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 …
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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
New York Times:
President Trump Breaks a Promise on Transgender Rights — On the campaign trail, Donald Trump broke with Republican Party orthodoxy by vowing to protect lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender Americans from violence and oppression. Soon after taking office, President Trump announced …
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Rebecca Mead / New Yorker:
Betsy DeVos's Spineless Transgender Bathroom Politics
Betsy DeVos's Spineless Transgender Bathroom Politics
Discussion:
alicublog, Politicus USA, New York Times, Engadget, The Verge, Washington Post and ThinkProgress
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:
The Daily Caller and Axios
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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:
NPR, New York Times, Al Jazeera English, FOX2now.com, The Verge, Balloon Juice, Occupy Democrats, KCTV, Talking Points Memo and The Root
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Toriano Porter / Kansas City Star:
First-degree murder charge filed in possible hate crime shooting at Austins bar in Olathe
First-degree murder charge filed in possible hate crime shooting at Austins bar in Olathe
Discussion:
Informed Comment, Angry Asian Man, The Root and FOX2now.com
New York Times:
Kim Jong-nam Was Killed by VX Nerve Agent, Malaysians Say — KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia — The poison used to kill Kim-Jong-nam, the brother of the North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, was VX nerve agent, a substance listed as a chemical weapon, the Malaysian police announced on Friday.
Discussion:
The Daily Caller
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Wall Street Journal:
Kim Jong Nam Killed With U.N.-Banned VX Nerve Agent, Malaysia Says
Kim Jong Nam Killed With U.N.-Banned VX Nerve Agent, Malaysia Says
Discussion:
New York Magazine
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:
Political Wire, Sputnik International, The Daily Caller, Western Journalism, The Week and Hot Air
Sarah K. Burris / Raw Story:
Marsha Blackburn claims out of state people infiltrated her town hall — records seem to show she's lying — DON'T MISS STORIES. FOLLOW RAW STORY! — In an interview with CNN's Wolf Blitzer, Rep. Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) said that her recent town hall was overwhelmed by angry people that were not from her district.
Discussion:
Dow Jones Newswires and The Week
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Caitlin MacNeal / Talking Points Memo:
Closed-Door Events Become Minefields For GOPers Who Shirk Public Town Halls
Closed-Door Events Become Minefields For GOPers Who Shirk Public Town Halls
Discussion:
Arkansas Blog, Arkansas Times and Associated Press
David Weigel / Washington Post:
Republicans distance themselves from Trump's agenda at rowdy town halls
Republicans distance themselves from Trump's agenda at rowdy town halls
Discussion:
CNN, Daily Kos, Rewire, New York Magazine, ABC News and New York Times
Michelle Goldberg / Slate:
CPAC invented an alternate history of the alt-right to justify Steve Bannon's invite. — NATIONAL HARBOR, Md.—On Thursday, white nationalist Richard Spencer was thrown out of the Conservative Political Action Conference. As security escorted him to the door, a college junior in a blue blazer and fashy haircut followed him.
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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:
No More Mister Nice Blog, IJR, Common Dreams and The Atlantic
David Weigel / Washington Post:
Alt-right leader expelled from CPAC after organizer denounces ‘left-wing fascist group’
Alt-right leader expelled from CPAC after organizer denounces ‘left-wing fascist group’
Discussion:
The Root and Jewish Telegraphic Agency
Tom LoBianco / CNN:
GOP congressman: Trump should release tax returns — Congress could force release of Trump's taxes — As a candidate, Trump was the first major-party nominee in decades not to release his tax returns — Pace, Florida (CNN)A conservative member of Congress called on President Donald …
Discussion:
Talking Points Memo, Political Wire, Washington Post and The Week
New York Times:
Weakened Democrats Bow to Voters, Opting for Total War on Trump — WASHINGTON — Reduced to their weakest state in a generation, Democratic Party leaders will gather in two cities this weekend to plot strategy and select a new national chairman with the daunting task of rebuilding the party's depleted organization.
Discussion:
Mother Jones
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Gabriel Debenedetti / Politico:
2020 race lures sprawling Democratic field
Numbers / Pew Research Center:
Support for 2010 health care law reaches new high — With congressional Republicans discussing proposals to replace the Affordable Care Act, public support for the 2010 health care law has reached its highest level on record. — Currently, 54% approve of the health care law passed seven years ago …
Discussion:
Business Insider, Axios and FiveThirtyEight
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Darius Tahir / Politico:
Boehner: Republicans won't repeal and replace Obamacare
Boehner: Republicans won't repeal and replace Obamacare
Discussion:
Raw Story, CNN, Washington Post, Bipartisan Report, Associated Press, Morning Consult, RedState, Mother Jones, Fortune, The Mahablog, John Hawkins' Right Wing News, The Root, Vox, ECHIDNE OF THE SNAKES, TheBlaze, The Hill, AOL, Washington Monthly, The Moderate Voice, Fox News Insider, Washington Free Beacon, NPR, Business Insider, Politicus USA, Little Green Footballs, Talking Points Memo, YouTube, Hot Air, Mediaite, The Resurgent, Washington Times, Balloon Juice, The Week, Political Wire, Axios, CNBC, The Huffington Post and Alaska Dispatch News
Francis Wilkinson / Bloomberg:
Yes, Mass Deportations Are Coming. And We Know Why. — There are two main questions about President Donald Trump's recently issued immigration policies. First, is the administration embarking on a campaign of mass deportations of undocumented immigrants? Second, if so, why?
Discussion:
The Week, Washington Post and The Guardian
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Jordan Fabian / The Hill:
Spicer: Trump didn't mean ‘military operation’ literally
Spicer: Trump didn't mean ‘military operation’ literally
Discussion:
Talking Points Memo, Daily Kos, RedState and ABC News
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:
Hullabaloo, Business Insider and Tablet Magazine
Alexander Bolton / The Hill:
Conquering Trump returns to conservative summit — NATIONAL HARBOR, Md. — A conquering President Trump will return to CPAC on Friday to address conservative activists, who are happy with his first month in office but have yet to be completely sold on his agenda.
New Yorker:
Trump, Putin, and the New Cold War — What lay behind Russia's interference in the 2016 election—and what lies ahead? — 1. SOFT TARGETS — On April 12, 1982, Yuri Andropov, the chairman of the K.G.B., ordered foreign-intelligence operatives to carry out “active measures” …
Discussion:
Political Wire
CNN:
An underground network is readying homes to hide immigrants — Los Angeles (CNN)A hammer pounds away in the living room of a middle class home. A sanding machine smoothes the grain of the wood floor in the dining room. — But this home Pastor Ada Valiente is showing off in Los Angeles …
Discussion:
TheBlaze
Tim Dickinson / Rolling Stone:
Border Patrol Agents Stop Domestic Travelers at New York Airport — A search for a deportation target leads to a demand for travelers' “papers” at JFK — Passengers of a domestic Delta flight from San Francisco to New York were told to show their identity documents to uniformed agents …
Discussion:
New York Magazine, Gothamist, Washington Post, Hit & Run, Daily Kos and Shakesville
Ryan Cooper / The Week:
Ivanka Trump wants to help the wealthy pay their au pairs — One of the biggest lingering questions about the Donald Trump presidency is the degree to which his campaign shtick of being a working-class populist was an open fraud. So far, all signs point towards “completely.”
Discussion:
AOL, Mother Jones, Politicus USA, Washington Post and Bloomberg
Françoise Mouly / New Yorker:
Cover Story: Barry Blitt's “Eustace Vladimirovich Tilley” — Vladimir Putin may have influenced the U.S. Presidential election, but his plans are much bigger. “I'm boning up on my Cyrillic,” Barry Blitt, the artist behind the cover of next week's issue, says.
Discussion:
Business Insider and Axios
BBC:
Not best of times for US - Supreme Court Justice Ginsburg — Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg says the US is “not experiencing the best of times” - but the “pendulum” will swing back. — Speaking to BBC Newsnight in a rare interview, Justice Ginsburg reiterated the importance of the free press.
Discussion:
Talking Points Memo, NBC News, Business Insider, Western Journalism, The Daily Caller and Washington Times
Eliza Collins / USA Today:
Where in the world is Sarah Palin? Her political star is fading — NATIONAL HARBOR, Md. — As the Conservative Political Action Conference kicked off just outside of Washington this week, there was one name noticeably missing from the roster of speakers: Sarah Palin.
Katherine Rodriguez / Breitbart:
The Social Security Administration paid $1 billion in benefits to those who did not have a Social Security number (SSN), according to a recent audit. — The agency's inspector general found errors in how the government documented representative payees or individuals who are designated …
Discussion:
John Hawkins' Right Wing News