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No 'G'day, mate': On call with Australian prime minister, Trump badgers and brags — It should have been one of the most congenial calls for the new commander in chief — a conversation with the leader of Australia, one of America's staunchest allies, at the end of a triumphant week.
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TRUMP TO MEXICO: TAKE CARE OF ‘BAD HOMBRES’ OR US MIGHT — WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump threatened in a phone call with his Mexican counterpart to send U.S. troops to stop “bad hombres down there” unless the Mexican military does more to control them, according to an excerpt …
Discussion:
Lawyers, Guns & Money, The Guardian, RedState, Mediaite, Daily Kos, Politicus USA, twitchy.com, Washington Times, Joe.My.God., The Moderate Voice and Balloon Juice


Report: In a ‘humiliating’ and ‘threatening’ tone, Trump lambasted Mexico's president during a phone call — During a phone call with Mexican President Enrique Peña Nieto on Friday, US President Donald Trump disparaged Mexico and threatened to use military force against the drug trade …
Discussion:
Raw Story, The Guardian, AOL and Hullabaloo


Riot Forces Cancellation Of Yiannopoulos Talk At UC Berkeley — BERKELEY, Calif. (CBS SF/AP) — Protesters armed with bricks and fireworks mounted an assault on the building hosting a speech by polarizing Breitbart News editor Milo Yiannopoulos Wednesday night, forcing the event's cancellation.
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Milo Yiannopoulos event canceled after violence erupts
Discussion:
Los Angeles Times, Mother Jones, KTLA, Refinery29, RedState, IJR and American Power


Questions Cloud U.S. Raid on Qaeda Branch in Yemen — WASHINGTON — Just five days after taking office, over dinner with his newly installed secretary of defense and the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, President Trump was presented with the first of what will be many life-or-death decisions …
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Talking Points Memo, Washington Post, Balloon Juice, Business Insider and The Week
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U.S. military probing more possible civilian deaths in Yemen raid — The U.S. military said on Wednesday it was looking into whether more civilians were killed in a raid on al Qaeda in Yemen on the weekend, in the first operation authorized by President Donald Trump as commander in chief.
Discussion:
Bloomberg, Mother Jones, Occupy Democrats and Oliver Willis


Leaked Draft of Trump's Religious Freedom Order Reveals Sweeping Plans to Legalize Discrimination — If signed, the order would create wholesale exemptions for people and organizations who claim religious objections to same-sex marriage, premarital sex, abortion, and trans identity. — By ,
Discussion:
ThinkProgress, Joe.My.God. and The Stranger …
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Trump Executive Order Draft Could Curtail LGBT Rights — A draft of an executive order on “religious freedom” is circulating inside the Trump administration, outlining a potential weakening of protections designed to shield LGBT individuals from discrimination, according to a copy of the proposed order obtained by ABC News.
Discussion:
Advocate

What Could Gorsuch Mean for the Supreme Court? — On Tuesday, Donald Trump nominated conservative federal appeals court judge Neil Gorsuch to the Supreme Court. After 11 days packed full of executive actions—on everything from immigration to military spending to trade …
Discussion:
National Review, Common Dreams, Josh Blackman's Blog, IPWatchdog.com, LifeNews.com, The Nation, NPR, Guns.com, Bleeding Heartland, The Daily Signal, Mother Jones, NBC News, New York Times, The Federalist, Mediaite, LGBTQ Nation, Forbes, Refinery29, Rewire, Washington Free Beacon, RedState and Axios
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Trump's Supreme Court Pick Determined That A Badly Botched Execution Was An “Innocent Misadventure”
Discussion:
Washington Post, The Daily Caller, Above the Law, Mediaite, CNN, IJR, Daily Kos, Denver Post, USA Today, The Crime Report, Politico, Bloomberg, Associated Press, Mother Jones, American Greatness, NPR and Hit & Run

Neil Gorsuch Is Not a Villain
Discussion:
The Concourse, ThinkProgress, New York Times, The Hill, Hullabaloo, Salon and Outside the Beltway

GOP Defectors Have Received Thousands From Teachers Union — The two Republicans who broke ranks with their party and announced they would vote against education secretary nominee Betsy DeVos have received thousands of dollars from the nation's largest teachers union.
Discussion:
John Hawkins' Right Wing News, The Daily Caller and RedState
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Two GOP senators to vote ‘no’ on Betsy DeVos — in back-to-back speeches on the Senate floor announced Wednesday that they would oppose Betsy DeVos's nomination to be Education secretary. — They are the first two Republicans to break with Trump on any of his Cabinet picks …
Discussion:
Mediaite, Power Line, Common Dreams, Daily Kos, Booman Tribune, Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion, Axios, Fox News Insider and Washington Post

DeVos nomination stands at 50-50
Discussion:
Washington Post, The Atlantic, Townhall.com, Liberal Values, Hot Air and ThinkProgress


Donald Trump's Longtime Doctor Says President Takes Hair-Growth Drug — WASHINGTON — President Trump takes medication for three ailments, including a prostate-related drug to promote hair growth, Mr. Trump's longtime physician, Dr. Harold N. Bornstein, said in a series of recent interviews.
Discussion:
Axios and Oliver Willis


Republicans Rebrand Obamacare Strategy From ‘Repeal’ to ‘Repair’ — Lawmakers advised to shift to friendlier Obamacare messaging — Some try out ‘repair’ as others stick with stronger words — Some Republicans in Congress are starting to talk more about trying to “repair” Obamacare …
Discussion:
Politicus USA
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GOP talk shifts from replacing ObamaCare to repairing it
Discussion:
Los Angeles Times and Mother Jones


Read the full transcript of President Trump's unusual Black History Month remarks here — President Donald Trump raised more than a few eyebrows with his remarks Wednesday — the first day of Black History Month — during an “African American History Month Listening Session” at the White House.
Discussion:
Toronto Star, The Guardian and IJR
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Donald Trump's Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass
Discussion:
Marginal REVOLUTION, Mediaite and Cafe Hayek, more at Mediagazer »

A Full Transcript Of Donald Trump's Black History Month Remarks
Discussion:
New York Times, Mediaite, Vox, ThinkProgress, Daily Kos, Balloon Juice, Shakesville, theGrio and Common Dreams


L.A. federal judge orders a temporary halt to Trump's travel ban — U.S. District Judge Andre Birotte Jr., in his prior job as the U.S. attorney for the Central District of California. (Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times) — A federal judge in Los Angeles has added another legal challenge …
Discussion:
Hit & Run, The Concourse, KTLA and New York Times
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Exclusive: Trump to focus counter-extremism program solely on Islam - sources — The Trump administration wants to revamp and rename a U.S. government program designed to counter all violent ideologies so that it focuses solely on Islamist extremism, five people briefed on the matter told Reuters.
Discussion:
Occupy Democrats, Lawyers, Guns & Money, Gizmodo, ThinkProgress, Washington Times and Talking Points Memo


Man who claimed mom died in Iraq after Trump's ban lied, Imam confirms — DETROIT (WJBK) - The leader of a mosque in Dearborn has confirmed to FOX 2 that a man who claimed his mother died in Iraq after being barred from returning to the United States under a ban instituted by President Trump this weekend …


Witnesses describe chaotic, terrifying scene of stabbing rampage in Hollywood — A stabbing and police shooting were reported in Hollywood on Tuesday afternoon. By Luis Sinco and Brain van der Brug / Los Angeles Times — Witnesses described a chaotic scene Tuesday when a knife-wielding man went …


Trump administration ‘officially putting Iran on notice’, says Michael Flynn — National security adviser issues statement in response to recent Iranian actions as expert warns the White House ‘could stumble into war’ — The Trump administration has said it was “officially putting Iran on notice” …
Discussion:
RedState, The Talking Dog, Business Insider and The American Conservative
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White House puts Iran ‘on notice,’ won't rule out military force
Discussion:
Associated Press, Power Line, Political Wire and New York Times


Rex Tillerson Is Confirmed as Secretary of State Amid Record Opposition — WASHINGTON — Rex W. Tillerson, the former chairman and chief executive of Exxon Mobil, was confirmed by the Senate on Wednesday in a 56-to-43 vote to become the nation's 69th secretary of state just as serious strains …
Discussion:
Vox, The Atlantic, Outside the Beltway, alan.com, Hot Air and The Week
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How Senators Voted on Rex Tillerson
Discussion:
The Daily Caller, The Last Refuge and Althouse


Covering Trump the Reuters Way — In a message to staff today, Reuters Editor-in-Chief Steve Adler wrote about covering President Trump the Reuters way: — The first 12 days of the Trump presidency (yes, that's all it's been!) have been memorable for all - and especially challenging for us in the news business.
Discussion:
Occupy Democrats, Boing Boing, The Daily Caller and Raw Story, more at Mediagazer »


Anthony Scaramucci Won't Join White House, Official Says — WASHINGTON — Anthony Scaramucci, an investment firm founder and a Republican donor, will not be taking a senior job at the White House as previously announced, a senior administration official said Wednesday.
Discussion:
Washington Post