| | | | | Colleagues of slain Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Officer Charleston Hatfield salute as taps is played during a vigil Thursday at Police Memorial Park in Las Vegas. Credit: Drew Angerer/Getty Images | | | "You'll Find Out": Trump's cryptic "calm before the storm" comment
POTUS Calls FLOTUS "Very Popular": Trump also says his wife suffered "tremendous abuse" for wearing heels to Marine One en route to Houston after Hurricane Harvey
Russian-Linked Facebook Accounts Sold Merchandise, Too:
Their attempt to go IRL offline | | | What the White House is Talking About:
President Trump today celebrates Hispanic Heritage Month with a reception at the White House. Later, he'll meet with Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin and host an Oval Office discussion with newly appointed ambassador to Russia, Jon Huntsman.
What the White House Press Corps is Talking About:
We're basically tuning in for the next episode of "What's Going to Happen" after last night's cryptic comments from Trump about "the calm before the storm." Also, NATS FEVER.
"You'll Find Out":
This is an interesting game the President likes to sometimes play with reporters and, basically, the world. He'll tease out a little something, then we all clutch our pearls and wait to see what he means. Good times. Last night, posing with military leaders, and Melania Trump, he said the group personified the calm before the storm, but when he was asked, "What storm?" he just said, "You'll find out." So, could it be North Korea? Syria? Russia? Iran? ISIS? All of the above? Unclear.
September Jobs, Impacted by Storms:
The news this morning that the country actually lost 33,000 jobs in the past month wasn't necessarily good, since economists had predicted there'd be an addition of about 90,000 jobs. But the interesting part of CNN's story, to me, was the impact the hurricanes had on sectors of the economy. | | Our Daily Melania:
Trump did a sit-down interview with Mike Huckabee for his new show, which debuts on TBN tomorrow at 8 p.m. ET. One of the questions was about Melania. Huckabee asked the President if he was bothered by the first lady's high approval ratings. Trump agreed that she is "very popular" and added that she's not the type of person who needs to be "adored by people, but she does like to help people, and she sees how important it is." Then, Trump recounted the high heel-gate incident, in which his wife was lambasted for wearing her (signature!) high heels as she walked to Marine One while leaving the White House en route to Houston in the wake of Hurricane Harvey. Trump said she took "tremendous abuse" for that whole thing, and I happen to agree. Here's the clip.
White House Fall Garden Tour Dates:
They were announced yesterday. This is actually a superfun thing to do, and it's free, but you have to get tickets from the National Park Service. | | Weinstein Scandal Resonates Through Washington:
As hard as The New York Times' story about Harvey Weinstein's horrible behavior is to read, I was actually really happy when it came out. In my opinion, the more these exposés happen, the sooner this kind of behavior stops. And honestly, women find strength and encouragement in numbers, so the more we all speak up in the face of injustice, the better. How Washington is going to handle the outing of one of its top donors and bundlers as a guy who has some serious issues with women is going to be interesting to watch. Weinstein is a megadonor, and money usually talks in this town, as it does in Hollywood. But the spotlight is now on the politicians who have taken his cash ...
Let's Go, Nats!:
This is literally my desk right now. I have my new "POSTSEASON" hat, a bag of peanuts and the customized Max Scherzer M&Ms, which are blue and brown, like his eyes. And the blue ones have Ks on them for strikeouts. The first game of the NLDS is tonight against the Cubs, 7:30 p.m. ET. | | What Washington is Talking About:
The NRA came out Thursday in support of reviewing whether bump stocks, the device used by the Las Vegas gunman to fire more rapidly, complies with federal law. It gives Repubs cover to explore legislation, but their focus on tax reform and limited floor time on their calendar could keep it from being a legislative priority. Rep. Carlos Curbelo, a Republican from Florida, said he's working on a bump stock-ban bill.
What America is Talking About:
AOL Instant Messenger, aka AIM, announced it will be discontinued December 15. RIP to my first-ever social network. I went by ghstigerrunner, a nod to my high school athletic career. Email me your AIM screen name or favorite memories, if you want to reminisce, at coverlinehunter@cnn.com.
What Hollywood is Talking About:
Harvey Weinstein said he's taking a leave of absence after a bombshell New York Times story accused the producer of "decades of sexual harassment" and of reaching at least eight settlements with women. In a statement, the Democratic megadonor bizarrely tried to pivot to how he's going to take on the NRA. Attorney Charles Harder, who represented Hulk Hogan against Gawker and Melania Trump against the parent company of The Daily Mail, said Weinstein is going to sue The Times.
Poll of the Day:
Americans are mostly friends with people who have the same political beliefs as they do. A Pew poll found 55% of Republicans and 65% of Democrats have "just a few" or no friends from the other party. | | Credit: Pew
Russian-Linked Facebook Accounts Sold Merchandise, Too:
Below is one of the shirts sold through the Facebook page Blacktivist. Other items were printed with, "Young, gifted and black," "Melanin and muscles," and "Our sons matter." The items were sold on a website called Represent, which features a sell-count ticker showing that only 87 items were sold. But as our Donie O'Sullivan writes, "The actual amount of clothing sold is less significant than what the effort represented: A move by the people behind Blacktivist to go beyond social media and spread their influence into the physical world." | | Credit: Pew
Oh, and Russian-Connected Facebook Pages Also Promoted Protests, Islamophobia and Texas Secession:
Another Russian-connected page called Heart of Texas promoted a protest outside an Islamic Center in Houston in May 2016, and called for Texas secession. The creators' English was also pretty bad, with posts that read, "All those in favor of gun control rise your hand," "Texas Police Is the Best" and "The Election is RIGGED, the US are BROKEN."
Inside Breitbart's Star-Making Machine:
BuzzFeed published a long read headlined, "Here's How Breitbart And Milo Smuggled Nazi and White Nationalist Ideas Into The Mainstream," based on internal documents and emails they obtained. Worth a read.
Billboard's Las Vegas Cover:
The magazine posted two covers for its October 14 issue, one remembering Tom Petty, and the below cover of a guitar with a target. It was done by artist Edel Rodriguez, who's done some of the illustrated orange Trump covers for Time and Der Spiegel. | | Credit: Billboard
Maroon 5's New Album Has Nothing to Do with the "Alt-Right":
It's out November 3, and it's called "Red Pill Blues." The term "red pill" is used by all kinds of "The Matrix"-watching millennials but also frequently by the so-called "alt-right" as its version of "woke." Maroon 5's publicist, Carleen Donovan, told me in an email, "The album title is a reference to 'taking the red pill' ... which is a common phrase used to describe 'seeing things as they really are' ... such as like in 'The Matrix' where Neo takes the red pill. It was never the band's intention to reference anything else."
The Rock Says He's Preparing to Play David Fahrenthold:
The Pulitzer Prize-winning Washington Post reporter said at the Online News Association conference he would only accept The Rock to play him in a future movie, and The Rock tweeted this: | | Credit: @TheRock/Twitter
Street Art Sighting:
Conservative street artist Sabo put up posters mocking Jimmy Kimmel's recent emotional and political monologues, including this one in downtown Hollywood that reads, "The Jimmy Kimmel Estrogen Hour." | | Credit: @unsavoryagents/Twitter
Kimmel responded by sending a picture of himself flipping the bird while sitting at a bus bench plastered with the "Estrogen Hour" art to the Hollywood Reporter.
Send me your pics of political street art to coverlinehunter@cnn.com, tweet me @hunterschwarz or tag @cnncoverline on Instagram. | | | | | | |
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