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What We’re Following Today
It’s Thursday, July 25.
‣ Attorney General William Barr ordered the federal death penalty to be reinstated for the first time in 16 years, clearing the execution of five inmates.
Here’s what else we’re watching:
Ignore the Commentariat: Throughout the entire Mueller saga, much of the media has focused on optics and performance, rather than the actual substantive punch of the special counsel’s report, argues Todd S. Purdum. Yesterday’s testimony, he writes, “was much more than a mere show.”
What Women Want: Polling has consistently shown that white, working-class women disapprove of President Donald Trump’s rhetorical style more than their male counterparts. And research shows that this group of women represents about half the votes cast from the white working class.
‘We’re Not Sweden!’: The idea of establishing a national program for paid maternity leave or paid leave for people caring for sick family members is gaining popularity in the U.S. So why don’t more conservatives support it?
On the 2020 Trail: San Antonio Mayor Julián Castro is one of the most prominent Latino politicians in the country, and he’s running as a foil to the president’s xenophobia. But he doesn’t want to be pigeonholed as just a Latino candidate. Can he break out again during the second round of Democratic debates next week?
“I’m not going to back up from speaking out for immigrant communities that are vulnerable right now just because I’m brown … At the same time, I’m trusting that … Americans out there—when they see me on the debate stage, or at a town hall, or in any other way—are big enough to understand that I would be a president for all Americans.”