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Gov. John Bel Edwards seeks President Donald Trump’s help in securing $2B more in federal flood aid

Gov. John Bel Edwards, right, and FEMA Regional Administrator Tony Robinson talk while arriving with other officials to take a tour of flood damage Thursday, August 25, 2016, in and near Youngsville, La. Louisiana Gov. John Bel Edwards wants President Donald Trump’s help in getting another $2 billion in federal aid for the state’s recovery from last year’s historic floods and loosening restrictions that limit how the money can be used.

Women could take big hit if ACA is tossed

From a return to higher premiums based on gender, to gaps in coverage for birth control and breast pumps, experts say women could end up paying more for less if the Obama-era health care law is repealed. The 2010 law ended a common industry practice of charging women more than men for policies purchased directly from an insurer.

4-year-old Somali girl reunited with mom in Minnesota

A 4-year-old Somali girl whose long-awaited reunion with her mother was put on hold this week due to President Donald Trump’s travel ban is now with her family in Minnesota. Mushkaad Abdi gripped a doll and the hand of her mother, Samira Dahir, who wiped away tears Friday as she spoke to reporters about the reunion.

2/03/2017

Online neo-Nazi and white supremacist forums have been unmistakably jubilant lately, as web chatter moved from celebrating President Donald Trump’s electoral victory to celebrating individual cabinet appointments and policy proposals. On Thursday, internet racists celebrated another perceived victory: Reports that President Trump will soon remove white nationalist groups from a federal effort to study and neutralize extremist radicalization, and rebrand the program to focus solely on groups associating themselves with Islam.

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This week on the podcast, reporters discuss the nomination of Neil Gorsuch to the U.S. Supreme Court, whether anyone will be able to challenge Rep. Rod Blum in the 1st Congressional District and the likelihood that Iowa will allow fantasy sports betting to become legal. On Iowa Politics is a weekly news and analysis podcast that re-creates the conversations that happen when Iowa’s political reporters get together after the day’s deadlines have been met.

US judge temporarily blocks Trump’s travel ban nationwide

In this Jan. 30, 2017 file photo, Washington Attorney General Bob Ferguson, right, speaks in Seattle as Gov. Jay Inslee, left, looks on, during a news conference. Ferguson announced that he is suing President Donald Trump over an executive order that suspended immigration from seven countries with majority-Muslim populations and sparked nationwide protests.

DeVos moves closer to confirmation as education secretary

Betsy DeVos moved closer toward confirmation as education secretary Friday after clearing a major hurdle in the Senate, even as Democrats and labour unions fervently sought another Republican vote against her. Tensions flew on the Senate floor during an early-morning session, with a senior Republican saying DeVos will make an “excellent” secretary and a top Democrat calling her “one of the worst nominees.”

Arrested for burping: The Gorsuch dissent

Remember when a 13-year-old Albuquerque boy was arrested – taken in handcuffs to a juvenile detention center – for fake burping in P.E. class? His mother sued, but the 10th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals in Denver ruled in favor of the school district in July 2016. Judge Neil Gorsuch, now a nominee for the U.S. Supreme Court, wrote a memorable dissent , reprinted in Valerie Strauss’s Washington Post column.

Israeli settler group shrugs off White House criticism

Israeli settlers on Friday shrugged off White House criticism of settlement construction, convinced they have the sympathies of President Donald Trump. The Palestinians, still wary of Trump, warned that the settlers’ hard-line stance could spell the end to a two-state solution to the conflict.

Obama WH photographer throws more shade at Trump

Since we first posted this story, former President Barack Obama’s chief photographer, Pete Souza, the man who documented almost every impactful moment of the Obama presidency, continues to post images to his Instagram account, and its 738,000 followers, in response to President Donald Trump’s actions and policies. A silent, social media, shade-throwing protest told in visuals from the millions of images in Souza’s archive, the photos appear to be Souza’s expression of opposition to the recent moves of the Trump administration.

Globe editorial: How to trump Trump

U.S. President Donald Trump looks up after signing an executive order rolling back regulations from the 2010 Dodd-Frank law on Wall Street reform at the White House in Washington February 3, 2017. REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque U.S. President Donald Trump looks up after signing an executive order rolling back regulations from the 2010 Dodd-Frank law on Wall Street reform at the White House in Washington February 3, 2017.

Teen creates Facebook page to spotlight immigrants’ weekly achievements

Valeria Alvarado, a 19-year-old sophomore at Villanova University, is launching an online storytelling effort to highlight the positive impacts immigrant, undocumented and refugee communities bring to the United States every week. The Facebook page – called ” We, Too, Are America ” – will list the submitted and curated accomplishments to help combat the “criminal” narratives of these groups popularized by President Donald J. Trump.

Trump loved to bully Obama about vacations, so of course he’s off to Florida

Not that continuity or facts matter anymore, but in an alternative universe in which those things were relevant, you’d think President Donald Trump would have held off taking a vacation for a little while after he got into office. Trump is set to spend the weekend at his Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida, where Politico reports he will hold several meetings and phone calls amid doing things one does at a resort.

VP Pence to Attend Super Bowl 51

Vice President Mike Pence will be attending Super Bowl LI Sunday, a source familiar with his schedule told CBS News . It is not clear if Pence, the former governor of Indiana, has a favorite in the game between the New England Patriots and the Atlanta Falcons.

Trump thanks Australian prime minister for disputing report of…

President Donald Trump on Friday thanked Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull for disputing details of a Washington Post report that described a contentious phone call between the two world leaders. “Thank you to Prime Minister of Australia for telling the truth about our very civil conversation that FAKE NEWS media lied about,” Trump tweeted Friday morning.

Sen. Blackburn Pleased With Trump’s Tough Take on Iran

The Trump administration is taking steps that are “very appropriate” when it comes to Iran, as the Middle Eastern country needs to be “put on notice,” Sen. Marsha Blackburn said Friday. “They know that they should not have tried that missile test,” the Tennessee Republican told Fox News’ “America’s Newsroom” program.

Ex-Obama DOJ Attorney: ‘100% Comfortable’ With Gorsuch

A former Justice Department attorney under President Barack Obama backed the candidacy of Neil Gorsuch for the Supreme Court, saying in a new ad she is “100 percent comfortable with Judge Gorsuch.” The Judicial Crisis Network based the entire 30-second ad on Jane Nitze, who once clerked for Gorsuch before going to work in Obama’s administration.

Senate Dems Urge Trump to Divulge Mar-a-Lago Membership List

Two Senate Democrats wrote a letter to President Trump, urging him to take four steps to “dispel any notion that Mar-a-Lago is a private refuge for pay-to-play politics,” according to reports. Sens. Sheldon Whitehouse, D-R.I., and Tom Udall, D-N.M., sent the letter Friday, asking, Trump divulge, among other things, the private club’s membership list so the country can see which well-heeled members of society get access to the president at his “Winter White House.”

Tom’s #Mailbag, Feb. 3, 2017

Another bigly week at the mailbag, with an unusual number of political questions about U.S. Rep. Rodney Davis and any potential opponents, plus queries about Gov. Bruce Rauner’s public appearances. Also: an update on the federal lawsuit involving a former Villa Grove school superintendent, a Campustown neon sign hanging by the proverbial thread, a mysterious medallion worn by University of Illinois great Nick Holonyak, more on Trader Joe’s, Clearview and a long-vacant house in Champaign, charges at the Leonhard Center and Carle parking garages, and whether any agency does health inspections at fitness centers.

Congress Swamped With Calls in Era of Trump

President Donald Trump has promised to shake up Washington, but so far he’s produced gridlock – at least with the phone lines on Capitol Hill. Whether constituents are calling to request congressional flags, get help with a local issue – or, more likely, to register their support or displeasure with the latest move by President Donald Trump – these days they are more likely to get a busy signal or voice mail than a live human, at least if they’re calling their senator.

Peter Morici: Businesses Await Trump Tax Cuts, Deregulation for Hiring to Explode

While the January jobs report was certainly a positive sign and a “good way” for Barack Obama to end his presidency, businesses are really looking for President Donald Trump to complete his campaign vow of fewer regulations and lower corporate taxes before U.S. hiring can truly flourish, Peter Morici, economist at the University of Maryland, predicts to Newsmax TV . “We’ve had several lean months and now we have a month that’s a little better.

Pelosi – “we’re capitalists, and that’s just the way it is”

Pelosi in a rigged CNN “Town Hall Meeting” was forced to defend her belief in capitalism as the solution for the crisis in US and the world A Town Hall meeting on CNN with Nancy Pelosi went viral when Trevor Hill, a student at NYU ditched his pre-written question and instead asked Congresswoman Pelosi about the left-leaning tendencies of millennials: A Harvard University poll last May showed that people between the ages of 18 and 29, not just Democrats and not just leftists, 51% of people between 18 and 29 no longer support the system of capitalism. That’s not me asking you to make a radical statement about capitalism.

‘Sanctuary cities’ bill advances in Texas, despite outcry

A state Senate panel has approved a so-called sanctuary cities bill that would withhold state money from local jurisdictions that don’t hand over immigrants already in custody for possible deportation A state Senate panel has approved a so-called sanctuary cities bill that would withhold state money from local jurisdictions that don’t hand over immigrants already in custody for possible deportation Pennsylvania’s top prosecutor says investigators have received a significant number of tips related to the case of a boy allegedly raped by several men, including one dressed in a fox costume Pennsylvania’s top prosecutor says investigators have received a significant number of tips related to the case of a boy allegedly raped by several men, including one dressed in a fox costume Betsy DeVos has cleared a major hurdle in the Senate to become the next education secretary despite vigorous … (more)

Kellyanne Conway on Bowling Green – massacre’: I meant – terrorists’

Kellyanne Conway on Bowling Green ‘massacre’: I meant ‘terrorists’ Kellyanne Conway used the inaccurate phrase to defend President Trump’s refugee ban. Check out this story on waukeshanow.com: http://usat.ly/2k32Y5F Kellyanne Conway, President Trump’s former campaign manager and now an adviser in his administration, pushed back Friday against claims she defended the White House’s refugee ban with an assertion that appears to be factually indefensible.

Senate Pulls 6:30 am Vote to Rebuke Dems and Advance Betsy DeVos

Educations Secretary nominee Betsy DeVos will be receiving a full Senate vote and is likely to be confirmed after Republicans advanced her nomination in a 6:30 am vote on Friday. Senators convened at the unusual, early hour – 6:30 a.m. ET – because of Democratic stalling tactics that reflect their unhappiness with Trump’s cabinet picks and the overall confirmation process.

Trump to order review of Dodd-Frank, potentially impacting CFPB, Cordray

President Donald Trump will order a sweeping review of the Dodd-Frank Act rules enacted in response to the 2008 financial crisis, a White House official said, signing an executive action Friday designed to significantly scale back the regulatory system put in place in 2010. The move could have major implications for the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, which was established under the Dodd-Frank Act.

Higher Education Bubble Update: Could Trump Cut Off Funding from Uc…

The violent protests at UC Berkeley that ran Milo Yiannopoulos off campus were probably the best public relations gift the young administration has received to date. They also gave the President an opportunity to do what he does best: Exploit a political disconnect between elites and the median voter and then make an outrageous suggestion via a spontaneous tweet designed to send his opponents into fits of hysteria that would discredit them further.