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05/15/2016 08:53 AM EDT


By Marc Caputo (mcaputo@politico.com; @MarcACaputo) and Daniel Lippman (dlippman@politico.com; @dlippman)

TRUMP WHISPERER -- Maureen Dowd interviews him again, "The Mogul and the Babe": "[Speaker] Ryan didn't ask Trump to stop making remarks that alienate women? 'No,' Trump said, 'he wants me to be me.' So much for the showdown. When I asked if he had been chided by any Republicans for his Twitter feud with Elizabeth Warren, he replied, 'You mean Pocahontas?' So much for reining it in. I noted that John Cornyn said he gave Trump some tips on how to discuss illegal immigration more sensitively to woo Hispanic voters. 'I love getting advice,' Trump deadpanned. 'It's just what I need, just what I need is more advice. The 17 people I beat are still giving me advice.' Trump also briefly saw Poppy
Bush's guru, James Baker. 'I was more interested in asking him about Ronald and Nancy Reagan and the whole Reagan era than I was in terms of getting advice currently.'" http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=7011e493c36970df72c1e1b03c3972e2013a4f67f1a9f30712c32231984c9884

It's Sunday morning in America. It's 64 days to Cleveland, 71 days to Philly, 177 days to election. And Florida Playbook has the wheel for another day.

TRUMP REFERENDUM - This year, the presidential race isn't a clear referendum on the outgoing president/incumbent, and whether he will effectively get four more years through Hillary Clinton. This is a referendum on Donald Trump, the reality show candidate, the infotainment ringmaster, the Twitter-meister. As Marshall McLuhan put it long ago, the medium is the message. Just watch today's Sunday talk shows. There are two major themes: WWTD (What Will Trump Do?) and WDTD (What Did Trump Do?).

ARE YOU NOT ENTERTAINED? -- "Hillary's playing the politician game, while Trump's playing the entertainer game. The entertainer game is a lot more exciting, and maybe more persuasive too," says one top Never Trump Republican, who summed up the mood of the shocked, and somewhat revolted, GOP establishment. This was a lament, not a point of pride. Whether it's a path to general-election victory is another matter.

--"Well this is the ultimate reality show, it's the presidency of the United States." That's from Paul Manafort, Trump's No. 2 guy (or maybe No. 1, depending on the day). Manafort is in charge of the Republican National Convention, the perfect place for Trump's veep reveal - a rose ceremony for a White House race that looks like "The Bachelor." So when Manafort told MSNBC that the RNC would be a show, it was really just an admission that the presidential campaign's a stage, and Donald Trump is unquestionably the star. http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=7011e493c36970dff472523df16fca15362b9aa657052996d5178c2f2235784f

--@alexlundry: "Latest estimate of the media's in-kind contribution to Donald Trump's campaign? $392 million." http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=7011e493c36970df4b2aac5d7e070abb1d3541854bd451f8c6ec7d3f253270e5

--@alexburnsNYT: "This is a nonsensical figure if it includes *all* coverage, including critical/investigative/Trump-gaffe coverage."

Both Lundry and Burns are right. To Burns' point, the estimates of Trump's media time don't quantify critical coverage, and there's plenty of it. But to Lundry's, there are also shows that function like an in-kind-contribution machine for Trump that nods uncritically along when he, say, ties his opponent's father to JFK's assassin.

WHO THEY ARE - "Out of the spotlight, some say there is a softer side of Trump," by Boston Globe's Matt Viser: "Interviews with former business colleagues, campaign rivals, and others who have known Trump up close say there is a jarring juxtaposition between the Trump they know and the Trump they see these days on TV. ... [M]any people who've met with him describe almost universally as charming - though not the slightest self-effacing. ... Trump - who has called Senator Lindsey Graham a 'nut job,' 'disgrace,' and 'one of the dumbest human beings I've ever seen' - was suddenly on the other end of the line last week, in a private conversation with the South Carolina Republican ... [who said:]
'He told a few jokes. ... Of all the people running, he's the guy you'd want to go to dinner with.' ...

"[In private Trump] attempts to put those around him at ease. He's not one for small talk, but he'll ask about family members. He repeatedly uses the names of the people he's speaking with and makes his guests feel as if they are close friends, even when meeting him for the first time. It is, surprisingly to some Trump watchers, typically an insult-free space." With a Hogan Gidley cameo http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=7011e493c36970dfbc74d3db047b0f2183364cc04079c85f127239da61813fa9

RUBIO VS. "TODAY" SHOW - As he makes the most of his last few months in the U.S. Senate, Marco Rubio got a stark reminder Saturday that the national TV media cares a lot more about you know who than it does about, say, urban poverty. So Rubio was shocked (shocked!) when the "Today Show" on Saturday didn't devote enough in-depth coverage to what he calls the "slum like" conditions of Jacksonville's Eureka Gardens, run by a HUD contractor. So Rubio let the "Today Show" have it on Twitter:

--@marcorubio: "Agreed 2 bring @TodayShow on tour of HUD project run by slumlord. They turn it into campaign piece. http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=7011e493c36970df3183af2e2bfd5b7c567e0da150bf4a59bd9a76d4df4bd051 via @todayshow"

** A message from the Alzheimer's Association: Alzheimer's is the most expensive disease in the country. Every hour, Alzheimer's costs taxpayers $18.3 million dollars. Today, Alzheimer's costs the country $236 billion a year and that will quadruple to more than $1 trillion over the next generation. Funding for Alzheimer's research must increase. Learn more at alz.org/advocacy **

GRAYSON GROWL -- In the race to replace Rubio for Senate, Democratic U.S. Rep. Alan Grayson of Orlando has been battling his own party and an Office of Congressional Ethics investigation into his finances. It didn't go so well for Grayson when MSNBC's Joy Reid tried to ask him about it Saturday. Six awkward minutes of Grayson counter-accusing, ducking, dodging and dissembling ensued. The video was posted in full by Grayson's Democratic opponent, Rep. Patrick Murphy, for a reason.

--"Grayson accuses TV host, misleadlingly, of spreading 'lies,'" by POLITICO Florida's Marc Caputo: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=7011e493c36970df89a2c5eb497e912f087559c3146b005581ad6ad5b3d6cfed ...Video http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=7011e493c36970df65a5b4b6c07637bde5efa7299f74b9fcfc4ec6ad86efef9c

That's all from me, folks. But if you want more Sunshine State shadiness, please sign up for Florida Playbook http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=7011e493c36970dff07fa8e77f83addf425f128c8cb21ce3e638b50a4e3bcde0 Over to you, Daniel....

SNL COLD OPEN last night takes place at Trump Tower -- "Donald Trump," played by Darrell Hammond, is seen talking on the phone in his office: "No it's true, I'm telling you, Mr. Trump is the real-life inspiration for Iron Man. Who am I? I'm his publicist, Joy Pepperone. No I'm not Donald Trump is disguise. This is just what classy people sound like, okay." Later "Chris Christie" (Bobby Moynihan) comes in to talk VP choices: "How about a guy from a swing state, Florida? He's half-Hispanic with a proven track record of standing up for himself." "Trump": "George Zimmerman." "Christie": "No no no no no ... Marco Rubio." "Trump": "Oh, little Marco? I can't ask him to be VP until his parents sign
the release form." 4-min. video http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=7011e493c36970df908c830da9167426931d7c80d23c12dc66f5f6ba6a7f41b4

--D.C. Examiner's @BecketAdams: ".@realDonaldTrump Can we see John Miller's long form birth certificate?"

CLICKER -- "When Donald Trump brought Miss Universe to Russia," by Michael Crowley: "Critics ridiculed the idea that Trump gleaned any real understanding of Russia from hosting a beauty pageant there. But the deeper story of how he brought the Miss Universe pageant to Moscow - a classic Trumpian tale of money, power and pulchritude - does shed fresh light on the business interests and personal contacts that have helped to shape his views about the country. It also reveals more about his personal courtship of Vladimir Putin, which long predates his presidential bid." http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=7011e493c36970dfd565c303cce6f3caac996ba5d69ff3da469e26613465c7b9

SHOT -- "Inside the GOP effort to draft an independent candidate to derail Trump," by WashPost's Phil Rucker and Robert Costa: "A band of exasperated Republicans - including 2012 presidential nominee Mitt Romney, a handful of veteran consultants and members of the conservative intelligentsia - is actively plotting to draft an independent presidential candidate who could keep Donald Trump from the White House. These GOP figures are commissioning private polling, lining up major funding sources and courting potential contenders ... The effort ... has intensified significantly in the 10 days since Trump effectively locked up the Republican nomination. ... [T]hese Republicans - including
commentators William Kristol and Erick Erickson and strategists Mike Murphy, Stuart Stevens and Rick Wilson - are so repulsed by the prospect of Trump as commander in chief that they are desperate to take action. Their top recruiting prospects are freshman Sen. Ben Sasse (R-Neb.) ... and Ohio Gov. John Kasich (R) ...

"Romney is among those who have made personal overtures to both men in recent days ... Earlier prospects included former senator Tom Coburn (R-Okla.) and retired Marine Corps Gen. James N. Mattis. Former secretary of state Condoleezza Rice and retired Army Gen. Stanley A. McChrystal have been bandied about as potentially potent political outsiders. The recruiters also delved into the world of reality television for someone who might out-Trump Trump: Mark Cuban, the brash billionaire businessman and owner of the Dallas Mavericks basketball team. Again and again, though, these anti-Trump Republicans have heard the same tepid response: Thanks, but no thanks."
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=7011e493c36970df86dfde44c257b39c6099be338d1073ccfabf9804c2f00cb0

CHASER -- Chris Cillizza @TheFix): "Things that aren't going to happen: A credible independent bid." ... Sasse spox @jameswegmann: "Door is shut. The answer is no."

INSIDE THE CAMPAIGNS -- "Hillary Clinton's 'Delegate Hell': Thousands of Clinton loyalists are expecting delegate slots at the Democratic convention. Many of them are going to be very disappointed," by Annie Karni: "Across the country, campaign operatives ... are currently sifting through hundreds of applications from lawmakers, activists, union bosses and state chairs who have donated to the campaign, hosted rallies, phone-banked and door-knocked - and now expect to cast historic votes for the first female presidential nominee at the Democratic National Convention ... Clinton operatives said they dread the task of telling influential Democrats they will not make the cut - and they worry
about alienating steadfast allies who they will need in the fall by telling them there are no floor tickets with their names on them." http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=7011e493c36970dff16ac6b7cb6d4048cde4a92b014f6edad32443ea703d3e37

DAILY DONALD -- "State leaders crush 'NeverTrump' rebellions," by Kyle Cheney: "Republican activists chose party unity over 'never Trump' resistance Saturday, with party leaders in one state after another pressuring their members fall in line behind the presumptive nominee - and even punishing those who refused. Eleven states held annual Republican conventions or party leadership meetings Saturday, offering a platform for those who still object to Donald Trump as their party's standard-bearer a prime opportunity to make mischief. But at almost every turn, they slammed into state leaders who closed ranks around a candidate that many once said they'd never support."
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=7011e493c36970df3b797bbec27889fe03edc2cf96aae68263c99e5276b5505f

CRUZ SPEAKS -- On the Obama DOJ's letter to schools on transgender kids: "We have entered the world of politically correct lunacy ... Nothing in the Constitution ... gives him the power to be the bathroom police for this country." Still nothing on Trump. http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=7011e493c36970dfd716b72a7f78d0fb14dc797e328cfd150980676b6b18fe1b

HAPPENING TOMORROW -- @BuzzFeedAndrew: ".@chrisgeidner is interviewing POTUS on Monday. We're gonna stream it live" at 2:50 p.m.

MILESTONE - N.Y. Times A1, "Obama, as Wartime President, Has Wrestled With Protecting Nation, and Troops," by Mark Landler: "On May 6, with eight months left before he vacates the White House, Mr. Obama passed a somber, little-noticed milestone: He has now been at war longer than Mr. Bush, or any other American president. If the United States remains in combat in Afghanistan, Iraq and Syria until the end of Mr. Obama's term ... he will leave behind an improbable legacy as the only president in American history to serve two complete terms with the nation at war." http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=7011e493c36970df5dc50e3aea0ba5a79353e391163d63e6dc2f8b196334c338

SUNDAY BEST - ROBERT GATES on CBS' "Face the Nation": "I have some real issues with things [Trump has] said about national security policy and some concerns. I think there are some contradictions. You can't have a trade war with China and then turn around and ask them to help you on North Korea. I have no idea what his policy would be in terms of dealing with ISIS. I worry a little bit about his admiration for Vladimir Putin. ... I guess one of the things that makes it challenging for me is that he seems to think that he has all the answers and that he doesn't need any advice from staff or anybody else."

FOR YOUR RADAR -- "North Korea's one-percenters savor life in 'Pyonghattan,'" by WashPost's Anna Fifield in Pyongyang: "They like fast fashion from Zara and H&M. They work out to be seen as much as to exercise. They drink cappuccinos to show how cosmopolitan they are. Some have had their eyelids done to make them look more Western. North Korea now has a 1 percent. And you'll find them in 'Pyonghattan' the parallel universe inhabited by the rich kids of the Democratic People's Republic. ... [T]he rise in recent years of a merchant class has created a whole layer of nouveaux riches in the capital city." http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=7011e493c36970df00bd8f4e84227525bbe4373990625c74c7763c558c7ec71f

--N.Y. Times A1, "Brazil's Graft-Prone Congress: A Circus That Even Has a Clown," by Andrew Jacobs in Brasilia: "More than half of the members of Congress face legal challenges, from cases in auditing court involving public contracts to serious counts like kidnapping or murder ... Many of the legislature's problems stem from the generous rewards to be found in Brazil's hydra-headed party system ... There is the Party of the Brazilian Woman, for instance - a group whose elected members in Congress are all men." http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=7011e493c36970df54197ae9afff2afe149a5e4e19bde98e318052340ea1e8a4

YOU'RE INVITED! Mike Allen and Darius Dixon interview Energy Secretary Ernest Moniz for a Playbook Breakfast on Wednesday -- doors open at 7:30 a.m. at the W Hotel. RSVP http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=7011e493c36970dfa47e73fb15462e1698da334d6d53e2600d3d9b36009adb00

SPOTTED: @BrandtAnderson: "Bipartisan support for Eastern Market [yesterday] - Rep Mark Meadows and Rep Jared Polis both spotted walking trough." ... A.J. Delgado, one of Donald Trump's best cable surrogates, holding court yesterday at Little Havana's Ball & Chain bar

CLINTON ALUMNI -- Josh King (@Polioptics): "Looks like @billclinton got his Book-of-the-Month Club selection. Bracing for his reaction to pp. 45-49. #GnatsGate" http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=7011e493c36970df50c449f4e76049f40bf536260ef536a25526b22bcc804050

WHAT CHRISTINE O'DONNELL IS READING -- "Welcome to a Bernie Sanders Wiccan ritual," by L.A. Times' Chris Megerian: "Attending a rally for Bernie Sanders usually involves long lines and security screenings, but that wasn't the case at an intimate, informal event Friday evening supporting the Vermont senator's presidential campaign in a park here. Instead of metal detectors, entrance required burning ceremonial sweetgrass. Participants were 'smudged,' meaning the smoke from the sweetgrass was wafted over them before they could enter the sacred circle and begin a Wiccan ritual to support Sanders ahead of Oregon's primary on Tuesday." http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=7011e493c36970df347100029bedbe7531bdaf681e882c5ddabb3d65f248859e

BONUS GREAT WEEKEND READS, curated by Daniel Lippman:

--"Learning Chess at 40," by Tom Vanderbilt in Nautilus Magazine: "What I learned trying to keep up with my 4-year-old daughter at the royal game." http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=7011e493c36970df27eb54eb18d818b70442fb7829985e08dcc0380cb947965c (h/t ALDaily.com)

--"A Whole New Ball Game," by D.T. Max in The New Yorker: "The rolling robot that teaches kids to code." http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=7011e493c36970df022580b15f750faef77cba42f29b9d2bc60757fbb0700aa2

--"Death From The Sky," by May Jeong in The Intercept: "Searching for Ground Truth in the Kunduz Hospital Bombing." http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=7011e493c36970dfab8b99eeb208d4dacf120f83095e06843bc9c49f3e3a38b5 (h/t Longform.org)

--"The gangsters on England's doorstep," by Felicity Lawrence in The Guardian: "In the bleak flatlands of East Anglia, migrant workers are controlled by criminal gangs, and some are forced to commit crimes to pay off their debts. This is what happens when cheap labour is our only priority." http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=7011e493c36970dfeabb8c7e87cbe8d36f0997d940f148d1bccd1d8372a82601

--"Feel Me," by The New Yorker's Adam Gopnik: "What the new science of touch says about ourselves." http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=7011e493c36970dff715e0248b35eeb2d91bd48bae9607b6e640aab8b975fb7c

--"Remote Year Promised to Combine Work and Travel. Was It Too Good to Be True?" by Erika Adams in Atlas Obscura: "Thousands applied for the inaugural class of travel start-up Remote Year. Here's what happened to the 68 people who went." http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=7011e493c36970df30d015020dc83b423711611d04d7967890e651ce2b0b2a5a (h/t Longreads.com)

--"How to Be a Washington Baseball Fan," by Washingtonian's Ben Freed: "Eleven years after the Nationals' first season, our town finally has its own baseball culture again. Who are the Nats legends (so far)? The goats? And is it ever acceptable to root for your old home team?" http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=7011e493c36970dffe2d87ae569aa75d3ce12fa4973719f23e0b0e846978bdfb

--"How Rival Gardens of Eden in Iraq Survived ISIS, Dwindling Tourists, And Each Other," by Jennifer Percy in Atlas Obscura: "Against all odds, Iraq's religious tourism infrastructure has endured." http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=7011e493c36970df9c0ee50085e61842b368727061603f5cafbba87a794dd478

--"The World's Smallest Ukulele," by Robert Kolker in Bloomberg Businessweek: "It's playing for the mere millionaires being humiliated by billionaires in paradise" in Hawaii. http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=7011e493c36970dfc47e98d8132e186e5b731b005c8d4f35338c636425c4324a

--"Man vs. Marathon," by NYT's Jere Longman: "One scientist's quixotic quest to propel a runner past the two-hour barrier." http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=7011e493c36970df775c6ee5f0fe66525e7129ccf1e7c71ef41e43e6ac706257 ... Part 2 http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=7011e493c36970dfdd439483210d7f2d9267d02974ee4cb3d573211914c1d419 ... Video http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=7011e493c36970df36f8b1d8b87bb2c023ed2ed46e923a71e002f42243e44b44

MEDIAWATCH - N.Y. Times A18, "Capitol Hill Newspapers, Once a Protected Class, Redefine Themselves," by Nicholas Fandos: "Capitol Hill publications ... are scrambling to find their footing in a political landscape that is more competitive and almost unrecognizable from the one they chronicled for decades. Advertisers have fled, in part ... because of congressional inaction, which has sapped the special interest advertising that once padded their balance sheets. ... Some in the Beltway worry that the drive for wider readership has necessitated a kind of betrayal of Capitol Hill DNA. 'Put me down as questioning whether they can pull it off,' said Jim Manley ... 'It seems to me that they are
moving away from their bread and butter and tying to find new ways to bring in clicks.'" http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=7011e493c36970df4d09ba5b740a7523e85c4b28c3b09d7ae69e86e95c93b8a6

BEST PART of the story is the caption for one of the pix: "The Hill newspaper on sale in Washington." It's actually a picture of the free newspaper boxes that are a feature on Washington, D.C. streets, so it doesn't really show The Hill on sale ... and the box also looks empty!

--N.Y. Times Sunday Business front, "Megyn Kelly, Contract Set to Expire Next Year, Is Primed for the Big Show," by John Koblin: "Barbara Walters is retired, Oprah Winfrey is running a network and Megyn Kelly sees an opening. 'It's there for the taking right now,' she said ... And what is there for the taking? What those famous hosts had accomplished: conducting the sort of interviews that could transfix a nation. ... Many have tried before, with daytime shows or prime-time specials, only to run into a wall and return to a more comfortable corner of television. ... But on Tuesday, Ms. Kelly ... will take her first crack at a prime-time special on Fox - the broadcast network, not the cable
news station - with 'Megyn Kelly Presents'": her Trump interview. http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=7011e493c36970df52cb76892aa1e635d57d2dfd52146ddca81e5dd36be8bc09

ENGAGED: Katy Schultz, senior research analyst at KRC Research, got engaged to Jordan Wells, LA to Sen. Gary Peters (D-Mich.). Jordan proposed yesterday at the National Zoo, where they enjoy their morning coffees every weekend. Katy and Jordan met through Sen. Peters' scheduler, Angeli Chawla-Jordan's coworker and Katy's roommate. Pic http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=7011e493c36970df1a8a3ea18e23c68998d761e4e6fc14a7c29757f50cc40b99

WEEKEND WEDDINGS - "Cara Parks, Whitney Snyder" - N.Y. Times: "Ms. Parks, 31 ... is a freelance editor and writer in New York. She graduated from Bard College and received a master's in journalism from Columbia. ... Mr. Snyder, also 31, works in New York as the editorial director of news and product at The Huffington Post. He graduated from Brown. ... The couple met in 2009 when both were working at The Huffington Post." With pic http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=7011e493c36970df2aa3d720b1e8f266bbd654314b2217cad7af385bea41881f

--Adam Snider, director of public affairs at the American Association of Airport Executives, got married last Saturday in an art gallery/pilates studio in Dupont Circle to Emma Dumain, the DC correspondent for the Charleston Post & Courier and a CQ/Roll Call alum. They had part of a Supreme Court decision read at the wedding and a campaign-esque wedding hashtag: #Duder2016 (a portmanteau of their last names). "We met on Capitol Hill when I was a reporter for Politico [covering transportation] and she was with Roll Call. We probably started flirting in the Speaker's Lobby, actually. If only John Boehner knew. ... Politico's Burgess Everett was a groomsman and Joshua Keating of Slate was one
of the two officiants." Pics http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=7011e493c36970df78eb4f33e48ab4c91466dd89dfe54ca5517bf927aa1a33de ... http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=7011e493c36970dfb0203ccec8a89621e09ddc69fc2d1bdc8b5f8cc9daadbe4c ... http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=7011e493c36970df24c61ca802d5a5bbfc5080faf56395c324f0760f6acabe20 ... Pecan pie topper in their (and their cats') likeness http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=7011e493c36970df92e870d9cdfd9aa5f62ab9171ef857c6fc61d31bc2aeba2f

SPOTTED: Heather Caygle, Matt Fuller, Jonathan Nicholson, Aaron Lorenzo of Bloomberg BNA.

OUT AND ABOUT -- Kristen Soltis Anderson, Bill Kristol, Kate O'Bierne, James Pethoukoukis, April and Ramesh Ponnuru, Avik Roy and Tevi Troy hosted a supper party last night at Juleanna Glover's house for Yuval Levin's new book "The Fractured Republic: Renewing America's Social Contract in the Age of Individualism" (out May 24). Levin is editor of National Affairs and was a member of the White House domestic policy staff under Bush 43. Pre-order -- $18.24 on Amazon http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=7011e493c36970df89c765308c68847dec9419ac8c34fa8a7e296256c9abd530 ... WSJ excerpt, "The Next Conservative Movement" http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=7011e493c36970dfbed3e9d9e62364679336c399edb16a9c9e6c6235b736d49c

SPOTTED: George and Mari Will, Brian Baker, Michael Goldfarb, Austin Furse, Eric and Jennifer Felten, Susan Kristol, Hugo and Meghan Gurdon, Connor Sweeney, Ryan Williams, Carrie Sheffield, Pepper and Becca Watkins.

- Friends celebrated USA Today's Christine Brennan birthday last night at Chads, the old Chadwick's, in Friendship Heights DC. SPOTTED: Rep. Mimi Walters (a birthday girl yesterday) and her husband David, Judy Woodruff and Al Hunt, Robin and David Sproul, Kelly O'Donnell, Polson and Sandy Kanneth, Len Shapiro, Cal Thomas, Chris Corr, Amy Walter, Stuart McLaren, Pam Stevens and Eric Schulz.

JAMIE SMITH writes, "For the very first time, a group of global thought leaders on democracy, civil society and good governance convened on Friday at New America to discuss the next frontier in democracy and governance - the use of the cutting-edge technology of the Blockchain. The group discussed creating a multi-platform partnership to advance the impact and potential of the Blockchain through voting, land titling, polling, communications and much more."

BIRTHDAYS: former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright is 79 ... Lynn Sweet, Chicago Sun-Times DC bureau chief (h/ts Carl Lavin and Ben Chang) ... Roger Ailes is 76 ... NYT's Elisabeth Bumiller, Mark Mazzetti, and Nick Confessore ... former HHS secretary Kathleen Sebelius is 68 ... Giselle Fernandez is 55 ... Ruth "The Truth" Marcus, the pride of Livingston, NJ (h/t Jon Haber) ... WashPost's Eli Saslow, the pride of Littleton, Colo. and also an ESPN contributor, is 34 ... Chloe Schama, online executive editor of ELLE magazine and a TNR alum ... Jim Connaughton, president and CEO at Nautilus Data Technologies and a Bush CEQ alum ... Nick Papas, director of public affairs PR at Airbnb and an
Obama alum ... Jen Stout aka JPS, deputy chief of staff to Secretary Kerry formerly at WH legislative affairs and a Leahy and Biden alum, is 4-0 (h/ts Evan Ryan and Mary deBree) ... Eileen McMenamin, California resident, CNN debate consultant and alum of BPC, McCain, and ABC News ... SmartPower COO Toni Bouchard (h/t Brian Keane) ... Jenna Mason, press secretary for Sen. Lisa Murkowski (h/t Mike Tadeo) ...

... Walter Dellinger, head of the Office of Legal Counsel and Acting Solicitor General during the Clinton Administration now a partner at O'Melveny and Myers ... Anne Marie Malecha, VP at Dezenhall and alum of Rep. Robert Aderholt's comms. shop, celebrates the final birthday of her 20's taking in a Nats game and a few beers with her dad (h/t Josh Culling) ... Holly Fournier, breaking news reporter at the Detroit News and Ron's daughter (h/t Andrea Bitely) ... Hannah Hess, federal agencies reporter at EE News and a Roll Call alum ... Hillary Flynn, corporate bond reporter at Thomson Reuters IFR and a POLITICO alum ... Zach Ratner of Cypress Creek Renewables and a Garten Rothkopf alum (h/t
Gabe Brotman) ... Jacqueline Cortese, federal strategy and operations consultant at Deloitte ... Scott Montgomery, managing editor of digital news at NPR and a Roll Call and Tampa Bay Times alum ... Jay Hulings, AUSA at DOJ and a Jane Harman alum ... Rachel Kelly, deputy COS to Rep. Jim Himes (D-Conn.) ... David Watts, NRCC's Midwest region political director ... Elliot LaVera ... Aaron Morrissey ... Dan Rothschild, executive director at GMU's Mercatus Center and an AEI and R Street alum (h/t Tyler Cowen) ... Philo Hall ... Kristine Simmons ...

... Jennifer Jose, NAB's VP of messaging and digital marketing and a Disney, Fox News and ABC News alum ... Terry Godfrey ... Shira Phelps ... Mimi Castaldi ... Jessica Grounds (h/ts Teresa Vilmain) ... Diane Cullo ... Mason George, Ned and Renee's son ... Brittany Hackett ... Tom Sneeringer, a Skadden and U.S. Steel alum ... Mary Lucia Di Martino ... Daniel Carlson ... Tariq Mir ... Steve P. Goldenberg ... Jason Bogovich ... JoDee Winterhof ... Sanjay Bhutiani ... Jean Hessburg ... Minyon Moore ... Debbie Tinnirello ... Juan Altamirano ... playwright Sir Peter Shaffer is 90 ... Wavy Gravy is 80 ... Nicholas Hammond (Friedrich von Trapp in "The Sound of Music") is 66 ... Baseball
Hall-of-Famer George Brett is 63 ... Football Hall-of-Famer Emmitt Smith is 47 ... Olympic gold-medal gymnast Amy Chow is 38 ... tennis player Andy Murray is 29 (h/ts AP)

** A message from the Alzheimer's Association: Costing taxpayers $18.3 million every HOUR, Alzheimer's is the most expensive disease in the country. More than 5 million Americans are living with Alzheimer's and more than 15 million unpaid caregivers are providing care for a loved one. Alzheimer's is a national issue, and now it's time we make it a national priority. Alzheimer's yearly cost of $236 billion will quadruple to more than $1 trillion over the next generation - an epidemic we cannot afford and shouldn't accept. While it is the only leading cause of death that can't be prevented, cured or even slowed, research and medical advancement can change that. That's why the Alzheimer's
Association is fighting to eliminate the disease through the advancement of research and providing care and support for all affected. Learn more at www.alz.org/advocacy. **

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