Top Items:
Julia Edwards Ainsley / Reuters:
Trump's continued search for new FBI chief seen as chaotic: sources — President Donald Trump is still looking for a new FBI director more than three weeks after he fired James Comey, and sources familiar with the recruiting process say it has been chaotic and that job interviews led by Trump have been brief.
Discussion:
Axios, Political Wire, Mediaite, New York Magazine, IJR and Politicus USA
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Josh Dawsey / Politico:
White House orders agencies to ignore Democrats' oversight requests — The White House is telling federal agencies to blow off Democratic lawmakers' oversight requests, as Republicans fear the information could be weaponized against President Donald Trump. — At meetings with top officials …
Nick Juliano / Politico:
Trump campaign plans ‘Pittsburgh, not Paris’ rally to cheer climate deal exit — President Donald Trump's campaign announced a “Pittsburgh, not Paris” rally across from the White House on Saturday to celebrate the United States' withdrawal from a global climate agreement.
Discussion:
AddictingInfo, Washington Post, CBS Pittsburgh, The Guardian, Daily Kos, New York Magazine, Politicus USA, The Week, Refinery29, AOL, twitchy.com, War in Context and Mediaite
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Jackie Wattles / CNNMoney:
Michael Bloomberg: I'll make sure UN gets $15 million it needs for Paris agreement — Top CEOs to Trump: You're wrong on climate change — Billionaire Michael Bloomberg says he is ready to help foot the bill for the Paris Climate Agreement after President Trump announced his decision to pull the Unites States out of it.
Jennifer Bendery / HuffPost:
White House Protesters Shame Donald Trump Over Paris Climate Deal
White House Protesters Shame Donald Trump Over Paris Climate Deal
Discussion:
Raw Story, TheBlaze and Politicus USA
Max Boot / Los Angeles Times:
Op-Ed Why did Trump withdraw from Paris? To appease his base
Op-Ed Why did Trump withdraw from Paris? To appease his base
Discussion:
Mother Jones and CNBC
New York Times:
Bucking Trump, These Cities, States and Companies Commit to Paris Accord
Bucking Trump, These Cities, States and Companies Commit to Paris Accord
Discussion:
Washington Post, War in Context, Greentech Media, Business Insider, CNNMoney, NY1 News, Vox, CNN, National Review, ThinkProgress, Gizmodo, BillMoyers.com, Daily Kos, Morning Consult, Common Dreams, PRI, Gothamist, The Mahablog, Curbed NY - All, Jewish Telegraphic Agency, AOL, CityLab, Inside Energy, The Guardian, Racked, Reuters, Curbed, Just Security, DCist, Mark Zuckerberg, France 24, LinkedIn, New York Daily News, Outside the Beltway, Naked Politics, The Week, NPR, Fast Company, CBS Los Angeles, The Hill and Medium
New York Times:
Trump Administration Starts Returning Copies of C.I.A. Torture Report to Congress — WASHINGTON — The Trump administration has begun returning copies of a voluminous 2014 Senate report about the Central Intelligence Agency's detention and interrogation program to Congress …
Discussion:
Consortiumnews.com, Reuters, Hullabaloo, Axios, NBC News, Politicus USA, IJR, humanrightsfirst.org, Common Dreams, Boing Boing, Political Wire and Washington Post
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New York Times:
C.I.A. Names the ‘Dark Prince’ to Run Iran Operations, Signaling a Tougher Stance — WASHINGTON — He is known as the Dark Prince or Ayatollah Mike, nicknames he earned as the Central Intelligence Agency officer who oversaw the hunt for Osama bin Laden and the American drone strike campaign …
Discussion:
Politico, Business Insider, France 24, The Daily Caller, Power Line and Political Wire
Bre Payton / The Federalist:
The New York Times Just Outed The CIA's Top Iran Spy
The New York Times Just Outed The CIA's Top Iran Spy
Discussion:
Al Jazeera English, The Gateway Pundit, Business Insider and War in Context
Alexander Smith / NBC News:
Vladimir Putin to Megyn Kelly: Even Children Could Hack an Election — LONDON — Vladimir Putin again denied that Russia interfered in last year's U.S. election, joking to NBC News' Megyn Kelly on Friday that even her “underage daughter” could have been behind the hacking.
Discussion:
AOL, The Daily Caller, press.nbcnews.com, Talking Points Memo, CNBC, Daily Wire, The Week, TheBlaze, Hot Air and IJR
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Corky Siemaszko / NBC News:
Vladimir Putin Tells Megyn Kelly: U.S. Hackers Could Have Framed Russia — Russian President Vladimir Putin found himself on the defensive Friday when asked by NBC News' Megyn Kelly to explain his earlier claim that private “patriotic” hackers could have interfered in the 2016 U.S. presidential election.
Discussion:
The Right Scoop, CNBC, TheBlaze, The Daily Caller and Mediaite
Bill O'Neil / WXII-TV:
Sen. Burr on Russia investigation: 'There's no truth to Vladimir Putin's words'
Sen. Burr on Russia investigation: 'There's no truth to Vladimir Putin's words'
Discussion:
CNBC and Talking Points Memo
Jon Schwarz / The Intercept:
Jared Kushner Still Has a Job Because Washington Only Fears Republicans — Photo: Olivier Douliery/Press Pool via Bloomberg News/Getty Images — We don't know the reality underlying recent reporting about Jared Kushner's meetings this past December with the Russian ambassador to the U.S …
Discussion:
Washington Post, AOL, NBC News and Daily Kos
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Brad Reed / Raw Story:
Scarborough fingers Bannon as leaker: He's been ‘bragging’ he would sideline Kushner on Russia
Scarborough fingers Bannon as leaker: He's been ‘bragging’ he would sideline Kushner on Russia
Discussion:
The Root
Brian Ross / ABC News:
Lawmakers: Did looming debt leave Jared Kushner vulnerable to Russian influence?
Lawmakers: Did looming debt leave Jared Kushner vulnerable to Russian influence?
Discussion:
The Real Deal New York and Washington Post
David Lat / Above the Law:
Wachtell Lipton Partner George Conway Withdraws From Justice Department Consideration — Conway cited family reasons as the basis for his decision, but other considerations might have played a role. — On Wednesday evening, George T. Conway III — leading litigator, longtime partner at Wachtell Lipton …
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Karen Freifeld / Reuters:
Lawyer, expected to head Justice Department civil division, withdraws — New York lawyer George Conway, who had been expected to be nominated to head the U.S. Department of Justice's civil division, has withdrawn from consideration. — Conway, the husband of White House counselor Kellyanne Conway …
Discussion:
The Hill and The Daily Caller
MJ Lee / CNN:
God and the Don — Presidents often turn to faith in times of crisis. That seems unlikely for Trump. — Two days before his presidential inauguration, Donald Trump greeted a pair of visitors at his office in Trump Tower. — As a swarm of reporters waited in the gilded lobby …
Discussion:
Lawyers, Guns & Money
Patrick McGreevy / Los Angeles Times:
Single-payer healthcare plan advances in California Senate — without a way to pay its $400-billion tab — A proposal to adopt a single-payer healthcare system for California took an initial step forward Thursday when the state Senate approved a bare-bones bill that lacks a method for paying the $400-billion cost of the plan.
Discussion:
Forbes, Heat Street, National Review and TheBlaze
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CBS News:
California Senate backs longshot single-payer health care bill
California Senate backs longshot single-payer health care bill
Discussion:
CBS San Francisco and Hot Air
Melanie Mason / Los Angeles Times:
Q&A What would California's proposed single-payer healthcare system mean for me?
Q&A What would California's proposed single-payer healthcare system mean for me?
Discussion:
Instapundit and KTLA
Rachael Bade / Politico:
At raucous town hall, GOP Rep. Knight takes heat over repeal vote — SANTA CLARITA, Calif. — Rep. Steve Knight tried desperately to distinguish himself as a moderate Republican and counterpoint to an unpopular President Donald Trump during a 90-minute town hall here in sunny Santa Clarita.
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Siobhan Hughes / Wall Street Journal:
Republican Senator Says Deal on Health Care Unlikely This Year
Republican Senator Says Deal on Health Care Unlikely This Year
Discussion:
The Hill, Politicus USA, The Week, Associated Press, Axios, The Last Tradition and Political Wire
Madeline Conway / Politico:
GOP senators offer downbeat predictions on Obamacare repeal
GOP senators offer downbeat predictions on Obamacare repeal
Discussion:
The Hill
Adam Entous / Washington Post:
Nunes-led House Intelligence Committee asked for ‘unmaskings’ of Americans — The Republican-controlled House Intelligence Committee asked U.S. spy agencies late last year to reveal the names of U.S. individuals or organizations contained in classified intelligence on Russia's meddling in the 2016 election …
Alex Dobuzinskis / Reuters:
Comedian Kathy Griffin says her career is over after gory Trump photo — Comedian Kathy Griffin tearfully apologized in a Friday press conference for posing with a fake bloodied and severed head depicting U.S. President Donald Trump, saying that she felt her career was now over and that Trump “broke” her.
Discussion:
Joe.My.God.
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Robert Charles / Fox News:
Donald Trump - miracle worker — The world from which President Trump returns on his historic trip to Muslim Saudi Arabia, Jewish Israel, Christian Vatican, and agnostic Brussels, is different from the world prior to his trip. Hope exists where it did not, because of this trip. This is not rhetoric.
Kaila White / USA Today:
Arizona man wears colander in driver's license photo in name of religious freedom … PHOENIX — After years of trying and getting turned away, an Arizona man has finally received his official state driver's license bearing a photo of him wearing a spaghetti strainer on his head.
Discussion:
Heat Street, Friendly Atheist, Newseum Institute and The Daily Caller
Liz Spayd / New York Times:
The Public Editor Signs Off — There probably hasn't been a time in recent American history when the role of the media was more important than now. The Trump administration is drowning in scandal, the country is calcified into two partisan halves. And large newsrooms are faced with a choice …
Discussion:
Media Matters for America, more at Mediagazer »
Reuters:
Exclusive: Special counsel Mueller to probe ex-Trump aide Flynn's Turkey ties — Robert Mueller, the special counsel investigating possible ties between the Trump election campaign and Russia, is expanding his probe to include a grand jury investigation into former national security adviser Michael Flynn, three sources told Reuters.
Discussion:
Axios, The Atlantic, Hot Air, The Guardian, Daily Kos, Shakesville, Talking Points Memo, The Right Scoop, The Week, IJR and Political Wire