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Office of Vice President Biden Intelligence Briefing


*From:* Bulletin Intelligence <Biden@BulletinIntelligence.com>
*Sent:* Monday, November 12, 2018 8:11 AM
*To:* Biden@BulletinIntelligence.com
*Subject:* Office of Vice President Biden Intelligence Briefing for Monday,
November 12, 2018


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*To: Vice President Joe Biden*

*Monday, November 12, 2018 8:00 AM EST*
Today's Table of Contents

*Biden in the News <#SECTION_1>*

• Biden Laments “Demeaning” Nature Of Politics. <#S1>

• Biden Calls For Midterm Recounts To Be Conducted “Transparently.” <#S2>

*Leading the News <#SECTION_2>*

• Trump Pays Tribute To America’s Fallen Heroes And Friendship With France.
<#S3>

*Foreign Policy <#SECTION_3>*

• Turkey’s Erdogan: Recording Of Khashoggi Killing Released To US, Western
Allies. <#S4>

• Pence To Attend Asia-Pacific Meetings Instead Of Trump. <#S5>

• Mattis, Chinese Counterpart Discuss Ways To Avoid Accidental Military
Collisions. <#S6>

• State Dept. “Troubled” By Tanzania’s Escalating Campaign Against Human
Rights. <#S7>

• McCarthy Says Trump Making America Stronger On Trade. <#S8>

• Iranians Fear Medicine Shortages Will Result From New US Sanctions. <#S9>

• Young Chinese Activists Disappear Amid Xi’s Escalating Campaign To Squash
Dissent. <#S10>

*Domestic Policy <#SECTION_4>*

• Schiff: House Democrats To Investigate Trump For Targeting WPost, CNN.
<#S11>

• Democrats Lay Out Their Plans For Healthcare. <#S12>

• Graham: Executive Order Could Start Discussion On Birthright Citizenship.
<#S13>

• Lame Duck Congress To Consider Border Wall Funding Amid Trump Shutdown
Threat. <#S14>

• US On Pace To Spend More On Debt Than Defense By 2023. <#S15>

• Nadler Calls For Gun Control Measures. <#S16>

*Cancer Research <#SECTION_5>*

• Research Evaluates Whether Vitamin D, Fish Oil Can Lower Rates Of Cancer,
Major Cardiovascular Events. <#S17>

• Participation In Breast Cancer Screening Program Found To Be Beneficial.
<#S18>

*Editorials/Op-Eds <#SECTION_6>*

• New York Times. <#S19>

• Washington Post. <#S20>
Biden in the News
Biden Laments “Demeaning” Nature Of Politics.

CNN
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018111201biden&r=email-92b7&l=002-033&t=c>
(11/11, Saenz) reports former Vice President Joe Biden on Sunday “lamented
the ‘demeaning’ nature of today’s politics while presenting an award to
President George W. Bush and former first lady Laura Bush in Philadelphia.”
Biden is quoted saying, “As President Bush was my opposition as the
chairman of the Foreign Relations Committee, he was never my enemy. Think
how demeaning our politics has become in terms of how we talk about one
another. There’s the opposition, not the enemies.” He went on to add, “In a
week following another contentious political season, the presentation of
the Liberty Medal is a critical reminder that neither Republicans nor
Democrats hold a monopoly on the values and the ideals that define us as a
nation.” CNN notes that Biden “is considered a likely Democratic candidate
for president in 2020, which could mean he would face off against Trump.” A
video segment from WPVI-TV
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Philadelphia (11/11) showed Biden speaking at the ceremony.
Biden Calls For Midterm Recounts To Be Conducted “Transparently.”

The Hill
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018111201biden&r=email-92b7&l=004-4ae&t=c>
(11/9, Bowden) “Briefing Room” blog reports former Vice President Joe Biden
on Friday tweeted
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018111201biden&r=email-92b7&l=005-3c9&t=c>,
“It’s the most fundamental American right: the right to vote – and for your
vote to be counted. Count all the votes in Florida, Georgia, and Arizona.
Count them fairly. Count them transparently.”
Leading the News
Trump Pays Tribute To America’s Fallen Heroes And Friendship With France.

NBC Nightly News[image: Image removed by sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018111201biden&r=email-92b7&l=006-0ad&t=c>
(11/11, story 3, 0:20, Snow) reported briefly that “world leaders,
including President Trump, gathered in Paris today, commemorating the end
of World War I 100 years ago today.” The President took to Twitter
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to write, “Beautiful ceremony today in Paris commemorating the end of World
War One. Many World leaders in attendance. Thank you to @EmmanuelMacron,
President of France! Now off to Suresnes American Cemetery to make speech
in honor of our great heroes! Then back to the U.S.A.”

ABC World News Tonight[image: Image removed by sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018111201biden&r=email-92b7&l=008-99b&t=c>
(11/11, story 8, 1:45, Llamas) reported the President “visited an American
cemetery honoring the American fallen,” and the CBS Weekend News[image:
Image removed by sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018111201biden&r=email-92b7&l=009-de9&t=c>
(11/11, 1:10, Morgan) showed him saying, “The American and French patriots
of World War I embody the timeless virtues of our two Republics.” To USA
Today
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018111201biden&r=email-92b7&l=00a-8a1&t=c>
(11/11, Jackson), the President’s speech “eschew[ed] global politics,” and
“paid tribute Sunday to Americans who lost their lives in World War I while
avoiding references to current tensions with allies.” Instead, Trump “spoke
of the horrors that Americans, the French and others faced...and the
ultimate sacrifices that so many made in fighting for freedom.”

Along similar lines, the Washington Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018111201biden&r=email-92b7&l=00b-c67&t=c>
(11/11, Miller) says Trump “honored Veterans Day and the 100th anniversary
of the end of World War I by paying tribute to America’s fallen heroes” and
the friendship with France that he said was “sealed in battle.” At Suresnes
American Cemetery and Memorial, Trump “recalled that French and American
troops ‘shed their blood together’ to bring a victorious end to World War
I.” AFP
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018111201biden&r=email-92b7&l=00c-d38&t=c>
(11/11, London) says the President made the visit to the cemetery “a day
after drawing fire for cancelling a similar trip due to bad weather,” while
the Washington Examiner
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018111201biden&r=email-92b7&l=00d-3cc&t=c>
(11/11, Nelson) notes he “spoke without an umbrella” during the “cold,
rainy” ceremony. The Wall Street Journal
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018111201biden&r=email-92b7&l=00e-e59&t=c>
(11/11) also briefly reports on Sunday’s ceremonies.

As the President wrapped up his weekend trip, some media reports
cast the President as isolated. The Los Angeles Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018111201biden&r=email-92b7&l=00f-ec7&t=c>
(11/11, Bierman), for example, reports Trump “left Paris late Sunday to fly
back to Washington, skipping a three-day forum that Macron hosted together
with German Chancellor Angela Merkel in an effort to galvanize global
action on shared challenges, including climate change.” To Bloomberg News
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018111201biden&r=email-92b7&l=010-4bc&t=c>
(11/11, Champion), “by the time he flew home on Sunday,” Trump “appeared
isolated and, by some, scorned,” Politico
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018111201biden&r=email-92b7&l=011-c07&t=c>
(11/11, Cook) says he “looked very much alone...isolated from European
leaders and longtime US allies,” and to the AP
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018111201biden&r=email-92b7&l=012-a10&t=c>
(11/11, Superville, Colvin) his visit “made clear that, nearly two years
after taking office, Trump has dramatically upended decades of American
foreign policy posture, shaking allies.”

The Washington Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018111201biden&r=email-92b7&l=013-8d8&t=c>
(11/11, Nakamura) says that during the weekend trip, “the president hardly
said a word – and he still managed to outrage at almost every turn. Aside
from a critical tweet aimed at French President Emmanuel Macron when Trump
landed in Paris late Friday – one based on an inaccurate newspaper summary
of an interview Macron gave suggesting that he had called the United States
a threat – Trump didn’t throw any sharp elbows at his peers here. It was
still all about him.” In photos, the Post says, he “looked uncomfortable,”
and was “a no-show at a scheduled tour of a military cemetery for
Americans, while other world leaders publicly paid homage to those who died
on the battlefield.”

*Trump Joins World Leaders In Paris To Mark Centennial Of End Of
WWI. *President Trump on Saturday met with French President Emmanuel Macron
and other world leaders in Paris to mark the 100th anniversary of the end
of World War One. Although coverage on the network newscasts of the
President’s foreign trip continued to be overshadowed by the wildfires in
California, reporting in print and online highlighted the contrast between
Trump’s meeting with Macron and the tweet
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018111201biden&r=email-92b7&l=014-843&t=c>
criticizing his French counterpart for suggesting that the EU needs an army
rather than endorsing Trump’s call for increased NATO spending.

“Fresh off the loss of the Republican-controlled House and discord
over firing his attorney general,” the President “is trying to remind the
world he’s still the boss,” Politico
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018111201biden&r=email-92b7&l=015-21d&t=c>
(11/10, Cook) reports, and the two-day visit to France, “gives Trump ample
opportunities to project his commander-in-chief image after suffering the
most serious political rebuke to his presidency so far.” Politico adds that
“Trump immediately asserted himself during his first interaction with
Macron on Saturday morning, in which he urged NATO countries to contribute
more to defense spending, a point he’s fixated on throughout his
presidency.”

The New York Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018111201biden&r=email-92b7&l=016-9f5&t=c>
(11/10, Baker, Nossiter) reports “by the time they met in Paris on
Saturday, the trans-Atlantic alliance that was to be showcased by this
weekend’s commemoration of the 100th anniversary of the end of World War I
appeared to be fraying instead,” although “in a five-minute session with
reporters before their meeting on Saturday, Mr. Trump and Mr. Macron sought
to defuse simmering tension over security and trade.” According to the
Times, “Mr. Macron reassured his visitor that his proposal to create a
‘true European army’ was in harmony with Mr. Trump’s repeated insistence
that Europe stop relying so much on the United States for its defense.” The
AP
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018111201biden&r=email-92b7&l=017-971&t=c>
(11/10) reports “as they met, Macron stood firm but also seemed eager to
keep up a show of camaraderie.” The AP adds Macron “called Trump ‘my good
friend’ – and reached out to pat the American president on the thigh after
a reporter asked them about the tweet.”

Reuters
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018111201biden&r=email-92b7&l=018-ca3&t=c>
(11/9, Holland, Baker) also reports they “agreed on Saturday on the need
for more European defense spending, papering over [the] earlier Trump tweet
that had described Macron’s call for a European army as ‘very insulting.’”
Reuters adds Macron “echoed [Trump’s] sentiments, saying he wanted Europe
to bear a greater share of the defense costs within NATO, a point he has
made repeatedly since taking office, alongside his ambitions for Europe to
have its own military capability.” According to the AP
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(11/10, Colvin, Superville), “Trump has long complained about uncompensated
U.S. defense spending that benefits allies.” The Wall Street Journal
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018111201biden&r=email-92b7&l=01a-096&t=c>
(11/10, Salama, Meichtry) quotes Trump as saying that the “burden” of NATO
“has been largely on the United States,” but Macron “understands it and he
understands that the United States can only do so much.”

Reuters
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018111201biden&r=email-92b7&l=01b-8ff&t=c>
(11/10, Holland) reports Trump added, “We want a strong Europe, it’s very
important to us and whichever way we can do it the best and more efficient
would be something we both want.” The Hill
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018111201biden&r=email-92b7&l=01c-e83&t=c>
(11/10, March) reports Macron said, “It’s unfair to have the European
security today being assured just by the United States, and we need a much
better burden sharing.” Macron added, “I do believe that we need more
European capacities, more European defense, in order to take this part of
the burden.” Macron continued, “When President Trump has to protect or to
defend one of the states of the United States, he doesn’t ask France or
Germany, or another government of Europe to finance it.”

The Washington Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018111201biden&r=email-92b7&l=01d-5a4&t=c>
(11/10, McAuley) reports “the Elysee Palace worked to patch things up as
quickly as possible and to show Trump that what Macron said was really a
version of what he has been saying all along, which is that Europe needs to
take more charge of its own defenses.” Reuters
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018111201biden&r=email-92b7&l=01e-c3a&t=c>
(11/10, Rose, Lough) reports that prior to their meeting, Macron said, “I
am obviously going to share with President Trump the proposals made on
Europe’s strategic defense capabilities and the need for a Europe that is
able to take on more of the common burden at the heart of NATO.”

*Trump Sends Kelly, Dunford To Visit American Cemetery Outside
Paris. *A visit to “an American cemetery northeast of Paris” was scheduled
for Saturday, but the President was unable to attend as “poor visibility
meant he could not make the 100-mile round-trip on Marine One,” reported NBC
Nightly News[image: Image removed by sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018111201biden&r=email-92b7&l=01f-ee4&t=c>
(11/10, story 5, 2:00, Diaz-Balart) correspondent Kelly O’Donnell. White
House Chief of Staff John Kelly and Joint Chiefs Chairman Gen. Joseph
Dunford attended in his place. Bloomberg News
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018111201biden&r=email-92b7&l=020-486&t=c>
(11/10, Sink, Pettypiece) acknowledges that “the site – where some 1,800
American soldiers were killed over three weeks of battle during World War I
– is some 55 miles from downtown Paris, making a drive logistically
challenging for the president’s large motorcade.”

The AP
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018111201biden&r=email-92b7&l=021-e44&t=c>
(11/10, Colvin) reports “Trump had been scheduled to lay a wreath and
observe a moment of silence at the Aisne-Marne American Cemetery and
Memorial,” but he instead “spent much of the day following a meeting and
lunch with...Macron at the U.S. ambassador’s residence, where he was
staying during events to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the end of
World War I.” The AP notes that “the Secret Service determines when it’s
safe to fly Marine One, the president’s helicopter.”

However, Reuters
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018111201biden&r=email-92b7&l=022-495&t=c>
(11/10, Baker) reports “the last minute cancellation prompted widespread
criticism on social media and from some officials in Britain and the United
States that Trump had ‘dishonored’ U.S. servicemen.” A front-page Washington
Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018111201biden&r=email-92b7&l=023-d67&t=c>
(11/10, A1, McAuley) reports “the sight of dignitaries arriving at other
sites outside Paris, including Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau,
German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Emmanuel Macron, led
some foreign policy analysts to speculate the U.S. commander in chief just
wasn’t up for it” while “Trump’s critics, including former national
security aides under President Obama, piled on – payback, perhaps, for the
times Trump ridiculed Obama by calling him feckless and weak on the world
stage.”
Foreign Policy
Turkey’s Erdogan: Recording Of Khashoggi Killing Released To US, Western
Allies.

The Washington Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018111201biden&r=email-92b7&l=024-22c&t=c>
(11/10, A1, Mekhennet) reports on its front page that an “audio recording
tracking the dying moments of journalist Jamal Khashoggi inside the Saudi
Consulate in Istanbul has been shared with Saudi Arabia, Britain, France
and Germany in addition to the United States, the leader of Turkey,”
President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, said Saturday “before departing for Paris
for commemorations to mark the 100th anniversary of the end of World War
I.” While “Erdogan said he ‘gave’ the tapes to those countries, it was
unclear whether he meant that he had physically passed them on.” According
to the Post, “It was the first time that Erdogan has publicly acknowledged
the existence of an audio recording that Turkish officials say backs” their
allegations. Western diplomats and analysts “say that Erdogan may be using
the carefully orchestrated leaks to leverage Turkish interests
internationally.”

On its front page, the New York Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018111201biden&r=email-92b7&l=025-e85&t=c>
(11/10, A1, Landler, Kirkpatrick) says Erdogan’s disclosure intensifies
“the pressure on President Trump to take stronger punitive measures against
his allies in Saudi Arabia.” The White House declined to confirm receipt of
the recording, but “Erdogan’s claim puts Mr. Trump in an awkward position,
suggesting he possesses vivid evidence of Mr. Khashoggi’s premeditated
killing, even as he has resisted tough sanctions against the Saudis and
refused to say exactly who he believes was responsible.” The Administration
“has taken modest steps against the Saudi government,” but it “has declined
to accuse Prince Mohammed, who has cultivated particularly close ties with
Mr. Trump’s son-in-law and senior adviser, Jared Kushner, emerging as a
linchpin of the administration’s Middle East strategy.” The Times adds that
the Administration’s “limited actions against the Saudis seem calculated in
part to head off a tougher response in Congress, where lawmakers from both
parties have expressed outrage over the killing of a dissident inside a
diplomatic compound and Saudi Arabia’s shifting explanations for it.”

The Wall Street Journal
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018111201biden&r=email-92b7&l=026-1c5&t=c>
(11/10, Gauthier-Villars) says Erdogan is seeking greater support from the
US and other allies as he presses Riyadh to identify the high-ranking
officials who allegedly orchestrated Khashoggi’s murder. Erdogan is
expected to raise the matter during a possible meeting with Trump in Paris
this weekend. Before departing for Paris, Erdogan said he and Trump “will
try to secure an opportunity and we will realize a bilateral meeting”
there, Reuters
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018111201biden&r=email-92b7&l=027-7b7&t=c>
(11/10) reports.

Reuters
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018111201biden&r=email-92b7&l=028-3e0&t=c>
(11/11) later reports Trump discussed the matter with Erdogan “during a
Saturday dinner with heads of state gathered in Paris to mark the World War
One Armistice centenary, during which Trump was also seated close to French
President Emmanuel Macron and Germany’s Angela Merkel,” according to “a
White House official” on Saturday.

*Trump, France’s Macron Agree On Need For More Details On
Khashoggi’s Killing. *Reuters
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018111201biden&r=email-92b7&l=029-60a&t=c>
(11/10) reports President Trump and French President Emmanuel Macron
“agreed on Saturday that the Saudi authorities needed to shed full light on
the murder in Turkey last month of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi, a
French presidency source said.” Trump and Macron “also agreed that the
Khashoggi affair should not be allowed to cause further destabilization in
the Middle East and that it could create an opportunity to find a political
resolution to the war in Yemen, according to the official.”

*Erdogan Speaks With Trump About Khashoggi. *ABC World News
Tonight[image:
Image removed by sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018111201biden&r=email-92b7&l=02a-10f&t=c>
(11/11, story 8, 1:45, Llamas) reported that at a dinner Saturday night in
Paris, President Trump and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan discussed
the murder of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi in Istanbul. Erdogan
“revealed that Turkey has shared with the US and other countries that
audiotape of Khashoggi being killed inside the Saudi Consulate, all that
putting more pressure on Saudi Arabia and on the crucial US-Saudi
relationship.”

*NYTimes Analysis: Saudi Officials Discussed Assassinating Enemies
Long Before Khashoggi’s Death. *In an analysis, the New York Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018111201biden&r=email-92b7&l=02b-4b8&t=c>
(11/11, Mazzetti, Bergman, Kirkpatrick) says high-ranking “Saudi
intelligence officials close to Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman asked a
small group of businessmen last year about using private companies to
assassinate Iranian enemies of the kingdom, according to three people
familiar with the discussions.” The Times says these discussions took place
“more than a year before the killing of the journalist Jamal Khashoggi,”
suggesting “that top Saudi officials have considered assassinations since
the beginning of Prince Mohammed’s ascent.” The Times says Saudi officials’
“interest in assassinations, covert operations and military campaigns like
the war in Yemen – overseen by Prince Mohammed – is a change for the
kingdom, which historically has avoided an adventurous foreign policy that
could create instability and imperil Saudi Arabia’s comfortable position as
one of the world’s largest oil suppliers.”
Pence To Attend Asia-Pacific Meetings Instead Of Trump.

Reuters
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018111201biden&r=email-92b7&l=02c-95b&t=c>
(11/11, Kim) reports Vice President Pence will join “Chinese Premier Li
Keqiang, Russian President Vladimir Putin, Indian Prime Minister Narendra
Modi and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe” at the 10-member Association
of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) gathering in Singapore this week. At the
gathering, “regional powers” will “seek to enlist support for a
multilateral trading system” and renew “pledges to resolve regional
conflicts ranging from the Rohingya crisis” in Burma to rising tensions in
the disputed South China Sea. “Notably absent” from the gathering will be
President Trump, “whose decision to skip the Asia summit has raised
questions about his commitment to a regional strategy aimed at checking
China’s rise.” Reuters says it is unclear if Pence and Li “will hold
separate talks on the sidelines of the Singapore meetings, which would be a
prelude to a summit scheduled between Trump and Chinese President Xi
Jinping at the end of the month in Buenos Aires.”

In an analysis, Bloomberg News
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018111201biden&r=email-92b7&l=02d-c83&t=c>
(11/10, Tweed) says many of the same leaders attending the ASEAN gathering
will also “go to Papua New Guinea for the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation
meeting.” Bloomberg News adds, “While it’s not unprecedented for a U.S.
president to skip these summits, the optics are particularly bad with
Trump.” The President’s “snub means the world won’t pay as much attention
to a set of summits that are usually more notable for what happens on the
sidelines than in the meetings themselves.” His absence “does, however,
give Chinese President Xi Jinping an opportunity to steal the spotlight.”
As for Pence, Bloomberg News says that his “speech last month lambasting
China” makes it “unlikely he’ll be able to have substantive meetings with
Chinese officials that would lead to a more successful outcome of Trump’s
planned meeting with Xi at the Group of 20 summit.”
Mattis, Chinese Counterpart Discuss Ways To Avoid Accidental Military
Collisions.

Bloomberg News
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018111201biden&r=email-92b7&l=02e-2ab&t=c>
(11/10) reports Defense Secretary Mattis and Chinese Defense Minister Wei
Fenghe met in Washington on Friday, about a month “after an incident
between the two countries’ navies” in the disputed South China Sea that
fueled “tensions between the world’s two largest economies already
embroiled in a prolonged trade war.” According to an online statement by
China’s Defense Ministry, Wei told Mattis that the US and Chinese
militaries should “properly manage risks, discuss ways to avoid accidental
conflicts and let military relations serve as a stabilizer for links
between the two countries.” Reuters adds that Mattis’ meeting with Wei
“came amid plans for the U.S. Pacific Fleet to stage a global show of force
this month involving American warships, combat aircraft and troops.”
State Dept. “Troubled” By Tanzania’s Escalating Campaign Against Human
Rights.

In a statement obtained by Reuters
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018111201biden&r=email-92b7&l=02f-dc2&t=c>
(11/11) on Sunday, the State Department criticized Tanzanian President John
Magufuli’s government over its campaign “to cut back human rights and civil
liberties, including arrests and harassment of ‘marginalized’ people such
as homosexuals.” The State Department said, “We are troubled by the
continued arrests and harassment of marginalized persons, including
lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people and others who seek to
exercise their rights to freedom of speech, association and assembly.”
Tanzania’s “deteriorating state of human rights and rule of law” is
inhibiting “‘development, economic prosperity, peace, and security,’ the
U.S. statement said, urging the government to safeguard people’s rights.”
Earlier this month, the State Department warned Americans “in Tanzania to
be cautious after the commercial capital Dar es Salaam announced a
crackdown on homosexuality, a criminal offense.”
McCarthy Says Trump Making America Stronger On Trade.

On Fox News Sunday Morning Futures[image: Image removed by sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018111201biden&r=email-92b7&l=030-0b6&t=c>
(11/11), House Majority Leader McCarthy (R-CA) expressed hope that
lawmakers “could come together on trade.” McCarthy said, “The President was
able to negotiate an agreement with Mexico and Canada to put America in a
stronger position. We will take that up in the new Congress.” He continued,
“We should make sure we put America first,” and “make these markets open up
more to American products.” McCarthy added that because of “the leadership
of President Trump,” the US economy has grown stronger, while China’s has
become weaker. McCarthy added, “I think China will find it is in their best
interest to sit down with America and find that they need to come to a fair
and honest agreement” on trade.
Iranians Fear Medicine Shortages Will Result From New US Sanctions.

The New York Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018111201biden&r=email-92b7&l=031-e32&t=c>
(11/11, Tabrizy) reports the Administration’s decision this month to
reimpose sanctions on Iran has raised concerns “over the availability of
medicine” in Iran. Administration officials maintain “that the sanctions
will not affect trade in humanitarian items, but many are skeptical”
because President Trump’s “‘maximum pressure campaign’ is starting to
remove some of the few avenues that Iran had left to conduct banking for
humanitarian items.” The tough “banking restrictions and the threat of
secondary sanctions for companies doing business with Iran have made it
nearly impossible for foreign pharmaceutical companies to continue working
in the country.” The challenges “are compounded by Iran’s own economic
problems, which have led to a steep decline in the nation’s currency, the
rial, and to steep increases in drug costs, since most are imported.”
Young Chinese Activists Disappear Amid Xi’s Escalating Campaign To Squash
Dissent.

The New York Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018111201biden&r=email-92b7&l=032-60d&t=c>
(11/11, Hernández) reports that more than “a dozen young activists who took
part in a national campaign for workers’ rights in China are missing,
friends said on Sunday, in what appeared to be an effort by the government
to silence one of the most visible student protests in years.” The
activists – self-described “ardent communists who fervently believe in the
ideals of Marx and Mao” – have “waged an unusual campaign against
inequality and corporate greed that has gained traction at some of China’s
top schools.” As part of Chinese “President Xi Jinping’s efforts to curtail
dissent and political organizing,” the ruling Communist Party “appears to
be redoubling efforts to quash the movement.” The Times says because the
Communist Party “prides itself as a socialist guardian of workers’ rights,”
the activists’ movement has placed it “in an awkward position.”
Domestic Policy
Schiff: House Democrats To Investigate Trump For Targeting WPost, CNN.

Axios
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018111201biden&r=email-92b7&l=033-b1e&t=c>
(11/11, Allen, Vandehei) reports Rep. Adam Schiff said in an interview
for Axios
on HBO[image: Image removed by sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018111201biden&r=email-92b7&l=034-ffc&t=c>
that House Democrats plan to investigate whether the President abused White
House power by targeting and seeking to punish the Washington Post and CNN.
Axios says that as the majority party in the House, Democrats can “demand
emails and testimony to see if Trump used,” as Schiff said, “the
instruments of state power to punish the press.” Schiff said, “It is very
squarely within our responsibility to find out.”

The Washington Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018111201biden&r=email-92b7&l=035-1e5&t=c>
(11/11, Itkowitz) reports House Democrats on Sunday “began detailing plans
to wield their newfound oversight power in the next Congress.” In addition
to Schiff’s comments, Rep. Jerry Nadler, who is expected to take control of
the House Judiciary Committee, said he will call acting Attorney General
Whitaker to testify about his “expressed hostility” to special counsel
Robert Mueller’s investigation. The Post says the moves indicate that House
Democrats, “while wary of the risks of alienating voters who backed the
president, are fully embracing their midterm victory last week as a mandate
to dig deep into the actions of the executive branch.”

Mollie Hemingway of The Federalist said on Fox News MediaBuzz[image:
Image removed by sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018111201biden&r=email-92b7&l=036-cd6&t=c>
(11/11), “We have a President who is getting more personal in his insults
against reporters and we have a press corps that is responding by
decreasing their journalistic standards. I don’t think this week was a good
week for journalism and it wasn’t a good week for presidential rhetoric
either. The American public losses out. We are not getting good questions.
We are not getting questions that have fair assumptions. We are not getting
a press corps that even respects the office. We know they hate the
President. But do they respect the office at all? And then you have him
being this way. It is just very frustrating to watch.”

*Conway: Acosta Video Was Not Doctored. *Politico
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018111201biden&r=email-92b7&l=037-281&t=c>
(11/11, Griffiths) reports White House counselor Kellyanne Conway told Fox
News Sunday[image: Image removed by sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018111201biden&r=email-92b7&l=038-4ec&t=c>
that CNN chief White House correspondent Jim Acosta still owes a White
House intern an apology and “scoff[ed] at the notion that the White House
posted doctored tape of Acosta pulling away from an intern as she tried to
take back the microphone during a heated exchange” with the President last
week. Conway said, “Oh, well, that’s not altered, it’s sped up. They do it
all the time in sports to see if there’s actually a first down or
touchdown. ... So, I’m going to have to disagree with, I think, the
overwrought description of this video being doctored as if we put somebody
else’s arm in there.”

Former White House Press Secretary Ari Fleischer said on Fox News
MediaBuzz[image: Image removed by sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018111201biden&r=email-92b7&l=039-6c0&t=c>
(11/11), “It is one thing for reporters to be challenging, to be tough.
That is their job. They do it all the time. It is another thing for them to
use...the briefing room to espouse their personal policy preferences, their
individual points of view. That’s what Jim Acosta has been doing since
Donald Trump became President.”

*CNN May Be Preparing To Sue White House Over Suspending Acosta’s
Press Pass. *The Washington Examiner
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018111201biden&r=email-92b7&l=03a-065&t=c>
(11/11, Lim) reports CNN may be preparing to sue the Administration over
the revocation of Acosta’s press credentials. Former ABC News anchor and
reporter Sam Donaldson told CNN’s “Reliable Sources” Sunday that he
believed a lawsuit has already been filed. But host Brian Stelter “replied
that he was not aware of such a case.” A spokesperson for CNN “told the
Washington Examiner that a lawsuit has not been filed yet.” The
spokesperson said, “No decisions have been made. We have reached out to the
White House and gotten no response.”
Democrats Lay Out Their Plans For Healthcare.

On CNN’s State of the Union[image: Image removed by sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018111201biden&r=email-92b7&l=03b-fef&t=c>
(11/11), Senate Minority Leader Schumer said of Democrats’ approach to
healthcare, “Democrats are united in one thing. We want to provide better
healthcare at less cost for the American people. When the average family
sits down at their table Friday night, they worry more about healthcare
costs for a spouse, parent, child, more than anything else. That’s why in
this country, Democrats did so well in this election. There’s lots of
different approaches to make that happen. Medicare for all, buy in to
Medicare or Medicaid. ... And we are united in improving healthcare at
lower costs for Americans, and there are lots of different approaches. We
will unite on an approach and come forward with that as we move through the
legislative process.”

On CBS’ Face the Nation[image: Image removed by sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018111201biden&r=email-92b7&l=03c-332&t=c>
(11/11), House Minority Leader Pelosi discussed Congress’ upcoming health
plans, saying, “One is, the preexisting conditions as not being a barrier
to getting coverage is part of the Affordable Care Act. The Republicans
have tried to disrupt that – they did it in their Trumpcare or ‘I Don’t
Care Bill’ that he had. It was defeated. They didn’t succeed in the
Congress, so now they’re going to the courts, large numbers of Republican
attorneys general throughout the country have brought suit against
preexisting-condition benefit. And instead of protecting the law of the
land, the President decided with the attorneys general to eliminate that
benefit. They misrepresented during the campaign where they were in this,
they have another chance now with us in the majority to join us and to
removing all doubt that the preexisting medical condition is the law of the
land.”

Rep. David Cicilline (D-RI) said on Fox News Sunday Morning
Futures[image:
Image removed by sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018111201biden&r=email-92b7&l=03d-7ac&t=c>
(11/11), “Democrats ran on a very specific agenda” which is focused on
“driving down the cost of healthcare, driving down the cost of prescription
drugs, protecting coverage for preexisting conditions.” Cicilline added,
“We have a piece of legislation that will allow the government to negotiate
discounted prices for our pharmaceutical companies to drive down
prescription drug prices, bring more transparencies to that, prevent
gouging that will save tens of billions of dollars not only for consumers,
but for the taxpayer. This is a simple thing to do to allow the government
to negotiate discounted prices and save on prescription drugs. The
President has spoken about it and he says he’s for driving down the cost of
prescription drugs. We’re going to give him the opportunity to show if he’s
really serious about that.”

On NBC’s Meet the Press[image: Image removed by sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018111201biden&r=email-92b7&l=03e-aaa&t=c>
(11/11), Rep.-elect Lauren Underwood (D-IL) said of her priorities in
Congress, “Protect healthcare for people with pre-existing conditions. It
is the most critical issue. ... It’s going to get done immediately because
we can protect the Affordable Care Act, fix it, stabilize premium prices,
lower drug prices, but this idea that somehow people with pre-existing
conditions might be vulnerable is something that I would never support.”

*McCarthy Says Democrats’ Healthcare Plan Will Bankrupt Medicare. *On
Fox News Sunday Morning Futures[image: Image removed by sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018111201biden&r=email-92b7&l=03f-3f6&t=c>
(11/11), House Majority Leader McCarthy (R-CA) discussed the Democratic
healthcare plans, saying, “Well, the real fear I have is what the Democrats
plan to do. They believe in a government-controlled healthcare, this is
what more than 100 of the Democrats co-sponsored inside the House. That
will bankrupt Medicare. More than 50 percent of Americans get their
healthcare from their employer. That will become illegal in the process. It
would break the system that we currently have. That is why it’s important
that Republicans continue to put forth their idea. Their ideas to make
healthcare a better quality at a lower price, that we’ll continue to do
this on a time-and-time-again basis.”
Graham: Executive Order Could Start Discussion On Birthright Citizenship.

Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) said on CBS’ Face the Nation[image: Image
removed by sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018111201biden&r=email-92b7&l=040-1ae&t=c>
(11/11) that birthright citizenship must “get to the court. Maybe the
executive order is the way to start that discussion. But when it comes to
changing asylum law, saying that somebody here illegally cannot apply for
asylum, I don’t know if you can do that by executive order, but I support
that policy. Right now, people marching on our border if they cross
illegally then they ask for asylum. It shouldn’t be magnet for illegal
immigration, so I support the policy change. Not so sure you can do it by
executive order, but we’ll see.”

Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX), also appearing on CBS’ Face the Nation[image:
Image removed by sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018111201biden&r=email-92b7&l=041-9bc&t=c>
(11/11), said, “I have not yet reviewed the executive order. I don’t reach
constitutional opinions lightly. If the order defies the laws of Congress,
then, yes, it’s unconstitutional. If the order constrains and directs how
the executive implements the law it is not. My understanding is the
executive order does things directing resources to the border, those
resources are clearly within the purview of an executive order for the
President.”

House Minority Leader Pelosi told CBS’ Face the Nation[image: Image
removed by sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018111201biden&r=email-92b7&l=042-7e0&t=c>
(11/11), “There are many ways to protect the border...but whatever it is,
has to be tied to comprehensive immigration reform. What this
Administration has done is undermine our values, taking babies out of the
arms of their moms. ... And what the President did, does not recognize what
the law of the land is.”
Lame Duck Congress To Consider Border Wall Funding Amid Trump Shutdown
Threat.

The Wall Street Journal
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018111201biden&r=email-92b7&l=043-ef2&t=c>
(11/11, Peterson) reports Congress returns this week for a two-month lame
duck session that is expected to be dominated by a fight over spending and
immigration. Lawmakers will seek to reach a spending deal to avoid a
partial government shutdown on Dec. 8. The Journal notes that President
Trump has threatened repeatedly to shut down parts of the government if
lawmakers don’t agree to fund construction of a border wall.
US On Pace To Spend More On Debt Than Defense By 2023.

The Wall Street Journal
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018111201biden&r=email-92b7&l=044-f35&t=c>
(11/11, Davidson, Kruger) reports that rising interest rates have put the
government on pace to spend more on interest than it spends on Medicaid in
2020, than it spends on national defense in 2023, and than it spends on all
nondefense discretionary programs combined in 2025.
Nadler Calls For Gun Control Measures.

Rep. Jerry Nadler (D-NY) said on ABC’s This Week[image: Image removed by
sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018111201biden&r=email-92b7&l=045-0f2&t=c>
(11/11), “We’re getting to the point where we’re having mass shootings
every week now. It’s hardly news. We’re told by the NRA and others that the
problem is mental health. You look at Western Europe and Japan. They have
50 gun deaths, 120 gun deaths, 150 gun deaths. We have 33,000 a year. It’s
a slander on the American people to say our folks are 10 times more
mentally ill than the people in Europe or Japan. The problem is the
military type weapons, the lack of appropriate background checks. We have
to deal with this.”
Cancer Research
Research Evaluates Whether Vitamin D, Fish Oil Can Lower Rates Of Cancer,
Major Cardiovascular Events.

The New York Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018111201biden&r=email-92b7&l=046-c9b&t=c>
(11/10, Rabin) reports that “in recent years, many Americans have embraced
vitamin D and fish oil pills, their enthusiasm fueled by a steady trickle
of suggestive research studies linking higher levels of vitamin D with
lower rates of cancer and other ills, and fish consumption with reduced
heart disease.” According to the Times, however, “a large and rigorous
government-funded randomized trial — the only such study of omega-3 fish
oils ever carried out in healthy adults, and the largest trial ever done of
high-dose vitamin D — has found the supplements do not lower cancer rates
in healthy adults.” They also do not “reduce the rate of major
cardiovascular events, a composite of heart attacks, strokes and deaths
from cardiovascular disease.”
Participation In Breast Cancer Screening Program Found To Be Beneficial.

HealthDay
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018111201biden&r=email-92b7&l=047-636&t=c>
(11/9, Reinberg) reported that in a study from Sweden, researchers “found
that those who took part in a breast cancer screening program had a 60
percent lower risk of dying from the disease in the 10 years after
diagnosis, and a 47 percent lower risk 20 years after diagnosis.” The
findings
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018111201biden&r=email-92b7&l=048-a41&t=c>
were published online in the journal Cancer.
Editorials/Op-Eds
New York Times.

*“Midterm Climate Report: Partly Cloudy.”* An editorial by the New York
Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018111201biden&r=email-92b7&l=049-259&t=c>
(11/9) considers the prospects for legislation to mitigate and combat
climate change in the wake of Tuesday’s midterm election results, saying
that Tuesday was “a day of decidedly mixed messages on climate change in
particular and environmental issues more broadly.” The Times says that
while “nobody thought the midterm elections were going to save the
climate,” the Democrats now have “a chance to effect change on the state
level – as well as the obligation and the power to hold the administration
to account.”
Washington Post.

*“There Is No Way This Man Should Be Running The Justice Department.”* In
an editorial, the Washington Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018111201biden&r=email-92b7&l=04a-4f8&t=c>
(11/9) asserts “regardless of whether the promotion is legal, it is very
clear that it is unwise” because Matthew Whitaker “is unfit for the job” of
Attorney General and “the department has a capable, Senate-confirmed deputy
attorney general in Rod J. Rosenstein; he should be running the department
in the absence of a permanent replacement.” The Post concludes “if the
Senate were consulted, it is impossible to imagine Mr. Whitaker getting
close to the attorney general’s office. He should not be there now.”

*“Despite GOP Efforts, Democracy Advanced Tuesday.” *The Washington
Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018111201biden&r=email-92b7&l=04b-239&t=c>
(11/9) editorializes that “some 113 million Americans” voted on Tuesday,
which “is undeniably good news,” even though “about half of eligible voters
failed to cast ballots in one of the most consequential midterm elections
the country has ever faced.” According to the Post, “It should not be
difficult to vote, but in too many places it is – and in too many places
Republicans are making it more difficult.” The Post adds “More states
should follow California and Oregon in embracing automatic voter
registration, which adds residents to voter rolls when they get driver’s
licenses or other state services, unless they opt out.” The Post concludes
that the “mixed picture suggests that, while the country’s democracy has
far to go to ensure free and equal access to the ballot box, there is
substantial public interest in improving the system. Politicians should
respond.”

*“DC General Is Shuttered. Now The City Must Tackle Homelessness.” *The
Washington Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018111201biden&r=email-92b7&l=04c-10d&t=c>
(11/9) says in an editorial that Washington, DC “still faces many
challenges in the fight against homelessness,” and that closing the
homeless shelter at the former DC General hospital “was long overdue.” The
Post added that “the shelter’s deplorable conditions will forever be to the
city’s discredit,” and agreed with Mayor Murial Bowser saying that “I want
to make sure that – whoever sits in this office – families and children are
never again placed there.”

*“Veterans Day Is A Fitting Reminder Of The Values We Cherish And
Defend.” *In an editorial, the Washington Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018111201biden&r=email-92b7&l=04d-53c&t=c>
(11/10) writes about Maj. Brent Taylor, whose remains returned home on
Tuesday after he was killed in Afghanistan. Before his death, Taylor wrote
on Facebook, “I hope everyone back home exercises their precious right to
vote,” and “whether the Republicans or the Democrats win, I hope that we
all remember that we have far more as Americans that unites us than divides
us.” The Post states that this sentiment “was and remains a fitting
reminder on this Veterans Day, which honors millions of men and women who
have served their country, of the values they and we cherish and defend.”

*“Montgomery County Should Seriously Address Allegations Of Rape At
Damascus High School.” *In an editorial, the Washington Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018111201biden&r=email-92b7&l=04e-015&t=c>
(11/10) writes that the recent sexual assault of four teenage boys at
Damascus High School in Montgomery County “raises troubling questions about
school safety and what role the culture of high school athletics may have
played in the attack.” The assaults were carried out by five junior varsity
football players, and the Post puts forth several questions, including
asking whether the incident was “part of some long-standing ritual at
Damascus.” The Post states that, aside from a criminal investigation,
“there must be vigorous investigation by school officials to determine if
there are systemic problems, with full disclosure to the public.”

*“There Is No Way This Man Should Be Running The Justice
Department.” *In an editorial, the Washington Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018111201biden&r=email-92b7&l=04f-020&t=c>
(11/9) asserts “regardless of whether the promotion is legal, it is very
clear that it is unwise” because Matthew Whitaker “is unfit for the job” of
Attorney General and “the department has a capable, Senate-confirmed deputy
attorney general in Rod J. Rosenstein; he should be running the department
in the absence of a permanent replacement.” The Post concludes “if the
Senate were consulted, it is impossible to imagine Mr. Whitaker getting
close to the attorney general’s office. He should not be there now.”

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