Light News

In 2016, @SenSanders did not think @HillaryClinton ’s lead in pledged delegates meant she should get the nomination at the Democratic Convention as he prepared to argue to superdelegates to opt for him since he was, in his view, more electable.
https://twitter.com/jaketapper/status/1233498782156951552

On the 7 month anniversary of this tweet, Trump has announced again that he will nominate Ratcliffe to DNI (after he previously pulled out due to push back from senators).Trump named Ratcliffe as his nominee once before, but he was never formally nominated amid stories that he inflated his resume.
https://www.nytimes.com/2019/07/30/us/politics/john-ratcliffe-resume-intelligence.html …
https://www.washingtonpost.com/investigations/trumps-pick-to-lead-us-intelligence-claims-he-arrested-300-illegal-immigrants-in-a-single-day-he-didnt/2019/08/01/12b958e4-b3b7-11e9-8e94-71a35969e4d8_story.html …
https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/1233518334282489861

Judge voids nearly 1 million acres of oil and gas leases, saying Trump policy undercut public input
https://www.washingtonpost.com/climate-environment/2020/02/27/judge-voids-nearly-1-million-acres-oil-gas-leases-saying-trump-policy-undercut-public-input/

The Trump administration has barred the top US disease expert from speaking freely to the public after he warned the coronavirus may be impossible to contain
https://www.businessinsider.com/coronavirus-anthony-fauci-trump-admin-stops-discussion-2020-2

U.S. workers without protective gear assisted coronavirus evacuees, HHS whistleblower says | Officials at the Department of Health and Human Services sent more than a dozen workers to receive the first Americans evacuated from Wuhan, China, the epicenter of the coronavirus outbreak, without proper training for infection control or appropriate protective gear, according to a whistleblower complaint. The workers did not show symptoms of infection and were not tested for the virus, according to lawyers for the whistleblower, a senior HHS official based in Washington who oversees workers at the Administration for Children and Families, a unit within HHS. The whistleblower is seeking federal protection, alleging she was unfairly and improperly reassigned after raising concerns about the safety of these workers to HHS officials, including those within the office of Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar. She was told Feb. 19 that if she does not accept the new position in 15 days, which is March 5, she would be terminated. The whistleblower has decades of experience in the field, received two HHS department awards from Azar last year and has received the highest performance evaluations, her lawyers said. The complaint was filed Wednesday with the Office of the Special Counsel, an independent federal watchdog agency. The whistleblower’s lawyers provided a copy of a redacted 24-page complaint to The Washington Post. A spokesman for the Office of the Special Counsel confirmed that it has received the complaint and assigned the case. The complaint alleges HHS staffers were “improperly deployed” and were “not properly trained or equipped to operate in a public health emergency situation.” The complaint also alleges the workers were potentially exposed to coronavirus because appropriate steps were not taken to protect them and staffers were not trained in wearing personal protective equipment, even though they had face-to-face contact with returning passengers. The workers were in contact with passengers in an airplane hangar where evacuees were received and on two other occasions: when they helped distribute keys for room assignments and hand out colored ribbons for identification purposes. In some instances, the teams were working alongside personnel from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in “full gown, gloves and hazmat attire,” the complaint said.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/health/2020/02/27/us-workers-without-protective-gear-assisted-coronavirus-evacuees-hhs-whistleblower-says/

What’s on Mike Pence’s schedule as coronavirus point man? A fundraiser in Florida.
https://www.tampabay.com/florida-politics/buzz/2020/02/28/whats-on-mike-pences-schedule-as-coronavirus-point-man-a-fundraiser-in-florida/

A federal judge in Seattle subtracted nearly $90 million from President Trump’s border wall plans after ruling Thursday that his emergency declaration and siphoning of money from the Pentagon was illegal. Washington state had challenged Mr. Trump’s move, and pointed to a $88.96 million project in the state that was delayed by the shift of funding. Judge Barbara Jacobs Rothstein sided with the state, saying Congress tried to ban Mr. Trump from moving money around to build his wall, yet he did it anyway.
https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2020/feb/27/judge-barbara-rothstein-rules-donald-trump-cant-us/

I didn't believe it when Tom Verducci said the Astros didn't swing and miss at a single offspeed pitch from Clayton Kershaw in Game 5 of the 2017 World Series. I went back and watched every Kershaw pitch that night. He was right. They didn't swing and miss at a single one.
https://twitter.com/BlakeHarrisTBLA/status/1233228219853103106

In 2014, @JoeBiden wrote a memo to complain that his staff was missing family obligations for work. “It’s very important to me. I’ll go so far as to say that if I find out you are working while missing important family responsibilities, it’ll disappoint me greatly.”
https://twitter.com/chrisjollyhale/status/1233112347750936576?s=21

Joe Biden: Bernie talks about the popular vote being the only one that counts. Where was he with Hillary in 2016? He did not support Hillary. He is not a Democrat. Yes this is a battle for the soul of our country. It's also a battle for the soul of the Democratic Party. MSNBC.
https://twitter.com/MichaelArt123/status/1233062652454359042

Clyburn’s grandson: “It's funny seeing white people of my generation try to educate my grandfather about the same Civil Rights movement he fought on front lines in. It's more frustrating as a former Bernie bro (2016) to see a majority of the comments come from his supporters. This will not beat 45.”
https://twitter.com/deerretlaw/status/1233013748861952007?s=20

Chinese warship fired military laser at US aircraft
https://edition.cnn.com/2020/02/27/politics/chinese-laser-us-aircraft/index.html

Melania Trump received an “Einstein Visa.” Why Was It So Hard for This Nobel Prize Winner? Immigration attorneys say the Trump administration is rejecting highly qualified applicants for “genius” green cards.
https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2020/02/genius-green-card-visa-nobel-prize-trump/

When a woman wins the nomination by a majority of pledged delegates and a 4 million vote lead, we call it rigged. When a dude wins 1/3 of pledged delegates and loses 2/3rds of pledged delegates, he’s obviously the CLEAR UNDISPUTED CHAMPION of all primaries ever.

Nevada: "for every vote Sanders won there were 15 Democrats who chose someone else—or no one at all."
https://www.salon.com/2020/02/28/why-dont-care-democrats-may-re-elect-trump_partner/

Coronavirus crash wipes $5 trillion off world stocks
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-global-markets/coronavirus-crash-wipes-5-trillion-off-world-stocks-idUSKCN20M001?il=0

The RNC Stopped Paying a Data Firm After A Serious Breach. Then It Paid A Mysterious LLC With the Same Address.
https://www.propublica.org/article/the-rnc-stopped-paying-a-data-firm-after-a-serious-breach-then-it-paid-a-mysterious-llc-with-the-same-address

Nadler Requests DOJ Provide Information Regarding Political Interference in Roger Stone, Other Cases
https://judiciary.house.gov/news/documentsingle.aspx?DocumentID=2833

Acting White House Chief of Staff Mick Mulvaney suggests #coronavirus fears are being spread in the press in an effort to "bring down" Trump: "The reason you're seeing so much attention to it today is that they think this is what's going to bring down the President."
https://twitter.com/FaceTheNation/status/1233461498439184386

They Saw Themselves in Elizabeth Warren. So What Do They See Now? For some professional women, the struggles of Ms. Warren’s campaign feel like a reckoning with their standing in the world.
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/02/28/us/politics/elizabeth-warren-women-voters.html

^Elizabeth crashed and burned because she's a racist antisemitic lying sack of shit.

Interviewed by @KatyTurNBC, Tom Steyer suggests Joe Biden’s talk of working with Republicans is naive: “I hate to be rude ... but President Obama couldn’t work with them.”
https://twitter.com/sahilkapur/status/1233472138163736576

Federal Appeals Court Blocks Trump’s ‘Remain in Mexico’ Policy
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/02/28/us/migrants-court-remain-in-mexico-mpp-injunction.html

Wisconsin appeals court overturns order to purge more than 200,000 voters from rolls
https://thehill.com/regulation/court-battles/485190-wisconsin-court-overturns-plan-to-purge-more-than-200000-voters-from

Trump attacks Fox News for new poll showing him losing to all the Democratic candidates
https://www.vox.com/2020/2/28/21157803/trump-fox-news-poll-losing-to-biden-sanders-bloomberg

At least 210 have died in Iran, say hospital sources
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-51673053

Horrified by the crisis of missing and murdered Indigenous people and how it impacts women and girls. I'm glad @jimsciutto and @poppyharlowCNN are paying attention to this issue...wish Sen. McConnell was too. Then maybe, just maybe, he'd call for a vote to reauthorize #VAWA.
https://twitter.com/SenTinaSmith/status/1233502749943267335

I wrote about what might happen when an epidemic like coronavirus hits a country like America, with no guaranteed paid time off for workers and bosses that can fire people for calling in sick. "Don't go to work sick" isn't that simple.
https://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2020/02/coronavirus-could-hit-american-workers-especially-hard/607213/

This is going to get reversed on an en banc hearing. Terrible panel. Shorter federal court: The president* can do whatever he wants, and Congress can do nothing. *Trump, and any and all Republican presidents. DC Circuit is ordering dismissal of US House suit against Donald McGahn refusing to obey subpoena to testify. Order up now; opinion posting shortly:
https://twitter.com/MikeScarcella/status/1233506097639645184
https://www.law.com/nationallawjournal/2020/02/28/dc-circuit-throws-out-lawsuit-for-don-mcgahns-testimony-in-major-loss-for-house/

This is going to get reversed on an en banc hearing. Terrible panel. Regime Party gonna Regime Party: You have to love the slippery slope scenario here: If we accept this, then Congress...may do it’s job. And what THEN?????????????
https://twitter.com/AdamSerwer/status/1233518537609748481

This is going to get reversed on an en banc hearing. Terrible panel....: and Democrats need to realize that a Republican house will be ok calling on the Sgt at Arms to lock up Democrats who rely on this ruling in the future. So do it now to McGahn.

New York state agreed to delay enforcement of a ban on plastic bags set to take effect Sunday until April 1, after a lawsuit was filed Friday challenging the new law.
https://www.wsj.com/articles/new-york-state-delays-enforcement-of-plastic-bag-ban-after-lawsuit-is-filed-11582929834

“The president’s team responded to the biggest one-week Wall Street sell-off in more than a decade with a deflection strategy, playing down the threat and parceling out responsibility to Democrats, the media and the entrenched government bureaucracy”
https://twitter.com/JonLemire/status/1233529602464718850

Important advice for coping with coronavirus: -Don’t panic -Wash your hands -Be prepared -Be kind “Remember to not let fear override your common humanity about how you treat other people.”
https://twitter.com/sarahkaplan48/status/1233380449617154049
https://www.washingtonpost.com/health/2020/02/26/how-to-prepare-for-coronavirus/

Trump circumvents Senate advise-and-consent power on same day as an appeals panel rules that Congress cannot enforce subpoenas against Executive branch. Grim.
https://twitter.com/davidfrum/status/1233526990659080194

The S&P 500 is obviously run by Democrats trying to make President Trump look bad
https://twitter.com/davidfrum/status/1233500535736750083

The last time this nomination was unsuccessfully put forward, serious bipartisan questions were raised about Rep. Ratcliffe’s background and qualifications. It’s hard for me to see how anything new has happened to change that.
https://twitter.com/MarkWarner/status/1233533983419437058

The proximate cause of all this chatter was Emanuel’s new book, “The Nation City: Why Mayors Are Now Running the World.” The book’s official thesis: At a time when national government in the United States, and many other countries, is bogged down in polarized politics and a poverty of ideas, cities have become the primary engines of innovation, problem-solving, and the creation of financial and human capital. | “We share the same goals,” he added, before continuing with the kind of language that makes him a lightning rod. Referring to Bernie Sanders, and even more to backers of Bernie Sanders, he said: “What I don’t agree with is making pledges that will never, ever be realized in people’s lives, I’m not sure are the right policy, and will only reward their cynicism about those of us that make big promises. And so do they attack? Yeah, I think some people on the left are more angry at Bill Clinton and Barack Obama than they are at Donald Trump and I think the left has got it all upside down.” | “Constituents [are] demanding it. The City of Chicago, not unlike New York, L.A., Nashville, Louisville—[voters] want to see what the city is doing to change greenhouse gas emissions. They want to see how a city is going to address what I call the “inclusive economic growth.” The federal government has walked away from those things; cities have stepped forward to handle those things.” | “At this point 10, 15, 20 years ago, if you keep finishing third or fourth, you’re done. Because of the internet and because of the money, you’ve got people who finish consistently third or fourth or fifth staying in. Ten years ago, this would be down to two, mano to mano. You have five candidates splitting up, quote-unquote, ‘the moderate or non-hard left.’ But you have candidates who have done—and I don’t care. Senator Warren has yet to finish first or second. Amy Klobuchar has yet to finish first or second. Mayor Pete has finished first, second, and I don’t know, fourth, third. “Joe Biden has finished second, fifth, and fourth. Ten years ago, every one of those candidates and Tom Steyer, every one of those candidates who has not finished in the top four of anyplace would be out. ….And nobody’s going to get out. They don’t have to. Welcome to the new politics. Do you think that’s wrong? .… “I noticed that between 2016 and 2020, Bernie Sanders’ position about the superdelegates and about how we pick a nominee has totally changed. I’ll tell you this. These candidates better pick of their game. You’re in Nevada. Two years ago, the worst mass shooting—one of the worst in American history. You have a frontrunner who is against the assault weapon ban, against holding gun manufacturers accountable, and you focus on a guy who is not even on the ballot, Bloomberg? “Give me a break. This guy—beyond that, he’s in Vegas where he got his heart at the hospital fixed. Did you ask him, “Did he use Medicare, or did he use the government health care plan that all senators get?” And if he didn’t use Medicare, why? I don’t get it. You’re angry at Bloomberg for spending $400 million so you’re blinded by your hatred and the frontrunner that you’ve got to stop is right next to you, and you don’t touch him on guns, on Medicare?”
https://www.politico.com/news/magazine/2020/02/28/rahm-emanuel-2020-race-biden-bernie-sanders-warren-election-politics-analysis-118208 


A Third of Trump’s Coronavirus Task Force Is at a Conservative Convention
https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2020/02/a-third-of-trumps-coronavirus-task-force-is-at-a-conservative-convention/

Breast Cancer Risk Dramatically Increased By Glass Of Milk A Day: Study
https://www.huffingtonpost.ca/entry/breast-cancer-risk-milk_ca_5e57ebadc5b60102210d7bc0

Italy now has 888 coronavirus cases, of which 46 have recovered and 21 have died
https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-china-health-italy-cases/italy-coronavirus-cases-rise-to-888-of-which-46-have-recovered-official-idUKKCN20M2R9

Trump thinks the Coronavirus is a hoax, and said it out loud at his Rally
https://twitter.com/MysterySolvent/status/1233567872347230208

11 cases of coronavirus confirmed in San Antonio
https://twitter.com/KPRC2/status/1233561021073297409
https://www.click2houston.com/news/texas/2020/02/29/11-cases-of-coronavirus-confirmed-in-san-antonio/

Trump on Friday night tried to cast the global outbreak of the coronavirus as a liberal conspiracy intended to undermine his first term, lumping it alongside impeachment and the Mueller investigation
https://www.politico.com/news/2020/02/28/trump-south-carolina-rally-coronavirus-118269