February 2, 2017

Hillary and Bill Clinton Got a Warm Welcome From a Chanting Crowd at a Broadway Show

by Dana Eisenberg | 11:18 am, February 2nd, 2017

Last night, Hillary and Bill Clinton attended a performance of In Transit, a Broadway musical, and they received an extremely warm welcome as they entered the theater and found their seats.

The crowd cheered for them when they sat down, and the former first couple shook hands with those sitting around them. Lots of people stood up for them and cheered, “Hillary, Hillary,” before the show started. Clearly, the theater-going crowd likes Clinton better than Mike Pence, who was booed when he went to see Hamilton late last year.

Members of the cast and crew seemed happy to have them there, and they posed for photos with members of the cast:

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http://www.mediaite.com/online/hillary-and-bill-clinton-got-a-warm-welcome-from-a-chanting-crowd-at-a-broadway-show/

February 2, 2017

Senate Republicans suspend rules to approve Trump's EPA chief pick over Democrats' boycott

Source: Reuters


02 FEB 2017 AT 11:26 ET

A Senate committee suspended rules on Thursday to approve President Donald Trumps controversial choice to lead the Environmental Protection Agency on Thursday amid a boycott of his nomination by the panels Democratic members.

Wyoming Senator John Barrasso, chair of the environment and public works committee, said the committee would suspend several rules temporarily to approve the nomination of Oklahoma Attorney General Scott Pruitt as EPA administrator.

The panels Democrats boycotted Wednesdays meeting to approve Pruitt, saying that the nominee doubts the science of climate change and had too many conflicts of interest with the companies he is charged with regulating.

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Read more: http://www.rawstory.com/2017/02/senate-republicans-suspend-rules-to-approve-trumps-epa-chief-pick-over-democrats-boycott/

February 2, 2017

Foreign policy insider: 'No readout of Trump-Putin call because White House turned off recording'

Source: RawStory



DAVID EDWARDS
02 FEB 2017 AT 11:21 ET

Ian Berman, vice president of the conservative American Foreign Policy Council think tank, reported that the White House turned off its recording equipment during President Donald Trump’s call with Russian President Vladimir Putin. Following the call with Putin on Saturday, the Kremlin published a readout of the hour-long conversation that suggested the Russian president was pleased with Trump’s tone.

“During the conversation, both sides expressed their readiness to make active joint efforts to stabilise and develop Russia-US cooperation on a constructive, equitable and mutually beneficial basis,” the Kremlin statement said.

But while the Kremlin produced a detailed 10-paragraph readout of the call, the White House released only a vague one-paragraph statement saying that Trump received a “congratulatory call from Russian President Vladimir Putin.”

During a Wednesday forum on Russian-Turkish relations at the Bipartisan Policy Center, Berman suggested that the White House could not provide additional details about the call because staff had disabled recording equipment, according to Turkish journalist Ilhan Tanir.

Read more: http://www.rawstory.com/2017/02/foreign-policy-insider-no-readout-of-trump-putin-call-because-white-house-turned-off-recording/

February 2, 2017

'Who's next? Switzerland?': Internet dumbfounded by Trump fighting with US ally Australia

ELIZABETH PREZA
01 FEB 2017 AT 23:08 ET

In a call with Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull last Saturday, Donald Trump reportedly blasted the foreign leader over a refugee agreement, and bragged about the size of his electoral win, the Washington Post reports.

According to the report, Trump, who spoke with five world leaders throughout the day, told Turnbull his “was the worst call by far,” including the one he shared with Russian president Vladimir Putin.

As reports of the call surfaced, Internet users took to Twitter to mock the president’s diplomatic skills:

Alena Smith
@internetalena

First, he came for Australia, and I said nothing, because I was so confused

8:40 PM - 1 Feb 2017
7,591 Retweets 17,938 likes

Tom Tomorrow ✔
@tomtomorrow

Takes a certain sort of idiot-savant genius to start a foreign policy crisis with Australia.

10:16 PM - 1 Feb 2017
687 Retweets 1,436 likes

Richard Deitsch ✔
@richarddeitsch

Before today, I thought loving Australia was something all Americans could agree upon.

10:12 PM - 1 Feb 2017
57 Retweets 222 likes

pourmecoffee ✔
@pourmecoffee

If Reince Priebus loved America, he'd connect Trump's calls to actors playing world leaders. "Line 1 is Dingo Dundee from Australia sir."

10:08 PM - 1 Feb 2017
855 Retweets 1,965 likes

Jim Souhan ✔
@SouhanStrib

We must all understand that Australia poses an existential threat.
10:05 PM - 1 Feb 2017 · Houston, TX

10 Retweets 43 likes

Karen Tumulty ✔
@ktumulty

Time to build an ocean and make Australia pay for it.

10:03 PM - 1 Feb 2017
518 Retweets 1,312 likes

more
http://www.rawstory.com/2017/02/whos-next-switzerland-internet-dumbfounded-by-trump-fighting-with-us-ally-australia/

February 2, 2017

Trump Tweeted About Pulling Berkeley Funding Shortly After 'Fox & Friends' Suggested Same

Trump Tweeted About Pulling Berkeley Funding Shortly After Fox & Friends Suggested Same

Once again, President Donald Trump sent out an early morning tweet suggesting a new public policy after Fox News ran a segment arguing for the same thing.

Fox News radio host Todd Starnes argued on Fox and Friends First Thursday that Trump should pull Berkeley students’ funding following the violent riots that took place on campus Wednesday over a speech by alt-right leader and Breitbart editor Milo Yiannopoulos.

“Here is what needs to happen; President Trump should immediately issue an executive order blocking Berkeley students from receiving any federal funding. Same goes for any other public university that wants to silence conservative voices,” Starnes argued.

“Free speech for all, or no federal money,” he insisted. “Not a single taxpayer penny, period.”

more
http://www.mediaite.com/online/trump-tweeted-about-pulling-berkeleys-funding-shortly-after-fox-friends-suggested-the-same/

February 2, 2017

January jobs numbers show President Donald Trump is inheriting a strong labor market

THURSDAY, FEB 2, 2017 04:58 AM EST

Despite what Trump says, Obama’s job-creation track record is statistically impressive although problems persist

ANGELO YOUNG

While the Obamas continue their break from politics by chilling out in the British Virgin Islands, the nation will soon have the final tally for former President Barack Obama’s eight-year job-creation track record when January’s official monthly employment report comes out Friday.

Including estimates for January and pending some minor adjustments to the numbers in the coming months, the country added 11.4 million jobs, or 119,000 a month, under Obama’s eight years in office, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. That’s the highest rate since President Bill Clinton’s average monthly net gain of 239,000 and way, way ahead of Republican President George W. Bush’s measly average of 14,000 jobs a month.

The average monthly hiring pace since 2014 has been better, too, with statistics showing approximately 219,000 new jobs monthly. That figure is well above what’s necessary to meet the demand of new Americans entering the job market.

These numbers show that, despite President Donald Trump’s gloomy rhetoric, the nation’s labor market as a whole is better off than it has been in nearly a decade. The current official unemployment rate is below the 5 percent — labor economists consider this to be the point where employers have a harder time recruiting and retaining workers as more opportunities for better-paying jobs increase.

more
http://www.salon.com/2017/02/02/january-jobs-numbers-show-president-donald-trump-is-inheriting-a-strong-labor-market/

February 2, 2017

The Daily 202: In Mike Pence, conservatives trust

(emphasis not added)

By James Hohmann February 2 at 9:52 AM

THE BIG IDEA: Mike Pence is the un-Trump. Serving the first president in American history who has no prior political or military experience, the vice president’s background makes him well suited to sell Donald Trump’s policies. Perhaps because he has been in their shoes, he has already proven adept at connecting with and reassuring conservative members of Congress, governors and talk radio hosts.

The last few days have brought several illustrations of the important role he will likely play in the administration. Two Republican senators, Susan Collins and Lisa Murkowski, came out yesterday against the nomination of Betsy DeVos to be secretary of education. That means, if Democrats stick together, she’ll end up with a 50-50 vote. That would make Pence the first vice president in U.S. history to use his tie-breaking vote to confirm a cabinet nominee.

-- Apart from his limited constitutional responsibilities, Trump is depending on Pence to be his clean-up guy on the Hill. During a private lunch with GOP senators on Tuesday, Pence sought to soothe concerns about the botched rollout of the refugee ban. He gave his word that the White House will do a better job of keeping members in the loop going forward, especially on major policy announcements.

This is an incredibly delicate moment in the Capitol. Republicans who are wise, including Mitch McConnell, do not want to invoke the nuclear option. Smart conservatives understand that changing the rules of the Senate to allow for a simple majority to confirm Trump’s Supreme Court nominee would set a disastrous precedent, which would invariably be used to put hyper-liberal justices onto the high court in future years. Even talking about going this route poisons the well and makes it that much harder to woo the eight moderate Democrats needed to clear the current 60-vote threshold.

more
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/powerpost/paloma/daily-202/2017/02/02/daily-202-in-mike-pence-conservatives-trust/58929f22e9b69b1406c75c79/?utm_term=.708d4d3c9121&wpisrc=nl_daily202&wpmm=1

February 2, 2017

Average US 30-year mortgage rate unchanged at 4.19 percent

Source: Associated Press



THURSDAY, FEB 2, 2017 10:15 AM EST

WASHINGTON (AP) — Long-term US mortgage rates barely budged this week, after marking their first increase of the year last week.

Mortgage buyer Freddie Mac says the rate on 30-year fixed-rate loans was unchanged from last week at an average 4.19 percent. That was still sharply higher than a 30-year rate that averaged 3.65 percent for all of 2016, the lowest level recorded from records going back to 1971. A year ago, the benchmark rate stood at 3.72 percent.

The average for a 15-year mortgage ticked up to 3.41 percent from 3.40 percent last week.

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Read more: http://www.salon.com/2017/02/02/average-us-30-year-mortgage-rate-unchanged-at-4-19-percent/

February 2, 2017

White House: Trump comments on Mexico 'lighthearted'

Source: Associated Press


THURSDAY, FEB 2, 2017 09:00 AM EST

WASHINGTON (AP) A White House official is confirming that President Donald Trump told Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto that he might send U.S. troops to deal with bad hombres down there if the Mexican military doesnt.

The official says the remark was meant to be lighthearted and was a reference to cooperation between the countries in fighting drug cartels.

The Associated Press first reported Wednesday that Trump made the comment in an hourlong conversation with Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto on Jan. 27.

The official spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to discuss the details publicly, said those comments, while lighthearted, were part of a discussion about how the United States and Mexico could work collaboratively to combat drug cartels and other criminal elements, and make the border more secure.

The official described the conversation as pleasant and constructive.

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Read more: http://www.salon.com/2017/02/02/white-house-trump-comments-on-mexico-lighthearted/

February 2, 2017

Trump vows to 'totally destroy' law against pastors preaching politics from the pulpit

Source: RawStory

DAVID FERGUSON
02 FEB 2017 AT 09:48 ET

At the National Prayer Breakfast on Thursday morning, Pres. Donald Trump announced that he will be doing away with the Johnson Amendment, the amendment to the federal tax code that forbids churches and other tax-exempt organizations from involving themselves in political races.

I will get rid of and totally destroy the Johnson Amendment, Trump said during his remarks on Thursday, [link:https://twitter.com/JeffSharlet/status/827160471648210948according to Jeff Sharlet] of the New York Times who was present at the breakfast.

[link:http://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/statements/2016/jul/22/donald-trump/donald-trump-correct-lyndon-johnson-passed-legisla/The Johnson Amendment] was passed in 1954 and specifies that organizations that endorse candidates or make calls to political action will forfeit their tax-exempt status.

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Read more: http://www.rawstory.com/2017/02/trump-vows-to-totally-destroy-law-against-pastors-preaching-politics-from-the-pulpit/

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Trump Vows to ‘Destroy’ Law Banning Political Activity by Churches


By MARK LANDLERFEB. 2, 2017

WASHINGTON — President Trump vowed Thursday to overturn a law restricting political speech by churches, a potentially huge victory for the religious right and a gesture to his political base.

Mr. Trump said his administration would “totally destroy” the Johnson Amendment, which prohibits churches from engaging in political activity at the risk of losing their tax-exempt status.

Repealing the law would require approval by Congress. Certain tax-exempt organizations — in this case, churches — are not allowed to openly endorse or campaign for political candidates. If they do, under existing law, they risk losing the benefits of their tax-exempt status.

Speaking to a gathering of religious leaders, the president also defended his immigration policy, brushed aside concern about his harsh phone calls with foreign leaders, and ridiculed Arnold Schwarzenegger for his poor ratings in replacing Mr. Trump as host of “Celebrity Apprentice.”

He did not mention an executive order on religious freedom, which critics said would restrict the rights of lesbians and gay men; a draft of the order has circulated, but administration officials have denied that it will be adopted.

more
https://www.nytimes.com/2017/02/02/us/politics/trump-vows-to-destroy-law-banning-political-activity-by-churches.html?emc=edit_na_20170202&nl=breaking-news&nlid=57435284&ref=headline