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Office of Vice President Biden Intelligence Briefing


*From:* Bulletin Intelligence <Biden@BulletinIntelligence.com>
*Sent:* Thursday, May 3, 2018 7:55 AM
*To:* Biden@BulletinIntelligence.com
*Subject:* Office of Vice President Biden Intelligence Briefing for
Thursday, May 3, 2018


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[image: Image removed by sender. Office of Vice President Biden
Intelligence Briefing]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018050301biden&r=email-3934&l=001-d75&t=c>

*To: Vice President Joe Biden*

*Thursday, May 3, 2018 8:00 AM EDT*
Today's Table of Contents

*Leading the News <#SECTION_1>*

• Trump Says Probe Interfering With Duties As Mueller Reportedly Threatens
Subpoena. <#S1>

*Foreign Policy <#SECTION_2>*

• Trump Hints At Possible Release Of Americans Held In North Korea. <#S2>

• Trump: US Trade Delegation In Beijing “To Negotiate A Level Playing
Field.” <#S3>

• Trump Reportedly Inclined Towards Withdrawing From Iran Nuclear Deal.
<#S4>

• Abbas Accused Of Antisemitism. <#S5>

• ISIS Kills 21 In Village Near Baghdad. <#S6>

• Suicide Bombers Attack Libya’s Electoral Commission. <#S7>

• Guantanamo Detainee Transferred To Saudi Arabia, First Release Under
Trump. <#S8>

*Domestic Policy <#SECTION_3>*

• Giuliani: “The President Repaid” Cohen For $130,000 Payment To Daniels.
<#S9>

• Trump Touts Renewed “Spirit” At State Dept. Under Pompeo. <#S10>

• Sessions Sending Assistant US Attorneys, Judges To Border To Deal With
“Caravan.” <#S11>

• Memo: Pruitt Landlord’s Husband Sought EPA Work For Client. <#S12>

• Azar: Trump “Wants To Go Further” To Reduce Drug Costs. <#S13>

• Iowa Passes Most Restrictive Abortion Law In Country. <#S14>

• Two Black Men Arrested At Starbucks Settle For $1 Each, $200,000 For
Youth Program. <#S15>

*Cancer Research <#SECTION_4>*

• Study Detecting Rising Rate Of Brain Tumors In UK Sparks Cell Phone
Concerns. <#S16>

• Cancer Drugs Now Make Up 34% Of Industry Pipeline. <#S17>

*Editorials/Op-Eds <#SECTION_5>*

• New York Times. <#S18>

• Washington Post. <#S19>

*Biden in the News <#SECTION_6>*

• New Hampshire 2020 Democratic Primary Poll: Warren 26%; Biden 20%;
Sanders 13%. <#S20>

• Biden Endorses Kelly’s Bid To Unseat Bost In IL12. <#S21>

• Biden To Speak At Celebration Of Hospice Atlanta’s 70th Anniversary.
<#S22>

• Jill Biden Addresses Students At Texas High School. <#S23>

• “North Star House” For Sale. <#S24>

• Plaza Talks With Conan About Being Named Delaware’s “Most Famous Person.”
<#S25>
Leading the News
Trump Says Probe Interfering With Duties As Mueller Reportedly Threatens
Subpoena.

Coverage of Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation into possible
Trump campaign collusion with Russia and other matters surrounding
President Trump focuses on rising tensions between the White House and
Mueller’s team. Mueller is now reportedly threatening to subpoena Trump,
who responded with a series of tweets and a significant change to his legal
team.

ABC World News Tonight[image: Image removed by sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018050301biden&r=email-3934&l=002-202&t=c>
(5/2, story 4, 2:50, Muir) reported that Mueller “is now threatening a
subpoena if the President is unwilling to answer questions in the Russia
investigation.” ABC’s Jonathan Karl: “When we first asked, the President
was adamant: He’d be more than happy to talk” to Mueller. But “nearly a
year later, a tense standoff. So tense, ABC News has confirmed Mueller told
the President’s lawyers he could compel the President to testify, raising
the possibility of a subpoena.” Major Garrett reported on the CBS Evening
News[image: Image removed by sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018050301biden&r=email-3934&l=003-6e5&t=c>
(5/2, story 3, 2:50, Glor), “During a January chat with reporters, the
President said he was willing to be interviewed under oath.” Trump: “I’m
looking forward to it actually. There’s been no collusion whatsoever.”

USA Today
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018050301biden&r=email-3934&l=004-c8b&t=c>
(5/2, Jackson) reports, “As negotiations over his potential testimony hit a
sensitive point, President Trump complained Wednesday that the Russia
investigation by Special Counsel Robert Mueller is interfering with
presidential duties.” As reported in yesterday’s Frontrunner, Trump tweeted
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018050301biden&r=email-3934&l=005-94b&t=c>
Wednesday morning, “There was no Collusion (it is a Hoax) and there is no
Obstruction of Justice (that is a setup & trap). What there is is
Negotiations going on with North Korea over Nuclear War, Negotiations going
on with China over Trade Deficits, Negotiations on NAFTA, and much more.
Witch Hunt!”

Trump legal team member Rudy Giuliani said on Fox News’ Hannity[image:
Image removed by sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018050301biden&r=email-3934&l=006-21b&t=c>
(5/2), “The Special Counsel would like to interview the President. ... When
you look at those questions about ‘what is the President thinking, what
does the President feel, what is he really desires’ – those are all
questions intended to trap him in some way and contradicting what is in
fact a very, very solid explanation of what happened. ... This is an
outrageous miscarriage of justice.” Fox News
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018050301biden&r=email-3934&l=007-8ee&t=c>
(5/2, Chamberlain) reports on its website that Giuliani called on Mueller
to end his probe “in the interest of justice.”

*Clinton Impeachment Veteran Flood Replacing Cobb On Trump Legal
Team. *The CBS Evening News[image: Image removed by sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018050301biden&r=email-3934&l=008-da9&t=c>
(5/2, story 3, 2:50, Glor) reported, “President Trump today shook up the
legal team that’s dealing with the Russia investigation. Ty Cobb is being
replaced by an attorney who helped defend President Bill Clinton.” CBS’
Major Garrett: “Ty Cobb’s departure and the arrival of Clinton impeachment
lawyer Emmet Flood signals President Trump’s girding for battle” with
Mueller. NBC Nightly News[image: Image removed by sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018050301biden&r=email-3934&l=009-9e7&t=c>
(5/2, story 2, 2:25, Holt) reported, “Ty Cobb is out and a new heavy hitter
who acted as Bill Clinton’s impeachment lawyer is in. It comes amid signs
the Trump team is shifting tactics, preparing for a battle and a potential
confrontation for a subpoena.” On ABC World News Tonight[image: Image
removed by sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018050301biden&r=email-3934&l=00a-b40&t=c>
(5/2, story 4, 2:50, Muir), Jonathan Karl reported, “Cobb tells me he was
ready to leave.” Cobb: “Almost everything that I was brought on to do has
been accomplished.” Karl: “Cobb had employed a strategy of patience with
Mueller.”

The AP
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018050301biden&r=email-3934&l=00b-dd0&t=c>
(5/2, Day, Tucker) reports that the White House announced the Flood hiring
“not long after announcing the retirement” of Cobb, “who has been the
administration’s point person” dealing with the Mueller investigation. The
AP calls it “the latest shakeup for the legal team grappling with
unresolved questions on how to protect the president from legal and
political jeopardy.” The New York Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018050301biden&r=email-3934&l=00c-e9e&t=c>
(5/2, Apuzzo, Schmidt) reports that Flood “is expected to take a more
adversarial approach to the investigation than Mr. Cobb, who had pushed Mr.
Trump to strike a cooperative tone.” The Washington Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018050301biden&r=email-3934&l=00d-504&t=c>
(5/2, Rucker, Dawsey, Leonnig, Helderman) says that Trump’s “growing desire
for his lawyers to more forcefully counter the ongoing special counsel
investigation drove yet another shake-up of his legal team...putting the
White House on war footing with federal prosecutors.” The Post says that
this “latest upheaval...comes as Trump has adopted an increasingly hostile
posture toward the special counsel.” Politico
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018050301biden&r=email-3934&l=00e-684&t=c>
(5/2, Samuelsohn, Gerstein) similarly writes, “Trump is shifting to war
footing in the Russia investigation.”

The Wall Street Journal
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018050301biden&r=email-3934&l=00f-2a9&t=c>
(5/2, Ballhaus, Nicholas) reports that though White House Press Secretary
Sarah Sanders said that Cobb had been discussing retirement for “several
weeks,” he had not given any public indication that he was considering
departing. Giuliani said on Fox News’ Hannity[image: Image removed by
sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018050301biden&r=email-3934&l=010-347&t=c>
(5/2) that Cobb “has been enormously helpful, he helped me with my
orientation. We wouldn’t be where we are today which is in a very strong
position if it wasn’t for him and” attorney John Dowd, who has also left
the team. But Breitbart
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018050301biden&r=email-3934&l=011-a90&t=c>
(5/2, Mason) quotes Steve Bannon saying, “Cobb was a mistake from the
beginning. He is the author of a legal strategy that was as radical as it
was unwise – the unprompted and immediate waiving of executive privilege.”

Citing an anonymous source, CNN
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018050301biden&r=email-3934&l=012-77b&t=c>
(5/2, Zeleny, Collins, Watkins, Acosta) reports on its website that Cobb
“had been clashing with the President in recent weeks over Trump’s
combative posture with the special counsel’s investigation.” The source is
quoted as saying. “Ty was uncomfortable with the Mueller tweets,” and did
not want to be “part of a mud-slinging campaign.” USA Today
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018050301biden&r=email-3934&l=013-d01&t=c>
(5/2, Jackson) reports that Cobb said in a statement, “It has been an honor
to serve the country in this capacity at the White House. I wish everybody
well moving forward.”

*Trump Threatens To Use “Powers Granted To The Presidency” In
House-DOJ Dispute. *The New York Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018050301biden&r=email-3934&l=014-c5c&t=c>
(5/2, Sullivan, Fandos) reports that Trump also “plunged on Wednesday into
the simmering dispute between conservative House Republicans” and the
Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein, “siding with the lawmakers and
attacking his own Justice Department.” Trump tweeted
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018050301biden&r=email-3934&l=015-521&t=c>,
“A Rigged System – They don’t want to turn over Documents to Congress. What
are they afraid of? Why so much redacting? Why such unequal ‘justice?’ At
some point I will have no choice but to use the powers granted to the
Presidency and get involved!”

Politico
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018050301biden&r=email-3934&l=016-ea4&t=c>
(5/2, Gerstein, Cheney) reports that Trump “did not say precisely which
records he believed were being slow-walked by the Justice Department, but
Republicans have been pressing officials there to turn over memos on a
variety of topics.” The Washington Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018050301biden&r=email-3934&l=017-af6&t=c>
(5/2, Mordock) reports that House conservatives have drafted articles of
impeachment against Rosenstein, accusing him “of refusing to comply with a
subpoena to hand over documents to two Congressional committees.” The Daily
Caller
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018050301biden&r=email-3934&l=018-ca7&t=c>
(5/2, Enjeti) says that tweet “is likely in reference to [those] demands.”

The Washington Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018050301biden&r=email-3934&l=019-fd3&t=c>
(5/2, Barrett) writes that Trump’s tweet “suggests that friction may be
rising again” between Trump and Rosenstein, “who just a day earlier
declared at a public event that ‘the Justice Department is not going to be
extorted’ by public and private threats.” Trump also “sent a tweet
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018050301biden&r=email-3934&l=01a-813&t=c>
promoting Fox News Channel legal analyst Gregg Jarrett’s new book, which is
highly critical of how the FBI investigated Hillary Clinton and Trump.”

*Ukraine Has “Effectively Frozen” Cases Against Manafort. *The New
York Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018050301biden&r=email-3934&l=01b-574&t=c>
(5/2, Kramer) reports that in Ukraine, “where officials are wary of
offending President Trump, four meandering cases” involving ex-Trump
campaign chairman Paul Manafort “have been effectively frozen by Ukraine’s
chief prosecutor.” The Times reports that “some lawmakers say” the cases
“are just too sensitive for a government deeply reliant” on US aid.
Foreign Policy
Trump Hints At Possible Release Of Americans Held In North Korea.

Though not mentioned on the major network newscasts last night, AFP
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018050301biden&r=email-3934&l=01c-b81&t=c>
(5/2) and the Financial Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018050301biden&r=email-3934&l=01d-e0b&t=c>
reported Wednesday afternoon that three Americans detained in North Korea
may soon be released. The reports are generating very positive coverage for
the Administration, with outlets crediting President Trump with their
anticipated freedom. Trump himself tweeted
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018050301biden&r=email-3934&l=01e-38b&t=c>
Wednesday evening, “As everybody is aware, the past Administration has long
been asking for three hostages to be released from a North Korean Labor
camp, but to no avail. Stay tuned!” USA Today
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018050301biden&r=email-3934&l=01f-045&t=c>
(5/2, Hayes, James) says Trump’s tweet comes after “several media reports
that suggested that a prisoner release was possible.”

The Washington Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018050301biden&r=email-3934&l=020-732&t=c>
(5/2, Miller) reports that North Korea “has freed three US citizens
detained for years in the communist country, bowing to another demand of
President Trump ahead of his planned meeting with Kim Jong-un.” The three
Americans – Kim Dong Chul, Kim Hak-song and Kim Sang Duk, also known as
Tony Kim – were “released from a North Korean labor camp and sent to
Pyongyang for medical treatment, the Financial Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018050301biden&r=email-3934&l=021-8b4&t=c>
reported.” The Washington Times says their release “marked another
significant victory for the Trump administration.” Sources similarly told
AFP
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018050301biden&r=email-3934&l=022-1f0&t=c>
(5/2) that the three Americans “may have been moved ahead of a possible
release to coincide with a summit” between North Korean leader Kim Jong Un
and Trump. Secretary of State Pompeo reportedly sought their release during
a meeting with Kim last month.

Under the headline “North Korea Hands Trump Another Big Win By
Releasing US Prisoners,” Business Insider
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018050301biden&r=email-3934&l=023-5e3&t=c>
(5/2, Lockie) reports the Financial Times cited “a South Korean activist
who campaigns for the release of people detained in North Korea,” Choi
Sung-ryong, who said, “We believe that Mr. Trump can take them back on the
day of the US-North Korea summit or he can send an envoy to take them back
to the US before the summit.” According to the Korea Herald
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018050301biden&r=email-3934&l=024-ff8&t=c>
(5/2), the three are believed to now be held in “a hotel on the outskirts
of Pyongyang.” To the Washington Examiner
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018050301biden&r=email-3934&l=025-719&t=c>
(5/2, Leach), their anticipated release is “a sign of good faith ahead of
the summit” between Trump and Kim, and Newsweek
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018050301biden&r=email-3934&l=026-805&t=c>
(5/2, Maza) too says “some experts suggested that the move was meant to
facilitate upcoming talks between Trump and...Kim.”

*Pompeo: US Seeking “Permanent, Verifiable, Irreversible
Dismantling” Of Nuclear Program. *Reuters
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018050301biden&r=email-3934&l=027-af9&t=c>
(5/2) reports Secretary of State Pompeo on Wednesday “said North Korea must
commit to immediately dismantling its weapons program, adding that efforts
to denuclearize Pyongyang were still in the ‘beginning stages’ and the
outcomes ‘unknown.’” Pompeo is quoted as saying, “We are committed to the
permanent, verifiable, irreversible dismantling of North Korea’s weapons of
mass destruction program and to do so without delay.”

*South Korea: US Troops Not An Issue In Peace Talks. *Reuters
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018050301biden&r=email-3934&l=028-cf3&t=c>
(5/2, Reuters) reports South Korea said Wednesday that “the issue of US
troops stationed in the South is unrelated to any future peace treaty with
North Korea and that American forces should stay even if such an agreement
is signed.” Presidential spokesman Kim Eui-kyeom said, “US troops stationed
in South Korea are an issue regarding the alliance between South Korea and
the United States. It has nothing to do with signing peace treaties.”

*Dennis Rodman: Kim Had “Change Of Heart” After Reading “Art Of The
Deal.” *Breitbart
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018050301biden&r=email-3934&l=029-2a1&t=c>
(5/2, Hayward) reports former NBA player Dennis Rodman claimed Monday that
Kim Jong Un had a “change of heart” about his nation’s nuclear program
after reading President Trump’s book, “The Art of the Deal.” In an
interview with TMZ, Rodman recalled presenting Kim with a copy of Trump’s
book during his June 2017 trip to Pyongyang. Said Rodman, “I don’t want to
take all the credit. I don’t want to sit there and say, ‘I did this. I did
that.’ That’s not my intention.”

*Eighteen Republican Lawmakers Nominate Trump For Nobel Peace
Prize. *USA Today
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018050301biden&r=email-3934&l=02a-6dd&t=c>
(5/2, Estepa) reports that a group of 18 Republican House members on
Tuesday sent a letter to the Norwegian Nobel Committee, nominating
President Trump to receive the award for his work to “end the Korean War,
denuclearize the Korean peninsula, and bring peace to the region.” The
group was led by Rep. Luke Messer of Indiana, “who is running for Senate on
a pro-Trump platform.” The AP
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018050301biden&r=email-3934&l=02b-29d&t=c>
(5/2, Freking) reports that “several other Republicans on the letter are
also running for governor or senator.”

Separately, Sen. Bob Corker told CNBC’s
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018050301biden&r=email-3934&l=02c-da1&t=c>
(5/2, Belvedere) “Squawk Box” on Wednesday that Trump would deserve the
Nobel Peace Prize “if this gets resolved. My gosh, yes.” He added, “Over 25
years, this has happened a number of times. This does look more optimistic
than those other times. This is a long process, but it’s starting out on a
very good note.”

*Giuliani: Proudest Moment Will Be When Trump Wins Nobel, Tells
Detractors To “Shove It.” *The Washington Examiner
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018050301biden&r=email-3934&l=02d-de9&t=c>
(5/2, Correll) reports Rudy Giuliani said Wednesday that his proudest
moment will be when President Trump wins a Nobel Peace Prize for his
efforts to bring peace to the Korean peninsula and tells detractors to
“shove it.” Giuliani told Fox News’ Hannity[image: Image removed by sender.
Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018050301biden&r=email-3934&l=02e-0db&t=c>,
“Look at what is going on with North Korea. I told the president, ‘You’re
going to get the Nobel Peace Prize and my proudest moment is when you tell
them to shove it.’”

*Hannity: Media Ignoring Trump’s Accomplishments. *Sean Hannity, in
his opening monologue on Fox News’ Hannity[image: Image removed by sender.
Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018050301biden&r=email-3934&l=02f-c33&t=c>
(5/2), complained that the mainstream media is “ignoring every major Trump
accomplishment.” He added, “Yeah, we’ll forget about all the President
Trump’s historic accomplishments. For example, on the Korean Peninsula,
we’re actually talking about denuclearization. ... The media wants you to
believe the White House is in shambles? Not so, but you know better.”

*WPost: Though More Dovish Toward North Korea, Trump Surrounds
Himself With Hawks. *The Washington Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018050301biden&r=email-3934&l=030-eb2&t=c>
(5/2, Nakamura, Hudson) reports that Adm. Harry B. Harris Jr., who “is set
to become a key player in the Trump administration’s attempts to craft a
diplomatic deal” with North Korea, “reflects an important dynamic in the
growing diplomatic thaw between Washington and Pyongyang. Even as Trump
softens his rhetoric in hopes of easing tensions with Kim, the president
has assembled a team of foreign policy hawks that will be with him at the
negotiating table and assume responsibility for hammering out the crucial
details if the leaders announce a broad agreement to pursue a nuclear
disarmament deal.”

*Chinese Foreign Minister Arrives In North Korea For Talks. *The AP
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018050301biden&r=email-3934&l=031-f85&t=c>
(5/2) reports Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi arrived in Pyongyang on
Wednesday and “could meet with leader Kim Jong Un while trying to ensure a
larger role for Beijing in the new round of nuclear diplomacy with
Pyongyang that had been driven by Seoul and Washington.” Wang, the AP says,
is “likely to use his visit to further ensure that Beijing would not be
sidelined in the high-stakes discussions surrounding the North.” AFP
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018050301biden&r=email-3934&l=032-c36&t=c>
(5/3) reports Wang said Beijing hopes that talks between the US and North
Korea will be “smooth and achieve substantial progress.”
Trump: US Trade Delegation In Beijing “To Negotiate A Level Playing Field.”

The President tweeted
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018050301biden&r=email-3934&l=033-827&t=c>
Wednesday evening, “Our great financial team is in China trying to
negotiate a level playing field on trade! I look forward to being with
President Xi in the not too distant future. We will always have a good
(great) relationship!” Reuters
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018050301biden&r=email-3934&l=034-85b&t=c>
(5/2), however, reports that as the US delegation – led by Treasury
Secretary Mnuchin – arrived in Beijing, Chinese state media warned China
“will stand up to US bullying if needed,” but said “it was still better to
hash things out around the negotiating table.” Reuters says a “breakthrough
deal” is “viewed as highly unlikely during the two-day visit, though a
package of short-term Chinese measures could delay a US decision to impose
tariffs on around $50 billion worth of Chinese exports.”

*NYTimes Analysis: “Little Consensus” Within US Negotiating
Team. *According
to the New York Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018050301biden&r=email-3934&l=035-4d1&t=c>
(5/2, Swanson, Tankersley), the US delegation is “armed with tough talk
about Beijing’s need to change its trade practices,” but “there is little
consensus about what concessions America should try to extract – or the
best approach to getting the Chinese to agree.”

*WSJournal Analysis: Xi’s Hands Tied In Trade Talks With US. *The Wall
Street Journal
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018050301biden&r=email-3934&l=036-71a&t=c>
(5/2, Wong) reports that a delegation of US trade officials arrives in
Beijing for talks, President Xi Jinping’s economic vision and domestic
demands make a compromise unlikely. The US delegation, led by Treasury
Secretary Mnuchin, is seeking a reduction of China’s trade surplus with the
US, better protections for intellectual property, and an end to
protectionist policies that discriminate against American companies.

The Wall Street Journal
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018050301biden&r=email-3934&l=037-0ff&t=c>
(5/2) editorializes that if reducing the trade deficit between the two
countries is the main goal of this week’s talks, opening up China’s
services market would be beneficial to both sides. However, the Journal
says Trump is focused on US manufacturing exports.

*White House Mulling Further Action To Curb Chinese Telecoms.
*According
to the New York Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018050301biden&r=email-3934&l=038-ecf&t=c>
(5/2, Swanson, Kang), the Administration is “considering executive action
to further restrict the sale of Chinese telecommunications equipment in the
United States, people briefed on the discussions said, in a move that could
ratchet up tensions” with Beijing. The executive order, “which could be
released within days, is expected to raise the barrier for government
agencies to buy products from foreign telecom equipment providers,”
including China’s Huawei and ZTE. In addition, private government
contractors “may also be restricted from buying foreign telecom products.”
The Wall Street Journal
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018050301biden&r=email-3934&l=039-70b&t=c>
(5/2, McKinnon) reports that such a move, if it happens, would be a
significant escalation.

*Pentagon Tells US Military Bases To Stop Selling ZTE, Huawei
Phones. *The Washington Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018050301biden&r=email-3934&l=03a-a3c&t=c>
(5/2, Shaban) reports that US service members “will no longer be able to
purchase ZTE and Huawei phones on military bases, according to a new
Defense Department directive that cites security risks posed by the
devices.” In a statement, spokesman Major Dave Eastburn said, “Huawei and
ZTE devices may pose an unacceptable risk to Department’s personnel,
information and mission.” The Pentagon “declined to provide the technical
details of potential threats.”

*Producer: China Has Stopped Buying US Soybeans. *Bloomberg News
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018050301biden&r=email-3934&l=03b-cb7&t=c>
(5/2, Parker) reports Bunge, the world’s biggest oilseed processor, “just
confirmed one of the soybean market’s biggest fears: China has essentially
stopped buying US supplies amid the brewing trade war.” Bunge CEO Soren
Schroder told Bloomberg in an interview Wednesday, “Whatever they’re buying
is non-US. They’re buying beans in Canada, in Brazil, mostly Brazil, but
very deliberately not buying anything from the US.” He added that it’s
“very clear” that the trade tensions have already stopped China from buying
US supplies, and “so long as there is this big cloud of uncertainty, that’s
likely to continue.”

*Rubio: Trump Has Gone Further Than Any US President To Rebalance
Trade With China. *Sen. Marco Rubio writes in the Washington Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018050301biden&r=email-3934&l=03c-138&t=c>
(5/2) that since joining the WTO in 2001, “China has offered an economic
grand bargain with two contradictory faces,” and “far too many countries,
including the United States, have ignored the contradictions of China’s
grand bargain on the assumption that China would liberalize economically
and politically.” The US, he argues, “can no longer afford to blindly
accept the Chinese economic grand bargain.” President Trump, he adds, “has
gone further than any previous commander in chief to create an opportunity
to rebalance our economic relationship with China.” Rubio argues, “We must
protect American workers from China’s economic attacks and be willing to
impose costs if Beijing refuses to restore balance to our trade relations.”

*Some Industries Warn Trump’s Focus On Trade Quotas Could Raise
Prices. *USA Today
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018050301biden&r=email-3934&l=03d-ca6&t=c>
(5/2, Fritze) reports “industries that rely on steel and aluminum that have
been lobbying for weeks against President Trump’s proposed tariffs are
increasingly shifting their focus to the administration’s plan to pursue
trade quotas instead.” In announcing its decision this week to delay steel
and aluminum tariffs, the White House “signaled it would seek quotas to
protect domestic metal makers that would also potentially raise the price
of cars and household goods.” Jeff Henderson of the Aluminum Extruders
Council said, “We simply cannot allow government policies to stand in the
way of our growth, and quotas would do that.” Quotas, he stressed, “present
a unique challenge: They not only increase the price of metals, they could
also severely limit supply if the caps are reached early in the year.”

*Brazil Denies It Has Made Preliminary Tariff Deal With US. *The New
York Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018050301biden&r=email-3934&l=03e-d6c&t=c>
(5/2, Darlington) reports that “from the perspective of the White House,
the United States had reached a preliminary deal with Brazil...to exempt
the countries from punitive steel and aluminum tariffs. From the
perspective of Brazil, it hadn’t.” Brazil accused the Administration on
Wednesday of “breaking off negotiations over the tariffs last week and
issuing an ultimatum.”

*Tech Companies Oppose Ban On Chinese Citizens Conducting High-Tech
Research. *The Washington Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018050301biden&r=email-3934&l=03f-f9d&t=c>
(5/2, Paquette) reports Information Technology Industry Council CEO Dean
Garfield “said its members are alarmed at reports the White House is
considering a ban on Chinese citizens conducting high-tech research at
American universities and companies,” as technology giants, in the Post’s
words, “rely on skilled foreign labor to develop new products” due to “a
shortage of Americans with specialized skills.” Business leaders warn that
a reported possible move by the Commerce Department “to bar Chinese
citizens from participating in ‘sensitive’ research at US universities and
technology companies” could hurt the US economy.
Trump Reportedly Inclined Towards Withdrawing From Iran Nuclear Deal.

Reuters
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018050301biden&r=email-3934&l=040-65b&t=c>
(5/2, Holland, Mohammed) cites “two White House officials and a source
familiar with the administration’s internal debate” in reporting that
President Trump “has all but decided to withdraw from the 2015 Iran nuclear
accord by May 12,” but has not yet made that decision. Trump may, according
to a source, decide to keep the US in the agreement for “alliance
maintenance” reasons with France and for French President Emmanuel Macron.

*US Admiral: Iranian Navy Staying Quiet. *The Washington Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018050301biden&r=email-3934&l=041-afb&t=c>
(5/2, Muñoz) reports the Iranian navy “is lying low in critical sea lanes
around the Persian Gulf,” where US ships “have routinely been the focus of
harassment by Tehran’s naval forces.” The Times adds “the waters in and
around the Strait of Hormuz have been relatively calm...over the last six
months,” according to Chief of Naval Operations Adm. John Richardson. The
Times also reports, “Adm. Richardson refused to speculate” on the reasons
for the change, but the Times suggests it may have to do with the US facing
a decision over whether to extend sanctions relief under the agreement
between Iran and the US and other major powers.

*Iran Detains Iranian-British Citizen And Iranian Working For
British Council. *The AP
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018050301biden&r=email-3934&l=042-69e&t=c>
(5/2, Gambrell) reports Iran has detained “an Iranian-British national and
an Iranian working for the British Council who traveled to Iran on a
private trip to visit family,” according to the British Foreign Office
which is “urgently seeking information from the Iranian authorities.”

*NYTimes, Gertz Focus On Israel’s Seizing Of Iranian Documents. *The
New York Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018050301biden&r=email-3934&l=043-5ea&t=c>
(5/2, Halbfinger) reports Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu this
week “strengthened his hand in trying to foil Iran’s strategic ambitions”
by use of F-15s against “a storage site near Hama [that] destroyed 200
missiles and killed at least 16 people, 11 of them Iranians”; a PowerPoint
presentation “on live television from inside the Defense Ministry,
flaunting the booty pilfered from a secret Tehran warehouse by an intrepid
Mossad team”; and finally “a bill that would shift the power to go to war
or carry out a military operation from the full cabinet to the smaller
security cabinet” or even “allow the prime minister and defense minister
alone to order such action.” The Times says that Netanyahu has “exploit[ed]
important political, military and intelligence advantages to advance his
agenda on both the nuclear and conventional fronts, intensify the pressure
on Iran, and free his hand under Israeli law to take the country to war
without cabinet approval.”

Bill Gertz writes in the Washington Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018050301biden&r=email-3934&l=044-314&t=c>
(5/2) that Israel’s recent intelligence briefing “sheds new light on
Tehran’s secret arms program.” Gertz explains that Israeli intelligence had
raided an Iranian warehouse with “safes protecting some 55,000 pages of
documents in binders, and 183 CDs containing 50,000 more digital files”
described as holding Iran’s “most closely guarded secrets.” According to
the documents, Gertz adds, Iran operated a “nuclear arms program” named
“Project Amad” from 1999 to 2003 with the goal of the program being to
“design, produce and test” nuclear weapons, including one “for integration
on a missile.” Defense Minister Ali Shamkhani reportedly “directed that the
program be divided into a covert plan and an overt, or dual-use,
civilian-military program.” The covert plan was named “the Organization of
Defensive Innovation and Research.”

*WPost Editorial Urges Trump To “Look Beyond” Netanyahu’s
Statement. *The Washington Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018050301biden&r=email-3934&l=045-0a1&t=c>
(5/2) editorializes in favor of the US remaining in the agreement with
Iran, arguing that the case made by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin
Netanyahu did not succeed in justifying withdrawal. The Post also accuses
President Trump of having “grossly misstated the terms of the deal,” and
urges him “to look beyond Mr. Netanyahu’s video appeals before making a
final decision.”
Abbas Accused Of Antisemitism.

The AP
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018050301biden&r=email-3934&l=046-2b0&t=c>
(5/2, Deitch) reports on continued reaction to comments by Palestinian
President Mahmoud Abbas, saying they “were sharply criticized as
anti-Semitic and drew widespread condemnations from Israel and around the
world.” Abbas had said that “it was the Jews’ ‘social function,’ including
money lending that caused animosity toward them in Europe.” Abbas also
said, “History tells us there is no basis for the Jewish homeland.”
Critical comments were issued by the Yad Vashem Holocaust memorial; the UN
special coordinator for the Middle East peace process, Nickolay Mladenov;
and US Ambassador to Israel David Friedman. Ambassador Friedman tweeted,
“To all those who think Israel is the reason that we don’t have peace,
think again.” Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called the remarks
“the pinnacle of ignorance,” and added that Abbas was “again reciting the
most disgraceful anti-Semitic slogans.” The EU also issued a statement
saying that Abbas’ speech “contained unacceptable remarks concerning the
origins of the Holocaust and Israel’s legitimacy.”

The New York Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018050301biden&r=email-3934&l=047-c2d&t=c>
(5/2, Kershner) reports that Abbas, “instead of stirring international
sympathy for his cause,” “stirred outrage” and “underscored” the view that
Abbas is irrelevant and the PLO bankrupt.

*NYTimes Editorial: Abbas Should Go. *The New York Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018050301biden&r=email-3934&l=048-28b&t=c>
(5/2) in an editorial says that Abbas “shed all credibility as a
trustworthy partner.” The Times also says he is guilty of “overstaying his
term by many years.” The Times concludes “it is time for him to leave
office” and to allow Palestinians to find “a leader with energy, integrity
and vision.”
ISIS Kills 21 In Village Near Baghdad.

The New York Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018050301biden&r=email-3934&l=049-c81&t=c>
(5/2, Coker, Hassan) reports ISIS militants “dressed in Iraqi military
uniforms” attacked a village near Baghdad, “killing 21 members of a local
tribe that has been a vocal opponent of the extremists.” The event
“threatens growing optimism” in Iraq caused by declines in “terrorist
attacks and civilian deaths” since December. In addition to the dead, 13
were wounded.

*US Returns Thousands Of Artifacts To Iraq. *The New York Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018050301biden&r=email-3934&l=04a-00d&t=c>
(5/2, Cochrane) reports on the ceremonial return of artifacts to Iraq from
the US. The artifacts, adds the Times, took “a long, circuitous voyage
through Israel and the United Arab Emirates to Hobby Lobby,” and then to
the US government. Immigration and Customs Enforcement “formally returned”
thousands of artifacts on Wednesday. Hobby Lobby had purchased “the
collection from an unnamed dealer for $1.6 million in December 2010.”
Suicide Bombers Attack Libya’s Electoral Commission.

Reuters
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018050301biden&r=email-3934&l=04b-9ba&t=c>
(5/2, Elumami) reports Libya’s electoral commission in Tripoli was attacked
by suicide bombers claimed by the Islamic State, leaving at least 12 dead
and setting fire to the building. The attackers also shot at employees of
the High National Election Commission. Reuters suggests the attack was
meant to derail efforts to organize elections in the country.
Guantanamo Detainee Transferred To Saudi Arabia, First Release Under Trump.

Fox News’ Special Report[image: Image removed by sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018050301biden&r=email-3934&l=04c-e43&t=c>
(5/2) reported that Pentagon officials say a Guantanamo Bay detainee has
been transferred to Saudi Arabia to serve out the remainder of his
sentence, marking the first inmate to leave the detention center since
President Trump took office. Ahmed al-Darbi, who pleaded guilty to “charges
stemming from an attack on a French oil tanker,” is leaving as part of a
plea deal “after prosecutors say they got invaluable evidence and testimony
about” some of the other 40 detainees who remain at Gitmo.
Domestic Policy
Giuliani: “The President Repaid” Cohen For $130,000 Payment To Daniels.

Rudy Giuliani, a member of President Trump’s legal team, said during a
wide-ranging interview with Fox News’ Sean Hannity that Trump repaid
personal attorney Michael Cohen for a $130,000 payment to adult film
performer Stormy Daniels. Giuliani said on Fox News’ Hannity[image: Image
removed by sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018050301biden&r=email-3934&l=04d-c07&t=c>
(5/2) that Cohen’s payment to Daniels “is going to turn out to be perfectly
legal. That money was not campaign money. ... The President repaid it.”
Giuliani said, “When I heard Cohen’s retainer of $35,000 when he was doing
the work for the President, I said, ‘That’s how he’s repaying it, with a
little profit and a little margin for paying taxes.” The AP
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018050301biden&r=email-3934&l=04e-d54&t=c>
(5/2) reports that Giuliani’s statement “directly contradict[ed] the
president’s past statements. ... Trump told reporters several weeks ago
that he didn’t know about the $130,000 payment to Daniels as part of a
nondisclosure agreement she signed days before the 2016 presidential
election.”

USA Today
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018050301biden&r=email-3934&l=04f-ebc&t=c>
(5/2, Cummings) reports that when Hannity asked about this, Giuliani,
“appearing to backtrack,” said, “He didn’t know about the specifics of it,
as far as I know. But he did not know about the general arrangement that
Michael would take care of things like this.” The New York Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018050301biden&r=email-3934&l=050-ef8&t=c>
(5/2, Shear) also says that Giuliani’s statement “appeared to contradict
the president, who has at times said that he was not aware of the payment”
to Daniels “and did not know how his lawyer had gotten the money to pay
her. It also contradicts what Mr. Cohen has been saying for months – that
he used his own money to pay [Daniels] to keep quiet.” The New York Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018050301biden&r=email-3934&l=051-bde&t=c>
(5/2, Tacopino) and Politico
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018050301biden&r=email-3934&l=052-6c1&t=c>
(5/2, Morin, Crowley) also say that Giuliani seemed to contradict Trump.

The Washington Examiner
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018050301biden&r=email-3934&l=053-bfb&t=c>
(5/2, Lim) reports Fox News’ Laura Ingraham said Giuliani “may have caused
more legal trouble” for Trump with the comment. On her show, which aired
immediately following Hannity’s, she said, “I love Rudy, but they better
have an explanation for that. That’s a problem. ... It’s all about
credibility and impeaching somebody’s credibility throughout the process.
You can see where this is going to go.”

The Washington Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018050301biden&r=email-3934&l=054-1d5&t=c>
(5/2, Barrett, Bump, Dawsey) reports that Larry Noble of the Campaign Legal
Center “said Giuliani’s statements do not end the questions about possible
campaign finance violations – and in fact could point to further concerns.”
Noble said, “What is surprising is that Trump recently said he knew nothing
about the payment. Now, Giuliani is trying to get the stories in sync, but
this still leaves several potential violations. The timing of the payment
is still strong evidence of it being campaign related. And the fact that
Trump paid Cohen back strengthens that argument.”

The Washington Examiner
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018050301biden&r=email-3934&l=055-b63&t=c>
(5/2, Correll) reports that Daniels attorney Michael Avenatti told MSNBC’s
Lawrence O’Donnell, “I am rarely, as your viewers know, rendered
speechless. But I am absolutely speechless at this revelation and this
admission.” In an interview on CBS’ Late Show[image: Image removed by
sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018050301biden&r=email-3934&l=056-7e8&t=c>
(5/3, Colbert) taped before the Giuliani interview, Avenatti said, “I’m
confident that we’re going to win the case. And I’m going to stand by what
I’ve said recently, which is I think the President will not serve out his
term. ... It’s not about the sex, and it’s not about people’s right to know
what happened as it relates to the intimate relationship. ... It’s about
the public’s right to know about the cover-up and the lies and the deceit
that has occurred relating to this $130,000 payment.”

*In Tweets Today, Trump Says NDA Still “In Full Force,” No Campaign
Funds In “Transaction.” *Trump tweeted
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018050301biden&r=email-3934&l=057-260&t=c>
this morning, “Mr. Cohen, an attorney, received a monthly retainer, not
from the campaign and having nothing to do with the campaign, from which he
entered into, through reimbursement, a private contract between two
parties, known as a non-disclosure agreement, or NDA. These agreements
are.....[continuing tweet
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018050301biden&r=email-3934&l=058-199&t=c>]...very
common among celebrities and people of wealth. In this case it is in full
force and effect and will be used in Arbitration for damages against Ms.
Clifford (Daniels). The agreement was used to stop the false and
extortionist accusations made by her about an affair,......[continuing tweet
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018050301biden&r=email-3934&l=059-0f0&t=c>]...despite
already having signed a detailed letter admitting that there was no affair.
Prior to its violation by Ms. Clifford and her attorney, this was a private
agreement. Money from the campaign, or campaign contributions, played no
roll in this transaction.”
Trump Touts Renewed “Spirit” At State Dept. Under Pompeo.

The Washington Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018050301biden&r=email-3934&l=05a-713&t=c>
(5/2, Morello) reports President Trump attended the “ceremonial
swearing-in” of Mike Pompeo as his new secretary of state on Wednesday,
“marking the first time Trump has set foot in the State Department.” Said
Trump, “Mike has...earned my deepest respect, admiration and trust. And
you’ll see why over the coming years, probably over the coming months. I
have absolute confidence he will do an incredible job.” The Post says
Trump’s “foray to Foggy Bottom was more than theater for the foreign policy
establishment,” signaling to foreign governments and State Department
employees “that the two men share a personal rapport and common purpose
that was sometimes lacking under Pompeo’s predecessor, Rex Tillerson.”
Trump, the AP
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018050301biden&r=email-3934&l=05b-8ed&t=c>
(5/2, Miller, Lee) says, is “trying to hit reset at the State Department on
the eve of a critical decision on the Iran nuclear deal and a potential
summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.” As Trump “took the podium to
applause from the crowd,” he said, “That’s more spirit than I’ve heard from
the State Department in a long time.” The AP says his remarks were “a tacit
acknowledgment that department morale had suffered under Tillerson.”
Politico
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018050301biden&r=email-3934&l=05c-cdb&t=c>
(5/2, Lima) similarly says Trump “allud[ed] to a boost of energy at the
State Department.”
Sessions Sending Assistant US Attorneys, Judges To Border To Deal With
“Caravan.”

CBS News
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018050301biden&r=email-3934&l=05d-b4d&t=c>
(5/2) reported on its website that Attorney General Sessions announced
yesterday that DOJ “will be sending more prosecutors to the southern
border, as a caravan of Central American migrants waits there to ask for
asylum.” Sessions said, “We are announcing today that we are adding 35
assistant United States attorneys to the border to prosecute illegal
entries into our country.” CBS adds that Sessions also announced that DOJ
will “be moving 18 immigration judges to the border, to function
‘full-time’ on moving asylum cases, a 50-percent increase in the number of
immigration judges to handle asylum claims.” The Hill
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018050301biden&r=email-3934&l=05e-9c1&t=c>
(5/2, Bernal) quotes Sessions as also saying, “We are not going to let this
country be overwhelmed. People are not going to caravan or otherwise
stampede our border. People should wait their turn.” Reuters
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018050301biden&r=email-3934&l=05f-04d&t=c>
(5/2) also covers Sessions’ announcement. ABC News
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018050301biden&r=email-3934&l=060-533&t=c>
(5/2, Winsor) reported that “at least 25 Central Americans traveling north
to the US border with the so-called migrant caravan had passed into the San
Ysidro Port of Entry as of this morning.”

*NYTimes Editorial : Trump Seeking “To Fan The Flames Of Bigotry.” *The
New York Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018050301biden&r=email-3934&l=061-73e&t=c>
(5/2) editorializes that the so-called “caravan” is nothing new, but rather
a group of Central Americans who – as has been the case for years – “joined
forces...for safety and to attract attention to their plight” with “few in
the United States” paying “much heed. Until President Trump did, opening
another ugly chapter in his anti-immigration crusade.” With his “barrage of
tweets,” Trump “transformed about 1,200 people on the northward trek into a
dangerous horde bent on flooding the United States and confirming the need
for that big wall that is his obsession.” To the Times, “the vetting of the
caravan, in fact, shows that the immigration laws are quite strict, and
that they work,” and “that Mr. Trump says otherwise shows he sees...an
opportunity to fan the flames of bigotry.”

*AP: Judges Appointed By Democrats Almost Unanimous In Opposition
To Travel Ban. *In an article titled, “Is Trump Right About Judges’
Leanings? Maybe, Review Shows,” the AP
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018050301biden&r=email-3934&l=062-c41&t=c>
(5/2, Thanawala) reports that it “looked at opinions by nearly 40 federal
district court and appellate judges about Trump’s ban on travelers from
mostly Muslim countries,” and “found only one judge nominated by a
Democratic president has supported Trump’s authority to keep out all
travelers or deport those who arrived just as the first ban took effect.”
The AP adds that, “with some exceptions, Republican nominees have taken a
broader view of presidential power and rejected limits on the executive
orders.”

*DACA Suit Judge Previously Expressed Skepticism About Program. *The
Washington Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018050301biden&r=email-3934&l=063-2a5&t=c>
(5/2, Dinan) reports that Texas “caught its first break” in its lawsuit
against the DACA program when the case was assigned to US District Judge
Andrew S. Hanen, a Republican appointee who “ruled against a similar
deportation amnesty in 2015,” during which “he expressed skepticism about
DACA itself.”
Memo: Pruitt Landlord’s Husband Sought EPA Work For Client.

The AP
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018050301biden&r=email-3934&l=064-74b&t=c>
(5/2, Knickmeyer) reports that the “lobbyist whose wife rented a condo to
Environmental Protection Agency head Scott Pruitt at $50 a night sought EPA
committee posts for a lobbying client, according to a newly released EPA
memo.” J. Steven Hart’s seeking those appointments from Pruitt shows “the
extent to which the special interests providing him with gifts have sought
specific favors from EPA in return,” said Rep. Frank Pallone.

*WPost Editorial Urges Trump To Fire “Swamp Creature” Pruitt.
*The Washington
Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018050301biden&r=email-3934&l=065-af0&t=c>
(5/2) editorializes that the recent disclosure that portions of Pruitt’s
trip to Morocco last December “were arranged by a former Comcast lobbyist
who had become close to the administrator — and who shortly thereafter
registered as an agent for the Moroccan government” underscores his “habit
of wasting taxpayer money on private indulgences.” The Post writes that
Pruitt “has crammed a lifetime’s worth of ethical failings into less than a
year and a half in office. How much longer will President Trump continue to
tolerate this swamp creature in his administration?”
Azar: Trump “Wants To Go Further” To Reduce Drug Costs.

Reuters
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018050301biden&r=email-3934&l=066-91e&t=c>
(5/2, Banerjee) reports that on Wednesday, HHS Secretary Azar said
President Trump “wants to go further in lowering drug prices, an issue he
campaigned on during the 2016 presidential race.” Appearing at the World
Health Care Congress, Azar said, “HHS is currently working with the
President on a comprehensive strategy to solve these problems. ... We’ll be
building on the proposals in the President’s budget, but he wants to go
further.” Reuters reports that last week, the President “postponed a speech
on lowering prescription drug prices to a date in the near future.”

*Democrats Highlighting GOP Incumbents’ Votes To Repeal ACA. *The New
York Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018050301biden&r=email-3934&l=067-e10&t=c>
(5/2, Kaplan) reports that on the first anniversary of the House GOP’s
passage of a bill to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act, a
Democratic super PAC “is on the air with a television commercial reminding
constituents of a repeal vote that Republicans were once convinced would be
a political winner.” The Times says the House vote left Republicans “in a
no-win situation. They took the hard vote, but because the Senate failed to
follow suit, no one can claim a victory. Now Democrats hope to extract a
price” in the midterm elections.

*Administration Family-Planning Program Shift Sparks Lawsuit. *
Reuters
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018050301biden&r=email-3934&l=068-cd5&t=c>
(5/2, Raymond) reports Planned Parenthood and the National Family Planning
& Reproductive Health Association are suing to block target guidelines by
the Department of Health and Human Services for assessing applications for
grants under the Title X family planning program that prioritize “groups
that are faith-based and counsel abstinence.” The plaintiffs argue the
changes, in Reuters’ words, “violate the law that created the program and
were ‘arbitrary and capricious.’” The Washington Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018050301biden&r=email-3934&l=069-009&t=c>
(5/2, Swoyer) casts Planned Parenthood as demanding that “taxpayer money
keep flowing to the country’s largest abortion network.”
Iowa Passes Most Restrictive Abortion Law In Country.

ABC World News Tonight[image: Image removed by sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018050301biden&r=email-3934&l=06a-59b&t=c>
(5/2, story 9, 0:20, Muir) reported Iowa legislators passed “the strictest
abortion bill in the US,” barring “most abortions once a fetal heartbeat is
detected.” However, “critics say it essentially bans the procedure by the
sixth week of pregnancy, before most women know they’re pregnant.” Reuters
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018050301biden&r=email-3934&l=06b-bd9&t=c>
(5/2, Goldberg) reports Republican Gov. Kim Reynolds, an abortion opponent,
“has not said publicly whether she will sign it into law.” Reuters adds,
“the legislation is aimed at triggering a challenge to Roe v. Wade,” where
abortion opponents “believe the 5-4 conservative majority could sharply
curtail abortion access or ban it outright.” Planned Parenthood of the
Heartland spokeswoman Becca Lee said, “The bill weaponizes fetal heartbeat,
which is by all accounts an arbitrary standard that bans abortion long
before the point of fetal viability.”

The Washington Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018050301biden&r=email-3934&l=06c-4c4&t=c>
(5/2, Richardson) reports Planned Parenthood of the Heartland spokesperson
Erin Davison-Rippey called the bill “intentionally unconstitutional.” She
said, “They do not care how much taxpayer money will be spent on a lawsuit,
they don’t care how many women’s lives will be damaged because of
inadequate access to care, or how many families may choose to go elsewhere
because Iowa is no longer a state where they are safe to live and work.”
Two Black Men Arrested At Starbucks Settle For $1 Each, $200,000 For Youth
Program.

The AP
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018050301biden&r=email-3934&l=06d-d5f&t=c>
(5/2, Whack) reports that “two black men arrested for sitting at a
Philadelphia Starbucks without ordering anything settled with the city
Wednesday for a symbolic $1 each and a promise from officials to set up a
$200,000 program for young entrepreneurs.” The men and their attorney told
the AP “the settlement was an effort to make sure something positive came
out of the incident. ‘We thought long and hard about it and we feel like
this is the best way to see that change that we want to see,’ said Donte
Robinson, one of those arrested. ‘It’s not a right-now thing that’s good
for right now, but I feel like we will see the true change over time.’” The
arrest of Rashon Nelson and Robinson on April 12 “touched off a furor
around the US over racial profiling.”

The Washington Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018050301biden&r=email-3934&l=06e-2bb&t=c>
(5/2, Siegel) reports that Nelson and Robinson “chose not to pursue a
lawsuit against the city, Mike Dunn, a spokesman for the city of
Philadelphia, told The Washington Post,” and “instead, they agreed to a
symbolic payment of $1 each and asked the city to fund $200,000 for a grant
program for high school students aspiring to become entrepreneurs. ‘This
was an incident that evoked a lot of pain in our city, pain that would’ve
resurfaced over and over again in protracted litigation, which presents
significant legal risks and high financial and emotional costs for everyone
involved,’ Philadelphia Mayor Jim Kenney said in a statement.”
Cancer Research
Study Detecting Rising Rate Of Brain Tumors In UK Sparks Cell Phone
Concerns.

On its website, CNN
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018050301biden&r=email-3934&l=06f-2c7&t=c>
(5/2, Howard) reports a study published Wednesday in the Journal of
Environmental and Public Health indicates the “incidence rate of aggressive
malignant brain tumors in England has more than doubled in recent decades.”
Researchers who believe certain lifestyle factors “could have played a
role” in the rise point to other studies suggesting cell phone use
“possibly being associated with brain tumors and changes in the brain.”
According to the US National Cancer Institute, people tend to be “concerned
that cell phones might have a link with cancer or other health problems”
because they “emit radiofrequency energy, a form of non-ionizing
radiation”; cell phone use “has increased rapidly”; and the number and
length of calls has increased.
Cancer Drugs Now Make Up 34% Of Industry Pipeline.

Reuters
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018050301biden&r=email-3934&l=070-9b5&t=c>
(5/2, Hirschler) reports cancer drugs now make up 34.1% of drugs in the
industry pipeline, which is an increase of 26.8% from 2010. Researchers are
now working on over 5,200 cancer drugs, an increase of 7.6% from last year.
Editorials/Op-Eds
New York Times.

*“The Truth Trump Doesn’t Want You To Know About The Caravan.”* The New
York Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018050301biden&r=email-3934&l=071-b7e&t=c>
(5/2) editorializes that the so-called “caravan” is nothing new, but rather
a group of Central Americans who – as has been the case for years – “joined
forces...for safety and to attract attention to their plight” with “few in
the United States” paying “much heed. Until President Trump did, opening
another ugly chapter in his anti-immigration crusade.” With his “barrage of
tweets,” Trump “transformed about 1,200 people on the northward trek into a
dangerous horde bent on flooding the United States and confirming the need
for that big wall that is his obsession.” To the Times, “the vetting of the
caravan, in fact, shows that the immigration laws are quite strict, and
that they work,” and “that Mr. Trump says otherwise shows he sees...an
opportunity to fan the flames of bigotry.”

*“Let Abbas’s Vile Words Be His Last As Palestinian Leader.” *The New
York Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018050301biden&r=email-3934&l=072-dbd&t=c>
(5/2) in an editorial says that Abbas “shed all credibility as a
trustworthy partner.” The Times also says he is guilty of “overstaying his
term by many years.” The Times concludes, “it is time for him to leave
office” and to allow Palestinians to find “a leader with energy, integrity
and vision.”
Washington Post.

*“Send Mr. Pruitt Packing.”* The Washington Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018050301biden&r=email-3934&l=073-558&t=c>
(5/2) editorializes that the recent disclosure that portions of Pruitt’s
trip to Morocco last December “were arranged by a former Comcast lobbyist
who had become close to the administrator – and who shortly thereafter
registered as an agent for the Moroccan government” underscores his “habit
of wasting taxpayer money on private indulgences.” The Post writes that
Pruitt “has crammed a lifetime’s worth of ethical failings into less than a
year and a half in office. How much longer will President Trump continue to
tolerate this swamp creature in his administration?”

*“Listen Up, Mr. Goodell.” *In an editorial, the Washington Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018050301biden&r=email-3934&l=074-5e4&t=c>
(5/2) calls for the NFL to accept the offer from its cheerleaders suing for
discrimination to settle their claims in exchange “for is the chance to sit
down for a four-hour meeting with NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell” with a
goal of negotiating “leaguewide reforms of the outdated rules and
regulations affecting cheerleaders.” The Post argues the only reason to
refuse is if the League is “not really serious when it says its commitment
to a fair and respectful work environment includes the women who cheer on
the sidelines.” The Post concludes that cheerleaders “shouldn’t be treated
like second-class citizens or...sexually exploited,” and that the
p