Biden takes swift action to protect US from new threat

Today's Top Stories:

Biden restricts travel from eight countries as new COVID-19 variant emerges
The United States will restrict travel for non-US citizens from South Africa, Botswana, Zimbabwe, Namibia, Lesotho, Eswatini, Mozambique, and Malawi.

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Ilhan Omar calls on Kevin McCarthy and Nancy Pelosi to take action against Lauren Boebert over racist remarks
The Republican Congresswoman's vile comments demand nothing less than a formal censure and removal from committee assignments.

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Kevin McCarthy HUMILIATES himself with ultimate fail
No Lie with Brian Tyler Cohen: What an embarrassment.

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Department of Interior proposes raising cost of drilling on public lands
The move could help boost governmentt revenues and help fight climate change.

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New "Omicron" COVID-19 variant inflicts worse Dow Jones drop of 2021
A holiday-shortened trading day on Wall Street couldn’t keep bears from rampaging, as the Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 905.04 amidst new pandemic concerns.

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Trump lashes out at Bob Woodward and Robert Costa for implying he wanted to start a war with China
Peril, their book on his administration, came out months ago and the former president has finally gotten around to whining about it.

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Former Trump campaign advisor booted from NewsMax over vaccine mandate vitriol
Apparently spewing anti-vax rhetoric is one thing, embracing it behind closed doors is another.

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Marjorie Taylor Greene, Madison Cawthorn, and Lauren Boebert's extremism costing them support from their voters
United Rural Democrats: New extremists in Congress are taking their districts for granted while delivering nothing for them. United Rural Democrats are organizing on the ground to shock Republicans by winning back Middle America. But they need your help!

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Biden calls for intellectual property waivers on COVID-19 vaccines
The US president called on countries attending a WTO meeting next week to waive intellectual property protections on coronavirus vaccines, as international concern is rising over a new coronavirus variant detected in South Africa.

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Republicans avoid admitting climate change is real by calling it "extreme weather"
Republican governors want billions to protect their states from "extreme weather events" but they still won’t say if they believe in climate change.

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Pfizer already testing vaccine's efficacy against Omicron strain
Testing has already begun to determine whether the Pfizer vaccine protects against a mutant strain of COVID-19 that first appeared in Africa and has already made its way to East Asia and Europe.

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Biden urges Americans to get boosters to fight new "Omicron" COVID-19 strain
The president urged eligible Americans to strengthen their protection against the virus as soon as possible.

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Seriously?

14-year-old escapes boot camp, leads lawmen on chase in stolen car

Rio Olympics chief sentenced to 30 years in prison for corruption

Celebrated Broadway songwriter Stephen Sondheim dead at 91

Yes. Seriously.

Ukraine uncovers Russian coup plot against their president

Philadelphia witnesses 500th homicide this year

Solomon Islands capital in flames as violent protests escalate

Alleged UAE torturer to become head of Interpol

Hope...

Toronto replacing air conditioners with deep lake water cooling

Israeli drug for severe COVID reduces death by 70%

Teens celebrate holiday by helping the elderly rake leaves 

POLITICO NIGHTLY: 2021’s hot holiday gift: Flight delays

 

BY ORIANA PAWLYK Presented by Charter Communications A Southwest Airlines jet moves on the runway as a person eats at a terminal restaurant at LaGuardia Airport in New York. | AP Photo/Julio Cortez A NATION ON STANDBY — If you’re reading this while sitting on the floor near the closest electrical outlet as you monitor the latest in a string of flight delays and cancelations, know that you are very much not alone. Southwest Airlines tallied more than 2,000 flights canceled Friday through Monday afternoon, citing bad weather and air traffic controller problems. The FAA acknowledged that the weather and an ATC staffing shortage in Jacksonville, Fla., as well as military training in the area, were factors, but shot back that the problems were limited in scope. And it’s worth noting that there weren’t mass delays at multiple airlines. Just Southwest. But even if you’ve never queued at DCA with a B29 on your boarding pass while praying to get the last aisle seat, get ready for more of this. Domestic airlines, eager to rebound and regain profits lost during Covid shutdowns, are not equipped to handle even a basic blip in service. Butterfly-effect cascades like the one in Jacksonville this weekend are increasingly likely to shut down air travel, especially as holiday travel ramps up. Or put it this way: A chance of flurries quickly snowballs into a broader fiasco, said Scott Hamilton, an aviation industry analyst for consulting firm Leeham Company LLC. “I think there’s just this drive to try to return to profitability as soon as possible and do that by putting flights back into schedule,” Hamilton said. Southwest may be dealing with other issues behind the scenes, Hamilton said, such as inadequate staffing. But it’s not the only airline that’s likely to be trying to get a lot of passengers onto planes a little faster than its workforce — not just pilots and flight attendants, but also mechanics and agents and call-center workers who handle reservations — allows for. American Airlines and Spirit, among others, have seen travel meltdowns this year. Over the course of the pandemic, consumers have filed more than 100,000 airline complaints to the Department of Transportation, with 87 percent of those complaints pertaining to refund mishandlings after a canceled flight, according to DOT. A number of conservatives blamed the “Biden vaccine mandate” for Southwest’s unpleasant holiday. Southwest said today it would comply with the administration’s vaccine decree even after Texas Gov Greg Abbott issued an edict Monday that would ban vax mandates for private business in his state. On social media, rumors swirled of mass walkouts from Southwest pilots and air traffic controllers. But the Southwest Airlines Pilots Association, its pilot union, said nothing of the sort was true. The delays were not attributed to mass sickouts “either related to the recent mandatory vaccine mandate or otherwise,” the association said. Ben Wakana of the White House Covid-19 Response Team backed up that claim, as did the FAA in a rare statement on Twitter. Southwest’s CEO said today on CNBC that while the company has “some very strong views on that topic,” referring to the mandate, it was not the issue causing cancellations over the weekend. But crew availability is still a substantial factor likely contributing to Southwest’s latest setback — whether that’s tied to vaccine mandates or not, said Robert Mann, an airline industry analyst. “I think what you see is a reduction in what I would term volunteerism,” Mann said. Southwest has one of the lowest percentages of reserve pilots — those who work in an on-call, often standby status — compared to the rest of the industry, he said. Vaccine mandates might fit into the story in a smaller way, Mann said. It’s possible that pilots who object to the contractual vaccine mandates are “not volunteering at the same rate as they historically would have, and that creates a problem because you can’t staff the operation if you don't have the level of volunteers.” So keep your tray tables in the locked and upright position. Americans are planning for a pre-pandemic holiday travel season. But we’re in the middle of a post-pandemic crisis for the travel system that’s still unfolding. Welcome to POLITICO Nightly. Reach out with news, tips and ideas for us at nightly@politico.com. Or contact tonight’s author at opawlyk@politico.com or on Twitter at @Oriana0214. A message from Charter Communications: We’re proud to announce that Spectrum Internet ranks No. 1 in the U.S. News & World Report 2021-22 “Best Rural Internet Service Providers” rankings. This recognition underscores our ongoing commitment to connecting more communities from coast to coast, including rural areas. And we’re just getting started.   WHAT'D I MISS? — House Budget Chair announces retirement: House Budget Chair John Yarmuth announced today he will not seek reelection after 15 years in Congress , opening a key seat in the Democratic stronghold of Louisville. Yarmuth, the sole Democrat in Kentucky’s delegation, said he will step aside to spend more time with family. He would be 75 years old when his term ends in January 2023. He’s the fifth House Democrat to announce his retirement as the party faces an uphill battle to keep its majority in the 2022 election. — Biden to tap veteran diplomat as new point person for Afghan relocation efforts: Elizabeth Jones is set to be tapped as the coordinator for Afghan relocation efforts, according to a U.S. official and two congressional sources familiar with the move. The State Department plans to announce as soon as this week that Jones, a veteran diplomat who served as the ambassador to Kazakhstan and as deputy special representative for Afghanistan and Pakistan, will replace John Bass, the former U.S. ambassador to Afghanistan, the people said. — Powell demotes top bank regulator as Fed leadership shakeup looms: The Federal Reserve announced today that Randal Quarles will no longer be in charge of regulating the country's financial system after his vice chairmanship expires Wednesday, a move that could mark the beginning of major leadership changes at the Fed. The announcement comes as Fed Chair Jerome Powell is awaiting word on whether he will be renominated by President Joe Biden to a second term. Some progressive groups have criticized Powell and Quarles — both appointed by President Donald Trump — for rolling back some of the rules imposed on banks in the wake of the 2008 financial crisis.   THE MILKEN INSTITUTE GLOBAL CONFERENCE 2021 IS HERE: POLITICO is excited to partner with the Milken Institute to produce a special edition "Global Insider” newsletter featuring exclusive coverage and insights from one of the largest and most influential gatherings of experts reinventing finance, health, technology, philanthropy, industry and media. Don’t miss a thing from the 24th annual Milken Institute Global Conference in Los Angeles, from Oct. 17 to 20. Can't make it? We've got you covered. Planning to attend? Enhance your #MIGlobal experience and subscribe today.     — Birx aids Covid investigation: Deborah Birx, the former White House Coronavirus Response Coordinator, took questions from the congressional select committee investigating the pandemic this morning , according to two sources familiar with the interview. The session is part of the probe into how the Trump administration handled the onset of the global coronavirus pandemic. Birx has detailed firsthand knowledge of how Trump and his aides responded to a crisis that has now killed more than 715,000 Americans. — Climate summit chief sets up fight over Paris Agreement’s goal: Returning to the place where the Paris Agreement was born, the U.K. minister who currently has custody over the climate accord set up a battle over its core aim that will play out during next month’s COP26 climate talks . In his last major speech ahead of the Glasgow meeting, Alok Sharma made it clear today he’ll be pushing hard for all countries in Scotland to cut their emissions during this decade by enough to give the world a chance to stop warming at 1.5 degrees. However, some big emitters, and even the French politician who helped negotiate the 2015 Paris climate deal, say the original deal primarily aims for a 2-degree target. — Divided Supreme Court considers who can defend abortion restrictions: A divided Supreme Court today weighed which state officials can defend abortion bans in court — a procedural question with implications that extend beyond reproductive health in states where the governor and attorney general hail from opposing parties. The arguments marked the first abortion case to be argued in full before the court’s 6-3 conservative majority and centered on whether Republican Kentucky Attorney General Daniel Cameron could defend his state’s ban on some forms of abortion after two courts found it unconstitutional and Democratic Gov. Andy Beshear refused to defend it further.       AROUND THE WORLD A man passes by a poster of the annual World Bank Group and International Monetary Fund meetings in Washington. | Alex Wong/Getty Images CLOUDS CLEARING OVER FINANCE FETE — Kristalina Georgieva will remain International Monetary Fund boss after its board decided against giving her the axe, Bjarke Smith-Meyer writes. Speculation over the Bulgarian’s future has been rife for weeks following a probe last month into allegations she tampered with data during her time as chief executive of the World Bank to improve China’s global standing in the business and investment world. The scandal had threatened to overshadow celebrations at this week’s IMF-World Bank biannual pow-wow in Washington, where top finance ministers and central bankers will rubber-stamp a global tax accord that 136 nations struck last week. Georgieva’s potential embarrassment has been spared after the IMF executive board’s announcement that it had “full confidence” in her “leadership and ability to continue to effectively carry out her duties.” At the heart of the board’s deliberations was an inquiry, published last month, that accused Georgieva of pressuring World Bank staffers to boost China’s ranking in the annual Doing Business report for 2018.   “A FOREIGN POLICY BUILT FOR WOMEN” – JOIN US THURSDAY FOR A WOMEN RULE CONVERSATION: Building a foreign policy agenda with women at the center has shown that it can advance broader social, economic and political goals. It also requires having women in influential decision-making positions. Join POLITICO Magazine senior editor Usha Sahay for a joint conversation with Ambassador Gina Abercrombie-Winstanley, the State Department’s chief diversity and inclusion officer, and Ambassador Bonnie Denise Jenkins, undersecretary for arms control and international security, focused on the roadblocks preventing more women from rising through the ranks of diplomacy and why closing the foreign policy gender gap matters. REGISTER HERE.     NIGHTLY NUMBER 18 percent The increase in federal tax revenues in the fiscal year that just ended, analysts say — the biggest one-year increase since 1977. That translates into $627 billion more than in 2020, according to the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office, which estimates that total government revenues topped $4 trillion for the first time. PARTING WORDS WHITE HOUSE MOVES — Jessica Hertz, the staff secretary in the White House, is leaving her position, according to two people familiar with the matter. Hertz, a former lawyer in Facebook’s Washington office, occupied one of the most powerful perches in the White House, controlling the flow of paper and documents that reached Biden’s desk, Daniel Lippman writes. She is one of the first senior White House staffers to leave the administration, which hasn’t hit its 10-month mark yet. It’s unclear who will replace her and lead the eight-person staff secretary’s office. Hertz, who also served as a deputy assistant to the president and will leave in the coming days, had no comment. A White House spokesperson declined to comment. Before joining the Biden transition team as general counsel in June 2020, Hertz was a director and associate general counsel for regulatory affairs at Facebook, where she spent more than two years. Hertz also worked as principal deputy counsel for Biden when he was vice president, before doing a stint at the law firm Jenner & Block. She started her career in politics in the Obama administration, as counselor to Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs administrator Cass Sunstein, before joining the Justice Department. A message from Charter Communications: Access for all means opportunity for everyone. That’s why we’re investing billions to extend our network to reach those who need it most. Over the next several years, Charter will build more than 100,000 miles of new U.S. broadband infrastructure that will deliver reliable, high-speed internet access to even more communities from coast to coast. That’s an extension long enough to circle the equator four times. This $5 billion initiative will connect an FCC-estimated one million currently unserved, mostly rural families and small businesses to reliable internet service with speeds of up to 1 gigabit per second.   Did someone forward this email to you? Sign up here.   Follow us on Twitter Chris Suellentrop @suellentrop Tyler Weyant @tweyant Renuka Rayasam @renurayasam Myah Ward @myahward   FOLLOW US

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POLITICO NIGHTLY: Progressives are from Mars, Manchin is from Venus

 

BY ELANA SCHOR Presented by With help from Renuka Rayasam CONGRESSIONAL LOVE LANGUAGES — The 1992 best-seller “Men Are From Mars, Women Are From Venus” looks today like a reductive exercise in gender stereotypes. But set the retrograde cliches aside: The book accurately conveyed a central truth that might help congressional Democrats as they stare down a brutal fall. Relationship breakdowns happen when you and your partner are communicating on your own terms, rather than trying to find common ground despite different frames of reference. And lately, Democratic centrists and progressives are not only talking past each other, they are also doing so in two separate languages. So while the binary Mars-Venus frame doesn’t work for gender, it might just teach the two camps inside President Joe Biden’s party how to live under the same roof without the stakes of its big tent flying away in a gust. Reps. Ilhan Omar (D-Mich.) and Pramila Jayapal (D-Wash.) are pictured on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C. | Joshua Roberts/Getty Images The first lesson comes from Congressional Progressive Caucus Chair Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D-Wash.). She told POLITICO on Friday that she has the votes within her 96-member bloc to stop the Senate-passed bipartisan infrastructure bill from clearing the House next week unless a multitrillion-dollar social spending bill also moves ahead. People “want to see us fight for them,” she added. This is Mars talk, more or less. Progressives are willing to risk short-term legislative failure if it connects to their deeply held policy principles — because they’re motivated by the fight itself. Centrists, on the other hand, are from Venus. Here’s how Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) addressed the social spending bill in a recent ABC News interview: “No one is talking about inflation or debt, and we should have that as part of the discussion. … I can’t understand why we can’t take time, deliberate on this, and work.” Centrists like Manchin would prefer long-term legislative stasis to a short-term failure if it gives them more time to socialize their goals. They’re motivated by the act of outreach, however performative it may look to their colleagues on the left. Can Democratic leaders please both fight-for-what’s-right liberals and talk-it-through centrists? Possibly, but it would require a conversation about the $550 billion infrastructure bill that bridges this Mars-Venus divide. Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) leaves a hearing on Capitol Hill. | Alex Wong/Getty Images Each wing would have to accept the other’s needs for the whole party to get what it wants. And based on Arizona Sen. Kyrsten Sinema’s recent ultimatum to Biden about walking away from the social spending talks if the House infrastructure vote fails as soon as next week, the chances of that acceptance aren’t looking good. The second lesson comes from Reps. Cori Bush (R-Mo.), Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.) and other progressives who, after the Senate parliamentarian ruled against including immigration reform in the social spending bill, urged their party to push past the rules referee. Top Democrats “can and should ignore” the parliamentarian, Omar tweeted. “The parliamentarian must be overruled,” Bush tweeted. This isn’t going to happen, but they’re illustrating a classic element of progressive communication: Always try to move the range of acceptable outcomes. Think of this as the progressive version of what original Mars/Venus author John Gray described as “the cave” that Mars denizens retreat to when they’re under pressure. A trip to the cave doesn’t necessarily accomplish the goals of Mars natives, but it lets them blow off steam that later helps them communicate better. To that end, the Democrats’ left flank is going to naturally want to clamor for bigger and bolder resistance after a defeat like the one they got dealt on immigration. That venting is valuable and is likely to be followed by a come-together moment for the party — when the time is right. Welcome to POLITICO Nightly. Reach out with news, tips and ideas for us at nightly@politico.com. Or contact tonight’s author at eschor@politico.com and on Twitter at @eschor. A message from Altria: Moving beyond smoking. Altria’s companies are leading the way in moving adult smokers away from cigarettes – by taking action to transition millions toward less harmful choices. We are investing in a diverse mix of businesses to broaden options beyond traditional, combustible cigarettes. See how we’re moving.   WHAT'D I MISS? — Dems rope debt to government funding, lassoing GOP into clash: Congressional Democrats are proposing lifting the debt ceiling through the 2022 midterm elections as part of their plans to fund the government into December, leaders said this afternoon. But that measure, which is set for a House vote this week, faces an uncertain future as Senate Republicans remain unwilling to help Democrats neutralize the looming crisis over the nation’s debt limit when their party controls Congress and the White House. — Biden’s broad booster plan driven partly by supply concerns: Top advisers to Biden pushed for his administration to announce a broad booster rollout for September in part because of fears that the U.S. could run short of doses needed to offer the shots to its entire population if vaccines’ protection decreased suddenly, according to two senior officials with knowledge of the matter. The internal campaign coincided with pleas from international leaders for the U.S. to do more to help lower-and middle-income countries secure initial doses. — Pfizer, BioNTech say Covid-19 shot for kids is safe and provokes strong immune response: The immune response seen in the 5- to 11-year olds enrolled in the late-stage clinical trial was comparable to that seen in teens and young adults, even though the children’s dosage was one-third the amount used in people 12 and over. The companies have not released detailed data from the study, nor have they published the findings in a peer-reviewed journal. — Supreme Court sets Dec. 1 for arguments in challenge to Roe v. Wade: The Supreme Court today scheduled Dec. 1 arguments on Mississippi’s ban on abortion after 15 weeks of pregnancy. Mississippi’s ban has been blocked by lower courts because it directly violates Roe’s protections for pre-viability abortions. — Texas doctor sued after saying he defied state’s new abortion law: A San Antonio doctor who said he performed an abortion in defiance of a new Texas law has been sued by two people seeking to test the legality of the state’s near-total ban on the procedure. — White House: Possible use of whips on Haitian migrants is ‘horrific’: White House press secretary Jen Psaki expressed dismay today at images that appeared to show Border Patrol agents using whips on migrants seeking asylum along the U.S.-Mexico border. Psaki said that administration officials were aware of the situation and that “it’s horrible to watch.” — U.S. to lift air travel restrictions for fully vaccinated foreigners: The Biden administration is targeting early November for foreign travel to resume for the first time in more than a year. The head of the White House’s Covid-19 Response Team, Jeff Zients, announced today that foreign nationals must show proof of vaccination and proof of a negative Covid-19 test taken three days prior to boarding an airplane. — Attorney for Trump CFO hints at more indictments: A lawyer for Trump Organization executive Allen Weisselberg said today that Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance may bring charges against more people as part of the probe into the former president’s company. Weisselberg’s attorney, Bryan Skarlatos, did not say which people might face charges or whether he thinks former President Donald Trump could be among them.   TELL US WHAT YOU THINK: Do you listen to POLITICO podcasts? We want to hear from you! Tell us what you like, what you could do without, and what you want to see in the future from the POLITICO Audio team! Your responses will help us improve our offerings and tailor our podcast content to better fit your needs. Find the survey here.     AROUND THE WORLD PUTIN’S PARTY WINS BIG IN DISPUTED ELECTION — Russia’s ruling party on Sunday secured a landslide win in a vote that has been dubbed the most repressive since Soviet times. With some 85 percent of ballots counted as of early today, United Russia — which backs Russian President Vladimir Putin — had won 50 percent of the vote, appearing to lose some seats in parliament but paving the way for it to retain its majority. Three days of voting — an extended period the authorities claim is meant to prevent a spread of the coronavirus, but critics argue facilitates vote-rigging — brought with it a litany of violations. In Moscow, results from electronic voting had still not been made public after 12 hours, a delay that critics decried as a sign of tampering. And as in previous elections, footage shared on social media showed brazen ballot stuffing and harassment of observers. At least one new tactic also surfaced — the use of pens with disappearing ink, presumably in order to “correct” ballots after they had been cast. LIGHTNING CRASHES — The European Commission is set to present a legislative proposal on Thursday to force manufacturers to use a common charger for electronic devices, according to a Commission official closely involved in the file. The proposal will require all manufacturers to harmonize the charging points on devices — using a USB-C charging point — and to make their software protocol for fast charging interoperable between brands and devices. The main target of the new legislation is U.S. tech giant Apple, which has pushed back against EU attempts to standardize chargers through binding requirements, arguing that it will hamper innovation.       NIGHTLY NUMBER 21 The number of days the CDC is recommending the Biden administration delay flights of Afghans from military bases overseas after the evacuees are vaccinated for measles, according to two people with direct knowledge of the matter. After four Afghans tested positive for measles after arriving in the U.S. this month, the CDC announced that it would halt flights to the U.S. for Afghan evacuees at Ramstein Air Base in Germany and Al Udeid Air Base in Qatar for at least a week.   JOIN THURSDAY FOR A WOMEN RULE CONVERSATION ON ENDING SEXUAL ASSAULT IN THE MILITARY: Sexual assault in the military has been an issue for years, and political leaders are taking steps to address it. Sens. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.) and Joni Ernst (R-Iowa) proposed bipartisan legislation to overhaul military sexual assault policies, but still face opposition. Join Women Rule for a virtual interview featuring Sens. Ernst and Gillibrand, who will discuss their legislative push and what it will take to end sexual assault and sexual harassment in the military. REGISTER HERE.     PARTING WORDS CALL MY AGENTS — Bob Woodward and Robert Costa’s “Peril,” which will be published Tuesday, is the last of this summer’s flood of books about the end of the Trump presidency. Among the others: Michael Wolff’s “Landslide,” Carol Leonnig and Philip Rucker’s “I Alone Can Fix It,” and Michael Bender’s “Frankly, We Did Win This Election: The Inside Story of How Trump Lost.” Washington, D.C., book agent Rafe Sagalyn called the Woodward/Costa book “a market test” of whether there is still an appetite for Trump era books. “The Trump-related book has been a staple for a few years, but there are signs of fatigue, esp after the 3 bestsellers from last month,” Sagalyn wrote in an email to Nightly’s Renuka Rayasam. Sagalyn and two other books agents that Nightly spoke with still weren’t quite sure what comes next for political book publishing. Agents don’t think Biden will juice the publishing industry in the same way. It’s hard to envision a Biden book full of the kind of salacious gossip that’s made Trump books so popular over the years. “Trump was a singular, horrific figure,” Gail Ross, president of the Ross Yoon agency, told Nightly. “The aftereffects are just extraordinary.” Ross and Elyse Cheney, the agent who repped Leonnig and Rucker, each separately predicted that the next generation of post-Trump political books will be more issue- and idea-oriented and less focused on the occupant of the Oval Office. “We will use the term ‘political book’ more elastically,” Ross said. People are reading more during the pandemic — or at least buying books to fill their Zoom background shelves. Ross just sold a book from Sherrilyn Ifill about being on “the cliff of democracy.” Policy books “can be as successful as the scandal book,” she said. Cheney said she’s been obsessed lately with the idea that civilization is collapsing and that Big Tech executives hold as much power as the president. She would love to see more books about the behind the scenes worlds of Mark Zuckerberg and Sheryl Sandberg, though she admits Silicon Valley tends to be less dishy — and transparent — than Washington. “The relief of not having Trump in office is being able to think about things on a bigger scale,” Cheney said. “Or being able to think at all.” Did someone forward this email to you? Sign up here. A message from Altria: Moving beyond smoking. Altria’s companies are leading the way in moving adult smokers away from cigarettes. Today, we are taking action to transition millions toward less harmful choices. From cigarettes to innovative alternatives. By investing in a diverse mix of businesses, Altria is working to further broaden options. Our companies are encouraging adult smokers to transition to a range of choices that go beyond traditional, combustible cigarettes. From tobacco company to tobacco harm reduction company. And while Altria is moving forward to reduce harm, we are not moving alone. We are working closely with FDA and other regulatory bodies, and will work strictly under their framework. See how we’re moving.     Follow us on Twitter Renuka Rayasam @renurayasam Chris Suellentrop @suellentrop Tyler Weyant @tweyant Myah Ward @myahward   FOLLOW US

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