Top Items:
Maggie Haberman / New York Times:
Trump's Longtime Lawyer Says He Paid Stormy Daniels Out of His Own Pocket — Michael D. Cohen, President Trump's longtime personal lawyer, said on Tuesday that he paid $130,000 out of his own pocket to a pornographic-film actress who had once claimed to have had an affair with Mr. Trump.
Discussion:
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Orin Kerr / Reason:
Did Trump's Lawyer Pay Stormy Daniels Out of His Own Pocket? — This isn't the biggest story in the world, but I was interested in the statement by Trump's personal lawyer, Michael D. Cohen, about the payments made to adult film actress Stormy Daniels. A month ago, the Wall Street Journal broke the story that began:
Discussion:
Washington Post, No More Mister Nice Blog, ThinkProgress, The Week, Raw Story, RedState, Politico and Mediaite
Tom Boggioni / Raw Story:
'By God, he's a loyal friend!': …
Axios:
Scoop: Trump threatens veto on immigration deal — A senior administration official said Tuesday night that President Trump “will veto any bill that doesn't advance his common-sense immigration reforms” — a hardening of the White House bargaining position as the Senate begins an epic debate.
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Washington Post:
White House reels as FBI director contradicts official claims about alleged abuser … The White House struggled Tuesday to contain a widening crisis over its handling of domestic violence allegations against a senior official, as it reeled from sworn testimony by the FBI chief …
Louis Nelson / Politico:
Gowdy: Oversight panel launched Porter investigation ‘last night’ — The House Oversight Committee is investigating the Trump administration's employment of Rob Porter, the former White House staff secretary accused of domestic abuse, committee chairman Trey Gowdy said Wednesday.
Discussion:
Daily Kos
Veronica Stracqualursi / CNN:
House oversight investigating WH handling of Rob Porter — Washington (CNN)The House Oversight Committee is investigating the White House's handling of Rob Porter's employment, chairman Trey Gowdy told CNN Wednesday. — “We are directing inquiries to people that we think have access to information we don't have.
Axios:
Trump creep: bad habits spread fast — All habits, good and bad — in all organizations, big and small — flow down fast from the top. This dynamic is particularly true in the White House, and unmistakably true in this Trump White House. — The big picture: Trump's lifelong habits …
Discussion:
New York Magazine and Dispatches From the …
Greg Sargent / Washington Post:
Democrats must be ready to take this drastic step against Trump
Democrats must be ready to take this drastic step against Trump
Discussion:
Talking Points Memo, Dispatches From the … and The Week
Brett Samuels / The Hill:
Schiff: We're not going to revise Democratic memo
Schiff: We're not going to revise Democratic memo
Discussion:
Politico, Talking Points Memo, The Last Refuge, TheBlaze and The Stream
Emily Stephenson / Politico:
White House imposed a ban on new interim security clearances last fall
White House imposed a ban on new interim security clearances last fall
Discussion:
Talking Points Memo, VICE News and Raw Story
Associated Press:
Suspect wounded, SUV stopped after shooting at NSA gate — FORT MEADE, Md. (AP) — One person was wounded in a shooting Wednesday morning outside the National Security Agency campus at Fort Meade. — Authorities surrounded a handcuffed man after a black SUV ran into a barrier outside the Maryland base.
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Public Policy Polling:
Democrats Lead by 8 Points On Generic House Ballot Nationally — Here are the highlights of PPP's first public national poll of the year: — 2018 Landscape — Democrats have a solid 49-41 lead on the generic Congressional ballot, although that's down a shade from December when it was 51-40.
Discussion:
Political Wire
Jim Windolf / New York Times:
After a Twitter Storm, The Times and a New Hire Part Ways — On Tuesday afternoon, The New York Times announced that it had hired Quinn Norton, a journalist and an essayist known for her work at Wired magazine, as the editorial board's lead opinion writer on technology.
Discussion:
The Atlantic, Business Insider and twitchy.com
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HuffPost:
NY Times ‘Very Concerned’ Over Tweets By Its Nazi-Befriending Editorial Board Hire
NY Times ‘Very Concerned’ Over Tweets By Its Nazi-Befriending Editorial Board Hire
Discussion:
The Root, Splinter, Washington Free Beacon and NewsBusters, more at Mediagazer »
Maxwell Tani / The Daily Beast:
NY Times Hires, Quickly Fires Journalist With History of Homophobic Tweets
NY Times Hires, Quickly Fires Journalist With History of Homophobic Tweets
Discussion:
The New York Times Company, Splinter and Mediaite
Heather Long / Washington Post:
Wall Street might not like this: Inflation rises 2.1 percent, faster than expected … The Consumer Price Index, which measures how quickly prices are going up in the U.S. economy, rose at a faster than anticipated 2.1 percent in January compared to a year ago, triggering fears of another rocky run on Wall Street.
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Zaid Jilani / The Intercept:
REPUBLICAN SCARE-MONGERING ON “SANCTUARY CITIES” BACKFIRES, DEMOCRATS WIN BIG UPSET IN FLORIDA SPECIAL ELECTION — In a special election on Tuesday, Florida's Republicans took a page from Ed Gillespie's playbook and deployed the threat of “sanctuary cities” to scare up the votes to win.
Discussion:
AOL
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Zac Anderson / Sarasota Herald:
Democrat Margaret Good wins upset victory in state House race
Democrat Margaret Good wins upset victory in state House race
Discussion:
Splinter and Florida Politics
Steven Shepard / Politico:
Poll: GOP gains on generic ballot, Trump approval ticks upward — Republicans have erased the Democratic advantage on the generic congressional ballot in a new POLITICO/Morning Consult poll that, for the first time since April, also shows President Donald Trump's approval rating equaling …
Discussion:
RedState, CNBC, Axios, Scared Monkeys, The Week, The Daily Caller, twitchy.com and Real Clear Politics
David Abel / BostonGlobe.com:
After more than a year, Trump still doesn't have a science adviser — CAMBRIDGE — When the Ebola virus began sweeping through West Africa four years ago, killing thousands of people and threatening to spread beyond the continent, President Obama turned to his science adviser for options.
CBS News:
EPA's Scott Pruitt got waiver to fly business class on foreign carrier from Italy to U.S. — WASHINGTON — EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt has been under fire for frequently flying in first and business class at taxpayer expense. CBS News has learned more about one of those flights …
Discussion:
New Republic, Gizmodo and Washington Press
Sara Salinas / CNBC:
Six top US intelligence chiefs caution against buying Huawei phones — The directors of the CIA, FBI, NSA and several other intelligence agencies express their distrust of Apple-rival Huawei and fellow Chinese telecom company ZTE. — During a hearing, the intelligence chiefs commended …
Discussion:
The Verge, Gizmodo, Engadget, Mashable and The Daily Caller, more at Techmeme »
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Samuel Chamberlain / Fox News:
GOP rep unveils ‘Crumbs Act’ to make bonuses tax-free, in swipe at Pelosi — A Republican lawmaker is set to unveil legislation that would make most bonuses given out as a result of President Trump's tax reform plan tax-free — and took a jab at House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi with the bill's name.
Discussion:
RedState, IJR, The Daily Caller and Roll Call
Shawn Musgrave / Politico:
Kelli Ward touts endorsement from fake-news site — It looked as if Arizona Senate candidate Kelli Ward had scored a big endorsement: On Oct. 28, she posted a link on her campaign website and blasted out a Facebook post, quoting extensively from a column in the Arizona Monitor.
Discussion:
Talking Points Memo
Miles Weiss / Bloomberg:
New Hedge-Fund Tax Dodge Triggers Wild Rush Back Into Delaware — Firms set up LLCs in plan to avoid carried-interest change — Congress may have stumbled in narrowing loophole for managers — Wall Street's fast-money crowd is returning to well-trodden ground to elude Trump-era tax laws: Delaware.
Edward-Isaac Dovere / Politico:
Dems: Bill Clinton too toxic to campaign in midterms — Democrats are looking to embrace the #MeToo moment and rally women to push back on President Donald Trump in the midterms—and they don't want Bill Clinton anywhere near it. — In a year when the party is deploying all their other big guns …
Discussion:
Washington Free Beacon and Althouse
The Michigan Chronicle:
Voting Reform in Michigan marches forward — The Promote the Vote coalition's effort to make voting in Michigan more secure and accessible has moved one step closer to getting on the November ballot as the State Board of Canvassers today approved the petition form.
Christian Caryl / Washington Post:
Christopher Steele is a hero - and Americans owe him their thanks … Christopher Steele, the former British spy whose claims about Donald Trump's ties with Russia hold center stage in Washington right now, drives Republicans crazy. They have recommended that the Department of Justice open a criminal investigation into his work.
Glenn Thrush / New York Times:
Trump's ‘Harvest Box’ Isn't Viable in SNAP Overhaul, Officials Say — WASHINGTON — The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program offers about 46 million low-income Americans both sustenance and economic choice by providing an allowance to buy the fruit, meat, fresh vegetables, soda, ice cream and kind of bread they want to eat.
Discussion:
Splinter
Sean Martin / Daily Express:
Yellowstone ERUPTION: Supervolcano under ‘STRAIN’ - experts find magma chamber pressure — YELLOWSTONE is “under strain” according to a group of seismologists who are monitoring the potentially catastrophic volcano, prompting fears an eruption is imminent. — A process known as deformation …
Discussion:
Your News Wire
Ben Shapiro / Townhall.com:
This Isn't Normal — You've heard the phrase over and over again: “This isn't normal.” We've heard it about President Trump's rhetoric, and his Twitter usage. We've heard it about his attacks on the media, and we've heard it about his legislative ignorance.
Áine Cain / Business Insider:
The 229 women in North Korea's ‘Army of Beauties’ at the Winter Olympics are hand picked, unpaid, and guarded 24/7 — • The North Korean cheerleaders at the Winter Olympics have captured the world's attention. — • They've also prompted criticism of what many perceive …
Discussion:
Washington Post, Washington Free Beacon, The Daily Caller and New York Times
Reena Flores / Politico:
Duckworth: 'I can't technically take maternity leave' — Sen. Tammy Duckworth has a problem: How can a senator who needs to vote take time off to care for her newborn? — “I can't technically take maternity leave,” Duckworth said in the latest episode of the Women Rule podcast.
Discussion:
Common Dreams, thecut and Althouse
Carrie Battan / ELLE:
Louise Linton Is Super-Duper Sorry — Louise Linton has accomplished the near-impossible task of locating an ordinary meeting place in the most moneyed stretch of the Upper East Side, where she and her husband, U.S. Secretary of the Treasury Steven Mnuchin, own an apartment.
Discussion:
Washington Post, CNN, Splinter, AOL, Business Insider, Althouse, Hollywood Life, Mediaite, thecut, Jezebel, The Week and Political Wire