Comment on Iowa race shifts from persuasion to mobilization

Associated Press: “Donald Trump will use back-to-back stops Saturday to court Black voters and a conservative group that has been accused of attracting white supremacists as the Republican presidential candidate works to stitch together a coalition of historically divergent interests in battleground Michigan.”

“CNN’s deal to produce the first debate of the 2024 presidential election cycle is a major coup for the news network. It won’t let viewers forget it,” the Los Angeles Times reports. “Instead of the blue background showing the constitution, as seen in previous presidential debates, viewers will see the red CNN logo.

New York Times: “Air Force One touched down in Washington only long enough to refuel for the continuing flight and landed in Los Angeles on Saturday morning.” “Tickets for the Democratic event at the Peacock Theater run from $250 for grass-roots supporters to $500,000 for a four-seat package.”

Michael Cohen told New York Magazine that he will challenge Rep. Jerry Nadler (D-NY) in the 2026 Democratic primary: “He’s been in office 30 years. We thank him for his service, but it’s enough already.” Nadler responded to Playbook: “What a great country America is. Anyone can run for Congress — even con men.”

Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has hit CNN’s 15% debate participation threshold in three polls, Politico reports. He now needs a fourth. “But ballot access remains a problem. CNN is standing firm in insisting that participating candidates be on the ballot in enough states to theoretically win 270 electoral votes. The network today notes that Kennedy has qualified in six states that add up to 89 electoral votes — suggesting they are not sympathetic to his arguments that he’s on track to hit 270 later this year and that neither Trump or Biden have been officially nominated so technically they are not on the ballot anywhere yet.”

The US Conference of Catholic Bishops, which creates policies for the church in the United States, formally apologized on Friday for the church’s role in traumatizing Native American children at boarding schools until the mid-1900s. It’s “the most direct expression of regret to date” by church officials for forcibly assimilating Indigenous kids into white culture, according to the Washington Post, whose investigative reporters recently documented the widespread sexual abuse by priests and nuns at these schools. “The family systems of many Indigenous people never fully recovered from these tragedies, which often led to broken homes harmed by addiction, domestic abuse, abandonment and neglect,” the bishops said in a 56-page document, which came after decades of attempts by Native Americans to demand accountability from the US government and the Catholic Church.