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Exclusive: Mueller's team questioning Russian oligarchs — Washington (CNN)Special counsel Robert Mueller's team has taken the unusual step of questioning Russian oligarchs who traveled into the US, stopping at least one and searching his electronic devices when his private jet landed …
Discussion:
The Hill, RedState, Mother Jones, KTLA, The Gateway Pundit, The Week, New York Magazine, Daily Kos, Mediaite and Raw Story
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Witness in Mueller Inquiry Who Advises U.A.E. Ruler Also Has Ties to Russia — WASHINGTON — A witness who is cooperating in the special counsel investigation, George Nader, has connections to both the Persian Gulf states and Russia and may have information that links two important strands …
Discussion:
Political Wire, Lawyers, Guns & Money and Raw Story


An Update on Our Plans to Restrict Data Access on Facebook — Two weeks ago we promised to take a hard look at the information apps can use when you connect them to Facebook as well as other data practices. Today, we want to update you on the changes we're making to better protect your Facebook information.
Discussion:
BBC, New York Times, CNBC, The Guardian, Facebook Developers, Mashable, New York Magazine, CNNMoney, Axios, Motherboard, FOX6Now.com, The Atlantic, VICE News, ABC News, Mother Jones, Grabien News, 9to5Mac, BuzzFeed, Daily Mail, Deadline, National Review, One America News Network, Gizmodo, The Verge, Engadget, GeekWire, NBC News, Mediaite, Politico, Boing Boing, Nextgov and CBS Los Angeles, more at Techmeme »
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Facebook said the personal data of most its 2 billion users has been collected and shared with outsiders … Facebook said Wednesday that most of its 2 billion users likely have had their personal information scraped and shared by third-party developers without their explicit permission …
Discussion:
TheBlaze, more at Mediagazer »


Facebook Scans What You Send Other People on Messenger App
Discussion:
Facebook, Breitbart, The Verge, The Gateway Pundit, Daily Mail and Investor's Business Daily, more at Techmeme »

Zuckerberg says most Facebook users should assume they have had their public info scraped
Discussion:
The Guardian, The Daily Caller, Mashable, BuzzFeed and New York Magazine


EPA's Scott Pruitt pushes back on pay raise, condo controversy in Fox exclusive — Embattled Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Scott Pruitt fired back at critics Wednesday, defending his decision to take a $50 a day condo rental from the wife of a lobbyist and claiming he just found …
Discussion:
Politico, Vox, Raw Story, The Daily Caller, NPR, Talking Points Memo, Townhall, Mashable and IJR
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After leaving $50-a-night rental, EPA's Scott Pruitt had no fixed D.C. address for a month … This post has been updated. — After moving out of the Capitol Hill condo apartment he rented for $50 a night last summer, Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Scott Pruitt appears …
Discussion:
CNN, The Daily Beast, The Daily Caller, Politico and Mashable


China fires back at Trump with the threat of tariffs on 106 U.S. products, including soybeans … BEIJING — China responded to President Trump's new tariffs by threatening tariffs of its own on 106 U.S. products, including on soybeans, cars and some airplanes, in the latest escalation …
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Economist: Trump trade war will cost 190,000 jobs
Discussion:
The Daily Caller

Farm state lawmakers, including Republicans, blame Trump for new China tariffs
Discussion:
Politico


The Department of Justice Thinks That Collusion Is a Crime — Is collusion a crime? That is one of the central questions of the investigation into Russian efforts to interfere in the 2016 U.S. elections. Even if it could be proved that Donald Trump and his supporters worked with the Russian government …
Discussion:
Washington Post, Politico, Law & Crime, Raw Story, Vox and CNN
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Paul Manafort's Lawyers Are Trying To Block Mueller's Office From Indicting Him Again — In Manafort's civil lawsuit, his lawyers are arguing special counsel Robert Mueller's original appointment order was unlawful. — Reporting From Washington, DC — Former Trump campaign chair Paul Manafort …
Discussion:
emptywheel and Law & Crime

When will the media accept that Trump is not a criminal target?
Discussion:
Washington Post, Politico, Popehat, emptywheel, USA Today, Commentary Magazine, Salon, The Rush Limbaugh Show and Vox


Patriots' Julian Edelman May Have Thwarted a School Shooting — The New England Patriots receiver Julian Edelman was in Texas visiting his former teammate Danny Amendola late last month when he received a direct message on his Instagram account: “Dude, there is a kid in your comment section …
Discussion:
The Daily Caller, IJR, Patriots Wire, Jewish Telegraphic Agency, ProFootballTalk, AOL, Total Pro Sports, Daily Wire, Washington Free Beacon and FOX 61


Stone, on day he sent Assange dinner email, also said ‘devastating’ WikiLeaks were forthcoming — (CNN)Roger Stone appeared on the InfoWars radio show the same day he sent an email claiming he dined with WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange — and he predicted “devastating” upcoming disclosures about the Clinton Foundation.
Discussion:
Washington Post, Artvoice, Hullabaloo, Lawyers, Guns & Money, IJR, Mediaite and Raw Story


Trump instructs military to begin planning for withdrawal from Syria … President Trump has instructed military leaders to prepare to withdraw U.S. troops from Syria, but has not set a date for them to do so, according to a senior administration official. — In a meeting with top national …
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Sinclair producer in Nebraska resigns to protest ‘obvious bias’ — Ex-Sinclair news director: We had must-run pieces — A morning TV producer at a Sinclair-owned station in Nebraska has resigned in protest of what he calls the company's “obvious bias.” — Justin Simmons gave notice at KHGI TV on March 26.


Rudy and Judith Giuliani to divorce — Rudy Giuliani and his wife Judith are divorcing after 15 years of marriage, the former New York mayor has exclusively confirmed to Page Six. — Giuliani, who married Judith in 2003, said, “It is with great sadness I can confirm that Judith and I are divorcing.
Discussion:
NY State of Politics


Trump's war with Amazon is phony, but the company is winning the real one — There is a real issue involving Amazon and its contributions to the country that made it great. It just isn't the one the president keeps going on and on about. — I see that the reality carnival show …
Discussion:
The Daily Beast, Bloomberg and Vox
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Trump Is Right. It Is the Amazon Washington Post.
Discussion:
Washington Post, New York Times, Spectator USA and GeekWire

Why Big Business Isn't Defending Amazon Against Trump
Discussion:
New York Magazine


Judge denies Bill O'Reilly's motion to keep settlements under seal — Fox gave O'Reilly contract after $32 million settlement — A federal judge in New York has denied Bill O'Reilly's motion to seal settlement agreements he struck with multiple women who accused him of harassment …
Discussion:
ThinkProgress, The Daily Beast, Fox17, Media Matters for America, Mediaite, IJR and Law & Crime, more at Mediagazer »


A giant crack in Kenya opens up, but what's causing it? — WASHINGTON — A giant crack in the Earth opened up almost overnight, 50 feet deep and at its widest 65 feet across, slicing through a highway and terrifying many who live in an area just west of Nairobi, Kenya. — So what caused it?


Planned Parenthood CEO Says Jared Kushner and Ivanka Trump Offered ‘Bribe’ to Stop Abortions — In a riveting passage from Cecile Richards' new memoir, the Planned Parenthood chief says Jared Kushner and Ivanka Trump were, during Donald Trump's 2016 transition as president-elect …
Discussion:
Washington Examiner, NewsBusters, Hullabaloo, Daily Wire, Raw Story, CNBC, Jezebel, RedState, KTLA, Townhall and thecut

President Donald J. Trump Proclaims the 50th Anniversary of the Assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. — Fifty years ago today, on April 4, 1968, the Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., was tragically assassinated in Memphis, Tennessee. Though he was taken from this earth unjustly …
Discussion:
YouTube, New York Magazine, Mother Jones, TMZ.com, NPR, WREG-TV, The Guardian, Common Dreams and The Atlantic
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50 years after his murder, it's time to kill the myth of Martin Luther King
Discussion:
Washington Monthly


Kevin Williamson also said on his podcast that people who've had abortions should be hanged — The Atlantic recently sparked outrage after hiring former National Review writer Kevin Williamson — who notoriously argued that “the law should treat abortion like any other homicide” with punishment including hanging.
Discussion:
Boing Boing and Mediaite


McConnell on midterm elections: ‘The wind is going to be in our face’ — LOUISVILLE, Ky. (KT) - Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell was instrumental in marshaling forces to pass the largest tax overhaul in 30 years to spur an economic resurgence. — Yet, that doesn't top McConnell's list …
Discussion:
Washington Post, CNN, The Daily Beast, TheBlaze, Talking Points Memo and The Daily Caller


John Bolton runs into potential ethics issues before he becomes Trump's national security advisor — John Bolton is continuing to meet with White House attorneys over possible conflicts of interest. — Bolton resigned from his foundation in March. His two political action committees …
Discussion:
Politico


If male authors described men in literature the way they describe women … Inspired by Vulture's cringe-inducing compilation of the descriptions of female characters in screenplays, and the viral Twitter threads (including Talia Lavin's) prompted by podcast host Whitney Reynolds's challenge to …
Discussion:
New Yorker


Dwayne Johnson: The Pain and the Passion That Fuel the Rock — Hollywood's most dependable good guy on saving the day in ‘Rampage,’ his beef with Vin Diesel, presidential rumors and more — If the world seemed a little bit sluggish this morning - if the birds weren't singing as sweetly …
Discussion:
Mashable, KTLA, The Daily Caller, Washington Times and Daily Wire


Trump 2020 campaign manager Brad Parscale, 42, is said to have hired Porter just days after he stepped down as a hush-hush favor to the president — Porter had been dating former White House communications director Hope Hicks when DailyMail.com revealed that Porter had been accused of abusing his two ex-wives.
Discussion:
New York Post


Pasadena delegate says her father, a state senator, sought conversion therapy for her — Del. Meagan Simonaire said in a dramatic speech Wednesday she would vote for a ban on conversion therapy for homosexuality and revealed that her father — state Sen. Bryan Simonaire …
Discussion:
Washington Blade