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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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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:
Breitbart, The Atlantic, Washington Examiner, New York Times, NPR, The Daily Signal, NBC News, New York Magazine and The Federalist


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


Trump says privately second healthcare bill ready as early as next week
Discussion:
New York Magazine, Hot Air, RedState and TheBlaze

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

Professor Paul Ryan's Health-Care Pitch: This Is the Bill
Discussion:
CNN, Politico, AOL and CBS Philly

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
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‘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


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.


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.


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, Truth Against the Machine, Reuters, 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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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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FBI has records of Trump trickster Roger Stone communicating with Russians behind DNC hacks: report
Discussion:
CANNONFIRE and Progress Pond

Roger Stone's Russian Hacking “Hero”
Discussion:
Raw Story, Media Matters for America, RT, ThinkProgress and Mediaite


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, Political Wire, Outside the Beltway, New York Magazine and Washington Times
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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

White House Pushes Back on McConnell: We're Getting Tax Reform Done By August
Discussion:
The Gateway Pundit


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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Fix Is In: House Committee on ‘Russian Hacking’ Includes Only DNC-Hired Tech Experts
Discussion:
The Gateway Pundit and Sputnik International


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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How has the ACA impacted your life? We asked, you answered.
Discussion:
Politico, ABC News and Bleeding Heartland


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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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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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


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


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


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

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.


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


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


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, Fox News Insider and TheBlaze


Sessions May Appoint Outside Counsel to Investigate Obama's DOJ — Attorney General Jeff Sessions is not opposed to appointing an outside counsel to investigate the many scandals of President Obama's Department of Justice and IRS. — To jog your memory, recall two major, yet underreported stories …
Discussion:
The Hugh Hewitt Show, Hot Air, The Gateway Pundit, Raw Story, The Daily Caller and Washington Times


Hillary debuts a new bob in Snapchat video urging women to ‘Stand Up. Resist. Run for office’ — She declared 'every issue a woman's issue,' although Clinton directed her followers to Planned Parenthood, education health care and jobs — Also attended the 16th anniversary …
Discussion:
MichelleMalkin.com, ABC News and The Gateway Pundit


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, IJR, Forbes, Questions and Observations, The Daily Caller and Hit & Run


The Marine Corps' nude-photo-sharing scandal is even worse than first realized — The scandal that prompted an investigation into hundreds of Marines who are accused of sharing naked photographs of their colleagues in a private Facebook group is much larger than has been reported, Business Insider has learned.
Discussion:
Axios, AOL and The Daily Caller