Top Items:
Jim Acosta / CNN:
Trump to conservative leaders: If this plan fails, I'll blame Democrats — Washington (CNN)In an Oval Office meeting featuring several leaders of conservative groups already lining up against the House Republican plan to repeal and replace Obamacare, President Donald Trump revealed his plan …
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Greg Sargent / Washington Post:
Trump has a secret backup plan to kill Obamacare. It's actually brilliant. — THE MORNING PLUM: — The GOP drive to destroy Obamacare took another hit Thursday morning, when conservative Sen. Tom Cotton tweeted that the House GOP repeal-and-replace bill is probably dead on arrival in the Senate.
Discussion:
The Atlantic, Breitbart, NBC News, Washington Monthly, Washington Examiner, Mediaite, Business Insider and The Federalist
Washington Examiner:
Trump says privately second healthcare bill ready as early as next week — President Trump told a closed-door meeting of grassroots conservative leaders on Wednesday to expect another, companion healthcare bill to hit the House as early as next week, according to sources present for the meeting.
Rachael Bade / Politico:
Republican Study Committee backs two Medicaid changes to Obamacare repeal bill
Republican Study Committee backs two Medicaid changes to Obamacare repeal bill
Discussion:
The Fiscal Times, ABC News, Los Angeles Times, Reuters, Hot Air, Daily Kos, Common Dreams and The Hill
Elise Viebeck / Washington Post:
GOP health-care plan: Two House panels approve legislation as Trump tweets reassurance
GOP health-care plan: Two House panels approve legislation as Trump tweets reassurance
Russell Berman / The Atlantic:
Professor Paul Ryan's Health-care Pitch: This Is the Bill
Professor Paul Ryan's Health-care Pitch: This Is the Bill
Discussion:
CNN, ABC News, Sputnik International and CBS Philly
Kyle Cheney / Politico:
Ryan: This is the last chance to repeal Obamacare
Ryan: This is the last chance to repeal Obamacare
Discussion:
Political Wire
Jeremy W. Peters / New York Times:
Why Republicans Are Battling Republicans on Obamacare Repeal
Why Republicans Are Battling Republicans on Obamacare Repeal
Discussion:
Washington Post, Daily Kos, The Last Refuge, John Hawkins' Right Wing News, RedState, The Resurgent and Politico
Christopher Ingraham / Washington Post:
GOP health-care bill would drop mental-health mandate covering 1.3 million Americans
GOP health-care bill would drop mental-health mandate covering 1.3 million Americans
Manu Raju / CNN:
First on CNN: After lobbying from Trump, Orrin Hatch plans to run again — (CNN)Utah Sen. Orrin Hatch, the longest-serving GOP senator, told CNN he is planning to run for re-election next year, abandoning his plans to quit the chamber after four decades of service.
Discussion:
Washington Post, Political Wire, Outside the Beltway, AOL, New York Magazine and Washington Times
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Madeline Conway / Politico:
McConnell on Mexico paying for the border wall: ‘Uh, no’
McConnell on Mexico paying for the border wall: ‘Uh, no’
Discussion:
AOL, Washington Post, Washington Times, New York Magazine, Hot Air, Mediaite, Business Insider and The Week
Katie Pavlich / Townhall.com:
White House Pushes Back on McConnell: We're Getting Tax Reform Done By August
White House Pushes Back on McConnell: We're Getting Tax Reform Done By August
Discussion:
The Gateway Pundit
Eric Lichtblau / New York Times:
‘No Comment,’ Justice Dept. Says, Asked About a Trump Inquiry — WASHINGTON — With questions still swirling over President Trump's unsubstantiated claims that he was wiretapped on orders of President Barack Obama, the Justice Department on Thursday declined to confirm statements a day earlier …
Discussion:
Washington Monthly, Talking Points Memo, Business Insider, Political Wire and Raw Story
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Andrew C. McCarthy / National Review:
FISA-gate: The Times Revises History in Real Time
FISA-gate: The Times Revises History in Real Time
Discussion:
Power Line and IJR
Tom DiChristopher / CNBC:
EPA chief Scott Pruitt says carbon dioxide is not a primary contributor to global warming — EPA takes aim at CAFE standards: Scott Pruitt — Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Scott Pruitt said Thursday he does not believe carbon dioxide is a primary contributor to global warming.
Discussion:
Axios, New York Times, Washington Post, Bloomberg, The Atlantic, Reuters, Fox News Insider, Union of Concerned Scientists, Common Dreams, NPR, Gothamist, Mashable, Daily Kos, ThinkProgress, The Verge, The Daily Caller, The Week, Engadget, Media Matters for America, KTLA, The FADER, New York Magazine, Shakesville, Political Wire, Liberty Unyielding and Washington Free Beacon
Marie Le Conte / BuzzFeed:
Nigel Farage Just Visited The Ecuadorian Embassy In London — Asked by BuzzFeed News if he'd been visiting Julian Assange, the former UKIP leader said he couldn't remember what he'd been doing in the building. — Nigel Farage visited the Ecuadorian embassy in west London on Thursday …
Discussion:
The Independent, Raw Story, Talking Points Memo, The Hill, The Moderate Voice, CANNONFIRE, Mediaite, The Week and New York Magazine
Lauren Katz / Vox:
How has the ACA impacted your life? We asked, you answered. — Millions of Americans aren't sure what will happen next for their health coverage. — House Republicans released their bill to replace Obamacare, the American Health Care Act, on Monday. Vox senior policy correspondent Sarah Kliff explains:
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Circa:
Widespread frustration — U.S. officials, who spoke only on condition of anonymity because of the sensitive nature of the information, said there is widespread frustration among intelligence professionals who have watched in horror as a normally secretive process has been distorted by media leaks …
Discussion:
BizPac Review, Fox News Insider, Liberty Unyielding, The Last Refuge and MARK-CM
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Andrew Kaczynski / CNN:
Russian ambassador denied meeting with Trump or campaign officials in October speech — (CNN)In an October speech to the Detroit Economic Club, Sergey Kislyak, the Russian ambassador to the United States, denied meeting with Donald Trump or campaign officials during the course of 2016 presidential election …
Discussion:
Business Insider
Wbastone / The Smoking Gun:
Roger Stone's Russian Hacking “Hero” — Trump loyalist communicated with “Guccifer 2.0,” target of FBI probe — In the months before Election Day, a longtime confidante and political consultant for Donald Trump was in contact with the Russian hacking group that U.S. intelligence officials …
Discussion:
Raw Story, ThinkProgress and Mediaite
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Travis Gettys / Raw Story:
FBI has records of Trump trickster Roger Stone communicating with Russians behind DNC hacks: report
FBI has records of Trump trickster Roger Stone communicating with Russians behind DNC hacks: report
Discussion:
CANNONFIRE and Washington Monthly
Matt Taibbi / Rolling Stone:
Why the Russia Story Is a Minefield for Democrats and the Media
Why the Russia Story Is a Minefield for Democrats and the Media
Discussion:
JustOneMinute, Daily Wire, ABC News and twitchy.com
CNN:
Sources: FBI investigation continues into ‘odd’ computer link between Russian bank and Trump Organization — (CNN)Federal investigators and computer scientists continue to examine whether there was a computer server connection between the Trump Organization and a Russian bank, sources close to the investigation tell CNN.
BuzzFeed:
Steve Bannon Helped Preserve DACA But Democrats And Activists Aren't Celebrating — They're bracing for what's coming: millions of deportations and further crackdowns on both legal and illegal immigration. — WASHINGTON — The Trump administration doesn't want to talk about it.
Discussion:
RedState, Daily Wire and The Week
Josephine McKenna / Religion News Service:
Claims of sex orgies, prostitution and porn videos shake Catholic Church in Italy — ROME (RNS) Lurid accusations of priests involved in sex orgies, porn videos and prostitution have emerged from several parishes in Italy recently, sending shock waves all the way to the Vatican and challenging …
Discussion:
Raw Story
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Steven Perlberg / BuzzFeed:
President Mike Pence Doesn't Sound Quite So Bad, Some Top Democrats Say — “I'd sleep easier with almost any other human being as president than Donald Trump,” said a former Obama speechwriter. And they won't say so publicly, but several elected Democrats told BuzzFeed News they would much prefer …
Discussion:
Little Green Footballs, Shakesville, No More Mister Nice Blog, TheBlaze, The Week and The Daily Caller
Mark Molloy / Telegraph:
Burger-flipping robot replaces humans on first day at work — A burger-flipping robot has just completed its first day on the job at a restaurant in California, replacing humans at the grill. — Flippy has mastered the art of cooking the perfect burger and has just started work at CaliBurger, a fast-food chain.
Discussion:
Breitbart, Questions and Observations, The Daily Caller, Forbes, IJR and Hit & Run
Tim Molloy / The Wrap:
Sex Columnist Dan Savage Calls Melania Trump ‘Ugly on the Inside’ — Savage says first lady gets a pass from some liberals because of her looks, but “is as ugly on the inside as she is pretty on the outside” — Author and sex columnist Dan Savage says many liberals are giving first lady Melania …
Discussion:
Raw Story, Mediaite, Daily Wire, IJR, TheBlaze and Fox News Insider
John Bacon / USA Today:
WikiLeaks will give tech firms access to CIA hacking tools: Assange — WikiLeaks will allow tech companies access to much more detailed information about CIA hacking techniques so they can “develop fixes” before the information is widely published, WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange said Thursday.
Discussion:
The Hill, Common Dreams, Engadget and RedState
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Matt Vespa / Townhall.com:
Almost 7,000 IRS Documents Relating To Targeting Scandal Found. Bad News: No Clue When They'll Be Public — In 2013, the IRS was involved in a scandal regarding its Exempt Organizations Unit and conservative nonprofits. Tea Party and other right-leaning groups claimed that they were targeted for audits …
Discussion:
Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion, Washington Free Beacon, Judicial Watch and Instapundit
Associated Press:
Former Trump aide Flynn says lobbying may have helped Turkey — WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump's former national security adviser, Michael Flynn, who was fired from his prominent White House job last month, has registered with the Justice Department as a foreign agent for $530,000 worth …
Discussion:
Vox, Talking Points Memo, Politico, The Week, Fox News Insider and New York Magazine
Josh Gerstein / Politico:
At least five states join up to block revised Trump travel ban — At least five states are banding together in a legal drive to block key elements of President Donald Trump's second travel ban. — Washington state Attorney General Bob Ferguson said his office is filing a motion asking …
Lou Michel / The Buffalo News:
Union tips off Border Patrol in immigration crackdown — Federal agents are not the only ones trying to remove people from the Buffalo area who have entered the country illegally. — If Bill Bing, a carpenters union official, discovers workers at local construction projects suspected …
Discussion:
Lawyers, Guns & Money