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Time Magazine
Molly Ball is a national political correspondent for Time magazine. She is a former political reporter for The Atlantic and an analyst for CNN.
PROFILE
Molly Ball
Guest
FROM Molly Ball
Press Play with Madeleine Brand
Government shutdown looms at midnight Will the federal government begin shutting down tonight at midnight? If it does, who’ll get the blame? Will they pay a price at the polls in November? The House passed a stopgap bill yesterday to keep the government open until February 16, largely along party lines. Now it’s up to the Senate. where no agreement is apparent at the moment.
Press Play with Madeleine Brand
What a Democratic victory in Alabama means for political races elsewhere Democrat Doug Jones celebrated a surprise victory last night over Republican Roy Moore in ruby-red Alabama. A year ago, Donald Trump won in Alabama by 28 points.
Press Play with Madeleine Brand
One-year anniversary of the election of President Trump We talk with political observers and experts about President Trump’s first year in office. We’re also taking your calls. Is the president is living up to your expectations? Do last night’s results in Virginia and elsewhere tell us anything about what’s to come?
Press Play with Madeleine Brand
Will Congress follow Trump and abandon the Iran nuclear deal? President Donald Trump announced this morning that he will not recertify the Iran Nuclear Deal. This caps a flurry of executive actions in the last 24 hours attempting to undo President Obama’s signature policies. Trump also unveiled two policies that would undercut the Affordable Care Act.
Press Play with Madeleine Brand
Will a new communications director make Trump stop tweeting? Sean Spicer resigned today after President Trump named hedge fund millionaire Anthony Scaramucci as the new White House Communications Director. Will that change the White House?
Left, Right & Center
Can there be a moment of bipartisan comity in Washington? If Washington isn't a swamp, can it be drained?
Press Play with Madeleine Brand
Suspicion grows around spies in Washington DC With the Trump administration’s ties to Russia under scrutiny, some Washington DC residents are re-examining their own encounters with foreign diplomats. Those meetings may have seemed friendly at first, but in hindsight were anything but.
Press Play with Madeleine Brand
Who is on Hillary Clinton's Shortlist for VP? About 99 percent of political journalists are calling Virginia Senator Tim Kaine the winner of Clinton’s Veepstakes. Rumor has it that she will be making the announcement sometime Friday or Saturday. But until the final decision has been made, what are the pros and cons of a few other contenders still in the running?
Press Play with Madeleine Brand
Clinton’s $40 Million v. Trump’s $1 Million Trump may be rich, but according to recent filings with the Federal Election Commission, he started this month with just a little more than $1 million in his campaign account. Clinton’s campaign was about $40 million dollars richer. Trump’s campaign staff is made up of about 70 people; there are about 700 people working for the Clinton campaign. What does this mean for the upcoming campaign between the two?
Press Play with Madeleine Brand
Should The Media Call Trump Racist? Republican Donald Trump has said that the federal judge overseeing the fraud case against Trump University, Gonzalo Curiel, isn’t qualified to hear the case because of his Mexican heritage. In an interview with the Wall Street Journal Thursday , Trump said, “I’m building a wall. It’s an inherent conflict of interest.” His position, and his continuous divisive rhetoric, raises the question: at what point is it okay for the media to report his statements as “racist”, rather than using terms like “racially charged” or “controversial”? And how else is Trump challenging conventional campaign coverage?
To the Point
Does the GOP Really Matter? After one of the nastiest primary campaigns in America's political history, Donald Trump claims he can unite Republicans – but he's also said it's not all that important. Trump has questioned the tradition of giving the senior leader, House Speaker Paul Ryan, leadership of the nominating convention. As he looks for a running mate with insider credentials, some GOP veterans are openly dreaming about a Third Party. The billionaire now says he'll need to raise money, but many senior contributors are spending on the House and the Senate. Can new voters bring life to the GOP?
Press Play with Madeleine Brand
Rubio Wins in Iowa? First is the worst, second is the best, third is the one with the treasure chest. That old children's’ rhyme certainly rang true last night at the Iowa caucuses. Ted Cruz definitely walked away with the top prize. But Donald Trump and Marco Rubio acted like the big winners, even though they came in at second and third place, respectively. On the Democratic side, Hillary Clinton has been declared the official winner in Iowa. But it was just a narrow win, with analysts and Bernie Sanders himself calling it a "virtual tie." We look at what this means for New Hampshire and the rest of the upcoming caucuses.
Press Play with Madeleine Brand
Assessing Bernie Sanders President Obama wasn’t the only one to give a policy speech today. Sen. Bernie Sanders did as well. He has broadly attacked Wall Street and corporate greed throughout his campaign, but today he added some specifics. Can Sanders parlay his financial policy speech to wins in Iowa and New Hampshire?
Press Play with Madeleine Brand
Breaking Down the Final Republican Debate The first two Republican debates between presidential hopefuls this year were the highest rated TV debates ever. And the overnight numbers from last night’s final one are looking good for CNN this time, too -- likely fueled in part by the country’s fascination with the candidacy of Donald Trump. We recap the highlights, lowlights and big takeaways from last night’s debate.
To the Point
"It's the Economy, Stupid…" The economy was the subject of last night's fourth Republican presidential debate, and you could almost hear Bill Clinton's slogan from 1992. But the eight candidates struggled to define their differences, when they were almost unanimous: ‘cut taxes, cut spending; don't raise the minimum wage.' Despite a recovery that's driven unemployment down to 5%, polls show that Republican voters are anxious about the economy. We hear about last night's appeals to the base of the party and how the GOP's economic vision compares to the Democrats'.
Recommended
Press Play with Madeleine Brand
Accusations of lying fly between James Comey and White House During his testimony Thursday, former FBI Director James Comey accused President Trump and other White House officials of lying when they said the FBI was in disarray and its staff had lost confidence in him. President Trump’s lawyer said Comey was wrong -- that the president never asked for his loyalty, and never asked him to back off the investigation into former NSA director Michael Flynn.
Good Food
Shaking up the USDA, 'The Beef Cookbook' and 'Tartine All Day' Peggy Lowe explains why Trump’s pick for USDA Secretary is rattling rural America. Dario Cecchini talks future plans for Chianti ramen, and Richard Turner shares cuts from “PRIME: The Beef Cookbook.” Writer Matthew Sedacca looks at the controversy behind liquid smoke. Jonathan Gold tries Chengdu-style dishes, and Elisabeth Prueitt of Tartine fills us in on the latest. Plus, chef Michael Beckman shares a recipe for cactus confit.