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Exclusive: Mueller's team questions Russian oligarch about payments to Cohen — (CNN)Special counsel Robert Mueller's investigators have questioned a Russian oligarch about hundreds of thousands of dollars in payments his company's US affiliate made to President Donald Trump's personal attorney …
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Firm Tied to Russian Oligarch Made Payments to Michael Cohen — A shell company that Michael D. Cohen used to pay hush money to a pornographic film actress received payments totaling more than $1 million from an American company linked to a Russian oligarch and several corporations with business …


Michael Cohen Took Cash From Russian Oligarch After Election — The Daily Beast can confirm that Donald Trump's personal lawyer Michael Cohen received hundreds of thousands of dollars from a company controlled by Putin-aligned Russian oligarch Viktor Vekselberg.
Discussion:
Splinter, Raw Story, Politico, One America News Network, ThinkProgress, Bustle, Lawyers, Guns & Money, Awful Announcing, Axios, CNN and Little Green Footballs


Daniels' lawyer: Cohen got $500K from Russian oligarch Viktor Vekselberg — Michael Avenatti provided no documentation for his claims, which he posted on Twitter — Stormy Daniels' attorney claimed Tuesday that President Donald Trump's personal lawyer Michael Cohen received $500,000 …
Discussion:
Washington Press, Raw Story, IJR and Washington Times


Trump's Two Biggest Scandals Converge In a Single Tweet — The attorney for adult-film performer Stormy Daniels made an explosive claim on Tuesday, merging the two biggest scandals of Donald Trump's presidency in a single tweet—and setting off a frenzy of fresh speculation about the Trump campaign's possible ties to Russia.
Discussion:
HuffPost, Mediaite, Joe.My.God. and Vox


Is This How Avenatti Found Out? — TPM Reader TH thinks he knows where Michael Avenatti got his amazingly specific details. And it sounds right to me ... I have no idea who leaked this or whether it was a leak per se. But this is extraordinarily detailed information. It all seems accurate.


Tonight's Staggering Revelations — Tonight we have what I'd say may be the most staggering revelations since the tangle of “Trump/Russia” investigations began almost two years ago. This is not hyperbole. — Late this afternoon Stormy Daniels' attorney Michael Avenatti posted what he called a …
Discussion:
Mediaite and The Mahablog


AT&T confirms it paid Trump lawyer Michael Cohen for ‘insights’ on administration
Discussion:
Washington Press, What The Fuck … and Engadget, more at Techmeme »

Here's a Theory About That $1.6 Million Payout From a GOP Official to a Playboy Model
Discussion:
CANNONFIRE, Mediaite, Lawyers, Guns & Money, Hullabaloo, New York Post, Raw Story, Shakesville and Taylor Marsh

AT&T Paid Trump Lawyer for ‘Insights’ on Administration
Discussion:
The Week


Trump Withdraws U.S. From ‘One-Sided’ Iran Nuclear Deal — WASHINGTON — President Trump declared on Tuesday that he was pulling out of the Iran nuclear deal, unraveling the signature foreign policy achievement of his predecessor, Barack Obama, and isolating the United States among its Western allies.
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Vox, Haaretz, HuffPost, NBC News, Politico, Reuters, Tasnim News Agency, Washington Post, TheStreet, CNBC, Mediaite, IJR, FiveThirtyEight, Common Dreams, his vorpal sword, Townhall, Anadolu Ajans Güncel Haberler, Telegraph, Bustle, Outside the Beltway, Contemptor, Washington Free Beacon, The American Conservative, Discourse.net, Axios, Media Matters for America, Conservative News Today, Shakesville, National Review, Shareblue Media, Bloomberg, The Moderate Voice, Daily Wire, Hit & Run, twitchy.com, CNN, New York Magazine, Balloon Juice, Breitbart, NY State of Politics, Talking Points Memo, New Republic, Joe.My.God., Jewish Telegraphic Agency, Mother Jones, The Guardian, Booman Tribune, Al-Monitor, The Political Insider, Raw Story, Washington Monthly and Political Wire
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There are few issues more important to the security of the United States than the potential spread of nuclear weapons, or the potential for even more destructive war in the Middle East. That's why the United States negotiated the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) in the first place.
Discussion:
Vox, CNN, The Week, Washington Post, CBS News, twitchy.com, NTI, Daily Wire, Bustle, The American Conservative, The Daily Caller, Washington Free Beacon, Jewish Telegraphic Agency, Shareblue Media, Townhall, IJR, CBS New York, RT, Deadline, Mother Jones, Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi and AOL

Joint statement from Prime Minister May, Chancellor Merkel and President Macron following …
Discussion:
The Times of Israel, ABC News, The Guardian, Breitbart, Lawfare, Axios, France 24, Shareblue Media and Washington Monthly

5 big consequences of Trump's Iran blunder
Discussion:
The White House

A Courageous Trump Call on a Lousy Iran Deal
Discussion:
Washington Free Beacon and Viking Pundit

Read: Trump's Iran nuclear deal speech full text
Discussion:
New York Times, Washington Post, The White House and Breitbart


Iranians Fear Deeper Crisis as Trump Ends Nuclear Deal
Discussion:
Power Line, Shareblue Media and The Week

Behind Trump's Termination of Iran Deal Is Risky Bet That U.S. Can ‘Break the Regime’
Discussion:
IJR, New York Magazine, CNBC, Washington Free Beacon and Breitbart


9/11 Planner, Tortured by C.I.A., Asks to Tell Senators About Gina Haspel — WASHINGTON — President Trump's nomination of Gina Haspel to lead the C.I.A. has revived debate over the agency's post-Sept. 11 interrogation program and still-murky questions about her involvement.
Discussion:
Washington Times, Washington Free Beacon, National Review, The Daily Caller, Mediaite, Axios, twitchy.com, Raw Story and Washington Post
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Senate Intel: Russia waged ‘unprecedented’ cyber campaign on U.S. voting systems — The Senate Intelligence Committee on Tuesday released the unclassified version of its investigation into Russian cyberattacks on digital U.S. voting systems ahead of the 2016 presidential election.
Discussion:
Balloon Juice


LIVE UPDATES: Big stakes in West Virginia, Indiana, Ohio bellwether primaries — The candidates who emerge victorious from a fierce faceoff Tuesday night in tough and pricey primary battles in Indiana, North Carolina, Ohio and West Virginia will provide critical clues into which party might …
Discussion:
Politico, Vox, Mediaite, Breitbart, The Guardian, Talking Points Memo, NPR, The Daily Caller, Axios, Fox News Insider, The Hill and IJR
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West Virginia Primary Election Results — A tight three-way primary race is underway in West Virginia for the Republican nomination for Senate. — Read more — President Trump on Monday intervened and pleaded with voters to oppose one of the candidates, Don Blankenship …
Discussion:
Weekly Standard, New York Magazine, New Yorker, The Hill, HuffPost, Splinter, Lawyers, Guns & Money, The Daily Beast, Hot Air, Axios, Daily Kos, Balloon Juice, ProPublica and Power Line


Patrick Morrisey pulls off upset in West Virginia Senate primary, beats Blankenship and Jenkins
Discussion:
Joe.My.God.


Risk to intelligence source who aided Russia investigation at center of latest showdown between Nunes and Justice Dept. — Last Wednesday, senior FBI and national intelligence officials relayed an urgent message to the White House: Information being sought by House Intelligence Committee Chairman Devin Nunes …
Discussion:
Raw Story, Axios, Democracy21 and Mediaite


MSNBC Under Fire After Host Hugh Hewitt Helped Broker Meeting With EPA Leader — “We'll get back to you,” an MSNBC spokesman told THR when asked about the host's role in brokering a meeting between EPA head Scott Pruitt and lawyers at his firm representing a California water district.
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A Duke University VP Walked Into the Campus Joe Van Gogh, Heard a Rap Song, Demanded That the Employees Be Fired — On Monday, two employees of Duke University's Joe Van Gogh location had their contracts terminated after vice president for student affairs Larry Moneta and executive director …
Discussion:
Raw Story

N. Korea to release 3 U.S. captives: Cheong Wa Dae official … North Korea is expected to release three U.S. citizens held in the communist state on Wednesday, an official from Seoul's presidential office Cheong Wa Dae said, in an apparent goodwill gesture ahead of a historic meeting between …
Discussion:
Breitbart, Axios, The Right Scoop and Raw Story
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I went back to the man who hit me. Why? — It's been a quarter-century, and I can still hear clearly the sound of my voice that night. It wavered with a plaintive, childish note as I spoke into the phone: “He hit me.” That sound, which I had never before heard in my own voice, broke something.
Discussion:
New York Post, New York Times and NewsBusters
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Woman details nightmare date with ‘repulsive’ Schneiderman
Discussion:
New York Times, HuffPost, NewsBusters and Contemptor


Challenger Mark Harris on verge of upsetting U.S. Rep. Pittenger of NC — Former Charlotte pastor Mark Harris was leading Rep. Robert Pittenger in Tuesday's primary in North Carolina's 9th District, threatening to make him the first incumbent in the country to lose this year.
Discussion:
The Week and Washington Post


As Melania Trump Faces Plagiarism Claims, Her Staff Lashes Out at News Media — WASHINGTON — Melania Trump's rollout this week of her “Be Best” initiative focusing on children was intended to give the first lady an agenda all her own. Instead, it revived accusations that Mrs. Trump's ideas were really coming from somewhere else.
Discussion:
Raw Story, consumer.ftc.gov, TalkLeft, Refinery29 and Talking Points Memo


Deputy shoots groundhog blocking traffic in Carroll County — HIDE TRANSCRIPT SHOW TRANSCRIPT — ELDERSBURG, Md. — A Carroll County sheriff's deputy shot a groundhog that was holding up traffic Monday morning. — The Sheriff's Office said the deputy was traveling …
Discussion:
Deadspin


Richard Cordray Just Won Ohio's Democratic Primary. His Party Thinks Trump Will Help Make Him Governor. — “People in Ohio know there's an opportunity here we have not had in a very long time.” — Reporting From — Richard Cordray, the Democrat who entered the Ohio governor's race with endorsements …