Top Items:
Jonathan Chait / New York Magazine:
The Republican Court and the Era of Minority Rule — Democrats have won the national vote in six of the last seven presidential elections, which, with the retirement of Anthony Kennedy, will have resulted in the appointment of eight of its nine justices. And yet four of those justices …
Discussion:
Daily Kos
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Dahlia Lithwick / Slate:
Why Anthony Kennedy Gave Up — In his last year on the bench, the lifelong devotee of dignity and the rule of law joined Team Trump. What happened? — It was always more fan fiction than reality that Justice Anthony Kennedy was a moderate centrist. Democrats liked to soothe themselves …
Discussion:
Bloomberg and Above the Law
Ian Millhiser / ThinkProgress:
Justice Kennedy deserves this nasty, unflinching sendoff — One of my favorite genres of writing is the charitable obituary written about a political opponent. My remembrance of Judge Robert Bork, the conservative icon President Ronald Reagan tried and failed to put on the Supreme Court …
Politico:
GOP plans to steamroll Dems on Supreme Court pick — Senate Republicans will move quickly to replace Anthony Kennedy before the midterm elections. — Senate Republicans plan to confirm a new Supreme Court justice to replace retiring Anthony Kennedy before the midterm elections …
Discussion:
ABC News, Axios, Daily Kos, Shareblue Media and Breitbart
Richard L. Hasen / Slate:
The Only Thing That Might Stop Trump From Replacing Kennedy With a Scalia Clone — Buckle up, folks. If you did not like what the Supreme Court has done in the last few weeks on voting rights, public-sector unions, and Trump's travel ban, things are going to get a whole lot worse …
Discussion:
Modern Democracy, Vox, No More Mister Nice Blog, Sean Hannity, BloombergQuint and Law & Crime
Matt Wilstein / The Daily Beast:
Chris Matthews: ‘Hell to Pay’ If Democrats Don't Block Anthony Kennedy Replacement … MSNBC's Chris Matthews did not mince words in reacting to Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy's surprise retirement announcement on Wednesday. — “I don't think the Democrats should allow meetings …
Discussion:
POLITICUSUSA, RedState and Breitbart
Mark Joseph Stern / Slate:
Anthony Kennedy Just Destroyed His Legacy as a Gay Rights Hero — It's no secret that Justice Anthony Kennedy, who announced his imminent retirement on Wednesday, always had an eye toward his legacy. During this 30-year tenure on the Supreme Court, Kennedy often wrote grandiose opinions …
Discussion:
Rewire.News, Shareblue Media, SCOTUSblog, Law & Crime, Vox, twitchy.com and Washington Free Beacon
Jeffrey Rosen / The Atlantic:
The Justice Who Believed in America — Like everyone who follows the Supreme Court, I've been trying to read Justice Anthony Kennedy's mind for more than thirty years. I was an intern for Senator Joe Biden on the judiciary Committee the summer that Robert Bork's nomination to the Supreme Court …
Discussion:
CNN, The Daily Signal and Refinery29
Joshua Matz / Washington Post:
The Supreme Court will now fall to chaos — Joshua Matz, publisher of the Take Care legal blog, was a law clerk to Justice Anthony M. Kennedy from 2014 to 2015. — The Supreme Court teaches us about liberty, dignity and democracy. It safeguards those principles and helps make the Constitution real in our lives.
Matthew Yglesias / Vox:
Mitch McConnell's politics of shamelessness have won — Nobody likes him, but he's the most effective politician of his time. — When Justice Antonin Scalia died unexpectedly, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell pulled a new rule of American politics out of thin air and said there could be no vote …
Discussion:
Washington Post, HuffPost and Common Dreams
Jack Goldsmith / Washington Post:
Justice Kennedy's retirement leaves the future of U.S. constitutional law entirely up for grabs
Justice Kennedy's retirement leaves the future of U.S. constitutional law entirely up for grabs
Discussion:
Politico, New York Times, Axios, The Guardian, Constitution Daily and Breitbart
Stephanie Ebbs / ABC News:
Here are 25 names Trump could nominate to replace Justice Kennedy
Here are 25 names Trump could nominate to replace Justice Kennedy
Discussion:
RedState, Washington Post, The Hill, The Gateway Pundit, National Review, Mediaite, Breitbart, Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion, The Federalist and Hot Air
Bill Hutchinson / ABC News:
Anthony Kennedy, crucial Supreme Court swing vote, retiring after 3 decades
Anthony Kennedy, crucial Supreme Court swing vote, retiring after 3 decades
Discussion:
ThinkProgress, Breitbart, Townhall, The Gateway Pundit, The Daily Signal, Raw Story, twitchy.com, Law & Crime, The Week, IJR and Daily Wire
Matt Shuham / Talking Points Memo:
LIST: Dem Senators Call On GOP To Wait Until After Election To Fill Kennedy Seat
LIST: Dem Senators Call On GOP To Wait Until After Election To Fill Kennedy Seat
Discussion:
Axios, CNN and Balloon Juice
Ian Millhiser / ThinkProgress:
The horrifying consequences of Justice Kennedy's retirement
The horrifying consequences of Justice Kennedy's retirement
Discussion:
Reuters, Bloomberg, New Republic, Senator Mitch McConnell, The Daily Signal and The Federalist
Burgess Everett / Politico:
Conservative group launches SCOTUS ad to pressure Dems
Conservative group launches SCOTUS ad to pressure Dems
Discussion:
HuffPost, New York Times, cupbord and YouTube
Robert Barnes / Washington Post:
Justice Kennedy, the pivotal swing vote on the Supreme Court, announces retirement
Justice Kennedy, the pivotal swing vote on the Supreme Court, announces retirement
Discussion:
Politico, Fox News, New York Times, Axios, Breitbart, The Daily Beast, Outside the Beltway, CNN, The Atlantic, ABC News, NPR, Little Green Footballs, NewsBusters, The Crime Report and Rewire.News
Brent Kendall / Wall Street Journal:
Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy Announces Retirement
Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy Announces Retirement
Discussion:
Vox and Mother Jones
Mark Sherman / Associated Press:
Justice Kennedy retiring; Trump gets 2nd Supreme Court pick
Justice Kennedy retiring; Trump gets 2nd Supreme Court pick
Discussion:
Washington Free Beacon, The Hill and Towleroad
Shane Goldmacher / New York Times:
An Upset in the Making: Why Joe Crowley Never Saw Defeat Coming — It was less than three weeks until Primary Day and, on first blush, the poll that Representative Joseph Crowley had been shown by his team of advisers was encouraging: He led his upstart rival, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, by 36 percentage points.
Discussion:
Greensburg Tribune-Review
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Justin Wise / The Hill:
Bernie Sanders: Sarah Sanders has the right to ‘go into a restaurant and have dinner’
Bernie Sanders: Sarah Sanders has the right to ‘go into a restaurant and have dinner’
Discussion:
Mediaite
Michael Calderone / Politico:
Times takes heat for missing Crowley's defeat
Times takes heat for missing Crowley's defeat
Discussion:
Washington Post, New York Times, CNN, The Intercept, HuffPost, VICE News and Hit & Run
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez / americamagazine.org:
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez on her Catholic faith and the urgency of a criminal justice reform
Benny Johnson / The Daily Caller:
Socialist Darling Caught Celebrating, Campaigning With Known Anti-Semite And Racist
Socialist Darling Caught Celebrating, Campaigning With Known Anti-Semite And Racist
Discussion:
El Paso Times, Mediaite and Bloomberg
Vivian Wang / New York Times:
Who Is Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez? A 28-Year-Old Democratic Giant Slayer
Who Is Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez? A 28-Year-Old Democratic Giant Slayer
Discussion:
CNNMoney, Washington Post, Vox, HuffPost, Politico, CNN, theGrio, Algemeiner.com, Racked, The Daily Caller, The Moderate Voice, Big Think, Jezebel, The Guardian, IJR, CBS Boston, Townhall, Washington Monthly, AOL, IndieWire, twitchy.com, Daily Kos, Taylor Marsh, Common Dreams, Splinter and Mashable, more at Mediagazer »
Reuters:
Manafort had $10 million loan from Russian oligarch: court filing — (Reuters) - A search warrant application unsealed on Wednesday revealed closer links than previously known between President Donald Trump's former campaign manager Paul Manafort and a Russian oligarch with close ties to the Kremlin.
Discussion:
The Week
New York Times:
Bill Shine Likely as Next White House Communications Director — WASHINGTON — Bill Shine, a former Fox News executive who was close to Roger E. Ailes, the network's ousted chairman, is expected to be offered the job of White House communications director, according to two people familiar with the decision.
The Hill:
HHS watchdog launches probe into conditions at child detention centers — The Department of Health and Human Services' (HHS) inspector general is launching a review of the conditions at the agency's shelters for unaccompanied migrant children. — The probe will only focus on safety and health concerns …
Discussion:
Talking Points Memo, Associated Press, Splinter and Daily Caller News Foundation
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Dan Diamond / Politico:
Federal officials launch two reviews into Trump's handling of migrant children
Federal officials launch two reviews into Trump's handling of migrant children
Discussion:
POLITICO's Pulse Check, MSNBC and Politico
Elizabeth Tyree / WSET-TV:
West Virginia man charged after police said he threw chicken feces at the Red Hen — Reginald Scott See, 51, of Martinsburg, West Virginia, was arrested and charged with littering and disorderly conduct after throwing feces toward the Red Hen Tuesday afternoon (Rockbridge Regional Jail)
Discussion:
USA Today, Splinter, TheBlaze, Raw Story, Daily Wire, Law & Crime and Eater
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Judy Kurtz / The Hill:
Bill Clinton: Trump has poured ‘poison’ down 'America's throat'
Bill Clinton: Trump has poured ‘poison’ down 'America's throat'
Discussion:
One America News Network, Breitbart, Jezebel, Mediaite, Daily Wire and Fox News Insider
Rasmussen Reports:
31% Think U.S. Civil War Likely Soon — Most voters fear that political violence is coming from opponents of the president's policies, just as they did in the second year of Barack Obama's presidency, and nearly one-in-three think a civil war is next. — Thirty-one percent (31%) …
Discussion:
The Daily Caller, Daily Wire, Global Guerrillas and Clayton Cramer
Sara Fischer / Axios:
92% of Republicans think media intentionally reports fake news — Nearly all Republicans and Republican-leaning independents (92%) say that traditional news outlets knowingly report false or misleading stories at least sometimes, according to a new Axios/SurveyMonkey poll.
Discussion:
Raw Story, MSNBC, RedState, The Resurgent, Daily Wire, Breitbart, NewsBusters, Mediaite and twitchy.com
Will Oremus / Slate:
The Great Facebook Crash — The social giant is retreating from the news business. It's been a painful transition for publications that had come to depend on it—including Slate. — The first months of Donald Trump's presidency were a fraught and chaotic time in American politics.
Washington Post:
Man accused of driving into crowd at ‘Unite the Right’ rally charged with federal hate crimes — The Justice Department charged James Alex Fields Jr, the driver accused of murdering a counterprotester at last year's white supremacist rally in Charlottesville, with multiple hate crime counts Wednesday.
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Harron Walker / Jezebel:
Private Messages Reveal the Cis Journalist Groupthink Behind Trans Media Narratives — Over the past few years, Jesse Singal has become a leading public intellectual and one of the most prominent journalists covering trans issues, including but not limited to adolescent transition.
Discussion:
The Atlantic
Emma Anderson / Politico:
Greece open to migrants deal with Germany — Athens is open to a deal with Angela Merkel to take back asylum seekers who head to Germany from Greece, Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras said. — Ahead of Thursday's summit of EU leaders, the Greek leader told the Financial Times …
Discussion:
Financial Times and One America News Network
Brent Solomon / WWBT-TV:
‘Go back to Africa’: Business owner criticized over Facebook post — A Chesterfield business is under a cloud of criticism after a restaurant owner is accused of posting a racist message on her personal Facebook Page. — The comment on Judy Maxie's page told Congresswoman Maxine Waters …
Alexandra Petri / Washington Post:
Some rules of civility for the Trump era — “Now, it is well known,” Sir Walter Scott observed, “that a man may with more impunity be guilty of an actual breach either of real good breeding or of good morals, than appear ignorant of the most minute point of fashionable etiquette.”
Tony Romm / Washington Post:
Inside Facebook and Twitter's secret meetings with Trump aides and conservative leaders who say tech is biased — Twitter and Facebook are scrambling to assuage conservative leaders who have sounded alarms — and sought to rile voters — with accusations that the country's tech giants are censoring right-leaning posts, tweets and news.
Discussion:
Politico, Engadget and New Republic, more at Mediagazer »
Heather Murphy / New York Times:
Genealogists Turn to Cousins' DNA and Family Trees to Crack Five More Cold Cases — Police arrested a D.J. in Pennsylvania and a nurse in Washington State this week, the latest examples of the use of an open-source ancestry site since the break in the Golden State killer case.
Stuart Williams / Yahoo:
Turkey frees journalist Mehmet Altan after almost 2 years jail — Istanbul (AFP) - Turkish journalist Mehmet Altan was Wednesday freed after almost two years in jail in a case that intensified concerns about freedom of expression under President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.