First Draft on Politics: Mixed Messages

View in [Browser]( | Add nytdirect@nytimes.com to your address book. [The New York Times]( [The New York Times]( Wednesday, August 9, 2017 [NYTimes.com/Politics »]( [Secretary of State Rex W. Tillerson praised new United Nations sanctions against North Korea and defended President Trump’s “fire and fury” comments.]( Secretary of State Rex W. Tillerson praised new United Nations sanctions against North Korea and defended President Trump’s “fire and fury” comments. Lai Seng Sin/Reuters Good Thursday morning, Here are some of the stories making news in Washington and politics today: - While President Trump and Kim Jong-un of North Korea spoke in war terms, [top officials told Americans that they could “sleep well at night” and urged North Korea to “stand down.”]( Allies like Japan and South Korea were caught off guard by Mr. Trump’s threat of “fire and fury,” and analysts reported deep anxiety in the region over the escalating war of words. - Aides expected tough talk from Mr. Trump, but his off-the-cuff remark [sent staff members scrambling]( to explain what he meant. - North Korea says it’s planning to fire missiles near Guam. The [plan calls for sending missiles about 20 miles off the coast]( which would be the North’s closest approach to a U.S. territory. - Mr. Trump’s remarks [were a departure from the tactics of past presidents]( who used urgent diplomacy to quell crises. - Investigators for the special counsel, Robert S. Mueller III, [searched the home of Paul Manafort]( Mr. Trump’s former campaign manager, for tax documents and foreign banking records. - [California is emerging as a cautionary tale for Democrats]( as a bitter party leadership fight in the bluest of blue states signals the challenges the party faces as it debates how to seize back power nationally. - Alt-right activists accuse technology companies like Google and Paypal [of censoring right-wing views]( and have pledged to expose what they say is a pervasive, industrywide liberal bias. — 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. The Interpreter [Trump’s Threat of War With North Korea May Sound Scarier Than It Is]( By MAX FISHER [A rally in Pyongyang on Wednesday in support of North Korea's stance against the United States.]( A rally in Pyongyang on Wednesday in support of North Korea's stance against the United States. Kim Won-Jin/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images American anxiety over [North Korea]( spiked on Tuesday when President Trump [warned]( that, if the country makes any more threats against the United States, it “will be met with fire and fury like the world has never seen.” Social media filled with nervous jokes and at times outright panic over whether Mr. Trump and North Korea’s leader, [Kim Jong-un]( could bluster their way into unintended nuclear war. Some posted maps showing what the blast areas of a nuclear strike in Washington or New York might look like. Others asked whether it was time to build a bomb shelter. The Trump administration seemed to cultivate this sense of alarm. Sebastian Gorka, a White House adviser, told Fox News that the standoff was “analogous to the [Cuban missile crisis]( which nearly brought the United States and Soviet Union to war. North Korea’s nuclear program is deadly serious, but research on the nature of foreign threats and [nuclear weapons]( as well as North Korea’s own track record, suggests that Americans can hold off on building those bomb shelters. [Read more to learn why the danger may not be as scary as you’ve heard »](   [Portraits of Kim Il-sung and Kim Jong-il, the first two leaders of North Korea, in Pyongyang, the capital. Intelligence suggests the country has nuclear weapons small enough for an intercontinental missile.]( [Answers to 4 Crucial Questions About North Korea]( By RUSSELL GOLDMAN Keeping track of the weapons tests, sanctions and diplomatic efforts can be dizzying. Here’s a rundown of the standoff. [An Applebee’s in Tamuning, Guam. Though Guam, an American territory, is used to threats from North Korea, several residents said the current situation felt more dangerous.]( [North Korea’s Potential Targets: Guam, South Korea and Japan]( By CHOE SANG-HUN Pyongyang has the capability to launch a devastating military attack on Seoul, and its leader has missiles could hit Tokyo and perhaps Guam. [Employees at a foreign exchange trading company in Tokyo watch Donald Trump give his presidential victory speech on Nov. 9, 2016. Since early January, the dollar has lost more than 6 percent compared with the Japanese yen.]( [In the Age of Trump, the Dollar No Longer Seems a Sure Thing]( By PETER S. GOODMAN Long the ultimate safe haven in the global economy, the U.S. dollar may be losing some status as investors grapple with an uncertain political climate. [Senator Ben Sasse, Republican of Nebraska, arrived at the Capitol last week for a final vote before August recess.]( [Even on Break, a Congress Weary of Trump Gets No Respite From Him]( By MATT FLEGENHEIMER So much for relaxing. The president is in meetings and taking calls, he said on Twitter, keeping the capital on edge when it badly needs a breather. [Demonstrators gathered in front of the White House in July.]( [5 Transgender Service Members Sue Trump Over Military Ban]( By CHARLIE SAVAGE The lawsuit was filed by two rights groups, but others say they are holding off until the Trump administration takes steps toward implementing the ban. [The Veterans Affairs Department building in Washington.]( [V.A. Plans to Fire Its D.C. Medical Director — Again]( By NICHOLAS FANDOS The department’s secretary intends to use the authority given to him in a new law that makes it easier to fire deficient employees. [Sarah Huckabee Sanders answering journalists’ questions in an off-camera briefing last month.]( [Just Months Later, Another Press Secretary Profile]( By MICHAEL M. GRYNBAUM “I didn’t expect to be writing a second one so soon.” [Passengers aboard a Metro train. The Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority, which runs mass transit services in and around the nation’s capital, has a policy prohibiting advertisements that are “intended to influence public policy.”]( [Citing Free Speech, A.C.L.U. Sues Washington Metro Over Rejected Ads]( By JACEY FORTIN AND EMILY COCHRANE Milo Yiannopoulos, PETA and others are united in a lawsuit against the Washington, D.C., Metro agency, which prohibits ads that aim to “influence public policy.” [Voters at the University of Maryland in College Park in November 2008. The City Council is considering opening local elections to noncitizens.]( [Maryland City May Let Noncitizens Vote, a Proposal With Precedent]( By MAGGIE ASTOR College Park is considering allowing green card holders, students with visas and undocumented immigrants to vote in local elections, a practice that was once normal nationwide. [Rafael Márquez has represented Mexico at the last four World Cups.]( [Mexico’s Rafael Márquez Accused of Aiding Drug Kingpin]( By KEVIN DRAPER AND ELISABETH MALKIN The Treasury Department placed Márquez, the captain of Mexico’s national soccer team, on a list of individuals and entities that it is accusing of providing support to drug traffickers. [Thousands of people are expected to descend on Charlottesville, Va., Saturday to participate in, or protest against, a white nationalist rally. Above, counterprotesters at a Ku Klux Klan rally in the city in July.]( [Airbnb Cancels Accounts Linked to White Nationalist Rally in Charlottesville]( By JONAH ENGEL BROMWICH Participants may have trouble finding a place to stay — and agreeing on where to gather, since the city has asked that the demonstration be moved. [Mitch McConnell, the Senate majority leader, had said President Trump “had excessive expectations about how quickly things happen in the democratic process.”]( [Mitch McConnell’s ‘Excessive Expectations’ Comment Draws Trump’s Ire]( By MATT FLEGENHEIMER AND MAGGIE HABERMAN The president lashed out at the Senate leader over health bill failures, perhaps the most potent evidence yet that he is willing to train fire on allies. [President Trump boarding Air Force One at Joint Base Andrews last week.]( Fact Check [Trump Claims Undue Credit for Revamping Nuclear Arsenal]( By LINDA QIU President Trump made several assertions in a tweet about his role in the nation’s nuclear arsenal — many of which were false or misleading. [Senator Luther Strange, Republican of Alabama, last week in Washington.]( [Trump Rewards Loyalty in Alabama Senate Race by Tweeting Endorsement]( By JONATHAN MARTIN The president threw his support to Senator Luther Strange in a special Alabama election in which Republicans have fought to appear the closest to Mr. Trump. 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 • [Jim Geraghty]( in [National Review]( “For all of his flaws — and he has many — Trump isn’t really the problem here.” Regardless of how the president responded to North Korea’s provocations today, Mr. Geraghty argues, the fact remains that the North is still making miniaturized nuclear warheads, and will continue to test its ballistic missiles. Unless China changes its tune, he writes, “either this president or the next will face a devastating choice among bad options.” [Read more »]( _____ From the Left • [Mark Hertsgaard]( in [The Nation]( “We need to get [Donald Trump]( finger off the nuclear button. This is not a partisan plea.” Last month, Mr. Hertsgaard wrote this article outlining the process by which a president could deploy nuclear missiles. While presidents have historically had unfettered authority to launch these weapons, he writes, there is precedent for the military to “veto an ill-advised attack order.” “The system” by which the commander in chief can launch nuclear missiles, Mr. Hertsgaard writes, “must change.” [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. 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