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, Mediaite, Politicus USA, Political Wire, New York Magazine and IJR
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Matea Gold / Washington Post:
Ethics office will press White House on undated conflict-of-interest waivers
Ethics office will press White House on undated conflict-of-interest waivers
Discussion:
USOGE, Political Wire and Talking Points Memo
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, Daily Kos, New York Magazine, Politicus USA, The Guardian, Refinery29, AOL, The Week, 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:
TheBlaze, Raw Story 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
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.
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:
The Daily Caller, AOL, Talking Points Memo, press.nbcnews.com, Daily Wire, TheBlaze, CNBC, The Week, IJR and Hot Air
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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:
Business Insider, The Right Scoop, CNBC, The Daily Caller, TheBlaze 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:
The Hill, CNBC, The Week and Talking Points Memo
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:
BuzzFeed, Reuters, Consortiumnews.com, NBC News, Politicus USA, IJR, humanrightsfirst.org, Common Dreams, Boing Boing, Hullabaloo, Axios, Political Wire and Washington Post
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Josh Dawsey / Politico:
Trump needs quick wins, but Congress not poised to deliver — In a conference room near his office last Monday, House Speaker Paul Ryan gave conservative activists some unwelcome news: He wanted the Senate, House and White House on the same page before a tax reform bill was introduced …
Discussion:
Raw Story
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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 …
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
Lawyer, expected to head Justice Department civil division, withdraws
Discussion:
The Hill and The Daily Caller
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
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
CBS News:
California Senate backs longshot single-payer health care bill — SACRAMENTO, Calif. — The California Senate voted Thursday to advance a longshot single-payer health care plan that would replace insurance companies with government-funded health care for everyone in the state.
Discussion:
CBS San Francisco and Hot Air
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Patrick McGreevy / Los Angeles Times:
Single-payer healthcare plan advances in California Senate — without a way to pay its $400-billion tab
Single-payer healthcare plan advances in California Senate — without a way to pay its $400-billion tab
Discussion:
Heat Street, Forbes, National Review and TheBlaze
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
The Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation:
Large Majorities of Democrats, Independents, and Republicans Want Continued Federal Funding for Medicaid Expansion — Most Oppose Medicaid Caps and Structural Changes — MAJORITY OF REPUBLICANS SEE MEDICAID AS WELFARE WHILE DEMOCRATS AND INDEPENDENTS SEE IT AS INSURANCE
Discussion:
Mother Jones and Politicus USA
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Rachael Bade / Politico:
At raucous town hall, GOP Rep. Knight takes heat over repeal vote
At raucous town hall, GOP Rep. Knight takes heat over repeal vote
Discussion:
RedState, Daily Kos and Associated Press
Madeline Conway / Politico:
GOP senators offer downbeat predictions on Obamacare repeal
GOP senators offer downbeat predictions on Obamacare repeal
Discussion:
The Hill
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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Bre Payton / The Federalist:
The New York Times Just Outed The CIA's Top Iran Spy — In an article published Friday, The New York Times outed the Central Intelligence Agency's (CIA) top spy overseeing the organization's efforts in Iran. The paper justified its outing of the undercover CIA spy and his role within …
Discussion:
Al Jazeera English, The Gateway Pundit, Business Insider and War in Context
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Associated Press:
Trump to nominate Richard Spencer for Navy secretary — President Donald Trump says he's found a new candidate for the civilian post of Navy secretary. — His name is Richard Spencer, and he's a former financial industry executive. Spencer is also a former Marine Corps captain.
Discussion:
Politico
Steven Hayward / Power Line:
Pelosi Goes Full Theocrat — By invoking Pope Francis on climate change, Nancy Pelosi unwittingly confirms that the climate mania is indeed a matter of religious fanaticism, especially since she exhibits medieval ignorance about the subject by confusing greenhouse gases with “the air we breath.”
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 …
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