Month: February 2019

The daughter of a missing North Korean diplomat who is believed to be seeking asylum in Europe was separated from her parents and returned to Pyongyang, a prominent defector claimed this week, CNN reported. Thae […]

Iran Won’t Rule Out Military Conflict with Israel

Iran’s Foreign Minister Mohammed Javad Zarif accused Israel of engaging in “adventurism” with its bombing campaigns in Syria and said he could not rule out the possibility of a military conflict between the countries, Reuters […]

Justice Department Says Florida Man Laundered Money and Sent It to Russia

A Florida man was arrested this week on charges that he laundered funds related to an $8.5 million business account takeover scheme with ties to Eastern Europe. 51-year old Igor Buzyukov is charged by criminal […]

Pelosi Calls on Congress to Support Resolution Terminating National Emergency

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi called on members of Congress to back a resolution stopping the national emergency declared by the President in order to secure funding for the U.S.-Mexico border wall. The White House has […]

U.S., China Negotiating Multiple Memorandums for Trade Deal

U.S. and Chinese negotiators are working on multiple memorandums of understanding that would form the basis of a final trade deal, according to a person briefed on the talks, Bloomberg reports. The memorandums would cover […]

Immigrant Advocacy Group Demands Temporary Restraining Order against Trump Policy

A coalition group advocating for immigrants has requested a temporary restraining order against the Trump administration policy that requires immigrants who are seeking asylum to remain in Mexico until their applications are processed. According to […]

Cohen to Testify on February 27, Enter Prison Later

President Donald Trump’s former lawyer and “fixer” Michael Cohen is set to testify before the House Oversight Committee at the end of this month, the committee chairman confirmed on Wednesday. Cohen was originally expected to […]

First Private Moon Lander Starts New Lunar Space Race

Israel is heading for the Moon, making a lunar milestone, Nature reports. The lander scheduled to launch on 21 February will become the first privately funded craft to land on the Moon. The feat seems […]

Trump Threatens Auto Tariffs, Meets Opposition by Carmakers

American carmakers have shown strong opposition to President Donald Trump’s proposed auto tariffs on imported cars as they could very well hurt car sales, the three top producers argue. The so-called big three – Fiat […]

February 20, 2019 Lisa Clayton

LUNCHTIME POLITICS: National Emergency Declaration – New Nomination Numbers – North Carolina, Maryland

Your Daily Polling Update for Wednesday, February 20, 2019 TRUMP JOB APPROVAL: AVERAGE 45% Up 1 from yesterday RON’S COMMENT: Today’s average is based on four polls. The range is 42% (Morning Consult) to 49% […]

Putin Says He Will Target U.S. if Washington Deploys Nuclear Missiles in Europe

Russian President Vladimir Putin on Wednesday stated that he will target the U.S. if Washington deploys nuclear missiles in Europe. According to Reuters, Putin said that Russia would not make the first move or initiate […]

Marco Rubio Put in Limelight amid Venezuela Crisis

Senator Marco Rubio is in hot water amid the U.S. clash with the Maduro regime, with his policy views regarding the Trump administration influence and Latin America in the limelight, The Hill reported. Rubio was a […]

Tesla’s General Counsel Leaves Just Two Months After Being Hired

Tesla’s general counsel is leaving just two months after being hired in the wake of Elon Musk’s run-in with U.S. securities regulators, Fortune reported. Dane Butswinkas, the Washington trial lawyer who represented Musk in his […]

Fresh Sanctions against Moscow Crackdown on Key Russian Industries

Fresh Western sanctions would deliver “new shocks” to a Russian economy which already lost billions since the country’s 2014 invasion of Ukraine, one of Moscow’s top economic officials admitted Tuesday, according to state-run news agency […]

North Korean Official Warns His Country Faces Major Food Shortages

A senior North Korean official says his country is facing dwindling food supplies and has been forced to cut food rations for its people, NBC News reports. The memo, written by Kim Song, the North […]

Venezuela Closes Key Borders with Neighbors amid Growing Aid Crisis

Venezuela has shut a key maritime border and grounded flights as the opposition party seeks to import foreign aid to the crisis-hit South American country, CNN reported. The country has closed its maritime border with […]

Trump Nominates Deputy Transportation Secretary to Replace Rosenstein

President Donald Trump is set to nominate Deputy Transportation Secretary Jeffrey Rosen to replace Rod Rosenstein as deputy attorney general, the White House confirmed Tuesday. It was recently reported that Rosenstein plans to leave the […]

Technology

U.S. Data Analytics Company to Exit Russian Market

California-based big data analytics firm Splunk Inc. has announced it is withdrawing from Russia in a mysterious blog post that didn’t provide any reason for the move, ZDNet reports. The company, which also sells cybersecurity tools, said only […]

Bernie Sanders Announces Presidential Run

Bernie Sanders announced Tuesday on Vermont Public Radio that he would be running for President again with a campaign which keeps in line with his ideas of a $15 minimum wage, Medicare for all and […]

McCabe Believes Trump Might Be Russian Asset

Former acting FBI Director Andrew McCabe indicated in a Tuesday interview that President Donald Trump could be a Russian asset. McCabe, who was a guest on “Anderson Cooper 360”, said it was possible Trump was […]

Beto O’Rourke Planning Another Run for Senate Additionally to His Presidential Bid

Former Democratic Representative Beto O’Rourke on Tuesday stated that he is planning another Senate bid in Texas in addition to a potential presidential bid. “I’m trying to figure out how I can best serve this […]

Trump Wanted Ally to Be in Charge of Cohen Probe

President Donald Trump reportedly asked former acting Attorney General Matthew Whitaker late last year whether the U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York, a Trump ally, could take over the investigation into money […]

February 19, 2019 Lisa Clayton

LUNCHTIME POLITICS: Tuesday Trivia – Marijuana in New Jersey – New Presidential Nomination Polls

Your Daily Polling Update for Tuesday, February 19, 2019 TRUMP JOB APPROVAL: AVERAGE 44% Same as Friday RON’S COMMENT: Today’s average is based on six polls, ranging from 38% (Reuters) to 49% (Rasmussen). Without these […]

Washington Considers Opening Liaison Office in North Korea

Washington is considering opening a liaison office in North Korea, in what would be another potential step toward normalizing relations while the two sides negotiate to curtail Pyongyang’s nuclear and missile forces, Wall Street Journal […]

Trump Quotes Hannity, Blames McCabe for Treason

President Donald Trump has berated ex-Deputy FBI Director Andrew McCabe, blaming him for ‘treason’, before he took to Twitter to quote news anchor Sean Hannity, a TV host from Trump’s favored news outlet. “Many in […]

U.S. Sanctions Hit Russian Aviation Industry

U.S. sanctions on Russia have taken their toll and impacted the production of the MC-21 passenger jet, which Russia hoped could revive its civil aviation industry. As a result, it has been delayed for a year, […]

Third Migrant Dies in U.S. Border Patrol Custody

Another migrant has died after he had been taken into custody by U.S. Customs and Border Patrol, Newsweek reported. Although the man’s identity has not been revealed, police sources have reported that he re-entered illegally into […]

Trump Considering John James for UN Ambassador

President Donald Trump may already be considering another person for the UN Ambassador post after State Department spokeswoman Heather Nauert announced she was withdrawing from consideration, a source close to the White House has said. […]

Klobuchar Admits She Is a ‘Tough Boss’, but Fair

Senator Amy Klobuchar defended her work ethic following allegations by her staff who claimed that she is difficult, demanding and even abusive, The Hill reported. Klobuchar said that is it true that she is a “tough […]

States Sue to Block President’s National Emergency Declaration

Sixteen states led by California Attorney General Xavier Becerra filed a lawsuit on Monday to challenge President Donald Trump’s national emergency declaration aimed to secure funding for his border wall. The group of states filed […]