POLITICO MASSACHUSETTS PLAYBOOK: TOP 10 stories of the DECADE — Can ED MARKEY stop ROBOCALLS? — BAKER mum on IMPEACHMENT

TOP 10 stories of the DECADE — Can ED MARKEY stop ROBOCALLS? — BAKER mum on IMPEACHMENT

BY STEPHANIE MURRAY GOOD MORNING, MASSACHUSETTS. TGIF! PROGRAMMING NOTE: This is it! POLITICO Massachusetts Playbook will not publish from Monday, Dec. 23 to Friday, Jan. 3. I'll be back in your inbox on Monday, Jan. 6. In the meantime, send wishlists, resolutions and news tips to smurray@politico.com. Here's to a happy and restful holiday with the people you love - See you in 2020! THE STORIES THAT DEFINED THE DECADE — You're reading the final Massachusetts Playbook of the year and of the decade. To say goodbye to the 2010s, I surveyed more than a dozen #mapoli insiders for the top Massachusetts stories of the last 10 years. For this list, I counted the decade as 2010 to the end of 2019. I couldn't fit everything, so let me know what I missed. 10. House Speaker Sal DiMasi is convicted — Former House Speaker Sal DiMasi resigned from his post in 2009, but he was convicted on federal corruption charges in 2011 and sentenced to eight years in jail. DiMasi's departure made room for the rise of House Speaker Robert DeLeo, the longest continuous serving speaker in state history. And DiMasi is back on the scene. He was granted compassionate release after five years, and is trying to become a lobbyist. 9. The #MeToo movement hits the State House — Beacon Hill faced a reckoning in the second half of the decade. Women spoke up about a climate of harassment on Beacon Hill, and Senate President Stan Rosenberg resigned his post due to allegations that his husband sexually assaulted and harassed four men and tried to influence Senate business. That meant chaos for the Senate. Within a year, the body saw three presidents: Rosenberg, Senate President Emeritus Harriette Chandler and Senate President Karen Spilka. 8. John Kerry appointed Secretary of State — Massachusetts' representation in the Senate was steady, stable and constant for two decades. The late Sen. Ted Kennedy took office in 1962, and Sen. John Kerry was elected in 1984. Politics were upended when Kennedy died in 2009. And when Kerry left his post to become Secretary of State in 2013, it ushered in a new wave of primaries and special elections. 7. Whitey Bulger captured and later killed — After 16 years on the run, infamous crime boss Whitey Bulger was captured in California in 2011. Bulger was sentenced to life in prison in 2013, and he was brutally killed by inmates in a West Virginia jail in 2018. This decade marked the end of Bulger's violent life, which was the stuff of books, movies and legends. 6. Charlie Baker tries again — Back in 2010, when Gov. Deval Patrick was up for reelection, he was challenged by a Republican named Charlie Baker. Patrick handily beat him to win a second term. But Baker ran again in 2014 and went on to become the most popular governor in the country. 5. Insurgents topple the old guard — Rep. Ayanna Pressley surprised political watchers when she announced she'd run for Congress against 10-term incumbent Michael Capuano. Imagine the shock when she beat him. While Pressley's run was not the only insurgent challenge of the decade, she quickly rose to stardom and made history as the first black woman elected to Congress from Massachusetts. A video of Pressley learning she won has 1.5 million views. 4. Titletown, USA — It was a good decade to be a Boston sports fan. The Patriots won the Super Bowl three times, the Red Sox won the World Series twice and the Bruins won a Stanley Cup. We reached a point where commuters were annoyed by the timing of the championship parades because they happened so frequently. 3. Boston Marathon Bombing — Boston changed forever when two homemade bombs went off at the Boston Marathon finish line, killing three people and injuring hundreds more. In the days to follow, police would embark on a dramatic manhunt that led to the capture of Dzhokar Tsarnaev, who was convicted of planting the bombs at the finish line with his brother Tamerlan Tsarnaev. 2. The end of the Menino era — Boston's longest-serving and beloved mayor, the late Thomas Menino, sent shockwaves through the political scene when he announced he would not seek reelection in 2013. The seat was wide open for the first time since the 1980s, and the political tumult to follow would reshape City Hall and the council. Mayor Marty Walsh won the crowded race to succeed the Menino in 2013, and Menino died of cancer a year later at age 71. 1. The rise of Elizabeth Warren — It's hard to understate how quickly Sen. Elizabeth Warren burst onto the political scene. Warren took on popular GOP Sen. Scott Brown in 2012 and won an expensive, contentious race to become the first woman elected to the Senate from Massachusetts. Now, Warren is a top-tier presidential candidate. She also paved the way for other Massachusetts women in Washington. In a matter of years, the state's delegation went from having one woman to four serving at the same time. Have a tip, story, suggestion, birthday, anniversary, new job, or any other nugget for the Playbook? Get in touch: smurray@politico.com. TODAY — Secretary of State William Galvin hosts a drawing determine the order presidential candidates appear on the Super Tuesday ballot. Sen. Ed Markey holds a press conference on his bill to block illegal robocalls. Boston Mayor Marty Walsh is a guest on "Boston Public Radio." POLITICO TECH AT CES - We are bringing a special edition of the POLITICO Tech newsletter to CES 2020 . Written by Nancy Scola and Cristiano Lima, the newsletter will take you inside the largest and most influential technology event on the planet, featuring every major and emerging industry in the technology ecosystem gathered together in one place. The newsletter runs from Jan. 6 - 10 and will focus on the public policy related aspects of the gathering. Sign up today to receive exclusive coverage of the Summit. DATELINE BEACON HILL — "DeLeo: Lots of work remains on housing bill," by Andy Metzger, CommonWealth Magazine: "THE HOUSING COMMITTEE advanced the governor's housing choice bill with a nearly unanimous vote Thursday, but Speaker Robert DeLeo said that's not a sign that agreement has been reached on the issue. Moving that bill and 19 others out of committee should put pressure on members to get to work hearing each other out and talking about their differences, DeLeo said in a brief interview." — "Will the state's new paid leave program suffer as big employers opt out?" by Jon Chesto, Boston Globe: "When business groups hammered out a deal for the state's new paid family and medical leave program, they pushed for a measure that would allow companies to find alternative coverage from the private sector. Smart move. Exemptions allowed by the new law have turned out to be popular, with nearly 3,000 employers applying for waivers by the Dec. 20 deadline to opt out, and 2,700-plus already receiving state approvals." — "7 immigrants improperly denied drivers license renewals," by Sarah Betancourt, CommonWealth Magazine: "AN IMMIGRANT ADVOCACY GROUP says seven people have improperly been denied driver's license renewals as a result of their immigration status. Centro Presente says seven individuals with Temporary Protected Status were denied renewals by the Revere office of the Registry of Motor Vehicles in the past two weeks." — "Gaming commission takes baby step on Southeastern Mass. casino," by Andy Rosen, Boston Globe: "The Massachusetts Gaming Commission on Thursday took a small but significant step that could eventually lead to a fourth casino being constructed in the state. The regulatory body directed its staff to draw up documents soliciting information from experts and the public on questions including whether the market could support a full-service gambling facility in Southeastern Massachusetts, and whether such a decision would benefit the state." PRIMARY SOURCES FIRST IN PLAYBOOK: MARKEY'S MEDIA TEAM — Sen. Ed Markey is building out his social and digital media operation ahead of the new year. Markey will announce today that he hired Paul Bologna, a former Attorney General Maura Healey aide, as his creative and digital communications director. Markey has also tapped the firm Aisle 518 to lead his digital strategy on his reelection campaign. Aisle 518 led digital strategy and fundraising for Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders in 2016 and 2019, among others. FROM THE HUB — "Walsh signs new Trust Act with immigrant community," by Milton J. Valencia, Boston Globe: "Amid the Trump administration's anti-immigration policies, Mayor Martin J. Walsh joined other local officials and community advocates Thursday to sign a new, strengthened Trust Act that prohibits Boston police from getting involved in deportation matters. At a signing ceremony in East Boston, home to many city immigrants, Walsh called the new law a reinforcement of the city's protections for immigrants who have been subjected to fears of deportation." — RELATED: "After Trust Act signing, Gross defensive," by Sarah Betancourt, CommonWealth Magazine: "ONLY MOMENTS AFTER Boston Mayor Marty Walsh signed the Immigrant Trust Act, Police Commissioner William Gross fended off questions about his department previously sharing information with federal immigration enforcement under the very sort of circumstances the revised ordinance prohibits. Since the original 2014 Trust Act, the department has been instructed to ignore detainer requests from federal immigration officials unless the immigrant is wanted for a crime separate from his or her deportation case." — "'A new day': Dudley Square is renamed Nubian Square," by Zoe Greenberg, Boston Globe: "Dudley Square will be officially renamed Nubian Square, the culmination of a five-year effort by Roxbury residents to strip the commercial district of Governor Thomas Dudley's name and replace it with one widely supported by the area's largely black population. The city's Public Improvement Commission approved the name change on Thursday as onlookers applauded. The campaign to change Dudley's name gained momentum in recent years in the midst of a national conversation about whether to remove Confederate statues and the names of former slaveholders from prominent buildings." — "Boston Federal Reserve President Predicts Economic Growth Will Continue Into 2020," by Bob Oakes, WBUR: "Ten years ago at this time, America was digging itself out of the worst economic downturn since the Great Depression. Now, a booming job market — including the lowest unemployment rate in 50 years — has the U.S. economy celebrating more than a decade of sustained economic growth. That growth is expected to continue into 2020, though there's still some uncertainty about how long it will last." PATRICK PRIMARY — "Late-Starting Candidate Deval Patrick Lays Out Policy Vision," by Alexandra Jaffe, The Associated Press: "Democratic presidential candidate Deval Patrick outlined a broad policy agenda Thursday while jabbing at his progressive rivals for proposals that he considers too ideologically inflexible. "A politics that says we have to agree on everything before we can work together on anything, that offers government by slogan and short-term wins, that consistently puts power ahead of principle, is exactly the kind of politics that brought us to this point," the former Massachusetts governor writes." POLITICO's ENERGY PODCAST sponsored by Chevron: A new, daily five-minute update on the latest in energy and environmental politics and policy - must-know stories and candid insights from POLITICO's 10-person energy team and journalists across our newsroom. Subscribe for free and start listening today. ALL ABOARD — ROAD TRIP: "Here's why an MBTA bus was spotted in Chicago traffic," by Arianna MacNeill, Boston.com: "Those sitting in Chicago's rush-hour traffic Wednesday night may have witnessed a strange phenomenon - a single MBTA bus meandering along with the rest of the vehicles. One Reddit user couldn't help but snap a quick photo, suggesting that perhaps the bus is "a little lost." But that bus is bound for the Boston area, even if its journey is much longer than the typical circuitous bus route." DAY IN COURT — "Former State Police barracks commander indicted in fraud scheme," by Matt Rocheleau, Boston Globe: "The former head of a State Police barracks was indicted Thursday for an alleged fraud scheme in which he collected more than $11,500 worth of paid time off he was not entitled to, state Attorney General Maura Healey's office announced. Ex-lieutenant David Andrade, 47, of Westport — while in charge of the Troop D Dartmouth barracks — allegedly took days off and submitted claims for 22 holiday compensatory days that he never accrued, prosecutors said." WARREN REPORT — "Warren and Buttigieg scrap over 'wine caves' and the power of wealthy donors," by Eli Okun, POLITICO: "Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) and South Bend Mayor Pete Buttigieg tussled Thursday night over high-dollar fundraisers, zinging each other over wine caves, hypocrisy and personal wealth. In a continuation of a fight that has roiled the Democratic presidential field for weeks, Warren and Buttigieg traded barbs at the PBS NewsHour/POLITICO debate." — "Elizabeth Warren to hold private meeting with tribal leaders Sunday in effort to atone for past claims," by Annie Linskey, The Washington Post: "Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) will meet privately with tribal leaders this weekend during her first trip to her home state of Oklahoma as a presidential candidate, the latest outreach in a nearly three-year effort to atone to Native Americans for her former claims that she was "American Indian." THE PRESSLEY PARTY — "Boston officials, sex-trafficking survivor support groups express concerns over Rep. Ayanna Pressley's plan decriminalizing prostitution," by Jackson Cote, MassLive.com: "Boston Mayor Marty Walsh and local organizations that work with survivors of sex trafficking expressed concerns this week over a proposal by U.S. Rep. Ayanna Pressley to decriminalize sex work. The Massachusetts congresswoman's provision was put forth in November as part of a wider criminal justice reform bill." TRUMPACHUSETTS — "Baker Says Removing Trump Is A Decision For Congress, Criticizes Partisanship In Impeachment Process," by Arjun Singh, WGBH News: "Gov. Charlie Baker refused to say whether he thought President Donald Trump should have been impeached on Thursday, but he did say that he hoped the Senate will hold a fair trial. In an interview with Boston Public Radio the day after the House of Representatives impeached Trump and charged him with abuse of power and of obstructing Congress, the governor did not want to weigh in on the actual charges levied against Trump." — "Massachusetts State Police Twitter account 'liked' Trump's tweet," by Marie Szaniszlo, Boston Herald: "The official Massachusetts State Police Twitter account "liked" a tweet by President Trump, but a state police spokesman claims it was an accident. The tweet included a photo of Trump with the caption, "In reality, they're not after me. They're after you." State police spokesman David Procopio said Thursday no one has access to the department's Twitter account except the media relations unit. "I think somebody opened up (Trump's tweet) to see the image and hit 'like' by accident," he said. Procopio said he removed the "like" as soon as he found it." TWEET OF THE DAY DATELINE D.C. — "Senate Passes Anti-Robocall Bill; President Expected to Sign It," Reuters: "The Senate passed an anti-robocaller bill on Thursday, and President Donald Trump is expected to sign the measure aimed at cracking down on the billions of irritating and deceptive robocalls that Americans receive each month. The Senate, on a voice vote, approved the Telephone Robocall Abuse Criminal Enforcement and Deterrence (TRACED) Act, which would give the Federal Communications Commission the power to slap fines of up to $10,000 on robocallers and extend the statute of limitations to four years." IT'S NOT EASY BEING GREEN — "TCI Success Will Require "Critical Mass" of States to Join," by Matt Murphy, State House News Service: "The state's lead negotiator on a multi-state pact to lower carbon emissions from vehicles said Thursday she was not surprised New Hampshire Gov. Chris Sununu withdrew his state from talks, as he slammed the program as a "financial boondoogle." Energy Secretary Kathleen Theoharides said Thursday after testifying before the Senate Global Warming Committee that New Hampshire's participation in the still-developing Transportation Climate Initiative was not essential to its success." MARIJUANA IN MASSACHUSETTS — "Cannabis commission hearing disrupted by furious applicants decrying delays," by Jessica Bartlett, Boston Business Journal: "Standing up in the middle of proceedings at Thursday's Cannabis Control Commission, Leah Daniels said she's been waiting for 610 days on the results of her cannabis license with the state, and had "no choice but to be out of order." The economic empowerment applicant said it's been more than a year and a half since she applied to open a dispensary in the state, and she hasn't gotten a response." ABOVE THE FOLD — Herald: "TRADE WIN!" — Globe: "Relighting the faith in the human spirit," "Next up: A Senate trial - but when?" "Partners aims to expand with clinics." EYE ON 2020 — "Presidential hopefuls make personal pitches," by Christian M. Wade, Newburyport Daily News: "Dinner with Joe Biden, "a beer or coffee, tea or whatever" with Elizabeth Warren, or a chat over a cheeseburger with Pete Buttigieg. As the top Democratic candidates campaign ahead of next year's primaries, they're increasingly using personalized pitches to squeeze money from donors." FROM THE 413 — "Easthampton City Council passes resolution urging passage of 'Medicare for all' in Massachusetts," by Jackson Cote, MassLive.com: "The Easthampton City Council passed a resolution Wednesday night urging the passage of "Medicare for All" in Massachusetts. The measure, which passed unanimously, instructs Easthampton's local representatives, Democratic State Rep. Daniel Carey and Republican State Sen. Donald Humason, to immediately establish a single payer health care system in the state." — "Agawam Mayor William Sapelli endorses Rep. John Velis in bid for state Senate," by Jim Kinney, Springfield Republican: "Mayor William P. Sapelli endorsed Thursday current state Rep. John C. Velis, D-Westfied, in the latter's bid for state Senate. "It is refreshing to support a candidate who has the energy and enthusiasm that John displays," Sapelli said in a news release from the Velis campaign." HOLIDAY READING — "A menorah in Brookline is stolen, then repaired, and now shines a light anew," by Brian MacQuarrie, Boston Globe: "The two men met face to face Thursday for the first time, the longtime rabbi and the Irish-Catholic owner of an auto repair shop, swapping emotional reminiscences of the day one year ago when their lives intersected. It's a light that shines anew from a 500-pound menorah that thieves ripped from the temple's rotunda in November 2018 and left bent and broken on a West Roxbury street." SPOTTED: Presidential candidate and former NYC Mayor Michael Bloomberg at Colleen's Ice Cream & Sandwich Shop in Medford on Wednesday. Insta pic. MAZEL! Lizzy Guyton, communications director for Massachusetts Gov. Charlie Baker and a Scott Brown and Jackie Walorski alum, and Tim Johnson, a principal at CSQ Realty, got engaged Wednesday night in front of the State House. Pic, another pic. TRANSITIONS - State Rep. Jennifer Benson was named the next president of the Alliance for Business Leadership. — Anne Meeker is leaving her role as director of constituent services in Rep. Seth Moulton's office. Meeker is moving closer to family in Ohio. — Lt. Billy Quinn ends his role as Navy fellow in Rep. Seth Moulton's office. Quinn is headed to the Office of the Chief of Naval Personnel. HAPPY BIRTHDAY - to state Senate President Emeritus Harriette Chandler, writer and excellent Twitter follow Megan Johnson, MassINC public affairs associate Maureen McInerney and Meaghan Callahan. HAPPY BIRTHWEEKEND - to Saturday birthday-ers state Rep. Kimberly Ferguson, the Boston Globe's Joshua Miller, Washington Post reporter and Boston Globe alum Annie Linskey, WGBH's Azita Ghahramani and Craig LeMoult, Kalen O'Hare, and the sport of basketball which was invented in Springfield. DID THE HOME TEAM WIN? No! The Islanders beat the Bruins 3-2. FOR YOUR COMMUTE: FORESIGHT 2020 - It's the final Horse Race podcast of the decade! On this week's episode, hosts Steve Koczela and Stephanie Murray break down the top stories of 2019 and look ahead to what's in store for 2020. Alan Khazei, a Democrat running to replace Rep. Joe Kennedy III, talks about why he's in the race. Subscribe and listen on iTunes and Sound Cloud. 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. Follow us on Twitter Stephanie Murray @StephMurr_Jour 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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Paul Krugman | Why Is Trump a Tariff Man?

08 December 19

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08 December 19 It's Live on the HomePage Now: Reader Supported News HOW RSN IS RESCUED BY THE FEW - Each day - somehow - RSN is is literally rescued by a handful of donors. Sometimes the are very small donors and sometimes much larger. But it’s always a “few people” that take a moment out of their day to lend their support. Join them, they can’t do it alone. / Marc Ash, Founder Reader Supported News Sure, I'll make a donation! Paul Krugman | Why Is Trump a Tariff Man? Paul Krugman, The New York Times Krugman writes: "Almost exactly one year has passed since Donald Trump declared, 'I am a Tariff Man.' Uncharacteristically, he was telling the truth." EXCERPT: At this point I’ve lost count of how many times markets have rallied in the belief that Trump was winding down his trade war, only to face announcements that a much-anticipated deal wasn’t happening or that tariffs were being slapped on a new set of products or countries. Over the past week it happened again: Markets bet on an outbreak of trade peace between the U.S. and China, only to get body slammed by Trump’s declaration that there might be no deal before the election and by his new tariffs on Brazil and Argentina. So Trump really is a Tariff Man. But why? After all, the results of his trade war have been consistently bad, both economically and politically. READ MORE Lauren Bruner, a survivor of the USS Arizona which was attacked on Dec. 7, 1941, died earlier in 2019 at the age of 98. (photo: Reed Saxon/AP) Pearl Harbor Remembers Victims of December 7 Attack, and Those of Earlier This Week Colby Itkowitz, The Washington Post Itkowitz writes: "At Pearl Harbor on Saturday, the bugle call of taps rang out as it has every Dec. 7, in ceremonies marking the Japanese attack of 1941. But this year, the memorial services took on an even more mournful tone, as those at the historic Navy base also stopped to remember two colleagues shot to death there days earlier." READ MORE House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerrold Nadler of New York. (photo: Alex Wong/Getty Images) House Judiciary Committee Releases Report Martin Pengelly, Guardian UK Pengelly writes: "The House judiciary committee released a report on the constitutional grounds for impeachment on Saturday. Shortly after that, Donald Trump once again insisted the whole thing was a 'witch hunt' and 'a total hoax.'" EXCERPTS: “The Framers[’] worst nightmare is what we are facing in this very moment,” the House judiciary chair, Jerry Nadler, tweeted on Saturday, after releasing the 52-page report. In contrast to the House intelligence committee’s 300-page blockbuster released this week, which summed up bombshell testimony delivered in private and public hearings, the judiciary report was written by Democratic staffers for use in the drawing up of articles of impeachment. It considered what those who wrote the US constitution in the 1780s meant when they provided for presidents to be removed. “President Trump abused his power, betrayed our national security and corrupted our elections,” Nadler wrote on Twitter, “all for personal gain. The constitution details only one remedy for this misconduct: impeachment.” A vote on articles of impeachment against Trump is expected before the end of the year. Trump’s alleged attempts to obstruct the special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation of Russian interference in 2016, and links between Trump and Moscow, may also be considered. On Saturday the statistics website FiveThirtyEight.com put support for impeachment at 47.7%, to 43.8% against. Nadler’s committee will hold further public hearings next week. This week, it heard testimony from selected legal scholars. One, called by Republicans on the panel, said Trump should not be impeached. On Friday, over 500 more, from leading universities and law schools, signed an open letter on the matter. It began: “We, the undersigned legal scholars, have concluded that President Trump engaged in impeachable conduct. We do not reach this conclusion lightly.” Open letters from experts and former officials have become common in US politics under Trump. In this case, the scholars added: “We take no position on whether the president committed a crime. But conduct need not be criminal to be impeachable. The standard here is constitutional; it does not depend on what Congress has chosen to criminalize.” READ MORE Pete Buttigieg. (photo: Mario Tama/Getty Images) Immigration Rights Groups Call on Buttigieg to Return McKinsey-Related Donations Jack Turman, CBS News Turman writes: "Four immigration rights organizations have written to Democratic presidential candidate Pete Buttigieg to ask him to return any donations connected to the consulting firm McKinsey & Company, following a New York Times and Pro Publica report about how McKinsey helped Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) 'accelerate the deportation process.' Among the recommendations McKinsey offered were cuts to spending on food and medical care for migrants." READ MORE Robocalls. (image: iStock) How Robocalls Became America's Most Prevalent Crime The Week Excerpt: "Today, half of all phone calls are automated scams. Is there any way to stop this incessant bombardment?" EXCERPT: Why so many robocalls? Automated telephone calls might be America's most prevalent form of lawbreaking, with more than 180 million such calls every day. A 2009 law that banned unsolicited, prerecorded telemarketing has failed to stem the explosion of calls seeking to steal information or scare people into scams. In 2017, about 4 percent of U.S. phone calls were spam. But now, thanks to cheap software allowing crooks to blast millions of calls from disguised numbers, roughly 50 percent of all calls are junk. Just the time wasted dealing with robocalls costs Americans $3 billion per year, the FCC estimates, on top of untold billions lost from businesses that depend on real phone calls; 70 percent of Americans don't answer calls from unfamiliar numbers anymore, according to Consumer Reports. October was the worst month on record, with an estimated 5.7 billion robocalls. Hunting robocallers is like playing Whack-a-Mole, said Janice Kopec, a staff attorney for the Federal Trade Commission. "We shut down an operation, and another one springs up almost instantaneously." READ MORE One of the red flags hanging outside homes in Samoa to indicate residents were not vaccinated against measles. Samoa has arrested an anti-vax campaigner amid the outbreak. (photo: Getty Images) Samoa Measles Outbreak: 100 New Cases as Anti-Vaccination Activist Charged Reuters and Guardian UK Excerpt: "Samoa has said nearly 90% of eligible people have been vaccinated against measles as it lifted a two-day curfew imposed amid an outbreak that has killed 65 in recent weeks." EXCERPTS: There were, however, 103 new cases of measles reported since Friday, Samoa’s health ministry said in a statement on Saturday. The measles virus has infected almost 4,500 people in the South Pacific nation of 200,000 since late October. Of those who died, 57 were under the age of four. Samoa has, meanwhile, arrested an anti-vaccination campaigner amid the outbreak. Edwin Tamasese was charged with incitement against a government order after he was detained on Thursday. The outbreak is in part blamed on people spreading false information, claiming vaccinations are dangerous. Samoa has declared a state of emergency and made vaccinations compulsory. The mandatory immunisation campaign aims to vaccinate 90% of the population, tripling Samoa’s coverage in just a few weeks. The government said a rate of 89% had been achieved as of Friday. The World Health Organisation said this week that measles infected nearly 10 million people in 2018 and killed 140,000, mostly children. The picture for 2019 is even worse, it said, with provisional data up to November showing a three-fold increase in case numbers compared with the same period in 2018. READ MORE Soil. (photo: Pexels) Soil: The Secret Weapon in the Fight Against Climate Change Claire O'Connor, Natural Resources Defense Council O'Connor writes: "Agriculture is on the front lines of climate change. Whether it's the a seven-year drought drying up fields in California, the devastating Midwest flooding in 2019, or hurricane after hurricane hitting the Eastern Shore, agriculture and rural communities are already feeling the effects of a changing climate." griculture is on the front lines of climate change. Whether it's the a seven-year drought drying up fields in California, the devastating Midwest flooding in 2019, or hurricane after hurricane hitting the Eastern Shore, agriculture and rural communities are already feeling the effects of a changing climate. Scientists expect climate change to make these extreme weather events both more frequent and more intense in coming years. Agriculture is also an important — in fact a necessary — partner in fighting climate change. The science is clear: We cannot stay beneath the most dangerous climate thresholds without sequestering a significant amount of carbon in our soils. Agricultural soils have the potential to sequester, relatively inexpensively, 250 million metric tons of carbon dioxide-equivalent greenhouse gasses annually — equivalent to the annual emissions of 64 coal fired power plants, according to National Academy of Sciences. But we can't get there without engaging farmers, turning a source of emissions into a carbon sink. Here are just a few of the ways the Natural Resources Defense Council works to encourage climate-friendly farming: Creating New Incentives for Cover Crops: Cover crops are planted in between growing seasons with the specific purpose of building soil health. Despite their multiple agronomic and environmental benefits, adoption is low — only about 7% of U.S. farmland uses cover crops. NRDC is working to scale up cover cropping through innovative incentives delivered through the largest federal farm subsidy: crop insurance. We've worked with partners in Iowa and Illinois to launch programs that give farmers who use cover crops $5/acre off of their crop insurance bill. And partners in Minnesota and Wisconsin are exploring similar options. While we're delighted at the benefit this program has for farmers in those individual states, we're even more excited about the potential to scale this program to the 350 million acres that utilize subsidized crop insurance nationwide. A recent study suggests that cover crops sequester an average of .79 tons of carbon per acre annually, making cover crops one of the pillars of climate-friendly farming systems. Supporting Carbon as a New "Agricultural Product": Championed by Senator Ron Wyden, the 2018 Farm Bill created a new program, the Soil Health Demonstration Trial, that encourages farmers to adopt practices that improve their soil health, and tracks and measures the outcomes. NRDC worked alongside our partners at E2 and a number of commodity groups, farmer organizations, and agribusinesses to secure passage of this provision. The Demonstration Trial will create a new, reliable income stream — farmers will get paid for the carbon they sequester regardless of how their crops turn out, and it builds the data needed for confidence in any future carbon markets. USDA recently announced the first round of awards under this new program, totaling over $13 million in investments to improve soil health. Senator Cory Booker has since drafted legislation that would increase funding for the program nearly 10-fold to $100 million annually; Representative Deb Haaland released a companion bill in the House. Scaling up Regenerative Agriculture: Regenerative agriculture is an approach to farming that looks to work with nature to rebuild the overall health of the system. Regenerative farmers use a variety of tactics, including reduced chemical inputs, diverse crop and livestock rotations, incorporating compost into their systems, and agroforestry, among others. Our team is in the midst of interviewing regenerative farmers and ranchers to learn more about what's working for them and what challenges they've faced in their shift to a regenerative approach. We're planning to analyze our interview results and combine them with a literature review to identify what role NRDC could potentially play in helping to scale up regenerative farming and ranching systems. We'll also be sharing quotes and photos from our interviews on social media every Friday starting in January, so stay tuned for some inspiring farm footage! Supporting Organic Farmers: Organic agriculture by design reduces greenhouse gas emissions, sequesters carbon in the soil, does not rely on energy-intensive chemical inputs, and builds resiliency within our food system. Practices integrated into organic production will become increasingly more important in the face of a changing climate. NRDC supports organic farmers through policy initiatives like the Organic Farm-to-School program that was introduced in the California legislature last year. In the coming year, we'll continue to work to support organic farmers in California. Reducing Food Waste: Food waste generates nearly 3% of anthropogenic greenhouse gas emissions in the U.S., and NRDC is working hard to reduce that number, and improve soil health in the process. Some of our policy proposals include securing passage of date labelling legislation to eliminate confusion about whether food is still good to eat, working with cities to reduce waste and increase rescue of surplus food, and supporting efforts at all levels to increase composting of food scraps. Adding compost to soils improves their ability to sequester carbon, store nutrients, and retain water. Composting food scraps also helps to "close the loop" on organic matter and nutrients by returning them to the agricultural production cycle, rather than sending that organic material to landfills, where it generates methane (a powerful climate pollutant). Climate-friendly farming also offers a host of important co-benefits. For example, when farmers use complex crop rotations to break weed, pest, and disease cycles, they can reduce the amount of synthetic chemicals they need to use. When they use practices like cover crops, no-till, and adding compost to protect and restore the soil, they reduce the need for synthetic fertilizers that emit greenhouse gasses. And when farmers can reinvest the oppressive amount of money they had been previously spending on expensive, synthetic inputs into the additional labor required to carbon farm, they bring new jobs to economically-depressed rural areas. Farmers understand better than many of us the harsh realities of climate change, regardless of their opinions about what's causing those changes. And tight margins and trade wars make the potential of new value streams particularly attractive for farmers right now. By working alongside the farmers and farmworkers who tend the land, we can bring new allies into the fight against climate change, restore the health of our soil, and create a healthy, equitable, and resilient food system.

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