Top Items:
The Guardian:
Revealed: Trump team hired spy firm for ‘dirty ops’ on Iran arms deal — Israeli agency told to find incriminating material on Obama diplomats who negotiated deal with Tehran — Aides to Donald Trump, the US president, hired an Israeli private intelligence agency to orchestrate a “dirty ops” …
RELATED:
Brent D. Griffiths / Politico:
Giuliani: Trump is ‘committed to’ regime change in Iran — Rudy Giuliani pushed for regime change in Iran on Saturday, saying President Donald Trump is “as committed to regime change as we are.” — It's “the only way to peace in the Middle East” and “more important than an Israeli-Palestinian deal …
Discussion:
Talking Points Memo, Politico and Washington Post
Jonathan Martin / New York Times:
At His Ranch, John McCain Shares Memories and Regrets With Friends — PHOENIX — When former Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr. traveled to Senator John McCain's Arizona ranch last Sunday to spend a few hours with his ailing friend, the two reminisced about the “crazy senators” they had served with …
Discussion:
Axios, TheBlaze, New York Magazine, Conservative News Today, CNN, Washington Press, AOL, Jezebel, The Daily Caller, Mediaite, Talking Points Memo and Raw Story
RELATED:
Rebecca Shabad / NBC News:
McCain doesn't want Trump at funeral, friends tell White House — WASHINGTON — People close to Sen. John McCain have told the White House that the ailing Arizona Republican does not want President Donald Trump to attend his funeral and would like Vice President Mike Pence to come instead …
Discussion:
RedState, Mediaite, Political Wire and The Daily Caller
Frank Bruni / New York Times:
John McCain Battles Donald Trump With His Dying Breaths — Senator Lindsey Graham once described his friend John McCain as someone who would “run across the street to get in a good fight.” — McCain's final battle came straight to him. — I'm not talking about the one against brain cancer …
Max Greenwood / The Hill:
McCain's inner circle planning on having Pence, not Trump, at funeral: report
McCain's inner circle planning on having Pence, not Trump, at funeral: report
Discussion:
The Gateway Pundit
Associated Press:
APNewsBreak: Mueller team questions Trump friend Tom Barrack — WASHINGTON (AP) — Investigators working for special counsel Robert Mueller have interviewed one of President Donald Trump's closest friends and confidants, California real estate investor Tom Barrack, The Associated Press has learned.
Discussion:
Talking Points Memo, CNN, New York Magazine, Vox, Raw Story, Hullabaloo, Washington Press, Axios, Political Wire and Mediaite
Alex Isenstadt / Politico:
Blankenship surging on eve of West Virginia Senate primary — There is growing concern among Republicans that Don Blankenship, a bombastic coal baron who has spent time in prison, is surging ahead of Tuesday's West Virginia Senate primary — and a last-minute campaign is underway to stop him.
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Bill Barrow / Associated Press:
Early GOP primaries shaping up as rightward march with Trump — As primary season kicks into high gear, Republicans are engaged in nomination fights that are pulling the party to the right, leaving some leaders worried their candidates will be out of a step with the broader electorate in November.
Discussion:
RedState and Political Wire
New York Times:
How Michael Cohen, Trump's Fixer, Built a Shadowy Business Empire — He was a personal-injury lawyer who often worked out of taxi offices scattered around New York City. — There was the one above the run-down auto repair garage on West 16th Street in Manhattan, on the edge of the Meatpacking District before it turned trendy.
Jonathan O'Connell / Washington Post:
As the ‘King of Debt,’ Trump borrowed to build his empire. Then he began spending hundreds of millions in cash. … In the nine years before he ran for president, Donald Trump's company spent more than $400 million in cash on new properties — including 14 transactions paid for in full …
Discussion:
Splinter
Bill Cummings / Connecticut Post:
Popular vote for president passes General Assembly — HARTFORD — The General Assembly on Saturday agreed to join a compact with 10 other states to use the national popular vote to elect a president. — “When you change our system, it takes thoughtful debate and moments when people …
Hemant Mehta / Friendly Atheist:
Franklin Graham: Trump's Affair with Stormy Daniels is “Nobody's Business” — Want more evidence of white evangelical Christian hypocrisy? — Evangelist Franklin Graham, who questioned President Obama's Christianity and said his agenda was “against Christ and against His teachings,” …
Discussion:
Raw Story, OneNewsNow.com and Joe.My.God.
Scott Johnson / Power Line:
Mueller's got a secret — The transcript of the hearing before Judge Ellis on Paul Manafort's motion to dismiss the indictment pending against him in the case transferred to the Eastern District of Virginia has been posted online here and probably elsewhere.
Discussion:
Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion, The Gateway Pundit and RedState
Caroline Orr / Shareblue Media:
NRA hopes you won't notice the Kremlin-linked company at its convention — Facing scrutiny over its own ties to Russia, the NRA hosted an ammunitions company linked to sanctioned Russian entities at its annual convention this weekend. — As Trump and Pence took the stage …
Discussion:
ABC News
Borzou Daragahi / BuzzFeed:
Welcome To Partytown, Baghdad — Fifteen years after the US invasion, and the war against ISIS, the Iraqi capital is alive and buzzing, with bars and restaurants open til the early morning. — Reporting From Baghdad — BAGHDAD — When Zeinab Mohamed was a teenager …
Chuck Ross / The Daily Caller:
FBI Faced ‘Conundrum’ In Its Investigation Of Michael Flynn — In late 2016, then-FBI Director James Comey was ready to shut down a counterintelligence investigation the bureau had open on Michael Flynn, the retired general who was set to serve as President Donald Trump's national security adviser.
Discussion:
The Stream and Conservative News Today
Carole Cadwalladr / The Guardian:
UK regulator orders Cambridge Analytica to release data on US voter — In landmark cross-border decision, Information Commissioner's Office gives company 30 days to comply with David Carroll's request — Cambridge Analytica has been ordered to hand over all the data and personal information …
Discussion:
Gizmodo, Engadget, TechCrunch and Washington Press, more at Mediagazer »
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Wendy Siegelman / The Guardian:
Cambridge Analytica is dead - but its obscure network is alive and well
Cambridge Analytica is dead - but its obscure network is alive and well
Discussion:
Washington Post
Anne Applebaum / Washington Post:
The fake news Russians hear at home … “In some countries, children are being taken from their families if these families refuse to propagate homosexuality. No, not in Russia — in Europe.” — Because it touches us, because it involves the U.S. president, and because it has produced a lot of headlines …
Niraj Chokshi / New York Times:
Native American Brothers Pulled From Campus Tour After Nervous Mother Calls Police — A pair of Native American brothers who had traveled seven hours to tour Colorado State University this week had their visit cut short after a parent on their tour reported them to the campus police.
Discussion:
Raw Story, KTLA, WPIX 11 New York, ThinkProgress, NPR and CBS Denver
Maeve Reston / CNN:
Democrats take cautious approach on sexual assault allegations against California congressman — (CNN)More than a day after the child sexual assault allegations against California Congressman Tony Cardenas became public, House Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi said she was withholding judgment …
Discussion:
CBS Los Angeles
HuffPost:
How The ACORN Scandal Seeded Today's Nightmare Politics — Breitbart led the charge, but Democrats delivered the killing blow. Has anyone really learned? — It did not occur to Bertha Lewis to be afraid. — She was watching the final presidential debate of 2008, and John McCain had just said something insane.
Josh Rogin / Washington Post:
White House calls China's threats to airlines ‘Orwellian nonsense’ … In the long strategic struggle between the United States and China, one key issue is whether the Chinese Communist Party will be able to force Americans to do what it says, especially American companies.
Discussion:
The Daily Caller
Gary Warth / sandiegouniontribune.com:
Chula Vista school mural depicts severed, speared Trump head — A portion of a mural depicting President Trump's severed head on a spear has been covered up at MAAC Community Charter School in Chula Vista and will be repainted. (John Gibbins) — A Chula Vista school mural that depicts the bloody …
Discussion:
The Daily Caller and Townhall
Washington Post:
Mike Pence dishonors himself. Again. — WHEN VICE PRESIDENT Mike Pence appeared at an event in Arizona the other day and lauded former sheriff Joe Arpaio as a “tireless champion of . . . the rule of law,” his comment wasn't just a risible fiction about a man who made racial profiling …