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.
Trump: ‘I don’t think I have to prepare very much’ for nuclear summit
From NBC
President Donald Trump said Thursday that he doesn’t need to study for his upcoming nuclear summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.
Trump is expected to travel to Canada on Friday for a two-day meeting with the Group of Seven industrial nations that is likely to focus heavily on trade issues before heading to Singapore for his historic sit-down with Kim.
“I think I’m very well prepared. I don’t think I have to prepare very much,” Trump told reporters at the White House Thursday as he posed for photos with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe. “This isn’t a question of preparation. It’s a question of whether or not people want it to happen, and we’ll know that very quickly.”
The Latest: House GOP in tentative deal to help ’Dreamers
From AP
A leader of House moderates says his group has tentatively agreed to an offer from conservatives to help young “Dreamer” immigrants stay in the U.S. legally.
California Rep. Jeff Denham says details remain unclear. He says there will be no final accord until moderates see it in writing and they agree with all the specifics.
Denham says that under the proposal from the conservative House Freedom Caucus, young immigrants could get a new visa to stay in the U.S. for eight years.
Senate GOP leaders rebuff push to rein in Trump’s tariffs
From Politico
Senate Republican leaders are maneuvering to defuse an effort by one of their own seeking to handcuff President Donald Trump on trade.
GOP leaders are moving swiftly to tamp down support for Sen. Bob Corker’s (R-Tenn.) proposal to give Congress power to stop Trump tariffs, eager to avoid a standoff with the president five months ahead of the midterms.
Corker’s pitch has support from a sizable number of fellow Republicans who are frustrated by Trump slapping trade penalties on U.S. allies — but allowing it a vote on the Senate floor in the coming days is a step too far for leadership.
Kaepernick lawyers to subpoena Trump, Pence as part of NFL collusion case: report
From The Hill
NFL free agent Colin Kaepernick’s legal team will reportedly seek federal subpoenas for President Trump and Vice President Pence to testify in his grievance alleging NFL owners colluded to keep him out of the league.
Yahoo Sports reported Thursday that lawyers for the former San Francisco 49ers quarterback will look to compel testimony from Trump, Pence and others who are familiar with the president’s stance against players who protest during the national anthem.
Sources told the site that the subpoenas would likely focus on the Trump administration’s involvement with the NFL since Kaepernick opted out of his contract with the 49ers in 2017.
More Republicans Are Pushing Back On Trump’s Claims That The FBI Placed A Spy In His Campaign
From BuzzFeed
A growing number of Republicans are pushing back on President Donald Trump’s claim that the FBI placed a “spy” in his campaign.
The president’s comments about what he has labeled “spygate” began late last month, following a flood of reports about the early stages of the FBI’s investigation into Russian interference during the 2016 election. What’s been reported so far is that an FBI informant met with Trump campaign aides for brief meetings. Although there is no public information indicating that the FBI placed a spy in the campaign, the president has repeatedly stated as much and pitched it as potentially “one of the biggest political scandals in history!”
What Bill Clinton Was Really Thinking
From Politico
People say they want authenticity from politicians—just show us what you really feel—but when Bill Clinton gave it to them this week on the “Today“ show in his peevish interview about #MeToo and Monica Lewinsky, many viewers were aghast and indignantly demanded a show of artifice.
Clinton later complied, in part, uttering contrite words in what Stephen Colbert offered as a “do-over” interview. But the original display—defiant, self-justifying, “tone deaf,” in CNN’s description, a “meltdown” in the Washington Post’s—was the more important window into understanding an old man at a new moment.
Most Americans don’t think NFL’s anthem protests are unpatriotic
From Axios
A new Quinnipiac University poll released on Thursday found that the majority of U.S. voters — 58% — don’t find kneeling by NFL players during the national anthem unpatriotic.
Why it matters: President Trump’s culture war against the NFL hinges on the argument that players are ignoring the wishes of their fans and disrespecting the flag and U.S. military by kneeling in protest during the national anthem.
Obama’s retirement fail
From Politico
Thirty-seven minutes into his fifth State of the Union in January 2014, then-President Barack Obama announced the creation of a new federal program to help working Americans save for retirement. The new program would be called myRA, and the idea was to patch one of the biggest holes in the American safety net: Most Americans who should be building a nest egg for retirement simply don’t have one.
“A Social Security check often isn’t enough on its own,” Obama said. “And while the stock market has doubled over the last five years, that doesn’t help folks who don’t have 401(k)s.” His idea was to create a risk-free, government-administered savings account that any American could start easily.
Megyn Kelly Reminds Giuliani: Melania Trump Has Posed Nude
From Mediaite
Rudy Giuliani‘s tasteless attacks on Stormy Daniels (Trump’s lawyer said he does not respect her because of her work as a porn star) have received a pretty widespread rebuke on cable news Thursday morning.
Megyn Kelly weighed in on her NBC show, and reminded Giuliani that his own client’s wife, Melania Trump — who Giuliani hailed as a model woman in his comments, unlike Daniels — is herself a model who has posed nude.
“The notion is that he respects women of substance, a woman that won’t sell her body for sexual exploitation,” Kelly noted. “Melania Trump is classy and gorgeous and I really admire her. But she has posed nude for GQ Magazine, back in 2000.”
South Dakota sheriff fires deputy who defeated him in reelection bid
From The Hill
A South Dakota sheriff fired a deputy who unseated him in his reelection effort, just a minute after polls closed in Tuesday’s primary.
Bon Homme County, S.D., deputy sheriff Mark Maggs defeated sheriff Lenny Gramkow by a vote of 878-331 in Tuesday’s Republican primary election, according to The Associated Press.
A local newspaper, The Forum of Fargo-Moorhead,reported that Gramkow posted an official termination notice on his Facebook Page after the election.
“Mark Maggs: This letter is to inform you that effective immediately you are terminated from the position of deputy sheriff for Bon Homme County. As of this moment you are no longer an employee of Bon Homme County. Please turn in all equipment belonging to Bon Homme County by 5 p.m. on June 6, 2018,” the notice said.
