Donald Trump Breaks with Tradition and Skips Visit to the Warsaw Ghetto

When you have a moment, take a break from the churn of politics and read Heidi Julavits on Robert Smithson’s Spiral Jetty.

Here’s all the shit we couldn’t cover today:

• Donald Trump skipped a visit to the Warsaw Ghetto during his visit to Poland. He’s the first president to do so since 1989. Leaders of the Jewish community in Poland expressed “deep regret” over the president’s decision to forgo with a visit to Monument to the Heroes of the Warsaw Ghetto, noting that every president since George H. W. Bush had done so. “We deeply regret that President Donald Trump, though speaking in public barely a mile away from the Monument, chose to break with that laudable tradition,” they said in a statement. [Washington Post]
  
• Here’s a useful analysis on the speech Trump delivered in Poland. [Slate]
  
• Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said that the United States and Russia have reached a ceasefire agreement on Syria. Though the details of the ceasefire are still unclear, Tillerson reiterated that the U.S. remains firm on its stance that Syrian President Bashar Assad must go. “We see no long-term role for the Assad family or the Assad regime,” the Secretary of State said. Tillerson added that more details need to be finalized and talks between Russia and the U.S. are “active and ongoing.” [USA Today]
  
• John Podesta and Trump are having a boring dudefight. [Talking Points Memo]
  
• Senator Chuck Grassley described the amendment to the Republican health care bill proposed by Senator Ted Cruz as “subterfuge to get around pre-existing conditions.” [Talking Points Memo/Iowa Public Radio]
  
• “Master tactician” is one of the emptiest phrases in political journalism. [New York Times]
  
• Residents of Eatontown, New Jersey are suing their local lawmakers over a construction deal with Jared Kushner’s company. The plaintiffs in the case have accused town officials of privately negotiating with Kushner and pushing through zoning laws custom made for Kushner’s company. [Associated Press]
  
• In what amounts to little more than a publicity stunt for his self-published book, Milo Yiannopoulos has sued publisher Simon & Schuster for breach of contract. [Publisher’s Weekly]
  
• Brenda Fitzgerald has been named the director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Previously, Fitzgerald served as the head of the Georgia Department of Public Health. She is formerly an OBGYN and an advocate for childhood vaccination. Fitzgerald also has strong political ties to HHS Secretary Tom Price who nominated her for the position. [CNN]
  
• Angela Merkel rolls her eyes. [Twitter]
  
• Americans are ridiculous creatures. [The Guardian]
  

Here are some tweets the president was allowed to publish:

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