February 2, 2018

The Democratic National Committee had a rough 2017, plagued by leadership troubles, internal squabbling, and unflattering reports. To top it off, the party ended the year "dead broke," says The Intercept's Ryan Grim.

The Democratic Party is carrying more than $6 million in debt, according to year-end filings — and has just $6.5 million in the bank. Do the math, and the party is working with just over $400,000 overall. Meanwhile, the Republicans are swimming in pools of money. The Republican National Committee had raised $132 million by the end of 2017 — about twice as much as the DNC — and entered 2018 with almost $40 million to spare, with not a penny of debt.

The DNC's rebuttal, The Washington Post reports, is that they raised more money in 2017 than they have in previous non-election years and were operating at something of a disadvantage given the "rebuilding job" undertaken by first-year chairman Tom Perez. While the DNC claims it is not borrowing money to pay the bills, Grim notes that the party would be operating at a financial loss if not for its borrowing.

If there is any cause for Democratic optimism, it's that individual Democratic candidates seem to be doing well for themselves even as the national party apparatus struggles. NBC News reported Thursday that nearly 50 non-incumbent Democrats running for Congress in the 2018 midterm elections outraised their Republican opponents in the last quarter of 2017. Kelly O'Meara Morales

11:36 a.m.

President Trump has reportedly directed the Pentagon to permanently reduce the number of U.S. troops stationed in Germany from 34,500 to 25,000. Germany's conservatives aren't pleased with the move, while the country's left wing parties welcomed it, The Guardian reports.

"The plans show that the Trump administration is neglecting an elementary task of leadership, to bind coalition partners into decision-making processes," said Johann Wadephul, the deputy chair of the parliamentary group of the Christian Democratic Union, to which Chancellor Angela Merkel belongs.

While the Trump administration's decision reportedly isn't linked to recent disagreements between Trump and Merkel, it does reflect the president's longstanding view that Germany hasn't pulled its weight in terms of defense spending as a key member of NATO. Subsequently, Berlin is concerned the alliance is fraying, which Wadephul says benefits only Russia and China. James Townsend, a former Pentagon official for Europe and NATO, told The Wall Street Journal the plan "erodes trust" with Germany, as well as other allies, even those outside NATO. South Korea, for example, may be worried about a similar maneuver while Seoul and Washington try to sort out how much South Korea should pay to defray the cost of U.S. military deployment there, per The Journal.

But not everyone's upset. Dietmar Bartsch, the leader of the parliamentary group of Germany's democratic socialist Die Linke Party, said Berlin should be thankful for the decision and "promptly start preparing the complete withdrawal of U.S. soldiers." Poland is also pleased with the development, considering there are reports that at least some of the 9,500 troops scheduled to leave Germany will head there, since Warsaw is meeting NATO's military-spending goal. Polish Prime Minister Matuesz Morawiecki said bolstering NATO's eastern border "will be a security boost to all of Europe." Read more at The Wall Street Journal and The Guardian. Tim O'Donnell

10:56 a.m.

The Maryland-National Capital Park Police arrested a man who was filmed accosting a young woman and ramming a man with his bike while cycling on a trail in Bethesda, Maryland, a suburb of Washington, D.C, earlier this week. Anthony Brennan III, 60, of nearby Kensington, Maryland, was reportedly found after the agency received hundreds of tips from people who watched the video, though social media users reportedly previously incorrectly identified two men as suspects. Brennan has been charged with second-degree assault.

In the video, a group of three people between aged 18 and 19 can be seen putting up flyers in support of the George Floyd protests. The suspect, who apparently objected to the group's actions, then "forcibly grabbed" one of the flyers from one of the women before charging at the man holding the camera, knocking him to the ground.

Brennan, who turned himself in after police found evidence in his home and obtained an arrest warrant, said he is "sick with remorse for the pain and fear I caused the victims," noting that he is cooperating with authorities and is committed to "addressing, through, counseling, the underlying issues that led to my abhorrent behavior." Read more at The New York Times. Tim O'Donnell

8:38 a.m.

The NFL appears to have changed course.

The league worked its way into the spotlight this week, as several players and coaches spoke out about police brutality amid protests over George Floyd's death. Tensions rose when New Orleans Saints quarterback Drew Brees, who is white, said he would never agree with anyone who "disrespected" the United States flag, an issue that has divided the league since 2016 when former San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick launched a movement to kneel during the national anthem before games in the hopes of bringing attention to racial injustices, including police brutality, in the U.S.

Brees, normally a well-respected player, faced backlash from even his own teammates, and eventually apologized. And, now, so has NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell. In response to demands from players, many of which were brought forth in a video in which many of the sport's biggest stars appeared in solidarity, Goodell said Friday the league now encourages players to "speak out and peacefully protest." and that "we wrong for not listening to NFL players earlier." Goodell said he is also personally protesting and wants "to be part of the change much needed change in this country."

It's unclear if Goodell was specifically encouraging players to kneel during the anthem, and a rule requiring players to stand remains in limbo, though it doesn't seem likely to be enforced. It's also unclear if this will pave a path for Kaepernick, who many analysts and some coaches believe could at the very least fill a backup role, to return the league. Read more at The Wall Street Journal and ESPN. Tim O'Donnell

7:54 a.m.

What has long been obvious is now official.

After several states, Washington, D.C., and Guam finished tallying Democratic primary votes this week, former Vice President Joe Biden has accrued enough delegates to clinch the party's presidential nomination, The Associated Press and CNN report. Biden has been the presumptive nominee since April, when his last remaining competitor, Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) dropped out of the race, but he's now set to face President Trump in November's general election.

Biden struggled in the primary's early stages, but a dominant performance in South Carolina — buoyed by the state's black voters — helped him rebound. Before Biden's win in the Palmetto State, it looked like Sanders was the favorite for the nomination. But when Biden continued to gain steam on Super Tuesday, it became clear the tides had turned, and many of Biden's competitors had dropped out and endorsed him. Sanders hung around for a while, and is still on the ballot in some states so he can hold more sway at the Democratic National Convention, but he too has endorsed Biden for the presidency.

“It was an honor to compete alongside one of the most talented groups of candidates the Democratic party has ever fielded, and I am proud to say that we are going into this general election a united party,” Biden said in a statement Friday. Read more at The Associated Press and CNN. Tim O'Donnell

June 5, 2020

Michael Jordan and Jordan Brand are set to put $100 million toward racial equality and social justice causes.

The former NBA star and Jordan Brand will donate $100 million over the next 10 years "to organizations dedicated to ensuring racial equality, social justice and greater access to education," Jordan Brand said on Friday. This eye-popping number is the latest major donation announcement amid the ongoing protests and outrage over the killing of George Floyd and police brutality against black Americans.

"Black lives matter," Jordan and Jordan Brand said in a statement. "This isn't a controversial statement. Until the ingrained racism that allows our country's institutions to fail is completely eradicated, we will remain committed to protecting and improving the lives of black people."

Jordan Brand President Craig Williams also said on Friday that "there is still more work for us to do to drive real impact for the black community," and "we embrace the responsibility."

Jordan had previously spoken out about Floyd's death in police custody in a statement earlier this week, saying he was "deeply saddened, truly pained and plain angry" and that he stands "with those who are calling out the ingrained racism and violence toward people of color in our country." Brendan Morrow

June 5, 2020

Friday would've been Breonna Taylor's 27th birthday.

Instead, the EMT was shot and killed by Louisville police in March as they executed a no-knock warrant on the wrong home late at night — police had arrested the person they were looking earlier that day. So to "demand justice" for Taylor, activists took out a full-page ad in the Louisville Courier Journal with five demands for the city and its police department.

National nonprofits Color of Change and UltraViolet partnered with Louisville activists to, first and foremost, demand Louisville's mayor and city council "address the use of force" by the Louisville Metro Police Department. Next, they're demanding that the city "arrest, charge, and convict" the police officers responsible for Taylor's death. The activists also want to see the creation of a "local, independent civilian community police accountability council" — something in the works in Chicago — and a "policy for transparent investigation" into police misconduct. And finally, they're calling for the end of no-knock warrants.

Police used a battering ram to force their way into Taylor's home, but didn't announce themselves, and so Taylor's boyfriend shot at them. Police fired back, hitting Taylor at least eight times and killing her. Kathryn Krawczyk

June 5, 2020

The Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed more than 800 points on Friday following a shock jobs report that showed the unemployment rate surprisingly decline.

The Dow rose 829 points to 27,110 following the release of the May jobs report from the Labor Department, which showed that the unemployment rate declined to 13.3 percent in May as the economy added 2.5 million jobs, CNBC reports. The S&P 500 also climbed 2.6 percent.

While the unemployment rate remains high, it wasn't expected to decline at all in May — economists forecasted a rise to almost 20 percent and predicted 8 million more jobs would be lost. The report came after all 50 states began to reopen their economies, and the Labor Department said that the "improvements in the labor market reflected a limited resumption of economic activity that had been curtailed in March and April" during the pandemic.

As The Washington Post notes, the Dow closed above 27,000 for the first time in three months, and Wall Street is "close to putting investors back where they were in January," prior to the coronavirus pandemic taking a devastating toll on the U.S. economy. The Dow "was only down 5.0 percent year to date after dropping as much as 34.6 percent in 2020," CNBC reports, while according to The New York Times, the S&P 500 is "coming close to recouping all of its losses for 2020 so far." Brendan Morrow

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