| | | | | |  | | By Anna Palmer, Jake Sherman, Eli Okun and Garrett Ross | Presented by Facebook | LET US SPEND A MINUTE SEPARATING SIGNAL from noise here this afternoon when it comes to Covid relief talks between Speaker NANCY PELOSI and Treasury Secretary STEVEN MNUCHIN. NOISE: PELOSI saying she is "hopeful" for an agreement to emerge from Covid relief talks. That hope, she said, is based on "the needs of the American people." SIGNAL: PELOSI saying at her news conference today that the two sides are "far apart" on state and local funding; they have fundamental disagreements about business tax provisions and the the Child Income Tax Credit; they are in the midst of a major "values debate" and "dollar debate" with the administration; she does not believe some bill is better than no bill; and the GOP offer is not a "half a loaf, this is the heel of the loaf," as she told Bloomberg. She said similar things privately on a whip call with Democrats this morning. PELOSI and MNUCHIN are scheduled to talk at 1 p.m. today by phone. SKEPTICAL … SENATE MAJORITY LEADER MITCH MCCONNELL to us about the Covid talks: "Well, I'm wishing them well. Obviously, we've been trying repeatedly to get a bill out of the Senate, including one that also included, interestingly enough, pre-existing condition coverage where all but one [Republican] voted for it and none of [the Democrats] did. So I'd like to see another rescue package. We've been trying for months to get there. I wish them well." IF THERE ISN'T A DEAL (and we've been skeptical that there is one for a while now), it will be a major failure by the TRUMP ADMINISTRATION and CONGRESS with real-world implications, including massive layoffs -- which begin today in the airline industry -- in the final stretch of the campaign. More from Heather Caygle, Sarah Ferris and John Bresnahan LINDSEY GETS BACKUP … MCCLATCHY: "GOP super PAC to spend $10 million boosting Graham in unexpectedly tight Senate race," by Alex Roarty and Joseph Bustos SMART ELENA SCHNEIDER: "The face mask 'is almost as much of a symbol as a MAGA hat'" Good Thursday afternoon. SPOTTED: Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) and Rep. Katie Porter (D-Calif.) outside at Starbucks in Penn Quarter this morning. MCMASTER SPEAKS -- "Trump's ex-national security adviser says president is 'aiding and abetting' Putin," by Quint Forgey: "Former national security adviser H.R. McMaster said Thursday that President Donald Trump is 'aiding and abetting' Russian President Vladimir Putin's efforts to sow doubt about the American electoral system. "The stern warning from McMaster, who Trump handpicked to lead the White House National Security Council in 2017, came in an interview on MSNBC, after he was asked whether he agreed that the president posed the greatest threat to U.S. election integrity. 'I agree that he is aiding and abetting Putin's efforts by not being direct about this, right? By not just calling out Putin for what he's doing,' McMaster said." THE BIDEN CAMPAIGN called a lid for in-person events at 10:06 a.m., according to Brittany Shepherd of Yahoo News. Biden does have a 5 p.m. virtual fundraiser. | | | | A message from Facebook: How Facebook is preparing for the US 2020 election
— Launched new Voting Information Center
— More than tripled our safety and security teams to 35,000 people
— Implemented 5-step political ad verification
— Expanded efforts to fight voting misinformation
Learn about these efforts and more | | | THE UNEMPLOYMENT PICTURE -- "U.S. layoffs remain elevated as 837,000 seek jobless aid," by AP's Christopher Rugaber: "The number of Americans seeking unemployment benefits declined last week to a still-high 837,000, evidence that the economy is struggling to sustain a tentative recovery that began this summer. "The Labor Department's report, released Thursday, suggests that companies are still cutting a historically high number of jobs, though the weekly numbers have become less reliable as states have increased their efforts to root out fraudulent claims and process earlier applications that have piled up. … Overall jobless aid has shrunk in recent weeks even as roughly 25 million people rely upon it. The loss of that income is likely to weaken spending and the economy in the coming months." AP … The DOL report RIPPLE EFFECT -- "Millions of Americans risk losing power and water as massive, unpaid utility bills pile up," by WaPo's Tony Romm: "At the start of the coronavirus pandemic, many states acted quickly to ensure their residents would not lose their power or other utilities if their jobs or wages were slashed. Now, however, only 21 states and the District of Columbia still have such disconnection bans in place. That leaves roughly 179 million Americans at risk of losing service even as the economy continues sputtering, according to the National Energy Assistance Directors' Association, which is tracking the moratoria. "Millions more in nine other states are set to lose their protections starting Thursday and throughout the fall, the group found. Americans nationwide also appear to be racking up massive unpaid bills in the process. Electric and gas debts alone threaten to reach or exceed $24.3 billion by the end of the year, according to a new NEADA analysis, released Thursday, based on roughly two dozen states' regulatory filings. In some cases, the delinquencies appear to be severe. In Indiana, for example, more than 112,000 households are behind 120 days or more on their power bills, a Washington Post analysis of the largest local energy companies' records found." WaPo HUNT FOR A VACCINE -- "Push to bring coronavirus vaccines to the poor faces trouble," by AP's Maria Cheng and Lori Hinnant in London: "An ambitious humanitarian project to deliver coronavirus vaccines to the world's poorest people is facing potential shortages of money, cargo planes, refrigeration and vaccines themselves — and is running into skepticism even from some of those it's intended to help most. "In one of the biggest obstacles, rich countries have locked up most of the world's potential vaccine supply through 2021, and the U.S. and others have refused to join the project, called Covax." AP STATE OF THE POLICE -- "Police departments seeing modest cuts, but not 'defunding,'" by AP's Geoff Mulvihill in Davenport, Iowa: "A review by The Associated Press finds that while local governments have trimmed police budgets over the past four months, the cuts have been mostly modest. They have been driven as much by shrinking government revenue related to the coronavirus pandemic as from the calls to rethink public safety. ... "In Minneapolis, Seattle and Portland, Oregon, all hotspots for protests and counter protests, the calls for deep police cuts have been answered with modest ones, at least for now. Even in liberal enclaves such as Austin, Texas, and Berkeley, California, where officials have embraced sweeping changes to policing, implementation is slow-going and uncertain." AP | | | | GET THE SCOOP FROM THE MILKEN INSTITUTE GLOBAL CONFERENCE: POLITICO's Ryan Heath and Ben White are teaming up to write a special "Global Translations" newsletter and bring you exclusive coverage and the top takeaways from the 23rd annual Milken Institute Global Conference, featuring 4,000+ participants and 500 speakers representing more than 70 countries. Don't miss out on insights from the most influential minds and thought leaders reinventing health, technology, philanthropy, industry, and media. This year's conference will center on the theme "Meeting the Moment," and will address the dual crises of a global pandemic and social injustice. Sign up today for everything you need to know direct from #MIGlobal. | | | | | NYET, FOR NOW -- "Russia Rebuffs Trump's Arms-Control Proposal," by WSJ's Michael Gordon: "Russia's top arms-control negotiator has rejected the Trump administration's core requirements for a new nuclear arms-control treaty, dealing a blow to the White House's hopes of concluding an election-year framework agreement with Moscow. "Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov told The Wall Street Journal that the Trump administration's demands that a future treaty cover all Russia, Chinese and U.S. warheads and include more-intrusive verification is 'clearly a nonstarter for us.' He also warned that Moscow is prepared to respond if the U.S. allows the New START treaty, a nuclear arms-reduction agreement that entered into force in 2011, to lapse and moves to expand its nuclear arsenal." WSJ WHO'S GUARDING THE ELECTIONS -- "When Your Job Is to Make Sure Nov. 3 Isn't a Disaster," by NYT's Dionne Searcey: "[Ohio Secretary of State Frank] LaRose and other secretaries of state, who serve as the top elections officials in most states in what is usually a partisan elected position, are in charge of managing a chaotic, disinformation-prone, pandemic-plagued presidential vote that none of them envisioned when they took office. … "In search of solidarity, some secretaries of state, across party lines, have joined a group text where they share tips to help one another overcome election kinks. 'There are a lot of OMGs,' [Connecticut Secretary of State Denise] Merrill said. None of the officials want to be known as the 2020 version of Katherine Harris, who as Florida's Republican secretary of state unexpectedly gained the attention of an anxious nation awaiting a winner in the 2000 election and became the butt of 'Saturday Night Live' jokes. In the current climate, many officials are reaching for Boy Scout-like earnestness." NYT VALLEY TALK ... AP: "Facebook tightens political ad bans as U.S. election nears": "With just over a month to go before Americans head en masse to the polls in an extraordinarily contentious election, Facebook is expanding restrictions on political advertising, including new bans on messages claiming widespread voter fraud. … "Banned ads 'would include calling a method of voting inherently fraudulent or corrupt, or using isolated incidents of voter fraud to delegitimize the result of an election,' Rob Leathern, Facebook's director of product management, tweeted. The changes apply to Facebook and Instagram and are effective immediately, he said. The ban includes ads that call an election into question because the result isn't determined on the final day of voting." AP THE NEW NORMAL -- "Americans might never come back to the office, and Twitter is leading the charge," by WaPo's Elizabeth Dwoskin: "Twitter's plans for work from home indefinitely have prompted a wave of copycats. But its transformation has been two years in the making — and the rest of America can learn some lessons." | | | | NEW EPISODES: LISTEN TO POLITICO'S GLOBAL TRANSLATIONS PODCAST: The world has always been beset by big problems that defy political boundaries, but in 2020 many of those issues have exploded. Are world leaders and political actors up to the task of solving them? Is the private sector? Our Global Translations podcast, presented by Citi, unpacks the roadblocks to smart policy decisions, and examines the long-term costs of the short-term thinking that drives many political and business decisions. Subscribe now for Season Two, launching Oct. 21. | | | | | LITTLE ROCKET MAN -- "Kim Jong Un's New Look Is More Man Than Superhuman," by WSJ's Andrew Jeong in Seoul, South Korea: "For decades, North Korea's ruling Kims portrayed themselves as quasi-gods, incapable of error. Now, as the country faces some of its toughest challenges in years on several fronts, leader Kim Jong Un is taking a different approach. He is showing himself to be fallible — even human. "With the country contending with the coronavirus pandemic, flood damage and economic sanctions, Mr. Kim is apologizing, admitting policy missteps and visiting disaster zones. He has ordered officials to stop 'mythicizing' his family as it could 'hide the truth,' according to state media. ... The outward expressions of humility aren't a sign of weakness, security experts say, but rather an indication that Mr. Kim sees himself as operating from a position of strength, as he sits atop a nuclear arsenal that he claims can strike the U.S. mainland. It also suggests the Kim regime won't be in a rush to rekindle nuclear talks with the U.S. to win economic relief, they say." WSJ FOR YOUR RADAR -- "Venezuela's Food Chain Is Breaking, and Millions Go Hungry," by WSJ's John Otis: "A widespread scarcity of gasoline is the latest blow to domestic food production in Venezuela, preventing goods from getting to market and farmers from filling up their tractors. Food production in this oil-rich nation, led by its socialist president, Nicolas Maduro, had already been hobbled by shortages of seeds and agrochemicals, price controls that made raising crops unprofitable and government seizures of farms and food-processing plants. … "A recent U.N.-sponsored report described Venezuela as having the fourth-worst food crisis in the world, behind only war-ravaged Yemen, Afghanistan and the Democratic Republic of Congo. The report, published in April by the Global Network Against Food Crises and the Food Security Information Network, said that 9.3 million people—about one-third of Venezuela's population—lacked enough safe and nutritious food for normal human growth and development last year. It found that 13% of Venezuelan children under the age of 5 are stunted and that 30% are anemic." WSJ JOHN BRENNAN in THE ATLANTIC: "The Day I Met Donald Trump," excerpted from his forthcoming book, "Undaunted: My Fight Against America's Enemies, At Home and Abroad" ($21.49 on Amazon ): "His alertness never faded during the briefing, but his demeanor as well as his questions strongly revealed that he was uninterested in finding out what the Russians had done or holding them to account. … "It also was my clear impression — based on the thousands of such briefings I have conducted over more than three decades — that he was seeking most to learn what we knew and how we knew it. This deeply troubled me, as I worried about what he might do with the information he was being given. … As the briefing was beginning to wrap up, Trump looked at me and made unsolicited disparaging remarks about human sources. 'Anyone will say anything if you pay them enough. I know that, and you know that,' he said." Atlantic MEDIAWATCH -- "Google Pledges $1 Billion in Licensing Payments to News Publishers," by WSJ's Benjamin Mullin: "Alphabet Inc.'s Google said Thursday it will pay publishers more than $1 billion over the next three years to license news content for a new product called Google News Showcase. …The program is launching in Germany and Brazil. Google is in talks with publishers in other countries, including the U.S., according to people familiar with the matter." FIRST IN PLAYBOOK -- WHITE HOUSE DEPARTURE LOUNGE: Camille Solberg has left the White House, where she was special assistant to the senior adviser to the president on faith. She is now special assistant and events coordinator at USAID's Center for Faith and Opportunity Initiatives. TRANSITIONS -- Katie Beirne Fallon is now EVP and chief global impact officer for McDonald's. She previously was EVP of global corporate affairs for Hilton. … Cara Morrow is now a public policy manager at Facebook, focusing on e-commerce policy. She previously was deputy assistant U.S. Trade Representative for WTO and multilateral affairs. BONUS BIRTHDAYS: Amanda Priest, comms director for Arkansas A.G. Leslie Rutledge (h/t Sam Montgomery) … ServiceNow's Nichole Francis Reynolds | | | |   | | | | | | | Follow us on Twitter | | | | Subscribe to the POLITICO Playbook family Playbook | Playbook PM | California Playbook | Florida Playbook | Illinois Playbook | Massachusetts Playbook | New Jersey Playbook | New York Playbook | Brussels Playbook | London Playbook View all our politics and policy newsletters | | Follow us | | | | |
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