POLITICO NIGHTLY: Where docs go to talk to teens about vaccines

 

BY SARAH OWERMOHLE With help from Myah Ward and Joanne Kenen DOCTORS RECOMMEND RESPONSIBLY GOING VIRAL — Short-video platform TikTok boomed during the pandemic. Even if you don’t use the app, you’re familiar with the videos: Unescapable dance trends, memes that have become lexicon and videos that capture a moment — and then change the world. I’m not proud of being a 30-something who scrolls through tweens’ hottest social media platform. But I’m not alone, either. As people withdrew to their houses last March, they turned to their phones. And scores of doctors, scientists and other health professionals became unlikely stars in the search for pandemic information along with escape. TikTok’s young audience is now more important than ever in the fight against the virus. There is a coronavirus vaccine for teens, with others on its heels. But just over half of surveyed teenagers said they will definitely or probably get the shot, according to data CDC presented today. Parents aren’t totally bought in either: Black and Hispanic parents especially are ambivalent about getting their children vaccinated, according to that data. The medical establishment’s problematic history with Black Americans and lack of representation are part of what motivated identical twins Jeremy and Jermaine Hogstrom, both internal medicine residents at a Detroit hospital, to boot up a TikTok account last summer and begin sharing a mix of comedic videos about their lives as doctors with educational Covid-19 clips. “Representation is important, especially in this field, and especially in what we’re going through,” Jermaine said. The brothers shared videos of their viewers saying they were convinced to get vaccinated. But in their real life, things haven’t been so easy: Michigan’s coronavirus surge means a stream of new and increasingly younger patients because of a strain first found in the U.K. TikTok videos can be anywhere from 15 to 60 seconds, making them just bite-size enough that viewers can absorb some details before scrolling to the next (and next, and next) clip. “I was like ‘I’ll never be on TikTok, that’s for teenagers. And [friends] said that’s where your audience is,’” recalls Jennifer Lincoln , an obstetrician who joined the platform in November 2019 and immediately went viral with a video about sex and consent. As the pandemic ramped up the next March, Lincoln began recording videos about coronavirus spread and eventually, vaccine concerns. Yet TikTok is also a “double-edged sword” of fast-spreading information, said Lincoln, who is based in Oregon. “The ability to go viral is great until it’s terrible,” she said, referencing a surge in anti-vaxx videos and broader health misinformation. The app has also been plagued by accusations that its algorithm for highlighting videos — the all-important ‘For You’ page that boosts people to viral status — can elevate problematic or predominantly white voices. Jeremy and Jermaine Hogstrom joined a TikTok program for Black creators this year that they said is trained on sharpening content and bolstering their voices. “Not everyone is going to watch and get the vaccine,” Jeremy said. “But I feel like if you can have representation there, it definitely helps open that door.” Welcome to POLITICO Nightly. Reach out with news, tips and ideas for us at sowermohle@politico.com and rrayasam@politico.com , or on Twitter at @owermohle and @renurayasam.   SUBSCRIBE TO "THE RECAST" TODAY: Power is shifting in Washington and in communities across the country. More people are demanding a seat at the table, insisting that politics is personal and not all policy is equitable. The Recast is a twice-weekly newsletter that explores the changing power dynamics in Washington and breaks down how race and identity are recasting politics and policy in America. Get fresh insights, scoops and dispatches on this crucial intersection from across the country and hear critical new voices that challenge business as usual. Don't miss out, SUBSCRIBE . Thank you to our sponsor, Intel.     FIRST IN NIGHTLY “As a conservative transgender woman, I am excited, and nervous, to watch Caitlyn Jenner run for governor. A Republican trans candidate in particular signals that trans people aren’t just an interest group. We’re complicated, multi-faceted people who can’t change our opinions even if we change our gender identities — and for a great deal of us, that means even after our transition, we remain conservative and Republican.” — Barbara Minney, in “Why a Republican Trans Candidate Is Good for Trans People,” out Thursday in POLITICO Magazine. And don’t miss Nightly’s Renuka Rayasam in conversation Thursday at 1 p.m. ET with a group of elected officials who are transgender to explore their experiences running for and holding public office. NIGHTLY INTERVIEW Motorists use gas pumps at a refueling station in Benson, N.C. Most stations in the area along I-95 are without fuel following the Colonial Pipeline hack. | Getty Images DID BIDEN’S MEETING WITH CARTER CHANGE THE TIMELINE? Nightly’s Myah Ward emails from North Carolina: I was driving from Charlotte to Boone, N.C., for my brother’s college graduation on Tuesday when I realized it wouldn’t be an easy task to fill up my gas tank. Most of the stations I passed were filled with lines of cars and had more pouring in from the main road. If they weren’t slammed, there were yellow empty bags covering the pumps. I had half a tank and decided to wait until I made it to a smaller mountain town. When I pulled off the highway, the gas station only had premium gas left. It cost $50 — instead of the usual $25 — to fill up. An older man who looked to be in his seventies had five massive, multi-gallon jugs and was filling them up with premium gas, one by one. I wasn’t surprised by the shortage. I knew there would be some ripple effects from the Colonial Pipeline shutdown. But the extent to which it’s affecting the East Coast, and particularly North Carolina where roughly 70 percent of stations are out of gas, mainly has to do with panic buying. The White House tried to calm the situation today, asking people not to hoard fuel. The pipeline restarted operations today. Being in my twenties, I didn’t have flashbacks to the 1970s as I panicked over where I might get my gas. But as I watched the older man to my left hoard the fuel, I wondered if he was scarred from two oil crises that decade. I called University of Nebraska-Lincoln historian Thomas Borstelmann, the author of “The 1970s: A New Global History from Civil Rights to Economic Inequality,” to ask if history — gas lines, inflation fears, conflict in the Middle East — is repeating itself. This conversation has been edited. Are we reliving the 1970s? No. There are ways in which certain patterns do come back, but they always come back in different forms and different circumstances. So things can look recognizable, but they’re not the same. But does this gasoline shortage feel familiar to you? The American obsession with access to automobiles, and to endless, inexpensive fuel for those automobiles is an enduring 100-year pattern now, of Americans feeling that that’s something close to our constitutional rights. And our failure for 50 years now to do anything serious about becoming much more efficient in our use of fuel and moving past internal combustion engines. From a bigger perspective, which is what historians do, the gas shortage looks like a shorter-term problem. It could get much bigger and could become national, but that has to do with larger questions about the quality of our infrastructure and the danger of ongoing attacks, Russian-backed or Chinese-backed or simply criminal-backed. We missed the opportunity in the ’70s to seriously reduce our usage of fossil fuels. How about inflation fears? Inflation that emerged in the early 1970s, in ’73 and ’74, right when the first oil crisis kicked in as a result of the 1973 war between Israel and its neighbors, that pattern of inflation was specific to the two factors: the spending on the Vietnam War, on top of the spending on Lyndon Johnson’s Great Society programs. And that double whammy is what really, without increasing taxation to pay for either of those, created an inflationary spiral that lasted essentially for nine years, until it was beaten back in the early 1980s. That’s not where we’re at now, to put it mildly. We’ve also seen a lot of social unrest this year, particularly surrounding police killings of Black people. It always feels like we’re both getting worse and getting better at the same time. For anybody who’s of my generation, it’s wildly obvious that we are much more effectively integrated here in the public sphere, at least, racially integrated and a more diverse and tolerant society on matters of gender and sex and everything else, in ways that would be unrecognizable. If you brought back somebody who died in 1961, they would be stunned at what we look like in 2021. And they would be deeply impressed by it. But then they would also be like, “Really? The cops are still killing Black people? We thought maybe you guys would stop doing that.” Do you think we remember the 1970s unfairly? Yes. In my book, I’m making an argument that we misremember the ’70s in some really profoundly problematic ways. People thought of it for at least for 30 or 40 years afterward as just kind of a lost period of people with bad haircuts and bad disco music, sideburns and those ugly wide ties. And then also of defeats. Political defeats in terms of the Watergate scandal in the U.S. and the loss of respect for public figures. The military defeat in Vietnam. The economic defeats of inflation and stagflation, really. Plus unemployment being very high. But the other part of the story is that there’s this vigorous reassertion of reformism that emerges out of there. You can’t be a female person and think that the ’70s is anything but an amazingly exciting time period. Because that’s the first time that women are beginning to be treated like full human beings in this country. To see the ’70s as a time of defeat is a male view of the world. My argument essentially is that the U.S. became a much more egalitarian place in its public sphere in the 1970s — more accepting, more tolerant of gay people as well. So it becomes a less repressive place, but it also becomes less equal. The U.S. has become economically less and less equal since the 1970s, in terms of the distribution of wealth, in terms of patterns of salaries and wages as well. So we’ve become both more equal sort of socially, culturally, and less equal economically. That happens in the ’70s, as I see it. WHAT'D I MISS? — McCarthy after ousting Cheney: ‘I don’t think anybody is questioning the legitimacy of the presidential election’: House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy today papered over the significant skepticism of the 2020 presidential election within the GOP just hours after his conference deposed Rep. Liz Cheney for criticizing fellow Republicans over that very issue. — Biden orders cyber upgrade: The executive order, which has been in development for months, addresses federal computer networks — not the critical infrastructure operated by private companies such as Colonial Pipeline. It requires agencies to encrypt their data, update plans for securely using cloud hosting services and enable multi-factor authentication. It also creates a cyber incident review group, modeled on the National Transportation Safety Board that investigates aviation, railroad and vehicle crashes, to improve the government’s response to cyberattacks. And it sets the stage for requiring federal contractors to report data breaches and meet new software security standards. — Chip Roy weighs a last-minute challenge to Stefanik for House GOP No. 3: Roy, a member of the hardline Freedom Caucus, is one of several conservatives to publicly express concern about elevating Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-N.Y.), a moderate turned Donald Trump ally who’s moving swiftly to lock down support for the No. 3 post. Notably, Stefanik has the backing of the former president and GOP leaders. — ‘I have reassessed’: Former Pentagon official now says Trump may not have incited riot: Two top Trump administration officials testified today that President Donald Trump never contacted them on Jan. 6 as rioters overran the Capitol and engaged in brutal combat with police officers. Former acting Attorney General Jeffrey Rosen and former acting Defense Secretary Christopher Miller said at a House Oversight Committee hearing that they had no interaction with Trump during the riot. — Facebook says no formal response this week to oversight board’s decision, Trump review underway: The Facebook oversight board’s bylaws require that the company has seven days to respond to any binding decisions, but Facebook said that does not apply in this instance because the board did not make a definitive ruling on what action Facebook should take on Trump’s account. AROUND THE WORLD BIDEN SUPPORTS ISRAEL, CALLS FOR END TO FIGHTING — Biden waded into the latest Israeli-Palestinian crisis today , assuring Israeli leaders that America supports Israel’s right to defend itself against Palestinian-fired rockets and other violence, but calling for an end to the fighting that has already killed dozens of people. After days of staying silent amid escalating tensions in the region, Biden spoke to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Secretary of State Antony Blinken also spoke to Netanyahu, while Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin spoke to his Israeli counterpart, Benny Gantz. All three condemned Hamas militants’ launches of rockets into Israeli territory. But all three also urged calm and de-escalation.   JOIN THURSDAY FOR A CONVERSATION ON TRANSGENDER POLITICIANS: More transgender people got elected to office at all levels across the country in 2020, in both blue and red states – and that number is likely to continue to grow. During the last year, constituents across America elected six transgender candidates at the state level as transgender rights gain more attention across the country. Join POLITICO Nightly: Daytime Edition for a conversation featuring transgender elected officials as they discuss their experiences running for and serving in public office. REGISTER HERE.     NIGHTLY NUMBER 7 percent The proportion of the roughly 9 million people vaccinated for Covid-19 in Florida who are Black, a figure that has Gov. Ron DeSantis administration officials and advocates pledging to do more to boost vaccination rates in Black communities. PARTING WORDS THE KIDS ARE ON TIKTOK, BUT THEIR PARENTS ARE ON TWITTER — TikTok is not the only social media platform where health care workers are trying to make people feel safe and motivated about getting the coronavirus vaccine — and help get it to more teens, health care editor at large Joanne Kenen points out. She emails Nightly: The people most in need of persuasion and reassurance are not necessarily showing up in their doctors’ offices looking for a dose of persuasion and reassurance. So a few days ago — even before the FDA gave emergency authorization for the Pfizer vaccine for kids age 12 and up — doctors started flocking to Twitter with a new preemptive message, combining their roles as health care professionals with their roles as moms and dads. They began tweeting that they were going to make sure their kids were vaccinated ASAP. It’s too soon to know whether — and perhaps too much to hope that — an avalanche of tweets will help change parental minds. But it may be a lot easier for people worried about vaccinating their kids to listen to a fellow parent who happens to be a doctor, than someone who is just one or the other. “I’m a pediatrician and my husband is an orthopedic surgeon,” Jessica Lazerov wrote in the Twitter thread. “We are getting both of our kids vaccinated as soon as they are eligible because science is pog and science deniers are sus.” Did someone forward this email to you? Sign up here.   Follow us on Twitter Renuka Rayasam @renurayasam Chris Suellentrop @suellentrop Tyler Weyant @tweyant Myah Ward @myahward   FOLLOW US

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Facebook Ban Hits Trump Where It Hurts: Messaging and Money

 

The decision by Facebook to keep Donald Trump off its platform didn’t just limit the former president’s ability to amplify his message, it cut him off from one of the most effective political advertising and fundraising tools available.

NYTIMES.COM

Facebook Ban Hits Trump Where It Hurts: Messaging and Money

A FEW RANDOM COMMENTS:

 Speech intended to incite riots, violence or treasonous insurrection is not protected by the First Amendment to begin with.

It’s Facebook’s party. If they don’t want to support his lies and another violent insurrection that cost 6 lives you Trumpers will just have to try to understand it’s THEIR business and their right to decide. You also have to consider that if they did allow Trump back and anyone else got killed as a result of Trump’s inciting violence, they could be liable for wrongful death lawsuits worth millions of dollars. It’s well documented Trump made over 32 THOUSAND false or misleading statements in four years. Please explain why Facebook should believe Trump deserves another chance to repeat the past misdeeds all over again.

Trump can create his own social media platform with all that money he’s been fleecing from his supporters from lying to them about the election and there being voter fraud.The only voter fraud that’s been discovered was from a Republican who tried to cast a ballot in his dead mother’s name.

Some nonsense you say ? ! -His nonsense led to an insurrection and lies that struck at the foundation of our democracy -Still not stopping- his nonsense impacts millions of Americans - and sows seeds of distrust in our democratic institutions even when our election system had been thoroughly vetted and so many Americans of all political persuasions are proud of the work they accomplished - and yet there are many willing to believe the worst of our countrymen and our democratic institutions because of his “nonsense” - you greatly understate the impact of vicious lies spewing forth from an ex president and his need to cripple any American who stands in his way. If the truth does not hold because of his need to dominate , our country will have been changed in ways we cannot even imagine -

I'd argue that social media have "too much" power because the ppl continues to give them that power, be it willingly or ignorantly or equal parts both. They are this powerful because we want them that way and get really get upset over it out of pure laziness and ignorance on our part. MySpace didn't get this powerful because we didn't want them to. So how much power these social media giants have over us is purely in our control. And up to our own selfish needs.

Inciting a mob is hardly nonsense.

remember when in WWII we went and helped Europe END another big mouth bragging nationalist despot??? I think he's been treated with kid gloves and I kind of dislike the fact his fans will continue persevering on his reelection-it should be made clear to them he is an unacceptable criminal threat and this does hopefully foreshadow his upcoming convictions.

POLITICO Massachusetts Playbook: POLL pushes HEALEY — BOSTON mayoral hopefuls BURN CASH — MILLIONAIRES TAX is BACK

 

BY LISA KASHINSKY Presented by Uber Driver Stories GOOD MORNING, MASSACHUSETTS. Soak up some sunshine! THE NUMBERS ARE IN — Burn rates are rising among Boston’s mayoral candidates, but cash flow is falling. Five of the six major candidates — City Councilors Andrea Campbell, Annissa Essaibi George and Michelle Wu, state Rep. Jon Santiago and former Boston economic development director John Barros — brought in less cash in April than March. And five of the six — Essaibi George, Wu, Santiago, Barros and Boston Acting Mayor Kim Janey — spent more. Janey, who launched her bid to drop “acting” from her title on April 6, raked in the most money that month but has the least cash on hand. Campbell, who raised the least of the field last month, has the most in the bank. Take a look at the candidates’ coffers: Campbell: $1,027,482 Wu: $1,015,417 Santiago: $497,897 Essaibi George: $496,020 Barros: $317,747 Janey: $304,244 This breakdown isn’t surprising. Campbell and Wu have been in the race since last September, and Janey just jumped in. But what each candidate has banked will be increasingly important as the race heats up through this September's preliminary election, and campaigns need more cash for things like advertising and polling. Right now the later entrants have some ground to make up , but strategists say it's still anyone's game. The next couple of months could be particularly telling, especially as donors and voters watch how Janey handles police controversies. “When she initially got in, I really thought every other candidate would love to be Kim Janey,” UMass Boston associate political science professor Erin O’Brien told me. “But now that she’s been handed those scandals, it will definitely affect her candidacy how she deals with them.” FEELING ‘22? — A recent push poll appeared to test potential messaging for Democratic Attorney General Maura Healey, hypothetically pitting her against the state's top Republicans, Gov. Charlie Baker and Lt. Gov. Karyn Polito, even as all three remain mum on their intentions for 2022. Healey's camp funded the poll, the contents of which were first reported by the Boston Herald. The survey asked respondents to react to statements such as “Maura Healey has defied the odds her whole life — from playing college and pro basketball at 5’4” to defending Massachusetts’ first in the nation gay marriage law in front of the U.S. Supreme Court" and "Maura Healey will be a governor who stands up to powerful special interests and fights for the underdog," according to screen shots obtained by POLITICO. Baker got his own batch of statements, like “Charlie Baker is a small government Republican at heart who has shown he'll side with corporations and the wealthy" and "Charlie Baker was totally unprepared for the COVID vaccine rollout." Healey's campaign declined comment. Healey’s fundraising also ticked up in April as other major Dems’ numbers fell: Healey raised $121,388 and now has $3,100,704 in her war chest. Former state Sen. Ben Downing, a declared candidate, collected $39,063 and has $107,725 in cash on hand. Harvard University professor Danielle Allen, who’s still in the exploratory stage, raised $65,489 and has $236,425 banked. State Sen. Sonia Chang-Diaz, who’s mulling a run, raised $21,763 and has $223,473 in her account. But Allen is planning a fundraiser on Monday with Rep. Jamie Raskin, a Maryland Democrat who served as the lead House impeachment manager at former President Donald Trump’s second Senate trial, according to an invite obtained by POLITICO. Downing’s team says it’s nonplussed by his smaller sum in the race’s early days and is currently interviewing campaign managers. Have a tip, story, suggestion, birthday, anniversary, new job, or any other nugget for the Playbook? Get in touch: lkashinsky@politico.com. TODAY — Rep. Ayanna Pressley will speak with regional business leaders during The New England Council’s virtual “Capitol Hill Report" at 9 a.m. Sen. Elizabeth Warren appears on Washington Post Live at 9:30 a.m. Boston Acting Mayor Kim Janey tours three businesses in Roslindale beginning at 1 p.m. Sen. Edward Markey and Rep. Lori Trahan will make stops in Fitchburg and Gardner to promote President Joe Biden’s American Rescue Plan. Trahan will then host a virtual discussion on the relief package with state Reps. Kate Hogan and Frank Moran at 4 p.m.. Markey joins Tufts’ Fletcher School for a virtual roundtable on a global commitment to climate action at 6 p.m. The NAACP Boston Branch holds a mayoral candidates’ forum on racial justice at 6 p.m. A message from Uber Driver Stories: Meet Jesus. A US Army veteran and single father, Jesus’s number one priority will always be his 14-year-old daughter. Having the flexibility to work his own hours allows Jesus to be the dad he wants to be. Watch his story in his own words below.     SUBSCRIBE TO "THE RECAST" TODAY: Power is shifting in Washington and in communities across the country. More people are demanding a seat at the table, insisting that politics is personal and not all policy is equitable. The Recast is a twice-weekly newsletter that explores the changing power dynamics in Washington and breaks down how race and identity are recasting politics and policy in America. Get fresh insights, scoops and dispatches on this crucial intersection from across the country and hear critical new voices that challenge business as usual. Don't miss out, SUBSCRIBE . Thank you to our sponsor, Intel.     THE LATEST NUMBERS – “Active COVID cases statewide drop to 21,300 as nearly 40% of Massachusetts is fully vaccinated,” by Tanner Stening, MassLive.com: “Active COVID cases in Massachusetts fell further on Wednesday as infections statewide continue to decline, according to the latest data from the Department of Public Health.” DATELINE BEACON HILL – “Lizzy Guyton, Baker’s top press aide, to leave administration,” by Matt Stout, Boston Globe: “Lizzy Guyton, one of the longest-serving members of Governor Charlie Baker’s inner circle, is stepping down as his communications director later this month, ending more than six years of speech-writing and corralling reporters on Beacon Hill.” – “The Massachusetts millionaire’s tax is back, and it’s a little different this time,” by Nik DeCosta-Klipa, Boston.com: “With eyes on 2022, supporters are taking a similar, if slightly different, approach to putting the millionaire’s tax on the ballot, sidestepping the legal pitfalls that doomed the question in 2018.” – “Animal rights groups seek limits on rat poisons,” by Christian M. Wade, CNHI/Salem News: “The recent poisoning of a bald eagle along the Charles River is spurring proposed limits on the use of highly toxic rat poisons.” – “Caucus of Women Legislators Outlines Priority Bills,” by Matt Murphy, State House News Service (paywall): “The caucus of 62 House and Senate women legislators endorsed 17 pieces of legislation on Wednesday and identified its top four priorities for this session, including whatever comes from the ongoing review of the state's early education and care system and a bill that would allow candidates to use campaign funds to pay for child care.” – FIRST IN PLAYBOOK: State Rep. Tram Nguyen is one of 19 leaders from across the country to join NewDEAL (Developing Exceptional American Leaders), a national network of 178 state and local elected officials from 47 states. Nguyen was selected as part of the new class due to her “dedication to issues of racial and economic justice, as well as her commitment to protecting the rights of the most vulnerable populations,” according to NewDEAL. VAX-ACHUSETTS – “Healey expands call for mandatory vaccinations,” by Bruce Mohl, CommonWealth Magazine: “Attorney General Maura Healey, who has said COVID-19 vaccinations should be required for public employees, indicated on Wednesday that she believes inoculations should be mandatory for at least some private workers as well. She specifically mentioned health care workers .” – “In Mass., you can now walk into any one of hundreds of COVID-19 vaccination sites for a shot,” by Travis Andersen, Boston Globe: “After months of agonizing waits online to book appointments, lines at clinics that sometimes kept people out in the cold for long stretches, and the occasional mad rush for leftover doses, residents can now receive a COVID-19 vaccine at hundreds of sites across the state without scheduling a slot, Massachusetts officials said Wednesday .” – “Will Mass. achieve herd immunity against the coronavirus pandemic? Maybe, experts say, but it could be difficult,” by Martin Finucane and Felice J. Freyer, Boston Globe: “Massachusetts’ coronavirus vaccination campaign has been among the most successful in the country, with 57.3 percent of residents — 3.9 million people — having received at least a first shot of the vaccines as of earlier this week, according to federal data. That progress has people wondering if the state can vaccinate enough people to reach herd immunity.” – “Brookline To Lift Outdoor Mask Mandate On May 21,” by Juli McDonald, WBZ: “Brookline health leaders Wednesday agreed they would lift the community’s outdoor mask mandate. It had remained in place even after Governor Baker ended the state’s last week.” FROM THE HUB – “Boston officials mull what should be done about ATVs and loud parties in and around Franklin Park,” by Danny McDonald, Boston Globe: “Speed bumps? More speeding enforcement? A dedicated space for motorbikes and ATVs in Boston? City residents, lawmakers, and officials on Wednesday evening batted around ideas of what to do about off-road vehicles and loud parties in and around Franklin Park, the city’s largest tract of open space.”       THE RACE FOR CITY HALL – “Boston mayoral candidates crank up spending in April,” by Sean Philip Cotter, Boston Herald: “Mayoral spending heated up in April even as donations dropped, with candidates hurling cash at pollsters, ads, staff and consultants.” DAY IN COURT – “SJC rules Zoom court hearings OK, but…” by Shira Schoenberg, CommonWealth Magazine: “The trial court is within its rights to hold hearings via videoconference due to the COVID-19 pandemic, but in certain circumstances a criminal defendant should be allowed to postpone a hearing until it can be held in person, the state’s Supreme Judicial Court ruled Wednesday .” – “'Jasiel was dirty': Marijuana vendors detail bribes demanded by former mayor Correia,” by Jo C. Goode, Dan Medeiros, Lynne Sullivan and Linda Murphy, Herald News: “For the first time on Wednesday jurors heard how former Fall River Mayor Jasiel Correia II demanded a bribe — with no middleman involved — accepted the cash and then promptly handed over a coveted non-opposition letter to a hopeful marijuana vendor.” FROM THE DELEGATION – “Members Of Mass. Congressional Delegation Request $100 Million For 'Community Projects'” by GBH News, “The nine Democratic members of the U.S. House from Massachusetts have requested a total of nearly $100 million in federal funding for local projects, ranging from education and human services to drinking water and climate resilience.” TRUMPACHUSETTS – “What Facebook's Decision To Dump Trump Means For Mass. Tech Companies,” by Callum Borchers, WBUR: “Around the same time Mark Zuckerberg was starting Facebook in a Harvard dorm room, Jamie Heywood began building an online community called PatientsLikeMe, a place for people to talk about medical conditions. So, Heywood was among the Massachusetts technology entrepreneurs and investors who were watching closely when Facebook's oversight board ruled Wednesday that the social network does not have to reinstate former President Donald Trump.” FROM THE 413 – “Pornographic ‘Zoom bomb’ disrupts West Springfield Town Council meeting,” by Stephanie Barry, The Republican: “A hardcore pornographic ‘Zoom bomb’ forced the West Springfield Town Council to adjourn their Monday night meeting early — an unfortunate sign of the times in the coronavirus pandemic era.” – “Former Holyoke Mayor Alex Morse ignores hometown in charitable purge of federal campaign funds,” by Stephanie Barry, The Republican: “Former Mayor Alex B. Morse left nonprofits in his hometown out in the cold during a charitable purge of leftover donations to his unsuccessful run against U.S. Rep. Richard E. Neal.” THE LOCAL ANGLE – "Ayanna Pressley joins calls for independent investigation into Mikayla Miller’s death," by Sahar Fatima, Boston Globe: "Other public figures have also tweeted calling for answers in Miller’s death, including Ibram X. Kendi, head of Boston University’s Center for Antiracist Research, Somerville Mayor Joseph Curtatone, Representative Liz Miranda, and state Senate President Karen Spilka. Former Boston city councilor Tito Jackson is among the organizers of a rally on Thursday to demand answers from Ryan’s office." – “As Evictions Slowly Return, Advocates Say More Help Needed,” by Simón Rios, WBUR: “Liliana Cruz choked up at her kitchen table in New Bedford as she talked about faithfully paying her rent — every month over the last five years. Despite that, her landlord has sent her a notice ordering her to leave the three-bedroom house by the end of this month.” – For my fellow New York transplants: “Wegmans has no plans to bring back self-serve food 'in their traditional way'” by Shaun Ganley, WCVB: “It appears one of Massachusetts' most popular grocery stores, which previously offered dozens of different hot food options to customers, may not bring their previous style setup back, at least anytime in the weeks and months ahead.” MEDIA MATTERS – “After apologizing to readers, Nantucket Magazine publisher now says Dave Portnoy ‘should be applauded,’” by Nik DeCosta-Klipa, Boston.com: “Nantucket Magazine publisher Bruce Percelay is hoping to clarify his stance on the controversial subject of Dave Portnoy.” HAPPY BIRTHDAY – to Paul Clark, Daniel Jick, David Rogers, Lori Lefkowitz, Meg McIntyre and Amanda Drane. Want to make an impact? POLITICO Massachusetts has a variety of solutions available for partners looking to reach and activate the most influential people in the Bay State. Have a petition you want signed? A cause you’re promoting? Seeking to increase brand awareness among this key audience? Share your message with our influential readers to foster engagement and drive action. Contact Jesse Shapiro to find out how: jshapiro@politico.com. A message from Uber Driver Stories: After 9 years in the Army, and missing the birth of his daughter because he was stationed overseas, Jesus decided to make changes in his life. Jesus chooses the flexibility of Uber because it lets him be there for his daughter—which has become even more important now that she’s in distance learning due to the pandemic. “It’s tough being a single parent,” Jesus says. “Without Uber, I wouldn’t have been able to bond with my daughter because I wasn’t able to spend time with her.” “Flexibility is important to me because I’m able to spend those magical moments with my daughter. Those moments are irreplaceable.” To see more stories like Jesus’s, click here. *Driver earnings may vary depending on location, demand, hours, drivers, and other variables.     DON'T MISS OUT ON OUR NEW PLAYBOOK DEEP DIVE PODCAST: Washington is full of whispers, colorful characters and little-known back stories that even D.C. insiders might not know. Playbook Deep Dive is a new, weekly podcast that pulls back the curtain on the stories behind the power. From Congress and the White House to bar stools and backrooms, POLITICO's top reporters and Playbook authors bring you the most compelling and confounding stories that explain what’s really going on in Washington. SUBSCRIBE NOW.       Follow us on Twitter Lisa Kashinsky @lisakashinsky   Subscribe to the POLITICO Playbook family Playbook  |  Playbook PM  |  California Playbook  |  Florida Playbook  |  Illinois Playbook  |  Massachusetts Playbook  |  New Jersey Playbook  |  New York Playbook  |  Brussels Playbook  |  London Playbook View all our politics and policy newsletters FOLLOW US

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