Top Items:
Washington Post:
In fundraising speech, Trump says he made up facts in meeting with Justin Trudeau … President Trump boasted in a fundraising speech Wednesday that he made up facts in a meeting with the leader of a top U.S ally, saying he insisted to Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau that the United States runs …
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Mike Allen / Axios:
Axios AM — Subscribe — Good Thursday morning. Situational awareness: “Toys ‘R’ Us Inc. told employees Wednesday the struggling big-box retailer will sell or close all its U.S. stores, a collapse that threatens up to 33,000 American jobs in the coming months.” (WSJ) — 1 big thing: Pelosi in peril
Discussion:
Washington Post, Bloomberg and Betsy's Page
Mike Allen / Axios:
Pelosi in peril — Top Democrats tell me that if they take back the House in November, a restoration of Speaker Nancy Pelosi is no longer guaranteed. In fact, some well-wired House Democrats predict she will be forced aside after the election and replaced by a younger, less divisive Dem.
Discussion:
National Review and Politico
Wall Street Journal:
Trump Organization Tied to Deal to Keep Ex-Porn Star Quiet — An assistant general counsel at the president's flagship holding company intervened in arbitration proceeding in California to enforce a nondisclosure deal with former porn star — Documents marked “HIGHLY CONFIDENTIAL PROCEEDING” …
Discussion:
Talking Points Memo, NBC News, Raw Story, JONATHAN TURLEY, Washington Times and Vox
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Josh Gerstein / Politico:
BuzzFeed maneuver could free Stormy Daniels to speak on Trump — BuzzFeed may have found a legal opening to allow the porn actress Stormy Daniels to discuss her alleged relationship with President Donald Trump and a $130,000 payment she received just before the 2016 election as part …
Discussion:
The Daily Beast and Political Wire, more at Mediagazer »
CNN:
Another Trump attorney involved in Stormy Daniels case — (CNN)New documents obtained by CNN's “Anderson Cooper 360” on Wednesday suggest a deeper link than previously known between the Trump Organization and the company that Donald Trump's personal lawyer, Michael Cohen …
Discussion:
News & Guts Media, New York Magazine, Splinter, VICE News, Axios, IJR, Politicus USA and Mashable
Darren Samuelsohn / Politico:
Trump lawyers prepping for potential Mueller interview — President Donald Trump's lawyers are gaming out possible questions and answers for a potential interview with special counsel Robert Mueller, according to two people familiar with the strategy. — The preparations reflect …
Jim Dalrymple II / BuzzFeed:
Stormy Daniels' Lawyer Says More Women Are Exploring Legal Cases Against President Trump
Stormy Daniels' Lawyer Says More Women Are Exploring Legal Cases Against President Trump
Discussion:
CNN, The Daily Beast, Raw Story and Mediaite
Elaina Plott / The Atlantic:
Trump Says a Democrat Won in Pennsylvania Because He's ‘Like Trump’ — If Donald Trump is worried about Democrats using an upset victory in Pennsylvania as a blueprint for winning big in the midterms, he didn't let on. — Trump broke his silence on the election at a private fundraiser …
Discussion:
Shareblue Media, Washington Post, Talking Points Memo, Politico, New York Magazine, NBC News, Raw Story, The Stream, Hit & Run and Vox
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New York Times:
Conor Lamb Wins Pennsylvania House Seat, Giving Democrats a Map for Trump Country — Conor Lamb, a Democrat and former Marine, scored a razor-thin but extraordinary upset in a special House election in southwestern Pennsylvania after a few thousand absentee ballots delivered Democrats a win …
Discussion:
New York Post, CNN, American Greatness, Raw Story, Vox, NewsHounds blog, Talking Points Memo, The Savage Nation and Politico
Gene J. Puskar / Washington Examiner:
Democrats can take the House, if they just pick Conor Lamb over Hillary Clinton
Jonathan Tamari / Philly.com:
Republicans seek answer to Trump drag after special-election setback in Pa.
Republicans seek answer to Trump drag after special-election setback in Pa.
Discussion:
CNN, FiveThirtyEight, RRH Elections, The Hill, Vox and Political Wire
Andy Shain / Post and Courier:
Dylann Roof's sister arrested for carrying weapons to school on day of national walkout — COLUMBIA — The sister of Charleston church shooter Dylann Roof was arrested Wednesday for carrying weapons at her affluent Columbia-area high school, authorities said.
Discussion:
WLTX-TV, Townhall.com, The Daily Caller and KTLA
RELATED:
Warren Stocker / WIS-TV:
Sister of Charleston church shooter Dylann Roof given $5,000 bond, not allowed to return to SC school — COLUMBIA, SC (WIS) - — The younger sister of Charleston church shooter, Dylann Roof was given a $5,000 bond on Wednesday after she was arrested for bringing weapons and drugs onto the campus of A.C. Flora High School.
Chris Isidore / CNNMoney:
Amazon didn't kill Toys ‘R’ Us. Here's what did — You won't be hearing the Toys ‘R’ Us jingle anymore — Don't blame Amazon for the death of Toys “R” Us. — It's true, online shopping didn't help matters, but the struggles of Toys “R” Us predate the boom in online shopping.
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CNNMoney:
Toys ‘R’ Us will close or sell all US stores
Toys ‘R’ Us will close or sell all US stores
Discussion:
National Review, Motley Fool, FOX59, FOX 61 and WIVB-TV
Abha Bhattarai / Washington Post:
Toys R Us to close all 800 of its U.S. stores
Toys R Us to close all 800 of its U.S. stores
Discussion:
FiveThirtyEight, Joe.My.God., WQAD-TV, The Verge and Bangor Daily News
Eli Lake / Bloomberg:
Time's Up: Trump Can't Have It Both Ways on Russia — It will be damning if the president continues to equivocate about Russia's role in the death of a former spy. — For the first 14 months of the Donald Trump administration, a fair analysis of its handling of Russia had to include some important caveats.
Discussion:
Politico, Associated Press, New York Times and Outside the Beltway
Gabriel Sherman / Vanity Fair:
“Trump Wants Them Out of There”: After Swinging the Axe at Tillerson, Trump Mulls What to Do with McMaster, Sessions, Jared, and Ivanka — With tariffs done, Trump's sights are now on the Iran deal—and, possibly, the Russia investigation. “The president is finally realizing he is the president …
Discussion:
Breitbart, Fox News, Mediaite, CBS News, The Gateway Pundit, The American Conservative, Daily Wire, Mother Jones, Raw Story, Hullabaloo, Common Dreams, Splinter, CNBC, New York Times and CNN
RELATED:
Philippe Reines / Washington Post:
Trump is a freak of political nature. Here's how you can beat him. — Philippe Reines has been a spokesman and adviser to Hillary Clinton since 2002, including during the 2016 campaign. — Campaigned in the wrong states. Ineffective message. Uninspiring orator. Represented all that is wrong with Washington.
Discussion:
New Republic
New York Times:
Beware of Devin Nunes's Next Move — This week Republicans on the House Intelligence Committee announced that they will be ending their investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 election, having found no evidence of wrongdoing on the part of the Trump administration.
Discussion:
Hullabaloo
RELATED:
Ali Soufan / The Atlantic:
Telling the Truth About CIA Torture — It is a matter of public record that Gina Haspel, President Trump's nominee to be the next director of the CIA, played a key role in the agency's now-defunct program of “enhanced interrogation techniques”—an Orwellian euphemism for a system of violence most Americans would recognize as torture.
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Jonathan Swan / Axios:
In Trumpworld, nobody knows anything — Yesterday was crazy. The rumor mill was in overdrive with reports that President Trump could replace as many as four senior administration officials, including a Scott-Pruitt-for-Jeff-Sessions switcheroo at Justice.
Discussion:
Raw Story
Bloomberg:
This Is What Record-Low Unemployment Looks Like in America — What will happen when the U.S. unemployment rate falls below 4 percent, which is expected to occur by this summer? One way to tell is to look at cities where joblessness is already lower than that. Bloomberg News reporters traveled to Iowa, Georgia, and Maine.
The Guardian:
Dog gone: United Airlines mistakenly flies family German shepherd to Japan … United Airlines is investigating after mistakenly flying a Kansas family's dog to Japan. — KCTV reports that Kara Swindle and her two children flew from Oregon to Kansas City, Missouri, on Tuesday on a United flight.
Annie Karni / Politico:
Extreme secrecy surrounds Comey book manuscript — James Comey's book is getting the Harry Potter treatment. — “A Higher Loyalty: Truth, Lies and Leadership,” the upcoming memoir from former FBI director James Comey, is set for publication on April 18 — and with anticipation rivaling …
Discussion:
Political Wire
Josh Rogin / Washington Post:
Without Rex Tillerson's protection, a top State Department Asia nominee is in trouble … Outgoing Secretary of State Rex Tillerson struggled for months to secure the nomination of the State Department's top Asia official, who hawks have accused of being too soft on China.
Emily Smith / Page Six:
Donald Trump Jr. and wife headed for divorce, friends say — Donald Trump Jr. and his wife, Vanessa Trump, are struggling through marital problems and friends say they are heading for divorce, multiple sources have exclusively confirmed to Page Six. — Vanessa and the eldest son …
Discussion:
Raw Story, The Daily Caller, Joe.My.God. and Mediaite
Katherine Lam / Fox News:
Muslim teen watched jihadi videos, read Koran for ‘courage’ before Florida sleepover stabbings, cops say — A Florida teenager — who had previously been investigated for “alleged violent tendencies” — watched jihadist videos and read the Koran “to give him courage” before stabbing …
Discussion:
NewsBusters, Palm Beach Post, National Review, Daily Wire, Front Page Magazine and CBS News
Peter Schweizer / New York Post:
Inside the shady private equity firm run by Kerry and Biden's kids — “My frustration,” writes Peter Schweizer in his new book, “Secret Empires: How the American Political Class Hides Corruption and Enriches Family and Friends,” “is not that the solid reporting on Trump has been too tough …
Discussion:
Breitbart
David Roberts / Vox:
The real problem with the New York Times op-ed page: it's not honest about US conservatism — It wants to challenge its readers, but not with the ugly truth. — The New York Times editorial page has come in for a great deal of criticism since it fell under the leadership of James Bennet …
Alan Feuer / New York Times:
Adhering to Family Tradition, Gotti's Grandson Is Sentenced — With apologies to Tolstoy, happy families may all be alike, but the Gotti family has long been unhappy in its own particular fashion. For nearly half a century, that has involved the serial ordeal of men in the Mafia clan being sent to federal prison.
Colleen Flaherty / Inside Higher Ed:
‘A Different Kind of University’ — “Shocked, dismayed and angry”: faculty members at Wisconsin Stevens Point react to a plan to cut 13 majors, including English, history, political science and sociology, and expand more job-oriented programs. — Many professors in Wisconsin saw their fears …
Discussion:
Outside the Beltway
Jared Gilmour / Lexington Herald-Leader:
Walkout was meant to be peaceful. But these students tore down flag, jumped on cop car, Tennessee police say — Around the country, thousands upon thousands of students walked out of their classrooms on March 14 to peacefully protest inaction on gun laws in the aftermath of the deadly Florida school shooting last month.
Discussion:
WCCO | CBS Minnesota and Daily Wire
Matt Zapotosky / Washington Post:
FBI disciplinary office recommends firing former deputy director Andrew McCabe … The FBI office that handles employee discipline has recommended firing the bureau's former deputy director over allegations that he authorized the disclosure of sensitive information to a reporter …
Discussion:
New York Times, Above the Law, Towleroad and Joe.My.God.