SPOTTED: Jim Comey and members of his family at “Les Miserables” on Thursday night at the National Theatre. “Not many people interrupted him (only one selfie request!), but there were a lot of gawkers,” per a tipster. Pic http://politi.co/2EgPRYY WHAT AMERICA IS READING — DENVER POST: “Penciling art into fiscal framework: Struggling rural towns are turning to crafts and culture in the hope of reviving economy” http://bit.ly/2zP96pr … BALTIMORE SUN: “House race is looking pricey: Contenders for Md.’s 6th District willing to spend personal funds” http://bit.ly/2ludc0T … THE STAR-LEDGER: “Housing market expected to take hit: Jersey home prices likely to see a slowdown under GOP tax law, analysts say” http://bit.ly/2CdxgQt Story Continued Below Good Saturday morning. President Donald Trump is spending the morning at Trump International Golf Club in West Palm Beach, per pooler Alexandra Schmitz of the Treasure Coast Newspapers. PALM BEACH READ — “Time at Mar-a-Lago is a respite for Trump — and a headache for his staff,” by WaPo’s Ashley Parker and Josh Dawsey: “When President Trump sat down with a reporter for a wide-ranging, 30-minute interview at his private golf club here Thursday, not a single aide or adviser was present at the table — and not a single aide or adviser knew about it in advance. … As word trickled back to the White House, advisers worked to reach the president, with Trump’s personal aide interrupting at one point to hand him a cellphone with White House communications director Hope Hicks on the line; she checked in on the interview from afar. … When Barack Obama, near the end of his presidency, occasionally slipped the gates of the White House, he would joke that ‘the bear is loose.’ “Yet by that metaphor, Mar-a-Lago has become a veritable ursine playground, with Trump starring in the role of chief grizzly — calling outside advisers and confidants while playing both host and inquisitor to his club’s wealthy members. … Trump, for instance, recently chatted with Blackstone CEO Steve Schwarzman for 30 minutes after dining with son-in-law Jared Kushner and daughter Ivanka Trump, according to people familiar with the meeting. … Trump was enthusiastic about the interview and was pleased that the Times was at his golf course, people briefed on the interview said. The president, they added, enjoyed the coverage afterward and noted that it dominated TV most of Friday.” http://wapo.st/2pXLGhH FIRST PERSON – “Our Reporter Mike Schmidt on His Golf Club Interview With President Trump” – Times Insider: “I was convinced that the longer I talked with him, the more comfortable he would be with me and the more likely he would be to allow me to interview him. So I got into a catcher’s squat next to his chair, conveying to him that I was listening intently but also forcing him to look down at me while he talked, which kept him from being distracted by the others at the table. It’s been 20 years since I was a catcher in Little League, and a few minutes into our conversation my legs began to ache. But I knew I couldn’t stand up while I had the president one-on-one. I began to think about what had happened a day earlier. On Wednesday, the president invited the press to a local fire department, where he shook hands with emergency medical workers. “He said little of note, but I sensed from watching him that he was bored by vacation and wanted to engage with the news media. … At the end of the interview, Mr. Trump, who had asked about my golf game, told me that I should go out and play his course that afternoon. I told him I would not do that and I needed to file a story off the interview on deadline. He asked me to treat him fairly, we shook hands and I headed for my rental car. As I drove away from the club, I called my editors to tell them I had just spent half an hour alone with the president.” http://nyti.ms/2BWo0fb … Schmidt’s interview with David Gura on MSNBC http://on.msnbc.com/2Cl0bBf THE INVESTIGATIONS … — “The Senate Intelligence Committee Is Prepping To Wrap Up Their Russia Investigation Early Next Year,” by BuzzFeed’s Emma Loop: “As the year comes to a close, investigators in the Senate Intelligence Committee’s Russia probe have burned through a list of key witnesses, checking off multiple high-profile names in recent weeks as the committee’s leadership looks to issue a report before election season starts anew in the spring. In mid-December, committee Chair Richard Burr told BuzzFeed News his panel was ‘absolutely’ ramping up the number of interviews before year’s end. “The committee, though it lacks the power to prosecute, will issue a final report with findings about Russia’s role in the election, including potential collusion, and recommendations to prevent foreign interference in future elections. Before staff begin writing that report, however, they will interview what Burr has said is dozens more people, completing a witness list that stretches easily into the hundreds and extending what has been viewed as the second phase of the investigation into the new year.” http://bzfd.it/2zNE9Sx — @NBCNews: “NEW: According to federal court filing made public today, the FBI has executed a search warrant on an e-mail address associated with Trump surrogate and former sheriff David A. Clarke Jr.” http://bit.ly/2CpjneE BUSINESS BURST — A STORY TRUMP IS READING -- “U.S. Steelmakers Raise Their Bets on Energy, Construction: Steel prices are up, but some say expansion is risky given continuing flood of cheap imports, by WSJ’s Bob Tita: “Steelmakers are betting on the U.S. again, building mills they hope will help them compete against cheap imports as demand rises. Steel companies have complained for years that steel from China, South Korea, Vietnam, Turkey and elsewhere is being sold in the U.S. for less than the cost to make it. “While imports are still increasing, steel prices are also on the rise globally. And demand for U.S. steel is starting to rebound, thanks to rising oil prices and a strengthening manufacturing sector, steel executives say. Still, others see expansion as a risky bet. Some steel companies say they can capture more customers with new plants that can make more steel at less cost than older plants, and can deliver it faster to customers. “They’re also counting on additional U.S. tariffs to drive out cheap, foreign-made steel, creating more opportunities for domestic producers. Stiff tariffs imposed over the past 18 months have significantly slowed steel imports from China, according to Commerce Department reports.” http://on.wsj.com/2Ct92yw ****** A message from Google Year in Search 2017: In 2017, the world asked “how…?” From “how to move forward” to “how to make a difference,” the questions we asked showed our shared desire to understand our experiences. Watch the film and see top trending lists from around the world at g.co/2017. ****** KNOWING MATTIS — “Mattis delegates down and manages up in tricky Trump relationship,” by Jacqueline Klimas and Wesley Morgan: “Jim Mattis, the first retired general to serve as secretary of defense in seven decades, has steadily pushed more authority down the chain of command on the battlefield and inside the bureaucracy. But he’s also managed up more than his predecessors. “By leveraging a unique level of personal rapport with President Donald Trump — and often ducking the media spotlight — Mattis has played an outsize role in keeping critical policies on track in the face of a mercurial and often bombastic commander in chief, according to half a dozen current and former administration officials and Mattis’ daily schedule for the first half of the year, which the Pentagon recently released in response to a Freedom of Information Act request from a watchdog group. The schedule shows scores of meetings and meals between Mattis and his boss, many of them in more intimate settings than defense secretaries were accustomed to under President Barack Obama. … “Trump, who refers to his civilian defense secretary as ‘General Mattis’ and often touts his military service, appears to defer to Mattis to a greater degree than he does to some other Cabinet secretaries. He has granted repeated requests from Mattis to restore authority to the military that had previously been micromanaged by the White House, and he often includes Mattis in meetings with heads of state and other foreign leaders. So far, the relationship hasn’t been rocked by the kind of high-profile undermining and rumors of presidential discontent that have marred the tenures of other top cabinet officials like Secretary of State Rex Tillerson — whom Mattis has gone out of his way to support.” http://politi.co/2EhduAF IN THE MIDDLE EAST — “Iran hard-liners rally as new protests challenge government,” by AP’s Amir Vahdat in Tehran and Jon Gambrell in Dubai: “Iranian hard-liners rallied Saturday to support the country’s supreme leader and clerically overseen government as spontaneous protests sparked by anger over the country’s ailing economy roiled major cities in the Islamic Republic. The demonstrations … had been scheduled weeks earlier. … “Thousands have taken to the streets of several cities in Iran, beginning first in Mashhad, the country’s second-largest city and a holy site for Shiite pilgrims. Demonstrators also have criticized Iran’s government during the protests, with social media videos showing clashes between protesters and police. … The demonstrations appear to be the largest to strike the Islamic Republic since its 2009 Green Movement arose after Ahmadinejad’s re-election.” http://bit.ly/2lohJ5G — @realDonaldTrump at 10:42 p.m.: “Many reports of peaceful protests by Iranian citizens fed up with regime’s corruption & its squandering of the nation’s wealth to fund terrorism abroad. Iranian govt should respect their people’s rights, including right to express themselves. The world is watching! #IranProtests”. ON THE WORLD STAGE — “Frustrated U.S. Might Withhold $255 Million in Aid From Pakistan,” by NYT’s Adam Goldman, Mark Landler and Eric Schmitt: “[T]he Trump administration is strongly considering whether to withhold $255 million in aid that it had delayed sending to Islamabad, according to American officials, as a show of dissatisfaction with Pakistan’s broader intransigence toward confronting the terrorist networks that operate there. The administration’s internal debate over whether to deny Pakistan the money is a test of whether President Trump will deliver on his threat to punish Islamabad for failing to cooperate on counterterrorism operations.” http://nyti.ms/2lsvP5q THE NEW DEMOCRATIC FRONTIER — “Dem senators fight to out-liberal one another ahead of 2020,” by Elana Schor: “It used to be that Bernie Sanders was an ideological lone ranger in the Senate. Now, a whole host of potential presidential hopefuls are racing to represent the liberal grass roots on their issues of the day — and pulling the Democratic Party’s center of gravity further to the left. “The trend was apparent throughout the fall among the half-dozen Democratic senators drawing the loudest buzz for 2020 — aside from Sanders (I-Vt.), the group includes Sens. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.), Kamala Harris (D-Calif.), Cory Booker (D-N.J.), Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) and Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.). “First they flocked to Sanders’ single-payer health care proposal. And then, almost in unison, they adopted two other stands popular among the Democratic base: Refusing to vote for any budget plan that didn’t include help for undocumented immigrants brought to the country as children, and calling for Donald Trump’s resignation over sexual harassment claims leveled against him last year by multiple women. The six Democrats also have been the most frequent foes of Trump’s nominees earlier this year.” http://politi.co/2BXzSh2 RUSSIA WATCH — “Senators scrap Russia trip after Kremlin snubs Shaheen,” by Kyle Cheney: “Two Republican senators have called off a planned trip to Russia after the Kremlin denied a visa to a Democratic colleague, New Hampshire Sen. Jeanne Shaheen. Shaheen, an outspoken backer of a Russia sanctions bill that Congress approved overwhelmingly earlier this year, had been scheduled to visit Russia along with GOP colleagues Ron Johnson of Wisconsin and John Barrasso of Wyoming. But a Shaheen spokesman said the senator believes the Kremlin has placed her under a travel sanction, prohibiting her visit. … A spokesman for Russia’s U.S. embassy said in a statement that Shaheen’s visa was the only one denied because she is on a Russian ‘black list’ created in response to U.S. sanctions issued against the country.” http://politi.co/2DzLYgz HMM — “Trump administration fires all members of HIV/AIDS advisory council,” by WaPo’s Ben Guarino: “The remaining members of the Presidential Advisory Council on HIV/AIDS were fired en masse this week. Months after a half-dozen members resigned in protest of the Trump administration’s position on health policies, the White House dismissed the rest through a form letter. The notice ‘thanked me for my past service and said that my appointment was terminated, effective immediately,’ said Patrick Sullivan, an epidemiologist at Emory University who works on HIV testing programs. He was appointed to a four-year term in May 2016.” http://wapo.st/2CphRcI CLICKER – “100% Hart: A Summary of 2017 Polling Conducted for Our Clients”: Some of the most interesting findings: “3% of Democrats have positive feelings toward Russia (71% negative). … 16% of independents have positive feelings toward the Republican Party. … 23% of public school parents approve of the job Betsy DeVos is doing as secretary of education … 49% of women in professional/managerial positions have received an unwanted sexual advance at work. … “52% of Democrats have positive feelings toward John McCain (compared with 35% among Republicans). … 76% of white men say recent stories about sexual harassment have made them more likely to speak out if they see women treated unfairly. … 99% of African Americans believe Trump’s use of Twitter is bad.” http://politi.co/2BT4Q9Z — ADAM CANCRYN: “Top 10 health care surprises from Year One of Trump: From drug prices to the Tom Price travel scandal, a lot of health policy didn’t go according to plan”: http://politi.co/2llnEZk MICHAEL GRUNWALD in Politico Magazine: “Donald Trump Is a Consequential President. Just Not in the Ways You Think”: “The most consequential aspect of President Trump—like the most consequential aspect of Candidate Trump — has been his relentless shattering of norms: norms of honesty, decency, diversity, strategy, diplomacy and democracy, norms of what presidents are supposed to say and do when the world is and isn’t watching. As I keep arguing in these periodic Trump reviews, it’s a mistake to describe his all-caps rage-tweeting or his endorsement of an accused child molester or his threats to wipe out ‘Little Rocket Man’ as unpresidential, because he’s the president. He’s by definition presidential. “The norms he’s shattered are by definition no longer norms. His erratic behavior isn’t normal, but it’s inevitably becoming normalized, a predictably unpredictable feature of our political landscape. It’s how we live now, checking our phones in the morning to get a read on the president’s mood. The American economy is still strong, and he hasn’t started any new wars, so pundits have focused a lot of their hand-wringing on the effect his norm-shattering will have on future leaders, who will be able to cite the Trump precedent if they want to hide their tax returns or use their office to promote their businesses or fire FBI directors who investigate them. But Trump still has three years left in his term. And the norms he’s shattered can’t constrain his behavior now that he’s shattered them.” http://politi.co/2Ct6aSg THE CASH DASH — “The Modern Campaign-Finance Loophole: Governors Associations,” by WSJ’s Susan Pulliam and Brody Mullins: “U.S. companies have found a loophole in state campaign-finance rules by funneling donations aimed at helping candidates through the RGA and its Democratic counterpart, according to multiple former officials. Donors can’t earmark money for a particular candidate. Instead, they can simply — and legally — tell the groups they have ‘an interest’ in a race or are making a donation ‘at the request’ of a gubernatorial candidate, these officials say. “An internal tracking system, sometimes called the ‘tally,’ allows the DGA to keep tabs on how much individual governors raise for the association from companies and other donors, which later helps it figure out how to allocate the money, former DGA officials said. The RGA has a similar system, former RGA officials say.” http://on.wsj.com/2lndzeu BACK STORY — “Why Trump lashed out at Saudi Arabia about its role in Yemen’s war,” by WaPo’s Missy Ryan and Josh Dawsey: “President Trump’s public rebuke of Saudi Arabia this month for its role in the conflict in Yemen was an impromptu move quickly set in motion after intelligence officials presented him with images of the deepening humanitarian crisis there, officials said. In a strongly worded statement that surprised foreign diplomats and even key figures in his administration, Trump called on Saudi Arabia to allow food and supplies to reach ‘the Yemeni people who desperately need it.’ ‘This must be done for humanitarian reasons immediately,’ he said. “The Dec. 6 statement marked a striking departure for a president who has shown unflinching support for the kingdom’s leadership. Administration officials say it was instrumental in Saudi Arabia’s decision to temporarily suspend its blockade of the Red Sea port of Hodeida, though critics question how much the move will ease the suffering in Yemen’s nearly three-year-old war. The episode also highlights the powerful role that depictions of civilian suffering overseas have had in stirring a president who took office with a clear domestic focus and little foreign policy experience. Sometimes they have triggered sudden, consequential responses from the president.” http://wapo.st/2llCRcN FOR YOUR RADAR — “Exclusive: Russian tankers fueled North Korea via transfers at sea – sources,” by Reuters’ Guy Faulconbridge and Jonathan Saul in London, and Polina Nikolskaya in Moscow: “Russian tankers have supplied fuel to North Korea on at least three occasions in recent months by transferring cargoes at sea, according to two senior Western European security sources, providing an economic lifeline to the secretive Communist state. The sales of oil or oil products from Russia, the world’s second biggest oil exporter and a veto-wielding member of the United Nations Security Council, breach U.N. sanctions … The transfers in October and November indicate that smuggling from Russia to North Korea has evolved to loading cargoes at sea since Reuters reported in September that North Korean ships were sailing directly from Russia to their homeland.” http://reut.rs/2lmJdIU — “China Resists U.S. Efforts to Blacklist Ships Through U.N.,” by WSJ’s Michael R. Gordon and Andrew Jeong: “Beijing and Washington clashed over a U.S. push to blacklist cargo ships for violating international sanctions against North Korea, including one vessel South Korea said it seized after an illegal transfer of oil. … China’s critics say it has agreed to tough-sounding Security Council resolutions while modulating how strictly the sanctions are actually enforced. China denies it violates sanctions. … [S]ome U.S. officials say they have mounting concerns that China is leaving room for a partial evasion of the sanctions, depriving Mr. Trump of some of the leverage he seeks. Earlier this month, American officials shared with the U.N. declassified intelligence reports that they said supported Washington’s position that 10 vessels be formally designated as sanctions violators. South Korea disclosed Friday that it had seized one of the listed ships. But China successfully got the list whittled down to just four vessels.” http://on.wsj.com/2llCXBb ****** A message from Google Year in Search 2017: As this year draws to a close, Google analyzed Search Trends data to see what the world was searching for. The data showed that 2017 was the year we asked “how…?” How do wildfires start? How to calm a dog during a storm? How to make a protest sign? These questions show our shared desire to understand our experiences and come to each other’s aid. Watch the Year in Search 2017 and see top trending lists from around the world at g.co/2017. ****** MEDIAWATCH — “The Year the News Accelerated to Trump Speed,” by NYT’s Matt Flegenheimer: “One year out, this may be Mr. Trump’s greatest trick: His tornado of news-making has scrambled Americans’ grasp of time and memory, producing a sort of sensory overload that can make even seismic events — of his creation or otherwise — disappear from the collective consciousness and public view. He is the magician who swallows a sword no one thought was part of the act, stuffs a dozen rabbits into a hat before the audience can count them — and then merrily tweets about ‘Fox & Friends’ while the crowd strains to remember what show it had paid to attend in the first place.” With cameos from Sen. Chris Murphy (D-Conn.), Jason Chaffetz, Matt Negrin, Tom Brokaw, Peter Hamby, and Nancy Gibbs http://nyti.ms/2BZs7r6 — “This Man Says He Was Sexually Assaulted By Jann Wenner. Then He Got An Amazing Job Offer At Rolling Stone,” by BuzzFeed’s Mary Ann Georgantopoulos: “Jonathan Wells … then 28, met Wenner through mutual friends. They spent time together, mostly in larger group settings, at restaurants and friends’ apartments. ‘His success, his affluence, he was really fun,’ Wells told BuzzFeed News. ‘He was an exciting guy to be around.’ But in February 1983, after they both spent a night drinking and doing cocaine in Wenner’s Upper East Side home, Wenner sexually assaulted him, Wells recently told BuzzFeed News.” http://bzfd.it/2CkIRfD — Adrian Carrasquillo (@Carrasquillo): “I deeply regret the crass & sexist attempt at a joke that led to my firing from BuzzFeed. I privately apologized to my colleagues & also want to apologize publicly to friends & colleagues this incident affected. I loved my time at BuzzFeed & wish everyone there continued success.” GREAT HOLIDAY WEEKEND READS, curated by Daniel Lippman, filing from San Miguel de Allende, Mexico: — “The Age of Outrage,” by Jonathan Haidt in an edited version of his Wriston Lecture for the Manhattan Institute: “In the last two centuries, a lot of us have lived in large, multi-ethnic secular liberal democracies. So clearly that is possible. But how much margin of error do we have in such societies? Here is the fine-tuned liberal democracy hypothesis: As tribal primates, human beings are unsuited for life in large, diverse secular democracies, unless you get certain settings finely adjusted to make possible the development of stable political life.” http://bit.ly/2C96Sae — “What Is It Like to Be a Bee?” by Natasha Frost in Atlas Obscura – per TheBrowser.com’s description: “Where is the threshold of consciousness? A human brain has 86 billion neurons and, almost always, consciousness. A roundworm brain has 302 neurons and — scientists assume — no consciousness. What of a bee brain, with 960,000 neurons? Perhaps the bee is conscious, but not self-conscious, if that is a possible state.” http://bit.ly/2CgQkMX — “Why Birds Matter, and Are Worth Protecting,” by Jonathan Franzen in NatGeo: “What bird populations indicate is the health of our ethical values. Wild birds are our last, best connection to a natural world that is otherwise receding. They’re the most vivid and widespread representatives of the Earth as it was before people arrived on it. The house finch outside your window is a tiny and beautifully adapted living dinosaur. A duck on your local pond looks and sounds very much like a duck 20 million years ago, when birds ruled the planet.” http://on.natgeo.com/2EeSlHy — “The Killer-Nanny Novel That Conquered France,” by Lauren Collins in the New Yorker: “Leïla Slimani’s best-seller explores the dark relationship of a mother and her babysitter.” http://bit.ly/2pXoCzG — “Shattered Glass,” by Buzz Bissinger in Vanity Fair’s Sept. 1998 issue: “At 25, Stephen Glass was the most sought-after young reporter in the nation’s capital, producing knockout articles for magazines ranging from The New Republic to Rolling Stone. Trouble was, he made things up — sources, quotes, whole stories — in a breathtaking web of deception that emerged as the most sustained fraud in modern journalism.” http://bit.ly/2DwXnOf (h/t Longform.org) — “Who killed Benazir Bhutto?” by Ziad Zafar in Dawn: “Eos explores the evidence unearthed during the investigation into the former premier’s assassination.” http://bit.ly/2C9vHD3 — “Che, Stalin, Mussolini and the Thinkers Who Loved Them,” by Aram Bakshian Jr. in the National Interest: “Why are intellectuals and thinkers, who normally face persecution and risk under dictatorial regimes, nonetheless attracted to tyrants and would-be liberators?” http://bit.ly/2DwWnd0 (h/t ALDaily.com) — “Mark Lilla: the liberal who counts more enemies on the left than the right,” by J Oliver Conroy in the Guardian: “The academic-turned-polemicist believes liberalism has lost its way but detractors accuse him of ‘trolling disguised as erudition’. Here he answers back”. http://bit.ly/2zO9rZj — “One Hundred Poems That Capture the Meaning of Joy,” by Adrianna Smith in the Atlantic: “Christian Wiman’s new anthology brings together an admirable range of meditations on an emotion whose place in the world today can seem uncertain.” http://theatln.tc/2zPu5II — “David Rockefeller’s Rolodex Was the Stuff of Legend. Here’s a First Peek,” by WSJ’s Joann S. Lublin in Pocantico Hills, NY: “Several [of the 200,000] cards reveal some of the billionaire banker’s more personal interactions. Mr. Rockefeller was studying at the London School of Economics in 1938 when he met Mr. Kennedy, the future president, and his sister Kathleen at a party held by their father, then the U.S. ambassador to Great Britain. Ms. Kennedy got top billing. JFK, the first card said, ‘is a brother.’ ‘She was more important than JFK’ because Mr. Rockefeller had dated her.” http://on.wsj.com/2q0uDMe — “Let them eat bread,” by Paul Levy in the Times Literary Supplement: “Nearly all the breads we regard as traditional products are of recent origin. The ciabatta was invented in 1982 by an enterprising Veneto baker who recognized his patrons’ taste for the French baguette. Panettone in anything like its current form is also a twentieth-century concoction. Croissants were not made until 1837.” http://bit.ly/2Eek8I7 — “The monster beneath,” by Helen Gordon in 1843 Magazine: “Everyone has heard of Vesuvius but the caldera of Campi Flegrei is a far more dangerous volcano. Helen Gordon travels to Naples to understand the enormous threat it poses.” http://bit.ly/2CmeRjG — “The Teens Trapped Between a Gang and the Law,” by Jonathan Blitzer in the New Yorker: “On Long Island, unaccompanied minors are caught between the violence of MS-13 and the fear of deportation.” http://bit.ly/2CgQTGz — “How Hospitals Are Failing Black Mothers,” by ProPublica’s Annie Waldman as part of the publication’s “Lost Mothers” series: “A ProPublica analysis shows that women who deliver at hospitals that disproportionately serve black mothers are at a higher risk of harm.” http://bit.ly/2CiVWWS (h/t Longreads.com) — “Bussed out: How America moves its homeless,” by the Outside in America teamof the Guardian: “Each year, U.S. cities give thousands of homeless people one-way bus tickets out of town. An 18-month nationwide investigation by the Guardian reveals, for the first time, what really happens at journey’s end.” http://bit.ly/2Can770 ENGAGED — Errol Barnett, Washington correspondent for CBS News, proposed to his longtime girlfriend Ariana Tolbert, a benefits consultant in Bethesda, Maryland, at the Four Seasons during their end of the year trip to the Bahamas. “The two met in 2015 while Errol was anchoring the CNN overnight hours in Atlanta. As he tells it, they ‘liked’ each other’s pictures on Instagram and hours later that day ‘at the same exact moment in time’ they direct-messaged each other saying hello. … Errol proposed at the Versailles Gardens and French Cloister on Paradise Island on the first night of their week-long Bahamas vacation.” Instapic by Cay Focus Photography http://bit.ly/2CaBZlR BIRTHWEEK (was Monday): Dan Drew, Middletown, Connecticut, mayor and Democratic candidate for Connecticut governor. Playbook Plus Q&A: http://politi.co/2zQwfro BIRTHDAYS: Tammy Haddad, who celebrated yesterday at the Bath and Tennis Club in Palm Beach (hat tip: Hilary Rosen) … CIA Director Mike Pompeo is 54 … Secretary of the Air Force Heather Wilson is 57 … DHS comms director Lauren Claffey … Bush 43 alum Reed Dickens … Susan Kellam … Sean Hannity is 56 … Meredith Vieira is 64 … Matt Lauer is 6-0 … Squire Patton Boggs partner Jack Deschauer is 67 … Politico’s Jennifer Scholtes … Javelin partner Matt Latimer, celebrating with his family in Staunton, Va., the birthplace of Woodrow Wilson (h/t Keith Urbahn) … Nick Schmit is 37 (hubby tip: Jonathan Capehart) … Hari Sevugan, principal at 270 Strategies … Brendan Corrigan, associate at Morgan Stanley, is 29 … Dr. Byron Hulsey, headmaster at Woodberry Forest School … Jim Billimoria, PR manager for transportation at Amazon and “Fighting Illini alum, Photographer, Chicagoan,” per his Twitter (h/t Amos Snead) … Philippa Martinez-Berrier … Walter Recher (h/t godfather Jeff Grappone) … Laurie DuMouchelle … Kevin Smith … Leif Babin, former SEAL officer and co-founder of Echelon Front … Marcia Kramer of WCBS … DNC social media director Heather Reid (h/t John Bisognano) … … Hanna Hope, COS for the Georgetown Institute of Politics and Public Service and the pride of Atlanta (h/ts Jeff Solnet and Jon Haber) … Cecilia MacArthur, associate producer for CBC’s “Daybreak” … Heather Cronk … Jill Jorgensen … filmmaker Michael Rekola … Rep. Mike Bost (R-Ill.) is 57 … former Rep. Marty Meehan (D-Mass.) is 61 … Politico Europe’s Annabelle Cheney … Jud Meter Lounsbury … Katie Strong Hays … Shannon Gilson, director of public affairs at American Airlines … Justin Thomas Russell is 47 … Natalie Heninger Kennedy … Anne Lyons … Daniel Scarpinato … Daniel Scarpinato, deputy COS for comms. for Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey … NRF’s Bill Thorne … Pat Bell … Avery Katherine Fetterman … former Univision anchor Maria Elena Salinas, who just sold her Miami house for $2.65 million: http://bit.ly/2EgkVZ4 … Josh Harris … Kelly Curran, VP at Edelman … Caroline Little … Noelle Straub, E&E News natural resources editor … Bob Cochran is 61 … Barkley Jenny … Jordan Bartolomeo … Toure’ Burgess … Mark Miller … Lilly Sasse … Gary Radloff … Jason Berkenfeld … Udai Rohatgi … Amy Young (h/ts Teresa Vilmain) THE SHOWS, by @MattMackowiak, filing from Austin: — ABC’s “This Week”: Ret. Adm. Mike Mullen. Political panel: Matthew Dowd, Joshua Johnson, Mary Jordan and Susan Page. Security panel: Ray Kelly and former FBI agent Brad Garrett — CBS’s “Face the Nation”: Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.). Congressional panel: Rep. Liz Cheney (R-Wy.), Rep. Joe Crowley (D-N.Y.), Rep. Debbie Dingell (D-Mich.) and Rep. Will Hurd (R-TX). Political panel: Rachael Bade, David Nakamura, Ed O’Keefe and Julie Pace … J.D. Vance — “Fox News Sunday”: Panel: Mike Needham, Marie Harf, Bruce Mehlman and Mo Elleithee (substitute host: Dana Perino) — NBC’s “Meet the Press”: Panel: Charlie Cook, Katty Kay, Rich Lowry and Kristen Welker — Fox News’ “Sunday Morning Futures”: former Rep. Jason Chaffetz (R-Utah) … Rep. Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.) … Rep. Ron DeSantis (R-Fla.) … Larry Gagosian. Panel: Susan Ferrechio and Brad Blakeman (substitute host: Trish Regan) — Fox News’ “MediaBuzz”: Mollie Hemingway … Mara Liasson … Cathy Areu … Gayle Trotter … Jessica Tarlov … Ed Henry … Shana Glenzer — CNN’s “State of the Union”: Anthony Scaramucci … Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein. Panel: Bill Kristol, Nina Turner, Bakari Sellers and Michael Caputo (substitute host: Dana Bash) — CNN’s “Inside Politics” with John King: Panel: Eliana Johnson, Karen Tumulty, Karoun Demirjian and Julie Bykowicz (substitute host: Nia-Malika Henderson) — CNN’s “Fareed Zakaria GPS”: Foreign affairs panel: Zanny Minton Beddoes, Walter Russell Mead and Gideon Rose … Harold Evans … Simon Sebag Montefiore — CNN’s “Reliable Sources”: Panel: Sally Buzbee, Joanne Lipman and John Avlon … Jeffrey Toobin … Rebecca Traister … Sarah Lacy — C-SPAN: “The Communicators”: U.S. Telecom president and CEO Jonathan Spalter, questioned by Kyle Daly … “Newsmakers”: “Need to Impeach” campaign founder Tom Steyer, questioned by Niall Stanage and Darren Samuelsohn … “Q&A”: Donna Brazile — MSNBC’s “Kasie DC”: Michael Steele … Shawna Thomas … Jon Ward … Paul Singer … Alex Moe, Frank Thorp and Marianna Sotomayor — Washington Times’ “Mack on Politics” weekly politics podcast with Matt Mackowiak (download on iTunes, Google Play, or Stitcher or listen at MackOnPolitics.com): Brian Riedl. ****** A message from Google Year in Search 2017: As this year draws to a close, Google analyzed Search Trends data to see what the world was searching for. The data showed that 2017 was the year we asked “how…?” How do wildfires start? How to calm a dog during a storm? How to make a protest sign? All of the “how” searches featured in the Year in Search film were searched at least 10 times more this year than ever before. These questions show our shared desire to understand our experiences and come to each other’s aid. From “how to watch the eclipse” and “how to shoot like Curry,” to “how to move forward” and “how to make a difference,” here’s to this Year in Search. Watch the film and see top trending lists from around the world at g.co/2017. ****** SUBSCRIBE to the Playbook family: POLITICO Playbook http://politi.co/2lQswbh …Playbook Power Briefing http://politi.co/2xuOiqh … New York Playbook http://politi.co/1ON8bqW … Florida Playbook http://politi.co/1OypFe9 … New Jersey Playbook http://politi.co/1HLKltF … Massachusetts Playbook http://politi.co/1Nhtq5v …Illinois Playbook http://politi.co/1N7u5sb … California Playbook http://politi.co/2bLvcPl…London Playbook http://politi.co/2xfDPuK … Brussels Playbook http://politi.co/1FZeLcw… All our political and policy tipsheets http://politi.co/1M75UbX from CapitalistHQ.com https://capitalisthq.com/comey-takes-in-les-mis-trump-at-his-golf-course-again-today-parker-and-dawsey-mar-a-lago-is-nice-for-trump-and-less-nice-for-his-staff-mike-schmidt-on-his-trump-interview/ from https://capitalisthq.tumblr.com/post/169113116746
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