First Run News

WASHINGTON (AP) — Former Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz says he’s no longer considering an independent presidential bid. Schultz said Friday in a letter posted on his website, ‘‘I have concluded that an independent campaign for the White House is not how I can best serve our country at this time.’’ Schultz faced intense resistance from Democratic activists who feared an independent run would give President Donald Trump an easier path to reelection.

LONDON (AP) — Britain’s bedeviling Brexit dilemma intensified Friday, as opposition parties refused to support Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s call for an election until he secures a delay to Britain’s exit from the European Union — something he vows he'll never do. Johnson insists Britain must leave the EU in 55 days, and says an election is the only way to break the deadlock that has seen lawmakers repeatedly reject the divorce deal on offer, but also block attempts to leave the EU without one. He wants to go to the public on Oct.

If the New Hampshire Democratic primary were held today, who would win? When the Globe set to answer that question in May, former vice president Joe Biden had recently entered the race and sat as the Granite State frontrunner.

A new Suffolk University/Boston Globe poll of likely Massachusetts primary voters found a surging Senator Elizabeth Warren closing in on former Vice President Joe Biden’s lead as the number of undecided voters shrinks. The poll, released Saturday, found Biden leading the field of 2020 Democratic presidential candidates with 26 percent support, followed by Warren with 24 percent, within the margin of error. Senator Bernie Sanders was in third place with 8 percent, while South Bend, Ind., mayor Pete Buttigieg came in fourth with 5 percent.

The Trump administration, along with the president and several of his business entities, on Friday filed a motion to dismiss House Democrats’ lawsuit on MORE’s federal tax returns. The administration and Trump are arguing that the House Ways and Means Committee can't conscript the federal courts to take its side in a dispute with the executive branch over a congressional demand for information. The motion was expected.

MORE’s reelection campaign announced Friday he will hold a rally in Rio Rancho, N.M., on Sept. 16 as he tries to expand the electoral map before the 2020 race. “We have seen an economic boom in New Mexico since President Trump took office. While President Obama lost 1,900 jobs, President Trump has added 34,600 jobs in the state,” said Michael Glassner, chief operating officer of the Trump campaign.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) released a statement Friday evening disavowing a days-old tweet from the National Weather Service that contradicted MORE over the reach of Hurricane Dorian. The NOAA statement, which was unsigned and posted to the agency's website on Friday, said that the "Birmingham National Weather Service’s Sunday morning tweet spoke in absolute terms that were inconsistent with probabilities from the best forecast products available at the time." "From Wednesday, August 28, through Monday, September 2, the information prov

AUSTIN, Texas — Texas Republicans are sounding the alarm as Democratic presidential candidates get ready for their debate next week in Houston, warning that the Lone Star State could become more purple if the party doesn’t treat it as a 2020 battleground. Most in the GOP are confident MORE will turn aside his Democratic challenger. But they are worried they will lose more House seats a cycle after Democrats clawed back two districts as they retook their majority. Five House Republicans have retired, including three in seats targeted by Democrats.

An underwhelming August jobs report is adding to fears of an economic slowdown, raising the stakes for MORE's reelection bid. The U.S. added roughly 130,000 jobs in August, according to federal data released Friday, undershooting economists' expectations as the labor market continues to slow.  The resilient job market has been one of Trump's top selling points as he attempts to win re-election on the strength of the U.S. economy.