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There was an explosion this morning shortly before 7:30A at the Port Authority Bus Terminal in NYC. The NYT reports that two people are in custody. This story is breaking, but early reporting suggests that a pipe bomb exploded prematurely, missing the intended target. The Port Authority bus station was evacuated and shut down. We can’t underscore enough what this means for NYC commuters -- punctuating the seriousness of this morning’s events. Get updates here. Over the weekend, all eyes were on the South. First in Mississippi, where Donald Trump addressed an invitation-only gathering Saturday at the Mississippi Civil Rights Museum in Jackson -- instead of attending the public opening ceremony. Many Mississippi leaders and residents skipped it and gathered at an alternative event honoring the state’s civil rights legacy. Meanwhile, in Alabama, a slew of Black lawmakers descended on the state to beef up GOTV efforts among African American voters, as Democratic senatorial candidate Doug Jones prepares to face off tomorrow against accused pedophile and Republican candidate Roy Moore. The Moore campaign is using a robocall recorded by Donald Trump. Former President Barack Obama taped a GOTV call for Jones, but on Sunday night the candidate’s advisors were still weighing whether to use it. Back in the Beltway, the House will not vote this week on a final tax bill. On Wednesday, the tax conference committee will officially meet publicly for the first time. Up the road at the White House, fueled by up to 12 Diet Cokes a day, the president works hard at Making America Great Again by spending at least four hours a day -- and sometimes as much as twice that -- in front of a TV. That’s according to the NYT, which interviewed 60 advisors, associates, friends of 45, and members of Congress as the president ends his first year in office. It’s just another manic Monday, and we’re kicking it off with this...
- Congressman Alcee Hastings (D-FL) is the latest member caught up in sexual harassment allegations; he denies any wrongdoing.
- UN Ambassador Nikki Haley says ALL women should be heard on sexual harassment allegations -- even those accusing the president.
- POTUS45 will name top diplomat to Venezuela.
- Native American legislator announces Idaho gubernatorial bid.
- Another Detroit legacy bids for former Congressman John Conyers’ seat.
- AZ Senate Majority Leader eyes outgoing Congressman Trent Franks’ seat.
- Meet the new Lyft VP of Corporate Development and Investor Relations.
- National Immigration Forum names new board chair.
- Victory Fund President steps down.
- Pioneer of Black press dies -- Rest in Power Simeon Booker.
- CBS names African American woman as VP of News.
- Roland Martin's show may not be canceled after all.
- The Guardian names a Dream team to elevate voices of DACA.
- DNC slashes superdelegates.
- Analysis finds much higher post-hurricane death toll in Puerto Rico than the official count.
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|  | Soledad O'Brien with participants of the PowHerful Foundation summit in Minneapolis on Friday. | |  | Congressman Will Hurd (R-TX) meeting with representatives of the government of Moldova last week. | |
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Sexual Harassment Claims Against Alcee Hastings
The Treasury Department in 2014 paid $220,000 in a previously undisclosed agreement to settle a lawsuit alleging sexual harassment that involved Congressman Alcee Hastings (D-FL). Roll Call reports that Winsome Packer, a former staff member of a congressional commission that promotes international human rights, said in documents that the Congressman touched her, made unwanted sexual advances, and threatened her job. At the time, Hastings was the Chairman of the Commission on Security and Cooperation in Europe, where Packer worked. Hastings denied the allegations, calling them ludicrous. “Until this evening, I had not seen the settlement agreement between the Commission on Security and Cooperation in Europe (CSCE) and Ms. Packer,” the Congressman said in a statement on Friday. “This matter was handled solely by the Senate Chief Counsel for Employment. At no time was I consulted, nor did I know until after the fact that such a settlement was made.” He went on to say that the lawsuit that Packer filed against him and an investigation by the House Ethics Committee were ultimately dismissed. “I am outraged that any taxpayer dollars were needlessly paid to Ms. Packer,” he said. More here.
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Haley Says Trump Accusers Should Be Heard
While on CBS’ Face the Nation on Sunday, UN Ambassador Nikki Haley said that anyone who accuses someone of sexual harassment or abuse should be heard -- including the women who have accused Donald Trump. "I am incredibly proud of the women who have come forward. I'm proud of their strength. I'm proud of their courage," Haley said. After John Dickerson asked her how people should assess the accusers of the president, Haley said: "Well, I mean, you know, the same thing, is women who accuse anyone should be heard. They should be heard and they should be dealt with ... And I think we heard from them prior to the election. And I think any woman who has felt violated or felt mistreated in any way, they have every right to speak up.” Nineteen women have accused Trump of inappropriate behavior. This morning, three of them will be heard. Today at 9A, Jessica Leeds, Samantha Holvey, and Rachel Cooks will appear on Megyn Kelly Today to give their account of sexual allegations against Donald Trump. At 10:30, they will speak at a press conference and are expected to call on Congress to investigate the president's sexual misconduct. Watch her comments here.
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POTUS45 Sends Top U.S. Representative to Venezuela
Todd D. Robinson will serve as Chargé d’Affaires in Venezuela. He will be the highest-ranking official in the embassy in the absence of an Ambassador. And, because he previously served as Ambassador to Guatemala for three years, Robinson will have the rank of Ambassador in the South American country. The New Jersey native and 1985 Georgetown graduate was a professional journalist before joining the Foreign Service. He has done stints in Colombia, Bolivia, El Salvador, and the Dominican Republic. He speaks Spanish, Italian, and Albanian. Robinson’s appointment comes at a crucial time for U.S.-Venezuela relations; Donald Trump targeted Venezuelan leadership in his most recent travel ban. Venezuela and the U.S. haven't exchanged ambassadors since 2010. More here.
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Congresswoman Nydia Velázquez (D-NY) with Congressmen Richard Neal (D-MA), José Serrano (D-NY), and Joe Crowley (D-NY) criticizing the GOP tax bill as detrimental to Puerto Rico. | |  | Jimmy Kemp, Joanne Kemp, and Senator Tim Scott (R-SC) receiving the 2017 Jack Kemp Leadership Award last week. | |
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Native American Woman Aims to Make History with Gubernatorial Bid
Representative Paulette Jordan, t he only Native American lawmaker currently serving in the Idaho statehouse, announced that she's running for Governor in 2018. The 38-year-old Democrat and member of the Coeur d'Alene Tribe has served in the state legislature since 2014. She is also a Senior Executive Board representative, Finance Chair, and Energy Initiative Chair for the National Indian Gaming Association, serving her third consecutive term. The 2003 University of Washington graduate returned to the reservation and was elected to the Tribal Council, and became the co-chair of gaming for the Affiliated Tribes of Northwest Indians. If elected, Jordan would not only be the first woman to serve as Idaho Governor, but also the first Native American woman to serve as Governor of any state. She faces, however, an uphill battle. The GOP dominates in Idaho, holding every statewide and federal elected seat, as well as a majority of the legislature. Idaho voters haven't swung for a Democratic governor since 1990. She will also face a competitive opponent in the Democratic primary against businessman A.J. Balukoff. And if she makes it past the primary, she could face Congressman Raúl Labrador (R-ID), who is considered a leading contender on the Republican side. More here.
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Another Detroit Legacy Pursues Conyers Seat
Dynasties may collide in the race to replace former Congressman John Conyers. The son of former Detroit Mayor Coleman Young plans to announce his candidacy today. State Senator Coleman Young II was elected to the Michigan state legislature in 2006 and cannot run for re-election due to term limits. The 34-year-old left Detroit when he was six and moved to California with his mother, who filed a paternity suit against then-Mayor Young in 1989. Paternity was established through blood tests after the Mayor initially contested it. The elder Young died in 1997. Young II then returned to Detroit, where he began an internship at City Hall in 2005 and also attended Wayne State University, completing his junior year. Earlier this year he launched a second failed mayoral run following an unsuccessful bid in 2009. He is currently in his second term in the Michigan Senate. Previously, he served in the Michigan House of Representatives for two terms. His colleague, state Senator Ian Conyers, has also said he plans to run even while the former Congressman endorsed his son, John Conyers III, to succeed him. Meanwhile, Wayne County Sheriff and former Detroit mayoral candidate Benny Napoleon, state Senator David Knezek, and former state Representative Rashida Tlaib -- the first Muslim woman elected to the Michigan Legislature -- may run as well. Michigan Governor Rick Snyder (R) announced Friday that he would leave Conyers' seat vacant until the already scheduled November 2018 election 'to reduce the financial burden on local taxpayers.' More here.
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AZ Senate Majority Leader Eyes Franks Seat
Republican Arizona state Senator Kimberly Yee expressed interest in replacing outgoing Congressman Trent Franks (R-AZ) after he announced his resignation on Thursday amid a House Ethics Committee Investigation over discussions he had with two female staffers about surrogacy. The 43-year-old Yee is currently the Majority Leader in the state Senate and was the first Asian American woman elected to the Arizona Legislature. In a message to CQ, Yee responded, “Yes, I am interested.” She just announced last month that she would be running statewide for Arizona Treasurer next year. She will have to make a choice soon. “I have received a lot of encouragement to run for Congress and I am considering it,” she wrote. If elected, Yee would be the first Republican woman of Chinese descent elected to the House of Representatives. The late Republican Senator Hiram Fong of Hawaii was the first person of Asian American descent to be elected to the U.S. Senate. More here.
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|  | Congresswoman Gwen Moore (D-WI) with the Public Service Award she received from the Metropolitan Milwaukee Fair Housing Council. | |  | Alabama Senate candidate Doug Jones with Congresswoman Terri Sewell (D-AL), Senator Cory Booker (D-NJ), and supporters campaigning on Saturday. (Getty Images) | |
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Lyft Names VP of Corporate Development and Investor Relations
Fresh off the heels of $1.5 billion in new investor funding, Lyft has named Kristina Omari as VP of Corporate Development and Investor Relations. Omari left her position as VP of Corporate Development for Fitbit to assume the new role. The Stanford MBA has worked in investment, strategy, and mergers and acquisitions for the past 20 years, holding a number of high-profile positions with Paine Webber, Hewlett Packard, Lehman Brothers, and Adobe. She also co-founded a nonprofit called BuildUp, which assists tech entrepreneurs from under-represented backgrounds. Omari is now the highest-ranking Black female executive at Lyft. According to its June 2017 diversity report, Lyft has a leadership team that is just one percent Black. More here.
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National Immigration Forum Elects New Board Chair
The National Immigration Forum has elected Eddie Aldrete, SVP of IBC Bank in Texas, to serve as the organization’s Chairman of the Board. The Forum convenes a broad constituency from across the country to advocate for the value of immigrants and immigration to the nation. The Texas Tech University grad has served as Vice Chair since 2015. His term as Chairman will last three years. Completing the slate of officers are Vice Chair Rebecca Tallent, former House Speaker John Boehner’s Assistant for Policy; Secretary Amy Domínguez-Arms; and Treasurer Bob Naerebout, former Executive Director of the Idaho Dairymen’s Association. More here.
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Victory Fund President Steps Down
On Friday, Aisha Moodie-Mills announced she will be stepping down as President and CEO of the Victory Fund and Victory Institute, a position she has held for the past 2 1/2 years. She made the announcement at the breakfast plenary of the International LGBTQ Leaders Conference, hosted by the Victory Institute. Moodie-Mills did not specifically elaborate on what her future plans were, but did say she would be recommitting herself to fighting back against right-wing efforts to reverse the progressive gains made on a host of different policy issues in recent years. “[I]t is my calling to be on the front lines, not just for the LGBT community, but for all of us who believe in the founding principles of our democracy.” Replacing Moodie-Mills will be former Houston Mayor Annise Parker, the first out LGBTQ person to be elected as Mayor of a top-ten U.S. city. The Victory Fund is a PAC dedicated to increasing the number of openly LGBT public officials in US political life. More here.
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KRGV-TV reporter Carolina Cruz running into MSNBC and NBC anchor José Díaz-Balart at the airport. | |  |
Congresswoman Nanette Díaz Barragán (D-CA) on Saturday meeting with constituents for her End of the Year Legislative Briefing. | |
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CBS Names New VP of News
CBS News has named Kimberly Godwin VP of News. In her new role, she will be responsible for the editorial direction, launch, and coordination of all CBS News newsgathering resources both domestically and around the globe. She will also continue in her role as Executive Director for Development and Diversity. Godwin has been serving as senior broadcast producer of the CBS Evening News since 2014. Before joining CBS News in 2007, Godwin spent more than 20 years cutting her teeth as a newsroom leader at some of the top local stations in the country, ranging from network affiliates in Cleveland, LA, Philadelphia, and NYC. The 1984 Florida A&M University graduate returned to her alma mater from 2003-2005 where she was the Interim Director for Journalism at the School of Journalism and Graphic Communication and an adjunct faculty member, where she taught news writing, reporting, and ethics. Godwin began her career as an Executive Producer and Investigative Reporter at television and radio stations in West Palm Beach and Tallahassee, FL. Congrats, Kimberly! More here.
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Roland Martin Not Canceled??
Last week we reported that TV One would be canceling Roland Martin’s morning news show, NewsOne Now. However, some semantics indicate the show may not fade to black. On Friday, TV One called its action a “suspension,” and said, “TV One is working to restructure NewsOne Now in 2018 under a new format that will better serve its audience and advertisers.” The statement went on to say, “The network invested in the production of NewsOne Now for the past four years. In an effort to save the program, adjustments were made to the format this quarter. Despite the network’s commitment and investment, NewsOne Now did not gain traction with advertisers and viewers.” CEO Alfred Liggins said, “As a Black-owned multi-media company, Urban One (parent company of TV One) engages Black America daily, not just on television ... We know there is a void in mainstream media and we plan to continue to be an outlet for Black news. Roland Martin will be a part of that plan.” Meanwhile, there is a petition circulating to support Martin’s news show. See it here.
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Pioneer of Black Press Dies
Simeon Booker, the Washington Bureau Chief of Jet and Ebony magazines for five decades, died on Sunday at an assisted-living community in Solomons, MD. He was 99 and had recently been hospitalized for pneumonia. As one of the few Black reporters in the nation’s capital, he wrote a column for Jet called Ticker Tape U.S.A. and led editorial coverage of the executive and legislative branches at a time when Black reporters were largely excluded from news events. Booker was the first full-time Black reporter for WaPo. The paper says, "few reporters risked more to chronicle the civil rights movement than Mr. Booker," adding that he ventured into the South and sent back dispatches that reached Black readers across the country. He is credited with helping to deliver the story of Emmett Till's murder to a national audience. Jet magazine published the photos of Till in the open casket in 1955. It’s a precarious time for the free press. Booker risked his safety and life to tell stories and bear witness. Rest in power. Booker’s full story is worth the read.
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The Dream Team
The Guardian invited four “Dreamers” -- Itzel Guillén, Irving Hernández, Allyson Duarte, and Justino Mora -- to tell their stories and those of others in the community of nearly 800,000 undocumented immigrants who were brought to America as children in a new series, "We're Here to Stay." The Guardian says the goal is to elevate voices often excluded from the national conversation. The stories range from politics to the environment, as well as what the media gets wrong about “Dreamers.” In addition to their three-day guest-editing stint, Univisión News will co-publish a selection of the Guardian US stories in Spanish and the Columbia Journalism Review will co-publish a critique of media coverage of the "Dreamers." The foursome came to America as infants or children, and America is the only country they know. When asked what’s one thing they’d like to say to Donald Trump, Itzel answers, “The future looks like me and others like me, and we will not forget.” Read more here.
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|  | The White House's Jennifer Korn last week with veteran survivors of the attack on Pearl Harbor. | |  | Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin with former Milwaukee County Sheriff David Clarke at the Trump Hotel in DC on Friday. | |
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DNC’s Unity Commission Votes to Reform Superdelegates
In a historic move, the DNC’s Unity Commission -- a group born out of the Democrats’ contentious 2016 primary election -- has voted to cut the number of superdelegate voters by 60%. The recommended reforms would also open up the fiscal and administrative operations, as well as creating an Ombudsman Council. The commission’s recommendations now head to the DNC’s Rules and Bylaws Committee, which has a six-month period to amend party rules to enact the reforms. After the changes were announced, DNC Chair Tom Pérez tweeted, “I'm proud of the work of the Unity Reform Commission. Their recommendations would reduce superdelegates by nearly 60%, make primaries & caucuses more accessible, and bring transparency to our party. We haven't seen these types of sweeping reforms in over 30 years.” The voting DNC membership will rule on the proposals at the fall 2018 meeting. More here.
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Analysis Shows Far Higher Death Toll in Post-Hurricane PR Than Official Count
According to the NYT's analysis of daily mortality data from the island’s vital statistic bureau, many more people died in Puerto Rico after Hurricane Maria than what the island government has been saying. Officially, the death toll is 64, but actual deaths may be 1,052. The analysis compared the number of deaths for each day in 2017 with the average for the same days in 2015 and 2016. “Before the hurricane, I had an average of 82 deaths daily. ... Now I have an average of 118,” said Demographic Registry Director Wanda Llovet. The highest surge is in deaths from sepsis, up 50% from last year. The deadliest day was September 25th, when 135 people died, while the island government maintained at that time that just 16 had died. Two weeks later, Trump visited the island and praised the low official death toll and said that in comparison Hurricane Katrina was “a real catastrophe.” But the paper’s analysis found that an additional 556 islanders had died by then. The numbers cover just through September, as the October data are not yet complete. More here.
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| FOMO Today, 6P: A reception with former Attorney General Eric Holder in support of the National Democratic Redistricting Committee. Click here to RSVP. Location provided upon RSVP.
Today, 6P: The Hispanic Lobbyists Association hosts its annual holiday party. UPS Townhouse 421 New Jersey Avenue, S.E. Click here to RSVP.
Wednesday, December 13th, 9A: The Raben Group hosts Congressman Dwight Evans (D-PA) for a breakfast discussion on How Cities and Suburbs are Combating Poverty. 1341 G Street, N.W. Click here for more information and to RSVP.
Wednesday, December 13th, 12P: Latino Magazine hosts the Latino Career Forum featuring experts in government relations and a panel discussion with Congressman Tony Cárdenas (D-CA). Capitol Visitor Center Congressional Meeting Room South CVC 217. For more information and to RSVP, contact Alfredo Estrada at 512.483.1898.
Wednesday, December 13th, 2P: The Congressional Caucus on Black Women & Girls is hosting a roundtable discussion, Leading From The Black: How Black Women Lead Even When Ignored. 2168 Rayburn HOB. Click here for more information and to RSVP.
Wednesday, December 13th, 5P: Join Congresswoman Val Demings (D-FL) for her Ho Ho Harley Holiday Reception and fundraiser. 413 New Jersey Avenue, S.E. To RSVP, contact Caroline Stonecipher or Randy Broz at: 202.403.0606 or Caroline@ABCConsultingDC.com.
Thursday, December 14th, 6P: Solidarity Strategies hosts a Holiday Fiesta. Invite only.
Saturday, December 16th, 8P: The National Black MBA DC Chapter Annual Holiday Party. Hard Rock Cafe, 999 E Street, N.W. Click here to purchase tickets.
February 21 - 23, 2018: The NFL, along with Morehouse College and the Ross Initiative in Sports for Equality (RISE), hosts a program in Atlanta to educate athletes on how to develop and implement effective advocacy platforms that positively impact society. Click here for more information.
April 19, 2018: The University of North Dakota sponsors a conference on the Dakota Access Pipeline and the Standing Rock protests. Click here for more information.
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