Top Items:
Wall Street Journal:
Spies Keep Intelligence From Donald Trump — U.S. intelligence officials have withheld sensitive intelligence from President Donald Trump because they are concerned it could be leaked or compromised, according to current and former officials familiar with the matter.
RELATED:
New York Times:
White House Plans to Have Trump Ally Review Intelligence Agencies — WASHINGTON — President Trump plans to assign a New York billionaire to lead a broad review of American intelligence agencies, according to administration officials, an effort that members of the intelligence community fear …
Lukas I. Alpert / Wall Street Journal:
Gizmodo Ads Target Potential Trump Leakers — Facebook ads steer government agency employees to TellOnTrump.com, which explains how to securely send tips and documents — With the Trump administration proving to be a leaky ship in its early days, one news outlet is launching an ad blitz to find the next Deep Throat.
Discussion:
Mashable and Axios, more at Mediagazer »
Adam Kelsey / ABC News:
Senate Judiciary Committee requests FBI, DOJ briefing on Michael Flynn — The leadership of the Senate Judiciary Committee asked the Department of Justice and FBI Wednesday to brief their committee on the situation regarding former National Security Adviser Michael Flynn.
Discussion:
Politico and Washington Post
RELATED:
Seung Min Kim / Politico:
Grassley and Feinstein request briefing on Flynn resignation
Grassley and Feinstein request briefing on Flynn resignation
Discussion:
Washington Post, New York Times, NBC News, emptywheel, Business Insider and The Week
Ed O'Keefe / Washington Post:
Andrew Puzder withdraws labor nomination, throwing White House into more turmoil — Andrew Puzder, President Trump's labor secretary nominee, withdrew from consideration Wednesday amid growing resistance from Senate Republicans centered primarily on Puzder's past employment of an undocumented housekeeper.
Discussion:
Power Line, FiveThirtyEight, Washington Free Beacon, Gothamist, The Resurgent, Liberal Values and The Daily Caller
RELATED:
Manu Raju / CNN:
First on CNN: Top Senate Republicans urge White House to withdraw Puzder nomination
First on CNN: Top Senate Republicans urge White House to withdraw Puzder nomination
Discussion:
ABC News, The Week, Daily Wire, Rewire, The Nation, The Atlantic, Political Wire and alan.com
Alan Rappeport / New York Times:
Andrew Puzder Withdraws From Consideration as Labor Secretary
Andrew Puzder Withdraws From Consideration as Labor Secretary
Discussion:
Mother Jones
Kurt Eichenwald / Newsweek:
U.S. ALLIES CONDUCT INTELLIGENCE OPERATION AGAINST TRUMP STAFF AND ASSOCIATES, INTERCEPTED COMMUNICATIONS — U.S. DONALD TRUMP RUSSIA — As part of intelligence operations being conducted against the United States for the last seven months, at least one Western European ally intercepted …
Discussion:
CANNONFIRE and Hullabaloo
RELATED:
Rachael Bade / Politico:
House intel chairman dismisses call for expanded Russia probe
House intel chairman dismisses call for expanded Russia probe
Discussion:
Balloon Juice, Raw Story and Daily Kos
CNN:
US Special Ops chief: US government ‘in unbelievable turmoil’ — WH: Eroded trust leads to Flynn dismissal — But his remarks come soon after Michael Flynn was forced to step down as national security adviser — Washington (CNN)The head of US Special Operations Command said Tuesday …
Discussion:
Hullabaloo and Business Insider
RELATED:
Barbara Starr / CNN:
Pentagon might propose sending ground troops to Syria — Washington (CNN)The Defense Department might propose that the US send conventional ground combat forces into northern Syria for the first time to speed up the fight against ISIS, CNN has learned. — “It's possible that you may see …
Discussion:
Hot Air, Business Insider, The Week and Washington Free Beacon
Thomas E. Ricks / Foreign Policy:
Robert Harward plans a housecleaning of Trump's National Security Council staff
Robert Harward plans a housecleaning of Trump's National Security Council staff
Discussion:
Washington Free Beacon, War in Context, RedState, BizPac Review, The Week, Mediaite, Hot Air, Political Wire and Business Insider
Nolan D. McCaskill / Politico:
Trump to take breather from White House, hold rally this weekend — President Donald Trump is returning to the trail. — The president will hold a rally Saturday afternoon at a hangar in Melbourne, Florida. It will be his first campaign-style rally since his so-called thank-you tour during …
Discussion:
ABC News and Political Wire
RELATED:
Marty Schladen / El Paso Times:
ICE detains domestic-violence victim in court — AUSTIN - Six federal immigration agents went to the El Paso County Courthouse last week and arrested an undocumented woman who had just received a protective order alleging that she was a victim of domestic violence.
Discussion:
New York Magazine, The Gateway Pundit, Raw Story and twitchy.com
Rick Maese / Washington Post:
Trump will not fill out an NCAA tournament bracket — It appears that President Trump is passing on March Madness. He will not continue his predecessor's annual tradition of filling out an NCAA tournament bracket on ESPN. — The network reached out to Trump's staff and invited the president …
Discussion:
The Daily Caller, USA Today, Mediaite, CBS Los Angeles, AOL and Mashable
RELATED:
Ricky O'Donnell / SBNation.com:
Donald Trump declines ESPN's offer to fill out March Madness bracket
Donald Trump declines ESPN's offer to fill out March Madness bracket
Discussion:
twitchy.com and USA Today
Lucas Tomlinson / Fox News:
Russian spy ship spotted closer to US, near Navy submarine base — The Russian spy ship Viktor Leonov on Wednesday morning was spotted 40 miles closer to the U.S. — and not far from a Navy submarine base in Connecticut, a U.S. official told Fox News. — The ship was spotted 30 miles south of Groton …
Discussion:
Sputnik International, NBC News, AOL, New York Post, The Root, Gothamist and ThinkProgress
RELATED:
Nicholas Rondinone / Hartford Courant:
Coast Guard Tracking Russian Spy Ship Near U.S. Navy Submarine Base In Groton
Coast Guard Tracking Russian Spy Ship Near U.S. Navy Submarine Base In Groton
Discussion:
New York's PIX11, FOX31 Denver, New York Magazine and USA Today
Reid Cherlin / VICE News:
“The world is on fire” — In September of 2014 I went to Steve Bannon's house for a party. I was on assignment from Rolling Stone to embed with the staff of Breitbart.com. It was supposed to be a way of illuminating the larger world of gonzo right-wing media. I had never heard of Steve Bannon himself.
Discussion:
Washington Monthly
RELATED:
Jonathan Swan / Axios:
Steve Bannon privately unloaded on Breitbart reporter
Steve Bannon privately unloaded on Breitbart reporter
Discussion:
CNNMoney, The Daily Caller, Hot Air, Raw Story, Talking Points Memo, RedState, Mediaite and Washington Monthly
Southern Poverty Law Center:
Hate groups increase for second consecutive year as Trump electrifies radical right — The number of hate groups in the United States rose for a second year in a row in 2016 as the radical right was energized by the candidacy of Donald Trump, according to the Southern Poverty Law Center's …
Discussion:
The Root, Jewish Telegraphic Agency and Media Matters for America
RELATED:
Us Weekly:
Melania Trump Is ‘Miserable’ as First Lady, ‘Unhappy With How Her Life Ended Up’ — While her husband, Donald Trump, wields his power as president, first lady Melania Trump is struggling with the realities of her new role and the scrutiny that comes with it, insiders reveal in the new issue of Us Weekly.
Discussion:
Raw Story, neo-neocon, Washington Free Beacon, AOL and New York Magazine
Jason Samenow / Washington Post:
Zooming in on Washington and Baltimore's ‘snow hole’ — Call it snow hole central. In the Mid-Atlantic region and even beyond, the Washington-Baltimore region occupies its own special island of snowless-ness. — Washington's snowfall so far this winter? 1.4 inches (normal winter to date is 11.6 inches).
Grabien News RSS:
After Likening Trump to Hitler, Journalists Upset They're Not Getting Called on for Questions — ‘The President of the United States is shutting down the part of the First Amendment’ — Members of the mainstream media were left fuming this afternoon after President Trump refused to call …
Discussion:
Instapundit
Florida Today:
Confirmed: Donald Trump to rally in Melbourne on Saturday — President Donald Trump's visit to Melbourne has been confirmed. — He will appear at a rally that begins at 5 p.m. Saturday in the AeroMod International hangar at Orlando Melbourne International Airport. Doors will open at 3 p.m.
Discussion:
The Daily Caller, The Atlantic, Mediaite, Lawyers, Guns & Money and The Gateway Pundit
Azeen Ghorayshi / BuzzFeed:
An Antivaxxer And Robert De Niro Just Announced A $100,000 “Challenge” Over Vaccine Safety — Robert F. Kennedy Jr., whose vaccine safety claims have been widely denounced, said that Trump still wants a controversial vaccine safety committee. — Robert F. Kennedy Jr. moved forward …
Discussion:
ECHIDNE OF THE SNAKES, Gizmodo, Refinery29, Washington Post, Business Insider and New York Magazine
Julia Marsh / Page Six:
SEE ALL 97 STORIES — “Cannibal” singer Kesha has released a trove of damning emails in her legal quest to break ties with music producer Dr. Luke over allegations that he was mentally and sexually abusive — including one that criticizes her breaking a juice cleanse with a Diet Coke …
Discussion:
The Guardian, Mashable, New York Magazine, Radio.com and Refinery29
Colby Itkowitz / Washington Post:
Americans are seriously stressed out about the future of the country, survey finds — We're a nation of people already wound pretty tight. But right now we're more stressed out than we've been in the past decade, according to a survey released Wednesday. — The American Psychological …