Top Stories….
Warren vs. Obama on free trade. Score one for the Senator from Massachusetts! Senate passes on fast tracking TPA, Obama calls Warren a politician, without recognizing his role in making her one. Yet this has implications beyond just a one on one spat. One is we haven’t heard the last of it.
At least 6 killed after train derails in Philadelphia. This is a true tragedy which, among other things, will disrupt Northeast Corridor service for days to come, and lead at least one member of congress to suggest de-funding Amtrak. First thought…..could this be an infrastructure problem? And oh yeah, a House panel voted to cut $260 million dollars from Amtrak’s budget.
For Verizon and AOL, Mobile is a Magic Word. Sure, people are getting more and more of their news and entertainment from their phones, so from a corporate standpoint, the buy makes sense. The operative word is corporate. The real question is whether this will benefit consumers in any way at all. The answer, sadly, is no when it comes to how much consumers have to pay.
Bill de Blasio leaves New York City to push his progressive agenda as crime at home appears to get worse. He doesn’t really need to go to DC to do this, but other mayors have traveled to push one agenda or another without a media outlet jumping all over them. That said, being out of town while crime seems to be spiking is bad optics, at best.
Chris Christie’s Expense account: Drinks were on him. It does our friend across the water no good on any level to have it revealed he’s spent $360,000 on entertainment over the past five years, even if it’s legal.
Lead Story
Dean Skelos, New York Senate Leader, vacates post. What, after all your GOP colleagues united in a show of support?
Guest: Ken Lovett, Albany Bureau Chief, NY Daily News
No money, no vote: Ohio Republicans’ diabolical plan for a poll tax. That’s right, it’s back to the ‘30s in the Buckeye State. No matter poll taxes are unconstitutional.
Facebook expands employee benefits to janitors, cooks, and staff. Good news, obviously, but the question is, why aren’t more companies do this without being pressured (like Wal Mart).
Ferry service to Havana could take time, Cuban official cautions. Saw something on CNBC the other day where a ferry service operator said he planned on starting next year. Maybe not so much or so early.
House is expected to pass a revised abortion bill. This relaxes, ever so slightly, some of the regulations in a previous, ultra-draconian bill. This one is expected to pass. Still sucks.
To the Ridiculous….
Obamacare-hating idiot super pissed Obama won’t pay his doctor bills now that he needs it. Didn’t we just talk about a similar case a few weeks ago? We’ll hear more and more as time goes on….