Top Items:
New York Times:
Angry Trump Grilled His Generals About Troop Increase, Then Gave In — WASHINGTON — President Trump's skepticism about America's involvement in Afghanistan was no secret to his staff. But his top national security officials were still taken aback at a meeting in the Situation Room on July 19 …
Discussion:
The Atlantic, Breitbart, Washington Post, Talking Points Memo, JustOneMinute, Business Insider, VICE, Politico, CNN, The American Conservative, CNBC, Politicus USA, Vox and Axios
RELATED:
Philip Rucker / Washington Post:
'It's a hard problem': Inside Trump's decision to send more troops to Afghanistan — President Trump was frustrated and fuming. Again and again, in the windowless Situation Room at the White House, he lashed out at his national security team over the Afghanistan war, and the paucity of appealing options gnawed at him.
Discussion:
Washington Monthly, ThinkProgress, Mediaite, RedState, IJR, Politico, NPR, Daily Kos, Shareblue, Breitbart, The Atlantic, AOL, Mother Jones, Business Insider, CANNONFIRE, VICE News, The Week and Conservative News Today
Henry C. Jackson / Politico:
Bannon's Breitbart tears into Trump after Afghanistan speech — Articles liken the president's approach to Obama's, and blame the national security adviser for the tone of the address. — Breitbart seems ready for one of Steve Bannon's famed “wars.” — Just minutes after President …
The Daily Beast:
Team Trump Worried He'll Change His Mind Again on Afghanistan War Plan
Team Trump Worried He'll Change His Mind Again on Afghanistan War Plan
Discussion:
The Atlantic and ABC News
The Daily Beast:
Trump's Base Goes Ballistic Over His ‘Unlimited War’
Trump's Base Goes Ballistic Over His ‘Unlimited War’
Discussion:
Townhall.com, The American Conservative, Breitbart and Washington Post
Chris Cillizza / CNN:
Donald Trump's Afghanistan speech ended up being all about Charlottesville
Donald Trump's Afghanistan speech ended up being all about Charlottesville
Discussion:
The Root, No More Mister Nice Blog, Politicus USA and Washington Post
Adam Shaw / Breitbart:
Trump's ‘America First’ Base Unhappy with Flip-Flop Afghanistan Speech
Trump's ‘America First’ Base Unhappy with Flip-Flop Afghanistan Speech
Discussion:
Washington Post, The Hill, The Atlantic, NPR, The Guardian, Business Insider, Scared Monkeys and ABC News
Fred Kaplan / Slate:
Killing Terrorists Is Not a Strategy
New York Times:
Mnuchin's Wife Mocks Oregon Woman Over Lifestyle and Wealth — WASHINGTON — The wife of the Treasury secretary on Monday night took a page from President Trump's social media playbook for punching down. — Louise Linton, the labels-loving wife of Steven Mnuchin, replied condescendingly …
Discussion:
ThinkProgress, TheBlaze, The Guardian, Associated Press, IJR, Washington Times, Conservative News Today, Politico, VICE News and Mediaite
RELATED:
Damian Paletta / Washington Post:
Treasury secretary's wife boasts of travel on government plane, touts Hermes and Valentino fashion — U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin's wife, Louise Linton, boasted of flying on a government plane with her husband to Kentucky on Monday and then named the numerous fashion brands she wore …
Discussion:
Mediaite, Shakesville, FOX40, Talking Points Memo, NBC News, Business Insider, Mashable, Splinter, Washington Free Beacon, The Week and Towleroad
Inae Oh / Mother Jones:
Here's What Happened When Steve Mnuchin's Wife Mocked a Woman for Having Less Money — Louise Linton, the wife of Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin, was forced to make her social-media presence private after sparking outrage with an Instagram post that flamboyantly bragged about a slew …
Discussion:
The Daily Caller, Raw Story and Balloon Juice
Ella Nilsen / Vox:
Louise Linton's Instagram spat is the latest sign of an administration mingling wealth and privilege
Louise Linton's Instagram spat is the latest sign of an administration mingling wealth and privilege
Discussion:
ABC News, Washington Post, Courier-Journal, Mediaite and IJR
Chris Perez / New York Post:
Mnuchin's wife unleashes Instagram fit after backlash
Mnuchin's wife unleashes Instagram fit after backlash
Discussion:
Refinery29, Joe.My.God. and The Daily Caller
YouTube:
Senate Leadership Fund: “ChemtrailKelli” AZ — Arizonans rejected Chemtrail Kelli Ward's embarrassing behavior and dangerous ideas just one year ago. But she's back at it again. — Chemtrail Kelli supported wacky conspiracy theories and even spent taxpayer money on a town-hall about chemtrails.
Discussion:
TheBlaze and Washington Times
RELATED:
Alex Isenstadt / Politico:
GOP on eggshells as Trump storms into Phoenix — PHOENIX — President Donald Trump faces a decision on Tuesday evening with profound implications for his already strained relationship with the GOP: whether to attack a vulnerable Republican senator on his home turf.
Discussion:
Washington Monthly, Right Wing Watch, Los Angeles Times, Washington Post, The Week and Political Wire
Will Sommer / The Hill:
McConnell allies blast Flake opponent in new ‘Chemtrail Kelli’ ad
McConnell allies blast Flake opponent in new ‘Chemtrail Kelli’ ad
Discussion:
RedState
Anita Kumar / McClatchy Washington Bureau:
Trump aides plot a big immigration deal — that breaks a campaign promise — Donald Trump's top aides are pushing him to protect young people brought into the country illegally as children — and then use the issue as a bargaining chip for a larger immigration deal — despite the president's campaign vow to deport so-called Dreamers.
Discussion:
ThinkProgress, New York Magazine, Vox Popoli, Daily Kos, United We Dream, The Week and Political Wire
RELATED:
Greg Sargent / Washington Post:
The Trump White House's ugly new strategy: Use ‘dreamers’ as a bargaining chip
The Trump White House's ugly new strategy: Use ‘dreamers’ as a bargaining chip
Discussion:
New York Times
Frances Robles / New York Times:
Chaos Breaks Out at Charlottesville City Council Meeting — CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. — They shouted down the mayor and City Council members, took over the Council chambers for about a half-hour, and gave more than four hours of impassioned testimony about how city officials had botched the response …
Discussion:
The Gateway Pundit, Fox News Insider, Mediaite, Conservative News Today and Splinter
RELATED:
Henry Graff / WVIR-TV:
Charlottesville City Council Meeting Ends Abruptly, Residents Express Concerns
Charlottesville City Council Meeting Ends Abruptly, Residents Express Concerns
Discussion:
Talking Points Memo
Tim Stelloh / NBC News:
Charlottesville City Council Meeting Erupts Over White Nationalist Rally
Charlottesville City Council Meeting Erupts Over White Nationalist Rally
Discussion:
The Daily Caller
Chris Suarez / Daily Progress:
Councilors vote to shroud Confederate statues at meeting overwhelmed by anger
Councilors vote to shroud Confederate statues at meeting overwhelmed by anger
Discussion:
Daily Wire, Associated Press, The Guardian and The Root
massincpolling:
Virginia voters divided on blame for Charlottesville violence — About half see at least equal blame for violence at the Charlottesville white nationalist rally. Many Virginia voters (47 percent) believe the counter protesters in Charlottesville deserve at least equal blame for the violence at last week's white nationalist rally.
Discussion:
The Hill, RedState, Political Wire and Axios
RELATED:
Gary Langer / ABC News:
1 in 10 say it's acceptable to hold neo-Nazi views (POLL)
1 in 10 say it's acceptable to hold neo-Nazi views (POLL)
Discussion:
The Daily Caller, TheBlaze, John Hawkins' Right Wing News, Business Insider, The Week and Mediaite
Philip Bump / Washington Post:
3 in 10 strong Trump supporters accept or are indifferent to white supremacist views
3 in 10 strong Trump supporters accept or are indifferent to white supremacist views
Discussion:
The Hill and Politicus USA
Trent Franks / USA Today:
Pardon America's toughest sheriff — Joe Arpaio became a principal target of the militant left wing: Opposing view — Arizona's Sheriff Joe Arpaio has dedicated his whole life to keeping his fellow human beings safe; in his senior years, he has specifically protected Arizona communities.
RELATED:
Jess Bidgood / New York Times:
What to Know Ahead of Trump's Rally in Arizona
What to Know Ahead of Trump's Rally in Arizona
Discussion:
Vox, Politico, Washington Post, NBC News, East Bay Times, Washington Free Beacon and Joe.My.God.
Eric Bradner / CNN:
Trump set to hold campaign rally in Phoenix
Trump set to hold campaign rally in Phoenix
Discussion:
Arizona Republic, Vox, Talking Points Memo, Weekly Standard, The Hill, Mediaite, ABC News, Joe.My.God. and Shareblue
Washington Post:
President Trump's list of false and misleading claims tops 1,000 … We have been tracking President Trump's false or misleading claims for more than seven months. Somewhere around Aug. 4 or Aug. 5, he broke 1,000 claims, and the tally now stands at 1,057. (Our full interactive graphic can be found here.)
Discussion:
Raw Story
Pat McManamonESPN / ESPN:
12 Browns players kneel in prayer over racial, social injustice — CLEVELAND — A dozen Browns players took a knee in prayer during the national anthem before Monday night's preseason game against the New York Giants. — While the group knelt behind the bench, several other players placed …
Discussion:
The Resurgent, VICE, Mashable, Mediaite and The Daily Caller
RELATED:
Eric Boehlert / Shareblue:
Fox News shames Black and white NFL players who prayed for justice before game
Fox News shames Black and white NFL players who prayed for justice before game
Discussion:
Fox News Insider
Alec MacGillis / New York Magazine:
Is Anybody Home at HUD? — A long-harbored conservative dream — the “dismantling of the administrative state” — is taking place under Secretary Ben Carson. — In mid-May, Steve Preston, who served as the secretary of Housing and Urban Development in the final two years …
Discussion:
The Week
Jim DeRogatis / BuzzFeed:
A Woman Who Says She Had Underage Sex With R. Kelly Is Finally Telling Her Story — Jerhonda Pace was just 15 when she met her musical idol, R. Kelly, outside his child pornography trial. The alleged underage sexual relationship with him that followed and subsequent payouts mirror decades of allegations against the star.
Discussion:
AOL, Refinery29, The Guardian, Mashable, The Root and The FADER
Michael J. Socolow / Washington Post:
Gawker has been gone for a year. We've never needed it more than now. — Gawker wasn't perfect. But in the age of Trump, it's hard not to miss its voice. (Henri Grivot/AP) — One year ago today, Gawker shut down. Nick Denton's legendary website is now gone, sued into oblivion …
Discussion:
The Federalist and The Daily Caller, more at Mediagazer »
Dana Hedgpeth / Washington Post:
‘My actions were despicable’: Catholic priest steps down after revealing he was a Ku Klux Klan member decades ago — A Catholic priest in Arlington, Va., is temporarily stepping down after revealing he was a member of the Ku Klux Klan and burned crosses more than 40 years ago before becoming a clergy member.
Discussion:
catholicherald.com, The Root and Raw Story
Thomas E. Ricks / The Atlantic:
The Book He Wasn't Supposed to Write — I had written five books for Scott Moyers, following him as he moved from editing jobs at Scribner's to Random House and then to Penguin Press. We worked well together, and in part thanks to his strong editing hand, my last three books had been bestsellers.