Welcome back to 10 Things in Politics. Sign up here to receive this newsletter. Send tips to bgriffiths@insider.com or tweet me at @BrentGriffiths.
Here's what we're talking about:
- Why Trump Org. executives may cooperate with prosecutors
- A timeline of the Florida condo collapse reveals red flags
- Biden is facing pressure on all sides on infrastructure
One thing to watch for: President Biden and Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack visit Wisconsin to tout the bipartisan infrastructure deal.
With Jordan Erb
1. TRUMP'S LEGAL TROUBLES: Donald Trump may not be out of the woods yet. The former president's lawyer said that Manhattan prosecutors have assured him that Trump will not be personally charged. But that could change if Trump Organization officials implicate him, something a former Trump exec predicts may happen if key employees face criminal charges.
- Key quote: "If you introduce the notion of criminal charges against any one of them, or their children, you change the game completely," Barbara Res, a former executive vice president at the Trump Organization, told Insider. Res believed that Allen Weisselberg and Matthew Calamari wouldn't be able to stomach prison time.
No charges were announced after an important deadline: Trump Organization attorneys met with New York prosecutors to argue that the company should not face charges, The Washington Post reports. Monday was the last day for the organization's lawyers to make their case.
More on how Trump could still be at risk.
2. Death toll from the Florida condo collapse rises: 11 people were confirmed dead, with 150 still missing, after the collapse of a Surfside, Florida condominium last week, the Miami Herald reports. The disaster could become one of the nation's deadliest.
We're still learning about how this happened: A timeline of the building's recent history reveals warning signs that emerged before the devastating collapse.
- Some troubling signs came days before: A pool contractor who visited the building two days before the collapse observed standing water all over the garage, with cracking concrete and other damage underneath the pool area, the Herald reports. More on that here.
3. Biden is facing pressure on all sides on infrastructure: A progressive House lawmaker screamed 'f--- that" over President Biden's bipartisan infrastructure deal. Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell wants Democrats to commit to the deal regardless of what happens to a separate "human infrastructure" proposal that many Republicans oppose. It leaves a key piece of Biden's agenda on shaky ground.
4. Facebook scored a big win in federal court: The social network was handed a victory in its antitrust fights. A federal judge even questioned a government regulator's key argument that Facebook is a monopoly, The Post reports. The news sent shares soaring, leading to Facebook closing the day with a market cap over $1 trillion for the first time in its history.
5. It's so hot in the Pacific Northwest that roads are buckling: Hospitals are dealing with an influx of heat-related cases amid temperatures past 100 Fahrenheit. The National Weather Service in Seattle warned drivers to be cautious as roads crack, and a streetcar service in Portland was shut down after power cables melted. The region has some of the lowest AC rates in the country, and growing homeless populations are especially vulnerable.
6. A Republican congressman failed to properly disclose stock trades: Freshman Rep. Pat Fallon of Texas failed to properly disclose dozens trades together worth between $7.8 million and $17.53 million, according to an Insider analysis. A Fallon spokesman said the congressman was "unfamiliar" with disclosure rules. Tardy stock disclosures could open congressmen up to investigations and fines.
7. House set to vote this week on Capitol riot select committee: Speaker Nancy Pelosi unveiled a proposal to create a 13-member panel of lawmakers with subpoena powers to investigate the insurrection, the Associated Press reports. Senate Republicans previously blocked the House-passed legislation that would have created a bipartisan commission. Pelosi is reportedly considering naming a Republican for one of her selections.
8. Reports of gas shortages ahead of the holiday weekend: Gas prices will be the highest they've been in nearly seven years and some gas stations may not even have any, CNN reported. There are simply not enough drivers to deliver the gas.
9. A four-day workweek might be the next big thing: The pandemic has reignited conversations about how the modern workplace should run, and corporations nationwide - and across the globe - think they may have found the solution. Proponents of a four-day workweek say permanent three-day weekends boost happiness and productivity, and a handful of companies (and countries) are putting it to the test.
- Kickstarter is the latest American company to say it'll try a four-day workweek.
- Spain is also giving a shortened week a trial run, per The Guardian.
See the full list of companies trying it out here.
10. Everyone's talking about this "mutiny": Far away from the world of DC
Today's trivia question: Who are the two founding fathers depicted on the first ever general-issue postage stamps? Email your guess and a suggested question to me at bgriffiths@insider.com.
- Friday's answer: President George H.W. Bush while at Yale played in the first ever College World Series in 1947 and then again in 1948. Bush once even met Babe Ruth before a game. His son George W. Bush later became the first sitting president to attend a College World Series game.