Saturday, November 2, 2019

Light News Dump

Several House Democrats in battleground districts complained Thursday that a political stunt by Republicans intended to warn them they would not be in office long because of impeachment instead ended up wasting the time of Capitol Police after aides complained of receiving suspicious packages. The National Republican Congressional Committee sent packing boxes to the Capitol Hill offices of the Democrats, most of whom flipped Republican districts in 2018 and are expected to have competitive campaigns to keep them next year.
http://www.rollcall.com/news/democrats-facing-tough-races-receive-suspicious-packages-impeachment-vote

Anti-vax mom says she gave out lollipops tainted with chickenpox for Halloween: 'We have the packaging down pat'
https://www.yahoo.com/news/anti-vaxx-mom-says-she-153902456.html

SCOOP smugglers have been sawing through brand-new sections of Trump’s border wall using cordless power tools, cutting through the bollards to create gaps wide enough for people and drug loads to pass through | Smuggling gangs in Mexico have repeatedly sawed through new sections of President Trump’s border wall in recent months by using commercially available power tools, opening gaps large enough for people and drug loads to pass through, according to U.S. agents and officials with knowledge of the damage. The breaches have been made using a popular cordless household tool known as a reciprocating saw that retails at hardware stores for as little as $100. When fitted with specialized blades, the saws can slice through one of the barrier’s steel-and-concrete bollards in a matter of minutes, according to the agents, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly about the barrier-defeating techniques. After cutting through the base of a single bollard, smugglers can push the steel out of the way, allowing an adult to fit through the gap. Because the bollards are so tall — and are attached only to a panel at the very top — their length makes them easier to push aside once they have been cut and are left dangling, according to engineers consulted by The Washington Post. | The smuggling crews have been using other techniques, such as building makeshift ladders to scale and overtop the barriers, especially in the popular smuggling areas in and around San Diego, according to nearly a dozen U.S. agents and current and former administration officials. | The U.S. government has not disclosed the cutting incidents and breaches, and it is unclear how many times they have occurred. U.S. Customs and Border Protection declined to provide information about the number of breaches, the location of the incidents and the process for repairing them. Matt Leas, a spokesman for the agency, declined to comment, and CBP has not yet fulfilled a Freedom of Information Act request seeking data about the breaches and repairs. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, which oversees the private contractors building the barrier, referred inquires to CBP.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/national/smugglers-are-sawing-through-new-sections-of-trumps-border-wall/2019/11/01/25bf8ce0-fa72-11e9-ac8c-8eced29ca6ef_story.html

YEP: Trump rules social media, crushes 2020 Democrats The Democratic 2020 candidates drew more social media attention than ever in October — but were still swamped by Trump’s ever-present dominance of what we share and debate, according to data from NewsWhip exclusively provided to Axios.
https://www.axios.com/trump-social-media-2020-democrats-candidates-85dd2d43-19a8-49a5-abc6-ca4e51d5b9fa.html

It’s 2019 and a Republican Senator Just Filed a Request for Hillary’s Emails
https://ijr.com/republican-senator-filed-request-hillarys-emails/

“My father requested Hillary’s emails, and his father before him!”
-GOP rep in 2120

German city declares 'Nazi emergency' as extremist views and violence increase
https://news.sky.com/story/dresden-german-city-declares-nazi-emergency-as-extremist-views-and-violence-increase-11851760

Republican Senators prepared to acknowledge quid pro quo asking foreign government to fabricate smear campaign against political opponent, they plan to argue it was legal
https://thehill.com/homenews/senate/468644-gop-senators-prepared-to-acknowledge-quid-pro-quo-plan-to-argue-it-was-legal

Sean Doolittle on declining White House invite: ‘I don’t want to hang out with somebody who talks like that’
https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/2019/11/01/sean-doolittle-declining-white-house-invite-i-dont-want-hang-out-with-somebody-who-talks-like-that/

Trump hinted (not for the first time) Mick Mulvaney is on his way out after he publicly admitted to a quid pro quo with Ukraine
https://www.businessinsider.com/trump-mulvaney-on-way-out-after-ukraine-quid-pro-quo-2019-11

Republicans go lower: They're publicly spreading the name of purported Ukraine whistleblower; Rep. Louie Gohmert dropped the name during a public hearing while Rand Paul shared it with millions on Twitter
https://www.salon.com/2019/11/02/republicans-go-lower-theyre-publicly-spreading-the-name-of-purported-ukraine-whistleblower/

Trump administration argues anti-LGBTQ discrimination is legal because gay men and gay women are treated equally poorly
https://www.newsweek.com/trump-justice-gay-lgbt-discrimination-civil-rights-1455977

Trump says ‘we’re keeping the oil’ when asked about U.S. troops remaining in Syria
https://globalnews.ca/video/6116058/trump-says-were-keeping-the-oil-when-asked-about-u-s-troops-remaining-in-syria

After years of improvement, US air quality has gotten worse since 2016, report suggests
https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2019/11/01/us-air-quality-worse-since-2016-after-years-improvements-report/2499356001/

Trump Agrees to be Questioned by Zervos’s Lawyers in Lawsuit
https://www.bloomberg.com/amp/news/articles/2019-11-02/trump-agrees-to-be-questioned-by-zervos-s-lawyers-in-lawsuit

FBI Director Reports That Neo-Nazis Are Working Together Across The Atlantics
https://forward.com/fast-forward/434109/fbi-neo-nazi-domestic-terrorism/

We are in a very dangerous situation when America’s top law enforcement official is using his office to protect the personal interests of a corrupt president. The only recourse is congressional action to hold them accountable.
https://twitter.com/mikehfuchs/status/1190598450745872384
https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/us-politics/trump-impeachment-inquiry-latest-russia-mueller-ukraine-zelensky-a9181641.html

👀 “One British official with knowledge of Barr’s wish list presented to London commented that ‘it is like nothing we have come across before, they are basically asking... for help in doing a hatchet job on their own intelligence services’.”
https://twitter.com/mikehfuchs/status/1190433261224374272
https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/us-politics/trump-impeachment-inquiry-latest-russia-mueller-ukraine-zelensky-a9181641.html

The U.K. has issued a moratorium on hydraulic fracking, citing concerns about earthquakes that could create "unacceptable impacts"
https://www.axios.com/britain-fracking-ban-boris-johnson-328f6458-9170-46d0-9bbd-60b41f2eb4d0.html

Apparently having to answer for historically racial slurs at your event does not qualify as a good question for Andrew Yang.
https://twitter.com/deepa_shivaram/status/1190469490854780928

Schiff concedes that WH may succeed in blocking some of their witnesses. “They may prevent some of these witnesses from testifying .. but they will be building a case against the President for obstructing the constitutional duties of Congress."
https://twitter.com/mkraju/status/1190638011987496960

Pa. Gov. Tom Wolf signs historic election reform bill into law
https://www.pennlive.com/news/2019/10/pa-gov-tom-wolf-signs-historic-election-reform-bill-into-law.html

The Mueller Report’s Secret Memos - BuzzFeed News sued the US government for the right to see all the work that Mueller’s team kept secret. Today we are publishing the first installment.
https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/jasonleopold/mueller-report-secret-memos-1
https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/6537502-19-Cv-1278-Release-1-Bates-1-503-Ocr.html

That's a whole lot of [redacted]

"The DOJ had reportedly pushed back against the request, saying that the records being sought could total 18 billion pages." - I see Trump's penchant for hyperbole has rubbed off on the DOJ.

A Halloween party on Oct. 25 at the Eisenhower Executive Office Building featured candy, paper airplanes and — concerning for some attendees — a station where children were encouraged to help “Build the Wall” with their own personalized bricks. Photos of the children’s mural with the paper wall were provided to Yahoo News.
https://news.yahoo.com/children-were-told-to-build-the-wall-at-white-house-halloween-party-153024720.html

Mueller interview notes obtained by CNN show Trump's push for stolen emails
https://www.cnn.com/2019/11/02/politics/mueller-investigation-notes-trump-stolen-emails/index.html

Illegal loggers kill Amazon indigenous warrior who guarded forest, wound another
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-brazil-indigenous-idUSKBN1XC0GR

Internal Mueller documents show Trump campaign chief suggested Ukraine hacked Democrats during 2016 campaign
https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/internal-mueller-documents-show-trump-campaign-chief-suggested-ukraine-hacked-democrats-during-2016-campaign/2019/11/02/cc8e461c-fd90-11e9-ac8c-8eced29ca6ef_story.html

Joe Biden endorses 23 Virginia Democrats to help flip control of state legislature amid gun control push
https://www.newsweek.com/joe-biden-virginia-endorsements-gun-control-1469398

Obama endorses 'outstanding group of Virginia Democrats' ahead of state elections
https://thehill.com/homenews/campaign/468670-obama-endorses-outstanding-group-of-virginia-democrats-ahead-of-state

Britain’s biggest retailer Tesco has pledged to remove one billion pieces of plastic from products by the end of 2020 as it seeks to reduce its environmental impact and meet consumer demand for less waste.
https://www.independent.co.uk/environment/tesco-plastic-packaging-waste-bags-environment-trays-lids-a9180691.html

Exxon Former CEO Rex Tillerson Says Climate Change ‘With Us Forever More’ | “We knew, we knew it was a real issue,” said Tillerson
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2019-10-31/exxon-s-former-ceo-says-climate-change-with-us-forever-more

Judge Blocks Trump’s Plan to Bar Immigrants Who Can’t Pay for Health Care
https://www.nytimes.com/2019/11/02/us/trump-immigration-health-care-visas.html

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