DonViejo
DonViejo's JournalTrump Was a Boon to Cable News
December 29, 2016By Taegan Goddard
“Presidential politics was stranger than fiction in 2016 and that made it a good year to be in the cable news business. All three major cable news networks had their largest audiences ever, thanks to the drawing power of the nonstop surprises of the 2016 White House campaign that culminated with the election of Donald Trump,” the Los Angeles Times reports.
“Year-end numbers from Nielsen showed that the 21st Century Fox-owned Fox News Channel was the most-watched network in all of cable with an average of 2.43 million viewers in prime time, up 36% over last year. Only the four major broadcast networks had a larger audience.”
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https://politicalwire.com/2016/12/29/trump-boon-cable-news/
Israeli ambassador: Obama more 'outrageous' than Trump
Source: The Hill
BY MARK HENSCH - 12/29/16 11:31 AM EST
Israel’s ambassador to the U.S. says President Obama displays more shocking behavior than President-elect Donald Trump.
Ambassador Ron Dermer's remarks come after Obama, in a rare move, declined to veto a United Nations Security Council resolution last week demanding an end to Israeli settlements in occupied territory.
“I know that a lot of the talk in the press for the first few days was how outrageous it is for a president-elect to weigh in and breach this policy of one president at a time,” Dermer told MSNBC’s Willie Geist on “Morning Joe” Thursday.
“But what I actually think is outrageous is for an outgoing administration, in the waning days of its presidency, to radically shift U.S. policy without the knowledge or support of the incoming administration,” Dermer added of last week’s resolution.
Read more: http://thehill.com/homenews/administration/312097-israeli-ambassador-obama-more-outrageous-than-trump
Dem AGs warn Trump against repealing Obama's climate rule
Source: The Hill
BY TIMOTHY CAMA - 12/29/16 11:07 AM EST
A group of Democratic state attorneys general is warning President-elect Donald Trump against repealing the Clean Power Plan, saying it would lead to more lawsuits.
The group, led by New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman (D) and representing 14 states and five localities, wrote Thursday that it is in Trump’s best interest to preserve Obama’s climate change rule for power plants and continue defending it in federal court.
They stopped short of threatening to sue Trump if he tries to unwind the rule, but guaranteed him that someone would sue.
“We advocate that you reject misguided advice that the Clean Power Plan be discarded; advice that, if followed, would assuredly lead to more litigation,” they wrote. “Instead, we urge you to support the defense of this critically-important rule and the implementation of its carefully constructed strategies to reduce emissions from the nation’s largest sources.”
Read more: http://thehill.com/policy/energy-environment/312095-dem-ags-warn-trump-against-repealing-obamas-climate-rule
With Trump's victory, GOP hopes to overhaul Medicaid
Source: Associated Press
THURSDAY, DEC 29, 2016 11:16 AM EST
CHRISTINA A. CASSIDY, ASSOCIATED PRESS
ATLANTA (AP) With Donald Trumps election, Republicans in Congress will have the opportunity to overhaul Medicaid, something theyve wanted to do for years.
The program provides health care to millions of lower-income and disabled Americans. Currently, the federal government pays a certain percentage of each states Medicaid costs.
Republicans say states have little incentive to keep expenses down because no state pays more than half the total cost. They prefer sending a fixed amount of money each year to the states in the form of block grants, a move Republicans say would rein in spending.
Democrats have warned of dire consequences. Advocacy groups say reducing federal spending on Medicaid will place more of the financial burden on states and result in cuts, such as Medicaid covering fewer procedures or medications.
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Read more: http://www.salon.com/2016/12/29/with-trumps-victory-gop-hopes-to-overhaul-medicaid/
The Latest: Trump says US will buy, hire American
Source: Associated Press
PALM BEACH, Fla. (AP) — The Latest on President-elect Donald Trump (all times EST):
10:55 a.m.
President-elect Donald Trump has tweeted that his administration will buy American and hire American.
Trump has made the promise before. His tweet Thursday morning follows news that fewer Americans applied for unemployment benefits last week, continuing a nearly two-year trend that suggests his administration is inheriting a solid job market.
And it follows his comments Wednesday praising plans by a Japanese mogul to bring jobs to the U.S.
Trump tweeted: “My administration will follow two simple rules: BUY AMERICAN and HIRE AMERICAN! #USA.”
Read more: http://www.salon.com/2016/12/29/the-latest-trump-says-us-will-buy-hire-american/
Argentina court reopens probe of ex-president in bomb case
Source: Associated Press
THURSDAY, DEC 29, 2016 11:30 AM EST
BUENOS AIRES, Argentina (AP) — An Argentine court is ordering a renewed investigation into a prosecutor’s accusation that former President Cristina Fernandez covered up the alleged involvement of Iranians in a 1994 attack against a Jewish community center in Buenos Aires. The bombing of the center killed 85 people and wounded hundreds of others. Iran denies involvement.
The country’s top criminal tribunal on Thursday accepted a request by a delegation of Argentine Jewish associations to re-examine the charge Alberto Nisman made on Jan. 14, 2015, against Fernandez, her Foreign Minister Hector Timerman and other officials in her government.
Nisman was found dead with a gunshot to the head four days later. Authorities never determined if he was killed or took his own life.
Fernandez was president from 2007-2015. She denies wrongdoing in the case.
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Read more: http://www.salon.com/2016/12/29/argentina-court-reopens-probe-of-ex-president-in-bomb-case/
Bristol Palin Takes on the Hollywood 'Sissies' Who Refused to Perform at Trump's Inauguration
by J.D. Durkin | 7:39 am, December 29th, 2016
Bristol Palin — yes, that Bristol Palin — took to her personal blog this week to criticize the A-Listers who have repeatedly turned down the opportunity to perform at President-elect Donald Trump‘s inauguration next month.
The daughter of former Alaska Governor Sarah Palin wrote, “these same mega-celebrities, who would normally drool over an invitation to sing for the president, want no part of it.”
And despite claims from the Trump transition team that they are having no problem trying to find big name stars to perform at the January 20th event, Palin admits at one point, “Trump’s inauguration team sought out some of the world’s greatest musicians, but nearly all of them have refused for fear of backlash or to stand against him politically.”
Trump’s inauguration is currently slated to feature 16-year-old Jackie Evancho singing the national anthem, the Mormon Tabernacle Choir, as well at the world-famous Rockettes — though several of the dancers of the Radio City ensemble have spoken out against being forced to perform, with one anonymously writing, “The majority of us said no immediately.”
more
http://www.mediaite.com/online/bristol-palin-takes-on-the-hollywood-sissies-who-refused-to-perform-at-trumps-inauguration/
Trump Claims Credit For Bringing Back Sprint Jobs That Were Already Announced
Source: Talking Points Memo
By TIERNEY SNEED Published DECEMBER 29, 2016, 10:22 AM EDT
The thousands of telecommunications jobs President-elect Donald Trump claimed Wednesday that he was bringing back to the United States were part of a previously announced investment deal between Sprint and its main funder, SoftBank.
"5,000 jobs announced today are part of the 50,000 jobs that [SoftBank CEO Masayoshi Son] previously announced. It will be a combination of newly created jobs and bringing some existing jobs back to the U.S," a Sprint spokeswoman said in a statement to Politico, after Trump made his announcement to the press.
Trump on Wednesday afternoon spoke briefly to reporters outside of his Mar-A-Lago resort in Palm Beach, Florida to brag about 5,000 jobs being added in the United States by Sprint and an additional 3,000 jobs being created by OneWeb, a satellite manufacturing startup. He had said that those jobs were a result of "what is happening and the spirit and the hope" from his election, later adding that, "because of me they are doing 5,000 jobs in this country."
According to the New York Times, the 50,000 job expansion was planned as part of a $50 billion investment by SoftBank into operations in the United States. That funding was announced in October, before the election, according to Politico. SoftBank has owned a controlling stake in Sprint for years.
Read more: http://talkingpointsmemo.com/livewire/trump-sprint-jobs-previously-announced
Conway faces resistance in DC private school search: report
President-elect Donald Trump’s future counselor said she is 'amused' by the chilled response she has received so far as she begins searching for a private school for her four children in Washington.
Kellyanne Conway is concerned her work for Trump may impact her school search upon relocating to the nation’s dark-blue capital, The New York Post reported Wednesday.
“I would not characterize myself as ‘worried’ so much as amused by the silence and sighs on the other end of the phone when friends and allies have made preliminary inquiries on my behalf,” she told the Post while visiting schools in the District.
Noting many private school handbooks and websites tout diversity and open-mindedness, Conway said: “For some, there is comfort in sameness."
more
http://thehill.com/homenews/administration/312070-conway-struggling-with-kids-private-schooling-report
Utah AG says he'll sue Obama over national monument
Source: The Hill
BY TIMOTHY CAMA - 12/29/16 10:19 AM EST
Utah’s attorney general says he is preparing a lawsuit against President Obama for his decision to designate a new national monument in the state.
Attorney General Sean Reyes (R) on Wednesday said the lawsuit is one of numerous ways that he, Gov. Gary Herbert (R) and the state’s congressional delegation will fight the Bears Ears National Monument.
Reyes admitted that previous attempts to sue over national monuments have failed. The courts have upheld presidents’ power to protect federal land as monuments unilaterally.
“My office is working closely with the governor’s office, federal and state legislators, and San Juan County to file a lawsuit challenging this egregious overreach by the Obama administration,” Reyes said in a statement late Wednesday after Obama’s announcement. “This case is different from other past challenges by states and counties and we are confident in our chances of success,” he continued.
Read more: http://thehill.com/policy/energy-environment/312090-utah-ag-says-hell-sue-obama-over-national-monument
