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workinclasszero

workinclasszero's Journal
workinclasszero's Journal
August 19, 2016

Lewandowski on Manafort firing: 'People think I won'

Lewandowski on Manafort firing: 'People think I won'
By NICK GASS 08/19/16 11:43 AM EDT

Former Donald Trump campaign manager Corey Lewandowski wished Paul Manafort the best on Friday after he submitted his resignation following intensifying scrutiny of his pro-Russian connections and a freefall in Trump's poll numbers.

When news broke of Manafort's resignation, Lewandowski retweeted a tweet from journalist Sasha Issenberg, who wrote, "Lewandowski is winning so much even he may get tired of winning." The message represented a play on one of Trump's favorite phrases on the stump and a subtle nod at the internal discord between Lewandowski and Manafort on the campaign before Lewandowski's firing in June.

http://www.politico.com/story/2016/08/corey-lewandowski-paul-manafort-trump-winning-227198
August 19, 2016

After Texas Slashed Its Family Planning Budget, Maternal Deaths Almost Doubled

After Texas Slashed Its Family Planning Budget, Maternal Deaths Almost Doubled
By Nora Caplan-Bricker

Pregnancy-related deaths nearly doubled in Texas between 2010 and 2012, and researchers are at a loss to say why. According to a new study, published in the September issue of Obstetrics and Gynecology, the spike in the mortality rate is difficult to explain “in the absence of war, natural disaster, or severe economic upheaval.”

This alarming development coincided with the state’s decision to slash its family planning budget by two-thirds in 2011—an attempt to shut down abortion providers that ultimately forced 82 clinics, many of which never performed the controversial procedure, to close.

http://www.slate.com/blogs/xx_factor/2016/08/18/maternal_mortality_rate_has_nearly_doubled_in_texas_after_family_planning.html
August 19, 2016

Trump advisers waged covert influence campaign

Trump advisers waged covert influence campaign
By JEFF HORWITZ and CHAD DAY Aug. 18, 2016 11:23 PM EDT


WASHINGTON (AP) — A firm run by Donald Trump's campaign chairman directly orchestrated a covert Washington lobbying operation on behalf of Ukraine's ruling political party, attempting to sway American public opinion in favor of the country's pro-Russian government, emails obtained by The Associated Press show. Paul Manafort and his deputy, Rick Gates, never disclosed their work as foreign agents as required under federal law.

The lobbying included attempts to gain positive press coverage of Ukrainian officials in The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal and The Associated Press. Another goal: undercutting American public sympathy for the imprisoned rival of Ukraine's then-president. At the time, European and American leaders were pressuring Ukraine to free her.

Gates personally directed the work of two prominent Washington lobbying firms in the matter, the emails show. He worked for Manafort's political consulting firm at the time.

Manafort and Gates' activities carry outsized importance, since they have steered Trump's campaign since April. The pair also played a formative role building out Trump's campaign operation after pushing out an early rival. Trump shook up his campaign's organization again this week, but Manafort and Gates retain their titles and much of their influence. The new disclosures about their work come as Trump faces criticism for his friendly overtures to Russian President Vladimir Putin.


http://bigstory.ap.org/article/6eed1ef61eb744e1aac584f8ac1f7247/trump-advisers-waged-covert-influence-campaign
August 18, 2016

Walmart is too cheap to pay for proper security — so now it’s freeloading off taxpayers

Walmart is too cheap to pay for proper security — so now it’s freeloading off taxpayers
Brad Reed BRAD REED 17 AUG 2016 AT 11:55 ET

Bloomberg Businessweek has a very detailed new report that shows how police departments around the country are getting fed up with Walmart’s unwillingness to invest in proper store security infrastructure. In fact, it seems that Walmart’s security is so notoriously lax that its stores have become magnets for criminals who know it will be easier to commit crimes in them.

Just how bad is Walmart’s in-house security? In the city of Tulsa, police were responded to incidents at the city’s four Walmart stores a total of just under 2,000 times. The city’s lone Target store, meanwhile, called on police to respond to incidents just 44 times.

http://www.rawstory.com/2016/08/walmart-is-too-cheap-to-pay-for-proper-security-so-now-its-freeloading-off-taxpayers/
August 18, 2016

EpiPen Price Hike Has Parents of Kids With Allergies Scrambling Ahead of School Year

EpiPen Price Hike Has Parents of Kids With Allergies Scrambling Ahead of School Year
by BEN POPKEN

The cost of saving your child's life has gotten a lot more expensive.

Doctors and patients say the Mylan pharmaceutical company has jacked up the prices for an EpiPen — the portable device that can stop a potentially life-threatening allergic reaction — from around $100 in 2008 to $500 and up today.

That's a hike of over 400 percent.

Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders, the former presidential contender and a member of the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions, told NBC News in a statement:

"The drug industry's greed knows no bounds. There's no reason an EpiPen, which costs Mylan just a few dollars to make, should cost families more than $600. The only explanation for Mylan raising the price by six times since 2009 is that the company values profits more than the lives of millions of Americans."

http://www.nbcnews.com/business/economy/epipen-price-hike-has-parents-kids-allergies-scrambling-ahead-school-n633071
August 17, 2016

Clinton Has Big Leads In Colorado, Virginia, Tied In Iowa, Quinnipiac University Swing State Poll

Clinton Has Big Leads In Colorado, Virginia, Tied In Iowa, Quinnipiac University Swing State Poll Finds
August 17, 2016

COLORADO: Clinton 49 - Trump 39
IOWA: Clinton 47- Trump 44
VIRGINIA: Clinton 50 - Trump 38

Democrat Hillary Clinton has double-digit likely voter leads in Colorado and Virginia and is on the plus side of a too-close-to-call race in Iowa, according to a Quinnipiac University Swing State Poll released today.

http://www.qu.edu/news-and-events/quinnipiac-university-poll/2016-presidential-swing-state-polls/release-detail?ReleaseID=2373
August 17, 2016

The Countdown To Trump Blabbing U.S. Intelligence Secrets All Over the Place Has Begun

The Countdown To Trump Blabbing U.S. Intelligence Secrets All Over the Place Has Begun
Donald Trump begins getting classified intelligence briefings tomorrow. God help us.
CHEZ PAZIENZA 20 HOURS AGO

Knowing this about him, knowing that he's pathological in his inability to control himself whenever the opportunity arises to show off -- which is, in Trump's syphilitic brain, every few minutes because there are always perceived threats to his ego -- granting him access to classified intelligence is a recipe for utter catastrophe.

Put simply, there's no way Trump will keep the information he's being given secret. He can't, precisely because it's secret, it's something he knows that most people don't, which makes that information invaluable in asserting his dominance.

It's impossible to imagine Trump not, at best, implying to his audience of rage-infected zombie yokels that we're in even worse trouble than they think because, well, "There are things I know, believe me!" or, at worst, blurting out classified information in an effort to either be a bad-ass or because Vladimir Putin stroked him under the chin just right.

http://thedailybanter.com/2016/08/trump-intel-briefings-begin-tomorrow/
August 17, 2016

Breitbart News’ Worst Headlines (now running Trump's campaign)

Breitbart News’ Worst Headlines
Blog ››› 37 min 46 sec ago ››› MEDIA MATTERS STAFF

http://mediamatters.org/blog/2016/08/17/breitbart-news-worst-headlines/212467
August 17, 2016

Keith Olbermann tweet about Trump campaign shake up (can't stop laughing!)

Keith Olbermann ‏@KeithOlbermann 3h3 hours ago
But Conway and Bannon, @RealDonaldTrump? Because George Zimmerman and David Duke weren't available?
#JustGetAHood


242 retweets 555 likes
Reply Retweet 242
Like 555


https://twitter.com/KeithOlbermann?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw

August 17, 2016

Aetna CEO Threatened Obamacare Pullout If Feds Opposed Humana Merger

Aetna CEO Threatened Obamacare Pullout If Feds Opposed Humana Merger
Give us our merger or we’ll quit Obamacare, the insurer told Justice Department officials in a July letter.
08/17/2016 01:49 am ET | Updated 3 hours ago
Jonathan Cohn Senior National Correspondent, The Huffington Post
Jeffrey Young Senior Reporter, The Huffington Post

The big health care news this week came from Aetna, which announced on Monday it was dramatically scaling back participation in the Affordable Care Act ― thereby reducing insurer competition and forcing customers scattered across 11 states to find different sources of coverage next year.

Aetna officials said the pullout was necessary because of Obamacare’s problems ― specifically, deep losses the insurer was incurring in the law’s health insurance exchanges.

But the move also was directly related to a Department of Justice decision to block the insurer’s potentially lucrative merger with Humana, according to a letter from Aetna’s CEO obtained by The Huffington Post.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/aetna-obamacare-pullout-humana-merger_us_57b3d747e4b04ff883996a13?

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