POLITICO Nightly: Why the DeSantis-Newsom clash is the best debate of the year

 

BY CHARLIE MAHTESIAN Presented by the Consumer Credit Card Protection Coalition Republican presidential candidate Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and California Gov. Gavin Newsom are set to debate tonight. | AP MARS VS. VENUS — At first glance, tonight’s Fox News “Great State Debate” between Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and California Gov. Gavin Newsom seems like must-avoid TV: Two of the thirstiest pols on the planet engaged in a televised, 90-minute spectacle designed to remind us how our nation is tearing itself apart. Yet there’s good cause to watch it, and not just for the bloodsport. The event, billed as a debate over the future of America, is the conversation we almost certainly won’t get in next year’s presidential election, between two big-state governors who figure to be on the national stage for years to come. It is Mars and Venus in action, with each defending and promoting the values of distinct American civilizations. DeSantis carries the red state banner; Newsom represents the blue states. Abortion, tax policy, education, immigration, crime, the role and size of government and all the culture war staples will be front and center. Boiled down to its essence, American politics has always been a story about population migration and its after-effects. And that’s what makes a debate between the governors of California and Florida so compelling. They represent two of the three biggest states in the nation, one seemingly in eclipse, the other in ascent, both shaped by tidal waves of newcomers seeking the latest iteration of the American Dream. California’s growth was once so rapid that it picked up new House seats by the handful, decade after decade. Decennial reapportionment gave the state eight new House seats after the 1990 Census; after the 1960 Census, it picked up seven seats. To read historian Kevin Starr’s vivid accounts of California at mid-century is to be reminded of the power of the American experiment. Today, for all its natural beauty and promise, it increasingly looks like a sclerotic, one-party state that is hemorrhaging population — it lost a House seat after the most recent census, for the first time in its 173-year history. DeSantis has seized on California’s woes as an indictment of Democratic governance. His own state is growing at a fast rate, but seems to lack the aspiration of California at its zenith. Increasingly red Florida is too often in the national news for the wrong reasons, frequently appearing small-minded, cruel and intolerant, as Newsom has been quick to point out. Implied in the very creation of a debate between two governors who aren’t running against each other is a truth about the two likely presidential nominees, President Joe Biden and Donald Trump: Neither is capable of articulating a compelling vision of governance or their party’s principles. The face-off between the two Gen X governors is so gripping precisely because each is capable of making those arguments, and is cocksure in his ideological views. DeSantis looks west toward California and sees Woke Mordor; Newsom’s idea of Florida is The Hunger Games’ Panem, but with more sunshine. They have spent the better part of the past two years in mutually advantageous conflict — attacking each other in the media, fundraising off each other, even appearing on their rival’s home turf to disparage one another. “We have had a great experiment, a great test in governance philosophies,” DeSantis said in a March speech at the Ronald Reagan Library in California’s Simi Valley. “If you look over the last four years, we’ve witnessed a great American exodus from states governed by leftist politicians imposing leftist ideology and delivering poor results.” The prior year, amid DeSantis’ successful reelection run, Newsom took out ads over the Fourth of July holiday in Florida saying “freedom is under attack in your state.” “I urge all of you living in Florida to join the fight,” Newsom says in the spot, “or join us in California, where we still believe in freedom: freedom of speech, freedom to choose freedom from hate, and the freedom to love. Don’t let them take your freedom.” In the run-up to tonight’s debate, the two camps have haggled over logistical details to ensure neither has even the slightest hint of an advantage. Newsom’s camp has primed the media — and his party — by reminding them that part of his mission is to defend Biden, and that the deck might be stacked against him since the debate is being moderated by Fox News’ Sean Hannity. For DeSantis, the goal is different: His flagging presidential campaign is in need of an adrenaline shot. It looks increasingly unlikely that the 2024 general election will have a series of robust, substantive presidential debates — or perhaps any debates at all. For that reason alone, the “Great State Debate” is not to be missed. Welcome to POLITICO Nightly. Reach out with news, tips and ideas at nightly@politico.com . Or contact tonight’s author at cmahtesian@politico.com or on X (formerly known as Twitter) at @PoliticoCharlie .   A message from the Consumer Credit Card Protection Coalition: Some politicians are trying to defund data security by passing the Durbin-Marshall Credit Card bill, serving your private financial data to hackers on a silver platter. But you can stop them. Learn more and tell Congress to stop the Durbin-Marshall credit card bill.   WHAT'D I MISS? — New York court reinstates Trump’s gag orders in civil fraud case: A New York state appeals court reinstated the gag orders issued by the judge overseeing Donald Trump’s $250 million civil fraud trial today, lifting a pause on the orders that was put into effect earlier this month by one of the court’s judges. In its two-page order, the appeals court didn’t explain its decision for reinstating the gag orders, which bar Trump and his lawyers from commenting on staff working for the trial judge, Justice Arthur Engoron. — Meta files suit to kneecap the FTC: Meta is suing the Federal Trade Commission, challenging the constitutionality of its in-house enforcement powers in a bid to stop the agency from unilaterally changing the terms of a 2020 privacy settlement. The tech giant argued in its suit filed late Wednesday that the agency has “structurally unconstitutional authority” in how it enforces cases against companies through its in-house administrative court. On Monday, Meta lost a bid to bar the FTC from reopening a 2020 enforcement order against the company, in which the agency accused Meta of privacy violations against children. Meta filed an appeal to that decision on Tuesday. Meta is also seeking to pause the FTC’s case while its lawsuit and appeal play out. — Former N.J. Trump golf club worker says she was sexually harassed, forced into signing NDA: A former server at Trump National Golf Club in Bedminster alleges she was sexually harassed and coerced into sex by a supervisor , then tricked into signing an illegal non-disclosure agreement by Trump’s lawyer, Alina Habba. The former server, Alice Bianco, made the allegations in a lawsuit against Trump National Golf Club in Bedminster filed Wednesday in New Jersey’s Middlesex County Superior Court. Trump is not named as a defendant in the suit.   Enter the “room where it happens”, where global power players shape policy and politics, with Power Play. POLITICO’s brand-new podcast will host conversations with the leaders and power players shaping the biggest ideas and driving the global conversations, moderated by award-winning journalist Anne McElvoy. Sign up today to be notified of new episodes – click here .     NIGHTLY ROAD TO 2024 WRITE IN JOE — President Joe Biden’s name won’t appear on New Hampshire’s primary ballot, but top Democrats are now organizing a grassroots write-in campaign aimed at preventing an embarrassing loss for the president that might fuel concerns about his chances in 2024, reports Reuters. Thousands of voters have already committed to the effort along with county and local party chairs, said California Congressman Ro Khanna, who is leading a call with organizers tonight on the effort. The effort has just a $100,000 budget, but plans to put a volunteer to explain the process at each of New Hampshire’s over-300 polling stations, and distribute pamphlets and printouts. OPEN QUESTION — The Republican National Committee’s rules for next year’s nominating contest and convention were released this week without addressing a question the GOP could well face next summer , reports the Associated Press: Can the party’s delegates vote for a different candidate if the presumptive nominee is convicted of a felony?  Bound delegates must vote for a particular presidential candidate at the convention based on the results of the primary or caucus in their state. As in past years, every state party must bind its delegates to vote for their assigned candidates during at least the first round of voting at the national convention, with limited exceptions for a small number of delegates. A candidate wins the nomination if they clinch a majority, which is 1,215 delegates. At next year’s convention, which starts July 15 in Milwaukee, there will be opportunities to tweak the rules when they are adopted or to suspend them, which can require two-thirds of delegates to approve on a vote. ‘ELECTORAL CORRUPTION’ — Florida Democrats are planning to cancel their presidential primary in an effort to take Rep. Dean Phillips (D-Minn.) off of the ballot, POLITICO reports — and Phillips is mad. The Minnesota congressman – who is running a longshot bid against President Joe Biden — accused the Florida Democratic Party of rigging the primary and threatened a lawsuit. Under Florida state law, the parties decide what names get to be on the ballot and if only one is submitted, the state does not hold a primary. The Florida Democratic Party submitted only Biden’s name as a candidate up for nomination, practically expelling Phillips name from the ballot and canceling the presidential primary. Phillips called the handling of the process by the Florida Democrats a “blatant act of electoral corruption” and demanded Biden “condemn and immediately address” it.   A message from the Consumer Credit Card Protection Coalition:     AROUND THE WORLD Hostages are transported in International Committee of the Red Cross vehicles from the Gaza Strip through the Rafah land crossing today. | Ahmad Hasaballah/Getty Images EXTENSION AGREEMENT — Israel and Hamas agreed to extend their temporary cease-fire for an extra day today , as two gunmen killed three people in a shooting in Jerusalem, reports POLITICO EU. The cease-fire — which had already been extended by two days earlier this week — was set to expire today at 7 a.m. local time (6 a.m. CET), but was extended in a last-minute announcement. It is now due to run until Friday morning local time. “The Palestinian and Israeli sides have reached an agreement to extend the humanitarian pause in the Gaza Strip for an additional day under the existing conditions,” said the Qatari foreign ministry in a statement, minutes before the truce was due to expire. Under the terms of the cease-fire, Israel has halted military activity and allowed humanitarian aid to enter into the Gaza strip, in exchange for Hamas releasing hostages its militants kidnapped from Israel during the Oct. 7 mass attack. Israel has also released Palestinians held in Israeli detention. U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said today that the truce “has demonstrated success in securing the freedom of hostages and in delivering humanitarian aid to Gaza” and that the U.S. wants “to see it continue.” Shortly after the extension of the cease-fire, though, Israeli police said two gunmen had opened fire at civilians at a bus station on the outskirts of Jerusalem, reportedly killing three people and injuring at least 16 others. Police said the suspects, who were residents of East Jerusalem, were “neutralized on the spot.” Hamas claimed responsibility for the attack, calling for “an escalation of the resistance.” COP 28 KICK OFF — Two weeks, at least 100,000 attendees and a major oil producer serving as host country — with the Earth’s future high on the agenda. The COP 28 United Nations climate talks that began today in Dubai aim to get nearly 200 countries to agree to actions to limit the worst impacts of global warming. They come at the end of what is likely the hottest year on record, as study after study shows that planet-warming pollution is still rising, along with the fossil fuel production that drives it. Delegates meeting in the United Arab Emirates will make decisions about issues including the fate of coal, oil and natural gas, along with the trillions of dollars needed to avoid and respond to catastrophes. They’ll do so amid hardening divisions over trade, wars on two continents and economic instability. Want to follow along with the conference like an expert? Here’s POLITICO’s guide .   GET A BACKSTAGE PASS TO COP28 WITH GLOBAL PLAYBOOK : Get insider access to the conference that sets the tone of the global climate agenda with POLITICO's Global Playbook newsletter. Authored by Suzanne Lynch, Global Playbook delivers exclusive, daily insights and comprehensive coverage that will keep you informed about the most crucial climate summit of the year. Dive deep into the critical discussions and developments at COP28 from Nov. 30 to Dec. 12. SUBSCRIBE NOW .     NIGHTLY NUMBER Nearly 4,800 The number of fake American social media accounts created by someone in China — designed to post polarizing political content on Facebook and Instagram ahead of the 2024 election — that were removed by Meta today. Each account was created to look like an ordinary American contributing to political discussion online, but used fake names and photos. RADAR SWEEP SPOTIFY TAPPED — Millions of Spotify users got their Spotify Wrapped yesterday — a summary of their most listened to songs and artists compiled into a fun little video. But for some people, opening their Spotify Wrapped brought a musician they had never heard before : Lil Durk. The Chicago rapper’s appearance on many people’s annual music summaries comes from an apparent hacking earlier this year. In May, many Spotify users complained on social media about the unknown rapper filling up their playlists and charts despite never having listened to Lil Durk before. Now, come the end of November when their yearly data is compiled, Lil Durk is back making their top artist and song lists, despite thousands of hours listening to other music. In VICE, Matthew Gault looks at how a hacking campaign ruined some people’s Spotify Wrapped with no comment or acknowledgement of it from the music listening company. PARTING IMAGE On this date in 1981: 24 members of a Muslim extremist group go on trial for the October 6 assassination of Egyptian President Anwar Sadat. Five in the trial were ultimately sentenced to death, 17 others were convicted and two were cleared. | Bill Foley/AP Did someone forward this email to you?  Sign up here .   A message from the Consumer Credit Card Protection Coalition: Your security is on hackers’ wish list this year and some lawmakers are trying to put defunding data security under the tree by passing the Durbin-Marshall Credit Card bill. If the Durbin-Marshall Credit Card bill becomes law, it could put millions of credit card transactions at much greater risk of hacking, fraud and identity theft. Washington should protect our private financial data, not make it easier for cyber criminals to hack into your wallet this holiday season. Learn more and tell Congress to say no to defunding data security by rejecting the Durbin-Marshall credit card bill.     Follow us on Twitter Charlie Mahtesian @PoliticoCharlie Calder McHugh @calder_mchugh   FOLLOW US

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POLITICO Nightly: The writers’ strike is over — and California pols are exhaling

 

BY MELANIE MASON Presented by Rep. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) joins members of the Writers Guild of America and the Screen Actors Guild as they walk the picket line outside of Netflix in Los Angeles on July 17. | Valerie Macon/AFP via Getty Images SIGH OF RELIEF — The show, at last, will go on, with Hollywood writers and studios hammering out a tentative deal on a new contract on Sunday after a 146-day long strike. The agreement still has to be approved by the Writers’ Guild of America’s board and members, but that could happen as soon as this week. And while the full details of the contract remain unclear, the WGA negotiating committee is confident they came out with a win, telling members, “we can say, with great pride, that this deal is exceptional.” The breakthrough will help a big chunk of the industry get back to work immediately, and also paves the way for the actors’ union to resolve their own labor standoff. The end of the strike — which had major implications beyond the entertainment industry while it was going on — also has California’s major political players breathing a big sigh of relief. Aside from the economic impact of the work stoppage, the strike’s impact radiated throughout state politics, putting pressure on some of California’s best-known elected officials to take sides — or not take sides — and reducing the flow of campaign dollars to state and national candidates. For California Governor Gavin Newsom, the strike was a major headache. Anything that takes a multi-billion dollar chunk out of the state’s economy is a problem for the governor. And it’s especially hard when the fight is between your friends — Newsom’s painstakingly neutral public posture on the negotiations were a stark contrast from his unequivocal support for strikers outside his state, like the United Auto Workers. The de-escalation in Hollywood could also cool off some pressure for him to sign a bill giving unemployment insurance to striking workers. Newsom has already voiced concern about the effect the measure — a top labor priority but strongly opposed by the business community — would have on the state’s already struggling UI fund. Linking the writers’ and actors’ guilds dispute into the push for this bill was, in the governor’s view, a false narrative. He’s been quick to point out that the measure would go into place in January, having no immediate effect on writers and actors on the picket line. Now the agreement may put an end to appeals for the bill from his writer and actor friends. Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass set out her first year as mayor with a single-minded mission: get a grip on the spiraling homelessness crisis. A protracted freeze of the city’s signature industry was not helping matters. With all the other local businesses threatened to become collateral damage, Bass couldn’t afford to appear in the dark about the state of negotiations. But visibly entering the fray had its downsides too. She declared in early August she was ready to “personally engage” to find resolution, which did lead to calls with the major negotiating players — but no big breakthrough. Hollywood money is the engine that powers California — and national — campaigns. But it’s been hard to ask for cash when those donors have been months out of work. Campaign consultants say the strikes were having a quantifiable impact on campaign coffers, especially among the mid-tier of donors who could usually be counted on for $500 or $1,000 checks. Those may not be the contributors that host multi-million dollar fundraisers, but they’re the vast majority of industry givers and they’re essential sources of dough, especially for Southern California races. The deal also makes life easier for the Democrats who did pick a side, loudly declaring their solidarity with the unions. The picket lines were practically a required campaign stop for U.S. Senate candidates Barbara Lee, Katie Porter and Adam Schiff. With the showdown drawing to a close, it will be less fraught for Democrats to tap the deep pockets of the studio executives. President Joe Biden is among them. The president, who publicly supported the strike, has notably avoided the lucrative fundraising circuit in the Los Angeles area . Some of his biggest donors are Hollywood titans and executives — the optics of raising cash from them and well-heeled celebrities during the walkout would have been problematic. California politicians are now set to pray that the actors quickly follow the writers in resolving their issues. Hollywood still powers much of the state’s economy, and if many productions remain delayed without actors, the cascading effects will continue to burn a hole in the middle of the state’s economic prospects. Welcome to POLITICO Nightly. Reach out with news, tips and ideas at nightly@politico.com . Or contact tonight’s author at mmason@politico.com or on X (formerly known as Twitter) at @melmason .   A message from Meta: Trained in the metaverse. Serving real patients. Across the world, millions go blind due to lack of access to eye care. To help, FundamentalVR and Orbis International deploy cataract surgery training in the metaverse. With this virtual reality tool, surgeons everywhere can practice as many times as needed before working with real patients. Explore the impact.   WHAT'D I MISS? — McCarthy is trying to move 8 funding bills. None would stop a shutdown: House Republicans are plowing forward this week with a time-intensive plan to pass a dozen individual spending bills on the floor. But that exercise would technically do nothing to thwart a shutdown at midnight on Saturday . The measures would enact severe funding cuts, dooming their chances of passage in the Senate. Nevertheless, Speaker Kevin McCarthy is bowing to conservatives who refuse to support a temporary funding bill to stop a shutdown without finishing all 12 of the appropriations bills, an ambitious task even during times of lesser time crunch. — Defiant Menendez doubles down against resignation calls: Sen. Bob Menendez today said that he will not resign under the cloud of a damning federal bribery indictment and a state party apparatus that has largely abandoned him. The remarks were made in Union City, Menendez’s hometown where he started his political career as a school board member in the 1970s and eventually became mayor. Menendez said “this will be the biggest fight yet” for him, although he doubled down on his innocence. He did not take questions. “The allegations leveled against me are just that — allegations,” he said from Hudson County College. He added, “I firmly believe that when all the facts are presented, not only will I be exonerated, but I will still be New Jersey’s senior senator.” — The earmarks Adam Schiff delivered for donors: Adam Schiff is unapologetically touting his commitment to earmarks for local causes — like homelessness and drug treatment programs — as he seeks the Senate seat long held by Dianne Feinstein. The 12-term House Democrat and darling of the anti-Trump left is even calling out his closest rival in the race, Rep. Katie Porter, for her opposition to pork-barrel spending. But a POLITICO review of congressional earmarks and political contributions found that in addition to the money for homelessness and drug treatment, Schiff also steered millions to for-profit companies and raised tens of thousands for his House reelection campaigns from corporate executives and people connected to them.   DON’T MISS POLITICO’S TECH & AI SUMMIT:  America’s ability to lead and champion emerging innovations in technology like generative AI will shape our industries, manufacturing base and future economy. Do we have the right policies in place to secure that future? How will the U.S. retain its status as the global tech leader? Join POLITICO on Sept. 27 for our Tech & AI Summit to hear what the public and private sectors need to do to sharpen our competitive edge amidst rising global competitors and rapidly evolving disruptive technologies. REGISTER HERE .     NIGHTLY ROAD TO 2024 CLASH OF CIVILIZATIONS — Following months of taunting challenges between California Gov. Gavin Newsom and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis over a head-to-head debate , a date has officially been set, POLITICO reports. The two governors will debate in-person on Nov. 30 in Georgia, the network said today. Fox News anchor Sean Hannity will moderate, as the 90-minute-long show will air during the 9 p.m. ET time slot of his show, “Hannity.” A Fox News spokesperson declined to say whether Hannity agreed to Newsom’s terms of no live audience and said that more details on the debate will be available later on. MIXED FEELINGS — Suresh Reddy, a centrist Democrat and city councilman, is watching the Republican presidential primary with a mix of pride and disappointment , writes the New York Times. When Mr. Reddy and his wife, Chandra Gangareddy, immigrants from southern India, settled in the Des Moines suburbs in September 2004, they could count the number of Indian American families on one hand. Now, for the first time in the nation’s history, two Indian Americans — Nikki Haley and Vivek Ramaswamy — are serious presidential contenders who regularly invoke their parents’ immigrant roots. But their deeply conservative views, on display as they seek the Republican nomination, make it difficult for Mr. Reddy to fully celebrate the moment, he said. “I’m really proud,” he said. “I just wish they had a better message.” That disconnect, reflected in interviews with two dozen Indian American voters, donors and elected officials from across the political spectrum — in the early voting states of Iowa, New Hampshire and South Carolina and across the country — may complicate the G.O.P.’s efforts to appeal to the small but influential Indian American electorate.   A message from Meta:     AROUND THE WORLD Cuban President Miguel Diaz-Canel Bermudez and Russian President Vladimir Putin leave after the inauguration of a monument to late Cuban leader Fidel Castro in Moscow on November 22, 2022. | Sergei Guneyev/Sputnik/AFP via Getty Images TRANSNATIONAL FRONT — Earlier this month, news of Cuban fighters in Ukraine splashed across global headlines when Havana announced it had arrested 17 people for involvement in a human trafficking ring recruiting young men to fight for Russia. Now, Eva Hartog , through conversations with Cubans in Russia and Cuba , reports on the Cubans on the front in Ukraine. One recruit in his late 40s in the Russian city of Tula said he was promised a job as a driver “for workers and construction material” but on arrival in Russia was being prepared for combat, weapon in hand. “We signed a contract with the devil,” he said, recalling the moment he enlisted. “And the devil does not hand out sweets.” Another, who is 19 years old, said about his attempt to go to Russia to fight, “If this is the sacrifice I have to make for my family to get ahead, I’ll do it.” He was paid by a Russian recruiter but intercepted by the U.S. Coast Guard. Until recently, Havana — though formally neutral on Ukraine — made no secret of siding with Moscow in what it called its clash with the “Yankee empire.” The Castro regime is dependent on Russia for cheap fuel and other aid. But unlike, say, North Korea, it has little to offer in return other than diplomatic loyalty. There has been no sign of direct involvement, and there’s been a crackdown on Cubans leaving to fight in Russia. Havana’s crackdown on the recruitment network followed the publication of an interview on YouTube in late August, in which two 19-year-old Cubans claimed they had been lured to Russia for lucrative construction jobs, only to be sent to the trenches in Ukraine. They said they had suffered beatings, been scammed out of their money and were being kept captive. Cuba’s foreign ministry vowed to act “energetically” against efforts to entice Cubans to join Russia’s war effort, adding: “Cuba is not part of the conflict in Ukraine.” SHAPE UP — Europe’s top brass warned social media giants Alphabet, TikTok and Meta they must do more to protect Slovakia’s election from foreign interference — or face potential hefty fines, writes Mark Scott . In a series of meetings in Bratislava, the European Commission and the Slovakian government told the companies to throw extra resources at stamping out hate speech , disinformation and pro-Russia propaganda in the run-up to the September 30 vote. There are growing concerns among European and Slovak regulators that disinformation and pro-Kremlin ideology are spreading among local social media users, including supporters of Robert Fico, the country’s controversial former prime minister. Fico has called for ending military support to Ukraine and his party is currently ahead in the polls. The Eastern European country’s upcoming vote marks a critical first test for the EU’s new digital rules. Under the bloc’s Digital Services Act, social media platforms must show how they are actively removing illegal content and taking down foreign propaganda. If they do not, they can face fines of up to 6 percent of their annual global revenue. Executives from Elon Musk’s Twitter — now known as X — were also invited to the discussions but failed to attend.   HAPPENING 9/28 — INSIDE THE CANCER MOONSHOT: Join POLITICO on Thursday, Sept. 28 for an in-depth discussion on the future of cancer treatment and innovation. Hear from experts including scientists, government officials and industry leaders as we explore the critical roles played by private industry, nonprofits, the National Cancer Institute and the new Advanced Research Projects Agency for Health in achieving the Biden administration's goal of cutting the cancer death rate in half over the next 25 years. Don't miss this opportunity to dive into the progress of cancer treatments and learn about the challenges patients encounter in accessing care. REGISTER HERE .     NIGHTLY NUMBER 66 The number of individual donors who made contributions to Republican PACs of $250,000 or more through the end of June — the latest period covered by federal filing deadlines. That marks a 24 percent drop from this time in 2016, when the party last had a competitive primary. At this point in that cycle, 87 donors had given at least $250,000 to one of the candidates’ super PACs. The drop speaks to an unwillingness among big donors to spend in a primary many of them believe is already all but over, with Trump maintaining big leads in early state and national polls. RADAR SWEEP CAREER MOVES — Where do you turn after getting laid off from your job after 25 years? Former journalist John Koopman did everything from covering the Iraq War on the ground to writing about an infestation of woodpeckers at a retirement village. But suddenly, with his job gone, he moved first into becoming a manager of a strip club and then illegally running marijuana across the country. For Rolling Stone, Koopman explores how becoming a weed dealer changed his understanding of his life and place in the world , and some of the incentives and downsides of working in the “underworld” of America. PARTING IMAGE On this date in 1982: A demonstrator is arrested by police at a rally in Tel Aviv, Israel. An estimated crowd of 350,000 people protested the massacre of at least hundreds of civilians in a Beirut camp by a Lebanese militia group in a camp controlled by the Israeli Defense Forces. | Nash/AP Photo Did someone forward this email to you?  Sign up here .   A message from Meta: "I can practice cataract surgeries over and over in the metaverse.” Today, doctors like Renee Badroe are training in the metaverse to help treat patients with limited access to eye care. They sharpen their skills with FundamentalVR and Orbis International's immersive cataract training program. Discover other stories.     Follow us on Twitter Charlie Mahtesian @PoliticoCharlie Calder McHugh @calder_mchugh   FOLLOW US

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