Top Items:
Michael C. Bender / Wall Street Journal:
Trump's Personal Assistant Is Fired — John McEntee was escorted out of White House for unspecified security issue — WASHINGTON—President Donald Trump's personal assistant, John McEntee, was escorted out of the White House on Monday, two senior administration officials said.
RELATED:
Wall Street Journal:
‘Rex, Eat the Salad:’ Inside the Awkward Relationship Between Rex Tillerson and Donald Trump — Cabinet post was a sharp change for a former Exxon Mobil CEO who was used to calling the shots — WASHINGTON—In a private room in China's Great Hall of the People in November …
Washington Post:
Trump ousts Tillerson, will replace him as secretary of state with CIA chief Pompeo … President Trump has ousted Secretary of State Rex Tillerson and replaced him with CIA Director Mike Pompeo, orchestrating a major change to his national security team amid delicate negotiations with North Korea, White House officials said Tuesday.
Discussion:
The Daily Beast, CNN, ABC News, Axios, BBC, Politico, CNBC, New Yorker, The Federalist, FiveThirtyEight, Foreign Policy, USA Today, Fox News, The Independent, New York Post, Mother Jones, The Texas Tribune, Splinter, The Daily Caller, Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion, Talking Points Memo, Breitbart, Lawyers, Guns & Money, The Ringer, The Hill, New York Daily News, Vox, Raw Story, HuffPost, Mediaite, The Guardian, ThinkProgress, New York Magazine, Outside the Beltway, VICE News, Common Dreams, Booman Tribune, One America News Network, theGrio, RedState and Washington Monthly
Matthew Rosenberg / New York Times:
New C.I.A. Deputy Director, Gina Haspel, Had Leading Role in Torture — WASHINGTON — As a clandestine officer at the Central Intelligence Agency in 2002, Gina Haspel oversaw the torture of two terrorism suspects and later took part in an order to destroy videotapes documenting …
Discussion:
CNN, Politico, Washington Post, CBS News, The Atlantic, New York Magazine, Sputnik International, Vox, The Guardian, ACLU, Splinter, Media Matters for America, Outside the Beltway, Raw Story, Common Dreams, RT, The Verge, Talking Points Memo, Niskanen Center, Daily Kos, New Republic, RedState, twitchy.com and Daily Wire
New York Times:
Trump Eyes Replacing His Veterans Affairs Secretary With His Energy Chief — WASHINGTON — President Trump, fresh off replacing his secretary of state and C.I.A. director, is considering firing his secretary of veterans affairs and installing Energy Secretary Rick Perry in the post, according to two people close to the White House.
Discussion:
CNN
CNN:
Longtime Trump aide fired over financial crime investigation — (CNN)President Donald Trump's longtime personal aide John McEntee was fired because he is currently under investigation by the Department of Homeland Security for serious financial crimes, a source familiar with his firing told CNN.
Discussion:
New York Times, Donald J Trump, Washington Monthly, Mother Jones, FOX 61, WPIX 11 New York, Talking Points Memo and NBC News
Greg Sargent / Washington Post:
The Republican coverup for Trump just got much worse … THE MORNING PLUM: — House Republicans may have the power to prevent important facts about President Trump and Russia from coming to public light. But here's what they don't have the power to do: prevent important facts …
Discussion:
Talking Points Memo, CBS News, CNN, Mediaite, Daily Kos, IJR, Towleroad, Politicus USA and ABC News
New York Times:
Rex Tillerson Out as Trump's Secretary of State, Replaced by Mike Pompeo — WASHINGTON — President Trump announced on Tuesday that he had ousted Secretary of State Rex W. Tillerson and will replace him with Mike Pompeo, now the C.I.A. director, ending the 14-month tenure of the nation's chief diplomat …
Discussion:
Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi, Wall Street Journal, CNBC, Weekly Standard, Washington Post, Associated Press, Talking Points Memo, Breitbart, Los Angeles Times, Al Jazeera English, TIME, France 24, Online NewsHour, American Greatness, NY State of Politics, Jewish Telegraphic Agency, IJR, The Atlantic, CNN, Washington Free Beacon, CBS Miami, The Gateway Pundit, The Daily Caller, CBS Baltimore, Vox, CBS Pittsburgh, Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion, KFOR-TV and Engadget
mccain.senate.gov:
STATEMENT BY SASC CHAIRMAN JOHN McCAIN ON LEADERSHIP CHANGES AT STATE DEPARTMENT & CIA — Washington, D.C. - U.S. Senator John McCain (R-AZ), Chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, released the following statement today on the proposed leadership changes at the State Department and Central Intelligence Agency (CIA):
Discussion:
Shadowproof and Politico
Associated Press:
Trump fires Tillerson at State, replacing with CIA's Pompeo — WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump fired Secretary of State Rex Tillerson on Tuesday and said he would nominate CIA Director Mike Pompeo to replace him, ending Tillerson's difficult tenure by tweeting an ouster …
New York Times:
Trump Answers Questions on Rex Tillerson and Mike Pompeo: Full Transcript
Trump Answers Questions on Rex Tillerson and Mike Pompeo: Full Transcript
Discussion:
Politico, Vox, ECHIDNE OF THE SNAKES, Washington Post, ThinkProgress, Shakesville, Boing Boing and Common Dreams
Zack Beauchamp / Vox:
Rex Tillerson has been fired. Experts say he did damage that could last “a generation.”
Rex Tillerson has been fired. Experts say he did damage that could last “a generation.”
David Frum / The Atlantic:
Why Did Trump Fire Tillerson Now?
Why Did Trump Fire Tillerson Now?
Discussion:
Washington Post, The Daily Beast, CNN, ABC News, Politico, Lawfare, CNBC, Jamie Dupree - PBP, Axios, Joe.My.God., twitchy.com and Jamie Dupree - AJC
Associated Press:
The Latest: Key vacancies at the top at State Department
The Latest: Key vacancies at the top at State Department
Discussion:
Talking Points Memo, Axios and Washington Blade
Emily Stewart / Vox:
Rex Tillerson gets to keep the big tax break he got as secretary of state
Rex Tillerson gets to keep the big tax break he got as secretary of state
Discussion:
Raw Story
Kevin Breuninger / CNBC:
Rep. Trey Gowdy disagrees with GOP colleagues in House probe, says Russia wanted to hurt Hillary Clinton
Rep. Trey Gowdy disagrees with GOP colleagues in House probe, says Russia wanted to hurt Hillary Clinton
Discussion:
The Daily Beast, Talking Points Memo, Congressman Trey Gowdy, The Hill and Al Jazeera English
Holly Ellyatt / CNBC:
Why Secretary of State nominee Mike Pompeo is probably bad news for Iran
Why Secretary of State nominee Mike Pompeo is probably bad news for Iran
Discussion:
Common Dreams, RedState, IJR and New York Times
Washington Post:
In the end, no one was more surprised that Tillerson was fired than Tillerson
In the end, no one was more surprised that Tillerson was fired than Tillerson
Discussion:
ABC News, New York Times, Breitbart and Axios
NBC News:
Tillerson says U.K. spy poisoning ‘clearly’ came from Russia
Tillerson says U.K. spy poisoning ‘clearly’ came from Russia
Discussion:
USA Today, Washington Post, HuffPost, Bloomberg, New York Times, ITV, Politicus USA, New Republic, New York Magazine, Coffee House, Washington Free Beacon, NBC News, Raw Story, Towleroad and Daily Kos
Meghan Keneally / ABC News:
Trump ousting Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, to be replaced by CIA Director Mike Pompeo
Trump ousting Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, to be replaced by CIA Director Mike Pompeo
Discussion:
ThinkProgress, Axios, Breitbart, FiveThirtyEight, The Guardian, Lawfare, VICE News, CNBC, Associated Press, Hit & Run, Raw Story and Shareblue Media
Andrew Kaczynski / CNN:
Stormy Daniels discussed alleged affair with Trump on 2007 radio show, host says — Radio Host: Stormy Daniels discussed alleged Trump affair on 2007 radio show — (CNN)Stephanie Clifford, the porn star known as Stormy Daniels, discussed her alleged affair with Donald Trump during …
Discussion:
Raw Story
RELATED:
Jeet Heer / New Republic:
A Tale of Two Women, and Two Eras
A Tale of Two Women, and Two Eras
Discussion:
Mashable, The Daily Beast and Techdirt
Luke Harding / The Guardian:
Russian exile Nikolai Glushkov found dead at his London home — Close friend of late oligarch Boris Berezovsky claimed political asylum in UK after being convicted of fraud … A Russian exile who was close friends with the late oligarch Boris Berezovsky has been found dead in his London home, his lawyer has said.
Discussion:
NPR and The Daily Caller
RELATED:
Roland Oliphant / Telegraph:
Russian businessman and close associate of Boris Berezovsky found dead in Britain, lawyer says
Russian businessman and close associate of Boris Berezovsky found dead in Britain, lawyer says
Discussion:
Daily Mail, Home Page Rotator, RedState, Politico, Chatham House and The Daily Caller
Josh Gerstein / Politico:
Manafort could face ‘rest of life in prison,’ judge says — Paul Manafort, the former Trump campaign chairman, runs a significant risk of spending the rest of his life in prison and the evidence against him by special counsel Robert Mueller's office seems strong, a federal judge declared in an order made public on Tuesday.
Christian Gollayan / New York Post:
Dog dies after United flight attendant forces it into overhead bin — On Monday night, a dog died in a plane after a United Airlines flight attendant forced the dog into an overhead bin. — Maggie Gremminger, a passenger on a flight from Houston to New York's LaGuardia Airport, uploaded a photo of the dog's owners on Twitter.
Discussion:
The Daily Caller, WGN-TV, twitchy.com, KFOR-TV, WGNO, FOX 61 and CBS Los Angeles
Meagan Flynn / Washington Post:
ICE spokesman resigns, citing fabrications by agency chief, Sessions, about Calif. immigrant arrests … The San Francisco spokesman for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement has resigned over what he described as “false” and “misleading” statements made by top-ranking officials …
RELATED:
Tom Shortell / Morning Call:
Confused voters try to figure out who's voting in Pennsylvania's special election — Of The Morning Call — Voters in Pennsylvania's 18th Congressional District are heading to the polls in a neck-and-neck special election that's caught national attention.
Discussion:
Political Wire
RELATED:
Kevin Robillard / Politico:
Republicans abandon tax cut message in Pa. special election
Republicans abandon tax cut message in Pa. special election
Discussion:
Axios, CNN, NBC News, New York Times, McClatchy Washington Bureau, Notes and New York Magazine
Connor Sheets / al.com:
Etowah sheriff pockets $750k in jail food funds, buys $740k beach house — Etowah sheriff pocketed over $750,000 in inmate-feeding funds — In September, Etowah County Sheriff Todd Entrekin and his wife Karen purchased an orange four-bedroom house with an in-ground pool and canal access …
Discussion:
The Root
Maxwell Tani / The Daily Beast:
Elon Musk Wanted to Buy ‘The Onion,’ Now He's Poaching Its Staffers for a Secret Project … Early in February, the satirical news publication The Onion published a story about Elon Musk, titled, “Elon Musk Offering $1.2 Billion in Grants to Any Project That Promises to Make Him Feel Complete.”
Tony Romm / Washington Post:
Melania Trump will meet with tech giants including Facebook and Google to talk cyberbullying … First lady Melania Trump plans to convene tech giants including Amazon, Facebook, Google, Twitter and Snap next week to discuss ways to combat online harassment and promote Internet safety, according to four people familiar with her efforts.
Aaron Gordon / Village Voice:
‘The Trains Are Slower Because They Slowed the Trains Down’ … In the summer of 2014, New York City Transit intern Philip Betheil was finishing up his master's in urban planning at Columbia University when his boss, David Greenberger, gave him a project. The two worked for NYCT's operations …
Tom Hamburger / Washington Post:
Roger Stone claimed contact with WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange in 2016, according to two associates … In the spring of 2016, longtime political operative Roger Stone had a phone conversation that would later seem prophetic, according to the person on the other end of the line.
Discussion:
New York Magazine, Shareblue Media, ThinkProgress, Roger Stone, Politicus USA, Boing Boing, Reuters and Joe.My.God.
Alex Roarty / Press Association:
Abortion debate is over inside the Democratic Party — Conor Lamb is a Marine, talks tough on crime, and sounds downright Republican on an issue like natural gas fracking — exactly the type of politician Democrats have traditionally turned to when contesting elections in deeply conservative areas.