Top Items:
Josh Rogin / Washington Post:
Pence: The United States is ready to talk with North Korea — Despite the mutual chilliness between U.S. and North Korean officials in South Korea last week, behind the scenes real progress was made toward a new diplomatic opening that could result in direct talks without preconditions between Washington and Pyongyang.
Discussion:
The Daily Caller and The Week
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New York Times:
Kim Jong-un's Sister Turns on the Charm, Taking Pence's Spotlight — PYEONGCHANG, South Korea — When the North Korean leader, Kim Jong-un, decided to send a large delegation to the Winter Olympics in South Korea this month, the world feared he might steal the show.
Discussion:
Awful Announcing, Washington Post, The Korea Times, TheBlaze, Mediaite, NewsBusters, The Guardian and Mashable
BuzzFeed:
PSA: Kim Jong Un's Sister Is Not Your New Fave Shade Queen. She's A Garbage Monster. — During the opening ceremony of the 2018 Winter Olympics on Friday, Vice President Mike Pence was seated near North Korean delegate Kim Yo Jong, who is Kim Jong Un's sister.
Discussion:
JustOneMinute, NewsBusters and Patterico's Pontifications
Joshua Robinson / Wall Street Journal:
North Korean Cheerleaders: 100 Olympic Stars Are Born
North Korean Cheerleaders: 100 Olympic Stars Are Born
Discussion:
The Daily Beast, New York Times and CNN
Jonathan Swan / Axios:
Twisted: Trump says Porter sick, guilty; defends him publicly — President Trump is defending Rob Porter even though, privately, he says he's guilty. — Behind closed doors: The president has told multiple people that he believes the accusations about Porter, and finds him “sick.”
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Jonathan Swan / Axios:
White House can't gets its story straight on Rob Porter exit — Consider this: It's been five days since domestic violence allegations toward Rob Porter surfaced. Within 24 hours, Porter was out of a job. The scandal has rocked the White House and one of its most astonishing components …
Discussion:
Splinter, Shareblue Media, ABC News, AOL and The Week
New York Times:
Abuse Case Exposes Fissures in a White House in Turmoil
Abuse Case Exposes Fissures in a White House in Turmoil
Discussion:
Political Wire, AOL and Washington Free Beacon
Axios:
Scoop: Rob Porter telling different story than John Kelly
Scoop: Rob Porter telling different story than John Kelly
Discussion:
Raw Story, The Week, Politico, Vox, Mother Jones, New York Magazine, ABC News, Jezebel and Washington Post
Andrew Restuccia / Politico:
Kelly under pressure to defend handling of Porter abuse allegations
Kelly under pressure to defend handling of Porter abuse allegations
Discussion:
Axios, ABC News and ThinkProgress
Damian Paletta / Washington Post:
In big reversal, new Trump budget will give up on longtime Republican goal of eliminating deficit … President Trump on Monday will offer a budget plan that falls far short of eliminating the government's deficit over 10 years, conceding that huge tax cuts and new spending increases …
Discussion:
Political Wire
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Washington Post:
Trump plan will drop GOP's traditional goal of balancing budget within 10 years … President Trump is remaking the Republican economic playbook in his own image, abandoning ideological consistency in favor of a debt-busting strategy that will upend how Washington taxes and spends trillions of dollars each year.
Jennifer Scholtes / Politico:
Trump to demand tough budget cuts for domestic programs
Trump to demand tough budget cuts for domestic programs
Discussion:
TheBlaze
Charlie Warzel / BuzzFeed:
He Predicted The 2016 Fake News Crisis. Now He's Worried About An Information Apocalypse. — In mid-2016, Aviv Ovadya realized there was something fundamentally wrong with the internet — so wrong that he abandoned his work and sounded an alarm. A few weeks before the 2016 election …
Discussion:
Political Wire, more at Mediagazer »
Wall Street Journal:
Senate Conservatives Offer Immigration Plan Heavy on Border Security, Quick Deportations — Package aligns with President Trump's proposal but has uphill battle to 60 votes — WASHINGTON—Heading into an open-ended immigration debate, some of the Senate's most conservative members …
RELATED:
Tal Kopan / CNN:
GOP senators introduce version of White House immigration framework
GOP senators introduce version of White House immigration framework
Discussion:
Axios
Tommy Christopher / Shareblue Media:
GOP candidate and Trump ally faces global backlash for racist attack on Meghan Markle — Republican congressional candidate Paul Nehlen's response to the denouncement was just as repugnant as his hateful tweet. — Congressional candidate and prominent Trump supporter Paul Nehlen (R-WI) …
Discussion:
The Guardian and twitchy.com
Russell Mokhiber / Common Dreams:
Woman Dragged Out of West Virginia House Hearing For Listing Oil and Gas Contributions to Members — “The people who are going to be speaking in favor of this bill are all going to be paid by the industry.” — Lissa Lucas traveled the 100 miles from her home in Cairo …
Discussion:
Raw Story
CNN:
Sen. Bob Corker's second thoughts on retiring — John King, CNN Chief National Correspondent and Rebecca Schatz, CNN — STORY HIGHLIGHTS — CNN has learned Sen. Bob Corker is mulling over changing his mind on retirement and running for re-election — Washington (CNN) …
Discussion:
Splinter
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Juliet Eilperin / Washington Post:
First-class travel distinguishes Scott Pruitt's EPA tenure … Just days after helping orchestrate the United States' exit from a global climate accord last June, Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Scott Pruitt embarked on a whirlwind tour aimed at championing President Trump's agenda at home and abroad.
David Siders / Politico:
Devin Nunes creates his own alternative news site — LOS ANGELES — House Intelligence Committee Chairman Devin Nunes, a relentless critic of the media, has found a way around the often unflattering coverage of his role in the Trump-Russia investigation — by operating his own partisan news outlet.
Discussion:
The Hill, Instapundit, KTLA, RedState, Splinter, TheBlaze, Mother Jones, Hullabaloo, Politicus USA, Axios, Vox and Mediaite, more at Mediagazer »
Nancy Cook / Politico:
The mysterious oppo researcher working in the White House lawyer's office — Michael Roman, best known as a shadowy operative who oversaw a research unit for the Koch network, now occupies an unusual and undefined role in the Trump administration. — Few people in or close to the White House …
Discussion:
The Week
Tom Boggioni / Raw Story:
Trump campaign co-chair gets 20 years for sexual abuse and trafficking teens — Tea Party leader and former Trump campaign chair Tim Nolan has pleaded guilty and received 20 years in prison for human trafficking, reports Cincinnati.com. — According to the report, Nolan, 71, a former judge …
Discussion:
Breitbart
Maureen Dowd / New York Times:
Trump Shows Us the Way — WASHINGTON — Donald Trump slipped into the Oval Office through a wormhole of confusion about the American identity. — We weren't winning wars anymore. They just went on and on and on, with inexplicable and deceptive aims and so many lives and limbs and trillions lost.
Discussion:
Power Line
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Ross Douthat / New York Times:
Let's Ban Porn