Top Items:
Carol E. Lee / NBC News:
Flynn kept FBI interview concealed from White House, Trump — WASHINGTON — A year ago today, Donald Trump's newly sworn-in national security adviser, Michael Flynn, met privately in his West Wing office with FBI investigators interested in his communications with Russia's ambassador …
Discussion:
Washington Post, Business Insider, Washington Press, Talking Points Memo, Mediaite, Shakesville, Reuters, CNBC, Raw Story, The Daily Caller, The Week and NBC News
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Washington Post:
Trump asked the acting FBI director whom he voted for during Oval Office meeting … Shortly after President Trump fired his FBI director in May, he summoned to the Oval Office the bureau's acting director for a get-to-know-you meeting. — The two men exchanged pleasantries, but before long …
Discussion:
Washington Monthly, New Republic, CNN, ThinkProgress, New York Times, Talking Points Memo, Politico, Salon, Shareblue Media, Hullabaloo, Booman Tribune, Washington Free Beacon, VICE, RealClearPolitics, JONATHAN TURLEY, Media Matters for America, The Hill, No More Mister Nice Blog, Splinter, The Week, ABC News, theGrio, New York Magazine, RedState, Mediaite, Vox, Palmer Report, IJR, AOL, Raw Story, Boing Boing, The Gateway Pundit, Business Insider, Washington Press, Axios and KTLA
Michael Goodwin / New York Post:
Evidence suggests a massive scandal is brewing at the FBI — During the financial crisis, the federal government bailed out banks it declared “too big to fail.” Fearing their bankruptcy might trigger economic Armageddon, the feds propped them up with taxpayer cash.
Discussion:
The Gateway Pundit, CANNONFIRE, JustOneMinute, The Federalist, Scared Monkeys, The Hill and bizpacreview.com
Andrew C. McCarthy / National Review:
Clinton-Obama Emails: The Key to Understanding Why Hillary Wasn't Indicted — New FBI texts highlight a motive to conceal the president's involvement. — From the first, these columns have argued that the whitewash of the Hillary Clinton-emails caper was President Barack Obama's call …
Discussion:
Power Line, twitchy.com and The Gateway Pundit
Katelyn Polantz / CNN:
Exclusive: New signs Gates may be negotiating with Mueller's team — Who is Rick Gates? — STORY HIGHLIGHTS — At this stage, with Gates' charges filed and bail set, talks could concern the charges and Gates' plea — Washington (CNN)Former Trump campaign aide Rick Gates has quietly added …
Discussion:
Talking Points Memo, Washington Post, New York Magazine, Palmer Report, Raw Story and Balloon Juice
Bloomberg:
Inside the Dysfunctional Relationship of Donald Trump and Theresa May — When Theresa May returned to the grandeur of the British Embassy on Washington's Massachusetts Avenue in January last year, her aides had no idea how spectacularly awry her visit to Donald Trump's White House had gone.
Discussion:
New Republic, New York Magazine, Washington Press, Business Insider, Balloon Juice and Raw Story
Michael Scherer / Washington Post:
Potential citizenship question in 2020 Census could shift power to rural America — A request by the Justice Department to add a citizenship question to the 2020 Census could shift the nation's balance of political power from cities to more rural communities over the next decade and give Republicans …
Discussion:
Balkinization
Jane Coaston / Vox:
ReleaseTheMemo and the conservative war on the FBI, explained — How one four-page memo took Republicans — and Trump-Russia probe detractors — by storm. — Let's say there was a memo that would show, without a shadow of a doubt, that the investigation into the Trump presidential campaign's ties …
Cristiano Lima / Politico:
Chao rebuffs Trump critics in Davos: 'Those who don't want to listen to him can leave' — Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao had a clear message Wednesday for critics of President Donald Trump during his trip to the World Economic Forum in Switzerland: If you don't want to hear from him, you can leave.
Discussion:
Breitbart and One America News Network
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Zachary Basu / Axios:
Merkel warns against isolationism in Davos speech
Merkel warns against isolationism in Davos speech
Discussion:
One America News Network and The Gateway Pundit
Madison Marriage / Financial Times:
Men Only: Inside the charity fundraiser where hostesses are put on show — At 10pm last Thursday night, Jonny Gould took to the stage in the ballroom at London's Dorchester Hotel. “Welcome to the most un-PC event of the year,” he roared. — The sports broadcaster was there to host a charity auction …
Discussion:
Business Insider, Axios, Bloomberg, 444, The Guardian, Women in the World, Mashable, Coffee House, NBC News, AOL and thecut
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Leinz Vales / CNN:
Evangelical leader Franklin Graham says Trump is a ‘changed person’ — (CNN)President Donald Trump is a “changed person” amid recent reports of an alleged affair with porn star Stormy Daniels, said the president and CEO of the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association.
Discussion:
Talking Points Memo, RedState, The Hill, Right Wing Watch, New York Magazine, Raw Story, Friendly Atheist, Mediaite and Joe.My.God.
New York Times:
More than 160 women say Larry Nassar sexually abused them. Here are his accusers in their own words. — He was lauded as a must-see doctor for the United States' best gymnasts. Now Lawrence G. Nassar will spend the rest of his life in prison. Over seven days, women recounted his sexual abuse …
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Scott Cacciola / New York Times:
Victims in Larry Nassar Abuse Case Find a Fierce Advocate: The Judge
Victims in Larry Nassar Abuse Case Find a Fierce Advocate: The Judge
Discussion:
AOL, thecut and Just Jared
Louis Nelson / Politico:
Trump to Schumer: ‘If there is no wall, there is no DACA’ — President Donald Trump reiterated late Tuesday night that funding for his promised wall along the U.S.-Mexico border remains a requirement for any deal to shield undocumented immigrants brought here as children from deportation …
Discussion:
Townhall.com, The Daily Beast, Liberty Unyielding, Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion, IJR, Breitbart, NPR, ABC News, CNN and Washington Press
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New York Times:
Under Fire for Harassment, Congressman Says Aide ‘Invited’ Behavior — WASHINGTON — Under fire for using taxpayer money to settle a sexual misconduct complaint from a former aide, Representative Patrick Meehan, Republican of Pennsylvania, said Tuesday that the woman “specifically invited” …
nsarchive.gwu.edu:
Rumsfeld Snowflakes Come in from the Cold — SecDef Said Biggest Threat on 9/10/2001: Pentagon Bureaucracy — Archive FOIA Lawsuit Wins Monthly Releases Thanks to Pro Bono Representation by Skadden Arps — READ the First Full Tranche of Snowflakes — Martin Hoffmann advises Rumsfeld that the …
Discussion:
New Republic
Andrea Drusch / McClatchy Washington Bureau:
Democratic poll: O'Rourke within single digits of Cruz — WASHINGTON — Democrat Beto O'Rourke trails Texas Republican Sen. Ted Cruz by single digits — 45-37 percent — according to new internal polling released by a Democratic group aimed at keeping corporate money out of politics.
Discussion:
IJR
Rosa Flores / CNN:
Pope warns against ‘fake news’ and likens it to ‘crafty serpent’ in Genesis — Rome (CNN)Pope Francis released a message condemning “fake news,” saying that it's a “sign of intolerant and hypersensitive attitudes, and leads only to the spread of arrogance and hatred.”
Discussion:
Wall Street Journal, Friendly Atheist, The Daily Caller, The Stranger … and The Week
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Ryan Devereaux / The Intercept:
Eight Humanitarian Activists Face Federal Charges After Leaving Water for Migrants in the Arizona Desert — A faith-based humanitarian group that provides aid and shelter to undocumented migrants on the southwestern border fears it has become the latest target in the Trump administration's crackdown on immigration advocates.
Discussion:
Arizona Republic
mprnews.org:
Investigation: For some who lived in it, Keillor's world wasn't funny … When Minnesota Public Radio abruptly severed ties with Garrison Keillor in November, the sole explanation offered by the company was “inappropriate behavior” with a female colleague. — For his part, the creator …
Discussion:
Shakesville, thecut and Mediaite, more at Mediagazer »
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Jenna Wortham / New York Times:
Is 'RuPaul's Drag Race' the Most Radical Show on TV? — The reality-television competition that began nine years ago has evolved to reflect an era fixated on gender and identity — and the boundary-pushing spirit of its star. — On a soundstage deep in the hills of Los Angeles one morning last August …
Discussion:
The A.V. Club and Althouse
Ben Caspit / Jerusalem Post:
Kerry to Abbas confidante: ‘Stay strong and do not give in to Trump’ — The former US Secretary of State also surprised his interlocutor by saying he was seriously considering running for president in 2020. — While the White House confirms that since the “Jerusalem Declaration” …
Discussion:
IJR, Daily Wire and Elder Of Ziyon
CNBC:
Starbucks to boost worker pay and benefits after US lowers corporate taxes — Starbucks is known for giving its workers more generous pay and benefits than other mass-market restaurants and retailers. — Starbucks will use some of the savings from the new U.S. corporate tax cuts …
Discussion:
Bloomberg, Breitbart, Washington Free Beacon, Scared Monkeys, IJR, twitchy.com and The Week
Byron York / Washington Examiner:
NeverTrumpers face vexing question: What to make of Trump successes? — The start of President Trump's second year in office has given Republicans and conservatives an opportunity to review a solid list of achievements: corporate and individual tax cuts; economic growth; wage growth …
Courier-Journal:
What we know now: Marshall County High School shooting … Benton, Kentucky was shaken to its core Tuesday when a 15-year-old sophomore went on a shooting rampage at Marshall County High School, killing two students and injuring more than a dozen. — Here's what we know now. — Rising numbers
Discussion:
Media Matters for America, AOL, FOX 61, Associated Press, Vox, Murray Ledger and Times and Star Tribune
Emily Guskin / Washington Post:
Republicans fuel sharp rise in concerns about sexual harassment, Post-ABC poll finds — Concerns about workplace sexual harassment are up once again, after reaching a high point in October, with Republicans driving the latest push in labeling harassment a serious national problem.
Discussion:
CANNONFIRE
Ronen Bergman / New York Times:
How Arafat Eluded Israel's Assassination Machine — The nation's security forces tried for decades to kill the P.L.O. leader. Now, former officials tell the story of how they failed — and how far they almost went to succeed. — The radar on the F-15s picked up the blip of the transport plane …
People.com:
Billy Bush Opens Up About Rebuilding His Life After the Trump Scandal Destroyed His Career — For Billy Bush, the last 15 months have been a turbulent ride. — It was in October 2016 that the prominent entertainment journalist, then a rising star at the Today show, was abruptly fired …
Caleb Howe / RedState:
The Coulter Mistake and How Not to Make It — The lead article at RedState this morning is about Rush Limbaugh and his embrace of conspiracy theory thinking as part of his continuous and shared quest to justify Trump. As noted in the headline, though, it's not just Rush Limbaugh thus devolving.
Discussion:
Mediaite
Anna Zacharias / The National:
Saudi camel beauty festival: 12 entrants disqualified for Botox use — The camels were among 30,000 competing at the King Abdulaziz Camel Festival — In pursuit of the perfect pout, a dozen camels have been disqualified from a camel beauty pageant in Saudi Arabia for receiving Botox injections.
Discussion:
NPR, Breitbart, The Guardian and Reuters
Richard Wolf / USA Today:
Supreme Court agrees to speed up Trump's DACA appeal — WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court is racing Congress to decide the future of the Dreamers. — The justices agreed Tuesday to decide quickly whether to hear the Trump administration's appeal of a federal district court's order to restart …
Discussion:
ImmigrationProf Blog
Rasmussen Reports:
Voters Call for Special Prosecutor to Investigate FBI — Voters suspect the FBI is hiding something and think a special prosecutor is needed to see if the nation's top cops have been playing politics. — The latest Rasmussen Reports national telephone and online survey finds that 49% …
Discussion:
Breitbart, Washington Times and Daily Wire