Top Items:
David Smith / The Guardian:
Trump Tower meeting with Russians ‘treasonous’, Bannon says in explosive book … Donald Trump's former chief strategist Steve Bannon has described the Trump Tower meeting between the president's son and a group of Russians during the 2016 election campaign as “treasonous” and “unpatriotic” …
Discussion:
CNN, Talking Points Memo, Politico, Raw Story, IJR, The Week, Mediaite, Political Wire, Axios, The Daily Caller and Balloon Juice
New York Times:
The Republicans' Fake Investigations — A generation ago, Republicans sought to protect President Richard Nixon by urging the Senate Watergate committee to look at supposed wrongdoing by Democrats in previous elections. The committee chairman, Sam Ervin, a Democrat, said that would be …
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Grant Stern / Washington Press:
Trump-Russia dossier firm just told all in bombshell NY Times op-ed — The opposition research firm that prepared the Trump-Russia dossier just broke its silence in a revealing New York Times op-editorial story which debunks the Republican spin machine desperate to prop up Donald Trump's sinking presidency.
Discussion:
The Daily Caller, Raw Story, Fox News, Political Wire, Shareblue Media and National Review
Max Greenwood / The Hill:
Fusion GPS founders say they were ‘shocked’ by contents of ‘Steele dossier’
Fusion GPS founders say they were ‘shocked’ by contents of ‘Steele dossier’
Discussion:
RedState
Mike Allen / Axios:
Some White House officials fear accidental war — President Trump's boast last night that he has a “bigger & more powerful” Nuclear Button (caps, Trump's) than North Korea has some administration insiders worried that we could blunder into war. — What they're saying …
Discussion:
Associated Press, Shakesville, Raw Story, Mediaite, New York Times, The Daily Beast and JustOneMinute
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CNN:
North Korea calls hotline to South Korea in diplomatic breakthrough — Seoul (CNN)North Korea and South Korea established contact for 20 minutes on a hotline that's been dormant for almost two years Wednesday, a major diplomatic breakthrough following a year of escalating hostility that could pave the way for future talks.
New York Times:
Trump Says His ‘Nuclear Button’ Is ‘Much Bigger’ Than North Korea's
Trump Says His ‘Nuclear Button’ Is ‘Much Bigger’ Than North Korea's
Discussion:
The Atlantic, Mother Jones, Axios, Raw Story, The Verge, CNN, Business Insider, Roll Call, Washington Post, Outside the Beltway, Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion, Common Dreams, RedState, CNBC, The Daily Gazette, Washington Press, NewsBusters, ABC News, The Gateway Pundit, The Daily Beast, IJR, Breitbart, NBC News, The Guardian, NPR, Lawyers, Guns & Money, CBS New York, Mashable, The Daily Caller, Power Line, No More Mister Nice Blog, Washington Free Beacon, TheBlaze, Little Green Footballs, Washington Times, Mediaite, Associated Press and TMZ.com
Eli Watkins / CNN:
Trump taunts North Korea: My nuclear button is ‘much bigger,’ ‘more powerful’
Trump taunts North Korea: My nuclear button is ‘much bigger,’ ‘more powerful’
Discussion:
Washington Post, Talking Points Memo, New Republic, Defense One, The Gateway Pundit, KTLA, The Week, Politicus USA, The Guardian, Washington Press, Fox News Insider, NBC News, LewRockwell, New York Times, The Atlantic, Business Insider, ABC News, Raw Story, Mashable, CNBC, The Daily Caller, IJR, Washington Free Beacon, Hullabaloo, Mediaite, FOX6Now.com, FOX 4 Kansas City WDAF-TV, CBS Philly, FOX59 and The National Interest
Robin Wright / New Yorker:
Iran in Turmoil—to Trump's Delight — In the early days of the Islamic Republic, Ayatollah Khomeini famously dismissed an aide's concerns about rising inflation. Economics, the Supreme Leader quipped, was “for donkeys. The 1979 revolution was not about the price of watermelons.”
Discussion:
New York Times, The Daily Beast, The Federalist, NPR, CNN, Breitbart, Washington Free Beacon, Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion and IJR
RELATED:
Reuel Marc Gerecht / New York Times:
The Worst Thing for Iran's Protesters? U.S. Silence
The Worst Thing for Iran's Protesters? U.S. Silence
Discussion:
Weekly Standard, Bloomberg, Patterico's Pontifications and Washington Free Beacon
Thomas Erdbrink / New York Times:
Hard-Liners and Reformers Tapped Iranians' Ire. Now, Both Are Protest Targets.
Hard-Liners and Reformers Tapped Iranians' Ire. Now, Both Are Protest Targets.
Discussion:
Washington Post, The Daily Caller, The Week and The Gateway Pundit
The Hill:
Trump ratchets up support for demonstrators in Iran
Trump ratchets up support for demonstrators in Iran
Discussion:
Agence France-Presse and Al Jazeera English
Terry Glavin / Macleans.ca:
The uprising in Iran: ‘This is what revolution looks like’
The uprising in Iran: ‘This is what revolution looks like’
Discussion:
Politico and The Federalist
Spencer Ackerman / The Daily Beast:
The Iran Nuclear Deal Could Be Dead in 11 Days
The Iran Nuclear Deal Could Be Dead in 11 Days
Discussion:
The Hill, Hot Air, Politico, CNN, Associated Press and ThinkProgress
David Harsanyi / The Federalist:
5 Worst Echo Chamber Talking Points About The Iranian Uprising
5 Worst Echo Chamber Talking Points About The Iranian Uprising
Discussion:
The Daily Caller, BBC, Wall Street Journal, Reason, New Republic and National Review
Mandy Mayfield / Washington Examiner:
Roy Moore's Jewish lawyer voted for Doug Jones, raised money for his campaign — The Jewish attorney who Roy Moore's wife touted employing in an attempt to fight off claims of anti-Semitism is actually a longtime friend and supporter of Senator-elect Doug Jones, who defeated Moore last month.
Discussion:
The Hill, Politico, Weekly Standard, The Stranger …, Washington Monthly, Lawyers, Guns & Money, Mediaite and The Week
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Howard Koplowitz / al.com:
Doug Jones picks Joe Biden to escort him for swearing-in ceremony — Gallery: Former VP Joe Biden Campaigns for Doug Jones — Doug Jones will be going against tradition during his swearing-in ceremony tomorrow after the soon-to-be senator chose former Vice President Joe Biden as his escort for the occasion.
Discussion:
Talking Points Memo
Greg Privett / WAAY-TV:
Doug Jones does not invite Senator Richard Shelby, picks ex-VP Joe Biden as escort
Doug Jones does not invite Senator Richard Shelby, picks ex-VP Joe Biden as escort
Discussion:
IJR
Richard Johnson / Page Six:
Russia probe grand jury looks like ‘a Black Lives Matter rally,’ says witness — The federal grand jury handing down indictments for special counsel Robert Mueller doesn't appear to include any supporters of President Donald Trump, according to one witness who recently testified before the panel.
Discussion:
Raw Story, Breitbart, The Gateway Pundit, ThinkProgress and Politicus USA
Sahil Kapur / Bloomberg:
Romney Changes Location on Twitter as Utah Senate Seat Opens — Mitt Romney was mum on whether he plans to run for Senate after Republican Senator Orrin Hatch of Utah announced he'll retire after 2018. But Romney's Twitter profile may give a hint about his thinking.
Discussion:
Politico, Axios, The Week and The Daily Caller
RELATED:
Thomas Burr / Salt Lake Tribune:
Will Mitt Romney now run for seat being vacated by Orrin Hatch?
Will Mitt Romney now run for seat being vacated by Orrin Hatch?
Discussion:
National Review and Political Wire
Callum Borchers / Washington Post:
Utah could be Steve Bannon's next battleground, especially if Mitt Romney runs
Utah could be Steve Bannon's next battleground, especially if Mitt Romney runs
Discussion:
Axios, New York Magazine and Roll Call
Maggie Haberman / New York Times:
Ex-Homeland Security Officials Urge Faster Action on DACA — Three former homeland security secretaries warned congressional leaders and officials of both parties on Wednesday that the window for legislative action to protect undocumented immigrants brought to the country as children will close …
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Mike Lillis / The Hill:
Itching for a fight, Dems vow to hold the line
Itching for a fight, Dems vow to hold the line
Discussion:
John Hawkins' Right Wing News
Jason Samenow / Washington Post:
Monster storm to blast East Coast before polar vortex uncorks tremendous cold late this week — Unforgiving cold has punished the eastern third of the United States for the past 10 days. But the most severe winter weather conditions will assault the area late this week.
Discussion:
The Weather Channel, Axios, The Daily Beast, Althouse, John Hawkins' Right Wing News, Raw Story, NPR, Mother Jones, Mashable, thecut and Associated Press
New York Times:
Florida's 1.5 Million Missing Voters — Everyone remembers that the 2000 presidential election was decided by 537 votes in Florida. Far fewer remember another important number from the state that year — 620,000, the Floridians who were barred from voting because state records showed …
Washington Post:
The NSA's top talent is leaving because of low pay and flagging morale … The National Security Agency is losing its top talent at a worrisome rate as highly skilled personnel, some disillusioned with the spy service's leadership and an unpopular reorganization, take higher-paying, more flexible jobs in the private sector.
Discussion:
Axios
Axios:
CNN attacks Trump's mental stability, fitness for office — After Trump's Twitter tantrums yesterday — calling for the jailing of a political opponent and bragging his nuclear button is bigger than North Korea's — CNN used its powerful platforms and people to suggest the president is mentally unstable.
Discussion:
Raw Story
Tim Lockette / Anniston Star:
Star's former publisher acknowledges assault on reporter — H. Brandt Ayers, former publisher of The Anniston Star and current chairman of the board of the company that owns the newspaper, acknowledged Tuesday that he assaulted a reporter in her Anniston home in the 1970s.
James Risen / The Intercept:
My Life as a New York Times Reporter in the Shadow of the War on Terror … I was sitting in the nearly empty restaurant of the Westin Hotel in Alexandria, Virginia, getting ready for a showdown with the federal government that I had been trying to avoid for more than seven years.
Stephanie Saul / New York Times:
As Flow of Foreign Students Wanes, U.S. Universities Feel the Sting — At Wright State University in Ohio, the French horn and tuba professors are out. So is the accomplished swimming team. — At Kansas State, Italian classes are going the way of the Roman Empire.
John Solomon / The Hill:
Congressional investigators find irregularities in FBI's handling of Clinton email case — Republicans on key congressional committees say they have uncovered new irregularities and contradictions inside the FBI's probe of Hillary Clinton — 's email server.
Discussion:
The Gateway Pundit, RedState, JustOneMinute and Mediaite