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, Associated Press, ABC News, RedState, Vox, Politico, National Review, CNBC, ThinkProgress, The Daily Caller, Raw Story, IJR, Daily Wire, Mother Jones, Washington Free Beacon, MSNBC, Fox News Insider, Shakesville, HuffPost, The Week, New York Magazine, Hit & Run, No More Mister Nice Blog, The Guardian, AOL, Common Dreams, fox5sandiego.com, NBC News, The Gateway Pundit, Daily Kos, Media Matters for America, Bustle, Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion, Splinter, Sean Hannity 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:
Townhall, Vox, CNN, 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 …
Discussion:
The Daily Beast, Washington Monthly, Shareblue Media, ABC News, Politico, Outside the Beltway, VICE News, Raw Story, Lawyers, Guns & Money and Mediaite
Washington Post:
House Speaker Paul Ryan will not seek reelection, he tells friends and colleagues — House Speaker Paul D. Ryan (R-Wis.) has told friends and several colleagues that he has decided not to seek reelection this year and will soon inform colleagues of his plans, according to several people familiar with his plans.
Kyle Cheney / Politico:
Ryan rocks Republicans with retirement — Speaker Paul Ryan announced Wednesday that he will not seek another term in Congress, ending what will be a three-year run as the Republican leader and creating a power vacuum in the GOP ranks heading into a punishing midterm election.
Discussion:
Vox, Talking Points Memo, Axios, Politico, FiveThirtyEight and The Week
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
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, Axios, The Week, twitchy.com and Jezebel
CNN:
House Speaker Paul Ryan won't seek re-election: 'I like to think I've done my part'
House Speaker Paul Ryan won't seek re-election: 'I like to think I've done my part'
Discussion:
Axios, New Republic, Politico, The Nation, Daily Kos, Conservative News Today, Raw Story, Mashable, The Daily Caller, HuffPost, Daily Wire, The Week, Bustle, Washington Free Beacon, CBS New York, IJR and CNBC
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 and Axios
David Byler / Weekly Standard:
Could Democrats Steal Paul Ryan's Seat?
Could Democrats Steal Paul Ryan's Seat?
Discussion:
Vox and Shareblue Media
Adam Shaw / Fox News:
House Speaker Paul Ryan will not run for re-election
House Speaker Paul Ryan will not run for re-election
Discussion:
Roll Call, Talking Points Memo, RedState, ABC News, Breitbart and The Daily Caller
Marc Caputo / Politico:
Florida's Dennis Ross to retire from U.S. House
Florida's Dennis Ross to retire from U.S. House
Discussion:
Florida Politics
New York Times:
Trump Sought to Fire Mueller in December — In early December, President Trump, furious over news reports about a new round of subpoenas from the office of the special counsel, Robert S. Mueller III, told advisers in no uncertain terms that Mr. Mueller's investigation had to be shut down.
Discussion:
The Atlantic, The Hill, Washington Post, NBC News, Syracuse Post-Standard, Politico, Bloomberg, Salon, Hullabaloo, Conservative News Today, VICE News, BloombergQuint, Talking Points Memo, CNN, Mediaite, MSNBC, The Week, Daily Kos, Bustle, Raw Story, IJR and 444
RELATED:
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:
Lawfare, Talking Points Memo, Washington Post, Bloomberg, American Prospect, New Republic, The White House, The Hill, Reuters, Fox News Insider, MSNBC, The Atlantic, Betsy's Page, New York Magazine, Daily Kos, FiveThirtyEight, Shareblue Media, Chicago Tribune, HuffPost and Wall Street Journal
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, neo-neocon, Mother Jones, Lawyers, Guns & Money and The Atlantic
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, IJR, Talking Points Memo, Vanity Fair, Common Dreams, CNN and twitchy.com
Elana Schor / Politico:
Bipartisan Senate bill to protect Mueller set to advance
Bipartisan Senate bill to protect Mueller set to advance
Discussion:
POLITICUSUSA, MSNBC, Washington Post, Talking Points Memo and CNN
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, Daily Wire, NewsBusters and Raw Story
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
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 …
Discussion:
Washington Post, Vox, Talking Points Memo, Hit & Run, CNN, CNBC, Conservative News Today, Boing Boing, Washington Free Beacon, The Daily Caller, IJR, Roll Call and The Week
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:
Politico, AOL, Axios, Washington Post, BloombergQuint, New York Magazine, VICE News and Raw Story
Morgan Gstalter / The Hill:
Boehner joins cannabis company board to push for medical use
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 and 9to5Mac, 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:
The Atlantic, emptywheel, HuffPost and CNN
Axios:
What Mark Zuckerberg didn't say — Mark Zuckerberg's Senate …
What Mark Zuckerberg didn't say — Mark Zuckerberg's Senate …
Discussion:
ABC News, Politico, One America News Network and Breitbart, more at Techmeme »
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, IJR, Vox, CBS Dallas and Scared Monkeys, more at Techmeme »
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:
Spectator USA, The Atlantic, Mother Jones, CNN, ThinkProgress, CNBC, NPR, Media Matters for America, The Daily Caller, The American Conservative, Townhall, Lawfare, Washington Times, Sputnik International, Defense One, Wall Street Journal, National Review, Fox News Insider, Talking Points Memo, Sean Hannity, Roll Call and No More Mister Nice Blog
RELATED:
New York Times:
Trump Weighs More Robust Military Strike Against Syria
Trump Weighs More Robust Military Strike Against Syria
Discussion:
The Independent, Washington Post, Vox, ABC, Just Security, Sputnik International, AOL and Associated Press
Dahlia Nehme / Reuters:
Russian envoy to Lebanon: Any U.S. missiles fired at Syria will be shot down
Russian envoy to Lebanon: Any U.S. missiles fired at Syria will be shot down
Discussion:
National Review, CNN, BBC, Common Dreams, MSNBC, TASS, Wall Street Journal, Politico, Hit & Run, Breitbart, Mother Jones, VICE News and RedState
Mark Hodge / The Sun:
‘GET READY RUSSIA!’ Donald Trump warns Putin his missiles are coming 'fast and smart …
‘GET READY RUSSIA!’ Donald Trump warns Putin his missiles are coming 'fast and smart …
Discussion:
Power Line, Fox News Insider, CNBC and CANNONFIRE
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, Daily Kos and Political Wire
Don Lemon / CNN:
Michael Cohen to CNN: FBI was ‘professional, courteous, respectful’ in raids, counter to Trump's depiction — New York (CNN)In his first comments since the FBI raid on his home and office, Michael Cohen said the FBI agents “were extremely professional, courteous and respectful.”
Discussion:
Outside the Beltway, HuffPost, The Week, Daily Wire, Raw Story, Hot Air and KTLA
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.
Discussion:
Axios
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 FADER
Sean Sullivan / Washington Post:
Democratic Sen. Heidi Heitkamp: Trump ‘asked me to switch parties’ … Donald Trump was still weeks away from being sworn in as president when, according to one Democratic senator, he was already trying to get her to defect to the Republicans. — “When I visited with him in Trump Tower …
Discussion:
Political Wire, Talking Points Memo, Washington Free Beacon, New York Magazine and The Week
Ross Douthat / New York Times:
Why Not Mike Pence? — A few days ago, which is to say an eternity in our Trump-dilated time, there was a story on NPR about anxious evangelicals' seeking a meeting with the president. — The subject of their agita, not entirely surprisingly, was the Stormy Daniels affair …
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 …