President Donald Trump gave an impromptu with the New York Times Washington Correspondent Michael Schmidt at his Mar-A-Lago property Thursday. Alexander Heffner, Host of PBS' "The Open Mind," explains what this interview reveals about the relationship between Trump and the media.
"All forms of media will tank if I'm not there because without me, their ratings are going down the tubes," Trump told the NYTimes. Heffner says the report in the New York Times showcasing a thirty minute conversation with Trump amplifies the president's microphone.
"There is incest in every situation with Trump and the media," said Heffner. "There's incest when you want access." Schmidt reportedly crossed paths with Trump while he was meeting Newsmax founder Chris Ruddy at the Florida resort.
"We have to acknowledge--I think--on part of the media that its important that we use discretion, deliberation, precision in our reporting of this administration," says Heffner.
New York Congresswoman Carolyn Maloney was seated behind Prof. Christine Blasey Ford during her Senate testimony last week. The lawmaker, who was seen crying as Ford spoke, said, "It's so sad to me that this is still happening in America...and that in some ways we haven't made that much progress since Ms. Hill testified 26 years ago."
Canada and the U.S. inked a new trade deal late Sunday evening after months of contentious tariff talks between the two allies. Lauren Gardner, reporter for POLITICO Pro Canada, said the trade agreement will benefit dairy farmers and automakers in the U.S.
California became the first state to mandate that publicly held corporations include women on the board. Some people believe that this will prioritize diversity over merit while others, like Asa Regner, deputy executive director for UN Women, say it's a first step toward gender parity in corporate America.
After the Pulse Nightclub shooting in Orlando in 2016, Sarah Ullman felt called to action. The Los Angeles-based filmmaker is the founder of "One Vote at a Time," a Super PAC created to stop gun violence. She spends her days making free campaign ads for politicians who support gun control policies and are running in competitive districts.
A new documentary about campaign finance is coming to PBS on Monday. "Dark Money" explores the relationship between corporate spending and politics and how the laws have changed to allow more influence in the political arena. Kimberly Reed, the director and producer of the film, said that it is crucial to American democracy for its citizens to know who is trying to influence politics.
Robert Gaafar is one of the survivors of the Las Vegas shooting a year ago, and he is now partnering with Everytown to help launch a new election initiative. Gaafar said the progress on gun control in state and local races is heartening, even if the federal government remains unable or unwilling to do anything.
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After nearly two weeks of resistance, President Trump ordered an FBI investigation into allegations of sexual assault against Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh, whose future seat on the nation's highest court had been suddenly thrown into doubt thanks to the wavering support of Sen. Jeff Flake (R-AZ).
In a dramatic reversal, Sen. Jeff Flake (R-AZ), who said earlier Friday that he would vote "Yes" to move the Kavanaugh vote to the Senate floor, said at the afternoon hearing that he would only move forward with a Senate floor vote if there was an additional FBI investigation.
Shares of the social media giant dropped sharply after the company said it found hackers were able to gain control of as many as 50 million user accounts. Facebook's Product Management VP Guy Rosenberg said the attack affected the "View As" feature, which lets people see what their own profile looks like to someone else.
