Monday,
August 7
á President
Donald Trump, who received multiple draft deferments during the Vietnam war,
attacked Senator Richard Blumenthal, who voiced support for continuing the
Russia investigation, tweeting, ÒNever in US history has anyone lied or
defrauded voters like Senator Richard Blumenthal. He told stories about his
Vietnam battles andÉconquests, how brave he was, and it was all a lie. He cried
like a baby and begged for forgiveness like a child.Ó https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/post-politics/wp/2017/08/07/trump-renews-attack-on-democratic-senator-calling-him-a-vietnam-con-artist-on-twitter/?utm_term=.bd3f15bdf6aa
á According
to McClatchy News, Trump has shifted the task of writing U.S. policy to shadow
groups stacked with business executives that operates outside of public view
– a move that might be breaking the law for operating in secrecy and
failing to disclose information. http://tinyurl.com/ycqol2xa
á Chicago is filing suit against the Department
of Justice for withholding millions of dollars in police grant money from
sanctuary cities. http://tinyurl.com/y9cwgum6
á Staff
at the U.S. Department of Agriculture were told not to use the term climate
change but instead to reference the term Òweather extremesÓ instead. http://tinyurl.com/y8bpknx8
á Wall
Street on Parade reported that last week Thomas Hoenig, the Vice Chairman of
the FDIC, told the Senate Banking Committee that the biggest Wall Street banks
have been lying to the American people, claiming overly stringent capital rules
by federal regulators are constraining their ability to lend to consumers and
businesses. Rather, the inability to make more loans is caused by the fact that
the banks are using 99 percent of their net income to pay dividends to
shareholders and buy back their own stock, instead of using that money for
loans. http://tinyurl.com/ybzog2l3
á Salon
reported that Republicans on recess that held town hall meetings last week were
met with constituents angry about Trumpcare and their attempts to repeal
Obamacare. http://tinyurl.com/y863tqhm
á The
Justice Department dropped its opposition to OhioÕs voter purge procedures, at
issue in a case before the Supreme Court. https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/justice-department-reverses-position-to-allow-ohio-to-purge-inactive-voters-from-rolls/2017/08/08/e93c5116-7c35-11e7-9d08-b79f191668ed_story.html?utm_term=.8bddb24e83a1
Tuesday,
August 8
á A former Guantanamo Bay investigator has
charged that the Pentagon is blocking publication of his book that details the
use of brutal interrogation techniques at the prison. http://tinyurl.com/ydxxmea4
á According to a climate-change report by 13
federal agencies awaiting approval by the Trump administration, the average
temperature in the U.S. has risen rapidly and drastically since 1980. http://tinyurl.com/y7syrmtd
á The
amount of penalties that federal regulators collected from financial firm
violators declined sharply in the first 200 days of the Trump administration. http://tinyurl.com/yd9kby9g
Wednesday,
August 9
á Trump
vowed to respond to North Korea with Òfire and furyÓ if it makes any more
threats to attack the US. http://tinyurl.com/yayqde9m
á According
to national security adviser Sebastian Gorka, the White House refused to
officially comment on the bombing of a Minnesota mosque because it might have
been perpetrated by liberals,. http://tinyurl.com/y9cza8dp
á The
House Oversight and Government Reform Committee sent letters to executive
branch cabinet department and agencies requesting documents on their spending
at Òbusinesses owned by or affiliated with the Trump Organization.Ó The letter
said TrumpÕs Òfinancial entanglements make it impossible to know whether he is
making his decisions in the public interestÓ or to benefit Trump and his
family. http://tinyurl.com/ycc5n2kl
á Fortune
reported that he U.S. immigration crackdown has caused a shortage of farm
workers in California and losses of more than $13 million in two California
counties alone. http://tinyurl.com/y7kctxxr
á A new
online archive of more than 20,000 documents obtained from federal agencies
revealed that Monsanto knew PCBs were possibly toxic for years before they were
banned in 1979, but sold them anyway. http://tinyurl.com/yda2k3c3
á Transgender
members of the U.S. military, including veterans of Iraq and Afghanistan wars,
sued Trump challenging his ban on transgender people serving in the armed
forces. http://tinyurl.com/y7aqurxr
Thursday,
August 10
á According
to The Daily Beast, the Pentagon is not interested in privatizing the war in
Afghanistan through private mercenary firms like Blackwater. http://tinyurl.com/y9cg5jek
á According
to BuzzFeed, six top European government officials whoÕve had firsthand
dealings on the international stage with Trump and his administration described
a president regarded even by allies as erratic and limited, and whose perceived
shortcomings are compounded by the ongoing chaos beneath him in the White
House. http://tinyurl.com/y8u5a6hj
á Bloomberg
News reported that Special Counsel Robert MuellerÕs team of
investigators sent grand jury subpoenas to banks for account information
involving Trump campaign manager Manafort, some of his companies, and those of
his business partner, Rick Gates. http://tinyurl.com/y9ld7apa
á Secretary
of Defense James James Mattis stressed the importance of diplomacy in the
increasingly tense standoff with North Korea. http://tinyurl.com/y7aakzhd
á A report by the University of
PennsylvaniaÕs Wharton School of Business said TrumpÕs immigration plan, the
RAISE Act, would result in 4.6 million lost jobs by the year 2040, and the U.S.
economy would be 2 percent smaller than under the current immigration policy. http://tinyurl.com/y7avctvn
á
Friday,
August 11
á The
Washington Post reported that, although previous projections by the Trump
Organization were that his D.C. hotel would lose $2.1 million in the first
quarter of 2017, instead it turned a $1.97 million profit. http://tinyurl.com/y73oxhqz
á Idaho farmers lobbied Trump to end salmon
protection claiming that salmon protection programs in the Columbia and Snake
rivers favor fish over people. http://tinyurl.com/ydbz3vwj
á Newsweek reported that an audit has revealed
that a U.S. contractor bilked the American military out of $50 million
spent on Bentleys, Aston Martins and big salaries for senior staffersÕ
significant others. http://tinyurl.com/ybkww54n
á Environmental Integrity Project wrote that the
EPA collected 60 percent less in civil penalties than previous administrations
from environmental violators in their first year so far. http://tinyurl.com/y8hwjo6l
Saturday,
August 12
á Torch-bearing
white nationalists attacked counter-protesters ahead of alt-right rally in
Charlottesville, Virginia. http://tinyurl.com/yck25vk5
á Reuters
reported that Trump threatened military intervention in Venezuela, an escalation
of WashingtonÕs response to VenezuelaÕs political crisis. http://tinyurl.com/yc7sstbc
á The New York Times reported that the EPAÕs
Scott Pruitt is carrying out his agenda in secret. When attending meetings,
staff are told not to have cellphones, not to take notes, require an escort to
gain entrance, and doors to the floor are frequently locked. Pruitt is
accompanied by armed guards at EPA headquarters – the first head of the
agency to ever request round-the-clock security. http://tinyurl.com/y87cq3u9
á The Hill reported that special counsel
Mueller wants to interview Reince Priebus and see his notes of specific
meetings with administration and campaign officials. http://tinyurl.com/y9kzrrcu
Sunday,
August 13
á
TrumpÕs
vague response to the white supremacist march and protests in Charlottesville,
Virginia, failed to denounce the racism, bigotry, hate and violence of white
nationalists and evoked criticism from civil rights groups and lawmakers of
both parties. http://tinyurl.com/yb6ndo3v
á A report
published in the Bulletin of Atomic Scientists contradicts reports in the
mainstream media, finding that North KoreaÕs missiles are not actually ICBMs
and arenÕt able to reach the continental US. http://tinyurl.com/y7pd7jw8