Washington D.C. Mayor and Council take jabs at Trump over his cancelled military parade

Washington D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser and the city council took to Twitter to mock Donald trump after he blamed "local politicians" for the cancellation of his overpriced "mine is bigger than yours" military parade. Read their tweets below:

Yup, I’m Muriel Bowser, mayor of Washington DC, the local politician who finally got thru to the reality star in the White House with the realities ($21.6M) of parades/events/demonstrations in Trump America (sad). https://t.co/vqC3d8FLqx

— MurielBowser (@MurielBowser) August 17, 2018

Town Council

Better late. Then: never.
Tanks but no tanks. pic.twitter.com/57WR28RMyU

— Council of DC (@councilofdc) August 17, 2018

Barack & Michelle Obama statements on passing of Aretha Franklin

Both Barack and Michelle Obama released statements via Twitter on the passing of the Queen of Soul, Aretha Franklin. Read those statements below:

Aretha helped define the American experience. In her voice, we could feel our history, all of it and in every shade—our power and our pain, our darkness and our light, our quest for redemption and our hard-won respect. May the Queen of Soul rest in eternal peace. pic.twitter.com/bfASqKlLc5

— Barack Obama (@BarackObama) August 16, 2018

Watching Aretha Franklin perform at the White House, and on so many other occasions, made time stand still. @BarackObama and I are holding Aretha’s family in our hearts right now. She will forever be our Queen of Soul. pic.twitter.com/NhHsbKijpl

— Michelle Obama (@MichelleObama) August 16, 2018

Keith Ellison wins Minnesota Attorney General nomination

U.S. Rep. Keith Ellison won the Democratic Farmer Labor Party primary for Minnesota attorney general Tuesday and will face Republican Doug Wardlow in the November election.

Five Democrats were competing to be their party’s pick in the primary, which came days after an allegation of domestic violence emerged against Ellison. He has denied his ex-girlfriend’s claim, and went on to a decisive victory.

“We had a very unexpected event at the end of this campaign that happened,” Ellison told supporters at Nomad World Pub in Minneapolis. “I want to assure you that it is not true and we are going to keep on fighting all the way.”

The Democrats had a short but fiercely contested primary race. Attorney General Lori Swanson announced in June she would run for governor instead of seeking re-election, leaving two months for candidates to distinguish themselves. Ellison was competing with state Rep. Debra Hilstrom, former Ramsey County Attorney Tom Foley, former state Commerce Commissioner Mike Rothman and Minneapolis attorney and DFL endorsee Matt Pelikan.

The election of Minnesota’s next chief legal officer landed in the spotlight with Ellison in the race and an increased focus by Democrats on using the office to challenge President Donald Trump.

Ellison has been one of the most outspoken candidates on fighting Trump administration policies. He has represented Minnesota’s Fifth Congressional District, which includes Minneapolis and some western suburbs, for 12 years and previously served in the Legislature. He is deputy chair of the Democratic National Committee and was the first Muslim member of Congress.

[SOURCE: STAR TRIBUNE]

Jahana Hayes wins Democratic Primary

Jahana Hayes won the Democratic Primary in Connecticut's Fifth Congressional District, the A.P. reported. Ms. Hayes, a “National Teacher of the Year” in 2016, is seeking to become the state’s first black Democrat to serve in Congress.

Ms. Hayes, 46, was thought to be a long-shot in the contest against Mary Glassman, a longtime local Democratic politician in the Western Connecticut region. But she embraced her status as an underdog, melding her life story — growing up in Waterbury, Conn., she went through homelessness, a teen pregnancy and economic hardship — into her campaign.

She also won support from some of the same progressive organizations that supported insurgent progressive Democratic candidates like Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, who defeated Representative Joseph Crowley in a New York primary. Ms. Hayes will face the Republican Manny Santos.

[SOURCE: NYTIMES]

Democratic takeover could bring first black speaker of the house

Upheaval in the Democratic caucus could pave the way for a historic House leader — and some potential names are already being discussed.

The next speaker of the House could be a black Democrat. And Congress would never be the same.

In 230 years, there’s never been a black speaker, or any black lawmaker seriously in the running for the post. That could change after voters go to the polls in November.

Democrats are their closest to winning back the House in years. Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) has said she will run for speaker again, but after 16 years at the top, some lawmakers — and a rising number of Democratic candidates — want someone else to take over.

The prospect of a black speaker, which seemed like a long shot just months ago, has started to bubble up more in private conversations in recent weeks, particularly among Democrats in the influential, 48-member Congressional Black Caucus.

After Rep. Joe Crowley of New York, a potential Pelosi successor, went down in a shocking primary defeat in June, the questions about who might replace her have only grown. And that raises the possibility of an African-American Democrat being sworn in as the 55th speaker on Jan. 3.

The members with the likeliest shot, according to more than 20 Democratic lawmakers and aides, include Rep. Jim Clyburn of South Carolina, currently the No. 3 House Democrat; Hakeem Jeffries of New York; Cedric Richmond of Louisiana, current chairman of the CBC; Elijah Cummings of Maryland; and Marcia Fudge of Ohio.

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