The Hill’s 12:30 Report — Two powerful House Dems pitted against each other in NY primary

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–> A midday take on what’s happening in politics and how to have a sense of humor about it.* 

*Ha. Haha. Hahah. Sniff. Haha. Sniff. Ha–breaks down crying hysterically.

HAPPENING TODAY 

Can’t let comradery get in the way of politics:

Redistricting put House Oversight and Reform Committee Chairwoman Carolyn Maloney (D-N.Y.) and House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerry Nadler (D-N.Y.) in the same district, meaning one will lose their seat after Tuesday’s primary contest. 

Maloney is campaigning with her baby grandson: Photo of Maloney and her adorable grandson 

Keep in mind: Both The New York Time and Senate Majority Leader Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) endorsed Nadler. 

Oh, yikes — it’s getting a bit ugly: CNN’s Edward-Isaac Dovere reports that “Maloney has told people privately that Nadler is ‘half dead’ and insinuated he won’t be healthy enough to finish another term if he wins, and people associated with her campaign have suggested that Nadler secretly briefly lost consciousness at a campaign stop last week. (His campaign has said that rather than losing consciousness, he tripped on a subway grate.)” The full story 

A lighter tidbit: TIME’s Molly Ball tweeted, “The only thing you need to read about the New York primaries, and possibly the funniest thing I’ve read all year: [David Freedlander’s] description of Jerry Nadler and Carolyn Maloney in [New York Magazine.]” Read the short excerpt 

It’s Tuesday. I’m Cate Martel with a quick recap of the morning and what’s coming up. Did someone forward this newsletter to you? Sign up here.

🥊 On the campaign trail today

Everyone, get your midterm primary brackets out!:

Some of the last competitive primary races will be held Tuesday ahead of November’s midterms. 

Which states are voting on Tuesday?: New York, Florida and Oklahoma

What to watch in nine races today 

THIS ONE SPECIAL ELECTION IS CONSIDERED A BIG LITMUS TEST FOR NOVEMBER:  

Republican Marc Molinaro and Democrat Pat Ryan are competing for an open seat whose previous incumbent was appointed lieutenant governor. The Republican candidate is focusing on the economy, while the Democratic candidate is homing in on the anger surrounding Roe. v. Wade. Why this race is worth watching even if you don’t follow New York politics, via The Hill’s Julia Manchester 

WE WILL FIND OUT WHICH DEM WILL RUN AGAINST RON DESANTIS FOR FLORIDA GOV.: 
Two Democrats are facing off in the race to challenge Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) in the fall. 

The two Dems: Rep. Charlie Crist (D-Fla.), who has previously served as Florida governor but as a Republican, and state Agriculture Commissioner Nikki Fried.  

But the big question is: Whether any Florida Democrat has the caliber to defeat DeSantis, a GOP rising star and rumored 2024 presidential candidate. How DeSantis’s performance in November could affect his 2024 chances, via The Hill’s Max Greenwood

🔒 News this morning

Twitter’s former head of security is spilling the tea:

Via The Washington Post’s Joseph Menn, Elizabeth Dwoskin and Cat Zakrzewski, “Twitter executives deceived federal regulators and the company’s own board of directors about ‘extreme, egregious deficiencies’ in its defenses against hackers, as well as its meager efforts to fight spam, according to an explosive whistleblower complaint from its former security chief.”  

Who is the whistleblower?: Peiter Zatko, the former chief of security at Twitter 

One of Zatko’s biggest accusations: “Twitter violated the terms of an 11-year-old settlement with the Federal Trade Commission by falsely claiming that it had a solid security plan.”  

This could affect whether Elon Musk buys Twitter: “The complaint has potential implications for Twitter’s legal battle with Musk, who is trying to get out of a $44 billion contract to buy the social media platform. The deal includes a pledge by Twitter that its shareholder filings are accurate.”  

More ramifications for Twitter

💸 In the White House

Sooo, what’s JB thinking about student loans?: 

Via The Washington Post’s Jeff Stein and Danielle Douglas-Gabriel, “The White House’s close allies are feuding over whether the administration should cancel up to $10,000 in student debt for millions of American borrowers, as President Biden nears a decision after months of delays.” 

The deadline: Aug. 31, when the pause on student loan payments is expected to expire unless the Biden administration steps in. 

 A pro of canceling student debt: “Advocates say the president should fulfill a campaign promise to alleviate the large debt burdens of millions of young Americans.” 

A con of canceling student debt: “[C]ritics say that could exacerbate inflation while mostly benefiting high-income college graduates who do not need assistance.” 

How this could play out 

OP-ED:
The Progressive Policy Institute’s Ben Ritz gives six reasons why President Biden should *not* cancel student debt.

🌴 In Mar-a-Lago

Wait, did you say *300* classified documents?: 

Via The New York Times’s Maggie Haberman, Jodi Kantor, Adam Goldman and Ben Protess, “The initial batch of documents retrieved by the National Archives from former President Donald J. Trump in January included more than 150 marked as classified, a number that ignited intense concern at the Justice Department and helped trigger the criminal investigation that led F.B.I. agents to swoop into Mar-a-Lago this month seeking to recover more, multiple people briefed on the matter said.”  

“In total, the government has recovered more than 300 documents with classified markings from Mr. Trump since he left office, the people said.” 

What we know about the classified docs

🍿🥤 Guess what’s back?!

Omg, MoviePass is coming back:

The popular movie theater subscription service, MoviePass, which tanked a few years ago, is returning this fall. 

The new price: There will be three subscription tiers at $10, $20 and $30 a month. None of these tiers will offer unlimited movie passes, though. 

How to sign up: A waitlist will open on Thursday and will stay open for five days.  

What we know about the relaunch — and a bit why it failed initially, via Insider’s Jason Guerrasio.

🦠 Latest with COVID

➤ THE COVID-19 NUMBERS 

Cases to date: 93.3 million 

Death toll: 1,035,469 

Current hospitalizations: 15,573 

Shots administered: 607 million 

Fully vaccinated: 67.4 percent of Americans 

CDC data here.

🐥Notable tweets

Nothing is more inspiring than I-95: 

@jessemermell tweeted “The rare transportation/mental health mashup sign.” Read the inspirational message — it has more than 77,000 likes

⏱On tap

The House and Senate are out. President Biden is in Rehoboth Beach, Del. Vice President Harris has no public events scheduled.

📺What to watch

• 3 p.m.: The U.N. Security Council holds an emergency meeting to discuss the Ukrainian power plant situation. Livestream 

All times Eastern.

🥪 In lighter news

Today is National Cuban Sandwich Day and National Sponge Cake Day. 

OK, I have a new favorite planet: 

“Even scientists didn’t expect Webb telescope images of Jupiter to be this good,” a CNN headline reads.  

Wow: “Painting a picture that moves from orange and yellow at Jupiter’s poles to blues and purples toward the center, several images from the telescope came together to form an overall composite and give Earth a look at the gas giant.”  

NASA’s new breathtaking photos of Jupiter 

And to leave you smiling, I want you to see how intimidating a red panda can be.