| | | | | President Trump meets with members of his Cabinet Wednesday. Credit: Win McNamee/Getty Images | | | A Higher Loyalty: James Comey's upcoming book gets a title and cover
Dress Like the (Former) First Lady: Michelle Obama wore a plaid dress to the Obama Foundation summit
I Can't Stop Thinking About the "Buff Bernie" Russian Trolls Posted: Our clearest look yet at Russia-connected Facebook posts | | | What the White House is Talking About:
President Trump makes a jobs report announcement today, and at 3 p.m. he makes a major announcement: about the new Fed chair.
What the White House Press Corps is Talking About:
Trump's tweets that basically tried, convicted and executed the New York terror suspect
. | | Credit: @realDonaldTrump/Twitter
Speaking of Justice:
The teaser and cover for James Comey's book, titled "A Higher Loyalty: Truth, Lies and Leadership," were released today. It's also now available for preorder on Amazon for $32.99, but don't hold your breath because it doesn't come out until May of next year. Also, while I was on the page seeing how much the book cost, I noted you can also buy "Comey is my Homie" t-shirts, for $14.99 each. | | Credit: macmillan.com
Clovis is OUT:
Sam Clovis has withdrawn his nomination for the Department of Agriculture, which means the Russia probe is again hitting the Trump administration (somewhat) close to home. Clovis' connection to George Papadopoulos was likely at the crux of the decision -- this piece is helpful to get you caught up. Sarah Sanders responded to the news this morning by saying, "We respect Mr. Clovis's decision to withdraw his nomination."
So Much Love Last Night:
Wasn't there? I was first like, "awwww," when I read the news that Meghan McCain's secret boyfriend is Ben Domenech, and they're getting married. If you do the sort of gentle Instagram stalking that I enjoy from time to time, you've noticed Meghan's feed over the past year has often included pics of dinners and trips and relationship stuff, but never a reveal of her guy -- which tbh is pretty romantic if you ask me. Here's Domenech's public declaration last night after the news came out: | | Credit: @bdomenech/Twitter
Then I was again like, "awwwww," when I happened to glance up at the TV and instead of the usual post-championship game interviews, I noticed a player grabbing a woman and kissing her, so I did the DVR rewind and watched the proposal from Houston Astros player Carlos Correa to his girlfriend. Literally, well played last night, and just as well played on the ring. | | Credit: @Producing4You/Twitter
Self Promo Alert:
The very nice people at The Daily Front Row, which is an awesome fashion news site that you should be checking out anyway, made me their Chic Report subject. If you feel like reading what I have to say about what it's like to cover Melania Trump, and my diplomatic approach to a curveball question about Sarah Sanders' style, please feel free here.
Dress Like the (Former) First Lady:
"Y'all should get some friends" was Michelle Obama's message yesterday at a talk during the Obama Foundation Summit in Chicago to, well, men. (For the record, I agree.) It was funny and honest. Also, I dug her plaid dress a LOT. | | Credit: Jim Young/AFP/Getty Images
Bad news, though. The dress, which is Preen by Thornton Bregazzi, appears to be custom. It's similar to this $1,700 plaid one, but different cut and color. And, another bummer, these Prada Mary Jane's are sold out -- they were on sale at Barneys for $449. | | What Washington is Talking About:
House Repubs unveiled their tax reform bill today.
What America is Talking About:
The Houston Astros are World Series champions after a Game 7 win over the Los Angeles Dodgers on Wednesday.
Poll of the Day:
Ahead of President Trump's trip to Asia, a CBS News poll found 37% approve of his handling of North Korea, compared with 56% who disapprove. | | Credit: CBS News
New York Attack Suspect Charged:
The suspect in the Tuesday attack in New York has been charged with federal terrorism offenses, and according to a court document, he wanted an ISIS flag for his hospital room and had about 90 videos and 3,800 images of ISIS propaganda on his phone.
Our Clearest Look Yet at Russia-Connected Facebook Posts:
The House Intelligence Committee released a portion of the roughly 3,000 posts from Russia-connected Facebook pages Wednesday along with metadata about them. They're all pretty terrible looking and I can only imagine what our descendants will say when they see them in their high school history text books one day as things Russian trolls posted to attempt to interfere in the 2016 campaign.
My personal favorite was this post from the page "LGBT United" or "Buff Bernie." So weird; I can't stop thinking about it. It ran between March 24 and 25, 2016, and targeted people who liked the page "LGBT United" or had friends who liked the page. It had 848 impressions and 54 clicks. | | Credit: via House Intelligence Committee
Some encouraged Hillary Clinton supporters to "avoid the line" and "vote from home," like this post that used a photoshopped image of Aziz Ansari holding a sign with a font similar to the Sharp Sans font the Clinton campaign used, saying you could tweet your vote with the hashtag #PresidentialElection. I could find no data in the information released by the Intelligence Committee for who this ad targeted and how many people saw it. | | Credit: Drew Angerer/Getty Images
Some targeted Christians, like this post of Jesus arm wrestling Satan from the page "Army of Jesus" that encouraged users to click "like" to help Jesus beat Satan and Hillary Clinton, noting that "even though Donald Trump isn't a saint by any means, he's at least an honest man and he cares deeply for this country." It ran between October 19 and 20, 2016, and it targeted people who were interested in Laura Ingraham, God, Ron Paul, Christianity, Bill O'Reilly, Rush Limbaugh, Andrew Breitbart, the Bible, Conservatism in the United States, Michael Savage, Faith, Mike Huckabee, or Jesus. It had 71 impressions, and 14 clicks. | | Credit: via House Intelligence Committee
Though much of the focus on posts from these Russia-connected pages has been on those that supported Trump and were critical of Clinton, there were posts across ideologies. This one from the page "BM" (stands for "BlackMattersUS") promoted a protest against Trump in New York City that more than 5,000 people attended, according to news reports at the time. It ran between November 9, the day after the election, and November 12, the day of the protest, and targeted people living within 10 miles of New York City who liked the page "BM" or had friends who did. It had 188 impressions, and 26 clicks. | | Credit: via House Intelligence Committee
Compare that to another post about a protest, this one against Clinton. It was shared by the page "Being Patriotic," ran between July 12 and 23, 2016, targeted people who like Trump, Trump for President, or Donald Trump Jr. who lived within about 24 miles of New York City. It had 15,255 impressions, and 1,312 clicks, waaaay more than the Trump post. | | Credit: via House Intelligence Committee
Trump Lawyers' Defense in Lawsuit Related to Sexual Assault:
"Apprentice" season 5 contestant Summer Zervos filed suit against Trump for defamation in January after she accused him of forcibly kissing and attacking her in 2007 and he denied the allegations, calling her a liar. Now, Trump's lawyers are arguing his denial was "political speech in the context of a public debate," according to court documents reviewed by the Hollywood Reporter.
Robert Mercer Dumps Breitbart, Distances Himself From Milo:
The conservative mega-donor said in a letter obtained by Business Insider that he's selling his stake in Breitbart to his daughter Rebekah Mercer and that he was "mistaken" for supporting Milo Yiannopoulos. He wrote:
"I supported Milo Yiannopoulos in the hope and expectation that his expression of views contrary to the social mainstream and his spotlighting of the hypocrisy of those who would close down free speech in the name of political correctness would promote the type of open debate and freedom of thought that is being throttled on many American college campuses today. But in my opinion, actions of and statements by Mr. Yiannopoulos have caused pain and divisiveness undermining the open and productive discourse that I had hoped to facilitate. I was mistaken to have supported him, and for several weeks have been in the process of severing all ties with him."
Obamas Close Out Foundation Summit with Concert:
Performers including Chance the Rapper, the National and Gloria Estefan, and you can watch the whole thing here. | | Credit: @ObamaFoundation/Twitter
Disney Announces a Remake of "The Lion King" in 2019:
Donald Glover as Simba, Beyonce as Nala, James Earl Jones as Mufasa, Seth Rogan and Billy Eichner as Pumbaa and Timon. Amazing. | | | Credit: @DisneyStudios/Twitter | | | | | | |
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