In a letter released Tuesday, NOAA's acting chief scientist Craig McLean condemned an unsigned NOAA statement from last Friday that supported President Trump's incorrect claim that Hurricane Dorian would threaten Alabama.
The big picture: McLean said that NOAA's "intervention to contradict" the Birmingham office's assertion that Dorian would not impact Alabama "was not based on science" and was "simply put, political." On Monday, the New York Times reported that Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross threatened to fire top NOAA officials for contradicting Trump. McLean plans to investigate if the agency's statement violated its policies and ethics.
John Bolton's White House departure on Tuesday isn't the only hole in the Trump administration's national security apparatus.
Why it matters: The U.S., either on a diplomatic or military level, is currently engaged in conflicts with Iran, Venezuela, North Korea and Afghanistan — to name a few. The sheer volume of global hotspots that threaten U.S. national security demand some semblance of government stability.
The Senate voted 56 to 38 on Tuesday to confirm Kelly Craft to represent the U.S. at the UN General Assembly meeting this month.
Why it matters: Craft was confirmed as U.S. ambassador to the UN in July, ending a months-long vacancy for the position after Nikki Haley stepped down at the end of 2018. Craft, who previously served as the U.S. ambassador to Canada and was a high-profile GOP donor in Kentucky, was recommended for the position by Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell.
Editor's note: This post has been corrected to reflect that today's vote was to confirm Craft as the U.S. representative to the UN General Assembly meeting.
Former U.K. Ambassador to the U.S. Kim Darroch was named a Lord by former Prime Minister Theresa May on Tuesday.
The big picture: Darroch, a lifelong diplomat who previously served as the U.K.'s national security advisor and top representative to the European Union, resigned as U.S. ambassador in July after it leaked that he described the Trump administration as "incompetent" and "inept." His comments prompted a rebuke from President Trump, who threatened to "no longer deal" with Darroch.
Today's special election in North Carolina for a House seat is ostensibly the first big test of 2020 — but its messaging is straight out of 2018.
Driving the news: Democrat Dan McCready has made health care — and drug prices, specifically — a centerpiece of his advertising and broader pitch to voters as he tries to turn a red district blue.
The top 15 richest Americans could have seen their net worth decline by more than half — hundreds of billions of dollars — had Elizabeth Warren’s wealth tax plan been in place since 1982, Bloomberg reports.
Why it matters: A new paper by two French economists, Berkeley professors Emmanuel Saez and Gabriel Zucman, who helped Warren devise the proposed tax, shows how a wealth tax of "just a few percentage points might erode fortunes over time and presumably reduce wealth inequality."
Every public poll shows a steady and indisputable trend: The Democratic 2020 race is a three-way brawl between 70-somethings who came to fame in the U.S. Senate.
Why it matters ... In this era of change, technology and disruption, Democrats seem content with three pre-Internet era throwbacks: Bernie Sanders, 78; Joe Biden, 76; and Elizabeth Warren, 70.
Snapchat is creating a dedicated news channel specifically for the 2020 debates. It is also working with candidates to increase their visibility on Snapchat through efforts with augmented reality and even merchandise sales.
Why it matters: The company is doing more to increase civic and political engagement on its platform as it readies a more aggressive push into news, sources tell Axios.
Presidential candidate Joe Walsh told CNN's "Anderson Cooper 360" Monday the decision by several states to cancel Republican primaries is "undemocratic bulls--t."
The big picture: The Republican parties in the key early nominating states of Nevada and South Carolina voted over the weekend not to hold contests, as did Kansas and Arizona, per NBC News.
Trump has a near-90% approval rating within the Republican Party, but he faces challenges for the party's nomination from Walsh, former congressman and South Carolina Gov. Mark Sanford and former Massachusetts Gov. Bill Weld.
President Trump made a rallying cry during a campaign event in Fayetteville, North Carolina, in support of Republican candidate Dan Bishop ahead of a crucial special election in the state's 9th Congressional District.
Why it matters: Per the Washington Post, the election could be a bellwether for the president’s political fortunes in 2020. While the N.C. district has long been in Republican hands, recent polling has shown Democrat Dan McCready is within striking distance of Bishop, the WashPost notes.
The federal deficit exceeded $1 trillion in the first 11 months of fiscal year 2019, the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) said in a report published Monday.
The big picture: The deficit is $168 billion more than for the same period in the previous fiscal year. The growing deficit has been driven by mandatory spending in areas including Social Security and Medicare, President Trump's tax cuts, and bipartisan agreements to increase spending in areas such as defense — which contributed toward overall federal government spending increasing 7%.
