The Edge: Trump and Cameron Have a Row
The presumptive U.S Republican nominee had words for Britain’s prime minister and London’s new mayor.
Today in One Paragraph
Donald Trump said he might not “have a very good relationship” with David Cameron following the British prime minister’s critique of Trump’s proposed plan to ban Muslims from entering the United States. The U.S. Supreme Court delayed a ruling on a major challenge to the Affordable Care Act’s contraception mandate. The office of the CIA inspector general said it accidentally destroyed its copy of the Senate torture report. Mark Zuckerberg will host a meeting with several prominent conservatives after Facebook was accused of having a political bias. And President Obama awarded 13 police officers with the Public Safety Medal of Valor.
Top News
Trump vs. the Brits. Donald Trump defended himself against criticism from British Prime Minister David Cameron. During an interview with Piers Morgan, Trump said, “I’m not stupid, OK? I can tell you that right now—just the opposite,” referring to the way Cameron described his proposed Muslim ban. The presumptive GOP nominee also had a warning for London’s newly elected mayor, Sadiq Khan, who recently called Trump ignorant: “I will remember those statements,” Trump said, challenging Kahn to take an IQ test. (Alexander Smith, NBC News)
More Delays on Contraception. The U.S. Supreme Court sent a challenge to the Affordable Care Act’s contraception mandate back to the lower federal courts to try to reach a compromise. The case, Zubik vs. Burwell, includes challenges from seven religious nonprofits to the law’s contraceptive mandate; the organizations claim that even the government’s procedure for providing religious exemptions would compromise their beliefs. Sending the case back to the lower courts will likely delay the major ruling until after November’s election. (Matt Ford, The Atlantic)
The Disappearance of a Torture Report. The CIA’s Office of Inspector General admitted to “mistakenly” destroying its sole copy of the Senate’s Select Committee on Intelligence’s 2014 torture report. The office is the the CIA’s internal watchdog. But other offices have copies of the massive report, which runs to several thousand pages and details years of brutal and illegal practices. (Michael Isikoff, Yahoo News)
Facebook Does Damage Control. Mark Zuckerberg will host several conservative leaders at Facebook’s headquarters in California for a meeting on Wednesday, including the radio personality Glenn Beck, the Fox News co-host Dana Perino, and the Trump campaign advisor Barry Bennett. The meeting comes one week after the company was accused of manipulating the site’s Trending Topics section to exclude conservative news. Facebook has denied the allegations. (Shanika Gunaratna, CBS News)
Obama Awards Police Officers. The president presented 13 police officers—one posthumously—with the Public Safety Medal of Valor, recognizing them for exceptional courage in protecting citizens. "To a person, each of these honorees acted without regard to their own safety," Obama said. The ceremony came just after Obama signed two bills concerning police and first responders. (Gregory Korte, USA Today)
Tomorrow in One Paragraph. Voters head to the polls in Oregon and Kentucky holds its Democratic primary. Bernie Sanders will campaign in California.
Follow stories throughout the day with our new Politics & Policy page. And keep on top of the campaign with our 2016 Distilled election dashboard.
Top Read
Koch allies say the brothers took tremendous interest in Bernie Sanders’ unlikely success—particularly his resonance with young voters who represent the future of the electorate—and drew stark conclusions about their own efforts. “Dumping hundreds of millions of dollars into elections doesn’t persuade enough people to achieve lasting change,” one Koch confidante says. The National Review’s Tim Alberta and Eliana Johnson on how the Koch brothers are reevaluating their approach to political spending.
Top Lines
Is Bernie Sanders the New Ralph Nader? In his determination to stay in the presidential race, the Vermont Democrat may be walking a fine line between pushing for his agenda and ultimately hurting Hillary Clinton’s chances of beating Donald Trump in the general election. (Bill Scher, Politico)
The Politics of Gender- and Race-Based Abortions. Indiana has banned the termination of pregnancies based on sex, race, or genetic abnormalities—spurring a wave of moral questions that many pro-choice advocates have largely avoided answering. (Emma Green, The Atlantic)
Make America Great—for Whom? Supporters of the presumptive GOP nominee hope he’ll return the country to its former glory, when the middle class boomed and factory jobs were plentiful. But that glory, argues Bryce Covert in The New York Times, really only benefitted white men.
Top View
The Largest Generations. Millennials now comprise 31 percent of the nation’s electorate—almost equal to the portion of Baby Boomers in the United States. These charts show the difference between voting eligibility and turnout by generation. (Richard Fry, Pew Research)
We want to hear from you! We’re reimagining what The Edge can be, and would love to receive your complaints, compliments, and suggestions. Tell us what you’d like to find in your inbox by sending a message to newsletters@theatlantic.com.
-Written by Elaine Godfrey (@elainejgodfrey)