Top Items:
New York Times:
Kushner's Business Got Loans from Companies After White House Meetings — Apollo, the private equity firm, and Citigroup made large loans last year to the family real estate business of Jared Kushner, President Trump's senior adviser. — Early last year, a private equity billionaire started paying regular visits to the White House.
Discussion:
Vox, RedState, The Hill, Raw Story, Talking Points Memo, Los Angeles Times, The Real Deal New York, The Mahablog, KTLA, Media Matters for America, Hullabaloo, AOL, Joe.My.God., Weekly Standard, Splinter, CNBC, CNN, Washington Press, The Guardian, Politicus USA, Washington Post, Deadspin, Axios, Bloomberg, Mediaite and Reuters
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Washington Post:
Mueller investigation examining Trump's apparent efforts to oust Sessions in July … Special Counsel Robert S. Mueller III has been investigating a period of time last summer when President Trump seemed determined to drive Attorney General Jeff Sessions from his job, according to people familiar …
Discussion:
Power Line, Talking Points Memo, CNN, The Daily Caller, CNBC, Splinter, Fox News, Just Security, Raw Story, NBC News, Lawfare, The Hill, Washington Press, New York Times, The Gateway Pundit, Politicus USA, AOL, Townhall.com, Mediaite, Vox, RedState, Fox News Insider, Political Wire, NPR, Mother Jones, Breitbart, Washington Free Beacon, Politico, Axios, Joe.My.God., National Review and IJR
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.
Discussion:
ABC News, Bloomberg, Washington Monthly, Washington Post, Raw Story and Mediaite
Olivia Nuzzi / New York Magazine:
The White House Didn't Break Hope Hicks Overnight — Hope Hicks entered American politics at its fringes, in the early stages of Donald Trump's presidential campaign, a grinning 26-year-old member of the Trump Organization's public-relations team who'd been rerouted from her task of helping Ivanka Trump develop a lifestyle brand.
Discussion:
Shareblue Media, Talking Points Memo and CBS News
Maggie Haberman / New York Times:
Hope Hicks to Resign as White House Communications Director — Hope Hicks, the White House communications director and one of President Trump's longest-serving advisers, said Wednesday that she was resigning. — Ms. Hicks, 29, a former model who joined Mr. Trump's 2016 presidential campaign without …
Discussion:
Vox, Talking Points Memo, Axios, The Guardian, MSNBC, BBC, Fox News, IJR, Town & Country, Mediaite, The Gateway Pundit, Althouse, FiveThirtyEight, twitchy.com, No More Mister Nice Blog, Washington Post, The Daily Caller, CNN, Associated Press, Raw Story, Political Wire, Washington Free Beacon, Splinter, Politico, Washington Monthly, The Daily Beast, CNBC, Townhall.com, The Hill, Refinery29, NBC News, ThinkProgress, Mother Jones, thecut, The Atlantic, The Federalist, Daily Wire, CBS Miami, FOX31 Denver, WPMT FOX43, The Resurgent, ABC News, The Last Refuge, Jezebel, Breitbart, The Root and RedState, more at Mediagazer »
Matthew Yglesias / Vox:
A telling anecdote about Trump and the opioid abuse crisis — Fail as deputy chief of staff? You're the next drug czar! — Drug overdose deaths — originally from prescription opioids but increasingly now from heroin and fentanyl — have emerged as an increasingly grave social issue …
Axios:
Scoop: Besieged Sessions dines with Rosenstein in show of solidarity — If Donald Trump finally follows through on his rage and fires Jeff Sessions, the image with this story will be printed in history books. — Tonight at 7:35pm, the Attorney General strode into a high-end Washington restaurant …
Discussion:
New York Magazine, Vox, Washington Monthly, ABC News, Breitbart, Townhall.com, Raw Story, The Daily Caller, The Gateway Pundit, The Hill, The Last Refuge, National Review, Fox News Insider, Mediaite, CBS New York, Mother Jones, Joe.My.God., Washington Press, RedState, NBC News, Washington Times, IJR, New Republic and Talking Points Memo
Bryan Logan / Business Insider:
Trump reportedly berated Hope Hicks over her testimony to the House Intel Committee
Trump reportedly berated Hope Hicks over her testimony to the House Intel Committee
Daniel Lippman / Politico:
Playbook: Who would want to be White House communications director, and who is in the running?
Playbook: Who would want to be White House communications director, and who is in the running?
Jacqueline Thomsen / The Hill:
Trump refers to Sessions as ‘Mr. Magoo’: report
Trump refers to Sessions as ‘Mr. Magoo’: report
Discussion:
Washington Post, RedState, CNN, Mediaite and Politicus USA
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 …
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:
Raw Story, Political Wire, CBS San Francisco and New York Times
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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:
ABC News, Talking Points Memo and Mediaite
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Matt Shuham / Talking Points Memo:
HUD: Carson Directs Agency To Cancel Order For $30,000 Dining Set
HUD: Carson Directs Agency To Cancel Order For $30,000 Dining Set
Discussion:
CNN and Joe.My.God.
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:
Washington Post, Motherboard and Shakesville
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BBC:
Russia's Putin unveils ‘invincible’ nuclear weapons
Russia's Putin unveils ‘invincible’ nuclear weapons
Discussion:
CBS Pittsburgh, Joe.My.God. and Axios
Anton Troianovski / Washington Post:
Putin claims Russia has nuclear arsenal capable of avoiding missile defenses
Putin claims Russia has nuclear arsenal capable of avoiding missile defenses
Discussion:
Bloomberg, The Daily Caller, Politico and Political Wire
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:
Axios, Political Wire, AOL and The White House
Bloomberg:
Trump Says He'll Impose Tariffs on Steel and Aluminum Imports — President Donald Trump, in a meeting at the White House with company leaders, said Thursday he will impose tariffs on imported steel and aluminum—10% for aluminum, 25% for steel—and will sign the measure next week.
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news.walmart.com:
Walmart Statement on Firearms Policy — In light of recent events, we've taken an opportunity to review our policy on firearm sales. Going forward, we are raising the age restriction for purchase of firearms and ammunition to 21 years of age. We will update our processes as quickly as possible to implement this change.
Discussion:
CNNMoney, Washington Free Beacon, 89.3 KPCC, KQED News, Bearing Arms, Guns.com, IJR, Breitbart, France 24, Joe.My.God., CNBC, Daily Wire, One America News Network, twitchy.com, New York Times, CBS Chicago, Vox, Splinter, Politico, Jezebel, KTLA, The Daily Caller, Mother Jones, NBC News, Axios, WIS-TV and VICE News
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Robert Ferris / CNBC:
Kroger stops selling guns to buyers under 21 at Fred Meyer stores
Kroger stops selling guns to buyers under 21 at Fred Meyer stores
Discussion:
IJR
Heather Haddon / Wall Street Journal:
Kroger to Stop Selling Guns to Buyers Under 21
Kroger to Stop Selling Guns to Buyers Under 21
Discussion:
Politico, Axios, Washington Free Beacon and twitchy.com
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 Daily Caller, twitchy.com, The Local, Daily Wire and Outside the Beltway
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 …
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, Outside the Beltway, Politicus USA and Axios
Perry Stein / Washington Post:
D.C. Public Schools graduation rate on track to decline this year … Fewer high school seniors in the District are expected to receive a diploma in June than the year before, a sharp reversal for a school system that had celebrated a 20-point increase in its graduate rate since 2011.
Discussion:
The Daily Caller
Howard Koplowitz / al.com:
Shelby says he'd leave Trump if he were Sessions: 'I wouldn't be anybody's whipping boy' — U.S. Sen. Richard Shelby, R-Ala., said Wednesday he would not stick around and be President Trump's “whipping boy” if he was in the position of his former colleague, Attorney General Jeff Sessions.
Discussion:
Political Wire
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Stephanie Bodoni / Bloomberg:
EU Warns Tech Giants to Remove Terror Content in 1 Hour—or Else — EU lays out rules for firms to fight online illegal material — Facebook, Google among tech firms under pressure to react — The European Union issued internet giants an ultimatum to remove illegal online terrorist content within …
Discussion:
BuzzFeed
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Natalia Drozdiak / Wall Street Journal:
Facebook, Google Get One Hour From EU to Scrub Terror Content
Facebook, Google Get One Hour From EU to Scrub Terror Content
Discussion:
The Verge and Gizmodo, more at Mediagazer »
Ema O'Connor / BuzzFeed:
The Trump Official Who Blocked Undocumented Teens From Getting Abortions Said He Doesn't Believe They Have The Constitutional Right To The Procedure — Scott Lloyd, the head of the Office of Refugee Resettlement, is a central figure in several lawsuits over the Trump administration blocking …
Discussion:
Vox
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:
Vox and Weekly Standard
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:
Political Wire
Matthew Yglesias / Vox:
Trump's corruption deserves to be a central issue in the 2018 midterms — Democrats need to shine a spotlight on conflicts of interest. — Democrats are still licking their wounds from the presidential election, afraid to return to a strategy that many believe cost Hillary Clinton the White House …
Discussion:
Lawyers, Guns & Money and USA Today
Eric Bradner / CNN:
First on CNN: Planned Parenthood to target 8 states, spend $20 million as part of midterm battle plan — Pro-choice activist: White women can do better — Washington (CNN)Planned Parenthood's political arm is targeting eight states with competitive Senate and governor's races in its largest-ever midterm election campaign.
Discussion:
Political Wire, Washington Free Beacon and twitchy.com