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Office of Vice President Biden Intelligence Briefing


*From:* Bulletin Intelligence <Biden@BulletinIntelligence.com>
*Sent:* Thursday, November 15, 2018 8:01 AM
*To:* Biden@BulletinIntelligence.com
*Subject:* Office of Vice President Biden Intelligence Briefing for
Thursday, November 15, 2018


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[image: Image removed by sender. Office of Vice President Biden
Intelligence Briefing]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018111501biden&r=email-082a&l=001-8c5&t=c>

*To: Vice President Joe Biden*

*Thursday, November 15, 2018 8:00 AM EST*
Today's Table of Contents

*Biden in the News <#SECTION_1>*

• Poll: At 29%, Biden Leads Potential 2020 Democrats In Early-Voting States.
<#S1>

• Biden: In Florida Recount, GOP Seeking “To Discredit The Process.” <#S2>

• Team Trump Has Settled On “Creepy Joe” Nickname For Biden. <#S3>

• LATimes Analysis: For Democrats, Decision Time On 2020 Race Looms. <#S4>

• Biden Bringing Book Tour To Vermont On Dec. 9. <#S5>

• Government Attorneys Say Secret Service Not At Fault In Biden Motorcade
Accident. <#S6>

*Leading the News <#SECTION_2>*

• Mattis Defends US-Mexico Border Deployment, Says “We’re Going To Carry
Out The Law.” <#S7>

*Foreign Policy <#SECTION_3>*

• Commission: US Military Losing Edge Over Russia, China. <#S8>

• Pence: Second US-North Korea Summit To Take Place After New Year. <#S9>

• Brexit Minister Quits May’s Cabinet Over Deal. <#S10>

• France: Trump’s Attacks On Anniversary Of Terror Attack Lacked “Common
Decency.” <#S11>

• Sources: China Responds To US Trade Reform Demands. <#S12>

• Trade Chief Says EU Ready To Retaliate If US Imposes Auto Tariffs. <#S13>

• State Department Believes Tice Still Alive In Syria. <#S14>

*Domestic Policy <#SECTION_4>*

• White House Urges Republicans To Attach Wall Funding To Lame-Duck
Spending Bill. <#S15>

• Ricardel Moved To Unspecified New Job Following Criticism From First Lady.
<#S16>

• DOJ Issues Legal Opinion Supporting Whitaker’s Appointment As Acting AG.
<#S17>

• Trump Throws Support Behind Bipartisan Sentencing Reform Legislation.
<#S18>

• Trump Praises California Fire Response, Offers Support To Brown. <#S19>

• Trump Says He Will Make Decision On Nielsen’s Future At DHS “Shortly.”
<#S20>

• Trump: NYC, Virginia “Paying A Very Big Price” For Amazon. <#S21>

*Cancer Research <#SECTION_5>*

• NCI Deputy Director Discusses Outlook Of HPV-Associated Research,
Vaccines. <#S22>

• Entrepreneurs’ Rise To Success With Cancer Data Company Profiled. <#S23>

*Editorials/Op-Eds <#SECTION_6>*

• New York Times. <#S24>

• Washington Post. <#S25>
Biden in the News
Poll: At 29%, Biden Leads Potential 2020 Democrats In Early-Voting States.

The Washington Free Beacon
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018111501biden&r=email-082a&l=002-726&t=c>
(11/14, Harrington) reported that a TargetPoint Consulting poll of “1,431
likely Democratic voters in Iowa, New Hampshire, South Carolina, and
Nevada,” conducted Nov. 10-11, shows former Vice President Joe Biden
leading a field of potential 2020 Democratic White House hopefuls with 29%,
followed by Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) at 20%, Hillary Clinton and Oprah
Winfrey each at 8%, Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) at 7%, Sen. Cory Booker
(D-NJ) at 6%, Sen. Kamala Harris (D-CA) at 3%, and several others lagging
further behind. In the poll, 16% “said they would choose to vote for a
candidate not listed.” In one-one-one matchups, the poll shows Biden
leading Clinton 69%-20%, Sanders besting Clinton 56%-30%, Warren topping
Clinton 42%-34%, and Booker and Winfrey edging Clinton by narrower margins.
Biden: In Florida Recount, GOP Seeking “To Discredit The Process.”

Writing at PoliticusUSA
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018111501biden&r=email-082a&l=003-882&t=c>
(11/14), Sean Colarossi said that former Vice President Joe Biden on
Wednesday offered “a message that the country needed to hear regarding
Florida’s recount.” Biden is quoted as saying in a tweet
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018111501biden&r=email-082a&l=004-03d&t=c>,
“Instead of saying every legal vote should be counted in Florida,
Republicans have adopted a strategy to discredit the process. It’s wrong –
and it’s dangerous. Count every single lawful vote. Count them fairly.
Count them transparently.” With the tweet, which was accompanied by a video
of the former Vice President discussing the recount, added Colarossi, Biden
“is also setting the stage for a candidacy of his own by presenting himself
as the sensible statesman the country needs at a time like this.”
Team Trump Has Settled On “Creepy Joe” Nickname For Biden.

In an “exclusive,” the New York Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018111501biden&r=email-082a&l=005-286&t=c>
(11/14, Coleman) reports that President Trump’s “campaign team is hard at
work on a new crop of nicknames with which to torment his 2020 rivals.”
According to “insiders,” Team Trump is “already preparing to take on Joe
Biden, who said he’ll decide by January whether he’ll run. We’re told the
current favorite for” Biden “is ‘Creepy Joe’ – a reference to Biden’s
supposed habit of touching and kissing strangers and staffers alike. We’re
told Team Trump settled on that title a couple of months ago – and, sure
enough, Trump tried out the name at a Nevada rally in October.”
LATimes Analysis: For Democrats, Decision Time On 2020 Race Looms.

Under the headline “Note To Democrats Pondering A Presidential Run: The
Clock Is Already Ticking,” the Los Angeles Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018111501biden&r=email-082a&l=006-2a9&t=c>
(11/15, Halper) reports on the early maneuverings of potential 2020
Democratic presidential candidates, saying, “At no time in recent history
have Democrats forged into a presidential primary with a field of viable
candidates so large and the outlook for their individual prospects so
muddled.” Democrats “who wait for a clear path could find themselves
knocked aside before they take their first steps.” The report only briefly
mentions former Vice President Joe Biden, saying that he “has been calling
seasoned operatives seeking assurances from them that they will be on board
if he runs – and that they won’t take jobs with another candidate without
checking with him first.”
Biden Bringing Book Tour To Vermont On Dec. 9.

The Middlebury Campus
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018111501biden&r=email-082a&l=007-174&t=c>
(11/15, LeFavour) reports, “Amid a barrage of rumors regarding a
presidential bid in 2020, former Vice President Joe Biden plans to visit
the Flynn Theater in Burlington [Vermont] on Dec. 9 for a different reason:
to talk about his book.” Biden has been promoting “his memoir ‘Promise Me,
Dad: A Year of Hope, Hardship and Purpose’ since its release in Nov. 2017.
Every ticket to the event at the Flynn includes a copy of Biden’s book. The
event will be a continuation of Biden’s ‘American Promise Tour,’ which,
surpassing a typical book tour, Biden is pitching as a series of talks on
the topics that matter to him most.”
Government Attorneys Say Secret Service Not At Fault In Biden Motorcade
Accident.

The AP
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018111501biden&r=email-082a&l=008-aa1&t=c>
(11/15, Chase) reports, “Government lawyers say a Secret Service agent is
not to blame for a car accident in Delaware involving Vice President Joe
Biden’s motorcade. Gina Cherwaty of Selbyville is suing the government over
injuries she says she sustained in 2016 when Secret Service agent James
Hall ran a red light in Wilmington and struck several cars, including hers.
In a court filing Wednesday, government lawyers denied any negligence by
Hall, while not specifically addressing whether he ran a red light. Secret
Service deputy director William Callahan wrote in February that Hall’s
vehicle was operating its emergency lights and siren and had slowed to a
near stop.” However, an attorney for Cherwaty “rejected that argument,
saying a vehicle in a motorcade is not an authorized emergency vehicle, and
that witnesses reported no lights or siren.”
Leading the News
Mattis Defends US-Mexico Border Deployment, Says “We’re Going To Carry Out
The Law.”

Coverage of the joint visit of Defense Secretary Mattis and DHS Secretary
Nielsen to meet with troops deployed at the US-Mexico border focuses almost
entirely on Mattis’ remarks, ignoring Nielsen other than to comment on her
shaky job security. The CBS Evening News[image: Image removed by sender.
Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018111501biden&r=email-082a&l=009-d05&t=c>
(11/14, story 5, 2:30, Glor) reported, “The first 800 migrants from the
Central American caravan are at America’s doorstep in Tijuana, Mexico. They
split off from a larger group of about 5,000, and are planning to request
asylum here in the US.” CBS’ John Blackstone reported that Mattis and
Nielsen visited troops deployed at the border on Wednesday. Mattis: “The
only thing we’ve been asked for is to put in obstacles, provide
transportation, and to provide housing for – they’ve had to move a number
of border patrol people.”

On NBC Nightly News[image: Image removed by sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018111501biden&r=email-082a&l=00a-fbe&t=c>
(11/14, story 7, 1:05, Holt), Hans Nichols reported that Mattis is
“preparing his troops to dig in for the holidays as they wait for the
caravan of migrants and refugees still one week away from Tijuana.” Mattis:
“We want legal immigration, that’s what makes America good. But illegal,
we’re going to carry out the law.” Nichols said Mattis was “touring with
the embattled” Nielsen. On ABC World News Tonight[image: Image removed by
sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018111501biden&r=email-082a&l=00b-5a0&t=c>
(11/14, story 9, 0:55, Muir), Cecilia Vega briefly covered the visit,
stating of Nielsen only that she “is likely to lose her job in a looming
White House shakeup.”

KXAN-TV[image: Image removed by sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018111501biden&r=email-082a&l=00c-b16&t=c>
Austin, TX (11/14, 5:16 p.m. CST) reported that Mattis and Nielsen visited
the border “to try to put to rest fears that the deployed troops are
preparing for a violent confrontation with the Central American Migrants.”
Mattis: “The Department of Defense missions do not involve military
personnel at this time directly participating in any law enforcement.”
KTAB-TV[image: Image removed by sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018111501biden&r=email-082a&l=00d-cdf&t=c>
Abilene, TX (11/14, 5:25 p.m. CST) reported, “Mattis says nearly 6,000
service members have been deployed so far and called it a moral and ethical
mission.” Mattis: “Border security is part of national security. Our units
are in a position to enable the Border Patrol’s law enforcement
operations.”

The AP
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018111501biden&r=email-082a&l=00e-23d&t=c>
(11/14, Burns) reports that Mattis “defended the use of active duty troops
on the U.S.-Mexican border,” arguing that it is “analogous to a 1916
deployment to counter the Mexican revolutionary Gen. Francisco ‘Pancho’
Villa.” Mattis said, “That’s over a century ago, and the threat then was
Pancho Villa’s troops – revolutionary raiding across the border into the
United States.” Reuters
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018111501biden&r=email-082a&l=00f-396&t=c>
(11/14, Stewart) reports that Mattis “defended the deployment,” saying it
was “‘absolutely legal’ and justified, and that it was improving military
readiness.”

The Washington Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018111501biden&r=email-082a&l=010-8f2&t=c>
(11/14, Sonne) reports that Mattis “described the deployment to the border
as ‘great training’ and told active-duty soldiers in Texas not to pay
attention to the news coverage of the operation because they would ‘go
nuts.’” The Los Angeles Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018111501biden&r=email-082a&l=011-521&t=c>
(11/14, Cloud) reports that when a soldier asked Mattis “whether his unit
would soon be ordered to remove the razor wire and vehicle barriers they
had installed at Mexico border crossings, Mattis couldn’t answer.” Mattis
replied, “Good question. We’ll let you know. Right now, the mission is put
them in.” The Daily Caller
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018111501biden&r=email-082a&l=012-532&t=c>
(11/14) reports that Mattis offered the troops “some inspiring words ahead
of the arrival of a migrant caravan slowly making its way through Mexico”
toward the US.

*Several Hundred Migrants Arrive In Tijuana. *The AP
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018111501biden&r=email-082a&l=013-bad&t=c>
(11/15, Spagat, Verza) reports, “Migrants in a caravan of Central Americans
arrived in Tijuana by the hundreds Wednesday, getting their first glimpse
of the robust U.S. military presence that awaits them.” The New York Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018111501biden&r=email-082a&l=014-cbd&t=c>
(11/14, Semple, Malkin) reports that their arrival “marked the end of one
struggle – making it safely to the United States border. But it signaled
the start of another to get across that border, something that President
Trump has promised to impede, even for those seeking asylum.” The Washington
Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018111501biden&r=email-082a&l=015-981&t=c>
(11/14, Averbuch) reports that this first group “numbered a few hundred.
... They could disperse into smaller groups, but other caravan groups are
still farther away in Mexico and it is unclear where they will go.”

The New York Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018111501biden&r=email-082a&l=016-30b&t=c>
(11/14, Steinbuch) reports that “about 80 members of the LGBT community”
who were pat of the arriving group “were seen scaling a fence” at the
border. The Washington Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018111501biden&r=email-082a&l=017-25d&t=c>
(11/14, Dinan) reports that “hours after images of migrants climbing a
border wall in San Diego went viral, the Homeland Security Department
deployed razor wire Wednesday to prevent a repeat.” Reuters
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018111501biden&r=email-082a&l=018-7e2&t=c>
(11/14, Diaz) and the Washington Examiner
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018111501biden&r=email-082a&l=019-34c&t=c>
(11/14, Caralle) also report on the first caravan migrants reaching the
border.

*Mexico Violence Has Killed 250,000 Since 2006. *The Wall Street
Journal
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018111501biden&r=email-082a&l=01a-c10&t=c>
(11/14, A1, De Córdoba) reports that violence in Mexico has resulted in the
deaths of more than 250,000 people since 2006. Some 37,000 people are
missing and most are believed to be dead, but because they are not listed
in the official murder tally, it is likely the murder rate is even higher.
Foreign Policy
Commission: US Military Losing Edge Over Russia, China.

The Washington Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018111501biden&r=email-082a&l=01b-ddb&t=c>
(11/15, Sonne, Harris) reports that the US has “lost its military edge to a
dangerous degree and could potentially lose a war against China or Russia,
according to a report released Wednesday by a bipartisan commission that
Congress created to evaluate the Trump administration’s defense strategy.”
The National Defense Strategy Commission “evaluated the Trump
administration’s 2018 National Defense Strategy,” and while it endorsed the
strategy’s targeting of China and Russia, it “warned that Washington isn’t
moving fast enough or investing sufficiently to put the vision into
practice, risking a further erosion of American military dominance that
could become a national security emergency.” The New York Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018111501biden&r=email-082a&l=01c-c2a&t=c>
(11/14, Schmitt) reports the National Defense Strategy “represents a shift
from fighting the insurgent wars of the last 17 years to large
state-on-state conflicts. Mr. Trump has voiced a desire to end American
involvement in the war in Afghanistan, and has chafed at keeping forces in
Iraq and Syria.”

To the Washington Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018111501biden&r=email-082a&l=01d-229&t=c>
(11/14, Muñoz), the findings “paint a dire picture of United States
national security apparatus hamstrung by financial shortfalls and
susceptible to military aggression from global adversaries, particularly
those in Moscow and Beijing.” A member of the commission, former Deputy CIA
Director Michael Morell, told the CBS Evening News[image: Image removed by
sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018111501biden&r=email-082a&l=01e-1f4&t=c>
(11/14, story 6, 1:50, Glor) that China and Russia “have for some time been
investing in fighting a conventional war, while we’ve been mired in 17
years of counterterrorism. The other is a development here at home, which
is the Budget Control Act of 2011, sequestration, which significantly cut
defense spending and put those two things together, and they have brought
us to this place.” When asked if he is “optimistic this all gets fixed,”
Morell replied, “I’m not.”
Pence: Second US-North Korea Summit To Take Place After New Year.

The AP
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018111501biden&r=email-082a&l=01f-41c&t=c>
(11/15) reports Vice President Pence said Thursday that a second US-North
Korean summit between President Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un
“is likely after the beginning of the year.” Pence said the meeting would
“put details on paper” for denuclearization on the Korean Peninsula and the
US would continue putting “maximum pressure” on North Korea until then. He
also said Trump plans to discuss North Korea when he meets with Chinese
President Xi Jinping in Argentina at the G20 summit later this month.

AFP
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018111501biden&r=email-082a&l=020-e3d&t=c>
(11/15) reports that in remarks to an ASEAN summit in Singapore, Pence said
America’s regional “partnership also includes our pressure campaign” on
North Korea. Separately, a “senior US official” said, “It is what got Kim
Jong Un to the table. It is incredibly important that the pressure stays
on.”

*Pence: US Seeks Cooperation, Not Control, With Indo-Pacific
Nations. *In remarks the AP
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018111501biden&r=email-082a&l=021-da7&t=c>
(11/14, Liang, Kurtenbach) calls “a veiled swipe at China’s growing
influence,” Pence told an ASEAN summit Thursday that the US “has a
steadfast and enduring commitment to the Indo-Pacific region but wants
cooperation, not control.” Pence, “standing in” for President Trump at the
10-nation summit in Singapore, told leaders that “empire and aggression
have no place” in the region. He added that US support includes work to
counter terrorism, pressure North Korea to give up its nuclear weapons and
a commitment “to uphold the freedom of the seas and skies where we stand
shoulder to shoulder with you for freedom of navigation, and our
determination to ensure that your nations are secure in your sovereign
borders on land, at sea, and in the digital world.”

*Pence Presses Burma’s Suu Kyi On Rohingya, Jailed Journalists. *The
Washington Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018111501biden&r=email-082a&l=022-93e&t=c>
(11/14, Mahtani) reports Pence on Wednesday told Burma’s de facto leader
Aung San Suu Kyi “that violence against Rohingya Muslims in her country is
‘without excuse’ and pressed for accountability, underscoring surmounting
pressure on the tainted Nobel laureate to act over atrocities described as
‘genocidal’ by the United Nations.” In what the Post calls a “tense
exchange” before a bilateral meeting on the sidelines of an ASEAN summits,
“Pence – the most senior US official to meet Suu Kyi since last year’s
crisis – told Suu Kyi he was ‘very anxious’ to hear about resolving the
Rohingya crisis and plans on repatriating the refugees in Bangladesh, a
widely-criticized process that could start as soon as this week.” Said
Pence, “I am anxious to hear the progress that you are making holding those
accountable who are responsible for the violence that displaced so many
hundreds of thousands, [and] created such suffering.”
Brexit Minister Quits May’s Cabinet Over Deal.

Reuters
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018111501biden&r=email-082a&l=023-071&t=c>
(11/15) reports, “Britain’s Brexit minister Dominic Raab resigned on
Thursday in protest at Prime Minister Theresa May’s deal for leaving the
European Union.” In his resignation letter
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018111501biden&r=email-082a&l=024-db2&t=c>,
he wrote, “I regret to say that, following the Cabinet meeting yesterday on
the Brexit deal, I must resign. I understand why you have chosen to pursue
the deal with the EU on the terms proposed, and I respect the different
views held in good faith by all of our colleagues.”

Earlier, the AP
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018111501biden&r=email-082a&l=025-143&t=c>
(11/14) reported May said Wednesday that her Cabinet “has backed a draft
Brexit deal with the European Union after an ‘impassioned’ debate.” May
“emerged from a five-hour Cabinet meeting to say agreement had been
reached.” However, “Some pro-Brexit lawmakers in...May’s Conservative Party
are hinting they plan to challenge her leadership,” and are “furious” about
the draft deal. The New York Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018111501biden&r=email-082a&l=026-112&t=c>
(11/14, Castle) reports that “the draft agreement, reportedly several
hundred pages long, has not been made public, though some details have been
leaked.” The Times says “critics on both left and right argue that the deal
would leave Britain subject to European Union rules, but without any say in
making those rules. They are also alarmed that Britain would not have a
unilateral right to quit the temporary customs union.”

The Wall Street Journal
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018111501biden&r=email-082a&l=027-bff&t=c>
(11/14, Colchester) quotes May as saying, “This is a decision which will
come under intense scrutiny. This is a decision which is in the best
interest of our entire United Kingdom.” The Washington Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018111501biden&r=email-082a&l=028-80b&t=c>
(11/14, Adam) reports that earlier, “May was in Parliament, where she heard
the roar of her own backbench, as fellow Conservative Party members heaped
derision on a deal they had not yet seen – but that they feared contained
too much compromise.” The Post says former foreign minister Boris Johnson,
“who quit his job as foreign secretary over May’s proposals in July, urged
cabinet members to ‘live up to their responsibilities and reject it.’”

USA Today
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018111501biden&r=email-082a&l=029-7e2&t=c>
(11/14, Hjelmgaard) says that while “securing Cabinet approval was an
important step for May,” the deal “still needs approval from the EU at a
summit in the next few weeks. Then May will need to win backing from
Britain’s Parliament, where pro-Brexit and pro-EU legislators alike are
threatening to oppose it.” According to Reuters
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018111501biden&r=email-082a&l=02a-ba9&t=c>
(11/14, James, Maclellan), the “ultimate outcome for the United Kingdom
remains uncertain: scenarios range from a calm divorce to rejection of
May’s deal, potentially sinking her premiership and leaving the bloc with
no agreement, or another referendum.”

A Wall Street Journal
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018111501biden&r=email-082a&l=02b-0bc&t=c>
(11/14) editorial says that the best of what it says are bad options is to
accept May’s plan, and then focus on negotiating a better permanent
free-trade relationship with the EU.
France: Trump’s Attacks On Anniversary Of Terror Attack Lacked “Common
Decency.”

The New York Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018111501biden&r=email-082a&l=02c-316&t=c>
(11/14, Rubin) reports the French government on Wednesday gave its “first
official response...to President Trump’s scathing personal attack against
President Emmanuel Macron,” and, according to the Times, “took the high
road.” The Times says that “instead of responding in a tit for tat, a
government spokesman said that the messages had lacked ‘common decency’
because they came on the third anniversary of terrorist attacks in and near
Paris that left 130 people dead.” Spokesman Benjamin Griveaux said,
“Yesterday was Nov. 13, when we commemorate the murder of 130 citizens
three years ago in Paris and St.-Denis. So I will reply in English: Common
decency would have been the appropriate thing.”

The Washington Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018111501biden&r=email-082a&l=02d-871&t=c>
(11/14, McAuley) says that on Tuesday, “two days after flying home from a
two-day visit to France,” Trump tweeted “multiple blistering attacks on
Macron, France’s performance in both world wars and France in general.” The
Post adds that Trump “personally criticized Macron, who had previously
sought to curry favor with Washington.”
Sources: China Responds To US Trade Reform Demands.

Reuters
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018111501biden&r=email-082a&l=02e-56a&t=c>
(11/14, Shepardson, Mason, Holland, Lawder) reports China “has delivered a
written response to US demands for wide-ranging trade reforms, three US
government sources said on Wednesday, a move that could trigger
negotiations to bring an end to a withering trade war between the world’s
top economies.” President Trump is expected to meet Chinese President Xi
Jinping when the G20 gathers in Argentina later this month.

*US Soybean Farmers Looking for New Markets As Exports To China
Slow To Halt. *Reuters
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018111501biden&r=email-082a&l=02f-5a4&t=c>
(11/14, Huffstutter, Plume) reports that China “bought about 32 million
tons” of US soybeans last year, “but now buys almost none after Beijing
slapped a 25 percent tariff on US imports in July,” which was “in
retaliation for US duties on Chinese goods” imposed by President Trump.
According to Reuters, “US farmers would need about 11,000 markets the size
of Sri Lanka to replace Chinese soybean purchases.” Nevertheless, “A small
but growing number of farmers have all but given up waiting for diplomatic
solutions and started scrambling themselves to help open new markets and
salvage existing ones disrupted by tariffs.”
Trade Chief Says EU Ready To Retaliate If US Imposes Auto Tariffs.

Reuters
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018111501biden&r=email-082a&l=030-a7f&t=c>
(11/14, Lawder) reports EU Trade Commissioner Cecilia Malmstrom said
Wednesday that the bloc “has a list of potential retaliation targets ready”
in the event President Trump imposes auto tariffs on member states.
Malmstrom told reporters after a meeting with USTR Lighthizer “that the two
did not speak specifically about auto tariffs but focused instead on
regulatory cooperation issues and ways to enable EU countries to import
more American soybeans and liquefied natural gas.” The New York Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018111501biden&r=email-082a&l=031-f31&t=c>
(11/14, Rappeport, Ewing) quotes Malmstrom as saying, “We have already
suffered from the tariffs on steel and aluminum, and we think that they are
deeply unjustified.” She added, “We would do the same were we to be targets
of tariffs on cars and car parts.”
State Department Believes Tice Still Alive In Syria.

The AP
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018111501biden&r=email-082a&l=032-5e9&t=c>
(11/14) reports US envoy to Syria James Jeffrey said Wednesday that
American journalist Austin Tice “is believed to be still alive more than
six years after he was abducted while covering the war in Syria.” Jeffrey
told reporters that Tice “is being held hostage there,” but “didn’t say why
officials believe this or who might be holding him.”
Domestic Policy
White House Urges Republicans To Attach Wall Funding To Lame-Duck Spending
Bill.

Politico
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018111501biden&r=email-082a&l=033-4a2&t=c>
(11/14, Ferris, Bresnahan) reports the White House is urging congressional
Republicans “to take an all-or-nothing approach to government funding this
fall – daring Democrats to shut down the government rather than fund the
border wall.” According to “two sources familiar with the conversations,”
during a private gathering this week, Shahira Knight, the President’s top
Capitol Hill aide, said Republicans should draft one large spending bill
that includes wall funding during the lame-duck session. The legislation
“would also include emergency dollars for this year’s deadly wildfires and
hurricanes, according to a senior GOP aide.” Politico says the tactic
“would try to force Democrats to choose between funding the wall and
shutting down more than a dozen agencies, including Homeland Security, just
days before Christmas.”

Rep. Jim Jordan (R-OH) voiced support for the tactic in an
interview Wednesday morning, telling Fox News’ Fox & Friends[image: Image
removed by sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018111501biden&r=email-082a&l=034-a64&t=c>
(11/14), “What was the single biggest promise we made American people in
2016 that we have not got done yet? Building the border security wall and
securing the border. We should be focused on that one main thing over the
next several weeks as we still have a few weeks left while Republicans
control all of government.” Jordan said “the continuing resolution comes
due on December 7th. We should insist on putting the wall-funding bill on
that piece of legislation and getting it passed. After all, that’s what we
were elected to do in 2016.”

Meanwhile, Senate Minority Leader Schumer said Wednesday that the
senators should “stick with their agreement” to provide not more than $1.6
billion for the wall, the Washington Examiner
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018111501biden&r=email-082a&l=035-664&t=c>
(11/14, Ferrechio) reports. The Examiner says Schumer’s comments set up “a
possible partisan battle in Congress and a fight with President Trump, who
has indirectly threatened to withhold his signature from a critical funding
bill if it does not include billions of dollars more in border wall
funding.” Schumer said, “We believe Senate Democrats and Republicans should
stick with their agreement and Trump should not interfere” in the
negotiations. Reuters
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018111501biden&r=email-082a&l=036-890&t=c>
(11/14, Becker, Cowan) quotes Schumer as saying, “We believe if President
Trump stays out of the appropriations process, we can get good bipartisan
agreement and government can move smoothly forward. ... As long as Trump
doesn’t interfere, we can move the government forward.”

*Manchin: “700 To 900 Miles” Of Border Wall Are Needed. *Appearing
on Fox News’ Fox & Friends[image: Image removed by sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018111501biden&r=email-082a&l=037-8f6&t=c>
(11/14), Sen. Joe Manchin (D-WV) said, “In 2013, we had a bipartisan
immigration bill led with border security first. So the President can get
his absolute total commitment for border security from all of us, and do
that before we do anything else. That was in the 2013 bill. ... $42
billion, I think, or more. ... Nothing can happen until the border is
totally secure. ... I said this all along, if you talk to the experts there
will be 700 to 900 miles of wall that has to be built to secure our border
in areas there is no other way to secure. ... That was part of our 2013
bill, which now maybe we can sit down and work with the President on.”
Ricardel Moved To Unspecified New Job Following Criticism From First Lady.

The CBS Evening News[image: Image removed by sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018111501biden&r=email-082a&l=038-5b9&t=c>
(11/14, story 9, 0:20, Glor) said in a brief report that “a day after First
Lady Melania Trump called for the removal of Deputy National Security
Adviser Mira Ricardel, the White House says tonight Ricardel has been
reassigned to a new unspecified role in the Administration. Ricardel
reportedly got into a disagreement with the First Lady’s staff during a
trip to Africa.” On ABC World News Tonight[image: Image removed by sender.
Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018111501biden&r=email-082a&l=039-4c8&t=c>
(11/14, story 10, 0:50, Muir), Cecilia Vega reported, “We still don’t know
where she’s headed next.” USA Today
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018111501biden&r=email-082a&l=03a-09f&t=c>
(11/14, Shesgreen) reports that White House Press Secretary Sarah Sanders
said in a statement, “The President is grateful for Ms. Ricardel’s
continued service to the American people and her steadfast pursuit of his
national security priorities.” Sanders did not say what new job Ricardel
would be given.

The Washington Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018111501biden&r=email-082a&l=03b-cf0&t=c>
(11/14, Sonmez) says that the First Lady’s “decision to publicly advocate
for the ouster of a senior member of her husband’s staff shows a new
willingness on her part to weigh in on White House operations and marks a
change from earlier in the Trump administration, when she repeatedly played
down her role as an adviser to the president.” Anita McBride, who was Chief
of Staff to First Lady Laura Bush, said, “If anyone had questions about her
willingness to exert her influence, they got their answer.” The New York
Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018111501biden&r=email-082a&l=03c-674&t=c>
(11/14, Rogers) headlines its report “Mira Ricardel, Aide Who Crossed
Melania Trump, Is Removed From Her White House Role.”

Jake Tapper said on CNN’s The Lead[image: Image removed by sender.
Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018111501biden&r=email-082a&l=03d-4cd&t=c>
(11/14) that the President “was furious over the First Lady’s move
yesterday, thinking it made him look like he was a bossed-around husband.”
Kaitlan Collins said, “He also feels that by this statement coming out,
calling for the firing of a top national security aide, the President feels
backed into a corner. And as we know, that is a position that President
Trump least likes to be in.”

However, Politico
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018111501biden&r=email-082a&l=03e-549&t=c>
(11/14, Oprysko) reports that the First Lady “was hardly the only powerful
internal enemy Ricardel has made, however. As Politico has reported,
Ricardel has also run afoul of Defense Secretary Jim Mattis, who blocked
her from landing a Pentagon job last year, as well as other Trump
officials.” According to *one Administration official*, “There weren’t a
lot of people fighting for her.”

Gail Collins writes in her New York Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018111501biden&r=email-082a&l=03f-877&t=c>
(11/14) column, “Ricardel is a scary right-wing hawk who’s a protégé of the
deeply scary national security adviser, John Bolton. It’s hard to say
what’s more upsetting – the idea that a team like Bolton-Ricardel is
supposed to be keeping the nation safe, or the suggestion that Melania is
starting to dictate national security hiring decisions.”
DOJ Issues Legal Opinion Supporting Whitaker’s Appointment As Acting AG.

The New York Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018111501biden&r=email-082a&l=040-b10&t=c>
(11/14, Savage) reports that the Justice Department yesterday “pushed
back...against accusations that President Trump’s appointment of Matthew G.
Whitaker as acting attorney general was illegal, arguing that it complied
with both federal statutes and the Constitution – and that it fit within a
history of similar designations dating back to the earliest days of the
country.” The Times says the Administration “made its case in a 20-page
memorandum by Steven E. Engel, the head of the department’s Office of Legal
Counsel,” one day after the State of Maryland “asked a Federal District
Court judge to issue an injunction declaring that when Mr. Trump ousted
former Attorney General Jeff Sessions, the role of acting head of the
department passed instead to the deputy attorney general, Rod J.
Rosenstein, as a matter of law.”

The Washington Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018111501biden&r=email-082a&l=041-ba2&t=c>
(11/14, Barrett) notes that “since his appointment last week, some have
charged that Whitaker...is not legally eligible to serve as the head of the
Justice Department because he is not a Senate-confirmed official.”
According to Reuters
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018111501biden&r=email-082a&l=042-761&t=c>
(11/14, Lynch), “In issuing the opinion, the Justice Department cited only
one prior instance in US history of a similar appointment as acting
attorney general of an official who had not previously been confirmed to
his job by the Senate, and that occurred in 1866.” The AP
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018111501biden&r=email-082a&l=043-d6e&t=c>
(11/14, Tucker) reports “it was unclear whether the legal opinion would
satisfy opponents of Whitaker’s appointment, but the document does provide
by far the Justice Department’s most detailed defense of the selection.”
The Wall Street Journal
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018111501biden&r=email-082a&l=044-3a1&t=c>
(11/14, Gurman), New York Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018111501biden&r=email-082a&l=045-1cc&t=c>
(11/14, Fredericks), The Hill
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018111501biden&r=email-082a&l=046-5e3&t=c>
(11/14, Wheeler), Washington Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018111501biden&r=email-082a&l=047-7af&t=c>
(11/14, Dinan) and Daily Caller
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018111501biden&r=email-082a&l=048-40e&t=c>
(11/14, Daley), among other news outlets, also report the story.

Charles Lane of the Washington Post said on Fox News’ Special
Report[image:
Image removed by sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018111501biden&r=email-082a&l=049-932&t=c>
(11/14), “The politics of it is that Matt Whitaker is a more sympathetic
person to Donald Trump’s position. ... He is taking a risk that anything
Whitaker does quite apart from firing Mueller or anything like that...could
be challenged in court later on, including things President Trump is not
going to want to have struck down in court.”

Rep. Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) said on CNN’s Situation Room[image:
Image removed by sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018111501biden&r=email-082a&l=04a-3a2&t=c>
(11/14), “It does appear that the appointment was constitutionally and
legally flawed. But ultimately, the federal court system will have to work
that out. It is an example of what happens when you have an administration
and a President who makes decisions that don’t appear to be grounded in any
thoughtfulness as it relates to the Department of Justice, the
administration of a fair and even-minded investigatory process. And that’s
unfortunate. And we’re going to do our job as a separate and coequal branch
of government to uphold our constitutional responsibilities, while at the
same time focusing on resolving real problems for the American people who
improve their quality of life.”

Rep. Ted Lieu (D-CA) said on CNN’s Situation Room[image: Image
removed by sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018111501biden&r=email-082a&l=04b-4da&t=c>
(11/14), “The Justice Department is wrong and here is why. If we allow a
President to simply take any cabinet official, force them to resign, and
then install an employee that’s not been confirmed by the Senate, then
there’s no telling what future presidents could do. We can’t have a
situation where the Senate-confirmed nominee is then removed and someone
who is not Senate-confirmed is put in that person’s place. The Vacancy Act
was put in by Congress to exactly prevent this situation. Whitaker should
not be acting Attorney General right now.”

The Washington Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018111501biden&r=email-082a&l=04c-dd7&t=c>
(11/14, O'Harrow) profiles Whitaker as “a local lawyer in Iowa who rose to
become one of the most important figures in the nation’s capital.” He “has
owned a day-care center, a concrete supply business and a trailer
manufacturer, state records show.” He also “led a taxpayer-subsidized
effort to build affordable housing in Des Moines, but he walked away from
the stalled project two years ago after the city threatened him with a
lawsuit.” Whitaker “was plucked from relative obscurity when President
George W. Bush named him to be a US attorney in early 2004.” Whitaker “had
volunteered for Bush’s presidential campaign in 2000 at the local level.”

*House Democrats To Launch Investigation Into Whitaker. *USA Today
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018111501biden&r=email-082a&l=04d-24e&t=c>
(11/14, Johnson, Jansen) reports, “Four House Democrats who are expected to
lead committees when the new Congress convenes in January announced
Wednesday they would investigate...Whitaker’s involvement with World Patent
Marketing, a company that allegedly bilked customers of millions of
dollars.” Whitaker “served on the company’s advisory board.” USA Today adds
“the lawmakers – Elijah Cummings of Maryland on the Oversight and
Government Reform Committee, Jerrold Nadler of New York on the Judiciary
Committee, Frank Pallone of New Jersey on the Energy and Commerce
Committee, and Adam Schiff of California on the Intelligence Committee –
said ‘serious questions are now arising about his fitness to serve in this
position of trust.’”

The Washington Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018111501biden&r=email-082a&l=04e-f45&t=c>
(11/14, Helderman) reports “Whitaker has said through a Justice Department
spokeswoman that he was unaware of allegedly fraudulent activities at
Miami-based World Patent Marketing.” The Post adds that “as a member of the
company’s advisory board, Whitaker had been told of complaints about the
company’s practices, according to two people familiar with the FTC
investigation. He did not appear to take any action in response, they
said.”
Trump Throws Support Behind Bipartisan Sentencing Reform Legislation.

ABC World News Tonight[image: Image removed by sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018111501biden&r=email-082a&l=04f-f6f&t=c>
(11/14, story 8, 0:40, Muir) reported on the President “striking a
bipartisan tone” as he threw “his support behind legislation on prison
sentence reform that’s backed by members of both parties.” NBC Nightly
News[image:
Image removed by sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018111501biden&r=email-082a&l=050-de0&t=c>
(11/14, story 6, 1:25, Jackson) referred to Trump “showcasing what would be
the most sweeping prison reform agreement in decades, and if it passes, one
of the biggest bipartisan laws of his administration.”

Fox News
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018111501biden&r=email-082a&l=051-66c&t=c>
(11/14, Chamberlain) says on its website that “the legislation, the first
major rewrite of the nation’s criminal justice sentencing laws in a
generation, will boost rehabilitation efforts for federal prisoners and
give judges more discretion when sentencing nonviolent offenders,
particularly for drug offenses.” Fox News adds, “In particular, the bill
lowers the mandatory minimum sentence for non-violent repeat drug offenders
from 25 to 20 years, reduces mandatory minimums for other crimes from 20 to
15 years, and makes no distinction between powder cocaine and crack
cocaine.” According to NBC News
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018111501biden&r=email-082a&l=052-35c&t=c>
(11/14, Allen), “Trump’s backing for the package, which is still being
drafted in the Senate, has been seen as a key factor in providing political
cover for Republicans and Democrats to vote for an overhaul that would
diminish criminal penalties for some offenders and make it easier for
former inmates to find work.” NBC says the President “framed a planned
reduction in certain mandatory minimum sentences for drug offenses and
other proposed sentencing provisions as a bid to fix President Bill
Clinton’s 1994 anti-crime law.” Trump is quoted as saying, “It rolls back
some of the provisions of the Clinton crime law that disproportionately
harmed [the] African-American community.”

CNN
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018111501biden&r=email-082a&l=053-cf8&t=c>
(11/14, Diamond) says on its website that the legislation is “the latest
iteration of the First Step Act, a measure his son-in-law and senior
adviser, Jared Kushner, has been working to craft and build support for
alongside a bipartisan group of senators.” According to CNN, “The President
has wavered on whether to throw his support behind the bill in recent
months, but the sources said he was swayed to back the bill on Tuesday
after meeting with Kushner.” The Hill
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018111501biden&r=email-082a&l=054-c3e&t=c>
(11/14, Carney) reports Trump “gave Kushner a shout out during Wednesday’s
event saying he worked ‘so hard on the bill’ and ‘feels very deeply’ about
the issue.”

The AP
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018111501biden&r=email-082a&l=055-d50&t=c>
(11/15, Miller, Mascaro) also reports that “criminal justice reform has
been a priority of” Kushner, “who has been working on the issue for many
months.” However, the AP says Senate Majority Leader McConnell “was
cautious about the bill’s prospects Wednesday,” and “noted the Senate has
other things it needs to accomplish in the final weeks of the year,
including funding the government and passing a farm bill.”

The New York Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018111501biden&r=email-082a&l=056-9b6&t=c>
(11/14, Fandos, Haberman) says Trump’s support “could give political cover
to Republicans wary of appearing to reduce some hard-line sentencing rules
for drug and other offenses. With his endorsement, they believe they could
assemble a coalition of moderate Republicans and Democrats in time to move
legislation before the year’s end – and before the new, divided Congress is
seated.” The Wall Street Journal
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018111501biden&r=email-082a&l=057-7d8&t=c>
(11/14, Salama, Peterson)runs a similar story.

Reuters
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018111501biden&r=email-082a&l=058-516&t=c>
(11/14, Lynch) reports “the First Step Act, which was co-sponsored by
Republican Doug Collins of Georgia and Democrat Hakeem Jeffries of New
York, passed overwhelmingly in the House of Representatives in May with a
vote of 360-59
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018111501biden&r=email-082a&l=059-048&t=c>.”
However, “it has still not gained traction in the US Senate because it does
not contain a broader overhaul favored by both some moderate conservatives
and progressives seeking changes to mandatory minimum sentencing laws that
have kept many low-level offenders behind bars for decades.”

Yesterday, Politico
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018111501biden&r=email-082a&l=05a-ab6&t=c>
(11/14, Everett, Schor, Restuccia) reports that McConnell didn’t commit “to
move” the proposal “in the lame-duck session.” Said McConnell, “We need to
take a whip count and see where we stand. And then weigh it against the
other things that absolutely have to be accomplished. ... We don’t have a
whole lot of time left.” USA Today
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018111501biden&r=email-082a&l=05b-8e9&t=c>
(11/14, Jackson, Berry, Fritze) reports that Sen. Ben Cardin (D-MD) “said
he doubts Congress will act before next year.” Cardin “expects more action
in the next session and noted that” Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC), “who said
he is likely to chair the Senate Judiciary Committee, expressed interest in
the issue.”

Says the New York Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018111501biden&r=email-082a&l=05c-0a3&t=c>
(11/14, Dewan, Hulse), “From immigration to tax cuts to who won Florida,
there is very little that Republicans and Democrats seem to agree on these
days. But there may be one thing: the need to repair the nation’s criminal
justice system.”
Trump Praises California Fire Response, Offers Support To Brown.

In a tweet
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018111501biden&r=email-082a&l=05d-420&t=c>
Wednesday afternoon, President Trump praised the efforts of the
firefighters and first responders combating the California wildfires. Trump
wrote, “Was just briefed by @FEMA_Brock and @SecretaryZinke, who are in
California. Thank you to the great Firefighters, First Responders and @FEMA
for the incredible job they are doing w/ the California Wildfires. Our
Nation appreciates your heroism, courage & genius. God Bless you all!”

The President followed that tweet with another
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018111501biden&r=email-082a&l=05e-58b&t=c>
in which he said he spoke with Gov. Jerry Brown (D-CA) “to let him know
that we are with him, and the people of California, all the way!” The Hill
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018111501biden&r=email-082a&l=05f-33e&t=c>
(11/14, Samuels) calls the conversation between Trump and Brown “a shift in
tone after the two men exchanged barbs over the fires a few days earlier.”
Brown, who was touring damage from the Camp Fire in Northern California
that Trump pledged “the full resources of the Federal Government.”

In an editorial, the Washington Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018111501biden&r=email-082a&l=060-299&t=c>
(11/14) says in response to the fires, the President’s “callous initial
reaction was to insist that the only reason California experiences
wildfires is ‘mismanagement of the forests’ and demand that the state
‘remedy now, or no more Fed payments!’” The Posy says the “outburst is
doubly bizarre because the federal government manages most of the state’s
forests.” The Post adds that if Trump “is going to raise the question of
how to reduce the likelihood of disasters such as the Camp Fire, he should
look at his own policies. ... If Mr. Trump thinks the bill for governmental
mismanagement is high now, wait until the costs for his administration’s
abdication on climate change come due.”

The Hill
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018111501biden&r=email-082a&l=061-332&t=c>
(11/14, Samuels) also reports Interior Secretary Zinke visited California
Wednesday “to tour damaged areas and to meet with Brown.” Zinke “shared
images from California” in a series of tweets Wednesday (1
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018111501biden&r=email-082a&l=062-5ab&t=c>,
2
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018111501biden&r=email-082a&l=063-772&t=c>,
3
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018111501biden&r=email-082a&l=064-10f&t=c>).
In one, Zinke wrote, “Every time I come to California I say this is the
worst fire I’ve seen. Once again this is the absolute worst. Worse than any
war zone I saw in Iraq. The heroism of firefighters is amazing.” Axios
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018111501biden&r=email-082a&l=065-7fa&t=c>
(11/14, Britzky) reports while Brown “said on Wednesday that climate change
was a major source of the wildfires that have ravaged California over the
last week,” Zinke said now is not the time to “point fingers.” Axios adds
that Zinke “admitt[ed] that rising temperatures was one of several
contributing factors, the Associated Press reports.”

*Death Toll Rises To 51. *NBC Nightly News[image: Image removed by
sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018111501biden&r=email-082a&l=066-202&t=c>
(11/14, story 2, 1:55, Holt) reported on the “grim search for dozens, maybe
hundreds unaccounted for as two wildfires rage in California.” NBC
(Almaguer) added that the “51st body in a skyrocketing statewide death
toll” was found Tuesday “in the smoldering mountains outside Los Angeles.”
In Northern California, “many are still unaccounted for.” Will Carr said on ABC
World News Tonight[image: Image removed by sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018111501biden&r=email-082a&l=067-8b2&t=c>
(11/14, story 3, 2:20, Muir), “With the potential for the death toll to
double, residents won’t be allowed back in here to Paradise to see this
destruction until the search for the missing is over.”

*Investors Panic After PG&E Admits It May Have Caused Camp Fire. *The
Arizona Republic
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018111501biden&r=email-082a&l=068-94d&t=c>
(11/14, Randazzo, Bomey) reports investors in Pacific Gas & Electric “are
panicking” after the California utility “acknowledged it may be found
liable for causing the state’s Camp Fire and could face ‘significant’ costs
if investigators blame it for the subsequent devastation.” After the
company “admitted that an outage on a 115-kilovolt transmission line near
the fire’s origin occurred around the time the blaze started,” its stock
“plunged 19.5 percent in late-morning trading Wednesday to $26.34.” Bloomberg
News
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018111501biden&r=email-082a&l=069-e39&t=c>
(11/14, Efstathiou, Smith, McNeely) says PG&E “was plunged into full-blown
crisis by the possibility that its equipment sparked” the fire.

The Wall Street Journal
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018111501biden&r=email-082a&l=06a-093&t=c>
(11/14, Blunt, Gold) reports in a front-page story that in a securities
filing Tuesday, the company reported that its lines of credit have been
exhausted and its $1.4 billion of insurance coverage for wildfires
occurring between Aug. 1 and July 31, 2019, may be not be enough to cover
all the liability claims it could face. The CBS Evening News[image: Image
removed by sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018111501biden&r=email-082a&l=06b-132&t=c>
(11/14, story 4, 2:00, Villarreal) reported, “Nearly two dozen victims just
filed a lawsuit blaming” PG&E “for failing to maintain its power lines.”
Trump Says He Will Make Decision On Nielsen’s Future At DHS “Shortly.”

In an interview with the Daily Caller
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018111501biden&r=email-082a&l=06c-2c2&t=c>
(11/14, Enjeti, Johnson), President Trump said he “expects to make a
decision on the future of his Department of Homeland Security Secretary
Kirstjen Nielsen ‘shortly.’” Trump is quoted as saying, “I’m looking at
things. I haven’t made a decision yet. I will be making a decision on
homeland shortly. I have not made decisions yet. I will be making changes
on various things.” The Daily Caller also reports that “a source close to”
Chief of Staff Kelly says Kelly “currently ‘has no plans to leave’ and
believes there ‘are a group of people’ undertaking a ‘concerted effort to
oust him.’” The Daily Caller says Kelly is “currently attempting to save
Nielsen’s job, a protege he believes is being unfairly targeted by the
president.”

*CBP’s McAleenan, TSA’s Pekoske Lead Speculation For Nielsen
Replacement. *The Washington Examiner
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018111501biden&r=email-082a&l=06d-3b5&t=c>
(11/14, Giaritelli) reports that CBP Commissioner Kevin McAleenan and TSA
Administrator David Pekoske “have emerged in recent conversations with
current and former senior DHS officials as the most likely people to
succeed [Nielsen] if she is terminated by President Trump in coming weeks.”
DHS spokesman Tyler Houlton “dismissed speculation that Nielsen would soon
be forced out.”
Trump: NYC, Virginia “Paying A Very Big Price” For Amazon.

Politico
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018111501biden&r=email-082a&l=06e-b1e&t=c>
(11/14, Lima) reports that President Trump said in a Wednesday interview
with the Daily Caller that New York and Virginia “are ‘paying a very big
price’ to house Amazon’s next headquarters, adding that ‘time will tell’ on
the merits of the deals.” The President said, “It was a competition. ...
I’ve been in those competitions – a lot of cities were competing for it.
They took the best deals, you know?”

*NYTimes, WSJournal Criticize Incentives For Amazon. *The New York
Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018111501biden&r=email-082a&l=06f-36a&t=c>
(11/14) criticizes the Amazon deal in an editorial, writing, “Amazon wants
to develop a four-million-square-foot campus by the East River because of
the talent that resides in New York. Lots of it. ... But the plan calls for
the state to dispense $1.525 billion to the company, including $1.2 billion
from its Excelsior program, which will reimburse Amazon $48,000 for every
job,” while another state agency “will offer $325 million to the Amazonians
tied to real estate projects. ... Building infrastructure for Amazon’s
future benefit may be too generous a bargain.” The Wall Street Journal
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018111501biden&r=email-082a&l=070-582&t=c>
(11/14) is similarly critical in an editorial, saying that New York and
Virginia are offering billions in handouts to one of the world’s most
successful companies. Breitbart
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018111501biden&r=email-082a&l=071-12e&t=c>
(11/14, Nash) reports that Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D-NY) “downplayed the $1.5
billion in tax credits and $1.2 billion in tax breaks given to Amazon”
during a Wednesday news conference, “claiming it, ‘Cost us nothing.’”

In a Washington Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018111501biden&r=email-082a&l=072-f0e&t=c>
(11/14) op-ed, novelist Thomas Kohnstamm, a Seattle resident since
childhood, warns the selected areas to “get ready for a lot of change –
some for the better, but certainly not all of it positive. I have never
found Seattle at once so cosmopolitan and so painfully one-dimensional.”

*NYC Amazon Site Is In Federal “Opportunity Zone.” *The New York
Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018111501biden&r=email-082a&l=073-007&t=c>
(11/14, Tankersley) reports that “in the eyes of the federal government,
the census tract that will house Amazon’s new headquarters in New York is
an ‘opportunity zone,’ eligible for tax credits meant to spur investment in
low-income communities.” This is despite the fact that “the median income
is $138,000 a year, and America’s hottest online retailer is about to move
in.”
Cancer Research
NCI Deputy Director Discusses Outlook Of HPV-Associated Research, Vaccines.

The Washington Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018111501biden&r=email-082a&l=074-170&t=c>
(11/14) shares an online video clip of a recent conference at which Dr.
Douglas Lowy, Deputy Director of the National Cancer Institute, discussed
advancements in HPV-associated cancer research and treatment. He explained,
“The vaccines are going to take care of the vast majority of the disease,”
and that currently, “we have reasonable uptake of the vaccine.” However, he
added that it appears “the cancers are going to be with us for a long
time.” Dr. Lowy also said that “eventually” the cancer rates will diminish,
adding new research indicates the “vast majority of people who develop
these cancers can be successfully treated. ... There is some early
evidence...showing that if you target two” genes associated with the
disease “along with more standard immunotherapy, that this may actually
prove beneficial and may have lower side effects.”

In another video shared by the Washington Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018111501biden&r=email-082a&l=075-84f&t=c>
(11/13), Dr. Lowy discussed HPV vaccination rates in the US, commenting
that “a lot more people now are getting the vaccine than was the case a few
years ago. The latest data from the CDC suggest that about 60 to 65 percent
of eligible 13- to 17-year-old teenagers are getting one dose and about 40
percent are up to date.” He also addressed concerns voiced by people
opposed to vaccines, who he said have “been a concern” themselves.
Entrepreneurs’ Rise To Success With Cancer Data Company Profiled.

In a 4,000-word piece, Forbes
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018111501biden&r=email-082a&l=076-c38&t=c>
(11/14, Herper) reports on the entrepreneurial successes of Nat Turner and
Zach Weinberg, who at the age of 24 founded the company Flatiron Health
“with the goal of pooling patient data from electronic health records in a
way that could answer scientific questions and improve medicine,”
particularly for oncology. Forbes tracks the rise of their company, noting
that at its outset, their first deal with a leading cancer center formed
because of Tom Lynch, head of R&D at Bristol-Myers and
then-physician-in-chief of Yale’s Smilow Cancer Hospital. Recalling data
tracking before Flatiron’s technology, Lynch commented, “It’s stunning how
far behind banking and financial transactions and manufacturing medicine
is. ... I couldn’t tell you how many patients at Yale were being treated
for pancreas cancer, real time. I could tell you when the information was
filed with the state or when it was filed years later with the National
Cancer Institute. But the ability to tell in real time how many patients
had a certain disease...I didn’t have that kind of information.”
Editorials/Op-Eds
Ne