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| LATEST WITH THE RUSSIA INVESTIGATION | |
This morning -- why send an email when you can get thousands of retweets?: |
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President Trump called for Attorney General Jeff Sessions to stop the Russia investigation, calling it a "Rigged Witch Hunt." He tweeted: "Attorney General Jeff Sessions should stop this Rigged Witch Hunt right now, before it continues to stain our country any further. Bob Mueller is totally conflicted, and his 17 Angry Democrats that are doing his dirty work are a disgrace to USA." http://bit.ly/2n0Fwcf |
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The FBI and DOJ are definitely on the president's hit list: |
| President Trump slammed the Department of Justice and the FBI for not warning his presidential campaign that Paul Manafort was under investigation at the time. He tweeted: "Paul Manafort worked for Ronald Reagan, Bob Dole and many other highly prominent and respected political leaders. He worked for me for a very short time. Why didn't government tell me that he was under investigation. These old charges have nothing to do with Collusion -- a Hoax!" http://bit.ly/2M9jCyC |
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| LATE THIS MORNING -- TRUMP THEN ADDED: |
| The president tweeted, "Looking back on history, who was treated worse, Alfonse Capone, legendary mob boss, killer and "Public Enemy Number One," or Paul Manafort, political operative & Reagan/Dole darling, now serving solitary confinement - although convicted of nothing? Where is the Russian Collusion?" http://bit.ly/2KiLsGP |
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| MEANWHILE AT THE MANAFORT TRIAL: |
| Read the opening statements: https://to.pbs.org/2NYWqDM How the prosecution started: During the opening statement, prosecutor Uzo Asonye said, "All of these charges boil down to one simple issue: that Paul Manafort lied. Manafort placed himself and his money over the law." How the defense is fighting back: Defense attorneys for Manafort are claiming that the real culprit behind the alleged fraud is his longtime business partner Richard Gates. During the opening statement, defense attorney Thomas Zehnle said, "Gates had his hand in the cookie jar," accusing him of embezzlement. While Manafort was out of town, he put Gates in charge and Gates took advantage, "lining his own pockets," Zehnle alleged. http://bit.ly/2v6F2pt |
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| It's officially August -- happy Wednesday. I'm Cate Martel with a quick recap of the morning and what's coming up. Send comments, story ideas and outdoor happy hour ideas to cmartel@thehill.com, @CateMartel and on Facebook. |
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Happening now -- Apple is extremely close to being the first $1 trillion company: |
| When Apple's stock price hits $203 a share, the market value of the company will officially hit $1 trillion. How close are we?: Late this morning, Apple's stocks were trading over $201 a share. Details: https://cnnmon.ie/2KhN9El Watch Apple's stock: https://yhoo.it/2LKbDfd |
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Mazel! -- I feel like this ALWAYS happens on ancestry shows: |
| Via The Associated Press, in an upcoming segment on PBS's "Finding Your Roots With Henry Louis Gates Jr.," House Speaker Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) uncovers that he is 3 percent Jewish. From host Henry Louis Gates Jr. on Ryan's reaction: "You could have knocked him over with a feather and then he was very proud of it." http://bit.ly/2OBMGQK Reaction from Ryan: 
Watch the full gif — it's pretty funny: http://bit.ly/2LK7pV2 |
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Trending -- Watch out if you've been shopping at Trader Joe's or Kroger: |
| Via Time, some salads and wraps sold at Trader Joe's, Kroger, Gordon Food Service and Walgreens may have been contaminated. What to avoid: "Certain beef, pork and poultry salads and wraps" sold at those stores. The contamination: "Cyclospora, a parasite that can cause gastrointestinal illness." Details: https://ti.me/2OvIv9c |
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One committee passes the family separations torch to another: |
| Via The Hill's Jordain Carney, the Senate Judiciary Committee has stalled on negotiations to fix family separations on the U.S.-Mexico border. Now, the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee will try to hash out the issue. Happening today: GOP Sen. Ron Johnson (Wis.) is convening committee members to negotiate. http://bit.ly/2O39yYC |
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Follow-up to yesterday's breaking news -- yes, Putin, we're looking at you: |
| Democrats suspect Russia is behind a new campaign to influence November's midterm elections. Well, is it Russia?: Facebook hasn't been definitive about who is to blame, but Democrats immediately accused Russia. http://bit.ly/2LQTATN |
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| SEN. KING IS ALSO PRETTY CONFIDENT: |
| Sen. Angus King (I-Vt.) said he is "reasonably confident" Russia is behind the influence attempt. http://bit.ly/2AvRog5 |
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| BACK STORY: |
| Yesterday, Facebook revealed it removed 32 pages and accounts of a coordinated campaign to influence the 2018 midterm elections. The initial report: https://nyti.ms/2vrdJFI |
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This town ain't big enough for the both of us: |
| Via The Hill's Amie Parnes, Sens. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) and Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) are both debating running for the Democratic presidential nomination in 2020, but some Democrats say that only one of them should run. How the Sanders-Warren rivalry is growing: http://bit.ly/2LRug00 |
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Oops -- 'Massachusetts may have just accidentally banned horse racing': |
| Via WGBH, "State law authorizing live and simulcast horse racing expired July 31st, the last day of lawmaker's formal sessions for the year. A bill that would have extended racing's legality into 2019 seems to have been lost in the shuffle at the end of the session and wasn't enacted before lawmakers broke from significant legislative work for the rest of the year." Why this is especially awkward: "The Plainridge Casino has a race set for Thursday and Suffolk Downs races on Saturday." http://bit.ly/2LVCtQK |
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Alexander Hamilton!: |
| Former FBI Director James Comey attended the Broadway hit "Hamilton" in Washington, D.C. Photo of Comey with the cast: http://bit.ly/2M84aCM |
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Interesting graphic: |
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Full size graphic: http://bit.ly/2O2wEi0 Other similar Bloomberg graphics and details: https://bloom.bg/2vlroOG |
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Wooow, this Twitter thread: |
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| The Senate is in. The House is out because ... August. President Trump is in Washington, D.C., and Vice President Pence is in Hawaii. 11:45 a.m. EDT: President Trump met with Housing and Urban Development Secretary Ben Carson. 1:45 p.m. EDT: President Trump meets with inner city pastors. 2:45 p.m. EDT: President Trump meets with Republican senators. Thursday–Sunday: Lollapalooza. Details: http://bit.ly/2vacSde |
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| 1 p.m. EDT: White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders gives a press briefing. Livestream: http://bit.ly/2AyfkQ4 Keep in mind: "There have been 3 [press briefings] in July equaling a total of 58 minutes." (h/t CNN's Allie Malloy) http://bit.ly/2O24rYB 7:15 p.m. EDT: Vice President Pence delivers remarks at an Honorable Carry Ceremony for the remains of American service members who died in the Korean War. Livestream: http://bit.ly/2n2gbia |
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| Today is National Raspberry Cream Pie Day. |
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I wish you could see how big my eye roll is through the screen: |
| Via The Wall Street Journal's Sarah E. Needleman, parents are hiring coaches to help their kids in the popular video game Fortnite. https://on.wsj.com/2Oydvp6 Lol, well said: Needleman tweeted, "Dugout dads, meet videogame parents." http://bit.ly/2Kh83DK |
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Damn you, autocorrect!: |
| An ESPN reporter has been mercilessly mocked for a typo that explained an MLB game delay. He tweeted: "@Rangers and @Dbacks delayed in downtown Phoenix because a baboon went through town and overloaded the grid, knocking some lights out." What he meant: Haboob (a type of dust storm). The internet had a lot of fun with this: http://bit.ly/2LZq3Yp |
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| FOR EXAMPLE -- WELL DONE, EVERYONE: |
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| And to break up your Wednesday afternoon, here's a Pomeranian who looks like a legitimate pet bear: https://bzfd.it/2v9ZKEW |
