It is Tuesday morning and these are your national and international headlines on the issues of the day. They were provided to Sports Talk Florida from our friends at Politico.
“The night’s tense tally: 2 shot, 2 fires, 31 arrested” — St. Louis Post-Dispatch’s Kevin McDermott in Ferguson: “With armed Missouri National Guard troops posted to area streets for the first time in modern history, violence erupted anew Monday night as protesters hurled bottles at police and fired shots, and officers responded with sound cannons [and tear gas]. ‘Back off now!’ one officer ordered protesters as the conflict escalated shortly before 10 p.m. Later, police fired tear gas at protesters who defied orders to disperse. Police fired at least three tear gas volleys near the QuikTrip as emergency vehicles sped to the scene. …
“‘They’re gassing our kids,’ one protester shouted. In front of McDonald’s, a tactical unit removed a driver from his car at gunpoint. Some protesters tipped over portable toilets and dragged them into the streets. An armored vehicle moved down the street trying to clear the crowd, and some pastors stood with their arms locked trying to restore peace.”http://bit.ly/1pXDxjV
—L.A. Times, top of col. 1, “Obama holds back on Brown: He doesn’t offer another ‘Trayvon moment,’ and speaks of staying impartial,” by Christi Parsons and Kathleen Hennessey http://lat.ms/1oMIhKT
–TWEET DU JOUR — Rembert Browne (@rembert, a staff writer for Grantland): “legendary comma use RT @CBSNews: JUST IN: President Obama to deliver remarks at 4pm ET on the situation in Ferguson, Iraq”.
–“Expect Many, Many Lawsuits From Ferguson,” by BuzzFeed’s Chris Geidner: ‘[L]egal experts … predict possible litigation stemming from the actions taken by police in Ferguson, lawsuits brought by store owners against the police related to looting, and even the imposition of a curfew. … [T]here could be state and/or federal criminal charges filed in the case against Darren Wilson, the Ferguson police officer identified by the police as the shooter. … ‘When you’re hearing the family has hired an independent coroner to conduct an autopsy, you know you’re looking at a wrongful death lawsuit … They clearly are thinking about the intentional infliction of emotional distress.'” http://bzfd.it/YsHUdv
–GRAPHIC DU JOUR — “Watch Ferguson Shooting Take Over Twitter In Mesmerizing Graphic,” via HuffPost’s Harry Bradford: “Twitter’s data team created the following map … [so you can watch] as Ferguson spreads from a local, to a national, and then an international news story in a matter of days.” http://huff.to/1n4lrZQ
–“Trayvon Martin’s Mom: ‘If They Refuse to Hear Us, We Will Make Them Feel Us,'” by Sybrina Fulton on TIME.com: ‘To The Brown Family, I wish I had a word of automatic comfort but I don’t. I wish I could say that it will be alright on a certain or specific day but I can’t. I wish that all of the pain that I have endured could possibly ease some of yours but it won’t. … I hate that you and your family must join this exclusive yet growing group of parents and relatives who have lost loved ones to senseless gun violence.” http://ti.me/1n4pzJm
—HOT ONLINE: John Oliver tackles Ferguson. http://bit.ly/1sRhlvf
COVERING THE COVERAGE – WashPost, bottom of Style front, “With no Riots 101, journalists in Ferguson learning as they go,” by Paul Farhi: “Post photographers are among those equipped with an accessory familiar to war correspondents: a blue bulletproof vest emblazoned with the word “PRESS.’ … St. Louis TV station KMOV-TV [CBS] has curtailed some of its live play-by-play of the disturbances to avoid inflaming the situation.” http://wapo.st/YsZRZn
–HOW IT’S PLAYING: USA Today 1A, “Seeking a path to peace in Ferguson: History shows Guard troops not long-term solution” … N.Y Times, top of col. 1, “Missouri Tries Another Idea: Call In Guard: Governor Lifts Curfew — Holder Will Visit” (A1 sidebar: “Cities Rocked By Past Unrest Offer Lessons”) … WashPost 2-col lead, “Holder to lead investigation in Ferguson: NATIONAL GUARD ARRIVES IN MO. CITY – Peaceful protests turn to tense standoff.”
–WHO’S WHO in N.Y. Times coverage from Ferguson, via Times Insider: “Frances [Frenchie] Robles: Domestic correspondent @FrancesRobles [Florida, the Caribbean and Central America, from Miami]… Tanzina Vega: Beat reporter for race and ethnicity @tanzinavega … John Eligon: Kansas City bureau chief @jeligon … Monica Davey: Chicago bureau chief @monicadavey1 … Alan Blinder: Junior reporter, Atlanta bureau @alanblinder.” And, from the start, the versatile @JulieBosman, a Chicago correspondent.
–CHECK OUT the red paint splashed on Julie Bosman’s Avis rental car during early protests. http://bit.ly/1o8mdVd
PAUL RYAN sounds like a future presidential candidate in his hardcover out today, “The Way Forward: Renewing the American Idea” – published by Twelve Books/Grand Central Publishing (Hachette), which bills him as “the intellectual leader of the Republican Party”: “Of course, my hope wasn’t that I’d be writing about these ideas. I thought I’d be helping implement them as part of a Romney administration. But it didn’t take long for me to realize that while we may have lost an election, the cause continues. … While it’s true that our country’s current problems are urgent and real, I don’t view them as insurmountable. … [T]his book is focused not on the small squabbles that tend to dominate our public discourse these days, but on the big challenges we’re facing. Because I still believe we can overcome them.”
–His prescription: a path that “puts society, not government, at the center of American life … expands freedom and fosters risk-taking, ingenuity, and creativity … Along this path, government provides the necessary support rather than taking on the commanding role.”
–On Obama: “Instead of taking the lead in world affairs, the Obama administration has often chosen to ‘lead from behind.’ The proof can be found in the president’s fecklessness on the world stage – and in his budgets.”
–On Romney: “I believe he would have been one of our finest presidents.”
–Dedication: “For Janna [his wife], Liza, Charlie, and Sam [their three children] and In Memory of Paul M. Ryan [his father] and Prudence M. Little [Janna’s mother]” … Acknowledgments: “I would like to thank Bob Barnett for his advice and assistance.” … $22.05 on BN.com http://bit.ly/1mgburX
HEADLINE HISTORY – 45 years ago today (Aug. 19, 1969), N.Y. Times front page, bottom left-hand corner: “19-HOUR CONCERT ENDS BETHEL FAIR: Producer Says Town Has Asked Festival to Return,” by William E. Farrell in Bethel, N.Y.: “Undaunted by rain, mud, wet clothes and chilly mountain breezes, thousands of youths sat on a rural hillside here for a marathon 19-hour session of folk-rock music that ended at 10:30 A.M. today and brought the Woodstock Music and Art Fair to a close.” http://nyti.ms/1sRvwAG
–The day before, The Washington Post fronted: “2 More Rock Fans Die at N.Y. Festival … more than 3,000 persons have been treated for injuries and drug overdoses.”
**A message about BP’s Commitment to America: We’re proud to support more than 260,000 American jobs. We employ 20,000 Americans in 50 states, and through our vendors, we support 240,000 more. Together, those 260,000 people have helped us become America’s largest energy investor – nearly $50 billion over the last 5 years. For more, check out our BP Jobs in America interactive map: http://bit.ly/BPUSeconomy **
DRIVING THE CONVERSATION – N.Y. Times A1, at fold, “Obama Is Seen As Frustrating His Own Party,” By Carl Hulse, Jeremy W. Peters and Michael D. Shear: “In interviews, nearly two dozen Democratic lawmakers and senior congressional aides suggested that Mr. Obama’s approach has left him with few loyalists … and could imperil his efforts to leave a legacy in his final stretch … [W]hat is striking now is the way prominent Democrats’ views of Mr. Obama’s shortcomings are spilling out into public, and how resigned many seem that the relationship will never improve. …
“Senator Claire McCaskill, the Missouri Democrat who was an early supporter of Mr. Obama’s presidential bid, said that if her fellow Democrats were hoping for Mr. Obama to transform into a Lyndon B. Johnson late in his second term, they should quit waiting. ‘For him, eating his spinach is schmoozing with elected officials,’ she said. ‘This is not something that he loves. He wasn’t that kind of senator.’ …
“[White House] aides … cite 18 meetings this year that the president has held with groups of lawmakers, not including one-on-one phone calls or meetings. … Another point of tension between Senate Democrats and the White House has been the extent of the president’s participation in the party’s effort to retain the Senate this fall. A group with ties to Mr. Reid has established a ‘super PAC’ … But the White House and Democrats have sparred over conditions that the administration has put on the president’s participation, and Mr. Obama has no appearances currently scheduled for the group.” http://nyti.ms/1oMvwQv
AUSTAN GOOLSBEE celebrated yesterday’s birthday in RockyMountainNational Park.
OBAMA TRIBUTE TO ABC’s ANN COMPTON , during his appearance in the White House briefing room yesterday: “I’m going to take the last question from somebody, who after 41 years, I understand has decided to retire. Ann Compton, everybody here knows, is not only the consummate professional but is also just a pleasure to get to know. I was proud to be able to hug her grandbaby recently. And I suspect that may have something to do with her decision. But I just want to say publicly, Ann: We’re going to miss you, and we’re very, very proud of the extraordinary career and work that you’ve done, and we hope you’re not a stranger around here. (Applause.) … Ann Compton. I suspect you may get some cake at some point. (Laughter.)”
TALKER — “People Keep Getting Into Strangers’ Cars Because They Think It’s An Uber,” by Valleywag’s Nitasha Tiku: “Just because Uber’s motto is ‘Everyone’s private driver,’ doesn’t mean every car is yours for the hailing. But the popularity of apps like Uber and Lyft have spawned some awkward curbside interactions. ‘Basically anytime I’m pulled over on the side of the street, someone tries to hail me or just opens my car door,’ said tech investor Ashwin Deshmukh … ‘The best line so far is, “Are you Uber? Well can you just be, can we go?”‘ he said. He is not alone.” http://bit.ly/VBE9k9
LAUNCHING TODAY: “POLITICO [will announce] today the launch of its third Tweet Hub, the latest in a set of one-of-a-kind resources for tracking policy conversations on Twitter. POLITICO’s Defense Tweet Hub … aims to aggregate and streamline the important social conversations surrounding defense policy, including Iraq, weapons programs and the Pentagon budget. The Hub features tweets from more than 300 defense reporters, influencers and policymakers, all editorially chosen and curated by the POLITICO Pro Defense team.” See the Hub. http://politi.co/1Bwr0tJ
2014 — “The Grimes family discount,” by Manu Raju: “Alison Lundergan Grimes has barnstormed Kentucky in her 45-foot-long campaign bus, rolling up to raucous campaign events and posing for photos next to the vehicle bearing an oversize image of the Democratic Senate hopeful. Left unmentioned … is this: Her father’s company acquired the bus just as the campaign got under way last year – and is renting it to his daughter for a fraction of what other companies would typically charge, according to a POLITICO analysis. … A review of Federal Election Commission records shows Grimes paid less than $11,000 through June to rent the bus for at least 24 days, amounting to about $456 per day. Officials at four bus companies said they typically charge $1,500 to $2,000 a day to rent a similarly sized bus.” http://politi.co/1leCPQy
NYT EDITORIAL BACKS PERRY — “Is Gov. Perry’s Bad Judgment Really a Crime?”: “Perry … is one of the least thoughtful and most damaging state leaders in America, having done great harm to immigrants, abortion clinics and people without health insurance during his 14 years in office. But bad political judgment is not necessarily a felony, and the indictment handed up against him on Friday – given the facts so far – appears to be the product of an overzealous prosecution. … Governors and presidents threaten vetoes and engage in horse-trading all the time to get what they want, but for that kind of political activity to become criminal requires far more evidence than has been revealed in the Perry case so far.” http://nyti.ms/1BwmRWF
–“Perry assembles high-powered legal team,” by AP’s Paul J. Weber and Will Weissert in Austin: “[The team includes:] Tony Buzbee, a Houston attorney … [and] well-known name in Texas courtrooms, winning millions of dollars for clients who sued BP over a refinery explosion near Houston in 2005. Bobby Burchfield argued before the Supreme Court last fall in a case in which justices ultimately freed individuals to give more money to political candidates. … Ben [Ginsberg] represented Bush in the Florida recount … [and] $450-per-hour defense attorney, David L. Botsford”. http://yhoo.it/1vbsSnl
–Dallas Morning News p. 1A, “Perry’s legal team to target DA: Lawyers preview their strategy against coercion, abuse of power charges,” by Christy Hoppe and Wayne Slater in Austin: “Perry’s team of nationally prominent lawyers previewed his legal and public relations strategy Monday, blasting the coercion and abuse of power charges against him as an ‘outrageous assault on the rule of law.’ The attorneys, in their first appearance, made it clear that they will put the local district attorney on trial. … Ben Ginsberg, a veteran GOP lawyer who led George W. Bush’s legal team during the 2000 Florida ballot recount, said that he has seen ‘a lot of cases that go beyond the pale. This goes furthest beyond the pale of any I’ve seen in my time.'” http://bit.ly/1pH2roV
2016 — “Clintons to attend Iowa Steak Fry,” by Maggie Haberman: “Hillary and Bill Clinton will be featured guests at retiring Iowa Sen. Tom Harkin’s annual steak fry, marking her return to the Hawkeye State for the first time since her failed 2008 presidential campaign, sources familiar with the event said. The Sept. 14 event, the 37th and final Steak Fry for Harkin, will mark the unofficial kickoff of the public political season for Clinton, who has kept her post-State Department political appearances to a minimum. … One potential wild card … Clinton aides have not said when Chelsea Clinton is due, other than that the birth will be sometime in the fall, but the arrival of her first grandchild has loomed large over Hillary Clinton’s plans ahead of the midterms. It will be Clinton’s second steak fry appearance – her first came in 2007, when she and most of the Democratic presidential field attended ahead of the 2008 caucuses. …
“The event is just one of the political appearances Hillary Clinton has started to plan for after Labor Day. Sources familiar with the planning say she will likely do fundraisers for all four major Democratic Party committees next month, including one for the [DSCC’s] Women’s Senate Network. There will also be events for the [DNC], the [DGA], and the [DCCC], including an October fundraising appearance with House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi in California”. http://politi.co/XwLfIo
BEHIND THE BEAT – “When Being ‘Obsessed’ With Hillary Clinton Is Your Job,” by Amy Chozick of N.Y. Times, “a national political reporter with a focus on covering Hillary Rodham Clinton” for the past year, writing on Times Insider: “Did my husband stage a vacation intervention on the beach recently when he caught me reading ‘The Death of American Virtue’ about the Ken Starr investigation? Maybe. (It is strictly a bizarre coincidence that we live on Clinton Street.) … I get frustrated when people ask me what it’s like to cover one person. I don’t see it that way. I cover 2016 Democratic presidential politics, which is like covering a multibillion-dollar business, with hundreds of personalities vying for power and influence. … Supporters and detractors constantly look for signs of bias one way or the other, and attack me to protect their positions.” http://nyti.ms/1sRey5p
REMEMBERING JIM JEFFORDS – Burlington (Vt.) Free Press’ Sam Hemingway: “James Merrill Jeffords, who rose from Rutland roots to become a Republican congressman and senator before breaking with his party in 2001, … was 80. Jeffords, the last Republican to hold federal office elected from Vermont, retired from the U.S. Senate in 2006 while in the early stages of Alzheimer’s disease. … Jeffords was regarded as a maverick in Washington even before he split from the Republican Party in 2001, decried the party’s rightward shift and criticized what he saw President George W. Bush’s political intransigence on a number of issues.” http://bfpne.ws/1yTOVz2
BREAKING — “Assange will not leave until assured no US extradition: lawyer” – AFP/Sydney: “His lawyer Jennifer Robinson … ‘(He will leave) as soon as conditions can be negotiated that allow Julian to leave the embassy while his political asylum, to protect him from the risk of extradition to the US, is respected … And we haven’t seen that happen yet.”
WHAT HOLLYWOOD IS READING — “NBC’s ‘Blacklist’ gets A-list marketing treatment,” by AP Television Writer Lynn Elber: “For NBC’s top-rated drama ‘The Blacklist,’ the network has devised a promotion and advertising campaign that will put the show and star James Spader front and center on billboards, faux magazine covers and online before itsSept. 22 return. Various images of Spader as master criminal Raymond ‘Red’ Reddington will decorate the mock covers on the flip side of 10 magazines, including the August or September issues of Vanity Fair, Rolling Stone, Wired and the New Yorker. Playboy will feature a ‘Blacklist’ cover ad fronting the issue out Tuesday.” http://yhoo.it/1BwiECl
REMEMBERING DON PARDO – Hollywood Reporter’s Mike Barnes: “Don Pardo, the magisterial announcer of SaturdayNight Live for nearly 40 years – the highlight of seven heard and hardly seen decades at NBC – has died. He was 96. … Pardo was a 31-year NBC veteran when Lorne Michaels hired him as the announcer for SNL, which debuted on Sept. 11, 1975. Working out of a hallway and later a recording booth inside Studio 8H at Rockefeller Center, he each week intoned, ‘It’s Saturday Night Live!’ before introducing the castmembers, guest host and musical guest – a signature part of the show.”http://bit.ly/1n4nYTO
MEDIA WATCH — – “Bloomberg reporter returns to DC bureau, is laid off,” by Talking Biz News’ Chris Roush:“Gopal Ratnam, a national security reporter for Bloomberg News, returned to the Washington bureau where he is based on Monday after work-related travel the past two weeks. He was promptly laid off, sources tell Talking Biz News. In a short note to his colleagues, Ratnam wrote, ‘It’s been a pleasure working with so many pros. Will miss you.’ … Ratnam was apparently the last of the layoffs in the Washington bureau.” http://bit.ly/1pGYzUT
SPORTS BLINK – JOHNNY FINGER! “Cleveland Browns’ Johnny Manziel ruffles feathers with unexpected bird sighting,” by Cleveland Plain Dealer’s Cliff Pinckard: “Manziel [didn’t play] well during Monday night’s 24-23 preseason loss to the Washington Redskins at Landover … Manziel finished 7-of-16 for 65 yards with one touchdown and 76.3 rating. But what got Manziel the most attention came with 2:28 left in the third quarter, when he was caught extending his middle finger toward the Redskins bench. It’s an offense that could cost him a league fine of up to $11,025 …
“ESPN’s Pat McManamon reports Manziel might have been responding to taunts from the Redskins bench. In the first quarter, Brian Orakpo celebrated a teammate’s sack of Manziel by giving Manziel’s well-known money gesture. It’s not clear if this will have any effect on coach Mike Pettine’s process in determining a starter at quarterback. But it certainly didn’t make a positive impression.” http://bit.ly/1p8ZGg3
–“Madden ratings guru has the players’ attention,” by AP Pro Football Writer Arnie Stapleton in Denver: “Donny Moore can be the most reviled man in NFL locker rooms. … Moore is the ‘ratings czar’ for ‘Madden NFL,’ the man responsible for making sure the popular video game’s virtual avatars accurately reflect their real-life counterparts. Moore uses all sorts of metrics and measurements to come up with ratings. Then, he tweaks the numbers weekly after watching all the games and pondering feedback from fans and even the players themselves. Sometimes aging stars first recognize their careers are on the downslopes when the new Madden game arrives in August and their ratings have slipped.”http://bit.ly/1BwlyXE
— “In Ratings Game, CBS Going Big on ‘Thursday Night Football’,’ by NYT‘s Stuart Elliott: “‘Thursday Night Football’ … joins the CBS prime-time lineup on Sept. 11, the result of a deal CBS made with the [NFL] for a package of games that would complement the network’s Sunday football programming. … CBS has, for the last two months, been running an energetic spot with the theme ‘Football starts here,’ featuring stars of CBS entertainment series like ‘The Big Bang Theory,’ ‘Elementary’ and ‘Two and a Half Men.’ Some wear eye black inscribed with the words ‘Thurs’ and ‘Night’ while others strip off outerwear to reveal they are wearing ‘Thursday Night Football’ jerseys. … The network’s 200 affiliated local stations have received materials so they may produce their own versions”. http://nyti.ms/1AtZb3R
BIRTHWEEK (was yesterday): Providence Mayor Angel Taveras (D), Rhode Island gubernatorial candidate (h/t Pete Nonis)
BRODY MULLINS of the WSJ is 4-0! His wife, Lauren, writes: “Since he’s not on Facebook or Twitter, well wishers can reach him via email, phone, or raven.”
BIRTHDAYS: Shannon Campagna, Mars Inc. director of federal government affairs (h/t Jim) … Mary Matalin is 61 … President Clinton is 68 … Tipper Gore is 66 … TiVo President and CEO Tom Rogers — founder of CNBC and first president of NBC Cable as one of Jack Welch’s deputies; was counsel to the House Telecom Committee back in the ’80s and helped write the Cable Act of 1984, which ostensibly still provides the framework of the industry (h/t Steve Wymer) … POLITICO’s senior designer Michelle Bloom (h/t Julia Haslanger) … POLITICO’s Madeline Marshall … FCC’s Neil Grace is celebrating with his twin brother in L.A. He had a small gathering with D.C. friends at 1905 last week. (h/ts Mary Palmer, Louise Eich) …
… Missy Kurek, the DCCC’s Deputy Executive Director for Finance, and senior political adviser to Leader Pelosi (h/ts Emily Bittner and Josh Schwerin) … former U.S. senator Fred Thompson is 72 … Lisa Guide … Linda Chappetto … John Sasso (mega hat tips: Teresa Vilmain) … actress Jill St. John is 74 … John Stamos is 51 … Tabitha Soren is 47 … Matthew Perry is 45 … country singer Clay Walker is 45 … Olympic silver medal snowboarder Lindsey Jacobellis is 29 (h/ts AP)
BIRTHDAYS TOMORROW: Eleni Roumel of the House General Counsel’s Office will celebrate with friends at Acqua Al 2 (paw tip: Palmer) … Paul DaSilva is 19 (h/t Chris Dellaporta)
DESSERT — “McDonald’s confronts its junk food image,” by AP Food Industry Writer Candice Choi in N.Y.: “At a dinner McDonald’s hosted for reporters and bloggers [in NYC’s Tribeca], waiters served cuisine prepared by celebrity chefs using ingredients from the chain’s menu. A Kung Pao chicken appetizer was made with Chicken McNuggets doused in sweet and sour sauce and garnished with parsley. Slow-cooked beef was served with gnocchi fashioned out of McDonald’s french fries and a fruit sauce from its smoothie mix. For dessert, its biscuit mix was used to make a pumpkin spice ‘biznut,’ a biscuit-doughnut hybrid. …
“[T]he evening [was] part of a campaign by McDonald’s to shake its reputation for serving cheap, unhealthy food. At a time when Americans are playing closer attention to what they eat, the company is trying to sway public opinion by first reaching out to the reporters, bloggers and other so-called ‘influencers’ who write and speak about McDonald’s.”http://yhoo.it/YsAC9F
**A message about BP’s Commitment to America: When we set up operation in one part of the country, people in other parts go to work. In addition to our 20,000 employees, we support thousands of local vendors, who in turn employ tens of thousands of workers. Add them all up, and we’re responsible for over a quarter-million high-tech, high-paying jobs across all 50 states.
No energy company invests more in the U.S. than BP. That’s part of our commitment to America. And you can see it in communities like yours.
Take 60 seconds to see how BP’s creating jobs all over the U.S. from BP Alaska President Janet Weiss:http://bit.ly/BPJanet **
