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Today's POLITICO Playbook presented by UC Davis

By JAKE SHERMAN (sherman@politico.com; @JakeSherman), ANNA PALMER (anna@politico.com; @apalmerdc) and DANIEL LIPPMAN (daniel@politico.com; @dlippman)

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Driving the Day
Good Sunday morning. WHAT EVERYONE IS TALKING ABOUT -- TRUMP'S SUNDAY MORNING THOUGHTS -- @realDonaldTrump at 6:44 a.m.: "If NFL fans refuse to go to games until players stop disrespecting our Flag & Country, you will see change take place fast. Fire or suspend!" ... at 7:13 a.m.: "...NFL attendance and ratings are WAY DOWN. Boring games yes, but many stay away because they love our country. League should back U.S."

-- @RyanLizza: "Goes to sleep threatening nuclear war. Wakes up suggesting boycott of NFL."

-- THE FIRST NFL GAME TODAY: "Jaguars and Ravens players kneel during national anthem, Baltimore owner supportive of demonstration," by N.Y. Daily News' Zachary Ripple: "Jaguars owner Shad Khan, the only minority owner in the NFL, also made a definitive statement, locking arms with his players during the anthem. Khan is one of several league owners to have contributed $1 million to Trump's inaugural committee. Ravens coach John Harbaugh was also on the sidelines locking arms with his players during the national anthem. ... Following the performance of the U.S. anthem, every player responded by standing during the performance of 'God Save the Queen.'"
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=ccd862d756ce2c28f72ac70e87bee5972ea8d4637d59a4398e20d3f9a5dec1234fda404c7a2138103bf846c2cdd40e6b456e143f0744f00d

-- @BenSasse: "NFL players: You have the right to protest Trump tmrw. But aren't there better ways than kneeling before the flag soldiers died to defend?" ... @Patriots: "Statement from #Patriots Chairman & CEO Robert Kraft" -- the first sentence: "I am deeply disappointed by the tone of the comments made by the President on Friday." http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=ccd862d756ce2c280310debe89de1b1f0c5f7ce5b9472d9899c8219546c6d4f1fbcdd661e7c40250daf03523d3c0fb462d672c610a497e35

N.Y. POST COVER -- "Trump trades blows with NBA, NFL ... JOCK SCRAP" http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=ccd862d756ce2c2844a2cded0825ec326a1d1f9fc2e59f70171c8bbf1ae843113e48f392a153c9b0955b290c4f7bcbd9cfa7c99626c3fd31

SUNDAY BEST -- MARTHA RADDATZ talks with STEVEN MNUCHIN on ABC'S "THIS WEEK" -- RADDATZ: "With all the urgent issues -- Korea, healthcare, why is the president etch talking about NFL players and disinviting NBA players to the White House?" MNUCHIN: "You know, the NFL has all different types of rules -- you can't have stickers on your helmet. You have to have your jerseys tucked in. I think what the president is saying is that the owners should have a rule that players should have to stand in respect for the national anthem. This isn't about Democrats, it's not about Republicans, it's not about race, it's not about free speech. They can do free speech on their own time, that this is about
respect for the military and the first responders and the country."

RADDATZ: "The president is calling them SOBs. Is that the kind of language, no matter how you feel about the issue, that he should be using?" MNUCHIN: "I think the president can use whatever language he wants to use."

-- JOHN DICKERSON talks with NRSC CHAIRMAN CORY GARDNER (R-COLO.) on CBS's "FACE THE NATION": DICKERSON: "You spoke out about the president's tepid reaction to the violence in Charlottesville. The president has now stepped into the middle of the controversy about the NFL. I just wonder what you make of his remarks this week." GARDNER: "Look, I made it very clear in the aftermath of Charlottesville that there is no room in this country for hate, that the KKK, Neo-Nazis, white supremacist groups are hateful, that there's no room for them, and we must call evil by its name. And that is the KKK, Neo-Nazis, and white supremacists. When it comes to this recent spat with the NFL, look, there are
far more important things that we ought to be focusing on. You've mentioned them. North Korea, Iran, concern about the health care bill. That's what I'm going to continue to focus on, making sure that we take care of this country's needs in a way that people know they're better off."

DEVIL'S ADVOCATE ALERT, HEALTH CARE EDITION... BUT WE'RE STILL SKEPTICAL -- Some Senate Republicans think the Graham-Cassidy bill is still very much alive. These senior GOP aides say if they get the bill onto the floor, they can address some senators' concerns in the debate process. Others say the bill will be refined in the coming days to address problems. We're a bit skeptical, since many of the concerns that have been expressed are fundamental -- for example, Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) says he wants a months-long process. Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) continues to be a hard no. And it's unclear how Sens. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) and Susan Collins (R-Maine) get to yes. But anything can happen
these days, so we thought we'd flag for you.

WHAT YOU SHOULD BE THINKING ABOUT: If the Senate does pass something, the House will have to turn around and pass it without making any changes to the bill. That's tricky for the unruly chamber. They come into session Monday night and leave Thursday.

MORE SUNDAY BEST -- JAKE TAPPER talks to SEN. SUSAN COLLINS (R-MAINE) on CNN's "STATE OF THE UNION": TAPPER: "Your vote is pivotal on the Graham-Cassidy health care bill. Where are you? Yes or no?" COLLINS: "Jake, it's very difficult for me to envision a scenario -- scenario where I would end up voting for this bill. I have a number of serious reservations about it. I'm concerned about the impact on the Medicaid program, which has been on the books for more than 50 years and provides healthcare to our most vulnerable citizens, including disabled children and low-income seniors.

"I'm concerned about the impact on costs and coverage. We already have a problem under the Affordable Care Act with the cost of premiums and deductibles. And, finally, I'm very concerned about the erosion of protections for people with preexisting conditions, like asthma, arthritis, cancer, diabetes, and what it would mean to them."

-- CHUCK TODD talks to SEN. RAND PAUL (R-Ky.) on NBC's "MEET THE PRESS": TODD: "All right, senator, in the president's words, are you going to come around?" PAUL: "Well, I've always been a yes for a repeal. But the bill, unfortunately, the Graham-Cassidy bill basically keeps most of the Obamacare spending, almost all of the spending, and just reshuffles and block grants it to the states. So, block granting Obamacare doesn't make it go away. It just means you're keeping all the money we've spending through Obamacare, most of it; reshuffling it; taking the money from Democrat states and giving it to Republican states. I think what it sets up is a perpetual food fight over the formula."

TODD: "If you cannot accept the block-grant concept, then there is no way you'll ever support this bill. Is that fair to say? Because that's the centerpiece of this bill." PAUL: "Well, they could remove the block grants from it. And then, we could vote on what we actually all agree on."

HEADS UP: The Federal Aviation Administration's authority runs out at the end of the week. Congress also has to deal with that this week.

-- @seungminkim: "! @LindseyGrahamSC on him, RonJohn: 'We're not going to vote for a budget resolution that doesn't allow the health care debate to continue.'" NOTE: Coupling health-care repeal and tax reform is plausible, but would be incredibly difficult. It also means Republicans would be continuing to work on health care into 2018.

-- WAPO's DAVE WEIGEL and SEAN SULLIVAN, with an IOWA CITY dateline: "Graham is 'pressing on' with the health-care bill. Other GOP senators signal they're moving on": "Sen. Joni Ernst (R-Iowa) looked out at hundreds of Democrats crowded into a tense town hall meeting Friday afternoon and told them that they'd won. Just an hour earlier, Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) had come out against the GOP's latest attempt to repeal the Affordable Care Act on partisan terms.

"'I hope that Lamar and Patty can come back again together, hopefully next week,' said Ernst, referring to Sen. Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.) and Sen. Patty Murray (D-Wash.), who had been working on a bipartisan bill to stabilize the ACA. 'We can pick back up and try again.' ...

"Republican Senate aides have hinted in recent days at the possibility that new language in the bill might be released at some point. On Saturday, Health and Human Services Secretary Tom Price said in an interview on Fox News that Republicans were 'refining' the legislation. Still, there are no clear resolutions to the problems facing Trump and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.): Time and diminishing support." http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=ccd862d756ce2c28679048f0a0a859d70f8a10be57205cfd48509aa16300ef103ae565e165bd1ea25d8fd3a6d1e64f77e21d692937d41ce7

****** A message from UC Davis: As the No. 1 agricultural university in the nation, UC Davis understands how food touches every living thing and what's at stake if we don't answer its challenges. Our research innovations and partnerships with farms, industry and policymakers around the world help ensure healthy, safe food for all. Learn more at 21stcentury.ucdavis.edu. ******

RUBBER MEETS THE ROAD -- AP'S STEVE PEOPLES in WESTFIELD, NEW JERSEY: "Vulnerable N.J. Republican navigates messy Trump era politics": "This is not President Donald Trump's dinner party. Republican Rep. Leonard Lance, standing in the middle of Ferraro's dimly lit restaurant dining room, says it's not necessary to build a wall along the entire U.S. border with Mexico. He raises concerns about the White House's promised tax overhaul. And he condemns the brash personalities that have come to define the GOP in the age of Trump.

"'His personality and mine are vastly different. I'm comfortable with my personality,' Lance says as 19 men gathered for a private meeting of the Republican National Lawyers Association pick through their salads. ...

"'I will support him where I agree with him and I will not support him where I disagree with him,' Lance told The Associated Press in an interview inside his Westfield office, where the only photograph on the wall features Lance alongside former presidential nominee Mitt Romney, who once personified the 'Never-Trump' movement." http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=ccd862d756ce2c287658ef8938dc18ceb6cc892f13a615fc0164e7996ee3d7b6bc4327fc353600548f75f37db3d54f4f882603ffd7de3b43

TRUMP'S WEEK -- Monday: Lunch with VP Mike Pence and dinner with grassroots leaders ... Tuesday: President of Spain comes to D.C. ... Wednesday: Trip to Indiana to speak about tax reform. ... Friday: Trump speaks to the National Association of Manufacturers board.

POLITICO GETS RESULTS -- "Tom Price to halt taxpayer-funded travel on private jets: POLITICO has identified more than $400,000 in charter jet spending for the HHS secretary's travels since May," by Dan Diamond: "Health and Human Services Secretary Tom Price told Fox News on Saturday that he'll stop his taxpayer-funded travel on private jets, pending a formal review by his department's inspector general. 'We've heard the criticism. We've heard the concerns. We take that very seriously and have taken it to heart,' Price said.

"Price continued to take charter jets after a POLITICO investigation identified that the HHS secretary had been chartering private planes to conduct official business for months. The cost of his trips this past week was $56,500, according to a federal contract. An HHS spokesperson said this past week's schedule was already set and the plane had been pre-booked before POLITICO raised questions about Price's travels. POLITICO has now identified more than $400,000 in charter jet spending for Price's travels since May." http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=ccd862d756ce2c28fe315c3013437342f1800ecc3aa02341c438c09db324fc97e556ea8dfe104ec887070dcb66ba47c540a729b4b8efaa81

-- FROM DAN: "Price's decision follows a week of scoops by POLITICO, starting with an investigation by me and Rachana Pradhan that revealed the HHS secretary had been chartering private planes to conduct official business for months. ... Price on Saturday justified the charter trips as necessary for responding to the opioid crisis and hurricanes. However, POLITICO identified at least 10 distinct charter flights since May that were not related to either the opioid crisis or hurricane response, including flights to conferences in San Diego and Aspen, Colorado."

JMART'S GOOD POINT ON ALABAMA -- ROY MOORE as 2017 version of TODD AKIN -- "Reading from prepared remarks at a debate on Thursday in Montgomery, Mr. Moore declared that 'crime, corruption, immorality, abortion, sodomy, sexual perversions sweep our land.' And appearing at a Baptist church last month in Jasper, Mr. Moore mused about what same-sex marriage could lead to. 'Maybe you can marry a horse or a cow, or five men or five women,' he said. It is the sort of message that terrifies Republican elites, who fear he could be a more weaponized version of Todd Akin, the 2012 Missouri Senate candidate who lost after saying women's bodies could block a pregnancy in cases of 'legitimate rape.'

"'Roy Moore would be the Todd Akin of 2017 and 2018 for every Republican on the ballot,' said Karl Rove, the Republican strategist, who is aligned with the Senate Leadership Fund. 'Republicans will be asked, 'Do you agree homosexuality should be punished by death, do you believe 9/11 was a result of God's anger?' He'll say outrageous things, the media will play it up, and every Republican will be asked, 'Do you agree with that?"" http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=ccd862d756ce2c28bfbe01d4a280cc991bb7dc6bb0a8796f41c3f807bdaeefe014332ba5ca3659c3092a1ab9ef095c0dfe2e011b3d0fd351

ERIC GELLER: "Breaking nuclear deal could bring hacking onslaught from Iran": "A move by President Donald Trump to discard the Obama-era nuclear deal with Tehran could bring a swift retaliation from an increasingly aggressive Iranian hacker army. Some of those attacks may target America's power plants, hospitals, airports and other pieces of critical infrastructure, multiple cyber experts that track Tehran's hackers are warning. Iran's current Western hacking is limited almost entirely to commercial espionage and dissident surveillance, but the country could quickly redirect its efforts in the event of a rupture of the nuclear pact.

"Iran has spent years honing its digital skills through cyber campaigns that have pummeled regional adversaries, stolen trade secrets from foreign competitors and destroyed computers at the oil giant Saudi Aramco. And initially, the country also aimed its cyber forces at the U.S., launching a barrage of distracting attacks on the financial sector and even successfully infiltrating a dam in New York state. But after the U.S. and six partners began discussions with Iran in 2013 to lift some economic sanctions in exchange for limits on Tehran's nuclear program, the country's hackers have largely spared the U.S., focusing instead on industrial espionage and hitting rival Middle Eastern powers."
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=ccd862d756ce2c28d876969913371bf8854bed380d19a5d2ec4ad18cb20f3f8613dac10287078ecb81672e60020d7dfce25bb7da643f24e6

FOR YOUR RADAR -- "Trump cranks up North Korea threats as Pyongyang holds anti-U.S. rally," by Reuters' Haejin Choi in Seoul and Michelle Nichols at the U.N.: "U.S. President Donald Trump dialled up the rhetoric against North Korea again at the weekend, warning the country's foreign minister that he and leader Kim Jong Un 'won't be around much longer', as Pyongyang staged a major anti-U.S. rally. North Korea's Foreign Minister Ri Yong Ho told the United Nations General Assembly on Saturday that targeting the U.S. mainland with its rockets was inevitable after 'Mr Evil President' Trump called Pyongyang's leader a 'rocket man' on a suicide mission."
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=ccd862d756ce2c2853f15369fb86733bb7a6a4358e87160f151f73f9983c17d7de621859b85a7c617bad707ae95e4e7a23f7dc91b5928619

-- @realDonaldTrump at 11:08 p.m.: "Just heard Foreign Minister of North Korea speak at U.N. If he echoes thoughts of Little Rocket Man, they won't be around much longer!"

-- @jimsciutto: "Breaking: U.S. B-1B bombers fly in show of force off #North Korea coast, farthest north of DMZ in 21st century" ... "And here is one of those B1Bs on takeoff": http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=ccd862d756ce2c2839a14c5270776a0a487f63dc0424c2654efa78af6df64d14e17fb99096143b88d98a315115bcd306410c7bb8e8de2568

NEW WAPO/ABC NEWS POLL -- "Poll: Far more trust generals than Trump on N. Korea, while two-thirds oppose preemptive strike," by WaPo's Scott Clement and Phil Rucker: "Two-thirds of Americans oppose launching a preemptive military strike against North Korea, with a majority trusting the U.S. military to handle the escalating nuclear crisis responsibly but not President Trump, a new Washington Post-ABC News poll finds. Roughly three-quarters of the public supports tougher economic sanctions on North Korea in an attempt to persuade it to give up its nuclear weapons, while just about one-third think the United States should offer the isolated country foreign aid or other incentives. ...

"Overall, Trump's image continues to be negative, with 39 percent of Americans approving and 57 percent disapproving of the president's job performance. But the poll finds that clear majorities approve of Trump's response to recent hurricanes and support the agreement he struck with Democrats providing emergency disaster-relief funding and raising the nation's debt limit." http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=ccd862d756ce2c2870b3b1e5db876f7162387153ec38e0fb4f3d2f0b4e150879bf49b3a3a17a2c867144ed3c4634284b3ab807e88b4a414f

BIG SUNDAY READ -- BOSTON GLOBE SPOTLIGHT TEAM -- "Secrets in the sky: The United States remains an easy mark for drug dealers, terrorists and others who prize anonymity when registering aircraft or getting licensed to fly. So much for the lessons of 9/11": http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=ccd862d756ce2c28f69c6b2c6359a5ff454ae1e109dfea55a8489a89d96fae0ca4a54ddec1c5187650d19128326588250d097227b7920373

IN THE SKIES -- A Saudi Arabian registered A310 landed at Andrews Air Force Base from Newark Saturday afternoon. http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=ccd862d756ce2c28a7a3ec2bfa32ac9d98fb4206f592c995019d496f022b57b88c2d5a2f90aa5fe6f8b898accb1cfdff06366b2a785bafe1

MAYBE GARY'S NOT DONE AFTER ALL -- "Yellen and Cohn Said to Be on Shortlist to Lead Federal Reserve," by NYT's Kate Kelly and Binyamin Appelbaum: "The White House has created a list of about a half-dozen candidates to be the next leader of the Federal Reserve, including its current chairwoman, Janet L. Yellen, and the president's chief economic adviser, Gary D. Cohn, according to two administration officials and a third person with knowledge of the process.

"The list also includes Jerome H. Powell, a member of the Fed's board of governors; Kevin Warsh, a former Fed governor; and the Stanford University economist John B. Taylor, the officials said. Preliminary interviews with some candidates have already begun with an eye toward presenting finalists to President Trump later this year. Ms. Yellen, whose four-year term ends in February, has been unusually successful in achieving the Fed's goals of minimizing unemployment and moderating inflation. But Mr. Trump, while praising her performance, has said that he may decide not to reappoint her. ...

"Mr. Trump has deputized four officials to lead the selection process for the Fed's next chairman, said one person familiar with the search: Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin; two of Mr. Cohn's aides on the National Economic Council, Jeremy Katz and Andrew Olmem; and John DeStefano, the White House personnel director." http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=ccd862d756ce2c286e38955583071591cb73b1f33e072a1c2ea7867784f440b7373bf1a37dd056fa6c71c2fd4e32d83c447a4ebfa1017165

2020 WATCH -- "Biden rips Trump over race in South Carolina return," by Gabe Debenedetti in Charleston: "Former Vice President Joe Biden on Saturday evening urged Americans to stand up to hate groups - and took direct aim at President Donald Trump, who he said 'has publicly proclaimed the moral equivalency of Neo-Nazis, Klansmen, and those who oppose their hate.' Speaking at the centennial fundraising dinner for the Charleston branch of the NAACP, Biden said, 'This is a moment for this nation to declare what this president can't with any clarity, consistency, or vision: there is no place in America for hate groups.' ...

"The address was the latest, and most searing, in Biden's series of denunciations of the president and the current tenor of politics. It's been a rapidly escalating effort that far outstrips former President Barack Obama's Trump-era political work - and which has poured fuel on the speculation that Biden is considering a third run for the White House." http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=ccd862d756ce2c28fd369087007fdb2dd3702c01eec92b85c2d83138f64c046ca2176ea485f8d336de274eca83248b8a9903e7aa7ae84a8f


Playbook Reads


PHOTO DU JOUR: Baltimore Ravens players kneel down during the playing of the U.S. national anthem before an NFL football game against the Jacksonville Jaguars at Wembley Stadium in London, on Sept. 24. This is the first NFL game since President Donald Trump said players should be fired for "disrespecting our flag." | Matt Dunham/AP Photo

SUNDAY BEST, PART III -- CHRIS WALLACE talks to BILL GATES on "Fox News Sunday": WALLACE on his conversation with President Trump earlier this year: WALLACE: "But it didn't have the impact you hoped?" GATES: "Well, in terms of the first budget that he came out with, no. That was a disappointment to us. It was taking the medical research budget, called the NIH bringing that down fairly dramatically. Taking the aid programs, including the on-going HIV commitments and bringing those, so definitely I was disappointed in that."

FOR YOUR RADAR -- "Merkel bids for fourth term as Germans head to the polls," by AP's Kirsten Grieshaber in Berlin: "Chancellor Angela Merkel was widely expected to win a fourth term in office as Germans went to the polls on Sunday in an election that is also likely to see the farthest right-wing party in 60 years, the anti-migrant Alternative for Germany, win seats in parliament. ... The latest polls had Merkel's conservative bloc at 34 to 37 percent support, the center-left Social Democrats with 21 to 22 percent and the anti-migrant Alternative for Germany, or AfD, with 10 to 13 percent support." http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=ccd862d756ce2c28f827ecb12077076c10e983bacfed1037f48adee3a4f5d2347821a438309202d28196e8d261a2a0a329716b9c401f53f9

DEEP DIVE -- "The Metals Magnate And Manafort: A Kremlin Confidant Is Drawn Into The Trump Investigation," by Mike Eckel and Christopher Miller in Radio Free Europe: "Sometime in the mid-2000s, [Oleg] Deripaska connected with a Russian named Konstantin Kilimnik, whose education at Russia's Military University for Foreign Languages has led to speculation that he is employed by intelligence agencies, something he has denied. Kilimnik began working for Manafort in 2005 ... Asked about his conversations with Manafort, Kilimnik told RFE/RL on September 21 that they discussed the U.S. election campaign, but he declined to describe the e-mail in detail or to say whether there was an effort to
reach out to Deripaska.

"'There were millions of emails. [...] we worked for 11 years. And we discussed a lot of issues, from Putin to women,' Kilimnik said via text message. ... Kilimnik wrote in another September 21 message[:] 'They are tough investigators and probably will get manafort for some financial crap. With that many years of international clients no one can be 100% clean.'" http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=ccd862d756ce2c2800ad180cbe39b00ec81fa15feb255163f51f0c61f73a9f8de857a348c1262fd2e2722003138e10b0374337f6601a7e3b (h/t @KenVogel)

STEPH CURRY SPEAKS, via NYT's Scott Cacciola in Oakland: "'I don't know why he feels the need to target certain individuals rather than others,' Curry, a two-time N.B.A. most valuable player, said at a news conference after the team's first practice of the season. 'I have an idea of why, but it's kind of beneath the leader of a country to go that route. It's not what leaders do.'" http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=ccd862d756ce2c2862d50e449cfb0b92f6c30ea6fbbb3120093a8255d6e352973a6a1aa1a99fe572157cb1a86d94a7bdc001087e664f26ae

WAPO'S SALLY JENKINS -- "What President Trump doesn't get about the NFL": "How the NFL responds to Donald Trump's spit-foaming is hardly a test case for whether the republic will stand. Nevertheless, the league is a maker of manners in this country, so it means something that Commissioner Roger Goodell and others are getting it right, striking the perfect calm but resistant tone in response to Trump's gutter-mouthing, a tone that says, 'We're not your personal WrestleMania, and don't use us for your sham body slams.' The NFL, faced with whether to play to the basest instincts of the audience, declined. It adhered to civility. ...

"The vast majority of the men on the field are not spoiled millionaires abusing their freedoms, as Trump charges. Rather, they have worked as hard as any farmers for their short-lived incomes and are dedicated to using their privilege to make things better for the people they play in front of. Brandon Marshall's Project Borderline foundation combats mental illness. Doug Baldwin is raising money for a family community center in Renton, Wash. And Kaepernick has given away $1 million to various organizations." http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=ccd862d756ce2c2803a2489feb89b7deeabd7eb6e890c0c0a7a528db54a066285a296f1f6d0dcafa8fecf53beee2227b70e01bdb1630a6f4

-- "UNC national championship team not visiting White House," by the News and Observer's Andrew Carter: "North Carolina's 2017 national championship men's basketball team will not visit the White House, a team spokesman said on Saturday, though the Tar Heels were invited to visit, as is the custom for teams that win college men's basketball and football national championships. Whether UNC would visit President Donald Trump's White House, if the Tar Heels won, became a topic of interest during the Final Four." http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=ccd862d756ce2c2802951e6781e69c55da0b11aa8c92e5de4306e75d5d940498c7c29dadcab622a90b281891848fd00a3763938c07217a77

****** A message from UC Davis: To ensure the production of healthy, safe food, you need to know agriculture. And water management. Plant biology. Ecology. Economics. Engineering. Animal science. Human health. Policy. And community development. At UC Davis, the No. 1 agricultural university in the nation, we know a bright future in food requires expertise, research and collaboration across many fields. It's a complex effort, and one we're proud to cultivate with farms, industry and policymakers around the world. Learn more at 21stcentury.ucdavis.edu. ******

STARTLING ANECDOTE - STAN GREENBERG, "How She Lost" in the American Prospect: "Astonishingly, the 2016 Clinton campaign conducted no state polls in the final three weeks of the general election and relied primarily on data analytics to project turnout and the state vote. They paid little attention to qualitative focus groups or feedback from the field, and their brief daily analytics poll didn't measure which candidate was defining the election or getting people engaged." http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=ccd862d756ce2c28eb378578134dfd3805c9fa399d8ac4c0cfbd676ddd9e56030dc1a61aa798955ca03bc837e22f5d8e5e57008641503fd6

WEST COAST WATCH -- "California Republicans looking for ways to increase their relevance in statewide races," by L.A. Times' Seema Mehta: "In an effort to avoid an embarrassing repeat of the Senate election in 2016, when no GOP candidate appeared on the November ballot, the California Republican Party may change its rules and pick sides in the primary.

"Party leaders hope that creating an endorsement process for statewide candidates would allow GOP voters to unite behind a single person in a multi-candidate primary field, increasing the chances that a Republican wins one of the top two spots in the primary and makes it to the general election." http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=ccd862d756ce2c2843e1df78a581969552cb038184dce42debda7e725c3bd61cf615aaed2ec971f57a519e3af9e0b6831c521eed20f7f196

BONUS GREAT WEEKEND READS, curated by Daniel Lippman, filing from New York:

-- "Snopes and the Search for Facts in a Post-Fact World," by Michelle Dean in Wired - per Longreads.com's description: "How the legendary internet fact-finding site snopes.com came to be, and how a messy divorce and ownership and control squabbles have threatened the site's existence." http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=ccd862d756ce2c280a771ba8e65981cbfb3c82fe45c552d0c43a5f21d132eb24d4635a983ce36493484a1fd8deed6e5b0335999bdd3e51f5

-- "America Wasn't Built for Humans," by Andrew Sullivan in NYMag: "Tribalism was an urge our Founding Fathers assumed we could overcome. And so it has become our greatest vulnerability." http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=ccd862d756ce2c283bb0fe76d12ff56b3a1946566901f9235d03acd4db1325029bbb1ddcb4bd4f1d8bab7ff5d570e8e3b999b619bebbfc88

-- "These Women Are the Last Thing Standing Between You and Nuclear War," by Danielle McNally in Marie Claire: If an order comes, missileers "open a safe located between their workstations secured with two padlocks, one fastened on by each missileer. Inside is a code that the incoming encrypted message must match. But there's an A-side and a B-side and neither missileer knows both. It's all part of Two-Person Control - a system that ensures a rogue missileer can't start World War III on her own." http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=ccd862d756ce2c28083b9054eb44b0ad1a1886ccb7aac66bcadce0710166bca84fa72f96fce925464ffcd6551ebfa78709cc1f67810a2711

--"An Open Letter to Ta-Nehisi Coates: The Dream is real," by Jason D. Hill in Commentary: "I am saddened by your conviction that white people wield such a great deal of metaphysical power over the exercise of your own agency. In making an enemy of the Dream that is a constitutive feature of American identity, you have irrevocably alienated yourself from the redemptive hope, the inclusive unity, and the faith and charity that are necessary for America to move ever closer to achieving moral excellence." http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=ccd862d756ce2c2828b9c43f0602cd2dfd85e29cefe2172ed0bdfc6a30779d09b04ef19052cd8fcae07e1e642fc78073089c11738afc6c8f

--"That Magic Feeling: A day at Abbey Road Studios," by James Rosen in National Review: "There is no happy ending to this story. Not many years from now - five? one? - the world will be reduced to an uninhabitable state in which no Beatles are alive. Nor will this essay meet the dictates of feel-good pop psychology, wherein my visit to Abbey Road Studios in London this summer neatly caps, and thereby helps me to turn the corner on, my Fab obsession." http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=ccd862d756ce2c2898b16de041af6ba022344d8d7a97c8cc21767325d26e0bcb254966a32cdb2a6f8fb5754f012c98e22ecbfb838f54c36d

-- "A Hospital Crisis Is Killing Rural Communities. This State Is 'Ground Zero,'" by Lauren Weber and Andy Miller in HuffPost: "Inside three Georgia counties that have struggled to keep their hospitals \u2015 and futures \u2015 alive." http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=ccd862d756ce2c288360d60b96c4429f10ca3a1207f3ae779e33928c7070efb329791e05b58fb27c62e703c46d52b938a74806b30b7ed782

-- "The Salvation of Mosul," by Joshua Hammer in October's Smithsonian: "An Iraqi archaeologist braved ISIS snipers and booby-trapped ruins to rescue cultural treasures in the city and nearby legendary Nineveh and Nimrud." http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=ccd862d756ce2c2880a98d78d252405d2cb12f9984a95062b91e37e2a4e4b0fada665daaf9e951ac850af2680930a91b20991ad7181ebabe

-- "*Hopeful face*," by Andrew Caines in the Times Literary Supplement - per TheBrowser.com's description: "A horrible thought, but what if emoji are the future of writing, as well as its past - a reversion to the pictographic tradition of Egyptian hieroglyphs, after the relatively brief reign of the printing press and the written word? Already, emojis are a much richer language than hieroglyphics ever were - 2,666 symbols, against roughly a thousand known hieroglyphs. 'Emoji represent how eager we are to influence the emotions of others, and to resolve ambiguity in language.'" http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=ccd862d756ce2c28d9dc4e518c81184e20c6d87af81212bb559cdf58428b9f97e59def7ef7251cc8db7de4f97e170d04e408de467dc3471f

-- "How Do You Like It Now, Gentlemen?" by Lillian Ross in The New Yorker's May 13, 1950 issue: "Ernest Hemingway, who may well be the greatest living American novelist and short-story writer, rarely comes to New York. He spends most of his time on a farm, the Finca Vigia, nine miles outside Havana, with his wife, a domestic staff of nine, fifty-two cats, sixteen dogs, a couple of hundred pigeons, and three cows." http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=ccd862d756ce2c28d68b5875a50c3d977e2ef615f94ec9ec4279b389dc1defc1edf51abfbd07d0b0cfb8bf4c13d65b670dcef145b09144a6 (h/t Longform.org)

-- "Iris van Herpen's Hi-Tech Couture," by The New Yorker's Rebecca Mead: "The designer combines 3-D printing and hand stitching to reimagine the possibilities of the human body." http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=ccd862d756ce2c2837eb379ad4a3be834db5db1110053144f8b0f4f6731afcac74fc09a5684de69a0344d0d3aec581283ac2b0f0645f84ee

-- "A High-End Mover Dishes on Truckstop Hierarchy, Rich People, and Moby Dick," by Finn Murphy, author of "The Long Haul: A Trucker's Tales of Life on the Road," in a Longreads excerpt: "A mover waits longer for coffee, longer in the service bays, longer for showers, longer at the fuel desk, longer everywhere in the world of trucks than the freighthauler. It's because we're unknown. We don't have standard routes, so we can't be relied on for the pie slice and the big tip every Tuesday at ten thirty. We're OK with being outside the fellowship because we know we're at the apex of the pyramid." http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=ccd862d756ce2c284e76569e551ebfcb9facc0c1f0903c69d91e0185607deaa7d2fc707f7af7d2e7c4cd857b83e58bcd4777d98fe136cd5a ... $18.32 on Amazon
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=ccd862d756ce2c28c98a0c2dfe6fba9bea1e95e5739c44cf4ca2e2b9e1d5c39289745e83f8b8f06a8280de14ecb2c234ba928a58918aa10e

-- "If It Keeps on Raining," by Micah Fields in Oxford American: In Houston, "water lapped at the floorboards. The Jeep could clear two feet easy, but on a few occasions, we looked in the mirror to watch the boat lift off its trailer and shimmy behind us, then ease back onto its carpeted runners. We entered neighborhoods of homes where floods had already come and gone, where people had started the process of mucking the unsalvageable remnants of their dwellings." http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=ccd862d756ce2c28bf24d1e3f33daefbc26f1d9f9bfd0361f04abd519c7d54db1935039a11c6c9dae7ee0c9b41b255a71318fb3d283ddde2
Playbookers
SPOTTED: Jack Del Rio, coach of the Oakland Raiders, having dinner at District Winery on Saturday night ahead of his team's game on Sunday versus the Redskins.

OUT AND ABOUT -- Three hundred people came out last night to celebrate Jeh Johnson's and wife Susan DiMarco's 60th birthday in a big tent outside the Montclair Art Museum in Montclair, New Jersey, DJ'd by Felix Hernandez. Food served included brisket, paella with crab and shrimp, lobster tacos, Halloumi cheese, and pigs in blanket. There was also a photo booth with cardboard cutouts of Jeh and Susan that guests took pictures with. Everyone also got a parting gift bag with a pocket Constitution and chocolate truffles. Pics http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=ccd862d756ce2c2822f64c62f36efb96863ef318e774b0d2d6aae646e16db99200261fda87ccab7e6ffce5270ccb13d7984b6f13e77ae89a ... http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=ccd862d756ce2c28739ec139048c2cf54e285a1edc26dad49cb91d149e7a57468d960a35c262e105a7792320432ca87a4c6bf490e96d9890

SPOTTED: Jonathan and Emily Alter, Tanya Bradsher, Todd Breasseale, Jonathan Capehart and Nick Schmit, Michael Chertoff, Penny Pritzker, Jack and Susanna Quinn, Charlie and Luiza Savage, Cyrus Vance Jr., Avril Haines, Elizabeth King, Bill Derrough, Chris Fonzone, Marc Morial, Alejandro Mayorkas, Amb. Phil Murphy, Amb. Joe Westphal, Pete Neffenger, Esther Olavarria, Tyler Moran, Roger Parrino, Paul Rosen, Steven Isenberg, Alice Lloyd, Aubrey Sarvis, Patti Steele, Frank Taylor, Mario Flores, Mary Alice Williams, and 10 members of the judiciary.

EMBASSY PARTY CIRCUIT -- Pool report: "The Royal Embassy of Saudi Arabia hosted its 87th National Day [yesterday], celebrating the anniversary of the country's establishment at the National Building Museum showcasing the Kingdom's rich cultural heritage, ongoing societal developments and long-standing partnership with the U.S. with Ambassador Khalid bin Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud." Pic of the new young ambassador by Daniel Swartz http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=ccd862d756ce2c28a5dd0fda9675238817b9052a1a11ff3ea0b6b13f2c31ed8866c38782a11102f032a5db4e6405a25a21157758e162aee3

ENGAGED -- BRITTANY BRAMELL -- currently assistant administrator for public affairs at TSA, and an alum of Uber, Boehnerland and Lindsey Graham for president, to DAN PUNARO, VP for Enterprise IT. Dan proposed at the Capitol, where they met more than a decade ago. Brittany's parents, four brothers and their families all flew from California to surprise her. Pic of the couple http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=ccd862d756ce2c2872d218873370ad474885569c5d32a93a27a25ba834c3de1e743e1204ff56302f4dd20933550ad254b19110d9804d7f21 (h/t Dan's father Gen. Arnold Punaro)

WEEKEND WEDDINGS -- KATIE WALSH, senior data and digital adviser at the RNC, and MIKE SHIELDS, partner at Convergence Media, got married Saturday night in Kiawah Island, South Carolina. SPOTTED: Reince and Sally Priebus, Johnny and Sarah DeStefano, Rob and Cindy Sims, Renee and Rep. Richard Hudson (R-N.C.), Sean and Emily Cairncross, Brian Walsh, Brad Parscale, Mike Ambrosini and Vanessa Morrone, Cara Mason, Tory McGuire, Sean and Emily Cairncross, Guy Harrison, Chris Hansen, Madeleine Westerhout, Jonathan Day, Muffy Day, Richard Waters. Pic of the couple with Reince and Sally Priebus http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=ccd862d756ce2c289dab262dbfd3fb44a198eb4623da4acc6a8bb91e2f519582e5c6645e318476c79077914690e5984f6e3591c21a85bdb7

-- Jeff Bechdel, chief content officer for America Rising, and Riley Thomlison, sales and marketing manager at IJR, "exchanged vows in front of family and friends that came from across the United States to celebrate in a ceremony as the sun set over the St. Louis Country Club. As per Pittsburgh tradition, the highlight of the reception was an immaculate table of cookies. The couple first met while working at America Rising, Jeff as communications director and Riley as video director in 2014." Pics http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=ccd862d756ce2c281c7aede45dcd791d6cb1759ada8033f222b3ed3fde9e8a6014ed9245b65fa6c6b8f315e26fcae112b8f9fa210e7d14ba ... Their first dance http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=ccd862d756ce2c285fddea58d1cb46ee748ae96271b46f8b8f61f8cead07a03343a9b7bb853393461b6f3c2b54605b852539678b8071b386

SPOTTED: Joe Pounder, Byron Koay, Colin Reed, Alex Angel, Bexie Nobles, Luke Marchant, Candace Lee, Emily Bouck, Maggie Dougherty, Tom Brandt, Nick Colella, Jesse and Erin Blumenthal, Richard Sant, Kerry Rom.

-- Natalie Gillam, comms. director for Rep. Ryan Costello (R-Pa.), married Mark McLaughlin, research director at Senate Leadership Fund, at Bald Head Island in North Carolina Saturday. Pool report: "They met while working at the NRSC. She is an esteemed graduate of the London School of Economics and alum of America Rising. Within GOP circles Mark is credited for finding Elizabeth Warren's Native American ancestry, John Walsh plagiarizing his thesis and Joe Donnelly outsourcing jobs to Mexico." Pics http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=ccd862d756ce2c28b8ce63bbae7bc189ca7f5bad5ec5f24b021b98f17a20272470d32ea2b02000c82505e81a4b260d5d8d0d2cf891c8ec82 ... http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=ccd862d756ce2c28a2e0017c3ed4095d5ff2ddac87e67f53241f5f942ee37b26a4939c1c23ab8d40b4ebeec07428f7060519fb55e6a9f74a

SPOTTED: Alleigh Marre, Zack Roday, Zach Gillan, Christina Bolling, Dianna Colasurdo and Jahan Wilcox.

--"Caroline Rabbitt, Andrew Tabler" -- N.Y. Times: "Mrs. Tabler, 30, is the communications director in Washington for Senator Tom Cotton, an Arkansas Republican. She graduated from Wake Forest University and received a master's degree in communications from Johns Hopkins University. ... Mr. Tabler, 33, is the special assistant to the under secretary of the Navy, and works in the Pentagon. From 2010-2011, he served as an ensign in the Navy, at the Naval Amphibious Base Coronado in San Diego. He graduated from George Washington University." With pic http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=ccd862d756ce2c284808cbfb501fb9cbcf2f3bde421759d7bfca5854f7c9580887655d774eba4a386e41fd55fc683437632da9f24e181c4b

OBAMA ALUMNI -- "Allison Zelman, Max Lesko": "Ms. Zelman, 33, is the director of states for the [DNC] in Washington. She was until 2011 a policy assistant and speechwriter for the Domestic Policy Council at the White House. ... Mr. Lesko, 32, is the director of national organizing, intergovernmental outreach and the Children's Defense Fund Action Council for the Children's Defense Fund in Washington. Until Jan. 20, he was working in the Obama administration as chief of staff at the Office for Civil Rights at the Department of Education. ... The couple met in Portland, Ore., in 2008 while working on the Obama presidential campaign." With pic http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=ccd862d756ce2c28a4eb9a8500af598b9e4f7b8950e4e6fe309ef214f59bf375309d1f152efa9bbd4c0d93280cb144424e64562df95ba39e ...
Buffy Wicks' wedding Instapic of the couple http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=ccd862d756ce2c2884146c1ef898b19842c05a60c03cb47b8aeac12e47fd64ba8029055e1772937e66ede43c9302ee1702214fdd3719e9fa

--SPOTTED: Jon Carson, Paulette Aniskoff, Melody Barnes, Jeremy Bird, Betsy Hoover, Sharon Block, Dan Kanninen, Chris Wyant, Lauren Kidwell, Amanda Brown, Kyle Lierman, Jenn Brown, Anne Filipic, Carlos Monje, Greg Schultz, John Oxtoby, Emmy Ruiz, Jorge Neri, Shira Miller, Brian Gill, Alex Lofton, Aletheia Henry.

BIRTHWEEK (was yesterday): Richard Viguerie (hat tip: Peter Pasi) ... (was Friday): Mayer Brown managing partner Ken Geller, who celebrated with dinner with his family last night at Bistro Bis (h/t son Eric Geller)

BIRTHDAYS: Kate Karnes and Lara Barger of the White House (h/ts Lindsay Walters) ...Hope Hall, former Obama WH videographer ... former Defense Secretary Ash Carter is 63 ... Lou Dobbs is 72 ... Michael J. Kennedy ... Politico's Lisa Leonard (h/t Caitlin Conant) ... former Rep. Joseph Kennedy II (D-Mass.) is 65 ... Sharon Yang, government and politics outreach at Facebook ... VICE's Alexandra Jaffe ... Katie Levinson Burke, senior strategist and global chief of staff at Edelman and a Bush WH alum (h/t Matt David) ... Joe Householder, EVP of corporate and crisis at Hill & Knowlton Strategies ... Jessica Schumer ... Suzanne (Tomlin) Mackowiak ... Chris Altchek, Mic CEO and co-founder ... Will
Booher, former Bush 43, Commerce and FEMA ... historian and Reagan scholar Craig Shirley is 61 ... photojournalist Mike Kamber is 54 ... EPA's Patrick Davis ... DC restaurateur Alan Popovsky ... Missy Owens ... Shawn McCoy, publisher of InsideSources and a Romney Iowa alum, is 33. He's celebrating by playing laser-tag and Topgolf (h/t Blake Waggoner) ... Morgan Jackson, chief strategist for NC Gov. Roy Cooper's campaign and partner at Nexus Strategies (h/t Andrew Bates) ... WSJ's Katy Stech ... CAP's Phil Wolgin ...

... Will Allison, comms director for Jeff Flake for Senate and "not only the pride of Oklahoma but a perfect gentleman and best knife fighter on the Senate map in my book" (h/t Brian Reisinger) ... Kelsey Coates, former senior associate research director in the Obama WH, is 28 (h/t Dan Cronin) ... Mike Morey, SVP at SKDKnickerbocker ... Derek Pangallo ... Stan Kahn ... Joe DeSantis ... Sara Dubois ... Katherine McLane, senior advisor at LEVICK ... Will Nuckols ... Ken Suggs of Janet, Jenner & Suggs (h/ts Jon Haber) ... Taryn Houghton Rosenkranz ... Hilary Kelly ... Ericka Andersen ... Jason Putorti ... Page Austin ... Kim Fuller ... Tim Reynolds ... Moe Tkacik ... Daniel Buk ... James
Reppert ... Andrew Cecchinato ... Anthony Knopps ... Pete Carr ... Stevens C. Berry ... Judah Groveman ... Lincoln Saunders ... Greg Knott ... Katrina Mendiola ... Sam Parker ... Tony Anthony ... Jon Davidson ... Michael Teter ... Dave Contarino (h/ts Teresa Vilmain)


****** A message from UC Davis: To ensure the production of healthy, safe food, you need to know agriculture. And water management. Plant biology. Ecology. Economics. Engineering. Animal science. Human health. Policy. And community development. At UC Davis, the No. 1 agricultural university in the nation, we know a bright future in food requires expertise, research and collaboration across many fields. It's a complex effort, and one we're proud to cultivate with farms, industry and policymakers around the world. Learn more at 21stcentury.ucdavis.edu. ******

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