Trump-free Friday politics roundup: Nov. 10

Elections shock some, people are embroiled in tax bill turmoil, Putin thinks the U.S. is tampering with Russian elections, and more in this week’s politics roundup

Election day marks political changes

This past Tuesday, voters turned out in the 2017 elections to issue some truly surprising elections. This was also one year to the day after the 2016 presidential elections made a many people feel like they had eaten bad chili and fallen through into an evil mirror universe. For those who then spent the next year organizing and rallying, this week’s election really paid off.

Throughout the country, minority candidates picked up major wins. Two openly transgender politicians — Virginia’s Danica Roem and Minneapolis’s Andrea Jenkins — won office. Roam’s victory was particularly sweet, as she was running against self-designated “chief homophobe” Robert Marshall for his spot in the state legislature.

Virginia proved to be one of the more surprising states, considering its conservative past. Voters elected Elizabeth Guzman and Hala Ayala as the first Latina state delegates. Kathy Tran also became the state’s first Asian American delegate. Democratic candidate Ralph Northam surprised some when he rather easily won the governor’s race against Republican Ed Gillespie.

Vi Lyles became the first black female mayor of Charlotte, North Carolina. Both Helena, Montana and St. Paul, Minnesota elected their first black mayors: Wilmot Collins and Melvin Carter, respectively. Ravinder Bhalla will become Hoboken, New Jersey’s first Sikh mayor, too.

Tax code drama continues

The much-discussed tax bill has already drawn plenty of attention, with its favorable attitude towards corporations and modest savings for families. Now, it’s set to create even more dialogue with its Senate version. How, exactly, the Senate bill will differ from the “Tax Cuts and Jobs Act” released on November 6 remains to be seen.

Analysts have come up with divergent opinions on the bill, namely on how it will affect middle-class Americans. Multiple centers, however, agree that anywhere between 20-30% of middle-class households will see tax rate increases.

Oh, and the Senate has just unveiled its version while the House has yet to vote on its own bill. Competing provisions between bills could make this all the more confusing for politicians and constituents alike.

Britain’s political upheaval

In case you think that Europe is some sort of peaceful, political haven, you need only to look to the U.K. Between the resignations, tense Brexit talks and however Prime Minister Theresa May is dealing with crumbling support for her government, things are rough over there.

The latest issue is with former International Development Secretary, Priti Patel. Patel resigned after she had admitted that her meetings with Israeli officials were unsanctioned and “lacked transparency”. In the same week, Sir Michael Fallon resigned as defense secretary after allegations of sexual harassment came to light. He’s since been replaced by Gavin Williamson.

Patel was replaced this week by Penny Mordaunt, a Royal Navy reservist. Mordaunt has been a Minister of Parliament in two other departments and was a prominent supporter of Britain’s exit from the European Union. Prime Minister May was also reportedly concerned about maintaining a gender balance within her cabinet.

Putin says U.S. is meddling in Russia’s election

Maybe this is petty, but when Russia’s leader complains that the United States is meddling in his elections, well … it’s hard to feel a ton of kindness there. It’s generally accepted within the intelligence community that Russia did indeed try to meddle with the United States presidential election (not to mention a few other elections in Europe, too).

Still, Russian President Vladimir Putin is bringing the issue up, and quite vocally. Specifically, he’s been referring to U.S. allegations of doping brought against the Russian Olympic team. Four Russian cross-country skiers were banned for life from the Olympic Games, and more may follow.

Putin has said that it’s awfully funny timing, given that the Russian elections will be held in March. If the Russian people are upset about their athletes being banned for doping, that may sway their votes. Putin, who is expected to run, could then take a serious political blow.

He aired his suspicions during a recent visit with factory workers, saying “someone needs to create an atmosphere of discontent among sports fans and athletes over the state’s alleged involvement in violations”.

Said discontent generates largely from the 2016 McLaren Report, released via the World Anti-Doping Agency. The McLaren Report alleges that Russian athletes, in particular, were subject to a state-sponsored doping program from at least 2011 to 2016. The report also contends that samples and sample containers submitted for testing were subject to tampering.

Putin pointed to the United States’ extensive ties with advertisers and broadcasters. He claims that these relationships give the U.S. undue influence over the International Olympic Committee and the ability to unfairly dismiss Russian athletes. These include 15 Russian competitors from the 2012 and 2014 Olympics, who have since been stripped of their medals because of doping.

Senate nominee for Alabama seat accused of sexual harassment

Roy Moore, considered something of a hero in conservative circles, has been accused of initiating unwanted sexual contact with a 14-year-old girl while he was in his thirties. Three other women also say that Moore pursued them when they were only teenagers.

This is set to dramatically change the race for the open Senate seat. Moore was to face former federal attorney Doug Jones on a Dec. 12 special election.

Moore has denied the accusations, but the damage may have already been done. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell has already said that Moore should step down if the stories are true.

Defunding ACA marketing really did the trick

It’s worked so well, in fact, that sign-ups for this year’s round have outpaced previous years by a wide margin. In this week alone, more than 600,000 people have picked healthcare plans through HealthCare.gov, the federal marketplace.

And, finally, your palate cleanser

Scientists now believe that the massive asteroid impact that wiped out the dinosaurs was an extraordinary shot. Had its angle been slightly different, the result could have been very different. In fact, we may have still had dinosaurs today.

If the asteroid had struck in a different way, it would have still caused an extinction event. However, some large dinosaurs may have survived. Cooling climates and eruptions may have slowed dino evolution and even eventually killed them off.

Next: John Oliver talks taxes and economic incentives on Last Week Tonight

Other scientists argue that dinosaurs could have been far more adaptable. Before you start getting too excited about intelligent dinosaurs, take a deep breath. That’s a pretty controversial and much-debated topic, to say the least. At any rate, the BBC has a lengthy and fascinating article outlining how dinos may have survived and evolved beyond the asteroid catastrophe.

Of course, the survival of dinosaurs would have made it difficult for those small mammals to make it. So, for all that we might want to see a living T-Rex (from a distance), we ape-descendants should remain pretty grateful.