Top Items:
New York Times:
McMaster to Resign as National Security Adviser, and Will Be Replaced by John Bolton — WASHINGTON — Lt. Gen. H. R. McMaster, the battle-tested Army officer tapped as President Trump's national security adviser last year to stabilize a turbulent foreign policy operation …
Discussion:
Washington Post, Talking Points Memo, CNNMoney, The Daily Beast, VICE News, Taylor Marsh, FiveThirtyEight, Common Dreams, AOL, No More Mister Nice Blog, Just Security, Home Page Rotator, Vox, New York Magazine, The Root, Scripting News, The Week, JustOneMinute, Splinter, Politicus USA, IJR, The American Spectator, Mother Jones, NBC News, National Review, Washington Free Beacon, Little Green Footballs, MelaniePhillips.com, Mediaite, Political Wire, Outside the Beltway, The Gateway Pundit, Joe.My.God. and Daily Kos, more at Mediagazer »
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Eliana Johnson / Politico:
McMaster firing upends plan to oust other top Trump officials — President Donald Trump's decision to abruptly fire national security adviser H.R. McMaster surprised senior White House aides who had been preparing a single statement announcing the departure of multiple top Trump officials …
Discussion:
Washington Post, Outside the Beltway, The Week, Axios and Political Wire
Matthew Waxman / Lawfare:
The John Bolton I Knew — Most of the commentary about John Bolton's appointment as national security advisor has focused on his extreme policy views, especially with regard to military strikes against North Korea and Iran. I want instead to offer here a few firsthand thoughts about his formidable skills …
Bloomberg:
Inside Trump's Snap Decision to Oust McMaster — McMaster Ousted Days After His Briefing to Trump on Putin Call — Trump names ex-U.S. envoy Bolton as national security adviser — President Donald Trump made a snap decision to oust H.R. McMaster as national security adviser …
Discussion:
Politico
Jonathan Chait / New York Magazine:
Nobody Is Left to Save the World From Trump Now — From the outset of his presidency, to which he was elevated with barely any preparation, Donald Trump was surrounded by a protective cordon of advisers, as a child monarch might. In return for absorbing his tantrums, they would educate …
Discussion:
The Daily Caller
Darren Samuelsohn / Politico:
White House lawyer McGahn eager to exit — President Donald Trump's top White House lawyer, Don McGahn, is expected to step down later this year, though his resignation is contingent on the president finding a replacement and several other factors, according to four sources familiar with McGahn's thinking.
Discussion:
Political Wire, Mediaite, The Hill and New Republic
NBC News:
Amid White House turmoil, Trump mused about life without a chief of staff — WASHINGTON — In the midst of a Cabinet shake-up and a possible staff upheaval, President Donald Trump considered firing his chief of staff this month and not naming a successor, according to three people familiar with the discussions.
Discussion:
RedState, Outside the Beltway, Politicus USA and Political Wire
Zack Beauchamp / Vox:
John Bolton, Trump's ultra-hawkish new national security adviser, explained — Bolton has recently called for war with both Iran and North Korea. — President Donald Trump finally jettisoned National Security Adviser H.R. McMaster on Thursday afternoon. His replacement is John Bolton …
Discussion:
Washington Post, New York Times, Bloomberg, The Guardian, Foreign Policy, The Week, Daily Kos, The Atlantic, The Gateway Pundit, NPR, Politicus USA, New Republic, Axios, Breitbart, ThinkProgress, Mother Jones, CBS New York, Jamie Dupree - AJC, Hit & Run, Mediaite, The Daily Caller, Raw Story, twitchy.com, The Federalist, Fox News Insider, KFOR-TV and Daily Wire
Cory Bennett / Politico:
Bolton, McMaster present contrast on Russian hacking
Discussion:
Shakesville and israpundit.org
Jonathan Swan / Axios:
Bolton bombshell: the clashes to come
Discussion:
Common Dreams, The Week, The Daily Beast, Breitbart and New York Times
Mark Davis / Townhall.com:
John Bolton: The Wisdom of This Choice Is Made Clear in the Panic of Liberals
Bryan Bender / Politico:
Bolton pick underscores Trump's foreign policy confusion
Discussion:
The Daily Beast, CANNONFIRE and Axios
David E. Sanger / New York Times:
With Bolton, Trump Creates a Historically Hard-Line Foreign Policy Team
Discussion:
ThinkProgress, The Atlantic, Wall Street Journal, CNN, The Guardian, Daily Kos, VICE News, NBC News and The Week
The Guardian:
Leaked: Cambridge Analytica's blueprint for Trump victory — Exclusive: Former employee explains how presentation showed techniques used to target voters … The blueprint for how Cambridge Analytica claimed to have won the White House for Donald Trump by using Google, Snapchat, Twitter …
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Matthew Rosenberg / New York Times:
Bolton Was Early Beneficiary of Cambridge Analytica's Facebook Data — WASHINGTON — The political action committee founded by John R. Bolton, President Trump's incoming national security adviser, was one of the earliest customers of Cambridge Analytica, which it hired specifically …
Discussion:
Vox, Bangor Daily News, Gizmodo, ABC News, AOL, CNBC and checkyourfact.com, more at Mediagazer »
The Daily Beast:
EXCLUSIVE: ‘Lone DNC Hacker’ Guccifer 2.0 Slipped Up and Revealed He Was a Russian Intelligence Officer … Guccifer 2.0, the “lone hacker” who took credit for providing WikiLeaks with stolen emails from the Democratic National Committee, was in fact an officer of Russia's military intelligence directorate …
Discussion:
Hullabaloo, VICE News, Mother Jones, emptywheel, The Week, The Gateway Pundit, Mashable, Balloon Juice, RedState, Vox, Axios, Lawyers, Guns & Money and Mediaite, more at Techmeme »
Adam Shaw / Fox News:
Trump threatens veto of $1.3 trillion spending bill, risking government shutdown — President Trump sparked fears of an impending government shutdown Friday by threatening to veto a $1.3 trillion spending bill passed by Congress, citing the lack of a deal that would include protection …
Discussion:
CNBC, Washington Post, RedState, ABC News, Weekly Standard, National Review, Talking Points Memo, Mother Jones and The Daily Caller
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Eli Watkins / CNN:
Karen McDougal tells CNN Trump tried to pay her after sex — Washington (CNN)Donald Trump once tried to offer Karen McDougal money after they had been intimate, the former Playboy model told Anderson Cooper Thursday in an exclusive interview on CNN. — “After we had been intimate …
Discussion:
thecut, New York Times, The Week, The Daily Beast, The Guardian, Law & Crime, Mashable, WGN-TV and Politicus USA
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Eli Watkins / CNN:
McDougal says she was intimate with Trump ‘many dozens’ of times
Discussion:
Daily Caller News Foundation, FOX59, CBS Pittsburgh, Daily Wire, Political Wire and American Prospect
Amy L. Wax / Wall Street Journal:
The University of Denial — Aggressive suppression of the truth is a central feature of American higher education. — 'Reality is that which, when you stop believing in it, doesn't go away," observed Philip K. Dick in “I Hope I Shall Arrive Soon. Somewhere deep in a file drawer …
Discussion:
Instapundit
RELATED:
Phil Mattingly / CNN:
Idaho senator holds up bill over political rivalry with deceased governor — Congress facing government shutdown, yet again — (CNN)As Congress raced toward another spending deadline, most were watching Sen. Rand Paul's objections to a proposed spending plan.
Discussion:
Washington Post, Daily Kos, Mother Jones and Conservative Review
RELATED:
Bloomberg:
Trump Fundraiser Offered to Help Lift Sanctions on Russian Firms — Elliott Broidy proposed work for clients of Moscow lawyer — Pre-inauguration discussions didn't lead to Broidy's hiring — Elliott Broidy, a top fundraiser for President Donald Trump, offered last year to help …
Wall Street Journal:
John Dowd Resigns as Trump's Top Lawyer in Russia Probe — Departure comes after he called for end to special counsel's investigation — John Dowd, the lead lawyer representing President Donald Trump in the special counsel's Russia investigation, left the legal team on Thursday partly …
Discussion:
Talking Points Memo
RELATED:
Sarah Larimer / Washington Post:
George Mason lands $5 million Koch Foundation donation for Department of Economics … George Mason University will use a $5 million gift to its Department of Economics to create three faculty positions, the school announced Thursday. — The gift comes from the Charles Koch Foundation …
Digby / Hullabaloo:
Stormy, Summer and Karen are the GOP's worst nightmares — Greg Sargent had a good piece this morning about how the Stormy Daniels hurricane might trip Trump up more than he realizes. It's a thought I've had as well: … It's impossible to know for sure whether women as a group will rise to the occasion.
Discussion:
New York Times and CBS News
Daily Mail:
'I want to know what the f*** you're doing with my f***ing money!': Cardi B flies into rage over paying 40% in taxes in expletive filled Instagram post — It's tax season, and Cardi B is not a happy camper. — The New York City native, 25, took to social media on Thursday launching …
Discussion:
Althouse
Katie Langin / Science:
Exclusive: 'I've never seen anything like it.' Video of mating deep-sea anglerfish stuns biologists — Anglerfish, with their menacing gape and dangling lure, are among the most curious inhabitants of the deep ocean. Scientists have hardly ever seen them alive in their natural environment.
Discussion:
Daily Mail, BGR, Gizmodo and thecut
Brian M. Rosenthal / New York Times:
De Blasio Donor Says He Steered Thousands in Bribes to Mayor's Campaigns — CENTRAL ISLIP, N.Y. — A Long Island restaurateur testified under oath on Thursday that he steered tens of thousands of dollars to Mayor Bill de Blasio's political campaigns in return for favorable treatment by the city.
Discussion:
Washington Free Beacon
The Sun:
The shooter is believed to be holed up in a Super U store in Trèbes, near Carcassonne — A SUSPECTED ISIS gunman has killed two and wounded a dozen others as he took eight hostages at a French supermarket, according to police. — The attacker, who screamed “Vengeance for Syria!” …
Discussion:
BBC, USA Today, Telegraph, CNN, Jihad Watch, The Gateway Pundit and Scared Monkeys
Sophia Tesfaye / Salon:
Eric Holder wins lawsuit against Scott Walker: Judge rules Wisconsin must hold special elections — Wisconsin's Republican Governor Scott Walker just got a judicial smackdown courtesy of Eric Holder — Wisconsin's Republican Governor Scott Walker just got a judicial smackdown courtesy of former U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder.
Discussion:
JSOnline, Mother Jones, New York Magazine and Daily Kos
David Freedlander / Politico:
Sam Nunberg Is Still Talking — First, Sam Nunberg made plans to meet me for lunch, but canceled at the last minute. So now we've made plans for dinner at his favorite Vietnamese spot near his Upper East Side apartment, but when he arrives 20 minutes late, Nunberg says he has already eaten …
Mark Gurman / Bloomberg:
Apple Tries to Win Back Students and Teachers With Low-Cost iPad — Company holding rare education-focused event next week — Lower-cost and Pro models have recently reignited iPad sales — Apple Inc. is preparing to introduce new low-cost iPads and education software next week in a bid …
Discussion:
Engadget, Mashable and The Verge, more at Techmeme »
David Brooks / New York Times:
Speaking as a White Male ... How much are you in control of your own opinions? I ask this sincerely because, as you'll see, I'm trying to think this through and I'm not sure how. — If you go back to the intellectuals of the 1950s, you get the impression that they thought individuals could very much determine their own beliefs.
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