Top Items:
Steven Swinford / Telegraph:
Watch | Spicer: GCHQ may have helped Obama spy on Trump — The US has made a formal apology to Britain after the White House accused GCHQ of helping Barack Obama spy on Donald Trump in the White House. — Sean Spicer, Mr Trump's press secretary, repeated a claim on Thursday evening …
Discussion:
Washington Post, Vox, Talking Points Memo, Raw Story, The Week, BuzzFeed, CNN, USA Today, Business Insider, Mediaite, IJR, The Guardian, Hullabaloo, Media Matters for America, Daily Wire, ABC News, Mashable, Daily Kos, Politicus USA, Balloon Juice, New York Magazine, The Daily Caller, ThinkProgress, Political Wire, AOL and Reuters
RELATED:
New York Times:
Trump Offers No Apology for Claim on British Spying — WASHINGTON — President Trump refused to back down on Friday after his White House aired an unverified claim that Britain's spy agency secretly monitored him during last year's campaign at the behest of President Barack Obama …
CNN:
White House apologizes to British government over spying claims — Spokesman for UK Prime Minister says Britain has received assurances that claims won't be repeated — Washington (CNN)The White House has apologized to the British government after alleging that a UK intelligence agency spied …
Discussion:
UPI, Washington Monthly, Washington Post, Outside the Beltway, USA Today, Vox, Hot Air, CANNONFIRE, Business Insider, Joe.My.God., RedState, IJR, Washington Free Beacon and WPMT FOX43
Josh Barro / Business Insider:
Sean Spicer's absurd accusation against British intelligence is the scariest news this week
Sean Spicer's absurd accusation against British intelligence is the scariest news this week
Discussion:
New York Magazine, Washington Post, Talking Points Memo, Mediaite, Lawyers, Guns & Money, Politicus USA, The Week and CNN
Alastair Jamieson / NBC News:
Britain's GCHQ Denies ‘Ridiculous’ Claim It Helped Wiretap Trump
Britain's GCHQ Denies ‘Ridiculous’ Claim It Helped Wiretap Trump
Discussion:
Mother Jones, Washington Post, Talking Points Memo, IJR, Daily Wire, Business Insider, Media Matters for America and NBC News
Rocco Parascandola / New York Daily News:
Laptop holding Trump Tower floor plans, Hillary Clinton email investigation info stolen from Secret Service agent — A laptop computer containing floor plans for Trump Tower, information about the Hillary Clinton email investigation and other national security information was stolen …
Discussion:
CNN, Fox News, The Hill, The Last Refuge, Axios, John Hawkins' Right Wing News, Mediaite, RedState, CNBC, The Gateway Pundit, Death and Taxes, Raw Story, The Daily Caller, TMZ.com and Joe.My.God.
RELATED:
Josh Margolin / ABC News:
Secret Service laptop with Trump Tower floor plans, details on Clinton email probe stolen in New York — A laptop computer containing floor plans for Trump Tower, details on the criminal investigation of Hillary Clinton's use of a private email server and other national security information …
Discussion:
Fox News, The Rush Limbaugh Show, Mashable and AOL
CBS New York:
Secret Service Agent's Laptop Stolen In Brooklyn — NEW YORK — An unoccupied vehicle with Maryland plates was broken into and a bag with a laptop and other items belonging to a Secret Service agent was stolen, sources told CBS2. — The break-in happened in the driveway of the agent's home in Bath Beach, Brooklyn, sources said.
Discussion:
New York Magazine, Hot Air, Talking Points Memo, Mediaite, Gothamist and TheBlaze
Alexandra Petri / Washington Post:
Trump's budget makes perfect sense and will fix America, and I will tell you why — Some people are complaining that the budget proffered by the Trump administration, despite its wonderful macho-sounding name, is too vague and makes all sorts of cuts to needed programs in favor of increasing military spending by leaps and bounds.
RELATED:
Jane Mayer / New Yorker:
The Reclusive Hedge-Fund Tycoon Behind the Trump Presidency … Last month, when President Donald Trump toured a Boeing aircraft plant in North Charleston, South Carolina, he saw a familiar face in the crowd that greeted him: Patrick Caddell, a former Democratic political operative and pollster who …
RELATED:
Matea Gold / Washington Post:
The Mercers and Stephen Bannon: How a populist power base was funded and built — The wealthy GOP donors and Trump's chief strategist collaborated on at least five ventures. — The champagne was flowing as hedge fund executive Robert Mercer and his daughter Rebekah hosted a reception during …
Ian Millhiser / ThinkProgress:
Paul Ryan says he fantasized about cutting health care for the poor at his college keggers — Meet the most insufferable frat boy in human history. — Oh, college! It's a time when young adults discover their professional interests, when they live alone for the first time …
Discussion:
No More Mister Nice Blog, Occupy Democrats, Lawyers, Guns & Money, The Week and Eschaton
RELATED:
Matthew Yglesias / Vox:
Paul Ryan says he's been “dreaming” of Medicaid cuts since he was “drinking out of kegs”
Paul Ryan says he's been “dreaming” of Medicaid cuts since he was “drinking out of kegs”
Discussion:
ABC News and Political Wire
Anna Wilde Mathews / Wall Street Journal:
Insurers See Health-Care Premiums Increasing Significantly in 2018
Insurers See Health-Care Premiums Increasing Significantly in 2018
Discussion:
Axios, ACASignups.net and Balloon Juice
Ryan Lizza / New Yorker:
Can Steve Bannon Save Trumpcare?
Can Steve Bannon Save Trumpcare?
Discussion:
The Guardian, New York Magazine, Axios and The Resurgent
Robert Faturechi / ProPublica:
Fired U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara Said to Have Been Investigating HHS Secretary Tom Price — Trump's head of the Department of Health and Human Services traded stocks of health-related companies while working on legislation affecting the firms. A source says Bharara was overseeing an investigation.
Discussion:
Talking Points Memo, New York Magazine, Political Wire, TheStreet.com, Daily Kos, The Week and Axios
David E. Sanger / New York Times:
Rex Tillerson Rejects Talks With North Korea on Nuclear Program — SEOUL, South Korea — Secretary of State Rex W. Tillerson ruled out on Friday opening any negotiation with North Korea to freeze its nuclear and missile programs and said for the first time that the Trump administration might …
RELATED:
Shin Hyon-hee / The Korea Heald:
US says ‘strategic patience’ on NK is over — Tillerson says military option is on the table, calls China's THAAD retaliation ‘inappropriate, troubling’ — With Washington taking a North Korea policy overhaul, US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson on Friday declared that the existing …
Discussion:
Washington Monthly, twitchy.com, Daily Wire, The Week, Daily Kos and Fox News Insider, more at Mediagazer »
Anna Fifield / Washington Post:
Tillerson says ‘all options are on the table’ when it comes to North Korea
Tillerson says ‘all options are on the table’ when it comes to North Korea
Discussion:
CNBC, Common Dreams, Sputnik International, Hot Air, The Guardian, BillMoyers.com, Mediaite and Raw Story
Max Greenwood / The Hill:
Judge denies request to apply previous travel ban block to Trump's revised order — The Seattle-based federal judge who blocked President Trump's first travel ban has denied a request from Washington and other states to apply that original injunction to the president's revised order.
RELATED:
Devlin Barrett / Washington Post:
Trump administration files notice it will appeal ruling against second version of travel ban
Trump administration files notice it will appeal ruling against second version of travel ban
Discussion:
Political Wire and The Week
Madeline Conway / Politico:
In awkward exchange, Trump seems to ignore Merkel's handshake request — President Donald Trump, who made headlines for shaking hands with Japan's prime minister in front of reporters for a full 19 seconds, seemed to ignore German Chancellor Angela Merkel when she suggested that they exchange …
Discussion:
Political Wire, Shareblue, BizPac Review and Joe.My.God.
RELATED:
Meghan Keneally / ABC News:
What Trump and Merkel have said about each other
What Trump and Merkel have said about each other
Discussion:
Associated Press, Politico, The Guardian and Death and Taxes
James P. Rubin / Politico:
The Leader of the Free World Meets Donald Trump
The Leader of the Free World Meets Donald Trump
Discussion:
ABC News, NPR, Washington Free Beacon, The Week and twitchy.com
Jennifer Haberkorn / Politico:
Trump cracks the whip on Obamacare, fueling GOP momentum — Rep. Robert Aderholt was among a bloc of conservatives threatening to tank the Republican health care plan when President Donald Trump summoned him to the White House on Friday. — At a meeting with more than a dozen other lawmakers wary …
Discussion:
Axios, Washington Times, The Daily Signal, New York Magazine, CNBC and Talking Points Memo
RELATED:
John Parkinson / ABC News:
Some conservatives line up behind health care plan for vote next week
Some conservatives line up behind health care plan for vote next week
Discussion:
Vox, The Daily Signal, Talking Points Memo and The Atlantic
Liz Farmer / Dallas Morning News:
FBI arrests man accused of trolling Dallas journalist Kurt Eichenwald with seizure-inducing tweet — The FBI arrested a man accused of sending Dallas reporter Kurt Eichenwald a tweet that triggered an epileptic seizure. — The name of the suspect has not yet been released …
Discussion:
The Verge, Engadget, Mediaite, Joe.My.God., Raw Story and twitchy.com, more at Mediagazer »
RELATED:
Donna Brazile / TIME:
Donna Brazile: Russian DNC Narrative Played Out Exactly As They Hoped — Brazile is a Democratic political strategist — For weeks now, we've seen a steady stream — not just leaks — of information about possible contacts between the Trump campaign and the Russians.
Discussion:
Mediaite, Politico, Political Wire, Fox News Insider and TVNewser
Heather Caygle / Politico:
Democrats slam DHS secretary after closed-door meeting — Homeland Security Secretary John Kelly struck a defiant tone in a meeting with House Democrats Friday, lawmakers said, telling them he's “the best thing to happen” to immigrants brought here as minors — and if members don't like current laws, they should change them.
Discussion:
Common Dreams
RELATED:
Erik Sherman / Forbes:
Liberals: Stop Saying That Trump Will Kill All Meals On Wheels — There is much about the Trump administration's actions and decisions that could reasonably concern one. The latest block of information to digest has been the budget blueprint, which is an unrealistic fiction of what the country needs …
Discussion:
CNN, TIME, Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion, The Guardian, IJR, Washington Post, Red Alert Politics, Daily Wire, Meals on Wheels America, CBS Boston, Mashable, theGrio, Death and Taxes and Politico
Liz Spayd / New York Times:
Snoop Dogg, Bow Wow and an Ill-Advised Retweet — Amid the thousands of tweets that fly from the keyboards of journalists every day, occasionally comes one that sets off an alarm: “Whoops. Should I have said that?” Wednesday afternoon, that bell should have sounded shortly …
Discussion:
Media Matters for America and BizPac Review
Ari Berman / The Nation:
In E-mails, Neil Gorsuch Praised a Leading Republican Activist Behind Voter Suppression Efforts — Gorsuch's ties to Hans von Spakovksy suggest a hostility to voting rights. — By , — Few people in the Republican Party have done more to limit voting rights than Hans von Spakovsky.
WTVR-TV:
Paralyzed Virginia Marine walks for first time in 33 years … FREDERICKSBURG, Va. — For thirty-three years, Terry Labar has been looking up at life. Terry's career as a U.S. Marine was derailed when a car slammed into him on a road in the Middle East. — “I just wanted to put this behind me and start a new chapter,” Terry said.