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Welcome to The Beat! Spring break edition. Congress is out. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson is in Moscow. Trump is at the WH hosting a CEO policy discussion. And this AM, the WH passed this along to the press pool: “At this time, there is no U.S. Intelligence Community consensus that Russia had foreknowledge of the Syrian chemical attack." Here’s the talk of Tuesday:- The Daily Show's Hasan Minhaj will headline the WHCA Dinner
- An NFL player and a DC lobbyist had a fairytale wedding in Italy
- MoC wants ICE agents to stop identifying themselves as police -- they're not
- British Vogue names Ghanaian editor-in-chief
- There may be trouble for Congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard (D-HI)
- Can you believe that United Airlines video?
- But first...the Obamas...
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The Obamas Are Coming Back...Soon
People magazine reports that President Barack Obama is wrapping up his month-long vacation in French Polynesia. FLOTUS44 arrived on the island on Saturday. On Sunday, a Tahiti television station revealed photos of Michelle Obama paddle boarding while the former president swam in a Polynesian lagoon. The pictures were taken on the island of Moorea by fellow vacationers, who spotted the couple using a small boat for a late morning excursion. They were escorted by two other boats with their security detail. “True to his reputation, he was very relaxed,” the report says. The former first couple posed for selfies with anyone who asked, though “his entourage insisted the photographs be only for private use.” Obama was working on his White House memoirs while relaxing at the ultra-private South Pacific resort which boasts white sand beaches, a natural forest, and a sea tortoise reserve. Sigh. More here.
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Congresswoman Terri Sewell (D-AL) attends the Maxwell Air Force Base air show in Alabama on Saturday. | |  |
Congressman Joaquín Castro (D-TX) with LULAC Executive Director Brent Wilkes marching for immigration reform in Dallas on Sunday. | |
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Sessions Tours AZ-Mexico Border Today
AG Jeff Sessions visits the U.S.-Mexico border today during a trip to Arizona. Sessions has made immigration enforcement a key DOJ priority. He says he will speed up deportations of undocumented immigrants who were convicted of federal crimes. Last month Sessions said that the DOJ will expand an existing program aimed at holding deportation hearings for immigrants while they are still in federal prison, known as the Institutional Hearing Program. According to the AP, holding the hearings before the inmates’ sentences are finished would allow the government to deport them immediately when they’re released. Sessions’ proposal would set up 14 federal prisons and six contract facilities for immigration removal proceedings. More here.
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TDS' Hasan Minhaj breaks down Trump's de facto "Muslim travel ban." Click image to play. |
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WHCA Announces Hasan Minhaj for Annual Dinner
The White House Correspondents Association is readying for their annual dinner on April 29th, and they just announced the headlining talent. The Daily Show’s Hasan Minhaj will serve as the evening’s comedian. Minhaj, 31, comes from a Muslim family who migrated from India to California when Minhaj was a baby. He became interested in comedy after seeing Chris Rock's Never Scared. On February 25th, Trump announced that he would not be attending the dinner. About a month later, members of his staff announced that they would also skip in “solidarity.” Since 1924, every president has attended the dinner at least once. The last president to skip a White House Correspondents’ dinner was President Ronald Reagan. Why? Because he was recovering at Camp David from an assassination attempt. More about Hasan Minhaj here.
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Some on the Left Call for HI to Vote Tulsi Gabbard Out of Congress
A pair of veteran leaders on the left, former DNC Chairman Howard Dean and CAP President Neera Tanden, called on Hawaiians to vote Congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard (D-HI) out of office after she questioned whether Syrian President Bashar al-Assad was responsible for last week's chemical attack. "People of Hawaii's 2nd District -- was it not enough for you that your rep met with a murderous dictator? Will this move you?" Tanden tweeted Friday in response to Gabbard's comments on CNN that she is "skeptical" Assad is responsible for the chemical attack. More here.
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Bill Bars ICE from Using "POLICE" as an ID
Before the House adjourned for its two-week recess, Congresswoman Nydia Velázquez (D-NY) introduced a bill that would bar ICE agents from identifying themselves as police, a practice Velázquez says is deceptive. The legislation would also ban agents from wearing clothing with the word "police" as the agency has done for years. “The ability of an ICE or CBP agent to pose as local police officers is a flaw in our system. Instead of keeping our communities safe, this practice fuels fear, undermines trust and ultimately further marginalizes our immigrant neighbors," said Velázquez. Legislation co-sponsors include Congresswomen Pramila Jayapal (D-WA) and Gwen Moore (D-WI). More here.
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Congresman Adriano Espaillat (D-NY) walks with NY Mayor Bill de Blasio in NYC on Sunday. | |  |
MSNBC's Joy Reid celebrating National Siblings Day on Monday with her younger brother Oren and big sister June. | |
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Pérez and Sanders Hit the Red and Purple States
Senator Bernie Sanders (I-VT), DNC Chair Tom Pérez and other Democratic Party leaders will be traveling to nine "red" and "purple" states starting on April 17th. Along with local activists they are tentatively scheduled to hold rallies in ME, KY, FL, NE, UT, MT, AZ, and NV. The pair will speak out about raising the minimum wage to $15 an hour, pay equity for women, rebuilding our crumbling infrastructure, combatting climate change, making public colleges and universities tuition-free, criminal justice reform, comprehensive immigration reform, and tax reform that requires the wealthy and large corporations start paying their fair share of taxes. More here.
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Erika West, Damara Catlett, Robert Raben, the bride Christina Weaver, and Jamal Simmons celebrating the nuptials in Italy. | |  |
The happy couple. Christina Weaver married NFL player D'Qwell Jackson in Italy over the weekend. The two are seen here immediately after the ceremony. | |
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When a Lobbyist and NFL Player Fall in Love ... Only in DC (and Italy)
Omarosa was not the only wedding that happened over the weekend. The Raben Group’s Christina Weaver married NFL player D’Qwell Jackson at the Villa Fiesole in Italy on Saturday. The event had DC’s finest cross an ocean to bid the happy couple good wishes. Before an audience of approximately 85 people, the couple, who got engaged in November 2015, exchanged vows against the backdrop of Italy’s picturesque countryside. Before hundreds of lit candles in a recreated altar in the roofless base of a 13th century monastery, the bride entered in a blush gown to Yolanda Adams' "Let this Be Our Prayer." The couple left the ceremony in a White vintage Bentley. Spotted at the wedding: Robert Raben, Jamal Simmons with wife Jewel James, Erika West, Damara Catlett, Carmencita Wonder, Google's Alex Walden with fiancée Glover Kebe, and NFL star Vontae Davis, Madieu Williams, among others. More photos here.
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|  | The wedding party of D'Qwell and Christina Jackson. | |  | University of Maryland Alumni celebrate the groom. | |
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HNBA Pushes Acosta for Labor
In a letter to Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) and Minority Leader Charles Schumer (D-NY), the Hispanic National Bar Association (HNBA) said it had “no doubt” Alexander Acosta was the right person to assume the role of Secretary of Labor. Acosta, who is dean of the law school at Florida International University, won a key Senate committee vote last week and is awaiting final confirmation from the full chamber. Acosta "possesses strong credentials, experience, and a high degree of professionalism to successfully manage the Labor Department,” HNBA President Pedro J. Torres-Díaz wrote in the letter. More here.
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Video: Asian Man Forcibly Removed from Flight to Make Room for United Employees
A video posted on Facebook late Sunday evening shows a passenger on a United Airlines flight being forcibly removed from the plane before takeoff at O’Hare International Airport. Passengers were told at the gate that the flight was overbooked and that four people needed to give up their seats to stand-by United employees that needed to be in Louisville the next day for a flight. A witness says a manager came aboard the plane and said a computer would select four people to be taken off the flight. Footage shows security forcibly removing the man who was bleeding from the mouth as they dragged him away. Witnesses said the man complained he was being singled out for being Chinese. The most disturbing thing about the video is another passenger yelling, “good work.” The other disturbing thing is the response from United Airlines. More here.
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The Woman Ranking Tech Diversity Efforts
Stephanie Lampkin is the CEO of Blendoor, a startup that helps companies measure just how well they are doing across a range of tangible benchmarks. On Friday, Blendoor ranked 138 Silicon Valley companies on just how well their diversity efforts are doing. The inaugural rankings gave the highest marks to HP, PayPal, Cisco, Apple and Yelp. More here.
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British Vogue Names Ghanaian Editor-In-Chief
British Vogue has named Edward Enninful as its the new Editor-in-Chief. Ghanaian-born, Enninful spent his childhood in London and began his career in the fashion world at the age of 16 after being model scouted. He became the youngest-ever fashion director for an international publication at age 18. His has worked for Italian Vogue, American Vogue, and consulted on countless high-fashion campaigns. Since 2011, Enninful has had the position of fashion and creative director at W Magazine. He will start his new role on August 1st. More here.
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Gates Named Goodwill Ambassador for the Rights of People of African Descent in the Americas
ICYMI: Last fall, in a first-of-its-kind ceremony at Harvard University, organizations dedicated to the recognition, justice and development of people of African descent named Dr. Henry Louis Gates, Jr., “Goodwill Ambassador for the Rights of People of African Descent in the Americas.” Gates’ work as a historian and advocate will serve as an integral part of the United Nations’ international effort to promote and protect the human rights of people of African ancestry. More here.
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Congressman Darren Soto (D-FL) with General Ahmed Eid Al Khalaf of Kuwait and General Ralph Groover of Orange County, FL on Saturday. | |  |
Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee (D-TX) stops by a "Family Fun Day in the Park" to greet constituents on Sunday. | |
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Trump’s Modeling Agency Shuts Down
One of Donald Trump's favorite businesses will go the way of Trump Steaks, Trump University, Trump Airlines, and Trump Magazine: his embattled New York modeling firm, Trump Model Management, has officially told its business associates around the world to prepare for its closure, according to an email obtained by Mother Jones. More here.
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| VIDEOS
(press images to play)
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Congresswoman Barbara Lee (D-CA) tells MSNBC's Joy Reid that Trump’s military escalation in Syria is "reckless and illegal." And says Congress needs to come back to DC and do its job. | |  |
The panel on CNN's Don Lemon Tonight discuss Donald Trump's frequent golf trips. | |
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| FOMO Wednesday, April 12th, 4:30P: Georgetown University's Center for Latin American Studies features a conversation with Mexican ambassador Gerónimo Gutiérrez, "Mexico-U.S. Relations Today: Opportunities and Challenges." Click here to RSVP. Monday, April 18th, 7A: The Greater Washington Hispanic Chamber of Commerce hosts its 8th annual Minority Business Expo at the Walter E. Washington Convention Center, 801 Mt. Vernon Pl NW. Click here for more information and to register. Tuesday, April 19th, 11:30A: The National Hispanic Leadership Agenda sponsors "The First 100 Days: Defending and Advancing the Latino Policy Priorities." 601 New Jersey Ave NW. Click here to RSVP.
Friday, April 21st, 6P: APAICS screens The Other Side: A liberal Democrat Explores Conservative America. MPAA 1600 I St NW. Click here to RSVP.
Friday, April 21st, 6:30P: 2017 SAALT Changemaker Awards. National Press Club, 14th & F St. NW. Click here for tickets.
Wednesday, April 26th, 6P: 13th Annual CHLI Gala & Leadership Awards, "A Tribute to Freedom." By invitation only.
Wednesday, April 26th – Fri, Apr 28th: African American Mayors Association 2017 Annual Conference in Washington, DC. Click here for more info.
Wednesday May 10th, 12P: The Raben Group hosts a meet-and-greet with Senator Tammy Duckworth (D-IL). By invitation only.
Wednesday, May 24th, 9A: A policy breakfast with Congresswoman Pramila Jayapal (D-WA). The Raben Group, 1341 G St, NW. Click here to RSVP.
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