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EXCLUSIVE: Nazi-Allied Group Claims Top Trump Aide Sebastian Gorka As Sworn Member — Sebastian Gorka, President Trump's top counter-terrorism adviser, is a formal member of a Hungarian far-right group that is listed by the U.S. State Department as having been “under the direction …
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Sebastian Gorka Denies Reported Affiliations with Vitézi Rend — Lord knows I've had my differences with The Forward before. I have them still, and often. They rarely unsettle me, if only because robust disagreements, especially on things that matter, are what we journalists should seek, not shun.

Top Trump Adviser Sebastian Gorka Stonewalled When Asked If He Belongs To A Nazi-Allied Group — “Send a request to White House press,” Gorka told BuzzFeed News. — Sebastian Gorka, a top national security adviser to President Trump, stonewalled when BuzzFeed News asked about a report that he belongs to a Nazi-allied group.
Discussion:
Addicting Info, The FADER, AOL and Death and Taxes

Jewish organizations call for Sebastian Gorka's resignation for ties to far-right group
Discussion:
Joe.My.God.


Spicer says Trump ‘stands by’ unproven allegation that Obama ordered wiretapping of Trump Tower — White House press secretary Sean Spicer said Thursday that President Trump “stands by” his allegation that former president Barack Obama ordered wiretapping surveillance of Trump Tower last fall …
Discussion:
Political Wire
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CNN's Chalian: Trump ‘looked like a third-grader’ in Fox interview — President Trump “looked like a third grader” trying to “squirm out of a lie” when asked about his wiretapping claims during a Fox News interview, CNN's political director said Thursday. — David Chalian …
Discussion:
Raw Story


Dem lawmaker: Trump might've leaked classified information — The top Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee suggested Thursday President Trump disclosed classified information during a Fox News interview the night before. — “In his effort to once again blame Obama …
Discussion:
Raw Story, Hot Air, Talking Points Memo, Mediaite, Deadline and Occupy Democrats

Trump's wiretapping claim was just shot down by the heads of the Senate Intel Committee
Discussion:
ABC News, The Root and Business Insider

Paul Ryan: ‘No such wiretap existed’
Discussion:
Politico, The Verge, The Week, Death and Taxes and Media Matters for America

Senate Intel leaders: No indication Trump Tower was tapped
Discussion:
ABC News, Washington Post, Vox, Joe.My.God., Daily Kos, Daily Wire and Hot Air

Senate Intel chair: ‘No indications’ Trump Tower was wiretapped
Discussion:
Politico, The Moderate Voice and Common Dreams


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:
NPR, New York Times, Vox, CNN, Media Matters for America, Bloomberg, The Stranger …, The Atlantic, neo-neocon, FiveThirtyEight, The Guardian, Occupy Democrats, Consumerist, ECHIDNE OF THE SNAKES, Hot Air, RedState, No More Mister Nice Blog, Taylor Marsh, Hullabaloo, Outside the Beltway, The Week, Greentech Media, Lawyers, Guns & Money, New York Magazine, Raw Story, Instapundit and Reuters, more at Mediagazer »
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Trump's budget calls for seismic disruption in medical and science research — President Trump's budget calls for a seismic disruption in government-funded medical and scientific research. The cuts are deep and broad. — They also go beyond what many political observers expected.
Discussion:
NPR, The Federalist, Vox, Common Dreams and Daily Kos

MEALS ON WHEELS AMERICA STATEMENT ON BUDGET BLUEPRINT
Discussion:
Mother Jones, The Hill, Politico, Business Insider, Democracy Journal and The Resurgent


A day in the life of a poor American under Trump's proposed budget
Discussion:
CNN, BizPac Review, Inside Higher Ed, The Daily Caller, Politico, Daily Kos and TheBlaze


Mike Flynn Worked for Several Russian Companies, Was Paid More Than $50,000, Documents Show — Former Trump national security adviser had business connections with Russia beyond RT that hadn't been previously known — President Trump's former national security adviser, Mike Flynn …
Discussion:
Talking Points Memo, Politico, The Atlantic, Defense One, Mediaite and Axios
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Trump adviser Flynn paid by multiple Russia-related entities, new records show — Michael Flynn, who was forced to resign as national security adviser amid controversy over his contacts with Russia's ambassador, collected nearly $68,000 in fees and expenses from Russia-related entities in 2015 …
Discussion:
ABC News, ThinkProgress, CNN and The Week

Mulvaney justifies budget: We can't ask a coal miner to pay for the Corporation for Public Broadcasting — As they fleshed out the budget blueprint released Thursday morning by the White House, Office of Management and Budget director Mick Mulvaney said officials from the administration …
Discussion:
New York Magazine, Reuters, CNBC, Hot Air, Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion, New York Times, Washington Post, Vox, ABC News, Daily Kos, Common Dreams, BillMoyers.com and The Week
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Trump's Steep Cuts Face Rebuff in Congress Even With GOP Control
Discussion:
Politico and Refinery29

Trump Budget Is ‘Heavy Lift,’ Even for G.O.P. Congress
Discussion:
Science, Washington Post and Raw Story


Chelsea Clinton announces new picture book, She Persisted — Count Chelsea Clinton among the many people whom Elizabeth Warren inspired when she refused to be silenced in the Senate. — Clinton, the daughter of former U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and former U.S. President Bill Clinton …
Discussion:
Breitbart, Politico, The Hill, Mediaite, IJR, Daily Wire, Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion, RedState, Washington Free Beacon, The Daily Caller, The Week, Althouse, twitchy.com, New York Magazine, The Resurgent and TheBlaze


Trump's attacks on judges who don't agree with him might be alienating the judges who do — Even judges who think the travel ban is constitutional are horrified by Trump. — President Donald Trump's travel ban has some defenders on the federal bench. President Trump himself does not.
Discussion:
ABC News and New York Magazine
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5 Problems With The Hawaii Judge Halting Trump's Travel Ban
Discussion:
Politico, Take Care Blog, Power Line, Lawfare, Instapundit, The Gateway Pundit, National Review, WAVY-TV and The Last Tradition

Internal Trump administration data undercuts travel ban
Discussion:
Daily Kos, Media Matters for America, Raw Story, Breitbart, Shakesville, The Week, Engadget, Hot Air, DCist, The Verge, RedState and Patterico's Pontifications, more at Techmeme »


Sources: Sean Hannity once pulled a gun on Juan Williams — Sean Hannity is surrounded by jackasses. — The Wall Street Journal columnist who called Hannity the “dumbest anchor” on Fox News is a “jackass,” according to Hannity. The forensic psychologist who suggested a blood vessel had popped inside Hannity's brain is a “jackass.”
Discussion:
Politico


IJR published an article that does not meet our editorial standards or represent IJR's vision or values. We have retracted the story, and we deeply regret the error.


Lack of Oxford Comma Costs Maine Company Millions in Overtime Dispute — A class-action lawsuit about overtime pay for truck drivers hinged entirely on a debate that has bitterly divided friends, families and foes: The dreaded — or totally necessary — Oxford comma, perhaps the most polarizing of punctuation marks.
Discussion:
Joe.My.God.


Trump budget cuts would hit home in Buffalo - and states that elected him — WASHINGTON - President Trump looked to the Rust Belt for the votes that got him elected, but the budget proposal he released early Thursday looks as if it would result in a massive movement of federal funds away …
Discussion:
Daily Kos and The Guardian
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Trump's federal budget would eliminate dozens of agencies and programs
Discussion:
Washington Post, ThinkProgress, FOX News Radio and John Hawkins' Right Wing News

Secret Service Agents Under Investigation for Taking Photos of Donald Trump's Sleeping Grandson — A source with knowledge of the information tells Mother Jones that two Secret Service agents who were assigned to protect Donald Trump III, President Donald Trump's grandson, took selfies with the eight year old while he was sleeping.
Discussion:
IJR, TMZ.com, Mediaite, Death and Taxes, RedState and Washington Free Beacon


McDonald's tweets to Trump: ‘You are actually a disgusting excuse of a President’ — McDonald's' in a tweet on its corporate account called President Trump “a disgusting excuse of a President” on Thursday morning. — The tweet, which was briefly pinned to the top of the account before being deleted …
Discussion:
Politico, John Hawkins' Right Wing News, ABC News, BizPac Review, Althouse, Axios and CBS Philly

Why I'm Moving Home — COLUMBUS, Ohio — In recent months, I've frequently found myself in places hit hard by manufacturing job losses, speaking to people affected in various ways. Sometimes, the conversation turns to the conflict people feel between the love of their home and the desire to leave in search of better work.
Discussion:
No More Mister Nice Blog and Althouse

Stephen Bannon Is a Fan of a French Philosopher...Who Was an Anti-Semite and a Nazi Supporter — Stephen Bannon, President Donald Trump's chief strategist, recently spoke approvingly of the ideas of an anti-Semitic French intellectual who was sentenced to life in prison for cooperating with the Nazis during World War II.


Debt ceiling returns, creating new headache for GOP — The legal limit on how much the United States government can borrow returns on Thursday, potentially setting up an intense political battle in Congress. — Lawmakers will have until sometime this autumn to raise the debt ceiling …
Discussion:
Washington Monthly and Political Wire


Humpback whales are organizing in huge numbers, and no one knows why — It flies in the face of typical humpback behavior — The world is ending and only the whales know. At least, that's one explanation. Humpback whales are normally pretty solitary—scientists used to call groups of 10 to 20 “large.”
Discussion:
FiveThirtyEight, New York Magazine and AOL


New Zealand river granted same legal rights as human being — After 140 years of negotiation, Māori tribe wins recognition for Whanganui river, meaning it must be treated as a living entity — In a world-first a New Zealand river has been granted the same legal rights as a human being.
Discussion:
Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion, AOL and Forbes