Top Items:
Gardiner Harris / New York Times:
State Dept. Was Granted $120 Million to Fight Russian Meddling. It Has Spent $0. — WASHINGTON — As Russia's virtual war against the United States continues unabated with the midterm elections approaching, the State Department has yet to spend any of the $120 million it has been allocated since late 2016 …
Discussion:
The Moderate Voice, Washington Press, Balloon Juice, Politicus USA, Political Wire and Axios, more at Mediagazer »
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Khorri Atkinson / Axios:
Report: State Dept. has spent $0 of $120M granted to fight election meddling — A $120 grant had been allocated to the State Department since late 2016 to combat foreign efforts to sway elections, but the agency has yet to use any of the funds and none of the 23 employees tasked to combat efforts …
Jonathan Swan / Axios:
Scoop: Mueller's hit list — Axios has reviewed a Grand Jury subpoena that Robert Mueller's team sent to a witness last month. — What Mueller is asking for: — Mueller is subpoenaing all communications — meaning emails, texts, handwritten notes, etc. — that this witness sent and received regarding the following people:
Discussion:
Weekly Standard, The Daily Beast, Washington Press, emptywheel, CNBC, The Gateway Pundit, CANNONFIRE and Political Wire
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NBC News:
Special counsel wants documents from Trump, numerous campaign associates — WASHINGTON — The grand jury investigating alleged collusion between Russia and Donald Trump's presidential campaign has issued a subpoena seeking all documents involving the president and a host of his closest advisers …
Discussion:
Raw Story
Andrew Restuccia / Politico:
Donald Trump's bubble presidency — When President Barack Obama felt he needed to show off his common touch, he'd go for cheeseburgers at Ray's Hell Burger — where he treated the Russian president to an onion-jalapeño-and-mushroom- topped patty — or to Five Guys …
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New York Times:
Defying the Odds, Kellyanne Conway Steps Back and Hangs On — WASHINGTON — A year ago, few “on the outside” — a phrase perhaps tellingly favored in the Trump White House — would have guessed that Kellyanne Conway would be the one hanging on as other high-profile aides pull their rip cords.
Discussion:
Mediaite
Marlow Stern / The Daily Beast:
John Oliver: Donald Trump Has More ‘Sexual Chemistry’ With Ivanka Than Jared Kushner
John Oliver: Donald Trump Has More ‘Sexual Chemistry’ With Ivanka Than Jared Kushner
Discussion:
Outside the Beltway
Jonathan Swan / Axios:
Rudy Giuliani's tasteless Hillary joke — On Friday night, President Trump entertained around 250 Republican donors in his Mar-a-Lago ballroom. Spotted in the audience: Trump's lawyer Michael Cohen, who recently admitted to paying $130,000 to porn star Stormy Daniels.
Discussion:
Washington Press, IJR and Mediaite
Jane Mayer / New Yorker:
Christopher Steele, the Man Behind the Trump Dossier — How the ex-spy tried to warn the world about Trump's ties to Russia. — In January, after a long day at his London office, Christopher Steele, the former spy turned private investigator, was stepping off a commuter train in Farnham …
Matt Wilstein / The Daily Beast:
Jimmy Kimmel Opens Oscars with Killer Jabs at Weinstein, Trump and Pence … Last year, the elephant in the room at the Academy Awards was the newly-elected President Donald Trump. This time, there were many more elephants for host Jimmy Kimmel to address, starting with the biggest, most disgusting one of them all: Harvey Weinstein.
Discussion:
One America News Network, Breitbart and Politico
Washington Post:
10 years after financial crisis, Senate prepares to roll back banking rules … The Senate is preparing to scale back the sweeping banking regulations passed after the 2008 financial crisis, with more than a dozen Democrats ready to give Republicans the votes they need to weaken …
Discussion:
Political Wire
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Molly Hensley-Clancy / BuzzFeed:
The Lefty Democratic Shift On Wall Street Is Happening For Real
Washington Post:
‘Like a pinball machine’: Lawmakers struggle to negotiate with an erratic Trump … President Trump began last week trumpeting his idea to arm teachers. A couple of days later, he alarmed fellow Republicans by embracing broader background checks and suggesting police should seize guns …
Discussion:
RedState, AOL, Power Line, Politicus USA, Daily Kos and Associated Press
Dominic Patten / Deadline:
Ryan Seacrest Faces Potential Oscar Red Carpet Delay From E! Over Allegations — EXCLUSIVE: Concerns that sexual harassment allegations against Ryan Seacrest could see things become very uncomfortable or even become confrontational today on E!'s pre-Oscars Live From the Red Carpet show …
Discussion:
Bustle, thecut, AOL, East Bay Times, Page Six and Mother Jones
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Jason Horowitz / New York Times:
Italy Election Gives Big Lift to Far Right and Populists — ROME — Italians registered their dismay with the European political establishment on Sunday, handing a majority of votes in a national election to hard-right and populist forces that ran a campaign fueled by anti-immigrant anger.
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Mike Allen / Axios:
Democrats may have already won the House — Top Republicans sound increasingly resigned to losing a special House election in Pennsylvania Trump Country a week from today, after party-affiliated groups spent more than $9 million on a race that should be a “gimme.”
Rachel Wolfe / Vox:
Exclusive: Congress requires many unpaid interns to sign nondisclosure agreements — What happens in Congress stays in Congress. — For unpaid interns on Capitol Hill, secrecy is so much a part of the job that on their first day, many are required to sign sweeping nondisclosure agreements.
Discussion:
Politico and Political Wire
Julia Manchester / The Hill:
Read Trump's remarks at Gridiron dinner — on Saturday took part in the Gridiron Club dinner's tradition of presidential speeches filled with self-deprecating humor and casting barbs at his own White House and his usual targets. — You can read Trump's comments below: — “Well, thank you very much.
Discussion:
The Gateway Pundit
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Brooke Seipel / The Hill:
The most memorable jokes from Trump's Gridiron dinner speech
The most memorable jokes from Trump's Gridiron dinner speech
Discussion:
Talking Points Memo and Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion
Sam Thielman / Talking Points Memo:
Despite Parkland, States Plow Ahead With New Pro-Gun Bills — Last month's massacre in Parkland, Fla., which killed 17 high school students and staff, kicked off a national conversation about the need for increased gun control. — But gun rights supporters are playing offense as well as defense.
Tom Boggioni / Raw Story:
Watch: Frantic Florida lawmaker has a complete meltdown in bonkers AM Joy interview about arming teachers — In a interview that occasionally spiraled into chaos, MSNBC host Joy Reid peppered a Florida congressman about his knowledge of gun laws and the history of restrictions on weapons …
Discussion:
Washington Press
Emily Mills / Mansfield News Journal:
Mother arrested after boy shoots 4-year-old sister in Ashland County — HAYESVILLE - A mother was arrested Saturday evening after an 8-year-old boy shot his 4-year-old sister Saturday afternoon, the Ashland County Sheriff's Office reported. — The sheriff's office was notified around 2:30 p.m. Saturday …
Discussion:
Washington Press, Raw Story, FOX6Now.com and Associated Press
miamiherald:
Florida Senate rejects ban on assault weapons as it advances school safety proposals — TALLAHASSEE — The emotional fault lines that have divided the state since the school shooting in Parkland were on display in the Florida Senate on Saturday as lawmakers passionately rejected …
Discussion:
Tampa Bay Times, RedState, Naked Politics and Florida Politics
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Andrea Ruth / RedState:
There Was No Overturned Assault Weapons Ban in Florida on Saturday
There Was No Overturned Assault Weapons Ban in Florida on Saturday
Discussion:
Bustle and Tampa Bay Times