Top Items:
Ed Silverman / STAT:
Trump's lawyer pitched himself as a fixer to Novartis and got paid $1.2 million — T — he curious relationship between one of the world's biggest drug makers and President Trump's personal lawyer began early last year when Michael Cohen, a longtime fixer for the president …
Discussion:
Mother Jones, Raw Story, Talking Points Memo, Joe.My.God., Political Wire, Hot Air, The Week, Mediaite and HuffPost
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Dan Mangan / CNBC:
Novartis paid Trump's lawyer Michael Cohen more than $1 million for work he was unable to do, company says — Drug giant Novartis paid President Donald Trump's lawyer Michael Cohen more than $1 million for work that he actually ended up being “unable” to do, the company said Wednesday.
Discussion:
ThinkProgress, Vox, Little Green Footballs, USA Today, Political Wire, Talking Points Memo, Washington Post, Daily Kos, Reuters and twitchy.com
Timothy L. O'Brien / Bloomberg:
The Porn Star's Lawyer Maps the Trump Money Trail — Michael Cohen's clients included a firm linked to a Russian oligarch and a South Korean aerospace company. — There may be any number of reasons why a management firm linked to a powerful Russian oligarch favored by the Kremlin paid …
Discussion:
Washington Monthly, ThinkProgress, Hullabaloo, Daily Wire, Conservative News Today, RedState, The Week, Washington Post, VICE News, Bustle and CNN
Washington Post:
Treasury inspector general launches probe into possible leak of Michael Cohen's banking records — The Treasury Department's inspector general is investigating whether confidential banking information related to a company controlled by President Trump's personal attorney Michael Cohen may have been leaked, a spokesman said.
Discussion:
Talking Points Memo and Politico
NBC News:
Stormy lawyer: Transactions suggest Cohen was ‘selling access’ to Trump — Stormy Daniels' attorney said Wednesday that financial transactions he uncovered suggest that Donald Trump's personal lawyer Michael Cohen was “selling access to the president of the United States.”
Discussion:
ThinkProgress, Daily Kos, Shakesville and The Week
Dan Mangan / CNBC:
Trump lawyer Michael Cohen ‘appears to be selling access to the president,’ says porn star Stormy Daniels' attorney, Michael Avenatti — Michael Avenatti, the lawyer for porn star Stormy Daniels, said President Donald Trump's lawyer “appears to be selling access to the president.”
Ryan J. Reilly / HuffPost:
Law Firm That Partnered With Michael Cohen Says Shell Company Work Was A Side Hustle — The legal giant Squire Patton Boggs, which had a strategic partnership with Cohen, says it had nothing to do with his shell company. — WASHINGTON A major law firm that formed a strategic partnership …
Discussion:
Washington Post
New York Times:
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 …
Discussion:
RedState, New Republic, Washington Monthly, Media Matters for America, Reuters, Bloomberg, Washington Post, Mother Jones, Los Angeles Times, Wall Street Journal, Dallas Morning News, American Prospect, The Week, New York Magazine, Associated Press, HuffPost, Above the Law, Talking Points Memo, Outside the Beltway, Fox News, Breitbart, Shareblue Media, The Atlantic, Politico, Raw Story, Daily Wire, New Century Times, Patterico's Pontifications, Bustle, VICE News, Contemptor, The Real Deal New York, Mediaite, USA Today, Common Dreams, Daily Kos, MSNBC, AOL, The Reality-Based Community, Here & Now, CNBC, Axios, Joe.My.God., CBS Los Angeles, NBC News, CNNMoney, NPR, Washington Press, The Daily Beast, National Review, CNN, The Mahablog and Vox, more at Mediagazer »
CNBC:
AT&T paid Trump lawyer Michael Cohen up to $600,000 for ‘understanding inner workings’ of the president: Source — The money was for “actual work,” which included insights into Trump's thought process, and not for access to the president himself, the source said.
Chris Geidner / BuzzFeed:
The Special Counsel's Office Has Been Looking Into Payments To Michael Cohen's Company Since Last Year
The Special Counsel's Office Has Been Looking Into Payments To Michael Cohen's Company Since Last Year
Discussion:
Washington Monthly, Political Wire, Washington Post and Mother Jones
Amanda Terkel / HuffPost:
Michael Cohen Was Selling Access To Trump, Says Group That Paid Into His Shell Company
Michael Cohen Was Selling Access To Trump, Says Group That Paid Into His Shell Company
Discussion:
Joe.My.God., New York Magazine and STAT
Michael Kranish / Washington Post:
Mueller questioned Novartis payment to Trump lawyer Michael Cohen
Mueller questioned Novartis payment to Trump lawyer Michael Cohen
Discussion:
Vox, NPR, Politico and ThinkProgress
Brian Flood / Fox News:
New York Times slams AWOL Pompeo, then learns he was rescuing Americans — As the New York Times was bashing Mike Pompeo for being missing in action while President Trump tore up the Iran nuclear deal, it turned out the secretary of state was busy rescuing three Americans who have been held captive in North Korea.
Discussion:
CNBC, New York Times, Breitbart and RedState
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Washington Post:
North Korea releases 3 American prisoners in apparent goodwill gesture ahead of a planned summit between Trump and Kim
North Korea releases 3 American prisoners in apparent goodwill gesture ahead of a planned summit between Trump and Kim
Thomas Wright / Politico:
John Bolton and Mike Pompeo Are Headed for a Clash
John Bolton and Mike Pompeo Are Headed for a Clash
Discussion:
Washington Post, One America News Network, The American Conservative and The Daily Beast
Choe Sang-Hun / New York Times:
3 Americans Are Released From North Korea, Trump Says
3 Americans Are Released From North Korea, Trump Says
Discussion:
CNN, Fox News, IJR, Associated Press, Bustle, Joe.My.God. and Outside the Beltway
Spencer Ackerman / The Daily Beast:
‘She Should Have Fought Back. Other People Did’: Inside Gina Haspel's Black Site … Ahead of her Senate reckoning, Gina Haspel's defenders in U.S. intelligence circles have adopted the fallback position that she'll be a check on Donald Trump as his CIA director.
Discussion:
Mother Jones, RedState, Washington Post, ABC News, New York Times, The Cipher Brief, Breitbart, ProPublica, Jezebel, Lawfare and Splinter
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Erik Wemple / Washington Post:
The Daily Beast refuses to budge on its Gina Haspel story
The Daily Beast refuses to budge on its Gina Haspel story
Discussion:
The Daily Beast, New York Times, Washington Free Beacon, Vox, Louder With Crowder and Mediaite
Washington Post:
It's time to hold the CIA accountable. Gina Haspel's hearing is the best place to start.
It's time to hold the CIA accountable. Gina Haspel's hearing is the best place to start.
Discussion:
Shareblue Media and The Atlantic
Scott Bland / Politico:
Top takeaways from the first big primary of 2018 — Republicans can exhale now. — Convicted coal magnate Don Blankenship's surprise third-place finish in Tuesday's West Virginia GOP Senate primary sidestepped yet another debacle for the party after consecutive meltdowns in special elections in Alabama and Pennsylvania.
Discussion:
STAT, Gender Watch 2018, New Republic, New York Magazine, Althouse, HuffPost, NPR and Washington Monthly
RELATED:
Ronald Brownstein / The Atlantic:
The Eroding GOP Resistance to Trump's Immigration Agenda
The Eroding GOP Resistance to Trump's Immigration Agenda
Discussion:
Hullabaloo
G. Elliott Morris / The Crosstab:
Democrats Scored a Big, Unexpected Win in the May 8 Primaries
Democrats Scored a Big, Unexpected Win in the May 8 Primaries
Discussion:
Washington Post, Axios and Splinter
Daniel Lippman / Politico:
Playbook: Oh, to be a House Republican
Playbook: Oh, to be a House Republican
Discussion:
New York Times, Hot Air and New York Magazine
CNN:
CNN poll: Democrats' 2018 advantage is nearly gone — CNN Poll: Trump approval holding steady — Washington (CNN)The generic congressional ballot has continued to tighten, according to a new CNN poll conducted by SSRS, with the Democrats' edge over Republicans within the poll's margin of sampling error for the first time this cycle.
Discussion:
American Greatness
Betsy Woodruff / The Daily Beast:
Special Counsel Mueller's Team Questioned Blackwater Founder Erik Prince … Special Counsel Robert Mueller's team has spoken with Blackwater founder Erik Prince, two sources familiar with the matter tell The Daily Beast. It was not immediately clear what questions Mueller's team …
Discussion:
Washington Press
Rick Noack / Washington Post:
Hours into his new job, Trump's ambassador to Germany offends his hosts … BERLIN — For the past year, German officials have been urging their U.S. counterparts to send a new ambassador to Berlin. But after finally receiving one, many may be having second thoughts.
Discussion:
Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion, Vox, BloombergQuint, Bloomberg, Breitbart, Shakesville and The Local
Philip Bump / Washington Post:
Trump makes it explicit: Negative coverage of him is fake coverage … A generous interpretation of President Trump's views on “fake” news is that he believes that media outlets are overly quick to be critical of his decisions and his administration. In other words, he applies an overly broad term …
Discussion:
ThinkProgress, Mediaite, Mother Jones, No More Mister Nice Blog, The Political Insider, Washington Press, RT and The Root
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Alex Roarty / McClatchy Washington Bureau:
Is Krystal Ball's PAC a fresh approach or a get-rich scheme? — A new Democratic group — one with support from Democratic congressmen and three of the biggest names in the tech industry — is testing the boundary between a new approach to politics and a self-enriching scam.
Samantha Schmidt / Washington Post:
Mormon Church breaks all ties with Boy Scouts, ending 100-year relationship … The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints said Tuesday it will sever all ties with the Boy Scouts of America, ending a century-old tradition deeply ingrained in the religious life of Mormon boys.
Discussion:
Deseret News, LDS Newsroom, Outside the Beltway, Friendly Atheist, Jezebel, Front Page Magazine, Daily Wire and Joe.My.God.
RELATED:
ResistanceHole:
Mr. Drumpf, Your Newest Nightmare Is A Website Called ResistanceHole — Hey, Drumpf (a.k.a. President Donald Trump), don't get too cozy in the White House, because there is a new website that wants to kill you. It's called ResistanceHole, and it's your new worst nightmare.
US Department of State:
Background Briefing on President Trump's Decision To Withdraw From the JCPOA — Special Briefing — Senior State Department Officials — Washington, DC — MODERATOR: All right, thanks everybody. So we are glad to have with us today two folks to talk about the President's decision today to withdraw from the JCPOA.
Discussion:
ThinkProgress, New York Magazine, Defense One and Mondoweiss
RELATED:
Daniel W. Drezner / Washington Post:
There is no Plan B on Iran
There is no Plan B on Iran
Discussion:
National Review, Mother Jones, The Federalist and Media Matters for America
Erin Ailworth / Wall Street Journal:
California Takes Big Step to Require Solar on New Homes — State would be first in U.S. to mandate solar arrays on most residences, starting in 2020 — California took a major step Wednesday toward becoming the first U.S. state to require solar panels on nearly all new homes.
Discussion:
The Verge
Glenn Thrush / New York Times:
Mulvaney Demotes Unit That Polices Student Loans in Consumer Bureau Reshuffle — Mick Mulvaney, the interim director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, will move the agency's student loan investigation division into the bureau's consumer information unit, a shift that career officials fear …
Britton O'Daly / Yale Daily News:
Black student reported to YPD for napping in dormitory common room — Yale Police officers on Monday evening interrogated a black graduate student, Lolade Siyonbola GRD '19, for more than 15 minutes, after a white graduate student reported Siyonbola to the police for sleeping in the HGS common room.
Jeff McMahon / Forbes:
Coal Collapsing Faster Under Trump; Wind, Solar, Gas All Benefit — Contributor From Chicago, I write about green technology, energy, environment. Opinions expressed by Forbes Contributors are their own. … More coal plants are now projected to retire more quickly than experts thought …
Discussion:
ThinkProgress
Marwa Eltagouri / Washington Post:
Rachel Crooks, who accused Trump of sexually assaulting her, wins uncontested Ohio House primary … Rachel Crooks, one of at least 19 women who have publicly accused President Trump of sexual assault, won an uncontested primary Tuesday for a seat in the Ohio state House of Representatives, her campaign manager confirmed.
Charles J. Sykes / Weekly Standard:
When Everything Is Possible and Nothing Is True — Hannah Arendt proves indispensable in understanding the Trump era. — One of my favorite stories about Winston Churchill goes like this. … Unfortunately, the story is what we would now call fake news.
Doree Lewak / New York Post:
NYC lunch spots are killing off the chopped salad — That staple of New York City lunch hour, the chopped salad, has been, well, chopped. — Just Salad, with 20 Manhattan locations, is the latest chain to do away with chopped-on-demand greens. You'll just have to chew.
Discussion:
Eater NY
Nathan J. Robinson / Current Affairs:
Pretty Loud For Being So Silenced — Critics of the left aren't oppressed and they don't believe in “rational debate.” — Irony can be a difficult concept to grasp, but some hypothetical examples can illustrate it clearly. It would be ironic, for instance, if people who claimed …
Discussion:
The Guardian, Mediaite and Lawyers, Guns & Money
Mark Savage / BBC:
Dr Dre loses trademark battle with a gynaecologist called Dr Drai — Hip-hop star Dr Dre has lost a long-running trademark dispute against a gynaecologist with a similar name. — The case was first lodged in 2015, when Pennsylvania-based gynaecologist Draion M Burch tried to trademark the name Dr Drai.
Discussion:
The Daily Caller, Boing Boing, Stereogum and The Root
Yahoo:
US deportations to Mexico rise to start year — MEXICO CITY (AP) — Human rights and immigrant advocates are calling on the Mexican government to devote more resources to supporting the growing number of Mexicans deported from the United States. — Mexican government data show …
Discussion:
Axios