Top Items:
NBC News:
Feds tapped Trump lawyer Michael Cohen's phones — Federal investigators have wiretapped the phone lines of Michael Cohen, the longtime personal lawyer for President Donald Trump who is under investigation for a payment he made to an adult film star who alleged she had an affair with Trump …
Discussion:
Vox, ThinkProgress, National Review, RedState, Talking Points Memo, Political Wire, emptywheel, IJR, Washington Press, Splinter, The Week, VICE News, Balloon Juice, Raw Story, Joe.My.God., twitchy.com, Daily Kos, Mediaite, Taylor Marsh and Daily Wire
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Washington Post:
Giuliani: Trump repaid attorney Cohen for Stormy Daniels settlement … Rudolph W. Giuliani, the former New York mayor and a recent addition to President Trump's legal team, said Wednesday night that Trump made a series of payments reimbursing his attorney Michael Cohen for a $130,000 settlement …
Discussion:
ThinkProgress, Vox, New York Times, Talking Points Memo, CNN, New York Magazine, NBC News, Fox News, Shareblue Media, Raw Story, Mediaite, Politico, The Daily Beast, The Atlantic, Washington Press, The American Conservative, The Week, Balloon Juice, Joe.My.God., Splinter, Washington Times, Daily Wire, Breitbart and The Daily Caller
CNN:
Trump, Giuliani strategizing leaves White House in the dark — (CNN)Rudy Giuliani's cable rollout as a member of President Donald Trump's legal team, and the torrent of statements he made Wednesday night, caught many in the White House offguard and flat-footed, highlighting the continued chaotic nature …
Discussion:
Political Wire and KTLA
Fox News Insider:
Judge Nap: Giuliani's Claim That Trump Didn't Know About Stormy Daniels Payment Is ‘Unworthy of Belief’ — Rudy Giuliani on Wednesday said that President Trump reimbursed his personal attorney, Michael Cohen, the $130,000 that Cohen paid to adult film actress Stormy Daniels in exchange …
Washington Post:
‘I was going to get this over with’: Inside Giuliani's explosive Stormy Daniels revelation — He may have had a strategy, but Rudolph W. Giuliani hatched it almost entirely in secret. — The White House counsel had no idea. Neither did the White House chief of staff …
Josh Israel / ThinkProgress:
Giuliani follows up disastrous Hannity appearance with equally damaging Fox & Friends spot — A day after contradicting Donald Trump's and longtime Trump general counsel Michael Cohen's claims that the president knew nothing about Cohen's payments to Stormy Daniels, Rudy Giuliani contradicted himself in a Fox & Friends interview.
Discussion:
Washington Monthly, USA Today, Mediaite, Vox, Booman Tribune, Outside the Beltway, Joe.My.God., IJR and twitchy.com
New York Times:
Giuliani Says Trump Repaid Cohen for Stormy Daniels Hush Money — WASHINGTON — President Trump reimbursed Michael D. Cohen, his longtime personal lawyer, for a $130,000 payment that Mr. Cohen has said he made to keep a pornographic film actress from going public before the 2016 election …
Discussion:
CNBC, NBC News, Political Wire, Media Matters for America, MSNBC, New York Magazine, JustOneMinute, ThinkProgress, The Week, Mother Jones, Daily Kos, Common Dreams, POLITICUSUSA, Hullabaloo, AOL, HuffPost, Washington Press, IJR, Washington Free Beacon, Politico, twitchy.com, Outside the Beltway, Talking Points Memo, Patterico's Pontifications, Washington Times, Althouse and TheBlaze
Eileen Sullivan / New York Times:
Trump Says Payment to Stormy Daniels Did Not Violate Campaign Laws — WASHINGTON — President Trump on Thursday directly contradicted his earlier statements that he knew of no payment to Stormy Daniels, the pornographic film actress who says she had an affair with Mr. Trump.
Discussion:
Hot Air, Common Cause, Wall Street Journal, Axios, RedState, Roll Call and CBS Los Angeles
Eddie Scarry / Washington Examiner:
CNN does live segment on Stormy Daniels at White House prayer event — CNN aired a segment on porn actress Stormy Daniels live from the White House just as an event recognizing religious freedom began. — President Trump recognized Thursday as the “National Day of Prayer” …
Discussion:
Townhall and twitchy.com
Anna North / Vox:
Donald Trump just tweeted out the rich man's guide to buying women's silence
Donald Trump just tweeted out the rich man's guide to buying women's silence
Discussion:
Politico, CNN, NPR and Shareblue Media
Ken Meyer / Mediaite:
Fox & Friends Grills Giuliani on Stormy Daniels Payment: ‘Sounds Like the Story is Changing’
Fox & Friends Grills Giuliani on Stormy Daniels Payment: ‘Sounds Like the Story is Changing’
Discussion:
Vox, The Week, Boing Boing, twitchy.com, Political Wire and Splinter
Josh Marshall / Talking Points Memo:
Rudes in Twilight — I've heard from a lot of people …
Rudes in Twilight — I've heard from a lot of people …
Discussion:
Balloon Juice
Philip Bump / Washington Post:
The question underlying Giuliani's very unusual explanation of how Trump repaid Michael Cohen
The question underlying Giuliani's very unusual explanation of how Trump repaid Michael Cohen
Discussion:
Talking Points Memo, Shareblue Media and Mediaite
Dan Balz / Washington Post:
The president and his attorney didn't tell the truth. Now Giuliani has. Will that change anything?
Richard L. Hasen / Slate:
Rudy Giuliani May Have Just Implicated President Trump In Serious Campaign Finance Violations
Rudy Giuliani May Have Just Implicated President Trump In Serious Campaign Finance Violations
Discussion:
Bloomberg, Washington Post, Hot Air, NBC News, New York Times, New York Magazine, Shakesville, ThinkProgress and BuzzFeed
Dan Mangan / CNBC:
Feds tapped phones of Trump lawyer Michael Cohen, and caught one call with White House: NBC News
Wall Street Journal:
Giuliani Says Trump Repaid Cohen for Stormy Daniels Payment
Giuliani Says Trump Repaid Cohen for Stormy Daniels Payment
Discussion:
The Daily Beast, Washington Post, Raw Story, New Republic, No More Mister Nice Blog, KTLA and The Week
Aaron Blake / Washington Post:
The blatant coverup of Trump's Stormy Daniels payment
The blatant coverup of Trump's Stormy Daniels payment
Discussion:
ABC News, National Review, Sputnik International and The Guardian
New York Times:
What Giuliani Said About Cohen's Payment to Stormy Daniels
What Giuliani Said About Cohen's Payment to Stormy Daniels
Discussion:
Vox, twitchy.com, National Review, CNN, Associated Press, Raw Story, Media Matters for America, Daily Wire, Power Line and MSNBC
Karen Yourish / New York Times:
Conflicting Statements About the Payment to Stormy Daniels
Conflicting Statements About the Payment to Stormy Daniels
Discussion:
Vox, Daily Kos and Mother Jones
Brian Schwartz / CNBC:
Special counsel Robert Mueller focusing sharply on links between Trump confidant Roger Stone and former campaign official Rick Gates, sources say — Special counsel Robert Mueller is focusing intensely on alleged interactions between former top Trump campaign official Rick Gates and political operative Roger Stone.
Discussion:
Political Wire and Joe.My.God.
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Manu Raju / CNN:
Michael Caputo says 'it's clear' Mueller investigators focused on Russia collusion
Michael Caputo says 'it's clear' Mueller investigators focused on Russia collusion
Discussion:
Salon, Hullabaloo, IJR, Raw Story, Splinter, POLITICUSUSA, Power Line and Daily Mail
New York Times:
Pruitt's Coziness With Lobbyists Includes Secretly Buying a House With One — Since moving to Washington, Scott Pruitt, the head of the Environmental Protection Agency, has attracted the attention of federal investigators because of his unusual association with lobbyists …
Discussion:
ThinkProgress, The Root and Daily Kos
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Jennifer Jacobs / Bloomberg:
Another Top EPA Official Is Leaving, Sources Say — Liz Bowman's exit follows two other departures just this week — At least 10 federal investigations target EPA Chief Pruitt — A third top EPA official is leaving the agency amid intensifying scrutiny of Administrator Scott Pruitt's travel, spending and condo rental.
Discussion:
Political Wire
Charles V. Bagli / New York Times:
Trump Place Does Not Have to be a Forever Name, Judge Says — Over the opposition of lawyers for a company owned by President Donald J. Trump, State Supreme Court Judge Eileen Bransten ruled Thursday that a condominium on the Upper West Side could remove the bronze letters spelling out his name from its 46-story building.
Discussion:
TheBlaze
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David A. Fahrenthold / Washington Post:
Judge rules New York condo board may remove ‘Trump’ name
Judge rules New York condo board may remove ‘Trump’ name
Discussion:
Political Wire, New Century Times, Mediaite and Joe.My.God.
Washington Post:
Charlie Rose's misconduct was widespread at CBS and three managers were warned, investigation finds … Incidents of sexual misconduct by Charlie Rose were far more numerous than previously known, according to a new investigation by The Washington Post, which also found three occasions …
Discussion:
Shakesville, Hot Air, Refinery29, CBS Los Angeles, TheBlaze, Daily Wire, CBS New York, The Daily Caller, Gothamist, TVNewser, Mediaite, The Week, Eschaton and AOL, more at Mediagazer »
Eric Swalwell / USA Today:
Ban assault weapons, buy them back, go after resisters: Ex-prosecutor in Congress — Ban assault weapons and buy them back. It might cost $15 billion, but we can afford it. Consider it an investment in our most important right, the right to live. — Gary Jackson never stood a chance.
Discussion:
Washington Post, NBC News, TheBlaze, Washington Free Beacon, twitchy.com and The Daily Caller
New York Times:
Army Green Berets Secretly Help Saudis Combat Threat From Yemen Rebels — WASHINGTON — For years, the American military has sought to distance itself from a brutal civil war in Yemen, where Saudi-led forces are battling rebels who pose no direct threat to the United States.
Discussion:
Defense One, The Week and The Daily Caller
Kit Chellel / Bloomberg:
The Gambler Who Cracked the Horse-Racing Code — Bill Benter did the impossible: He wrote an algorithm that couldn't lose at the track. Close to a billion dollars later, he tells his story for the first time. — Horse racing is something like a religion in Hong Kong, whose citizens bet more than anyone else on Earth.
Eric Lichtblau / TIME:
The FBI Is in Crisis and America Is Paying the Price — Former FBI Director James Comey leaves a Senate hearing on June 8, 2017, after testifying about Donald Trump Stephen Voss — In normal times, the televisions are humming at the FBI's 56 field offices nationwide, piping in the latest news as agents work their investigations.
Gordon Lubold / Wall Street Journal:
Laser from Chinese Base Aimed at U.S. Military Pilots In Africa's Skies, Pentagon Charges — Incidents in recent weeks increase tensions, threaten Flight safety, U.S. says — WASHINGTON—Chinese military personnel are targeting American flight crews in the skies over the east African nation …
Discussion:
Zero Hedge, The Daily Caller and globaltimes.cn
Perry Stein / Washington Post:
Three black teens are finalists in a NASA competition. Hackers spewing racism tried to ruin their odds. … The three D.C. students couldn't believe the news. They'd developed a method to purify lead-contaminated water in school drinking fountains, and NASA announced last month …
Discussion:
Shakesville
Politico:
Corker-Blackburn drama risks must-win Senate seat for GOP — The GOP incumbent's kind words for former Democratic Gov. Phil Bredesen have given centrist Republicans tacit permission to break ranks. — Republicans are increasingly unnerved by the rift between retiring Sen. Bob Corker and Marsha Blackburn …
Discussion:
Washington Post
Monmouth University Polling Institute:
Dems +8 On House Ballot — McConnell, Schumer, Ryan, Pelosi viewed negatively — West Long Branch, NJ - Democrats hold an 8 point lead over Republicans in the generic House ballot as public opinion on the new tax reform law continues to be divided. The Monmouth University Poll also finds …
Nancy Kaffer / Detroit Free Press:
Here's why Michigan Medicaid work requirements will kill people | Kaffer — Michigan Sen. Wayne Schmidt (R-Traverse City) represents Cheybogan County, where unemployment is high, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor and Statistics: around 20.9% in February.
Discussion:
New York Magazine and ACA Signups
Kevin Robillard / HuffPost:
Democratic Midterm Momentum Has ‘Stalled,’ Top Party Pollster Warns — Democrats need to refocus on the economic and health care challenges their voters face, the pollster said. — A top Democratic pollster is warning his party's candidates not to buy into the GOP's rosy messaging …
Zach Everson / Condé Nast Traveler:
Inside the World's Most Controversial Hotel — The hotel that was expected to take its place among the crown jewels of D.C.'s travel scene has become a magnet for protestors, a West Wing Annex, and—possibly—the center of a constitutional crisis. — Just inside the main entrance …
New York Times:
Kelly Finds Himself in a Familiar Place in the Trump White House: Eyeing the Exits — WASHINGTON — When President Trump learned this week that his chief of staff, John F. Kelly, reportedly called him “an idiot” on several occasions, he expressed little in the way of frustration or anger …
Discussion:
IJR, CBS Boston, New York Magazine, Axios and Deadspin
Avery G. Wilks / The State:
SC Senate votes to outlaw virtually all abortions in South Carolina — COLUMBIA, SC — The S.C. Senate voted Wednesday night to outlaw virtually all abortions in South Carolina. — The Legislature's upper chamber voted 28-10 to allow exceptions only in cases of rape …
Discussion:
The Hill, National Review, Refinery29, LifeNews.com and Daily Wire