Top Items:
Sam Dolnick / New York Times:
The Man Who Knew Too Little — The most ignorant man in America knows that Donald Trump is president — but that's about it. Living a liberal fantasy is complicated. — GLOUSTER, Ohio — At first, the experiment didn't have a name. — Right after the election, Erik Hagerman decided …
Discussion:
Althouse and CANNONFIRE
Mark Landler / New York Times:
Planning Begins for Kim Jong-un Meeting Some Trump Aides Believe Will Never Happen — WASHINGTON — A day after President Trump accepted an invitation to meet Kim Jong-un of North Korea, the White House began planning on Friday a high-level diplomatic encounter so risky and seemingly far-fetched …
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Wall Street Journal:
Trump on Kim Talks: ‘Tell Him Yes’ — U.S. officials rush to assemble a diplomatic strategy with little precedent in American history — Inside the Oval Office late Thursday, President Donald Trump interrupted a trio of South Korean officials as they analyzed an offer to meet …
Evan Osnos / New Yorker:
Three Key Questions About Donald Trump's Summit with Kim Jong Un
Three Key Questions About Donald Trump's Summit with Kim Jong Un
Discussion:
CNBC, Raw Story, New York Times and Vox
Washington Post:
In a personal letter, Trump invited Putin to the 2013 Miss Universe pageant … Donald Trump was so eager to have Vladimir Putin attend the 2013 Miss Universe pageant in Moscow that he wrote a personal letter to the Russian president inviting him to the event, according to multiple people familiar with the document.
Discussion:
The Hill, RedState, Bustle, Mediaite, Washington Press and Boing Boing
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Alexander Smith / NBC News:
Putin on U.S. election interference: 'I couldn't care less' — Russian President Vladimir Putin has told NBC News that he “couldn't care less” if Russian citizens tried to interfere in the 2016 American presidential election because, he claims, they were not connected to the Kremlin.
Discussion:
CNBC, RT and Balloon Juice
Anton Troianovski / Washington Post:
The Putin Generation — Young Russians are Vladimir Putin's biggest fans — A young woman, riding a city bus to her journalism class, enjoys using the time to scroll through an independent news site that can be scathing in its reports on Russia's authoritarian president …
Discussion:
National Review
Lucien Bruggeman / ABC News:
Former Trump aide speaks to Mueller, believes Russia probe is ‘not a witch hunt’ — Five and a half hours after testifying before a grand jury in the Russia probe, a former political adviser to Donald Trump told ABC News exclusively that he believes the investigation is “warranted.”
Discussion:
Politico
CNN:
Gunman and victims identified in deadly standoff at California veterans home — (CNN)A gunman and three female hostages were found dead at a military veterans home in Northern California on Friday evening, officials said, a grim end to a standoff that lasted nearly eight hours.
Discussion:
Axios, Los Angeles Times, NPR, FOX 61, CBS Miami, The Savage Nation, fox13now.com, VICE News, KTLA, KFOR-TV, fox8.com and FOX 4 Kansas City WDAF-TV
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Ryan Browne / CNN:
Exclusive: Trump getting a parade but tanks won't roll down Pennsylvania avenue — Washington (CNN)President Donald Trump will get his military parade, but it is unlikely to mirror the Paris Bastille Day event which inspired him as it will not involve any heavy military vehicles like tanks …
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Marwa Eltagouri / Washington Post:
Trump will get the military parade he wanted — just not the tanks
Trump will get the military parade he wanted — just not the tanks
Discussion:
Common Dreams, Reuters, TheBlaze and Raw Story
Caroline Orr / Shareblue Media:
World watches as Tillerson admits he doesn't care about imploding State Dept — More than 60% of career diplomats have left in the past year, but Tillerson says he doesn't “lose a wink of sleep” over it. — One of America's top Latin American diplomats left the State Department this week …
Discussion:
CBS News
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Marshall Cohen / CNN:
How Stormy Daniels could impact the Russia investigation — (CNN)Porn star Stormy Daniels and special counsel Robert Mueller are among the most talked about figures in Washington these days. At this point, they are central figures in separate stories, but could it be long before their paths intersect?
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Denver Nicks / Rolling Stone:
One Night with Stormy Daniels, the Hero America Needs
One Night with Stormy Daniels, the Hero America Needs
Discussion:
The Gateway Pundit, The Daily Beast and New York Times
Ben Mathis-Lilley / Slate:
Sweet Jesus, Will the NYT's Conservatives Ever Write About Anything but the “Intolerant Left” Ever Again? — David Brooks published a column in the New York Times on Friday complaining about the manner in which “[s]tudents across the country,” having become obsessed with “group identity,” …
Discussion:
Eschaton
Cristina Alesci / CNN:
White House scolds Cabinet officials after embarrassing ethics reports — (CNN)The White House held private meetings with four Cabinet-level officials last month to scold them for embarrassing stories about questionable ethical behavior at their respective agencies, sources familiar with the sessions tell CNN.
Discussion:
Talking Points Memo, Raw Story and Washington Press
Washington Post:
Trump administration studies seeking the death penalty for drug dealers — The Trump administration is studying new policy that could allow prosecutors to seek the death penalty for drug dealers, according to people with knowledge of the discussions, a sign that the White House wants …
Steven Nelson / Washington Examiner:
Trump pardons Kristian Saucier, former sailor jailed for submarine pictures — President Trump issued the second pardon of his presidency Friday to former Navy sailor Kristian Saucier, who learned the news while driving a garbage truck, the only job he could find with a felony conviction.
Discussion:
Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion, The Last Tradition, NPR and Washington Times
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Ryan J. Reilly / HuffPost:
Trump's Latest Pardon Shows The Best Way To Get One: Go On Fox News
Trump's Latest Pardon Shows The Best Way To Get One: Go On Fox News
Discussion:
Washington Press and Washington Monthly
Ruth Marcus / Washington Post:
I would've aborted a fetus with Down syndome. Women need that right. … There is a new push in antiabortion circles to pass state laws aimed at barring women from terminating their pregnancies after the fetus has been determined to have Down syndrome. These laws are unconstitutional, unenforceable — and wrong.
New York Times:
Statues Across India Are Vandalized as Political Tensions Rise — MEERUT, India — The vandals attacked a statue of Gandhi in the southern state of Kerala, breaking its wire-rimmed eyeglasses. — They targeted a monument to Lenin, using a hydraulic jackhammer to destroy the sculpture in the northeastern state of Tripura.
Bloomberg:
Florida's New Gun Rules Really Matter — If progress is possible here, it's possible anywhere. — For evidence that the tide is turning on responsible gun regulation, Florida is now Exhibit A. — The state's politicians have long produced some of the most irresponsible gun proposals in the U.S. …
Jason Horowitz / New York Times:
Steve Bannon Is Done Wrecking the American Establishment. Now He Wants to Destroy Europe's. — MILAN — Stephen K. Bannon leaned back in an armchair opposite a copy of a painting by an Italian old master and explained his modest efforts to build a vast network of European populists to demolish the Continent's political establishment.
Discussion:
Althouse
Ryan Ellis / Forbes:
Democrats Release Tax Hike Plan — This week, Congressional Democrats released a detailed tax hike plan that they promised to implement if given majority control of the House and Senate after the 2018 midterm elections. So much for the crocodile tears about the deficit-Democrats …
New York Times:
Mauritius President to Step Down Amid Row Over Credit Card Spending — The president of Mauritius, who was accused of using a credit card issued by a charity to buy clothes and jewelry worth tens of thousands of dollars, will step down, the prime minister announced on Friday.
Discussion:
CNN
Amy Chozick / New York Times:
Where's Harvey? — Harvey Weinstein has been waking up early, checking in with his East Coast lawyers and then going down to a juice shop where he orders coffee and a green detox mix with kale and cucumber. He has lived with a roommate who was his sponsor during a truncated stint in sex rehab …
Discussion:
thecut
Asawin Suebsaeng / The Daily Beast:
Trump Dined with Fox News' Seb Gorka and Jesse Watters at the White House This Week … On Monday night, President Donald Trump welcomed Seb Gorka back into the White House—not for a job but for a meal. — The president was joined for dinner in the White House residence by Fox News personalities …
Discussion:
Washington Post, No More Mister Nice Blog, Mediaite, Raw Story and Wall Street Journal