EFTA00147473.pdf

From: "Bulletin Intelligence" <FBI@BulletinIntelligence.com> To: "FBI@BulletinIntelligence.com" <FBI@BulletinIntelligence.com> Subject: FBI Public Affairs News Briefing Tuesday, July 09, 2019 Date: Tue, 09 Jul 2019 10:29:33 +0000 c Importan e: Normal Mobile version and searchable archives available at fbi.bulletinintelligence.com. ; t1"B1 News Briefing TO: THE DIRECTOR AND SENIOR STAFF DATE: TUESDAY, JULY 9, 2019 6:30 AM EDT TODAY'S TABLE OF CONTENTS LEADING THE NEWS • Barr: Democrats Want To Create A "Public Spectacle" With Mueller Subpoena. COUNTER-TERRORISM • Houston Man Pleads Guilty To Attempting To Join And Support ISIS. • Convicted Ohio Terrorist Granted Name Change. • Investigators Not Ruling Out Criminal Charges In Florida Explosion. • Privacy and Civil Liberties Oversight Board Returns To Full Strength. • Opinion: Time Limit For Holding Guantanamo Prisoners Should Be Set. • Saudis Claim They Stopped Houthi Attack On Commercial Ship In Red Sea. COUNTER-INTELLIGENCE • ODNI, FBI, DHS Officials To Brief Congress On Election Security Wednesday. • ODNI Working To Modernize IT Infrastructure, Improve Data Sharing Among IC Agencies. • NSA Still Trying To Impose Data System Controls To Guard Against Abuse. • "Catch-Up" IC Authorization Bill Advancing In Congress, Addressing Various Issues. • Federal Data Strategy Forum Discusses Challenges To Attracting Data-Focused Talent. CRIMINAL INVESTIGATIONS • Media Coverage Of Epstein Charges Focuses On Earlier Plea Deal Brokered By Acosta. • Pathologist Testifies That Nebraska Woman's Body Showed Signs Of Struggle. • US Seeks Death Penalty For Man Convicted Of Murdering Chinese Scholar. • Two Arrested After Firing At Police On Nevada Reservation. • FBI Offers Reward For Information On "Inconvenient Crook" Wanted In Seven Robberies. • California Man Pleads Guilty To Stealing Lemur From Zoo. • FBI Offers Reward For Information On Escaped Mississippi Prison Inmates. • FBI Assisting In Probe Of Texas Police Officer Accused Of Sexual Misconduct. • St. Louis Police Officer Charged With Handcuffing, Berating Man Faces Trial. • Connecticut Man Who Impersonated Officer To Rob Victims Sentenced To Eight Years In Prison. • Rhode Island Man Pleads Guilty To Trafficking Guns, Fentanyl. • Pennsylvania Man Seeks To Overturn Sex Trafficking Convictions. • Oregon Professor Sentenced For Possessing Child Pornography. EFTA00147473 • US Charges Baltimore Drug Ring Member With Drug, Weapons Trafficking. FINANCIAL CRIME & CORPORATE SCANDALS • DC Council To Vote On Whether Evans Should Be Removed As Finance Committee Chair. • Attorneys For Philadelphia Union Official, Councilman Seek Dismissal Of Charges. • FBI: Texas State Employee Took Bribes For Fraudulent Trucker Licenses. • Federal Grand Jury Investigating GOP Fundraiser Broidy. • Defense Attorneys Want US To Disclose Identities Of Firms, Individuals In Case Against Florida Official. • Judge Refuses To Move Trial Against Rep. Hunter. • US Charges California Doctor With Defrauding Health Insurance Companies. • Ohio Man Pleads Guilty To Defrauding Kentucky Bank. CYBER DIVISION • Florida Approves New Round Of Election Security Grants. LABORATORY • DC Prosecutor Blamed Nonexistent Crime Lab Backlog For Delays. LAW ENFORCEMENT SERVICES • FBI Working To Protect Fans During MLB All-Star Game In Cleveland. • Detroit Surveillance Camera System Faces New Scrutiny From Residents. • Former Inmate Who Earned College Degree Via Second Chance Pell Profiled. • Families Of Sandy Hook Victims Fighting Back Against Conspiracy Theorists. • Virginia Senate Majority Leader Offers Gun Control Bill. • Maitra Predicts Backlash Unless Government Acts Against Antifa Violence. • Sixty-Six Shot, Six Fatally, In Chicago Over Four-Day Weekend. OTHER FBI NEWS • Critics Blast FBI, ICE Use Of State DMV Photos. • Federal Judges Say FBI Agent Gave False Testimony In South Dakota Rape Probe. • DO) IG To Review Decision Not To Move FBI Headquarters. • Boston SAC Bonavolenta Discusses Dedication To FBI. OTHER WASHINGTON NEWS • In White House Address, Trump Touts "America's Environmental Leadership." • Barr: Administration Has Found Legal Work-Around To Include Census Citizenship Question. • Pence Calls Concentration Camp Comparison "An Outrage." • UN Human Rights Chief Condemns Treatment Of Migrant Children At US Border. • Woman Taking Sanctuary In Chicago Church Lives In Fear Of Deportation. • Admiral Set To Take Top Navy Post Instead Retires Amid Ethics Probe. • New Law Allows New York To Hand Over Trump's Tax Returns To Congress. • DO) Seeks To Halt Suit Charging Trump With Profiting Off Presidency. • Trump Says He Plans To Hold July 4th Celebrations For "Foreseeable Future." • Trump Says Leaders "All Working Together" On California Earthquake Response. • Facing Likely Removal, Amash Resigns From House Oversight Committee. • Democrats Criticize Lack Of Blacks, Latinos Among Trump's Circuit Court Nominees. • New Book On Kavanaugh Confirmation Contrasts With Media's Depiction Of Blasey Ford. • White House Invites Project Veritas' O'Keefe To Social Media Summit. • Flash Floods Hit Washington Area During Monday Morning Rush Hour. INTERNATIONAL NEWS EFTA00147474 • Taliban, Afghan Representatives Agree To Framework For Talks. • Trump Says US "Will No Longer Deal" With UK Ambassador, Slams May's Handling Of Brexit. • Pence, Pompeo, Bolton Admonish Iran After Its Threat To Accelerate Nuclear Work. • State Department Announces New Human Rights Panel. • State Department Approves Taiwan Arms Sale. • Son Of Former South Korean Foreign Minister Defects To North. • NYTimes Analysis: West Bank Calm Rooted In Despair, Not Optimism. • NYTimes Analysis: New Greek PM Prevailed Despite Weakness Of Other Center-Right Parties. • Russia-Georgia Tensions Rise After Georgian TV Host's Anti-Putin "Rant." • Russian Official Says Submarine Crew Died Preventing "Catastrophe Of Global Proportions." • Duterte Defiant As UN Considers Investigation Of Violence In The Philippines. • "Militant Buddhism" Rising In Response To Conditions In Burma And Sri Lanka. • US Agency For Global Media Facing New Scandals. THE BIG PICTURE • Headlines From Today's Front Pages. WASHINGTON'S SCHEDULE • Today's Events In Washington. LEADING THE NEWS Barr: Democrats Want To Create A "Public Spectacle" With Mueller Subpoena. The AP (7/8, Baisamo) reports that Attorney General Barr in an interview said that Democrats are seeking to create a "public spectacle" by subpoenaing special counsel Robert Mueller to testify. Barr told the AP that the DOJ would back Mueller if he "doesn't want to subject himself" to congressional testimony. Barr also said his Department would block any effort by lawmakers to subpoena members of Mueller's team. The Washington Examiner (7/8, Dunleavy, 448K) quotes Barr as telling the AP, "I was disappointed to see him subpoenaed. I don't think that serves any purpose, dragging Bob Mueller up, if he, in fact, is going to stick to the report. ... It seems to me the only reason for doing that is to create some kind of public spectacle. And if Bob decides that he doesn't want to be subject to that, then Department of Justice would certainly back him." USA Today (7/8, Morin, 10.31M) reports that Barr told the AP, "I'm not sure what purpose is served by dragging him up there and trying to grill him. ... I don't think Mueller should be treated that way or subject himself to that, if he doesn't want to." The Washington Times (7/8, Mordock, 492K) reports that Mueller "is scheduled to testify before Congress on July 17, but said he won't stray from his 448-page report released earlier this year." CBS News (7/8, 3.68M) and Daily Caller (7/8, 716K) provide similar coverage on the story. The New York Times (7/8, Benner, 18.61M) says Barr's "assessment that the hearing will have little effect may play down the influence of Mr. Mueller's televised testimony on public opinion, given that relatively few Americans have read the 448-page report outlining the findings of his inquiry. Democrats hope that Mr. Mueller will paint a more vivid picture of presidential misconduct than the report's dense, legalistic language supplied." The Hill (7/8, Beavers, 2.98M) reports House Democrats "are eager to press Mueller on the 10 episodes of possible obstruction of justice by Trump as laid out in the report." Newsweek (7/8, Touchberry, 1.53M) reports House Democrats have said "an appearance by Mueller to simply read portions of his report aloud for viewers at home to see and hear on TV would be satisfactory, as they believe it would bring to light allegedly damning portions and would educate people." Judiciary Chairman Jerrold Nadler has "said Mueller's testimony will have a 'profound impact' on whether the committee moves forward with an impeachment inquiry." Opening an official inquiry into whether Trump has committed impeachable offenses "is a EFTA00147475 contentious issue that's increasingly divided House Democrats." NBC News (7/8, 6.14M) reports Democrats "have criticized Barr, saying he acts more like the president's personal lawyer than the attorney general." Barr has "embraced Trump's political agenda, cast Mueller's report as a vindication for the president and launched an investigation into the origins of the probe - something Trump has repeatedly said should happen." Cleveland: Weissman Testimony Will Help Unravel Russia Witch Hunt. Margot Cleveland writes in The Federalist (7/8, Cleveland, 126K) that after Mueller testifies publicly, members of his staff, including top prosecutor Andrew Weissman, will be questioned privately by committee members. Cleveland argues House Democrats "sought Mueller's testimony, and that of his staff, for one reason only: to paint Trump as a criminal without the politically risky business of impeachment." But, "far from damaging Trump, Weissmann's closed-door testimony - if handled properly - will assist Republicans in unraveling the Russia-collusion-turned- obstruction witch hunt and inflict far greater damage on the Democrats." Report: Mueller Report Lacks Evidence To Substantiate Claim Of Russian Election Interference. The Federalist (7/8, Osburn, 126K) reports that a new report (7/5, Mate) from RealClearlnvestigations says Mueller's report lacks evidence to substantiate the claim that the Kremlin interfered in the 2016 election. While the report "does not conclude that the Mueller Report's central finding on Russian interference in the 2016 election is false," it "does expose how the report is missing important evidence to substantiate its core allegation." WTimes Analysis: Despite Press Claims, Kislyak Had Little Contact With Trump Campaign. The Washington Times (7/8, Scarborough, 492K) reports that media reports have said that Russian Ambassador Sergey Kislyak's "contacts in 2016 with Trump campaign allies...provided a possible window into a conspiracy by which a Kremlin-Republican cabal hacked computers and spewed propaganda against Hillary Clinton on social media." But Mueller's report "tells a far different story." Kislyak "had relatively few Trump contacts during the campaign" and "the contacts he did have were 'non-substantive,' the special counsel said in his 448-page report." White House Blocks Former McGahn Aide From Answering More Than 200 Questions From House Committee. The Washington Post (7/8, Bade, Helderman, Leonnig, 14.2M) reports White House lawyers have blocked Annie Donaldson, the former chief of staff to ex-White House counsel Donald McGahn, "from answering more than 200 questions about potential obstruction of justice by the president." Trump Administration lawyers "barred her from elaborating on her thinking at the time she captured several exchanges between Trump and her boss - including one note in which she scribbled concern that Trump's firing of James B. Comey as FBI director would trigger the end of his presidency." The development "underscores the difficulty Democrats have faced as they try to bring the Mueller report to life - challenges they hope will evaporate next week when Mueller testifies publicly about his findings for the first time." Journalist Carl Bernstein Criticizes Media On Mueller Report Coverage. The Hill (7/8, Daugherty, 2.98M) reports Investigative journalist Carl Bernstein "said the media is focused on the fighting over the report instead of its actual contents." He said, "I think we've made a big mistake in the press about how we've covered the Mueller report. We've gotten totally wrapped up in the warfare in the Congress between Republicans and Democrats and is there obstruction of justice or is there not obstruction of justice." Bernstein added, "We are not making, in the press, the connections between what's going on in the country and Donald Trump, the president. We need to be covering the country as well and what people are talking about, thinking about, saying at the dinner table and connecting them to what is going on in Washington and in his campaign." Opinion: Evolution Of Judicial Thinking On Grand Jury Secrecy. In his sidebar column in the New York Times (7/8, 18.61M), Adam Liptak discusses the evolution of judicial thinking on unsealing grand jury testimony as Democrats press for a full copy of the Mueller report, including grand jury materials. Attorney Roman Martinez "said courts should not lose EFTA00147476 sight of the basic issue. The American people have a strong interest in understanding key events in our nation's history, including events that were the subject of grand jury proceedings. District judges should be allowed to release historically significant grand jury materials when the passage of time has eliminated the need for secrecy and the public interest supports disclosure. In those circumstances, there's no good reason to keep such materials hidden from the American people." Former Trump Associate Sater To Testify To House Intel Committee. Politico (7/8, Bertrand, 4.29M) reports Felix Sater, a former business associate of President Donald Trump who was the chief negotiator for the defunct Trump Tower Moscow project, "will testify before the House Intelligence Committee on Tuesday morning." Sater has testified "several times in the last year about issues related to the Trump Tower Moscow project, which has been a central focus of the Democrat-led committee's investigation into whether Trump is compromised by foreign actors." COUNTER-TERRORISM Houston Man Pleads Guilty To Attempting To Join And Support ISIS. The Washington Times (7/8, Mordock, 492K) reports in a brief item that Kaan Sercan Damlarkaya of Houston "pleaded guilty to attempting to provide material support to the Islamic State, the Justice Department announced on Monday." The DOJ said Damlarkaya sought to join ISIS "and educate supporters about the use of machetes and construction of homemade automatic weapons and explosive devices." The AP (7/8) reports that Damlarkaya "planned to travel overseas and shared information on making bombs and using machetes." Damlarkaya, 20, "pleaded guilty Monday to attempting to provide material support to a foreign terrorist organization." Damlarkaya, "who is a U.S. citizen, was arrested in December 2017 following an undercover FBI investigation," and "he remains in custody pending sentencing in Houston and faces up to 20 years in federal prison." The Fort Worth (TX) Star-Telegram (7/8, White, 406K) reports, "In early 2017, Damlarkaya began online communication with individuals he believed to be ISIS supporters, during which he expressed his desire to travel oversees to join the terrorist organization, U.S. attorneys said," and "were that not possible, he vowed to carry out an attack on non-Muslim Americans, saying it was his 'dream to be a martyr," but "at least some of the people he was communicating with were informants and undercover FBI agents." KXAN-TV Austin, TX (7/8, 495K) reports that federal prosecutors said "With the intention of joining ISIS overseas, he began having numerous online conversations with other ISIS supporters," in which "he described his desire to fight for ISIS in Syria or Afghanistan." US District Judge Andrew S. Hanen "accepted the plea Monday and has set sentencing for September 30, 2019." The FBI's Joint Terrorism Task Force "conducted the investigation." KHOU-TV Houston (7/8, Delony, 207K) also reports. Convicted Ohio Terrorist Granted Name Change. WXIX-TV Cincinnati (7/8, Hager, 42K) reports from Fairton, New Jersey, "A Green Township man serving 30 years in a Fairton, New Jersey prison for plotting to attack the U.S. Capitol in support of the Islamic State group was granted a name change." According to WXIX-TV, "A Superior Court of New Jersey judge granted Christopher Lee Cornell, 25, a name change April 23, that went into effect May 23." Cornell "is now known as Raheel Mahrus Ubaydah." WXIX-TV adds, "Court documents say Cornell requested the change due to religious reasons." FBI agents "arrested him in January 2015 after he bought guns and ammunition which investigators say were to be used to attack a State of the Union address," and "he pleaded guilty in 2016 to three charges including attempted murder of U.S. officials and employees." Investigators Not Ruling Out Criminal Charges In Florida Explosion. EFTA00147477 The South Florida Sun Sentinel (7/8, Huriash, Baitinger, 545K) reports, "Investigators have not ruled out criminal charges in an explosion Saturday that obliterated one building, pummeled others and left 23 people hurt. `The scene is considered a criminal investigation until determined otherwise,' Fire Department spokesman Joel Gordon said Monday. `We are not focusing on any single cause at this time." The Sun Sentinel adds, "Fire officials have said a gas leak at a vacant pizza shop appears to be to blame, but they have declined to state a definite cause. The investigation could take weeks, they said." According to the Sun Sentinel, "Representatives from the state fire marshal's office are involved, along with the FBI, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, and the bomb squad and arson teams from the Broward Sheriff's Office." Privacy and Civil Liberties Oversight Board Returns To Full Strength. Politico (7/8, Starks, 4.29M) reports the Privacy and Civil Liberties Oversight Board "is back to full strength and ready to contribute to national security debates again." The Senate unanimously confirmed three nominees to the board, "filling out its five-member roster for the first time in two years." Martin Matishak recently sat down Klein and panel member Edward Felten "to discuss the agenda for the intelligence watchdog - a bipartisan panel of executive branch advisers that reviews the government's intelligence and national security apparatus - as well as the looming debate over expiring portions of the 2015 USA Freedom Act and transparency in the US intelligence community." Opinion: Time Limit For Holding Guantanamo Prisoners Should Be Set. In an op-ed in the Orange County JCA) I gister (7/8, 546K), Chapman University Professor Tom Campbell writes that the lack of time limits on the holding of prisoners at Guantanamo Bay should be changed. He notes that "Congress stipulated no end-date to the Authorization for the Use of Military Force (AUMF) passed after 9/11." Campbell argues that Congress "should have set a date for the authorization to expire, and, with it, the power to hold terrorist prisoners-of- war. The date should have been far in the future, fifteen years, say, lest al-Qaida have an incentive to wait out US military action." He concludes that characterizing an end date for detention "as a reassertion of Congress' constitutional power to declare war, rather than a Guantanamo prisoner release, would improve its chances of passage, and diminish the need for the Supreme Court eventually to rule on the matter." Saudis Claim They Stopped Houthi Attack On Commercial Ship In Red Sea. Reuters (7/8, Kalin, El Yaakoubi) reports that a spokesman for the "Saudi-led coalition fighting in Yemen" claims they "foiled an attempted attack on an unidentified commercial ship in the southern Red Sea on Monday by the Iran-aligned Houthis, which the group denied." Colonel Turki al-Malki "said the Western-backed military alliance had destroyed an unmanned boat laden with explosives which the militants had used for the attack." However, "a Houthi military spokesman denied targeting commercial shipping in the area." COUNTER-INTELLIGENCE ODNI, FBI, DHS Officials To Brief Congress On Election Security Wednesday. Politico (7/8, Levine, 4.29M) reports that on Wednesday, officials from ODNI, the FBI and DHS will brief senators on election security, "according to a senior Senate aide." The briefing was requested by Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer will be open to all briefings. The Hill (7/8, Carney, 2.98M) reports that the House is also expecting an "all members" briefing. The "back- to-back briefings come as Democrats have been pushing for months for Congress to pass new legislation ahead of the 2020 elections." EFTA00147478 ODNI Working To Modernize IT Infrastructure, Improve Data Sharing Among IC Agencies. Federal Computer Week (7/8, Johnson, 263K) reports the ODNI is pursuing long-term efforts to modernize the IC's IT infrastructure. A key objective is to improve the analysis and sharing of "the massive amounts of sensitive US government data among IC agencies. ODNI CIO John Sherman said in an interview that the IC already has "world class computational capability. He added, "Now we need to make sure that data is fully unlocked." He "said that getting a room full of spooks to let go of their preferred systems in favor of a more common platform designed for give their secrets away to others `takes a tremendous amount of trust building." To assist with this effort, ODNI brought in Nancy Morgan as its new ADNI for Information and Data this year, "specifically charging her with the job of marrying the intelligence community's data resources with its larger policy goals." NSA Still Trying To Impose Data System Controls To Guard Against Abuse. Government Executive (7/8, Clark, 57K) reports the NSA inspector general's office, in an unclassified version of its semiannual report released on Monday, found that NSA "is behind on implementing internal data system controls aimed at assuring compliance with the domestic privacy protections in the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act." The IG "found that NSA did not have a necessary system control. ... Until this system control is implemented, the agency will be at risk for performing queries that do not comply with its authority under Section 702." The report also "criticized NSA's data system security plans, which `are often inaccurate and/or incomplete." NextGov (7/8, Corrigan) reports auditors also found the agency "held onto some of that data for longer than the law permits and failed to implement protections against insider threats." The IG gave NSA's contingency management practices "a Level 1 rating, meaning there's no official plan for the NSA to follow if it falls victim to a cyberattack." The audit revealed that despite its data-driven mission, NSA "struggles with many of the same cybersecurity challenges that plague less clandestine federal agencies." Auditors also "said NSA has yet to implement multiple IG recommendations to defend against insider threats, such as putting in place two-person access controls for agency data centers and scanning removable devices for viruses." "Catch-Up" IC Authorization Bill Advancing In Congress, Addressing Various Issues. Government Executive (7/8, Clark, 57K) reports Congress is advancing "three-year catch up" legislation on the IC authorization bill that would address several issues, including enhanced protections for whistleblowers. The bills, which combine texts for fiscal 2018, 2019 and 2020, also seeks "to protect the government's technology supply chain by creating a task force within the ODNI and improving procurement to defend against intrusion." House Intelligence Committee Chairman Schiff (D-CA) said the House version "rejects the administration's misguided use of Overseas Contingency Operations funding as a budget gimmick to evade existing budget caps put in place on a bipartisan basis by Congress, and it authorizes in the base budget those programs the Administration has explicitly identified as `OCO for base." Senate Chairman Burr (R-NC) said the Senate version "is vital for countering the growing threats posed by hostile foreign actors, including Russia, China and Iran, and for strengthening our nation's election security." Federal Data Strategy Forum Discusses Challenges To Attracting Data-Focused Talent. Federal News Network (7/8, Heckman, 220) reports at an open forum sponsored by the Data Coalition and the Office of Management and Budget, stakeholders said building a workforce "that can keep pace with the scope of the data management problem and the rate of change in technology stands out as one of the most daunting challenges." Former CIA collection management officer Kathy Rondon "said improving data literacy and related skills for a broad EFTA00147479 swath of employees - from manager to rank-and-file employees - should serve as the `linchpin' of the federal data strategy going forward." She added, "Your most highly technical employees may, in fact, be data illiterate." CRIMINAL INVESTIGATIONS Media Coverage Of Epstein Charges Focuses On Earlier Plea Deal Brokered By Acosta. The AP (7/8, Sisak, Mustian) reports federal prosecutors on Monday charged Jeffrey Epstein "with abusing dozens of underage girls as young as 14." The move comes "a decade after they were accused of letting [him] off the hook." US Attorney Geoffrey Berman of New York "said that the non-prosecution agreement that spared Epstein from a heavy prison sentence a decade ago is binding only on federal prosecutors in Florida, where the deal was made, not on authorities in New York." Under that "once secret deal" that was "overseen by Alexander Acosta, who was the U.S. attorney in Miami at the time and is now Trump's labor secretary," Epstein "pleaded guilty to state charges of soliciting a minor for prostitution," and "served 13 months in jail," avoiding a possible life sentence. Tom Llamas said in the lead story for ABC World News TonightVi (7/8, lead story, 4:05, Muir, 565K) that the agreement "halted a federal grand jury investigation and gave Epstein and any potential co-conspirators immunity from federal charges in Florida." The Washington Post (7/8, Zapotosky, Merle, Barrett, 14.2M) says media outlets "have detailed in investigative reports how" Acosta "shelved a 53-page federal indictment that could have put Epstein behind bars for life in favor of the deal that allowed him to plead guilty only to state charges." The Daily Caller (7/8, 716K), in an article titled, "Labor Secretary Alex Acosta Brokered A 2008 Plea Deal With Pedophile Jeffrey Epstein, Faces Increased Calls To Resign," reports that the Miami Herald has revealed that Acosta "made a deal with Washington, D.C. attorney Jay Lefkowitz, his former colleague, at a breakfast meeting in October 2007," which "closed an FBI probe into whether there were more victims, granted immunity to `any potential co-conspirators,' kept the deal from the victims in violation of federal law, and gave Epstein a lenient sentence in state court." Stephanie Gosk reported in the lead story for NBC Nightly NewsVI (7/8, lead story, 3:40, Holt, 167K) that during his confirmation hearing, Acosta defended the plea agreement as "the best deal, given the evidence." The New York limes (7/8, Watkins, Gold, 18.61M) calls the decision by Geoffrey S. Berman, the US Attorney in Manhattan, to seek the indictment "an implicit rebuke to the decision by prosecutors in Miami in 2008" to enter the agreement with Epstein. In the lead story for the CBS Evening NewsVi (7/8, lead story, 2:55, Axelrod, 315K), CBS News legal analyst Rikki Klieman was shown saying, "I think there should be no doubt that Jeffrey Epstein, back in 2007 and 2008 in Miami, was a rich and powerful man with powerful friends who absolutely got away with being a predator of young girls." The Miami Herald (7/8, Smiley, Daugherty, 1.09M) says Acosta "is facing new calls for his ouster" in the wake of the new charges against Epstein, while the Washington Post (7/8, Rein, Kranish, Dawsey, 14.2M) says White House officials "are nervous that Democrats will encourage women allegedly abused by Epstein to testify publicly before Congress, drawing attention to Acosta's work on the plea deal, according to current and former administration officials." However, the Post cites "two White House officials" who said the President does not have immediate plans to fire Acosta. However, CNN national correspondent Miguel Marquuez said on CNN's Situation RoomVi (7/8, 714K), "One Administration official [said] this is a significant event, noting that there is already an internal review about Acosta's handling of the Epstein case underway." Politico (7/8, Kumar, Lippman, 4.29M) says White House officials are "closely watching" Acosta's involvement in the plea deal, "acutely aware that negative publicity could harm him beyond repair, according to four people familiar with the situation." EFTA00147480 Toluse Olorunnipa of the Washington Post said on CNN's The LeadVi (7/8, 698K) that while the President "seems to still show support" for Acosta, "when it comes to members of Congress and people who have the power investigate this and show some oversight, it does seem like Acosta will be on the hot seat." The New York Post (7/8, Brown, 4.57M) reports, "After arresting Jeffrey Epstein on sex trafficking charges, the feds on Monday urged other alleged victims to get in contact with an FBI hotline to share their experiences." According to the Post, "At a press conference, Manhattan US Attorney Geoffrey Berman pointed to a large photo of Epstein next to the number 1-800-CALL-FBI, while an FBI official implored people to get in touch. 'Today I'm asking everyone to take a good look at this man. If you have been victimized in any way or if you are somebody who has any additional information about his alleged illegal behavior, we want to hear from you,' said William Sweeney Jr., the assistant director in charge of the FBI's New York Field Office. 'Whatever age you are now, whatever age you were then, no matter where or when the incident or incidents took place. The number to call is 1-800-CALL-FBI." A New York Times (7/8, 18.61M) editorial says "the Epstein saga looks like another example of how justice is not, in fact, blind - of how it tilts toward the powerful at the expense of the vulnerable." The Times argues that "Acosta and his former team members" should not "be allowed to wave off the tough or awkward questions that are likely to arise going forward." Reuters (7/8, Pierson) says Epstein "once had friends including U.S. President Donald Trump and former president Bill Clinton," and points out that Trump "praised" him in a 2002 New York magazine interview. At the time, Trump said, "I've known Jeff for fifteen years. Terrific guy. ... He's a lot of fun to be with. It is even said that he likes beautiful women as much as I do, and many of them are on the younger side. No doubt about it - Jeffrey enjoys his social life." The Washington Post (7/8, Fahrenthold, Reinhard, Kindy, 14.2M) says that in 2002, "being friendly with (Epstein] was something to boast about. And Donald Trump did." But, now he "is no longer a friend anyone would want to claim. And now, Trump doesn't." Trump Organization attorney Alan Garten "has said Trump had 'no relationship' with Epstein." Nonetheless, the Post says there is "clear evidence that the two men - both members of the same highflying societies in Manhattan and Palm Beach - socialized together in the past." Another report from The Daily Caller (7/8, News, 716K) says Bradley Edwards, a lawyer who represented Epstein's victims, "stated in court documents that Trump had barred Epstein" from Mar-A-Lago "because Epstein sexually assaulted an underage girl at the club." The DC says neither the President nor Mar-A- Lago have confirmed that Epstein was banned. The Washington Times (7/8, Morton, 492K) reports Clinton said in a statement Monday that he knows nothing about the charges facing Epstein. Clinton said in the statement that he "knows nothing" about the "terrible crimes" linked to Epstein. Brietbart: Establishment Media Trying To Link Trump, Epstein. Breitbart (7/8, Caplan, 673K) says the "establishment media" is trying to link Trump to Epstein "without any evidence connecting him to the underage sex trafficking case against the billionaire hedge fund manager." After word of Epstein's arrest this weekend broke, "a handful of news figures and outlets posted social media posts and stories painting a picture that the wealthy investor's arrest was bad news for President Trump - with one editor even going as far to suggest he could be directly implicated in the case." Davis Defends Clinton In Wake Of Epstein Indictments. Breitbart (7/8, Bleau, 673K) reports that Lanny Davis "is going to bat for former President Bill Clinton," in the wake of the indictments against Epstein. Breitbart says "some speculate that Democrats have been hesitant to grab on to the story due to the connections between Epstein and left-wing fan favorites, like Bill Clinton." After the Washington Examiner's Jay Caruso tweeted, "It's not all that hard to figure out why Democrats have treaded lightly. There's this pretty famous Democrat who flew on the tolita Express' 26 times with Epstein," Davis tweeted, "Classic fact- free innuendo. Back to McCarthy era. But worse." EFTA00147481 Pathologist Testifies That Nebraska Woman's Body Showed Signs Of Struggle. The Omaha (NE) World-Herald (7/8, Hammel, 641K) reports from Wilber, Nebraska, "Jurors saw and heard on Monday the grisly details of how Sydney Loofe's body was cut into pieces as the first-degree murder trial of Aubrey Trail entered its fourth week." According to the World-Herald, "Loofe's body was cut into 14 pieces, likely by two or three different instruments, according to separate testimony by two forensic experts," and "her body showed signs that she struggled at the time of her death, one said." Dr. Michelle Elieff, "a forensic pathologist from Omaha, said that her examination of Loofe's body showed signs that she had been restrained at her wrists, had a torn earlobe and was bruised at the back of her head and inner thigh," but "could those signs of struggle also have been consistent with `rough, consensual sex'? asked one of Trail's court-appointed attorneys, Joe Murray. `Yes; responded Elieff." The AP (7/8) reports, "FBI Agent Mike Maseth also testified Monday that Aubrey Trail's girlfriend, Bailey Boswell, told another person on Tinder that she would be busy for a couple days on the day Sidney Loofe was killed." KLKN-TV Lincoln, NE (7/8, 1K) also reports on its website. US Seeks Death Penalty For Man Convicted Of Murdering Chinese Scholar. Reuters (7/8, Chiarito) reports from Peoria, Illinois that federal prosecutors "argued on Monday that an Illinois man who raped and murdered a Chinese graduate student two years ago should be executed, and called on her heartbroken fiance and friends to tell the jury about the victim's kind, optimistic nature." According to Reuters, "A federal jury in Peoria, Illinois found Brendt Christensen, 29, guilty last month of the abduction and murder of Yingying Zhang, a 26-year- old student at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign," and "the jury is now in the penalty phase of the trial. `This was not an ordinary crime,' James Nelson, a prosecutor in the U.S. Department of Justice's capital case division, told the jury. `It was cold, cruel and calculated.' Christensen's attorneys "have asked the jury to spare his life, saying he had long struggled with substance abuse and mental illness and had a family history of both." The Chicago Tribune (7/8, Munks, 2.65M) also reports. Two Arrested After Firing At Police On Nevada Reservation. KOLO-TV Reno, NV (7/8, 39K) reports from the Fort McDermitt Indian Reservation in Nevada, "A man and a teenage boy have been arrested for several charges stemming from an incident Friday night." According to KOLO-TV, "The Humboldt County Sheriff's Office says about 9:45 p.m. July 5, 2019, deputies were helping the Bureau of Indian Affairs Police Department find people accused of a battery at the Red Mountain Travel Center, on the Ft. McDermitt Indian Reservation in Northern Humboldt County." KOLO-TV adds, "HCSO says preliminary information indicates BIA Police and HCSO Deputies found the suspect vehicle and three suspects in a field at the end of Abel Road on the reservation. Investigators say the suspects, who were armed with two rifles, fired at officers." The FBI "is conducting the criminal investigation and a use-of- force investigation, and a separate investigation into the deputy's use of force will be coordinated by the Humboldt County Sheriff's Office." FBI Offers Reward For Information On "Inconvenient Crook" Wanted In Seven Robberies. The Springfield (MA) Republican (7/8, Hanson, 395K) reports, "The FBI is asking for the public's help to track down a suspect accused in at least seven robberies, telling the clerk in one incident that he had `child support to pay; officials said." According to the Republican, "A reward of up to $10,000 is being offered for information that leads to the arrest of the suspect, who has been dubbed the `Inconvenient Crook; the FBI said." The Republican adds, "The suspect is accused of at least seven commercial robberies and two attempted commercial robberies at gas stations and convenience stores around Greater Boston area from August through March, the FBI wrote in a statement released Monday." EFTA00147482 California Man Pleads Guilty To Stealing Lemur From Zoo. The New York Daily News (7/8, Dillon, 2.52M) reports, "A Southern California man admitted Monday he broke into the Santa Ana Zoo and stole North America's oldest-living ring-tailed lemur in captivity to keep the endangered animal as a pet." Aquinas Kasbar, 19, "pleaded guilty to one misdemeanor count of unlawfully taking an endangered species and is due for sentencing Oct. 28, the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Central District of California said." According to the Daily News, Kasbar, of Newport Beach, California, "admitted in his plea agreement that he broke into the Santa Ana Zoo on July 27, 2018, after it had closed for the day and used bolt cutters to slice through the enclosures for the lemurs and capuchin monkeys, court documents state," and "he then stole" the lemur. The case "was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the United States Fish and Wildlife Service, the Newport Beach Police Department and the Santa Ana Police Department." FBI Offers Reward For Information On Escaped Mississippi Prison Inmates. WREG-TV Memphis, TN (7/8, 144K) reports from Jackson, Mississippi, "Authorities are offering a $12,500 reward for information leading to the arrests of two armed and dangerous escaped inmates." WREG-TV adds, "According to the Mississippi Department of Corrections, Jonathan Blankenship and Christopher Benson High were discovered missing early Friday, July 5, from the Central Mississippi Correctional Facility in Pearl." Blakenship "was serving five years for aggravated assault on a police officer and conspiracy to commit a crime out of Alcorn County," and High "was sentenced to 12 years for burglary larceny in Carroll County." According to WREG-TV, "The Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Mississippi Crime Stoppers have contributed funds to the reward." WZDX-TV Huntsville, AL (7/8) also reports. FBI Assisting In Probe Of Texas Police Officer Accused Of Sexual Misconduct. The Mission (TX Progress Times (7/8, Hendricks) reports, "The Progreso Police Department fired an officer last week amid a sexual assault investigation." According to the Progress Times, "Progreso police Chief Alberto Rodriguez said he fired police Officer Matthew Sepulveda last week." Sepulveda "is accused of inappropriate sexual contact with a person in custody." The Hidalgo County Sheriff's Office "is investigating the incident with assistance from the FBI. `The Hidalgo County Sheriff's Office is the lead agency, so I will need to refer you to them but I can confirm the FBI was assisting,' an FBI spokeswoman said in a statement." St. Louis Police Officer Charged With Handcuffing, Berating Man Faces Trial. The St. Louis Post-Dispatch (7/8, Patrick, 685K) reports, "A St. Louis police officer accused of handcuffing and threatening a man who got into an argument with the officer's girlfriend is scheduled to go to trial in federal court Monday." Kenneth A. Grooms "was charged in February with a misdemeanor civil rights violation for depriving the man of his constitutional rights against unreasonable seizure." According to the Post-Dispatch, "The incident occurred on May 5, 2018, charges say," and "there was little other information in charging documents," but "a person with knowledge of the investigation told the Post-Dispatch that Grooms handcuffed the man and drove him around in his car while berating him over the argument with Grooms' girlfriend," and "he later told an FBI agent, `Hey, this is my family, this is personal to me ...,' the filings say." Connecticut Man Who Impersonated Officer To Rob Victims Sentenced To Eight Years In Prison. The Norwich (fl -) Bulletin (7/8, Barry, 42K) reports from New London, Connecticut, "A man accused of pretending to be a police officer so he could rob men who hired his fiancee as a prostitute was sentenced on Monday to eight years in prison." Jerome Taylor, 28, of New London, "said at his sentencing in New London Superior Court that he regrets what he did and wished that his victims were in court so he could apologize to them." According to the Bulletin, EFTA00147483 "Norwich police arrested Taylor and his fiancee, Ashley Harnois, 26, of Woonsocket, R.I., as well as three other women in October 2017 as part of an FBI-led nationwide prostitution sting named Operation Cross Country XI." Taylor "was charged with third-degree promoting prostitution and resisting arrest in that case." Rhode Island Man Pleads Guilty To Trafficking Guns, Fentanyl. The Providence (RI) Journal (7/8, 259K) reports, "A Providence man on Monday pleaded guilty to trafficking fentanyl and firearms, according to the office of U.S. Attorney Aaron L. Weisman." Jean Sajous, 28, "admitted that between May 24 and June 20, 2018, he made multiple sales of fentanyl, and twice sold a firearm to a confidential source assisting the FBI." The Journal adds, "Appearing before U.S. District Court Chief Judge William E. Smith, Sajous admitted selling 5.34 grams of fentanyl, as well as a .25-caliber pistol and a 9mm pistol to the source." The drugs and firearms "were immediately seized by the FBI, according to Weisman's office." Pennsylvania Man Seeks To Overturn Sex Trafficking Convictions. The Harrisburg (EA) Patriot-News (7/8, Miller, 427K) reports, "A Harrisburg man and his attorney are waging a two-front battle to overturn federal sex trafficking and drug convictions that could send him to prison for decades." Miguel "Midnight" Arnold, 32, "commenced that campaign after a jury convicted him during a trial in U.S. Middle District Court late last month." Arnold "was among five people charged with running a `significant' prostitution and drug ring that originated in Harrisburg and operated from the fall of 2015 until August 2016, U.S. Attorney David Freed said Monday." Federal prosecutors "argued at trial that more than 20 women and girls, including a 14-year-old, were exploited by the ring." Oregon Professor Sentenced For Possessing Child Pornography. The Oregonian (7/8, Green, 1M) reports, "A former Portland State University chemistry professor who had been named Oregon's `Scientist of the Year' was sentenced Monday to 2 1/2 years in prison for possessing child pornography." Niles Edward Lehman, 57, "uploaded videos and photos of child pornography to his blog — which was available for public viewing - on the social networking website Tumblr, investigators said," and "Tumblr tipped off the FBI to the posted images and that led to Lehman's arrest, said Deputy District Attorney Bumjoon Park." Lehman "was charged with viewing and sharing 35 illicit images of children from fall 2017 to fall 2018, although authorities said he had hundreds on his iPhone and other electronic devices of children ages 3 to 12." US Charges Baltimore Drug Ring Member With Drug, Weapons Trafficking. The Baltimore Sun (7/8, Prudente, 1.33M) reports, "Federal prosecutors on Monday provided a glimpse at the inner workings of an alleged Baltimore drug ring, detailing a feud that left a 16- year-old dead, a bystander shot and a 23-year-old behind bars on a slew of drug and gun charges." In a Baltimore federal courtroom, "prosecutors told a judge that Justin Antoine murdered teenager Jordan Deshields, shooting him twice in the head on a basketball court in Southwest Baltimore." The Sun adds, "The young victim's crew sought revenge and months later opened fire on Antoine in the streets, prosecutors said. `This is a defendant who poses an extreme risk to the community,' Assistant U.S. Attorney Matthew DellaBetta told the judge." Magistrate Judge Beth Gesner "agreed and ordered the 23-year-old Antoine locked up until trial on federal drug trafficking and firearms charges." Maryland US Attorney Robert Hur "praised the FBI wiretap investigation that led to the indictment." FINANCIAL CRIME & CORPOPATE SCANDALS DC Council To Vote On Whether Evans Should Be Removed As Finance Committee Chair. EFTA00147484 The Washington Post (7/8, Thompson, Jamison, Stark, 14.2M) reports that the Washington, DC City Council "is scheduled to vote" today on whether Council member Jack Evans "should be removed as chairman of the Committee on Finance and Revenue and whether to hire an outside law firm to investigate him." Evans, "a fixture of city politics since his 1991 election and an ally to the business community for decades, has been under scrutiny for his private consulting work for several prominent companies with interests before the D.C. government." The Post notes that "since the fall, a federal grand jury has issued several subpoenas to governmental bodies seeking documents about Evans and his clients." The FBI "recently searched his home, and Evans resigned from the Metro board last month after The Post reported that an investigation had found evidence that he committed ethics violations at the transit agency, where he had served as chairman." Attorneys For Philadelphia Union Official, Councilman Seek Dismissal Of Charges. The Philadelphia Tribune (7/8, Mitchell, 118K) reports, "Lawyers for John Dougherty, business manager of Local 98 of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, and City Councilman Bobby Henon asked a judge Monday to dismiss multiple charges from a 116-count federal indictment against the two." According to the Tribune, "Dougherty's attorney Henry Hockeimer Jr. and Henon's attorney Brian J. McMonagle argued that the approximately $70,000 salary and Eagles football game tickets the union gave Henon for his work for the union in 2015 and 2016 represented a conflict of interest, and not criminality on either part of the two men." The indictment "included various charges, including conspiracy to embezzle labor union funds, falsification of labor union financial records, and making false statements to the FBI." FBI: Texas State Employee Took Bribes For Fraudulent Trucker Licenses. The San Antonio Express-News (7/8, Contreras, 762K) reports, "Authorities have uncovered a scheme in which a San Antonio-area state employee took bribes to issue more than 200 commercial driver's licenses to people who didn't take the required test." According to the Express-News, "The employee of the Texas Department of Public Safety commercial driver's license division is believed to have taken tens of thousands of dollars in bribes to fraudulently issue 215 commercial driver's licenses between January 2017 and June of this year, according to the FBI." Authorities "would not release the name of the employee nor the specific DPS office location." The Express-News adds, "Of the 215 commercial driver's licenses in question, 197 went to Cuban nationals," and "11 to U.S. citizens...FBI special agent Monroe Giese testified Monday at court hearings for two people charged in the case with conspiracy to commit mail fraud." Federal Grand Jury Investigating GOP Fundraiser Broidy. The AP (7/8, Mustian, Butler) reports, "A federal grand jury in New York is investigating top Republican fundraiser Elliott Broidy," examining whether he used his position as vice chair of President Trump's inaugural committee "to drum up business deals with foreign leaders. ... A wide-ranging subpoena the US Attorney's Office in Brooklyn recently sent to Trump's inaugural committee seeks records relating to 20 individuals and businesses" that all have connections to Broidy, his businesses, "and foreign officials he pursued deals with - including the current president of Angola and two politicians in Romania." The New York Times (7/8, Vogel, 18.61M) reports that during Trump's 2016 campaign and transition, "few establishment power brokers had ties to him, creating a vacuum that gave tremendous influence to the relatively small group of people who could demonstrate real connections." Broidy helped the inaugural committee "raise a record-shattering $107 million" and "marketed his access to Mr. Trump and his inauguration to prospective government clients around the world, including some with unsavory records." EFTA00147485 Defense Attorneys Want US To Disclose Identities Of Firms, Individuals In Case Against Florida Official. The Tallahassee (FL) Democrat (7/8, Burlew, 180K) reports, "Attorneys forJohn Burnette, charged in the federal public corruption case against City Commissioner Scott Maddox, are asking federal prosecutors to lift the veil on companies and individuals referenced but not identified in the indictment against him." According to the Democrat, "Grand jury indictments handed down in December against Maddox and former Downtown Improvement Authority Executive Director Paige Carter-Smith, and in May against Burnette, referred to business and individuals involved in the alleged racketeering conspiracy but identified them only as Persons A through G and Companies A through F." On Monday, Burnette's attorneys asked US District Judge Robert Hinkle "to compel the government to disclose the identities and alleged conduct of the unnamed players." Judge Refuses To Move Trial Against Rep. Hunter. The AP (7/8) reports that US District Judge Thomas Whelan on Monday "refused to dismiss federal corruption charges against Rep. Duncan D. Hunter or move the trial outside his Southern California district, saying he found no evidence that the Republican lawmaker cannot get a fair trial there." Judge Whelan "said Hunter...easily won reelection to a sixth term in 2018 after being indicted and therefore should be able to be tried fairly in the district." Defense attorneys "argued that prosecutors were politically motivated when they indicted the 42-year- old congressman only months before the 2018 election and that the case should be dismissed," but Judge Whelan "said he found no evidence of that." US Charges California Doctor With Defrauding Health Insurance Companies. The Canyon (CA) News (7/8) reports from West Hollywood, California, "James T. Lee, 71, of West Hollywood, a doctor who specialized in treating HIV patients was taken into custody on Tuesday, July 2." Lee "allegedly defraud health insurance companies with a brand name human growth hormone Serostim," which is "an injectable hormone that is used on HIV patients with wasting or cachexia to increase physical strength and body mass." Lee "is being charged with one count of conspiracy to commit health care fraud, six counts of health care fraud, one count of making false statements relating to health care matters, and two counts of witness tampering." Ohio Man Pleads Guilty To Defrauding Kentucky Bank. The Ashland (KY) Daily Independent (7/8, Puit, 38K) reports, "An Ohio man admitted in federal court that he collectively defrauded a Kentucky bank and seventeen individuals and businesses in Kentucky, Ohio, West Virginia, and Wisconsin of more than $4.6 million, according to the federal government." Anthony McQuaid, 47, "pleaded guilty to one count of bank fraud and one count of wire fraud before United States District Judge David Bunning." McQuaid "admitted he executed a scheme to defraud Town Square Bank, of Ashland, Kentucky, to obtain a loan for $1 million, in 2014," and he "also admitted he developed and executed a scheme to defraud Auto Now Acceptance Co., LLC, of Portsmouth, Ohio, of $850,200, in 2017." The investigation "was conducted by the FDIC and the FBI." CYBER DIVISION Florida Approves New Round Of Election Security Grants. Florida Politics (7/8, Powers) reports, "Fifty-five Florida counties' Supervisors of Elections offices will get state grants to improve their elections and voter database security, thanks to redistribution of more than $2.3 million in unexpended funds authorized by Gov. Ron DeSantis and approved by Secretary of State Laurel Lee." The grants "respond to applications from the EFTA00147486 counties, and range from $524,838 for Orange County to just $229 for Hendry County." According to FP, "The State Department and Florida's Supervisors of Elections continue to work closely with state and federal partners including the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, the Multi-State Information Sharing and Analysis Center, the Center for Internet Security, the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Florida Department of Law Enforcement on election security issues, according to the release from Lee's office." LABORATORY DC Prosecutor Blamed Nonexistent Crime Lab Backlog For Delays. The Washington Post (7/8, Hsu, Alexander, 14.2M) reports, "A federal prosecutor falsely blamed a nonexistent backlog at the D.C. crime lab for delays that contributed to the dismissal of a drug and gun case and the matter has been referred" to the Justice Department for investigation. The office of US Attorney Jessie Liu "notified the judge handling the case of the actions in court filings." LAW ENFORCEMENT SERVICES FBI Working To Protect Fans During MLB All-Star Game In Cleveland. WEWS-TV Cleveland (7/8) reports, "During the All-Star Game festivities, 100,000 people are expected to visit Cleveland," and "people from across the country and around the globe have converged on Northeast Ohio," but "plans to protect them started well before they arrived in town." According to WEWS-TV, "There are local, state and federal law enforcement officers protecting and serving during the five-day event," and "officers from neighboring cities and from other areas of the country are here to help. 'When you have a large-scale event like this, it's not just assets arrive, you have the event and then they leave. There is a large sort of underpinning of things that go on that the public typically doesn't see that allows for a safe and enjoyable event,' said Special Agent in Charge of the Cleveland FBI Eric Smith." Detroit Surveillance Camera System Faces New Scrutiny From Residents. The New York Times (7/8, Al, Harmon, 18.61M) examines Detroit's use of surveillance cameras at thousands of locations around the city, which the Times calls "the opposite of covert. A flashing green light marks each participating location, and the point of the popular initiative, known as Project Green Light, has been for the cameras to be noticed and help deter crime." But recently, "a public outcry has erupted over a less-touted tool employed in conjunction with the cameras: software that can, in a matter of seconds, suggest the identities of the anonymous people captured on video." The use of facial recognition software has alarmed residents, and in a city "whose share of black residents is larger than any other sizable American city, it is a racial disparity in the performance of facial recognition technology that is a primary source of consternation." Former Inmate Who Earned College Degree Via Second Chance Pell Profiled. The New York Times (7/8, Green, 18.61M) has a feature on Maurice Smith, who spent 27 years in prison for a murder committed when he was 19 and who this year completed his bachelor's degree "through the Goucher Prison Education Partnership while serving at the Maryland Correctional Institution in Jessup, using federal Pell grants offered through a pilot program called Second Chance Pell." The program, created in 2016, "doled out $35.6 million to educate 8,800 incarcerated students at 40 institutions in its first two years, and is one of the only Obama-era education initiatives that has survived the Trump administration." Families Of Sandy Hook Victims Fighting Back Against Conspiracy Theorists. EFTA00147487 The Washington Post (7/8, Svrluga, 14.2M) reports that amid conspiracy theories claiming the Sandy Hook shooting "was faked to generate urgency for gun-control laws," the families of those who were killed "have started fighting back publicly. Relatives and prosecutors have brought at least nine cases against hoaxers, according to an attorney for a group of plaintiffs, including three in Connecticut consolidated by the court." Recently, "family members have started seeing real gains in a fight most were reluctant to wage." Virginia Senate Majority Leader Offers Gun Control Bill. The Washington Post (7/8, Schneider, Vozzella, 14.2M) reports that as Virginia lawmakers head to Richmond Tuesday for a special legislative session on gun control, Senate Majority Leader Thomas Norment Jr. "has opened the door to one type of gun restriction." In a move that "caught GOP colleagues off guard," Norment has "proposed a bill that would ban firearms from local government buildings around the state and make any violation a felony." Norment's bill "goes further than a similar measure proposed by a Republican delegate." The Post says the measures "are the strongest signs that some GOP lawmakers might support at least one priority set by Gov. Ralph Northam (D) when he called the General Assembly back to work." Maitra Predicts Backlash Unless Government Ads Against Antifa Violence. In a piece for The Federalist (7/8, Maitra, 126K), senior contributor Sumantra Maitra decries the attack on Quillette editor Andy Ngo by Portland Antifa. Maitra writes that Antifa "and other far- left personalities and groups openly organize every single day on Twitter and Facebook without any bans or fear of law enforcement." He argues that "American liberals and conservatives" must "bring about order in generic lawlessness and anarchy," or "they will pave the way for normal middle-class peaceful Americans to elect someone to bring about order." If "history is a guide, unless governments come to their senses and govern, a Leviathan always rises." Sixty-Six Shot, Six Fatally, In Chicago Over Four-Day Weekend. The Chicago Tribune (7/8, Yin, Fazio, Gorner, Pratt, 2.65M) reports that on Monday, Chicago Police Superintendent Eddie Johnson addressed the shootings of 66 people in the city over the four-day Independence Day holiday weekend, saying, "As a black man who grew up in public housing in the city of Chicago, trust me: I understand the stranglehold that gangs have over certain neighborhoods, and I understand because I lived it. ... [But] there are still no excuses or justifiable reasons for carrying illegal guns." The Chicago Sun-Times (7/8, Geng, 875K) reports that six people died in the 42 separate shooting incidents, according to Johnson. OTHER FBI NEWS Critics Blast FBI, ICE Use Of State DMV Photos. The AP (7/8, Bajak) reports from Boston, "Civil rights activists complained Monday of the potential for widespread abuse following confirmation that at least three states have scanned millions of driver's license photos on behalf of Immigration and Customs Enforcement without the drivers' knowledge or consent." According to the AP, "Public records obtained by the Georgetown Law Center on Privacy and Technology provided the first proof that ICE had sought such scans, which were conducted in Utah, Vermont and Washington," and "all three states - which offer driving privileges to immigrants who are in the U.S. illegally - agreed to the ICE requests, according to documents shared with The Associated Press on Monday and first reported by The Washington Post. 'States asked undocumented people to come out of the shadows to get licenses. Then ICE turns around and uses that to find them,' Alvaro Bedoya, the center's director, said Monday." Newsweek (7/8, 1.53M) reports, "n a statement, chairman of the house oversight committee, Elijah Cummings said he was worried that these searches were being done without EFTA00147488 the authorization of either Congress or state legislatures. 'Law enforcement's access of state databases is often done in the shadows with no consent,' he said." Rep. Jim Jordan (R-OH), "the House Oversight Committee's ranking Republican, said that no citizen getting their driver's license would have known that their personal details could be used for surveillance purposes. 'No individual signed off on that when they renewed their driver's license, got their driver's licenses. They didn't sign any waiver saying, "Oh, it's okay to turn my information, my photo, over to the FBI." No elected officials voted for that to happen,' he said." The Oregonian (7/8, Theen, 1M) reports, "One of the Oregon lawmakers who crafted a bill that would grant people without proof of citizenship or legal residence access to legal driver's licenses said federal investigators and immigration officers wouldn't be able to mine the state's driver's database using facial recognition software." Rep. Diego Hernandez, "one of the chief sponsors behind Oregon's House Bill 2015, said the bill included 'significant privacy provisions' that would address the situation outlined in a bombshell Washington Post story published Sunday." The Salt Lake (UT) Tribune (7/8, Davidson, 224K) reports, "Utah officials said Monday they do not allow immigration officials to conduct fishing expeditions using facial recognition technology to mine databases of photos of undocumented immigrants taken for driving privilege cards," and "they also denied reports that the state allows wholesale facial recognition searches through its driver license photos for other law enforcement agencies, including the FBI. 'That might happen in other states. But that did not happen in Utah, and it still does not happen in Utah,' said Marissa Cote, spokeswoman for the Utah Department of Public Safety." The AP (7/8) reports, "The Vermont governor's office says the state's Department of Motor Vehicles stopped sharing facial recognition information with federal immigration authorities more than two years ago." Rebecca Kelley, "a spokeswoman for Republican Gov. Phil Scott, said Monday the state stopped sharing the information in May 2017, after Scott, who took office earlier that year, was made aware of it." Kelley "says that since that time the software has not been used by law enforcement and law enforcement has not had access to the information." NPR (7/8, 3.12M) and the Wall Street Journal (7/8, Volz, Subscription Publication, 7.57M) also report. Federal Judges Say FBI Agent Gave False Testimony In South Dakota Rape Probe. The Rapid City (SD) Journal (7/8, Zionts, 106K) reports, "After two Rapid City federal judges ruled an FBI agent gave false testimony at a grand jury hearing, a judge must now decide if those statements and other alleged behavior 'constitute a pattern of governmental misconduct' that means a rape indictment should be thrown out." Magistrate Judge Daneta Wollmann and US District Judge Jeffrey Viken "both found that FBI Special Agent Mark Lucas gave false testimony to the grand jury...about an alleged rape of a 17-year-old girl in December 2016 near Kyle." The grand jury "indicted Tolin Gregg, who was 18 at the time, on two counts of aggravated sexual abuse by force." Agent Lucas "falsely told the grand jury that" a witness "said that Gregg raped the girl in his car...Viken wrote in a recently unsealed order." DO) IG To Review Decision Not To Move FBI Headquarters. The Baltimore Sun (7/5, Wood, 1.33M) reports, "The inspector general at the U.S. Department of Justice plans to review the Trump administration's decision not to build a new headquarters for the FBI in the Washington suburbs, a project that could have brought thousands of jobs to Maryland." Michael E. Horowitz "told members of Congress that his office would review the planning process for the proposed move of the FBI from the District of Columbia." According to the Sun, "Prince George's County was in the running for the new headquarters, a process that was in the works for nearly a decade before Republican President Donald Trump pulled the plug in 2017." According to the Sun, "The Trump administration wants to keep many FBI employees in Washington, while moving thousands of others to Alabama, Idaho and West Virginia." WTTG- TV Washington (7/8, Fitzgerald, 72K) reports also reports. EFTA00147489 Boston SAC Bonavolenta Discusses Dedication To FBI. The Providence (RI) Journal (7/8, Amaral, 259K) reports, "Joseph R. Bonavolonta is in some ways the quintessential G-man, sporting close-cropped hair, good posture and an unflashy suit and tie," but "as he takes over as the special agent in charge of the FBI field office that includes Rhode Island, Bonavolonta said he's working to break down the buttoned-up image of the agency to which he's dedicated 23 years of his life. 'In the last few years, I can say we really are trying to become much, much more aggressive in private-sector and public outreach,' Bonavolonta said in a recent interview with The Providence Journal at the FBI's office on Weybosset Street." The Journal adds, "Originally from North Jersey, Bonavolonta is the son of another career FBI man, Jules Bonavolonta," and "the younger Bonavolonta took over the Boston-based field office encompassing Rhode Island, Massachusetts, New Hampshire and Maine in January after a stint in Washington, D.C." OTHER WASHINGTON NEWS In White House Address, Trump Touts "America's Environmental Leadership." Media reports of the President's address Monday at the White House on the environment are decidedly negative. While President Trump is cast as touting his Administration's record, reports note widespread criticism from environmentalists. Reuters (7/8, Volcovici), for example, says the President "boasted about his administration's environmental record on Monday, saying America can lead the world in fighting pollution at the same time it is promoting fossil fuels, in a speech green groups derided as 'utter fantasy." Along similar lines, USA Today (7/8, Jackson, Collins, 10.31M) says "Trump spotlighted his environmental record Monday, even as environmental groups ripped his administration for promoting the kinds of pollution generated by oil drilling, natural gas extraction and coal mining." Said Trump, "We want the cleanest air, we want crystal clean water - and that's what we're doing." But as the President delivered his address, "a long list of environmental groups issued indictments of the president's record, from promotion of oil and gas drilling on public lands to deregulation of energy companies." Under the headline "Trump Defends Environmental Record That Critics Call Disastrous," the Washington Post (7/8, Eilperin, Kim, 14.2M) reports "Trump delivered a full-throated defense of his administration's environmental record Monday, despite relaxing nationwide limits on air and water pollution and reversing course on US climate policy." The Post says the President's "recounting of his accomplishments prompted howls of incredulity from environmentalists, who noted that he had systematically dismantled dozens of policies over the past two and-a-half years aimed at safeguarding human health and the planet." The Los Angeles Times (7/8, Phillips, 4.64M), in a story titled "Few Of Trump's Environmental Claims Stand Up To Scrutiny," reports Trump "held himself out as a leader in the fight to protect America's air and water," despite having "allied himself with coal, oil and gas industry groups, nominated a former energy lobbyist to run the Environmental Protection Agency and vowed to pull out of the Paris climate accord." To Bloomberg (7/8, Dlouhy, 4.73M), "Trump's environmental agenda has focused chiefly on rewriting Obama-era rules limiting greenhouse gas emissions - not imposing aggressive new mandates that would keep global warming in check." Newsweek (7/8, Goodkind, 1.53M), however, reports the President "said from the stage that his team had likely worked harder on 'the environment' than any prior administration." To The Hill (7/8, Green, 2.98M), "Much of the speech addressed environmental issues as a footnote to his efforts on energy, but argued that growth in energy and a clean environment could build on one another." Said Trump, "We're unlocking American energy and the United States is now a net exporter of clean, reliable American gas." EFTA00147490 Energy Secretary Perry said on Fox News' The Story (7/8), "This President does care about the environment, and he's doing something about it. When you think about the clean energy that America is delivering around the world. ... The President has got a great story to tell, not to mention the jobs that get created and the wealth, and the quality of life that comes with that. I don't find it odd at all that President Trump is talking about the environment, talking about the economy in the same breath." CBS News (7/8, Farhi, 3.68M) reports on its website that "an aide told CBS News the president has been wanting to talk about environmentalism," while Axios (7/8, Swan, Harder, 521K) reported Ivanka Trump urged the President "to make the speech." According to the New York Times (7/8, Rogers, Davenport, 18.61M), the idea for Monday's speech "did not start with the president. It started with consultants on his re-election campaign who have discovered that his environmental record is a definite turnoff for two key demographics - millennials and suburban women, according to two people familiar with the plans." A senior White House official, who "had reviewed internal campaign polling, said that the numbers showed Mr. Trump was 'never going to get' the type of voter who feels passionately about tackling climate change." But, the official said, there are moderate voters who "just want to know that he's being responsible" on environmental issues. And that, the Times says, is who the speech was "aimed at convincing." NPR (7/8, Ludden, 3.12M) says Monday's speech contained "no new policy announcement," and instead "felt mostly like a campaign rally." The address, it adds, "may amount to recognition that the environment and climate change are a growing concern for US voters and an issue on which Democrats hold an edge." The Guardian (UK) (7/8, Holden, 4.19M) likewise says the speech was meant to "temper Americans' concerns that his administration is ignoring the climate crisis" as "polls show a majority of voters disapprove of his handling of the issue and Democrats competing for the presidential nomination have been rolling out proposals to cut pollution." The AP (7/8, Knickmeyer, Freking) reports Mustafa Santiago Ali, a former longtime EPA official, says the White House is recognizing that "the majority of folks in the country are now beginning to pay attention to climate issues and environmental issues," and Administration officials are "trying to reframe the conversation to make people think they've done something to better protect them." CNN (7/8, Vazquez, 83.16M) says on its website that during Monday's speech, Trump "also took time to criticize the Democrat-led Green New Deal," which he said "would be too expensive and would harm private business." Said Trump, "It'll kill millions of jobs. It'll crush the dreams of the poorest Americans and disproportionately harm minority communities. I will not stand for it." The New York Post (7/8, Fredericks, 4.57M) too says he "ripped Democrats for what he called wildly expensive schemes for the environment, such as the so-called Green New Deal," and Rolling Stone (7/8, Bort, 12.8M) reports that "the thrust of Trump's message was that the best way to help the environment is to help the economy." The Daily Caller (7/8, Athey, 716K) reports, "The administration's celebration of its work on the environment comes as Democratic members of Congress and presidential candidates continue to advocate for sweeping environmental reforms that would likely have devastating effects on the economy." Hallie Jackson said on MSNBCVi (7/8, 772K), "This speech is either - depending on how you see it, and your perspective on this issue - either the cherry on the sundae or the nail in the coffin to the Obama-era Clean Power Plan. That has been in the process of getting rolled back for the last year-and-a-half now. The final rules went into effect just a couple of weeks ago, and that is potentially the reason why the President is coming out and speaking about this now. It is not an issue the President talks about a lot." Media Analyses: Trump Taking Credit For Gains Under Previous Administrations. Axios (7/8, Harder, 521K) reports Trump touted "how America's air pollution has decreased 74% since 1970," and while "that's true...most of those reductions occurred long before Trump EFTA00147491 was in office." A Politico (7/8, Gulllen, Snider, Wolff, 4.29M) "Fact Check" likewise says Trump "is taking credit for pollution reductions that have taken place under previous presidents - and undertaking an aggressive agenda of weakening air and water pollution rules." Whistleblower Says He Was Pressured By Administration To Reverse Environmental Decision. CNN (7/8, Bronstein, Griffin, Ash, 83.16M) reports on its website that "in the summer of 2017, Arizona developer Mike Ingram's proposed housing and golf course project in the desert was facing a road block because" a "field supervisor for the US Fish and Wildlife Service had determined that it was 'reasonably certain' that threatened and endangered species could be harmed." According to CNN, that decision "suddenly changed following a secret breakfast meeting at a Montana hunting lodge between Ingram - a donor to President Donald Trump and co-owner of the Arizona Diamondbacks - and David Bernhardt, then the Trump administration's deputy Interior secretary." Following the meeting, the field supervisor told CNN in an interview "he was pressured to reverse his decision." Alaska Hits Record-Breaking High Temperatures. The CBS Evening NewsVi (7/8, story 9, 2:00, Axelrod, 315K) reported Trump "made no mention of climate change" in his speech Monday, "but there is no escaping the debate in Alaska, where temperatures this summer are running 25 degrees above average." CBS (Vigliotti) added, "It's estimated climate change could cost the Alaskan economy as much as $700 million a year over the next five decades." Barr: Administration Has Found Legal Work-Around To Include Census Citizenship Question. The Charleston (SC) Post and Courier (7/8, Holdman, 290K) reports that in a visit to South Carolina on Monday, Attorney General Barr "said the Trump administration will present a legal work-around that will allow a question on citizenship to be added to the 2020 Census." Said Barr, "I think, over the next day or two, you'll see what approach we're taking and I think it does provide a pathway for getting the question on the census." Barr "did not provide details in his brief remarks," though a senior official said President Trump "is expected to issue a memorandum to the Commerce Department instructing it to require census respondents to say whether they are citizens." - as reported earlier Monday by the AP (7/8, Balsamo). The Washington Examiner (7/8, Dunleavy, 448K) also reports Barr said DO) "has a new legal strategy for adding" the question. Pamela Brown, meanwhile, said on CNN's Situation RoomVi (7/8, 714K) that "sources tell CNN the Administration is scrambling to figure out if they can use a presidential memorandum or executive order to add the controversial citizenship question to the Census." Pelosi: Citizenship Question's Purpose Is To "Make America White Again." The Hill (7/8, Marcos, 2.98M) reports House Speaker Pelosi "argued Monday that...Trump's push to include a citizenship question on the 2020 census is an effort to 'make America white again' in an adaptation of his campaign slogan." Said Pelosi, "This is about keeping - you know his hat - make America white again. ... They want to make sure that people, certain people, are counted. It's really disgraceful. And it's not what our founders had in mind." The Washington Times (7/8, Dinan, 492K) quotes Pelosi as further charging, "They want to suppress that and have it be only certain people counted - people who will vote with them." Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi (D-IL) said on CNN's Situation RoomVi (7/8, 714K), "Thanks to the leadership of Chairman [Elijah] Cummings on the Oversight Committee, we got to the bottom of why they actually added the citizenship question to the Census, which is that they wanted to suppress the count of minorities. And the offered reason, namely that they, quote, unquote, 'wanted to enforce the Voting Rights Act provision' by adding the citizenship question was clearly shown to be pretextual, and that is what the Supreme Court found. At this point, any move to issue an executive order or something along those lines to put that citizenship question back on the Census in my opinion would be unconstitutional." EFTA00147492 House Democrats To Pursue Contempt For Barr, Ross. Politico (7/8, Desiderio, Bresnahan, 4.29M) reports "House Democratic leaders plan to move forward with criminal contempt proceedings" against Barr and Commerce Secretary Ross "for defying congressional subpoenas for documents related to the 2020 census, senior Democratic aides said Monday." Politico adds that "being held in contempt by Congress will be an embarrassment for the Trump administration officials but it won't lead to many tangible consequences." Politico Analysis: Administration Likely To Lose Legal Fight. Politico (7/8, Hesson, Gerstein, 4.29M) reports "Trump's fight to add a citizenship question to the 2020 census is one he seems likely to lose." Politico quotes Vanita Gupta, "a former head of DOJ's civil rights division under President Barack Obama and current president of the Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights, which opposes adding the citizenship question," as saying, "It just feels like a farce. ... There are people who view this as the President asking the Justice Department to do unlawful things and to violate and undermine the rule of law." To Gupta, "the idea that judges will agree to ignore existing evidence in the case...'seems absurd:" Reuters Analysis: Losing Census Citizenship Fight Could Still Benefit GOP. In an analysis titled "In Losing Legal Battles Over Census, Trump May Win Political War" Reuters (7/8, Hals) says the Trump Administration "has few realistic options to get a citizenship question onto next year's census, but by keeping the issue in the public eye it could still trigger an undercount of residents in Democratic-leaning areas." Reuters adds that analysts say "constant media coverage linking citizenship and census forms could scare undocumented immigrants away from responding and rally...Trump's base to participate," which, "in turn, would help redraw voting districts across the country in favor of" Republicans. Reuters says that scenario could be "encouraging the president to pursue a legal battle that he has little chance of winning." Pence Calls Concentration Camp Comparison "An Outrage." Townhall (7/8, Nitzberg, 177K) reports Vice President Pence, addressing the Christians United for Israel conference in Washington on Monday, "decried Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez's (D- NY) comments about 'concentration camps' on America's border" without mentioning her by name. Pence said, "To compare the humane work of the dedicated men and women of Customs and Border Protection with the horrors of the Holocaust is an outrage. The Nazis took lives, American law enforcement save lives every day." Pence To Visit US-Mexico Border Friday. USA Today (7/8, Groppe, 10.31M) reports Pence will visit the Us-Mexico border on Friday as Democrats in Washington "are holding a hearing on dangerous conditions at overcrowded migrant detention centers." In a tweet Monday, Pence wrote that he will go to McAllen, Texas, which USA Today says is "home to one of the federal detention centers contributing to what federal investigators have called a 'ticking time bomb." Pence "said he will be accompanied by his wife and a bipartisan delegation of members of the Senate Judiciary Committee." USA Today adds that in a speech Monday, Pence blamed problems at the border on "Democrat obstruction." McAleenan, Morgan Asked To Testify Before Congress Friday. The CBS Evening NewsVI (7/8, story 6, 2:00, Axelrod, 315K) reported acting DHS Secretary McAleenan and acting ICE Director Morgan "have been asked to testify before Congress Friday on conditions at migrant detention center." CBS (Bojorquez) added that McAleenan "has defended the conditions there." McAleenan: "Because there is adequate food and water, because the facility is cleaned every day, because I know what our standards are, and I know they're being followed because we have tremendous levels of oversight." UN Human Rights Chief Condemns Treatment Of Migrant Children At US Border. The New York Times (7/8, Cumming-Bruce, 18.61M) reports UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet on Monday "condemned" how the US "is treating migrant children arriving from Mexico." Bachelet said in a statement, "As a pediatrician, but also as a mother and a former head of state, I am deeply shocked that children are forced to sleep on the floor in EFTA00147493 overcrowded facilities, without access to adequate health care or food, and with poor sanitation conditions." While Bachelet "has generally taken a more mollifying approach to dealing with governments than the outspoken Jordanian diplomat, Zeid Ra'ad al-Hussein, whom she replaced 10 months ago," she "pulled few punches on the issue of migrant children at the southern border." Krugman: "Cruelty And Corruption Are Intertwined" In Trump's Migrant Policy. Paul Krugman writes in the New York Times (7/8, 18.61M) that the US is committing "atrocities" against Central American migrants and that "the detention centers meet the historical definition of concentration camps." Krugman argues that the Administration "sees cruelty both as a policy tool and as a political strategy: Vicious treatment of refugees might deter future asylum-seekers, and in any case it helps rev up the racist base." In addition, there is "money to be made, because a majority of detained migrants are being held in camps run by corporations with close ties to the Republican Party." Krugman concludes that "cruelty and corruption are intertwined in Trump administration policy. Every betrayal of American principles also seems, somehow, to produce financial benefits for Trump and his friends." Woman Taking Sanctuary In Chicago Church Lives In Fear Of Deportation. The Chicago Tribune (7/8, Anderson, 2.65M) reports that Francisca Lino, who in August 2017 "defied a court order mandating she leave the country" and sought sanctuary in a Chicago church "lives in fear." On Monday, "Democratic politicians stood side by side with Lino and her family at a news conference...where they pledged to fight back against what they said were merciless immigration enforcement policies." The news conference "was in part a reaction to Trump's announcement last month that federal officials would begin large-scale deportations in major US cities, including Chicago." Rep. Jan Schakowsky (D-IL) said, "The fear is palpable. ... Children are afraid to go to school. Parents afraid to go to work...so we are fighting back." Admiral Set To Take Top Navy Post Instead Retires Amid Ethics Probe. The AP (7/8, Burns) reports that Adm. William Moran, "the four-star admiral set to become the Navy's top officer on Aug. 1 will instead retire, an extraordinary downfall prompted by what Navy Secretary Richard Spencer called poor judgment regarding a professional relationship." The AP says "the sudden move...may add to the perception of turmoil in the Pentagon's senior ranks, coming less than a month after Pat Shanahan abruptly withdrew from consideration to be defense secretary after serving as the acting secretary for six months." The New York Times (7/8, Gibbons-Neff, 18.61M) says Moran cited "an ongoing ethics investigation into his relationship with a subordinate who was 'held accountable over allegations of inappropriate behavior." According to the Times, "Though Admiral Moran did not mention him by name in the statement, two Defense Department officials identified the unnamed subordinate as Cmdr. Chris Servello, a former Navy public affairs officer who was accused of harassing female colleagues at a Christmas party in 2016." New Law Allows New York To Hand Over Trump's Tax Returns To Congress. Politico (7/8, Niedzwiadek, 4.29M) reports that New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D) yesterday "signed a law...authorizing the release of state tax returns to a handful of congressional committees, opening a new avenue for Democrats to get their hands on some of President Donald Trump's closely guarded finances." The new law allows New York's Department of Taxation and Finance "to share returns of top federal, state or local government officials - though not private citizens - with three congressional committees that have jurisdiction over tax matters at the request of their respective chair." Politico says "proponents of the new law argue that because Trump has been a lifelong New Yorker, his state return would largely mirror the federal tax documents he has thus far shielded from public view." The AP (7/8, Klepper) says the law is "expected to face legal challenges," and "it's unclear whether Congress will request access to Trump's state returns." At any rate, "all sides expect EFTA00147494 legal challenges and requests for injunctions, meaning it could be many months before any state tax returns are handed over." The Washington Post (7/8, Stein, 14.2M) reports, meanwhile, that House Ways and Means Chairman Richard Neal "has suggested he will not pursue Trump's state returns, saying he is focused on obtaining documents held by the Internal Revenue Service." A spokesman for the Ways and Means Committee "said the state documents may not be relevant to the committee's investigation." The New York Times (7/8, McKinley, 18.61M) reports that New York Attorney General Letitia James is currently "investigating the financing behind several major Trump Organization projects and a failed effort to buy the Buffalo Bills of the National Football League in 2014, and has issued subpoenas to Deutsche Bank and Investors Bank" The Times adds that before its passage, the bill was "harshly criticized by Republicans in New York and elsewhere as a 'bill of attainder' - an unconstitutional piece of legislation aimed at a single person or group - as well as a potential invasion of privacy." Reuters (7/8, Borter) and Bloomberg (7/8, Davison, Clukey, 4.73M), among other news outlets, also reports on the implications of the new state law. DO) Seeks To Halt Suit Charging Trump With Profiting Off Presidency. The AP (7/8, Abdollah) reports the Justice Department has asked the District of Columbia Court of Appeals to halt US District Judge Emmet Sullivan's decision to allow a case accusing President Trump "of profiting off the presidency to move forward, asking an appeals court to take up the case instead." The DOJ also wants the court "to suspend legal discovery recently approved by [Sullivan], which would force Trump-related entities such as his New York and D.C. hotels, Trump Tower, the Trump Organization, and Mar-a-Lago Club to turn over business tax returns, receipts and other documents." Trump Says He Plans To Hold July 4th Celebrations For "Foreseeable Future." USA Today (7/8, Collins, 10.31M) reports "President Donald Trump isn't done celebrating," and "said Monday that last week's Fourth of July celebration on the National Mall was 'something special' and that he's planning to do it again." Said Trump, "It was a wonderful day for all Americans, and based on its tremendous success, we're just making the decision - and I think we can say we've made the decision - to do it again next year and maybe we can say for the foreseeable future." The Hill (7/8, Samuels, 2.98M) says "Trump boasted of the 'incredible, big, beautiful crowds," but adds "the idea is likely to stir further consternation among Democrats who raised numerous concerns with Trump's 'Salute to America; ranging from its cost to the optics of the massive military presence." The Hill adds "critics will likely further seize on the fact that Trump would be using a national holiday to deliver a speech during a presidential campaign year." The New York Post (7/8, Tacopino, 4.57M) points out "the Independence Day address was the first by a president on the Mall since President Harry Truman spoke there during the Korean War in 1951." Trump Says Leaders "All Working Together" On California Earthquake Response. President Trump tweeted Monday evening, "Spoke to @GOPLeader Kevin McCarthy about the earthquakes in California and informed him that we will be working very closely on emergency funding. Also spoke to Governor @GavinNewsom - all working together!" The CBS Evening NewsVi (7/8, story 3, 2:15, Axelrod, 315K) reported Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) "says last weekend's back-to-back earthquakes caused at least $100 million in damage." NBC Nightly NewsVi (7/8, story 5, 2:00, Holt, 167K) reported, "The aftershocks in those two major earthquakes are still being felt tonight, both on the ground and in peoples' minds." Marcus Moore said on ABC World News TonightVi (7/8, story 4, 1:55, Muir, 565K), "There's concern that another earthquake could happen at any time. Tonight, California on alert. More than 5,000 aftershocks rattling the state since the massive 6.4 and 7.1 quakes hit - the strongest here in 20 years." EFTA00147495 Facing Likely Removal, Amash Resigns From House Oversight Committee. Politico (7/8, Zanona, Bresnahan, 4.29M) reports "newly declared independent Rep. Justin Amash has formally left the GOP Conference and resigned from the House Oversight Committee, according to a letter he sent to Republican leaders on Monday." Wrote Amash, "Please accept this letter as formal notification that I am withdrawing my membership in the House Republican Conference, effective immediately." Amash "would have automatically lost his committee seat once he was removed from the GOP Conference, which was expected to happen anyway this week." The Steering Committee will now "make a recommendation about who should fill the vacancy." The Detroit News (7/8, Burke, 825K) reports "Republicans had speculated the conference could vote as early as Wednesday to remove Amash from the" GOP conference, the Washington Examiner (7/8, Ferrechio, 448K) that Amash "faced certain removal from the [Oversight] committee," and the New York Times (7/8, Cochrane, 18.61M) that he has now vacated "an influential post where he had joined Democrats in their efforts to investigate President Trump." An earlier Washington Post (7/8, Bade, 14.2M) report remarked on GOP plans to remove Amash from the committee, and referred to the move as "rare retaliatory action" that stands in "contrast with actions by the Democratic Party, which has allowed two independents - Sens. Bernie Sanders (Vt.) and Angus King (Maine) - to caucus with its ranks and hold committee assignments." Democrats Criticize Lack Of Blacks, Latinos Among Trump's Circuit Court Nominees. The Washington Post (7/8, Fuchs, 14.2M) reports that while the Senate "has confirmed President Trump's judicial nominees to the circuit courts at an unprecedented fast pace," none "of the 41 judges is black or Hispanic." The "absence of any black or Hispanic judicial nominee for the 13 circuit courts has drawn criticism from Democrats and civil rights groups, as the judges will be making decisions affecting all aspects of daily life for millions of Americans, ruling in some 60,000 cases a year." The Post contrasts Trump's judicial choices for the circuit courts with those of his predecessors, reporting that according to CRS, President Obama "made racial and ethnic diversity a top priority, and 27 percent of his circuit court appointees were black or Hispanic," and 15 percent "of President George W. Bush's appointees were black or Hispanic." New Book On Kavanaugh Confirmation Contrasts With Media's Depiction Of Blasey Ford. The Daily Caller (7/8, Daley, 716K) reports excerpts of "Justice on Trial," a forthcoming book on Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh's confirmation relay "incendiary allegations about Dr. Christine Blasey Ford." Authors Mollie Hemingway and Carrie Severino "say unnamed peers accused Ford of drinking to excess and accosting boys with some regularity as a student at the Holton-Arms School." This "contrast(s) with press accounts that cast her as innocent and naive during that period." Hemingway and Severino write, "Female classmates and friends at area schools recalled a heavy drinker who was much more aggressive with boys than they were." Trump Campaign Consulted With Kennedy About Potential Supreme Court Nominees. The Daily Caller (7/8, Daley, 716K) reports the book also reveals that lawyers "associated with" President Trump's 2016 campaign "consulted retired Justice Anthony Kennedy while compiling a list of prospective Supreme Court nominees during the 2016 presidential campaign." The book says, "The team talked to judges for whom candidates had clerked and to those who had clerked with them. McGahn was particularly interested in what candidates had been like in their mid-twenties, the stage of life when he believed most people's views solidified. ... Justice Kennedy was eager to help, offering the names of at least six former clerks who were in his 'top five.' Kavanaugh was one of them." White House Invites Project Veritas' O'Keefe To Social Media Summit. EFTA00147496 The Washington Times (7/8, Boyer, 492K) reports the White House has invited Project Veritas founder and CEO James O'Keefe to a social media summit on Thursday. O'Keefe, "who published a report showing political bias at Google," said in a statement, "If legendary muckrakers like Ida Tarbell and Lincoln Steffens can partner with Teddy Roosevelt to expose and reform Big Oil, Project Veritas can be synergistic with the Trump administration to pull back the curtain surrounding Big Tech." Flash Floods Hit Washington Area During Monday Morning Rush Hour. All three broadcast networks reported on the flash flooding emergency that struck the Washington area during morning rush hour Monday. Stephanie Ramos reported on ABC World News TonightVI (7/8, story 2, 1:45, Muir, 565K), "Up to half a foot of rain falling in just two hours, forcing dozens of water rescues." On the CBS Evening NewsVi (7/8, story 3, 1:40, Axelrod, 315K), Jeff Pegues said "a month's worth of rain, three to four inches, fell in just one hour around the D.C. area during this morning's commute." Hans Nichols reported on NBC Nightly NewsVI (7/8, story 2, 1:15, Holt, 167K) that "no deaths were reported." Rains Leave "Large Puddles Of Water" In White House Briefing Room. USA Today (7/8, Jackson, 10.31M) reports the "torrential rains...created floods all around the White House — and in the White House, including large puddles of water in the basement of the White House press room." The storm "produced larger-than-normal puddles in the press room, requiring the deployment of air fans to suck them up." INTERNATIONAL NEWS Taliban, Afghan Representatives Agree To Framework For Talks. The New York Times (7/8, Mashal, 18.61M) reports "Taliban and Afghan representatives, including some government officials, agreed on Tuesday to a basic road map for negotiating the country's political future, a major step that could help propel peace efforts to end the long war, now in its 18th year." The Times adds that "in a joint declaration...the two sides emphasized a need to work for reducing 'civilian casualties to zero' and assuring women their fundamental rights." While "the declaration is not binding," it "does help push forward a peace process between American diplomats and the Taliban that has been making strides in negotiations, but which has been struggling to overcome the Taliban's refusal to meet with Afghan government officials." Reuters (7/8, Jain) points out that on Sunday, the Taliban "detonated a car bomb outside a government security compound in central Afghanistan killing 14 people and wounding 180, including scores of children." A "senior Afghan official involved in the talks" is quoted as saying, "It is very hard to sit across from those men who are waging a war against innocent Afghans, but it is also a test of our commitment to peace." Trump Says US "Will No Longer Deal" With UK Ambassador, Slams May's Handling Of Brexit. President Trump tweeted yesterday, "I have been very critical about the way the U.K. and Prime Minister Theresa May handled Brexit. What a mess she and her representatives have created. I told her how it should be done, but she decided to go another way. I do not know the Ambassador, but he is not liked or well._ thought of within the U.S. We will no longer deal with him. The good news for the wonderful United Kingdom is that they will soon have a new Prime Minister. While I thoroughly enjoyed the magnificent State Visit last month, it was the Queen who I was most impressed with!" ABC World News TonightVi (7/8, story 6, 1:45, Phillips, 565K) reported last night, "Just moments ago...we learned that the ambassador has actually been dis- invited from an official dinner with...Trump." Bloomberg (7/8, Sink, Hutton, 4.73M) points out EFTA00147497 he dinner in question was for the emir of Qatar, as does the Washington Times (7/8, Boyer, 492K). Reuters (7/8, Holden, James) points out Trump's statement came "while Britain voiced regret for a leak of confidential memos in which the diplomat called Trump's administration `dysfunctional' and `inept." A May spokesman told reporters, "Contact has been made with the Trump administration, setting out our view that we believe the leak is unacceptable. ... It is, of course, a matter of regret that this has happened." The AP (7/8, Lawless) also reports "the British government was hunting Monday for the source or the "leak of diplomatic cables from Britain's ambassador in Washington," and describes "British officials" as "embarrassed by the publication of Kim Darroch's unflattering assessment - but more alarmed that sensitive confidential information has been leaked, possibly for political ends." Politico (7/8, Forgey, Toosi, 4.29M) says "Trump's tweet immediately raised questions about the legal and diplomatic standing of Darroch, including whether the president's tweet essentially declared the British ambassador `persona non grata," and the Washington Times (7/8, Howell, 492K) that the President "excommunicated the British ambassador via tweet." To the Los Angeles Times (7/8, Bierman, 4.64M), "the declaration from Trump...marked another fault line in the `special relationship' between the two countries that has seen several ups and downs since Trump took office and has been increasingly fraught with tension over Britain's messy exit from the European Union." David Chalian said on CNN's Situation RoomVI (7/8, 700K), "There is nothing in those cables that anybody following the Trump Administration would be like, 'Oh, my God, where did the British Ambassador come up with this notion that there is chaos or that things aren't going well." Gloria Borger said on CNN's Situation RoomVi (7/8, 700K) that the Ambassador "paid for his candor in these private cables. This is what ambassadors do. They try and give you their best judgments about an administration and these were his judgments." USA Today (7/8, Jackson, 10.31M) reports "Andrew Overton, a former spokesman for the British embassy in the US, defended Darroch, saying on Twitter that he is in fact `well liked' by the Trump administration, and 'played a key role' in the state visit that Trump enjoyed so much." NBC Nightly NewsVi (7/8, story 3, 1:20, Mitchell, 167K) also reported that "contrary to the President's tweet, the ambassador is highly regarded and frequently hosts Trump officials." The New York Times (7/8, Landler, 18.61M) reports "British officials scrambled to contain the damage from Mr. Darroch's unvarnished private assessments of the president and his administration," while the Washington Post (7/8, Booth, Dawsey, 14.2M) indicates "May's spokesman had said" ahead of Trump's tweets "that the British ambassador retained the prime minister's 'full faith' and that there was no move to bring Darroch home." The Post adds "May's spokesman also stressed that the British leader did not share in her ambassador's withering critiques." The Hill (7/8, Fabian, 2.98M) and Bloomberg (7/8, Sink, Hutton, 4.73M), among other news outlets, also report the story. British Investigating Potential Russian, Iranian Involvement In Cables' Leak. NBC Nightly NewsVI (7/8, story 3, 1:20, Mitchell, 167K) reported "the British government is investigating the leak and looking both inside and to a possible cyber attack - either from Russia or Iran." British Trade Minister Says He'll Apologize To Ivanka Trump. The New York Times (7/8, Landler, 18.61M) reports "Britain's trade minister, Liam Fox, said he planned to apologize to Mr. Trump's eldest daughter, Ivanka Trump, for the leaking of the cables at a meeting this week during his visit to Washington." Fox told BBC radio, "Either our Civil Service or elements of our political class have not lived up to the expectations that either we have or the United States has about their behavior, which in this particular case has lapsed in a most extraordinary and unacceptable way." To the Times, "Fox's gesture of contrition speaks equally to Ms. Trump's rising status in the administration and Britain's dwindling status as it faces a post-Brexit future," but "it is not clear that it will be enough to mollify the president." EFTA00147498 USA Today (7/8, Cummings, 10.31M) quotes Fox as calling the leak "malicious" and "unconscionable," and adding, "I will be apologizing for the fact that either our civil service or elements of our political class have not lived up to the expectations that either we have or the United States has about their behavior, which in this particular case has lapsed in a most extraordinary and unacceptable way." Pence, Pompeo, Bolton Admonish Iran After Its Threat To Accelerate Nuclear Work. The AP (7/8, Abdollah) reports that in an address to the evangelical group Christians United for Israel, Vice President Pence said the US "will not waver from its course of maximum pressure against Iran," and "will never allow Iran to obtain a nuclear weapon." Pence is quoted as saying, "Iran must choose between caring for its people and continuing to fund its proxies who spread violence and terrorism throughout the region and breathe out murderous hatred against Israel." Pence's speech was "amplified in later remarks to the group" by Secretary of State Pompeo and National Security Adviser Bolton. Pompeo credited the Administration for undertaking the "strongest pressure campaign in history against the Iranian regime." The AP reports that Bolton said, "As we pressure the Iranian regime, we will also continue to stand with the long-suffering Iranian people, who as President Trump has said, are the `rightful heirs to a rich culture and an ancient land." The Washington Free Beacon (7/8, Kugle, 78K) quotes Pence as warning Iran, "There will be no more pallets of cash to the mullahs in Iran," and adding that "the previous administration's so-called deal didn't prevent Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon, it simply delayed it for roughly a decade. In exchange, the deal gave away billions of dollars in cash sanctions really Iran has used the phone more terrorist attacks on innocence across the region." The Washington limes (7/8, Boyer, 492K) notes Pence also said, "Iran should not confuse American restraint with a lack of American resolve. ... We hope for the best, but the United States of America and our military are prepared to protect our interests and protect our personnel and our citizens in the region." NBC Nightly NewsVi (7/8, story 4, 0:15, Holt, 167K) reported "the US and Britain face a new threat from Iran, breaching a critical limit on nuclear fuel set by the Iran nuclear deal, moving a step closer to possibly a nuclear weapon." ABC World News TonightVi (7/8, story 7, 0:15, Muir, 565K) said yesterday's was "Iran's first major breach of" the 2015 "deal after new sanctions from the US." Along those lines, Reuters (7/8, Dehghanpisheh, Khalid) points out that the government of Iran "threatened...to restart deactivated centrifuges and ramp up enrichment of uranium to 20% purity in a move away from the 2015 nuclear deal." Reuters adds "The threats to ramp up enrichment, made by Tehran's nuclear agency spokesman, would go far beyond the small steps Iran has taken in the past week to nudge stocks of fissile material just beyond limits in the pact that Washington abandoned last year," and "would reverse the major achievements of the agreement, intended to block Iran from making a nuclear weapon." However, at the same time, Major General Hossein Salami, the head of Iran's Revolutionary Guards, "insisted the world knows Tehran is not pursuing nuclear arms." Salami is quoted as saying, "Why do they globally sanction us about the nuclear issue when the world knows that we are not pursuing a weapon? ... Nuclear weapons have no place in Islam. Islam never approves of weapons of mass destruction." The Washington Post (7/8, McAuley, Birnbaum, 14.2M) reports that "for more than a year, Europeans have balanced between Washington and Tehran as they sought to preserve the Iran nuclear deal, under pressure from both sides and trying to avoid angering either," but "the next few days could be decisive as Europe desperately tries to hold the agreement together while Iran increasingly flouts it." The Post adds, "The European high-wire act could come to an end soon: France, Britain and Germany see higher levels of uranium enrichment as a red line that would leave them little alternative but to start the process of reimposing sanctions and ending EFTA00147499 the deal. Turning away international inspectors or installing more centrifuges would also be triggers for sanctions, diplomats said." Another Washington Post (7/8, Cunningham, 14.2M) story indicates, however, that the uranium enrichment announcement "was designed to pressure Europe to reset the terms of the nuclear agreement following a US withdrawal from the pact last year." The Post adds "European nations have failed to compensate Tehran for economic losses now that the United States has reimposed trade and other restrictions lifted under the deal." Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Abbas Mousavi said that if European nations "do not fulfill their commitments seriously and do not do anything more than talk, Iran's third step will be harder, more steadfast and somehow stunning." The AP (7/8, Gambrell) reports that "experts warn that higher enrichment and a growing stockpile could begin to narrow the one-year window Iran would need to have enough material for an atomic weapon, something Iran denies it wants but the deal prevented." The AP adds, "While the steps now taken by Iran remain quickly reversible, Europe so far has struggled to respond." Bloomberg (7/8, Viscusi, 4.73M) reports that French President Emmanuel Macron is sending Emmanuel Bonne, "his top diplomatic adviser," to Iran this week in an effort to "find ways to get the Islamic Republic to dial back its violations of a landmark 2015 nuclear deal and avoid escalating tensions with European partners and the US." USA Today (7/8, Hjelmgaard, 10.31M) and the Wall Street Journal (7/8, Norman, Subscription Publication, 7.57M), among other news outlets, also report the story. Pence Excises Line Reading "We Are Willing To Talk" From Speech On Iran. According to Reuters (7/8, Alper), "In his prepared remarks, Pence had planned to say that Washington remained open to talks with Tehran, but dropped the line in his delivered speech." Reuters says Pence did not read these lines: "The United States does not seek a war with Iran. We are willing to talk. We are willing to listen. But America will not back down." WPost Urges Trump To Turn Away From Pompeo And Bolton. In an editorial, the Washington Post (7/8, 14.2M) argues that "since it has initiated a confrontation that has sharply raised tensions in the Persian Gulf, you'd think the Trump administration would have anticipated the Iranian response and gamed out its next moves." However, "Trump's response to the Iranian announcements suggests otherwise," with his "empty words once again" revealing "the president's lack of either a coherent goal for his 'maximum pressure' campaign, or a strategy for achieving it." The Post adds Pompeo and Bolton, "like the Israeli and Saudi governments, favor regime change in Iran and are open to using US military force," while "Trump says he only wants to improve the nuclear deal, and doesn't want war." The Post concludes, "If that's the case, he ought to be turning away from the hawks and looking for a way to deescalate - before it is too late." China Accuses US Of "Unilaterally Bullying" Iran. The New York Times (7/8, Specia, 18.61M) reports that a spokesman for the Chinese Foreign Ministry "called the American sanctions on Iran 'bullying' in a news conference on Monday." The spokesman is quoted as saying, "The US side not only unilaterally withdrew from the agreement but also created more and more obstacles for Iran and other parties to implement the agreement through unilateral sanctions and long-armed jurisdiction. It has been proven that unilateral bullying has become a worsening 'tumor' and is creating more problems and greater crises on a global scale." Gibraltar Says Iranian Tanker Seized By UK Forces Was Loaded With Crude. Reuters (7/8, Holton, MacLellan) reports that the government of Gibraltar said Monday that "tests have shown an Iranian supertanker seized" by the British military last week "was fully loaded with crude oil." According to Reuters, "British Royal Marines boarded the ship, Grace 1, off the coast of Gibraltar on Thursday and seized it over accusations it was breaking sanctions by taking oil to Syria." State Department Announces New Human Rights Panel. EFTA00147500 The AP (7/8, Tucker) reports that the State Department announced yesterday that the Administration "will review the role of human rights in American foreign policy," and "appoint...a commission expected to elevate concerns about religious freedom and abortion." Secretary of State Pompeo announced the creation of the Commission on Unalienable Rights, "saying the country must be `vigilant that human rights discourse not be corrupted or hijacked or used for dubious or malignant purposes." However, according to the AP, "human rights groups accused the administration of politicizing foreign policy in a way that could undermine protections for marginalized populations, including the gay, lesbian and transgender community." The AP also says Democrats have "raised concerns about the panel's intent and composition, fearing it would consist of members who `hold views hostile to women's rights' and blow away existing human rights treaties." The Washington Examiner (7/8, Leonardi, 448K) quotes Pompeo as telling reporters, "As human rights claims have proliferated, some claims have come into tension with one another provoking questions and clashes about which rights are entitled to gain respect. ... Nation states and international institutions remain confused about the respective responsibilities concerning human rights. ... The time is right for an informed review of the role of human rights in American foreign policy." The Washington Times (7/8, Meier, 492K) reports the "new commission...will include philosophers, experts and lawmakers on both sides of the aisle who will examine the role of human rights in foreign policy," and the New York Times (7/8, Sullivan, Wong, 18.61M) that the Commission on Unalienable Rights "will be chaired by Mary Ann Glendon, a conservative Harvard professor and former ambassador to the Vatican." The Times adds "gay rights groups have expressed fears it will narrow the government's support for advocacy." The State Department "has already taken subtle steps to distance itself from gay and transgender issues." The Times also reports that Pompeo "said that human rights advocacy had become too broad over the years, but he did not give details on what would be curtailed and he did not take questions from reporters after making the announcement." The Washington Post (7/8, Morello, 14.2M) says "the selection of Glendon, a human rights scholar who has won national accolades for her work, may tamp down some of the early concerns that the new commission could become a vehicle to chip away at same-sex marriage and abortion rights." The Post continues, "When the panel was first outlined in an internal State Department memo, the proposed chair was Robert P. George, a Princeton University professor who was a co-founder of the National Organization for Marriage, which opposed same-sex marriage, and a prominent antiabortion advocate." The Post adds a State Department official now says George "will not be on the commission and that the panel will not weigh in on either issue." Reuters (7/8, Wroughton) says the Administration "has stepped up an anti-abortion push at the United Nations since cutting funding in 2017 for the UN Population Fund because it supports or participates in 'a program of coercive abortion or involuntary sterilization." State Department Approves Taiwan Arms Sale. Axios (7/8, Falconer, 521K) reports in a brief item that the State Department "has approved a potential $2.2 billion sale of M1A2T Abrams tanks, Stinger missiles and related equipment to Taiwan." China had warned that the sale could further exacerbate tensions. Son Of Former South Korean Foreign Minister Defects To North. The New York Times (7/8, Choe, 18.61M) reports that Choe In-guk, 73, "the son of a former South Korean foreign minister who fled to North Korea in the 1980s also defected to the North last week, according to the North's state-run news media." Choe "arrived in Pyongyang...on Saturday to 'resettle permanently' in the North, a website called Uriminzokkiri, which is run by the North Korean government, said on Sunday." According to the Times, Choe's father, Choe Dok-shin, was "a former South Korean foreign minister who defected to the North in 1986, becoming the highest-profile South Korean to do so since the 1950-53 Korean War." EFTA00147501 NYTimes Analysis: West Bank Calm Rooted In Despair, Not Optimism. The New York Times (7/8, Kershner, 18.61M) reports that though the West Bank has become calmer in recent months, for many Palestinians there "the lull in grass-roots protests has less to do with economic optimism than despair. They attribute the relative calm that now prevails to a combination of factors, including war weariness and the Israeli military's harsh response." There is also "a pervasive lack of hope for change after five years of impasse in peace talks [and] a powerful but intransigent Israel," among other factors. One recent poll found "that only 23 percent of Palestinians saw nonviolent resistance as the most effective way of achieving statehood." NYTimes Analysis: New Greek PM Prevailed Despite Weakness Of Other Center-Right Parties. The New York Times (7/8, Stevis-Gridneff, 18.61M) profiles Kyriakos Mitsotakis, the leader of Greece's "center-right" New Democracy party, who "after sweeping to victory in a general election on Sunday," became the country's new prime minister Monday. According to the Times, Mitsotakis' "ascent...is testament to his tenacity, and to the radical shifts the country's political system has undergone amid a decade of extreme financial hardship and the ensuing recasting of political alliances," as well as "a striking resurgence for a mainstream political party at a time when European center-right parties are struggling." The Times says Mitsotakis "named a cabinet reflecting the balance he needs to strike between his party's hard-right wing and liberal strands." Reuters (7/8, Maltezou) points out that "the far-right Golden Dawn party...failed to win a single seat in Greece's new parliament, an outcome political analysts said reflects a slow improvement in the country's fortunes after years of wrenching economic crisis." Golden Dawn "saw its support in Sunday's election tumble to 2.9 percent - just below the three percent needed to enter parliament - from 6.9 percent in the 2015 poll." Russia-Georgia Tensions Rise After Georgian TV Host's Anti-Putin "Rant." The Washington Post (7/8, Ferris-Rotman, 14.2M) reports, "Tensions between Russia and Georgia sharply escalated Monday" after Georgian television host Giorgi Gabunia "called the Russian leader a `stinking occupier...cursed his dead parents and promised to defecate on his grave." The "on-air rant, broadcast Sunday evening, came after two weeks of violent anti- Russian demonstrations" in Tbilisi. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Monday, "These insulting remarks are totally unacceptable and deserve condemnation." Russian Official Says Submarine Crew Died Preventing "Catastrophe Of Global Proportions." Reuters (7/8, Balmforth, Osborn) says a Russian media outlet has quoted a senior Russian navy official as saying "a fire aboard a top-secret Russian nuclear submarine could have led to a `catastrophe of global proportions' if not for the selfless actions of the crew." Reuters notes the Russian Defense Ministry has acknowledged that "fourteen submariners were killed on July 1 during a fire in a deep-water research submersible that was surveying the sea floor near the Arctic." Sergei Pavlov, an aide to the Russian navy's commander, reportedly said, "They all shared one and the same fate - to save the lives of their comrades, to save their vessel and to prevent a catastrophe of global proportions at the cost of their own lives." Bloomberg (7/8, 4.73M) quotes Pavlov as saying, "With their lives, they saved the lives of their colleagues, saved the vessel and prevented a planetary catastrophe." However, Bloomberg reports that Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov "said he wasn't aware of the official's comments but said there was no indication the incident posed a broader threat. `As for the reactor, there are no problems with that,' he said on a conference call." Duterte Defiant As UN Considers Investigation Of Violence In The Philippines. EFTA00147502 The Washington Post (7/8, Cabato, 14.2M) reports Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte "has remained defiant ahead of a U.N. vote expected this week on an Iceland-sponsored resolution calling for an investigation of the bloodshed" unleashed by his anti-drug crackdown, which has led to at least 6,600 killed by police and "more than 20,000 others killed by unknown perpetrators," according to a new Amnesty International report. A Duterte spokesman said Friday, "They have no business interfering with us. They are insulting the intelligence of the Filipino people. At the same time, they are insulting our sovereignty." "Militant Buddhism" Rising In Response To Conditions In Burma And Sri Lanka. The New York Times (7/8, Beech, 18.61M) reports on "the rise of militant Buddhism" in the wake of "ethnic cleansing" of Buddhist Rohingya in Burma and ongoing violence in Sri Lanka. The Times says "some Buddhists, especially those who subscribe to the purist Theravada strain of the faith, are increasingly convinced that they are under existential threat, particularly from an Islam struggling with its own violent fringe." US Agency For Global Media Facing New Scandals. The New York Times (7/8, Williamson, 18.61M) reports the US Agency for Global Media, "already struggling to clean house after a series of scandals last year at flagship operations like Voice of America and TV Marti, is now being rocked by two new cases that have raised further questions about its journalistic and financial management." Just days after a former top official at the agency pleaded guilty to stealing government property, a N Marti reporter and cameraman "were suspended amid allegations that they faked a mortar attack" during a broadcast from Nicaragua. The Times says "the scandals have brought intensified scrutiny and criticism to the agency, formerly known as the Broadcasting Board of Governors." THE BIG PICTURE Headlines From Today's Front Pages. Wall Street Journal: Iran Threatens To Extend Nuclear Breaches Financier Jeffrey Epstein Indicted On Federal Sex-Trafficking Charges SoftBank Chip-Design Unit Yet To Conquer Internet Of Things Heavy Debt Humbles China's Business Champions, Including The Jewelry Queen Liberace Is Back (As Muse To A Classical Pianist Playing Hip-Hop) New York Times: Jeffrey Epstein: Seizure Of Photos Of Nude Girls Deepens Questions About Earlier Deal Leaked British Cables Critical Of Trump Lead To Diplomatic Uproar As Cameras Track Detroit's Residents, A Debate Ensues Over Racial Bias 'Our Duty' To Fight: The Rise Of Militant Buddhism Judge Blocks Trump Rule Requiring Drug Companies To List Prices In N Ads Turkey's Long, Painful Economic Crisis Grinds On Washington Post: Charges Against Epstein Unveiled 'You Are Who?' For Colo. Ex-Governor, A Lonely Run Targeted Online, Newtown Parents Fighting Back Europe Is Caught Between Iran, U.S. A Different View Of Trump's 'Genius Stuff' At Wharton EFTA00147503 Financial Times: Epstein Charged With Sexually Abusing 'Dozens' Of Girls Deutsche Falls 5% On Fears Over Global Restructuring New Greek Government Vows To Get Economy Moving US Barred Hong Kong Consul From Giving Tough Speech On Protests Washington Times: Mueller Report Undercuts Media Conspiracy Theories On Sergey Kislyak Jeffrey Epstein Charged With Operating Sex Trafficking Ring, Using Underage Girls To Recruit 'Early Adopters': South Korea's Sprint To Embrace 5G Met With Hiccups 'Trial Lawyer' Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez Turns Hearings Into Appointment Viewing Zimbabweans' Fear Of Currency Comeback Casts Doubt On Changes Since Mugabe Federal Minimum Wage Hike Would Cost Millions Of Jobs: CBO Report Story Lineup From Last Night's Network News: ABC: Jeffrey Epstein; D.C.-Flash Flood Emergency; Weather Report; California-Earthquake; Royal Caribbean-Toddler Falls Overboard; Trump-British Ambassador; Iran Tensions; Joe Biden- Segregationist Senators; Election 2020-Eric Swalwell; Campaign Fundraising; US Women's Soccer Team-Equal Pay; Kevin Spacey-Accuser's Testimony; Georgia-Sheriff's Deputy Killed; Mississippi-Small Plane Crash; Spain-Two Americans Injured In Running Of The Bulls; Wimbledon-15-Year-Old's Run Comes To An End; Americans Celebrate Women's World Cup. CBS: Jeffrey Epstein; US Women's Soccer Team-Equal Pay; D.C.-Flash Flood Emergency; California-Earthquake; Kevin Spacey-Accuser's Testimony; Migrant Detention Facilities; Wimbledon-15-Year-Old's Run Comes To An End; New York-In Vitro Babies Switched; Alaska- Climate Change; Texas-11-Year Old Aids Police Officer By Tying His Shoe. NBC: Jeffrey Epstein; D.C.-Flash Flood Emergency; Trump-British Ambassador; Iran Tensions; California-Earthquake; California-Earthquake Preparedness; Royal Caribbean-Toddler Falls Overboard; US Women's Soccer Team-Equal Pay; New York-In Vitro Babies Switched; Robocall Scam; Wimbledon-15-Year-Old's Run Comes To An End. Network TV At A Glance: Jeffrey Epstein - 10 minutes, 40 seconds California-Earthquake - 6 minutes, 10 seconds US Women's Soccer Team-Equal Pay - 5 minutes, 10 seconds D.C.-Flash Flood Emergency - 4 minutes, 40 seconds Story Lineup From This Morning's Radio News Broadcasts: ABC: Hong Kong-Extradition Bill Dies; Trump-British Ambassador; New York-Legislation May Effect Trump's Tax Returns; California-Earthquake; Jeffrey Epstein. CBS: Pelosi-Calls For Sec. Of Labor To Resign; Jeffrey Epstein; Kevin Spacey-Accuser's Testimony; Trump-Environment Claims; Hong Kong-Extradition Bill Dies; Stocks. FOX: Census 2020; Jeffrey Epstein; Election 2020-Eric Swalwell; Campaign Fundraising; All Star Homerun Derby. NPR: Jeffrey Epstein; Trump-Wholesale Prices Disclosure; Mike Pompeo-Human Rights Claims; Fed.-Interest Rates. WASHINGTON'S SCHEDULE Today's Events In Washington. White House: EFTA00147504 • President Trump — participates in the arrival of the Amir of the State of Qatar; participates in a bilateral meeting with the Amir of the State of Qatar; participates in a commercial signing ceremonies viewing; participates in an expanded working lunch with the Amir of the State of Qatar; participates in the departure of the Amir of the State of Qatar. • Vice President Pence — meets with the Latvian Prime Minister; joins THE PRESIDENT for the arrival of the Amir of the State of Qatar; joins THE PRESIDENT for a commercial signing ceremonies viewing; joins THE PRESIDENT for an expanded working lunch with the Amir of the State of Qatar; joins THE PRESIDENT for the departure of the Amir of the State of Qatar. US Senate: • Senate Energy subcommittee legislative hearing - Energy Subcommittee legislative hearing on 'S. 1602, the Better Energy Storage Technology Act', 'S. 1593, the Promoting Grid Storage Act of 2019', 'S. 1183, the Expanding Access to Sustainable Energy Act of 201% 'S. 1741, the Reducing the Cost of Energy Storage Act of 2019', 'S. 2048, the Joint Long-Term Storage Act of 2019', 'S. 1685, Launching Energy Advancement and Development through Innovations for Natural Gas Act of 2019', 'S. 143, Department of Energy Veterans' Health Initiative Act', 'S. 983, Weatherization Enhancement and Local Energy Efficiency Investment and Accountability Act of 201% 'S. 1857, Federal Energy and Water Management Performance Act of 2019','5. 1064, Appalachian Energy for National Security Act', and 'H.R. 1138, to reauthorize the West Valley demonstration project, and for other purposes', with testimony from Assistant Secretary of Energy for Electricity Bruce Walker, and Deputy Assistant Secretary for Oil and Gas Shawn Bennett Location: Rm 366, Dirksen Senate Office Building, Washington, DC; 10:00 AM • Hearing on 'Protecting Innocence in a Digital World' Location: Rm 226, Dirksen Senate Office Building, Washington, DC; 10:00 AM • Apollo 11 flight director testifies to Senate subcommittee on NASA exploration plans - Aviation and Space Subcommittee hearing on 'NASA Exploration Plans: Where We've Been and Where We're Going', with testimony from Apollo 11 Flight Director Gene Kranz; Coalition for Deep Space Exploration President and CEO Dr Mary Lynne Dittmar; 'Rocket Boys' author Homer Hickam; and Commercial Spaceflight Federation President Eric Stallmer Location: Rm 562, Dirksen Senate Office Building, Washington, DC; 3:00 PM • Senate Armed Services subcommittee hearing on National Defense Strategy implementation - Emerging Threats and Capabilities Subcommittee hearing on 'Implementation of the National Defense Strategy in the United States Southern Command Area of Responsibility', with testimony from U.S. Southern Command Commander Adm. Craig Faller Location: Rm 222, Russell Senate Office Building, Washington, DC; 3:00 PM US House: • Altarum Sustainable Health Care Spending Symposium - Altarum Sustainable Health Care Spending Symposium, with welcome remarks from Democratic Rep. Debbie Dingell. Other speakers include Health Care Cost Institute President and CEO Niall Brennan, Ascension Healthcare Senior Vice President and Chief Clinical Officer Ziad Haydar, and POLITICO Health Care Executive Editor Joanne Kenen Location: Rms 2043-2045, Rayburn House Office Building, Washington, DC; 8:30 AM • House meets for legislative business - House of Representatives meets for legislative business, with agenda including consideration of 'H.R. 1988 - Protecting Affordable Mortgages for Veterans Act', as amended, 'H.R. 2515 - Whistleblower Protection Reform Act of 2019', as amended, 'H.R. 2162 - Housing Financial Literacy Act of 2019', as amended, 'H.Res. 456 - Emphasizing the importance of grassroots investor protection and the investor education missions of State and Federal securities regulators, calling on the Securities and Exchange Commission to collaborate with State securities regulators in the protection of investors, and for other purposes', 'H.R. 2919 - Improving Investment Research for Small EFTA00147505 and Emerging Issuers Act', 'H.R. 3050 - Expanding Investment in Small Business Act of 2019', as amended, and 'H.R. 2409 - Expanding Access to Capital for Rural Job Creators' under suspension of the rules Location: U.S. Capitol, Washington, DC; 2:00 PM • House Rules Committee hearing - Hearing on' H.R. 2500, the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2020' Location: H-313, U.S. Capitol, Washington, DC; 5:00 PM Cabinet Officers: • Secretary of State Mike Pompeo meets Qatari Emir Sheikh Tamim Bin Hamad Al-Thani in Washington, DC Location: Washington, DC; 2:30 PM Visitors: • President Trump welcomes Qatari emir to the White House - President Donald Trump welcomes Qatari Emir Sheikh Tamim Bin Hamad Al-Thani to the White House, to discuss regional developments, bilateral security cooperation, and counterterrorism issues. Secretary of the Treasury Steven Mnuchin also attends Location: The White House, 1600 Pennsylvania Ave NW, Washington, DC This Town: • Altarum Sustainable Health Care Spending Symposium - Altarum Sustainable Health Care Spending Symposium, with welcome remarks from Democratic Rep. Debbie Dingell. Other speakers include Health Care Cost Institute President and CEO Niall Brennan, Ascension Healthcare Senior Vice President and Chief Clinical Officer Ziad Haydar, and POLITICO Health Care Executive Editor Joanne Kenen Location: Rms 2043-2045, Rayburn House Office Building, Washington, DC; 8:30 AM • Faith leaders call on Trump administration to avoid war with Iran - Faith leaders hold event to speak out against a 'a morally and religiously indefensible war with Iran' and call on legislators to support an amendment to the National Defense Authorization Act to ensure any president cannot take unauthorized unilateral military action. Speakers include Sojourners founder and President Rev. Jim Wallis, Skinner Leadership Institute CEO Dr Barbara Williams-Skinner, Pax Christi International Co-President Marie Dennis, Christian Churches Together Executive Director Carlos Malave, National Council of Churches President and General Secretary Jim Winkler, and Friends Committee on National Legislation Senior Strategist Diana Ohlbaum Location: United Methodist Building, 100 Maryland Ave NE, Washington, DC; 10:00 AM • U.S. Secret Service 'Mass Attacks in Public Spaces 2018' report released - U.S. Secret Service National Threat Assessment Center 'Mass Attacks in Public Spaces 2018' report released, examining 27 targeted attacks that occurred in public spaces (including schools, workplaces, and houses of worship) between January - December 2018, by USSS Director James Murray and NTAC Chief Dr Lina Alathari * Report released via press conference (11:30 AM EDT), held following a seminar for area federal agencies, local police departments, intelligence analysts, public safety professionals, resource officers, military personnel, school officials, school administrators, teachers, counselors, school psychologists, mental health professionals, faith-based community leaders, and private sector security organizations or anyone who may potentially be involved in a risk detection or risk management position, which features opening remarks from Acting Secretary of Homeland Security Kevin McAleenan and Director Murray (11:30 AM EDT) Location: Northern Virginia Community College, 4915 E Campus Dr, Alexandria, VA; 11:30 AM • CDC telebriefing on new `Vital Signs' AFM outbreak report - CDC telebriefing on new 'Vital Signs' report 'CDC reports on largest acute flaccid myelitis (AFM) outbreak: doctors should EFTA00147506 recognize symptoms early and report all suspected cases', which says that the `third and largest outbreak' of AFM occurred in 2018 in the U.S. since CDC started surveillance in 2014, with 233 patients in 41 states. Speakers include CDC Principal Deputy Director Anne Schuchat and Division of Viral Diseases Deputy Director Tom Clark; 12:00 PM • NASA briefs on science investigations launching on the next SpaceX commercial resupply flight to ISS - NASA discusses select science investigations launching on the next SpaceX commercial resupply flight to the International Space Station - targeted for launch on 21 Jul - via media teleconference featuring NASA ISS Program Science Office assistant program scientist Bryan Dansberry, ISS U.S. National Laboratory chief operating officer Ken Shields, University of Edinburgh Astrobiology Professor Charles Cockell, New York Stem Foundation Research Institute researchers Valentina Fossati and Andres Bratt-Leal, scientist Craig Everroad (NASA Ames Research Center), and Tomomichi Fujita (Hokkaido University) * SpaceX has a $3.1 billion contract with NASA for 20 cargo flights to the ISS, and has also signed a subsequent second-generation CRS contract; 1:00 PM • Finnish chief of defense receives U.S. Armed Forces Legion of Merit — Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Marine Corps Gen. Joseph Dunford awards Finnish Chief of Defense Jarmo tin berg with-the-Legion of MenCdunng an Armed Forces Full Habi5f-Amval ceremony Location: Whipple Field, Joint Base Myer-Henderson Hall, VA; 3:30 PM • Multicultural Media and Correspondents Dinner - Multicultural Media and Correspondents Dinner, presented by Comcast NBC Universal. Honorees include Democratic Rep. Val Demings Location: National Press Club, 529 14th St NW, Washington, DC; 6:30 PM Copyright 2019 by Bulletin Intelligence LLC Reproduction or redistribution without permission prohibited. Content is drawn from thousands of newspapers, national magazines, national and local television programs, radio broadcasts, social-media platforms and additional forms of open-source data. Sources for Bulletin Intelligence audience-size estimates include Scarborough, Gil( MRI, comScore, Nielsen, and the Audit Bureau of Circulation. 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