Top Items:

1 big thing: Trump, baffled and brooding — Trump, during an opioid and drug abuse listening session Wednesday n the Cabinet Room with Chris Christie, Trump, Attorney General Jeff Sessions and Education Secretary Betsy DeVos / AP's Evan Vucci — President Trump brought his chaos …
Discussion:
Raw Story, New York Magazine, New York Times, USA Today, Political Wire, TheBlaze and Talking Points Memo
RELATED:


Trump's failing presidency has the GOP in a free fall — In the aftermath of the GOP health-care debacle came a revealing act of candor. House Speaker Paul D. Ryan admitted that his party, which controls the House, Senate and White House, is not yet a “governing party” because it could not …


Mike Flynn Offers to Testify in Exchange for Immunity — Former national security adviser tells FBI, the House and Senate intelligence committees he's willing to be interviewed in exchange for deal, officials say — WASHINGTON—Mike Flynn, President Donald Trump's former national security adviser …
Discussion:
Breitbart, Vox, Politico, Daily Mail, The Guardian, Axios, RedState, Talking Points Memo, Salon, Hullabaloo, New York Times, Outside the Beltway, The Hill, The Daily Caller, Mediaite, Washington Post, The Atlantic, Hot Air, Daily Kos, Raw Story, Just Security, RT, Business Insider, The Huffington Post, CNBC, Shakesville, New York Magazine, Daily Wire, New York Post, Heat Street, Politicus USA, The Week, NBC News, Towleroad, Occupy Democrats, The Root, NPR, TheBlaze, Shareblue, The Slot, Mother Jones, IJR, The Last Tradition, Political Wire and Joe.My.God.


Senate Intelligence Committee turned down Flynn's request for immunity: NBC — The Senate Intelligence Committee has turned down former National Security Advisor Michael Flynn's request for immunity.


Michael Flynn's Immunity Request Rejected By Senate Intelligence Committee — The Senate Intelligence Committee turned down the request by former National Security Adviser Michael Flynn's lawyer for a grant of immunity in exchange for his testimony, two congressional sources told NBC News.
Discussion:
Business Insider, New York Times, Washington Examiner, NBC News, Faithwire, John Hawkins' Right Wing News, Raw Story, CNBC and KFOR-TV


Devin Nunes Is Just the Errand Boy in the Trump-Russia Scandal — For a week, Washington has stared slack-jawed at the antics of Rep. Devin Nunes (R-Flopsweat), the clown prince of the Trump-Russia intelligence and influence scandal. — To the bemusement of his colleagues on both side of the aisle …


Flynn's Public Offer to Testify for Immunity Suggests He May Have Nothing to Say
Discussion:
Washington Post, Breitbart, Washington Monthly, Politico, ThinkProgress, USA Today, Infowars, France 24, Daily Mail, Balloon Juice, CNBC, Mediaite, Raw Story, NBC News, Politicus USA, Daily Kos, The Daily Caller, RedState, The Week, The Guardian, Business Insider, IJR and Talking Points Memo

Michael Flynn in 2016: Immunity ‘means you probably committed a crime’

Michael Flynn Has a Story To Tell
Discussion:
RedState, BostonGlobe.com, Occupy Democrats, Booman Tribune, Infowars, Washington Post, News, Indy Week, AOL, Mediaite and CBS Miami

Flynn Wants Immunity. So Does That Mean President Trump is Screwed?
Discussion:
Breitbart, CNBC, Mediaite, The Week, Daily Mail, CNN, Politico, Hot Air, The Daily Caller, Vox, Washington Post and Talking Points Memo

Donald Trump thought immunity was a sign of guilt: A flashback to Trump on the campaign trail
Discussion:
CNBC, Geller Report, Axios and NewsHounds blog

The Gravity is Strong #3 — Mike Flynn's offer to testify …
Discussion:
The Guardian, Washington Post, Mother Jones, The Daily Beast, KTLA, Jewish Telegraphic Agency, The Forward, Daily Mail, New York Times, Daily Kos and RedState


Secretary of State Rex Tillerson spends his first weeks isolated from an anxious bureaucracy — Secretary of State Rex Tillerson takes a private elevator to his palatial office on the seventh floor of the State Department building, where sightings of him are rare on the floors below.
RELATED:


Diplomats instructed to ‘avoid eye contact’ with Tillerson: report — Secretary of State Rex Tillerson has remained relatively removed from President Trump's administration and his own department, a new report by The Washington Post says, adding that many diplomats have yet to meet him and some have been told to avoid eye contact.
Discussion:
RedState, twitchy.com and The Daily Caller


Clinton criticizes Trump budget cuts to diplomatic programs — Hillary Clinton on Friday criticized President Donald Trump's proposal to slash billions of dollars from diplomacy and jabbed rhetorically at her former rival, remarking on her penchant for “talking about research, evidence and facts.”
Discussion:
Politico


Freedom Caucus fires back at Trump: We're ‘keeping our promise’ on healthcare — The House Freedom Caucus fired back at President Trump on Friday morning, saying that the conservative group has kept its promise on healthcare and its vow to fully repeal ObamaCare.
Discussion:
RedState, Talking Points Memo, Red Alert Politics and TheBlaze
RELATED:


The Freedom Caucus's new health care demand: let insurers charge sick people more
Discussion:
Washington Examiner and Axios

Democrats in Trump territory in no mood to deal
Discussion:
Washington Post, RedState, Daily Kos, CNN, FiveThirtyEight, IJR, CBS Philly, The Week, BizPac Review, TheBlaze, Fox News Insider and The Hill

Conservative Governors Still Not Ready to Accept Free Medicaid Money
Discussion:
Lawyers, Guns & Money and Daily Kos

The road to single-payer health care
Discussion:
New York Magazine


Vice President Pence's “never dine alone with a woman” rule isn't honorable. It's probably illegal. — An employment lawyer weighs in. — “I don't work with women. If they're attractive, I'm too tempted. And if they're not attractive, what's the point?”
RELATED:



Mike Pence's role in the Flynn's scandal ‘is flashing like a red beacon’: Maddow
Discussion:
Shakesville


The Prince of Oversight — When Donald Trump's now-notorious Access Hollywood tape first leaked in October last year, Utah Representative Jason Chaffetz reacted to the news the way he usually does—he got himself in front of a camera, and fast. — Within hours after the story broke …
Discussion:
ThinkProgress, New York Magazine, Daily Kos, The Slot, The Week and Lawyers, Guns & Money


1 in 3 voters give President Trump a grade F — WASHINGTON — After more than two months in office, America's new president, Republican Donald Trump, got a grade of F from 1 in 3 voters, according to a new McClatchy-Marist Poll. — By contrast, the same number graded predecessor Democrat …
Discussion:
Daily Mail, The Daily Caller, Daily Wire and AOL

GOP lawmaker: The Bible says ‘if a man will not work, he shall not eat’ — One lawmaker is citing a godly reference to justify changes to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program: Rep. Jodey Arrington (R-Tex.) recently quoted the New Testament to question the strength of current work requirements.
Discussion:
The Root, Daily Kos, Joe.My.God., The Federalist, Raw Story and twitchy.com

Mistakes, He's Made a Few Too Many — Crisis will inevitably strike, so America needs stability and strength. Will Trump be ready? — Near the end of the campaign I wrote a column called “Imagine a Sane Donald Trump,” lamenting that I believed he was crazy, and too bad.
Discussion:
alicublog and No More Mister Nice Blog


Devin Nunes and the Tragedy of the Russia Inquiry — Last week, the chairman of the House Intelligence Committee, Representative Devin Nunes, announced dozens of intelligence reports that inappropriately included details on President Donald Trump's transition.
Discussion:
Washington Post, New York Magazine, NBC News, The Hill, Taylor Marsh and CBS News
RELATED:

Is the Trump White House Spying on the FBI?
Discussion:
Talking Points Memo, Washington Post, emptywheel and The Week


ICE Arrests Green Card Applicants In Lawrence, Signaling Shift In Priorities — Federal immigration officers arrested five people in Lawrence on Wednesday when they showed up for scheduled appointments at a U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) office.
Discussion:
Raw Story and rubber hose


Michael Flynn: new evidence spy chiefs had concerns about Russian ties — US and UK officials were troubled by Moscow contacts and encounter with woman linked to Russian spy agency records — US intelligence officials had serious concerns about Michael Flynn's appointment …
Discussion:
Raw Story


Jerry Brown on running for president: 'Don't rule it out' — California Gov. Jerry Brown isn't ruling out out running for president in 2020. — Brown opened up about his possible future in elected office during a Thursday press conference about his plan to fix California's infrastructure, according to the San Francisco Chronicle.
Discussion:
Political Wire and Daily Wire