Top Items:
Washington Post:
Kushner's overseas contacts raise concerns as foreign officials seek leverage … Officials in at least four countries have privately discussed ways they can manipulate Jared Kushner, the president's son-in-law and senior adviser, by taking advantage of his complex business arrangements …
RELATED:
Andrew Restuccia / Politico:
Kushner loses access to top-secret intelligence — Presidential son-in-law and adviser Jared Kushner has had his security clearance downgraded — a move that will prevent him from viewing many of the sensitive documents to which he once had unfettered access. — Kushner is not alone.
Discussion:
ThinkProgress, Axios, New York Times, Washington Post, Vox, The Daily Beast, ABC News, The Guardian, New York Magazine, NPR, CBS Los Angeles, IJR, Raw Story, Gizmodo, Washington Press, NBC News, emptywheel, KTLA, Shareblue Media, Mediaite, RedState, CNBC, VICE News, Mother Jones, Talking Points Memo, Politicus USA, Associated Press, Washington Free Beacon, FOX2now.com, FOX31 Denver, WGN-TV, Daily Kos, Breitbart, Washington Times, Political Wire and CNN
Nicholas Fandos / New York Times:
Hope Hicks Acknowledges She Sometimes Tells White Lies for Trump — WASHINGTON — Hope Hicks, the White House communications director, told House investigators on Tuesday that her work for President Trump, who has a reputation for exaggerations and outright falsehoods, had occasionally required her to tell white lies.
Washington Post:
Four Commerce Department appointees lose their posts after problems in background checks … Four Commerce Department political appointees working on interim security clearances lost their jobs Tuesday because of problems in their background checks, the latest fallout from the intensifying public scrutiny …
Discussion:
Political Wire and Raw Story
Jonathan Swan / Axios:
Scoop: Josh Raffel leaving White House — Senior communications official Josh Raffel is leaving the White House, Axios has learned. — Why it matters: Raffel, a former Hollywood PR executive, was originally brought in early last year to run communications for the Office of American Innovation …
Discussion:
Washington Post and AOL
Ina Fried / Axios:
Scaramucci says White House morale very low, Kelly should resign
Scaramucci says White House morale very low, Kelly should resign
Discussion:
The Atlantic, ABC News, Raw Story, Politico and Mediaite
CNN:
Kushner security clearance is downgraded
Kushner security clearance is downgraded
Discussion:
Axios, Washington Press, Raw Story and Mediaite
Glenn Thrush / New York Times:
Ben Carson's HUD, Planning Cuts, Spends $31,000 on Dining Set for His Office — WASHINGTON — Department of Housing and Urban Development officials spent $31,000 on a new dining room set for Secretary Ben Carson's office in late 2017 — just as the White House circulated its plans …
Discussion:
Raw Story, Axios, The Guardian, The Daily Caller, Mediaite, Political Wire and Shareblue Media
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Rene Marsh / CNN:
‘$5,000 will not even buy a decent chair’: HUD staffer files complaint over Ben Carson office redecoration — Washington (CNN)The former chief administrative officer for the Department of Housing and Urban Development says she was demoted in part for refusing to spend more than was legally allowed …
The Guardian:
US official: I was demoted for rejecting Ben Carson's costly office revamp
US official: I was demoted for rejecting Ben Carson's costly office revamp
Discussion:
Shareblue Media, Washington Press, Daily Kos, Talking Points Memo, New York Magazine, Raw Story, VICE News and Politico
CNN:
Mueller team asks about Trump's Russian business dealings as he weighed a run for president — (CNN)Investigators for special counsel Robert Mueller have recently been asking witnesses about Donald Trump's business activities in Russia prior to the 2016 presidential campaign as he considered …
Discussion:
Political Wire, Washington Press, Raw Story and Mediaite
NBC News:
U.S. intel: Russia compromised seven states prior to 2016 election — The U.S. intelligence community developed substantial evidence that state websites or voter registration systems in seven states were compromised by Russian-backed covert operatives prior to the 2016 election …
Jeff Horwitz / Associated Press:
Trump campaign chief lends name to penny stock tied to felon — WASHINGTON (AP) — The political strategist and online guru who was named President Donald Trump's 2020 campaign manager Tuesday has a close financial relationship with a penny-stock firm with a questionable history …
Discussion:
Raw Story
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Sean Illing / Vox:
How Trump's 2020 campaign manager is connected to the Russia scandal
How Trump's 2020 campaign manager is connected to the Russia scandal
Discussion:
CNN, CNBC, Daily Kos, San Antonio Current, Media Matters for America, The Root, Axios and Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion
Donald J Trump:
President Trump Announces 2020 Campaign Manager
President Trump Announces 2020 Campaign Manager
Discussion:
The Last Refuge, Vox, VICE News and IJR
Natasha Bertrand / The Atlantic:
Roger Stone's Secret Messages with WikiLeaks — On March 17, 2017, WikiLeaks tweeted that it had never communicated with Roger Stone, a longtime confidante and informal adviser to President Donald Trump. In his interview with the House Intelligence Committee last September, Stone …
Discussion:
The Smoking Gun, Talking Points Memo, Political Wire, Raw Story, Joe.My.God. and Mediaite, more at Mediagazer »
Alberto Nardelli / BuzzFeed:
The Professor At The Center Of The Russia-Trump Probe Boasted To His Girlfriend In Ukraine That He Was Friends With Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov — A Ukrainian woman named Anna says Joseph Mifsud asked her to marry him in a restaurant overlooking the Kremlin.
Discussion:
Washington Press, Raw Story and Daily Kos
Tampa Bay Times:
Shooting survivor's father admits email changes in CNN spat — Colton Haab's father acknowledges omitting some words from the email but says he didn't do it on purpose. — Last week's televised town hall on guns and school safety has led to finger-pointing by the father of a Florida school shooting survivor and CNN.
Discussion:
RedState, Raw Story, Washington Press, twitchy.com and Mediaite, more at Mediagazer »
Charles C. W. Cooke / National Review:
David Hogg Is Fair Game for Critics — The Parkland survivor has chosen to insert himself into an important national policy debate. We who disagree with his views on guns have a duty to speak up against them. — David Hogg, the telegenic 17-year-old who survived the shooting in Parkland …
Discussion:
The Resurgent, The Daily Beast, ThinkProgress and Washington Times
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Anton Troianovski / Washington Post:
A self-described sex expert says she will spill information on Trump and Russia to get out of a Thai jail … MOSCOW — A self-described sex expert whose videos highlighted the ties between one of Russia's richest men and the Kremlin has been jailed in Thailand and is calling for U.S. help …
Discussion:
New York Times and Washington Press
Daniel Marans / HuffPost:
DCCC Advised Candidates Not To Discuss Gun Control Policy Right After Vegas Shooting — The campaign organization said Democrats should focus on offering thoughts and prayers. — The morning after the Oct. 1 mass shooting in Las Vegas, a member of the Democratic Congressional Campaign …
Discussion:
ThinkProgress, Washington Free Beacon, Daily Wire, The Daily Caller and Politico
RELATED:
Zaid Jilani / The Intercept:
DCCC Internal Polling Presented to Members of Congress Panned Single Payer Health Care
DCCC Internal Polling Presented to Members of Congress Panned Single Payer Health Care
Discussion:
ThinkProgress
Allie Nicodemo / Northeastern:
Schools are safer than they were in the 90s, and school shootings are not more common than they used to be, researchers say — The deadly school shooting this month in Parkland, Florida, has ignited national outrage and calls for action on gun reform. But while certain policies …
Discussion:
Washington Times, The Resurgent, The Daily Signal, Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion and Daily Wire
Julia Manchester / The Hill:
Infowars one strike away from YouTube ban — Conspiracy theory outlet Infowars is one strike away from being banned from YouTube. — The channel said it received an alert from YouTube on Tuesday morning, saying Infowars received a second strike on a video about the Parkland, Fla. …
Discussion:
RedState, Gizmodo, Axios, Jezebel, Joe.My.God., Washington Press and The Daily Caller, more at Mediagazer »
CNN:
11 ill after suspicious letter arrives at military base — Washington (CNN)Eleven people fell ill after a suspicious letter was opened in an administrative building at Joint Base Fort Myer-Henderson Hall in Arlington, Virginia, on Tuesday, according to the Arlington County Fire Department.
Discussion:
CBS News, FOX2now.com, The Daily Caller, twitchy.com and Daily Wire
RELATED:
Luke O'Brien / HuffPost:
Far-Right Troll Chuck Johnson Tried Out for ‘Survivor.’ Here's His Audition Tape. — CBS' mistake is the world's loss. — The 36th season of “Survivor,” the reality TV show that ushered America into an era of turbo-capitalized narcissism and celebrity worship that helped get Donald Trump elected president, will premiere Wednesday.
Discussion:
thecut and Joe.My.God.
Zachary Cohen / CNN:
NSA chief says Trump hasn't told him to confront Russian cyber threat — NSA chief: Need authority to stop Russian cyber threat — Washington (CNN)US Cyber Command chief Adm. Mike Rogers told lawmakers on Tuesday that he has not been granted the authority by President Donald Trump …
David French / The Atlantic:
What Critics Don't Understand About Gun Culture — My wife knew something was amiss when the car blocked our driveway. She was outside our house, playing with our kids on our trampoline, when a car drove slowly down our rural Tennessee street. As it reached our house, it pulled partially in the driveway, and stopped.
Discussion:
No More Mister Nice Blog and The Root
Addy Baird / ThinkProgress:
EXCLUSIVE: FedEx's secret deal with the NRA and the gun industry — While publicly trying to distance themselves from the NRA, FedEx has made a secret agreement with the association and other major players in the firearms industry. — More than two dozen companies have cut ties …
Discussion:
Breitbart, Guns.com, RedState, CBS New York, Balloon Juice, WRIC-TV and Mashable
Quinn Norton / The Atlantic:
The New York Times Fired My Doppelgänger — The day before Valentine's Day, social media created a bizarro-world version of me. I have seen strange ideas about me online before, but this doppelgänger was so far from resembling me that I told friends and loved ones I didn't want to even try to rebut it.
Discussion:
Mediaite and emptywheel, more at Mediagazer »
Shane Savitsky / Axios:
Mueller moves to dismiss charges against Gates — Special Counsel Robert Mueller and his legal team has moved to drop charges that were brought last week in an expansive superseding indictment against Rick Gates. The 32-count indictment issued in the Eastern District of Virginia accused Gates of tax and bank fraud.
Discussion:
CNBC, Washington Post, RedState, Political Wire and Joe.My.God.
Kelsey McKinney / The FADER:
Aliens Exist … In no particular order, here is a list of things Tom DeLonge has consistently claimed to believe: UFOs are real, aliens are real and they visit us episodically, the U.S. government has known about alien life for decades, the U.S. government has been actively experimenting …
Rasmussen Reports:
Americans Blame Government More Than Guns for Florida Massacre — Most Americans think government error is more responsible than a lack of gun control for the Valentine's Day massacre at a Florida high school. — The latest Rasmussen Reports national telephone and online survey finds …
Discussion:
Daily Wire, Breitbart and The Daily Caller
Domenico Montanaro / NPR:
Supreme Court Ruling Means Immigrants Could Continue To Be Detained Indefinitely — The U.S. Supreme Court ruled Tuesday that immigrants, even those with permanent legal status and asylum seekers, do not have the right to periodic bond hearings. — It's a profound loss for those immigrants appealing …
Discussion:
New York Times, Reuters, Washington Press, Jezebel, Rewire, Shakesville, New York Magazine and Lawyers, Guns & Money
Marc Berman / New York Post:
Warriors have their plans in place for skipping White House visit — The Warriors head to Washington on Tuesday but will not visit the White House. Instead, they will take a side trip to the National Museum of African American History and Culture. President Trump uninvited them to the White House …
Discussion:
CNN, Politico, Washington Press, CBS San Francisco and KTLA