Top Items:
The Hill:
House chaplain forced out by Ryan — House Chaplain Patrick Conroy's sudden resignation has sparked a furor on Capitol Hill, with sources in both parties saying he was pushed out by Speaker Paul Ryan — (R-Wis.). — Conroy's own resignation announcement stated that it was done at Ryan's request.
Discussion:
americamagazine.org, ABC News, CNN, HuffPost, Washington Press, Washington Post, Shareblue Media, thenewcivilrightsmovement.com and Daily Kos
RELATED:
Elizabeth Dias / New York Times:
House Chaplain Was Asked to Resign. He Still Doesn't Know Why. — The chaplain of the House said on Thursday that he was blindsided when Speaker Paul D. Ryan asked him to resign two weeks ago, a request that he complied with but was never given a reason for.
NBC News:
Speaker Paul Ryan forces out the House chaplain, angers lawmakers — WASHINGTON — House Speaker Paul Ryan has ousted the chaplain of the House of Representatives, according to his resignation letter — a move that's angered members of both parties who have come to the defense of the Jesuit priest.
Discussion:
AOL
Jake Sherman / Politico:
Democrats furious at Ryan over ousting of House chaplain
Democrats furious at Ryan over ousting of House chaplain
Discussion:
Splinter
Paul Kane / Washington Post:
Ryan dismisses House chaplain, leaving lawmakers demanding answers
Ryan dismisses House chaplain, leaving lawmakers demanding answers
Discussion:
Mother Jones and Talking Points Memo
Haley Byrd / Weekly Standard:
Here's Why Ben Sasse Voted Against the Mueller Protection Bill — Constitutional concerns were at the center of some conservatives' opposition. — A bipartisan bill that would provide special counsel Robert Mueller legal recourse in the event of his firing passed the Senate Judiciary Committee …
Discussion:
Raw Story
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Nicholas Fandos / New York Times:
In Warning to Trump, Senators Advance Bill to Protect Mueller
In Warning to Trump, Senators Advance Bill to Protect Mueller
Discussion:
Associated Press, POLITICUSUSA, Hot Air, Washington Monthly and Booman Tribune
Tina Nguyen / Vanity Fair:
Fox & Friends Hurriedly Shuts Down Interview as Trump Rants About Mueller
Max Greenwood / The Hill:
Prosecutors use Trump's comments to claim Cohen docs ‘unlikely to contain’ much privileged info
Prosecutors use Trump's comments to claim Cohen docs ‘unlikely to contain’ much privileged info
Discussion:
RedState, Raw Story, HuffPost and New York Times
Aaron Blake / Washington Post:
Trump's unwieldy ‘Fox and Friends’ interview, annotated
Trump's unwieldy ‘Fox and Friends’ interview, annotated
Discussion:
Washington Press, Washington Monthly, No More Mister Nice Blog and The Mahablog
Sarah N. Lynch / Reuters:
U.S. Attorney General Sessions says Mueller probe has taken on ‘life of its own’
U.S. Attorney General Sessions says Mueller probe has taken on ‘life of its own’
Discussion:
Washington Post and Political Wire
Matt Zapotosky / Washington Post:
‘This thing needs to conclude’: Sessions says he understands frustrations with Mueller
‘This thing needs to conclude’: Sessions says he understands frustrations with Mueller
Discussion:
Politico
NBC News:
Senate Judiciary Committee passes bill to protect Mueller
Senate Judiciary Committee passes bill to protect Mueller
Discussion:
Washington Post, AOL and MSNBC
New York Times:
For Many, Life in Trump's Orbit Ends in a Crash Landing — WASHINGTON — Another day, another casualty. Or two. — By the time the sun set Thursday, Dr. Ronny L. Jackson was a failed cabinet nominee whose life had been picked apart for public consumption, and Michael D. Cohen was back in court facing criminal prosecution.
Discussion:
Hit & Run, Eschaton, Althouse, Common Dreams and Outside the Beltway
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Washington Post:
How a week of triumph for Trump was convulsed by chaos and contradiction
How a week of triumph for Trump was convulsed by chaos and contradiction
Discussion:
Politico
Rebecca Leber / Mother Jones:
House Republicans on Scott Pruitt: We're With Him
House Republicans on Scott Pruitt: We're With Him
Discussion:
HuffPost
Kaja Whitehouse / New York Post:
Feds seized more than a dozen of Michael Cohen's phones — Manhattan federal prosecutors seized as many as 16 cell phones when the FBI raided the home, office and hotel room of President Trump's personal lawyer Michael Cohen. — Prosecutor Thomas McKay made the astonishing revelation …
Discussion:
The Root, Washington Press and Political Wire
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Travis Gettys / Raw Story:
Attorney Michael Avenatti hints $1.6 million abortion payout was for Trump — not GOP donor — The lawyer for porn actress Stormy Daniels suggested that a $1.6 million hush money payoff to a Playboy model was actually made on behalf of President Donald Trump — and not a Republican donor.
Discussion:
The Root, Hullabaloo and Jezebel
Sarah Ellison / Washington Post:
NBC News faces skepticism in remedying in-house sexual harassment … NBC News Chairman Andy Lack had barely slept. Late the night before, he had walked from the art deco headquarters of NBC Universal in Midtown Manhattan to the Upper East Side to fire his most famous employee and longtime friend, “Today” show co-host Matt Lauer.
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Variety:
Tom Brokaw Accused of Sexual Harassment By Former NBC Anchor (EXCLUSIVE VIDEO) — Linda Vester had a reputation for covering tough stories. As a war correspondent for NBC News in the '90s, she spent three tours of duty in the Middle East and took two assignments in Africa.
Discussion:
TVNewser, CBS Philly, Daily Wire, Splinter, Mediaite, IndieWire and Chicks On The Right
Sam Stanton / Sacramento Bee:
Relative's DNA from genealogy websites cracked East Area Rapist case, DA's office says — Sacramento investigators tracked down East Area Rapist suspect Joseph James DeAngelo using genealogical websites that contained genetic information from a relative, the Sacramento County District Attorney's Office confirmed Thursday.
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Thomas Fuller / New York Times:
How a Genealogy Site Led to the Front Door of the Golden State Killer Suspect
How a Genealogy Site Led to the Front Door of the Golden State Killer Suspect
Discussion:
The American Conservative, Motherboard, Law & Crime and Sacramento Bee
New York Times:
F.B.I. Letter Casts Further Doubt on White House's Rob Porter Timeline — WASHINGTON — The F.B.I. first gave the White House counsel, Donald F. McGahn II, a file containing spousal abuse allegations against Rob Porter in March 2017, according to a detailed new timeline the bureau has given …
Discussion:
Splinter, Washington Post, Talking Points Memo, AOL, The Week, Daily Kos and Axios
New York Times:
Bill Cosby Found Guilty of Sexual Assault After Years of Accusations — NORRISTOWN, Pa. — A jury found Bill Cosby guilty Thursday of drugging and sexually assaulting a woman at his home near here 14 years ago, capping the downfall of one of the world's best-known entertainers …
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Wesley Morris / New York Times:
Cliff Huxtable Was Bill Cosby's Sickest Joke — If a sexual predator wanted to come up with a smoke screen for his ghastly conquests, he couldn't do better than Cliff Huxtable. — Cliff was affable, patient, wise, and where Mrs. Huxtable (Phylicia Rashad) was concerned, justly deferential.
Discussion:
Glamour
Associated Press:
Mattis Breaks With Trump, Says Iran Nuclear Deal Includes ‘Robust’ Verification — Without giving his opinion about whether the U.S. should stick with the agreement, Defense Secretary Jim Mattis said that after reading the deal three times he was struck by how tough it is
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Wall Street Journal:
‘Boss, I Miss You So Much’: The Awkward Exile of Michael Cohen — Donald Trump's self-described ‘fixer’ brooded about failing to get a White House post; now under criminal investigation, he has the president's attention — In the 15 months since Donald Trump shut him out of a White House job …
Discussion:
Jewish Telegraphic Agency, Raw Story, Splinter, The Week, Washington Press, CNBC, CNN, New York Magazine and Mediaite
Megan McArdle / Washington Post:
A farewell to free journalism — Bloomberg, my former employer, is reportedly moving to a paywall. If that turns out to be true, I can't say I'll be surprised. — When I announced that I was leaving Bloomberg View for the Post Opinion section in February, many longtime readers gently reproached …
Lee Fang / The Intercept:
Secretly Taped Audio Reveals Democratic Leadership Pressuring Progressive to Leave Race — Steny Hoyer, the No. 2 Democrat in the House of Representatives, has for years been a prolific campaigner on behalf of current and potential members of Congress. It was no surprise, then …
Discussion:
The Daily Caller, Vox, Washington Post, Politico, Breitbart, Townhall, Washington Free Beacon, Splinter and Common Dreams
Kevin Poulsen / The Daily Beast:
Claims by Joy Reid's Cybersecurity Expert Fall Apart … MSNBC host Joy Reid claims that recently unearthed homophobic articles attributed to her are fakes. And she says a cybersecurity consultant has proof that her old blog has been hacked. — But that consultant, Jonathan Nichols, had trouble producing the promised evidence.
Discussion:
Mediaite, LGBTQ Nation, Washington Free Beacon, The Duran and The Wrap
David Nakamura / Washington Post:
Amid Trump's diplomatic thaw, Otto Warmbier's parents sue North Korea for having ‘brutally tortured and murdered’ their son — The family of Otto Warmbier filed an extraordinary lawsuit against North Korea in federal court Thursday alleging that the 22-year-old college student was …
Discussion:
Politico, Law & Crime, One America News Network, New York Magazine, New York Times, The Daily Caller, The Atlantic, TheBlaze, The Week, Axios and HuffPost
RELATED:
Eliza Relman / Business Insider:
‘This puts a target on his back’: Ethics experts say the FBI should investigate Trump's budget director for pay for play — Ethics experts say Mick Mulvaney, the White House budget director and interim head of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, should be investigated for potentially violating federal bribery laws.
Discussion:
The Intercept, New York Times and The Week
RELATED:
Peter Beinart / The Forward:
American Jews Have Abandoned Gaza — And The Truth — Join Peter Beinart for a Twitter conversation about this piece with the hashtag #ForwardIsraelChat on Tuesday at 5pm. — “In our time,” wrote George Orwell in 1946, “political speech and writing are largely the defense of the indefensible.”
Ramesh Ponnuru / Bloomberg:
Why Aren't U.S. Liberals Outraged About Alfie Evans? — A British baby's right to life should be clear to everyone. — What the British government is doing to a baby and his family is almost unbelievable. The government has determined that Alfie Evans, afflicted as he is by a rare …
Discussion:
Louder With Crowder, twitchy.com and The Guardian
Erik Pedersen / Deadline:
‘Firing Line’: PBS Reloads Public-Affairs Show With Host Margaret Hoover — EXCLUSIVE: PBS is bringing back an iconic property after nearly two decades. The pubcaster said today that a new version of Firing Line, the William F. Buckley-hosted public-affairs show it aired from 1966-99, will premiere in June.
Jan Ransom / New York Times:
Women Describe Invasive Strip Searches on Visits to City Jails — The practice is prohibited, but dozens of lawsuits allege a pattern of humiliating searches of women who consented only to a pat-down. — Jeannette Reynoso dreaded visiting her husband at the Rikers Island jail complex.
Pew Research Center:
The Public, the Political System and American Democracy — Most say ‘design and structure’ of government need big changes — At a time of growing stress on democracy around the world, Americans generally agree on democratic ideals and values that are important for the United States.
Discussion:
Splinter, Washington Post and Pew Research Center
Jessica Valenti / New York Times:
When Misogynists Become Terrorists — Alek Minassian, who plowed a rental van through a busy Toronto sidewalk on Monday, left little doubt as to why he killed 10 people, most of them women. Minutes before his attack, he posted a message on Facebook lauding the mass murderer Elliot O. Rodger …
Discussion:
Toronto Star, Raw Story and Salon
Keith Naughton / Bloomberg:
Ford Is About to Abandon American Sedans — Cars will be just 10% of its North American portfolio by 2020 — Wall Street cheers CEO Hackett's ‘bold and decisive action’ — The Model T, the '32 deuce coupe, the Thunderbird, the Mustang: For much of its 115-year history, Ford Motor Co. has been synonymous with cars.