Top Items:
New York Times:
Donald Trump Budget Slashes Funds for E.P.A. and State Department — WASHINGTON — President Trump's budget blueprint for the coming fiscal year would slash the Environmental Protection Agency by 31 percent and cut State Department spending by a similar amount in a brash upending …
Discussion:
Vox, Reuters, BizPac Review, Talking Points Memo, ewg.org and Grist
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Washington Post:
Trump federal budget 2018: Massive cuts to the arts, science and the poor — President Trump on Thursday will unveil a budget plan that calls for a sharp increase in military spending and stark cuts across much of the rest of the government including the elimination of dozens …
Discussion:
Raw Story
Benjamin Locke / Occupy Democrats:
Trump Just Announced Plan To End ‘Meals On Wheels’ For Seniors — Throughout his campaign for president and since his election, Donald Trump has promised to reduce the size of government, cut taxes, eliminate regulations and slash numerous social programs, even as he boosts defense spending by billions.
Dan Merica / CNN:
Trump to release ‘hard power budget’ with cuts to State Dept, EPA
Trump to release ‘hard power budget’ with cuts to State Dept, EPA
Discussion:
New York Magazine
Laura Jarrett / CNN:
Federal judge blocks new Trump travel ban — (CNN)A federal judge in Hawaii has blocked President Donald Trump's new travel ban on Wednesday afternoon, hours before the ban was set to go into effect. — This ruling means that travelers from six Muslim-majority countries and refugees will be able to travel to the US.
Discussion:
BuzzFeed, Death and Taxes, Balloon Juice, TheBlaze and CBS Baltimore
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Alexander Burns / New York Times:
2 Federal Judges Rule Against Trump's Latest Travel Ban — A federal judge in Hawaii issued a nationwide order Wednesday evening blocking President Trump's ban on travel from parts of the Muslim world, dealing a stinging blow to the White House and signaling that Mr. Trump will have to account …
Discussion:
Honolulu Star-Advertiser, Occupy Democrats, Little Green Footballs, Snopes.com, National Review and Above the Law
Matt Zapotosky / Washington Post:
Federal judge in Hawaii freezes President Trump's new entry ban — A federal judge in Hawaii on Wednesday issued a sweeping freeze of President Trump's new executive order, hours before it would have temporarily barred the issuance of new visas to citizens of six Muslim-majority countries and suspended the admission of new refugees.
Discussion:
Breitbart, Raw Story, Engadget, Hot Air, Business Insider, The Verge, Patterico's Pontifications, DCist, RedState and Lawyers, Guns & Money, more at Techmeme »
Jordan Fabian / The Hill:
Trump blasts court ruling blocking revised travel order
Mike DeBonis / Washington Post:
Ryan: Health care plan must change to pass the House — House Speaker Paul D. Ryan said Wednesday that his health care proposal must change to pass the House, marking a significant retreat from his earlier position that the carefully crafted legislation would fail if altered.
Discussion:
New York Magazine, The Daily Signal, Power Line, The Week, Political Wire, Axios, Balloon Juice, NPR and Politico
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Rich Lowry / Politico:
How the GOP Crackup Happens — Less than two weeks after the unveiling of the GOP Obamacare replacement, the party is already staring into the abyss. — The bill has had the worst rollout of any major piece of legislation in memory, and failure is very much an option.
Discussion:
Balloon Juice
Tarini Parti / BuzzFeed:
Trump Aides Are Privately Blaming The Health Care Bill's Problems On Paul Ryan — The Trump administration is trying to put some distance between the president and Speaker Paul Ryan, as the House's Obamacare replacement bill gets criticized by conservative activists and Trump's base of voters.
Discussion:
Washington Examiner and Hot Air
Ken Dilanian / NBC News:
Clinton Ally Says Smoke, But No Fire: No Russia-Trump Collusion — Former Acting CIA Director Michael Morell, who endorsed Hillary Clinton and called Donald Trump a dupe of Russia, cast doubt Wednesday night on allegations that members of the Trump campaign colluded with Russia.
Discussion:
Political Wire and The Daily Caller
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Fox News:
Fox News Poll: Trump approval slips, even as more feel economy improving — Voters think President Trump is ahead of most previous presidents on fulfilling campaign promises, and the most voters in more than a decade see an improving economy. Yet that isn't enough to put the president's job rating …
Discussion:
The Hill, Business Insider, Hot Air and Political Wire
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Fox News:
Fox News Poll: 34% of voters favor GOP health care plan
Fox News Poll: 34% of voters favor GOP health care plan
Discussion:
The Week and Washington Post
Eli Yokley / Morning Consult:
Poll: Trump Approval, Voter Optimism on the Rise
Poll: Trump Approval, Voter Optimism on the Rise
Discussion:
AOL, The Last Refuge, National Review and The Federalist
Madeline Conway / Politico:
Trump defends claim that Obama wiretapped his phones — President Donald Trump on Wednesday defended his explosive and so far unsupported claim that former President Barack Obama ordered an illegal wiretap of Trump Tower. — “Wiretap covers a lot of different things,” …
Discussion:
ABC News, The Hill, Political Wire and RedState
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Andrew Kirell / The Daily Beast:
McCain: Rand Paul ‘Is Now Working for Vladimir Putin’ — Sen. John McCain on Wednesday directly accused fellow Republican Sen. Rand Paul of working for Russian President Vladimir Putin. While speaking from the Senate floor in support of a bill advancing Montenegro's bid to join NATO …
Discussion:
The Daily Caller, Occupy Democrats, Hit & Run, Raw Story and Hot Air
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Natasha Bertrand / Business Insider:
‘The senator from Kentucky is now working for Putin’: John McCain slams Rand Paul for blocking …
‘The senator from Kentucky is now working for Putin’: John McCain slams Rand Paul for blocking …
Discussion:
RedState
Pete Kasperowicz / Washington Examiner:
John McCain accuses Rand Paul of ‘working for Vladimir Putin’
John McCain accuses Rand Paul of ‘working for Vladimir Putin’
Discussion:
RedState, Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion, Fox News Insider and Mediaite
Alissa J. Rubin / New York Times:
Geert Wilders Falls Short as Wary Dutch Scatter Their Votes — THE HAGUE, Netherlands — The far-right politician Geert Wilders fell short of expectations in Dutch elections on Wednesday, gaining seats but failing to persuade a decisive portion of voters to back his extreme positions …
Discussion:
New York Magazine, CNN, The Guardian, The Resurgent and The Daily Caller
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Wall Street Journal:
Three Criteria for Health Reform — The House repeal-and-replace plan doesn't go far enough. — By — Republicans have a historic opportunity to follow through on our promise to repeal ObamaCare. The recent elections that focused on the law's repeal—2010, 2014 and 2016—were massive GOP victories.
Obama Foundation:
Sportsmanship & Citizenship: President Obama's 2017 NCAA Basketball Championship Brackets — We heard from many of you that your experiences playing sports have helped you develop confidence, an appreciation for hard work, and a positive outlook despite the ups and downs of life.
Discussion:
Arizona Desert Swarm, Washington Free Beacon, USA Today, AOL and WCDC-TV
Sopan Deb / New York Times:
Trump Proposes Eliminating the Arts and Humanities Endowments — President Trump is proposing the elimination of the National Endowments for the Arts and Humanities in his federal budget plan to be released early Thursday, the chairwoman of the arts endowment told her staff on Wednesday.
Discussion:
Little Green Footballs, The Week and twitchy.com, more at Mediagazer »
Los Angeles Times:
Former L.A. County Sheriff Lee Baca found guilty on obstruction of justice and other charges — Former Los Angeles County Sheriff Lee Baca talks to the news media outside the Los Angeles Federal Courthouse after he was found guilty of obstructing a federal investigation into abuses in county jails …
CBS Miami:
Trump Advisor Claims Hit & Run “Could Be” Russian Hacking Scandal Retaliation — POMPANO BEACH - Roger Stone, the longtime advisor to President Donald Trump, said he was the victim of a hit-and-run driver Wednesday morning in Pompano Beach. — “They just came at us full force,” Stone told CBS4 News.