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, ThinkProgress, USA Today, AOL, Washington Free Beacon, The Washington Journal, Pacific Daily News, Mother Jones, Washington Post, IJR, NPR, The Guardian, The Federalist, Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion, Weekly Standard, Fox News, Talking Points Memo, CNBC, The Week, No More Mister Nice Blog, The Root, ABC News, Business Insider, Shareblue, The Daily Caller, Mediaite, John Hawkins' Right Wing News and New York Magazine
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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.
Discussion:
ThinkProgress, CNN, New York Times, The Stranger …, Media Matters for America, DCReport.org, Weekly Standard, Business Insider, The Daily Caller, IJR, The Guardian and WGNO
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 …
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.
Discussion:
Political Wire
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:
Associated Press, The Atlantic, Politico, The Gateway Pundit, New York Times and Defense One
David A. Graham / The Atlantic:
Trump's Pointless Untruths About U.S. Nuclear Weapons
Trump's Pointless Untruths About U.S. Nuclear Weapons
Discussion:
Washington Post, New York Times, Mediaite, Little Green Footballs, Axios, NBC News, CBS News, CNBC, Investor's Business Daily, RedState and Daily Kos
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
James Hohmann / Washington Post:
The Daily 202: The GOP congressional majority may be too strong for Trump to break
The Daily 202: The GOP congressional majority may be too strong for Trump to break
Discussion:
Breitbart, Wall Street Journal and Washington Examiner
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, politics.blog.myajc.com, 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 and ThinkProgress
John Cassidy / New Yorker:
Donald Trump's Nuclear-War Threat
Donald Trump's Nuclear-War Threat
Discussion:
The Atlantic, Bloomberg, ThinkProgress, Washington Post, CNN, Politico, New York Times, Hit & Run, Investor's Business Daily, The Mahablog and Gothamist
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, The Washington Journal, Al Jazeera English, Weekly Standard, The Daily Caller, Hit & Run, Business Insider, TheBlaze, Media Matters for America, CANNONFIRE, The Gateway Pundit, RedState, Outside the Beltway, Raw Story, ABC News, The Root, The New Civil Rights Movement, Shakesville, The Guardian, Popehat, Refinery29, New York Magazine, Washington Free Beacon, Vox, Boing Boing, Politico, Shareblue, The Atlantic, Daily Kos, IJR, Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion, Politicus USA, emptywheel, Talking Points Memo, Axios, Mother Jones and NPR
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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 Washington Journal, The Stranger …, The Gateway Pundit and Raw Story
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, The Daily Caller, IJR, Raw Story and The New Civil Rights Movement
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
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.
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Wall Street Journal:
McMaster and the Commander — The NSC adviser is the latest target …
McMaster and the Commander — The NSC adviser is the latest target …
Discussion:
Raw Story and Talking Points Memo
Robert Costa / Washington Post:
Even in North Korea crisis, retired general John Kelly is an apolitical force in a White House divided by ideology
Even in North Korea crisis, retired general John Kelly is an apolitical force in a White House divided by ideology
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
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
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
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, The Daily Caller, Vox and New Republic
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, The Atlantic, Courier-Journal, Politico, Associated Press, Washington Post 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, New York Times, Axios, New York Magazine and Talking Points Memo
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:
The Daily Caller, Business Insider, Washingtonian and Joe.My.God.
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
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
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, Capitol Confidential and CBS New York
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 Daily Caller, The Root and NPR
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
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 »
Morgan Smith / The Texas Tribune:
Texas House passes bill restricting insurance coverage of abortion — Texas women would have to pay a separate health insurance premium to get coverage for non-emergency abortions — what an opponent dubbed “rape insurance” — under a bill given early approval by the Texas House on Tuesday.
Discussion:
Rewire, LifeNews.com and The Daily Caller
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 …