Latest news with #Dunlap
Politico
04-08-2025
- Politics
- Politico
Golden's potential primary problem
TOP LINE Democratic Rep. Jared Golden has long been Republicans' white whale — finding a way to hang on to his solid-red Maine district since he first won in 2018. But next year, he could face a challenge from a fellow Democrat. State Auditor and former Secretary of State Matthew Dunlap has been openly mulling a primary bid in Maine's 2nd Congressional District, and the chatter has gotten the attention of national Democrats and forced Golden's campaign to poll a potential matchup. That poll, first reported by NOTUS last month, showed Dunlap trailing Golden's GOP rival, former Maine Gov. Paul LePage, by 10 points, while Golden prevailed by 1 point, well within the margin of error. The district has been trending right and hasn't gone for a Democrat in the presidential race since 2012. The poll, Dunlap is quick to point out, did not include a potential primary matchup. Dunlap, who told Score recently that he will have a decision around Labor Day, said he was initially hesitant about exploring a run. 'I thought, Do I want to build a campaign only to have everybody laugh at me?' Dunlap said in an interview. 'But largely, the response I've been getting has been incredibly positive.' Golden's fierce independent streak has ruffled some within his party — both in Maine and in Washington — but he has also shown an ability to win in a district that continues to vote for Republicans at the top of the ticket. That winning streak in a tough district led Dunlap to get a call from the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee urging him against a run. 'They called me on a Thursday morning and they said, 'We really don't think it's a great idea,'' Dunlap recalled. The DCCC has not refuted the call, which was also reported by local media at the time. Just because Dunlap has been getting some encouragement doesn't mean he will run. 'I also am cynical enough to know that when people say that people have been begging them to run for governor, for Senate, for Congress, the person that's really begging them to run is the person they see in the mirror every morning,' Dunlap said. Golden's campaign did not respond to requests for comment on Dunlap's run. Good Monday morning, I hope you enjoyed the wonderful weather this weekend. Reach me: ahoward@ or @andrewjfhoward. Days until the AZ-07 general: 50 Days until the TN-07 primary: 64 Days until the 2025 election: 92 Days until the midterms: 458 Want to receive this newsletter every weekday? Subscribe to POLITICO Pro. You'll also receive daily policy news and other intelligence you need to act on the day's biggest stories. CAMPAIGN INTEL LEGAL CORNER — The Supreme Court said Friday that it will weigh the constitutionality of a common form of redistricting used to protect the voting power of Black and Hispanic voters: the drawing of congressional districts where racial minorities make up at least half the population, POLITICO's Zach Montellaro and Josh Gerstein reported Friday. Experts in election law said the move signals that the court may be poised to further narrow the Voting Rights Act. CASH DASH — Several Democrats are already laying the groundwork for potential 2028 presidential runs, new campaign finance filings show, recruiting donors and running online ads that build their national profiles, my colleagues Jessica Piper and Elena Schneider report. Former Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg led the way among Democrats talked about as presidential contenders with $1.6 million raised for his leadership PAC in the first half of the year, and a few Democratic governors raised hundreds of thousands of dollars each. … 'Why Trump Keeps Fundraising Like a First-Term President,' by the Wall Street Journal's Josh Dawsey, Anthony DeBarros and Rebecca Ballhaus. REDISTRICTING — 'Texas Dems to flee state amid national redistricting battle,' POLITICO's Adam Wren scooped on Sunday. ... 'Texas House panel advances redrawn congressional map that would add more GOP seats,' by the Texas Tribune's Eleanor Klibanoff, Kayla Guo and Gabby Birenbaum. … 'Democratic governors advise strong counteroffensive on redistricting,' Elena reports. POLLING CORNER — ''They roll right over': Many Democrats call their party weak and ineffective,' per a new AP-NORC poll. RECRUITMENT — 'In Battle for House, Democrats Are Calling Up Military Recruits,' by NYT's Shane Goldmacher. While the trend is a reprisal of one that worked in 2018, Goldmacher writes that 'this time the push for veterans is being embraced to a greater extent by a party establishment keenly aware of the urgent need for Democratic challengers to create distance from a national party brand that remains deeply unpopular.' CALIFORNIA GOV — Kamala Harris just answered the biggest question in California politics. Now everyone is asking about Rick Caruso, POLITICO's Jeremy B. White and Melanie Mason write. YOUNG REPUBLICANS — A monthslong battle for control of the Young Republican National Federation came to a head on Saturday with the organization's national leadership elections in Nashville, my colleague Jacob Wendler writes in. After a bitter fight that at times devolved into alleged smear campaigns, personal attacks and legal threats over which faction represented the true MAGA wing of the party, the incumbent Grow YR slate beat out the insurgent Restore YR campaign 481-426. YRNF Chair Hayden Padgett, who was reelected on the Grow YR ticket, said he would use his second term to 'fight for a future grounded in opportunity, freedom, and conservative values,' touting his organizing and fundraising record. The Restore YR campaign — led by New York State Young Republicans Chair Peter Giunta and endorsed by MAGA firebrands like Roger Stone and Rep. Elise Stefanik — had accused Padgett and his colleagues of being insufficiently supportive of President Donald Trump, allegations Padgett vehemently denies. While the incumbent leadership was ultimately able to hold its challengers at bay, the brawl offers a potential preview of Republican infighting that could hinder the GOP next year and in 2028 as the party seeks to find its post-Trump identity. AD WATCH — 'The Billionaire Behind Mysterious Immigration Ads Targeting Miami Republicans,' by NYT's Patricia Mazzei. FIRST IN SCORE — TECH CORNER: A number of left-leaning groups, led by Demand Progress, are sending a letter to Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer on Monday highlighting the Senate's recent AI moratorium vote, and asking Schumer to 'stand up for the people and push back against pressure from corporate giants that can afford to flood Congress with campaign contributions and lobbying cash.' While the groups support the recent vote, they wrote that 'too often, including under your leadership, good legislation to rein in the industry's excesses dies because it never gets the chance of a public vote.' CODA — QUOTE OF THE DAY: 'I think the Republican Party has turned its back on America First and the workers and just regular Americans,' MAGA firebrand Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene told the Daily Mail's Jon Michael Raasch.
Politico
25-07-2025
- Politics
- Politico
The red state broadcaster bracing for funding cuts
Presented by Chevron Welcome to POLITICO's West Wing Playbook: Remaking Government, your guide to Donald Trump's unprecedented overhaul of the federal government — the key decisions, the critical characters and the power dynamics that are upending Washington and beyond. Send tips | Subscribe | Email Sophia | Email Irie | Email Ben President DONALD TRUMP on Thursday signed legislation making sharp cuts to public broadcasting. Now, small, rural radio and TV stations across the country are bracing for the worst. One of those outlets is KEDT-TV/FM, a public radio and TV station in Corpus Christi, Texas. It's the only radio station in the region that has a news department, said station president and general manager DON DUNLAP, and covers a rural service area with a primarily Republican, low-income and Spanish-speaking audience. 'There are 10 public TV stations in Texas, and we're thinking probably six of them will close down within a year,' Dunlap predicted in an interview with West Wing Playbook. The White House maintains that the cuts — included in a rescissions package clawing back about $9 billion in previously approved federal funding for public broadcasting and foreign aid — would limit the taxpayer dollars going to NPR and PBS, the independent but publicly funded news outlets Republicans have long accused of peddling a leftwing bias. 'Democratic paper-pushers masquerading as reporters don't deserve taxpayer subsidies, and NPR and PBS will have to learn to survive on their own,' said White House principal deputy press secretary HARRISON FIELDS. 'Unfortunately for them, their only lifeline was taxpayer dollars, and that ended when President Trump was sworn in.' But critics, including four Congressional Republicans, have maintained that the rescissions would imperil dozens of local newsrooms with little connection to the national organizations — many in rural, deep-red areas. 'I think [lawmakers'] decisions were not informed,' Dunlap said. 'We're there to help people.' This interview has been edited for length and clarity. How will the passage of the rescissions package affect your stations? We would have to make a decision whether we're going to shut down the television service or we have to shut down the radio service. Both of them provide unique services in these communities that are not going to be picked up by commercial media, because the content is not commercially viable. There are other secondary impacts that we don't have any data on right now. What is it going to do to our programming costs? We buy about $600,000 worth of programming from NPR and PBS, and obviously their programming model is going to have to change if there are fewer stations involved. All these different unknowns make this scenario planning very, very difficult. Republicans say they're defunding the Corporation for Public Broadcasting because NPR and PBS propagate left-wing positions. You're in a red district in a red state — how do you respond to that? That's said by a lot of people who don't listen or watch what we're doing here. On the TV side, there's just no way that we could even have two sides to something. What's the political side of bald eagles or nature programs about hurricanes or volcanoes, or classical music programming to play on the radio? There's no political side to that. We have a program on the radio called 'All Things Considered.' I think the nature of that program is what these people don't like. Some people don't like things to be talked about or covered. They want their information limited. So then they have to come up with a name for it, call it 'woke' or something. Both of Texas's senators supported the rescissions, as did your congressman, Rep. MICHAEL CLOUD (R-Texas). Have you spoken to any of them? Michael has been over here to the station, actually. We do an academic quiz show for high school kids that just finished season 20 … and we had him ask some questions about government. What I have found — watching the Congressional testimony and during our visits to the Hill — is that these members and senators have so much information coming to them. The only ones that really know anything in depth about it are their staff, and they're just boiled down to a couple of talking points. A spokesperson for Cloud did not respond to a request for comment. It's likely that many of your listeners are Republicans, too. What do they think about the cuts? We've had a ton of phone calls about all this. I haven't heard from anybody who supports cuts to public broadcasting. We have a big service with the schools down here. We work with over 100 school districts in South Texas, which we provide with PBS LearningMedia — over 120,000 educational videos. It's highly used in the schools, but nobody mentions that as one of the services that we do. MESSAGE US — West Wing Playbook is obsessively covering the Trump administration's reshaping of the federal government. Are you a federal worker? A DOGE staffer? Have you picked up on any upcoming DOGE moves? We want to hear from you on how this is playing out. Email us at westwingtips@ Did someone forward this email to you? Subscribe! POTUS PUZZLER Under which president was the Fine Arts Committee for the White House created? (Answer at bottom.) WHO'S IN, WHO'S OUT TWO CAREER NOAA OFFICIALS OUT: The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration placed two veteran officials on administrative leave today, NOAA's communications director confirmed to Ben and POLITICO's E&E News' DANIEL CUSICK. JEFF DILLEN, who was serving as NOAA deputy general counsel, and STEPHEN VOLZ, assistant administrator for NOAA's Satellite and Information Service, were both placed on leave for separate issues, according to Kim Doster, the agency's communications director. 'Mr. Dillen was placed on administrative leave by the department's senior career attorney pending a review of performance issues over the past several weeks,' NOAA communications director KIM DOSTER said in a statement, adding that Volz was placed on leave 'on an unrelated matter.' It comes less than a week before the Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee takes up the confirmation of NEIL JACOBS, Trump's nominee to lead NOAA. Jacobs served as NOAA's acting administrator during Trump's first term, where he found himself embroiled in the 2019 'Sharpiegate' scandal, where he and another NOAA official, JULIE ROBERTS, were accused of pressuring scientists to alter the forecast of Hurricane Dorian, which killed dozens of people. Jacobs and Roberts were attempting to align the forecast with statements made by Trump, who said in the Oval Office that the hurricane would hit Alabama. In 2020, Volz led the investigation into Jacobs and Roberts, and found that the two officials violated the agency's 'scientific integrity policy.' The Oval 'THEY WANT TO DIE': Trump today said Hamas 'didn't want to make a deal' and that 'they want to die,' claiming the U.S.-designated terrorist group wants to retain the hostages to keep its negotiating power, Irie reports. It comes a day after the U.S. pulled out of ceasefire talks between Israel and Hamas amid pressure on Israel from American allies to halt its military campaign against Palestinians in Gaza, which has led to widespread death and starvation. French President EMMANUEL MACRON said Thursday that his country would become the first of the G7 to recognize a Palestinian state. And Australian Prime Minister ANTHONY ALBANESE said that 'The situation in Gaza has gone beyond the world's worst fears.' Agenda Setting RELEASE THE FUNDS: KATIE BRITT (R-Ala.), along with 13 of her GOP colleagues, sounded the alarm about 'the slow disbursement rate' of National Institutes of Health funding included in the March spending bill signed by Trump, our KATHERINE TULLY-McMANUS reports. Britt, who serves as chair of the Senate Appropriations homeland subcommittee, wrote a letter today to White House Budget Chief RUSS VOUGHT, urging the Office of Management and Budget to 'fully implement' the stopgap government funding package enacted earlier this year. Suspension of the appropriated funds, whether delayed or formally withheld, 'could threaten Americans' ability to access better treatments and limit our nation's leadership in biomedical science,' the senators warned in the latest example of Republican pushback to the administration's pattern of withholding money from programs that lawmakers have explicitly set aside funds for. FUNDS, RELEASED: The Trump administration will release billions of dollars in education funding that have been on hold for review for weeks, our MACKENZIE WILKES reports. Approximately $1.3 billion for after-school programs was released by the administration last week, with today's move marking the release of the remaining portion of the nearly $7 billion in withheld funding. The remaining dollars include money to support teacher preparation and students learning English, among other initiatives. 'UNAVOIDABLE' LAYOFFS: Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory is planning for mass layoffs in October due to the Trump administration's budget cuts, POLITICO's E&E News' CHRISTA MARSHALL reports. In a video distributed to staff this month, Lab Director MICHAEL WITHERELL said 'as we look ahead to the federal budget for fiscal year 2026, it has become clear that staffing reductions at the lab are unavoidable.' It comes as the nation's 17 national labs that support research on technologies ranging from EVs to coal are facing significant changes due to the cuts. Energy Secretary CHRIS WRIGHT has been a major proponent of the labs, calling them important for implementing the administration's energy priorities. Even as the administration builds additional data centers throughout the country, the president's proposed budget for fiscal 2026 would slash funding for many lab programs, including Lawrence Berkeley. What We're Reading Inside Trump's plan to keep control of Congress in 2026 (POLITICO's Jake Traylor and Adam Wren) ChatGPT Gave Instructions for Murder, Self-Mutilation, and Devil Worship (The Atlantic's Lila Shroff) What the Timeline Reveals About Trump and the Epstein files (POLITICO's Ankush Khardori) Trump bump drives D.C. demand for house managers and private chefs (Axios' Mimi Montgomery) POTUS PUZZLER ANSWER During the JOHN F. KENNEDY administration, first lady JACQUELINE KENNEDY created the Fine Arts Committee for the White House, made up of specialists in the field, and hired LORRAINE WAXMAN PEARCE as the first curator of the White House, according to the White House Historical Association. To learn more about the presidents and first ladies and how to draw them, check out How to Draw the Presidents and First Ladies.
Axios
21-07-2025
- Health
- Axios
E. coli spikes at Richmond river spots
Half of the eight Richmond river stations the James River Association monitors were showing elevated levels of E. coli as of Friday. Why it matters: If you're planning to take a dip in the James during this rare dry and sunny week, you may want to wait — and then double-check river conditions before you go. State of play: The James River Association collects river samples weekly in Richmond in summer and updates their map every Friday, the nonprofit's riverkeeper Tom Dunlap tells Axios. Their latest batch of data shows high to extremely high levels of E. coli in the James from around Belle Isle through Rocketts Landing and Osborne Landing. The stats from the previous week showed elevated E. coli readings at all of their Richmond stations. The big picture: The recent rain and Richmond's 19th-century sewer system are to blame. The city's sewer system combines stormwater with sewage, and filters it through Richmond's wastewater treatment plant. But when it rains heavily — as it seems to have every other day this month — the treatment plant can become overwhelmed and the excess gets dumped into the James. What comes out is 90% stormwater and around 10% wastewater, which includes whatever was flushed down your toilet. Reality check: Due to wildlife near the river, some amount of E. coli is always in the James, Dunlap says. Zoom in: According to a review of the city's combined sewer overflow monitors, 11 of its 25 "outfall" stations had at least one overflow last week, some as recently as Sunday. Those overflows can push water quality levels beyond what the Virginia Department of Health considers safe for swimming. That's why Virginia health officials "advise the public to avoid swimming in natural waterways for three days following rain events," a VDH spokesperson tells Axios. By the numbers: 235 (CFU/100mL) or below is the magic number for E. coli readings, Dunlap says. It's also what all the monitoring stations from Reedy Creek east to Huguenot Flatwater were showing, as of Friday. At the latest reading, the rest of the monitored spots showed: Belle Isle and the Rope Swing at Tredegar: 270 14th Street: 328 Chapel Island: 501 Rocketts Landing: 2,420 Which means: Swimming is OK from Huguenot Flatwater to Reedy Creek, as of the last reading. But Richmonders shouldn't be swimming at the rest, Dunlap says. Though, it's likely OK for kayaking or canoeing or recreation where one isn't submerged in the water. What we're watching: The rain over the weekend means those numbers will likely change and could make more parts of the river unsafe for swimming, Dunlap says. Pro tip: Dunlap's organization only has funding to do weekly monitoring for now, but he recommends checking the city's combined sewer overflow monitors.
USA Today
04-07-2025
- Sport
- USA Today
There are now six golfers born in the 2000s who have won a PGA Tour event
It's a club with just a handful of members now, but eventually it'll number in the hundreds. That's inevitable. For now, though, there are six pro golfers born in the 2000s who have won a PGA Tour event. Interestingly, two of the four have two Tour wins and another already has three. The latest to do so is a big-hitter from South Africa. Here are the names of the six (for now) newbies who already have PGA Tour trophies on their mantles. Aldrich Potgieter Born: Sept. 13, 2004 Potgieter became one of the rare 20-year-olds to win a PGA Tour stop, doing so at the 2025 Rocket Classic. He had previously won on the Korn Ferry Tour as age 19. Karl Vilips Born: Aug. 16, 2001. Vilips shot a final-round 64 at Grand Reserve Club to close out his victory in the 2025 Puerto Rico Open. It was just his fourth PGA Tour start, just the 12th since 1970 to earn a PGA Tour win in his fourth or fewer starts. Joe Highsmith Born: April 19, 2000. Highsmith won the 2025 Cognizant Classic in the Palm Beaches after making the cut on the number and then posting back-to-back 64s over the weekend at PGA National. He's just the sixth golfer since 2003 to win after making the cut on the number. Akshay Bhatia Born: Jan. 31, 2002. Bhatia was 21 when he won the 2023 Barracuda Championship for his maiden victory. He then followed that up in the 2024 Valero Texas Open. Bhatia turned pro at 17, forgoing college for life on the professional circuit. Tom Kim Born: June 21, 2002 Kim is the actually the first golfer born in the 2000s to win on the PGA Tour when he claimed the 2022 Wyndham Championship. His story there was incredible, as he made quadruple bogey on the first hole of the tournament. By going on to win, he became the first player in the last 40 years to overcome such a start to win. He was 20 years, 1 month, 17 days old when he hoisted the trophy, the second-youngest winner on Tour since World War II. He later won the Shriners Childrens Open in Las Vegas back-to-back in 2022 and 2023. Nick Dunlap Born: Dec. 23, 2003. Dunlap's claim to fame was becoming the first amateur since Phil Mickelson in 1991 to win a PGA Tour event. Dunlap was just 20 and still enrolled at Alabama when he not only won but won in record style at the 2024 American Express. His 29-under 259 total set the tournament record for the event since it switched to a 72-hole format in 2012. [It was the Tour's lone 90-hole event for many years prior to that.] Six months later, Dunlap won the Barracuda Championship, becoming the first golfer ever to win as an amateur and as a professional in one PGA Tour season.
USA Today
24-06-2025
- Sport
- USA Today
Nick Dunlap odds to win the 2025 Rocket Mortgage Classic
Rocket Mortgage Classic details and info Watch golf on Fubo! Dunlap odds to win the Rocket Mortgage Classic PGA odds courtesy of BetMGM Sportsbook. Odds updated Tuesday at 3:10 PM ET. For a full list of sports betting odds, access USA TODAY Sports Betting Scores Odds Hub. Dunlap odds to finish in the top 5 at the Rocket Mortgage Classic Dunlap odds to finish in the top 10 at the Rocket Mortgage Classic Other betting markets for Dunlap at the Rocket Mortgage Classic Dunlap recent performances While Dunlap has not won any of the 17 tournaments he has participated in this season, he has secured one top-10 finish. In his past four tournaments, Dunlap has an average finish of 55th.
