JUNE 6, 2018


NEWS AND VIEWS


WATCH THIS VIDEO OF ROBERT F KENNEDY’S BODY BEING CARRIED BY TRAIN. AS WITH SO MANY PEOPLE FROM MY AGE GROUP, THIS WAS A TRULY TRAUMATIC TIME PERIOD. VIETNAM, CIVIL RIGHTS, AND THE DEATHS OF THE THREE MOST REVERED MEN OF OUR TIME. IT WOULD BE IMPOSSIBLE FOR ME NOT TO HAVE STRONG FEELINGS ABOUT THE REAL AMERICA. AND NOW WE HAVE BERNIE SANDERS, WHO MAY NOT LIVE AS LONG AS I WOULD LIKE. I BELIEVE HE PROBABLY WILL, THOUGH, BECAUSE HE SEEMS SO STRONG AND MENTALLY ACTIVE THAT I’M SURE HE’S NOWHERE NEAR THE WORST OLD AGE SYMPTOMS. MAY THE HIGHER POWER BLESS HIM.

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/robert-f-kennedy-50th-anniversary-death-funeral-train/
CBS NEWS June 6, 2018, 8:50 AM
Americans remember Robert F. Kennedy's funeral train, 50 years later

VIDEO – RFK’S FINAL JOURNEY

Fifty years ago, Sen. Robert F. Kennedy was assassinated at the Ambassador Hotel in Los Angeles just moments after he won the California presidential primary. Shortly after his funeral at New York's St. Patrick's Cathedral, a train took his remains to Arlington National Cemetery outside Washington D.C. where was buried next to his brother, John. Up to two million Americans interrupted their day to stand by the tracks and pay tribute to the man lying in the train's last car on its 225-mile journey.

John Anderson was a campaign aide for Bobby Kennedy in 1968 and managed the guest list on the funeral train that day.

"I was asleep and my wife woke me up and said 'I think Bobby was shot,' But it's amazing, 50 years later, it's real," Anderson told "CBS This Morning" co-host John Dickerson. "I was struck by the size of the crowds….Every now and then there would be one or two people standing with a flag or sign, it was very emotional, still is."

Also aboard the train was photographer Paul Fusco. He captured the faces – black and white, male, female, young and old, staring into the train window.

dickerson-rfk-50th-stereo-frame-8714.jpg
John Anderson CBS NEWS
John Malone, who was 20 at the time, stood along the tracks in New Jersey.

"The sense was that you were at a wake. You were paying your respects, and just here to do that and stay quietly waiting for the train to come by," Malone said. "In one of the houses here I could hear a woman crying, and as the train came by she just called out, 'Oh Bobby, oh Bobby.'"

When Bennett Levin was 28 years old, he watched the train pass in Philadelphia.

"We waited and we waited and we waited for what seemed to be an eternity," Levin said. "The bridge was lined three deep….There wasn't a spot to be had."

The kind of people in attendance? "Working people," Levin said.

"Everybody seemed to turn out… And the crowd even though the train was hours late stood there reverently waiting for the train. And, you know, that in itself said an awful lot for the esteem that the people held Robert Kennedy in," Levin said.

dickerson-rfk-50th-stereo-frame-5469.jpg
Michael Scott CBS NEWS
Today, Levin owns the car that held the casket 50 yeas ago.

During a year marked by racial unrest – from the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr. to riots in the cities – 15-year-old Michael Scott went with his mother to watch the train pass through North East, Maryland.

"In the last car I'm standing there and I see a lady with a veil. And she is sitting next to a casket that has a flag over it and it was like 'I wasn't ready for that.' I just expected to see the train and here I am looking at a lady with a veil, sitting next to a coffin that's carrying the hope of my family, black Americans," Scott said. "The fact that he was willing to stand up for people who look like me, people who weren't privileged, people who worked in harsh working conditions… that spoke to me as a young man. The train was carrying the remains of our last hope. And I think that was felt for everyone that was there."

Stephanie Lang watched the train in Baltimore when she was 24 years old. She went with her husband and her 2-year-old daughter.

"I was thinking about Ethel Kennedy, the grief that she was going through to lose a husband," Lang said. "When the train came through, that was the moment that I stopped and paid my respect and saw the train come by and I put my hand on my heart."

dickerson-rfk-50th-stereo-frame-7729.jpg
Stephanie Lang CBS NEWS
"Do you think that people would walk to the edge of a train track for any public figure today?" Dickerson asked Lang. She doesn't think so.

"I don't think we have the respect that we have today," she said.

For John Anderson, the train ride was an "event that was the end of that adventure."

"It was a little piece of American history that I had a very little piece of," Anderson said. "And it also gave me a lot of hope at that moment that there would be a better day."

The San Francisco Museum of Modern Art has an exhibit of the funeral train on display through June 10. "The Train: RFK's Last Journey" looks at this historical event through three distinct works: Paul Fusco's photos, Rein Jelle Terpstra's project, "The People's View" which shows photos and videos from people in the crowd, and a film reenactment of the train's journey by French artist Philippe Parreno. And for those on the East Coast, the International Center of Photography has an exhibit, "RFK Funeral Train: The People's View," on display through September 2.

© 2018 CBS Interactive Inc. All Rights Reserved.


ECONOMIC SITUATIONS ARE COMPLICATED. TRY AGAIN, MR. PRESIDENT.

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/steel-workers-ask-trump-to-halt-metal-tariffs/
MONEYWATCH June 6, 2018, 3:35 PM
Steel workers ask Trump to halt metal tariffs

VIDEO --steel workers ask trump to halt tariffs

Tariffs on steel and aluminum imports imposed by the Trump administration have workers in mills that use those raw materials to build other products concerned about the future of their jobs.

What's happening?

At the Borusan Mannesmann mill in Baytown, Texas, which manufactures steel pipe and tube products, workers penned letters to President Donald Trump on Tuesday, imploring the administration not to carry out the tariffs on steel and aluminum.

"We need this company to grow even more," Roger Jaime, a worker at the mill, told KHOU's Levi Ismail, as he and other workers wrote postcards to the White House and to other lawmakers to ask for relief.

Why does it matter?

The workers are concerned that the tariffs will harm the company and potentially result in job losses. The threat has already waylaid Boursan Mannesmann's growth plans.

Just over 200 people work at the mill, which imports raw material from a facility in Turkey. But it could have more employees because the company has been planning a $75 million expansion that would have added 170 jobs. That investment has been put on hold in the wake of the steel tariffs, given that the cost of getting materials from abroad will increase and selling the more expensive finished products will likely get tougher.

Borusan Mannesmann administrators said the tariffs could create an added annual expense of more than $25 million for the relatively new company. Each employee's letter asks Washington to "please consider our situation" -- for more time to build and create the chance for the jobs Baytown needs.

What could the effects be?

Tariffs on steel and aluminum imports to the U.S. can help local producers of the metals by making foreign products more expensive. But they can also increase costs more broadly for U.S. manufacturers that cannot source all their needs locally and have to import the materials. That hurts those companies and can lead to higher consumer prices, economists say.

Steel and aluminum production jobs represent a small segment of the U.S. economy -- about 255,000 in steel and 61,000 in aluminum, according to Moody's Investors Service.

Manufacturers and end users make up a much larger portion of the economy. That means tariffs on raw materials, combined with retaliation from upset trading partners, may end up causing more harm than good. An estimate from consulting firm Trade Partnership forecast about 179,000 U.S. jobs lost versus 33,000 created as a result of the metal tariffs.

BMP, the parent company that owns the mill in Baytown, has filed an exclusion request with the U.S. government asking for an two-year exemption on raw material imports produced at its facility in Turkey -- which would otherwise be subject to a 25 percent tariff. The company argues in its request that the exclusion is necessary for its expansion and would "unlock" the investment the firm needs.

One of the projects Borusan Mannesman is contracted to supply is the GCX Pipeline, a roughly $1.8 billion, 514-mile project intended to transport natural gas from Texas' Permian basin to the Gulf Coast. The pipeline's owner, Kinder Morgan, also filed an exclusion request, specifically for the specialized X70 pipe. The company argues the materials cannot be obtained from U.S. suppliers in time to meet the project's October 2019 deadline.

Kinder Morgan (KMI) said the project "will directly support 2,500 well paying construction jobs during the eighteen months" required to complete it and that "steel pipe imports from Turkey are consistent with U.S. national security."

--CBS News' Jillian Harding and Rachel Layne contributed to this report

© 2018 CBS Interactive Inc.. All Rights Reserved.



WHY WON’T THESE NOSY DEMOCRATS LEAVE ME ALONE? TRUMP SAYS THAT HIS FAMILY SEPARATION POLICY IS THE DEMS’ FAULT FOR THEIR POLICY OF OPEN BORDERS. WHY DOESN’T HE SIT DOWN IN MEETINGS WITH LEADERS FROM THOSE NATIONS TO DISCUSS HOW TO PEACEFULLY SOLVE THE ISSUES RATHER THAN HARANGUING THE MEXICAN PRESIDENT OVER PAYING FOR HIS ACCURSED WALL. SOME PROGRESS WAS MADE ON THAT WHEN OBAMA WAS PRESIDENT, BUT I GUESS TRUMP DIDN’T CONTINUE IT.

https://www.politico.com/story/2018/06/04/merkley-shelter-migrant-children-trump-593988
White House blasts Merkley after his attempt to visit a shelter for migrant children
By TED HESSON 06/04/2018 05:34 PM EDT Updated 06/04/2018 10:23 PM EDT

The White House on Monday blasted Sen. Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.) over his criticism of an administration policy that will increase family separations at the border.

Merkley — who's called the Trump administration’s handling of children and families “cruel” — livestreamed on Sunday an attempt to enter a Texas shelter for unaccompanied minors.

He was turned away and later tweeted criticism of the decision.

“I was barred entry. Asked repeatedly to speak to a supervisor — he finally came out and said he can’t tell us anything. Police were called on us,” he wrote. “Children should never be ripped from their families & held in secretive detention centers.”

Merkley said his office had contacted the operators last week and was told it would not be granted access, an answer he called “unacceptable.“

"You're seeking asylum, and the first thing that happens when you get here is you're torn away from your parents,” he said in the video. “What kind of impact does that have on these children?"

The facility, housed in a former Walmart building in Brownsville, Texas, is overseen by HHS' Office of Refugee Resettlement, according to the senator’s office.

White House deputy press secretary Hogan Gidley said Monday that Merkley was “irresponsibly spreading blatant lies” and “smearing hardworking, dedicated law enforcement officials” who deal with migrants at the border.

Gidley argued Monday that the senator’s refusal to back President Donald Trump’s hard-line agenda allowed criminals to enter and remain in the United States.

“No one is taking a public safety lecture from Sen. Merkley, whose own policies endanger children, empower human smugglers and drug cartels, and allow violent criminal aliens to flood into American communities,” the spokesman said in a written statement.

The White House identified two purported “victims of Sen. Merkley’s reckless open borders policies,” including a 65-year-old Oregon woman who was sexually assaulted and robbed by a Mexican man who had been deported 20 times.



https://www.politico.com/story/2018/06/04/children-separated-border-trump-immigration-619112
WHITE HOUSE
Blowback over border separations amps up tensions inside Trump administration
By NANCY COOK and TED HESSON 06/04/2018 05:05 AM EDT

Some top administration officials say recent policy changes were made without sufficient consideration of practical or legal consequences.

PHOTOGRAPH -- A member of the Central American migrant caravan, holding a child, looks through the border wall toward a group of people gathered on the U.S. side, as he stands on the beach where the border wall ends in the ocean, in Tijuana, Mexico. | Hans-Maximo Musielik/AP Photo

The White House was thrown into turmoil after a handful of photographs of school-aged immigrant children, held behind fences in detention centers, ignited on social media.

President Donald Trump and top aides including policy adviser Stephen Miller felt deeply frustrated that these images, which dated back to the Obama administration, were getting pinned on them, according to people familiar with the reaction. So they created a special working group to do what this White House does best — push back and shift blame to Democrats through presidential tweets and a rare on-the-record briefing by Miller.

In reality, Trump’s own administration has increased the likelihood of family separation with a new policy to refer anyone suspected of crossing the border illegally for prosecution, including asylum seekers. The change is in keeping with the “shock and awe” tactics favored by top White House policy aide Stephen Miller, the architect of last year’s travel ban, which was initially blocked by courts after creating widespread chaos at airports.

The shift has brought tensions to a boil between some administration officials and the White House over how far they can push immigration policy, both legally and politically. Interviews with 16 current and former administration officials, immigration experts, and close White House advisers reveal a potentially thorny political quandary for the president: how to balance promises to his base, which favors a tough approach to border security, with efforts to appeal to moderate, independent, and suburban voters who may be turned off by visual images of immigrant parents separated from their kids.

“From the president’s standpoint, it is a double standard. He gets hit hard even though he feels he is just doing what the previous administration had done. The media is so quick to validate a false narrative,” said one former campaign official. “You can’t blame Trump because past administrations never dealt with illegal immigration.”

But some current and former administration officials see the renewed border crackdown as the latest example of enacting an aggressive policy without enough resources in place to deal with the resulting logistics – in part because the chaos may have the desired effect of scaring would-be migrants and deterring them from crossing the border in the first place.

“My sense is that they see what happened with the Muslim travel ban as a pretty good success story,” said one DHS official. “Why try to do the first draft correctly if you get so many bites at the apple?”

Miller has worked closely with a web of political appointees throughout the administration, including Sessions’ son-in-law John Walk, a lawyer in the White House counsel’s office, as well as lawyer Chad Mizelle; Thomas Homan, the soon-to-retire head of ICE; Francis Cissna, director of U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, and Gene Hamilton, a former staffer to Sessions on Capitol Hill who’s now at the Department of Justice.

These hardliners feel that Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen, a close ally of White House chief of staff John Kelly, isn’t being creative or tough enough in using executive authority to carry out the president’s immigration agenda.

“From my conversations with many officials, both career and appointed, it is apparent that they are concerned about the lack of progress in curbing these illegal entries and making the system work, and their efforts and ideas have been ignored,” said Jessica Vaughan, policy director at the Center for Immigration Studies, a group that favors lower levels of immigration.

Nielsen’s allies argue that such an aggressive approach often ignores legal boundaries or court decisions. And, they point out, when the administration’s immigration moves get challenged, it will be Nielsen and her team, not Miller, who get dragged before Congress or into court to explain.

Paul Ryan is pictured. | Getty Images
CONGRESS

House Republicans careen toward immigration showdown
By RACHAEL BADE

Even before the latest policy change, the American Civil Liberties Union filed a class-action complaint in San Diego on behalf of a Congolese mother separated from her 7-year-old daughter for more than four months, as well as others in similar situations.

Two DHS officials said they had not seen any legal analysis making the case for the new prosecution strategy before Sessions announced it in May — a standard part of rolling out policy.


“In a normal administration, you make an analysis of the law and the policy change,” said one of the DHS officials. “The notion is to reduce litigation around it.” This person added: “It’s not clear to me that any of that foundational legal work has been done.”

Justice Department spokesman Devin O’Malley rejected the suggestion that the administration lacks the legal authority for stepped-up prosecutions of alleged border crossers.

“For years, the Department of Homeland Security has apprehended and referred tens of thousands of illegal aliens to the Justice Department, which then prosecutes them — just like other federal crimes,” he said in a written statement. “It is unclear how these anonymous sources arrived at the conclusion or insinuation that it is illegal for the attorney general and DHS secretary to prosecute those who break the laws passed by Congress — and which keep our nation and its citizens safe — but I assure you that both are well within their authority to do so.”

One senior administration official said any differences between Nielsen and Miller and other immigration hardliners were not over policy but over style.

“She is smart enough to understand the situation she is in and smart enough to know not to work against the president,” said another administration official.

White House deputy press secretary Hogan Gidley said “there is no daylight between the White House and Homeland Security on the measures needed to protect our nation. Secretary Nielsen is implementing bold reforms to save and defend innocent American lives.”

DHS spokesman Tyler Houlton added that Nielsen and Trump are “clearly on the same page” when it comes to national security. “Any accusations to the contrary are simply false,” he said, citing DHS’ enhanced vetting of visitors to the U.S., the deployment of National Guard troops to the southwest border, and the move to refer all suspected border crossers for prosecution.

But top government officials have acknowledged that the Health and Human Services Department is almost at capacity with shelter beds for unaccompanied minors, while advocates have raised questions about whether the agencies have enough staff and resources to care for immigrant children, including toddlers.

Mitch McConnell, and John Cornyn are pictured. | Getty Images
CONGRESS

GOP senators need an agenda — so they’re doing a poll
By JOHN BRESNAHAN and BURGESS EVERETT

Shelters for unaccompanied minors, which are overseen by the Department of Health and Human Services, historically have been geared more toward teenagers, who came into the country alone, and who can live in dorm-like settings – not to children who need cribs, formula, help getting dressed or going to the bathroom. Advocates worry about the length of time these children could be held in custody away from their parents, as well as the difficulty of reuniting families held in different parts of the country.

A backup plan exists to help with the resources: the HHS Office of Refugee Resettlement maintains 1,218 reserve beds and could open temporary facilities, including one in Homestead, Fla. If the department exceeds its $1.3 billion budget to house unaccompanied minors, it may need to transfer funds from other parts of its budget, which it’s done in the past.

“There’s no way HHS has the capability to handle this kind of influx of children, especially small children,” said Lee Gelernt, an ACLU attorney representing the plaintiffs in the San Diego case. “I think it’s only going to get worse.”

Kenneth Wolfe, a spokesman for the HHS Administration for Children and Families, said the agency “routinely [evaluates] the needs and capacity of an existing network of approximately 100 shelters in 14 states” to care for unaccompanied minors, but the department did not comment on whether facilities are prepared to handle a surge of young children.

DHS referred roughly 29 percent of adults suspected of illegal entry and illegal reentry to the Justice Department for prosecution during a nearly seven-month period through mid-April, according to data provided by a DHS official. The number of suspected border crossers referred for prosecution doubled in the past month, according to the official.


That would mean the department is referring roughly 60 percent of suspected border crossers for prosecution – a dramatic increase, but still short of 100 percent Sessions targeted on May 7.

For immigration hardliners, the new “zero-tolerance” strategy — and its effect on migrant families — is a long-overdue step to deter illegal immigration and phony asylum claims.

“When the only consequence of sneaking across the border is you’re just sent back and can try again, there’s no reason not to try again,” said Mark Krikorian, executive director of the Center for Immigration Studies. He likened adults bringing children to the border, who include people fleeing the violent Central American cartels the Trump administration routinely demonizes, to petty criminals: “If you rob a liquor store, you’re going to be separated from your kids.”



SENATOR MERKLEY – KIDS KEPT IN CAGES AT “PROCESSING CENTER.”

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/sen-jeff-merkley-says-images-of-migrant-processing-center-seared-in-my-mind/
By EMILY TILLETT CBS NEWS June 6, 2018, 9:33 AM
Sen. Jeff Merkley says images of migrant processing center are "seared" in his mind

Sen. Jeff Merkley says that what he witnessed in Texas at a migrant processing center is now "seared" in his mind. He described long lines of young boys and girls being sorted by age and sex in large fenced-in warehouses, a part of their processing before they were handed off to the supervision of government agencies, all without their parents by their side.

"This is morally bankrupt and wrong on every level," Merkley said in his description of the process. He added, "You don't hurt children in order to influence policy decision."

Merkley spoke with members of the press following his viral account of being denied entry at a separate detention facility in Brownsville, Texas over the weekend. He described what he witnessed inside a different facility in McAllen, Texas, the McAllen Border Patrol Processing Center, which is controlled by the Department of Homeland Security, and is used to process undocumented migrants when they first arrive, and where many families are being separated as they enter the U.S.

The migrant children, he said, undergo their initial screening and sorting in a "dog-kennel style" setting. The senator's team were forced to lock their phones away before entering the facility.

"In the first room the ceiling is lower, the rooms were some, maybe 12 x 12 to 15 x 15," described Merkley of the cyclone-fencing in the space. He added that migrants had only the clothing they were carrying and foil space blankets. A Merkley staffer that traveled with the Senator described the scene as "impossible to calculate" as individuals were being sorted, separating boys from girls and men from women. A four-foot-high cinderblock wall acted as a partition for toilets for them to use. The room, Merkley said, had no padding on the floor, and some individuals were seen lying on the ground. In the same space, inundated staff members input data about the migrants into their computer system, and then, they later moved into a "vast warehouse" where fencing enclosures were "much larger" according to Merkley.

The senator said the ceiling in the next room appeared "much higher" and thin, sparse mattresses were placed on the floor. A Merkley staffer described the enclosures as resembling 20-foot-high cages with netting on top, housing children from ages 4 to 16 years old. From this point, migrant children are moved to detention facilities similar the one Merkley was barred from entering. These are controlled by the Office of Refugee Resettlement, before they are finally moved to Health and Human Services.

Texas is one of several border states processing undocumented migrant children in this way. Lauren Dasse, executive director for the Florence Project which provides free legal services to men, women, and unaccompanied children in immigration custody in Arizona, says her organization has seen 300 cases of family separation in her state, with 100 new cases in just the past 10 days alone. Dassee said the non-profit hears of children being separated at all age ranges, including young migrants with disabilities. She called the process "inhuman and cruel."

Family separation, which President Trump has repeatedly blamed Democrats for spearheading, is currently shrouded in secrecy according to Merkley, who is now demanding that Congress acts to bring transparency to the system. Merkley, along with experts on Tuesday's call, say the Trump administration's "zero tolerance" policy is further inflicting trauma on children who otherwise are seeking a new life in the United States.

"This is not mandated by law, this is a decision that was made after extensive conversations within the administration," said Merkley. He added, "It's completely at their decision to adopt this strategy."

In the meantime, Merkley said he's pushing for a bill that would allow members of Congress to visit any detention facility in the United States given 24 hours notice. "We need to see how facilities are operating on a day to day basis not cleaned up or sanitized for a special visit," he said.

The Oregon Democrat added that he would also be pressing for a simple "one sentence law that says when families seek asylum, it's policy not to separate children from their parents."

© 2018 CBS Interactive Inc. All Rights Reserved.


PLANNING THEIR NEXT BOUT OF DESTRUCIION OF OUR NATION?

https://www.politico.com/story/2018/06/03/gop-senators-conference-survey-election-618648
CONGRESS
GOP senators need an agenda — so they’re doing a poll
Ted Cruz and Lamar Alexander are surveying their conference to figure out what the party should pursue while it still controls all of Congress.
By JOHN BRESNAHAN and BURGESS EVERETT 06/03/2018 07:01 AM EDT

PHOTOGRAPH -- Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and Majority Whip John Cornyn prepare to talk to reporters following the weekly Senate Republican policy luncheon at the Capitol on May 15. | Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images

Republican senators aren’t sure what to do between now and the November elections. So they’re conducting a poll — of themselves.

Sens. Ted Cruz of Texas and Lamar Alexander of Tennessee have been quietly circulating an unusual “survey” of their colleagues in recent weeks asking about their level of support for dozens of legislative proposals, some of them highly controversial.

The areas under consideration include taking another stab at repealing and scaling back Obamacare; trying for Round 2 of tax cuts; eliminating or reining in the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau; defunding Planned Parenthood and other anti-abortion rights measures; instituting work requirements for federal welfare programs; expanding gun rights; instituting budget reforms; and dozens more.

Yet the Cruz-Alexander poll will likely show that Obamacare repeal still can’t get 50 GOP votes, according to Republican sources who’ve already taken the temperature of the caucus, and that any proposal to make the Trump tax cuts permanent couldn’t clear the 60-vote filibuster bar.

Further complicating matters, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) isn't interested in holding “messaging” votes he knows will fail.


Still, the survey could show areas where 30 or so senators from each caucus could team up, such as regulatory reform or education legislation.

There is also another reality for Republicans on Capitol Hill this fall: President Donald Trump drives political debate these days, and very little they do will get much media attention. Trump's scheduled meeting next week with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, the machinations of special counsel Robert Mueller, and the president's moves on tariffs and trade will dominate the headlines.

The most GOP lawmakers can do is try to help burnish their résumés as they head into the campaign, or make it more uncomfortable for Senate Democrats in tough races.

At the urging of rank-and-file Republicans, McConnell is expected to announce next week that he is dramatically shortening the traditional monthlong August recess, so the Senate can stay in town and pass 2019 spending bills and other legislative items.

Kim Yong Chol, Donald Trump and Mike Pompeo are pictured. | AP Photo
WHITE HOUSE

Surreal Trump-Kim summit defies diplomatic playbook
By NAHAL TOOSI
Cruz and Alexander — with the blessing of McConnell and other top Republicans — want to get a sense of what, if anything, the Senate GOP Conference can do beyond its current agenda, according to a Republican source privy to internal party dynamics.

“Our hope is to get a sense of the Conference on what legislative proposals can command 50 votes, and what is most important to each of you — additional victories we can achieve together in 2018,” Cruz and Alexander said in a May 16 letter. They based their efforts on a similar survey last year by Sen. Thom Tillis (R-N.C.) that led to congressional repeal of Obama-era regulations opposed by business groups.

Senate GOP leaders already have several items on their to-do list. This summer, McConnell hopes to pass bills on national defense policy, agriculture, water infrastructure, and fighting opioid addiction. They are also pushing ahead on confirming more judicial and administration nominees named by Trump.

McConnell also hopes to jump-start the appropriations process, although only a portion of the 2019 spending bills will get done by the Sept. 30 government-funding deadline. An extension of current funding is expected to be passed before then.

Before the Memorial Day recess, McConnell touted the defense, water infrastructure and funding bills moving through Congress — but made no mention of Obamacare, immigration, tax cuts or votes to put vulnerable Democratic incumbents on the spot.

Cruz, who is up for reelection in November, is trying to push as many conservative legislative measures as possible, worried that the potential loss of the House or the Senate this fall will curtail the GOP’s ambitions under Trump.

Mitch McConnell is pictured. | POLITICO
CONGRESS

RELATED: Mitch McConnell’s record-breaking reign
By BURGESS EVERETT

Once a McConnell antagonist, Cruz sought out Alexander’s support to help make the survey effort less confrontational and more collaborative. The Tennessee Republican suggested letting senators make their own legislative suggestions if they were uncomfortable picking from Cruz’s mostly conservative list, said a person familiar with the effort.

“Sen. Cruz believes Republicans have a historic opportunity in 2018, with control of the executive and legislative branches, to deliver on the promises we have made to the American people and energize our base,” said a Cruz spokesman. “With only months left in the current Congress, it is critical that the conference work together to accomplish more legislative victories.”

Cruz is not alone in trying to push a conservative agenda. Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) said he’s been “frustrated” the Republican-controlled Senate hasn’t done more.

“I hope we come up with an agenda beyond just confirming the judges; we’re working on that,” Graham said in an interview. Despite “the frustrations of the moment, you never lose sight of the fact that Mitch is very good at what he does.”

Sen. Ron Johnson (R-Wis.) is eager to try to repeal Obamacare in August. And Americans for Prosperity, the influential outside group, is pressing for a vote on extending the Trump tax cuts, even at a 60-vote threshold for passage. Conceivably, that would allow red-state Democrats to vote for the measure while the bulk of Senate Democrats move to block it.

“Some people are trying to make a political argument not to do it. But on a policy front it should just be done,” said AFP President Tim Phillips.

AFP spokesman Bill Riggs said the group is also urging the Senate to take up another health care overhaul, criminal justice reform and spending cuts — none of which McConnell has committed to because of internal GOP disputes and lack of support.



"I THINK THAT THE DEMOCRATIC PARTY SHOULD STAY OUT OF ALL PRIMARIES, SHOULD LET THE VOTERS DECIDE, SHOULDN'T PUT OUR THUMBS ON THE SCALE FOR ANYBODY."

I AGREE WITH ELLISON. THIS IS THE KIND OF THING THAT MADE ME ANGRIEST IN THE 2016 CONVENTION, BUT EVEN BEFORE THAT THEY HAD RUN OTHER CANDIDATES BEFORE THE CONVENTION AS WELL TO COMBAT SOMEONE THAT THEY DIDN’T CARE FOR – A PROGRESSIVE, AS IT HAPPENED. IT WAS A KING-MAKING OPERATION AND NOT AN ELECTION.

IF THERE IS GENUINE CAUSE TO ELIMINATE A CANDIDATE, IT COULD BE JUSTIFIED CLEARLY AND DONE IN WRITING, SEALED, AND AVAILABLE FOR REVIEW ON FILING OF A FOIA REQUEST. I DON’T EXPECT THE DNC TO DO WHAT I SAY, OF COURSE, BUT THIS WOULD BRING A LITTLE “SUNSHINE” INTO THE OPERATION AND THE CANDIDATE HIMSELF WOULD HAVE PROOF OF WHAT OCCURRED, IN CASE HE WISHES TO SUE THE DNC.

https://www.commondreams.org/news/2018/06/06/sanders-calls-dnc-chair-tom-perezs-endorsement-cuomo-ny-primary-mistake
Published on Wednesday, June 06, 2018
byCommon Dreams
Sanders Calls DNC Chair Tom Perez's Endorsement of Cuomo in NY Primary a 'Mistake'
Vermont senator says endorsement will "make it harder to trust that progressive candidates in 2020 will get a fair shake"
byAndrea Germanos, staff writer

PHOTOGRAPH -- Senator Bernie Sanders
VIDEO – THE DAILY 202 LIVE INTERVIEW 54:18 MINUTES

U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) on Wednesday criticized Democratic National Committee (DNC) Chairman Tom Perez over his endorsement of New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo in the Democratic gubernatorial primary.

In an interview with the Washington Post's "The Daily 202 Live," Sanders said it was "absolutely" a mistake. "To endorse one candidate over the other is not what the chair of the DNC should be doing.”

Perez—despite his previous assertion that the national party shouldn't be "anointing candidates" in primary races—last month announced his support for Cuomo, who's facing progressive challenger Cynthia Nixon in his bid for reelection

When asked by host James Hohmann whether Perez's endorsement will "make it harder to trust that progressive candidates in 2020 will get a fair shake when they're wading into primaries like this," Sanders responded, "Yep, it does."

Sanders also expressed disappointment that Rep. Keith Ellison (D-Minn.) was not elected DNC chair. Ellison, who serves as DNC Deputy Chairman, has also been critical of Perez weighing in on the New York primary. He told Democracy Now! last month, "I think that the Democratic Party should stay out of all primaries, should let the voters decide, shouldn't put our thumbs on the scale for anybody."

Watch more of Sanders' comments in the YouTube video posted by Washington Post Live:


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VIDEO -- BERNIE SANDERS AND GERMAN AMBASSADOR – POPULISM AND APPRENTICESHIP PROGRAMS IN GERMANY -- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xeI2AY2mXVo
Town Meeting with Sen. Sanders and German Ambassador Pete Wittig

Senator Bernie Sanders
Published on Feb 12, 2018
What can the United States learn from Germany about issues like higher education, renewable energy, health care, social safety nets and more? German Ambassador Pete Wittig will also discuss current political events in Germany and Europe.


HISTORY LESSON

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7jK2eIpj6-c
FULL Democratic Debate: Bernie Sanders, Hillary Clinton Face Off In New Hampshire | MSNBC
MSNBC
Published on Feb 6, 2016
In the latest Democratic Debate in New Hampshire, Bernie Sanders and Hillary Clinton got into a number of heated exchanges.



PLAY TWILIGHT ZONE MUSIC HERE

THE QUESTION

https://www.newscientist.com/article/2171020-why-are-there-so-many-devastating-volcanic-eruptions-right-now/?cmpid=ILC|NSNS|2018_webpush&utm_medium=ILC&utm_source=NSNS&utm_campaign=webpush-Roost-volcaniceruptions
Why are there so many devastating volcanic eruptions right now?
ANALYSIS 6 June 2018

PHOTOGRAPH -- Hawaii’s Kilauea volcano is causing major damage
Mario Tama/Getty Images


AT LEAST ONE GOOD ANSWER

https://www.usgs.gov/faqs/can-eruption-one-volcano-trigger-eruption-another-nearby-volcano-example-within-about-10-km?qt-news_science_products=0#qt-news_science_products

CAN AN ERUPTION AT ONE VOLCANO TRIGGER AN ERUPTION AT ANOTHER NEARBY VOLCANO (FOR EXAMPLE, WITHIN ABOUT 10 KM)?

There are a few historic examples of simultaneous eruptions from volcanoes or vents located within about 10 km of each other, but it's very difficult to determine whether one eruption caused the other. To the extent that these erupting volcanoes or vents have common or overlapping magma reservoirs and hydrothermal systems, magma rising to erupt from one volcano might affect the other volcano's 'plumbing' system and cause some form of unrest, including eruptions. For example, the huge explosive eruption of Novarupta vent in Alaska triggered the summit of nearby Mt. Katmai volcano to collapse, thereby forming a new caldera (but no eruption!).

For a few of the historic examples of simultaneous eruptions from nearby volcanoes, scientists actually consider the individual volcanoes or vents to be part of a larger volcano complex consisting of overlapping stratovolcanoes, cinder cones, fissures, vents, and even calderas. In such cases, the erupting vents (or volcano) are actually part of the same volcano complex. For example, Tavurvur and Vulcan cones that erupted at nearly the same time in September 1994 are vents located within Rabaul Caldera in Papua New Guinea. In such cases, one eruption does not really 'trigger' a nearby vent to erupt; instead, moving magma 'leaks' to the surface at multiple sites.

In contrast to these examples of simultaneous eruptions at volcanoes with overlapping or related magma and hydrothermal systems, two of Earth's most active volcanoes that are located close to each other -- Mauna Loa and Kilauea in Hawaii -- have separate shallow magma reservoirs that don't seem to affect each other. Even though Kilauea Volcano is located on the southeastern flank of Mauna Loa (the summit calderas are only 33 km apart) and magma rising into both volcanoes originates from the same mantle hot spot, the chemistry of their magma is nevertheless distinct from each other. The timing of historic eruptions at Mauna Loa and Kilauea strongly suggests that an eruption at one volcano does not cause or trigger an eruption at the other volcano.



WE’LL SEE.

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/live-white-house-briefing-live-stream-online-today-2018-06-04/
By BLAIR GUILD CBS NEWS June 4, 2018, 3:58 PM
White House says Trump has no need to pardon himself

White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders told reporters Monday that President Trump would have no need to pardon himself from the Russia investigation, following up on his assertion that he has the power to do so.

"Thankfully the president hasn't done anything wrong and therefore wouldn't need one," she said.

Mr. Trump believes he has the "absolute right" to pardon himself, according to a tweet Monday. This suggests that the president thinks he holds the sweeping authority to potentially pardon himself from special counsel Robert Mueller's investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 U.S. presidential election, which he labeled " totally UNCONSTITUTIONAL" in a follow-up tweet.


Donald J. Trump
✔
@realDonaldTrump
As has been stated by numerous legal scholars, I have the absolute right to PARDON myself, but why would I do that when I have done nothing wrong? In the meantime, the never ending Witch Hunt, led by 13 very Angry and Conflicted Democrats (& others) continues into the mid-terms!

8:35 AM - Jun 4, 2018
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Donald J. Trump
✔
@realDonaldTrump
The appointment of the Special Counsel is totally UNCONSTITUTIONAL! Despite that, we play the game because I, unlike the Democrats, have done nothing wrong!

10:01 AM - Jun 4, 2018
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"The president hasn't done anything wrong," Sanders said.

While Mr. Trump has the presidential authority to grant pardons -- as he did most recently with Thursday's pardon of conservative author and documentary filmmaker Dinesh D'Souza-- it is less clear how this power would apply in the case of a self-pardon.

Legal scholars have speculated on the possibility, but a lack of historical examples makes it a difficult question to answer.

Sanders, however, said that "certainly the Constitution very clearly lays out the law," adding that the president does not believe himself to be above the law.

She maintained that Mr. Trump is not guilty of anything regarding the Russia probe, and the administration continues to cooperate with the investigation.

"The president knows that the special counsel isn't needed because, once again, he hasn't done anything wrong," Sanders said.

© 2018 CBS Interactive Inc. All Rights Reserved.

Blair Guild
ON TWITTER»
Blair Guild is a politics reporter and video producer for CBS News Digital.




IF THIS CROWD REACTION WEREN’T SO SAD, IT WOULD BE EVEN FUNNIER.

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/crowd-cheers-when-valedictorian-quotes-trump-during-speech-then-he-reveals-it-was-obama/
By CAITLIN O'KANE CBS NEWS June 4, 2018, 12:01 PM
Crowd cheers when valedictorian quotes Trump. Then he reveals it was really Obama

PHOTOGRAPH -- Ben Bowling BEN BOWLING/FACEBOOK

As valedictorian of his high school class, Ben Bowling thought a lot about what he would say in his speech at graduation. The high school senior from Bell County, Kentucky, stepped up to the podium and offered some words of wisdom for his classmates and their families.

"This is the part of my speech where I share some inspirational quotes I found on Google," Bowling said. "'Don't just get involved. Fight for your seat at the table. Better yet, fight for a seat at the head of the table.' – Donald J. Trump."

The crowd erupted with applause. Then Bowling interrupted their cheers.

"Just kidding," Bowling said. "That was Barack Obama."

The 18-year-old said after he revealed it was not Mr. Trump who said the quote, but actually Mr. Obama, the crowd quickly went silent.

Bowling, who graduated on Saturday morning, said he "didn't mean anything bad by it" and thought the moment was lighthearted and funny, the Louisville Courier Journal reports. "I just thought it was a really good quote," Bowling said.



CBS News
✔
@CBSNews
This valedictorian read a Trump quote during his graduation speech and the crowd erupted with applause. Then he interrupted their cheers.
"I'm kidding. That was Barack Obama." https://cbsn.ws/2HiZ6ID

3:14 PM - Jun 4, 2018
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The valedictorian knew that "most people wouldn't like it if I used it, so thought I'd use Donald Trump's name. It is southeastern Kentucky after all."

Kentucky's Bell County, which is located near the Tennessee border, overwhelmingly supported Mr. Trump in the 2016 presidential election, with nearly 80 percent of ballots cast for the Republican, the Courier Journal reports.

Although part of the crowd was shocked that the "Trump quote" they just cheered for was actually said by Mr. Obama, some people thought it was funny.

"Y'all, no lie -- the valedictorian just quoted Trump and everyone cheered ... then he told us that it was actually an Obama quote. Best part of the day. I'm rolling," tweeted Alisha Russell, who was in attendance, the Courier Journal reports.

Bowling's advice to any valedictorian who is going to give a graduation speech: be courageous.

"Try not to be too nervous about it," he told the paper. "For the most part, if you've been successful up to this point, there's nothing to worry [about]."

And Bowling has been successful. The Courier Journal said he earned a 4.216 GPA and will be attending the University of Kentucky, where he hopes to study biology and pursue a medical degree.

© 2018 CBS Interactive Inc. All Rights Reserved.



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