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:
Business Insider, NBC News, CNBC, 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, Breitbart, The Daily Beast, Washington Post, TheBlaze, Mediaite, NewsBusters, The Korea Times and The Guardian
Susan B. Glasser / Politico:
Kim Jong Un, North Korea's ‘10-Foot-Tall Baby’ — Trump thinks he's a madman. CIA veteran Jung Pak says he's got it all wrong. — President Donald Trump, defying his own advisers and intelligence agencies, loves to call North Korean leader Kim Jong Un a “madman,” when he isn't taunting Kim …
Discussion:
Raw Story
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:
The Week and Political Wire
RELATED:
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 — President Donald Trump is expected to renew his call for drastic reductions to nondefense programs in rolling out his budget request Monday, even with hundreds of billions in new cash at hand. — While Congress busted strict spending caps …
Discussion:
TheBlaze
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.”
Discussion:
Talking Points Memo, ABC News, The Week, Raw Story and Mediaite
RELATED:
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 New York Magazine
Los Angeles Times:
Fate of Trump's chief of staff hangs in balance as White House weathers fallout from spouse abuse scandal
Fate of Trump's chief of staff hangs in balance as White House weathers fallout from spouse abuse scandal
Discussion:
Axios
Jonathan Swan / Axios:
White House can't gets its story straight on Rob Porter exit
White House can't gets its story straight on Rob Porter exit
Discussion:
Politico, The Week, Splinter, Shareblue Media and AOL
Kurt Schlichter / Townhall.com:
Principles, Schminciples - Lynch Mobs Are Cool If They Derail Trump
Principles, Schminciples - Lynch Mobs Are Cool If They Derail Trump
Discussion:
CNN, ABC News, RedState, CBS New York and NBC News
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 »
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.
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Daniel Lippman / Politico:
PLAYBOOK SCOOP: PELOSI pulls in nearly 50 million bucks for House Dems in 2017 — EXCERPTS from 'DEVIL'S BARGAIN' paperback edition ... BANNON says OPRAH could win Democrats the House back — BUDGET DAY — By JAKE SHERMAN (sherman@politico.com; @JakeSherman), ANNA PALMER (anna@politico.com …
Discussion:
New York Times
Burgess Everett / Politico:
McConnell's immigration gamble — The Senate majority leader is unleashing a free-for-all debate over Dreamers — and his endgame is a mystery. — Mitch McConnell is taking the reins of an immigration debate that may prompt a fix for “Dreamers” — or quickly spiral out of control.
Discussion:
Bloomberg and ImmigrationProf Blog
RELATED:
Joel Rose / NPR:
As Congress Debates Immigration, DREAMers Are In Limbo Along With Their Families — Christian Olvera's parents know how to drive. But they're afraid to, because they're in the country illegally, and they don't have driver's licenses. — So most days, Olvera drives them to work.
RELATED:
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
Suzanne Vranica / Wall Street Journal:
Unilever Threatens to Reduce Ad Spending on Tech Platforms That Don't Combat Divisive Content — CMO Keith Weed says the company will only invest in platforms ‘committed to creating a positive impact in society’ — Unilever UL -.68% PLC is threatening to pull back its advertising …
Discussion:
The Guardian, Gizmodo and The Week
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
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