TRUMP to rollback some of Obama’s Cuba policies -- FIRST IN PLAYBOOK: Kellyanne complains about West Wing colleagues -- REMEMBERING Zbig Brzezinski -- ASHCROFT hired by Qatar -- KATY TUR profile – B’DAY: Zeleny Presented by Amazon

Driving the Day

Good Saturday morning. THE BELMONT STAKES is 6:37 p.m. tonight on NBC.

WE HEAR … PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP is going to roll back some of Barack Obama’s changes to Cuba policy next week. He discussed the changes at a dinner with members of Congress earlier this week -- the dinner included Florida Sen. Marco Rubio, who was sharply critical of Obama’s policy change. The White House didn’t respond to a request for comment, but Marc Caputo and Sergio Bustos -- our POLITICO colleagues in Florida -- report he’ll make the announcement in Miami and also note: “Many expect that Trump will not reverse Obama’s decision to open a U.S. embassy in Havana or reinstate the ‘wet-foot/dry-foot’ policy that allowed Cuban immigrants who touched U.S. shores to become legal residents.” http://politi.co/2rX4B9K

YOUR DAILY HEAD SNAP -- “Trump seems to undercut Tillerson’s remarks on Qatar,” by WaPo’s Karen DeYoung and Sudarsan Raghavan: “Secretary of State Rex Tillerson called on a Saudi Arabia-led bloc of Arab nations Friday to immediately ease their blockade of Qatar and urged all involved in the week-long Persian Gulf dispute to quickly resolve their differences, remarks that President Trump seemed to undercut less than an hour later.

“Trump began a Rose Garden news conference with the visiting president of Romania by saying that the Saudi-led action against Qatar was ‘hard but necessary.’ He said he had been consulted in advance by nations that ‘spoke to me about confronting Qatar,’ a country he said historically has been a ‘funder of terrorism at a very high level.’ He said he had decided, along with Tillerson and ‘our great generals and military people, the time had come to call on Qatar to end that funding ... and its extremist ideology.’

“Earlier, in a brief, formal statement at the State Department, Tillerson had called on Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Egypt to ease their blockade, warning that it was causing humanitarian hardship in Qatar, harming U.S. and international business, and hindering U.S. military actions against the Islamic State.” http://wapo.st/2r549oV

-- ANOTHER STRANGE MOMENT from Friday’s press conference withTRUMP and Romanian President Klaus Iohannis. REPORTER: “Thank you. Mr. President, were there any discussion about the Visa Waiver Program for Romania? Is there a time frame for including our country in this program? Thank you.” TRUMP: “We didn’t discuss it --” IOHANNIS: “Yes --” TRUMP: “We didn’t discuss it. But there would be certainly -- it would be something we will discuss. Mr. President.” IOHANNIS: “I mentioned this issue, and I also mentioned it during other meetings I had, because this is important for us, it's important for Romanians who want to come to the United States. And you see more and more people come, President Trump, from Romania to the United States. Some come as tourists. Some come for business. And those who come for business should be encouraged.”

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

FOR MARC KASOWITZ -- “James Comey is a ‘leaker’ — but that doesn’t make him a criminal,” by WaPo’s Matt Zapotosky: “‘He can fairly be criticized for whether that was the best way for him to address his discomfort with his conversation with the president,’ said Barry J. Pollack, a white-collar criminal-defense attorney at Miller & Chevalier who has been involved in leak cases. ‘But that’s all a matter of how he conducts his job, and what his relationship is with the president is not a legal question.’

“Prosecutors who bring charges against people for sharing informationwith the public can do so only when classified or other national security material is at issue. Material cannot be classified to conceal legal violations or prevent embarrassment, according to an executive order from President Barack Obama. Telling a reporter nonclassified information of public interest is not only legal, but it’s often the right thing to do.” http://wapo.st/2rcaqTH

-- JOSH GERSTEIN: “The FBI’s standard employment agreement reads: ‘I will not reveal, by any means, any information or material from or related to FBI files or any other information acquired by virtue of my official employment to any unauthorized recipient without prior official written authorization by the FBI.’” http://politi.co/2rgDRip

-- A DEFIANT TRUMP, via Julie Hirschfeld Davis and Glenn Thrush: “President Trump on Friday accused James B. Comey, the fired F.B.I. director, of lying under oath to Congress, saying he would gladly provide sworn testimony disputing Mr. Comey’s charge that the president forced him out because of his handling of the investigation into the Trump campaign’s possible collusion with Russia. … Asked whether he would be willing to provide his version under oath, Mr. Trump responded, ‘100 percent.’ He said of Mr. Mueller, ‘I would be glad to tell him exactly what I just told you.’” http://nyti.ms/2rXgFrP

-- WHAT’S NEXT: “Comey associate has been in contact with Senate Judiciary about memos,” by Kyle Cheney: “Dan Richman, a longtime friend and adviser to former FBI director James Comey, has been in contact with the Senate Judiciary Committee regarding a series of memos that Comey authored about his private conversations with President Donald Trump from January through April. A source familiar with the discussions says Richman connected with the Senate panel via the office of special counsel Robert Mueller ... The source says the matter will be addressed on Monday.”http://politi.co/2sovUMU

-- BLOCKBUSTER RATINGS: “More than 19 million saw Comey testimony on TV,” by Hadas Gold: “According to Nielsen ratings, ABC topped all networks, bringing in 3.295 million overall viewers, with CBS close behind with 3.286 million viewers. Fox News was next with 3.096 million viewers, followed by CNN with 3.049 million, NBC with 2.723 million viewers and MSNBC with 2.719 million viewers. ... Twitter, which partnered with Bloomberg to stream the hearing, said 2.7 million viewers tuned in.” http://politi.co/2s7XFce

--PER FACEBOOK: There were 89 million views of videos related to Comey’s testimony. Those videos had nearly 8 million comments, reactions and shares. There were also 26 million views of Comey-related live video on Facebook.

ABOUT THOSE TAPES -- @tripgabriel: “Personal anecdote: Candidate Trump once said he had taped a call with me, after disputing how he was quoted. I asked to hear it. Never did.” … @mikiebarb replies: “This happened to me as well. He always acted as if he was recording it.”



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THROWING SHADE -- @lloydblankfein: “Just landed from China, trying to catch up.... How did ‘infrastructure week’ go?”

FIRST IN PLAYBOOK -- WHO MNUCHIN MET WITH IN CANADA –Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin made his first official solo foreign trip yesterday to Canada. Mnuchin, who met with Canadian Finance Minister Bill Morneau on the one-day trip to Ottawa, was seeking to highlight the importance of the U.S.-Canada strategic and economic alliance, according to Treasury. Deputy national security advisor Dina Powell and Treasury chief of staff Eli Miller accompanied Mnuchin. They also met Canadian foreign minister Chrystia Freeland, Canadian Ambassador to the U.S. David Mac Naughton and attended a cabinet meeting with top ministers. They discussed a variety of topics including the upcoming G-20 agenda, trade and economic issues and national security challenges. Mnuchin also met with a group of more than 20 CEOs who do business in both the U.S. and Canada, including the heads of Ford Canada, GE Canada and TD Bank. More foreign trips by Mnuchin are in the works, according to our Treasury source.

DAVID A. FAHRENTHOLD in WaPo, “New York attorney general ‘looking into’ Eric Trump’s foundation”: “New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman is ‘looking into’ a charitable foundation founded by Eric Trump, a spokesman for Schneiderman said, after Forbes magazine raised questions about whether President Trump’s son had made misleading statements about how the foundation spent its money. ... One item at issue, the attorney general’s office said, was that the Eric Trump Foundation has rebranded itself ‘Curetivity’ and held a fundraiser under that name. But, after a query from The Washington Post on Friday morning, the attorney general’s office said the charity had not officially changed its name with New York charity regulators.” http://wapo.st/2t5KuWr

ROMNEYSTOCK – ALEX ISENSTADT’S HARDSHIP ASSIGNMENT to Deer Valley, Utah: “Romney reveals that Clinton nudged him to consider Trump’s secretary of state overture”: “Romney, appearing before a group of major Republican Party donors here, said that he reached out to Clinton last year after getting a phone call from then-Vice President-elect Mike Pence informing him that he was on the shortlist for secretary of state. ... Romney ... was golfing in Hawaii when he received the call ... He then turned to former secretaries of state, including the just-defeated Clinton, to ask whether he should consent to the offer. ‘In each case, each of them said, “Please, please take that job if it’s offered to you. We’d very much like to see you serve in that capacity,”’ Romney said.” http://politi.co/2seggUP

--“Biden encourages 2012 foe Romney to run for the Senate”: “During a closed-door appearance with Romney here on Friday evening, Biden said Romney should consider a Senate bid. The remark came during the second day of the E2 Summit, an annual Romney-hosted donor conference. Attendees were gathered to hear a dialogue between the two men, who were on opposite sides of the 2012 election. Romney, according to two sources present, offered little by way of response other than to smile. ... There has been considerable speculation that Romney may seek the seat of longtime Utah Sen. Orrin Hatch should he forego reelection. Neither Romney ... nor his aides have denied interest in the seat should it become open.” http://politi.co/2s7YMbU

MITCH MCCONNELL’S LATEST HEADACHE -- “Conservatives near revolt on Senate health care negotiations,” by Burgess Everett: “As Obamacare repeal talks enter crunchtime with a vote as soon as this month, the Senate bill continues to tilt toward more moderate members of the GOP on keeping some of Obamacare's regulatory structure and providing a more generous wind-down of the law's Medicaid expansion. The movement has made Republicans increasingly pessimistic that two critical conservative senators, Mike Lee of Utah and Rand Paul of Kentucky, will be able to vote for the GOP's ultimate agreement on healthcare, according to senators and aides.” http://politi.co/2s7Z42l

COMING ATTRACTIONS -- “Trump Will Meet With Tech Leaders To Talk About Emerging Tech Like Drones,” by BuzzFeed’s Ryan Mac: “The White House is planning a second gathering of technology leaders later this month, in which President Donald Trump is expected to meet with venture capitalists and entrepreneurs from emerging tech firms. Three sources confirmed to BuzzFeed News that the Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) is organizing the event, scheduled for June 22 — three days after Trump is expected to meet with the likes of Apple CEO Tim Cook, Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos, Oracle co-CEO Safra Catz and technology executives in Washington. ... [T]he second meeting ... will address emerging technologies trends including the Internet of Things, commercial drones and the funding of those companies.” http://bzfd.it/2rgABUf

REMEMBERING ZBIGNIEW BRZEZINSKI -- “Washington Remembers Brzezinski, and a Very Different Era,” by NYT’s Matt Flegenheimer: “One after another, the mourners filed into the stately Cathedral of St. Matthew -- ambassadors, cabinet secretaries, television hosts, a president -- hunkering together behind the grand doors, at least for a little while, to consider a man and a capital from a bygone political moment most seemed to prefer. The occasion was the funeral of Zbigniew Brzezinski ... ‘He was a realistic optimist,’ one eulogizer, the former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright, said of Mr. Brzezinski, recalling his commitment to human rights, his belief in the power of considered diplomacy and his fierce wariness of Russia. The crowd nodded. ... [F]or two hours on Friday, the city’s beleaguered establishment seemed to revel in a collective embrace, capping a week in which it rallied to defend some treasured Washington traditions -- congressional oversight, the independence of the F.B.I. -- in the face of persistent executive chaos.” http://nyti.ms/2s8bvLr

-- Hundreds of people attended the funeral, at St. Matthew’s Roman Catholic Cathedral in Washington. President Jimmy Carter, Madeline Albright, John Hamre, and Ian, Mark and Mika Brzezinski all gave remarks. Albright read a note from John Kerry and Hamre read a note from Henry Kissinger. SPOTTED: Jonathan Capehart, Chris Licht, Robin Wright, Andrew Schwartz, Al Hunt, Bob Gates, Ambassadors from Finland, China, Japan, Sweden, Italy, and UAE, Carl Bernstein, Kathy Kemper, Maureen Orth, Bob Schieffer, Margaret Carlson, Boyden Gray, Katty Kay, House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, Susan Rice, Chuck Todd, Ernest Moniz, and Margaret Warner.

TRUMP’S WEEKEND -- The president is at his golf club in Bedminster, New Jersey. PENCE is in Milwaukee, where he’ll talk to small businesses with Gov. Scott Walker and give a speech about Obamacare. He’ll return to D.C. and speak at the Faith & Freedom Coalition’s Patriot’s Gala.

THE JUICE …

-- @rchammond: “The President has announced his intent to nominate Eric Ueland of Oregon to serve as Under Secretary of State for Management. @StateDept”. Ueland is Republican staff director of the Senate Budget Committee, worked on the Trump transition and earlier in his career was chief of staff to former Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist.

-- FIRST IN PLAYBOOK: FROM HADAS GOLD: KELLYANNE CONWAY was overheard Thursday night talking about her West Wing co-workers to fellow revelers at a party. Conway was having an off-the-record conversation with a group of reporters and other attendees at the British Embassy at their election-night watch party. She said President Donald Trump told her to “go out there and say ‘Jim Comey is going to have to wait and see about the tapes.’”

“I mean, that’s basically the same thing as ‘no comment,’” she said. Conway also mimicked Reince Priebus urging White House aides to stop leaking, and wondered aloud what Marc Short -- the legislative director -- does all day. She also said she is “the one catching the slings and arrows in the West Wing.” The source who heard Conway created a Twitter account about the evening, naming it @kellyanneleaks and posting photos and tweets from the event. Two other sources confirmed Conway’s remarks.

White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer said Conway disputed the account, explaining that she is very close to Short. Spicer said Conway was not mocking Priebus, but rather reporters for palace intrigue stories “and how wrong they’ve been.” Spicer disputed that Conway had pushed back on the presidents request on how to comment about Comey, saying that she was simply explaining what the lawyers said the White House can say.

Playbook Reads

PHOTO DU JOUR: President Donald Trump is pictured with Romanian President Klaus Werner Iohannis during their joint news conference in the Rose Garden of the White House on June 9. | Pablo Martinez Monsivais/AP Photo

JOHN ASHCROFT’S FIRM HIRED BY QATAR – “Singled Out by Trump, Qatar Hires Former Top Law Man to Lobby,” by Bloomberg’s Bill Allison: “Qatar hired Ashcroft Law Firm, LLC for 90 days, agreeing to pay it $2.5 million to help the Persian Gulf nation comply with U.S. money laundering and counterterrorism financing regulations and to stress its efforts to combat global terrorism, according to disclosures filed under the Foreign Agents Registration Act. ... The contract cites the ‘urgent need to commence work immediately’ which will be ‘a top priority’ for the firm. ...

“Aschroft’s firm promised to provide crisis response and management, program and system analysis, media outreach and advocacy, stressing Qatar’s efforts to combat global terror, according to the contract. As part of that effort, the firm plans ‘a comprehensive legal and government relations strategy,’ one that will communicate broadly and to ‘certain domestic agencies and leaders.’” https://bloom.bg/2rcumWs

WHAT DAN SCAVINO IS READING -- “Inside The Chaotic Battle To Be The Top Reply To A Trump Tweet,” by BuzzFeed’s Charlie Warzel: “[S]econds after the president sounds off to his 31 million-plus followers, he’s bombarded with replies -- almost all of them extreme. There are breathless condemnations of Trump policy; cries for his speedy impeachment; furious demands for his administration to admit its role in any number of global and political conspiracies; #Resist-ers; #TrumpTrain conductors and passengers; impassioned defenses of his character; praise for Trump as chessmaster-in-chief, 10 steps ahead and constantly outwitting enemies. There are comedians, actors, doctors, scientists, admirers, goons, politicos, activists, journalists, and trolls. ... And within seconds they’re all just a few pixels below the president’s missive — yelling, arguing, and looking to be the one Donald Trump sees when he checks his Twitter feed.” http://bzfd.it/2r57m7T

-- “Dan Scavino is the other @realdonaldtrump,” by Eliana Johnson: “The White House is brimming with aides, lawyers, and communications gurus who are begging President Donald Trump to stop tweeting. The lone exception is Dan Scavino, the president’s former golf caddy who now oversees the White House’s messaging on social media. Scavino is in many ways the president’s mini-me, a man whose bombast, impulse control, and instinct for a good punch match those of his boss.

“After Trump last weekend blasted London Mayor Sadiq Khan after a terror attack that killed eight people, Scavino posted a message citing Khan’s own 2016 criticism of Trump’s rhetoric on Muslims and terrorism—complete with a Trumpian, all-caps ‘WAKE UP!!!!’ And like his boss, Scavino has ignored warnings from high-level White House officials to tone down his tweets. Scavino was reprimanded on Friday for violating the Hatch Act, which prohibits senior executive branch officials from using their authority to interfere with elections, by calling in April for the ouster of Michigan Republican Justin Amash.” http://politi.co/2s7Uz7X

TRUMP INC. -- “Trump Can Take Payments From Foreign Governments, U.S. Says,” by Bloomberg’s Bob Van Voris: “George Washington did it, so Donald Trump can too. That’s the Justice Department’s take on why the 45th president isn’t violating the U.S. Constitution by accepting payments for goods and services from foreign governments without congressional approval. The foreign emoluments clause of the Constitution doesn’t apply to fair-market commercial transactions, such as hotel bills, golf club fees, licensing payments and office rent, the Justice department argued Friday in a filing.” https://bloom.bg/2sNKISx

[email protected]: “Among DOJ’s arguments why Trump emoluments suit should be dismissed. ‘Ten Facts about the Gristmill, George Washington’s Mount Vernon’”

NEW POLITICO SERIES – “5 things Trump did while you weren’t looking: Behind the scandal-of-the-day news, the White House really is changing American policy. A new series from The Agenda explains how,” by Danny Vinik: “1. A boost for Uber and McDonald’s. ... 2. A trade war with Mexico averted—for now. ... 3. The end of a DOJ ‘slush fund.’ ... 4. A win for nursing homes. ... 5. Get THAAD out of here.” http://politi.co/2rWYsum

2018 WATCH -- “Senate Democrats try to spark rural comeback in 2018,” by Maggie Severns: “While many voters in rural areas complained that Democrats forgot them in 2016, and party strategists rush this year to find a new message to bring them back in the fold, Democratic senators up for reelection in 2018 have little time to spare to fix their party’s issues. These battleground-state Democrats are quick to note that they got elected in the first place by tending to voters outside their states’ biggest population centers. And they are focused this year on winning back voters their party has failed to connect with since the last time they appeared on the ballot.” http://politi.co/2rWX22Z

LUNCH WITH THE FT -- BERNIE SANDERS in DUBLIN! -- by Simon Kuper: “Sanders’ car pulls up (brilliantly, his Irish driver is called Bernie Saunders) and the senator clambers out, his shoulders hunched, his suit crumpled, his strands of white hair unkempt, not the standard American politician with Botox and a hair transplant. Today he is tieless, too: he has been assured that Irish president Michael D Higgins won’t mind. The tiny Higgins appears, dispensing handshakes and hugs.

“‘I think Trump is actually quite smart -- in his own way and for his own reasons. He may not know a lot about foreign policy or healthcare, but he is not a dumb man by any means. I think what Trump is doing is filling the agenda of people like the Koch brothers: essentially doing away with every major programme passed since Franklin D Roosevelt that would help working people, the elderly, children, the sick and the poor, and at the same time providing massive tax breaks to the rich and large corporations. In this budget, Trump did not propose cuts to social security [the American retirement programme], but I have zero doubt that will be coming down the pike.’” http://on.ft.com/2sobq70



KATY TUR PROFILE -- AND SHE’S A PHISH FAN! -- COVER OF NYT SUNDAY STYLES -- “Katy Tur Is Tougher Than She Looks: The NBC correspondent’s swift and surprising rise at the network mirrored that of the presidential candidate she covered and occasionally battled with,” by Luisita Lopez Torregrosa: “Mr. Trump’s sudden rise mirrors that of Ms. Tur’s. Just two years ago she was a foreign correspondent for NBC, living in London. But she happened to be in New York when the future president announced his candidacy, on June 16, 2015. ‘How would you like to spend the summer in New York?’ an NBC News executive asked her. ‘We want you on Trump’s campaign. It will be six weeks, tops. But hey, if he wins, you’ll go to the White House.’

“A year or so later, she had captured national attention. Colleagues rallied around her, thousands tweeted #iamwithtur, magazines came calling, and HarperCollins engaged her to write a book on the 2016 campaign; ‘Unbelievable’ is due out in September. Then there is the afternoon anchor slot, which MSNBC gave her in January. In April, she received a Walter Cronkite Award for excellence. And this month she will become a contributor to the much publicized new NBC News program ‘Sunday Night With Megyn Kelly.’” http://nyti.ms/2t5S6Z4

MEDIAWATCH -- “10 months ago, Univision bought Gawker in a fire sale, and it’s been messy ever since,” by Business Insider’s Maxwell Tani: “CEO Raju Narisetti ... is leading GMG through the media company’s merger with Fusion Media Group, which is owned by the Spanish-language juggernaut Univision. According to the CEO, the transition has been a success. But conversations with over a dozen current and former employees painted a starkly different picture. Since the deal, the six former Gawker Media sites -- Gizmodo, Jezebel, Deadspin, Kotaku, Jalopnik, and Lifehacker -- have struggled with indecision, a dysfunctional bureaucracy, and an exodus of top leadership and institutional knowledge that gave Gawker Media its editorial bite.” http://read.bi/2rLXwKQ

-- DANIEL HALPER, former D.C. bureau chief for the N.Y. Post who recently was hired by Matt Drudge, quietly joined the Washington Free Beacon as a contributing editor recently, Hadas Gold tells us. Halper and the Free Beacon did not respond to requests for more details.

CLICKER – “The nation’s cartoonists on the week in politics,” edited by Matt Wuerker -- 14 keepers http://politi.co/2sbxstY

DESSERT -- HOW MANY HAVE YOU SEEN? – “The 25 Best Films of the 21st Century So Far,” by NYT’s Manohla Dargis and A.O. Scott: “1. There Will Be Blood ... 2. Spirited Away ... 3. Million Dollar Baby ... 4. A Touch of Sin ... 5. The Death of Mr. Lazarescu ... 6. Yi Yi ... 7. Inside Out ... 8. Boyhood ... 9. Summer Hours ... 10. The Hurt Locker.” With in-depth discussions of each film on the list http://nyti.ms/2t5IkG7

GREAT WEEKEND READS, curated by Daniel Lippman:

--“Why Men Don’t Live as Long as Women,” by Richard G. Bribiescas in Nautilus Magazine – per The Browser’s description: “Are we at peak male testosterone? Testosterone raises the sex drive, builds muscle and burns fat. It also shortens the lifespan by encouraging recklessness, weakening the immune system, and raising the risk of prostate cancer. The reproductive payoff favoured high testosterone in ancient times: More children meant more surviving children. But now, thanks to monogamy and medicine, the trade-off is less clear. The evolutionary advantage may be passing to fathers who live longer.” http://bit.ly/2sKN0lp

--“America’s Hidden H.I.V. Epidemic,” by Linda Villarosa in the NYT Magazine: “Why do America’s black gay and bisexual men have a higher H.I.V. rate than any country in the world?” http://nyti.ms/2sLamrg (h/t Longreads.com)

--“The Real Story Behind Elon Musk’s $2.6 Billion Acquisition Of SolarCity And What It Means For Tesla’s Future–Not To Mention The Planet’s,” by Fast Company’s Austin Carr: “The Tesla CEO’s merger with his cousins’ sustainable-energy company, SolarCity, is totally logical–and hugely risky. With eyes now on the private sector for environmental leadership, can Musk pull off another miracle?” http://bit.ly/2scvObB

--“Soccer for Intellectuals,” by Bécquer Seguín in Public Books: “Any baseball or boxing narrative can be easily embodied in the momentary struggle between two individuals. Soccer, on the other hand, isn’t wedded to the fate of individuals. Its beauty is most often in the battle between two ideas, two philosophies, two tactical approaches.” http://bit.ly/2t2yox5

--“Challenging Mainstream Thought About Beauty’s Big Hand in Evolution,” by NYT’s James Gorman: “Are aesthetic judgments about mates invariably tied to traits we see as adaptive and worth passing on? Or, does beauty just ‘happen’?” http://nyti.ms/2s4QxNz (h/t ALDaily.com)

--“Bill Maher Knows Exactly What He’s Doing: Just Ask Him,” by Stephen Rodrick in Esquire: “Real Time’s format is a throwback to a seventies talk show -- with a monologue, an interview, a panel discussion, some jokes, and a closing argument -- but here everything is done without the benefit of breath-catching commercial breaks. This setup sometimes leads to what can feel, in the moment, like a random car wreck, but Maher’s been doing comedy for forty years. He’s addicted to provocation, and more often than not, he’s driving his show into a brick wall by design.” http://bit.ly/2s52a7h

--“Proust and Dreyfus,” by Joachim Kalka in Tablet Magazine: “In an excerpt from the newly translated ‘Gaslight,’ by German writer Joachim Kalka, an examination of how the scandal that rocked France bled into European literature.” http://bit.ly/2rJ7bl6

--“Who Do You Want Elisabeth Moss to Be?” by Emily Gould in Elle Magazine: http://bit.ly/2rIYAyU

--“Welcome to the Green Machine,” by John Nova Lomax in the June issue of Texas Monthly: “My son was jobless, directionless, and apartmentless. So when he decided to join the Army, we were just glad he was out of the house. What we didn’t know was just how much the military would change him—and us.” http://bit.ly/2sL0TAb (h/t Longform.org)

--“The horrors of getting hit by a pitch,” by Tim Kurkjian in ESPN on Aug 3, 2012: “When that baseball is flying directly at a hitter at 95 mph, and that batter can hear the ball spinning, like the sound of a giant bee attacking, and then it hits that batter and those red seams bore into the skin like the teeth of a buzz saw, well, the elegance and romance of that pearl is replaced by piercing, pulsating, primal pain. It is pain that can last for weeks, it can leave a hideous mark that can last for months and it can instill a fear that can last forever.” http://es.pn/2t2UsI6

--“The Impossible Profession,” by Janet Malcolm in the November 24th, 1980 issue of The New Yorker: What it’s like to be a psychoanalyst in NYC. http://bit.ly/2smxM8L

--“Athens, Sparta and Rome: the Ancient election,” by Mary Beard in The Times Literary Supplement: “Voters individually picked out their ballot slips (wax on wood, probably) from a basket as they walked across some form of bridge, then wrote the name of their candidate in the wax as they walked, and finally dropped it into the ballot box.” http://bit.ly/2sbKsQt

--“The White Wedding Dress Industrial Complex,” by Helena Fitzgerald in Racked: “A fantasy of wealth beyond reality or responsibility is built into the details of these dresses, all the way down to the tiny rows of covered buttons. Mostly when we spend too much money, we pretend that the money isn’t real. This is why part of the point of the dress is that you can’t wear it again — it becomes a perfect object, distilled and frozen in time, lifted out of the ordinary cycles of use and value and repetition.” http://bit.ly/2r2ZS5k

--“How ‘Eureka’ Moments in Science Happen,” by Cathy Newman in NatGeo: “From bathtubs to falling apples, find out what really drives some of the iconic tales of ‘light bulb’ moments in science.” http://bit.ly/2r3tYFR

SUMMER BUCKET LIST -- WAPO: “The 40 most essential D.C. restaurant dishes of 2017” http://wapo.st/2sNLwXz

Playbookers

SPOTTED: Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) last night watching the Cavs/Warriors game at the Trump Hotel.

OUT AND ABOUT – PATRICK STEEL and LEE SATTERFIELD’s 50thbirthday celebration last night at the Meridian International Center: Virginia Gov. Terry McAuliffe, Robert and Elena Allbritton, Dan and Rhoda Glickman, Nancy Bagley and Soroush Shehabi, Rob and Capricia Marshall, Ann Stock, Tony Blinken and Evan Ryan, Elizabeth Bagley, Jonathan Capehart and Nick Schmit, Kiki McLean, Melissa Moss, Adam and Tracy Bernstein, H.P. Goldfield and Kristin Mannion, Kim Cubine, Joel Johnson and Sara Latham, Debbie Fine, Erick Mullen and Kelly Craighead, Karen Finney, Stuart and Gwen Holliday, Kimball Stroud, Dan and Aviva Rosenthal, Linda Moore, Neal Wolin and Nicole Elkon

BIRTHDAYS: Jeff Zeleny, CNN’s senior Washington correspondent and the pride of Exeter, Nebraska, celebrating with a 29-hour birthday: breakfast in London and dinner in DC ... Sasha Obama is 16 ... Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal is 46 ... John Edwards is 64 ... Eliot Spitzer is 58 ... Jeff Greenfield is 74 ... F. Lee Bailey is 84 ... Sidewire’s Meredith Carden, a Michelle Obama alum, the pride of Chicago and a birthday bride today! (h/ts Herbie Ziskend and boss Tucker Bounds) ... Joe Trippi, political consultant, Fox commentator, author, digital strategist, believer ... Stef Weiss (h/ts Jon Haber) ... John DiBiase ... Rep. Lynn Jenkins (R-Kans.) is 54 ... NBC’s Kate Snow ... Carlos Elizondo (h/t Marc Adelman) ... Joe Nolan ... Chad Rhoades, general counsel for Sen. Tillis ... Politico Europe’s Simon Marks ... AAJ’s Paula J. Burris, the pride of Arlington, Va., and the best office manager in the USA (h/t Randy White) ... Politico’s Javier Ruiz ... Nicole Hager, Sen. Inhofe’s press assistant (h/t Daisy Letendre) ... Jennifer Donnelly, a senior associate on the organizing and campaign management team at Precision Strategies (h/t Tom Zigo) ... Rob Morello, Romney and RNC alum, now co-founder of Fraym, is 3-0 (h/t wife Rachel Sorensen) ...

... David O’Brien, senior comms manager at CRAFT, is 31 ... Google’s Cameron Foxgrover ... John Yoo ... Daryn Iwicki ... Obama DOJ alum Shirlethia Franklin ... Thomas Showalter ... Al Mottur, shareholder of Brownstein Hyatt, is 5-0 (h/t Stewart Verdery) … Semonti Mustaphi Stephens, a Michelle Obama alum and the pride of Crystal, MN ... Charmion Kinder, director of comms at My Brother’s Keeper Alliance … WSJ’s Corinne Ramey ... Suzy Vilmain ... Louisa Wachs ... Jim Wisley (h/ts Teresa Vilmain) ... John Pearson … Courtney Pearson Drake ... Jan Ruckman ... Pete Slover (h/t Dick Keil) ... Chris Merriman ... Teryn Norris ... Prince Philip is 96 ... Elizabeth Hurley is 52 ... Kate Upton is 25 (h/ts AP)

THE SHOWS by @MattMackowiak, filing from Austin:

--ABC’s “This Week”: Former U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara … Alan Dershowitz … Sen. Mike Lee (R-Utah) … Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.). Panel: Alex Castellanos, Matthew Dowd, Donna Brazile, Rep. Keith Ellison (D-Minn.) and Sara Fagen

--CBS’s “Face the Nation”: Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) … Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) … Sen. James Lankford (R-Okla.). Panel: Julie Pace, David Ignatius, Susan Page and Ed O’Keefe

--“Fox News Sunday”: Sen. Jack Reed (D-R.I.) … RNC Chairwoman Ronna Romney McDaniel. Panel: Karl Rove, former Rep. Donna Edwards (D-Md.), Newt Gingrich and Charles Lane

--CNN’s “State of the Union”: Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) … Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine). Panel: Rep. Luis Gutierrez (D-Ill.), former Rep. Mike Rogers (R-Mich.), Neera Tanden and David Urban. Dana Bash is anchoring

--NBC’s “Meet the Press”: Preempted for French Open coverage

--CNN’s “Reliable Sources”: Panel: Jeff Greenfield, Clara Jeffrey and Matt Lewis … Adam Goldman … Andy Borowitz ... Tim O’Brien

--CNN’s “Inside Politics” with John King: Panel: Jackie Kucinich, Carl Hulse, Manu Raju and Sara Murray

--Fox News’ “Sunday Morning Futures”: Rep. Peter King (R-N.Y.) … House Majority Whip Steve Scalise (R-LA) … Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton … Steve Hilton … Bud Cummins. Panel: The Daily Beast’s Betsy Woodruff and Rich Lowry

--Fox News’ “MediaBuzz”: Former Bush and Obama national security council staffer Gillian Turner … Mollie Hemingway … Juan Williams … Ed Henry … Amy Holmes … Jessica Tarlov … Carley Shimkus

--CNN’s “Fareed Zakaria GPS”: R. James Woolsey … Elizabeth Foley and Laurence Tribe … Canadian foreign affairs minister Chrystia Freeland

--Univision’s “Al Punto”: Panel: Former Treasurer of the U.S. Rosario Marin and Adolfo Franco … journalist and independent Mexican presidential hopeful Pedro Ferriz de Con … “Compassion & Choices” national Latino communication manager Patricia Gonzalez-Portillo and mother of a child with a deadly form of brain cancer Nilsa Centero … actress Salma Hayek

--C-SPAN: “The Communicators”: Part 1 of discussion with Recode editor at large and columnist and The Verge executive editor and columnist Walt Mossberg … “Newsmakers”: NRCC chairman Rep. Steve Stivers (R-Ohio), questioned by The Hill’s Scott Wong and Politico’s Scott Bland … “Q&A”:Franklin D. Roosevelt Presidential Library & Museum director Paul Sparrow

--Hearst / Sony’s “Matter of Fact” with Soledad O’Brien: Sen. Jerry Moran (R-Kan.) … Sen. Al Franken (D-Minn.) … report on the Trump administration’s $200 billion infrastructure proposal … author and Auschwitz survivor Michael Bornstein … discussion about ISIS internet recruitment efforts with RAND Center for Applied Network Analysis and System Science co-director and Rand Corporation engineer Elizabeth Bodine-Baron … a tribute to journalists who give their lives covering conflicts around the world

--Washington Times’ “Mack on Politics” weekly politics podcast with Matt Mackowiak (download on iTunes, Google Play, or Stitcher or listen at http://bit.ly/2r37J6h): Sen. Mike Lee (R-Utah).

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Follow us on Twitter Anna Palmer @apalmerdc



Jake Sherman @JakeSherman