First Draft on Politics: An Alarming Climate Report

View in [Browser]( | Add nytdirect@nytimes.com to your address book. [The New York Times]( [The New York Times]( Tuesday, August 8, 2017 [NYTimes.com/Politics »]( [A draft report by government scientists concludes that Americans are feeling the effects of climate change right now.]( A draft report by government scientists concludes that Americans are feeling the effects of climate change right now. Branden Camp/Associated Press Good Tuesday morning, Here are some of the stories making news in Washington and politics today: - The New York Times has reviewed an alarming draft report by government scientists who [say climate change is happening now]( and severely affecting the United States. [The report]( directly contradicts claims about global warming made by the Trump administration, which must sign off on it before it can be released. - Mike Pompeo, the director of the C.I.A., has become a favorite of the president’s with tough talk and [hawkish views at the helm of the agency]( worrying some staff members at a place that prides itself on being apolitical. - President Trump promised Americans that they would be exhausted from “winning” on trade under his presidency. But nearly seven months after Mr. Trump took office, the industries he vowed to protect have [become tired of something else: waiting](. - The Times and ProPublica have [identified more possible conflicts]( among Trump appointees charged with undoing regulations, as Democrats in Congress demand greater transparency. - North Korea threatened retaliation “thousands of times” for the imposition of a new round of punishing sanctions. But [history suggests the country will devise workarounds](. — 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 Washington [Senator Lamar Alexander]( The health care debate is not over on Capitol Hill. The folksy Republican senator from Tennessee is leading a new charge to fix the Affordable Care Act through a bipartisan approach. He talks with Carl Hulse about his journey from voting to repeal it to calling hearings to make it better. DealBook [As Stocks Reach New Heights, What’s Trump Got to Do With It?]( By ANDREW ROSS SORKIN [Efforts to reduce regulation, as President Trump did in January for domestic manufacturing, will take time to work.]( Efforts to reduce regulation, as President Trump did in January for domestic manufacturing, will take time to work. Doug Mills/The New York Times “Business is looking better than ever with business enthusiasm at record levels. Stock Market at an all-time high. That doesn’t just happen!” That was one of President Trump’s early-morning [Twitter posts]( late last week. It was, all things considered, a factually accurate statement. Business is looking better. The stock market is at a high. And, yes, it did not happen by itself. The question, however, is this: Has anything that has happened at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue had anything to do with it? [Read more »](  [President Trump with his grandchildren Arabella Kushner, right, and Joseph Kushner at Morristown Municipal Airport in New Jersey on Friday.]( [A Trump Vacation Formula: Work Hard, Play Hard, Tweet Hard]( By PETER BAKER With rain washing away any golf, the president spent part of his working vacation on Monday posting messages of grievance and frustration. [President Trump leaving Air Force One with his grandchildren Arabella and Joseph Kushner last week in Morristown, N.J.]( [On Vacation in New Jersey, Trump Says Next Stop Is New York]( By SARAH MASLIN NIR After Mr. Trump tweeted about visiting the city soon, city officials and business owners started planning for the financial and logistical impact of a presidential appearance. [President Barack Obama with President Uhuru Kenyatta of Kenya before departing the East African country in 2015.]( [Obama Weighs In on Kenyan Election, Urging Calm]( By PETER BAKER The former president, who has largely stayed out of American politics, said there had been “too much incitement” in the election in his father’s home country. [A hotel and casino in Macau, the world’s largest gambling market and the only place in China where casino gambling is legal.]( [Trump Company Moves to Protect Brand in Chinese Gambling Hub]( By AUSTIN RAMZY The applications seek rights to the Trump name for casinos, construction, hotels and real estate in Macau, the world’s biggest gambling center. [Mayor Rahm Emanuel says that the Trump administration’s immigration policy asks Chicago to make “a false choice, and a wrong choice.”]( [Sessions Scolds Chicago for Suing Over ‘Sanctuary Cities’ Threat]( By MITCH SMITH Hours after Mayor Rahm Emanuel said the city would fight administration rules requiring it to cooperate with immigration agents in order to receive federal grants, the attorney general struck back. [Annie Ramirez, left, and Jennifer Ramirez in July preparing to protest an anti-sanctuary-cities bill at the Texas Capitol.]( [States Have Already Passed Almost Twice as Many Immigration Laws as Last Year]( By NIRAJ CHOKSHI Issues included sanctuary cities, identification rules, benefits and civics lessons in the schools. [President Trump departing for a vacation on Thursday. The sheer magnitude of his falsehoods and exaggerations is giving political historians pause.]( [Many Politicians Lie. But Trump Has Elevated the Art of Fabrication.]( By SHERYL GAY STOLBERG President Trump is not the first president to be caught in lies. But the degree to which he has trafficked in falsehoods is raising questions about whether standards for veracity have eroded. [The summer meeting of the National Association of Insurance Commissioners on Monday in Philadelphia.]( [Facing Trump Subsidy Cuts, Health Insurance Officials Seek a Backup Plan]( By ROBERT PEAR State commissioners are debating what to do if President Trump stops subsidies paid to insurance companies on behalf of millions of low-income people. 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 • [David Harsanyi]( in [The Federalist]( “If you don’t like Trump’s federal push to undo Obama’s federal push, maybe there should be no federal push at all.” Ideally, Mr. Harsanyi writes, the federal government wouldn’t be involved in college admissions policies at all. However, if the [Justice Department must concern itself with affirmative action]( “it’s perfectly reasonable to ask it to undo institutional discrimination against white and Asian kids,” many of whom are denied a spot in top universities in favor of their wealthier peers. [Read more »]( _____ From the Left • [Christine Emba]( in [The Washington Post]( “Affirmative action is a consistent hobbyhorse on the right because it combines real anxieties with compelling falsehoods.” If there’s one thing that unites Ms. Emba with various writers on the right on the issue of affirmative action, it’s that “income tips the scale much more than race.” She writes that if the Trump administration were truly interested in “leveling the admissions playing field,” it would not focus its attention on “fringe campaigns against affirmative action,” but instead “would involve much broader efforts to redistribute wealth and power.” [Read more »]( _____ [More selections »]( ADVERTISEMENT HOW ARE WE DOING? 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