Top Items:
CNN:
FBI refused White House request to knock down recent Trump-Russia stories — Washington (CNN)The FBI rejected a recent White House request to publicly knock down media reports about communications between Donald Trump's associates and Russians known to US intelligence during the 2016 presidential campaign …
Discussion:
Talking Points Memo, The Daily Caller, Daily Kos, Raw Story, Politicus USA and The Week
RELATED:
CNN:
White House effort to justify travel ban causes growing concern for some intelligence officials — Washington (CNN)President Donald Trump has assigned the Department of Homeland Security, working with the Justice Department, to help build the legal case for its temporary travel ban on individuals …
Discussion:
Political Wire
Darius Tahir / Politico:
Boehner: Republicans won't repeal and replace Obamacare — Former House Speaker John Boehner predicted on Thursday that a full repeal and replace of Obamacare is “not what's going to happen” and that Republicans will instead just make some fixes to the health care law.
Discussion:
Washington Monthly, Mother Jones, The Hill, Bipartisan Report, The Moderate Voice, YouTube, New York Times, Washington Post, Vox, Business Insider, John Hawkins' Right Wing News, Morning Consult, Little Green Footballs, The Mahablog, Talking Points Memo, Hot Air, Politicus USA, RedState, Rewire, Mediaite, Raw Story, NPR, Fox News Insider, AOL, The Huffington Post, Washington Times, TheBlaze, The Resurgent, Washington Free Beacon, The Week, Political Wire, Axios, Balloon Juice and CNBC
Jeff Stein / Newsweek:
EXCLUSIVE: LISTEN TO CONTROVERSIAL WHITE HOUSE TERRORISM ADVISER SEBASTIAN GORKA'S ANGRY CALL TO A CRITIC — An embattled White House terrorism advisor whose academic credentials have come under widespread fire telephoned one of his main critics at home Tuesday night and threatened legal action against him, Newsweek has learned.
Discussion:
Daily Kos and Talking Points Memo
RELATED:
Jesse Singal / New York Magazine:
Sebastian Gorka Disagrees With His Own Government's Terrorism Statistics
Sebastian Gorka Disagrees With His Own Government's Terrorism Statistics
Discussion:
Mother Jones, Politico and Fox News Insider
Nicholas Evangelista / Project Veritas:
Project Veritas Releases Over 100 Hours of Audio From Inside CNN — · James O'Keefe Offers $10,000 Award for Content Which Exposes Media Malfeasance — · Anonymous Source Within CNN Provided Audio to Project Veritas — · More Audio Yet to be Released in a WikiLeaks Style Dump
Discussion:
Geller Report, Washington Post, The Gateway Pundit, AOL, Washington Free Beacon, RedState and CNNMoney
RELATED:
Hadas Gold / Politico:
Project Veritas ‘CNN Leaks’ fall flat — For a few days, Project Veritas founder and conservative activist James O'Keefe has been hyping the release of what he said were hundreds of hours of undercover audio recordings of employees at CNN. — Some staffers at CNN were legitimately alarmed …
Discussion:
Washington Times, Raw Story, Mediaite, Media Matters for America, Washington Post, Balloon Juice and Vox Popoli, more at Mediagazer »
Aaron Blake / Washington Post:
Ted Cruz's very strange prediction of an upcoming Supreme Court vacancy — Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Tex.) made a pretty odd prediction Thursday: He said he believed there would be a Supreme Court vacancy shortly after Neil Gorsuch's likely confirmation to the existing one.
Discussion:
RedState, New York Magazine and Political Wire
RELATED:
BBC:
Not best of times for US - Supreme Court Justice Ginsburg
Not best of times for US - Supreme Court Justice Ginsburg
Discussion:
The Daily Caller and Washington Times
Madeline Conway / Politico:
Ted Cruz predicts a Supreme Court seat will open up this summer
Ted Cruz predicts a Supreme Court seat will open up this summer
Discussion:
ABC News
David Weigel / Washington Post:
Alt-right leader expelled from CPAC after organizer denounces ‘left-wing fascist group’ — Richard Spencer, a founder of the alt-right movement that seeks a whites-only state and that strongly backed Donald Trump for president, was expelled from the Conservative Political Action Conference …
Discussion:
The Root and Jewish Telegraphic Agency
RELATED:
Philip Rucker / Washington Post:
Bannon: Trump administration is in unending battle for ‘deconstruction of the administrative state’
Bannon: Trump administration is in unending battle for ‘deconstruction of the administrative state’
Discussion:
The Atlantic and Common Dreams
Wall Street Journal:
Kushner, Ivanka Trump Pushed to Remove Words Critical of Climate Deal From Executive Order — Trump plans to issue orders aimed at rolling back Obama climate agenda soon; language critical of Paris accord removed — WASHINGTON—At the request of President Donald Trump's son-in-law …
Discussion:
Axios
RELATED:
Kansas City Star:
Suspect in Olathe shooting allegedly told bartender he killed two Middle Eastern men — The suspect in Wednesday night's triple shooting in Olathe allegedly told a bartender in Clinton, Mo., before he was arrested that he had killed two Middle Eastern men, The Star has learned.
Discussion:
Occupy Democrats, Balloon Juice, The Verge, The Root, Talking Points Memo, KCTV and FOX2now.com
Jordan Fabian / The Hill:
Spicer: Trump didn't mean ‘military operation’ literally — President Trump wasn't speaking literally when he described his deportation push as a “military operation,” according to his top spokesman. — “The president was using that as an adjective. It is happening with precision,” …
Discussion:
Talking Points Memo, RedState and Daily Kos
RELATED:
Nolan D. McCaskill / Politico:
DHS chief softens Trump's talk on immigration
DHS chief softens Trump's talk on immigration
Discussion:
New York Times, The Atlantic, New York Magazine, TheBlaze, Common Dreams, ABC News, Hot Air, twitchy.com and Reuters
Center for American Progress:
Why the Emerging Bill to Repeal the Affordable Care Act Will Fail — Last week, the House majority released an outline for repealing the Affordable Care Act, or ACA. Although the document provides no new details, it does provide enough information to evaluate the adequacy of financing …
Discussion:
Indivisible and Business Insider
RELATED:
Jerry Iannelli / Miami New Times:
Here's Video of Marco Rubio Avoiding a Protester Today in Miami UPDATED … Update 3 p.m: Protesters managed to corner Marco Rubio at Florida International University today, too. They recorded their entire, intense encounter, which is embedded below. — Marco Rubio spent the first half …
Discussion:
Washington Post, U.S. Senator for Florida … and Orlando Weekly
RELATED:
Steve Holland / Reuters:
Exclusive: Trump wants to expand U.S. nuclear arsenal, make it ‘top of the pack’ — President Donald Trump said on Thursday he wants to build up the U.S. nuclear arsenal to ensure it is at the “top of the pack,” saying the United States has fallen behind in its atomic weapons capacity.
Discussion:
ABC News, Axios, Politico, Washington Post, Hullabaloo, TheBlaze, Mediaite and NBC News
RELATED:
Steve Holland / Reuters:
Trump wants to make sure U.S. nuclear arsenal at ‘top of the pack’
Trump wants to make sure U.S. nuclear arsenal at ‘top of the pack’
Discussion:
Hot Air
Dow Jones Newswires:
‘You Have to Stop,’ Renaissance Executive Tells Boss About Trump Support — A clash involving Renaissance Technologies hedge-fund billionaire Robert Mercer, who supports President Donald Trump, and another executive of the firm, who opposes the president, reflects divides at other U.S. workplaces.
Discussion:
Business Insider and Tablet Magazine
Madeline Conway / Politico:
Spicer: Expect to see ‘greater enforcement’ of federal marijuana law — White House press secretary Sean Spicer said Thursday that he expects states to see “greater enforcement” of the federal law against marijuana use, a move that would be at odds with a growing number of states' decisions to legalize it.
Discussion:
ABC News, Vox and The Stranger …
RELATED:
Erin Dooley / ABC News:
Justice Department reverses Obama guidance on reducing private prisons
Justice Department reverses Obama guidance on reducing private prisons
Discussion:
Politico
Sari Horwitz / Washington Post:
Law professors file misconduct complaint against Kellyanne Conway — A group of law professors from around the country has filed a professional misconduct complaint against White House counselor Kellyanne Conway, a graduate of George Washington University Law School who was admitted to the D.C. Bar in 1995.
Discussion:
Raw Story
RELATED:
Rumana Ahmed / The Atlantic:
I Was a Muslim in Trump's White House — In 2011, I was hired, straight out of college, to work at the White House and eventually the National Security Council. My job there was to promote and protect the best of what my country stands for. I am a hijab-wearing Muslim woman …
Discussion:
The Guardian and Raw Story
Howard Fischer / Arizona Capitol Times:
Arizona Senate votes to seize assets of those who plan, participate in protests that turn violent — Claiming people are being paid to riot, Republican state senators voted Wednesday to give police new power to arrest anyone who is involved in a peaceful demonstration that may turn bad — even before anything actually happened.
Discussion:
The Gateway Pundit, Occupy Democrats, Hit & Run, Washington Post, Daily Kos, BizPac Review, The Root, Raw Story and Common Dreams
Fox News Insider:
Fox News Channel's Alan Colmes Dies at Age 66 — Fox News Channel's Alan Colmes has passed away at age 66 after a brief illness. — Colmes leaves behind his wife, Jocelyn Crowley, who issued the following statement: — Alan Colmes passed away this morning after a brief illness. He was 66-years-old.
Nicholas Kristof / New York Times:
Even if Trump Is the Enemy, His Voters Aren't — A few days ago, I blithely tweeted a warning that Democrats often sound patronizing when speaking of Trump voters. That provoked a vehement reaction. … “Sorry,” Jason tweeted back, “but if someone is supporting a racist ignoramus who wants …
Discussion:
Shakesville
Washington Post:
France's National Front scandal has exposed the dirty little secret of Europe's far right — The chief political aide of Marine Le Pen, the leader of France's far right National Front party and candidate for the French presidential election, has just been put under investigation by French magistrates.
Caitlin MacNeal / Talking Points Memo:
Closed-Door Events Become Minefields For GOPers Who Shirk Public Town Halls — Back home in their districts while Congress is in recess, some Republicans have ducked the raucous crowds at town halls in favor of more tightly controlled conference calls and private events.
Discussion:
Arkansas Blog, Arkansas Times, Associated Press and Cincinnati.com
Chris Sommerfeldt / New York Daily News:
Undocumented woman with brain tumor refused surgery, forcibly removed from Texas hospital: lawyer — An undocumented woman in desperate need of brain surgery has been forcibly removed from a Texas hospital — and her relatives in New York fear she could lose her life, a family representative said early Thursday.
Discussion:
Common Dreams, Lawyers, Guns & Money and Eschaton