Jan 12, 2017

Trump and Bernie's uphill Senate pharma battle

After president-elect Trump said yesterday that the pharmaceutical industry is "getting away with murder," Bernie Sanders agreed with him:

STAT's take: "It makes for good political theater, but for the drug industry, it puts forth a nightmare scenario in which pharma could become the villain that unites the populist factions of the left and right."

Yes, but: You still need enough members of Congress from the left and the right to pass something. Last night, Sanders won 12 Republicans on a drug pricing amendment, but he lost 13 Democrats, so it still failed.

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Rebecca Falconer

Updated 19 mins ago - Politics & Policy

Tanker truck plows into Minneapolis protesters

Authorities closed major roads at 5 p.m. local time in Minneapolis for the march. Photo: Chandan Khanna/AFP via Getty Images

Minnesota authorities said in a statement they're investigating as a criminal matter what happened with a truck that "drove into demonstrators" on a Minneapolis bridge Sunday evening while the eight-lane road was closed for a protest.

What they're saying: Minnesota Department of Public Safety tweeted, "Very disturbing actions by a truck driver on I-35W, inciting a crowd of peaceful demonstrators. The truck driver was injured & taken to a hospital with non-life threatening injuries. He is under arrest. It doesn’t appear any protesters were hit by the truck."

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Orion Rummler

Updated 36 mins ago - Politics & Policy

U.S. enters 6th day of nationwide protests over George Floyd's killing

A protest in Philadelphia on May 31. Photo: Mark Makela/Getty Images

Local news footage captured a tanker truck appearing to drive toward protesters at a peaceful demonstration in Minneapolis, forcing demonstrators to quickly get out of the way of the incoming vehicle on Sunday evening.

The big picture: Protests have continued across the country for six days, as demonstrators call for justice in response to the deaths of George Floyd and other other black Americans who have died in police custody or who have been killed in racist attacks.

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Jonathan Swan

3 hours ago - Politics & Policy

Inside Trump's antifa tweet

President Trump at Cape Canaveral on May 30. Photo: Paul Hennessy/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images

As recently as Saturday night, senior administration officials told me that the designation of a violent cohort of far-left activists, antifa, as a terrorist organization was not being seriously discussed at the White House. But that was Saturday.

Behind the scenes: The situation changed dramatically a few hours later, after prominent conservative allies of the president, such as his friend media commentator Dan Bongino, publicly urged a tough response against people associated with antifa (short for "anti-fascist").

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