#the way he just stood there after the team pic waiting to be chucked around

[ohblimeygeorge]

Love his team just always ready to throw him round like a wet noodle

[dazzlingfantasiesblogs]

Sharp Side of The Blade P4

Dean x Reader

Warnings/Triggers: 18+ Only. If under 18 Kindly un-follow me .Pain.

Notes: Enjoy!

Tags: @moodygrip @trippinjenni @brokenhearted-littlegirl @monkeymcpoopoo @greenarrowhead @liloldlou @kittkattramp

Pics and Gifs are not mine!

Getting back to the bunker, Dean parked baby in the garage, Sam right behind him with your car. Dean opened the back door to see you still asleep. He gently grabbed your arms, sliding you out carefully. Walking you to his bedroom, he started to strip you of your filthy clothes. “Dean, I think mom should do that…” Sam spoke calmly. Mary walking in seeing Y/N laying unconscious on the bed. “Oh my gosh..” She shoved Dean out of the way looking over your broken frame. “Get me the first aid kit, saline solution and the morphine packs.” Her voice demanding. “NOW!” Mary yelled at the boys. They sprinted out of the room as she unbuttoned the flannel that she guessed was Deans on how it loose it was. You opened your eyes weakly. You smelt a familiar scent. “Mary…?” it smelled of her strawberry shampoo.  “Y/N..” She choked on sob happy to finally have you back in the bunker. To have you home. At first she was not a fan of you. For obvious reasons. Intell you yelled at the boys to let her go hunting by herself and get use to this time frame. She seen you over and over again take care of the boys in all ways. Cooking, cleaning wounds or protecting them. “I am going to get you better hun.. promise..” “Buck…bucket..” Mary looked to you confused. “Here!” Dean reached over to grab his empty trash can. You bent over the bed and vomited. “What the hell…?” Mary watched as you emptied your stomach. It was clearly just bile. Dean walked to the restroom grabbing you a washcloth. He handed to his mother as she wiped your mouth. “Sorry…” you whispered tiredly. Every bone in your body felt shattered. Breathing let alone talking was proving to be a hard task. “The shapeshifter kept injecting her with some kind of sleeping medication.. It was a lot.. she still tried to fight them and us off…” Sam spoke looking as your eyes fluttered closed once again. He hated seeing you so weak, so broken.

Mary asked the boys to leave as she stripped you of your clothes. Running you a warm bath she waited it to fill up. “Dean..” she hollered out. “Help me move her to the bath tub.” Dean looked over your body. So many scars, cuts and bruises. Your rib cage had the most impact. He shivered with sadness at this. Gently laying your body in the warms water, he moved your hair from your face. “Thanks. I am going to help wash her up.” Mary spoke grabbing a clean washcloth.

Mary cleaned you up and ended up carrying you back to the bed herself. She noted at how light you where and started to find a vein in your arm. Sliding the needle in, she used medical tape to secure it. She started the saline drip and morphine to help with the pain. Wrapping your ribs with medical gauze, she secured it with tape. “Dean or Sam!” soon Sam walked in seeing you in the bed asleep. “Did you guys get her stuff? She needs something to wear to keep her warm. The saline solution is going to make her very cold.” Sam nodded going out to the hallway to grab your stuff. She set it on the desk going through it. Sam slid through the duffle bag. He pulled out a comfortable sweatshirt for you. It was once his. He gave it to you since you said you always dreamed of going to Stanford. He helped lift your body as carefully as he could. His mother sliding on the sweat shirt and sweat pants. Dean walked in moments later seeing you where Sams old Sanford sweatshirt. Dean would lie if he said he wasn’t jealous. You two always being so close. “Sam..” you whispered. Sam set you down gently, sitting on the edge of the bed. “Yes?” He said softly. “I missed you.. all of you…” you mumbled still half asleep. “I missed….. the bunker… missed… Castiel…. Missed mom….she is so…. Pretty…” you mumbled falling back asleep. Mary chuckled softly. “She is pretty drugged up.” Sam nodded smiling to his mom. Castiel walked next to Dean looking in. “How is Y/N?” He asked worried about your condition. “She just said she missed you.” Dean spoke quietly. Castiel walked past Dean to your side. He slid his hand over yours. “I missed you too.” Castiel spoke melancholy seeing you like this. As he touched your hand he seen a flash of you in Hell fighting off demons. “What the..” Sam looked at Cas as his eyes glowed blue. Cas pulled his hand away. “I… I seen…” Cas put his hand back on yours.  It happened again. He seen you taking out a werewolf pack. He seen you throwing daggers at vampire, then cutting his head off. He then seen you asleep at night, crying. Castiel took a deep breath looking at you. “What is it Cas?” Mary spoke first. “No.. nothing.” Cas walked back out past Dean.

Dean followed Castiel grabbing his arm. “You eyes did the angel thing.. what the hell happened?” Cas groaned. “Get a glass of whisky first.”

Sam and Dean sat with Castiel at the table. “When she said she was in hell, she was fighting off demons. Not just one or two.. lets try ten or more. She was hunting so much, she killed a lot of things. She was trying to numb herself. It was obvious it didn’t work when I seen her crying at night. Dean.. I usually support your decisions. After all Team Freewill 2.0, But… Y/N.. You messed up. You need to make this right or she is going to get her self killed.” Cas looked Dean in the eyes. His tone was slightly threatening. “I never.. want to see that again..” Dean sank into his chair. He had not clue what Cas really saw. “Can you show me..?” Dean asked looking at the trench coat wearing angel. Cas walked over to him, putting his pointer and middle finger against Deans temple. Images flashed before Deans eyes. Showing a glimpse of your past year. Everything from you fighting and hunting to laying alone at night. He hissed getting a glimpse of a one night stand that you had as well.

It was evening and Dean took a nap on the couch since he drove all night to get you here. He tossed and turned remembering the images Cas showed him. Sam looked at his brother, fighting with himself in his sleep. He sighed and walked to go check on you. He seen his mom asleep on the chair next to you. “Mom, go rest. I’ll keep an eye on her.” Mary nodded to her youngest son. She stood up kissing his forehead walking to her room.

Sam grabbed your hand and held it gently. It was slightly comical how small your hand was in his. “Cas said you went through a lot in the last year… why didn’t you call us? Or at the very least me? I thought you knew you could trust me with anything…?” Sam mumbled sadly. “I was worried..” you breathed out tiredly. Sam looked at you as your eyes opened. “I was… worried you… would get hurt…… I didn’t want… to keep dragging you guys down…..” “Never…” Sam stood up looking at you. Your eyes still mostly closed. He watched as you breathed in and out tiredly. Normal functions proving to be difficult. He looked to see your saline and morphine gone. Grabbing another pouch he hooked the new one to the IV pole. Hearing a light knock at the door he seen Dean looking in. “Where is mom?” “Sleeping. I told her I would look after Y/N so she could sleep a bit.” Dean nodded seeing your eyes open. He walked to your side of the bed, his face held shame and regret. He leaned down and hugged you gently not to disturb anything. “I am so… sorry y/n..” Dean whispered in your ear. Sam watched his brother try to make things right. “I still love you.. I always will. No matter what..” He pressed a kiss to your temple. “I am going to go for a run and get some food. Y/N do you want anything special?” “Ice…..Ice cream.. Mash…potatoes…” Sam grinned knowing why you asked for those things. Your jaw was way too sore to eat anything chewy. “Ok baby girl.. you got it.”

“Can… Can I sit in the living room?” your words oozed displeasure of your situation. “Sure Y/N..” Sam grabbed your body and set you in the wheel chair Dean had dug out of storage that was Bobbys when he lost function of his legs. “It…It still smells of Bobby…” you said weakly. A smile coated your bruised face. Sam grabbed the soft blanket off the bed and wrapped it around you. Wheeling you and your IV pole he brought you to the study that Dean and Cas turned into a living room. He carefully lifted you up and put you on the Lazy Boy recliner chair, setting it up. Wrapping the blanket around you once again he handed you the remote. “Wanna….. wanna finish watching…. Futurama…? If you haven’t already? I could use… some Bender in my life..” Sam smiled nodding. He grabbed the remote putting on Hulu. He sat on the side of the couch closest to you as you started to watch the show. He refused to watch the discontinued comedy without you.

Sam hurd the bunker door close. Dean came in seeing you resting on the Lazy boy. He set out the food and put your ice cream in the fridge. Getting you a spoon he handed you the mash potatoes. “I got them from your favorite place in Lebanon.” He smiled to you. Chucking lightly you weakly took a scoop of the fluffy mash potatoes and started to eat them. “Mmm..” you smiled. “Tastes good.” Dean nodded. “I got you a few things of them..” Dean sat next to Sam as all three of you ate watching Futurama.

The next day you woke up and felt a little better. Still very sore and in a lot of pain but you could move. Looking at the clock it was 5AM. Slowly getting up, you used the side of the wall to make it to the kitchen. Grabbing the ice-cream you struggled to open the lid. “Here..” You looked to see Castiel behind you. He opened it for you. Walking to the drawer he grabbed you a black plastic spoon from some fast food restaurant. “Thanks Cas..” you slowly ate the cold ice cream. Dean remembered how much you loved mint ice cream and boy did he get you the good stuff. “Cas… how are you?” you looked to the handsome angelic man. “I am…. Ok. Why didn’t you call me when you where in danger? Or pray to me?” you smirked a bit as you slurped the ice cream. “Cas.. the boys need you all the time. I wouldn’t want to waste your time on small things..” “Fighting demons in hell Y/N is not something small! Crowley helped you survive..” he spoke with a slight distaste in his mouth. “Yeah he did..” you laughed a bit. “The king of hell has a bit of a soft spot when it comes to sticking it to Dean.” Cas chuckled a bit nodding. Lightening up his mood a bit. “Look who is up. Let me make you some scrambled eggs hun..” Mary walked in, still in her pajamas. “I won’t say no to your famous cheesy eggs.” “Good.” Mary nodded as she grabbed the eggs from the fridge and started to cook.

After eating and Mary helping you change into some flannel and sweatpants, she helped you sit on the chair in the living room again. Handing you your laptop she found in your duffel you began to look at news articles. “Eager to leave?” Dean spoke still half asleep, wiping the sleep from his hazel eyes. “Dean.. I cant stay..” “Yes you can! We can give this another go.. Cas showed me what you went through… I.. I can’t… I won’t let you do it again..” Dean sat next to you. “I fucked up… I really fucked up..” He slid his fingers through his hair. “I will try everyday for the rest of my life to make this up to you..” “Dean..” you put your hand up. “No need.. I am too tired to think of the past. I plan on to keep truckin forward.” “Alone?” he asked upset. “I am not sure.. Sam and Cas don’t want me to go. Your mother doesn’t want me to either she said.. but being here.. with you.. knowing what we had… I know I didn’t do everything right either Dean..but.. you acted like I was trash.. that is how I felt..” you kept going threw news articles as you talked. Dean kneeled on the side of the chair, getting annoyed as your attention was not 100% on him. He grabbed your laptop causing you to glare at him. “Give it back.” “No.” “Give it back Dean…” “No!” He was testing the waters. “So help me Chuck, once I get my fucking katana I am cutting your fucking balls off!” you growled weakly. “There she is..” Dean smiled seeing the anger show. “You need to be resting though.” You sighed nodding to him. You knew you were in no predicament to kick the eldest Winchesters ass. “I hope if I die one day, I fucking haunt your ass..” you mumbled. “Me too sweetheart. Me too.” He laughed a bit.

[midnight-watch-committee]

Story 4:lost

The Louenburg residence 3:14 am February, 14th,2019

The early mornings were always oddly refreshing. I’d flip over to a kid’s tv channel and get to catch some classic cartoons. My top 3 were probably Spiderman, Silver Surfer, and Looney toons. It was always nice to see those and escape the reality of school or “work.” Is this even a job? I honestly never know but it feels like slavery to some magical book. Every single time it opens I feel like an R rated Scooby Doo, getting the gang together to fuck the town up more. Would I be more of a Velma? I got up from the couch and went over to my laptop bag near the wall. It had been a while since Terror Eater, so everyone had started to calm down. It’s not like I INTENDED to disappear for a week, just saw some tree and was like “Oh fuck yeah.” Now that I think about it, that’s kinda sad. Just throw some trees my way and I do whatever you want. God, I love plants. I sat down with my laptop and opened it up, watching Spiderman and taking a which scooby doo character are you quiz because I’m very mature, shut up, when I spotted something out of the corner of my eye. A blinking red light out in the yard. That couldn’t have been right. I got up to get a closer look, pretending to be looking for my laptop charger. It was... a camera. WHAT THE FUCK! I almost screamed, but somehow managed to keep a level head. Was someone watching me? Who? FBI? I didn’t know what to do. I just grabbed my shit and called Mickey, knowing he’d still be up. He was, sure as day. “Hey, it’s a bad time but what’s up?” He said, he probably started his sentence before even answering. Sure enough, he was the team nurse. Took a first aid class during the summer after I broke my arm. “Hey, someone’s outside watching me, can you come get me?” I said. I heard him shoot up half way through the sentence, “What do you mean someone’s watching you?” He blurted out, he was pretty loud, probably so he didn’t have to explain to Mara where he was going. “As in someone’s sitting outside recording me!” I whisper-screamed at him. “Hey, I gotta-” He started, followed by Mara telling him to “Go, it’s an emergency, get moving!” I would’ve laughed in any other situation, but... I was honestly more afraid this person would figure out I saw them. Did they already know? If they did and brought a weapon, I don’t doubt they’d attack Mickey. “Hurry!” I whispered and hung up. I just had to play cool until he got here. Ok, I can do this. By the time my eyes weren’t breaking away from the light I realized how fucked I was. I can’t even talk to a new person without freaking out, much less let them sit in the bushes and record me for their wank collection. DING! I snatched up my phone. “I’m here, let’s go,” Don’t have to tell me twice, I shot for my bag, grabbed it, and ran! Not gonna wait for that guy to get his rocks off to scram! I hopped in the passenger seat and slammed the door. I opened his glove box and grabbed his revolver. “Hey, that’s not a toy!” he yelled. I put it back, sighing. So much for castle doctrine.

The Vallen residence 7:00 am, February 14th, 2019.

You might be wondering why I decided to get up so early. I did too, I had no self-confidence, none at all, in fact I had negative self-confidence. These are things you already probably knew. Unless trees, Beth, or adventure was involved, I’d constantly doubt myself. My Facebook time line reminded me what day it was with a picture I never wanted to see again. Me, in a sparkly red dress, and there, with their arm around me was my former lover Alex. Alex was nonbinary and a real tough lookin folk. Their wardrobe was probably the costume design for The Terminator. The dark hair and biker jacket used to turn me on... now it just hurts. They went missing a while back, no one said anything. That was about three years ago, and every year since Mickey gave me something on Valentine’s Day, the cards always calling me his dearest friend. It was nice but it didn’t change much. They were still gone. Fuck it, this time I’m finally not gonna be sad! I opened the closet and grabbed the same red dress from the photo and threw it on quickly. I ran to the bathroom and flung open the makeup drawer. Digging through it I realized how old most of the stuff was. I grabbed what little wasn’t empty or expired and threw it on. Some black eyeshadow, mascara, and red lipstick never hurt anyone! I looked up in the mirror and felt... good for once! Not because of all the pretty shit, although that never hurt, but because for the first time in a while I was taking control. I grabbed my converse shoes and threw them on quick, stole a granola bar from the pantry and ran out to the bus stop. I leaped in through the door way panting, the other kids from my stop must’ve thought I truly lost it, and maybe I have. I sat down and checked my purse. Card? Check! We were good to go. I threw on “Jessie’s Girl” and watched out the window at everything passing by.  

Big Horn High School, 7:25 am, February 14th, 2019

The bus was late, so there went dropping it in her computer bag early today. Guess I’d have second period, besides, she’s busy with club stuff in the mornings anyways. How does she even do it? “Ms. Vallen!” Mr. Hadison called after me. “I know, I’m late! Trust me, I got some good photos for class-” I started, turning around to see the one, the only special agent/Uber driver Chuck Garrison. “Ms. Vallen what a pleasure-” He stopped mid-sentence, “We’ve met before, haven’t we?” Shit, girl, we’re so dead! Does he know? For now, act like he doesn’t. “No... Nope, no way Jose!” I said, immediately blowing it. “Yep, I gave you a ride! I could tell the moment you opened your mouth.” He said and honestly I wouldn’t have been surprised if he was serious. “I know we talked earlier about somethings but Mr. Hadison here said you knew anything and everything about instant cameras.” He continued. “I do, why are you asking?” My voice was shaking again. He handed me a picture, “I was wondering if you could tell me anything about who took this photo or the camera used for it?” Ha, that’s it? Man, this would be easy. I took a look at it. It was one of mine, but I knew that if I tried to wiggle out or lie, I was as good as dead. “This looks like a Polaroid OneStep, much like the one I have” I held up my camera and gave it a wiggle. “The photographer, whoever they are, knew their tool like the back of their hand, the coloring is a little off but given the date at the bottom this tends to happen with pictures that are left unprotected for a while.” “Could they have also been called a camera expert like yourself?” Garrison asked, trying to trip me up. “Well, I guess with enough time and practice, anyone could be, don’t really see how a title effects an investigation-” I paused. “Hang on!” I held the picture up to a light and a smile ran across my face. It was the cabin but there was something off. “Someone added a window and a mountain! Whoever gave this to you is bullshiting you!” I handed it back to him, “Can I go to class now, officer? Or did you have any more questions?” He looked at the picture, then me, picture again, me again. He nodded and I headed off. “How did she know that?” Chuck asked. “Told you she’d know what you needed.” Mr. Hadison answered with a slight chuckle.

Lunch, 10:45 am, February 14th,2019.

I sat down at the table with Beth, Mickey, and Mara. They had started talking about whatever plans the couple ™ had and kept insisting Beth came along. I plopped a couple pictures down and started eating. The lack of space and pockets was honestly way more annoying than I remembered. I got a jaw drop from Mickey and a “Wowza!” from Beth, so I assumed it was the dress. “Ok pervs, get it all out now!” I joked, hoping they didn’t have any more comments. “Hey, so sorry but I forgot to get you something,” Mickey said. Three years and he’s never forgotten, hell last year I literally caught him buying a card for me in the middle of January! Who even does that? “What do you mean get her something?” Mara asked, and Beth started typing the answer away on her phone. The annoyed expression on Mara’s face changed to one of guilt. “Yeah, I was surprised too when I first saw him do it.” Beth said. I kept quiet for the rest of lunch, zoning out and eating my food, making sure my pics were good and occasionally showing one or two to the table. The one benefit to a magic camera is that you never run out of film! There were maybe two hundred photos there and I loved almost all of them. The bell rang and Beth shot off, as soon as she was out of ear shot was when I remembered I probably should’ve given her the card.

After school, 2:15 pm, February 14th, 2019.

Walking to Mickey’s truck I saw a bush... sit down. The red light from last night was starting to flash. Was this person really so stupid as to try something like this in broad daylight? I walked over, ready to kick this perv in the face for putting his cameras through such abuse as to violate someone’s privacy when I noticed something glowing... my camera. I stood still, who was seeing this? I started to feel weak, so I ran, sprinting towards Mickey. “It’s-” was about all I could force out before collapsing.

Big Horn Memorial County Hospital, 6:23 pm, February 14th,2019

When I came to, I had an IV in my arm and Beth sitting in a chair nearby. “What happened?” I asked, hoping what I remembered was a fever dream. Beth shot up and kneeled down next to my bed “Hey, you’re ok.” She said in her calming voice. “You passed out, doctors think it was dehydration but I told them that wasn’t possible, I literally watched you drink before you collapsed.” I chuckled softly, “Wow, Beth, you watch me drink? Are you sure it wasn’t you outside last night?” Her smile disappeared. “What?” she seemed scared, as was I. “There was...someone outside your place last night, they were recording me all night and-” Beth cut me off by handing the Children’s survival guide to me. “Someone... or something?” Sure as shit, the page in front of me is what little I remembered seeing. A pale, tall, humanoid creature. They don’t just have cameras, the cameras are their head, constantly watching and draining its victims of all life. Rumor has it that they’re people kidnapped by monsters with magical powers turned into a monster themselves and the only way to free them is if they’re recognized by someone. Their targets are usually someone they’re close to but can also be someone who’s just met them. “Oh yes, because I’ll remember M.C. Camera face!” I said, defeated. A hospital cart rolled by, completely unattended. Beth looked over at it, watching it roll past and looking for any signs of it. She gripped my hand, I guess to keep track of me. The door flung open and the thing came in, Beth stood in between us to block it. I kept Staring at it, trying to think of who could possibly be this camera! That’s when I noticed, it was an old camera. Not just any old camera, but the camera I had used to film my first ever dance with... “Beth, move!” She turned around, “Are you insane, it’s going to kill you!” I sigh and smile at it, “No Beth, they aren’t... please just trust me.” She sighed and moved aside. The stalker got close, leaning in maybe an inch from my face. “I thought of you today, Alex.” I said. The stalker started to emit steam, warping into itself, and yet it had this look. Even though it had no face, you could tell it was giving me a “Thank you” look. Beth and I sat there in watched, tears rolling down my face. As the last of it burned, Beth came over and wiped my tears, holding me close. I spent about an hour just crying with Beth there cradling me. It was nice, but eventually I stopped crying. “Hey,” she said reaching into her purse, “I may or may not have planned something out for tonight that didn’t work because you were in the hospital. But we do have an alternative!” she said, pulling a projector out of her bag. I was pleasantly surprised. “Wait, did you stop Mickey from-” I started. “No silly, just wanted to give you mine first” She said, turning off the lights and turning the projector on. It was her, holding some note cards. It was late and she was quietly reading them from her room but you could tell she cared. “Juniper, I’ve told a million lies to a thousand people but today I have to say the hardest words I have ever said before in my life.” A picture of us went up, in place of her as she laid down next to me. “If there was ever someone I would want to be trapped on an island with, it would be you. You are funny, clever, sweet, and more stunning than you ever give yourself credit for. I knew that the first time I ever asked you for a pencil, and every time after that. The adorable way you stammer over your words when you aren’t confident in yourself reminds me I might actually have a chance to say what I want to say in person. Juniper Susan Vallen...” The projector Beth disappeared as the video ended, replaced by me and the real Beth sitting in the darkness. I felt her face turn towards me, the room barely illuminated by the hallway light through the curtains and the monitors behind me. “I...” she paused. She felt like... well like me trying to talk to someone! “I love you” she barely managed to get out. Fireworks went off in my heart. This can’t be real! “Elizabeth Louenburg...” I paused too for dramatic effect. “I may or may not love you too.” She looked at me like I just told her to go fuck herself “May or may not?” I giggled, “Ok, Ok, yes, I love you too, dummy!” She sat in my lap and kissed me. It was amazing, I didn’t want it to end. But sadly, we were interrupted by someone knocking at the door. Beth sighed and got up, checking the door. “Ok, I’ll ask her if she wants to see you now.” she said to whoever it was, them responding back and her snapping “I don’t care if you’re God himself, if Juni doesn’t want to see you, she doesn’t want to see you!” She shut the door on them and whispered to me “Some guy named Chuck is here to see you.” I gave her a thumbs up and she opened the door. “She said you have five minutes.” Beth said, knowing damn well I didn’t but probably just wanted to spend some more time with her new girlfriend. Chuck sat down, his stereotypical suit and tie looking a little less professional the way it was coming apart. “When I heard our only real witness,” he said, gesturing towards me, “was in the hospital I HAD to rush down here. Juniper,” He said, looking at me like he was losing all hope in this weak case, “do you know of anyone who may have attempted to hurt you in anyway?” I shook my head. “Then how did you break your nose? And how did you pass out in the first place?” Beth started to seem annoyed so I tried to answer him quickly, “I have no idea how I collapsed, doctors noticed a lack of nutrients so that might’ve been it, as far as my nose goes I hit the ground pretty hard so that must’ve done the trick.” And with that his faith seemed restored. “If we happened to get any more pictures from the news or wherever, would you still be willing to identify them?” I nodded and he got up. “Thank you so much! We might just have a case against these traitors after all!” He shook my hand, then Beth’s. “It was nice to meet you, ma’am. I’ll let you girls get back to whatever you were doing.” He winked at me and left. It was odd but... reassuring oddly. Beth sighed and layed next to me, refusing to leave me all night.

[everettwilkinson]

TRUMP infrastructure priority in trouble — DEBT CEILING SWEETENER: A veterans bill — INSIDE THE DSCC retreat in Martha’s Vineyard — JON KARL elected WHCA prez for 2019 — B’DAY: Paul Kane

Good Saturday morning.

TWO THINGS YOU NEED TO KNOW …

Story Continued Below

TRUMP’S FIRST INFRASTRUCTURE PRIORITY IN TROUBLE: House Republicans have been scrambling to find enough votes for President Donald Trump’s first infrastructure initiative: privatizing the country’s air traffic control system. Despite Speaker Paul Ryan’s supportive public comments this week and whipping by House Transportation Chairman Bill Shuster, Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao and the FAA’s legislative affairs team, the bill won’t come up next week. The whip count was close to a few dozen votes short as of the time lawmakers left town Friday afternoon.

Several lawmakers we spoke to yesterday afternoon said it simply wasn’t a vote they wanted to take, because it gains them nothing back home. In many cases local leaders are against the legislation. Roads are in disrepair, bridges are crumbling and no one really cares about modernizing air traffic control, as one lawmaker put it to us. THIS WOULD BE A BIG EMBARRASSMENT for Trump and GOP leaders, however. The inability to push a priority through one chamber shows how difficult D.C. is.

ABOUT THE DEBT CEILING … Even though the Wall Street Journal buried it on their homepage, Rich Rubin, Nick Timiraos and Kristina Peterson’s debt ceiling story from yesterday afternoon is very important. They report: “Republicans are considering tying a must-pass increase in the federal debt limit to funding for a program that lets military veterans get medical care outside of Veterans Affairs facilities, people familiar with the idea said.” A vet bill is a decent sweetener, but consider this: John Boehner coupled a debt ceiling increase with massive spending cuts when he was the speaker! In an all-GOP Washington, all they might get is the renewal of a veterans program that was already going to be renewed! Read Rubin, Timiraos and Peterson’s story http://on.wsj.com/2utSHbz

**SUBSCRIBE to Playbook: http://politi.co/2lQswbh

LAWMAKERS … THEY ARE JUST LIKE US EDITION: Several members of the Michigan delegation were grounded on a Delta plane for hours at DCA headed to Detroit yesterday. One traveler on the plane, which felt like it had no air conditioning, estimated that it was at least 85 to 90 degrees inside the cabin. The plane, which was originally scheduled to take off at 12:45 p.m., finally took off around 7:30 p.m. SPOTTED: Archbishop of Detroit Allen Vigneron and Reps. John Conyers, Jim Sensenbrenner, Dave Trott, Tim Walberg, Mike Bishop, Debbie Dingell, Dan Kildee, Brenda Lawrence, Marcy Kaptur, Jackie Walorski, Andy Barr, Sandy Levin, Bill Huizenga and John Moolenaar, among others.

PRIORITIES IN TROUBLE? WHITE HOUSE IN CHAOS? JARED AND IVANKA IN SUN VALLEY! — THE DAILY MAIL: “Mark Zuckerberg arrives in Sun Valley for showdown with Ivanka and Jared amid rumors the self-made billionaire is planning 2020 run against Trump” — 34 pix http://dailym.ai/2t1WsRc

WHAT PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP IS UP TO TODAY — at 11:02 p.m.: “I will be at the @USGA #USWomensOpen in Bedminister, NJ tomorrow. Big crowds expected & the women are playing great-should be very exciting!”

— THE PRESIDENT attending the U.S. Women’s Open will draw exponentially more attention to the tournament, which is being hosted at a Trump property.

THE TWO FACES OF FOX NEWS — SHEP SMITH: “The deception, Chris, is mind-boggling … why are we getting told all these lies?” CHRIS WALLACE: “I don’t know what to say.” http://wapo.st/2uuloW2 … FOX NEWS CONTRIBUTOR LISA BOOTHE: Hillary Clinton would “literally sell her daughter … literally sell her only child to be president.” http://bit.ly/2tVVV4x

IMPORTANT FOR NEXT WEEK — “GOP leaders plead with senators to hold their fire on Obamacare repeal,” by Jen Haberkorn and Burgess Everett: “Republicans say McConnell will force a vote to start debate even if he knows it would be unsuccessful, which would force Republicans to decide which might be worse: Democratic attack ads for repealing Obamacare or anger from the conservative base and President Donald Trump if they abandon the cause. McConnell canceled a scheduled vote on the bill last month when it became clear the votes weren’t there. But this time, Republicans say, McConnell wants to get people on the record and bring some finality to the Obamacare debate that has hung up Senate action for nearly two months.” http://politi.co/2vo9IAy

— “Republicans use state payoffs to win votes for repeal bill,” by Paul Demko: http://politi.co/2v3bUhg

— “White House launches aggressive push to flip GOP governors opposed to Senate health bill,” by WaPo’s Sean Sullivan, Juliet Eilperin and Dan Balz: http://wapo.st/2upJu32

TRUMP, WHO? — “Governors steer clear of Trump,” by Gabe Debenedetti and Megan Cassella in Providence, Rhode Island: “Vice President Mike Pence spent much of his afternoon address to the nation’s governors on Friday making sure they know how much Donald Trump loves them. But a majority of the state leaders gathered here this week spent much of their three-day summer meeting pretending the president doesn’t exist. When a group of seven Democratic governors stood in front of a cramped hotel meeting room Friday morning to decry the GOP’s health care plan, for all 30 minutes they avoided saying the polarizing words ‘Donald Trump. …

“At the tail end of the National Governors Association’s three-day summer meeting, the lengths to which the country’s state executives went to sidestep the issue of the disruptive president underscored just how much the current Oval Office occupant has rewired the political environment, confounded its participants and upended their usual way of doing business. For many of them, the safest play is to avoid the matter altogether.” http://politi.co/2te5tLf

— “Insurers Oppose Cruz Amendment to Republican Health-Care Bill,” by WSJ’s Anna Wilde Mathews: “In a letter sent Friday night to the Senate Republican and Democratic leadership, the two major associations representing health insurers, which don’t typically send such missives jointly, said the amendment ‘is simply unworkable in any form and would undermine protections for those with pre-existing medical conditions, increase premiums and lead to widespread terminations of coverage for people currently enrolled in the individual market.’” http://on.wsj.com/2tUvdL4 … The letter http://bit.ly/2tWayov

****** A message from the National Retail Federation: {Video} Under the proposed Border Adjustment Tax, small business owners say the costs of their products will increase substantially. What are they supposed to tell their customers? Watch Dave’s story. ******

UNRAVELING THE DON JR. MEETING — MICHAEL ISIKOFF in Yahoo, “Russian-American lobbyist: I just strolled into Trump Jr. meeting”: Rinat “Akhmetshin said he was not expecting to attend any meeting at Trump Tower that day. In fact, he was dressed in jeans and a T-shirt when [Natalia] Veselnitskaya told him that she had a meeting scheduled and asked him to come along. Although Trump Jr. has insisted that Vesenikstaya mainly wanted to talk about Russian adoptions, Akhmetshin said she brought a folder with information about an American hedge fund operating in Russia that she believed was funneling money to the [DNC].

“‘She spent years researching this stuff,’ he said. She left the folder with her hosts at Trump Tower, Akhmetshin said, adding that he had never seen its contents and doesn’t know the details of what was in it. ‘I didn’t prepare the document,’ he said. Akhmetshin cut the interview short, saying he had to have dinner with his daughter. Knowing of his work with Veselnitskaya, Yahoo News had originally reached him by phone in Moscow on Monday, not long after stories about the lawyer’s meeting at Trump Tower first broke. When asked why he didn’t tell a reporter then that he had also attended the meeting with Trump Jr., he replied: ‘You didn’t ask me.’” https://yhoo.it/2vnKeDp

— “U.S. officials probing Russian lobbyist who met Trump team,” by Ali Watkins: “Among the questions investigators are trying to answer, one U.S. official told POLITICO, is whether Veselnitskaya was sent to meet with Trump Jr. on direct orders from the Kremlin. … Akhmetshin — whose lobbying tenure has included several high-profile efforts to promote the Kremlin’s agenda in Washington — has run afoul of Congress in recent weeks. In a March letter to the Justice Department, Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley accused Akhmetshin of failing to register properly under the Foreign Agents Registration Act.” http://politi.co/2t1HbzO

— “Also At Trump Jr.-Russia Meeting: An Ex-U.S. Government Worker With Liberal Views,” by HuffPost’s Jessica Schulberg and Paul Blumenthal: Interpreter Anatoli “Samochornov’s presence at the meeting is key because he appears to be the only witness to the event who does not have close ties to either the Trump campaign or the Russian government. He wouldn’t tell HuffPost whether he had been contacted by investigators probing the Trump campaign’s relationship with Russia. …

“Samochornov has worked as an interpreter on dozens of government assignments, including for the U.S. State Department, Defense Department, Securities and Exchange Commission and Drug Enforcement Administration, and for a G-8 foreign ministers dinner at the United Nations, according to his resume. He helped facilitate exchange programs for the Meridian International Center … He has worked with periodically with the State Department as a contract interpreter for exchange programs. His wife also works for the State Department.” http://bit.ly/2v2SJUR

— @juliaioffe: “Wait, he was the interpreter at a panel I moderated in Jan at the Brooklyn Library. He was very pro-Trump and pro-Putin.” Pic http://bit.ly/2ukG2XW

— “Trump Tower Russia meeting: At least eight people in the room” — CNN.com: http://cnn.it/2tUMwM2

COMING ATTRACTIONS — “Pence will join GOP leaders for fundraiser benefiting his PAC,” by Alex Isenstadt: “Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, House Speaker Paul Ryan and House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy are slated to headline a July 25 fundraiser for Pence’s Great America Committee. The event is to take place in Washington, according to an invitation, and attendees are being asked to pony up $5,000 apiece. … While vice presidents usually focus on raising money for presidential reelection bids or for their party generally, they typically do not launch their own fundraising vehicles. He is expected to use the PAC to reward candidates up for election in 2018.” http://politi.co/2uudbRB

— “In memo, Trump administration weighs expanding the expedited deportation powers of DHS,” by WaPo’s Abigail Hauslohner and David Nakamura: “The Trump administration is weighing a new policy to dramatically expand the Department of Homeland Security’s powers to expedite the deportations of some illegal immigrants. Since 2004, the agency has been authorized to bypass immigration courts only for immigrants who had been living in the country illegally for less than two weeks and were apprehended within 100 miles of the border. Under the proposal, the agency would be empowered to seek the expedited removal of illegal immigrants apprehended anywhere in the United States who cannot prove they have lived in the country continuously for more than 90 days, according to a 13-page internal agency memo obtained by The Washington Post.” http://wapo.st/2ul2zE7

THE JUICE …

OUT AND ABOUT IN MARTHA’S VINEYARD – POOL REPORT from a Playbooker who attended the opening dinner last night of the DSCC’s annual Martha’s Vineyard retreat weekend — the dinner, which featured a traditional lobster boil, was held at the Harbor View Hotel in Edgartown: “DSCC Chair Sen. Chris Van Hollen opened things up with a joke about how Democrats have higher standards than Republicans and Russian agents are prohibited from attending. Remarks included 2018 incumbent Sens. Tammy Baldwin, Sherrod Brown, Chris Murphy, and Debbie Stabenow. All of them railed against Republican attempts to take health care away from millions of Americans and highlighted personal stories of their constituents.

“Massachusetts host Sen. Ed Markey closed with an impromptu imitation of the Kennedy accent that won plaudits from the crowd — as well as impassioned remarks against climate change that pointed out Martha’s Vineyard would have been wiped out if Hurricane Katrina landed a few degrees differently. … The setting looked like a party from a Hollywood movie with a fire pit, colored lights in the pool, and a giant pair of balls floating in the pool saying Love. … A highlight of the night was the after-party at the home of Democratic donor Connie Milstein.” 2018 incumbent Sens. Heidi Heitkamp (D-N.D.), Tim Kaine (D-Va.), Joe Donnelly (D-Ind.) and Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) spoke this morning at the DSCC breakfast at the same hotel.

SPOTTED: Sens. Mark Warner (D-Va.) (who also spoke), Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.), Al Franken (D-Minn.), Maggie Hassan (D-N.H.), Catherine Cortez Masto (D-Nev.), Bob Casey (D-Pa.), and Gary Peters (D-Mich.), Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.), and Tom Carper (D-Del.), former Sen. John Breaux (D-La.), Heather Podesta, Tony Podesta, and various other big Democratic donors.

QUOTE OF THE DAY: “It’s almost an embarrassment being an American citizen traveling around the world and listening to the stupid s— we have to deal with in this country,” JPMC’s Jamie Dimon said responding to a question on an earnings call Friday. “Since the Great Recession, which is now 8 years old, we’ve been growing at 1.5 to 2 percent in spite of stupidity and political gridlock, because the American business sector is powerful and strong,” he said. “What I’m saying is it would be much stronger growth had we made intelligent decisions and were there not gridlock.” http://cnb.cx/2vkwadN

PHOTO DU JOUR: French President Emmanuel Macron shakes hands with President Donald Trump with their wives, Brigitte Macron and Melania Trump, by their sides after the Bastille Day military parade on the Champs Elysees avenue in Paris on July 14. | Christophe Archambault/Pool/AP Photo

WHAT JAKE SULLIVAN IS UP TO THESE DAYS – “Lessons in disaster: A top Clinton adviser searches for meaning in a shocking loss,” by WaPo’s Greg Jaffe: “If all had gone as planned, and as most in Washington had expected, Jake Sullivan would be hard at work just steps from the Oval Office. … Instead, Donald Trump won the presidency … On a recent evening, he was pushing open a battered orange door, climbing stairs covered with fraying carpet and striding into a dimly lit apartment where two dozen Yale Law School students were waiting to hear from him. Most of them were desperate for some version of the life he had led in Washington.

“Sullivan, though, has never felt less certain about where both he and his country are headed. He divides his time between an empty think-tank office in Washington and Yale, where he lectures one day a week on law and foreign policy. Almost everything about his professional life is transitory, uncertain, unsettled. ‘I feel a keen sense of responsibility for the outcome,’ he told friends in the immediate aftermath of Clinton’s defeat. Months later, the feeling had not faded.” http://wapo.st/2vobEcb

THE LATEST ON THE TRAVEL BAN — “Justice Department appeals latest travel ban setback to Supreme Court,” by Ted Hesson: “The Justice Department on Friday appealed to the Supreme Court a federal judge’s decision to allow grandparents, grandchildren, aunts, uncles and other relatives of people in the U.S. to circumvent the Trump administration’s travel ban policy. The order, issued Thursday evening local time in Honolulu by Judge Derrick Watson in Hawaii, deals a temporary blow to one of the president’s signature initiatives. It also prohibits the administration from blocking refugees with a commitment from a resettlement agency in the U.S., a move that could revive the flow of refugee admissions this year.

“In its appeal to the High Court, the Justice Department argues that Watson’s interpretation ‘empties the Court’s decision of meaning,’ because it includes ‘not just “close” family members, but virtually all family members.’ ‘Treating all of these relationships as close familial relationship[s]’ reads the term “close” out of the Court’s decision.’” http://politi.co/2ug5EoL

WASHINGTON, INC. – “Is the most powerful lobbyist in Washington losing its grip?” by WaPo’s Steven Mufson: “This should be the U.S. Chamber of Commerce’s moment. A businessman occupies the White House. … Yet in recent months, the U.S. Chamber — historically one of the cornerstones of Washington politicking and policymaking — has been deeply shaken. Members are divided over the border-adjustment tax, health care and climate change. Some want the Chamber to more vigorously stand up to President Trump to protect free trade. …

“General Electric … has considered pulling out of the Chamber because it views the group as part of an antiquated Washington influence establishment, too exclusively aligned with the Republican Party, and no longer an effective advocate for GE’s interests or views, according to people familiar with the company’s thinking.” http://wapo.st/2vnQIC5

MEDIAWATCH — “WHCA elects ABC’s Karl as ‘19-20 president,” by Cristiano Lima: “The White House Correspondents’ Association announced Friday that ABC News’ Jonathan Karl had been elected as their president for 2019-20. Karl, who received 104 of 265 votes on the way to sealing his victory, was also appointed to a 3-year term as an at-large member of the WHCA’s board of directors, according to a White House press pool report from the group. … Karl edged-out Todd Gillman of the Dallas Morning News, who earned 87 votes, for the role of president, but Gillman also notched a position on the board as a newspaper representative. The New York Times’ Doug Mills, meanwhile, was elected to fill the photography seat on the board.” http://politi.co/2tr2zOh

– “Trump Jr.’s Russia meeting a Democratic plot? Pro-Trump media wants you to think so,” by CNN’s Oliver Darcy: “Was the Russian lawyer who met with Donald Trump Jr., Jared Kushner and Paul Manafort in June of last year the first evidence of possible Trump campaign collusion with Russia — or was she part of a sinister Democratic plot to entrap the Trump campaign? Over the past three days, members of the pro-Trump media have settled on their answer, characterizing the lawyer, Natalia Veselnitskaya, as a leftist with ties to the Obama administration. The idea quickly drifted upward to some of the most influential figures in right-wing media, and then ultimately to President Trump himself.” http://cnnmon.ie/2uulfBS

— NEW YORK MAGAZINE’s cover story on climate change this week, “The Uninhabitable Earth,” by David Wallace-Wells, is now the most-read article in the magazine’s history, with 2.5 million readers so far: http://nym.ag/2tdMwYO… The magazine has published a new, annotated version, with 7k+ words of footnotes: http://nym.ag/2v0jA3T … The magazine’s 2nd most-read feature article was a May 2016 Andrew Sullivan piece, “Democracies end when they are too democratic. And right now, America is a breeding ground for tyranny”: http://nym.ag/1X42nzY

****** A message from the National Retail Federation: The overwhelming majority of retailers are small businesses, with more than 98% of all retail companies employing fewer than 50 people. While small in size, their voices are loud and clear when fighting to be heard on decisions and policies that impact their businesses and the customers they serve every day. Hear more industry stories on NRF’s Retail Gets Real podcast. ******

SNEAK PEEK — DAVID REMNICK in next week’s New Yorker, “Trump Family Values: Amid revelations of Donald, Jr.,’s misguided meeting with two Russians, the President shows once again where his only loyalties lie”: “The Republicans, the self-proclaimed party of family values, remain squarely behind a family and a Presidency whose most salient features are amorality, greed, demagoguery, deception, vulgarity, race-baiting, misogyny, and, potentially—only time and further investigation will tell—a murky relationship with a hostile foreign government.” http://bit.ly/2v3rHMX

CLICKER – “The nation’s cartoonists on the week in politics,” edited by Matt Wuerker – 12 keepers http://politi.co/2tdu7eV

GREAT WEEKEND READS, curated by Daniel Lippman, filing from Great Barrington, Massachusetts:

— “Why You Need Emoji: Emojis are the body language of the digital age,” by Vyvyan Evans in Nautilus Magazine – per ALDaily’s summary: “Digital text alone is impoverished and, on occasion, emotionally arid. It lacks the nonverbal cues — body language — of spoken communication. That’s why we need emoji.” http://bit.ly/2uu26Qg

— “Mr. Ten Percent: The Man Who Built — And Bilked — American Soccer,” by Ken Bensinger in BuzzFeed in June 2014: “As the World Cup opens, a tale about winning dirty: How a swindling suburban soccer dad [Chuck Blazer, who died this past week] pocketed millions as he helped make the sport in the U.S a booming success.” http://bzfd.it/2t1vqta (h/t Longform.org)

— “Kremlin, Inc.: Why are Vladimir Putin’s opponents dying?” by Michael Specter in the Jan. 29, 2007, issue of The New Yorker: “The murder of Anna Politkovskaya was at once unbelievable and utterly expected.” http://bit.ly/2tTLnV4

— “The C-word,” by Paul Collier in the Times Literary Supplement – per The Browser’s summary: “The only cure for corruption is an incorruptible leader, such as Lee Kuan Yew, willing to jail friends and enemies alike. Without such leadership, cultural norms defeat laws and institutions. Northern Italy is one of the most honest regions in Europe, southern Italy one of the most corrupt.” http://bit.ly/2tqygrf

— “Did Airbnb Kill the Mountain Town?” by Tom Vanderbilt in Outside Magazine: “Living the dream has never been easy in the West’s most beloved adventure hamlets, where homes are a fortune and good jobs are few. But the rise of online short-term rentals may be the tipping point that causes idyllic outposts like Crested Butte, Colorado, to lose their middle class altogether—and with it, their soul.” http://bit.ly/2v2zoD7 (h/t Longreads.com)

— “Does the World’s Top Weed Killer Cause Cancer? Trump’s EPA Will Decide,” by Peter Waldman, Lydia Mulvany, Tiffany Stecker, and Joel Rosenblatt in Bloomberg Businessweek: “Roundup has revolutionized farming. Now, human health and Bayer’s $66 billion deal for Monsanto depend on an honest appraisal of its safety.” https://buswk.co/Monsanto

— “The Fallout,” by Lacy M. Johnson in Guernica Magazine: “In St. Louis, America’s nuclear history creeps into the present, leaching into streams and bodies.” http://bit.ly/2v3m1mb

— “Rape Choreography Makes Films Safer, But Still Takes a Toll on Cast and Crew,” by April Wolfe in LA Weekly: “While narratives of sexual assault are nothing new — everything from early Old West films to the various Renaissance-era depictions of ‘The Rape of the Sabine Women’ and Japan’s 19th-century ukiyo-e prints (an art form that influenced anime today) depicts gendered violence — these storylines have become particularly common in film and TV lately.” http://bit.ly/2tdrfyF

— “The Netflix Prize: How a $1 Million Contest Changed Binge-Watching Forever,” by Dan Jackson in Thrillist: “Following the announcement … 30,000 Netflix enthusiasts who downloaded the trove of information and set out to unlock the secrets of the recommendation algorithm. … In a way, [Netflix CEO Reed] Hastings was a tech-age Willy Wonka letting any curious hacker into his digital Chocolate Factory. Instead of a chocolate river, he offered a gushing stream of data.” http://bit.ly/2tdEGyp

— “A Team of Their Own,” by Jessica Luther in Bleacher Report: “Meet the players on this all-girls travel squad who have bigger dreams than youth baseball—they want to become MLB stars.” http://ble.ac/2tq2Y3G (h/t Longform.org)

— “An 18-Year-Old Girl Died From a Synthetic Opioid She Bought Online. Here’s How Portland Police Cracked the Case,” by Nigel Jaquiss in Willamette Week: “A fatal overdose in East Portland leads detectives into the Dark Web, where lab-created opioids are bought with Bitcoin.” http://bit.ly/2upr2Yo

— “1917: The Year of the Century,” by Jeremy Black in Imperial and Global Forum – per The Browser’s summary: “The greatest single event of the 20th century was arguably the overthrow of the Manchu dynasty in 1910-11, opening the way to China’s modernisation. But 1917 was the pivotal year, bringing the Russian Revolution, America’s entry into World War I, and the Balfour Declaration reshaping the Middle East. Hard to say now which was more consequential: The communist experiment, the assertion of America as world power, or the entailing of the West in the founding of modern Israel.” http://bit.ly/2tVBzZb

OVERHEARD AT REAGAN — Rep. Joe Courtney (D-Conn.), with a backpack, on the bus yesterday heading to Gate 35X at DCA to catch an American flight to Hartford (which got delayed an hour), talking to fellow airplane passengers about how the lobster catch in New England has declined because of climate change. He also said he was going to Fenway Park today to catch the Red Sox-Yankees game. Rep. John Larson (D-Conn.) was next to him on the bus wearing a green tie and talking on his cell phone.

SPOTTED: Justice Merrick Garland last night at the James Taylor concert at Nats Park … Kellyanne Conway on the 6 a.m. Delta DCA to DTW flight — former Rep. Mike Rogers was also on the flight … former Delaware Gov. Jack Markell biking yesterday in Mitchell, South Dakota — earlier this week he went through Badlands National Park. He’s on a 3,680 mile cross-country bike ride from Oregon to Delaware (map and pix: http://bit.ly/2upwfj0), his first big effort since leaving office. He’s blogging about his trip on his Facebook page http://bit.ly/2uunWmY

WEEKEND WEDDING — COLORADO POWER COUPLE: Brittany Pettersen, Colorado State Rep. and Democratic candidate for Colorado’s 7th congressional district, recently married ProgressNow Colorado executive director Ian Silverii at the Colorado Governor’s Mansion. Pool report from Gigi Sukin of Colorado Biz: “Pettersen and Silverii were wed by former speaker of the Colorado House of Representatives Dickey Lee Hullinghorst. Their wedding party included State Reps. Chris Kennedy and Faith Winter, and State Rep. Janet Buckner read EE Cummings’ ‘I carry your heart with me.’ … They met in Denver while Pettersen was clipboard-canvassing for nonprofit organizations on the corner of 13th and Sherman, one block south of the Capitol where they would then work together for four years.” Pic http://bit.ly/2tUnkpd

SPOTTED: Sen. Michael Bennet (D-Colo.), Rep. Ed Perlmutter (D-Colo.), former Denver Mayor Wellington Webb, former Lt. Gov. Barbara O’Brien, current Lt. Gov. Donna Lynne, Colorado House Speaker Crisanta Duran, both of Pettersen’s Democratic primary opponents State Sens. Dominick Moreno and Andy Kerr, and Gordon Bronson.

BIRTHDAYS: Chris LaCivita is 51 … WaPo’s Paul Kane … Gareth Rhodes, running for Congress against Rep. John Faso (R-N.Y.) and a former deputy press secretary to NY Gov. Cuomo, is 29 … Arianna Huffington is 67 … Jim Merrill of New Hampshire … Jeremy Bird, 270 Strategies CEO and 2012 Obama for America field director (hat tip: Lynda Tran) … Cecile Richards, president of Planned Parenthood Federation of America and Planned Parenthood Action Fund … Penn Staples … Liana Balinsky-Baker, Reuters tech, media and telecom M&A reporter and deals team leader in SF (h/t Emily Stephenson) … Karin Johanson, the pride of New Jersey and Wisconsin (h/t Jon Haber) … Zach Wahls … Dan Hewitt, VP at Entertainment Software Association, is 41 (h/t Alex Slater) … Svetlana Legetic, co-founder of Brightest Young Things … Dr. David Lippman, a travel aficionado who also loves crosswords and playing tennis, soccer, ping pong and croquet, is 72 (h/t son Daniel) … Amanda Fernandez, senior manager with development organization Palladium, visiting from Bogotá and celebrating this weekend with her parents, husband and kids at Rehoboth Beach (h/t Ben Chang) …

… Heather Higginbottom, COO of CARE and former Obama deputy secretary of state … Elliot Gerson, EVP at the Aspen Institute, is 65 … Wallis Annenberg, president and chairman of the board of the Annenberg Foundation, is 78 (h/ts Jewish Insider) … Andrew Usyk … Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-Fla.) is 65 … Rep. Mac Thornberry (R-Texas) is 59 … Rep. David Cicilline (D-RI) is 56 … Rep. Daniel Lipinski (D-Ill.) is 51 … Rep. Chris Stewart (R-Utah) is 57 … Chris Duffner … Michael Francisco … Taylor Lindman … Seth Grossman … Bloomberg’s Jodi Schneider, now in Hong Kong … Jackie Spinner … Hilary Leighty … Jason Wheeler … Helen Hare … Gwendolyn Ward … Allison Steil … Bekah Geffert … Campbell Roth … HFA alum Marisa McAuliffe … Deb Rosen (h/t Teresa Vilmain) … Erica Fein … Babak Talebi is 38 … Brunswick Group partner Mark Palmer … Linda Ronstadt is 71 … actor Brian Austin Green is 44 … actress Diane Kruger is 41 (h/ts AP)

THE SHOWS, by @MattMackowiak, filing from Austin:

—NBC’s “Meet the Press”: Jay Sekulow … Senate Majority Whip John Cornyn (R-Texas) … Sen. Mark Warner (D-Va.). Panel: Tom Brokaw, Al Cardenas, Doris Kearns Goodwin and Danielle Pletka

–ABC’s “This Week”: Jay Sekulow … Rep. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) … Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine) … HHS Secretary Tom Price. Panel: Matthew Dowd, Michael Caputo, Megan Murphy and Abby Phillip

–CBS’s “Face the Nation”: Sen. Mark Warner (D-Va.) … Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) … Jay Sekulow … author and TIME Magazine editor-at-large Jeffrey Kluger (“Apollo 8”). Panel: Jeffrey Goldberg, Ed O’Keefe, Susan Page and Ramesh Ponnuru

–CNN’s “State of the Union”: Jay Sekulow … Sen. Mark Warner (D-Va.) … Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine). Panel: Bakari Sellers, CNN political commentator Alice Stewart, CNN legal commentator and former Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli (R-VA) and Rep. Eric Swalwell (D-Calif.)

–“Fox News Sunday”: Jay Sekulow … Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.). Panel: Brit Hume, Julie Pace, Michael Needham and Dr. Ezekiel Emanuel

–CNN’s “Reliable Sources”: Jeff Mason, Tara Palmeri and Ken Kurson … Carl Bernstein and Len Downie … David Zurawik

–CNN’s “Inside Politics”: Margaret Talev, Karoun Demirjian, Jeff Zeleny and Manu Raju (substitute host: CNN’s Nia-Malika Henderson)

–Fox News’ “Sunday Morning Futures”: Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) … former U.S. Attorney Bud Cummins … Corey Lewandowski. Panel: Ed Rollins and James Freeman

–Fox News’ “MediaBuzz”: Gillian Turner … Katie Pavlich … Joe Trippi … Anthony Scaramucci … Ari Fleischer … Carley Shimkus

–CNN’s “Fareed Zakaria GPS”: Iranian foreign minister Mohammad Javad Zarif

–Univision’s “Al Punto”: Sen. Tim Kaine (D-Va.) … report from Univision News correspondent Luis Megid on how ICE conducts immigration raids … Venezuelan human rights activist and Leopoldo Lopez’s wife Lilian Tintori … Mexican Senator (PAN) and presidential candidate Juan Carlos Romero Hicks … singer-songwriter Natalia Lafourcade

–C-SPAN: “The Communicators”: CTIA – The Wireless Association president & CEO Meredith Attwell Baker, questioned by Politico’s Margaret Harding McGill … “Newsmakers”: Rep. Elliot Engel (D-N.Y.), questioned by Politico’s Elana Schor and CQ Roll Call’s Rachel Oswald … “Q&A”: Author and Saudi Arabian women’s rights activist Manal Al-Sharif

–Washington Times’ “Mack on Politics” weekly politics podcast with Matt Mackowiak (download on iTunes, Google Play, or Stitcher or listen at http://bit.ly/2omgw1D): former U.S. Sen. Jim DeMint (R-S.C.).

****** A message from the National Retail Federation: The overwhelming majority of retailers are small businesses, with more than 98% of all retail companies employing fewer than 50 people. While small in size, their voices are loud and clear when fighting to be heard on decisions and policies that impact their businesses and the customers they serve every day. Hear more industry stories on NRF’s Retail Gets Real podcast. ******

SUBSCRIBE to the Playbook family: POLITICO Playbook http://politi.co/1M75UbX … New York Playbook http://politi.co/1ON8bqW… Florida Playbook http://politi.co/1OypFe9 … New Jersey Playbook http://politi.co/1HLKltF … Massachusetts Playbook http://politi.co/1Nhtq5v… Illinois Playbook http://politi.co/1N7u5sb … California Playbook http://politi.co/2bLvcPl … Brussels Playbook http://politi.co/1FZeLcw … All our political and policy tipsheets http://politi.co/1M75UbX

Source link

from CapitalistHQ.com https://capitalisthq.com/trump-infrastructure-priority-in-trouble-debt-ceiling-sweetener-a-veterans-bill-inside-the-dscc-retreat-in-marthas-vineyard-jon-karl-elected-whca-prez-for-2019-bday-pau/