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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The Atlantic, National Review, CNBC, New Republic, Talking Points Memo, Political Wire, IJR, Lawyers, Guns & Money, Daily Wire, Raw Story, Shakesville and Washington Times
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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 Talking Points Memo, 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
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, Hullabaloo, Daily Kos, Raw Story, Washington Press, Balloon Juice, 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 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, Washington Post and Axios
John Harwood / CNBC:
With surprise tariffs, Trump rolls the dice with the US economy
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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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
Wall Street Journal:
Exxon Abandons Russian Projects Brokered by Tillerson — Withdrawal for now marks end of energy giant's hopes of drilling in Russia's Arctic ocean oil fields — Exxon Mobil Corp. XOM -.32% is ending ambitious Arctic projects with Russia's state-controlled energy giant PAO Rosneft …
Discussion:
The Daily Caller
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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
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.
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
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
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, New York Times, Just Security, Raw Story, The Mahablog and Daily Kos
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” …
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