Obama Plans a Comeback, Julián Castro Launches a PAC, and Nina Turner Airs Beef with the DNC

We legit start our mornings by turning on the TV to see if we’re in a nuclear war. These are not normal times. This morning, the commander-in-chief tweeted: “Military solutions are now fully in place,locked and loaded,should North Korea act unwisely.  Hopefully Kim Jong Un will find another path!” This is the third time the president has suggested that the U.S. is prepared to strike North Korea. The NYT examines the options at this point, and they’re all pretty scary. From tough talk on North Korea to lavishing praise and gratitude on Russia. Donald Trump thanked Russian President Vladimir Putin on Thursday for ordering the U.S. to cut its diplomatic staff by 755 people. “I want to thank him because we’re trying to cut down our payroll and as far as I’m concerned I’m very thankful that he let go of a large number of people because now we have a smaller payroll," Trump told reporters at his Bedminster, NJ golf club. Sigh. These two problems are about to collide. As the president’s game of chicken with North Korea continues, there’s an actual chicken to contend with in DC. The guy who erected a 30-foot inflatable chicken outside the White House on Wednesday has another plan in the works. He’s hoping to deploy a flock of “dozens” of blow-up chickens flanked by inflatable representations of Russian arms around the Washington Memorial to mock Trump's reported affection for military parades. The resistance is real. And, when it needs to be, quite clever. Now, back to healthcare. Politico reports that the House Freedom Caucus will file a discharge petition later today in an effort to force GOP leaders to bring up a "clean" Obamacare repeal for a floor vote. The legislation passed the House and Senate in the past -- it repeals Obamacare after a two-year transition period. Yep. They’re that desperate for a win. Well ... we’ve gone from fire and fury to locked and loaded. Time for us to get the hell outta dodge. The Beat DC team is fanning out and traveling respectively to the Vineyard, Hot Springs, VA, a beach house in Delaware, a family vacay in Hershey, PA, and some other undisclosed getaways. We’ll holla at you guys on Monday from our various vacation posts. Leaving you with this for the weekend:

  • Guess who’s back? Back again? Not talking Eminem. Barack Obama!
  • Former HUD Sec Julián Castro launches new PAC amid rumors of a 2020 run.
  • Speaking of 2020, Shaq plans to attack.
  • A Morehouse Man named president of Virginia Union University. 
  • Congressman John Conyers Jr. (D-MI) leads congressional letter condemning Trump’s statements on North Korea.
  • Nina Turner is making no secret of her beef with the DNC.
  • Susan Rice weighs in on North Korea situation.
  • UN Ambassador Nikki Haley loses top two staffers.
  • There’s a new Surgeon General in town.
  • HNBA pulls conference out of Texas.
  • Latino Victory Fund names a new board of directors.
  • The NYT has a new International News Editor.
  • CA Dems locked in a battle over state chair.
  • Latino groups in the dark over ACA outreach.
  • H2-B policy challenges hit Martha’s Vineyard.
  • It goes down in the DM: BuzzFeed is launching a morning news show.
  • Need to google something today? Checkout the doodle. It celebrates the 44th anniversary of the birth of Hip Hop.
  • Netroots, NABJ, and more -- oh my! Get more deets on what’s going down this weekend in FOMO.
  • What are y'all up to in August? Keep those tips and pics coming! Hit us at info@TheBeatDC.com. 
Brenda Arredondo