| | | | | House Republican Whip Steve Scalise reacts to cheers as he returns Thursday to Capitol Hill for the first time since he was shot in June at a congressional baseball practice in Alexandria, Virginia. Credit: Mark Wilson/Getty | | | Scalise Returns: Congressman makes first visit to Capitol Hill since he was shot in June at a congressional baseball team practice
Hunter's Take: America Got Catfished: A clearer picture of Russian interference in the 2016 election is beginning to emerge
Trump Thinks the NFL Might 'Go To Hell': "The NFL has to change or ... their business is going to go to hell," he said | | | What the White House is Talking About:
No public events on President Trump's schedule, but behind closed doors he'll celebrate the 70th anniversary of the National Security Council and later welcome the vice premier of China.
What the White House Press Corps is Talking About:
Trump's waiving the Jones Act, and what it means for Puerto Rico.
Our Daily Melania:
Melania Trump has another big day. She hosted her first solo roundtable discussion on the country's opioid crisis, a new foray into policy for FLOTUS. Here's my story on the event and what it means.
Steve Scalise Makes Triumphant Return to Congress:
It's something I think we all needed, a little heartwarming on the Hill. Today marked the return to work for Congressman Steve Scalise, who in June was shot by a gunman while practicing for the Congressional Baseball Game. Scalise gave a moving speech to his colleagues, during which he thanked his wife and his fellow members of Congress for their support and encouragement.
Scalise will tell his story to CBS News' Norah O'Donnell, who shadowed him today on his return for her upcoming "60 Minutes" piece. She posted these images of Speaker Paul Ryan seeing his friend back on the Hill for the first time since the shooting. | | Credit: @norahodonnell/Instagram
Donald Trump Jr. Gets New York Times Magazine Treatment:
A writer spotted Don Jr. on his September trip to British Columbia, the one during which he ditched his Secret Service detail to go hunt moose. It's sort of an oddball story of how Luke Dittrich tracked Trump and eventually cornered him for a brief chat. Trump thought it was a little weird, too. He posted about it last night, because Junior loves to overshare on the social. | | Credit: @donaldtrumpjr/Instagram
Selfie with Obama:
See Obama out in his golf polo and hat, take a selfie with him, tweet it out, and get 48K RTs. That's what happened to @SharifNabhan. | | Credit: @SharifNabhan/Twitter
Prince Harry is Amazing. That is All:
I'm obsessed with this video of a toddler eating Prince Harry's popcorn. It should renew all of our faith in humanity because sharing/humor/baby/ginger/royal/popcorn. | | What Washington is Talking About:
Rep. Steve Scalise's emotional speech from the House floor this morning.
Also, representatives from Twitter are meeting behind closed doors today with Senate intelligence committee staff about Russian-linked accounts, and the Senate Banking Committee is meeting about enforcing North Korea sanctions.
What America is Talking About:
Hugh Hefner, who died late Wednesday at 91.
Poll of the Day:
A majority of registered voters -- 55% -- say it's inappropriate to kneel during the anthem as protest, but the percentage has dropped since 2016, according to a Fox News poll. Those who say it's appropriate has risen from 32% in 2016 to 41%. | | Credit: Fox News
Hunter's Take: America Got Catfished:
A clearer picture of Russian interference in the 2016 election is beginning to emerge, and it appears America was catfished.
To be catfished, for those unfamiliar, is to be duped online, frequently on dating sites, by someone using a fake profile with photos of someone else. The term comes from the MTV show "Catfish," in which people meet their catfishes IRL after months or even years of talking and discover the real person behind the DMs, texts and messages. It's Nigerian prince email scams of the heart, for the Tinder generation.
Russian-linked accounts catfished Americans by posing as political pages that posted content intended to inflame, targeting specific groups and locations. There were Black Lives Matter ads bought by Russians targeting Ferguson, Missouri, and Baltimore, two cities rocked by protests following police shootings of black men, according to CNN sources. Media outlets have reported similar posts related to other issues. Facebook's chief security officer, Alex Stamos, has said accounts and ads focused on other divisive topics like LGBT issues, immigration and gun rights. | | In dating, catfish rely on the good looks of someone whose photos they've stolen to convince their targets to talk to them, to share their most intimate secrets and struggles, and to fall in love. It seems too good to be true, but the victims hold out hope, despite the red flags
Russia's geopolitical catfishing relied on sharing political views and fake news that reinforced its targets' worldviews, exploiting America's political fault lines. During a time when the mainstream media faces both a wavering trust and a reinvention of distribution models as subscriptions wane, cable gets "cut" and the social media landscape changes, these Russian accounts filled the void, telling people what they wanted to hear directly in their newsfeeds to sow political and social unrest. If our newsfeeds are the new front page, they bought their way onto A1 and filled it with misinformation and fake news.
It's likely we still don't yet know the extent of the Russians' interference. Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg has gone from saying it was "crazy" to believing fake news influenced the election in November to saying yesterday he regrets saying that. "Calling that crazy was dismissive, and I regret it," he said. "This is too important an issue to be dismissive."
He denied that misinformation played a bigger role in the election than everyday users being given "a voice" or candidates communicating directly. But regardless, the potential to spread misinformation and propaganda for nefarious political ends is disturbing, and that potential might explain why then-President Obama told Zuckerberg shortly after the election if Facebook didn't figure out how to deal with this problem, it'd be worse in 2020.
Senator Claims Russians Are Going After NFL Controversy Now:
Sen. James Lankford, a Republican from Oklahoma and Senate Intelligence Committee member, said Wednesday during a hearing: "We watched, even this weekend, the Russians and their troll farms, their Internet folks, start hashtagging out #TakeAKnee and also hashtagging out #BoycottNFL," he said. "They were taking both sides of the argument this weekend ... to try to raise the noise level of America and make a big issue seem like an even bigger issue as they are trying to push divisiveness in this country."
Trump Thinks the NFL Might 'Go To Hell':
"The NFL is in a box, a really bad box," President Trump told the press Wednesday. "In my opinion, the NFL has to change or their business is going to go to hell."
How the LFL Feels About Anthem Protests:
In case you were wondering how the all-female, tiny-uniformed Legends Football League feels about the anthem protest controversy, they said in a YouTube video statement: "The LFL salutes all those who make this the greatest country in the world and we stand in salute of our flag." | | Credit: Legends Football League/YouTube
Manning's Not Running:
Peyton Manning shut down speculation he'd run for Senate in Tennessee, following Sen. Bob Corker's announcement he will not seek re-election, telling a Nashville radio station he has "zero consideration" for a run.
Price Gets His Flu Shot:
Amid the controversy of his private flights, and Trump saying "we'll see" about whether he's going to keep his job, HHS Secretary Tom Price got a flu shot this morning at the National Press Club. | | | Credit: Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images | | | | | | |
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