Top Items:
Jeremy Diamond / CNN:
In major shift, White House privately backing earlier rollback of Medicaid expansion — Such a move, however, could blow up the already fragile efforts to repeal the Affordable Care Act — Washington (CNN)The White House is privately lining up behind conservative calls to roll …
Discussion:
Business Insider
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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 …
Washington Examiner:
Trump says privately second healthcare bill ready as early as next week
Trump says privately second healthcare bill ready as early as next week
Discussion:
New York Magazine, Hot Air, RedState and TheBlaze
Greg Sargent / Washington Post:
Trump has a secret backup plan to kill Obamacare. It's actually brilliant.
Trump has a secret backup plan to kill Obamacare. It's actually brilliant.
Discussion:
Breitbart, Washington Examiner, The Atlantic, NPR, New York Times, The Daily Signal, NBC News, New York Magazine and The Federalist
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:
New York Times, The Fiscal Times, Los Angeles Times, Hot Air, Daily Kos, Reuters, ABC News, Common Dreams, The Hill and John Hawkins' Right Wing News
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, Politico, The Guardian and CBS Philly
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, Business Insider, Raw Story, Talking Points Memo, Political Wire and Common Dreams
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Eric Tucker / Associated Press:
AG SUGGESTS OPENNESS TO REVIEW OF PREDECESSORS' ACTIONS — WASHINGTON (AP) — Attorney General Jeff Sessions suggested Thursday that he would be open to the appointment of an outside counsel to review actions taken by the Justice Department during the Obama administration.
Discussion:
Power Line
David Edwards / Raw Story:
Sean Spicer tries to walk back wiretap claims by comically repeating 'I'm not aware' 10 times — DON'T MISS STORIES. FOLLOW RAW STORY! — White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer wants everyone to know that he, the White House and the president are “not aware” of a Justice Department investigation …
Discussion:
Joe.My.God.
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
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.
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, The Hill, Talking Points Memo, The Moderate Voice, CANNONFIRE, Mediaite, The Week and New York Magazine
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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 Progress Pond
Seung Min Kim / Politico:
Sasse to DOJ: Should Assange be in prison?
Wbastone / The Smoking Gun:
Roger Stone's Russian Hacking “Hero”
Roger Stone's Russian Hacking “Hero”
Discussion:
Raw Story, Media Matters for America, RT, ThinkProgress and Mediaite
John Bacon / USA Today:
WikiLeaks will give tech firms access to CIA hacking tools: Assange
WikiLeaks will give tech firms access to CIA hacking tools: Assange
Discussion:
The Hill, Common Dreams, Engadget and RedState
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:
New York Times, Washington Post, Bloomberg, Reuters, Truth Against the Machine, Axios, Fox News Insider, Common Dreams, Mashable, Union of Concerned Scientists, The Atlantic, Daily Kos, The Week, KTLA, The Daily Caller, Gothamist, The Verge, Engadget, The FADER, NPR, Media Matters for America, ThinkProgress, New York Magazine, Shakesville, Washington Free Beacon, Political Wire and Liberty Unyielding
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Ali Watkins / BuzzFeed:
Inside The Investigation To Get To The Bottom Of Russia's Role In The Election — The Senate Intelligence Committee has been given sweeping powers, unseen since the Watergate era, to investigate Russian meddling in the US election. As its scope grows to include suspected ties between …
Discussion:
Talking Points Memo, Hot Air and Business Insider
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Lee Stranahan / Breitbart:
Fix Is In: House Committee on ‘Russian Hacking’ Includes Only DNC-Hired Tech Experts
Fix Is In: House Committee on ‘Russian Hacking’ Includes Only DNC-Hired Tech Experts
Discussion:
The Gateway Pundit and Sputnik International
Brookings Institution:
Expect the CBO to estimate large coverage losses from the GOP health care plan — Editor's Note: — This analysis is part of The Leonard D. Schaeffer Initiative for Innovation in Health Policy, which is a partnership between the Center for Health Policy at Brookings and the USC Schaeffer Center for Health Policy & Economics.
Discussion:
Vox, Liberal Values, Mother Jones, Axios, Center For Children … and NPR
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Lauren Katz / Vox:
How has the ACA impacted your life? We asked, you answered.
How has the ACA impacted your life? We asked, you answered.
Discussion:
Politico, ABC News and Bleeding Heartland
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, AOL, Outside the Beltway, Political Wire, 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:
Washington Post, New York Magazine, Washington Times, Hot Air, AOL, Mediaite, Business Insider, The Week and The Last Tradition
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 and Judicial Watch
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Cortney O'Brien / Townhall.com:
Sessions May Appoint Outside Counsel to Investigate Obama's DOJ
Sessions May Appoint Outside Counsel to Investigate Obama's DOJ
Discussion:
The Hugh Hewitt Show, Hot Air, The Gateway Pundit, Raw Story, The Daily Caller and Washington Times
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
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Andrew C. McCarthy / National Review:
FISA-gate: The Times Revises History in Real Time — Donald Trump and President Barack Obama, right, arrive for Trump's inauguration ceremony (Reuters: J. Scott Applewhite) — For four months, media wanted us to think that Obama was investigating Trump; now they don't.
Discussion:
JustOneMinute, Daily Wire and Power Line
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Alexander Bolton / The Hill:
Cruz: Let's overrule Senate officer to expand ObamaCare bill — (R-Texas), emerging as a key player in negotiations to repeal and replace ObamaCare, says Vice President Pence should exert his power over the Senate to significantly expand the scope of the House healthcare reform bill.
Discussion:
Raw Story
Carla Marinucci / Politico:
Schwarzenegger for Senate? — SAN FRANCISCO — Former California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger — the “Terminator” action hero who made “I'll be back” one of filmdom's most iconic phrases — may be mulling a political comeback, according to several GOP political insiders in California.
NBC News:
Wine Bar Sues Donald Trump for Unfair Competition Over D.C. Hotel — A Washington restaurant filed an unfair competition lawsuit Thursday against President Donald Trump and the company that runs his D.C. hotel, claiming he's siphoning away customers who hope to “curry favor” with his administration.
Discussion:
Politico, FOX31 Denver, Q13 FOX News and CNBC
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Jonathan O'Connell / Washington Post:
Wine bar owners sue President Trump, saying D.C. hotel unfairly takes away business
Wine bar owners sue President Trump, saying D.C. hotel unfairly takes away business
Discussion:
Washingtonian, Eater, The Daily Caller and TheBlaze
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
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:
Shakesville, Little Green Footballs, No More Mister Nice Blog, TheBlaze, The Daily Caller and The Week
Sarah K. Burris / Raw Story:
Feud breaks out during health care hearing as Republican whines that men have to pay for prenatal care — DON'T MISS STORIES. FOLLOW RAW STORY! — Rep. John Shimkus (R-IL) got into a battle with Rep. Mike Doyle (D-PA) Thursday during a House Committee on Energy and Commerce hearing for the healthcare bill.
Discussion:
Washington Post, Mother Jones and LifeNews.com
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:
Hot Air, RedState, Daily Wire and The Week
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