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Apr 27, 2021

COUNTING

The United States' population growth slowed in the past 10 years to its lowest rate since the 1930s, according to new data released Monday by the U.S. Census Bureau.

WHAT TO SAY ON YOUR MORNING ZOOM: Historic, symbolic, intriguing – and/but the population still grew and the nation can withstand a little recalibration. Don’t panic.

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REDISTRICTING

WHAT TO SAY ON YOUR MORNING ZOOM: A smaller win for the right than was anticipated, but the map-drawing process will likely still give Republicans a significant leg up in the hunt for a Red November in 2022 House races.

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RECALLING

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — Organizers of the recall effort against California Gov. Gavin Newsom collected enough valid signatures to qualify for the ballot, state election officials said Monday, likely triggering just the second such election in state history.

WHAT TO SAY ON YOUR MORNING ZOOM: The two-question ballot process (1. Remove Newsom? 2. If so, replace him with whom?) still lacks the strong Democratic candidate alternative and strong/consensus Republican candidate to create the necessary conditions to remove the incumbent.

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HEARTBREAKING

Jason Marks @jasonmarkswavy

Family watched video 10-20 times. Attorneys now describe the 20 second video: Brown was in the driveway. Sheriff truck blocked driveway. His hands were on the steering wheel. Deputies ran up to car shooting. He finally tries to get away. @WAVY_News

WHAT TO SAY ON YOUR MORNING ZOOM: This case needs transparency, speed, due process, grace, and justice.

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SUMMARIZING

Gerard Baker in the Wall Street Journal:

The cleverest White House move has been the careful rationing of the president’s presence in the lives of ordinary Americans, the rediscovery that scarcity has value.
What happens when this return to normality simply feels, well, normal again? The Biden people hope that an economy roaring back to life in the early stages of post-pandemic euphoria will maintain their political momentum and Americans will retroactively endorse the progressive course they’re on.
But there’s an alternative possibility: that the resumption of normal political service reminds at least half the country that an administration that has exceeded even the left of its own party’s expectations may not be what the country needs.

WHAT TO SAY ON YOUR MORNING ZOOM: As Ron Klain well knows, if the economy in fact comes roaring back to life and sustains into 2022, all the conservative brickbats in the world won’t slow down the Biden quiet car.

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SUBSCRIBING

WHAT TO SAY ON YOUR MORNING ZOOM: You can read Wide World of News for free, but why not join others in supporting the work involved in writing this newsletter?

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CONTRIBUTING

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To kick in ANY lower amount than the formal subscription rates, send a simple email to markhalperintalk@gmail.com and ask how you can support this work.

WHAT TO SAY ON YOUR MORNING ZOOM: You need to unmute.

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ACCUSING

John Kerry @JohnKerry

I can tell you that this story and these allegations are unequivocally false. This never happened - either when I was Secretary of State or since.

John Hudson @John_Hudson

Many conservatives attacking John Kerry for discussing with Iran that Israel covertly struck 200 Iranian targets in Syria, per leaked audio. @StateDeptSpox notes that those strikes had already been disclosed by a gov't in the region (i.e. Israel) https://t.co/ARZvri38pE

WHAT TO SAY ON YOUR MORNING ZOOM: Perhaps a bigger controversy than those involving Joe Biden’s hamburgers or Kamala Harris’ book, but still a lot of fuzziness here.

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BICKERING

Washington Examiner:

Former President Donald Trump is not the leader of the Republican Party, House GOP Conference Chairwoman Liz Cheney told reporters Monday at a lawmaker retreat not far from Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate.

…while Politico casts it all as a Cheney-Kevin McCarthy contretempts.

WHAT TO SAY ON YOUR MORNING ZOOM: GOP optimists think this divide can be settled by the midterms; realists know it all depends on whether Donald Trump runs for president or not.

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(NOT) WATCHING

NEW YORK (AP) — The Academy Awards television audience plunged to 9.85 million viewers on ABC, less than half of the Oscars’ previous low and continuing a startling trend of viewer tune out for awards shows.
The Nielsen company’s preliminary estimate shows that the audience who watched “Nomadland” win best picture on Sunday was 58% below last year’s tally of 23.6 million, which had set the previous record for least-watched Oscars telecast.

WHAT TO SAY ON YOUR MORNING ZOOM: I’m surprised there were that many people tuned in.