Top Items:
New York Times:
Trump's Lawyer Raised Prospect of Pardons for Flynn and Manafort as Special Counsel Closed In — WASHINGTON — A lawyer for President Trump broached the idea of Mr. Trump pardoning two of his former top advisers, Michael T. Flynn and Paul Manafort, with their lawyers last year …
Mark Mazzetti / New York Times:
Trump Aide Spoke During Campaign to Associate Tied to Russian Intelligence — WASHINGTON — A top Trump campaign official had repeated communications during the final weeks of the 2016 presidential race with a business associate tied to Russian intelligence, according to a document released …
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Washington Post:
Manafort associate had Russian intelligence ties during 2016 campaign, prosecutors say — The FBI has found that a business associate of former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort had ongoing ties to Russian intelligence, including during the 2016 campaign when Manafort and his deputy …
Discussion:
RedState, CBS News, Politico, Yahoo, IJR, VICE News, Political Wire, The Moderate Voice and Balloon Juice
Katelyn Polantz / CNN:
New Gates tie alleged in special counsel filing on van der Zwaan sentencing
New Gates tie alleged in special counsel filing on van der Zwaan sentencing
Discussion:
BuzzFeed, The Daily Beast, ThinkProgress, Hullabaloo, Shakesville, The Week and New York Post
Shane Savitsky / Axios:
Trump: I look forward to meeting with Kim Jong-un — President Trump confirmed in a tweet this morning that his planned summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un is still on. The president expressed hope that Kim, who just visited Chinese President Xi Jinping in Beijing, “will do what is right for his people and for humanity.”
Discussion:
RedState, USA Today, ThinkProgress, The Atlantic, UPI, Associated Press, Fox News Insider, New York Times, Mediaite, Outside the Beltway, CBS Miami, CBS New York, Roll Call, NBC News and Politico
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Daniel Lippman / Politico:
Playbook scoop: Republicans to push balanced-budget amendment — BRING 'EM TO THE BALLOT BOX! — THE PRESIDENT at 5:52 a.m.: “THE SECOND AMENDMENT WILL NEVER BE REPEALED! As much as Democrats would like to see this happen, and despite the words yesterday of former Supreme Court Justice Stevens, NO WAY.
Discussion:
New York Times, Washington Monthly, ThinkProgress, Common Dreams, NBC News, Financial Times, Booman Tribune, Daily Kos, Boing Boing, Bustle, Political Wire and Vox
Jonathan Swan / Axios:
Trump hates Amazon, not Facebook — Capitol Hill wants Facebook's blood, but President Trump isn't interested. Instead, the tech behemoth Trump wants to go after is Amazon, according to five sources who've discussed it with him. “He's obsessed with Amazon,” a source said. “Obsessed.”
Discussion:
CNBC, Hullabaloo, Mediaite, Investor's Business Daily, Breitbart, AOL, Raw Story, The Gateway Pundit, The Daily Caller, The Week, Splinter and Althouse, more at Techmeme »
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Joseph Curl / Daily Wire:
Gun Rights Provocateur David Hogg Rejected By Four Colleges To Which He Applied — David Hogg, a self-appointed spokesman for a generation, revealed on Tuesday that four universities he has applied to have rejected his application. — The Florida high school student …
Discussion:
New Republic, ThinkProgress, BuzzFeed, VICE News, Mediaite, The Western Journal, TMZ.com, The Daily Caller, TheBlaze, IJR and Breitbart
Zachary Mider / Bloomberg:
Robert Mercer's Secret Adventure as a New Mexico Cop — Why was the fabulously wealthy Trump donor wearing a badge and a gun in a tiny desert town? To obtain something that's impossible to buy. — Robert Mercer probably would have flown into Roswell. From there—1,800 miles from home …
Lloyd Grove / The Daily Beast:
‘Heartbroken’ Trump Critic Ann Coulter: He's a ‘Shallow, Lazy Ignoramus’ … Right-wing firebrand Ann Coulter, whose 2016 campaign book In Trump We Trust touted the many virtues of the Republican nominee, is having second, third, and possibly even fourth thoughts about Donald J. Trump.
Discussion:
RedState, Hit & Run, Mediaite, National Review and The Gateway Pundit
Nick Miroff / Washington Post:
Trump proposal would penalize immigrants who use tax credits and other benefits … Immigrants who accept almost any form of welfare or public benefit, even popular tax deductions, could be denied legal U.S. residency under a proposal awaiting approval by the Trump administration …
Michael O'Connell / Hollywood Reporter:
TV Ratings: ‘Roseanne’ Revival Skyrockets With Stunning Premiere — The ABC comedy returns nearly three decades after its original premiere, averaging a whopping 18.1 million and an unbelievable 5.1 rating in the key demo. — Roseanne returned Tuesday. The ABC sitcom, away from the air …
Discussion:
EW.com, Vox, Mediaite, IJR, The Week, The Daily Caller and New York Times
Andrew Harris / Bloomberg:
Trump Loses First Skirmish in Suit Over D.C. Hotel Profits — U.S. judge says joint Maryland-D.C. case goes forward for now — Justice Department argument seeking complete dismissal fails — President Donald Trump will have to contend for now with a lawsuit claiming he is improperly profiting …
Discussion:
Raw Story
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Sharon LaFraniere / New York Times:
Lawsuit Over Trump's Ties to His Businesses Is Allowed to Advance
Lawsuit Over Trump's Ties to His Businesses Is Allowed to Advance
Discussion:
Axios and Political Wire
Steven Shepard / Politico:
Justices cast doubt on partisan redistricting — The Supreme Court on Wednesday grappled with a case with the potential to reorder the country's political landscape: How much gerrymandering is too much gerrymandering? — Republicans who sued to overturn the congressional district lines …
Discussion:
Associated Press and ABC News
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Jeff Zillgitt / USA Today:
Spurs coach Gregg Popovich on guns: It's time to reassess the Second Amendment
Spurs coach Gregg Popovich on guns: It's time to reassess the Second Amendment
Discussion:
The Western Journal, TheBlaze, The Daily Caller and New York Times
Steven Shepard / Politico:
Voters believe Stormy over Trump — Voters believe adult-film actress Stormy Daniels. — They believe her claim that she and Donald Trump had sex before he ran for president, and that Trump has been unfaithful to his wife. Only one-third think the president is honest. More than half think he has low morals.
Discussion:
National Review, IJR and Washington Times
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Jenna Johnson / Washington Post:
As Stormy Daniels tells her story, six conservative Americans debate whether Trump is a role model
As Stormy Daniels tells her story, six conservative Americans debate whether Trump is a role model
Discussion:
Raw Story
Dana R. Fisher / Washington Post:
Here's who actually attended the March for Our Lives. (No, it wasn't mostly young people.) — In the days before and after more than two million Americans participated in the March for Our Lives, the gun-violence conversation has focused on the Marjory Stoneman Douglas survivors and their “student movement.”
Discussion:
National Review, Washington Free Beacon, Front Page Magazine, Breitbart, twitchy.com, Bustle and Daily Wire
Matt Mencarini / Lansing State Journal:
MSU spent $500K in January to monitor social media accounts of Nassar victims, others — EAST LANSING - A public relations firm billed MSU for more than $500,000 for January as it tracked social media activity surrounding the Larry Nassar case, which often included the accounts of victims and their families …
Mike Konczal:
Why Are There No Good Conservative Critiques of Trump's Unified Government? — Obama Prelude — I had the “Obama in 2009” word vomit recently. I was talking with several people on the left involved in politics in the early Great Recession, and Larry Summers' new paper on regional inequality came up.
National Center on Sexual Exploitation:
Press Statement: Walmart to Remove Cosmopolitan Magazine from Checkout Lines Following Advocacy by the National Center on Sexual Exploitation — Washington, DC - The National Center on Sexual Exploitation (NCOSE) has instigated a significant policy change at Walmart as part of our continued work …
Mike Murphy / Politico:
How to Primary Trump in 2020 — “Could Donald Trump be, um, primaried?” That's the whispered question I hear more often than you might think from plenty of exhausted Republican elected officials, particularly after a long week of dodging reporters looking for comment on the president's latest antics.
Sean Davis / The Federalist:
New York Post Botches Concealed Carry Hit Piece On Donald Trump Jr. — Page Six, the New York Post's gossip column, botched a concealed carry hit piece on Donald Trump, Jr., on Monday, alleging that he has avoided applying for a New York concealed carry permit because it might require the disclosure of his tax returns.
Discussion:
Page Six, Jezebel and The Daily Caller
Ryan Nobles / CNN:
Nunes opponent raises $1 million in first quarter — (CNN)A Democratic candidate challenging House Intelligence Committee chair Devin Nunes took in more than $1 million in the first quarter of 2018, a sign of Democrats' enthusiasm to oust the California congressman who has allied himself closely with President Donald Trump.
Us Weekly:
Donald Trump Jr. and Aubrey O'Day ‘Were Trying’ to Have a Baby During Affair … Donald Trump Jr. and Aubrey O'Day's affair was much more than a one-night stand, so much so that they even considered the prospect of starting a family together, a source reveals exclusively in the new issue of Us Weekly.
Peter Kafka / Recode:
Tim Cook says Facebook should have regulated itself, but it's too late for that now — “I think we're beyond that here.” — Apple CEO Tim Cook has doubled down on his call for regulation that would limit Facebook and others companies' ability to use customer data.
Discussion:
The Guardian, NBC News, Motherboard and The Daily Caller
PR Newswire:
Statement from Playboy Enterprises, Inc. regarding Facebook — For years, it has been difficult for Playboy to express our values on Facebook due to its strict content and policy guidelines. We have been faced with the only alternative being to alter Playboy's voice in order to meet Facebook's views …
Discussion:
Bloomberg, Gizmodo, The Daily Caller, The Verge and Mashable, more at Mediagazer »
Darren Samuelsohn / Politico:
Trump attack unleashes oppo against Mueller — When President Donald Trump lashed out against Robert Mueller by name earlier this month, the president's supporters sprang into action — treating the chief Russia investigator to political campaign-style opposition research.
Discussion:
Washington Post, Bustle, Raw Story, CNN and LewRockwell
Brad Reed / Raw Story:
The anti-LGBT head of a major religious group just mysteriously resigned over an ‘inappropriate relationship’ — Frank Page, the former president and CEO of the Southern Baptist Convention, revealed this week that he decided to resign his position over a “morally inappropriate relationship” …
Discussion:
WYFF-TV
Alexander C. Kaufman / HuffPost:
Leaked Memo: EPA Issues Approved Talking Points Downplaying Climate Change — Point 5: Suggest that humans are only responsible “in some manner.” — The Environmental Protection Agency on Tuesday evening sent employees a list of eight approved talking points on climate change from its Office …
Discussion:
ThinkProgress, ABC News and The Daily Caller
Amanda Terkel / HuffPost:
Minnesota Woman Blamed For Al Franken's Fall Had Nothing To Do With It — Lindsey Port accused another man of harassment. But fellow Democrats say she “softened the ground” for Franken's resignation. — Lindsey Port, 35, doesn't really know Al Franken.
Discussion:
Washington Free Beacon and Shot in the Dark
Oliver Smith / Forbes:
Exclusive: Britain's Co-Living King Has Raised $400m To Take On WeWork In America — New York's multibillion dollar property market will soon have a new challenger on the block. — British co-living property startup The Collective has revealed its bold plans to more than double the size …
Josh Hafner / USA Today:
Planned Parenthood called for Disney princess 'who's had an abortion' in now-deleted tweet … A Pennsylvania branch of Planned Parenthood sparked some controversy after a deleted tweet called for an animated Disney princess “Who's had an abortion.” Buzz60
Discussion:
WNEP-TV, thecut, Fox17, Infowars, IJR, National Review and twitchy.com
Hayes Brown / BuzzFeed:
Julian Assange Just Got His Internet Privileges Revoked — No more will the WikiLeaks founder be able to tweet or send other messages from inside the Ecuadorian Embassy in London. — WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange has had his ability to communicate with the outside world cut off, the Ecuadorian government announced Wednesday.
Discussion:
AOL
Facebook:
It's Time to Make Our Privacy Tools Easier to Find — Last week showed how much more work we need to do to enforce our policies and help people understand how Facebook works and the choices they have over their data. We've heard loud and clear that privacy settings and other important tools …
Leonard N. Fleming / Detroit News:
Snyder aide to Flint activist: ‘Crawl back in your hole’ — Flint — A top Gov. Rick Snyder aide is under fire for a text exchange he started with a Flint activist after the man criticized the governor's handling of the water crisis, telling the resident in a private exchange that Snyder …
Julie Carr Smyth / Associated Press:
Rep. didn't report $50K in donations as registered lobbyist — COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — U.S. Rep. Jim Renacci failed to disclose nearly $50,000 in political contributions while registered as a Washington lobbyist starting in the late 2000s, according to an Associated Press review of federal records.
Discussion:
Political Wire
Lynette Rice / EW.com:
Roseanne producer on sitcom not being a liberal ‘mouthpiece’ and Mark's ‘tricky’ story line — Whose idea was it to make Roseanne Conner a Trump supporter? Was there always a plan to have her grandson dress in non-traditional attire? In light of Tuesday's debut of Roseanne …