Top Items:
Bloomberg:
FBI's Wray Opposes GOP Memo Release, Citing Inaccuracies — Trump overheard saying memo ‘100 percent’ should be released — Republicans say memo raises doubts about Russia probe — FBI Director Christopher Wray has informed the White House of his opposition to releasing a controversial …
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New York Times:
F.B.I. Condemns Push to Release Secret Republican Memo — WASHINGTON — Christopher A. Wray, the F.B.I. director, clashed publicly with the president for the first time on Wednesday, condemning a push by House Republicans to release a secret memo that purports to show how the bureau …
Betsy Woodruff / The Daily Beast:
FBI Launches Preemptive Strike on Nunes Memo … The FBI said it is gravely concerned about the impending release of a memo from House Republicans that alleges the bureau abused its surveillance powers. — “With regard to the House Intelligence Committee's memorandum …
Discussion:
Washington Post, Talking Points Memo, Business Insider, Hullabaloo, Salon, Raw Story, Shareblue Media, Daily Kos and RedState
Mike Levine / ABC News:
DOJ gives special counsel internal docs on thwarted Sessions resignation, source says — In the weeks before special counsel Robert Mueller's team interviewed Attorney General Jeff Sessions, the Justice Department turned over a cache of internal correspondence, including documents related …
Orin Kerr / Lawfare:
The Dubious Legal Claim Behind #ReleaseTheMemo
CNN:
Trump overheard saying he'll ‘100%’ release Nunes memo
Trump overheard saying he'll ‘100%’ release Nunes memo
Discussion:
New York Magazine, KTLA, bizpacreview.com, CBS San Francisco, The Daily Caller and Washington Free Beacon
Charlie Savage / New York Times:
The Real Aim of the Secret Memo Is the Mueller Investigation
The Real Aim of the Secret Memo Is the Mueller Investigation
Discussion:
Mother Jones and Front Page Magazine
Cristiano Lima / Politico:
Kelly: Nunes memo to be released ‘pretty quick’
Kelly: Nunes memo to be released ‘pretty quick’
Discussion:
Talking Points Memo, Vox, Washington Post and IJR
Washington Post:
Justice Dept. officials appealed to White House to halt release of memo alleging FBI abuses related …
Justice Dept. officials appealed to White House to halt release of memo alleging FBI abuses related …
Discussion:
Shareblue Media, Politico, FOX News Radio, ThinkProgress, The Guardian, Talking Points Memo, RedState, NBC News, New York Times, Hullabaloo, The Week, Breitbart, Daily Kos, The Daily Beast, Fox News and Mediaite
CBS News:
Viewers approve of Trump's first State of the Union address - CBS News poll — Views of the speech — Three in four Americans who tuned in to President Trump's State of the Union address tonight approved of the speech he gave. Just a quarter disapproved. — How did the speech make you feel?
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Judd Legum / ThinkProgress:
Signature line from Trump's speech is already a white nationalist rallying cry — Donald Trump's first State of the Union was a largely banal speech with few policy details and none of his signature asides and bravado. Overall, the reception to the speech has been cool.
Discussion:
CNN, Vox, Right Wing Watch, Washington Times, Al Jazeera English, Raw Story, Mother Jones, New Republic and Politico
Victor Cha / Washington Post:
Giving North Korea a ‘bloody nose’ carries a huge risk to Americans — Victor Cha is a professor at Georgetown University and senior adviser at the Center for Strategic and International Studies. — North Korea, if not stopped, will build an arsenal with multiple nuclear missiles meant …
Discussion:
The Atlantic, HuffPost, Defense News, New York Times, NPR, Hullabaloo, Financial Times, New York Magazine, Vox, Hit & Run, Defense One, Business Insider, The Week, CNN, Politico, AOL, ABC News, CNBC and One America News Network
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Shane Harris / Washington Post:
Russian spy chiefs met in Washington with CIA director to discuss counterterrorism
Russian spy chiefs met in Washington with CIA director to discuss counterterrorism
Discussion:
ThinkProgress, Axios and Shakesville
Robbie Gramer / Foreign Policy:
Kellyanne Conway Botched Trump Damage Control Meeting With African Ambassadors — But Conway didn't discuss much on Africa at all, leaving participants bewildered. — In the wake of U.S. President Donald Trump's disparaging comments about immigration from countries he considered undesirable …
Discussion:
Raw Story and Talking Points Memo
Ted Sherman / New Jersey Online:
In shocking move, feds drop all charges against Sen. Bob Menendez — Menendez speaks after jury deadlocked, mistrial declared — In a shocking turnaround, the U.S. Justice Department has dropped its case against Sen. Robert Menendez. — In a court in Newark today …
Discussion:
Washington Post, Washington Examiner, New York Magazine, Breitbart and Political Wire
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Ryan Hutchins / Politico:
Justice Department drops corruption case against Menendez — The Justice Department reversed itself and dropped its corruption case against Sen. Bob Menendez on Wednesday, removing a huge burden from the senator — and national Democrats — as he prepares for a reelection campaign.
Dan Mangan / CNBC:
Dr. Brenda Fitzgerald, head of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, resigns amid tobacco stock furor — Fitzgerald's departure comes less than a day after Politico revealed she bought stock in a tobacco company within a month of taking her job.
Discussion:
CNN, USA Today, Weekly Standard, New York Times, The Hill, ThinkProgress, Mother Jones, Business Insider, TheBlaze, The Root, Talking Points Memo, Politico, NPR, AOL and Joe.My.God.
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Sarah Karlin-Smith / Politico:
CDC director who traded tobacco stock resigns
CDC director who traded tobacco stock resigns
Discussion:
Vox, IJR, New York Magazine, Daily Kos, Talking Points Memo, ThinkProgress, Shareblue Media, Breitbart and Joe.My.God.
Philly.com:
Bob Brady is not running for reelection — Bob Brady, the larger-than-life leader of Philadelphia's Democratic Party, announced on Wednesday that he is not running for reelection to the U.S. House. — He revealed the news in a way that seemed all too perfect for the decades-long party boss …
Discussion:
Politico, Roll Call and Political Wire
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Yascha Mounk / Slate:
Donald Trump Just Asked Congress to End the Rule of Law — Donald Trump's first State of the Union was a deeply dangerous speech. — It was deeply dangerous because he finally followed in the footsteps of European leaders like Hungarian President Viktor Orban who have long ago learned …
Discussion:
American Greatness and The Federalist
Monmouth University:
Trump Rating Ticks Up; Support for Tax Plan Increases — GOP gains on Dems in generic House ballot — West Long Branch, NJ - Donald Trump's job approval rating has bounced back from the record low registered in last month's Monmouth University Poll , as more Americans now see the president …
Discussion:
Political Wire
CNN:
Train carrying members of Congress — including House Speaker Paul Ryan — hits a truck — (CNN)A train carrying members of Congress — including House Speaker Paul Ryan — to their legislative retreat in West Virginia hit a truck Wednesday, multiple sources told CNN.
Discussion:
Fox News, Front Page Magazine, The Week, bizpacreview.com, Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion, Business Insider, KFOR-TV and Political Wire
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Carter Sherman / VICE News:
EXCLUSIVE: Trump officials discussed “reversing” abortion for undocumented teen — The Trump administration official in charge of the Office of Refugee Resettlement discussed trying to use a controversial, scientifically unproven method to reverse an undocumented teen's abortion, according to documents reviewed by VICE News.
Discussion:
Raw Story and Political Wire
The Daily Beast:
Florida (Congress)Man Invited Infamous Troll Chuck Johnson to Trump's State of The Union … Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL), a conservative Republican firebrand, was the lawmaker responsible for inviting the controversial internet troll Chuck Johnson to Tuesday night's State of the Union address.
Discussion:
ThinkProgress, Little Green Footballs, Mediaite, Joe.My.God. and ABC News
Caitlin Yilek / Washington Examiner:
Michael Wolff: Nikki Haley ‘embraced’ rumors of affair with Trump … Controversial author Michael Wolff is hitting back at Nikki Haley after the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations denied having an affair with President Trump. — In an interview with theSkimm, Wolff said Haley “seems to have embraced” the rumor that he started.
Discussion:
Washington Post, twitchy.com, Washington Free Beacon and Mediaite
ABC:
The Cabinet Files reveal national security breaches, NBN negotiations, welfare reform plans — Hundreds of top-secret and highly classified cabinet documents have been obtained by the ABC following an extraordinary breach of national security. — This was not a leak — here's what it took to unlock national secrets
Discussion:
NPR, Splinter, NBC News and The Guardian
Hillary Clinton:
The most important work of my life has been to support and empower women. I've tried to do so here at home, around the world, and in the organizations I've run. I started in my twenties, and four decades later I'm nowhere near being done. I'm proud that it's the work I'm most associated with …
New York Times:
Twitter Followers Vanish Amid Inquiries Into Fake Accounts — Federal and state authorities are investigating the sellers of artificial followers and other fraudulent social media engagement. — More than a million followers have disappeared from the accounts of dozens of prominent Twitter users …
Discussion:
The Daily Beast, Engadget, New York Magazine and Gizmodo, more at Mediagazer »
Washington Post:
‘Using his position for private gain’: HUD lawyers warned Ben Carson risked running afoul of ethics rules by enlisting son … Housing and Urban Development Secretary Ben Carson allowed his son to help organize a “listening tour” in Baltimore last summer despite warnings from department lawyers …
WSLS-TV:
Virginia Tech freshman had assault rifle, attempted to buy 5,000 rounds of ammo, police say — Man, 19, had been Tech student for six months — BLACKSBURG, Va. - Police have arrested a Virginia Tech student they say illegally had an assault rifle. — Virginia Tech police arrested 19 …
Discussion:
CNN, The Daily Caller, AOL and NBC News
New York Times:
A Paper Tears Apart in a City That Never Quite Came Together — LOS ANGELES — When an ambitious Civil War colonel from Ohio seized control of a fledgling daily newspaper here in the late 19th century, Los Angeles was a rough-hewed frontier town with no paved streets and a population of a few thousand people.
Discussion:
The Week
Adam Elmahrek / Los Angeles Times:
He worked at a water district for just seven days. But it ended up costing $1.5 million — Seven work days into Ron Beilke's job at the Central Basin Municipal Water District, the agency's governing board placed an item on its next meeting agenda. It called for firing him from his $98,000 …