President Trump will officially launch his re-election campaign at a rally in Orlando, Florida, on Tuesday night, somewhat paradoxically pitching himself as a political outsider who has kept his promises during his 29 months as president, according to advisers. Trump has already described his audience Tuesday night as record-setting, and he is expected to fill the 18,500-seat Amway Center — some fans are already camping outside. He will reportedly tout the strong economy and his actions on taxes, military spending, and confirming conservative judges.
Trump will be joined onstage by wife Melania Trump, Vice President Mike Pence, and members of his family and 2016 campaign. He is struggling in the polls — both public and leaked internal ones — apparently angry about the leak, his approval rating has hovered around 40 percent all term, and his campaign's abrupt firing of three of its five pollsters has only highlighted the chaos and internal strife inside the Trump orbit. One of the fired pollsters ran the firm started by senior Trump adviser Kellyanne Conway, "and advisers said the ouster of the three firms was primarily targeted as a jab at her," supported by senior Trump adviser and son-in-law Jared Kushner, The Washington Post reports.
Trump's campaign says the president's campaign is in good shape, his loyal base doesn't care about internal campaign dynamics, and the polls are meaningless this far out from the 2020 election. "Nothing will get in the way of the tremendous kickoff and the momentum the president will have and sustain through Election Day next year," said Trump campaign communications director Tim Murtaugh. Peter Weber
President Trump received some good news and some bad news from the Supreme Court on Friday.
First, Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg temporarily blocked a congressional subpoena for President Trump's financial records from Deutsche Bank. The decision comes after Trump's emergency request to block a lower court ruling that required him to hand over the records as part of the House Financial Services and Intelligence Committees' investigation into Trump's relationship with the bank.
The stay on the ruling doesn't let Trump off the hook in the long run, however. It will remain in place until Dec. 13 while the Supreme Court deliberates on whether to grant a longer stay and give Trump's legal team time to prepare a formal appeal. But ultimately, it doesn't say much about how the Court will rule.
Meanwhile, in news that left the Trump administration — particularly the Justice Department — more disappointed, the Court rejected the White House's request to go ahead with a plan to carry out the first executions of federal death row inmates since 2003. The justices left a federal judge's hold on four executions scheduled by U.S. Attorney General William Barr in place, though the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District is now considering the case and should make a ruling within two months. Read more at Politico and Reuters. Tim O'Donnell
Financial compensation may soon be on the way for some of California's wildfire victims.
Pacific Gas & Electric agreed Friday to pay $13.5 billion in damages to victims of four wildfires that occurred in the state between 2015 and 2018. Among the fires covered in the claims is the 2018 Camp fire — California's deadliest blaze — which killed 85 people and destroyed 18,800 structures.
If accepted by a bankruptcy judge, the settlement will go to people who lost loved ones, property, or both, as well as government agencies and attorneys who pressed the claims. Some of the blame for the fires has been directed at faulty or aging PG&E equipment.
"There have been many calls for PG&E to change in recent years," said Bill Johnson, the CEO and president of PG&E. "PG&E's leadership team has heard those calls for change, and we realize we need to do even more to be a different company now and in the future. We will continue to make the needed changes to re-earn the trust and respect of our customers, our stakeholders, and the public."
The settlement comes after the company agreed to a $1 billion deal with cities, counties, and other public entities, as well as an $11 billion agreement with insurers and others covering claims for wildfires in 2017 and 2018. Victims seeking compensation will have until the end of the year to file claims. Read more at NBC News and NPR. Tim O'Donnell
After three long years, Xiyue Wang is on his way home.
Wang, a Chinese-American graduate student at Princeton University who had been detained in Iran since 2016, was freed Saturday when Iran and the United States conducted a prisoner exchange in Zurich, Switzerland. The exchange also saw the release of Iranian scientist Massoud Soleimani who had been convicted of violating U.S. trade sanctions against Iran.
Brian Hook, the State Department's special representative for Iran, worked with Swiss intermediaries — who look out for American interests in Tehran since there's no U.S. embassy — to negotiate the exchange. He flew to Zurich with Soleimani and is expected to return with Wang, who will be able to reunite with his wife and young son. President Trump confirmed the swap Saturday, as did Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif.
Wang, a student of late 19th- and early-20th-century Eurasian history, reportedly went to Iran to learn Farsi and conduct archival research for his dissertation. He reportedly disclosed his research plan to the Iranian interest section at the Pakistani embassy in Washington, D.C., and Princeton said he was not involved in any political activities or social activism. But Tehran claimed he had ties to U.S. intelligence agencies, which led to his detainment. Read more at The New York Times and The Associated Press. Tim O'Donnell