It’s all very well and good when people go on about chasing your dreams, but surely all that stuff is just wishful thinking, right? Don’t the realities of life often mean that ambitions are too often simply not practical to achieve?
Well, maybe. But not always.
On Sunday, writer Charlotte Clymer shared the story of Kathryn Joosten, who began her acting career at the age of 40.
In 1980, a psychiatric nurse at Chicago’s Michael Reese Hospital (and mother of two) divorced her husband in the midst of a particularly troubled married life and decided to pursue her lifelong dream of an acting career. She was 40.
She had a poignant catalyst: her mother’s deathbed confession that she regretted not pursuing her own dreams. So, this woman, with no previous experience or training in acting, signed up for classes at the Steppenwolf Theatre Company in Chicago.
For ten years, she made a bumpy transition into acting. To support herself and her kids, she painted houses and hung wallpaper. She slowly learned the craft, winning parts in local theatre productions. And in 1990, at age 50, she was hired as a street performer at Disney World.
She built up her confidence, and after a year there, moved to L.A. to make a full-court push for her dream. Imagine the harsh critiques at this point. Friends and family looking at this incredulously. “You’re making a mistake.” “Who’s going to hire a 50 year-old woman?”
Over the next several years, she worked hard and won guest roles on a long list of notable television shows of the ’90s: E.R., Seinfeld, Frasier, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Home Improvement, etc. She just kept driving. She was making enough money doing what she loved.
And in 1999, she got her big break: 60 year-old Kathryn Joosten won the part of Dolores Landingham (Mrs. Landingham) on “The West Wing”. The character’s death was a crucial plot line in one of the finest episodes of television ever produced: 2nd season finale “Two Cathedrals”. pic.twitter.com/npd5LkAOqy
She would go on to have numerous guest roles in other shows—as well as a bit role in 2005’s Wedding Crashers—before being cast as Karen McCluskey in “Desperate Housewives”, for which she won two Primetime Emmy Awards.
Joosten had survived lung cancer in 2001 and 2009 and became an advocate for awareness on the disease. She died in 2012 at 72, having very much earned the right to say she had lived a full life.
I bring this up because I hate ageism. I hate the way we strip older folks of their humanity by asserting that they can’t do something not on the basis of their ability or competence but the date on their birth certificate. As though they just need to accept their lot past 50.
If someone decides in their 50s, 70s, 90s or whatever that they want to go to medical school or become an actor or open a business or run for office, who in the hell are we to say they can’t?
If you love something and you’re willing to put in the work and meet the standards of excellence in an ethical way, why should age ever matter? Telling someone they’re “too old” to do something denies their gifts to the world, and how dare any of us do that.
Vera Wang didn’t start designing clothes until she was 40. Laura Ingalls Wilder didn’t publish her first book until she was 65. Told as a young woman that being a doctor wasn’t “appropriate for women”, Genevie Kocourek would go on to graduate medical school at 53.
And in an era of increased and crucial political activism, when women form the bulk of organizing + campaigning, it’s simply unconscionable that any person would tell a woman in her 50s, 60s, 70s and up that she shouldn’t run for office because she’s “too old”. That’s nonsense.
We should all be so lucky to have that drive and inspiration and reject the naysayers of the world who view dreams as subject to the perceived and arbitrary nature of a number. Stop shaming folks because of age. If they can deliver, honor that. We’re all better off. /thread
Lebanon also said it wanted Russian companies to compete in a new tender to develop oil and gas deposits [Maxim Shemetov/Reuters]
Lebanon’s Foreign Minister Gebran Bassil has said parts of neighbouring Syria are peaceful and stable, adding that his country sees no reason for Syrian refugees to remain on its territory.
Bassil’s remarks at a news conference on Monday came after talks with his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov in Moscow.
Several thousand Syrian refugees in Lebanon have started to return to their homes in Syria voluntarily in recent months. About one million Syrian refugees have been registered by the United Nations in Lebanon.
Some Lebanese officials have been pushing for speedy returns, but the UN and human rights groups say conditions are still not safe in Syria.
US ends Syria stabilisation plan worth more than $200m
The Middle Eastern country also said it wanted Russian companies to compete in a new tender to develop oil and gas deposits in Lebanon.
The project would encourage regional stability if a Russian company successfully secured the tender, Bassil said.
He also said Lebanon should serve as a platform for the economic revival of Syria, and ensured Beirut would coordinate its efforts with Moscow, the Interfax news agency reported.
Lavrov has also asked the secretary general of the United Nations why the organisation is not participating in Syria’s reconstruction.
Russia has been attempting to garner international support for the reconstruction of war-torn Syria.
On Saturday, Russian President Vladimir Putin spoke about international reconstruction efforts and the humanitarian situation in Syria with German Chancellor Angela Merkel in Berlin.
“It’s important to help those areas that the refugees can return to,” said Putin, whose decision for Russia to militarily intervene in Syria’s conflict in 2015 tilted the odds in favour of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad who has regained large swathes of land from armed rebel groups.
“I think it’s in everyone’s interests, including Europe’s,” Putin had said.
The incident was probably caused by a leaking battery pack, the tweet said.
Brandweer aanwezig bij incident met mobiel apparaat bij de #AppleStore#Leidseplein. Geen rook, wel drie personen met ademhalingsproblemen. Vermoedelijk door een lekkende accupack. Zij worden ter plaatse nagekeken.
AT5 posted a short video showing the empty Apple Store at Leidseplein with some of the evacuated customers standing in front.
We’ve contacted Apple for comment and will update this article when we hear from them.
Exploding iPads are rare but not unheard of. In fact, in 2013, a Vodafone store in Canberra, Australia, was evacuated after an iPad Air exploded there, and there have been severalinstances of iPhones bursting into flames as well.
Athens, Greece – On June 22, at three o’clock in the morning, Eurozone finance ministers meeting in Brussels declared a victory for the Eurozone’s last intensive care patient after eight years of public spending cuts, and cleared Greece to borrow from markets after August 20.
Austerity has brought some important results. Greece balanced its budget, so it is living within its means, perhaps for the first time.
Its exports are rising, so it is bringing in much-needed foreign revenue. The assurance of creditworthiness from the International Monetary Fund and the European Stability Mechanism – the sovereign distress fund that now owns most of Greece’s debt – is an important signal to markets.
It should mean that Greece can start to rebuild its credit history and refinance its debt.
Other aspects of the deal are less reassuring.
Bank of Greece Governor Yannis Stournaras, who balanced the budget as finance minister in 2014, warned of the challenges ahead: “Important problems remain, such as the high public debt, the country’s low credit rating, the high rate of non-performing loans, high unemployment and the investment gap.”
Greece’s debt stands at 288.7bn euros – almost twice the size of its economy, and this month its credit rating was upgraded by Fitch to BB from B – a far cry from the AAA rating it enjoyed before 2008.
Its official unemployment rate is 19.5 percent, but the Labour Institute, a think tank attached to the General Confederation of Greek Workers, believes real unemployment is closer to 27 percent.
In other words, the Greek economy is still fragile – one reason why supervision of public spending will persist for the next 40 years.
As economist Plamen Tonchev points out, ‘monitoring’ is now replaced by ‘enhanced surveillance’. During those two generations, Greece must set aside an average of 2.2 percent of its economy to repay its creditors – a rare feat. Even if it succeeds, it is likely to remain belaboured by high taxes.
Workers have been protesting austerity measures adopted to end Greece’s bailout package [AP]
According to the Center for Liberal Studies “Markos Dragoumis,” a think tank, Greeks worked 198 days – from January 1 to July 26 this year – to pay taxes.
That represents an increase of 50 days during the eight-year crisis, putting Greeks on a par with Germans among the most highly taxed Europeans.
Unlike German taxpayers, however, Greeks register the lowest rate of satisfaction from public services – especially health, education and the delivery of justice – in the developed world.
Competitiveness
Greece’s competitiveness rankings tell the story. Despite lowering its labour costs dramatically, Greece still ranks below all its EU partners for productivity in the World Economic Forum’s competitiveness survey.
It beats only Romania, Bulgaria and Hungary in Transparency International’s corruption perception index.
In short, after eight years of unprecedented reform and belt-tightening for a developed economy, Greece underperforms countries that have had the benefits of democracy, market economies and EU membership for a fraction of the time Greece has had them.
Some economsists have warned that Greece could go bankrupt again in under a decade [File: AP]
Banks
Banks would normally be relied upon to finance a private sector recovery and boost consumption, but 92.4bn euros of their capital is still tied up in non-performing debt.
The banking system plans to recover 25bn of its money by the end of next year by collecting or selling loans and liquidating collateral.
Some of that money should go to new lending, but much will be needed to refinance 14bn euros in write-offs.
Demography
Greece’s ageing demographic enhances over-taxation. Its labour force is just 4.8 million in a population of 11 million, and only 3.8 million of those people are in work.
The crisis contributed to this as hundreds of thousands of public servants in their late fifties and early sixties rushed to retire, rightly judging that the retirement age would rise (it is now 68).
Greece cannot even afford to pay out pensions for all those who have applied. Some 300,000 are on a waiting list. Once they are approved, Greece will have about three million retirees – a third of the population.
At the same time the birth rate has plummeted by a fifth, as young people shrink from the cost of a second child. In 2011, it dropped below the death rate.
Measured together with the emigration of young people to healthier job markets, Greece is losing an average of 75,000 people a year – 0.7 percent of its population.
Both the rush to retirement and the loss of new blood suggest a narrowing tax base for the foreseeable future.
Most economists agree that it is unlikely that Greece can achieve high rates of growth under these circumstances. Greece defied expectations of 2.5 percent growth last year to achieve 1.4 percent. This year it is expected to achieve a little below 2 percent.
They also agree that a fast-growing economy is the most effective way to reassure markets about the manageability of its debt.
When Greece was forced out of markets in 2010, its debt was about 130 percent of its economy. Today it stands at 177 Percent, because austerity caused its economy to shrink by a quarter – the worst depression in any developed postwar economy.
Unless that process is reversed, some economists say, Greece could go bankrupt again in under a decade.
Plumetting birthrate and retirements suggest a narrowing tax base for the foreseeable future [File: AP]
What next?
The crisis may have paved the way for future success by changing attitudes. Realising how much they are paying for poor services has awakened Greeks out of their statism, believes Alexandros Skouras, who heads the Center for Liberal Studies.
“The crisis has shifted the climate of ideas in Greece from support for big government to support for entrepreneurship and innovation,” he says.
“[This] replaces what I call the formerly Greek dream… a seat in the public sector, job security for ever, vastly better benefits than in the private sector. Every parent wanted their kid to join the public sector. That’s no longer the case…
“Three years ago the majority of Greeks wanted more government programmes even if it meant more taxes. Now, the situation is reversed. Sixty percent of Greeks want lower taxes and only 35 percent of Greeks want bigger government.”
Others disagree that Greece is on the right path. Former finance minister Yanis Varoufakis still believes that Greece would have been better off ditching the euro.
“For the most part of this past decade Greece has lived through the biggest peacetime economic catastrophe since the Great Depression,” he said.
“It is therefore absolutely necessary that the country be prepared to return to its national currency.”
Varoufakis famously confronted his Eurozone colleagues in early 2015 with a challenge to reschedule Greece’s unsustainable debt and lower its annual repayment costs to between one and 1.5 percent of GDP.
Led by Germany, they refused and the newly elected Syriza government, unwilling to return to the drachma, was forced to accept more austerity measures, overruling 62 percent of the electorate which voted against austerity in a referendum.
Claus Regling, who heads the European Stability Mechanism, believes that through his stance, Varoufakis was responsible for between 68bn and 200bn euros of increased costs to Greece.
The debate over whether austerity was the right policy for Greece – and the rest of the Eurozone – is likely to continue while low growth and high unemployment persist.
Greece may have been saved from profligacy and official bankruptcy, but it has yet to find prosperity and confidence.
Since then, Twitter has been awash with outpourings of love for what fans are hailing “the best rom-com of this generation”.
just watched to all the boys i’ve loved before and cannot describe my happiness and emotion over lara jean and her sisters being specifically half asian half white
also the movie was SO CUTE i died at least 17 times probably
Her latest barb came in the form of a parody of a tweet Trump posted on Sunday about his favourite target: the “Fake News” media.
Here’s how Rowling responded later that afternoon:
I do’nt care what Kids at School call me because they are all Disgusting Fake Losers and my Real Friends go to a diffrent Scool you haven’t heard of and they think Im the Coolest and Smartest and we go to parties and I don’t have to tell you there Names for this to be True. pic.twitter.com/vTXm13DShu
Judging by the 24,000 retweets and 125,000+ favourites at the time of writing, her tweet seems to have gone down pretty well.
Given the number of Twitter feuds Trump gets involved in, it’s sort of amazing that he still hasn’t ever tweeted anything back at the Harry Potter author.
Iraq’s Sairoon Alliance led by Shia leader Muqtada al-Sadr is in talks to form a coalition with the Nasr alliance led by outgoing Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi, along with two other parliamentary groups.
The parliamentary blocs of Sadr-backed Sairoon and Abadi’s Nasr met on Sunday with the Hikma bloc led by Shia cleric Ammar al-Hakim and the Wataniyya bloc led by former prime minister Iyad Allawi, in Baghdad to discuss forming the largest alliance that would form a government for the next four years.
After the meeting, the four blocks announced late on Sunday a preliminary agreement to form a coalition.
“We agreed today to form a core for an alliance, seeking to form a parliamentary bloc that can form the government. We have decided at this meeting to open up to our other partners to contribute together in the formation of this (largest) alliance,” said the blocs in a statement on Sunday.
The announcement also confirmed the blocs’ commitment to taking an anti-sectarian approach to the process of forming a new government.
“The coalition is determined to work hard to build a state of citizenship, justice, equality and the provision of a decent life for all our people,” the statement said.
Confirming the progress of the talks, Kadhim al-Shimmary, a leading figure in the Wataniyya bloc told Al Jazeera: “We had a successful meeting and agreed to form a coalition among us.
“We are now waiting to see if we will be able to form the largest bloc,” he added.
The announcement came as Iraq’s Supreme Court ratified the final results of the May 12 parliamentary elections, setting in motion a 90-day constitutional deadline for the top parties to form a coalition government.
Many Iraqis disputed the results of the vote, alleging widespread electoral misconduct but a nationwide recount of votes on August 10 did not change the number of seats Sadr’s bloc won.
According to the commission, only one seat from Iraq’s Baghdad Coalition had moved to the second-placed Al-Fatih bloc, giving it 48 instead of 47 assembly seats.
But while Sadr retained his lead, his potential alliance with Abadi’s bloc and the others does not grant him the 50 percent plus one – or at least 165 seats – needed to form a majority bloc.
The Sairoon alliance won the largest number of parliamentary seats at 54, while the Nasr alliance, which came in third place, won 42 seats.
Together with the Hikma bloc, which won only 19 seats, and Allawi’s Wataniyya bloc, which won 21 seats, the potential alliance has 137 seats – 28 seats short of a majority bloc.
Commenting on the coalition forming, Iraqi analyst Jassim Moussavi said despite this shortcoming, the alliance was likely to form a strong bloc that could place it in a position to gain support from other groups in order to form the new government.
“These blocs have a lot in common including their anti-sectarian approach and inclination towards garnering strong relations with all regional powers,” Moussavi told Al Jazeera.
“It is quite likely that they will be able to form the largest bloc and hence the new government,” he added, saying that if this group was to remain allied, it would likely announce Abadi – an ally of both the United States and Iran – as its candidate for prime minister.
In a televised speech earlier on Sunday, al-Abadi called on the political blocs to accelerate their negotiations, and on Iraqi President Fuad Masoum to invite the new parliament to hold its first session soon.
Following the Supreme Court’s ratification of final results, incoming MPs are now expected to hold a first session to elect a new assembly speaker.
Within 30 days of that first session, a two-thirds majority of the assembly will elect the country’s next president, who will then task the largest bloc in parliament with drawing up a government.
The new government will have to be referred back to parliament for approval.
BREAKING … AP/ISTANBUL: “Shots fired at gate of U.S. Embassy in Turkey, but no one hurt”: “Unknown attackers fired shots at a security booth outside the U.S. Embassy in Turkey’s capital early Monday, but U.S. officials said no one was hurt. [The] Ankara governor’s office said six shots were fired from a moving white car towards the embassy compound at 5:30 am. Three of the bullets hit the gate and a window.
“The statement said the investigation was ongoing and the suspect or suspects have not yet been identified. U.S. Embassy spokesman David Gainer thanked police for their ‘rapid response’ and said no injuries had been reported.” AP
— ALSO ON THE SCHEDULE: Ways and Means Chairman Kevin Brady, who will speak about tax reform, Condoleezza Rice, who will speak about foreign policy, and Mitt Romney, who will speak alongside Ryan.
SENATE LEADERSHIP FUND had its best July fundraising effort ever, raising $26 million. SLF and American Crossroads have $47.3 million cash on hand, and the four groups have $65 million in the bank. One Nation and Crossroads GPS have raised $38.5 million through the end of July and have $17.8 million cash on hand.
STEVEN LAW, SLF president and CEO, attributed the July uptick to Democrats’ reactions to President Donald Trump’s Supreme Court pick Brett Kavanaugh, which “convinced our donors of the absolute importance of holding the Senate majority.”
— “Inside Trump’s Judicial Takeover: How conservative operatives and Senate Republicans are helping the president pack the courts at a record pace,” by Andy Kroll. Rolling Stone
NYT’S MIKE SCHMIDT and MAGGIE HABERMAN: “Trump Lawyers’ Sudden Realization: They Don’t Know What Don McGahn Told Mueller’s Team”: “President Trump’s lawyers do not know just how much the White House counsel, Donald F. McGahn II, told the special counsel’s investigators during months of interviews, a lapse that has contributed to a growing recognition that an early strategy of full cooperation with the inquiry was a potentially damaging mistake.”
“The president’s lawyers said on Sunday that they were confident that Mr. McGahn had said nothing injurious to the president during the 30 hours of interviews. But Mr. McGahn’s lawyer has offered only a limited accounting of what Mr. McGahn told the investigators, according to two people close to the president.
“That has prompted concern among Mr. Trump’s advisers that Mr. McGahn’s statements could help serve as a key component for a damning report by the special counsel, Robert S. Mueller III, which the Justice Department could send to Congress, according to two people familiar with the discussions.” NYT
WSJ EDITORIAL BOARD: “Trump Waives the Privilege: How to read Don McGahn’s cooperation with Robert Mueller”: “The bottom line is that readers should remain skeptical about what is reported about Mr. Mueller’s probe, waiting to see the evidence he actually produces.” WSJ
MANAFORT TRIAL PREVIEW — DARREN SAMUELSOHN: “Manafort trial Day 15 begins Monday at 9:30 a.m. We expect a return of last week’s carnival-like atmosphere as jury deliberations stretch into their third day and with Judge Ellis raising alarm bells Friday by talking generally about ‘threats’ coming his way and toward the jurors.
“Reporters will be camped out up in the courtroom reading newspapers, playing cards and just enjoying the brief serenity (I am at least, while the newbies still seem twitchy) of a cellphone-free existence. Others will be staked out in the grassy plaza, amid a wall of cameras that swivel back and forth between the courthouse’s front entrance and the Westin hotel, where Manafort’s attorneys and Mrs. Manafort are usually stationed waiting for the verdict.
“The tension should build in the days ahead. The major television network and cable reporters have parachuted onto the scene, as have the neighborhood retirees, pro-Mueller protestors and even a Washington D.C. tour guide promoting his business. … Lastly, I’ll say this note is starting to feel like a letter from a desert island or a spaceship traveling further out of earth’s orbit.”
NYT SCOOP — “Cohen, Trump’s Ex-Lawyer, Investigated for Bank Fraud in Excess of $20 Million,” by William K. Rashbaum, Ben Protess and Maggie Haberman: “Federal authorities investigating whether President Trump’s former personal lawyer and fixer, Michael D. Cohen, committed bank and tax fraud have zeroed in on well over $20 million in loans obtained by taxi businesses that he and his family own, according to people familiar with the matter. Investigators are also examining whether Mr. Cohen violated campaign finance or other laws by helping to arrange financial deals to secure the silence of women who said they had affairs with Mr. Trump.
“The inquiry has entered the final stage and prosecutors are considering filing charges by the end of August, two of the people said. Any criminal charges against Mr. Cohen would deal a significant blow to the president. … Federal investigators in New York are seeking to determine whether Mr. Cohen misrepresented the value of his assets to obtain the loans, which exceed $20 million. They are also examining how he handled the income from his taxi medallions and whether he failed to report it to the Internal Revenue Service.” NYT
— “Michael Cohen’s attorney says he’s talking to lawyer who brought down Nixon,” by Daniel Lippman: “Lanny Davis, an attorney for former longtime Donald Trump lawyer Michael Cohen, said he has been reaching out regularly over the past few months to John Dean, the former White House counsel who helped bring down the presidency of Richard Nixon. …
“‘I reached out to my old friend John Dean because of what he went through with Watergate, and I saw some parallels to what Michael Cohen is experiencing. I wanted to gain from John’s wisdom,’ Davis told POLITICO.” POLITICO
K-FILE CLAIMS ANOTHER ONE — “Speechwriter who attended conference with white nationalists in 2016 leaves White House,” by CNN’s Andrew Kaczynski: “A speechwriter for President Donald Trump who attended a conference frequented by white nationalists has left the White House. CNN’s KFile reached out to the White House last week about Darren Beattie, a policy aide and speechwriter, who was listed as speaking at the 2016 H.L. Mencken Club Conference. The Mencken Club, which is named for the early 20th century journalist and satirist whose posthumously published diaries revealed racist views, is a small annual conference started in 2008 and regularly attended by well-known white nationalists such as Richard Spencer. …
“The White House, which asked CNN to hold off on the story for several days last week declined to say when Beattie left the White House. Beattie’s email address at the White House, which worked until late Friday evening, was no longer active by Saturday. ‘Mr. Beattie no longer works at the White House,’ White House spokesman Hogan Gidley told CNN on Friday night. ‘We don’t comment on personnel matters.’ Beattie confirmed to CNN he spoke to the 2016 conference, saying his speech was not objectionable.” CNN
— WAPO’S BOB COSTA: “Once White House officials were informed about CNN’s pending report, Beattie reportedly was confronted and urged to step down immediately. But he apparently refused to resign, arguing that he was not racist and that he had made uncontroversial academic points at the Mencken gathering. When it became clear that Beattie would not resign, the people familiar with the matter said, the White House terminated him.” WaPo
L.A. TIMES’ MARK Z. BARABAK and MICHAEL FINNEGAN in GREENFIELD, N.H.: “Donald Trump redefined what’s possible in presidential politics. Enter Michael Avenatti”: “‘I think I want him for my attorney,’ said Denise Clark, 64, a semi-retired teacher from nearby Milford, who took in the politicking and picnic beneath a safari hat and dark sunglasses. ‘I’m not sure I want him as president of the United States.’
“The exertions of the 47-year-old Newport Beach lawyer could just be another publicity stunt or a way to buff his ego. ‘I have not decided whether I’m going to do it,’ Avenatti said of a full-fledged run for president. ‘My life would be a lot better if I did not,’ he added in an interview before leaving Los Angeles for New England, by way of a Saturday night fundraiser for Democrats in Tampa, Fla.” LAT
— AVENATTI sounds a lot like Trump.
2018 WATCH — “Republican Rick Scott sends a bilingual message in Florida race: He’s not Trump,” by WaPo’s Mike Scherer in Tampa: “In Florida, the efforts have had an impact, especially among the Puerto Rican community that felt neglected by the Trump administration after Hurricane Maria hit the island in 2017, knocking out power and killing many.
“A June survey by Florida International University found that more than 7 in 10 Puerto Ricans in Florida had a negative view of Trump, but 55 percent of the same group had a positive view of Scott, who had a higher approval rating than his opponent, Sen. Bill Nelson (D-Fla.).
“A more recent head-to-head poll by several Democratic-leaning groups found Scott and Nelson locked in a statistical tie, with 46 percent approval for Scott among Florida Latinos, compared with 34 percent approval for Nelson. Notably, Scott was leading among Puerto Rican men and those without a college degree.” WaPo
— “North Dakota nasty: GOP makes Heitkamp top target for defeat,” by Elana Schor in Bismarck, North Dakota: “Major GOP groups have written him off. His Democratic opponent has more than twice as much cash in the bank, was interviewed for a job in the Trump administration, and has paid more than a half-dozen visits to the White House. But Rep. Kevin Cramer just might get elected to the Senate, anyway.
“Despite the poor electoral environment for conservatives, the political talents of incumbent Sen. Heidi Heitkamp and Cramer’s own flaws, top Republicans routinely rank him as one of their best prospects to seize a Democratic-held Senate seat in 2018. And the reason is simple: North Dakota remains Trump country, and Cramer’s unflinching support for the president might be a more popular play with voters than Heitkamp’s vow to rein him in when she feels she has to.” POLITICO
— THE CONGRESSIONAL LEADERSHIP FUND is running four ads, criticizing Democrats for not joining the National Organization for Women in calling for Keith Ellison to drop out of the AG race after his ex-girlfriend accused him of domestic violence. They are targeting Minnesota’s first, second, third and eighth congressional districts.
TRUMP’S MONDAY — The president will have lunch with VP Mike Pence and will host “the Salute to the Heroes of the Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Customs and Border Protection.”
PLAYBOOK ON THE ROAD — Tweet or send us a photo of you, your friends and companions reading Playbook this August to @playbookplus using hashtag #PlaybookLoyal or email them to Daniel at daniel@politico.com for the chance to be featured on Friday each week this month.
FOR YOUR RADAR — “North Korea alludes to confrontation with U.S. over secret nuclear sites during negotiations,” by Japan Times’ Jesse Johnson: “The United States has explicitly confronted North Korea about suspected secret nuclear weapons facilities during ongoing denuclearization negotiations, a commentary published over the weekend by the North’s state-run media has appeared to show.
“In the commentary released Saturday, the Rodong Sinmun, the newspaper of the North’s ruling Workers’ Party, blasted ‘those opposed to dialogue’ in the U.S., saying that officials both inside and outside the White House had ‘provided the negotiating team with a truncheon called (the) ‘theory of suspected north Korea’s secret nuclear facilities,’ a fiction, driving it to derailing dialogue.” Japan Times
— “U.S. Rebuffs Effort to Tether Bank Fine to Pastor’s Release,” by WSJ’s Mike Bender: “The Trump administration has rejected an effort by Turkey to tie the release of a U.S. pastor with relief for a major Turkish bank facing billions of dollars in U.S. fines, telling Ankara other issues are off the table until the minister is freed, a senior White House official said. … The rejection of a possible trade sets the stage for the U.S. to impose another round of penalties against Ankara as soon as this week. … ‘A real NATO ally wouldn’t have arrested Brunson in the first place,’ the senior White House official said.” WSJ
THE TRUMP ADMINISTRATION — “As Trump Dismantles Clean Air Rules, an Industry Lawyer Delivers for Ex-Clients,” by NYT’s Eric Lipton: “As a corporate lawyer, William L. Wehrum worked for the better part of a decade to weaken air pollution rules by fighting the [EPA] in court on behalf of chemical manufacturers, refineries, oil drillers and coal-burning power plants.
“Now, Mr. Wehrum is about to deliver one of the biggest victories yet for his industry clients — this time from inside the Trump administration as the government’s top air pollution official. On Tuesday, President Trump is expected to propose a vast rollback of regulations on emissions from coal plants, including many owned by members of a coal-burning trade association that had retained Mr. Wehrum and his firm as recently as last year to push for the changes.” NYT
HOLLYWOODLAND — “Asia Argento, Who Accused Weinstein, Made Deal With Her Own Accuser,” by NYT’s Kim Severson: “The Italian actress and director Asia Argento was among the first women in the movie business to publicly accuse the producer Harvey Weinstein of sexual assault. She became a leading figure in the #MeToo movement. Her boyfriend, the culinary television star Anthony Bourdain, eagerly joined the fight.
“But in the months that followed her revelations about Mr. Weinstein last October, Ms. Argento quietly arranged to pay $380,000 to her own accuser: Jimmy Bennett, a young actor and rock musician who said she had sexually assaulted him in a California hotel room years earlier, when he was only two months past his 17th birthday.” NYT
WHAT BARACK OBAMA IS READING THIS SUMMER — He posts on Facebook: “Tara Westover’s ‘Educated’ is a remarkable memoir of a young woman raised in a survivalist family in Idaho who strives for education while still showing great understanding and love for the world she leaves behind. Set after WWII, ‘Warlight’ by Michael Ondaatje is a meditation on the lingering effects of war on family. With the recent passing of V.S. Naipaul, I reread ‘A House for Mr Biswas,’ the Nobel Prize winner’s first great novel about growing up in Trinidad and the challenge of post-colonial identity.
“‘An American Marriage’ by Tayari Jones is a moving portrayal of the effects of a wrongful conviction on a young African-American couple. ‘Factfulness’ by Hans Rosling, an outstanding international public health expert, is a hopeful book about the potential for human progress when we work off facts rather than our inherent biases.” The Facebook post
SPOTTED at Bangor, Maine, airport on Sunday: Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine) and OMB Director Mick Mulvaney (separately) … at Caves Valley Golf Course, Maryland, on Sunday: Australia Ambassador Joe Hockey, Coach Kathy Kemper, Tom and Ann Friedman.
WELCOME TO THE WORLD – James Quinn, chief of staff for Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-La.), and Shannon Quinn, a teacher at Randolph Elementary School, welcomed Grace Frances Quinn on Wednesday. She weighed 6 lbs 9 oz. Pic
BIRTHDAY OF THE DAY: Oliver Darcy, CNN senior media reporter. A fun fact about Oliver: “I am a man of routine. I go to the same diner, at the same time, on the same day every week. [Darcy declined to say which diner.] When I come to D.C., I enjoy brunching at Firefly. It’s a fantastic establishment and I’m lucky enough to have friends who relish in dining there with me. Looking at you Kaitlan Collins, Michelle Fields, and Olivia Nuzzi.” Playbook Plus Q&A
BIRTHDAYS: Fox News’ Fin Gomez … Lea Berman … Jenny Backus … Amb. Michael Froman, vice chairman and president of strategic growth at Mastercard and former USTR, is 56 (hat tip: Andrew Bates) … Brad Fingeroot … Politico’s Doug Palmer … Scott Rothrock … BPI birthday twins: partner Ben LaBolt and COO and partner Ann Marie Habershaw … Al Roker is 64 … former Rep. Ron Paul (R-Texas) is 83 … former Sen. George Mitchell (D-Maine) is 85 … Targeted Victory CEO Zac Moffatt … Connie Chung … Rae-Lynn Ziegler, director of social media and outreach for the Washington Free Beacon (h/t Anton Vuljaj) … Rachel Thomas, strategic communications director at ACRONYM + Lockwood Strategy and an IBM and EMILY’s List alum … Susan Aspey … Gina Keeney … Brianna McCullough … Rep. Brad Schneider (D-Ill.) is 57 (h/t Josh Brown, filing from Aspen) … Rep. Kathy Castor (D-Fla.) is 52 … Sen. Steve Daines (R-Mont.) is 56 … former Rep. Ruben Hinojosa (D-Tex.) is 78 … Tarrah Cooper, partner at Rise Strategy Group … Matt Shapanka is 31 … Morgan Murtaugh … Elyse Medvigy …
… Jim Hock, SVP of external affairs at PSP Capital and former Commerce COS … Edelman’s Jeffrey Norfolk … Jody Serrano (h/t Amy Sisk, filing from Pittsburgh) … Alice Frost Richardson … Madison Gouveia, communications associate at Vox Media (h/t Sujata Mitra) … Targeted Victory’s Ryan Meerstein (h/t Zac) … Michael Montelongo … Meghan Grant … Madeline Shepherd, associate director of federal policy at Council for a Strong America (h/t Rachel Wein) … Gordon Neal … Hayley Peterson, senior correspondent at Business Insider … Patrick Drahi is 55 … Matthew Gould is 47 … David Ryan Adelman is 37 … Pat Collier IV, policy director at JB Pritzker for Governor … Jeff Morehouse is 38 … Angelica Alatorre … Nicholas Himebaugh … Kenny Swab … Jordan Kittleson … Shannon Travis … Linnea Dyer Hegarty … Katie Peters, communications director at Giffords … Casey Badmington … Eleni Roumel … Steve Pfrang … Shannon Harris … Ari Goldberg, director of advocacy comms at CARE, is 45 … Faryar Shirzad … Jen Brown … Lona Valmoro … Bob Hudek … Ryan O’Keefe.
/https%3A%2F%2Fblueprint-api-production.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fuploads%2Fcard%2Fimage%2F830858%2Fd5074c6e-e38f-4186-8e50-f16b02208dd3.jpg)
(@cmclymer) August 19, 2018
![Lebanon also said it wanted Russian companies to compete in a new tender to develop oil and gas deposits [Maxim Shemetov/Reuters]](https://i0.wp.com/www.aljazeera.com/mritems/imagecache/mbdxxlarge/mritems/Images/2018/8/20/fa45e746f7b94edba25241b4f2adad70_18.jpg "Lebanese FM: No reason for Syria refugees to stay in Lebanon")
/https%3A%2F%2Fblueprint-api-production.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fuploads%2Fcard%2Fimage%2F830734%2Fc224d423-4971-4d63-a922-6b82fce947ab.jpg)
(@trinityvera12) /https%3A%2F%2Fblueprint-api-production.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fuploads%2Fcard%2Fimage%2F830762%2Fe4e7bf2e-5ca2-4edf-b4d6-dc461164a341.jpg)
Daily Trends Hunter 