Subject: POLITICO Playbook, presented by JPMorgan Chase & Co.: 92 days to Cleveland, 205 days to election – TRUMP warns RNC will have ‘rough July’ at convention -- KAREEM endorses – QUEEN BEE blesses HBO – JOSH ROGIN, ALI WEINBERG wedding -- B’DAY: Julie Davis
From: "Mike Allen" <[email-masked]>
To: <[email-masked]>
Date: Sun, 17 Apr 2016 06:48:22 -0600

04/17/2016 08:46 AM EDT

By Mike Allen (@mikeallen; [email-masked]) and Daniel Lippman (@dlippman; [email-masked])

Good Sunday morning. ROAD TRIP - "Bernie's Roman holiday: The Vermont senator gains a global audience on a frenetic Vatican tour," by Gabe Debenedetti in Vatican City: "His remarks to a Vatican conference celebrating the 25th anniversary of an encyclical by Pope John Paul II to mark the end of the Cold War were brief - he traveled more than 4,000 miles and spoke for no more than 15 minutes ... 

"As Sanders waded into the mass, a stricken look crossed his face, the look of a man who had long insisted he was trying not to politicize his less-than-a-day-long stay on Roman and Vatican soil, but who was suddenly aware that dozens of cameras from across the world were pointed straight at him." http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=ab9464582ae1cd184c2d31a61a3b05404019afd3c216b2c0a446178702372a96

PIC from Bush 43 alumni reunion in Dallas: Peter Watkins (left) and Rob Saliterman (right) pregame at the home of Dick Keil, who was "Stretch" when he covered POTUS for Bloomberg, and is now ExxonMobil's Senior Advisor, Integrated Advocacy Team. http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=ab9464582ae1cd18519fbc9afd92e7b7e02e3ffa23f04330fc960341a553b756 ... Rob Saliterman and Blain Rethmeither munch chips, guac and salsa. http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=ab9464582ae1cd180cbe1c4c9d77e0d7285890d5ead2eb56e4c774ec7784266e 

POOL REPORT from a Playbooker there: Don Evans kicked off the reunion and introduced VP Cheney, who introduced the President. He made veiled references to current GOP front-runner candidate, saying that "there's a streak of nativism and isolationism" that concerns him. He then talked about a lot of the programs that the Bush Center is currently undertaking -- with democracy boosters in Burma who recently visited the Center, educational and women's programs that Mrs. Bush is leading; and programs centering around military veterans transitioning from the battlefield to the private sector. He said, "They may not all have PhDs, but they all have PhDs in life." 

The President and Mrs. Bush then spent about 45 minutes working the rope-line and posing for pictures with the crowd assembled for the event (around 1,300 alumni). Cheney signed autographs too in his trademark Stetson. Before the BBQ guests saw several original works of art by President Bush on display. Karl Rove sponsored an after party at The Barley House with 400 plus guests and entertainment by George Strait's Band (just the band, not George Strait).

SPOTTED: Sean O'Keefe, Brian McCormack, Dana Perino, Margaret Spellings, Gail Norton, Karl Rove, Barry Jackson, Paris Dennard, Kay Bailey Hutchison, Karen Hughes, Josh Bolten, Jared Weinstein, Blake Gottesman, Rob Tappan, Kevin Sullivan, Sara Taylor Fagen, Nick Calio, Anita McBride, Tony Fratto, Dana Manatos, John Negreponte, and many more.

 TOP TWEETS -- @brianstelter, who's doing "Reliable Sources" from D.C. today: "For the second weekend in a row, Donald Trump isn't appearing on any of the Sunday morning talk shows." ... @DavidMDrucker: "Just received email from a delegate candidate's publicist. I'm glad, it's helpful, but man - a delegate w/ PR."

QUOTE DU JOUR - Trump in Syracuse: "The Republican National Committee, they'd better get going, because I'll tell you what, you're going to have a rough July at that convention." 

-NYT's Maggie Haberman: "Trump's aides had assured him the race would by done by March." http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=ab9464582ae1cd18dc6262abde5f7db50d9856352da5674fffc12135d92b6903

DRUDGE banner, "CRUZ CELEBRATES ANOTHER VOTERLESS VICTORY! NO ELECTION IN WYOMING."

--Cruz wins all 14 delegates at GOP convention in Casper - Kristen East http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=ab9464582ae1cd18519fbc9afd92e7b7e02e3ffa23f04330fc960341a553b756 

--"Trump likely to win West Virginia [May 10] but lose delegates: An arcane ballot process," by Kyle Cheney: "More than 220 people are running for 22 statewide slots as convention delegates. ... There are 31 for Trump ... Voters wishing to select a full slate of Trump delegates can choose up to 22 of them -- though if they inadvertently select 23 or more, all of their choices are thrown out. They must also be aware of a new rule to prohibit more than two delegates from residing in a single county -- and seven from a single Congressional district -- a stipulation that isn't mentioned on the ballot." http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=ab9464582ae1cd18be9ba2fe4835f7fecf28d9ccaeaff3228ca56f83048d7283

--Houston Chronicle lead story, "Where's Trump? In Texas, nowhere to be found: As shuffle continues, Cruz is poised to take all of the state's delegates," by Kevin Diaz in D.C.: "No one answers the phone at Donald Trump's Texas campaign headquarters in Austin. ... Few [of his delegates], if any, will make it past the state convention in Dallas next month, where Ted Cruz supporters will be the overwhelming majority." http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=ab9464582ae1cd18ed83d67ad6e76bd4d33a6f937a928969a9c94d6cbec36958

BREAKING - "GOP official rails over effort aimed at nomination rules," by AP's Alan Fram: "In an extraordinary display of internal discord, the chairman of the Republican Party's rules committee accused top GOP officials Saturday of 'a breach of our trust' by improperly trying to impede a proposed change in bylaws that would make it harder for party leaders to nominate a fresh candidate for president. Bruce Ash, RNC committeeman from Arizona, wrote the harshly worded email to the other 55 members of the GOP rules committee that he chairs ... days before party officials gather in Hollywood, Florida, for preliminary discussions about what rules the GOP will use at its presidential nominating
 convention this July.

"Ash ... said the convention's presiding officer could use existing rules to 'unilaterally reopen nominations to allow a candidate to be nominated that is viewed as more acceptable, which is exactly what so many rank-and-file Republicans across America fear.' ... In an email sent hours later, RNC chief counsel John Ryder said ... 'Major changes now are dangerous and not a good idea, in my humble opinion.'" http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=ab9464582ae1cd184b36bdca4179437469e8d69aeb891125cc86e8d8cfdf504c

--"Reince Priebus to RNC: Leave Convention Rules Alone Next Week in Hollywood, Let Delegates Themselves Handle in Cleveland," by Breitbart's Matt Boyle: "'Reince believes strongly that the rules of the convention should be set by the delegates who have been elected by the grassroots activists of Republican voters,' Sean Spicer, the RNC's chief spokesman, said in an email late Saturday. 'He is asking the RNC members to leave it up to them.'"  http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=ab9464582ae1cd18f284cacd7310b0d9867b23086cf7c9464f0d68d26a9b785f

DAILY DONALD -- "The pageant of Donald Trump's dreams," by Boston Globe's Matt Viser in NY: "As the limo [of pin-up models] wove through the city [in December 1992], Trump discussed his views on dating ... The billionaire casino mogul declared that 'all women are bimbos' and said most were 'gold diggers' who would be smart to go after men with money. Like him. Rhonda Noggle, the model who relayed the story to the Globe ... said that, at that point, she had had enough. Speaking sharply to Trump ... she asked him to stop the limo. The car grew silent. 'I told him I would rather be with a trash man who respected me than someone who was a rich, pompous ass.'"  
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=ab9464582ae1cd18b04ed69fa3f88b6ad747f2299502b64698dfc3bd30ed0929

KAREEM ABDUL-JABBAR endorses Hillary in WashPost op-ed, "A choice between 'hell and reason.'" http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=ab9464582ae1cd18ae5cbc7dd390ce6f0793e4cf2a04ac6406744ef6d8fd9a2a

LATE-NIGHT BEST - "Brooklyn Democratic Debate Cold Open" on SNL: Early in the debate, Hillary (Kate McKinnon) and Bernie (Larry David) get into a cat-fight with Hillary giving Bernie a noogie while she tries to put him in a headlock: "Are you feeling that Bern? You feel that Bern?" Julia Louis-Dreyfus, playing regular voter "Elaine Benes," also asks "Bernie" how exactly he'll break up the big banks. "Once I'm elected president, I'll have a nice shvitz in the White House gym then I'll go to the big banks, I'll sit them down, and yadda yadda yadda, they'll be broken up." 7-min. video http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=ab9464582ae1cd18d0c15930c1c21fc3993c2e81c3c26b09d0c2e8145b3575f5 

**A message from JPMorgan Chase & Co.: New report finds 65% of middle market business leaders expect their revenue and sales to increase over the next year. 2016 Business Leaders Outlook reveals optimism, despite concern about the global economy. Read the full report here: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=ab9464582ae1cd18d5f31054f41b036b537bf1330a8cf507fd458de51763eeb5 **

SUNDAY BEST - GEORGE CLOONEY on NBC's "Meet the Press" -- Chuck Todd: "Do you look at how much is being raised and I think the co-host of the Friday night dinner -- $353,000 a couple to be a co-chair, do you look at it yourself and think, 'That's an obscene amount of money?'" Clooney: "Yes. I think it's an obscene amount of money. I think that, you know, we had some protesters last night when we pulled up in San Francisco and they're right to protest. They're absolutely right. It is an obscene amount of money. The Sanders campaign when they talk about it is absolutely right. It's ridiculous that we should have this kind of money in politics." Video 
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=ab9464582ae1cd18b69b56308fdb12c6dfd1a0a182ce515dbc3dca821364733d

--"Hillary Clinton committee raised $33 million in first quarter: Joint committee helps state parties, but spends most of its cash boosting Clinton," by Ken Vogel: "The report shows that the joint account, called the Hillary Victory Fund ... took advantage of its unique structure to raise nearly $5 million from just 14 mega-rich donors, including entertainment titans Barry Diller, James Cameron and Haim Saban. ... [D]uring the first three months of the year, the $2 million transferred by the Hillary Victory Fund to various state party committees paled in comparison to the $9.5 million it transferred to Clinton's campaign committee or the $3.5 million it transferred to the DNC."  
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=ab9464582ae1cd18bbf625b2bdae4f9a4b19a839b8ee11c4047c8f4627072193

TOP 10 DONORS to super PACs in 2016 so far, per WashPost: 1) Tom Steyer, $17 million ... 2) The Wilks family: $15.3 million ... 3) Hank Greenberg, $15 million ... 4) Robert Mercer, $14.6 million ... 5) Toby Neugebauer, $10.1 million ... 6) Paul Singer, $9.9 million ... 7) Ronald Cameron, $8.6 million ... 8) Ken Griffin, $8.3 million ... 9) George Soros, $8 million ... 10) Elizabeth and Richard Uihlein, $7.5 million. See the top 50 donors (36 Rs, 13 Ds and 1 independent), and 15 "ghost corporations" (#9 is only D) http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=ab9464582ae1cd18c2ac1d18d14632c0c9bf7e52088a7c6b31c36f93929ed4d0

WHO THEY ARE - NYT A1, "Bernie Sanders's Campaign Past Reveals Willingness to Play Hardball, by Patrick Healy: "Mr. Sanders has long presented himself as an issues-oriented, plain-speaking politician from rural New England, now seeking the presidency with promise of a political revolution. But his combative side has now emerged as the Democratic race has tightened and Hillary Clinton has sharpened her own rhetoric. The result is a far harsher tone in the Democratic campaign and a transformed Senator Sanders, who is now making the kinds of sharper-edged attacks that some of his advisers regretted he did not deploy sooner. But his aggressiveness also worries some supporters who were
 powerfully drawn to his positive persona that forswore politics as usual."  http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=ab9464582ae1cd18883c2fe14627e35f1febb89525a6c3016ab874fce8f257c1

A COUP for HBO, which loves to drive buzz: Beyonc&eacute; announced on Instagram that she'll be dropping "Lemonade" (ET notes she doesn't say if it's an album or film) on HBO next Saturday at 9 p.m. 20-sec. YouTube tease http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=ab9464582ae1cd18ba0ee7241893c677d58ed05b362e26f8350a5f859c5a152b 

SNEAK PEEK: Cover of the May issue of The Atlantic is by Neil Gabler, author of five books, "The Secret Shame of the Middle Class: Nearly half of Americans would have trouble finding $400 in a crisis. I'm one of them": "Financial impotence has many of the characteristics of sexual impotence, not the least of which is the desperate need to mask it." Not online yet. 

BEST STORY IN THE PAPERS: NYT gives big A1 spread (and full page inside) to "Georgetown Confronts Its Role in Nation's Slave Trade," by Rachel Swarns: In 1838, Jesuit priests who had mismanaged their Maryland plantations sold 272 African-American slaves (including a 2-month-old) down river to keep what is now Georgetown University afloat. The president promised his church superiors that families would be kept together - not true. Most went to plantations with no Catholic church - or any church. http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=ab9464582ae1cd18145f54f30e8cd075b641a4edb521ca967839155e131ccd02 

--See the ship's manifest, listing slaves' name, sex age, height and "Whether Negro, Mulatto, or Person of Color." http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=ab9464582ae1cd18d4e1b8089386f33643a9177fe2a703249091abc72b5719fd 

BEYOND THE BELTWAY -- N.Y. Post cover, "NEXT! Are there ANY honest politicians in Albany? Feds eye records of new speaker": "Federal prosecutors have subpoenaed financial records related to Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie." http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=ab9464582ae1cd18f145cb8134b31b5e32fc3c72540ecf009099fd7965189e17 ... See the cover. http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=ab9464582ae1cd1805a25e2e8b64439a9c68286b5f441843150433f9726ca1ba

--L.A. Times A1, "Are you an independent voter? You aren't if you checked the wrong box," by John Myers, Christine Mai-Duc and Ben Welsh: "With nearly half a million registered members, the American Independent Party is bigger than all of California's other minor parties combined. The ultraconservative party's platform opposes abortion rights and same sex marriage, and calls for building a fence along the entire United States border. ... But a Times investigation has found that ... [n]early three in four people did not realize they had joined the party ... That mistake could prevent people from casting votes in the June 7 presidential primary."  www.latimes.com/AIPvoters ... "That time I
 realized I was registered with the wrong party"  http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=ab9464582ae1cd1807d9802d5564d80a45d423ea844263d9a9c9357dd38d331a ... Voter lookup  http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=ab9464582ae1cd181c3fc90b7ba28b7592ee48c67632dd4d34192422e9da01ab

MEDIAWATCH -- NYT Public Editor Margaret Sullivan's last column, before she heads to WashPost as media columnist, "Public Editor No. 5 is Yesterday's News: Out the door after four bumpy years, but not quite out of observations": "When I arrived at The Times in the summer of 2012, the place seemed like a newspaper. Although it was much bigger than The Buffalo News, which I edited for more than a decade, its routines and values seemed familiar. There was a 'Page 1' meeting and an emphasis on print deadlines. These days, though, The Times seems like a digital media company that happens to put out a newspaper. Over the past four years, it has been scrambling to find a sustainable business model
 to support its journalistic ambitions, including a newsroom staff of more than 1,300." http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=ab9464582ae1cd1811bf610cd2a4be5f2674428412667ff22c41b5279325c522

-- "How Rupert Murdoch warmed up to Donald Trump's candidacy," by CNN's Tom Kludt: "Trump and Murdoch have had several meetings and conversations in recent months ... brokered by Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner, the owner and publisher of the New York Observer ... Kushner ... encouraged Murdoch to have a dialogue with the Republican frontrunner. Over the course of these discussions, Murdoch has apparently come to see Trump not only as a serious candidate with potential, but also as the GOP's inevitable nominee ... It's a far cry from where their relationship stood last summer. At that point in the campaign, Murdoch said that Trump was 'embarrassing his friends' and 'the whole country.'" 
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=ab9464582ae1cd18dd7644411f88e04b82ccfcaa95cf9143ff37aae6b720998a 

MAY MAGAZINES: Men's Health promises we can lose 10 pounds in 6 months with no calorie restrictions: "Feast like a warrior on the New Nordic Diet" (cold-water fish and poultry at least 3x/week; healthy carbs, especially oats; beer, not juice). Maybe not SO new: A magazine called Men's Health featured the "New Nordic Diet" in Feb. 2014. http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=ab9464582ae1cd1883f93e01801e6c0d04292248f685401e6025eb546c158f57 

TOP TALKER - WashPost A1, lower left corner, "Lingering in wait-list limbo, most students denied a 'yes,'" by Nick Anderson: Wait lists provide insurance for colleges but prolong the tension for students, most of whom are disappointed: Michigan admitted 2% of students who accepted a spot on its wait list last year. http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=ab9464582ae1cd18f792ac658a36c38aac891133260024330ccf9981645c0a76

FOR YOUR RADAR - NYT A8, "Families of Americans Held by Allies Say U.S. Is Keeping Its Gloves On," by Kareem Fahim: "In the United Arab Emirates, a Libyan-American father and son detained since 2014 on political charges said security agents tortured them in prison, with beatings and electric shocks ... [F]amilies of the accused have complained of a lack of high-level attention from American officials - stemming, they fear, from the Obama administration's reluctance to confront the [UAE] and Egypt."  http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=ab9464582ae1cd1894c4310954237e91b801479bebf90b52307b040a4c89478f

POWER PLAYBOOKER - GEN. DAVID PETRAEUS in the WashPost, "5 'big ideas' to guide us in the Long War against Islamic extremism": "A comprehensive approach is neither easy nor cheap. But that is also true of the actions we have to take as inadequately governed spaces become ungoverned and in turn are exploited by transnational extremists. The Long War is going to be an ultramarathon, and it is time we recognized that. But we and our partners have the ability to respond in a thoughtful, prudent manner, informed by the big ideas that I have described. Nothing less will prove adequate."  http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=ab9464582ae1cd18c269635e177959d994d8e90c0f61108716ddc49568df1ab8

VALLEY TALK -- "Like it or not, Mark Zuckerberg is now Silicon Valley's ambassador to the rest of the world," by Business Insider's Matt Rosoff: The Google cofounders hardly ever speak in public; Apple's Tim Cook is 24 years older than Zuck; Jeff Bezos mostly talks business, not society; and Bill Gates "has largely moved on from tech." http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=ab9464582ae1cd1826b3431b47e2088db9ae4fa947bc7df11d9ba6f1f7fb2705

BARRON'S cover, "DETROIT IS BACK! ... GM and FORD are roaring back - in the U.S., overseas, and even in the luxury and electric-car categories. Their new models are eye-catching, ... dynamic. Expect their stocks to surge by at least 25%." http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=ab9464582ae1cd18b34549c52d5c46240e7fa0fbb3cda5293117aaa275d35fb2 

11 CEOs in S&P 500 made $30 million+ (total package) in '15: 1) Viacom's Philippe Dauman, $54.2m ... 2-3) Oracle co-CEOs Safra Catz and Mark Hurd, $53.2m each ... 4) Disney's Bob Iger, $44.9m ... 5) Salesforce.com's Marc Benioff, $33.4m ... 6) Medtronic's Omar Ishrak, $39.5m ... 7) General Growth Properties' Sandeep Mathrani, $39.2m ... 8) Comcast's Brian Roberts, $36.2m ... 9) Honeywell's David Cote, $34.5m ... 10) GE's Jeff Immelt, $33m ... 11) Discovery Communications' David Zaslav, $32.4m. http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=ab9464582ae1cd18ec33854916068d04d0203bf820f7c1df2f015077ecb5ba1e

GRAPHIC DU JOUR: "Stephen Curry's 3-Point Record in Context: Off the Charts," from Upshot. http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=ab9464582ae1cd184b84f93065812e6078cd8b6df3c2891ea217efe7df9e17a6 

CAMPAIGNS INC. -- America Rising had a clean sweep at the Pollie Awards in the "Best Use of Negative or Contrast" ads. All three videos were featured first in Playbook and produced by Lucas Baiano. Gold: "Trustworthy?" (released 4/14/15, 1.19 million views): http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=ab9464582ae1cd18e1113e94becbdc40966fc51ecc88b6464963ac213314aa64 ... Silver: "Failed Leadership (released 8/17/15, currently 2.5 million views): http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=ab9464582ae1cd180f3b210f7487b1b602c8ae6a90639d0b0e9718fcc29ca661 ... Bronze: "Leading From Behind" (released 12/9/15, currently 43K views): http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=ab9464582ae1cd18547e211a2a0ec3d4ff876843e9cf2018ae08ee3ed6ad8d7a 

--"Precision [Strategies] Recognized for Work In Helping to Secure Historic Election Victory for Liberal Party of Canada, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau": "Precision developed a targeted data and analytics strategy to help drive historically high voter turnout for Trudeau during Canada's 2015 national elections, and is being recognized for that work as a recipient of the 2016 Pollie Award (awarded by the American Association of Political Consultants) as well as the 2016 Goldie Award (awarded by Peer Choice Awards)." http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=ab9464582ae1cd1874899f667bac051161012d832f907e9c059b592507e8f4ad 

--Pollies winners book http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=ab9464582ae1cd189d406d489acd4db31b361301664ae4fdcbc308ba711d3ab8 

SPOTTED: Mark Leibovich with his kids, eating a late breakfast Friday at Neighborhood Restaurant in Somerville, Mass. "The restaurant is a cramped Portuguese diner known for huge portions, tiny cups of orange juice, and cream of wheat with each meal." ... Mandy Patinkin (Saul in "Homeland") on the Amtrak Acela yesterday from New York to DC ... Rep. Tom Davis leaving Proof yesterday wearing a Caps jersey under his sport coat. ... Eric Holder "in casual clothes, leisurely walking into Rare Sweets at CityCenter and buying a boxful of treats [on] Thursday. Smiling and looking very very relaxed." ... Rep. Robert Dold (R-Ill.) headed home to Chicago "at the way baaaack of the plane. Damn American
 Airlines!"

--SEND YOUR SPOTTINGS to [email-masked] 

BONUS GREAT WEEKEND READS, curated by Daniel:

--"Man's Pest Friend," by Raymond Coppinger and Lorna Coppinger in Open Letters Monthly: "Look at the pictures in any issue of the National Geographic going back a hundred years ... eating or sleeping or slinking or just standing incuriously in countless hundreds of photos will be dogs: scrappy, dun-colored pi dogs, village dogs, feral dogs, dump dogs." http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=ab9464582ae1cd18984ac8177ec980eafd495114042daca319e00bdb4b243548 (h/t ALDaily.com)

--"The Longform Guide to Restaurants": "The underground network powering America's Chinese food, the magic of McDonald's fries, one chef's quest for perfection, and more - our favorite [eight] articles about restaurants." http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=ab9464582ae1cd18cd61046af3bbe0379a46e1d377a03fd41fcf4589c8424168 

--"The Secret Rules of the Internet," by The Verge's Catherine Buni and Soraya Chemaly: "The murky history of moderation, and how it's shaping the future of free speech." http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=ab9464582ae1cd18e4367cba2152ac15c8afd74b6c25ed3b6b7fca3470bb6139 (h/t Longform.org)

--"The mafia and a very special flower arrangement," by Reuters' Steve Scherer in Rome: "A florist in Holland acted as a front for international drug smuggling, say prosecutors. Busting the operation shows how a secretive Italian mafia has expanded across continents." http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=ab9464582ae1cd18f008c4b08a4ebbbd301b7ab50b7b55921edf9fe9995c34c5 

--"A Maddening Sound," by Colin Dickey in The New Republic: "Is the Hum, a mysterious noise heard around the world, science or mass delusion?" http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=ab9464582ae1cd180df8698511728639061beaade35060c4e9f4b9e59e6fc1e3 

FUTURECAST - "Virtual Reality Check: Reporter spends week with VR system," by AP's Derrik J. Lang in LA -- From his diary: "I'm beginning to believe VR is affecting my subconscious. It could simply be a coincidence, but I've been experiencing the most vivid dreams this week. I'm talking crazy, metaphysical fantasies where I'm flying over castles and teleporting across space and time. When I'm not in VR, it's practically all I can think about. However, I'm not fulfilled. ... One thing is certain. I need to lie down. My head hurts again." http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=ab9464582ae1cd18088edd2890711fdb6e0fe33c76a1c2d557af3f6da6b51ed4 

MARRIED LAST NIGHT: Bloomberg's Josh Rogin and ABC's Ali Weinberg. Her dad, Max Weinberg, and his entire E Street Band performed at the reception at D.C.'s Meridian House.

POOL REPORT from Josh: "Ali and I met in 2009 at Restaurant Nora at a salon dinner hosted by Steve Clemons, who was friends with Ali's mom Becky Weinberg. Tony Blinken was the speaker as I recall. ... After our first meeting Ali and I were friends for 4 years until one night I brought her as my plus one to the Meridian Ball. At that event, she commandeered the microphone (no one else was singing) and performed a live rendition of 'Son of a Preacher Man' by Dusty Springfield that brought the house down. That night began our courtship. We were married in that very room at Meridian House last night, over two years later, and Ali performed the same song and brought the house down once again."

"The evening was hosted by Ali's mom and dad Max Weinberg and the entire E Street Band came along, including Bruce Springsteen, Steve Van Zandt, Nils Lofgren, Garry Tallent, and Roy Bittan. Ali's former boss Chuck Todd was there, her current ABC colleague Jon Karl, my CNN colleagues Wolf Blitzer and Jake Tapper, lots of Ali's former NBC crew including Luke Russert, Alex Moe, Carrie Dann, and many more friends. Wolf stole the show with some solid horah-ing and Max's speech was epic. The band Rhythm Collective was amazing, the weather was 67 and sunny with a cool breeze, the drinks were delicious, the mood was very groovy. ... We are off to Tokyo-Thailand-Cambodia for the honeymoon so
 everybody in DC hold down the fort until we get back!" Pic http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=ab9464582ae1cd186eed3e9357503ded1cfc957db7522843dff550b9673d636d ... Pics from their Instagram wedding hashtag #AliGoesRogin http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=ab9464582ae1cd18c124e530785571302bd6d79acefd4ab840554214e5bb2435 

BIRTHDAYS: Jim Acosta, CNN's senior White House correspondent ... Ieva Augstums, deputy VP for comms. and public affairs at PhRMA, a Purple Strategies and AP alum (Madeira tip: Todd) ... NYT White House reporter Julie Hirschfeld Davis, a Bloomberg alum ... Politico's Karina Carlson ... Angelo Roefaro, Sen. Chuck Schumer's NYC press secretary and Syracuse alum, is 32 (h/t Jason Kaplan) ... Ben Butterfield (h/t Nick) ... Erika Soto Lamb, chief comms. officer at Everytown for Gun Safety (h/t Andrei Berman) ... Annie Hughes, celebrating with her three-month baby daughter Ava (hat tip: Mom, a.k.a. Ann Compton) ... Rep. George Holding (R-NC) ... Tom Giovanetti, president of the Institute for
 Policy Innovation ... Alex Kellner, a director at Bully Pulpit Interactive, a McAuliffe alum, and the best grillmaster in politics, who recently got engaged in Kansas City to Allie Woods, a ninth grade English teacher at Ballou high school in SW DC -- they met while working together on McCaskill in 2012 - pic  http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=ab9464582ae1cd18fed7684bf7a7d08b816caaa88e409f95d1ae495a39c3f87d (h/t Rob Flaherty) ... 

... Dean Lieberman, a Feinstein alum celebrating by preparing for a new job at State (h/t Ben Chang) ... Emily Cooper, V.P. of global partnerships at Nat Geo (hubby tip: Purple Strategies' Rory Cooper) ... Chris Durlak, managing director of acct. strategy and management at Purple Strategies ... David Lindsey, executive editor of news and features at NatGeo and a Reuters, USA Today and WashPost alum (and Mike Allen's editor, when he was the Arlington/Alexandria reporter) ... Will Leaverton, VP of political and advocacy at Univision and a Clear Channel alum ... Greg Lemon ... Matt Kravitz, former press secretary for Rep. John Garamendi (D-Calif.) and a Brandeis alum ... NYU political
 scientist and Monkey Cage blog contributor Joshua Tucker ... Shelly Banjo, consumer and retail columnist at Bloomberg Gadfly and a Quartz and WSJ alum ... Politico alum Adekunle Ogunfolu ... 

... Ellen Dargie, director of gov't affairs and counsel at the Internet Association and an Issa alum ... John Spencer (Jack) Rodgers ... Matt Aks, research assistant at the Council of Economic Advisers ... Michael Myers, managing director at the Rockefeller Foundation and long time chief counsel and staff director for Sen. Kennedy and the HELP committee ... Ed Gilroy, director of workforce policy at the House Education and Workforce Committee ... Ken Jost ... Sean Dalton, special assistant at the NTSB ... Trait Thompson, avid Aggies follower ... Ellen Dargie ... John Collins, VP for int'l policy at Bankers Association for Finance and Trade (BAFT) and a Coinbase, HSGAC and Carper alum ...
 Rachel Pryor ... 

... Clay Hanna (h/t Autumn) ... Ruby Hanna, who shares her birthday with Dad ... Sandra Fluke ... Brian Temple Smith is 37 ... John Cahill ... Micah Kleit ... Benjamin Runkle is 44 ... Gabrielle Porter, account manager at political direct mail Petel & Co. and alum of State Voices, Benenson Strategy Group and AmeriCorps ... Robert Bateman is 49 ... legal affairs journalist Ken Jost ... Florida attorney Jessica Ehrlich ... Robin Canter ... Monica Fischer (h/ts Teresa Vilmain) ... Boomer Esiason is 55 ... Jennifer Garner is 44 ... Victoria Beckham is 42 ... actor Paulie Litt is 21 ... actress Dee Dee Davis is 20 (h/ts AP)

**A message from JPMorgan Chase & Co.: The 2016 Business Leaders Outlook report reveals that U.S. businesses are optimistic for growth despite uncertainty about the economy. The annual survey was conducted from January to February, and includes data from over 2,300 participants. "While business leaders admittedly see challenges overseas, they continue to see opportunities at home and anticipate positive growth in international markets over the next few years," said Jim Glassman, Senior Economist at JPMorgan Chase. Read the report here: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=ab9464582ae1cd18d5f31054f41b036b537bf1330a8cf507fd458de51763eeb5 **

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