News from the note…

A round up of the day’s news that might be of interest to you.

Consider this an OPEN THREAD,  folks. Chat about any of the stories listed, share links to stories that caught your eye today, and generally have a good time discussing whatever you want.

Time defends cover with viral photo of crying immigrant girl

From The Hill

Time magazine is defending a cover that critics claim inaccurately depicts a migrant child as being separated from her parents, insisting the “cover and our reporting capture the stakes of this moment.”

“The June 12 photograph of the 2-year-old Honduran girl became the most visible symbol of the ongoing immigration debate in America for a reason,” a Time spokesman said in a statement provided to CNN on Friday.

“Under the policy enforced by the administration, prior to its reversal this week, those who crossed the border illegally were criminally prosecuted, which in turn resulted in the separation of children and parents,” the spokesman added. “Our cover and our reporting capture the stakes of this moment.”

The latest issue of Time shows a cover illustrated with President Trump looking at a 2-year old crying girl, with a caption reading “Welcome to America.”

A little ditty about Ted and Dianne

From Politico

Two months after Ted Cruz arrived in the Senate in 2013, he tried to quiz veteran Dianne Feinstein about her understanding of constitutional law during a tense Judiciary Committee hearing on an assault weapons ban she had authored.

Pressed by the freshman whippersnapper about whether Congress could regulate books in the same way Feinstein wanted to regulate guns, the Stanford-educated California Democrat delivered a memorable zinger in response: “I am not a sixth-grader.”

Five years later, the once-antagonistic Texan and his California colleague are talking daily. The topic now isn’t guns but how to solve the crisis of migrant families separated on the border. And according to people who’ve witnessed their interactions, the two are getting along quite well.

“I think he’s very constructive,” Feinstein beamed in an interview. “And I’m delighted.”

“She certainly has expressed a strong and, I hope, sincere interest,” Cruz replied.

Another US worker in Cuba affected by mysterious health incident: report

From The Hill

U.S. officials have determined that another embassy worker in Cuba has been afflicted by a mysterious health issue, according to The Associated Press.

Twenty-five diplomats in the country have now reportedly been affected by similar problems.

The affected individual is one of two workers the U.S. removed from its embassy in Havana earlier this month due to health concerns. Medical tests confirmed the latest case, according to the AP.

Tom Arnold tweets picture with Michael Cohen, says he ‘has all the tapes’

From NBC

President Donald Trump’s embattled personal attorney, Michael Cohen, retweeted a photo of himself with comedian Tom Arnold — who happens to be working on a show with Vice that features him hunting for unflattering video of Trump.

Arnold told NBC News early Friday that Cohen ― who is under investigation by federal prosecutors ― talked to him about the show, which is expected to air later this year.

“We’ve been on the other side of the table and now we’re on the same side,” said Arnold, an outspoken Trump critic.

Advocacy groups create ‘I Really Do Care’ shirt, donate proceeds to immigrant groups

From The Hill

Advocacy groups are taking a jab at first lady Melania Trump’s controversial jacket choice this week by creating apparel printed with the message, “I REALLY DO CARE, DON’T U?” and other variations.

PSA, the clothing company launched by UpWorthy and GOOD, is selling a T-shirt and donating the profits to United We Dream, a youth-led immigrant group.

“After Melania’s fashion disaster today, we figured we had to do something about it,” the company wrote on its website. “So we sprung our Rapid Response unit into action, called our friends at United We Dream, and are presenting here, a better message: We Care. We Really Do.”

GOP lawmaker calls on Trump to fire Stephen Miller over family separation

From Politico

A Republican lawmaker is calling on President Donald Trump to fire White House senior adviser Stephen Miller, who played a significant role in the administration’s contentious “zero tolerance” immigration policy, in which families have been separated at the southern border.

“The President should fire Stephen Miller now,” Rep. Mike Coffman (R-Colo.) posted on Twitter on Thursday afternoon. “This is a human rights mess. It is on the President to clean it up and fire the people responsible for making it.”

White House: North Korea presents ‘unusual and extraordinary threat’

From The Hill

The White House in an announcement on Friday said North Korea remains an “unusual and extraordinary threat” to the United States despite President Trump‘s assertion last week that Pyongyang “is no longer a nuclear threat.”

The Trump administration on Friday issued a routine notice to Congress describing the threat as reasoning for keeping sanctions in place on North Korea.

“The existence and risk of proliferation of weapons-usable fissile material on the Korean Peninsula and the actions and policies of the Government of North Korea continue to pose an unusual and extraordinary threat to the national security, foreign policy, and economy of the United States,” the notice read.

Trump’s Mar-a-Lago visits cost Coast Guard nearly $20M

From USA Today

Taxpayers have paid nearly $20 million for extra Coast Guard patrols that protected President Donald Trump by land and sea during 16 winter and spring trips to West Palm Beach since his inauguration, according to records obtained by USA TODAY.

The spending records include all but one of his trips to his Mar-a-Lago estate in South Florida since the inauguration in January 2017. The data, obtained under the Freedom of Information Act, do not include the cost of a weeklong trip in April when Trump hosted Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe.

A Friday Bonus Note from the “What the… Oh, never mind. It’s 2018 and Trump is POTUS” File

In age of Trump, evangelicals back self-styled top U.S. pimp

From Reuters

He styles himself as America’s best-known pimp, a strip-club owner who runs multiple brothels and looks set to win a seat as a Republican in the Nevada legislature with the blessing of many conservative Christian voters.

Meet Dennis Hof, whose political rise reflects fundamental changes in electoral norms that have roiled the Republican Party and upended American politics during the era of President Donald Trump.

“This really is the Trump movement,” Hof, 71, told Reuters in an interview at Moonlite BunnyRanch, his brothel near Carson City in northern Nevada that was featured on the HBO reality television series “Cathouse.”

A Bonus BONUS Note from the “Bear with Me” File

From the Placer Country Sheriff’s Office Facebook Page:

A Placer County Sheriff’s deputy had to rescue a bear that trapped itself inside a car recently near Lake Tahoe.

The bear got into a Subaru Outback in Carnelian Bay and destroyed the interior so badly that the doors couldn’t be unlocked. It was decided the safest way to get the bear out of the car was to break the window. Deputy Lade was brave enough to break the window, allowing the bear to jump out and flee into the forest.