Will Cassidy have a McCain thumb down moment? He faces a big choice this week. No Cabinet pick has been defeated on the floor since 1989 and only two in the last century.

Steven T. Dennis@steventdennis.bsky.social · 24h ago

Last thing standing in way of Blanche’s confirmation now is votes of 3 key Rs Lisa Murkowski Susan Collins Bill Cassidy All voted to convict Trump re 1/6 Cassidy is retiring Collins needs Trump voters this fall but also indies / some Ds Murkowski was elected mostly by Ds/Is + R establishment $

Fun fact: The last time a Cabinet pick failed on the Senate floor was 1989. John Tower. No Cabinet pick has been defeated on the Senate floor in Susan Collins’ nearly 30 years as a senator.

I wrote a story right after election on CoreCivic stock soaring. Investors saw a bonanza from jailing immigrants.

Project Salt Box@projectsaltbox.com · 24h ago

🚨ICE has awarded CoreCivic $536.2 million to operate the Prairie Correction Facility in Appleton, Minnesota as an immigration jail. The period of performance begins August 11.

SCOOP! Chipotle becomes the latest Mexican quick-service chain linked to a foodborne illness outbreak... Chipotle pulled its jalapeños from Minnesota restaurants after it learned the peppers may be linked to salmonella. 🎁🔗: @bloomberg.com: www.bloomberg.com/news/article...

Chipotle Pulled Jalapeños Tied to Minnesota Salmonella Cases

Chipotle Mexican Grill Inc. removed jalapeños from multiple stores in Minnesota after learning the peppers may be linked to a salmonella outbreak in the state that’s sickened 110 people.

bloomberg.com

Word of the day is “blue bunny”

Sen. Rand Paul: "I've had the debate with this administration ... they told me this isn't a war. I said, why isn't it a war? They said, 'Well, a constitutional war has to have significant casualties' ... initiation or declaration of war is *before* the casualties."

Last thing standing in way of Blanche’s confirmation now is votes of 3 key Rs Lisa Murkowski Susan Collins Bill Cassidy All voted to convict Trump re 1/6 Cassidy is retiring Collins needs Trump voters this fall but also indies / some Ds Murkowski was elected mostly by Ds/Is + R establishment $

New: S&P 500 sitting at an all-time high on hopes for deal reopening Strait of Hormuz

STATEMENT ON TRUMP ADMINISTRATION REFLECTING POOL INFIGHTING

Same day. $DJT

The president's media company is now selling premium access to his market-moving posts to Wall Street firms, which will let them front-run the public. He gets richer, they get richer. Everyone else? Not so much.

No #FridayNightZillow tonight but ICYMI last Saturday’s gem:

Steven T. Dennis@steventdennis.bsky.social · 2w ago

It's actually rare for me to be *truly* tempted by something I see on Zillow. But this one is special. Oceanfront, unique, gorgeous, with a view of the Golden Gate. How is this only $899K? Lumiere House in Pt Richmond is on #SaturdayNightZillow. Enjoy! www.zillow.com/homedetails/...

Yes. Atrocious ballot design. The official who designed it - along with Anthony Weiner - have the two biggest “butterfly effects” I’ve ever seen in politics. (No Weiner -> no Comey -> no Trump presidency, no Dobbs, etc.)

One reason Social Security is running short of money in 2032 is because a small number of voters, faced w/a choice of voting for the guy who promised to use Clinton’s surplus for tax cuts & guy who promised a Social Security lock box, couldn’t figure out the Butterfly Ballot in Palm Beach County.

Why Trump’s AG pick is in trouble: Trump is prioritizing immunity for him and his family from prosecution over getting his AG confirmed. www.bloomberg.com/news/article...

Trump Puts Immunity From Probes Over His Fight for Blanche

President Donald Trump’s desire to avoid the kinds of criminal prosecutions he faced the last time he left office has become the biggest impediment to getting his own attorney general pick confirmed b...

bloomberg.com

The president appears backed into a corner by an agenda of his own making

Trump Faces Mounting Midterm Risks From Iran to the US Economy

The president appears backed into a corner by an agenda of his own making.

bloom.bg

“The government hasn’t paid for any work performed since November, providers say, and in recent months has insisted it will only hand over the money in exchange for information about the children that the lawyers say is confidential.”

Matt Shuham@mattshuham.bsky.social · 6d ago

The Trump administration has gone months without paying attorneys who represent unaccompanied immigrant children as part of a years-old, congressionally-funded effort. The latest in a series of temporary bridge contracts ends tomorrow, with no replacement in sight: www.huffpost.com/entry/unacco...

So, are all these AI models that keep breaching other companies' networks guilty of felony cybercrimes?

Why Trump’s AG pick is in trouble: Trump is prioritizing immunity for him and his family from prosecution over getting his AG confirmed. www.bloomberg.com/news/article...

Trump Puts Immunity From Probes Over His Fight for Blanche

President Donald Trump’s desire to avoid the kinds of criminal prosecutions he faced the last time he left office has become the biggest impediment to getting his own attorney general pick confirmed b...

bloomberg.com

$6 gas has returned to the infamous Connecticut Avenue Exxon.

A lot of bad news for Trump this week: *Record low approval *Mortgage rates spike to 6.66% *30-year bond rates hit 19-year high *GDP growth in second qtr anemic 1.5% annualized rate *No deals on Trump priorities like crypto, Save Act or war $ *No Iran deal *$4 gas *Blanche trouble

Microsoft shares rose about $450 billion today, the most ever for a stock in history. The increase is about the same as the entire value of Turkey's stock market. www.bloomberg.com/news/article...

Microsoft’s $450 Billion Jump Is Biggest in Stock Market History

Microsoft Corp. made market history on Thursday, adding nearly half a trillion dollars to its value, the most by any stock in a single day.

bloomberg.com

Wow: Microsoft stock just went up about half a trillion dollars today.

🚨🚨🚨Mortgage rates rise to 6.66% — highest level in a year. Comes as housing affordability has become a top pain point for voters ahead of the midterm elections.

All I want is an appliance company has very long standard warranties and stands by them. ~25 years no questions asked. No fine print. That would be "luxury." Fancy doodads are not "luxury." As far as I can tell, all of them seem to survive on planned obsolescence / plastic bits designed to fail.

Bad news: The 30-year Treasury yield hit a 19-year high today. 🚨🚨🚨 America's going to have to pay more for its colossal debt, which will soon hit $40 trillion. Interest already tops $1T a year and is growing rapidly. Latest GOP/WH plans would increase the deficit. www.bloomberg.com/news/article...

Treasuries Jolted as Fed Hold Trims September Hike Bets

US bond traders lowered their expectations that the Federal Reserve will raise interest rates at its next meeting after officials kept their benchmark steady on Wednesday, while 30-year Treasury yield...

bloomberg.com

Really awkward for Trump that Fauci was his own employee? Every R yelling at him today wouldn't dare direct their ire at the man who was Fauci's boss and was in charge of the government.

True fact

Andy Craig@andycraig.bsky.social · 7d ago

Aside from its many other problems, the idea Fauci was America's power-abusing covid dictator is somewhat complicated by the fact that he never had the power to do the things they're mad about. His recommendations bound nobody and were not particularly rigorously followed by the actual policymakers.

Did nobody tell Donald Trump that he can't confirm a single judge, an AG, or a prosecutor without John Cornyn and Thom Tillis?

Cornyn wants, in writing, signed by Todd Blanche: #1 $1776M payoff fund is dead forever #2 Limit 'settlement' granting Trump etc immunity re: taxes only applies to IRS, *NOT* other agencies, *including DOJ*, which theoretically could prosecute. #2 appears to be the problem, because guess why