Top Items:
Dan Nowicki / Arizona Republic:
Arizona's Jeff Flake announces he will not seek re-election to U.S. Senate … Condemning the nastiness of Republican politics in the era of President Trump, Sen. Jeff Flake on Tuesday announced he will serve out the remainder of his term but will not seek re-election in 2018.
Discussion:
The Hill, CNN, Hot Air, The Atlantic, Talking Points Memo, Washington Post, Weekly Standard, ABC News, Vox, Mother Jones, RedState, Axios, CNBC, Political Wire, The Gateway Pundit, Bearing Drift, The Federalist, Outside the Beltway, Business Insider, Hit & Run, NBC News, Mediaite, Daily Kos, Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion, Raw Story, Shakesville, Washington Free Beacon, New York Magazine, twitchy.com, Joe.My.God., The Daily Caller and AOL
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CNN:
Jeff Flake's full speech announcing he won't run for re-election — Mr. President, I rise today to address a matter that has been much on my mind, at a moment when it seems that our democracy is more defined by our discord and our dysfunction than it is by our values and our principles.
Discussion:
Political Wire, Lawyers, Guns & Money and Balloon Juice
Ella Nilsen / Vox:
“None of this is normal”: read the full transcript of Sen. Jeff Flake's blistering retirement speech
“None of this is normal”: read the full transcript of Sen. Jeff Flake's blistering retirement speech
Discussion:
Washington Monthly
Eric Bradner / CNN:
Republican Sen. Jeff Flake won't run for re-election
Republican Sen. Jeff Flake won't run for re-election
Discussion:
ThinkProgress, Politico and TheBlaze
Washington Post:
Small Montana firm lands Puerto Rico's biggest contract to get the power back on — For the sprawling effort to restore Puerto Rico's crippled electrical grid, the territory's state-owned utility has turned to a two-year-old company from Montana that had just two full-time employees on the day Hurricane Maria made landfall.
Discussion:
New York Post, New York Magazine, Daily Kos, Axios, Eschaton and Vox
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The Daily Beast:
GOP Leaders Refusing To Pay For Dana Rohrabacher's Travel Over Russia Fears … House Republican leaders have taken the extraordinary step of curtailing Rep. Dana Rohrabacher's (R-CA) ability to conduct official business out of fear that he is too compromised by his ties to Russia.
Discussion:
Talking Points Memo, Fox News and Raw Story
Ken Klippenstein / The Daily Beast:
$300m Puerto Rico Recovery Contract Awarded to Tiny Utility Company Linked to Major Trump Donor … Puerto Rico has agreed to pay a reported $300 million for the restoration of its power grid to a tiny utility company that is primarily financed by a private-equity firm founded and run by a man …
Discussion:
Washington Post, Slate, Lawyers, Guns & Money, ThinkProgress and Talking Points Memo
Andrew Desiderio / The Daily Beast:
Congress: Trump Won't Implement Russia Sanctions—and He Won't Tell Us Why
Congress: Trump Won't Implement Russia Sanctions—and He Won't Tell Us Why
Discussion:
ThinkProgress
Meghan Keneally / ABC News:
Protester throws Russian flags at President Donald Trump ahead of Capitol Hill lunch — A protester threw a handful of Russian flags at President Donald Trump as he was walking to a lunch with Republican lawmakers on Capitol Hill today. — The flags didn't appear to hit Trump and footage …
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CBS News:
McConnell says GOP is “on the same page” on tax reform amid Trump, Corker feud
McConnell says GOP is “on the same page” on tax reform amid Trump, Corker feud
Discussion:
The Daily Caller, The Gateway Pundit, Mashable, Joe.My.God. and Washington Free Beacon
Elana Schor / Politico:
Trump tries to rally Senate Republicans after reigniting civil war
Trump tries to rally Senate Republicans after reigniting civil war
Discussion:
Axios, ABC News, Little Green Footballs and Business Insider
Emma Loop / BuzzFeed:
A Man Somehow Evaded Security On Capitol Hill And Threw Russian Flags At Trump
A Man Somehow Evaded Security On Capitol Hill And Threw Russian Flags At Trump
Discussion:
The Gateway Pundit, IJR and Washington Free Beacon
Rebecca Savransky / The Hill:
Protester throws Russian flags at Trump as he enters GOP lunch
Protester throws Russian flags at Trump as he enters GOP lunch
Discussion:
Daily Kos
Cameron Joseph / Talking Points Memo:
Roy Moore: Supreme Court Gay Marriage Ruling Was ‘Worse’ Than Upholding Slavery In Dred Scott — Alabama GOP Senate nominee Roy Moore said late last year that the Supreme Court's decision legalizing gay marriage was “even worse” than the notorious 1857 Dred Scott ruling that upheld slavery.
Discussion:
Towleroad, BuzzFeed and rubber hose
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Rachael Bade / Politico:
House GOP opens probe into DOJ's Clinton investigation — Two powerful House Republican chairmen announced Tuesday that they would jointly investigate the Justice Department's handling of its 2016 Hillary Clinton investigation — a potential counter-punch to the FBI probe …
Discussion:
Political Wire
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Olivia Beavers / The Hill:
House GOP leaders open probe into FBI's handling of Clinton investigation
House GOP leaders open probe into FBI's handling of Clinton investigation
Discussion:
RedState, No More Mister Nice Blog and Democrats.com
David Bossie / The Hill:
It's time for a special counsel on Hillary Clinton's Russia scandal
It's time for a special counsel on Hillary Clinton's Russia scandal
Discussion:
PolitiFact, Politico, Weekly Standard, CNN, Washington Monthly, Talking Points Memo, Washington Post and Hullabaloo
Detroit Free Press:
Kid Rock: Of course I'm not running for Senate … CONNECT — Mocking people who took the idea seriously, Kid Rock said this morning he's not running for U.S. Senate. — “F— no, I'm not running for Senate. Are you kidding me?” Rock said on Howard Stern's SiriusXM show. “Who couldn't figure that out?
Ben Riley-Smith / Telegraph:
Exclusive: Terry Richardson banned from working with Vogue and other leading mags, leaked email shows — Terry Richardson, the fashion photographer, has been barred from working with some of the world's bestselling magazines, The Daily Telegraph can reveal.
Discussion:
New York Post, Washington Post, Refinery29, The Guardian, Highsnobiety, IJR and Mediaite, more at Mediagazer »
New York Times:
Honor the Truth, John Kelly — John Kelly, President Trump's chief of staff, is grimly suited to addressing the family of a fallen service member. Mr. Kelly, a retired four-star general, is the highest-ranking officer to lose a child in Iraq or Afghanistan. His son Second Lt. Robert Kelly was killed in Afghanistan in 2010.
Discussion:
Daily Kos
RELATED:
Richard Cohen / Washington Post:
Sarah Huckabee Sanders is wrong about John Kelly
Hollywood Reporter:
Bill O'Reilly Dropped by Talent Agency After $32M Settlement Reveal (Exclusive) — The former Fox News anchor's relationship with UTA has been severed following a report last weekend about a massive settlement he paid out. — Bill O'Reilly is no longer a client of the talent agency UTA, The Hollywood Reporter has learned.
Discussion:
Raw Story, Washington Free Beacon, IJR and Mediaite
Don Lemon / CNN:
Don Lemon's open letter to Trump: ‘Please stop!’ — (CNN)Dear Mr. President, — I've interviewed you multiple times. — You've introduced me to your family. — You've also criticized me publicly ... both in front of cameras and on Twitter. — Calling me “hateful,” “dumb,” a “lightweight.”
Michael Calderone / Politico:
Leon Wieseltier's new publication ended over ‘past inappropriate workplace conduct’ — Emerson Collective has severed ties with former New Republic literary editor Leon Wieseltier after learning of “past inappropriate workplace conduct,” the company said in a statement.
Karl Mathiesen / Climate Home:
Jerry Brown: ‘California will sue Trump over climate’ — Governor says state will use the courts to block the erosion of US climate actions, 'just like the Republicans tried to block Obama's efforts' — California governor Jerry Brown said on Tuesday that his state would fight Donald Trump's erosion …
Discussion:
Mother Jones, Reuters, Salon, The Daily Signal, The Daily Caller and Politicus USA
Maegan Vazquez / CNN:
Trump-Corker feud explodes ahead of critical Hill visit — STORY HIGHLIGHTS — Washington (CNN)The ongoing public feud between Sen. Bob Corker and President Donald Trump exploded Tuesday ahead of the President's high-stakes visit to Capitol Hill for tax negotiations …
Discussion:
RedState, Shareblue Media, Washington Post, Mother Jones, ABC News, ThinkProgress, Associated Press, New York Times, NPR, Weekly Standard, Washington Times, The American Conservative, Business Insider, The Gateway Pundit, TheStreet, Vox, The Atlantic, Outside the Beltway, IJR, Fox News Insider, twitchy.com, NBC News, CNBC, Washington Free Beacon and Daily Kos
Pew Research Center:
Political Typology Reveals Deep Fissures on the Right and Left — Conservative Republican groups divided on immigration, ‘openness’ — Nearly a year after Donald Trump was elected president, the Republican coalition is deeply divided on such major issues as immigration …
Discussion:
Washington Post, Politico and NPR
Joe Schoffstall / Washington Free Beacon:
Hillary Clinton's Top Aides Still Being Paid by Campaign Nearly One Year After Defeat — Most have remained by Clinton's side post-election — A number of longtime aides to failed Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton are still being paid from her campaign committee nearly …
Discussion:
The Daily Caller, IJR and Washington Times
Victor Davis Hanson / National Review:
The ‘Never Trump’ Construct — The president's fiercest critics still do not grasp that Trump is a symptom, not the cause of the GOP's internal strife. — For all the talk of a Civil War in the Republican party over Donald Trump, 90 percent of Republicans ended up voting for him.
Discussion:
Power Line and The Rush Limbaugh Show
Patricia Murphy / Roll Call:
Opinion: Avoiding Another ‘Brownbackistan’ — Tax cuts in Kansas led to an economic train wreck — Opinion: The Women in Washington Staying for the Fight Opinion: Bob Corker and the Chairmen Who Hold Trump's Fate in Their Hands Opinion: More Shootings, No Difference
Brian Goff / Forbes:
NFL Losing Viewers At Alarming Rate But Faces Limits On Its Response — Last year, the NFL lost about a million regular-season viewers versus the 2013 and 2014 seasons. It represented about a 6% fall-off enough to be easily noticed and maybe even cause a little concern, but it could be written off as a one-year blip.
Discussion:
The Rush Limbaugh Show
Ian Mohr / Page Six:
Colin Kaepernick is shopping a book — Colin Kaepernick is shopping a book, sources exclusively tell Page Six. — The ex-San Francisco 49ers quarterback launched the current movement of NFL players protesting during the national anthem, and he's filed a controversial collusion grievance against league owners.
Discussion:
IJR, Fox News, The Daily Caller, AOL and The Resurgent