Top Items:
Axios:
Paul Ryan won't run for re-election — Speaker Paul Ryan told House Republicans this morning that he will not run for re-election in November. — Why it matters: House Republicans were already in a very tough spot for the midterms, with many endangered members and the good chance that Democrats could win the majority.
Discussion:
The Atlantic, Townhall, ABC News, CNN, Politico, Associated Press, RedState, Vox, New York Magazine, The Daily Caller, Splinter, CNBC, Raw Story, National Review, IJR, Daily Wire, HuffPost, MSNBC, Fox News Insider, Hit & Run, ThinkProgress, The Guardian, Common Dreams, fox5sandiego.com, NBC News, Washington Free Beacon, The Gateway Pundit, Media Matters for America, Bustle, Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion, Sean Hannity, The Week, Shakesville, Daily Kos, Mother Jones, AOL, No More Mister Nice Blog and twitchy.com
RELATED:
Tampa Bay Times:
Rep. Dennis Ross is retiring — WASHINGTON - Rep. Dennis Ross, R-Lakeland, told his staff this morning he is retiring. — “Eight years takes its time on you. ... There's got to be an exit strategy at some point,” Ross said in an interview. — He said he was informing staff …
Discussion:
Washington Press, RedState, Townhall, CNN, Vox, Daily Kos, Shareblue Media, Political Wire and The Daily Caller
Axios:
Paul Ryan confidants say he's not running for reelection — House Speaker Paul Ryan has told confidants that he will announce soon that he won't run for reelection in November, according to sources with knowledge of the conversations. — Why it matters: House Republicans were already …
Kyle Cheney / Politico:
Ryan rocks Republicans with retirement
Ryan rocks Republicans with retirement
Discussion:
Washington Post, Vox, Talking Points Memo, Florida Politics, Axios, FiveThirtyEight, ABC News, Politico, Raw Story, Splinter and The Week
New York Times:
Speaker Paul Ryan Will Not Seek Re-Election in November
Speaker Paul Ryan Will Not Seek Re-Election in November
Discussion:
Raw Story, Bustle, Axios, The Week and twitchy.com
David Wasserman / The Cook Political Report:
Ryan Retirement Puts WI-01 at Risk and Throws House GOP Into Deeper Turmoil
Ryan Retirement Puts WI-01 at Risk and Throws House GOP Into Deeper Turmoil
Discussion:
Sabato's Crystal Ball, Axios and naked capitalism
Peter Suderman / Hit & Run:
Republicans Have Finally Been Revealed as the Party of Fiscal Ruin
Republicans Have Finally Been Revealed as the Party of Fiscal Ruin
Discussion:
CNN
Ronald Brownstein / The Atlantic:
Paul Ryan Personifies the Devil's Bargain the GOP Struck With Trump
Paul Ryan Personifies the Devil's Bargain the GOP Struck With Trump
Discussion:
The Hill
Washington Post:
House Speaker Paul Ryan will not seek reelection, he tells friends and colleagues
House Speaker Paul Ryan will not seek reelection, he tells friends and colleagues
Discussion:
Salon, Raw Story and CANNONFIRE
John Harwood / CNBC:
Paul Ryan's retirement increases the odds that President Trump will be impeached
Paul Ryan's retirement increases the odds that President Trump will be impeached
Discussion:
twitchy.com
CNN:
Trump considering firing Rosenstein to check Mueller — (CNN)President Donald Trump is considering firing Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein, multiple people familiar with the discussions tell CNN, a move that has gained urgency following the raid of the office of the President's personal lawyer.
Discussion:
New Republic, ThinkProgress, Talking Points Memo, Bloomberg, Lawfare, Washington Post, American Prospect, The White House, The Hill, Outside the Beltway, MSNBC, HuffPost, Fox News Insider, Betsy's Page, Reuters, Common Dreams, The Atlantic, Daily Kos, Mediaite, Shareblue Media, New York Magazine, FiveThirtyEight and Chicago Tribune
RELATED:
New York Times:
At the White House, Trump Takes Selfies and Seethes Over Mueller — WASHINGTON — Outside the White House, President Trump grinned for selfies with Alabama's Crimson Tide, telling the college football champions that they had beaten their rivals so brutally, “you flat-out made them quit” …
Discussion:
Washington Monthly, Booman Tribune, Common Dreams, CNN, IJR, Law & Crime, Talking Points Memo and twitchy.com
Jonathan Swan / Axios:
Inside the West Wing: Trump at “breaking point” on Mueller — Governing by winging it ... It's as if the post-election presidential transition to power never ended for Donald Trump. Or never began. Everything in this White House is in flux — and in play.
Isaac Chotiner / Slate:
“The ACLU Would Be Up in Arms” — On Tuesday night, with reports circulating that he was furious about both the raid on the offices of his lawyer, Michael Cohen, and the gathering force of the Mueller investigation, President Trump dined with famed law professor and pundit Alan Dershowitz.
Discussion:
New York Times, Jewish Telegraphic Agency, Law & Crime, Mother Jones, neo-neocon and Lawyers, Guns & Money
New York Times:
Trump Sought to Fire Mueller in December
Trump Sought to Fire Mueller in December
Discussion:
The Hill, The Federalist, The Atlantic, Washington Post, NBC News, Syracuse Post-Standard, The Guardian, Lawyers, Guns & Money, Politico, Salon, Hullabaloo, Bloomberg, Talking Points Memo, Conservative News Today, VICE News, BloombergQuint, CNBC, CNN, Daily Kos, MSNBC, Bustle, Mediaite, The Week, Raw Story, IJR and 444
Donald Trump / Lawfare:
The Cycles of Panicked Reactions To Trump
Axios:
ABC: Comey compares Trump to mob boss — A source present at the taping says James Comey's interview with ABC's George Stephanopoulos, airing Sunday at 10 p.m. as a “20/20” special, is “going to shock the president and his team.” — Keep reading — 121 WORDS
Discussion:
CNN, AOL, Raw Story, Daily Wire and NewsBusters
RELATED:
Josh Meyer / Politico:
Comey sat down with Stephanopoulos for 5-hour interview
Comey sat down with Stephanopoulos for 5-hour interview
Discussion:
Political Wire
The Verge:
Here's how much Facebook donated to every lawmaker questioning Mark Zuckerberg this week — Facebook founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg is testifying before the House Committee on Energy and Commerce today, fresh off the heels of a grueling five-hour joint session before the Senate Judiciary and Commerce committees yesterday.
Discussion:
Mashable, more at Techmeme »
RELATED:
David Dayen / The Intercept:
The Senate Is Afraid to Govern. That's Great News for Facebook.
The Senate Is Afraid to Govern. That's Great News for Facebook.
Discussion:
Vox, Mother Jones, The Atlantic, Above the Law, STAT, emptywheel, 9to5Mac and HuffPost
Blair Guild / CBS News:
Sen. Ted Cruz grills Mark Zuckerberg about Facebook political bias
Sen. Ted Cruz grills Mark Zuckerberg about Facebook political bias
Discussion:
RedState, Vox, IJR, CBS Dallas and Scared Monkeys, more at Techmeme »
Acreage Holdings:
Former Speaker of the House John Boehner and Former Governor of Massachusetts Bill Weld Join Leading Cannabis Company — Appointments Add Unmatched Experience to Acreage Holdings' Board of Advisors — Acreage Holdings ("Acreage") (www.acreageholdings.com), one of the nation's largest …
RELATED:
Jennifer Kaplan / Bloomberg:
Ex-Speaker John Boehner Joins Marijuana Firm's Advisory Board — Former Massachusetts Governor William Weld also added — Watershed moment for cannabis as drug goes mainstream — The U.S. marijuana industry has a new spokesman: John Boehner. — The Republican former Speaker of the House …
Discussion:
New York Times, Politico, Washington Press, AOL, Axios, Washington Post, BloombergQuint, Raw Story, Splinter and New York Magazine
Jordain Carney / The Hill:
Senate panel moves to take up bill protecting Mueller — The Senate Judiciary Committee is moving forward with legislation to limit President Trump — 's ability to fire special counsel Robert Mueller — (R-Iowa) wants to add the bill to the panel's business meeting agenda scheduled for Thursday …
Discussion:
Political Wire
RELATED:
Jordain Carney / The Hill:
Senators to introduce new bipartisan bill to protect Mueller — A group of bipartisan senators is introducing new legislation to limit President Trump — 's ability to fire special counsel Robert Mueller — (D-N.J.). Lindsey Graham — (D-Del.) and Thom Tillis
Discussion:
The Gateway Pundit
Burgess Everett / Politico:
Bipartisan Senate bill to protect Mueller set to advance
Bipartisan Senate bill to protect Mueller set to advance
Discussion:
POLITICUSUSA, MSNBC and Talking Points Memo
Erick Erickson / TheResurgent.com:
A Congressman's Profanity Laced Tirade in a Safeway Grocery Store — One of the President's congressional defenders has privately decided he hates Trump and wants to unload. — “If we're going to lose because of him, we might as well impeach the motherf**ker,” said the congressman …
Discussion:
Hot Air and Conservative News Today
Bloomberg:
Trump Tells Russia to ‘Get Ready’ With Missiles Coming at Syria — Attack on air field last year failed to deter chemical weapons — More forcible response could provoke escalation of conflict — President Donald Trump warned Russia to “get ready” because a volley of U.S. missiles …
Discussion:
The Sun, Spectator USA, CNN, ThinkProgress, The Atlantic, Mother Jones, NPR, CNBC, BloombergQuint, Defense One, Media Matters for America, Common Dreams, The Daily Caller, Sputnik International, The American Conservative, Wall Street Journal, MSNBC, The Guardian, Fox News Insider, Hit & Run, Breitbart, New York Magazine, Washington Times, Axios, KTLA, fox5sandiego.com and No More Mister Nice Blog
RELATED:
Talking Points Memo:
Ezra Cohen-Watnick To Join DOJ As National Security Adviser To Sessions — Former Trump National Security Council official Ezra Cohen-Watnick is joining the Department of Justice as a national security adviser to Attorney General Jeff Sessions, a source familiar with the matter told TPM Wednesday.
RELATED:
Tim Mak / NPR:
NRA, In New Document, Acknowledges More Than 20 Russian-Linked Contributors — The National Rifle Association has accepted contributions from about 23 Russians, or Americans living in Russia, since 2015, the gun rights group acknowledged to Congress. — The NRA said in a letter to Sen. Ron Wyden …
Discussion:
Raw Story
Joe Schneider / Bloomberg:
Mueller Seeks Subpoenas for 35 Witnesses for Manafort Trial — U.S. Special Counsel Robert Mueller asked a judge in Alexandria, Virginia, to issue 35 sets of subpoenas to witnesses for a July 10 appearance at a trial. That's when President Donald Trump's former campaign Chairman Paul Manafort …
Discussion:
Law & Crime
Andrew Kirell / The Daily Beast:
Zuckerberg Gets More Questions About Diamond & Silk Than Facebook's Role in Myanmar Genocide … When Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg took to Capitol Hill this week, he was bound to face a variety of difficult questions ranging from his company's handling of user information to the proliferation of fake news over its pages.
Discussion:
The Hill
Jess Cagle / People.com:
Mariah Carey: My Battle with Bipolar Disorder — In this week's PEOPLE cover story, Mariah Carey reveals for the first time her battle with bipolar disorder. — Although she was first diagnosed in 2001 (when she was hospitalized for a physical and mental breakdown), “I didn't want to believe it …
Discussion:
The Atlantic
Steven Lemongello / Orlando Sentinel:
Dennis Ross announces retirement from Congress — Central Florida U.S. Rep. Dennis Ross, a top member of the Republican leadership, said Wednesday he would not run for re-election for a fifth term. — Ross, R-Lakeland, represents Florida's 15th District in Congress, which includes …
Anjali Tsui / FRONTLINE:
What's Driving Republican Retirements From Congress? — Republicans are retiring from Congress in record numbers ahead of the midterm elections, opening the door for a potential Democratic takeover. — So far, around three dozen Republicans House members and three senators have announced …
Julia Ainsley / NBC News:
Video shows U.S. agents trying to dump injured man over Mexican border — WASHINGTON — A video obtained by NBC News shows U.S. Border Patrol agents attempting to break international law by forcing an injured and mentally unstable man back into Mexico by falsely claiming that he is not in their custody …
Discussion:
ThinkProgress, Shakesville, Dallas Morning News and Bustle
Christopher Williams / Telegraph:
European Commission raids Murdoch's Fox offices in London over sports rights ‘cartel’ — The British offices of the Murdoch entertainment empire 21st Century Fox have been raided by investigators from the European Commission, The Daily Telegraph can reveal.
Discussion:
EU Press Room and The Week