| | | | | A worker paints the White House on Tuesday. Credit: Brendan Smialowski/AFP/Getty Images | | | The Scaramucci Post: The Mooch announces his next venture
How to be an Ambassador: Spoiler: Just be really rich
and donate lots of money
Celebrity Benefit Raises $14 Million for Hurricane Victims:
Beyoncé made a pre-recorded cameo, and George Strait performed,
"If It Wasn't For Texas" | | | What the White House is Talking About:
This afternoon, President Trump meets with a group of House moderates at the White House to continue his push for tax reform. It comes on the heels of last night's dinner with six senators to discuss the same. Tonight, another dinner, this time with more Hill bold-facers, is anticipated.
What the White House Press Corps is Talking About:
Trump's other meeting this afternoon, with Sen. Tim Scott, to discuss Trump's response to Charlottesville and his overall attitude toward race relations in America.
Also, press corps congrats to Maggie Haberman and Glenn Thrush, The New York Times' dynamic scoop duo, who have just signed a big book deal with Random House. In a tweet, Trump expressed his excitement about the news.
Trump's New York Bond is Tight:
CNN's MJ Lee writes today about the President's Empire State comfort zone and how he's using it to try to navigate Washington's less friendly waters.
'DID I JUST FALL IN LOVE WITH JOE BIDEN?':
This thread from a woman in Ireland who got some face time with Joe Biden was definitely the best thing on Twitter yesterday. She really, really dug Uncle Joe. In addition to the all-caps play-by-play, the greatest was the accidental selfie Biden took on her phone. This isn't even all of it: | | Credit: @thekorrasami/Twitter
Obama's First Foundation Event:
The Obama Foundation this morning announced its debut summit, a two-day affair to be held in Chicago starting October 31. The plan is for Barack and Michelle Obama to host young people and community leaders for conversations about how to build leadership skills among youth.
In other Obama-world things, singer Kelly Clarkson says a song on her new album called "Go High" was inspired by that Michelle Obama speech at the DNC when she said, "When they go low, we go high."
The Scaramucci Post:
Last night, Anthony Scaramucci posted on Twitter, "Get ready," referring to what appears to be a new Internet venture thing. No details yet on The Scaramucci Post, but imo the logo looks sort of understated for something from The Mooch. | | Credit: @ScaramucciPost/Twitter
Also, Scaramucci was spotted again with Fox News' Kimberly Guilfoyle. He told People magazine last month they're just good friends. They were together Sunday for this event in Rome, posing alongside John Corbett and Bo Derek. | | Credit: Jonathan Leibsont/Getty Images
How to Be An Ambassador:
Spoiler: Just be really rich and donate lots of money. Pretty much. Olivier Knox took a look at the qualifications of some of Trump's recent ambassadorial picks and it's worth a read.
Newest Trump Family Member Gets Born:
Eric Trump and his wife, Lara, yesterday announced the birth of their first child, a son named Eric "Luke" Trump. (There was much discussion in the CNN newsroom about where the "Luke" comes from -- the quotation marks were throwing us off.) One thing is certain, the President's ninth grandchild is definitely a cutie. | | Credit: @laraleatrump/Instagram
Dress Like the First Lady:
I finally found that coat dress Melania Trump wore to the official 9/11 remembrance events on Monday. I knew it was Michael Kors Collection, but actually finding it on sale proved impossible -- it could have been a special runway piece that was available for sale shortly after the designer debuted his pre-fall 2017 collection, of which the black brocade look was a part. Coincidentally, Kors showed his newest season, S/S 2018, this morning at New York Fashion Week. Here's one of the looks from that show that felt very "Melanabe" to me. | | Credit: Brendan Smialowski/Getty Images; michaelkors.com
Wednesday Feels:
A nun with a chainsaw is really the only clip you need to feel better about all the sad video we've been seeing in the aftermath of Hurricane Irma. | | What Washington is Talking About:
A group of Republican senators is introducing a last-ditch Obamacare repeal bill, and Sen. Bernie Sanders is introducing the Medicare for All Act of 2017 this afternoon.
What America is Talking About:
The Hand in Hand Benefit last night to raise money for victims of Harvey and Irma brought in more than $14 million. Celebrities who appeared in the broadcast included Beyoncé, who provided a pre-recorded message ("Natural disasters don't discriminate. They don't see if you're an immigrant, black or white, Hispanic or Asian, Jewish or Muslim, wealthy or poor. It doesn't matter if you're from Third Ward or River Oaks, we're all in this together.") and George Strait, who performed "If It Wasn't For Texas."
Poll of the Day:
Middle-class incomes reached their highest-ever level in 2016, a median household income of $59,039, according to US Census data. | | Credit: The Washington Post
Everybody Hates Comey:
Former FBI Director James Comey has been hit from both sides in the past 24 hours. On Tuesday, White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said he's done things that "were improper and likely could have been illegal." Then this morning on "Today," Hillary Clinton said her reaction to his firing was that he was "fired for the wrong reasons." "He should have been disciplined for the way that he behaved on the email investigation," she said.
Edie Windsor Dies at 88:
The lead plaintiff in the 2013 Supreme Court case that challenged the Defense of Marriage Act died Tuesday. Former President Obama said of her in a statement:
"America's long journey towards equality has been guided by countless small acts of persistence, and fueled by the stubborn willingness of quiet heroes to speak out for what's right. Few were as small in stature as Edie Windsor – and few made as big a difference to America."
PBS Has an 18-Hour Vietnam War Epic Coming:
Directors Ken Burns and Lynn Novice previewed six clips from their upcoming 10-part series, "The Vietnam War," last night at the Kennedy Center, and guys, you're not going to want to miss it. The clips I saw were journalism at its best, heavy on humanity and empathy, telling a story through the eyes of those who lived through it on all sides, from veterans to anti-war activists to the North Vietnamese. Burns introduced the clips by describing the political anxieties of the Vietnam War era in terms familiar to us today, like a president obsessed over leaks and criticizing the news media for lying.
Sen. John McCain, former Secretary of State John Kerry, and former Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel, all Vietnam vets themselves, participated in a discussion following the clips. | | Credit: Courtesy Bank of America
McCain said he goes to the Vietnam War Memorial weekly, depending on the weather, and usually in the early morning or at sunset, and his favorite thing to do there is to shake the hands of visiting veterans. He also said lessons we should learn from the war include that the government should "tell the American people the truth," and "if we're going to fight a war, we should ask everyone to fight in it," instead of allowing it to be fought in large measure by those in the lower economic class.
The event was closed out by The Lumineers, who performed Bob Dylan's "Subterranean Homesick Blues." The band, along with other contemporary musicians, covered Vietnam War-era music for the project that will be available Friday on Spotify. I'll link to the music in COVER/LINE when it goes live.
"The Vietnam War" premieres Sunday on PBS.
'Hamilton' Meets Hamilton:
Our Deirdre Walsh tweeted this photo of the "Hamilton" creator Tuesday in front of Alexander Hamilton's statue in the Capitol rotunda. Lin-Manuel Miranda was honored by the US Capitol Historical Society with its 2017 Freedom Award. | | Credit: @deirdrewalshcnn/Twitter
This Men's Fitness List is Like Pro-Trump and Pro-Supplement Propaganda:
The magazine, which is published by American Media, Inc., the same group behind the pro-Trump National Enquirer, published a "2017 Game Changers" list in its October issue, and it had me so confused and I need to share it with you.
Their list starts off with an intro page that says the list pays tribute to "newsmakers, innovators, rabble-rousers, and ... Game Changers." The next page is part of a profile of cover star Adam Levine, who's basically the Pink of male rock stars -- a reliable hitmaker, sure, but, like, who says "I'm a Maroon 5 fan, Maroon 5 is my favorite band?" -- but OK, he's on the cover, they have an interview and original photos with him, so put him on the list, I get it. Curiously, though, he doesn't appear to technically be *on* the list; his name isn't mentioned on the previous page's table of contents. Hmm... | | Credit: Men's Fitness
We turn the page and find the first people actually on the list: the Kushner brothers? This is weird, right? | | Credit: Men's Fitness
Then we get to Nos. 3-6, which all seem like typical fodder for lists like this: Richard Branson, the Rock, Justin Trudeau, and Kanye. But then we get to No. 7, a guy I've never heard of named Matt Hesse, a CEO who "disrupted the supplement market" with a sports nutrition brand. No. 21 is the CEO of Slimfast. Is this a sponsored post? | | Credit: Men's Fitness
No. 9 is Ivanka Trump, one of two women on the list (the other is Wonder Woman Gal Gadot, at No. 16). No. 18 is Anthony Scaramucci. No. 30 is Kim Jong Un. I reached out to the magazine with questions about how the list was determined, if parts of it are an advertisement, and why the only people from politics in it apparently are connected to the Trump administration, but have not received a response.
Men's Fitness announced in August that it is going digital-only and folding subscriptions into sister (or I guess, brother?) magazine Men's Journal for future print issues. | | | | | | |
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