| | | | |  | | By Eugene Daniels | | | |  | DRIVING THE DAY | | POLITICO's Helena Bottemiller Evich is out today with a bombshell investigation of the Food and Drug Administration, an agency consumed by mismanagement and delay even as thousands of Americans die and hundreds of thousands are hospitalized each year from foodborne illnesses. Diet-related diseases are also a major killer and driver of health care costs — and they made us more vulnerable to Covid-19. "This is not your run-of-the-mill slow-churning Washington bureaucracy," Helena writes. "FDA's food division is so slow, it's practically in its own league. For this story, POLITICO spoke with more than 50 people, including current and former FDA officials, consumer advocates and industry leaders. Some were granted anonymity to speak candidly. There is a remarkable level of consensus that the agency is simply not working. "Current and former officials and industry professionals used terms like 'ridiculous,' 'impossible,' 'broken,' 'byzantine' and 'a joke' to describe the state of food regulation at FDA. "There's just no question that the agency isn't meeting the moment," said SAM KASS, who served as senior policy adviser on nutrition to President BARACK OBAMA and was a key figure behind former first lady MICHELLE OBAMA'S childhood obesity campaign." | 
NASH WEERASEKERA | The big takeaways from the investigation: — The food division has structural and leadership problems … The part of the FDA that is supposed to handle the food portfolio, the Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition, suffers from a "deep-seated culture of avoiding hard decisions and a near paralyzing fear of picking serious fights with the industry." This was exacerbated by a change in the leadership structure that set up a power struggle between top officials. — The FDA has failed to regulate water to keep deadly pathogens out of produce… Obama signed a bill more than 11 years ago that directed the agency to prevent deadly foodborne illness outbreaks, but Helena found the FDA has yet to put water safety standards in place for fresh produce. — FDA made little progress on keeping toxic elements out of baby foods … Since 2017, there's been a working group focused on keeping substances like lead and arsenic out of baby foods. But the investigation found there's been little action despite pressure from Congress and health groups. And while the FDA announced last year it would set standards for some of these elements, its timeline is years from now. — FDA has not taken timely action to help cut sodium consumption … Despite saying publicly that reducing sodium in food was a major priority, and the Institute of Medicine telling the agency to set mandatory standards, the FDA has only set out voluntary reduction goals — and even some of those have taken about a decade to roll out. A study found that the FDA's most recent four-year delay on targets "may result in more than 250,000 unnecessary deaths" over roughly the next decade and a half. The FDA's dysfunction has real impact on Americans' lives. Helena is without peer on the food policy beat. Her story, told with stunning visuals, is accountability journalism at its best. You can find a callout for those who have complained to the FDA about infant formula recalls here. Helena wants to hear from you! Good Saturday morning. Thanks for reading Playbook. Drop us a line: Rachael Bade, Eugene Daniels, Ryan Lizza.
| | | | A message from Amazon: After just three months on the job, Amazon's hourly employees are eligible for fully funded college tuition, high school diplomas, GEDs, and ESL proficiency certifications. Amazon is also adding three new education programs for data center maintenance and technology, IT, and user experience and research design. | | | JACKSON DAY — The White House and millions of people across the country are still celebrating the confirmation of KETANJI BROWN JACKSON to the Supreme Court, but here are a couple of reads about what the moment meant especially to Black women: — The 19th's Candice Norwood with a look at how Jackson will change the court despite not being part of its majority bloc — Charles Blow writes in the NYT about how Sen. CORY BOOKER's (D-N.J.) impassioned speech during her hearing resonated with Black women. — MSNBC's Lawrence O'Donnell had Jackson's college roommates on his show Friday night, and they reflected on what the confirmation meant to them. For more on the celebration at the White House, check out Friday's Playbook PM. BULLETIN — U.S. intelligence officials believe Russian President VLADIMIR PUTIN may use the war in Ukraine as justification to launch a new political interference campaign in the U.S., AP's Nomaan Merchant reports. Though they don't think Putin has signed off on anything yet, "officials believe he may see the U.S. backing of Ukraine's resistance as a direct affront to him, giving him further incentive to target another U.S. election."
| | | | A message from Amazon: FULLY FUNDED TUITION – Amazon hourly employees are eligible after just three months on the job. | | | PRESIDENT JOE BIDEN'S SATURDAY — The Bidens will depart from the Pentagon at 1 p.m. for New Castle, Del., arriving at 1:55 p.m.
| | | | DON'T MISS ANYTHING FROM THE 2022 MILKEN INSTITUTE GLOBAL CONFERENCE: POLITICO is excited to partner with the Milken Institute to produce a special edition "Global Insider" newsletter featuring exclusive coverage and insights from the 25th annual Global Conference. This year's event, May 1-4, brings together more than 3,000 of the world's most influential leaders, including 700+ speakers representing more than 80 countries. "Celebrating the Power of Connection" is this year's theme, setting the stage to connect influencers with the resources to change the world with leading experts and thinkers whose insight and creativity can implement that change. Whether you're attending in person or following along from somewhere else in the world, keep up with this year's conference with POLITICO's special edition "Global Insider" so you don't miss a beat. Subscribe today. | | | | | PHOTO OF THE DAY
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European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen tours Bucha, Ukraine, on Friday and sees killed civilians' bodies in shrouds. | AP | | | PLAYBOOK READS | | 9 THINGS (GIVE OR TAKE) WE READ THAT STUCK WITH US: 1. 'WE HAVE MULTIPLE PATHS': The CNN bombshell that set Washington atwitter Friday was the revelation that DONALD TRUMP JR. texted MARK MEADOWS two days after the 2020 election a series of ideas to subvert democracy, saying "we have operational control" to keep DONALD TRUMP in power. Ryan Nobles, Zachary Cohen and Annie Grayer report that the ideas in Trump Jr.'s message are "nearly identical to what allies of the former President attempted to carry out in the months that followed": lawsuits, recounts, delays in certification, slates of fake electors, and as a last resort leaning on congressional Republicans to overturn the election. "It's very simple," the text said. "We have multiple paths We control them all." In a statement to CNN, Trump Jr.'s lawyer said he was likely just passing along a message written by somebody else. Trump Jr.'s previous text to Meadows said, "This is what we need to do please read it and please get it to everyone that needs to see it because I'm not sure we're doing it." 2. BIG NEWS IN GRAND RAPIDS: Two men accused of conspiring to kidnap Michigan Gov. GRETCHEN WHITMER were acquitted and two more had a mistrial declared after jurors deadlocked Friday. It was a striking end to the controversial path of one of the country's most prominent recent domestic terrorism trials. "Extremism experts said Friday it appeared that defense lawyers effectively sowed enough doubt among jurors," The Detroit News' Robert Snell and Sarah Rahal report, "after arguing throughout the trial that FBI agents and a key informant, Dan Chappel, manipulated and entrapped the four defendants and plied them with marijuana." Jurors couldn't reach consensus on the purported ringleaders, ADAM FOX and BARRY CROFT, while they let DANIEL HARRIS and BRANDON CASERTA go free after almost two years. Whitmer's office responded Friday by calling for accountability for extremists and decrying "the normalization of political violence" writ large. Related read: An Alaska man got 32 months in prison Friday for threatening to kill his state's Republican senators, LISA MURKOWSKI and DAN SULLIVAN, per NBC. 3. DOJ FLIPS ALI ALEXANDER: The prominent "Stop the Steal" organizer said through his lawyer Friday that he's cooperating with the Justice Department's Jan. 6 probe after being subpoenaed. That makes him "the first high-profile political figure known to have offered assistance to the government's newly expanded criminal inquiry," NYT's Alan Feuer reports. Alexander said through his lawyer Friday that he'd done nothing wrong and hadn't seen anybody commit crimes in Jan. 6 rally planning. Related news: North Carolina's CHARLES DONOHOE became the first Proud Boy to plead guilty to a Jan. 6 conspiracy, reaching a plea agreement with prosecutors and agreeing to cooperate with the government. He'll be sentenced to up to seven years in prison. More from The News & Observer 4. THE NEW TRANSGENDER POLICY FRONT: Alabama Gov. KAY IVEY signed a flurry of bills into law targeting transgender youth, going even further than many other Republican-led states by making it illegal for doctors to give kids transition-related medical care. The new laws also prevent transgender students from using bathrooms aligned with their gender identity and bar some elementary school instruction about gender identity and sexual orientation. Lawsuits are coming, of course. Details from the Montgomery Advertiser Other social policy news around the country: The Idaho Supreme Court temporarily stayed the state's new law, modeled on Texas', that would ban most abortions, per the Idaho Statesman. Kentucky Gov. ANDY BESHEAR vetoed state Republicans' bill that would choke off most paths to get an abortion, though they have the votes to override him, per the Louisville Courier Journal. And under Texas' new law, a 26-year-old woman was charged with murder for allegedly performing a "self-induced abortion," Valley Central reports. 5. GOP EYES BLACK VOTER GAINS: With Jackson's confirmation in the rearview mirror, Republicans are feeling optimistic that they can peel off enough Black voters from Democrats to make a difference in the midterms, NYT's Jonathan Weisman and Maya King report . With a record number of Black Republicans running for Congress and inflation and crime concerns driving political chatter, the GOP sees an opening. And "Judge Jackson's rough reception does not appear to be a threat to that hope," they write. "Even Black voters who watched the hearings attentively were surprisingly forgiving of her Republican inquisitors." 6. BORDER WARS: Republicans are going full tilt at the Biden administration's decision to lift the Title 42 border policy, which allowed fast expulsions of migrants because of the pandemic, Alice Miranda Ollstein and Krista Mahr report . In addition to filing lawsuits and tanking separate congressional negotiations, Republicans see it as a massive political opening for the midterms: "Lawmakers and Republican strategists are openly discussing tying the policy change to a range of other concerns voters associate with the border, from the smuggling of fentanyl and other drugs to violent crime to the spread of communicable diseases besides Covid." Democrats call Republicans hypocrites defending an illegal, anti-immigrant policy. 7. A FLURRY OF TRUMP-RELATED DECISIONS: It was a newsy Friday as several rulings or reports emerged tied to Trump's donors, his time in office and his businesses:
- The FEC imposed one of its biggest fines in history on BARRY ZEKELMAN, a Canadian billionaire who illegally directed $1.75 million to the America First Action super PAC in 2018, NYT's Eric Lipton scooped. The steel exec will have to pay out nearly $1 million in penalties for violating federal laws around foreigners' role in American campaigns.
- A judge ruled against New York City in its post-Jan. 6 attempt to kick the Trump Organization out of a Bronx golf course, per CNBC. "Total Victory at @TrumpFerryPoint!" ERIC TRUMP crowed. "@BilldeBlasio is a disgrace to New York and his challenge to our contract was nothing more than political theatre (that costs NY tremendous money and time)."
- A new State Department report says the Trump White House and administration failed to provide a full list of the gifts that foreign governments gave him, MIKE PENCE and other officials in 2020, AP's Matthew Lee reports.
8. HEADLINE OF THE DAY: "A sour and angry America poised to punish Dems this fall," Ben White writes in an assessment of the country's economic outlook. Experts say Americans are feeling bad and getting worse, exhausted by the inflation and the pandemic. That could make a midterm election that's expected to be difficult for Democrats even harder. Moody's Analytics says its model is "likely to show a very tough path for Democrats to hold either" chamber. The White House understands the problems, Ben reports, but has limited tools to fix them. 9. THE ARP EFFECT: Stimulus aid to states has often gotten bogged down in political fights. But the money from Democrats' new law last year that went to cities and counties has moved much faster in Michigan, for one — and it's making a huge impact, NYT's Noah Weiland reports from Lansing. The effect is particularly pronounced in shoring up typically underfunded public health systems. "[T]he American Rescue Plan has rewritten the economic fortunes of Ingham County and its public health programs — at least for now," he finds.
| | | | A message from Amazon:   Amazon invests in their employees' growth with fully funded tuition. | | | LATEST DEVELOPMENTS IN UKRAINE — News of a massive missile strike on a Kramatorsk train station prompted heavier evacuations from eastern Ukraine on Friday and Saturday as residents feared a renewed Russian offensive. Attacks were also reported near Odesa and Kharkiv as Russia shifted forces from the Kyiv region to concentrate its fighting on the east. Ukrainian President VOLODYMYR ZELENSKYY labeled the train station attack, now reported to have killed more than 50, a war crime. More from the NYT — WaPo's Isabelle Khurshudyan goes inside Mykolaiv, where residents are worried they'll be the target of even worse Russian attacks as its strategy shifts. Strikes have landed on multiple hospitals in the past week. "A city that has been a symbol of Ukrainian resolve and defiance is suddenly on edge." — Shocker at Chernobyl: As Russians retreated from the infamous nuclear power plant, returning Ukrainians were surprised by what they discovered, including that Russians were careless about their own exposure to radiation, CNN's Vasco Cotovio, Frederik Pleitgen, Byron Blunt and Daria Markina report . And the Ukrainian staff who remained during the Russian occupation told stories of facing tremendous pressure. Still, "Ukrainian nuclear officials say no major radiation leak was triggered by Russia's monthlong military occupation," NYT's Andrew Kramer adds. CLICKER — "The nation's cartoonists on the week in politics," edited by Matt Wuerker — 15 funnies GREAT WEEKEND READS, curated by Ryan Lizza: — "The War on Objectivity in American Journalism," by David Greenberg for Liberties Journal of Culture and Politics — "Ukraine's First Lady, Olena Zelenska, on Life Under Siege—and How Her Country Is Moving Forward," by Vogue's Taylor Antrim — "The remarkable brain of a carpet cleaner who speaks 24 languages," by WaPo's Jessica Contrera — "'We Became Like a Big Startup.' How Kyiv Adapted the City's Tech to Save Lives," by Time's Vera Bergengruen — "'It Feels Like the 36th of February. I Only Count the Days of War,'" Glamour: "The women of Ukraine have joined the defense forces, risked everything to flee with their children to safety, and given birth as their cities came under attack, showing profound bravery in the face of adversity. Award-winning photojournalist Erin Trieb was in Kyiv to document their stories." — "With 'Stealth Politics,' Billionaires Make Sure Their Money Talks," by Jaime Lowe for NYT Magazine: "What do they actually want?" — "H-Town United: An Unlikely Soccer Power Rises in Texas," by Texas Monthly's Tom Foster: "Coach Vincenzo Cox discovered an untapped vein of global talent at a southwest Houston high school—and mined it to create one of the best boys soccer programs in the country."
| | | | INTRODUCING DIGITAL FUTURE DAILY - OUR TECHNOLOGY NEWSLETTER, RE-IMAGINED: Technology is always evolving, and our new tech-obsessed newsletter is too! Digital Future Daily unlocks the most important stories determining the future of technology, from Washington to Silicon Valley and innovation power centers around the world. Readers get an in-depth look at how the next wave of tech will reshape civic and political life, including activism, fundraising, lobbying and legislating. Go inside the minds of the biggest tech players, policymakers and regulators to learn how their decisions affect our lives. Don't miss out, subscribe today. | | | | | | | PLAYBOOKERS | | Fox News' Chad Pergram wrote a eulogy for the Capitol fox: "a tail-blazer." John Hinckley Jr., failed assassin, is planning to perform at a concert in New York City this summer for $20 a ticket. Former FBI and CIA Director William Webster is selling his Wesley Heights home for $2.8 million. MEDIA MOVES — The NYT is adding Ben Mullin and Jeremy Peters to its media desk. Mullin most recently has covered media for the WSJ. Peters most recently covered politics at the Times. Announcement WELCOME TO THE WORLD — Sarah Curran, director of advocacy at TLC Political, and Kevin Curran, a Bush White House alum, on Sunday evening welcomed George Thomas Curran, who came in at 7 lbs, 9 oz and 19.5 inches.Pic — Chris "Gindy" Gindlesperger, SVP of public affairs and comms at the National Confectioners Association, and Adriana Gindlesperger, brand manager for Zyrtec at Johnson & Johnson, welcomed Audie Corredera Gindlesperger on Friday morning. He came in at 8 lbs, 6 oz and 20.5 inches, and joins big brother Levi. Pic … Another pic BIRTHWEEK (was Friday): Joel Rubin HAPPY BIRTHDAY: Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey … Joe Scarborough … MSNBC's Alex Witt and Jeff Kepnes … Jeff Zucker … Mike Berman … Global Strategy Group's Jon Silvan … POLITICO's Ali Manzano … GMMB's Brad Perseke … Joanne Zurcher … Natalie Adams of Sen. Bob Casey's (D-Pa.) office … Cynthia Nixon … Miranda Green … Samantha Cotten … Alex Anderson … Caroline Boulton … Roy Ramthun … Christopher Turman of National Strategies … Stephanie Dreyer ... Andean Group's Frank Gargon … Jill Gershenson-Cohen … Allen Jamerson … Eric Norrby … Ross Wallenstein of Wall to Wall Communications … Olivia Reingold … Neal Kemkar THE SHOWS ( Full Sunday show listings here): FOX "Fox News Sunday," guest-anchored by Dana Perino: Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell … press secretary Jen Psaki. Panel: Brit Hume, Julie Pace and Harold Ford Jr. CNN "State of the Union," airing live from Lviv, Ukraine: National security adviser Jake Sullivan … Rep. Liz Cheney (R-Wyo.) … European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, Canadian PM Justin Trudeau and Hugh Evans … retired Gen. David Petraeus. MSNBC "The Sunday Show": Pierre-Richard Prosper … Labor Secretary Marty Walsh … NYC Mayor Eric Adams. ABC "This Week": National security adviser Jake Sullivan … Anthony Fauci. Panel: Chris Christie, Donna Brazile, Rick Klein and Laura Barrón-López. CBS "Face the Nation": National security adviser Jake Sullivan … Ukrainian Ambassador Oksana Markarova … Scott Gottlieb … Jeh Johnson … Loretta Mester. NBC "Meet the Press": Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba. Panel: Kimberly Atkins Stohr, Carlos Curbelo, Josh Lederman and Anna Palmer. CNN "Inside Politics": Panel: Robin Wright and Jill Dougherty. Panel: Jeff Zeleny, Jackie Kucinich and Zolan Kanno-Youngs. Did someone forward this email to you? Sign up here. Send Playbookers tips to playbook@politico.com. Playbook couldn't happen without our editor Mike Zapler, deputy editor Zack Stanton and producers Bethany Irvine, Eli Okun and Garrett Ross.
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