Top Items:
New York Times:
In Interview, Trump Expresses Anger at Sessions and Comey, and Warns Mueller — WASHINGTON — President Trump said on Wednesday that he never would have appointed Attorney General Jeff Sessions had he known Mr. Sessions would recuse himself from overseeing the Russia investigation that has dogged …
Axios:
GOP health care holdouts to meet tonight to work it out — All of the Republican senators who oppose the Senate health care bill are meeting tonight to work out their differences — after being told by President Trump this afternoon that they need to work late into the night to get a deal.
Discussion:
New York Magazine, Talking Points Memo and Political Wire
RELATED:
CNN:
White House dispatches former campaign aides to help revive health care push — STORY HIGHLIGHTS — Washington (CNN)Senate Republican efforts to repeal and replace Obamacare were quickly sinking on Tuesday after one-too-many Republican senators voiced their opposition to the legislation being pushed by GOP leaders.
Jennifer Haberkorn / Politico:
Key Senate Republicans to meet and try to revive health bill — The GOP's bid to repeal and replace Obamacare has been declared dead twice this week. But Republicans are giving it one last shot. — A group of GOP senators who opposed earlier health bills are meeting on Wednesday evening …
Discussion:
Talking Points Memo, Mother Jones and The Week
Rachael Bade / Politico:
Freedom Caucus to try to force vote on Obamacare repeal
Freedom Caucus to try to force vote on Obamacare repeal
Discussion:
Axios and Political Wire
Caitlin Owens / Axios:
Senate Republicans don't know what they're voting on next week
Jennifer Bendery / HuffPost:
The Senate Is About To Confirm A Federal Judge Who Compared Abortion To Slavery
The Senate Is About To Confirm A Federal Judge Who Compared Abortion To Slavery
Discussion:
Raw Story
Jordan Fabian / The Hill:
Trump to GOP senators: Cancel your recess
Trump to GOP senators: Cancel your recess
Discussion:
Politico, Talking Points Memo, Daily Wire and Washington Post
Washington Post:
Trump ends covert CIA program to arm anti-Assad rebels in Syria, a move sought by Moscow — President Trump has decided to end the CIA's covert program to arm and train moderate Syrian rebels battling the government of Bashar al-Assad, a move long sought by Russia, according to U.S. officials.
CBO's Publications:
H.R. 1628, Obamacare Repeal Reconciliation Act of 2017 — CBO and JCT estimate that enacting this legislation would reduce federal deficits by $473 billion over the coming decade and increase the number of people who are uninsured by 32 million in 2026 relative to current law.
Discussion:
Vox, Washington Monthly, Axios, Political Wire, Business Insider, The Daily Caller, Mediaite, Raw Story, Daily Kos, The Week, ACO Watch and IJR
RELATED:
Mike McIntire / New York Times:
Manafort Was in Debt to Pro-Russia Interests, Cyprus Records Show — Financial records filed last year in the secretive tax haven of Cyprus, where Paul J. Manafort kept bank accounts during his years working in Ukraine and investing with a Russian oligarch, indicate that he had been in debt …
Discussion:
Talking Points Memo, Political Wire, Balloon Juice and Raw Story
Nico Hines / The Daily Beast:
GOP Lawmaker Got Direction From Moscow, Took It Back to D.C. … Members of the team of Russians who secured a June 2016 Trump Tower meeting with Donald Trump Jr. and Jared Kushner also attempted to stage a show trial of anti-Putin campaigner Bill Browder on Capitol Hill.
Discussion:
IJR, McClatchy Washington Bureau, Balloon Juice and The Atlantic
RELATED:
John Santucci / ABC News:
Jared Kushner to appear before Senate Intelligence Committee Monday — White House senior adviser Jared Kushner has agreed to appear before the Senate Intelligence Committee as part of its investigation into Russian election meddling on Monday, July 24, ABC News has learned.
Discussion:
Politico, Axios, Raw Story, Political Wire and Joe.My.God.
RELATED:
People.com:
Inside Trump Family's Turmoil Amid Russia Scandal: Don Jr. Is ‘Miserable’ and Wants ‘These Four Years to Be Over’ — Donald Trump taught his children to fight dirty and win, no matter the cost. Subscribe now for a look at how the ruthless family culture has shaped Don Jr., his siblings, and the Presidency - only in PEOPLE.
Discussion:
The Hill, Raw Story, Vox, Hullabaloo, The Slot, AOL, CBS Chicago, CBS Los Angeles, The Week, Joe.My.God. and Political Wire
Gabriel Schoenfeld / USA Today:
Donald Trump Jr. and the whiff of treason: Morally, he's in deep.
Donald Trump Jr. and the whiff of treason: Morally, he's in deep.
Discussion:
The Daily Caller
New York Times:
Big German Bank, Key to Trump's Finances, Faces New Scrutiny — During the presidential campaign, Donald J. Trump pointed to his relationship with Deutsche Bank to counter reports that big banks were skeptical of doing business with him. — After a string of bankruptcies in his casino …
The Intercept:
U.S. Lawmakers Seek to Criminally Outlaw Support for Boycott Campaign Against Israel — The criminalization of political speech and activism against Israel has become one of the gravest threats to free speech in the west. In France, activists have been arrested and prosecuted for wearing t-shirts advocating a boycott of Israel.
Joel Clement / Washington Post:
I'm a scientist. I'm blowing the whistle on the Trump administration. — Joel Clement was director of the Office of Policy Analysis at the U.S. Interior Department until last week. He is now a senior adviser at the department's Office of Natural Resources Revenue. — I am not a member of the deep state.
Max Greenwood / The Hill:
John McCain diagnosed with brain cancer — DON'T MISS A BRIEF. SIGN UP FOR OUR DAILY EMAIL.
Discussion:
CNBC, The Gateway Pundit and The Resurgent
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New Jersey Online:
Criticize Trump at your peril, Republican candidates. Just ask Kim Guadagno. — Lt. Gov. Kim Guadagno. — NJ Advance Media for NJ.com — TRENTON — Already trailing badly in the polls, Republican New Jersey governor candidate Kim Guadagno has been hit with another devastating 1-2 punch …
Discussion:
Talking Points Memo, The Hill, Daily Wire, Shareblue and Political Wire
Indianapolis Star:
Carrier lays off first 300 employees on 6-month anniversary of Trump's presidency — President-elect Donald Trump gave one number on the amount of jobs that would be saved and a union president, another. So which is it? Nate Chute/IndyStar — CONNECT
Mike Hayes / BuzzFeed:
This Shocking Video Appears To Show Baltimore Police Planting Drugs At A Crime Scene — The defendant charged in the case involving the drugs shown in the video was scheduled to go to trial this week. The case has been dropped. — Shocking footage from a Baltimore police officer's body …
RELATED:
Haley Byrd / IJR:
Mulvaney to Insurers on Trump Plans if Health Bill Fails: 'You Probably Won't Like It That Much' — Office of Management and Budget Director Mick Mulvaney told attendees of a Bloomberg Government dinner Tuesday night that a long-term commitment from the Trump administration …
Discussion:
Bloomberg, Axios, The Daily Caller, Daily Kos, HuffPost and New York Times
Callum Borchers / Washington Post:
A reporter broke White House rules by streaming live audio of an off-camera briefing — It was only a matter of time. — At every White House news briefing since June 29 — and many before, too — President Trump's spokesmen have ordered a room full of smartphone-toting journalists …
Discussion:
Deadline, Mashable, Raw Story and Washington Free Beacon, more at Mediagazer »
Lisa Rein / Washington Post:
Postal Service broke law in pushing time off for workers to campaign for Clinton, investigation finds — The U.S. Postal Service engaged in “systemic” violations of federal law by pressuring managers to approve letter carriers taking time off last fall to campaign for Hillary Clinton …
Discussion:
Political Wire
RELATED:
Christopher Ingraham / Washington Post:
Jeff Sessions's Justice Department turns a $65 million asset forfeiture spigot back on — The Justice Department announced on Wednesday that it will be restarting a federal asset forfeiture program that had been shut down by the previous administration. — Known as “adoptive forfeiture …
Discussion:
Mother Jones, U.S. Department of Justice, CBS News, Freedom Partners, The Root, The Atlantic and IJR
RELATED:
Conor Friedersdorf / The Atlantic:
Jeff Sessions Treads on the Property Rights of Americans
Jeff Sessions Treads on the Property Rights of Americans
Discussion:
Washington Free Beacon, Hit & Run, Fusion, Daily Kos and Daily Wire
Lia Eustachewich / New York Post:
Masturbating and a cookie could cost O.J. his parole — O.J. Simpson during his 2013 hearing. — Getty Images … O.J. Simpson's parole bid could be derailed because he was caught masturbating in his cell, a federal lockup no-no, according to a new report Wednesday — but another media outlet immediately debunked the claim.
Discussion:
TMZ.com, The Root and Joe.My.God.
Jeet Heer / New Republic:
The Dirtbag Left and the Problem of Dominance Politics — Trump insulted his way to the White House. Now, Chapo Trap House is trying to insult Democrats into moving left—a strategy that's doomed to fail. — On a recent episode of the popular podcast Chapo Trap House …
Discussion:
New York Magazine
Susan Ferrechio / Washington Examiner:
HHS analysis finds Cruz amendment lowers premiums, boosts enrollment — Sen. Ted Cruz plans to unveil to Senators at a White House meeting on Wednesday an analysis from the Department of Health and Human Services showing his healthcare Consumer Freedom amendment would lower costs …
Discussion:
Talking Points Memo, Politico, Axios, ACASignups.net and The Daily Caller
Anna Merlan / Jezebel:
A Woman in R. Kelly's Inner Circle Describes Sexual Coercion and Control: 'It's Like Stockholm Syndrome' — Singer R. Kelly claimed to have “raised” one of his teenage sexual conscripts since the age of “14 or 15,” according to a sometime member of his entourage who spoke to Jezebel about life inside the singer's inner circle.
Discussion:
Refinery29, Conservative News Today, Chicagoist, TMZ.com, The Root and The Guardian, more at Mediagazer »
Ezra Klein / Vox:
Trump can't make a health care deal because he doesn't understand health care — Trump is uninformed, underprepared, and unclear — and this is is the result. — The blame in the Senate's health care omnishambles is attaching to Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, and understandably so …
Discussion:
Axios, Talking Points Memo, New York Magazine, Washington Post, Mother Jones, IJR, The Hill and Sacramento Bee