Top Items:
Josh Dawsey / Politico:
Inside Trump's snap decision to ban transgender troops — After a week sparring with his attorney general and steaming over the Russia investigation consuming his agenda, President Donald Trump was closing in on an important win. — House Republicans were planning to pass a spending bill stacked …
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mccain.senate.gov:
STATEMENT BY SASC CHAIRMAN JOHN McCAIN ON TRANSGENDER AMERICANS IN THE MILITARY — Washington, D.C. - U.S. Senator John McCain (R-AZ), Chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, released the following statement today on President Trump's tweet regarding transgender Americans in the military:
Discussion:
The Daily Caller, Fox News Insider, National Review, Business Insider, Politicus USA, Deadline and Mediaite
Christopher Ingraham / Washington Post:
The military spends five times as much on Viagra as it would on transgender troops' medical care — On Twitter this morning, President Trump announced a ban on transgender people serving in the military, citing “medical costs” as the primary driver of the decision.
Discussion:
Politico, Business Insider, IJR, AOL, Richard Dawkins Foundation, Vox, Mashable, ThinkProgress and CNBC, more at Techmeme »
New York Times:
Trump Says Transgender People Will Not Be Allowed in the Military — WASHINGTON — President Trump announced on Wednesday that the United States will no longer “accept or allow” transgender people in the United States military, saying American forces “must be focused on decisive and overwhelming victory” …
Cora Lewis / BuzzFeed:
Trump Says Transgender People Cannot “Serve In Any Capacity” In The Military
Trump Says Transgender People Cannot “Serve In Any Capacity” In The Military
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Shareblue, ABC News, Washington Monthly, Talking Points Memo, Mashable, UPI, AOL, WAVY-TV, The Gateway Pundit and Daily Kos
Eric Boehlert / Shareblue:
Trump “blindsided the Pentagon” with new military policy he got watching Fox News
Trump “blindsided the Pentagon” with new military policy he got watching Fox News
Discussion:
Mediaite, Media Matters for America, IJR and Daily Kos
Jason Noble / Des Moines Register:
Ernst breaks with Trump on transgender military ban
Ernst breaks with Trump on transgender military ban
Discussion:
Washington Post, Vox, Business Insider, IJR, John Hawkins' Right Wing News, Hit & Run, IndieWire, RedState, The Daily Caller and Mashable
The Daily Beast:
Trump Bows to Religious Right, Bans Trans Troops
Trump Bows to Religious Right, Bans Trans Troops
Discussion:
No More Mister Nice Blog, Business Insider and IJR
Mallory Shelbourne / The Hill:
Hatch: ‘Transgender people are people’
Hatch: ‘Transgender people are people’
Discussion:
Politico, Shareblue, Task & Purpose and The Daily Caller
Media Matters for America:
Before Trump banned transgender people from serving in military, here's who praised him as pro-LGBTQ
The Hill:
Trump to ban transgender people from all military service
Trump to ban transgender people from all military service
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Vox, Politico, ABC News, Shareblue, Task & Purpose, Business Insider, Hot Air, GLAAD, Axios, Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion, Splinter, Mediaite, Washington Post, Deadline, ThinkProgress, Bearing Arms, The Daily Caller, Mother Jones, The Gateway Pundit, Media Matters for America, The Daily Signal, Human Rights Campaign, IJR, Common Dreams, Right Wing Watch, Friendly Atheist, NBC News, Mashable, The Root, twitchy.com, No More Mister Nice Blog, 9to5Mac, Talking Points Memo, Washington Monthly, Refinery29 and The Atlantic
Jeremy Herb / CNN:
House defeats bid to block Pentagon funding transgender surgeries
House defeats bid to block Pentagon funding transgender surgeries
Discussion:
Foreign Policy, The Guardian, Politico, Business Insider, Jezebel and New York Magazine
Abby Phillip / Washington Post:
Trump announces ban on transgender people in U.S. military
Trump announces ban on transgender people in U.S. military
Discussion:
CNN, The Moderate Voice, Politico, Breitbart, ABC News, Axios, HuffPost, CBS Los Angeles, Media Matters for America, Slate, NBC News, Mediaite, Fox News, John Hawkins' Right Wing News, NPR, The Atlantic, Business Insider, ThinkProgress, CBS Dallas, vice, The Daily Signal, The Daily Caller, Conservative News Today, WSVN-TV, The Gateway Pundit, Talking Points Memo, CNBC, Just Security, VICE News, KTLA, New York's PIX11, CBS New York, Snopes.com, The Times of Israel, www.wnyc.org, Vox, TheBlaze, IJR, Politicus USA, Refinery29, Daily Wire, WCCO | CBS Minnesota, Raw Story, Mashable, The First Street Journal, RedState and FOX News Radio
John Bowden / The Hill:
GOP senators break with Trump over transgender troop ban
GOP senators break with Trump over transgender troop ban
Discussion:
RedState, al.com, VICE News and Washington Post
Mark K. Matthews / Denver Post:
Colorado Republican Ken Buck: “Any American ... should be allowed to serve” …
Colorado Republican Ken Buck: “Any American ... should be allowed to serve” …
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The Atlantic
Page Six:
‘Dancing with the Stars’ wants Sean Spicer … Sean Spicer is taking his first steps to transition from the White House briefing room to the bright lights of a TV news studio — but he's also being courted by “Dancing with the Stars,” Page Six has learned. — The outgoing press secretary spent …
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Townhall.com, Talking Points Memo, Political Wire, Jezebel, Raw Story, Mediaite, The Week and Washington Free Beacon
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Kashmir Hill / Splinter:
Why Did Jared Kushner Download an Encrypted, Disappearing Message App? — The list of people interested in Jared Kushner's communications history keeps growing: This week, the White House advisor and presidential son-in-law voluntarily handed over documents to the Senate intelligence committee …
Discussion:
Raw Story
Tara Palmeri / Politico:
‘Dancing with the Stars’ wants to waltz with Spicer — Departing White House press secretary Sean Spicer may have spent the last six months as a cast member of the White House version of “Survivor” but his next act might be with a different sort of reality show.
Discussion:
TVNewser
Jonathan Chait / New York Magazine:
The ‘Skinny Bill’ Is a Farce. Here's the Real Reason Republicans Are Doing It. — At times, various factions in Congress have called for repealing, replacing, or repairing Obamacare. Senate Republicans have been unable to agree on which of these ends to pursue, and so instead …
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Daily Kos
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Dylan Scott / Vox:
The latest vote to repeal Obamacare fails in the Senate
The latest vote to repeal Obamacare fails in the Senate
Discussion:
Axios, The Daily Caller and Balloon Juice
Jordain Carney / The Hill:
Senate rejects repeal-only ObamaCare plan
Senate rejects repeal-only ObamaCare plan
Discussion:
RedState, The Gateway Pundit, Mediaite and IJR
Seung Min Kim / Politico:
‘Skinny’ Obamacare repeal still lacks votes to pass
‘Skinny’ Obamacare repeal still lacks votes to pass
Discussion:
Axios, Vox, USA Today, Hit & Run, Reuters, Washington Post, Washington Monthly and Booman Tribune
Ross Douthat / New York Times:
A Trump Tower of Absolute Folly — Donald Trump's campaign against his attorney general, Jeff Sessions, in which he is seemingly attempting to insult and humiliate and tweet-shame Sessions into resignation, is an insanely stupid exercise. It is a multitiered tower of political idiocy …
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Mike Allen / Axios:
Jeff Sessions won't take Trump's hint
Jeff Sessions won't take Trump's hint
Discussion:
Wall Street Journal, ABC News, Politico, Business Insider, neo-neocon, Washington Examiner and The Mahablog
Warren / THE WARREN (HENRY) REPORT:
Tucker Calrissian Tonight
Tucker Calrissian Tonight
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Fox News Insider, The Guardian and The Rush Limbaugh Show
Jake Gibson / Fox News:
Sessions to announce investigations into intelligence leaks: source
Sessions to announce investigations into intelligence leaks: source
Discussion:
Townhall.com, Axios, The Daily Caller, ThinkProgress, Talking Points Memo and The Week
Oliver Darcy / CNNMoney:
Matt Drudge is firing warning shots at Trump, and that should worry the president — Conway: White House staff is tough, but humble — Matt Drudge has been in the White House an awful lot these days — “all the time,” as one senior administration official puts it.
Discussion:
The Week
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel:
Foxconn to announce billions in investments and thousands of jobs for Wisconsin — MADISON - Foxconn Technology Group will announce at the White House on Wednesday its plans to build a massive plant in Wisconsin that would employ thousands. — The project could reshape the economy …
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New York Magazine and Crain's Detroit Business, more at Techmeme »
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Ryan Grim / The Intercept:
Steve Bannon Pushing For 44 Percent Marginal Tax Rate On The Very Rich — Top White House adviser Steve Bannon is pushing for tax reform to include a new 44 percent top marginal tax rate, hitting people who earn more than $5 million a year, with the revenue paying for tax cuts for the rest …
Discussion:
Raw Story and The Daily Caller
Tom Winter / NBC News:
DOJ: Ex-Manafort Associate Firtash Is Top-Tier Comrade of Russian Mobsters — The Department of Justice has identified a former business associate of ex-Trump campaign manager Paul Manafort as an “upper-echelon [associate] of Russian organized crime.” — The declaration came in a 115-page filing …
Discussion:
Political Wire and Raw Story
Billy House / Bloomberg:
Gowdy Acted Like Kushner's Lawyer Behind Closed Doors, Democrat Says — Gowdy says Democrats ‘ran out of questions’ for Kushner — Intelligence panel interviewed Kushner as part of Russia probe — Republican Trey Gowdy acted behind closed doors like a lawyer for President Donald Trump's son-in-law …
Discussion:
Politico and Weekly Standard
The Hill:
Welcome to The Hill's 50 Most Beautiful! — After receiving hundreds upon hundreds of nominations, it was tough to choose just 50. — But following a lot of debate, we finalized this year's winners. — There is one thing that's different than our prior lists.
Discussion:
The Daily Caller and John Hawkins' Right Wing News
Evgenia Peretz / Vanity Fair:
Angelina Jolie Solo — Photographs by Mert Alas and Marcus Piggott. Styled by Jessica Diehl. … Like most things involving Angelina Jolie, stepping foot into her house is an experience so heightened one wonders if it's for real or the product of careful orchestration.
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Splinter
New York Times:
Health Care Vote: Senate Rejects Repeal Without Replace — • The Senate on Wednesday afternoon rejected a proposal to repeal major parts of the Affordable Care Act without providing a replacement. Follow the live vote tracker to see how each senator voted.
Discussion:
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Josh Rogin / Washington Post:
State Department head of diplomatic security resigns — The head of the State Department's diplomatic security bureau has resigned and will leave his post on Thursday, leaving the two top positions vacant for the foreseeable future in the bureau in charge of embassy security around the world.
Fox News:
Russia probe: Democrats block key witness against shadowy firm Fusion GPS — Senate Democrats used a parliamentary maneuver Wednesday to cut short a high-profile hearing, where a key witness was set to testify on Russia's misdeeds and also raise fresh allegations against the company behind the infamous anti-Trump dossier.
Discussion:
Washington Free Beacon, The Gateway Pundit and Daily Wire