December 19, 2017
News and Views
IF YOU HAVEN’T READ THE SPELLBINDING TRUE HORROR NON-FICTION BOOK BY RICHARD PRESTON, “THE HOT ZONE,” YOU HAVE MISSED OUT ON SOME IMPORTANT INFORMATION. THIS EVENT DIDN’T HAPPEN AT AN AFRICAN LOCATION, BUT IN A RESEARCH LAB IN RESTON, VA. AT 10:00 PM SOME 30 YEARS AGO, I WAS SITTING ON MY BED WAITING FOR THE NEWS TO COME ON, WHEN THE LOCAL FOX NEWS STATION ISSUED A TERSE STATEMENT THAT SOME SORT OF HAZMAT INCIDENT WAS ONGOING AT RESTON, VA, ABOUT 30 MILES OR LESS FROM MY HOME IN DC. I WATCHED IN ANTICIPATION OF SOME REAL EXCITEMENT IN A NEWS REPORT TO COME ON, BUT THERE WAS NO MORE SAID ABOUT IT, AND NONE IN FUTURE DAYS EITHER. WHEN I READ THE HOT ZONE, SEVERAL YEARS LATER, I KNEW IMMEDIATELY WHAT THAT NEWS HAD BEEN ABOUT. MOTHER NATURE HAD TRUMPED SCIENCE. HTTPS://WWW.AMAZON.COM/HOT-ZONE-TERRIFYING-STORY-ORIGINS/DP/0385479565. IT'S AVAILABLE ON AMAZON FOR $7.99. THAT MAY BE A PAPERBACK.
SO, READ PRESTON’S WORK AND THEN THINK AGAIN ABOUT THIS ARTICLE. THERE ARE CERTAIN KINDS OF THINGS THAT I THINK IT IS FAR BETTER TO DO NOTHING AT ALL ABOUT, AND HOPE/PRAY FOR THE BEST. ON THE OTHER HAND, IT IS FROM THIS VERY SCIENTIFIC RESEARCH PROCESS THAN NEW ANTIVIRALS ARE CREATED. TO DO, OR NOT TO DO? PS, THIS IS A REALLY GREAT NEWS ARTICLE.
https://www.nbcnews.com/storyline/mers-mystery/nih-lifts-limits-making-deadly-new-viruses-lab-n831086
HEALTH DEC 19 2017, 7:08 PM ET
NIH lifts limits on making deadly new viruses in the lab
by MAGGIE FOX
The National Institutes of Health has lifted a moratorium on making flu and other viruses more deadly and easier to spread, saying the research is needed to prepare the world better for killer pandemics.
The experiments have been “paused” while NIH considered arguments that the research could be dangerous or even foolhardy. It’s taken three years to decide they are worth doing.
Photographic image -- Influenza virus CDC
“We have a responsibility to ensure that research with infectious agents is conducted responsibly, and that we consider the potential biosafety and biosecurity risks associated with such research,” said NIH director Dr. Francis Collins.
“Now we have a policy that is much more transparent and clear.”
Related: Live anthrax mistakenly sent to US labs
The pause affected fewer than two dozen experiments on three types of virus: influenza, the Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) virus, and severe acute respiratory syndrome or SARS virus.
Influenza viruses, especially, mutate constantly. Some mutations make them more lethal, some make them spread more easily, and some can actually make the viruses less harmful.
So-called gain of function research aims to find out what mutations it would take to make, say, an H7N9 bird flu virus transmit more easily from one person to another.
Public health experts can then watch for those mutations to show up in time to raise the alarm about a potential new pandemic strain of flu, and there could be more time to make a vaccine to protect against it.
For instance, in 2014, Yoshihiro Kawaoka of the University of Wisconsin made a mutant version of the 1918 “Spanish flu” virus that killed tens of millions of people. His team found that versions of this strain are still circulating in wild birds and it would not take much natural genetic mutation to turn them back into forms that could infect people once more.
Some experts complained that these experiments are risky.
Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security
@JHSPH_CHS
Here’s what @T_Inglesby and @mlipsitch wrote in 2014 about the moratorium on funding new #gainoffunction research: http://mbio.asm.org/content/5/6/e02366-14.full …
10:01 AM - Dec 19, 2017
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No lab is 100 percent secure, and there were fears about the accidental escape of such a killer virus. Plus, scientists publish their findings so there was a worry that someone might use that information to deliberately engineer a mutant viral weapon.
So 21 experiments were halted in 2014 while various boards and bodies of experts studied the question.
Several embarrassing lab accidents worsened the faith of critics. Vials of live smallpox virus were found in a freezer on the NIH campus in 2014, and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention accidentally shipped out live anthrax the same year.
Related: CDC cracks down on labs after anthrax scare
Since then, 10 experiments were allowed to go forward on a case-by-case basis and others have probably become outdated.
Now, NIH has decided on how to do the work safely.
“I was hoping this might find its way out a little sooner. Now we are there,” Collins told reporters in a telephone briefing.
Related: The Biothreat Is Real and We're Not Ready
For at least two decades, infectious disease experts have been urging the U.S. government to do more to keep the country prepared for outbreaks of diseases, including new flu strains, SARS or MERS.
VIDEO -- Play Scientist explains why he created killer virus -- Scientist explains why he created killer virus
Influenza specialists say the chance of a new flu pandemic is 100 percent. Flu mutates constantly, and a major new strain emerges about every 20 years. The last one was H1N1 "swine" flu in 2009, which was fairly mild, but worse epidemics are probable.
Yet panels of experts also find the U.S. is poorly prepared. The latest report, out Tuesday, finds that many U.S. states have only the barest of preparations in place.
Related: Gaps Found in U.S. Biothreat Protections
The report from the Trust for America’s Health found federal and state efforts alike to prepare for disasters such as pandemics, severe weather and attacks have slid backwards, with federal funding cut in half since 2002.
“The accomplishments achieved to improve public health and preparedness for all hazards are being undermined due to severe budget cuts and lack of prioritization,” the report reads.
“Instead, the nation is in a continued state of reacting inefficiently with a series of federal emergency supplemental funding packages each time a disaster strikes. The country does not invest enough to maintain strong, basic core capabilities for health security readiness and there is often a need for additional funds,” it adds.
Maggie Fox
CHRIS KARNES IS A SURVIVOR OF THE CRASH. READ HIS DESCRIPTION OF HOW IT FELT TO EXPERIENCE THE EVENT. IT IS TRULY GUT-WRENCHING. HIS FRIEND, ZACK WILLHOITE, IS THE FIRST IDENTIFIED DEATH. BOTH WERE EMPLOYED BY PIERCE TRANSIT.
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/amtrak-derailment-victims-train-crash-washington/
CBS NEWS December 19, 2017, 1:36 PM
First victim in Amtrak derailment identified
One of the victims of a deadly Amtrak derailment in Washington state was identified Tuesday, a day after at least three people were killed and dozens were injured when the train jumped the tracks south of Seattle.
Pierce Transit confirmed Monday that one of its employees, Zack Willhoite, was a victim of the crash, and said in a statement its team was "deeply saddened" by his passing. Willhoite was an IT customer service special with the local transit agency and was admired by his colleagues, Pierce Transit said in a statement.
"He will be sincerely missed. Our thoughts are with Zack's family, as well as the families of the other victims, during this very difficult time," Pierce Transit said.
screen-shot-2017-12-19-at-12-44-22-pm.png
Zack Willhoite HANDOUT
His colleague, Chris Karnes, mourned Willhoite on social media Tuesday.
"It's heartbreaking to hear that @PierceTransit employee and rail aficionado Zack Willhoite did not survive the derailment," he tweeted. "He helped our advisory committee with IT issues, and behind the scenes he was a writer and advocate for better transit for all."
Karnes, who was a passenger on the train when it derailed, previously described the horror of the derailment.
"All of a sudden, we felt this rocking and creaking noise, and then all of a sudden it felt like we were heading down a hill," he told CBS News Monday, "and the next thing that we know, we're being slammed into the front of our seats, and the windows are breaking, and then we stop, and there's water that's gushing out of the top of the train, and all the lights go out and people are screaming."
Bella Dinh-Zarr, an National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) member, said Monday evening that it's currently unclear what caused the derailment and "it's too early to tell" why it was going so fast.
© 2017 CBS Interactive Inc. All Rights Reserved.
TRUMP MAY HAVE NOTHING PERSONALLY TO SAY ON THE CONFRONTATION WITH RUSSIA, BUT SOMEONE IN HIS ADMINISTRATION WILL, MCMASTER SAYS. I’M NOT SURE TRUMP HAS SAID THIS IN PUBLIC SO FAR, BUT MCMASTER ACKNOWLEDGES OUTRIGHTLY THAT "THE RUSSKIES" -- PARTICULARLY PUTIN -- PURPOSELY ACTED TO “DESTABILIZE” THE US POPULATION AND GOVERNMENT, PROBABLY WITH AN EXPECTATION OF RETURN FAVORS TO COME. THAT IS PROGRESS, BECAUSE THE NEWEST INFO ON TRUMP’S VIEW IS THAT HE GETS ANGRY (DANGEROUSLY SO?) WHEN ANYONE SO MUCH AS MENTIONS RUSSIA. THAT MAY BE MORE OF A RUMOR THAN A FACT, BUT WHO KNOWS?
http://www.cnn.com/videos/politics/2017/12/19/trump-exoneration-russia-mueller-probe-transition-emails-berman-kth-ac.cnn
By REBECCA SHABAD CBS NEWS December 19, 2017, 8:03 AM
H.R. McMaster says Trump administration will confront Russia's "destabilizing behavior"
President Trump's national security adviser, Lt. Gen. H.R. McMaster, said Tuesday that the administration is going to confront Russia's "destabilizing" behavior in terms of its efforts to meddle in U.S. affairs using propaganda and by spreading disinformation.
"The president made clear in his national security strategy and in his speech that he's going to stand up for America no matter who threatens America, and what he's asked us to do with Russia is develop an approach that does three fundamental things," McMaster said in an interview on "CBS This Morning."
First, McMaster said that Mr. Trump has tasked his administration with confronting Russia's "destabilizing behavior... in Europe, in the Middle East, in our own country where they use a sophisticated approach to propaganda and disinformation, where they try to polarize communities within democratic societies and put them against each other."
"They use advanced tools, cyber tools and social media. We're going to confront that destabilizing behavior," he added.
McMaster rejected the notion suggested by former Director of National Intelligence James Clapper that Russian President Vladimir Putin is manipulating Mr. Trump.
"It's just not true. What the president has asked us to do with Russia though, as well, is to deter conflict," he said. "You see that with the peace through strength pillar in the national security strategy, but also to try to find areas of cooperation. You mentioned it up front. Russia and the United States should cooperate on North Korea. There's no way that a nuclear armed North Korea is in Russia's interest."
This comes one day after Mr. Trump outlined his national security strategy.
Full transcript below:
NORAH O'DONNELL: Lieutenant General H.R. McMaster is the President's National Security Advisor, he helped in crafting this document, he joins us now from the White House. General, good morning, thank you so much for joining us.
GENERAL H.R. MCMASTER: Good morning. It's a pleasure to be with you.
NORAH: Thank you. Let me just ask you about a bit of news this morning. North Korea has rejected Secretary of State Rex Tillerson's proposal for talks without preconditions. Does that mean the military option is the only one left?
MCMASTER: No, what we're doing is really applying maximum pressure to North Korea to convince Kim Jong Un that this is a dead end, this pursuit of nuclear weapons and an intercontinental ballistic missile--long range ballistic missile which of course poses a grave danger to the whole world.
So what you've seen is an effort led by the President worldwide really though to isolate that regime, to cut off not just what is restricted by the current national -- the current UN Security Council resolutions but to do more. The President has asked all nations to cut off all trade with this rogue regime which you see has never met a weapon it didn't use or proliferate or sell to somebody else. You saw that with the cyber attacks you just discussed and you saw it with the murder of Kim Jong Un's brother in a public airport with a banned nerve agent. So this is a regime that can't get this -- this destructive capability.
NORAH: One of the things that I've noticed is the President spoke with Russian President Putin several times in the last couple of weeks and yet Russia has increased its trade and its oil exports to North Korea. Did the President specifically ask Putin to stop that?
MCMASTER: Yes, the President did ask President Putin to do more. He wants all nations to do more and it just doesn't make sense that Russia would increase trade and alleviate any pressure on the North Korean regime. Of course, North Korea poses a grave direct threat to all nations including China and Russia, but what happens when North Korea gets this capability? What if other nations in the region arm in this way and that's going to be even more destabilizing and of course, as I mentioned, North Korea has never met a weapon it didn't try to sell to somebody else.
ANTHONY MASON: So General, you're saying that there's -- is there any way in which the US can coexist with a nuclear North Korea?
MCMASTER: Anthony, I don't think we can't tolerate that risk. The world can't tolerate that risk. I mean, if North Korea has a nuclear weapon, I mean, who are you going to try to prevent getting one? Look at the behavior of this regime, the hostility of this regime to the whole world.
GAYLE KING: You know, President Trump and Secretary Rex Tillerson have had some high profile disagreements. Does that undermine Rex Tillerson's capability while he's traveling overseas?
MCMASTER: No, the President has made very clear that on North Korea for example, now is not the time to talk. And what he means is, there can't be negotiations under these current conditions. The north has to show initial steps toward denuclearization and the reason for this is previous approaches to negotiating with North Korea have failed miserably. What the regime does is they enter into negotiations, all the while they continue these very destructive programs, these talks often times end in a -- in a weak agreement and then North Korea immediately violates that agreement. The problem is now that their programs have advanced so far we don't have time to do that again and so we can't repeat the failed pattern of the past.
NORAH: I know the President put out a statement about his phone call with Russian President Putin sharing intelligence, which has happened for decades. Right? If we know a terrorist attack is going to happen in another country we try and share that to prevent the loss of life but the statement was viewed as unusual by some experts and last night James Clapper who I know you know well, the former Director of National Intelligence said that Putin knows how to handle an asset and that's what he's doing with the President. What do you make of that charge?
MCMASTER: Well as the President made clear in his National Security Strategy and in his speech that he's going to stand up for America no matter who threatens America and what he's asked us to do with Russia is develop an approach that does three fundamental things. First, confront Russia's destabilizing behavior. In Europe, in the Middle East, in our own country where they use a sophisticated approach to propaganda and disinformation, where they try to polarize communities within democratic societies and pit them against each other. They use advance tools, cyber tools and social media. We're going to confront that destabilizing behavior.
GAYLE: But Mr. Clapper seems to imply that the President is being manipulated - he seems to imply that the President is being manipulated.
MCMASTER: Well it's just not true. What the President has asked us to do with Russia though as well is make sure we can deter conflict. You see that with the peace through strength pillar in the national security strategy but also to try to find areas of cooperation. You mentioned it up front. Russia and the United States should cooperate on North Korea. There's no way that a nuclear armed North Korea is in Russia's interest and the President made that clear to President Putin on the phone call.
GAYLE: All right Lieutenant General, H.R McMaster, Herbert Raymond McMaster. We thank you for joining us. It's always good to have you on this program.
NORAH: Yes, we appreciate it.
MCMASTER: Great to be with you.
© 2017 CBS Interactive Inc. All Rights Reserved.
I HAD TO GOOGLE “BUZZKILL,” BECAUSE I JUST HAVEN’T BEEN ON “THE SCENE” IN TOO MANY YEARS. IT HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH LETHAL ACTION (AS IN BUZZSAW) BUT IN THE SENSE OF SANDERS' BEING THE KILLER OF A “BUZZ” FROM A DRUG (THE DESIRED RESULT). HE IS, IN OTHER WORDS, A “WET BLANKET” OR A “KILL JOY.” HE WENT ON THE NEWS COMMENTARY SHOW FACE THE NATION SUNDAY AND IMPLIED THAT THE DEMS ARE VERY POSSIBLY GOING TO WIN FOR THE 2018 MIDTERMS, AND THE GOP MAY HAVE TO WEAR BLACK ARMBANDS RATHER THAN TOASTING EACH OTHER.
https://www.vanityfair.com/news/2017/12/socialist-buzzkill-bernie-sanders-is-already-plotting-his-revenge-on-the-rich
BY BESS LEVIN
DECEMBER 18, 2017 6:49 PM
Photograph -- Sanders addresses health care reform on Capitol Hill in June.
On Monday, Donald Trump received some news that was almost as thrilling as the time he got to pretend to ride a big-rig: Senator Susan Collins will support the G.O.P. tax bill, making it almost certain that the legislation will pass in the Senate. House Republicans are expected to vote on their tax bill on Tuesday, with the Senate following suit later this week. In short, if all goes according to plan, Trump will get to sign a brand new bill before Christmas. This is obviously a very exciting time not only for the president, who will benefit from the bill beyond his wildest, most self-serving dreams, but for Republican lawmakers and corporate America, the latter of which will (theoretically) enjoy a 21-percent rate in perpetuity.
Unfortunately, a select few haters and losers did not get the memo that now is a time for toasting increased dividends and Paul Ryan’s prospect of making millions from the donors he is about to reward. During an interview with Face the Nation on Sunday, Senator Bernie Sanders told host John Dickerson that if Democrats take control in 2018, they’re going to “take a very hard look at this entire tax bill and make it a tax bill that works for the middle class and working families—not for the top 1 percent and large multi-national corporations.” When Dickerson noted that, in order to achieve Sanders’ goals, the corporate tax rate will have to go up, Sanders responded, “Absolutely. Yes. In my view, absolutely.” And sadly for Republicans, his statements seem to be less the ravings of a cranky old man complaining about deli portion sizes and more portents of midterms to come.
At a time when the Grand Old Party’s popularity seems to be plummeting daily, the bill formerly known as “The Cut Cut Cut Act” is not helping their case. According to the results of a recent survey by Priorities U.S.A., a Democratic advocacy group, Republican approval ratings fall off a cliff when voters hear the details of the tax plan. In a poll of more than 12,000 voters in 20 House districts, as well as Senate battleground Nevada, approval ratings fell an average of three points after they were “exposed to a $2 million digital-advertising campaign against the tax bill.” According to a USA Today/Suffolk University poll that was conducted before a last-minute tweak provided an additional windfall for Donald Trump and Senator Bob Corker, if the bill goes through it will be the most unpopular piece of major legislation passed in 30 years. Amazingly, the same party that is set to pass a historically reviled bill is already talking about the grave need to slash things like Medicare, Medicaid, and Social Security in order to pay for it, which is sort of like running over someone’s foot with your car and then throwing it in reverse to inject them with tuberculosis.
All of which puts Democrats in a prime position to campaign in 2018 as the party that didn’t pass a near-universally hated tax giveaway to corporations and the lazy rich, only to turn around and hold the social safety net hostage. Though he doesn’t see them repealing the legislation as a whole, former Representative Steve Israel told me that if “Democrats win the majority,” as he expects they will, “[the] first order of business will be reprioritizing tax cuts from the wealthiest to the working-class families”—in other words, Republicans and their corporate sugar daddies can kiss their 21-percent rate goodbye.
RELATED:
Watch Now: President Trump is “One Large S.T.D.” and He's Infected Gary Cohn
Steve Mnuchin reverts to all-out fibs
Last November, then Treasury secretary nominee Steve Mnuchin told CNBC that under Donald Trump’s tax plan, “there will be no absolute tax cut for the upper class.” Then in May, he said that while the president’s objective was to “make a middle-income tax cut,” he couldn’t actually guarantee that that would occur “since the results will be a combined effort of the administration and the House and Senate.” Several months later, on CNN, he performed a little bit of revisionist history, maintaining that anything he said in the heady days of the transition “was never a promise . . . never a pledge.” Finally, in October, he came full circle, telling Politico that it’s basically impossible not to cut taxes on the rich, likely knowing full well that that’s exactly what the Republican plans intended to do.
But on Sunday, perhaps high on the sort of audacity it takes to put out a one-page report claiming the tax plan will pay for itself, the former Goldman Sachs partner was back to his favorite alternative fact. During an appearance on State of the Union, Mnuchin told Jake Tapper that “the president [is] right” when he says “the rich will not be gaining at all with this plan.” Later in the interview, he defended the Treasury department’s 400-something word analysis of the tax plan by hilariously claiming that it was based on a “detailed model” that was “important to publish.”
RELATED: Ivanka Trump: Democrats secretly want to pass a tax bill that does almost nothing for the middle class
Alana Abramson
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@aabramson
Ivanka Trump on Democrats not supporting tax reform: "We've had a lot of very productive conversations with Democrats who I believe are intellectually there. Their hearts are there but the party's not there and the leadership's not there."
9:31 AM - Dec 18, 2017
362 362 Replies 58 58 Retweets 102 102 likes
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Trump uses train crash to stump for his infrastructure plan
Donald J. Trump
✔
@realDonaldTrump
The train accident that just occurred in DuPont, WA shows more than ever why our soon to be submitted infrastructure plan must be approved quickly. Seven trillion dollars spent in the Middle East while our roads, bridges, tunnels, railways (and more) crumble! Not for long!
1:41 PM - Dec 18, 2017
27,732 27,732 Replies 21,804 21,804 Retweets 96,090 96,090 likes
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Incidentally, there’s little reason to believe that Trump’s infrastructure plan—the details of which are still murky—would have prevented today’s tragedy at all. The rail link was hardly a rickety affair in desperate need of a cash injection; in fact, it had opened that day. (10 minutes after his first tweet, one of the staffers at the “adult day-care center” seemingly realized that a tweet involving thoughts and prayers was more appropriate.)
Ivanka and Jared sued over (lack of) financial disclosures
What’s it gonna take for the First Daughter and Son-in-Law to catch a break around here?!
Washington lawyer Jeffrey Lovitky contends [in a lawsuit] that Trump and Kushner failed to identify the assets owned by 30 investment funds the couple had stakes in. The complaint filed in U.S. District Court in Washington also claims the couple should have declared the value of and income they derived from two investment vehicles, but did not.
The suit notes that in a half dozen instances Kushner’s report indicates that more detailed information is not being provided because a “pre-existing confidentiality agreement” precludes disclosure.
A spokesperson for the White House called the suit “frivolous,” adding that “Mr. Kushner’s 278e was closely reviewed by the nonpartisan Office of Government Ethics, which certified his compliance with federal law. Mr. Kushner and his representatives also maintain ongoing communications with the Office of Government Ethics to ensure his disclosures remain in compliance. Ms. Trump’s 278e parallels Mr. Kushner’s in all relevant respects.”
WHERE NO ONE HAS GONE BEFORE
http://www.cnn.com/videos/politics/2017/12/19/trump-exoneration-russia-mueller-probe-transition-emails-berman-kth-ac.cnn
NEWS & TECHNOLOGY 19 December 2017
Exclusive: NASA has begun plans for a 2069 interstellar mission
By John Wenz
Photograph -- The launch is decades away, and the journey will take even longer
ESO/Digitized Sky Survey 2
IF A small, scrappy group at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) in Pasadena, California, get their way, the 100th anniversary of Apollo 11 – the first crewed moon landing – will see a spacecraft launched to a nearby exoplanet to look for life.
The project is so new it doesn’t have a name – and most of the technology it needs doesn’t exist yet. But there’s plenty of time to work out the kinks before 2069.
“It’s very nebulous,” says Anthony Freeman at JPL, who presented the mission concept at the 2017 American Geophysical Union conference in New Orleans, Louisiana, on 12 December.
The impetus came from a 2016 US funding bill telling NASA to study interstellar travel that could reach at least 10 per cent of the speed of light by 2069. It also directed the . . . . To continue reading this premium article, subscribe for unlimited access.
YES, I HAVE CRUELLY FAILED TO SUBSCRIBE, HOWEVER THERE WILL PROBABLY BE INFORMATION ON THIS AT ANOTHER NEWS SOURCE. THERE ALMOST ALWAYS IS. SO PURSUE IT ON YOUR OWN IF YOU WANT MORE.
THE FOLLOWING ARE PAINFUL PHOTOGRAPHS SHOWING SOMETHING THAT WE SHOULDN’T JUST FORGET ABOUT AND GO PLAY A ROUND OF GOLF.
https://www.cbsnews.com/pictures/homeless-crisis-los-angeles-skid-row-portland-san-diego-seattle/
23 Photographs -- https://www.cbsnews.com/pictures/homeless-crisis-los-angeles-skid-row-portland-san-diego-seattle/
DO WATCH THIS COLLECTION OF VIDEOS. SOME ARE SAYING THAT TRUMP HAS LATELY BEEN NEAR A MELTDOWN, AND ESPECIALLY WHEN THE WORD RUSSIA IS BROUGHT UP FOR DISCUSSION. DO THEY MEAN RAGING OR WEEPING? OR MAYBE ANY PERSON UNDER SUCH PRESSURE WOULD HAVE REACTIONS TO THE PRESSURE. WHICHEVER, SOME OF THOSE IN THE WHITE HOUSE, AS THIS AND A FEW OTHER ARTICLES OVER THE LAST WEEK OR SO INDICATE, THAT A NUMBER OF STAFF MEMBERS ARE GENUINELY CONCERNED. SO, WHAT SHOULD BE DONE, AND MORE IMPORTANTLY, WHEN? BOTH HOUSE AND SENATE WEBSITES HAVE EMAIL COMMUNICATION PORTALS SET UP.
http://www.cnn.com/videos/politics/2017/12/19/trump-exoneration-russia-mueller-probe-transition-emails-berman-kth-ac.cnn
By Jessica Ravitz, CNN
Updated 7:18 AM ET, Mon December 18, 2017
Berman: Trump wrong to claim collusion 'disproven'
Seven months after Robert Mueller's appointment as special counsel to lead the Russia probe, President Trump's defenders have gone into overdrive hoping to discredit the investigation as Trump insists publicly he has no plans to fire Mueller. CNN's John Berman reports. Source: CNN
(16 VIDEOS) ROBERT MUELLER'S INVESTIGATION
http://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow-show
THE RACHEL MADDOW SHOW 12/18/17
Republican attack on Mueller Trump investigation falls apart
Rachel Maddow looks at how the Donald Trump campaign was already having contact with Kremlin-connected Russians as the FBI warned them about exactly such outreach, and points out that the texting scandal Republicans have tried to whip up is not actually good for Trump. Duration: 16:59
http://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow-show
THE RACHEL MADDOW SHOW 12/18/17
Mueller obtains Trump transition e-mails, Trump team freaks out
Rachel Maddow relays a new report from The Washington Post that members of Robert Mueller's Trump investigation team have said they expect to work well into 2018, bad news for Trump's legal team already freaking out over Mueller obtaining transition e-mails from the GSA. Duration: 3:38
http://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow-show
THE RACHEL MADDOW SHOW 12/18/17
Clash expected as Trump legal team set to meet with Mueller
Sari Horwitz, Justice Department reporter for The Washington Post, talks with Rachel Maddow about an expected meeting between Donald Trump's legal team and special counsel Robert Mueller and the likely clash over contrasting perspectives on the investigation.
Duration: 5:57
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