5am – A/B/CPLANNED PARENTHOOD HEAD FIRED
Planned Parenthood Has Ousted Its President, Leana Wen, Amid A Dispute Over The Organization's Direction (Buzzfeed) -- Planned Parenthood President Leana Wen, the first physician to head the women’s health care group in 50 years, said she was removed from her position by the organization’s board “at a secret meeting,” capping months of internal concerns over her management style and a perceived shift away from the group’s political work. Wen attributed her departure to “philosophical differences over the direction and future of Planned Parenthood,” she said in a tweet on Tuesday. She was in the position for less than a year. “I believe that the best way to protect abortion care is to be clear that it is not a political issue but a health care one,” Wen wrote in a statement about her sudden termination.
Fmr Planned Parenthood head learned about her termination after a “secret meeting” that she wasn’t invited to. In short, she was fired without any knowledge of wrongdoing or diminished job performance.
Dr. Leana Wen: Moments ago, I learned that the Planned Parenthood Board terminated my employment at a secret Board meeting to which I was not invited. The Board Chair and I had been engaged in good faith negotiation about my departure based on philosophical differences over the direction and future of Planned Parenthood. I will issue a full statement shortly.
BUZZFEED: Under Wen’s short tenure, Planned Parenthood’s fundraising saw a significant decline without Richards at the helm. Planned Parenthood repeatedly asserted that it was not changing direction under Wen, and Schifeling and Wallace both said their departures were unrelated to any shift at the organization under her leadership. In response to BuzzFeed News’ reporting, Wen insisted in a series of tweets that Planned Parenthood’s “core mission is providing, protecting and expanding access to abortion and reproductive health care" and that the organization would "never back down from that fight.” During the beginning of Wen’s tenure at Planned Parenthood, the staff she brought with her distributed a 182-page handbook on rules and tips for staffing Wen. The “Special Assistant Guide” from the Baltimore City Health Department, according to a copy obtained by BuzzFeed News, details guidelines on timeliness (“Nothing can fall through the cracks”), office demeanor (“Make sure to frequently look up [from Twitter] and make eye contact with Dr. Wen to see if she is trying to communicate urgent information”), language use (“Dr. Wen ‘learns’ not ‘hears’”). and correspondence (“Try not to look at emails more than once. Take care of it then”).
5am – D WARREN GAINING MOMENTUM IN 2020 RACE:
Peter Thiel: Elizabeth Warren Scares Me The Most, She's The Dangerous One (RealClearPolitics) -- Paypal co-founder Peter Thiel said the Democratic presidential candidate he most fears is Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA). In an interview with FNC's Tucker Carlson, the billionaire investor called Warren "dangerous" and the only candidate talking about the economy.
TUCKER CARLSON, FOX NEWS: I assume you’re watching the Democratic primaries unfold; who’s the most impressive candidate in that race, do you think?
PETER THIEL: Well, I’m most scared by Elizabeth Warren. You know, I think she’s the one who’s actually talking about the economy, which is the only thing that I think -- the thing that I think matters by far the most.
California Poll: Elizabeth Warren Surges Past Kamala Harris, Joe Biden in Golden State (Breitbart) -- A California poll of Democrat primary voters in the state has Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) surging past favorite daughter Sen. Kamala Harris (D-CA) and former Vice President Joe Biden in the Golden State ahead of the second debates upcoming at the end of July. The tracking survey of 4,050 respondents, conducted by Capitol Weekly, has Warren at 24.8 percent in California, while Harris is at 20.3 percent and Biden is at 19.6 percent. Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont is at 15.6 percent and South Bend, Indiana, mayor Pete Buttigieg is down at 7.7 percent. The only other candidate to break the 2 percent threshold, at 2.4 percent, is former Rep. Robert Francis “Beto” O’Rourke (D-TX).
5am – E Alyssa Milano raises eyebrows after announcing which candidate's fundraiser she'll be attending (Fox News) -- Actress and political activist Alyssa Milano raised some eyebrows on Tuesday evening after she announced she'd be attending her first fundraiser of the 2020 election cycle. Milano, who in recent months has been vocal in her opposition against the legislation that was signed into law in several states that restricting abortions, took to Twitter and unveiled her upcoming plans. "I’m going to my first fundraiser of the election cycle and it’s for- [spiritual guru] @marwilliamson," Milano told her 3.6 million Twitter followers. "I know. I know. But she’s the only candidate talking about the collective, soulful ache of the nation & I think that’s an important discussion to have." Milano stressed that she was "not committing to anyone yet," adding that she's "going to support everyone if given the opportunity until the choice is crystal clear." The "Charmed" actress was slammed being open to support Marianne Williamson, who critics labeled an "anti-vaxxer" due to her opposition for government-mandated vaccinations. She dismissed the naysayers and responded positively to other Twitter users, agreeing with one that Williamson "does" have "some points."