| | | | |  | | By Garrett Ross | | | BULLETIN — "Parkland jury rejects death penalty for mass school shooter Nikolas Cruz," by the Miami Herald's David Ovalle: "The verdict capped a nearly three-month trial that forced relatives of murdered victims, survivors of the carnage and the South Florida public to relive the trauma of Florida's deadliest school shooting. Cruz's case was the deadliest mass shooting to go to a trial." TODAY IS THE DAY — The Jan. 6 committee puts its cards on the table for what is expected to be the last public hearing. Former president DONALD TRUMP's mental state around the time of the Capitol attack is expected to be the focus of the hearing as the panel tries to package its previous forays into a lasting message. The hearing is set to tip off at 1 p.m. and is estimated to last two-and-a-half hours. So buckle in. Read the preview from Nicholas Wu and Kyle Cheney … Follow live with POLITICO's Congress Minutes HEADS UP — New York A.G. TISH JAMES "asked a state court on Thursday to block the Trump Organization from moving assets and from continuing what she has alleged to be a decade-long fraud as part of her lawsuit claiming former President Donald Trump and three adult children were involved in rampant fraud that enriched themselves," CNN's Kara Scannell reports. — The reason: "Donald Trump has incorporated 'Trump Organization II' in apparent dodge of NY fraud case, officials say," by Insider's Laura Italiano: "The new company was registered with the New York Department of State on September 21, public records show — the very day that the state attorney general, Letitia James, filed a 220-page fraud lawsuit against Trump, his family, and the original Trump Organization, the umbrella company for the former president's real-estate and golf-resort holdings."
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A key inflation reading released Thursday showed a four-decade high. | Terry Chea/AP Photo | INFLATION NATION — The latest inflation reading showed another spike in September for prices of goods and services, again rising higher than anticipated. Here's the breakdown, via CNBC's Jeff Cox : "The consumer price index increased 0.4% for the month, more than the 0.3% Dow Jones estimate, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. On a 12-month basis, so-called headline inflation was up 8.2%, off its peak around 9% in June but still hovering near the highest levels since the early 1980s. "Excluding volatile food and energy prices , core CPI accelerated 0.6% against the Dow Jones estimate for a 0.4% increase. Core inflation was up 6.6% from a year ago, the biggest 12-month gain since August 1982." The WSJ banner headline put it a bit more simply: "U.S. Core Inflation Hit New Four-Decade High Last Month" What comes next: "Inflation Report Seals Case for 0.75-Point Fed Rate Rise in November," by WSJ's Nick Timiraos SOCIAL SECURITY BOOST — Americans will receive an 8.7% boost in their Social Security benefits next year. "That's a historic increase and welcome news for American retirees and others — but it's tempered by the fact that it's fueled by high inflation that's raised the cost of everyday living. The cost-of living adjustment means the average recipient will receive more than $140 extra a month beginning in January, according to estimates released Thursday by the Social Security Administration," AP's Fatima Hussein writes. EYES EMOJI — Former GOP Speaker PAUL RYAN on a potential Trump 2024 run: "I think Trump's unelectability will be palpable by then. … I think [the GOP nominee] is going to be somebody other than Trump." Listen to the full conversation from Teneo's "Insights Series" Good Thursday afternoon.
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| BIG PICTURE THE DELICATE DANCE — "G.O.P. Candidates' Fervor for Trump Fluctuates on the Campaign Trail," by NYT's Michael Bender: "The challenge confronting Republican contenders across the country is how to win over moderate and independent swing voters without alienating the party's base of Trump loyalists — or the former president himself. Mr. Trump often views politics in deeply personal terms and is known to respond in kind to acts of defiance, even when retribution could jeopardize an election for his party." Take Nevada gubernatorial candidate JOE LOMBARDO: At a rally with the former president, Lombardo referred to Trump as the "greatest president." But during a debate just a week prior, Lombardo was asked if Trump had been great in the Oval Office, and he was markedly less effusive: "I wouldn't use that adjective — I wouldn't say great," he said. "He was a sound president." THE GOP CRIME PUSH — "In Milwaukee, Latinos fed up with crime weigh GOP appeal," by AP's Giovanna Dell'Orto: "What seems to be driving them are bread-and-butter issues that Calderon's neighbors constantly mentioned to Associated Press reporters last week — rampant lawlessness, struggling schools, and food and gas prices creeping beyond their paychecks' reach." BATTLE FOR THE SENATE CASH DASH — The Senate Leadership Fund, Senate Republicans' flagship super PAC, raised $111 million in the third quarter, NYT's Shane Goldmacher reports, noting that the figure amounts to "an average of more than $1 million every day." That total "nearly doubled the total amount of money previously raised by the group during this midterm cycle, which began last year. The super PAC … will report on its next Federal Election Commission filing, which is due Saturday, that it has raised $221.4 million to date in the 2022 cycle." IN NORTH CAROLINA — "Dem Cheri Beasley avoids addressing cashless bail but questions Budd's support of law enforcement," by Fox News' Paul Steinhauser FOR THE RECORD — "Fetterman's use of captions is common in stroke recovery, experts say," by WaPo's Amanda Morris BATTLE FOR THE HOUSE GEORGIA ON MY MIND — "Georgia features Deep South's only competitive US House race," by AP's Jeff Amy from Georgetown, Ga.: "[Republican CHRIS] WEST and [Democratic Rep. SANFORD] BISHOP are rarities in the Deep South: candidates for a congressional race that is even marginally competitive. Though Georgia has emerged as one of the nation's most politically consequential states for statewide contests, House races here are often an afterthought this year, a reflection of how the latest round of redistricting drained the U.S. of districts where both parties had a chance." (FWIW: Our election guru Steve Shepard rates this seat as "Likely Democratic.") ONES TO WATCH — "Two swing House seats in spotlight in battleground of Nevada," by AP's Scott Sonner: "As they have been for most elections the past decade, two of Nevada's four U.S. House races are in the swing-seat spotlight as Democratic incumbents Reps. SUSIE LEE and STEVEN HORSFORD seek reelection in the western battleground state. But for the first time in more than 20 years, Republicans also think they have a chance to turn a traditional blue seat red in a Las Vegas district as Nevadans struggle with some of the highest gas prices and unemployment rates in the nation." WILL THE REAL MIKE DOYLE PLEASE STAND UP — "The Mike Doyle dilemma: Voter confusion between retiring Democrat and Republican nominee sends Summer Lee team scrambling," by the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette: "[A]s many voters mull their choices for Congress on their mail-in ballots and others prepare to go to the polls in less than four weeks, not everyone knows the difference between the Doyles — confusion that's worried Democrat SUMMER LEE's campaign as volunteers door knock across the 12th Congressional District." BATTLE FOR THE STATES IN NEW YORK — "Hochul Hits the Road, Even if It Veers From the Campaign Trail," by NYT's Luis Ferré-Sadurní: "The governor has, until very recently, mostly avoided overtly political events such as rallies and other retail politics in which she personally engages with voters. But behind the scenes, she has kept busy fund-raising large sums of money to bankroll the multimillion-dollar barrage of television ads she has deployed to attack [Republican Rep. LEE] ZELDIN, and cushion her lead in most public polls." HOT POLLS — New York: Hochul leads Zeldin in the gubernatorial race 51% to 41%, per the Marist New York Poll. And for good measure: Senate Majority Leader CHUCK SCHUMER leads Republican JOE PINION 54% to 34%. HOT ADS — New Mexico: "This is CHRISTOPHER BELTRAN," Republican gubernatorial candidate MARK RONCHETTI's latest ad begins. "[Democratic Gov. MICHELLE LUJAN GRISHAM] released him from prison early, said he was ready to be our neighbor. But once out, Beltran hunted down his ex-girlfriend and murdered her." — Washington: GOP Senate candidate TIFFANY SMILEY stands in front of a homeless encampment in her latest ad : "It doesn't matter if you're Republican or Democrat. This is unacceptable." — Ohio: In Democratic Rep. MARCY KAPTUR's latest ad, a "Gold Star" family says, "When [GOP candidate J.R.] MAJEWSKI lies about his deployment, he dishonors our son, the men who died with him and all who served in combat."
| | | | STEP INSIDE THE WEST WING: What's really happening in West Wing offices? Find out who's up, who's down, and who really has the president's ear in our West Wing Playbook newsletter, the insider's guide to the Biden White House and Cabinet. For buzzy nuggets and details that you won't find anywhere else, subscribe today. | | | | | POLICY CORNER SWAMP READ — WSJ is up with a big look at the Federal Trade Commission, which in recent years has pushed further into its regulatory role in a variety of sectors. "At the same time, senior officials at the FTC disclosed more trades of stocks, bonds and funds, on average, than officials at any other major agency in a Wall Street Journal review of financial disclosures at 50 federal agencies from 2016 to 2021," Brody Mullins, Rebecca Ballhaus, Chad Day, John West and Coulter Jones report. "Many of the investments overlapped with the FTC's work. A third of its 90 senior officials owned or traded stock in companies that were undergoing an FTC merger review or investigation, based on actions the agency has made public. FTC officials owned stock in 22 of the roughly 60 large companies the FTC brought cases against in the period reviewed. "The officials were most heavily invested in technology , an industry that has come under increasing scrutiny by the agency. Nearly one in four top FTC officials owned or traded individual stocks of tech companies such as Amazon.com Inc., Meta Platforms Inc.'s Facebook, Alphabet Inc.'s Google, Microsoft Corp. and Oracle Corp." IN THE WEEDS — Biden's blanket pardon for federal marijuana offenses represents a dramatic shift in cannabis policy. But the lasting impact of the move will likely hinge on what happens at the state level. "Republican governors have little reason to heed his call and be seen as advancing the agenda of an unpopular Democratic president when GOP messaging has focused on runaway inflation and soaring crime rates in the final stretch before Election Day," Paul Demko and Mona Zhang write. Democratic guvs, meanwhile, "are way ahead of him." CHILD CARE CRISIS — "Can 'Kinship Care' Help the Child Welfare System? The White House Wants to Try," by NYT's Erica Green: "Specifically, the administration wants to increase the number of foster children who live with relatives, known as 'kinship care,' by reimbursing states at a higher rate if they place children with family members instead of in group homes or institutions. The administration also proposes more money for programs that help such families, and to expand a tax credit to include people who take legal guardianship of young family members." — Related read: "Why You Can't Find Child Care: 100,000 Workers Are Missing," by NYT's Dana Goldstein THE ECONOMY MEGATREND — "Mortgage Rates Hit 6.92%, a 20-Year High," by WSJ's Ben Eisen
| | | | SUBSCRIBE TO POWER SWITCH: The energy landscape is profoundly transforming. Power Switch is a daily newsletter that unlocks the most important stories driving the energy sector and the political forces shaping critical decisions about your energy future, from production to storage, distribution to consumption. Don't miss out on Power Switch, your guide to the politics of energy transformation in America and around the world. SUBSCRIBE TODAY. | | | | | WAR IN UKRAINE UPPING THE URGENCY — "Toll of Russian Strikes Mounts, Adding Urgency to Ukraine's Pleas for Weapons," NYT ON THE GROUND — "How Moscow grabs Ukrainian kids and makes them Russians," by AP's Sarah El Deeb, Anastasiia Shvets and Elizaveta Tilna AMERICA AND THE WORLD FOR YOUR RADAR — "Fighting Erupts Again in Ethiopia, as U.S. Tries to Restart Peace Talks," by WSJ's Nicholas Bariyo in Kampala, Uganda, and Michael Phillips in Nairobi, Kenya DESPOT DIGEST — "North Korea takes inspiration from Putin's nuke threats," by AP's Foster Klug: "With [Russian President VLADIMIR] PUTIN raising the terrifying prospect of using tactical nukes to turn around battleground setbacks in Ukraine, there's fear that this normalization of nuclear threats is emboldening North Korean leader KIM JONG UN as he puts the finishing touches on his still incomplete nuclear program." PLAYBOOK METRO SECTION SPORTS BLINK — "Sources: Commanders boss Snyder claims 'dirt' on NFL owners, Goodell," by ESPN's Don Van Natta Jr., Seth Wickersham and Tisha Thompson PLAYBOOKERS TRANSITION — Robert Grant is now director of international government affairs/global policy for Asia Pacific and multilateral at Merck. He most recently was executive director and head of international affairs at the Global Innovation Policy Center of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and is also a Mitsubishi, the Obama State Department and the British Embassy alum.
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