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 …
Discussion:
Lawfare, RedState, Washington Post, Vox, Weekly Standard, The Hill, Axios, Politico, Baltimore Sun, No More Mister Nice Blog, IJR, Raw Story, Daily Kos, Media Matters for America, Geller Report, Just Security, The Week, Conservative News Today, CANNONFIRE, ABC News, Above the Law, CNBC, New York Magazine, Business Insider, Lawyers, Guns & Money, Mediaite, ThinkProgress, The Atlantic, Common Dreams, The Guardian, Joe.My.God., Fusion, The American Conservative, The Root, The Daily Caller, The Last Refuge, BuzzFeed, NPR, Little Green Footballs, Suburban Guerrilla …, Mother Jones, TheBlaze, Politicus USA, The Last Tradition, Power Line, Balloon Juice, Talking Points Memo, Washington Free Beacon and Althouse
RELATED:
New York Times:
Excerpts From The Times's Interview With Trump — President Trump spoke on Wednesday with three New York Times reporters — Peter Baker, Michael S. Schmidt and Maggie Haberman — in an exclusive interview in the Oval Office. Also in attendance was Hope Hicks, a White House spokeswoman.
Eli Watkins / CNN:
Trump says he wouldn't have picked Sessions if he knew he'd recuse himself
Trump says he wouldn't have picked Sessions if he knew he'd recuse himself
Discussion:
Vox, Washington Post, Raw Story, IJR, Mediaite, The Daily Caller, The Week and ABC News
Veronica Stracqualursi / ABC News:
The Note: Trump's bombshell interview drops on his 6-month mark
The Note: Trump's bombshell interview drops on his 6-month mark
Discussion:
Politico, Talking Points Memo, New York Times, Raw Story and Mediaite
Fox News:
Fox News Exclusive: Rosenstein says internal memos should stay ‘confidential,’ after Comey leak
Fox News Exclusive: Rosenstein says internal memos should stay ‘confidential,’ after Comey leak
Discussion:
Washington Post and Business Insider
Matthew Nussbaum / Politico:
Trump turns against his attorney general over Russia
Trump turns against his attorney general over Russia
Discussion:
ABC News, Washington Post, Raw Story, Conservative News Today, Politico, Business Insider, Hullabaloo, IJR, The Week, RedState, Joe.My.God., Mediaite and The Last Tradition
New York Times:
Inspiring Little Fear in Senators, Trump Struggles to Sell Health Bill — WASHINGTON — President Trump thought he could sell balky Republican senators like Ron Johnson of Wisconsin on the Senate health care bill through pleasantries, cajoling and, ultimately, some Oval Office muscle.
Discussion:
Mediaite, Raw Story, Politicus USA, The Week, ThinkProgress, twitchy.com, HuffPost and Vox
RELATED:
Rachael Bade / Politico:
Republicans lament an agenda in ‘quicksand’ — Sen. David Perdue persuaded Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell last week to scrap two weeks of August recess to advance President Donald Trump's agenda. But since then, the GOP's Obamacare repeal effort has almost entirely collapsed …
Discussion:
Washington Post, Raw Story and Political Wire
CNN:
As repeal and replace falters, more say GOP should abandon repeal plan
As repeal and replace falters, more say GOP should abandon repeal plan
Discussion:
John Hawkins' Right Wing News, The Week and Talking Points Memo
Danielle Kurtzleben / NPR:
Fact Check: Trump's Confusing Remarks To Senate Republicans On Health Care
Fact Check: Trump's Confusing Remarks To Senate Republicans On Health Care
Discussion:
WGBH News, Common Dreams, Politico and New York Times
Rachael Bade / Politico:
Freedom Caucus to try to force vote on Obamacare repeal
Freedom Caucus to try to force vote on Obamacare repeal
Discussion:
The Resurgent, Balloon Juice, Daily Wire, The Hill, Axios, Political Wire and Talking Points Memo
Jennifer Haberkorn / Politico:
Senate Republicans still at impasse after late-night health care meeting
Senate Republicans still at impasse after late-night health care meeting
Discussion:
Political Wire, Axios, The Week, Washington Post, Mother Jones, Talking Points Memo and New York Magazine
Josh Kraushaar / National Journal:
Trump's Presidency Fuels Conservatism's Decline
Sarah Ferris / Politico:
House GOP leaders face uphill budget battle
House GOP leaders face uphill budget battle
Discussion:
Reuters and Washington Post
Susan Scutti / CNN:
Sen. John McCain has brain cancer, aggressive tumor surgically removed — Lab results from a surgery on Friday confirmed the presence of glioblastoma associated with the blood clot — (CNN)Sen. John McCain, 80, has been diagnosed with a primary glioblastoma, a type of brain tumor …
Discussion:
Raw Story, The Atlantic, The Root, IJR, Refinery29, The Last Refuge, BuzzFeed and Politicus USA
RELATED:
Donald Trump / ABC News:
Democrats, Republicans send well wishes to Sen. McCain
Democrats, Republicans send well wishes to Sen. McCain
Discussion:
Politico
Joe Ferguson / Arizona Daily Star:
Sen. John McCain diagnosed with malignant brain tumor
Sen. John McCain diagnosed with malignant brain tumor
Discussion:
Power Line, twitchy.com and The Gateway Pundit
Max Greenwood / The Hill:
John McCain diagnosed with brain cancer
John McCain diagnosed with brain cancer
Discussion:
ABC News, Scared Monkeys, CNBC, The Gateway Pundit, Daily Wire and The Resurgent
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:
The Guardian, The Week, CNBC, New York Magazine, Raw Story, Talking Points Memo, Balloon Juice and Political Wire
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 …
Discussion:
Raw Story and Balloon Juice
Bill Scher / Politico:
How Democrats Won the Healthcare War — And how they could lose the next one. — “The mover on health care loses,” Democratic operative James Carville said in January. “To do something is to lose.” That cold-hearted political proverb has been repeatedly proven true, if the standard is short-term electoral gain.
Discussion:
Bloomberg.com, Washington Free Beacon and Fusion
RELATED:
Kurt Schlichter / Townhall.com:
We Must Elect Senator Kid Rock — The news that Southern-fried rock/rapper Kid Rock will be running for some timeserving Dem hack's Senate seat in Michigan should make every normal American smile and spill a 40 to his homies. The future Senator Rock deserves your eager support for two critical reasons …
Ira Madison III / The Daily Beast:
The ‘Game of Thrones’ Creators' Next Show Sounds Stupid as Hell … The takes are already rolling in on Confederate, a forthcoming HBO series from the showrunners of Game of Thrones, David Benioff and D.B. Weiss — but all you really need to know is that this show sounds stupid as hell.
Discussion:
NBC News, Raw Story and East Bay Times
RELATED:
Steve Phillips / New York Times:
The Democratic Party's Billion-Dollar Mistake — The Democratic Party is at risk of repeating the billion-dollar blunder that helped create its devastating losses of 2016. With its obsessive focus on wooing voters who supported Donald Trump, it is neglecting the cornerstone of its coalition …
Chris Kahn / Reuters:
One in eight people who voted for Trump having second thoughts - Reuters/Ipsos poll — 6 MIN READ — NEW YORK (Reuters) - About one in eight people who voted for President Donald Trump said they are not sure they would do so again after witnessing Trump's tumultuous first six months in office …
Discussion:
Talking Points Memo
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:
Axios, Vox, Balloon Juice, Health Affairs Blog, CNBC, Daily Kos, ACO Watch, The Daily Caller, The Week, Business Insider, Raw Story, Washington Monthly, IJR, NPR, Mediaite, Joe.My.God. and Political Wire
Foreign Policy:
A Guide to Russia's Diplomatic Properties in Washington — It's no secret that the Russian Embassy wants its diplomatic compounds back. — In December 2016, in addition to expelling 35 Russian diplomats, the Barack Obama administration seized two Russian compounds …
Juliet Eilperin / Washington Post:
Trump just nominated a climate skeptic to USDA's top science post … President Trump on Wednesday nominated Sam Clovis, a former college professor and talk radio host who has challenged the scientific consensus that human activity has been the primary driver of climate change …
Discussion:
Fusion
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, Washington Free Beacon and Raw Story, more at Mediagazer »
RELATED:
Rebecca Kheel / The Hill:
Trump to nominate Raytheon lobbyist for Army secretary — President Trump will nominate Raytheon lobbyist Mark Esper as secretary of the Army, according to multiple reports and a source in contact with the administration. — Esper would be the third person nominated to be the Army's top civilian leader …
RELATED:
Jamie McIntyre / Washington Examiner:
Exclusive: Trump to nominate Mark Esper as Army secretary
Exclusive: Trump to nominate Mark Esper as Army secretary
Discussion:
Military Times, The Daily Caller, Business Insider and Washington Free Beacon
Aida Chavez / The Hill:
RNC won't back NJ gubernatorial candidate over criticism of Trump: report — The Republican National Committee isn't spending big for New Jersey gubernatorial candidate Kim Guadagno because the RNC doesn't think she has been loyal to President Trump, NJ.com reported Wednesday.
Discussion:
RedState
RELATED: