Monday, October 14

ByKevin Sheekey

Judge Judy Reveals Her Verdict: Mike Bloomberg for President (New York Post)

Judy Sheindlin, best known as TV’s Judge Judy, regularly lures 20 million viewers to her daytime show, where she solves court disputes with sage advice.

Recently, she gave a talk at The Cambridge Union in the UK, where she was asked who she wanted to be the next president of the U.S.

Her response: “What’s supposed to happen if you lost an election? You’re supposed to spend the next four years finding the greatest candidate to beat the incumbent.

My judgment is: I actually think that Michael Bloomberg would be a perfect presidential candidate. I’ll tell you why.

If you’d like a person in the White House to be presidential all the time and come to the center, I’d like to see someone who has no skin in the game. And I think that Michael Bloomberg is that person.

He’s a man who has a lot of money, that he made himself, in a very straightforward way.

He is an advocate of climate-change awareness. He believes in reasonable gun control. He believes in making certain that the criminal element in society, which impedes the day-to-day life of so many, are treated fairly but swiftly and with a view towards protecting those law-abiding citizens whose lives are negatively impacted by their behavior.

And he was a great mayor of the city of New York for 12 years.

I can’t think of anybody who would bring more comfort for the next four years.”  Read the full story here.

Reader Note:  Follow the headlines all day long on my website, SheekeyDaily.com, where you can also sign up for my daily newsletter.


Breaking Trade News.

Deal or No Deal: China Wants More Talks Before Signing Trump’s ‘Phase One’ Deal (Bloomberg)

Beijing may send a delegation led by Vice Premier Liu He, China’s top negotiator, to finalize a written deal that could be signed at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit next month in Chile.


Syria Update.

Handed to Russia: As U.S. Troops Depart, Kurds Forge an Alliance With Syrian Authorities (New York Times)

In a major turning point, Kurdish forces long allied with the United States in Syria announced a new deal on Sunday with the Russia-backed government in Damascus.

Erasing Progress: US Leaves Behind Dozens of High-Value ISIS Detainees as Turkey Rolls Through Syria (Military Times)

U.S. forces could not transfer about five dozen high-value ISIS detainees before the Pentagon’s decision to move U.S. forces out of the zone of Turkish military operations.

Thousands of ISIS fighters returning to the battlefield could breathe new life into the jihadi group and erase five years of costly gains against the extremist organization.


Brexit – 17 Days Away.


Financial News.


Global Headlines.

Climate Watch: Japan Deals with Typhoon Hagibis Aftermath (Bloomberg)

The most powerful typhoon to hit Japan in decades has left at least 43 people dead.

At its peak, Typhoon Hagibis was packing winds of up to 252 kilometers (157 miles) per hour before it moved away from Japan Sunday morning. Click here for photos of the storm and aftermath.

Populism Watch: Polish Premier Hails ‘Huge’ Mandate to Complete Remake of Nation (Bloomberg)

Riding a wave of support built on family handouts as well as the vilification of gays and the rejection of multiculturalism as an affront to traditional Catholic values, the Law & Justice party won Sunday’s election to keep its majority in the powerful lower house of parliament, according to almost-complete results.

Populism Setback: Victor Orban Loses Budapest as Hungary’s Opposition Breaks His Hegemony (Bloomberg)

The unexpectedly strong showing in local elections across Hungary gave opposition parties momentum to build on their alliance against the self-styled opponent of liberal democracy.

Recalibrating Strained Ties: Xi Jinping, Narendra Modi Agree on New Trade Mechanism at Seaside Talks in India (Bloomberg)

The talks between the leaders came amid border disputes and trade tensions: China is India’s second-largest trading partner with current two-way trade of $87 billion, and the two sides have targeted $100 billion in trade by 2020.


Today in Gun Safety.

Gun Safety Is Front And Center In Virginia Races (NPR)

The NRA has spent about $300,000 on Virginia races this year.

By contrast, the group Everytown for Gun Safety, founded and funded by Michael Bloomberg, has funneled more than $2.3 million into Virginia races to date and has pledged to spend at least another $200,000.


Vaping News.

US Congress Probes Bot-Generated Social-Media Messages About E-Cigarettes (Wall Street Journal)

Bot marketing has been an important tool for pitching e-cigarettes, a number of researchers have found, although it is not clear how much of it is being done directly by manufacturers.


Marathons Get Faster.

Attention Runners: Kenya Reigns Supreme in Long Distance Running as Brigid Kosgei Breaks Women’s World Record (New York Times)

Chicago lived up to its billing as host of America’s fastest major marathon on Sunday as Brigid Kosgei of Kenya set a women’s world record – running 2:14:04, shattering the 2003 London Marathon record set by the UK’s Paula Radcliffe. No woman had come close to Radcliffe’s record in the past 16 years.

The record came a day after fellow Kenyan Eliud Kipchoge broke the two-hour barrier for the 26.2-mile distance at 1:59:40 in Vienna at an event that did not count as a world record.

The two achievements made the weekend one of the most memorable in the modern history of long-distance running, with Kenya asserting its supremacy as the heartbeat of the sport, in case there was any doubt.

Next up? All eyes turn to the New York City marathon on Sunday, November 3.


Best of late night.

On the two associates of Trump’s lawyer Rudy Giuliani who were arrested for campaign finance violations at Washington Dulles airport as they tried to leave the country:

“First of all, bravo to the casting agency that found these two thumb-breakers. They look like they use vodka as cologne. And these guys have definitely worn tracksuits to their daughter’s wedding.”
— Michael Che, Weekend Update, SNL

“A British woman, who is vegan, called the police on her friends after she claimed they tricked her into eating chicken nuggets. She knew she’d been tricked when the nuggets actually tasted good.”
— Michael Che, Weekend Update, SNL

“Health officials are warning that passengers on a recent American Airlines flight may have been exposed to Hepatitis A, while passengers on the subway may have been exposed to Hepatitis B through Z.”
— Seth Meyers

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