Top Items:
Nicolle Wallace / NBC News:
White House preparing for McMaster exit as early as next month — WASHINGTON — The White House is preparing to replace H.R. McMaster as national security adviser as early as next month in a move orchestrated by chief of staff John Kelly and Defense Secretary James Mattis, according to five people familiar with the discussions.
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Tarini Parti / BuzzFeed:
As Trump Spirals, Many Of His Staffers Are Looking To Exit — Even for this chaotic administration, the last few weeks have taken a toll on President Donald Trump and his staff. A tragic mass shooting, big-name staff departures, and a series of scandals — all in the growing shadow …
Discussion:
Politico, The Hill, Vox, The Atlantic, New York Magazine, Raw Story, CNN, The Real Deal New York, ABC News, CNBC and KTLA, more at Mediagazer »
CBS News:
Hope Hicks' “white lies” testimony becomes a flashpoint for House Intel Committee — In a rare, on-the-record accounting of some of the House Intelligence committee's secret, closed-door proceedings, two members of the House Intelligence Committee explained to CBS News what led White House …
Discussion:
Crooked Media, CANNONFIRE, AOL, Daily Kos, Raw Story, FiveThirtyEight, CBS San Francisco, Political Wire and New York Times
Axios:
The wild wars within the Trump White House — After a crazy 24 hours, sources close to President Trump say he is in a bad place — mad as hell about the internal chaos and the sense that things are unraveling. — The big picture: Hope Hicks leaving is obviously a huge blow to him.
David Remnick / New Yorker:
Hope Against Hope — Hope Hicks is kidding herself if she thinks that her tenure in the Trump White House will be judged only for harmless, situational untruths. — Presidents are in the habit of lying—often with bloody consequences. The Bay of Pigs, the Gulf of Tonkin, Watergate …
Discussion:
Hullabaloo, AOL, Weekly Standard and Raw Story
Aaron Blake / Washington Post:
John Kelly jokes (?) that ‘God punished’ him when he left DHS to be Trump's chief of staff
John Kelly jokes (?) that ‘God punished’ him when he left DHS to be Trump's chief of staff
Olivia Nuzzi / New York Magazine:
The White House Didn't Break Hope Hicks Overnight
The White House Didn't Break Hope Hicks Overnight
Discussion:
Shareblue Media, CBS News, CNN, thecut, Talking Points Memo, No More Mister Nice Blog and Politico
Jennifer Jacobs / Bloomberg:
Scaramucci Says He Fears John Kelly Will Thwart SkyBridge Sale
Matt Glassman / New York Times:
The Root of White House Chaos? A Weak President
Nicholas Fandos / New York Times:
Senate Intelligence Leaders Say House G.O.P. Leaked a Senator's Texts — WASHINGTON — The Senate Intelligence Committee has concluded that Republicans on the House Intelligence Committee were behind the leak of private text messages between the Senate panel's top Democrat and a Russian-connected lawyer …
Discussion:
ThinkProgress, Politico, New York Magazine, Talking Points Memo, Daily Kos, Raw Story, Washington Press, Balloon Juice, Hullabaloo, AOL and Axios
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NBC News:
Mueller eyes charges against Russians who stole, spread Democrats' emails — WASHINGTON — Special Counsel Robert Mueller is assembling a case for criminal charges against Russians who carried out the hacking and leaking of private information designed to hurt Democrats in the 2016 election …
Discussion:
Mediaite, Political Wire, The Gateway Pundit and Raw Story
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Ryan Goodman / Just Security:
Russia “Previewed” Plan to Disseminate Emails with Trump Campaign — A significant recent revelation in the Russia investigation has been largely overlooked in the rush of several breaking news stories over the past few days. A nugget of information is contained in the memo written …
Discussion:
Shareblue Media, Salon, Hullabaloo and Raw Story
Pew Research Center:
1. Generations' party identification, midterm voting preferences, views of Trump — Millennial voters continue to have the highest proportion of independents of any generation. But when their partisan leanings are taken into account, they also are the most Democratic generation.
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USA Today:
Voters vow to elect a Congress that stands up to Trump, poll shows — WASHINGTON — Americans are mad, and that is putting Republicans at risk. — A new USA TODAY/Suffolk University Poll finds voters looking toward the midterm elections are overwhelmingly unhappy with the country's direction …
Discussion:
Shareblue Media and Political Wire
Michael Dimock / Pew Research Center:
Defining generations: Where Millennials end and post-Millennials begin — For decades, Pew Research Center has been committed to measuring public attitudes on key issues and documenting differences in those attitudes across demographic groups. One lens often employed by researchers …
Discussion:
Pew Research Center, Washington Post and The Outline
Fred Imbert / CNBC:
Dow sheds 550 points after Trump says steel and aluminum tariffs coming next week — The Dow Jones industrial average traded more than 500 points lower after rising more than 150 points earlier in the day. — The U.S. will set tariffs of 25 percent for steel and 10 percent for aluminum, the president said.
Discussion:
The Hill, USA Today, Washington Press and Joe.My.God.
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Patrick Gillespie / CNNMoney:
Beer and cars could get more expensive because of Trump tariffs
Beer and cars could get more expensive because of Trump tariffs
Discussion:
CNN, FOX6Now.com, FOX40, Axios and Washington Post
John Harwood / CNBC:
With surprise tariffs, Trump rolls the dice with the US economy
With surprise tariffs, Trump rolls the dice with the US economy
Discussion:
Political Wire
CNN:
See HUD's $31,000 mahogany dining set — Washington (CNN)A $31,000 dining set the Department of Housing and Urban Development purchased, which raised eyebrows when first reported Tuesday, includes a table, sideboard, breakfront — all in mahogany — and 10 mahogany chairs with a blue velvet finish …
Discussion:
Talking Points Memo, IJR, alicublog, ABC News, Mediaite and Joe.My.God.
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Glenn Thrush / New York Times:
Ben Carson Tries to Cancel $31,000 Dining Furniture Purchase for HUD Office
Ben Carson Tries to Cancel $31,000 Dining Furniture Purchase for HUD Office
Discussion:
The Root, NBC News, Hit & Run, The Daily Caller, Raw Story and The Daily Beast
Rene Marsh / CNN:
Ben Carson says he wants to cancel $31,000 dining room furniture order
Ben Carson says he wants to cancel $31,000 dining room furniture order
Discussion:
Washington Post, The Real Deal New York, IJR, thecut and Splinter
Azam Ahmed / New York Times:
U.S. Ambassador to Mexico to Quit Amid Tense Relations Under Trump — MEXICO CITY — The United States ambassador to Mexico plans to resign from her post in May, according to a memo circulated on Thursday to embassy staff, the latest in a string of senior diplomatic departures from the region …
Discussion:
Weekly Standard, Axios, AOL, VICE News, The Daily Caller, Los Angeles Times and Daily Kos
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CNN:
Exclusive: FBI counterintel investigating Ivanka Trump business deal — (CNN)US counterintelligence officials are scrutinizing one of Ivanka Trump's international business deals, according to two sources familiar with the matter. — The FBI has been looking into the negotiations …
Discussion:
Washington Post, Vox, Jewish Telegraphic Agency, Media Matters for America and NBC News
Mary Jordan / Washington Post:
Questions linger about how Melania Trump, a Slovenian model, scored ‘the Einstein visa’ — In 2000, Melania Knauss, a Slovenian model dating Donald Trump, began petitioning the government for the right to permanently reside in the United States under a program reserved for people with “extraordinary ability.”
Discussion:
IJR, The White House, Washington Press, Axios, AOL and Political Wire
Andrew Roth / The Guardian:
Putin threatens US arms race with new missiles declaration — President says Russia has new line of nuclear-capable weapons that can breach US defences … Vladimir Putin has announced that Russia has developed and is testing a new line of strategic, nuclear-capable weapons that would be able …
Discussion:
Defense One, BBC, TASS, Washington Post, The Diplomat, Motherboard, CBS Pittsburgh and Shakesville
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Ray Sanchez / CNN:
Putin boasts military might with animation of Florida nuke strike
Putin boasts military might with animation of Florida nuke strike
Discussion:
Big Think, RedState and New York Magazine
Christina Wilkie / CNBC:
Dark money group America First Policies is running a pro-Trump polling operation. Here is an inside look at its secretive work — America First Policies, a nonprofit group with close ties to President Donald Trump, has hired Trump's pollsters to conduct a wide range of political polling and research.
Associated Press:
French far-right leader Marine Le Pen charged over IS photos — PARIS (AP) — French prosecutors filed preliminary charges Thursday against far-right leader Marine Le Pen for tweeting brutal images of Islamic State violence, in a new blow to a woman long seen as the face of Europe's anti-immigrant populism.
Discussion:
The Local, twitchy.com, The Daily Caller, Daily Wire and Outside the Beltway
Tierney Sneed / Talking Points Memo:
Meet The ‘Experts’ Kobach Is Using To Defend His Voter Fraud Claims In Court — Next week, Kansas Secretary of State Kris Kobach will go to federal court to defend a voting restriction that he has for years tried to implement in his state. — To help Kobach make his case …
Discussion:
Raw Story
Washington Post:
Jared Kushner's troubles include an impending $1.2 billion company debt … In December 2016, Jared Kushner, a senior adviser to Donald Trump's presidential transition, was busy helping shape the new administration. But Trump's son-in-law also had another pressing concern …
Discussion:
USA Today, Just Security, Raw Story, New York Times, The Mahablog and Daily Kos
Associated Press:
AP-NORC Poll: Most Americans say Trump is racist — WASHINGTON (AP) — More than half of Americans, including large majorities of blacks and Hispanics, think President Donald Trump is a racist. More than half think his policies have made things worse for Hispanics and Muslims …
Discussion:
Washington Post, Splinter, Daily Kos, Outside the Beltway, Politicus USA, Jezebel and Axios
Emily Smith / Page Six:
Robert Kraft's much younger girlfriend secretly had a baby — There was speculation about Patriots owner Bob Kraft after his much younger girlfriend Ricki Noel Lander secretly had a baby — but he's confirmed that the child is not his. — Billionaire Kraft, who has four adult sons …
Discussion:
Breitbart, Deadspin, The Daily Caller, TMZ.com and The Big Lead
Katelyn Polantz / CNN:
Rick Gates tells judge he's canceling trip due to threat invoking Russian mafia — Ex-Trump campaign aide Rick Gates pleads guilty — Washington (CNN)Former Trump campaign deputy Rick Gates told a federal court Thursday afternoon that he and his wife believe it's “not prudent” …
Bret Stephens / New York Times:
Fights Worth Having — For my money, the best op-ed published in The Times this week was Mona Charen's Feb. 25 barn-burner, “I'm Glad I Got Booed at CPAC.” Charen is a movement conservative who worked for Nancy and Ronald Reagan and is a longtime contributor to National Review.
Discussion:
No More Mister Nice Blog and Vox