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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 …
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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, Vox, Daily Kos and Common Dreams

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:
ABC News, Washington Post, Vox, Reuters, CNBC, New York Times, BillMoyers.com, Common Dreams, Daily Kos and The Week

What's getting cut in Trump's budget
Discussion:
Vox, New York Times, The Resurgent, RedState, Occupy Democrats, Consumerist, Daily Kos, The Guardian, The Week and Joe.My.God.


Trump Budget Plan Declares War on ‘War on Poverty’ Programs
Discussion:
Business Insider and Raw Story

Trump wants to cut the NEA and NEH. This is the worst-case scenario for arts groups
Discussion:
The Atlantic, ThinkProgress, The Verge, AOL and Longreads

Trump Budget Proposes Killing All Funding for PBS, NPR and National Endowment for the Arts
Discussion:
Hit & Run, New York Magazine, Vox Popoli, Washington Post and Little Green Footballs

Trump's budget takes a sledgehammer to the EPA
Discussion:
US News, The Atlantic, Daily Kos, CNBC, TheBlaze, DeSmogBlog and Common Dreams


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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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:
AOL, Death and Taxes, The FADER and Joe.My.God.


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:
Mediaite and Defense One
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Moscow paid $45,000 for Flynn's 2015 talk, documents show — RT, the Russian state-owned television network described by U.S. intelligence officials as “the Kremlin's principal international propaganda outlet,” paid $45,386 for former Defense Intelligence Agency Director Michael Flynn to fly …

New details released on Russia-related payments to Flynn before he joined Trump campaign — 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:
The Week


Trump says he will submit evidence of wiretapping to House committee ‘very soon’ — President Trump discussed his tweeted accusation that President Obama ordered “wires” at Trump Tower tapped during last year's presidential campaign in an exclusive interview with Fox News' “Tucker Carlson Tonight” Wednesday.
Discussion:
Little Green Footballs, Common Dreams, Daily Wire, Hot Air, Raw Story, John Hawkins' Right Wing News, The Gateway Pundit, AOL and Joe.My.God.
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Trump to Tucker Carlson: “I know” counties that voted for me will lose under the Republican health plan — “A lot of things aren't consistent.” — Tucker Carlson's sit-down with Donald Trump Wednesday night was not exactly a hard-hitting interview, but the Fox News host did speak …
Discussion:
ABC News, New York Magazine and Lawyers, Guns & Money

Trump Acknowledges Repeal Bill Wouldn't Be Great For His Supporters
Discussion:
CNBC, Business Insider, ThinkProgress and The Daily Caller


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, RedState, Politico, The Hill, Daily Wire, Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion, Washington Free Beacon, The Daily Caller, Althouse, The Week, twitchy.com, New York Magazine and TheBlaze


Conservative RSC says it's close to backing ObamaCare repeal bill — The conservative Republican Study Committee (RSC) says it is very close to supporting the House GOP's healthcare plan if changes are made to its Medicaid provisions. — Vice President Pence met with members …
Discussion:
Mother Jones
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Obamacare repeal bill survives narrow committee vote
Discussion:
Vox and Common Dreams


How the GOP Crackup Happens
Discussion:
Washington Monthly, Washington Examiner, BuzzFeed and Balloon Juice


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:
ABC News, Politico, Axios, BizPac Review, Althouse and CBS Philly


Dutch elections: Turkish minister claims ‘holy wars will soon begin in Europe’ after Geert Wilders beaten — Minister claims there is no difference between liberal politicians and ‘fascist’ far-right leader — A Turkish minister has claimed “holy wars will soon begin” in Europe …
Discussion:
Instapundit
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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:
Talking Points Memo, Vox, Mediaite and Raw Story

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:
Althouse


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:
Liberal Values, The Daily Caller, Washington Free Beacon and Political Wire


Paul Ryan: ‘No such wiretap existed’ — Ryan: Trump ‘bridging gaps’ in bill process — The House Intelligence Committee has requested any evidence of a wiretap from the Justice Department — Washington (CNN)House Speaker Paul Ryan said Thursday that “no such wiretap existed,” …
Discussion:
The Verge, The Week, Media Matters for America, New York Times, Vox, Mediaite and TheBlaze

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:
Death and Taxes, IJR, Mediaite and RedState


Tillerson says diplomacy with North Korea has ‘failed,’ Pyongyang warns of war — TOKYO — Diplomacy has failed and it's time to “take a different approach” to North Korea, Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said here Thursday, as the North Korean embassy in China warned that American military threats …
Discussion:
Hot Air and Associated Press
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Tillerson says State Department spending ‘simply not sustainable’
Discussion:
Talking Points Memo


Trump nominates Boeing VP for deputy Defense secretary — President Trump on Thursday nominated a top Boeing executive to be the second-highest-ranking civilian at the Pentagon. — Trump announced Patrick Shanahan's nomination to be deputy Defense secretary, along with nominations for five …
Discussion:
Axios, RedState and Shakesville


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 and AOL

The Increasing Significance of the Decline of Men — At one end of the scale, men continue to dominate. — In 2016, 95.8 percent of Fortune 500 CEOs were male and so were 348 of the Forbes 400. Of the 260 people on the Forbes list described as “self-made,” 250 were men.

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.


Operation London Bridge: the secret plan for the days after the Queen's death — She is venerated around the world. She has outlasted 12 US presidents. She stands for stability and order. But her kingdom is in turmoil, and her subjects are in denial that her reign will ever end.

Immigrants are going hungry so Trump won't deport them — Luisa Fortin sometimes sits up at night, wondering what her clients are eating. She is the SNAP Outreach Coordinator for the Chattanooga Food Bank — but lately she has done less outreaching. — Her families, working immigrants …