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Trump Says Appointment of Special Counsel is ‘Totally Unconstitutional’ — WASHINGTON — President Trump declared Monday that the appointment of the special counsel in the Russia investigation is “totally UNCONSTITUTIONAL!” and asserted that he has the power to pardon himself …
Discussion:
National Review, USA Today, Politico and Mother Jones
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Giuliani: Trump Could Have Shot Comey And Still Couldn't Be Indicted For It — Congress would have to impeach Trump first before any criminal prosecution could move forward, the president's lawyer says. — WASHINGTON Candidate Donald Trump bragged that he could shoot someone …
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The Atlantic, National Review, Talking Points Memo, CNN, Washington Post, Hot Air, Big Think, RealClearPolitics, New York Times, Bloomberg, Slate, Patterico's Pontifications, MSNBC, CNBC, Hullabaloo, JONATHAN TURLEY, Daily Kos, KTLA, NBC News, VICE News, Raw Story, Joe.My.God., IJR, New York Magazine, Shakesville, BloombergQuint, AOL, Washington Examiner, Washington Times, Mediaite, No More Mister Nice Blog, Washington Press, The Hill, Breitbart, The Week, Axios and emptywheel


The Daily 202: Cops are called when a senator tries to see kids taken from their immigrant parents — THE BIG IDEA: As the sun set Sunday night, Sen. Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.) went to a shuttered Walmart in Brownsville, Texas, that has been converted into a detention center for immigrant children who have been separated from their parents.
Discussion:
CNN, Talking Points Memo, Oregonian and IJR


Mueller has waited long enough. It's subpoena time.
Discussion:
CNBC, ABC News and ThinkProgress

Rudy Giuliani: Here's what Trump's talking about when he floats pardoning himself and lashing out at Mueller
Discussion:
Vox, TalkLeft and Talking Points Memo

Trump's Lawyers Say He Is the Law
Discussion:
Washington Monthly, American Prospect, NBC News and JustOneMinute

Did Putin Help Trump Come Up With His Cover Story? (Pretty Likely)
Discussion:
Washington Monthly, Booman Tribune and MSNBC

The many holes in the memo from the president's legal team.
Discussion:
The Guardian, New York Times and Outside the Beltway

Secret memo to Mueller actually reveals weakness of Trump's position
Discussion:
Associated Press, The Daily Beast and CNN

Trump: ‘I have the absolute right to pardon myself’
Discussion:
Washington Post, Vox, CNBC, The Root, fox5sandiego.com and TheBlaze


Supreme Court rules in favor of baker who would not make wedding cake for gay couple — The Supreme Court on Monday ruled narrowly for a Colorado baker who refused to create a wedding cake for a gay couple. — In an opinion by Justice Anthony M. Kennedy, the court held …
Discussion:
ThinkProgress, Politico, ABC News, Power Line, Reason, The Daily Beast, Denver Post, Breitbart, American Greatness, The Week, Political Wire and Right Wing Watch
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Gay Americans Have Little to Fear From the Supreme Court's Compromise in Masterpiece Cakeshop — Like a good wedding cake, the Supreme Court's 7-2 decision on Monday in Masterpiece Cakeshop v. Colorado Civil Rights Commission has a little something for everyone.
Discussion:
Talking Points Memo


Masterpiece Cakeshop And The Entry Ban — This morning, the Supreme Court handed down Masterpiece Cakeshop v. Colorado Civil Rights Commission. Justice Kennedy's majority opinion held that the particular application of the Colorado Anti-Discrimination Act to the baker in that case violated …

Supreme Court throws out lower court decision that allowed immigrant teenager to obtain abortion


Supreme Court sides with Lakewood baker in same-sex wedding cake case
Discussion:
The Gateway Pundit, Joe.My.God. and Mediaite

Supreme Court Sides With Baker Who Turned Away Gay Couple
Discussion:
TalkLeft, infowars.com, NBC News, IJR and The American Conservative

Justices side with Colorado baker on same-sex wedding cake
Discussion:
The Daily Caller and NewsBusters


Pruitt had aide do numerous personal tasks, including a hunt for a used Trump hotel mattress — In mid-September, the Environmental Protection Agency administrator's director of scheduling and advance, Millan Hupp, reached out to the Trump International Hotel in Washington, D.C., with an unusual request.
Discussion:
ThinkProgress, Axios, Mother Jones, Washingtonian, Splinter and Political Wire
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Aide Sought a New Apartment for Scott Pruitt, as Well as an ‘Old Mattress’ From Trump Hotel — WASHINGTON — A senior Environmental Protection Agency official acted essentially as the personal assistant to the administrator, Scott Pruitt, helping him hunt for an apartment …
Discussion:
Politico, The Daily Caller and Mediaite


Bill Clinton: I wouldn't have done anything differently in Lewinsky scandal even in #MeToo era — Clinton stuck by his decision to fight his impeachment rather than resign. “I think I did the right thing. I defended the Constitution,” he said. — Former President Bill Clinton says that …
Discussion:
Breitbart, Vox, infowars.com, VICE News, Townhall, HuffPost, Joe.My.God., Front Page Magazine, Mediaite and TheBlaze
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Trump's phone call with Macron described as ‘terrible’ — Washington (CNN)A call about trade and migration between US President Donald Trump and French President Emmanuel Macron soured last week after Macron candidly criticized Trump's policies, two sources familiar with the call told CNN.
Discussion:
Politico, Shakesville, Lawyers, Guns & Money, Raw Story and The Week


Billionaire Koch brothers' political network will spend millions to oppose Trump's tariffs - the group's biggest split with the president so far — The Koch political network unveils a multi-year, multimillion dollar campaign opposing the tariffs implemented by President Donald Trump's administration.
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New US ambassador to Germany under fire for rightwing support — Politicians accuse Richard Grenell of breach of protocol after interview in Breitbart — German politicians have criticised Donald Trump's new ambassador to Germany after he said he wanted to “empower” anti-establishment rightwing forces throughout Europe.
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ThinkProgress, Vox, BBC, New Republic, CNN, Washington Post, Bloomberg, Talking Points Memo, BuzzFeed, VICE News and Breitbart
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Crowd cheers when valedictorian quotes Trump. Then reveals it was Obama — Ben Bowling graduation speech Courtesy of Ben Bowling — Bell County high school student and valedictorian Ben Bowling wanted to share some words of wisdom with his graduating class, but there was a twist that no one saw coming.


BuzzFeed Allowed Key Defense in Russian's Defamation Suit Over Trump Dossier — A Florida judge rejects a Russian entrepreneur who argued that the Trump dossier publication wasn't protected as a fair report of official government action. — In its continuing fight against a Russian tech entrepreneur …


The ‘weirdness’ of dealing with North Korean officials — Expect lies. Do your homework — because they will have. Choose your words very carefully. And have Job-like patience. Oh, and remember that North Korean leader Kim Jong Un considers himself a supreme being.
Discussion:
One America News Network and The Week
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CD01 Incumbent Popular, But Race is Close — Democratic enthusiasm makes race competitive — West Long Branch, NJ - The race for House of Representatives in Pennsylvania's newly drawn 1st congressional district is shaping up to be a close contest, according to the Monmouth University Poll.
Discussion:
Political Wire

Cohn kept the jobs numbers for Trump — COHN KEPT THE JOBS NUMBERS FROM TRUMP — MM hears that before he left the White House, former National Economic Council Director Gary Cohn would withhold jobs report data from President Trump until shortly before their release because he was worried …
Discussion:
Axios, MSNBC, Financial Times, Townhall, New York Times and CNBC


Nearly half of Bay Area residents want out, poll shows. The reason why is no surprise — The idea of a Bay Area “exodus” is no joke, and appears to be growing more vivid and real with each year. — A poll released Sunday by a local advocacy group showed that 46 percent of Bay Area residents surveyed …


Mourning America: What my father, Ronald Reagan, would say today — Patti Davis is an author and the daughter of Ronald and Nancy Reagan. — My father used to talk about a recurring dream he had in which he was walking into a beautiful white building with grand columns, knowing that it was his new home.
Discussion:
IJR, The Week, AOL, HuffPost and Talking Points Memo


Shah-Era Iranian Diplomat Warns Against Creating ‘Another Iraq’ — The tough U.S. line on Iran and speculation that Washington is pursuing regime change in Tehran have prompted a shah-era foreign minister to warn from Swiss exile against “turning [Iran] into a mess,” citing the example of neighboring Iraq.


Facebook Gave Device Makers Deep Access to Data on Users and Friends — The company formed data-sharing partnerships with Apple, Samsung and dozens of other device makers, raising new concerns about its privacy protections. — As Facebook sought to become the world's dominant social media service …
Discussion:
Vox, Politico, Axios, ThinkProgress, NPR, BloombergQuint, New York Magazine, Talking Points Memo, Q13 FOX News, The Week, AOL, Engadget, Washington Post, The Verge, Common Dreams, Mashable and Mother Jones, more at Techmeme »


A historic exodus is leaving Venezuela without teachers, doctors and electricians — An unruly 9-year-old bolted from his classroom, prompting a volunteer teacher to chase him down the hall. He would normally be hauled straight to Romina Sciaca's office. But the guidance counselor was gone …
Discussion:
Instapundit