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The Guardian - US
The Guardian - US
World
Gabrielle Canon in Oakland (now) and Lauren Gambino in Washington (earlier)

Trump administration reportedly drafts emergency order for wall funding – as it happened

Summary

That’s a wrap for Thursday. Here’s what happened if you’re just tuning in:

  • The government shutdown continues, closing out 33 days of no pay (and a second missed paycheck) for federal workers. The Senate failed to pass both measures to re-opened the government, one backed by Trump and the other by Democrats. The latter earned support from six Republicans. While Senate leaders met to come up with a new plan, the White House said it would only agree to a short-term resolution if it included a “a large down payment on the wall”.
  • CNN reported that the Trump administration already had a draft ready so the president could issue a national emergency order to fund his wall without congressional support. Speaking to reporters today, he was vague about the plans, referring only to “other alternatives” should Congress fail to make a deal that includes wall funding.
  • The situation in Venezuela intensified as Russian financial and military support for President Nicolás Maduro countered US recognition of his challenger, Juan Guaidó. The state department has pulled non-emergency officials out of the country and the US secretary of state, Mike Pompeo, announced the US would provide more than $20m in humanitarian aid.

See you tomorrow!

NBC is reporting that Jared Kushner’s application for top security clearance moved forward even after issues were flagged during an FBI background check.

Two anonymous sources cited in the report told NBC that in addition to Kushner, former Pentagon official Carl Kline overruled career security specialists judgements on at least 30 Trump officials, a move they said was unprecedented.

“What you are reporting is what all of us feared,” Brad Moss, a lawyer who represents persons seeking security clearances told NBC. “The normal line adjudicators looked at the FBI report…saw the foreign influence concerns, but were overruled by the quasi-political supervisor”.

In a letter to Donald Trump today, Nathan Catura, who heads the Federal Law Enforcement Officers Association, expressed just how dire the shutdown has been for workers who have now gone without pay for more than a month.

Describing the “perilous position” federal workers are facing, he writes that many are depending on GoFundMe pages and soup kitchens to get by. Citing that 27,000 federal agents and officers across 65 federal agencies are represented by his association and that all have had to work with no pay as their jobs are essential to national security, he called the shutdown reprehensible and asked the President to end it.

Many of our members conduct complex investigations including tracking terrorists, identifying foreign actors, and protecting elected officials, including you and your family. As the shutdown continues they are being put in both a fiscally and personally compromising position that is antithetical to the way our nation should be treating those that protect us.

Twenty-first century law enforcement requires research, analysis and technology. These critical investigative support elements are not working during the shutdown, this compares to half of a team taking a field for a game. The targets of our investigations now have an advantage of being better informed and better resourced than our members. This is an extremely dangerous situation that threatens the lives of our members and all Americans.

Updated

According to a new poll, released today, Americans are more polarized and pessimistic than ever — but also more inclined to vote. Trump’s approval rating during the shutdown came in at 42% with 40% responding that they would support the President “no matter what”, but an undeclared Democratic opponent still leads by 10 points nationally.

“Based on the results of this first survey of 2019, the battle of 2018 will carry forward with an even more engaged, more re-aligned and politicized country, to produce an election like nothing we have seen before” the pollsters from Stanley Greenberg, Democracy Corps & Greenberg Research wrote in a memo released with the findings. Here are the rest of the results:

  • The Democratic margin is growing. Democrats prevailed by 8.6 points nationally in 2018, and in this first poll of 2019, the Democratic candidate for President is ahead by 10 points, 51 to 41 percent, with 5 percent volunteering third party candidates. (Just 3 percent are undecided in a generic presidential ballot against Trump.) That leaves the Trump vote 5 points short of 2016, which would push him back dramatically back behind the Electoral College blue wall. He is losing independents by 11 points and is losing a quarter of moderate Republicans.
  • Voters are nationalized politically. Fully 92 percent of those who voted for Democrats in 2018 are voting for a Democratic presidential candidate, and 90 percent of those who voted Republican in 2018 are voting for Donald Trump in 2020. All voters of both camps have fully polarized and translating their preferences nationally.
  • The re-alignment continues. The Democratic candidate is winning Hispanics 62 to 32 percent, millennials 64 to 26 percent, millennial women by a daunting 79 to 16 percent, unmarried women 71 to 22 percent, and even white unmarried women by a two-to-one margin (62 to 30 percent). Every one of those numbers in the Rising American Electorate pushes the 2018 blue wave a step further.
  • White working class women are sending a message. They currently give the Democrat a 3-point lead over Donald Trump, 49 to 46 percent.
  • Historic level of engagement already. The most stunning development is the historic level of voter engagement in the first month of the election of the cycle. The percentage who say they are following the election at the highest possible level is already higher than in the last months of 2018 midterms that produced historic levels of off-year turnout. The high level of engagement recorded here for registered voters exceeds what we received for likely voters in 2016. So, by our standard definition of likely voters in a presidential election, we show virtually all registered voters as likely voters. This suggests an historic level of turnout in 2020.

Updated

State Department is pulling government workers out of Venezuela

Political turmoil spiked in Venezuela this afternoon, after the leader of the Venezuelan armed forces declared loyalty for President Nicolás Maduro and called the US-supported transitional government under Juan Guaidó an attempted coup.

The US State Department has now called for all non-emergency government employees to leave the country and issued a warning to American travelers advising them to leave Venezuela or to stock supplies and “shelter in place”.

The move followed declarations from Maduro that he was planning to close the Venezuelan Embassy and all consulates in the US.

Venezuela has had two presidents since Jan 10, when Maduro declared himself the winner of a largely-boycotted election, internationally considered to be a sham.

Maduro has received financial, diplomatic, and military support from Moscow, and the Kremlin has cautioned US officials not to intervene, the New York Times reports.

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo ignored the admonitions and intensified the Trump administration’s call for other countries to accept Mr. Guaidó and renounce Mr. Maduro.

‘His regime is morally bankrupt, it’s economically incompetent, and it is profoundly corrupt, and it is undemocratic to the core’ Mr. Pompeo told a meeting of the 35-member Organization of American States in Washington”.

The Washington Post is reporting that the Koch political network, one of the most powerful rightwing funders, will not support President Trump in 2020.

The decision reflects a narrow path that the influential network led by billionaire industrialist Charles Koch has sought to walk in the Trump era: aligning with the president on some policy issues while withholding its electoral firepower on his behalf.

The network’s plan to stay out of the 2020 race was quietly relayed to major donors in recent months, according to people familiar with the conversations. It comes as the network has sought to shift attention from its political activities to its investments in education and philanthropy. Donors say they expect to discuss the issue at a retreat for top network contributors this weekend.”

The group will still offer significant investments for Senate and House races, along with a new initiative to reduce poverty.

Trump administration reportedly drafted national emergency order to fund border wall

Gabrielle Canon here, taking over for Lauren Gambino for the rest of the evening.

As negotiations with top Democrats over funding for the border wall continue at an impasse, CNN is reporting that the Trump Administration has already drafted a backup plan.

Should Congress fail to grant the president a down payment for his wall, he may be prepared to declare a national emergency and try to secure $7 billion:

Trump has not ruled out using his authority to declare a national emergency and direct the Defense Department to construct a border wall as Congress and the White House fight over a deal to end the government shutdown. But while Trump’s advisers remain divided on the issue, the White House has been moving forward with alternative plans that would bypass Congress.

‘The massive amount of aliens who unlawfully enter the United States each day is a direct threat to the safety and security of our nation and constitutes a national emergency’, a draft of a presidential proclamation reads”.

In early January, Trump moved away from his threat to declare a national emergency saying he wanted “Congress to do its job”. But speaking to reporters today, the president said if a deal couldn’t be reached between McConnell and Schumer he might employ other options.

“I have other alternatives if I have to,” he said. “We have to have a wall in this situation”.

Updated

Early evening summary

  • The Senate failed to pass two measures that would have re-opened the government, one backed by Trump and the other by Democrats. The latter earned support from six Republicans.
  • Donald Trump and the Senate leaders are in discussion over re-opening the government on a temporary basis after the president’s plan failed in the Senate.
  • The White House said it would only agree to a short-term resolution if it included a “a large downpayment on the wall”.
  • Elsewhere in Washington, the annual US Conference of Mayors turned into a cattle call for potential 2020 presidential candidates. VP Joe Biden and LA Mayor Eric Garcetti were among several politicians who painted an aspirational vision of America in remarks that could double as as a stump speech.

White House press secretary Sarah Sanders weighs in on ongoing Schumer-McConnell summit. She states that any solution must come with a “large down payment on the wall”. Trump has repeatedly asked for $5.7bn but this statement doesn’t name a price.

Updated

Senator Johnny Isakson, one of the Republicans who voted for the Democratic proposal, has raised another reason for re-opening the government as quickly as possible.

It’s a point Lewinsky made herself earlier this week.

Updated

In the absence of progress there is movement, literal movement, from the floor of the Senate to the Majority Leader’s office.

Summing up the day’s events:

We’re right where we started when we got here today.” Senator John Cornyn, Republican of Texas

Updated

Democratic proposal fails in the Senate

A Democratic plan that would extend current funding levels for two weeks and open the shuttered departments has failed, albeit by a smaller margin than Trump’s proposal. The Senate voted 52-44, falling short again of the 60-vote threshold.

Six Republicans voted for the measure, including senators Johnny Isakson, Mitt Romney, Lamar Alexander, Susan Collins, Lisa Murkowski and Cory Gardner.

Trump-backed proposal fails in the Senate

A proposal that would have given Trump funding for his wall and re-open the shuttered departments of the government failed in a 50-47 vote*. The measure needed 60 votes to pass.

Senator Joe Manchin of West Virginia was the long Democrat to break ranks and support the bill while Republicans Tom Cotton of Arkansas and Mike Lee of Utah voted against the measure.

Now the chamber will proceed to a vote on the Democratic measure to reopen and fund the government for two weeks. It offers no money for the border wall.

We’re watching now to see which measure garners more support from across the aisle as a possible starting point for negotiations to end the 34-day shutdown.

*The outcome was incorrectly announced in the chamber as 51-47. It was 50-47.

Updated

Michael Ertel, Governor Ron DeSantis’s newly appointed Secretary of State, has “resigned after photos emerged of him posing as a Hurricane Katrina victim in blackface at a private Halloween party 14 years ago,” according to the Tallahassee Democrat.

The paper obtained photos taken of Ertel in 2005, eight months after he was appointed Seminole County supervisor of elections and two months after Hurricane Katrina devastated New Orleans.

The Democrat showed the photos to the governor’s office and hours later received a statement that DeSantis had accepted Ertel’s resignation. The paper said it sent the photos to Ertel last week and he identified himself in the photo as the white man in blackface and red lipstick, wearing earrings and a New Orleans Saints bandanna, and falsies.

Updated

The fallout from Wilbur Ross’s comments this morning continue.

Congresswoman Jennifer Wexton, a freshman Democrat from Virginia, invited Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross to join her at the Capital Area Food Bank this weekend “to meet with and help serve federal employees who have been affected by the government shutdown”.

“To express confusion over why these hard-working Americans – many of whom are living paycheck to paycheck – would seek assistance in feeding their families demonstrates an uninformed understanding of their situation,” Wexton said in a statement. “I hope Secretary Ross will join me this weekend to lend a hand to our federal employees and learn just how the shutdown has turned their lives upside-down.”

A vote on the first measure is underway but several senators are still making their way to the floor so this could take several more minutes.

In the meantime, here’s the fiery exchange from moments ago between Senators Michael Bennet, a Democrat from Colorado, and Ted Cruz, a Republican from Texas.

Senate votes on dueling bills to reopen the government

Ahead of the vote, the Senate minority leader, Chuck Schumer, is on the floor urging Republicans to support their short-term plan to re-open the government.

“Supporting our amendment doesn’t mean you don’t support strong border security. To the contrary: it starts funding that effort once again,” he said in a plea to Republicans.

Democrats have vowed not to negotiate on border security until after the government is opened.

Several House Democrats, led by the chamber’s appropriations chair, Nita Lowey, are watching from the floor of the Senate as they vote.

Updated

For those keeping track at home, another pearl of wisdom from America’s most quotable senator.

In 2020 news, senator and presidential candidate Elizabeth Warren will propose a “wealth tax” on those making more than $50m in an effort to tackle soaring income inequality, the Washington Post reported.

Updated

It’s getting heated on the Senate floor ahead of a vote on dueling bills to re-open the federal government.

Here’s what to expect in just a few short minutes.

The majority leader will first bring up the first proposal designed to meet Trump’s demands for $5.7bn for a wall along the southern border. It would also provide temporary protections for some undocumented immigrants who came to to the country illegally as children and would pause plans to end “temporary protected status” (TPS) for some Latin American and African nations.

The Democratic measure would extend the current funding levels for all shuttered departments until 8 February, allowing the government to re-open and federal employees to return to work. It would provide no additional money for border security. The bill does not address the state of DACA recipients, known as Dreamers, or TPS holders.

Neither are expected to pass. Senator Joe Manchin of West Virginia is the only Democrat so far who has said he would vote for Trump’s measure, though he will also vote for the second proposal. Three Republican senators have said they would vote for the Democratic proposal – but that won’t be enough to reach the 60-vote threshold.

After that, a bipartisan group of senators will reportedly press for a possible short-term resolution.

Updated

We’re turning back to the Conference of mayors where LA Mayor Eric Garcetti is delivering remarks that could very much serve as the foundation of a campaign stump speech.

“It’s time to demand that Washington follow our lead, instead of the other way around,” he said. “It’s time that our nation is led from the bottom up, rather than the top down. It’s time to flip Washington on its head.”

“America right now is crying out for leadership, leadership I know exists in this room,” he continues. “There are two Americas: Washington and the rest of us.”

Guardian reporter Erin Durkin sends this report about the difficulties federal employees face when applying for loans.

“One of the challenges the workers are going to face in getting loans is they have zero income right now. Your income is the most important driver of your ability to get a loan,” said Jack Gillis, executive director of the Consumer Federation of America.

He said that while some local banks and credit unions around the country have offered interest-free loans to affected federal workers, that is not something all workers can count on.

“At this point, it’s few and far between in terms of availability, Gillis said.

Getting a loan is not as simple as walking into a bank and asking for one, even for people with once-steady incomes.

“For virtually every loan, you need some collateral. The concept of walking into a financial institution and saying, ‘I need a loan for 30 days to carry me through’ is a ludicrous concept,” he said. “You have to have collateral, which is why some people may tap into second mortgages on their homes. But the fastest and easiest way to obtain cash is through high-cost payday lending institutions, which is a horrible position for consumers to be in.”

He warned that federal workers may be ensnared by notorious payday loan operations, which charge sky-high interest rates.

“It’s going to be very easy for some of these folks to become victims of payday lenders, and end up paying 200%, 300% interest because they need the money fast and they may not have the credit rating necessary to get a personal loan,” he said. “This is the perfect environment for payday lenders to wreak havoc.”

Wilbur Ross tries to clarify his comments from earlier, which has attracted a lot of criticism.

An hour before the Senate is expected to vote on two bills that would re-open the government, the Vice President is on the Hill.

Politico is reporting that the number of federal employees filing for unemployment has “more than doubled in the second week of January,” according to government data published Thursday.

More than 25,000 federal employees filed for unemployment as of Jan. 12, up from 10,500 the week prior, the Labor Department reported. By comparison, fewer than 1,700 federal workers filed for unemployment during the same period last year.

Jim Acosta has some follow-up comments on the Trump administration, writes the Associated Press.
CNN’s chief White House correspondent, who has frequently and publicly clashed with Donald Trump, as well as other officials, has a book coming out June 11.

He’s calling it “The Enemy of the People,” Trump’s inflammatory insult for the cable network and other mainstream media outlets whose reporting displeases him.


HarperCollins Publishers (owned by Rupert Murdoch’s News Corp) told AP on Thursday that Acosta would describe the “near-constant conflict” in covering Trump (is that news? Regardless, there’s appetite) and offer portraits of press secretary Sarah Sanders and others.

One wonders what that will do for the Trump-Murdoch bromance...

The ripple effect from the 34-day shutdown:

Early afternoon summary

Here’s a summary of the main events in American politics so far today:

•The Senate will press ahead with votes this afternoon on competing bills to end the government shutdown, one from the Trump camp (with wall), one from the Pelosi camp (no wall), with negligible hope of either passing.

• Michael Cohen has been subpoenaed to appear before the Senate intelligence committee, one day after he asked to postpone an appearance before the House oversight committee.

•House speaker Nancy Pelosi, Democrat of California, was pleased the president agreed not to deliver the State of the Union address until after the government opens again, though Republicans criticized her move to block it.

•The United Nations will head an “independent international inquiry” into the murder of Saudi Arabian dissident and journalist for the Washington Post, Jamal Khashoggi.

Michael Cohen’s attorney Lanny Davis has called for Congress to censure Donald Trump for “witness tampering”, related to alleged intimidation against the family of Cohen, the president’s former lawyer and fixer.

And Davis wants a criminal investigation into the president’s current highest-profile lawyer, Rudy Giuliani.

“Today I am calling for an immediate House resolution against Trump for congressional witness tampering and obstruction due horrible multiple threats to Michael’s family, and an immediate criminal investigation and possible indictment of Giuliani for the same conduct, since he does not have likely presidential immunity,” Davis said in a statement to CNBC.

He had earlier spoken on the topic on ABC’s Good Morning America.

In other news, the American people have spoken and they want Cardi B to give the State of the Union rebuttal.

Late night host Stephen Colbert started the petition to get the singer to deliver the response. It now has more than 24,000 retweets and nearly 47,000 likes.

Updated

Cohen attorney confirms subpoena to testify before Senate panel

The Senate Intelligence Committee has issued a subpoena for Trump’s former lawyer Michael Cohen, his attorney Lanny Davis has confirmed.

“This morning the Senate Intelligence Committee served Michael Cohen with a subpoena,” Davis said in a statement.

The subpoena comes one day after Cohen asked to postpone an appearance before the House Oversight Committee, which had been scheduled for next week. Cohen cited “ongoing threats against his family” from the President and his attorney Rudy Giuliani.

Cohen pleaded guilty last month to lying to Congress about how long into Trump’s campaign for the presidency he and his advisor pursued a deal to develop a tower in Russia’s capital.

The committee declined to comment.

Updated

Democratic senator, Joe Manchin, who represents conservative West Virginia, said he will vote for both measures today.

“Even though they will probably fail, these votes are a start to finding a way to reopen the gov & get WVians back to work,” he said on Twitter.

McCarthy: Stopping president from delivering SOTU address a 'low point'

The House Republican leader Kevin McCarthy is calling on House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Democratic leaders to stay in Washington this weekend and hash out a resolution to the shutdown.

He called her letter uninviting the president from delivering his state of the union address a “low point in history” but said recessing without a solution to the shutdown was an even “lower point”. Echoing Trump’s boast, he says the Congressional leaders could reach an agreement in just “45 minutes”.

Asked if Americans should feel safe while traveling given the chaos the shutdown is causing at airports, McCarthy said he’d leave that to the experts. “My travel has been very safe,” he added.

He said he had not seen the commerce secretary’s comments about federal workers but said that they are certainly being hurt by the ongoing closures.

“That’s why I’m staying here and I want every other leader to be in the room,” he said.

Updated

Senate majority leader Mitch McConnell has “hope” that his chamber will pass a funding bill that has a prayer of being signed in to law by the president.

CNN: Michael Cohen subpoenaed by Senate Intelligence Committee

CNN is reporting that the president’s former personal lawyer Michael Cohen has been subpoenaed by the Senate Intelligence Committee, citing a “source close to Cohen”.

Earlier this week, Cohen postponed his appearance before the House Oversight Committee after claiming that he and his family felt threatened by the president and his lawyer, Rudy Giuliani.

The CNN report says Cohen has the same concerns regarding the safety of his family and it is unclear how he will respond.

A spokeswoman for the committee declined to comment on the report.

Updated

Reuters is reporting that the United Nations special rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions will travel to Turkey next week to head an “independent international inquiry” into the murder of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi at the nation’s consulate in Istanbul on 2 October.

“I will be heading an independent international inquiry into the killing of Saudi journalist Mr. Jamal Khashoggi, commencing with a visit to Turkey from 28 January to 3 February 2019,” independent U.N. investigator Agnes Callamard said in an email reply to Reuters in Geneva.

Callamard said that she would evaluate the circumstances of the crime, and “the nature and the extent of states’ and individuals’ responsibilities for the killing”.

“My findings and recommendations will be reported to the U.N. Human Rights Council at the June 2019 session,” she said.

House passes bill to temporarily reopen Department of Homeland Security

The bill passed largely along party lines and is all but certain to go nowhere in the Senate.

The measure the latest in a series of measures passed by the Democratic-controlled House to restore funding to the closed departments.

The vote was 231 to 180, with five Republicans supporting the bill and one Democrat, freshman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, voting against it.

Meanwhile, likely 2020 contender, former Colorado governor John Hickenlooper is speaking at the Conference of Mayors in Washington.

As an aside, the former governor likely asked “What’s the opposite of woe,” which is the title of his memoir.

At least one White House resident was watching Pelosi’s press conference:

But maybe he tuned in late and missed her reference to Ross’ comments.

Updated

Pelosi on SOTU debacle: 'Glad that's off the table'

“As you know last night the president accepted the fact that the State of the Union should be at a *time* when we can talk about the State of the Union,” Pelosi said in opening remarks at her weekly press conference. “I’m glad we got that off the table.”

Pelosi goes after Wilbur Ross for his widely criticized comments questioning why federal workers are going to food banks.

“Is this the let-them-eat-cake-kind of attitude ... or call your dad for money?” she said.

In an appearance on CNBC, Ross said he “didn’t quite understand” why workers would need to resort to that.

He suggested struggling federal employees borrow from a bank or credit union, saying “there’s no real reason why they shouldn’t be able to get a loan against it”.

Pelosi also urged Senate Republicans to support legislation that would extend funding for two weeks.

“There’s no excuse for Senate Republicans not to pass this legislation,” Pelosi said. She reiterated that Democrats support stronger border security. “Let’s have that discussion after we open up government.”

Updated

Former White House Chief of Staff John Kelly has signed a letter urging the president and Congress to fund the Department of Homeland Security, which was shuttered as a result of the shutdown that began on 22 December.

In the letter, Kelly, who headed the department before becoming chief of staff, and four past DHS secretaries, called it “unconscionable” that DHS employees are struggling to care for their families while being asked to protect and secure the nation’s borders.

“DHS employees who protect the traveling public, investigate and counter terrorism, and protect critical infrastructure should not have to rely on the charitable generosity of others for assistance in feeding their families and paying their bills while they steadfastly focus on the mission at hand,” the letter says.

“We call on our elected leaders to restore the funding necessary to ensure our homeland remains safe and that the Department’s critical national security functions continue without compromise.”

The letter did not go unnoticed by Democrats.

Updated

Virginia senators Tim Kaine and Mark Warner, who represent the largest number of federal employees in the country, are at Reagan National Airport this morning to raise awareness about the impact the shutdown is having on the government workers who make air travel possible.

Last night, union leaders representing air traffic controllers, pilots and flight attendants issued a dire warning: “We cannot even calculate the level of risk currently at play, nor predict the point at which the entire system will break. It is unprecedented.”

Democrats are planning to unveil a package on Friday that will include at least $5bn in funding for border security – roughly the same amount Trump is asking for his wall.

Mississippi congressman Bennie Thompson, the chairman of the House Homeland Security Committee, told reporters the allotment would help fund immigration judges and drone technology.

“At this point, there’s no money for the wall,” he said.

The head of the Food and Drug Administration’s opioid advisory team says officials are risking American lives by continuing to approve new high-strength opioid painkillers, according to an exclusive interview with veteran Guardian reporter Chris McGreal.

Dr Raeford Brown told the Guardian there is “a war” within the FDA as officials in charge of opioid policy have “failed to learn the lessons” of the epidemic that has killed hundreds of thousands of people over the past 20 years and continues to claim about 150 lives a day.

Brown accused the agency of putting the interests of narcotics manufacturers ahead of public health, most recently by approving a “terrible drug”, Dsuvia, in a process he alleged was manipulated.

“They should stop considering any new opioid evaluation,” said Brown. “For every day and every week and every month that the FDA don’t do the right thing, people drop dead on the streets. What they do has a direct impact on the mortality rate from opioids in this country.”

For more read the piece here or read his book on the subject, American Overdose: The Opioid Tragedy in Three Acts

There are nine Democrats running for president and more are jumping in to the race seemingly every day.

But there’s a constituency waiting, somewhat impatiently, on the decision of one man in particular: Bernie Sanders. His supporters are staging another “Weekend of Action” to nudge the senator into the presidential race.

Organizing for Bernie, Our Revolution, Progressive Democrats of America and The People for Bernie Sanders will host house parties and canvassing events designed to remind Sanders that he has an “army” ready to deploy as soon as he gives the signal.

Updated

A Florida politician was formally condemned over disparaging remarks she made about congresswoman Rashida Tlaib, according to the the Miami Herald.

Hallandale Beach voted Wednesday night to condemn one of its city commission members over remarks she made on social media that denigrated the first Palestinian-American woman elected to the U.S. Congress.

In a 3-2 vote, the commission officially condemned the comments of Commissioner Anabelle Lima-Taub who said in a Facebook post that Rep. Rashida Tlaib, a Democrat from Detroit, might become “a martyr and blow up Capitol Hill”. Tlaib is one of the first of two Muslim women who was elected to Congress in November.

Lima-Taub has remained unapologetic for the viral Facebook post, stating Tlaib’s support for boycotting Israel equates her with terrorist organizations like Hamas and Hezbollah.

Updated

Los Angeles mayor Eric Garcetti, who may or may not have some big 2020 news to make later this afternoon, is planning to throw “the best party you’ve ever seen” if the LA Rams win the Super Bowl.

“You’re going to see this town come alive,” he told TMZ, who caught the mayor on his way to DC for the Conference of Mayors. “I’m sick of hearing that LA doesn’t have sports fans. We love sports and we love the Rams.”

Updated

The Fox News poll found that 3 in 4 Americans consider the government shutdown an “emergency or major problem”. Meanwhile, 51% of respondents blame Trump for the mess compared to 34% who blame Democrats.

Senator Cory Gardner, a Republican from Colorado who faces a tough re-election in 2020, will break with his party and vote for the Democratic plan to re-open the government without funding for Trump’s border wall, according to an editorial published on Wednesday night by the Denver Post.

“Colorado Republican senator Cory Gardner’s spokesman told us Wednesday he intends to vote for a clean funding bill that would open the government with no increased border-security funding attached,” the editorial board wrote. “It’s the right thing to do.”

Gardner was the first Republican to break with his party over the shutdown.

Updated

Unemployment drops to the lowest level since November 1969

The Associated Press reports that “the number of people seeking jobless benefits dropped last week to the lowest level since November 1969, a sign the job market remains strong despite the partial government shutdown, now in its fifth week”.

The labor department said Thursday that weekly applications for unemployment aid declined 13,000 to a seasonally adjusted 199,000. The four-week average, a less volatile figure, dropped 5,500 to 215,000.

The tally of furloughed federal employees requesting unemployment aid jumped to 25,419, more than double the previous week. Those figures are tracked separately from other unemployment claims.

Weekly applications for jobless aid are a proxy for layoffs. The data suggests employers are confident enough about the economy to hold onto their workers. The labor department was funded before the shutdown and is still releasing its weekly report.

Updated

Joe Biden is speaking now amid speculation that he will run for president in 2020.

“I ran for the United States Senate because being a local official was too hard,” the former VP quips, drawing laughs from the mayors in the crowd. “They know where you live.”

He then appears to handicap his own candidacy. “No one ever doubts that I mean what I say. The problem is, I sometimes say all that I mean.”

He then addresses a story in the New York Times that detailed a paid speech he gave to a Republican-leaning audience in the battleground state of Michigan three weeks before the 2018 midterm elections. During his remarks he praised Republican congressman Fred Upton who was at the time facing the toughest race of his political career. He won the race by 4.5 points.

“I read in the New York Times today that if I run for president, one of my problems will be that I like Republicans,” he said, then made the sign of the cross. “Bless me father, for I have sinned.”

Biden speaks at length about the urgency of climate change before concluding: “I think we gotta start to believe in our people again.They’re tougher than you think they are. They’re ready to do great things. They’re looking to be lead.”

Updated

From the Department of Lacking Empathy:

In 2017, the commerce secretary, Wilbur Ross, reported about $700m in assets (though he claims he’s worth about $2bn more than that).

Updated

Donald Trump has been up and tweeting since at least 6.30am.

He began his morning with a tweet plugging the new book Game of Thorns by Doug Wead. “The book covers the campaign of 2016, and what could be more exciting than that?” Trump said.

He then complained that the media isn’t covering the “great” economy before turning his attention to his longtime former lawyer, Michael Cohen.

He then again complained about the media coverage of his summit with Kim Jong-un before then returning to one of his favorite subjects: the Wall.

Updated

Day 34 of the government shutdown

Good morning and welcome to day 34 of the partial government shutdown that has left hundreds of thousands of federal workers without pay for weeks.

Late last night Donald Trump announced that he would postpone his State of the Union address after a day of escalating tension between the president and the Speaker of the House.

This afternoon the Senate will vote on a pair of dueling bills that would fund the shuttered agencies and re-open the government. Both are likely to fail.

Meanwhile, many of the nation’s most prominent mayors are gathered in Washington for the annual Conference of Mayors. The event was already the launch pad for one presidential campaign, South Bend mayor Pete Buttigieg and on Thursday we’re expecting to hear from several more 2020 hopefuls starting, with former vice-president Joe Biden at 8.45am.

After that, the speakers include former governor of Colorado John Hickenlooper, Los Angeles mayor Eric Garcetti and Senators Jeff Merkeley and Cory Booker.

Updated

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Forget Trends – Jackie Kennedy's Stunningly Elegant Tea Service is The Only Tablescaping Inspiration You'll Need This Year
I've been seeking out more traditional inspiration for my tablescaping, and the former first lady's '60s tea set is exactly what I've been looking for
Homes & Gardens
Homes & Gardens
“Who’s The Dad?”: Bonnie Blue Announces She’s Pregnant After 400-Men Challenge
"This sounds like Freddy Krueger’s origin story."
Bored Panda
Bored Panda
I am a 15-year-old girl. Let me show you the vile misogyny that confronts me on social media every day
Objectification, hate, rape threats: the politicians debating online abuse mean well, but to truly understand, they need to see what I see
The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
The ‘first-night effect’: why it’s hard to sleep when you’re somewhere new
It’s nighttime and you’re exhausted. But the hotel bed feels wrong. The mini fridge won’t stop making that low, irritating hum. The power outlet lights feel brighter than the sun. Outside, random car honks and noises make sleep feel like a distant possibility.
The Conversation
The Conversation
A24's New Docuseries Neighbors' First Episode Is Bonkers, But There's One Thing I Didn't Like
What’s the point here?
Cinemablend
Cinemablend
Dunkin’ fans frustrated as new coffee buckets launch in limited stores — see if yours made the cut
The 48-ounce bucket is sold at locations across Massachusetts and New Hampshire
The Independent UK
The Independent UK
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