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Devin Nunes Steps Aside; Ethics Committee Investigating for Spilling Secrets — Rep. Devin Nunes said Thursday he is stepping aside as chairman of the House intelligence committee because he is under investigation by the House Ethics Committee for allegedly disclosing intelligence without proper authorization.
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Raw Story, ThinkProgress, Occupy Democrats and IJR
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Nunes steps aside from Russia probe — House Intelligence Committee Chairman Devin Nunes (R-Calif.) will temporarily step aside from an investigation into Russian meddling in the 2016 election, including interactions between Moscow and the Trump campaign. — The move comes as the House …


Speaker Ryan Statement on Chairman Nunes — Speaker Ryan's Press Office — WASHINGTON—House Speaker Paul Ryan (R-WI) today released the following statement:
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WTVM-TV, Business Insider, The Daily Caller, Daily Kos and Mediaite


Nunes steps aside from Russia investigation
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Political Wire

Gowdy: Accusations of crime ‘not constructive’ in Russia investigation
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RedState, MSNBC and John Hawkins' Right Wing News


House intel chairman stepping aside from House Russia investigation
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Occupy Democrats and KTLA

Rep. Devin Nunes steps away from Russia investigation amid ethics complaints
Discussion:
Mediaite


Bannon to associates: “I love a gunfight” — After a series of high-level White House leaks portraying Steve Bannon as fed up with his job and ready to quit, Trump's chief strategist has told associates the stories are “100 percent nonsense” and he's playing for keeps.
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Media Matters for America, CNN, Raw Story and Political Wire
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Mega-donor urged Bannon not to resign — The man credited with honing Donald Trump's populist message and guiding him into the White House has grown frustrated amid continued infighting in the West Wing, so much so that in recent weeks a top donor had to convince him to stay in his position.
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Inside the White House, paranoia and unrest among top staff — (CNN)In the West Wing, Reince Priebus and Steve Bannon occupy some of the most coveted real estate. Priebus, the chief of staff, enjoys the only outdoor patio in the White House. Bannon is mere steps from the Oval Office.
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Breitbart

White House aides clash with GOP leaders over flailing Obamacare push
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Raw Story


Bannon reportedly threatened to leave White House after NSC shakeup
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Axios and Instapundit

Bannon removed from security council as McMaster asserts control
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The Week, Politico, Political Wire and New York Magazine

Trump's hidden backchannel to Justice Kennedy: Their kids — After Donald Trump wrapped up his first speech to Congress and worked his way through the crowd, he lingered on his handshake with Anthony Kennedy, the 80-year-old Supreme Court justice. — The boom mics picked up their seemingly private conversation.
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The Week, Axios, Washington Post and ABC News
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McConnell Is Finishing What Schumer Started
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Power Line and Hot Air


It's zero hour: Senate to go ‘nuclear’
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Common Dreams and Hot Air

Negotiations to avert nuclear option collapse ahead of Gorsuch vote
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ABC News, John Hawkins' Right Wing News, Politico and Hot Air


Partial Transcript: Trump's Interview With The Times — WASHINGTON — The following is a partial transcript of President Trump's interview with The New York Times' Maggie Haberman and Glenn Thrush. It has been lightly edited for content and clarity, and omits several off-the-record comments and asides.

Ivanka's secret Planned Parenthood outreach — In the weeks following her father's inauguration, Ivanka Trump quietly reached out to the president of Planned Parenthood seeking common ground on the contentious issue of abortion. — The first daughter requested a sit-down with Cecile Richards …
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AOL, Mediaite, Hot Air, LifeNews.com, Political Wire, twitchy.com, The Week and Axios
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Ivanka Trump met secretly with Planned Parenthood head: report
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RedState, New York Times and Politico


Donald Trump Jr. talks about running for governor of New York — MORE FROM: … Donald Trump Jr. wants to run for political office, telling members of an elite gun club that he could set his sights on becoming governor of New York. — Don Jr. spoke to members of the F6 Labs gun club in Hicksville …
Discussion:
New York Magazine, TheBlaze and Axios
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Donald Trump Jr. Floats a Run For Governor of New York: ‘The Politics Bug Bit Me’
Discussion:
The Week


The Husband Of A Trump Supporter Has Just Been Deported Back To Mexico — The man's American wife said she believed “good people” would not be deported under President Trump. Late Tuesday night, her husband was removed to Mexico. — A Mexican man who spent almost two decades living …
Discussion:
Raw Story
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Undocumented husband of Indiana Trump supporter deported to Mexico
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The Root

Trump lacks key players for meeting with Chinese leader — President Donald Trump may be brimming with confidence going into his Mar-a-Lago summit with Chinese leader Xi Jinping, but some China watchers say he could easily be outmatched by a superbly well-prepped Beijing diplomatic team aiming …
Discussion:
New York Magazine, ABC News and The Week
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The ‘Goddess’ Yi Wan Ka: Ivanka Trump Is a Hit in China
Discussion:
New York Magazine

Revisiting the Obama track record on Syria's chemical weapons — Western powers have condemned Syria for unleashing a chemical attack on civilians in Khan Sheikhoun, a community in a rebel-controlled zone in northwestern Syria. While the details remain in dispute, and Syria denies using chemical weapons …
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BBC, Washington Free Beacon, NPR and Business Insider
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Trump May Have Changed His Syria Policy And The Pentagon Is Confused
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The Atlantic and Defense One

ISIS kills 33 execution-style in Syria; 22 people in Iraq attack
Discussion:
New York Magazine and AOL


Trump Spurs GOP to Tweak Health Bill Before Leaving Town — House Rules Committee to consider adding amendment to bill — Move to show momentum toward deal as lawmakers return home — The White House prodded House Republican leaders to make last-minute tweaks to their Obamacare replacement …
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Talking Points Memo, Axios, Washington Post and Business Insider
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Bill O'Reilly's new book talks consent: ‘No means no’ — O'Reilly accuser: I'm not after money — In his new book, Fox News host Bill O'Reilly says he is reaching out to a generation of Americans he believes are under siege. He draws a hard line between “Old School folks” and “Snowflakes.”
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New York Magazine, Politico and WTVR-TV, more at Mediagazer »
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Maxine Waters Says That 'Bill O'Reilly Needs to Go to Jail'
Discussion:
MSNBC, TheBlaze, The Week and The Guardian


Top Democrats Are Wrong: Trump Supporters Were More Motivated by Racism Than Economic Issues — IT ISN'T ONLY Republicans, it seems, who traffic in alternative facts. Since Donald Trump's shock election victory, leading Democrats have worked hard to convince themselves, and the rest of us …
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Creeping Toward Crisis — I am racked with anxiety that our buffoonish “president” — who sounds so internationally unsophisticated and who is still operating under a cloud of illegitimacy — is beginning to face his first real foreign crises. — What worries me most is that he seems …
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The Atlantic, CNN, vice, Defense One, Business Insider, The Daily Signal and TheBlaze
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Pentagon Plans Next Major Missile Intercept Test for Late May
Discussion:
Politico

Civil war rages throughout Trump administration — A civil war between Donald Trump loyalists and establishment-minded Republicans is escalating throughout the federal government — and increasingly the president's allies are losing. — From the State Department to the Environmental Protection Agency …
Discussion:
Washington Monthly and Axios


Cohn Backs Wall Street Split of Lending, Investment Banks — Senators ask about Glass-Steagall return in private meeting — Trump's top economic adviser said he supports separation — In a private meeting with lawmakers, White House economic adviser Gary Cohn said he supports a policy …
Discussion:
Business Insider and CNBC


First on CNN: Secret Service agent on VP's detail caught after meeting with prostitute at Maryland hotel — Secret Service scandals Story highlights — Washington (CNN)CNN has learned from multiple law enforcement sources that a Secret Service agent on Vice President Mike Pence's detail …


Reports in unmasking controversy were detailed, had info about ‘everyday lives’ — The intelligence reports at the center of the Susan Rice unmasking controversy were detailed, and almost resembled a private investigator's file, according to a Republican congressman familiar with the documents.
Discussion:
RedState, BizPac Review, The Gateway Pundit and The Last Refuge