Top Items:


House 2018: Rating Changes in 20 Districts — Republicans' 217-213 passage of the American Health Care Act on Thursday guarantees Democrats will have at least one major on-the-record vote to exploit in the next elections. Although it's the first of potentially many explosive votes …
Discussion:
Washington Post, The Atlantic, New York Times, Rewire and New York Magazine
RELATED:


About that Rose Garden health care photo with all the white guys.... (CNN)House Republicans marched to the White House on Thursday afternoon to celebrate their victory: Passage of the American Health Care Act. — President Trump welcomed them with a Rose Garden celebration.
Discussion:
The Atlantic and Hullabaloo


A Few Grafs That Explain Why America Hates Vacuous Political Reporting — As you may have heard, the Republican-controlled House of Representatives today passed a bill that would take health insurance away from more than 20 million people and make health insurance that many people have worse …


G.O.P. Cheers a Big Victory. But Has It Stirred a 'Hornet's Nest'? — WASHINGTON — No one knows better than House Democrats how a contentious health care vote can exact a steep political price — losing control of the House in the first midterm election of an untested new president's tenure for example.
Discussion:
Raw Story, Taylor Marsh, The Week and Daily Kos

Cook Report Moves 20 House Seats In Dems' Favor After O'Care Repeal Vote
Discussion:
The Week

White House fires its chief usher — the first woman in that job — The White House has fired its chief usher, Angella Reid, the first woman and second African American to hold the position. — When the White House residence staff arrived at work Friday morning, they were told that Reid …
Discussion:
CNN, Talking Points Memo, The Root, Shareblue, New York Magazine, The Week, The Daily Caller and Axios


Senate Moves Obamacare Repeal to Slow Lane After House Squeaker — Recent changes to House measure complicate path in Senate — Murkowski says she hopes Senate GOP starts with ‘clean slate’ — Passage of the House's health-care bill gives the Obamacare repeal effort new life after months of wrangling …
Discussion:
Mother Jones and Marginal REVOLUTION
RELATED:


In Rare Unity, Hospitals, Doctors and Insurers Criticize Health Bill
Discussion:
Washington Monthly, CNN, The Week, Common Dreams, Daily Kos, DCReport.org, New York Magazine, Slate, Politico and Outside the Beltway

No, the AHCA Doesn't Make Rape a Preexisting Condition
Discussion:
Vox, Business Insider and CNN

If The Senate Doesn't Fix The House's Obamacare Replacement, The GOP Will Pay A Steep Price

The House G.O.P.'s Shameful Health-Care Victory
Discussion:
US News, Hullabaloo, Business Insider, ThinkProgress, The Atlantic, The Guardian and Washington Post


Anti-vaccine activists spark a state's worst measles outbreak in decades — MINNEAPOLIS — The young mother started getting advice early on from friends in the close-knit Somali immigrant community here. Don't let your children get the vaccine for measles, mumps and rubella — it causes autism, they said.
Discussion:
ThinkProgress


Fox News trying to pull Jesse Watters from Bill O'Reilly comedy tour — This is why Bill O'Reilly was fired — Bill O'Reilly says his former protege at Fox News, Jesse Watters, will continue to make a series of public appearances with him this year. Fox News has other ideas.
Discussion:
Mediaite
RELATED:


Mayoral candidate Bo Dietl admits Fox News hired him to dig up dirt on women making sexual harassment claims — Federal investigators looking into sexual harassment settlements and alleged intimidation tactics at Fox News are eyeing mayoral hopeful Bo Dietl's work for the network, according to reports.
Discussion:
Political Wire

'The White House just couldn't let this go' — Donald Trump had had it. — The Obamacare repeal bill that the president had just boasted was on the cusp of passage was suddenly in trouble again, and the president demanded to talk to the influential congressman who dropped a bombshell hours earlier …
Discussion:
Vox, Washington Post, Shakesville, Axios, Hit & Run and bradford-delong.com
RELATED:


Second Chance for ‘Obamacare’ Repeal. And for Reince Priebus. — WASHINGTON — The Republican health care overhaul might never become law, but it has already changed the life of one American: Reince Priebus, who knew it was his best and perhaps last hope of becoming an empowered White House chief of staff.


Watch: Chris Collins admits he didn't read health care bill — WASHINGTON - Rep. Chris Collins told CNN that he didn't read the entire Republican health care bill that the House passed Thursday. — And then he told The Buffalo News that he was unaware of a key provision in the bill …


Lawsuit: Boys endured public shaming, violence following racist Instagram incident — ALBANY — Four Albany High School juniors punished for their roles in a racist Instagram posting incident have sued the school district and administration, alleging their free speech rights were violated …
Discussion:
AOL
RELATED:


U.S. Economy Adds a Robust 211,000 Jobs in April — The pace of hiring picked up again in April and the unemployment rate fell to the lowest level in nearly a decade, providing reassurance the broader economy is poised for a strong spring after a lackluster start to the year.
Discussion:
Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion and Political Wire
RELATED:


We're Getting Awfully Close to Full Employment
Discussion:
ABC News, Washington Post and New York Magazine

Islamic State magazine steers followers to U.S. gun shows for ‘easy’ access to weapons — In August, a former Islamic State recruit caused a stir when he described how the terrorist organization sought to exploit America's lax gun laws. — “They say the Americans are dumb …
Discussion:
Defense One and twitchy.com


Deputy press secretary substitutes for Spicer — Washington (CNN)White House press secretary Sean Spicer won't be at the podium Friday, but he doesn't have the day off. — Sarah Huckabee Sanders, President Donald Trump's deputy White House press secretary, will do her first on-camera briefing …
Discussion:
Mediaite, Joe.My.God. and Washington Free Beacon
RELATED:

Trump: I'm staying at NJ golf club to avoid disrupting NYC, save money
Discussion:
Daily Kos, Talking Points Memo, Politicus USA, TheBlaze, Washington Times, CBS New York and Joe.My.God.


Senate Asks Trump Associates for Records of Communication With Russians — WASHINGTON — The Senate Intelligence Committee, seeking to accelerate its broad investigation into Russian meddling in the presidential election, has asked a number of high-profile Trump campaign associates to hand …
Discussion:
The Atlantic, Talking Points Memo, Occupy Democrats, Business Insider and Axios

Trump's forbidden love: Single-payer health care — President Trump claimed a victory Thursday after the House approved a more free-market approach to health care. — Then he capped it off by praising a country with government-run, universal health care.
Discussion:
Hot Air, Common Dreams, Red Alert Politics, New York Magazine, Talking Points Memo, CBS Philly and New York Times
RELATED:

Trump budget would effectively kill drug control office — President Donald Trump's fiscal 2018 budget would cut about 95 percent of funding for the Office of National Drug Control Policy, effectively ending its mission as the lead agency in charge of combating the opioid crisis and other drug epidemics …
Discussion:
Vox, Washington Post, Occupy Democrats, Hit & Run, Axios and Washington Free Beacon

Ivanka Trump Wrote a Painfully Oblivious Book for Basically No One — Ivanka Trump, a daughter of and aide to the man whose election drove women to mount the largest protest in American history, has published a new book. It's about how women can best achieve personal satisfaction and professional success.
Discussion:
The Atlantic, CNN, Talking Points Memo, NPR, EW.com, NBC News and BizPac Review
RELATED:


Judicial Watch: Two Trump trips to Mar-a-Lago cost more than $1 million — The conservative legal watchdog organization Judicial Watch says President Trump's flights to the Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida for two weekends in February and March cost taxpayers $1,281,420.
Discussion:
Washington Post and Judicial Watch


Rape charges to be dropped against immigrant teens in Md. case — Maryland prosecutors will drop rape and sex offense charges against two immigrant teens accused of attacking a 14-year-old classmate in a high school bathroom stall, according to attorneys in a case that shocked local parents …
Discussion:
Washington Free Beacon