Top Items:
New York Times:
How the Russia Inquiry Began: A Campaign Aide, Drinks and Talk of Political Dirt — WASHINGTON — During a night of heavy drinking at an upscale London bar in May 2016, George Papadopoulos, a young foreign policy adviser to the Trump campaign, made a startling revelation to Australia's top diplomat …
Discussion:
The Guardian, Axios, New York Magazine, Law & Crime, CANNONFIRE, Hullabaloo, Lawyers, Guns & Money, Politicus USA, Joe.My.God., CBS San Francisco, Mediaite, Daily Kos, Raw Story and The Week
Benjamin Brown / Fox News:
Man arrested in ‘Call of Duty’ ‘swatting’ hoax that led to fatal police shooting — A 25-year-old California man was arrested in connection to an online quarrel between two “Call of Duty” gamers that prompted a hoax call and led to a man being killed by police in Kansas.
Discussion:
RedState and Patterico's Pontifications
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CNN:
Police kill a man at his home while responding to a fake call — (CNN)A prank call to police led to a man's death at a home in Wichita, Kansas — and a man in California has been arrested in connection with the crime. — It's another example of swatting, or a prank in which people falsely …
Discussion:
KTLA
Andrew Blankstein / NBC News:
Los Angeles man arrested in ‘swatting’ call that preceded fatal police shooting in Kansas — Los Angeles police arrested a 25-year-old man in a suspected “swatting” hoax 911 call in Kansas that ended in the fatal police shooting of an unarmed man. — The LAPD took Tyler Barriss of Los Angeles …
Discussion:
IJR, Polygon, The Daily Caller, The Verge, Engadget and Wichita Eagle, more at Techmeme »
Jason Auslander / Aspen Times:
VP Mike Pence gets message from Aspen neighbors: Make America Gay Again — For Vice President Mike Pence, the message was unmistakable and the banner that carried it unmissable. — “Make America Gay Again,” the rainbow banner reads. — Neighbors of the home near Aspen where Pence and his wife …
Discussion:
The Daily Beast, CNN, Washington Post, Mediaite, Mashable, IJR, The Daily Caller, Splinter, Raw Story, KTLA, Towleroad and The Week
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Thomas Erdbrink / New York Times:
Iran Confronts 3rd Day of Protests, With Calls for Khamenei to Quit — Iran's leaders were confronted by unauthorized protests in major cities for the third straight day on Saturday, with crowds aiming their anger at the supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, and some demanding that he step down.
Discussion:
Associated Press, BBC, ThinkProgress, US Department of State, RedState, IJR, Axios and JustOneMinute
RELATED:
Maziar Bahari / Washington Post:
A second revolution in Iran? Not yet.
A second revolution in Iran? Not yet.
Discussion:
bizpacreview.com and Weekly Standard
Nicholas Fandos / New York Times:
Republican Attacks on Mueller and F.B.I. Open New Rift in G.O.P. — WASHINGTON — A growing campaign by President Trump's most ardent supporters to discredit the special counsel, Robert S. Mueller III, and the law enforcement agencies assisting his investigation is opening new fissures …
Discussion:
Axios and Politicus USA, more at Mediagazer »
Justin Elliott / ProPublica:
Trump Justice Department Pushes for Citizenship Question on Census, Alarming Experts — “This is a recipe for sabotaging the census,” said one. The administration's stated reason for the controversial move: protecting civil rights. — The Justice Department is pushing for a question …
Discussion:
ThinkProgress and Joe.My.God.
Michael Grunwald / Politico:
Donald Trump Is a Consequential President. Just Not in the Ways You Think. — On January 20, 2017, as President Donald Trump began his inaugural address, a cold rain began to fall. — A few hours later, Trump claimed the rain had not begun to fall. — “The crowd was unbelievable today …
Discussion:
Hullabaloo
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Glenn Greenwald / The Intercept:
Facebook Says it is Deleting Accounts at the Direction of the U.S. and Israeli Governments — In September of last year, we noted that Facebook representatives were meeting with the Israeli Government to determine which Facebook accounts of Palestinians should be deleted on the ground that they constitute “incitement.”
Discussion:
Sputnik International, more at Techmeme »
USA Today:
Roseanne Barr threatens to retire in huff over Twitter feuding with liberals — Roseanne Barr, who is scheduled to return to TV in late March, announced on Twitter Friday that she's fed up and retiring. Maybe. — " i won't be censored or silence chided or corrected and continue to work.
Discussion:
bizpacreview.com and Towleroad
Kansas City Star:
Gov. Brownback, it's time to resign and let Kansas move on — By The Kansas City Star Editorial Board — Governor Brownback, it's time to walk away. — As a convert to Catholicism — someone who wasn't just born into the faith, but chose it — maybe think of it this way …
Albany Times Union:
Schenectady men charged in Troy killings — Blood-covered knife was found at scene — TROY — Two Schenectady men were arraigned on several murder charges Saturday morning following the brutal slayings of two women and two children. — Justin C. Mann and James W. White are each charged …
Discussion:
The Daily Beast, Washington Blade, The Guardian and New York's PIX11
Joe Marino / New York Post:
Soldier home for holidays died saving lives in Bronx inferno — An Army solider died in the Bronx inferno Thursday night — while heroically rushing in and out of the apartment building to save several other lives, his grieving dad told The Post. — “That's his nature,” said Kwabena Mensah …
Discussion:
New York Times, NPR and IJR
Nicole Russell / New York Post:
How the ‘feminist’ left let women down in 2017 — Merriam-Webster has named “feminism” its word of the year. The popular dictionary defines feminism as “the theory of the political, economic and social equality of the sexes” and the “organized activity on behalf of women's rights and interests.”
Paul Callan / CNN:
Trump is right about the FBI — Trump lashes out at top leaders of his own FBI — Paul Callan is a CNN legal analyst, a former New York homicide prosecutor and current counsel at the New York law firm of Edelman & Edelman PC, focusing on wrongful conviction and civil rights cases.
Discussion:
Townhall.com and bizpacreview.com
Bloomberg:
Trump Stretches Meaning of Deregulation in Touting Achievements — Claims credit for some regulatory actions begun under Obama — Deregulatory list ranges from bird feathers to grizzlies — One is a federal rule, initiated by former President Barack Obama, that removed Yellowstone's grizzlies from the list of endangered species.
Jack Shafer / Politico:
Week 32: Trump Binges on Collusion Talk to Ring Out Year — In what otherwise would have to be counted as a sleepy week in the annals of the Trump Tower scandal, President Donald Trump gave the press a much-needed news peg by granting New York Times reporter Michael S. Schmidt a 30-minute interview …
Discussion:
Arkansas Blog, Arkansas Times and Politicus USA, more at Mediagazer »
Dan Balz / Washington Post:
Democrats think 2018 will be a good year, but are they realistic about their own problems? — Thanks mostly to President Trump, Democrats believe they are poised for good things in 2018: the possibility of taking control of the House and gains elsewhere in the midterm elections.