News Dump

Trump Admits Donald Trump Jr Called Him Before the Trump Tower Meeting With Russian Lawyer
https://ijr.com/trump-says-donald-trump-jr-called-him-before-trump-tower-meeting/

CEO of small Florida bank loaned Trump millions in 2018 in exchange for federal appointment
https://www.salon.com/2019/05/23/ceo-of-small-florida-bank-loaned-trump-millions-in-2018-then-got-federal-reserve-post/

DeVos family ends financial support for Rep. Justin Amash
https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/devos-family-ends-financial-support-for-rep-amash/2019/05/22/81d435cc-7cc2-11e9-a5b3-34f3edf1351e_story.html

Bank CEO Stephen Calk has been indicted by a federal grand jury and charged in connection with a plan to exchange $16 million in loans to Paul Manafort for his help in getting Caulk a Trump administration position. Bank CEO Stephen M. Calk Charged With Corruptly Soliciting A Presidential Administration Position In Exchange For Approving $16 Million In Loans. The “Borrower” was, at all relevant times, a lobbyist and political consultant.  Beginning in or about March 2016, the Borrower held a senior role with a presidential campaign (the “Presidential Campaign”), and from June 2016 through August 2016, he served as chairman of the Presidential Campaign.  After the Borrower’s formal role with the Presidential Campaign concluded in or about August 2016, the Borrower continued to be informally involved in the campaign.  Beginning in or about November 2016, when the candidate for whom the Borrower had been working was elected President of the United States, the Borrower provided informal input to the presidential transition team (the “Presidential Transition Team”).
https://www.justice.gov/usao-sdny/pr/bank-ceo-stephen-m-calk-charged-corruptly-soliciting-presidential-administration

“Elizabeth Warren called me!” is turning into a Twitter meme — Warren is calling her supporters to say thanks. It’s a savvy political strategy.
https://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2019/5/22/18635846/elizabeth-warren-twitter-calls-ashley-nicole-black

Sneaky Photo Captures Trump Handwritten Notes Saying Dems Have ‘No Achomlishments’
https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/a-trump-twitter-style-diatribe--live-from-the-rose-garden/2019/05/22/11954982-7cad-11e9-8bb7-0fc796cf2ec0_story.html
https://www.washingtonpost.com/resizer/_fADDt6YJJYe-dTnIVqPA9i8Kbg=/1205x0/arc-anglerfish-washpost-prod-washpost.s3.amazonaws.com/public/D2KDWVD4X4I6TMPTWIZ74WAR54.jpg

Twitter Users Mock The ‘Achomlishments’ On Trump’s Handwritten Presser Notes
https://m.huffingtonpost.com.au/entry/trump-handwritten-press-conference-notes_n_5ce641f0e4b0547bd1325329

Washington, DC - Today, U.S. Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) and U.S. Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) sent a letter to Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, questioning his involvement in dubious financial engineering and other managerial decisions that enriched investment company executives while decimating Sears' long-term growth and sustainability -- ultimately resulting in Sears' bankruptcy and the loss of tens of thousands of jobs. Senator Warren and Rep. Ocasio-Cortez released a video to accompany their letter. Watch it here. Secretary Mnuchin served on Sears' board of directors until December 2016 and is the former college roommate and close friend of Sears CEO Eddie Lampert, whose hedge fund, ESL Investments, purchased Sears in 2005. Secretary Mnuchin also served as Vice Chairman of ESL investments for a time. In April 2019, the Sears Holding Corporation filed a lawsuit suing Mr. Lampert and former Sears board members (including Mr. Mnuchin) "for allegedly stripping Sears of billions of dollars as it collapsed into bankruptcy." The lawsuit accused Mnuchin and five other members of the Sears board of "assisting" Lampert in "transferring billions of dollars of the Company's assets to its shareholders" at the expense of the company as a whole. The lawsuit states that Lampert, Mnuchin, and the Sears board members ripped off Sears workers to enrich themselves and accelerated the company's collapse.
https://www.warren.senate.gov/oversight/letters/-senator-warren-rep-ocasio-cortez-question-secretary-mnuchins-involvement-in-predatory-practices-that-led-to-sears-bankruptcy-loss-of-tens-of-thousands-of-jobs
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HW7Wz369h0g
https://www.wsj.com/public/resources/documents/sears_lampert.pdf

Democratic Sen. Chris Murphy warned on Wednesday that the Trump administration is considering a move to bypass Congress and push through the sale of bombs to Saudi Arabia by declaring a national security emergency. The Connecticut lawmaker, an outspoken critic of Saudi Arabia’s human rights record and its military campaign in Yemen, expressed concern over the possible action in a series of tweets. “I am hearing that Trump may use an obscure loophole in the Arms Control Act and notice a major new sale of bombs to Saudi Arabia (the ones they drop in Yemen) in a way that will prevent Congress from objecting.” Murphy wrote. “Arms control law allows Congress to reject a sale to a foreign country. But Trump would claim the sale constitutes an ‘emergency’ which means Congress can't take a vote of disapproval. It would go through automatically,” Murphy tweeted.
https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/white-house/senate-dem-warns-trump-could-push-through-saudi-bomb-deal-n1009081
https://www.nbcnews.com/news/world/saudi-arabia-criticized-36-countries-over-human-rights-n980356

Scientists in Britain have written to the 100 wealthiest families and charities in the country, to request money to protect the environment. They say that less than 3% of philanthropic funding goes towards climate-related issues
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-48357351

The US tariffs on China have been paid almost entirely by US importers: IMF study
https://www.cnbc.com/2019/05/23/the-us-tariffs-on-china-have-been-paid-almost-entirely-by-us-importers-imf-study.html

Facebook lobbied against Australian privacy regulations, flying in the face of Mark Zuckerberg's PR push
https://www.businessinsider.com.au/facebook-lobbied-against-australian-privacy-regulations-flying-in-the-face-of-mark-zuckerbergs-pr-push-2019-5

Four pharmaceutical companies have been accused of illegally colluding to restrict the supply of an anti-nausea tablet in the UK, driving the price paid for it up by 700%. Prochlorperazine is often prescribed to cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-48377232


The Senate on Thursday voted in favor of legislation that would levy hefty new fines for illegal robocalls, advancing one of the most prominent congressional efforts to crack down on the scourge of billions of unwanted calls that aggravate U.S. consumers every year. The Telephone Robocall Abuse Criminal Enforcement and Deterrence (TRACED) Act, which passed by a 97-1 vote, had received more than 80 co-sponsors by the time it reached the Senate floor.
https://thehill.com/policy/technology/445255-senate-passes-bill-penalizing-illegal-robocalls

Trump denies 'temper tantrum' in angry public episode
https://edition.cnn.com/2019/05/23/politics/donald-trump-nancy-pelosi-feud/index.html

White House Republicans Prepare to Bypass Congress to Sell Weapons to Gulf Nations
https://www.nytimes.com/2019/05/23/us/politics/trump-saudi-arabia-arms-sales.html

Trump okayed $900 million in disaster relief for Puerto Rico, dropping his border wall demand
https://theweek.com/speedreads/843267/trump-just-okayed-900-million-disaster-relief-puerto-rico-dropping-border-wall-demand

Right-To-Carry Gun Laws Have Increased Violent Crime Across The US
https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/danvergano/more-guns-more-crime

A plan to move Agriculture Department researchers out of Washington has thrown two small but influential science agencies into upheaval. Federal employees at the Economic Research Service (ERS) and the National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA) have quit in unusually large numbers since August, when Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue announced he would relocate the offices.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/science/2019/05/22/usda-researchers-quit-droves-trump-administration-plans-relocation

The U.S. filed new charges Thursday against Wikileaks founder Julian Assange, accusing him of placing the United States at risk of “serious harm” by publishing thousands of secret and classified documents, including the names of confidential sources for American armed forces. In an 18-count, superseding indictment, Justice Department prosecutors allege that Assange directed former Army intelligence analyst Chelsea Manning in one of the largest compromises of classified information in U.S. history.
https://apnews.com/89547adf8a8846c3991a4e6c57ce50ef

Good, these scumbags refused to vote for the person who won their state's popular vote....
State’s high court upholds $1,000 fines for rogue electors who didn’t vote for Hillary Clinton in 2016
https://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/politics/states-high-court-upholds-1000-fines-for-rogue-electors-who-didnt-vote-for-hillary-clinton-in-2016/

Mark Zuckerberg personally made the decision that Facebook will keep running political ads, even though the ads were weaponized in 2016
https://www.businessinsider.com/mark-zuckerberg-keeps-facebook-in-political-ad-business-2019-5

YEP: BDS Is Anti-Semitic, British Foreign Minister Says
https://www.dailywire.com/news/47597/bds-anti-semitic-british-foreign-minister-says-josh-hammer

An “astonishing and unparalleled” 2,300-year-old shield made of tree bark has been discovered in Leicestershire, the only example of its kind ever found in Europe. Archaeologists say the discovery of the shield, made between 395 & 250BC, has completely overturned assumptions about iron age weapons
https://www.theguardian.com/science/2019/may/23/2300-year-old-iron-age-bark-shield-leicestershire

England is banning plastic drink stirrers, plastic straws, and plastic-stemmed cotton swabs starting next spring.
https://www.cnbc.com/2019/05/22/england-will-ban-plastic-stirrers-straws-and-cotton-swabs-from-2020.html

The "human moving screen" description is also praise, a fan boasting Looney's screening talent....

FBI has seen significant rise in white supremacist domestic terrorism in recent months
https://www.cnn.com/2019/05/23/politics/fbi-white-supremacist-domestic-terror/index.html

Reminder: Trump administration breaks campaign promise, purges 200,000 VA healthcare applications
https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/opinion/op-eds/trump-administration-breaks-campaign-promise-purges-200-000-va-healthcare-applications