From The Hill
Iowa state Rep. Josh Turek (D) declined to answer whether he would support Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) to lead Democrats in the next Congress as midterms come closer. In a Wednesday interview with former White House press secretary Jen Psaki on MS NOW, Turek did not answer whether he would support Schumer’s leadership…
Abbot Elementary creator Quinta Brunson and her costar Tyler James Willliams met under the kind of circumstances that would set the scene for their future collaboration. A particularly stressful skit together on A Black Lady Sketch Show left an impression on Brunson, who called up her former scene partner when it was time to fill the […]
Source: Deadline.
From The Hill
Welcome to The Hill’s Defense & NatSec newsletter {beacon} Defense &National Security Defense &National Security The Big Story Sanders, Grassley reintroduce bill fining Pentagon for any audit failures Sens. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) and Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) reintroduced their bipartisan bill on Thursday that would impose financial fines on the Pentagon if the department fails…
Source: CBS News.
The creator of such superheroes as Spider-Man, Iron Man, the Avengers and the Fantastic Four, Stan Lee (1922-2018) was a comic book genius whose characters made him a superhero himself to legions of fans. In this report that originally aired Jan. 17, 2016, Lee talked with “Sunday Morning” correspondent Lee Cowan about his marvelous life story that, fittingly, was published in comic-book form.
Opponents of the junta hoped a revolution would remake Myanmar – but these are disheartening times.
Source: BBC.
“The Ultimatum” season 4 star Blake Robertson is opening up about his arrest after his ex Hayley Hendrich claimed he was drunk and grabbed at her sweater … and he’s got a totally different story than her. Here’s the deal … Hayley appeared on…
From TMZ.
This story appeared in The Logoff, a daily newsletter that helps you stay informed about the Trump administration without letting political news take over your life. Subscribe here.
Welcome to The Logoff: Donald Trump’s attorney general nominee is in trouble.
What’s happening? Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche, whom Trump nominated for the permanent job last month, was set to receive a committee vote on Thursday on his way to being confirmed. Instead, lawmakers are punting on the vote after multiple key Republican senators expressed concerns — and Trump is now threatening to pull Blanche’s nomination until next year.
Why are senators worried about Blanche? Nearly all of Trump’s nominees — even his most controversial picks, like HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth — have been confirmed by the Senate.
But Blanche, who is also Trump’s former personal lawyer, has a track record as acting attorney general, where he’s primarily distinguished himself by his unflinching devotion to Trump’s personal priorities: things like indicting former FBI director James Comey, creating a vast $1.8 billion slush fund to reward Trump’s allies, and immunizing the president and his family from scrutiny by the IRS via an unusual settlement deal.
Not all of those schemes have gone well; the slush fund, for example, went down in flames in June.
The IRS shield, however, is still kicking, and Sens. Thom Tillis (R-NC) and John Cornyn (R-TX) — both of whom sit on the Senate Judiciary Committee — are pushing Blanche to commit to changes to the settlement before they will support his nomination. So far, that hasn’t happened.
What happens if Blanche’s nomination fails? It’s a black eye for Trump and a sign that the GOP, facing an increasingly dire midterms outlook, is growing less willing to go along with Trump’s increasingly conspicuous corruption. But a defeated vote or a pulled nomination won’t actually end Blanche’s tenure as acting attorney general — since he was previously confirmed by the Senate for the deputy attorney general job, he can likely stay in the acting role as long as Trump wants to keep him there.
This story from the Atlantic, about a “tourism fixer” in Rome for whom just about any experience is in reach, was a great read (click here for a gift link).
As always, have a great evening, and we’ll see you back here tomorrow!
Source: Vox.
The husband of a North Carolina woman who vanished while on vacation in the Caribbean says there appears to be no foul play … and he claims authorities agree. There’s a website dedicated to finding Elizabeth “Liz” Waddell … and her husband,…
From TMZ.
Mama June’s daughter Pumpkin is taking her OnlyFans era to the stage … working the pole during a wild appearance at a Tennessee strip club … and it’s all on video. Pumpkin made a special appearance Saturday night at Diamonds & Lace in…
From TMZ.
The producer behind the World War II spy thriller Fortitude has filed suit against Netflix, claiming that it bears responsibility for the theft of the hard drive of the upcoming film after it was delivered to the streamer’s headquarters for screening and possible purchase. The lawsuit filed Wednesday in U.S. District Court in Los Angeles […]
Source: Deadline.
Now in its sixth year thanks to the longstanding support of Chanel, the festival was ushered in by a celebration filled with cocktails and small bites at Lincoln Center’s own culinary hot ticket, chef Kwame Onwuachi’s Afro-Caribbean restaurant Tatiana.
Source: Vogue
On June 11, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration issued an El Niño advisory after temperatures in the equatorial Pacific Ocean remained higher than average for several months. Declaring an El Niño isn’t out of the ordinary, as they happen in cycles every two to seven years. But this one could be extraordinary.
Some are calling it a “super” or “Godzilla” El Niño, and the NOAA predicts an 81 percent chance that it could develop to a “very strong” level, rivaling the historic and devastating El Niños of 1982-1983 and 1997-1998. Experts are predicting it will likely reach its peak this winter and into 2027, bringing heat, rainfall, and other potential extreme weather events.
But even with that foresight and climate models that can confidently predict what might be in store, we still face a test of what could potentially be the strongest El Niño ever recorded and the wild weather that comes with it. We spoke with atmospheric scientists and meteorologists to find out how a super El Niño forms, why it changes global climate, and what we should expect in the coming months.
Read more about El Niño:
Source: Vox.