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Rob Porter is my ex-husband. Here's what you should know about abuse. — Colbie Holderness was the first wife of former White House staff secretary Rob Porter. — White House counselor Kellyanne Conway said Sunday that she has no reason not to believe statements that Jennifer Willoughby …
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Kelly increasingly isolated as Porter scandal rages on — Turbulence in this West Wing is typically generated by President Donald Trump, but for the past week, it's been chief of staff John Kelly — the man brought in to be a steadying hand — who's inspiring what one White House official described as a crisis of confidence.
Discussion:
Fox News, The Daily Beast, ThinkProgress, New Republic, Talking Points Memo, The White House, Raw Story, thecut, Political Wire, Splinter, Mediaite and Washington Examiner


A Whirlwind Envelops the White House, and the Revolving Door Spins — WASHINGTON — The doors at the White House have been swinging a lot lately. A deputy chief of staff moved on. A speechwriter resigned. The associate attorney general stepped down. The chief of staff offered to quit.
Discussion:
The Hill, Vox, CNN, National Review, RedState, Daily Kos, Weekly Standard, Axios, Raw Story and The Week


White House Was Warned of Aide's Background Months Earlier Than Acknowledged — WASHINGTON — Christopher A. Wray, the F.B.I. director, contradicted on Tuesday the White House timeline about the domestic abuse scandal involving Rob Porter, the president's former staff secretary.
Discussion:
Political Wire


VETERAN REPUBLICAN pulls ISSA into his divorce case …
Discussion:
Chicago Tribune, Variety and The Week

Ex-wife of accused WH aide rips Trump for suggesting he didn't get ‘due process’
Discussion:
Talking Points Memo, Raw Story, theGrio, Mediaite and CNN

Rob Porter told White House senior staff ex-wife's black eye was accidental: Sources

People are leaving the Trump White House in record numbers
Discussion:
Vox and The Daily Caller

Accusations Against Aide Renew Attention on White House Security Clearances
Discussion:
National Review and Raw Story

Report: Porter Told WH Aides That He Broke Ex-Wife's Glass Door By Accident
Discussion:
twitchy.com, Mediaite and Washington Post


Trump pitches plan to replace food stamps with food boxes — The Trump administration is proposing to save billions in the coming years by giving low-income families a box of government-picked, nonperishable foods every month instead of food stamps. — White House OMB Director Mick Mulvaney …
Discussion:
Townhall.com, Washington Post, Eater, CNBC, Joe.My.God., The Daily Caller, FOX6Now.com and CNNMoney
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Trump Administration Wants To Decide What Food SNAP Recipients Will Get — The Trump administration is proposing a major shake-up in one of the country's most important “safety net” programs, the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, formerly known as food stamps.
Discussion:
AOL, grubstreet, The Root, Bloomberg, KQED News and Common Dreams


A White House Budget Fit for the King of Debt
Discussion:
Washington Post, Center on Budget …, Reuters, VICE News, VICE, Dispatches From the …, Common Dreams, Daily Kos, New York Times, Splinter and Politico

Trump wants to slash food stamps and replace them with a ‘Blue Apron-type program’
Discussion:
New Republic, Common Dreams and Lawyers, Guns & Money


U.S. Strikes Killed Scores of Russian Fighters in Syria, Sources Say — More than 200 contract soldiers are said to have been killed — The casualties dwarf official Russian army death toll in Syria — U.S. forces killed scores of Russian contract soldiers in Syria last week …
Discussion:
The Daily Beast, Washington Post, The Right Scoop, The Daily Caller, The Week, twitchy.com and Political Wire
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Megan McArdle named Washington Post Opinions columnist — The Washington Post today announced Megan McArdle will be a columnist for the Opinions section starting March 1. In this role, McArdle will write columns with a focus on the intersection of economics, business and public policy.

Russia Sees Midterm Elections as Chance to Sow Fresh Discord, Intelligence Chiefs Warn — WASHINGTON — As the midterm elections approach, Russia is likely to throw more propaganda at Americans, using people sympathetic to their messages and fake personalities on social media …
Discussion:
The Guardian
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Intelligence officials say Russia intent on disrupting U.S. elections
Discussion:
One America News Network


GOP Senate candidate's parents max out donations to primary campaign of Democrat he hopes to unseat — (CNN)Just months after Republican Kevin Nicholson announced his bid to unseat incumbent Democratic Sen. Tammy Baldwin in 2018, his own parents donated the legal maximum to her primary campaign.
Discussion:
Political Wire, Politicus USA, FiveThirtyEight, Washington Times, Roll Call, Washington Press, Splinter, The Week and Raw Story


The End of the Two-Party System — In the first half of the 1990s, I worked in Europe for The Wall Street Journal. I covered nothing but good news: the reunification of Germany, the liberation of Central Europe, the fall of the Soviet Union, the end of apartheid in South Africa, the Oslo peace process in the Middle East.


Inside the halfpipe finals with Chloe Kim's Korean family — PYEONGCHANG, South Korea (AP) _ Chloe Kim's father pointed to himself and said “American dream!” then let out a whoop. — Nearly a decade after the Korean immigrant quit his job in California to help his precocious daughter become a snowboarder …
Discussion:
People.com, Reuters, HuffPost, Breitbart, IJR, New York Times, The Ringer, The Stream, USA Today, The Week, thecut, The Daily Caller and DEARLY
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Kim Yo Jong's Shattered Olympic Dream
Discussion:
alicublog, The American Conservative and The Federalist


Trump's Biggest Potential Conflict Of Interest Is Hiding In Plain Sight — The largest American office of China's largest bank sits on the 20th floor of Trump Tower, six levels below the desk where Donald Trump built an empire and wrested a presidency. It's hard to get a glimpse inside.
Discussion:
Raw Story, The Real Deal New York and Political Wire


Trump proposes eliminating federal funding for PBS, NPR — 's newly proposed budget includes a proposal to end federal funding for the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB), part of a package that includes $300 billion in new spending overall. — CPB provides federal funding for PBS and National Public Radio stations.
Discussion:
CPB, Breitbart and Washington Press


Trump's Lawyer Michael Cohen Is Shopping a Book About the First Family, Stormy Daniels, and Russia … Donald Trump's longtime personal lawyer is writing a book about his life and relationship with the president. — According to a proposal shopped to multiple publishers and obtained by The Daily Beast …


WLS-Ch.7 blames graphics ‘mix-up’ for confusion between P.F. Chang's and Pyeongchang — Pyeongchang is a mountainous county 110 miles southeast of Seoul in South Korea, and the host of the 2018 Winter Olympics. — P.F. Chang's is an Asian-inspired chain restaurant with 210 U.S. locations …
Discussion:
The Root, AOL, Splinter, New York Magazine, IJR, Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion, Awful Announcing, Raw Story, Washington Free Beacon, twitchy.com, The Week and Mediaite


Internal Dem polling shows Trump's standing on the rise — A leading Democratic group — Priorities USA — is warning party leaders they could squander a strong political climate in 2018 if they don't start to emphasize pocketbook issues over loose and unfocused critiques of Donald Trump.
Discussion:
Political Wire


Celebrity Big Brother: Omarosa calls Vice President Mike Pence ‘scary’ — Omarosa may be on her way out but she still has plenty more to say about her time in the White House. — In this clip from tonight's episode of Celebrity Big Brother, Omarosa tells her fellow houseguests …
Discussion:
The Hill, LGBTQ Nation, Althouse, RedState and Jezebel


Justice Department turnover is bad news for Mueller, ethics and democracy — Rachel Brand had the backbone to refuse wrongful orders. She provided a measure of protection for Mueller and Justice independence. But now she's gone. — CONNECT — Under normal circumstances …
Discussion:
Washington Post, Just Security, Washington Press, The Gateway Pundit, Shareblue Media, New York Magazine and RedState


Comey told Congress FBI agents didn't think Michael Flynn lied … In March 2017, then-FBI Director James Comey briefed a number of Capitol Hill lawmakers on the Trump-Russia investigation. One topic of intense interest was the case of Michael Flynn, the Trump White House national security adviser …
Discussion:
Power Line, The Last Refuge and The Gateway Pundit


Former Prosecutors Take Frustrations With Trump to the Campaign Trail — A number of Democrats running for Congress are ex-employees who left Justice Department — Chris Hunter was preparing to take a health-care fraud case to trial when he says he became concerned about the dynamics …
Discussion:
Politicus USA and Political Wire


KS Sec. of State's Office: Hutch dog not allowed to run for governor — HUTCHINSON, Kan. Update 9: 15 p.m. Monday, Feb. 12: — Not so fast. The Kansas Secretary of State's Office says Angus cannot serve as the state's governor. While there is nothing specifically written …
Discussion:
Political Wire, VICE News, thecut and The Week


Rising star in Michigan Republican Party blasts Trump and resigns — BAY CITY, MI — Expressing disappointment over President Donald Trump and vowing to no longer be affiliated with any political party, the chairman of the Bay County Republican Party has stepped down from his post.


Maria Bartiromo Confronts Paul Ryan on Budget Deal: 'You Don't Look Like' a Deficit Hawk — Conservatives — true, fiscal conservatives — are not at all happy about the bipartisan budget deal which passed Congress last week. It's legislation that Rep. Mo Brooks (R-AL) called “a debt junkie's dream.”


Candidate Ejected From West Virginia House Floor for Listing Lawmakers' Oil and Gas Donors — John H. Shott, a West Virginia state lawmaker, did not appreciate when, during a public hearing on the House floor on Friday, a citizen began listing donations he and some of his colleagues had received from the oil and gas industry.


Va. Republicans move to dump controversial leader over anti-Semitic online post … For several years, Fredy Burgos has been a controversial but tolerated figure within Virginia's Republican Party — a verbal bomb thrower whose attacks against Muslims, immigrants and others have turned off moderates …
Discussion:
Raw Story, Bearing Drift and Washington Times


Was Christopher Steele Paid by Russian Oligarch and Putin Ally Oleg Deripaska? … If Steele was employed by Deripaska or by his lawyer to do work on his behalf, it is likely to cast the dossier he allegedly authored in a new light. — In January, Deripaska filed a lawsuit against Paul Manafort …


Gigantic “Pigzilla” caught rummaging through dumpster — An enormous wild boar was caught on camera rifling through a garbage dumpster outside a school in Hong Kong. Video of the encounter posted on Facebook has gone viral, with thousands of shares and comments.
Discussion:
VICE and The Daily Caller