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Pelosi sends a message to Trump as the press covers a ‘power shift’ – CNN
Pelosi sends a message to Trump as the press covers a ‘power shift’ – CNN

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