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☆ Biden makes his play for anti-Trump Republicans he hopes can give him a second term
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-06 | by ( Edward-Isaac Dovere | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +17 min

Washington CNN —Donald Trump hasn’t shown much interest in reaching out to Republicans who hate him. Or, he argued, “they’re likely to stay home.”Hutchinson told CNN he won’t stay home himself, but he won’t vote for Biden or Trump. “This swath of Republican strategist types are literally begging the Biden campaign to give them a reason to support him,” a former House Republican leadership aide told CNN. “You can hold your nose and vote for Biden and not be in public screaming about it. But Purcell has also not yet heard from the Biden campaign this time.

Persons: Washington CNN — Donald Trump hasn’t, Joe Biden, Adam Kinzinger’s, Austin Weatherford, Nikki Haley, Haley, Biden, Anita Dunn, Cassidy Hutchinson, Anthony Scaramucci, Liz Cheney, John Kasich, Trump, Cindy McCain, shouldn’t, –, ”, Jen O’Malley Dillon, they’ve, mattering, Denver Riggleman, Kinzinger, Paul Ryan, Chris Christie, Mike Pence, Mark Cuban, doesn’t, he’s, Joe, “, Larry Hogan, I’m, ’ ” Hogan, ” Hogan, they’re, Carolina Sen, Lindsey Graham, it’s Biden, Asa Hutchinson, Daisy Bates, Hutchinson, “ You’ve, you’re, ” Hutchinson, “ they’re, won’t, Indiana Sen, Todd Young –, Biden –, ” Young, Young, Christine Todd Whitman, George W, Bush, ” Whitman, Whitman, Joe Walsh, don’t, MAGA, Claudine Schneider, Schneider, Geoff Duncan, Donald Trump, ’ ” Duncan, ” Duncan, “ ‘ Will, Biden George H.W, Hillary Clinton, “ he’s, He’s, Howard Stern, “ Where’s Jeb Bush, Where’s George Bush, ’ ” Biden, Jeb Bush, Hogan, Kristopher Purcell, Purcell Organizations: Washington CNN, Republican, White, Trump, Democratic, Ohio Gov, CNN, Republicans, Trump Republican, Virginia Rep, Denver, Trump Republicans, Former New Jersey Gov, Tech, Biden, Senate, South, Capitol, New, Environmental Protection Agency, Independents, Illinois, Republican Party, MAGA Republicans, Congress, Trump ., Bush Republicans, Maryland Senate Locations: Biden’s, Wilmington, Israel, Ukraine, Former, Dallas, Maryland, Baltimore, York, South Carolina, Carolina, Arkansas, New Jersey, Trump, Rhode Island, Georgia

☆ After Libertarians reject RFK Jr., what does success look like for third-party candidates?
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-28 | by ( Zachary B. Wolf | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +8 min

But the idea of simply placing Kennedy atop the Libertarian Party ticket to marry his momentum with their organization left Kennedy with an embarrassing loss at the Libertarian Party convention in Washington. About half – 51% – said they would support Trump in a two-way matchup, compared with 37% who said they would pick Biden. The last third-party candidate to win a state and get Electoral Votes was George Wallace, who won Southern states in 1968. The only third-party candidate to outperform a major party candidate was former President Teddy Roosevelt, who outpolled Republicans after he failed to get their nomination in 1912 and then ran as a third-party candidate. But rather than focus on the relatively few people who turn out for a third-party candidate, why not look at the large number of people who don’t take part in elections at all?

Persons: CNN —, Donald Trump, Robert F, Kennedy Jr, Chase Oliver, Kennedy, Trump, Nicole Shanahan, Shanahan, – Kennedy, Biden, CNN’s Harry Enten, –, RFK, Ross Perot, George Wallace, Teddy Roosevelt, Woodrow Wilson, Oliver, Jo Jorgensen, Gary Johnson’s, CNN’s Aaron Pellish, Pellish, Kennedy don’t, Bob Barr, Bill Weld, Gary Johnson, Barr, Weld, Ron Paul, Paul, Jill Stein, Ralph Nader, Al Gore, George W, Karl Rove, Stein, Hillary Clinton, Rove, Libertarian’s Jorgensen, Johnson Organizations: CNN, Republican, Libertarian Party, Trump, Google, Biden, SSRS, Quinnipiac University, RFK Jr, Electoral, Southern, Democrat, Libertarian, Federal Reserve, GOP, Republican Massachusetts gov, Green Party, Street Journal, Democratic, Pew Research Center Locations: Washington, Republican Massachusetts, Florida, Michigan , Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, Arizona , Georgia

☆ Here’s why we eat popcorn at the movies
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-25 | by ( Alicia Wallace | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +11 min

But the perfect (and very profitable) pairing of today wasn’t always the case: For many years, movie theaters wanted nothing to do with the snack. People watch movies in a newly reopened AMC River East theater on Aug. 20, 2020, in Chicago. Popular movies often bring collectible cups and popcorn buckets, or, in industry-speak, Collectible Concession Vehicles (CCVs). The cinema business will continue to evolve, but one thing will remain constant, said Gil of Queen’s University. “Theaters will stop playing movies before they will actually stop selling popcorn.”

Persons: “, Fred Astaire, Ginger Rogers, ” Paul Dergarabedian, Andrew F, ” Smith, Cracker Jack, ”, Smith, ’ ” Smith, hawkers, Peter Stackpole, John Aitkin, John Sr, Aitkin, Alicia Wallace, CNN It’s, Loren Williams, Alicia Reese, Ricard Gil, Jason Wambsgans, Gil, Wedbush’s Reese, Red Robin, ” Nels Storm, Garfield ”, Cory Ryan, Heather Morgan, Alamo’s, ” Andrew Sherburne, Christian Meoli, Camilla Meoli, ” Gil Organizations: Minneapolis CNN, CNN, AMC, Exposition, Bettmann, Riverview, “, Riverview Theater, Wedbush, Queen’s University, Chicago Tribune, Tribune, Service, Waffle, AMC Theatres ’, Walmart, Kroger, Alamo, University of Iowa’s, Cinemas Locations: Minneapolis, America, New England, South America, Philadelphia, Texas, South Minneapolis, Riverview, “ Kingdom, Canada, Chicago, Brooklyn , New York, Iowa City , Iowa, Seattle, Emerald, California

☆ Opinion: We Germans are making Trump ‘thunderstorm’ plans
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-21 | by ( Opinion Anna Sauerbrey | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +12 min

That’s scary.” If Trump is elected, Jörg is convinced, he would withdraw American troops from Europe and stop aid to Ukraine. Jim Bourg/AFP/Getty ImagesSix months ahead of the vote, this soccer field conversation reflects the German view of the US elections quite well. Kirill Kudryavtsev/AFP/Getty ImagesIt’s an optimistic view, based on the assumption that Trump will act rationally, as a deal-maker, if elected. What if Trump tries to take America out of NATO or creates a “dormant NATO,” a NATO existent only in name? Another Trump presidency would not only put Germany’s security at risk, but also manifest this view of the US for another four years.

Persons: Thomas Ernst Editor’s, Anna Sauerbrey, Read, ’, ”, Jörg, Miguel, Donald Trump, “, “ Trump, Trump, “ I’m, Piero, Joe Biden, Jim Bourg, Europe’s, Russia “, Olaf Scholz, Michael Kappeler, ” Scholz, mums, Annalena Baerbock, Greg Abbott, Biden, Kirill Kudryavtsev, George H, Bush’s, Barack Obama, Obama, Heinz M, Schahina Gambir, Gambir, Roe, Wade, Bob Parent Organizations: Zeit, Berlin CNN —, Köpenicker FC, CNN, Biden, Trump, Getty, NATO, Republican, European Union, European Central Bank, EU, ”, Dallas Mavericks, Mavericks, LA Clippers, NBA, Green, Bundestag Locations: Berlin, America, Taiwan, Europe, Ukraine, Italy, AFP, Gaza, Germany, Russia, United States, Trump, Texas, China, Poland, France, Frankfurt, Kabul, New York City, New York

☆ The US did a complete 180 on same-sex marriage
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-17 | by ( Zachary B. Wolf | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +8 min

The vast majority of Americans opposed same-sex marriage on May 17, 2004, when the first same-sex couples took their vows after a court decision in Massachusetts. Barack Obama notably opposed same-sex marriage when he ran for president as a Democrat in the 2008 election and, as public opinion was rapidly shifting, changed his tune in 2012 to support same-sex unions. Warnings were unfoundedThere is also evidence that warnings about same-sex marriage somehow endangering “traditional marriage” simply never materialized. A new study by researchers for the RAND Corporation to assess two decades of same-sex marriage in the US argues marriage rates actually increased among opposite-sex couples as same-sex couples were granted the ability to marry in certain states. A key difference between support for same-sex marriage and support for abortion rights, according to Lundry, is that support for abortion rights has remained positive for decades, in contrast to same-sex marriage, which saw a complete turnaround.

Persons: CNN —, Mitt Romney, George W, Bush, Hillary, Julie Goodridge, Charles Krupa, Sen, John Kerry, Hodges, Barack Obama, Obama, Romney, Anthony Kennedy, Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Brett Kavanaugh, Amy Coney Barrett, Clarence Thomas, Samuel Alito, weren’t, ” Romney, Obergefell, —, PRRI, Alex Lundry, Republican pollster, “, ” Lundry, Gen, Dick Cheney, Joe Biden Organizations: CNN, Republican, House, Boston City Hall, Massachusetts Democrat, Democrat, Supreme, Gallup, RAND Corporation Locations: Massachusetts, Utah, Oregon, Ohio, Without Ohio, America

☆ Election Updates: Biden and Trump are aiming to have two debates, the first in June.
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-15 | by ( Jonathan Swan | Maggie Haberman | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +13 min

Mr. Biden recently indicated he would debate Mr. Trump, but had until now declined to give any firm commitment or specific details. In a video announcing his offer, Mr. Biden taunted Mr. Trump. Mr. Trump leads Mr. Biden in most polls of battleground states, including the recent surveys by The New York Times, Siena College and The Philadelphia Inquirer. Significantly more voters trust Mr. Trump over Mr. Biden to handle the economy. Mr. Biden, exasperated, famously said to Mr. Trump, “Will you shut up, man?

Persons: Biden, Donald J, Trump, —, Robert F, Kennedy Jr, Mr, Biden’s, Jennifer O’Malley Dillon, O’Malley Dillon, ”, Trump’s, “ Let’s, Donald, Ms, Mark Makela, “ Will, Susie Wiles, Chris LaCivita, Reagan, “, There’s, Kennedy, Wiles, LaCivita, George W, Bush’s, Barack Obama, Mitt Romney, Richard Perry, Romney, Hillary Clinton’s, Bill Clinton, Reid J, Epstein Organizations: The New York Times, Biden, Commission, Mr, Trump, “, ”, Republican National Convention, Republican National Committee, Siena College, The Philadelphia Inquirer, White House, CNN, Electoral College —, Republican, Democratic, ” Networks, CBS News, ABC News, Telemundo Locations: Washington, Trump’s Manhattan, York, Milwaukee, America

☆ Biden faces widening partisan split over Israel
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-06 | by ( Ronald Brownstein | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +17 min

CNN —President Joe Biden is facing more critical moments this week that will test his fraught relationship with his base over Israel’s war in Gaza and potentially widen the partisan split about the Jewish state that has been building for years. Against this backdrop, partisan polarization about Israel among American voters was already widening years before the brutal Hamas attack last October and the devastating Israeli response it triggered. An array of polls this spring show how the war in Gaza has hardened this partisan split. Nearly half of Democrats, but only a little over one-fifth of Republicans in the CBS poll, said the US should pressure Israel to stop the fighting. “Biden has a Democratic caucus that is putting a lot of faith in this process,” she said.

Persons: Joe Biden, Long, Benjamin Netanyahu, Netanyahu, “, ”, Aaron David Miller, Biden, Harry Truman, Lyndon B, Johnson, Jimmy Carter, Bill Clinton, Dwight Eisenhower, Richard Nixon, Ronald Reagan, George H.W, Bush, Reagan, George W, Donald Trump, Clinton, Barack Obama, Republicans —, Obama, Israel, Biden —, Gallup, Trump, That’s, Chuck Schumer, Mike Johnson, Biden’s, Jamaal Bowman, Cori Bush, Waleed Shahid, Shahid, David, it’s Goliath, David ”, Miller, “ Biden, ’ ”, Ben Rhodes, ” Biden, “ We’re, Saudi Arabia — “, Mark Mellman, Schumer, Sen, Bernie Sanders, Israel’s, Chris Murphy of, Chris Van Hollen, Chris Coons, Tim Kaine, Virginia, Van Hollen, Amanda Klasing, — Organizations: CNN, Israel, Republican, Democratic, Gallup Organization, Carnegie Endowment, International Peace, Holocaust Memorial, GOP, Whites, Republican Party, Republicans, Gallup, Trump, Chicago Council, Global Affairs, Quinnipiac University, CBS, Liberal, American Israel Public Affairs Committee, AIPAC, National Security Council, Amnesty International, Amnesty Locations: Gaza, Israel, United States, Iran, Quinnipiac, Washington, New York, Missouri, Yom Kippur, Saudi Arabia, Sens, Chris Murphy of Connecticut, Maryland, Delaware, Rafah

☆ Opinion: What conservatives don’t get about the protests roiling college campuses
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-29 | by ( Opinion Jeremi Suri | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +9 min

These attacks have over the years undermined university leadership and provoked students, staff and faculty. University leaders responded positively, helping to build more dynamic and well-endowed centers for this work than on any other peer campus in the country. Many students, staff and faculty, especially those from minority backgrounds, feel that they have suffered setback after setback at the hands of hostile politicians and deferential administrators. Public and private university leaders have become more distant from their own campuses as they focus on fund-raising and testifying before hostile federal and state legislatures. There are, of course, good reasons why university leaders should not give in to protesters on these and other points.

Persons: Jeremi Suri, Mack Brown, America’s, CNN —, George W, Bush, ”, “, —, ” Jeremi Suri Korey Howell, Rick Perry, Perry, William Powers, Powers, Greg Abbott, Abbott, Bill, – Organizations: Leadership, Global Affairs, University of Texas, History Department, LBJ School, Democracy, “, CNN, Yale, Republican Party, Republican, Bush’s, Austin, Republicans, University, Clements Center for National Security, Salem Center for Policy, Civitas Institute, School of Civic Leadership, Military, Public, Kent State, Jackson State Universities Locations: Austin, Texas, Houston, Rio Grande Valley, Dallas, United States, Vietnam

☆ Opinion | Trump’s Act Was Getting Stale. Being a Courtroom Victim Is Just What He Needed.
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-25 | by ( Stuart Stevens | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +2 min

The trial will afford Mr. Trump the opportunity to define the essence of his candidacy: I am a victim. The very competent operatives running the Trump campaign didn’t draw this up as their ideal campaign plan, but they will appreciate its potential. The Manhattan courtroom will be the setting for Mr. Trump to play the role of a familiar American archetype: the wronged man seeking justice from corrupt, powerful forces. But here’s the most important element of scheduling: putting a candidate in a setting that gives them a chance to excel. Mr. Trump loves big rallies.

Persons: Donald Trump, Trump, George W, Bush’s, Bush Organizations: Republican, Trump, Cable Locations: New York City, Manhattan, Texas

☆ Pro-Israel Groups Promised to Be Active in Democratic Primaries. They Haven’t Done Much Yet.
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-21 | by ( Jonathan Weisman | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

After Hamas’s Oct. 7 attack on Israel, pro-Israel political groups put the Democratic Party’s most outspoken critics of the Jewish state on notice: An avalanche of spending was coming to either unseat them or force them to change their posture on the Middle East. But the first expeted target of that avalanche, Representative Summer Lee of Pittsburgh, will face only nominal opposition in the Pennsylvania primary on Tuesday. And though groups like Democratic Majority for Israel and United Democracy Project, an affiliate of the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, have raised tens of millions of dollars to make good on their threats, they have so far mostly declined to spend it. Pro-Israel groups were unable to recruit an experienced, well-known primary challenger to Ms. Lee. That is not the case in primaries to come, especially Representative Jamaal Bowman’s in New York in June and Representative Cori Bush’s in Missouri in August.

Persons: Summer Lee, Lee, Jamaal Bowman’s, Cori Bush’s Organizations: Israel, Democratic, United Democracy Project, American Israel Public Affairs Committee, Synagogue Locations: Israel, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, Squirrel, New York, Missouri

☆ Iran’s Axis of Resistance
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-04 | by ( David Leonhardt | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Its members refer to it as the Axis of Resistance. The network’s name is a play on former President George W. Bush’s 2002 claim that Iran, Iraq and North Korea made up an Axis of Evil. The Axis of Resistance includes Hamas, Hezbollah, the Houthis and other groups, and both its strategy and its tactics have long been radical. Nonetheless, the conflict between the Axis and its enemies had remained limited for years. Even though Iran funds and supports the Axis, other countries have often treated its member groups as distinct from Iran.

Persons: George W Organizations: Hamas Locations: Iran, Israel, Iraq, North Korea, Yemen, America

☆ Opinion: If Marjorie Taylor Greene wins on Ukraine aid, we’re headed for dangerous territory
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-04 | by ( Julian Zelizer | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

CNN —Republican Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia is the new boss in town. Greene is intent on blocking funding to Ukraine — a massive blow to both NATO and the US’ own commitment to the post-World War II international order. This standoff demonstrates just how far the Republican Party has moved from the era of Ronald Reagan. Long before Greene, a growing number of Republicans began expressing increased skepticism toward international institutions like the United Nations. With Greene keeping Johnson’s feet to the fire when it comes to aid to Ukraine, the GOP’s revolution is almost complete.

Persons: Julian Zelizer, Marjorie Taylor Greene, Mike Johnson, Johnson, Greene, ” Greene, —, we’ve, Ronald Reagan, Mikhail Gorbachev, Russia’s Vladimir Putin, Long, “, John Bolton, New York “, Jesse Helms of, George W, Bush, Saddam, Frances’s Jacques Chirac, Donald Trump, Bush’s, Putin, Mitt Romney, Barack Obama, Trump, MAGA Organizations: CNN, Princeton University, The New York Times, America, CNN — Republican, Republican, Ukraine, NATO, Republican Party, Soviet, United Nations, GOP, Republicans, UN, Senate Foreign, Iraq, Trump, Caucus Locations: Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia, Ukraine, United, United States, New York, Jesse Helms of North Carolina, Kyoto, Iraq, Russia, Helsinki, America

☆ Why is there nostalgia for the Trump economy in the battleground states?
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-03 | by ( Zachary B. Wolf | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +8 min

Yet those numbers are reversed when asked to rate the state’s economy. In Wisconsin, negative views of the national economy outweigh positive ones by 16 points, while positive views of the state economy outweigh negative ones by 17 points. Across these battleground states, 46% of registered voters said their personal financial situation is headed in the right direction. Now, more than half of registered voters in the Wall Street Journal poll of battleground states said they either strongly or somewhat approve of the job Trump did as president. Biden is neck-and-neck with Trump among registered voters in those seven swing states on the question of protecting democracy.

Persons: Joe Biden, Donald Trump, Larry Summers, Summers, Biden, Ariel Edwards, Levy, Edwards, “ People’s, ”, It’s, Trump, Biden’s, Joe, Jill Biden, Robert F, Kennedy Jr, “ He’s, ” Jill Biden, Will, Sen, Bernie Sanders, Sanders “, George W, – Trump’s, Bush Organizations: CNN — Voters, Wall Street, Biden, Treasury, Federal Reserve, Gallup, Journal, Street, CBS, Vermont, White, Big Pharma, Medicare, CNN, Republican, Trump, Capitol Locations: Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, North Carolina , Nevada , Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, North Carolina, brag, Iraq

☆ Corporate Polish Meets Partisan Reality for NBC’s News Chief
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-29 | by ( Michael M. Grynbaum | John Koblin | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Cesar Conde is not the typical leader of a major news institution. A Wharton-trained executive who revived the fortunes of Telemundo and sits on the boards of Pepsi and Walmart, Mr. Conde had limited experience in journalism when, in 2020, he became the chairman of NBC’s sprawling news division, including MSNBC, CNBC, and franchises like “Meet the Press,” “Nightly News” and the “Today” show. Now he is trying to navigate the biggest crisis of his tenure: a journalistic firestorm that prompted an open revolt among his stars and has fueled internal questions about just how neatly Mr. Conde’s corporate experience and ambitions gel with the unique challenges of the news business. The blowback facing Mr. Conde, 50, a former fellow in George W. Bush’s White House who prides himself on having an even-keeled, nonpartisan reputation, is coming from both sides of the aisle. Left-leaning fans of MSNBC felt betrayed, and Republican officials are mocking NBC as biased, even threatening to bar its reporters from this summer’s nominating convention.

Persons: Cesar Conde, Wharton, Conde, Ronna McDaniel, Mr, Donald J, George W, Bush’s Organizations: Telemundo, Pepsi, Walmart, Mr, MSNBC, CNBC, Press, Republican National Committee, NBC

☆ Opinion | Why It’s Hard to Explain Joe Biden’s Unpopularity
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-09 | by ( Ross Douthat | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Joe Biden is one of the most unpopular presidents in modern American history. In Gallup polling, his approval ratings are lower than those of any president embarking on a re-election campaign, from Dwight Eisenhower to Donald Trump. Apart from anxiety about his age, there isn’t a chattering-class consensus or common shorthand for why his presidency is such a political flop. When things went south for other recent chief executives, there was usually a clearer theory of what was happening. Trump’s unpopularity was understood to reflect his chaos and craziness and authoritarian forays.

Persons: Joe Biden, Dwight Eisenhower, Donald Trump, Joe Simonson, George W, Barack Obama, Bill Clinton Organizations: Gallup, Washington Free, Biden, White Locations: Iraq

☆ Biden projects a vision of strength that’s been missing from his presidency but will be needed in 2024 campaign
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-08 | by ( Stephen Collinson | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +10 min

And in the most important moment of the 2024 election campaign so far, Biden appeared to succeed. “President Biden is clearly not on his A-game and I think that’s a charitable way to describe it. Republicans complain Biden politicized a great state eventSome Republicans faulted the president’s delivery and said he mistook loudness for strength. And in his speech on Thursday, Biden was advocating a different kind of strength – one rooted in democracy rather than in trying to destroy it. That debate about two vastly different visions of the meaning and the soul of the country will decide the fates of both Biden and Trump come November.

Persons: Joe Biden, Donald Trump, Biden, — Biden, Trump, ”, “, ” Biden, ” Trump, —, Alabama Sen, Katie Britt, Mike Johnson, ” Johnson, he’s, genuflecting, autocrats, Ronald Reagan’s, Mikhail Gorbachev, Putin, ’ ” Biden, Xi Jinping’s, hale, George W, Bush’s, Ari Fleischer mused, Dan Crenshaw, Rush Limbaugh, –, Viktor Orban, Orban cozies, Orban, CNN’s Betsy Klein, I’ve, let’s Organizations: CNN, State, Representatives, GOP, Republicans, Capitol, Trump, ”, Union, Alabama, Republican, Democratic, Republican National Convention, America, Biden Locations: Trump, Florida, year’s State, Ukraine, Russian, Xi Jinping’s China, China, Texas, American, Hungarian, Mar

☆ Opinion | Why Authoritarians Like Saddam Hussein Confound U.S. Presidents
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-28 | by ( Steve Coll | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +2 min

America committed its worst foreign policy mistake of the post-Cold War era when it invaded Iraq in 2003 to disarm Saddam Hussein of his supposed weapons of mass destruction. Another central question has rarely been examined: Why did Mr. Hussein sacrifice his long reign in power — and ultimately his life — by creating an impression that he held dangerous weapons when he did not? Mr. Hussein recorded his private leadership conversations as assiduously as Richard Nixon. He left behind about 2,000 hours of tape recordings as well as a vast archive of meeting minutes and presidential records. And they clarify the complicated matter of why he could not persuade U.N. inspectors, multiple spy agencies and many world leaders that he did not possess weapons of mass destruction.

Persons: America, Saddam Hussein, Biden, George W, Hussein, Richard Nixon, Bush Locations: Iraq, Iran, Washington, United States, China, Russia

Others in the GOP field have attacked transgender participation in athletics and proposed nationwide bans on affirming care for transgender minors. Transgender-related issues have become perhaps the biggest rallying call to Christian conservatives, more than abortion rights or same-sex marriage. As an ethical matter, I think it’s gross,” said Tim Miller, a former Republican political operative who worked as communications director for former Florida Gov. Several people interviewed at a recent Trump rally argued children were being wrongly confronted with issues of gender identity. Both Trump and Nikki Haley, his last major rival heading into South Carolina's Republican primary this coming Saturday, have leaned into anti-transgender rhetoric.

Persons: Donald Trump, Trump, “, ”, Tim Miller, Jeb Bush’s, Chase Glenn, Cheryl Savage, Nikki Haley, Haley, Trump's U.N, ” Trump, Melania Trump, Biden, Chad Connelly, they’re, Tim Carter, Christ, ” Carter, you’ve, Jami Taylor, Taylor, you’re, ” Taylor, ” Mas, ’ ” Kono, Meg Kinnard, ___ Pollard Organizations: COLUMBIA, “, GOP, Florida Gov, Republicans, Trump, ” GOP, Bills, Republican, Statehouse, Research, American Medical Association, American Academy of Pediatrics, UCLA Law, AP, Iowa Republican, Republican National, U.S, Supreme, University of Toledo, Associated Press, America Statehouse News Initiative, America Locations: Conway, South Carolina, South, Iowa, United States, New Hampshire, Daniel Island, Kono, Conway , South Carolina

☆ Opinion | The Florida Fraudster and the Russian ‘Killer’
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-17 | by ( Maureen Dowd | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: 1 min

Bush’s presidential campaign in 1988, he was so eager to wrap himself in the American flag that he took us to a New Jersey flag factory. At the time, it seemed like a cynical move by Republicans, trying to bogart patriotism. That vanishing breed of Republican pledged allegiance to the American flag. “Bush wrapped himself in the American flag,” David Axelrod said. “Trump wants to wrap himself in the Mar-a-Lago flag.”

Persons: George H.W, bogart, Donald Trump’s, Bush, ” David Axelrod, “ Trump Organizations: Republicans Locations: New Jersey, America

☆ Thanks to Taylor Swift, ads aimed at women are taking the Super Bowl by storm
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-06 | by ( Jordan Valinsky | Alexandra Peers | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

New York CNN —Women watch the Super Bowl, too, right? In a bigger shift, several longtime Super Bowl advertisers, like M&M’S, have spots featuring women who, for a change, aren’t just sipping soda in tight pants. So Cardi B plugs Duck Plump lip gloss for L’Oreal NYX Professional Makeup, the first time the brand has advertised on the Super Bowl. cosmetics, also a first-time Super Bowl advertiser, reunites (some of) the cast of “Suits” in its spot as the lawyers haul various celebrities into court. As for at least one of the potential stars of the show, despite performing in Japan the previous day, Swift will likely attend the Super Bowl.

Persons: Taylor Swift, Travis Kelce, “ Taylor, Paul Hardart, New York University’s, “ Swift, Kelce, ”, it’s, Bud Light, Scarlett Johansson, Jennifer Aniston, David Schwimmer, Kate McKinnon, “, Jenna Ortega, Swift Organizations: New, New York CNN, Super Bowl, Kansas City, New York, New York University’s Stern School of Business, CNN, San Francisco 49ers, Kansas City Chiefs, Super, CBS, Anheuser, Budweiser, “ Mayo, Embassy of Locations: New York, Kansas, Las Vegas, Hellman's, Japan, Embassy, Embassy of Japan

The case is the court’s most direct involvement in a presidential election since Bush v. Gore, a decision delivered a quarter-century ago that effectively delivered the 2000 election to Republican George W. Bush. Both the Colorado Supreme Court and the Maine secretary of state’s rulings are on hold until the appeals play out. In 2000, in Bush v. Gore, the court and the parties were divided over whether the justices should intervene at all. Justice Clarence Thomas is the only sitting member of the court who was on the bench for Bush v. Gore. Kavanaugh and Barrett were elevated to the Supreme Court by Trump, who also appointed Justice Neil Gorsuch.

Persons: “, Bush, Gore, Republican George W, Trump, Democrat Joe Biden, Shenna Bellows, ”, Donald Sherman, Donald Trump, ” Sherman, Clarence Thomas, John Roberts, Brett Kavanaugh, Amy Coney Barrett, Roberts, Kavanaugh, Barrett, Neil Gorsuch, Thomas, Ginni Thomas, Mark Meadows, Jack Smith Organizations: Republican, Democrat, U.S . Capitol, Colorado, Trump, Democratic, Colorado Supreme Court, Associated Press, Washington, Bush, Capitol Locations: Colorado, Colorado , Maine, Maine, Bush, Washington

CNN —US Capitol Police have received a subpoena in the grand jury investigation into Rep. Cori Bush, sources familiar with the matter told CNN. FEC filings show that from January 19, 2023, through April 3, 2023, Bush’s campaign paid Merritts $15,000 for “security services” in six payments of $2,500. CNN asked Bush’s campaign if either she or Merritts were interviewed by the FBI, and if the campaign could provide timesheets for Merritts. “I also believe in transparency which is why I can confirm that the Department of Justice is reviewing my campaign’s spending on security services. She maintained she has not used any federal tax dollars for personal security services and that she complied with House rules.

Persons: Cori Bush, Bush, Bush hasn’t, Cortney Merritts, Merritts, Bush’s, they’re, “, ” Bush Organizations: CNN, US Capitol Police, Missouri Democrat, Capitol Police, Federal, Security, Foundation, Accountability, Civic Trust, FBI, Merritts, Department of Justice Locations: Washington ,, St, Louis , Missouri

CNN —The Doomsday Clock that has been ticking for 77 years is no ordinary clock — it attempts to gauge how close humanity is to destroying the world. Last year the Bulletin set the clock at 90 seconds to midnight mainly due to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and the increased risk of nuclear escalation. The clock isn’t designed to definitively measure existential threats, but rather to spark conversations about difficult scientific topics such as climate change, according to the Bulletin. Originally, the organization was conceived to measure nuclear threats, but in 2007 the Bulletin made the decision to include climate change in its calculations. “When the clock is at midnight, that means there’s been some sort of nuclear exchange or catastrophic climate change that’s wiped out humanity,” she said.

Persons: Rachel Bronson, ” Bronson, Michael E, Mann, Eryn MacDonald, ”, Bronson, “, Boris Johnson, George H.W, you’re Organizations: CNN, Atomic Scientists, Midnight, Manhattan Project, Security, Sponsors, University of Pennsylvania, Union of, ’ Global Security, Bulletin Locations: Ukraine, Israel, Gaza, Glasgow, UK, Soviet Union, Iran, Paris

☆ Haley’s Policy Pitch Recalls a Bygone Era Before Trump’s Rise
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-20 | by ( Jonathan Weisman | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Nikki Haley is pitching voters on policies that recall an era when the Republican Party stood for a fiscal conscience and foreign policy leadership, at a time when the most sacred of federal programs and the international alliances that built the post-World War II era are under enormous strain. But the voice of contemporary Republican politics, Donald J. Trump, has been there to attack those appeals virtually ever day. On Tuesday, the voters of New Hampshire may decide whether the party can find a path back from Mr. Trump’s big government domestic policy and his isolationism abroad. Ms. Haley’s proposals to raise the retirement age for young workers and trim benefits for the wealthy while protecting Social Security and Medicare benefits for those at or near retirement may sound familiar to voters with any historical memory. Mr. Romney’s 2012 proposals were taken from the bipartisan commission assembled to address the budget deficit during Barack Obama’s presidency.

Persons: Nikki Haley, Donald J, Trump, Mitt Romney, Paul D, Ryan, George W, Bush’s, Romney’s, Barack Obama’s Organizations: Republican Party, Social Security, Social Locations: New Hampshire

I don’t know. ross douthatIt’s true that he didn’t want the vice president to have a sort of separate political agenda. I don’t think that it was a fait accompli —ross douthatThat’s true. He would legitimately sabotage, kneecap his own vice president, just to prove no one else could do it. carlos lozadaLet’s just say, I will be your vice president, Michelle, anytime.

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