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Our politics are divided. They have been for a long time. And while I know that division makes it difficult to listen to Americans with whom we disagree, that's what we need to do today. — I recognize that repealing and replacing the Affordable Care Act has become a core tenet of the Republican Party.
Discussion:
Mediaite, Raw Story, twitchy.com and ABC News
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The conservative health care problem — Even before the Senate health care bill is released, conservatives already want to amend it. Sen. Ted Cruz may try to amend the bill to let insurers sell health plans that don't comply with Affordable Care Act rules — but Majority Leader Mitch McConnell …
Discussion:
The Moderate Voice, ABC News, Politico, Business Insider, Gizmodo, The Guardian and FiveThirtyEight

Here comes the Senate GOP's health bill. It's a cruel and cynical shell game. — THE MORNING PLUM: — President Trump has privately described the GOP repeal-and-replace bill that recently passed the House as “mean,” and he said he hopes the Senate version has more “heart.”
Discussion:
CNBC, Washington Examiner, The Atlantic, Little Green Footballs, Shareblue, Center for American …, Mark R. Warner, New York Magazine, Balloon Juice, Daily Kos, NPR and Axios


Senate finally unveils secret health care bill — Washington (CNN)The closely guarded Senate health care bill written entirely behind closed doors finally became public Thursday in a do-or-die moment for the Republican Party's winding efforts to repeal Obamacare.
Discussion:
ThinkProgress, Business Insider, Bloomberg, Vox, Salon, Mother Jones, The Root, The Daily Caller, The Hill, TheBlaze, Joe.My.God., Refinery29, Arkansas Blog, Arkansas Times and Politicus USA


The Senate health bill is out. Here's your speed read — You can read it here, and a summary here. The highlights: — Ends the Affordable Care Act's mandates and most of its taxes. — Phases out its Medicaid expansion over three years, ending in 2024.
Discussion:
ThinkProgress, STAT, KTLA, Patterico's Pontifications, The Week, Mediaite and fox13now.com


The Better Care Reconciliation Act: the Senate bill to repeal and replace Obamacare, explained
Discussion:
Center on Budget …, Washington Post, The Week, Arkansas Blog, Arkansas Times, Refinery29 and New York Times


The Senate version of Trumpcare may phase out Medicaid — entirely
Discussion:
Vox, Los Angeles Times, Rasmussen Reports, The Week, Lawyers, Guns & Money, Bloomberg Government and Washington Post

The Media Bias Toward “New” News Helped the GOP Hide Its Secret Health Care Plan
Discussion:
Lawyers, Guns & Money and Washington Post

Senate GOP Health Bill to Break With House on Key Points
Discussion:
The Atlantic, The Daily Caller, Daily Kos, Talking Points Memo and No More Mister Nice Blog

GOP senator: I would not call this ‘ObamaCare repeal’
Discussion:
RedState

GOP repeal bill reveals catastrophic attack on Planned Parenthood and 2.4 million patients
Discussion:
IJR

Trump Said to Not Have Recordings of Conversations With Comey — President Donald Trump doesn't have recordings of his conversations with then-FBI Director James Comey, according to a person familiar with the matter, capping weeks of speculation about whether such tapes exist.
Discussion:
ThinkProgress, Little Green Footballs, The Atlantic, The Daily Caller, Political Wire, Business Insider, Axios, Mediaite, IJR, The Guardian, The Gateway Pundit and Raw Story
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Gingrich: Trump was trying to ‘rattle’ Comey with tapes claim — Former Speaker Newt Gingrich (R-Ga.) said he thinks President Trump was trying to “rattle” former FBI Director James Comey by suggesting there might be recordings of their conversations. — “I think he was, in his way …
Discussion:
Politico, The Gateway Pundit, Washington Post and The Week

Trump: ‘I did not make, and do not have’ Comey tapes
Discussion:
Breitbart, Associated Press, Toronto Star, Talking Points Memo and Joe.My.God.

Pelosi's Democratic critics plot to replace her — A group of unhappy House Democrats plan to meet Thursday to discuss if — and how — they can replace Rep. Nancy Pelosi as minority leader. — Led by Reps. Kathleen Rice (D-N.Y.), Seth Moulton (D-Mass.) and Tim Ryan (D-Ohio) …
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The Note: Trump's ‘poor’ choice of words raises eyebrows — WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW TODAY — Time to show their work: Senate Republicans share their health care draft this morning after negotiating it behind closed doors. The bill is expected to roll back Medicaid expansions but more gradually …
Discussion:
Politico


Some House Democrats says it's time for Pelosi to go
Discussion:
Politico, The Gateway Pundit, IrishCentral, The Daily Caller, IJR, NBC News and The Hill


Intel chiefs tell investigators Trump suggested they refute collusion with Russians — Coats and Rogers said interactions with Trump about the Russia investigation were odd, uncomfortable — (CNN)Two of the nation's top intelligence officials told Special Counsel Robert Mueller's team …


Exploding cream dispenser kills French fitness blogger — A well-known lifestyle blogger in France has been killed by an exploding whipped cream dispenser. — Rebecca Burger's death was announced on Facebook in what her family called a “domestic accident”.
Discussion:
Fox News, Fox 59, NBC News, Boing Boing, WTVR-TV, KTLA, The Daily Caller, KFOR-TV, IJR and WPMT FOX43
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Whipped cream dispenser explodes, killing French Instagram fitness model
Discussion:
The Guardian


Kamala Harris Was Silenced. Then She Silenced Us. — Last week, Senator Kamala Harris, a Democrat from California, made headlines when Republican senators interrupted her at a hearing of the Senate Intelligence Committee while she interrogated Attorney General Jeff Sessions.
Discussion:
The Hugh Hewitt Show, Friendly Atheist and Washington Free Beacon


Canadian elite special forces sniper makes record-breaking kill shot in Iraq — OTTAWA BUREAU CHIEF — The Globe and Mail (includes correction) — A sniper with Canada's elite special forces in Iraq has shattered the world record for the longest confirmed kill shot in military history at a staggering distance of 3,540 metres.
Discussion:
USA Today, Defense One, NPR, IJR, Daily Mail, Business Insider, AOL, CBS Sacramento and Clayton Cramer


Trump Turns an Iowa Rally Into a Venting Session — CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa — President Trump said on Wednesday that he was crafting legislation to bar new immigrants from receiving welfare for at least five years. He announced the proposal in a conquering-hero-returns speech in Iowa …
Discussion:
CBS News, New York Magazine, Daily Kos, The New Civil Rights Movement, Mediaite, AOL, The Week and Joe.My.God.
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Trump: 'I just don't want a poor person' in top economic roles
Discussion:
Daily Wire


MSNBC Gives Conservative Radio Host Hugh Hewitt a Show — The commentator is joining MSNBC's Saturday morning lineup, a move that is sure to raise eyebrows at the network and among the network's left-leaning fans. — MSNBC, which has been soaring lately in both ratings and in advertising prices …
Discussion:
Washington Free Beacon
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Giving People More Control Over Their Facebook Profile Picture — Part of our goal in building global community is understanding the needs of people who use Facebook in specific countries and how we can better serve them. In India, we've heard that people want more control over their profile pictures …
Discussion:
BuzzFeed, The Daily Caller and The Verge, more at Techmeme »
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Mark Zuckerberg explains why he just changed Facebook's mission
Discussion:
Gizmodo and The Verge, more at Techmeme »


Trump's Carrier jobs deal is just not living up to the hype — Carrier, a division of UTC, will employ about 1,069 people for 10 years in exchange for $7 million in incentives. But there are crucial details in the fine print. — State and local governments spend at least $70 billion …


WATCH: Morning Joe panel slams ‘dear leader’ Trump with horrifying 2-minute mashup of his Iowa lies — DON'T MISS STORIES. FOLLOW RAW STORY! — A “Morning Joe” panel examined President Donald Trump's lie-filled rally in Iowa, where his supporters cheered each falsehood and jeered when he attacked the media.
Discussion:
Washington Times


2 Cosby holdouts prevented guilty verdict, juror says — In an exclusive interview with ABC News, a juror in the Bill Cosby sexual assault case said that after dozens of hours of grueling deliberations in a tiny room, 10 of the 12 jurors agreed he was guilty on two counts.
Discussion:
CNN, ThinkProgress, Associated Press, Heat Street, Mashable, The Daily Caller, FiveThirtyEight, The Root and Althouse


Hillary Clinton Unique With No Post-Election Image Gain — WASHINGTON, D.C. — Americans are no more likely to view Hillary Clinton favorably than they were before last year's presidential election. Forty-one percent have a favorable view of the 2016 Democratic presidential candidate …
Discussion:
Shakesville, Conservative News Today, Fox News Insider, The Lid and Business Insider


America's Complex Relationship With Guns — An in-depth look at the attitudes and experiences of U.S. adults — As a nation, the U.S. has a deep and enduring connection to guns. Integrated into the fabric of American society since the country's earliest days, guns remain a point of pride for many Americans.
Discussion:
Washington Post, Politico, New York Times, NPR and NBC News