Top Items:
David Wright / CNN:
Trump: Muslim ban ‘just a suggestion’ — Washington (CNN)Donald Trump, who issued a December press release “calling for a total and complete shutdown of Muslims entering the United States,” said Wednesday such a ban “hasn't been called for yet” and it was “only a suggestion.”
Discussion:
JustOneMinute, Patterico's Pontifications, Politicus USA, The Week and Gothamist
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Bloomberg:
Trump Heads Into Ryan Meeting With Little Reason to Compromise — House speaker has withheld endorsement of presumptive nominee — Both sides seem to have widely varying aims ahead of meeting — Donald Trump is coming to his meeting with House Speaker Paul Ryan Thursday to deliver …
Discussion:
Politico
Michael Falcone / ABC News:
The Note: Trump Thursday in DC
The Note: Trump Thursday in DC
Discussion:
Hot Air, Independent Journal … and Mediaite
CNN:
House GOP warns Ryan to back Trump
House GOP warns Ryan to back Trump
Discussion:
Talking Points Memo, NBC News, Slantpoint, Bloomberg, AMERICAblog NewsAMERICAblog … and Hot Air
Hanna Trudo / Politico:
Trump: Muslim ban was ‘just a suggestion’
Trump: Muslim ban was ‘just a suggestion’
Discussion:
The Independent, Mother Jones, Outside the Beltway, Arizona Republic, The Hill, Betsy's Page, CNN, Hot Air, Hit & Run, Fox News Insider, mrctv.org/videos and Vox
Timothy L. O'Brien / Bloomberg:
I Saw Trump's Tax Returns. You Should, Too. — In January, Donald Trump had this to say when he was asked about whether he would release his tax returns: “I have very big returns, as you know, and I have everything all approved and very beautiful and we'll be working that over in the next period of time.”
Discussion:
The Week, Slate, Hullabaloo, Politico, Washington Post and MarketWatch
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Mitt Romney / Facebook:
It is disqualifying for a modern-day presidential nominee to refuse …
It is disqualifying for a modern-day presidential nominee to refuse …
Discussion:
Vox, CNN, Washington Post, Daily Kos, Politico, USA Today, National Review, New York Times, Journal of American Greatness, BizPac Review, ABC News, Althouse, CANNONFIRE, Hot Air, NBC News, NPR, No More Mister Nice Blog, Raw Story, Politicus USA, The Moderate Voice, KTLA, Mother Jones, Business Insider and ThinkProgress
Jeanne Sahadi / CNNMoney:
Nixon released his tax returns under audit. Why can't Trump?
Nixon released his tax returns under audit. Why can't Trump?
Discussion:
Guardian, Bloomberg, Forbes, Washington Post and The Week
Jeremy Diamond / CNN:
Donald Trump: I'll release tax returns after audit
Donald Trump: I'll release tax returns after audit
Discussion:
Breitbart, Media Matters for America, Associated Press, Raw Story and Media Matters for America
Valerie Boey / WOFL:
George Zimmerman's gun up for auction — LAKE MARY, Fla. (WOFL FOX 35) - George Zimmerman, the neighborhood watch captain who was acquitted in the shooting of Trayvon Martin in 2013, is selling his gun. — The 9mm pistol that Zimmerman said was used to shoot and kill Trayvon Martin on February 26 …
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New York Daily News:
George Zimmerman puts gun that killed Trayvon Martin up for auction — SALE: One .9-mm pistol — and whatever's left of George Zimmerman's bankrupt soul. — The Florida neighborhood watchman who fatally shot unarmed teen Trayvon Martin in 2012 is putting the killer handgun up for auction — and hoping to fetch at least $5,000.
Discussion:
Hot Air, Scared Monkeys, The Atlantic and twitchy.com
Hannah Parry For / Daily Mail:
George Zimmerman AUCTIONS OFF the gun he used to kill Trayvon Martin: Acquitted killer describes pistol …
George Zimmerman AUCTIONS OFF the gun he used to kill Trayvon Martin: Acquitted killer describes pistol …
Discussion:
CBS Miami and Washington Post
Jonathan Updated / Glenn Beck:
Glenn Makes Wild Prediction About Trump — Donald Trump has faced consistent pressure and scrutiny from Glenn, so his prediction Wednesday on The Glenn Beck Program came as a surprise. — “I'm going to make a prediction about Donald Trump,” Glenn said. “I could say he's going to be the nominee of the Republican Party.
Discussion:
Hot Air, The Hill, Pirate's Cove, Independent Journal … and Fire Andrea Mitchell!
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Veronica Stracqualursi / ABC News:
Dan Quayle on Donald Trump: 'I'm Going to Support the Nominee'
Dan Quayle on Donald Trump: 'I'm Going to Support the Nominee'
Discussion:
Politico
Daily Mail:
‘Screw the next generation’: Anonymous congressman writes tell-all and slams ‘nation of naive, self-absorbed sheep’ as he admits he never reads bills he votes on — ‘My main job is to keep my job, to get reelected. It takes precedence over everything,’ an anonymous member of Congress writes in a new book
Discussion:
The Week
Annie Karni / Politico:
Biden wanted Warren as his VP — Joe Biden took months to decide he wouldn't run for president — but he was sold on Elizabeth Warren as his running mate from the start, people familiar with the situation told POLITICO. — And he still thinks the Massachusetts firebrand …
Discussion:
Talking Points Memo, The Week, Booman Tribune and ABC News
Matthew Yglesias / Vox:
The raging controversy over a profile of Ben Rhodes, explained — About a week ago, David Samuels published a profile in the New York Times magazine of Ben Rhodes, a second-tier but highly influential member of President Obama's national security team, that's set Washington ablaze.
Discussion:
Power Line, Salon, The Daily Signal, Washington Free Beacon and BarbWire.com
Tim Kenneally / The Wrap:
Caitlyn Jenner Experienced ‘Sex Change Regret,’ Might De-Transition, Biographer Says — “It hasn't been easy for Caitlyn, it's been very hard,” Ian Halperin recalls one source telling him — Caitlyn Jenner, who announced her transition from man to woman last year, has considered de-transitioning …
Discussion:
Mediaite, Fox News, The Daily Caller, CBS Pittsburgh, CBS Detroit, Independent Journal … and John Hawkins' Right Wing News
Shane Harris / The Daily Beast:
The FBI Is Keeping 80,000 Secret Files on the Saudis and 9/11 — The secret ‘28 pages’ are just the start. The FBI has another 80,000 classified documents, many of which deal with Saudi connections to the 9/11 terror plot. What's the Bureau got? — The Obama administration …
Discussion:
Washington Post, Common Dreams and Guardian
Ross Douthat / New York Times:
The Party Surrenders — With Marco Rubio's grudging, painful statement this week that he intends to support “the nominee” (for many Republicans, He Who Must Not Be Named), and with Paul Ryan possibly contemplating assimilation, it's a good time to take one last look back at what I got wrong …
Discussion:
Washington Post
Adam Housley / Fox News:
‘We could have been there’: Squadron member speaks out on stalled Benghazi response — His squadron got the alert: a “real world mission was going down.” — The team - at Aviano Air Base in northeastern Italy - raced to the field and was briefed, as planes were armed and prepared to launch.
Discussion:
RedState, Scared Monkeys and BizPac Review
Numbers / Pew Research Center's Social …:
America's Shrinking Middle Class: A Close Look at Changes Within Metropolitan Areas — The middle class lost ground in nearly nine-in-ten U.S. metropolitan areas examined — The American middle class is losing ground in metropolitan areas across the country, affecting communities from Boston to Seattle and from Dallas to Milwaukee.
Discussion:
Pew Research Center, The Week, MishTalk, Informed Comment and CityLab
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Emily Badger / Washington Post:
The middle class is shrinking just about everywhere in America
The middle class is shrinking just about everywhere in America
Discussion:
Hullabaloo, Pew Research Center's …, Pew Research Center and Marginal REVOLUTION
David Wade / Politico:
Bernie Sanders, the Zombie Candidate — When he first decided to run for president, Bernie Sanders had a goal in mind: to start a political revolution by getting big money out of politics. — If he wants to do it—if Sanders wants to build a lasting movement to fight money's outsize influence …
Richard Pollock / The Daily Caller:
EXCLUSIVE: Persian Gulf Sheikhs Gave Bill & Hillary $100 Million — A Daily Caller News Foundation investigation reveals that Bill and Hillary Clinton received at least $100 million from autocratic Persian Gulf states and their leaders, potentially undermining Democratic presidential candidate Hillary's claim …
Discussion:
Instapundit and Fire Andrea Mitchell!
Ben Kamisar / The Hill:
Trump, Ryan signal unity — touted that they are “totally committed to working together” in a joint statement after their high-profile Thursday morning meeting, calling for “shared principles” and a “conservative agenda.” — The meeting between the two GOP heavy hitters …
Discussion:
Wall Street Journal and Political Wire
Alex Seitz-Wald / NBC News:
Alan Grayson Blows Up at Harry Reid in Meeting: ‘Say My Name’ — During a closed-door meeting on Capitol Hill Wednesday, liberal firebrand Rep. Alan Grayson angrily confronted Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid over the senator's decision to back a different candidate in Florida's Senate race, according to three sources in the room.
Discussion:
FOX News Radio
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Joshua J. McElwee / ncronline.org:
Francis to create commission to study female deacons in Catholic church — Pope Francis has announced he will create a commission to study the possibility of allowing women to serve as deacons in the Catholic church, signaling an historic openness to the possibility of ending the global institution's practice of an all-male clergy.
Discussion:
Mother Jones, Washington Post, Catholic News Service, The Week and Religion News Service
David M. Drucker / Washington Examiner:
Mike Lee on Donald Trump: ‘He scares me to death’ — Sen. Mike Lee said Wednesday that Donald Trump “scares me to death” and that he still has concerns about the presumptive Republican presidential nominee and isn't ready to endorse him. — The Utah Republican, who previously backed Texas …
Discussion:
RedState, Talking Points Memo, The Hill and Mediaite
David McCabe / The Hill:
Dem rips daily fantasy sports operators during hearing — Lawmakers at a House hearing on Wednesday said they saw no difference between daily fantasy sports and gambling. — Rep. Frank Pallone Jr. (N.J.), the ranking Democrat on the House Energy and Commerce Committee …
Discussion:
Washington Post
Patricia Mazzei / miamiherald:
Will Miami's Republican mayor vote for Trump? ‘Of course not’ — Tomás Regalado said he won't vote for Clinton, either — The mayor was an early Rubio supporter — Miami Mayor Tomás Regalado remembers walking to school as a young man in Miami and getting heckled.
Discussion:
Politico and Washington Post
The White House:
As Prepared Remarks by Ambassador Susan E. Rice at the Florida International University 2016 Commencement — National Security Advisor Susan E. Rice Commencement Address at Florida International University — Steven J. Green School of International and Public Affairs — Good morning, FIU!
Discussion:
Right Wing Watch and Fox News Insider
Adam Withnall / USA Today:
Could Osama bin Laden's son be the future leader of al-Qaeda? — Osama bin Laden's son and heir apparent has resurfaced in an audio message after many months of silence, prompting renewed speculation over the leadership of al-Qaeda. — Hamza bin Laden, understood to be 23 or 24 years old …