EMERGENCY POWERS. What if Trump decides to declare a National Emergency? “There is a vast set of laws, an entire parallel legal regime, that becomes available to the president when he declares an emergency. Some of these laws and the powers they give the president are perfectly sensible, but some of them are more like the stuff of authoritarian regimes. We're talking about powers to shut down wire communications, to freeze Americans' bank accounts, to deploy the military to act as a domestic police force and more. This is some very frightening stuff.”
JEFF SESSIONS. Done with politics? “No. I mean, no,” the 71-year-old former senator said when asked whether he misses the chamber in which he served for two decades. “I could go back and spend time in the woods. I've got 10 grandchildren, oldest is 11.”
$100 MILLION. Expensive Friends.
DEAR STRAIGHT PEOPLE. Stop singing the word “faggot” in The Pogues “Fairytale of New York”.
TRUMP 2020. Ditching Mike Pence? ‘On Monday, Trump hosted a 2020 strategy meeting with a group of advisers. Among the topics discussed was whether Mike Pence should remain on the ticket, given the hurricane-force political headwinds Trump will face, as demonstrated by the midterms, a source briefed on the session told me. “They're beginning to think about whether Mike Pence should be running again,” the source said, adding that the advisers presented Trump with new polling that shows Pence doesn't expand Trump's coalition.'
TED MALLOCH. Trump aide's appearances on RT Russian television are new focus for Mueller. ‘Malloch disclosed that he was questioned about RT to his friend Jerome Corsi, a rightwing author who is himself a target of the investigation. “They thought maybe he was coordinating with Russia – and RT is Russia,” Corsi told the Guardian. Malloch denies any coordination.
INTO. Grindr publication Into apologizes for writer's ridiculous Ariana Grande “Thank U, Next” takedown: ‘Users tore apart the pseudointellectual analysis, which claimed the music video was guilty of “transmisogyny, heterosexual pride, and blackface” without offering evidence. One bizarre argument in the essay is that the pop song — which makes playful references to popular films like Mean Girls, 13 Going on 30, and Bring It On — is guilty of transphobia, allegedly because an appearance by Kris Jenner is an intended insult to her ex-spouse, Caitlyn Jenner.'
PAUL MCCARTNEY. The music legend has been frequenting Alan Cumming's Club Cumming in NYC's East Village. “Sir Paul seems to be becoming a regular…He and his friends drank quietly during our party, Haus of Cumming.”
GREECE. Four policemen charged in death of gay activist Zak Kostopoulos to appear in court: “The policemen have all denied the charge, claiming they never beat Kostopoulos and that they were only performing their duty to detain what they were told at the time was a robber wielding a sharp object. Two coroners called in to investigate the circumstances that led to the 33-year-old's death have ruled that he suffered a fatal heart attack as a result of the brutal beating.”
BALTIMORE. Police investigating transgender woman's shooting death.
PANTONE COLOR OF THE YEAR. Living Coral.
JAKE GYLLENHAAL. Brokeback's Jack Twist joined Instagram to confirm he's in the new Spider-Man movie.
ACTOR CHAT OF THE DAY. Lady Gaga and Lin-Manuel Miranda.
DISH SESSION OF THE DAY. RuPaul's Drag Race All Stars Season 4.
THIRSTY THURSDAY. Sold a Telly.
