Top Items:
Washington Post:
Trump offered a grieving military father $25,000 in a call, but didn't follow through — President Trump, in a personal phone call to a grieving military father, offered him $25,000 and said he would direct his staff to establish an online fundraiser for the family, but neither happened, the father said.
Discussion:
IJR, Fox News, Politicus USA, AOL, Mediaite, Common Dreams, The Root, The Hill, Daily Kos, alicublog, Shareblue Media, RedState, ECHIDNE OF THE SNAKES, Balloon Juice, Business Insider, Mashable, ABC News, The Atlantic, Talking Points Memo, Raw Story, New York Magazine, New York Times, Political Wire, Task & Purpose, Lawyers, Guns & Money and Associated Press
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Aaron Blake / Washington Post:
Trump's unmoored week shows just how aimless he is — President Trump's most faithful supporters like to believe he's always a step ahead of the media and the political establishment — that he's playing three-dimensional chess while we're stuck on checkers. Where we see utter discord, they see carefully orchestrated chaos.
Discussion:
Daily Kos
CNN:
Sources: Kelly didn't know Trump would publicize that Obama didn't call when his son died — Trump: Ask Kelly if Obama called about son — STORY HIGHLIGHTS — Trump waited nearly two weeks to call the families of four soldiers killed in Niger earlier this month
Discussion:
AOL, Mediaite, Talking Points Memo and Washington Free Beacon
Ashley Killough / CNN:
McCain: Administration not being up front about Niger attack
McCain: Administration not being up front about Niger attack
Discussion:
New York Magazine and ABC News
Eli Meixler / TIME:
The Defense Department Is Looking Into Why Four U.S. Soldiers Died in Niger
The Defense Department Is Looking Into Why Four U.S. Soldiers Died in Niger
Discussion:
Vox, CNN, KTLA, Slate, Washington Examiner and Business Insider
CNN:
Trump sends $25,000 check to fallen soldier's family on same day as Washington Post report
Trump sends $25,000 check to fallen soldier's family on same day as Washington Post report
Discussion:
Politico, NBC News, Common Dreams, Patterico's Pontifications, Washington Post, The Hill, IJR, WTVR-TV, AOL, Politicus USA, Mediaite, Talking Points Memo and Business Insider
Eliana Johnson / Politico:
Trump keeps his focus on outrage
Trump keeps his focus on outrage
Discussion:
Political Wire, IJR and Politicus USA
New York Times:
Signaling Frustration, Senior House Republican Plans to Quit Early — In a sign of mounting frustration among Republicans in Washington, Representative Pat Tiberi of Ohio, a senior lawmaker with close ties to his party's leaders, is expected to resign and take up an executive post …
Discussion:
The Hill, Shareblue Media, Talking Points Memo, Washington Post, Politico, The Daily Caller and Business Insider
The Daily Beast:
Trump Campaign Staffers Pushed Russian Propaganda Days Before the Election … Some of the Trump campaign's most prominent names and supporters, including Trump's campaign manager, digital director and son, pushed tweets from professional trolls paid by the Russian government in the heat of the 2016 election campaign.
Discussion:
Last Men and OverMen, Mediaite, ECHIDNE OF THE SNAKES, Raw Story, ThinkProgress and BuzzFeed, more at Mediagazer »
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Washington Post:
Michael Flynn, Nicki Minaj shared content from this Tennessee GOP account. But it wasn't real. It was Russian. — Russian operatives used a fake Twitter account that claimed to speak for Tennessee Republicans to persuade American politicians, celebrities and journalists to share select content …
Jacqueline Thomsen / The Hill:
Dem rep threatened after sharing account of Trump's call to soldier's widow: report — 's (D-Fla.) staff in D.C. say the office has received several threatening phone calls directed at the lawmaker after she said President Trump made controversial comments to the wife of a fallen soldier.
Discussion:
RedState, ABC News and The Last Tradition
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Kristine Phillips / Washington Post:
The private life of Sgt. La David Johnson, the slain soldier ensnared in a Trump controversy
The private life of Sgt. La David Johnson, the slain soldier ensnared in a Trump controversy
Discussion:
Slate, France 24, The Root, New York Post and TheBlaze
Alex Seitz-Wald / NBC News:
Shakeup at Democratic National Committee, Longtime Officials Ousted — WASHINGTON — A shakeup is underway at the Democratic National Committee as several key longtime officials have lost their posts, exposing a still-raw rift in the party and igniting anger among those in its progressive wing …
Discussion:
Talking Points Memo, Daily Wire, Washington Free Beacon and Political Wire
Noah Gray / CNN:
Gotta catch 'em all: Secret Service nabs Pikachu-dressed man at WH — STORY HIGHLIGHTS — Washington (CNN)A man dressed as the Pokémon character Pikachu attempted to infiltrate the White House Tuesday morning before he was caught by Secret Service officers manning the perimeter, authorities said.
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John Bowden / The Hill:
Man dressed as Pikachu jumps White House barrier: report
Man dressed as Pikachu jumps White House barrier: report
Discussion:
RedState
Mark Joseph Stern / Slate:
Why rumors of a Gorsuch-Kagan clash at the Supreme Court are such a bombshell. — Following his nomination to the Supreme Court, Neil Gorsuch was packaged by his wealthy benefactors as the judicial equivalent of a carrot cake: mild and wholesome with the occasional hint of spice.
Discussion:
Lawyers, Guns & Money
Kieran Nicholson / Denver Post:
A Cub Scout questioned a Colorado state senator at a meeting. Now he's been kicked out of his den. — Sen. Vicki Marble spoke to Broomfield scouts last week — A Cub Scout in Broomfield has been kicked out of his den, allegedly for asking pointed questions of a Colorado state senator at meeting organized by the Boy Scouts.
Rich Lowry / Politico:
The Cognitive Dissonance Presidency — To paraphrase Groucho Marx, President Donald Trump has a position on the Lamar Alexander/Patty Murray health care deal, and if you don't like it, he has another one. — Within hours, Trump veered wildly on the bipartisan compromise on Obamacare …
Discussion:
Washington Post, ThinkProgress, The American Conservative, Business Insider, Axios, Vox and The Mahablog
RELATED:
Sam Baker / Axios:
Don't rush to judgment on Alexander-Murray
Karl Rove / Wall Street Journal:
Steve Bannon's Motley Crew of Challengers — One is fresh out of prison. Another held a town hall to discuss ‘chemtrail’ theories. — Steve Bannon, the failed presidential adviser and alt-right sympathizer, has declared war on incumbent Republicans, particularly Sen. Mitch McConnell.
Andrew / Statistical Modeling …:
Beyond “power pose”: Using replication failures and a better understanding of data collection and analysis to do better science — So. A bunch of people pointed me to a New York Times article by Susan Dominus about Amy Cuddy, the psychology researcher and Ted-talk star famous for the following claim …
Discussion:
New York Times
Charles M. Blow / New York Times:
Trump Isn't Hitler. But the Lying ... It is a commonly accepted rule among those who are in the business of argument, especially online, that he or she who invokes Adolf Hitler, either in oratory or essays, automatically forfeits the argument. — The reference is deemed far too extreme …
Discussion:
Daily Wire
Trip Gabriel / New York Times:
In North Carolina, Republicans Stung by Court Rulings Aim to Change the Judges — RALEIGH, N.C. — Republicans with a firm grip on the North Carolina legislature — and, until January, the governor's seat — enacted a conservative agenda in recent years, only to have a steady stream …
Discussion:
BillMoyers.com
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Ann E. Marimow / Washington Post:
Towering cross-shaped monument on public land is unconstitutional, court rules
Towering cross-shaped monument on public land is unconstitutional, court rules
Discussion:
Althouse, The Federalist and The Daily Caller
Seung Min Kim / Politico:
Flake takes on Trump — and risks it all — Most Republicans threatened with primary challenges next year are opting not to criticize President Donald Trump — even those who are privately appalled by his bombastic governing style. — Then there's Jeff Flake.
Discussion:
Mediaite
The Intercept:
Children Are Dying at Alarming Rates in Foster Care, and Nobody Is Bothering to Investigate … Children in the for-profit foster care system are dying at alarming rates, but the deaths are not being investigated, and autopsies are not even being attached to the now-closed case files, a two-year investigation has found.
Jonathan Allen / NBC News:
Facebook's General Counsel to Testify to Congress in Russia Probe — WASHINGTON — Facebook's general counsel, Colin Stretch, will testify before the House and Senate intelligence committees in open hearings Nov. 1 as part of the congressional investigation into Russia's use of technology …
Axios:
McCain's latest surprise: regulate Facebook — Sen. John McCain knows his time in the public eye is short, so his big statements in recent weeks are especially resonant. Today, McCain will join with two Democrats — Sens. Mark Warner (Va.) and Amy Klobuchar (Minn.) …
Discussion:
RedState and The Daily Caller, more at Mediagazer »
Manny Fernandez / New York Times:
Blood and Beauty on a Texas Exotic-Game Ranch — UVALDE, Tex. — On a ranch at the southwestern edge of the Texas Hill Country, a hunting guide spotted her cooling off in the shade: an African reticulated giraffe. Such is the curious state of modern Texas ranching, that a giraffe among …
Megan McArdle / Bloomberg:
Scandals and Outrage Won't End Sexual Harassment — The hope that we will “teach men not to ...” is weak. They already know it's wrong. That's part of its appeal. — For decades, there were private whispers. But not very private. Given how many women have now come forward …
Discussion:
Snopes.com
New York Times:
Senators Demand Online Ad Disclosures as Tech Lobby Mobilizes — WASHINGTON — Senator John McCain and two Democratic senators will move on Thursday to force Facebook, Google and other internet companies to disclose who is purchasing online political advertising, after revelations …
Bret Stephens / New York Times:
McCain the Hedgehog vs. Bannon the Honey Badger — It isn't hard to guess who John McCain had in mind when, in a speech on Monday at the National Constitution Center in Philadelphia — the finest speech of his storied political career — he denounced the “half-baked, spurious nationalism cooked …
Discussion:
WBRC-TV
Ari Berman / Mother Jones:
Rigged: How Voter Suppression Threw Wisconsin to Trump — You can't say Andrea Anthony didn't try. A 37-year-old African American woman with an infectious smile, Anthony had voted in every major election since she was 18. On November 8, 2016, she went to the Clinton Rose Senior Center …