Tipsheet: Racial politics roil Democratic Party

View in your browser     Racial politics roil Democratic Party BY JONATHAN EASLEY Democrats who have called President Trump and his polices racists are now pointing fingers at each other on issues of race.  Allegations of racial insensitivity are flying between the 2020 Democratic contenders, as well as between House Democrats, raising concerns that internecine squabbles over identity and race are tarnishing party leaders and distracting Democrats from their goal of ousting the president in 2020.  Read the full story here     Mueller to give extended testimony after appearance postponed BY MORGAN CHALFANT Former special counsel Robert Mueller will give extended testimony when he appears before Congress on July 24, one week later than originally anticipated, the Democratic chairmen of the House Judiciary and Intelligence committees announced Friday. Read the full story here     Trump's census opponents warn the fight isn't over BY JACQUELINE THOMSEN Advocacy groups are celebrating President Trump's decision to give up adding a citizenship question to the 2020 census — but they aren't letting their guard down just yet. The groups say they must make sure court orders blocking the citizenship question from the 2020 survey remain in place. Read the full story here     Pence says he's 'not surprised' after visiting crowded detention facilities BY BROOKE SEIPEL Vice President Pence said he was "not surprised" by what he saw when he visited migrant detention facilities near the U.S.-Mexico border Friday as reporters at the scene described some areas as overcrowded with a "horrendous" stench. Read the full story here       Five things to watch as Barry barrels through the Gulf BY REBECCA BEITSCH    Tropical Storm Barry is expected to hit the Louisiana coast as early as Saturday, threatening to send floodwaters in New Orleans and other areas of the state. Here are five things to watch for. Read the full story here     Trump admin asks Supreme Court to allow military funds for border wall construction BY JACQUELINE THOMSEN  The Trump administration on Friday asked the Supreme Court to intervene and issue an order that would allow it to move forward and use military funds for a wall on the southern border. Read the full story here     Pelosi on Acosta: 'Thank god he's gone' BY MIKE LILLIS Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) made clear Friday that she won't miss Alex Acosta, President Trump's Labor secretary who said he'll step down July 19 amid an intensifying controversy over his role in a 2008 criminal case involving New York financier Jeffrey Epstein. Read the full story here     Appeals court blocks Trump administration birth control rules BY JESSICA CAMPISI A federal appeals court on Friday blocked Trump administration rules that would allow employers to deny workers insurance coverage for birth control due to religious or moral objections. Read the full story here     House Republicans dismissive of Paul Ryan's take on Trump BY JULIEGRACE BRUFKE  House Republicans are pushing back on former Speaker Paul Ryan’s (R-Wis.) criticisms of President Trump, with some arguing the Wisconsin Republican didn’t yield as much power over the president’s decisionmaking as the ex-lawmaker suggested in a new book. Read the full story here     House approves defense bill after adding liberal sweeteners BY REBECCA KHEEL The House in a 220-197 vote on Friday approved the annual defense policy bill, avoiding a potential major embarrassment for Democrats as they kept most of the caucus in line to pass the bill without Republican support. Read the full story here     A journalist brought Epstein to justice and Acosta's resignation — so stop demonizing the press BY GREGORY J. WALLANCE Opinion | Julie K. Brown, an investigative journalist for the Miami Herald, just reminded us why President Trump’s attempts to intimidate and delegitimize the press are so dangerous. Brown broke the behind-the-scenes story of the disgraceful plea deal that Alexander Acosta, then the U.S. attorney in Miami, secretly negotiated with attorneys for sex-ring trafficker Jeffrey Epstein. Read the full story here     Tropical Storm Barry reminds us increased resilience is needed as natural disasters worsen BY ANTONIO J. BUSALACCHI Opinion | Residents in New Orleans and southeast Louisiana are bracing for floodwaters this weekend that threaten to cause widespread destruction and strain aging levees. This dangerous situation serves as a reminder of the need to strengthen the resilience of vulnerable communities that are increasingly at risk from costly and dangerous natural disasters. Read the full story here     The Associated Press: New election systems use vulnerable software BY TAMI ABDOLLAH An Associated Press analysis has found that the vast majority of 10,000 election jurisdictions nationwide use Windows 7 or an older operating system to create ballots, program voting machines, tally votes and report counts. That’s significant because Windows 7 reaches its “end of life” on Jan. 14, meaning Microsoft stops providing technical support and producing “patches” to fix software vulnerabilities, which hackers can exploit.  Read the full story here     The Wall Street Journal: Barry to test New Orleans' levees, pumps and gates BY CAMERON MCWHIRTER, JON KAMP AND JENNIFER CALFAS As Tropical Storm Barry began lashing waterlogged Louisiana, this low-lying city was watching to see if its complicated system of pumps, levees and canals could withstand the expected storm surge and deluge of heavy rain. The slow-moving storm, which churned about 75 miles south of Morgan City, La., late Friday, threatened to drop as much as 2 feet of rain in parts of Louisiana. Read the full story here     The New York Times: Epstein paid $350,000 to possible witnesses against him, prosecutors say BY BENJAMIN WEISER Just days after a newspaper expose last November drew new attention to Jeffrey Epstein’s predatory behavior toward young women, he wired $350,000 to two people close to him, federal prosecutors revealed on Friday. Read the full story here     Reuters: Trump administration freezing fuel efficiency penalties BY DAVID SHEPARDSON The Trump administration said late on Friday it was issuing final rules to suspend a 2016 Obama administration regulation that more than doubled penalties for automakers failing to meet fuel efficiency requirements. Read the full story here     The Washington Post: At Texas detention facility, Pence sees hundreds of migrants crammed with no beds BY JOSH DAWSEY AND COLBY ITKOWITZ MCALLEN, Tex. — When Vice President Pence visited a migrant detention center here Friday, he saw nearly 400 men crammed behind caged fences with not enough room for them all to lie down on the concrete ground. There were no mats or pillows for those who found the space to rest. A stench from body odor hung stale in the air. Read the full story here   Did a friend forward you this email? Sign up for The Hill Tipsheet       Forward this Tipsheet     You might like         Privacy Policy  |  Manage Subscriptions  |  Unsubscribe  |  Email to a friend  |  Sign Up for Other Newsletters   The Hill 1625 K Street, NW 9th Floor, Washington DC 20006 ©2016 Capitol Hill Publishing Corp., a subsidiary of News Communications, Inc.