Occupy Banksters & Crony Capitalism & GREED

Powerful twin storms set to cause Thanksgiving travel "nightmare"
Axios | Fadel Allassan, Rebecca Falconer | 11/27/19

AAA expects a near record of over 55 million people to travel for Thanksgiving, as forecasters warn the holiday coincides with two powerful storms set to blast across the U.S. -- including a rare "'bomb cyclone" on the West Coast.

What's happening: As the Plains, Midwest, Great Lakes and northern New England braced for heavy snow, rain, wind and severe storms, heavy snow has already left hundreds of flights canceled in Denver. It's expected to close other key transport hubs -- including in "Minneapolis, Chicago, Los Angeles, San Francisco and Portland," per the Washington Post, which called the pre-Thanksgiving travel situation a "nightmare." ... Read more

O'Reilly confronts Trump on Govt. Spending: 'You're Spending More than Obama!' | Bill O'Reilly | 11/27/19 | 2:15

RALLY | Trump holds rally in Sunrise, Florida | PBS | 11/26/19 | 1:54:59

WMO: Carbon dioxide levels hit the highest recorded in human history
Axios | Rebecca Falconer | 11/26/19

Atmospheric levels of the greenhouse gas carbon dioxide (CO2) reached the highest ever recorded in human history in 2018, the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) announced in a new report Monday.

Why it matters: If the trend continues, as predicted, the impact of climate change will become even more severe, the intergovernmental organization warns. "The last time the Earth experienced a comparable concentration of CO2 was 3-5 million years ago," WMO Secretary-General Petteri Taalas said in a statement accompanying the report. ...

... What they're saying: United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) executive director Inger Andersen said in a statement the WMO data and preliminary findings in the 2019 UN Emissions Gap Report, released in September, "point us in a clear direction -- in this critical period, the world must deliver concrete, stepped-up action on emissions." ... Read more

Everything so Far Has Failed: Why Exxon Mobil is Being Taken to Court Over Climate Change
TheIntercept | Ryan Devereaux |11/12/19

Two legal teams were crammed shoulder to shoulder around wooden tables. Spectators and curious out-of-state attorneys filled the benches behind them. Reporters hunched over their laptops. A tattooed court officer strolled the periphery of the room looking for rule-breakers. If you squinted, it could be any of the many high-profile trials that come through New York City and not -- as many hope it will be -- a historic test of whether the industry responsible for setting humanity on a path to immolation can be held to account before it's too late.

The case was the People of the State of New York v. Exxon Mobil Corp., which concluded last week. It is part of a wave of litigation directed at the titans of the fossil fuel industry making its way through courts across the country. "It's only the second climate-change case ever to go to trial in the United States," Michael Gerrard, a Columbia Law School professor and one of the world's leading experts on climate liability litigation, told The Intercept. "And it's the first where the plaintiffs were able to obtain discovery from any of the fossil-fuel companies." Should New York Attorney General Letitia James succeed in the case, Exxon Mobil could be on the hook for up to $1.6 billion in damages. ... Read more

Judge rules Don McGahn must comply with House impeachment subpoena
Axios | staff | 11/26/19

A federal judge ruled Monday that former White House counsel Don McGahn must testify under subpoena in the ongoing House impeachment inquiry, rejecting the White House's assertion that its aides are "absolutely immune" from congressional subpoenas. The Justice Department will appeal the ruling.

Why it matters: McGahn was one of the Mueller investigation's most important witnesses, featuring heavily in the section of the special counsel's report about potential obstruction of justice by Trump.

Between the lines: House Democrats hope that some Trump administration members, including former national security adviser John Bolton, may use the ruling to justify cooperating with the inquiry. ... Read more

Women And Immigrants, Demeaned By Trump, Take Center Stage At Impeachment
HP | Alanna Vagianos | 11/22/19

When former White House adviser Fiona Hill, who served as the National Security Council's top official on Russian affairs, testified before the House Intelligence Committee on Thursday, she described a sharp interaction with Gordon Sondland.

Hill said it began when she had a tense disagreement with the U.S. ambassador to the European Union. "I actually said to [Sondland], 'Who put you in charge of Ukraine?'" Hill said of the encounter. "I mean I'll admit I was a bit rude, but that's when he told me the president, which shut me up." ... ... Read more

Bill Moyers On The Dangers Of So Much Dishonesty | All In | MSNBC | 11/22/19 | 10:50

Giuliani associate's lawyer levels fresh Ukraine allegation against Nunes
Axios | Rebecca Falconer | 11/25/19

Lev Parnas, an associate of Rudy Giuliani, is willing to testify that aides to ranking Intelligence Committee member Rep. Devin Nunes (R-Calif.) canceled a 2019 trip to Ukraine to avoid notifying its Chairman Adam Schiff (D-Calif.), CNBC reported Sunday.

Driving the news: Nunes has threatened to sue CNN and the Daily Beast for reporting allegations that he met with former Ukrainian prosecutor Viktor Shokin to discuss investigating former Vice President Joe Biden. He called the reports "false" and suggested the outlets may have committed crimes in their reports of the claims by Joseph Bondy, the attorney of Parnas. ... Read more

Progressives VS Moderates (DEBATE) | 11/23/19 | 10:27

Ghosts of Mossadegh: The Iran Cables, U.S. Empire, and the Arc of History
TheIntercept | Jeremy Scahill | 11/20/19

AS U.S. SANCTIONS strangle Iran's economy, anti-government protests are spreading. This week on Intercepted: Iranian-American author and analyst Hooman Majd discusses a century of history marked by intervention and threats from major world powers. Beginning with Britain, Russia, and Germany battling for control of Iran's oil, Majd and Jeremy Scahill discuss the CIA coup against Mohammed Mossadegh in 1953, the Islamic revolution, and the seizure of the U.S. embassy in Tehran in 1979 and how Washington has repeatedly tried to bring down the government of the Islamic Republic. The Intercept's investigative series The Iran Cables offers historical insight into Iran's operations in neighboring Iraq, which are informed by the bloody history of the Iran-Iraq War, the U.S. invasion, subsequent occupation, and the shattering of Iraqi society. ... Read more

Intercepted Podcast: Donald Trump's 'Stache InfectionGhosts of Mossadegh: The Iran Cables, U.S. Empire, and the Arc of History | TheIntercept | 11/20/19 | 1hr

Trump repeats Ukraine conspiracy theory on 53-minute "Fox & Friends" call
Axios | staff | 11/22/19

President Trump spent 53 minutes of his Friday morning on the phone with the hosts of "Fox & Friends" -- his latest call-in to one of his favorite TV shows.

Driving the news: President Trump spent a chunk of the interview repeating a debunked conspiracy theory that Ukraine interfered in the 2016 presidential election. "That's what the word is," he claimed without evidence. ... Read more

Breaking down the Trump-Ukraine memo's CrowdStrike conspiracy
Axios | Joe Uchill | 09/26/19

All the key moments from Hill and Holmes' Trump impeachment hearing in 16 minutes | PBS | 11/21/19 | 16:48

Trump-Loyalists CALLED OUT by Fiona Hill During Testimony | TYT | 11/21/19 | 11:08

Devin Nunes Caught Working With Rudy Giuliani And Lev Parnas | TYT | 11/21/19 | 10:13

Trump Targets Take Over Impeachment
HP | Alanna Vagianos | 11/22/19

When former White House adviser Fiona Hill, who served as the National Security Council's top official on Russian affairs, testified before the House Intelligence Committee on Thursday, she described a sharp interaction with Gordon Sondland.

Hill said it began when she had a tense disagreement with the U.S. ambassador to the European Union. "I actually said to [Sondland], 'Who put you in charge of Ukraine?'" Hill said of the encounter. "I mean I'll admit I was a bit rude, but that's when he told me the president, which shut me up." ... Read more

The Trump Impeachment Hearings - Day 5 - Hill, Holmes to testify | PBS | 11/21/19 | LIVE

Guide to the impeachment hearings
PBS | staff | current

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Fox & Friends co-hosts saddened as Andrew Napolitano debunks their impeachment conspiracy theories | 11/21/19 | 3:21

Jewish Groups Demand Stephen Miller Resign From White House
HP | Christopher Mathias | 11/21/19

As the White House smears critics of the Trump adviser as anti-Semitic, Miller's "fellow American Jews" cited "irrefutable proof" of his white nationalism.

Multiple Jewish groups have called on White House senior adviser Stephen Miller to resign after leaked emails published last week showed the extent of his white nationalist worldview. Jews Against White Nationalism, an initiative involving six Jewish organizations, released a statement Tuesday calling Miller a "white nationalist" and the "architect of the Trump administration's cruel and endless attacks on immigrants."

"And with irrefutable proof of his deep-seated racism, xenophobia, and Islamophobia," the statement continued, "and with evidence that he has promoted websites spreading antisemitic conspiracy theories, he cannot be allowed to remain a federal employee." The six organizations -- Bend the Arc: Jewish Action, The Jewish Vote, T'ruah, Never Again Action, J Street, IfNotNow, Jews for Racial & Economic Justice, and the Jewish Vote -- launched an online petition addressed to Miller. ... Read more

Trump Impeachment Hearings - Day 4 -- Sondland, Cooper and Hale to testify | PBS | 11/20/19 | LIVE

The schedule for this week's impeachment hearings
Axios | staff | 11/20/19

Trump's 'West Point Mafia' Faces a Loyalty Test
Politico | Bryan Bender | 11/17/19

... Thanks in part to Trump's fixation on appointing current and former military officers to key posts, and in part to his tendency to take advice from a small circle of advisers, the West Point class of 1986 has grown into a profoundly influential cohort in American foreign and military policy. In the annals of the military service academies, its rise to the top puts it on a par with the class of 1915, which bred the commanders of World War II and a U.S. president.

The link that brought them into Trumpworld is David Urban, the lobbyist, CNN commentator and Trump confidant--and another member of the West Point class of '86--whose support of his fellow cadets helped Pompeo and Esper land their Cabinet posts. ... Read more

Alexander Vindman and Jennifer Williams testify in impeachment hearing
Axios | staff | 11/19/19

Lt. Col. Alexander Vindman, the National Security Council's top Ukraine expert, and Jennifer Williams, an aide to Vice President Pence, are testifying Tuesday morning as the House kicks off its second week of impeachment hearings.

Why it matters: This morning's hearing is the first time we'll hear publicly from witnesses who listened to the July 25 call between President Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky that lies at the heart of the impeachment inquiry. ... ... Read more

WATCH LIVE: The Trump Impeachment Hearings -- Day 3 Politics Nov 19 | PBS | 11/16/19 | LIVE

Guide to the impeachment hearings
PBS | staff | current

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Guide to the impeachment hearings
PBS | staff | current

Day 2 of the impeachment hearings, and what we learned from Amb. Yovanovitch

Former U.S. ambassador to Ukraine Marie Yovanovitch put a human face on the House impeachment proceedings Friday with riveting testimony about her career in the foreign service and abrupt removal by the White House from her post in Kiev earlier… ... Read more

WSJ: Sondland emails show he briefed Trump admin officials on Ukraine
Axios | Rebecca Falconer | 11/18/19

Gordon Sondland, U.S. ambassador to the EU, briefed senior administration officials on efforts to get Ukraine to investigate former Vice President Joe Biden ahead of President Trump's July 25 call with the Ukrainian leader, the Wall Street Journal reports.

Why it matters: Emails allegedly sent by Sondland that were obtained by the WSJ indicate that several other officials can confirm what some witnesses have testified to already about a Trump administration request to investigate Burisma, a gas company with ties to Biden's son. ... Read more

Steve Bannon Talks To The Impeachment Show | Vice | 11/15/19 | 30:52

Watch Fox News hosts react to Marie Yovanovitch testimony | CNN | 11/16/19 | 5:49

Capital markets are eyeing the world's soaring debt
Axios | Dion Rabouin | 11/15/19

The world's debt is rising to unprecedented levels. While politicians and the general public have seemingly lost interest, capital markets are beginning to show signs of strain, financial experts say.

Driving the news: Global debt surged by $7.5 trillion in the first half of the year, hitting a new record of more than $250 trillion, according to data released Thursday from the Institute of International Finance.

The world's debt has now risen to 320% of what it produces, the highest level recorded -- and IIF economists say they see "no sign of a slowdown."

The U.S. budget deficit rose 34% in October from a year earlier, and the U.S. and China are leading the debt binge with more than 60% of the world's total, IIF notes. ... Read more

Trump impeachment hearing Day 2 - Ambassador Yovanovitch | PBS | 11/15/19 | LIVE

Trump asks Supreme Court to block subpoena for tax returns
magazine | author | date

President Trump on Thursday filed a petition asking the Supreme Court to reverse a lower court ruling compelling his longtime accounting firm Mazars USA to turn over his tax returns to the Manhattan district attorney.

Why it matters: The request, which was expected, marks a significant escalation of the president's fight to stop prosecutors and Congress from obtaining his financial records -- one that will test the limits of Trump's argument that he is immune from criminal investigation while in office. ... Read more

Fox News hosts attack impeachment witnesses | CNN | 11/14/19 | 6:32

The Case For Impeaching Trump by by Elizabeth Holtzman

"Elizabeth Holtzman has always been the first and the bravest, the smartest and most trusted. She is the expert we need to deal with an accidental President who got there as a serial sexual harasser, a candidate who lost the popular vote, and an unsuccessful businessman who was born on third base and thinks he hit a home run. Now what? Ask Liz!" -- Gloria Steinem

In the era of Donald Trump, collusion, detention of immigrants, and fake news, it is important to hear what Elizabeth Holtzman has to say. She has been a principled leader and a persistent voice for equality and accountability since she became the youngest woman ever elected to Congress in 1973, which she remained for forty-two years. But she sees American democratic ideals, and the rule of law in the United States, eroding under President Trump.

And as a member of the House Judiciary Committee that voted to impeach Nixon, and one of the members of the Homeland Security advisory council who resigned in protest of President Donald Trump's policy of separating families at the border, former Congresswoman Holtzman knows that of which she speaks:

"President Donald Trump threatens our democracy. He lies, attacks our constitution, assaults the press, and obstructs justice. He causes unfathomable damage. The Constitution has a remedy for presidents who commit 'great and dangerous offenses': impeachment.

A fair, lawful, bipartisan impeachment inquiry into President Trump means getting to the bottom of things. It means analyzing with a clear head and heart what President Trump has done and what the law requires.

Impeaching a president is a grave undertaking. The compassionate and diverse America I know demands we get ready to do it."

What to expect from impeachment
magazine | author | date

Starting today, Democrats will do everything they can to put the most damaging testimony against President Trump in front of the public -- while Republicans try to put as much distance as possible between Trump and the efforts to pressure Ukraine.

Why it matters: The American public, which has largely been left out of the impeachment process so far, will get a front row seat to the fourth attempt in U.S. history to remove a president from office. ... Read more

WATCH LIVE: The Trump Impeachment Hearings - Day 1 | PBS NewsHour Special | 11/13/19 | LIVE

Leaked Document Reveals: The U.S. Military is Monitoring Interfaith Group Opposed to Child Separation
TheIntercept | Ken Klippenstein | 11/11/19

U.S. MILITARY FORCES deployed to the southern border are monitoring domestic protesters, including anti-border wall groups, according to an internal Pentagon document obtained exclusively by The Young Turks and The Intercept. The military, the document reveals, has focused particular attention on an interfaith group peacefully protesting the Trump administration's child separation policy.

The document includes what's called a "threat estimate," an assessment detailing the risk of perceived border threats. Among those threats are protests by members of religious groups against "the detention of families and children," as well as anti-ICE protests and protests by "anti border-wall extremists."

Asked why they were monitoring an interfaith group, Defense Department spokesperson John Cornelio replied, "DoD works closely to support Federal law enforcement agencies along the Southwest border. Law enforcement agencies share information regarding migrant caravans and protestors with DoD consistent with applicable laws and policies for DoD force protection purposes." ... Read more

Climate change causes Islands to disappear | 60 Minutes | 05/13/19 | 17:12

Venice Mayor Blames Climate Change As Italian City Inundated By Highest Tide In 50 Years
HP | Dominique Mosbergen | 11/1/19

William and Harry (and Kate!) were Guests at Stepsister Laura Lopes' Wedding
magazine | author | date

U.S. Held Nearly 70,000 Migrant Children In Government Custody In 2019
AP/HP | Christopher Sherman, Martha Mendoza and Garance Burke | 11/12/19

COMAYAGUA, Honduras (AP) -- The 3-year-old girl traveled for weeks cradled in her father's arms, as he set out to seek asylum in the United States. Now she won't even look at him.

After being forcibly separated at the border by government officials, sexually abused in U.S. foster care and deported, the once bright and beaming girl arrived back in Honduras withdrawn, anxious and angry, convinced her father abandoned her. ...

... This month new government data shows the little girl is one of an unprecedented 69,550 migrant children held in U.S. government custody over the past year, enough infants, toddlers, kids and teens to overflow the typical NFL stadium. ... Read more

Arctic blast set to spread across the U.S. in record cold snap
Axios | Rebecca Falconer | 11/12/19

Snow cancelled some 1,000 flights at Chicago airports Monday as an arctic blast brings freezing temperatures to tens of millions of people across the U.S. this week, AP reports.

Why it matters: The National Weather Service (NWS) warns "widespread record cold" is possible for much of the country this week. It says 385 cold records could tumble from the Plains to the East Coast through Thursday. ...

... What to expect: "The arctic airmass that has settled across much of the northern and central U.S. will continue to push south and eastward, spreading the much below average temperatures into the Southeast and East on Tuesday and continuing into Wednesday," the NWS said. ... Read more

Over 140 trade associations and companies agree that Dreamers are vital to the US economy.

GOP to argue Trump's "state of mind" on impeachment
Axios | Mike Allen, Jonathan Swan, Zachary Basu | 11/12/19

Confronted with a mountain of damaging facts heading into tomorrow's opening of the public phase of impeachment, House Republicans plan to argue that "the President's state of mind" was exculpatory.

The state of play: "To appropriately understand the events in question -- and most importantly, assess the President's state of mind during his interaction with [Ukrainian] President Zelensky -- context is necessary," says the 18-page staff memo, circulated to committee members last night. ...

... The memo points to "four key pieces of evidence" to try to undermine Democrats' arguments for why the president should be impeached: ... ... Read more

Exposing Jeffrey Epstein's international sex trafficking ring | 60 Minutes | 11/10/19 | 45:16

Jamie Dimon, head of America's biggest bank, on politics, his company's role in the 2008 financial crisis, and his paycheck| 60 Minutes | 11/10/19 | 14:47

"The Pollinators": New Film Shows How Decline of Bee Colonies Could Mean Collapse of Food Chain | DN | 11/07/19 | 10:18

Exclusive: Mike Bloomberg will "spend whatever it takes" in 2020
Axiose | Mike Allen, Margaret Talev | 11/08/19

Mike Bloomberg is jumping into the Democratic presidential race because he believes that Joe Biden is fading, opening the moderate lane next to Elizabeth Warren, sources close to the former New York mayor tell Axios.

Why it matters: "Mike will spend whatever it takes to defeat Donald Trump," a Bloomberg source said. "The nation is about to see a very different campaign than we've ever seen before." ... Read more

China's mainland stock market has outpaced the rest of the world
Axios | Dion Rabouin | 11/08/19

China's economic growth has weakened to the slowest pace in nearly three decades this year, the result of a gradual shift to a new economy and a damaging trade war with the U.S.

Its mainland stock market, made up of largely domestic-facing companies, is having a banner year -- in fact, it's been the best performing major stock index in the world. ...

... The bottom line: China has the second-largest stock market in the world and is growing fast, but mainland Chinese stocks are still owned by very few outside China. ... Read more

Impeachment, then and now | Washington Week | PBS | 11/01/19 | 8:33

Episode 3 Preview: Patterned Planet | Life From Above (Trailer) | PBS | 11/04/19 | 0:30

Patterned Planet | Life From Above PBS website

PBS Shows website (there are a lot!)

Panic: The Untold Story of the 2008 Financial Crisis | Vice | HBO | Council on Foreign Relations | 05/01/19 | 1:35:33

The Biggest Bank Heist Ever! (Note: This is a cut down vesion of 'Inside Job' by Charles Ferguson. The full version is GREAT) | 05/01/19 | 1:35:33

41% of top Trump officials appointed in his first year have left
Click on Image to Zoom in
Axios | Stef W. Kight | 11/07/19

President Donald Trump has lost 41% of the Cabinet secretaries, deputy secretaries and under secretaries he appointed in his first year in office, new data from the Partnership for Public Service's Center for Presidential Transition shows.

Why it matters: This far outpaces the turnover rate for recent predecessors at the same stage of their presidencies -- and underscores the challenges Trump may face in recruiting and retaining a new stable of top officials if he wins re-election. ... Read more

The unanswered questions in America's AI strategy
Axios | Kaveh Waddell | 11/07/19

Three years since the White House first publicly considered the U.S. government's role as a shepherd of artificial intelligence research, pivotal unanswered questions are still holding back a coherent strategy for boosting the critical technology at home.

Why it matters: China's authoritarian system, largely untroubled by deliberative holdups, has been pouring money into its AI sector.

Driving the news: In a report released Monday, the National Security Commission on AI -- a group of experts tasked by Congress with recommending strategies for maintaining national security with AI -- tried to arrive at a consensus on thorny issues. But agreement was elusive on these core problems. ... Read more

NATIONAL SECURITY COMMISSION ON ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE

I. Message from the Chairman and Vice Chairman

We are pleased to provide Congress with the Interim Report of the National Security Commission on Artificial Intelligence. It represents the Commission's initial assessment on artificial intelligence (AI) as it relates to national security, provides preliminary judgments regarding areas where the United States can do better, and suggests some interim actions the government could take now. Our full analysis and recommendations will be made in our final report.

We are heartened by the bipartisan support that the Commission is receiving from Congress. The White House has been generous with its time and insights. Departments, agencies, and the Intelligence Community have provided resources, support, and have answered our questions. Everyone has been forthright about the government's shortcomings and earnest in their determination to "get AI right." We have enjoyed equal support from leaders in academia, civil society organizations, and the private sector. They have explained their roles in the AI ecosystem, outlined their concerns, and highlighted opportunities for utilizing AI for national security purposes. The Commission is eager to hear from many more Americans and our allies and partners as it examines the most significant national security dimensions of AI.

The rising seas global warming has already locked in
Axios | Amy Harder | 11/06/19

Diplomats' Texts Lay Out Trump Ukraine Scheme In Stark Detail | Rachel Maddow | MSNBC | 11/05/19 | 15:41

11,000 scientists urge action on global "climate emergency"
Axios | Orion Rummler | 11/06/19

RALLY | Trump holds campaign rally in Lexington, Kentucky | ABC News | 11/05/19 | 1:32:29

Bombshell Impeachment Testimony Perfectly Underscores Lindsey Graham's Hypocrisy
HP | Ryan Grenoble | 11/05/19

The Republican senator literally refused to read witness transcripts after demanding their release just a month ago.

Last month, Graham was complaining about not having access to one of the witness transcripts from the impeachment inquiry. He also said if there was real evidence of quid pro quo pressure on Ukraine by President Donald Trump, that "would be very disturbing."

On Tuesday, House Democrats made public the testimonies of two more witnesses ? Kurt Volker, the State Department's former special envoy to Ukraine, and Gordon Sondland, U.S. ambassador to the European Union. Sondland's transcript came with a significant update: He said he now recalled his own involvement in the quid pro quo effort. ... Read more

3 Things To Watch On Election Day
HP | Kevin Robillard | 11/05/19

A slew of elections on Tuesday, covering territory from the Mississippi Delta to the wealthy Virginia suburbs to the city of Philadelphia, and offices from city council to governor, will collectively serve as a test of just how nationalized American politics has become.

In Mississippi and Kentucky, two men ? one a local political legend, the other the son of a popular former governor ? will seek to convince their neighbors to turn against the Republican Party they trust wholly at the national level and elect Democrats to the governor's mansion. In Virginia, Republicans hoping to cling to control of the state legislature are counting on a pair of damaging local political scandals to matter more than suburban voters' support for gun control and loathing of President Donald Trump. And in Philadelphia, a local political machine is seeking to defeat a progressive whose campaign received a major boost from Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.). ... Read more

Indicted Giuliani associate now willing to comply with impeachment inquiry
Axios | Zachary Basu | 11/05/19

Lev Parnas, one of Rudy Giuliani's foreign-born associates who were indicted on campaign finance charges last month, is now willing to cooperate in the House's impeachment inquiry, his lawyer told Reuters on Monday.

Why it matters: Parnas and another associate, Igor Fruman, helped connect Giuliani with Ukrainian officials as part of a campaign to push Ukraine to investigate President Trump's political opponents, including Joe Biden. Parnas' and Fruman's previous lawyer, John Dowd, told House investigators that they would not comply with the committee's document requests because they were "overly broad and unduly burdensome." ... Read more

Voting Machines: Last Week Tonight | John Oliver | 11/03/19 | 19:21

The Idiot's Guide to the Roger Stone trial
magazine | author | date

The Roger Stone circus is going on trial. Starting Tuesday, Stone, the conservative provocateur and longtime adviser to Donald Trump, will be in federal court fighting charges that he obstructed a congressional investigation into whether the president won the 2016 campaign with the help of Russian hackers.

At first, the case may seem like a lingering sideshow from special counsel Robert Mueller's Russia probe. But the three-week trial could offer juicy tidbits about the Trump campaign -- revealing details about staffers' intense desire to see the public dump of Democratic emails, for instance -- showcase a parade of colorful Trumpworld figures like Steve Bannon and even feature a few "Godfather" references.

Stone's case will also be argued in front of a jury at the same time House Democrats escalate their own impeachment investigation into Trump by collecting evidence suggesting the president pressured Ukraine to assist his 2020 reelection bid. While the issues at the center of Stone's trial are unrelated to the emerging Ukraine controversy, documents that circulated during the period since the GOP operative's indictment actually fed some of the unfounded, Trump-boosted theories about Ukrainian involvement in the 2016 U.S. election. ... Read more

Trump rejects offer of written answers from whistleblower
Politico | Quint Forgey | 11/04/19

President Donald Trump on Monday rejected an offer by the lawyer for the anonymous whistleblower at the center of House Democrats' impeachment inquiry to submit written answers to questions from Republican lawmakers.

"The Whistleblower gave false information & dealt with corrupt politician Schiff," Trump wrote on Twitter, referring to House Intelligence Chairman Adam Schiff (D-Calif.), one of the leaders of the impeachment probe.

"He must be brought forward to testify," the president continued. "Written answers not acceptable!"

The whistleblower would respond to those queries under oath and penalty of perjury, Zaid said -- attempting to undercut Republican criticisms regarding a lack of transparency in the Democratic-led impeachment process and to blunt skepticism toward the unknown intelligence official's allegations. ... Read more

Elizabeth Warren's dream health care world
Axios | Caitlin Owens | 11/04/19

Sen. Elizabeth Warren's Medicare for All plan takes on every major health care industry -- insurers, doctors, hospitals and drug companies -- in her pursuit of expanding coverage and lowering costs for the middle class.

Why it matters: We've never tried any cost containment measures that are remotely close to being as aggressive as Warren's, and there could be consequences if payment rates are slashed so low.

The big picture: Experts say you can only wring so much money out of the system before it starts to impact the care people receive -- and Warren is wringing out a lot. ... ... ... Read more

Former pastor Josh Harris: Evangelical support for Trump is "incredibly damaging to the Gospel" | 11/04/19 | 1:29

Why President Donald Trump's Twitter typos matter. | CNN | 11/01/19 | 4:31

RALLY | President Donald Trump Speaks At Mississippi Campaign Rally | NBC News | 11/01/19 | 1:32:34

Juncker: Boris Johnson told 'so many lies' in EU referendum campaign
TheGuardian | Jennifer Rankin | 11/04/19

In a valedictory interview with the German magazine Der Spiegel, Juncker voiced regret he had not countered the claims of the leave campaign in 2016. The commission decided not to get involved on the advice of David Cameron, who feared interventions from Brussels would backfire.

Juncker said that had been a big mistake, adding: "So many lies were told, including by current prime minister, Boris Johnson, that there needed to be a voice to counter them." ... Read more

Full Interview: Bernie SAnders and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez Talk Politics and 2020 With The Intercept'S Ryan Grim
TheIntercept | Ben Grim | 11/01/19

ON MONDAY, the only Jewish candidate in the Democratic presidential race stood in front of an audience of Jews in Washington, D.C., and suggested cutting U.S. aid to Israel.

"I would use the leverage, $3.8 billion is a lot of money, and we cannot give it carte blanche to the Israeli government or for that matter to any government at all,"Sen. Bernie Sanders said at the annual convention of J Street, a liberal pro-Israel advocacy group.

It isn't the first time Sanders has discussed deploying foreign aid as "leverage"over the Jewish state. Back in the fall of 2017, in an interview with me for The Intercept, the Vermont senator described the United States as "complicit"in the illegal occupation of the West Bank and Gaza and said he would consider voting to reduce U.S. aid to Israel. ... Read more

Bernie Sanders and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez Talk Politics and 2020 with The Intercept's Ryan Grim | 11/01/19 | 9:30

Elizabeth Warren releases her Medicare for All plan
Axios | Caitlin Owens | 11/01/19

Sen. Elizabeth Warren has released her long-awaited plan to pay for Medicare for All, which she says will put the $11 trillion that would be spent out-of-pocket on health care over 10 years "back in the pockets of American families."

The bottom line: This will be paid for "with targeted spending cuts, new taxes on giant corporations and the richest 1% of Americans, and by cracking down on tax evasion and fraud. Not one penny in middle-class tax increases," the plan states. ... Read more

Speaker Nancy Pelosi: Trump Undermined Our National Security, To The Benefit Of The Russians | 11/01/19 | 12:21

As Impeachment Enters Next Phase, Witnesses Tell Consistent Story | Rachel Maddow | MSNBC | 11/01/19 | 12:25