Top Items:
New York Times:
Trump's Threat to North Korea Was Improvised — BRIDGEWATER, N.J. — President Trump delivered his “fire and fury” threat to North Korea on Tuesday with arms folded, jaw set and eyes flitting on what appeared to be a single page of talking points set before him on the conference table at his New Jersey golf resort.
Discussion:
CNN, The Atlantic, New Yorker, ThinkProgress, Fox News, Bloomberg, Washington Post, NPR, USA Today, Investor's Business Daily, AOL, Washington Free Beacon, Politico, The Washington Journal, HuffPost, Pacific Daily News, IJR, The Guardian, The Week, Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion, No More Mister Nice Blog, CNBC, The Federalist, Mother Jones, Weekly Standard, The Root, Talking Points Memo, Business Insider, ABC News, Mediaite, Shareblue and The Daily Caller
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Alberto Nardelli / BuzzFeed:
This Is What European Diplomats Really Think About Donald Trump — Interviews with six top officials paint a picture of a president who is regarded even by allies as erratic and limited, and whose shortcomings are compounded by the ongoing chaos beneath him in the White House. — Reporting From
Jonathan Chait / New York Magazine:
Ignore Our Crazy President, U.S. Government Tells North Korea — President Trump brought the United States and North Korea to the precipice of war by warning that any further threats would be met with a nuclear attack. ("North Korea best not make any more threats to the United States.
Julie Hirschfeld Davis / New York Times:
Trump's Harsh Language on North Korea Has Little Precedent, Experts Say — WASHINGTON — President Trump's warning on Tuesday that North Korea would experience “fire and fury like the world has never seen” if it continued threatening the United States was a remarkable escalation of military rhetoric …
Ellen Mitchell / The Hill:
Mattis warns North Korea of ‘destruction of its people’ — warned North Korea in stark terms on Wednesday that it faces devastation if it does not end its pursuit of nuclear weapons — “The DPRK must choose to stop isolating itself and stand down its pursuit of nuclear weapons,” …
Discussion:
The Atlantic, Politico, Axios, CNN, New York Times, The Gateway Pundit, Defense One and Fox News
John Hudson / BuzzFeed:
Trump Hasn't Appointed An Ambassador To South Korea And Now It's A Big Problem — North Korea is threatening war, Donald Trump and Rex Tillerson are sending mixed signals, and there's no US ambassador in South Korea to straighten things out. — Reporting From Washington, D.C.
Associated Press:
The Latest: NKorea calls Trump's threat a ‘load of nonsense’
The Latest: NKorea calls Trump's threat a ‘load of nonsense’
Discussion:
The Washington Journal
Alex Horton / Agence France-Presse:
Why North Korea threatened Guam, the tiny U.S. territory with big military power
Why North Korea threatened Guam, the tiny U.S. territory with big military power
Kim Hjelmgaard / USA Today:
‘Not helpful,’ Donald: World reaction to Trump's ‘fire and fury’ comments
‘Not helpful,’ Donald: World reaction to Trump's ‘fire and fury’ comments
Discussion:
Liberal Values, NPR, politics.blog.myajc.com, New York Times, Shareblue and The Week
Henry Farrell / Washington Post:
North Korea just called Trump's bluff. So what happens now?
North Korea just called Trump's bluff. So what happens now?
Discussion:
The Week, ThinkProgress and Associated Press
Washington Post:
FBI conducted predawn raid of former Trump campaign chairman Manafort's home … FBI agents raided the Alexandria home of President Trump's former campaign chairman late last month, using a search warrant to seize documents and other materials, according to people familiar …
Discussion:
Power Line, Just Security, CNN, Weekly Standard, The Washington Journal, Al Jazeera English, Hit & Run, The Daily Caller, Business Insider, TheBlaze, Media Matters for America, CANNONFIRE, The Gateway Pundit, Outside the Beltway, ABC News, Raw Story, The New Civil Rights Movement, The Guardian, Popehat, Refinery29, New York Magazine, Washington Free Beacon, Vox, RedState, Shakesville, Shareblue, The Root, Daily Kos, Boing Boing, Politico, IJR, Bloomberg, The Atlantic, Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion, Politicus USA, emptywheel, Talking Points Memo, Mother Jones and Axios
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New York Times:
Manafort's Home Searched as Part of Mueller Inquiry — WASHINGTON — Investigators for the special counsel, Robert S. Mueller III, recently searched a home of President Trump's former campaign manager, Paul Manafort, for tax documents and foreign banking records, according to a person briefed on the matter.
Discussion:
Business Insider, The Stranger …, Raw Story, The Washington Journal and The Gateway Pundit
Aaron Rupar / ThinkProgress:
Trump called for acting FBI director's firing hours after FBI agents raided Paul Manafort's home — On Wednesday, the Washington Post broke news that “FBI agents raided the Alexandria home of President Trump's former campaign chairman late last month, using a search warrant to seize documents …
Discussion:
Washington Post, The Gateway Pundit, IJR, The Daily Caller, The New Civil Rights Movement and Raw Story
CNN:
Unarmed Russian Air Force jet overflies the Pentagon, Capitol, CIA — (CNN)An unarmed Russian Air Force aircraft overflew the US Capitol, the Pentagon, Central Intelligence Agency and Joint Base Andrews at low altitude on Wednesday as part of a longstanding treaty that allows the militaries …
Discussion:
Axios, Washington Post and Business Insider
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Bryan Bender / Politico:
Russian spy plane trolls Trump with flight over D.C., New Jersey
Russian spy plane trolls Trump with flight over D.C., New Jersey
Discussion:
The Daily Caller and The Gateway Pundit
Andrew Kaczynski / CNN:
GOP Sen. Ron Johnson: McCain's brain tumor might have been factor in no vote on health care — STORY HIGHLIGHTS — (CNN)Republican Sen. Ron Johnson of Wisconsin said Tuesday that he thinks that Sen. John McCain's brain tumor and the early morning hours may have affected the Arizona Republican's …
Discussion:
Raw Story, Washington Post, Washington Times, TheBlaze, Politico, Talking Points Memo, IJR, Business Insider, New York Magazine and Axios
Alex Isenstadt / Politico:
Top Trump donor ponies up to take out Flake — One of Donald Trump's most generous political benefactors is providing a six-figure donation to a super PAC devoted to unseating Sen. Jeff Flake, an Arizona Republican who has been fiercely critical of the president.
Discussion:
Axios, Breaking News USA, Business Insider, Vox, The Daily Caller and New Republic
Tegna / WXIA-TV:
Atlanta gym owner makes no apologies for ‘No Cops’ sign … A shocking and vulgar sign about police officers has been posted in front of a local business in Atlanta. The sign could be seen from the street with the curse word blurred out, but the message is clear: It says no cops allowed.
Discussion:
Fox News, TheBlaze, John Hawkins' Right Wing News, The Daily Caller, IJR, The Gateway Pundit and AOL
Josh Delk / The Hill:
Inflatable chicken resembling Trump placed near White House — A large inflatable chicken meant to resemble President Trump was placed near the White House on Wednesday. — The inflatable chicken, which features a golden coif of hair and hand gestures similar to Trump's …
Discussion:
Common Dreams, Refinery29, Outside the Beltway and AOL
National Enquirer:
Trump Advisor Sex Scandal — Paul Manafort's Sick Affair — Target in FBI-Russia probe also cheated with woman half his age!
Discussion:
DCReport.org, The National Interest, IJR, Raw Story and emptywheel
Andrew Prokop / Vox:
Trump allies are taking aim at Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell — “Why not done?” the president tweeted about the health bill. — President Donald Trump's allies are looking at his lack of legislative success so far, and they think they've found the problem: Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell.
Discussion:
Townhall.com, Courier-Journal, Associated Press, Breitbart, The Atlantic, Politico and Axios
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Ashley Killough / CNN:
White House official goes after McConnell over ‘excessive expectations’ comment
White House official goes after McConnell over ‘excessive expectations’ comment
Discussion:
Weekly Standard, Washington Post, New York Times, Axios and New York Magazine
Lee Rowland / ACLU:
The First Amendment (Literally) Banned in DC — Can the government ban the text of the First Amendment itself on municipal transit ads because free speech is too “political” for public display? — If this sounds like some ridiculous brain teaser, it should. But unfortunately it's not.
Discussion:
Sputnik International, The Daily Caller, Washingtonian, Joe.My.God. and Business Insider
Pat Rynard / Iowa Starting Line:
GOP And Trump's Transgender Attacks Backfire In Iowa Special Election — In the midst of a new national debate on transgender soldiers serving in the military, voters in Southeast Iowa were seeing their TVs inundated with campaign ads about transgender bathrooms.
Discussion:
Washington Post and Daily Kos
RELATED:
Hadas Gold / Politico:
Eric Bolling initiates lawsuit against reporter behind sexting story — Fox News host Eric Bolling has initiated a lawsuit against the reporter behind the report that led to his suspension. — Yashar Ali, a contributing writer for HuffPost, reported on Friday that several years ago Bolling …
Discussion:
Joe.My.God. and The New Civil Rights Movement, more at Mediagazer »
Wall Street Journal:
McMaster and the Commander — The NSC adviser is the latest target of Steve Bannon's media friends. — National Security Adviser H.R. McMaster listens during the daily press briefing at the White House, July 31. — Chief of Staff John Kelly is by all accounts imposing more discipline …
Discussion:
Raw Story and Talking Points Memo
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Sarah Westwood / Washington Examiner:
Trump clings to control of his Twitter feed as John Kelly consolidates authority
Trump clings to control of his Twitter feed as John Kelly consolidates authority
Discussion:
Political Wire, RedState and Daily Kos
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel:
Senate Republican leader raises questions on Foxconn deal, says he doesn't have votes yet … CONNECT — MADISON — The leader of the state Senate said Wednesday that he does not yet have the votes to approve a $3 billion incentive package to lure Foxconn Technology Group of Taiwan …
Discussion:
Washington Post, ThinkProgress and CNBC
Tatiana Siegel / Hollywood Reporter:
Conservative Koch Brothers Are Secret Investors in ‘Wonder Woman’ (Exclusive) — Steven Mnuchin brought in the right-wing power brokers, as well as Bill Gates, to help fund such Hollywood projects as ‘Dunkirk’ and Steven Spielberg's upcoming ‘Ready Player One.’
Discussion:
Slate, The Week, The Daily Caller, Business Insider and Washington Free Beacon
Jane Mayer / New Yorker:
Has James O'Keefe Accidentally Stung Himself Again? — James O'Keefe III, the conservative activist famous for undercover stings, has dedicated his life to exposing the “misconduct” of others. But he's developed a side business in accidentally exposing his own.
Discussion:
ThinkProgress and Raw Story
John Bresnahan / Politico:
White House pitches deal for wall money — and no shutdown — The White House is pushing a deal on Capitol Hill to head off a government shutdown that would lift strict spending caps long opposed by Democrats in exchange for money for President Donald Trump's border wall with Mexico, multiple sources said.
Discussion:
Washington Post and Vox
Kia Kokalitcheva / Axios:
Google's diversity efforts fall flat — In 2014, Google started publishing employee demographic data and pledging to invest in major initiatives to recruit a more diverse workforce, spending at least $265 million on the efforts. — Why it matters: Google has been thrown into the controversy …
Discussion:
IJR, The Root, NPR and The Daily Caller
Ed Klein / Newsmax:
Hillary's Plea Bargain — The Justice Department has reopened the investigation of Hillary Clinton's mishandling of classified material on her private email system while she was secretary of state, and is considering offering her a plea bargain if she will agree to plead guilty to charges …
Discussion:
Infowars and John Hawkins' Right Wing News
Daniel Squadron / New York Daily News:
Why I'm leaving the N.Y. Senate — On election night 2008, as our taxi crept through Times Square's spontaneous celebration, my fiance and I whooped out the window. We were inspired by Barack Obama's election and excited about my own. I had defeated a 30-year incumbent to become …
Discussion:
Gothamist, CBS New York and Capitol Confidential
Associated Press:
AP Interview: DeVos says she didn't decry racism enough — https://apnews.com/c48492774a0a4f6185e3 ef208ef83dd5 — Link copied! — WASHINGTON (AP) — Education Secretary Betsy DeVos on Wednesday distanced herself from her comment earlier this year about the nation's historically black colleges …
Discussion:
The Root
Barnini Chakraborty / Fox News:
EXCLUSIVE: Freedom Foundation sues Seattle over controversial new income tax — The Freedom Foundation sued Seattle Wednesday over its controversial new income tax on the rich, which critics call “an assault” on the law that sets a dangerous precedent. — The tax, passed by the Seattle City Council …