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Huffington Post
Washington correspondent for the Huffington Post
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Jennifer Bendery
Guest
FROM Jennifer Bendery
To the Point
Feds to Limit Military-Style Weapons for Police Forces During protests over last year's shooting death of Michael Brown, police in Ferguson, Missouri rolled out armored tanks and riot gear. A White House working group concluded that over-reaction made the situation dramatically worse. Today, President Obama announced a ban on providing certain military equipment to local police. Jennifer Bendery, who covers the White House and Congress for the Huffington Post , has details.
To the Point
Escalation of Violence in Ferguson Missouri For more than 10 days, heavily armed officers in body armor and SWAT vehicles have clashed with protesters in Ferguson, Missouri. The use of military equipment against peaceful protesters backfired on local police, producing an escalation of violence. Members of Congress, including presidential prospect Rand Paul, are pointing fingers at the Pentagon and the Department of Homeland Security. Washington gives heavy weapons, riot gear and armored personnel carriers to police forces who aren’t trained to use them, even if they needed to. We’ll hear how long-term policies have led to unintended consequences.
To the Point
Obama Stays on Offense on the Payroll Tax Cut Yesterday, House Republican leaders backed off their insistence on spending reductions to cover renewal of the two percent cut in the payroll tax, scheduled to lapse at the end of this month. Today, President Obama sounded skeptical . "You can't take anything for granted here in Washington until my signature is actually on it… So we've got to keep making sure the American people's voices keep breaking through, until this is absolutely, finally, completely done." Jennifer Bendery is Washington correspondent for the Washington Post .
To the Point
Obama Names Consumer Watchdog by Recess Appointment over GOP Opposition President Obama today appointed Richard Cordray as head of the new Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. Republicans have been blocking the action for months but, with Congress out of town, the Chief Executive is empowered to make what’s called a “recess appointment.”
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To the Point
The Trump agenda: where's the beef? President Trump says big things are happening. After celebrating a House bill on health care, he doesn’t yet have Senate agreement. With James Comey’s public testimony scheduled tomorrow, the President today tweeted his selection of a new FBI Director. Is the Chief Executive all style and no substance? Later, terror attacks in Iran and conflicting claims about who’s behind them.
To the Point
What happens when America retreats from the world? Is President Trump taking his "America First" agenda to extremes, withdrawing the country from the international stage on trade and climate change, distancing America from its traditional allies across the Atlantic and even threatening to physically isolate the country through the building of a wall along its southern border? León Krauze guest hosts.
Left, Right & Center
President Trump: US to withdraw from the Paris Climate Accord Trump says he was elected to serve Pittsburgh, not Paris.
To the Point
Trump's new look at civil rights and global warming President Trump is reportedly ready to pull the US out of the Paris Agreement on Climate Change. We look at the possible consequences. On the second half of the program, we hear about cuts in Obama-Era civil rights programs called for by the Trump Administration's first budget plan.