First Draft on Politics: O'Reilly Out

An abrupt, embarrassing end to a two-decade reign on television. View in [Browser]( | Add nytdirect@nytimes.com to your address book. [The New York Times]( [The New York Times]( Thursday, April 20, 2017 [NYTimes.com/Politics »]( [Bill O’Reilly, on vacation, greeted Pope Francis in St. Peter’s Square on Wednesday, the day Fox News announced his dismissal.]( Bill O’Reilly, on vacation, greeted Pope Francis in St. Peter’s Square on Wednesday, the day Fox News announced his dismissal. L’Osservatore Romano Good Thursday morning, Here are some of the stories making news in Washington and politics today: - Fox News dropped Bill O’Reilly, bringing [an abrupt, embarrassing end]( to his two-decade reign as one of the most popular and influential commentators on television. [Advertisers fled his show]( and public protests flared after [a Times investigation]( revealed payouts of $13 million to resolve claims of sexual harassment and inappropriate behavior. It was the latest episode in a [tumultous nine months]( for the network. - Mr. O’Reilly’s exit [may test the loyalty of Fox News’s audience]( Fans stood by him amid a series of allegations. Now, after the network they have trusted has decided not to do the same, they may turn to alternatives. - A visit to Moscow last July by Carter Page, a onetime campaign adviser to President Trump, [became a catalyst for the F.B.I. investigation]( into ties between Russia and the Trump campaign. - A $5 million gift by the casino magnate Sheldon Adelson was [the largest single contribution]( ever given to a presidential inauguration. - The special election to fill Montana’s empty House seat [is coming in May]( and after a Democrat [nearly won a Georgia seat outright]( Big Sky Democrats are asking, “What about us?” - Representative Jason Chaffetz of Utah, a powerful House Republican, [said he would not seek re-election]( for his seat in a heavily Republican district, as possible signs of a challenging race mounted. — The First Draft Team HAVE A CONFIDENTIAL NEWS TIP? Do you have the next big story? Want to share it with The New York Times? We offer several ways to get in touch with and provide materials to our journalists. [Learn More »]( ADVERTISEMENT [The New York Times Magazine. In Your Inbox.]( The best of The New York Times Magazine delivered by email every week, including exclusive feature stories, photography, columns and more. [• Sign up »]( [Can Elections Predict Future Races?]( By JONAH ENGEL BROMWICH [A polling site in Marietta, Ga., on Tuesday during the special election for the Sixth Congressional District.]( A polling site in Marietta, Ga., on Tuesday during the special election for the Sixth Congressional District. David Goldman/Associated Press The congressional election in Georgia this week was billed as having potential national implications, as an early test of whether anti-Trump energy could fuel Democratic victory in a traditionally Republican district. It seems likely that the same will be said for scattered upcoming special elections in other states. But political scientists and pollsters who analyze races for a living say that so-called bellwether races are tricky to evaluate — if they even exist at all. Edward R. Tufte, a professor of political science and statistics at Yale who wrote a landmark paper on the subject in 1975, was brief in his response to a question about the validity of using such races to predict the results of midterm elections in 2018. “Bellwethers only exist after the fact, are astrology, and indicate only that it’s a slow day at the national news desk,” he wrote in an email. [Read More »]( [Super Bowl Champions Pay a Fraught Visit to the White House]( By VICTOR MATHER Quarterback Tom Brady of the New England Patriots and numerous teammates did not attend. Some of them cited politics as the reason, though Brady did not. [For Fox, Life After Bill O’Reilly Will Feature Tucker Carlson]( By MICHAEL M. GRYNBAUM AND JOHN KOBLIN Mr. Carlson has been tapped to replace Mr. O’Reilly at 8 p.m. Eastern. The round-table show “The Five” will take over Mr. Carlson’s 9 p.m. slot. [Murdoch’s Defiance Over O’Reilly Gives Way to Pragmatism]( By MICHAEL M. GRYNBAUM Rupert Murdoch prizes loyalty and profits, both of which his former Fox News host brought him in droves, but he has also proved that his hand can be forced. [States Can’t Keep Criminal Fines of Exonerated, Supreme Court Rules]( By ADAM LIPTAK By a 7 to 1 vote, the justices struck down a Colorado law that required people cleared by the courts to file civil suits and prove their innocence. [Supreme Court Weighs State Aid to Church Programs]( By ADAM LIPTAK The case, one of several Justice Neil M. Gorsuch has heard so far, involves playground safety in Missouri — but it could have broader implications. [Ajit Pai, F.C.C. Chairman, Moves to Roll Back Telecom Rules]( By CECILIA KANG Mr. Pai, who has been unwinding Obama-era regulatory efforts, is putting two items up for vote on Thursday that would empower telecom companies and broadcasters. [Exxon Mobil Seeks U.S. Sanctions Waiver for Oil Project in Russia]( By CLIFFORD KRAUSS Officials said the proposal, pending from the Obama administration, cited Exxon’s potential loss of Black Sea exploration rights to European rivals. Right and Left: Partisan Writing You Shouldn’t Miss Read about how the other side thinks. We have collected political writing from around the web and across ideologies.  From the Right • [J]( Rucker]( in [Red State]( “It’s like cutting down on food without accompanying it with exercise.” Despite leaving the Republican Party for the Federalist Party in search of a more faithful, Reagan-esque conservatism, JD Rucker ventures to give his former cohorts some advice: Cutting taxes without cutting spending will not do enough to revive the nation’s economic health. [Read more »]( _____  From the Left • [Masha Gessen]( in [The New York Review of Books]( “Trump has become the real version of the man Putin plays on television — an unpredictable, temperamental, impetuous man who will push reality past the limits of the imagination.” President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia and President Trump have much in common, writes Masha Gessen, including an affinity for the “politics of spectacle” and insatiable ambition. But their differences are instructive. With Mr. Trump becoming the “madman” that Ms. Gessen argues Mr. Putin only puts on, the results for geopolitical comity are truly terrifying. [Read more »]( _____  [More selections »]( ADVERTISEMENT HOW ARE WE DOING? We’d love your feedback on this newsletter. Please email thoughts and suggestions to [washington-newsletter@nytimes.com](mailto:washington-newsletter@nytimes.com?subject=Newsletter%20Feedback). FOLLOW NYTimes [Facebook] [FACEBOOK]( [Twitter] [@NYTPolitics]( Get more [NYTimes.com newsletters »](  | Get unlimited access to NYTimes.com and our NYTimes apps for just $0.99. [Subscribe »]( ABOUT THIS EMAIL You received this message because you signed up for NYTimes.com's First Draft newsletter. [Unsubscribe]( | [Manage Subscriptions]( | [Change Your Email]( | [Privacy Policy]( | [Contact]( | [Advertise]( Copyright 2017 The New York Times Company 620 Eighth Avenue New York, NY 10018