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:
Talking Points Memo, Washington Post, Raw Story, BuzzFeed, NBC News, Business Insider, The Week, USA Today, Politicus USA, The Guardian, IJR, Taylor Marsh, Hullabaloo, Balloon Juice, Media Matters for America, Daily Kos, ABC News, Daily Wire, New York Magazine, Mashable, The Daily Caller, Mediaite, ThinkProgress, Political Wire, AOL, France 24, The Lid and Real Clear Politics
RELATED:
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 …
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:
Washington Monthly, UPI, USA Today, CANNONFIRE, Axios, Business Insider, Vox, Hot Air, Washington Post, Joe.My.God., RedState, Washington Free Beacon, IJR, WPMT FOX43 and Death and Taxes
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 …
Josh Barro / Business Insider:
Sean Spicer's absurd accusation against British intelligence is the scariest news this week — If President Donald Trump gets us all killed, it's going to be through a chain of events like what we have seen over the past day. — On Thursday, the White House press secretary, Sean Spicer …
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, BillMoyers.com, Sputnik International, Hot Air, The Guardian, Mediaite and Raw Story
Hyun Oh / Reuters:
Sirens blare as Japan, fearing North Korea, holds first missile drill
Sirens blare as Japan, fearing North Korea, holds first missile drill
Discussion:
WTVR-TV, Sputnik International and Washington Post
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:
The Hill, Axios, RedState, Death and Taxes, The Gateway Pundit, CNBC, The Daily Caller, Mediaite, TMZ.com, Raw Story, Joe.My.God. and Mother Jones
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 outside of the agent's home in Bath Beach, Brooklyn, sources said.
Discussion:
Talking Points Memo, TheBlaze and Gothamist
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:
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:
Lawyers, Guns & Money, The Week and Eschaton
RELATED:
Ryan Lizza / New Yorker:
Can Steve Bannon Save Trumpcare?
Can Steve Bannon Save Trumpcare?
Discussion:
New York Magazine, Axios and The Resurgent
David Brooks / New York Times:
Let Bannon Be Bannon! — I continue to worry about Steve Bannon.
Let Bannon Be Bannon! — I continue to worry about Steve Bannon.
Discussion:
No More Mister Nice Blog
Riley Beggin / ABC News:
Eric Cantor: GOP and Trump ‘will sink or swim together’ on health care
Eric Cantor: GOP and Trump ‘will sink or swim together’ on health care
Discussion:
Vox
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:
Political Wire, TheStreet.com, Daily Kos, The Week and Axios
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:
Vicky Ward / Highline:
The blow-it-all-up billionaires … Last December, about a month before Donald Trump's inauguration, Rebekah Mercer arrived at Stephen Bannon's office in Trump Tower, wearing a cape over a fur-trimmed dress and her distinctive diamond-studded glasses. Tall and imposing, Rebekah …
Discussion:
Axios
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:
Mediaite, Joe.My.God., Raw Story and twitchy.com, more at Mediagazer »
RELATED:
Joe Concha / The Hill:
FBI arrests man accused of triggering Newsweek reporter's epilepsy
FBI arrests man accused of triggering Newsweek reporter's epilepsy
Discussion:
RedState
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:
The Daily Signal, Talking Points Memo, New York Magazine, Washington Times, CNBC and Axios
RELATED:
Kyle Cheney / Politico:
Freedom Caucus aligns with Bannon in risky Obamacare gambit
Freedom Caucus aligns with Bannon in risky Obamacare gambit
Discussion:
CNN, Washington Post and The Week
Wall Street Journal:
Kellyanne Conway's Husband Is Set to Lead Justice Department Division — Job would put George Conway at forefront defending immigration executive order and other lawsuits against Trump administration — WASHINGTON—George Conway, the husband of senior White House adviser Kellyanne Conway …
RELATED:
Eric Garcia / Roll Call:
Former Rep. Stockman Arrested on Election Law Charges — Accused of funneling hundreds of thousands of dollars in donations to personal account — Protest Group Clashes with Rep. Turner Over Fraud Claim 3 GOP Dissenters as Budget Committee Passes Health Care Plan Sorenson Starts Sentence in 2012 Iowa Endorsement Scandal
Discussion:
Daily Kos and Heat Street
RELATED:
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
Meghan Keneally / ABC News:
What Trump and Merkel have said about each other — How do you say “awkward” in German? — President Donald Trump is set to appear at a joint news conference today with German Chancellor Angela Merkel after he spent months during the 2016 election campaign bad-mouthing her approach to the refugee crisis in Europe.
Discussion:
Politico, BizPac Review, Death and Taxes and Associated Press
RELATED:
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, Washington Free Beacon, The Week, Joe.My.God. and twitchy.com
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.
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:
Politico
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.
Discussion:
Raw Story
Burgess Everett / Politico:
Sen. Ernst calls for Trump to release his tax returns — CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa — Facing a jeering crowd of demonstrators and left-leaning voters, Sen. Joni Ernst said that President Donald Trump should release his tax returns. — As she absorbed boos and heckles for her answers on health care …
Discussion:
Political Wire
Travis Gettys / Raw Story:
Trump supporter credits Trumpcare — which hasn't taken effect — for dramatically lower health costs — DON'T MISS STORIES. FOLLOW RAW STORY! — A Tennessee woman who backs President Donald Trump credits God and the Republican health care bill — which hasn't been voted into law …
Discussion:
Washington Post, Occupy Democrats, Daily Kos, No More Mister Nice Blog and Eschaton
Jim Wyss / miamiherald:
Venezuela has a bread shortage. The government has decided bakers are the problem. — Facing a bread shortage that is spawning massive lines and souring the national mood, the Venezuelan government is responding this week by detaining bakers and seizing establishments.
Discussion:
Josh Blackman's Blog, The Week and Vox Popoli
Lisa Hagen / The Hill:
McMullin open to challenging Chaffetz or Hatch in 2018 — Former Independent presidential candidate Evan McMullin says he may mount a 2018 challenge against either Sen. Orrin Hatch — (R-Utah). — McMullin, who unsuccessfully ran for president as an anti-Donald Trump