Top Items:
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, MSNBC, Lawyers, Guns & Money, New York Times, Taylor Marsh, NY State of Politics, SCOTUSblog and BloombergQuint
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Jamelle Bouie / Slate:
Mitch McConnell Has Already Won — Mitch McConnell has just one goal: to preserve and extend Republicans' advantage in Washington and beyond. He'll do anything to achieve that goal, indifferent to everything but the will to power. We see this most clearly in McConnell's approach to the Supreme Court.
Discussion:
HuffPost, Salon and OpenSecrets.org
Yascha Mounk / Slate:
So Much For the Institutions — Kennedy's retirement proves we can't count on elites to constrain Trump's worst excesses — When he heard that Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy was retiring on Wednesday, a friend in his twenties told me: “Today is the darkest political moment my generation has experienced.”
Mike Allen / Axios:
Trump takes over America — President Trump, with his refusal to take advice or yield to experts, is the West Wing. Republicans who control both halves of Congress won't lift a finger against him and fully support his every move. — The big picture: With his chance to replace Justice Anthony Kennedy …
Discussion:
The Week, Mediaite and Chuck Grassley
New York Times:
With Kennedy Gone, Justice Must Be Won at the Ballot Box — The editorial board represents the opinions of the board, its editor and the publisher. It is separate from the newsroom and the Op-Ed section. — If the last few days hadn't been dispiriting enough for those who believed …
Discussion:
CNN, The Week, Washington Post, HuffPost, Constitution Daily and Law & Liberty
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:
Lawyers, Guns & Money and Daily Kos
New York Times:
Conservatives in Charge, the Supreme Court Moved Right
Conservatives in Charge, the Supreme Court Moved Right
Discussion:
Washington Post, The Week, The Daily Beast, POLITICUSUSA and FiveThirtyEight
The Daily Beast:
Democrats Want to Fight Trump's Supreme Court Pick. They Just Have No Power to Do It.
Democrats Want to Fight Trump's Supreme Court Pick. They Just Have No Power to Do It.
Discussion:
Just Security, Wall Street Journal, Washington Post, Politico and New York Times
McClatchy Washington Bureau:
The day conservatives have been waiting for on the Supreme Court. Trump is poised to deliver
CNBC:
Anthony Kennedy retiring from Supreme Court
Anthony Kennedy retiring from Supreme Court
Discussion:
NBC News, Fox News, USA Today, American Greatness, Conservative News Today, Deadline, TheBlaze, Instapundit, Shot in the Dark and What The Fuck …
Politico:
GOP plans to steamroll Dems on Supreme Court pick
GOP plans to steamroll Dems on Supreme Court pick
Discussion:
Axios, Daily Kos, ABC News, Shareblue Media, Politico, New York Magazine and Breitbart
Matt Wilstein / The Daily Beast:
Chris Matthews: ‘Hell to Pay’ If Democrats Don't Block Anthony Kennedy Replacement
Chris Matthews: ‘Hell to Pay’ If Democrats Don't Block Anthony Kennedy Replacement
Discussion:
POLITICUSUSA, RedState, Washington Post and Breitbart
Ian Millhiser / ThinkProgress:
Justice Kennedy deserves this nasty, unflinching sendoff
Justice Kennedy deserves this nasty, unflinching sendoff
Discussion:
American Greatness, The Federalist, The Daily Caller, Arkansas Blog, Arkansas Times, Conservative News Today, Washington Post, Guns.com, SCOTUSblog, New York Times, Slate, USA Today, Townhall, The Daily Signal, The Hill, Breitbart, The Gateway Pundit, Louder With Crowder, NPR, Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion, neo-neocon, Big League Politics and Above the Law
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:
USA Today, New York Times, Slate, HuffPost, Axios, Talking Points Memo, The Gateway Pundit, Breitbart, Hot Air, Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion and The Federalist
Jeffrey Rosen / The Atlantic:
The Justice Who Believed in America
The Justice Who Believed in America
Discussion:
Refinery29, CNN and KTLA
David Harsanyi / The Federalist:
Was Gorsuch Worth A Trump Presidency? It's Starting To Look That Way
Was Gorsuch Worth A Trump Presidency? It's Starting To Look That Way
Discussion:
Betsy's Page
Matthew Yglesias / Vox:
Mitch McConnell's politics of shamelessness have won
Mitch McConnell's politics of shamelessness have won
Discussion:
Washington Monthly, Washington Post, Talking Points Memo and HuffPost
Richard L. Hasen / Slate:
The Only Thing That Might Stop Trump From Replacing Kennedy With a Scalia Clone
The Only Thing That Might Stop Trump From Replacing Kennedy With a Scalia Clone
Discussion:
Modern Democracy, Vox, National Review, BloombergQuint, No More Mister Nice Blog and Sean Hannity
Burgess Everett / Politico:
Conservative group launches SCOTUS ad to pressure Dems
Conservative group launches SCOTUS ad to pressure Dems
Discussion:
ThinkProgress, New York Times, The Week and NPR
Mark Joseph Stern / Slate:
Anthony Kennedy Just Destroyed His Legacy as a Gay Rights Hero
Anthony Kennedy Just Destroyed His Legacy as a Gay Rights Hero
Discussion:
Big Think, Rewire.News, Shareblue Media, twitchy.com, Washington Free Beacon, Talking Points Memo, Constitution Daily and Feeds
CBS News:
CBS News interview with ICE whistleblower interrupted by surprise visit from government agents — In his first television interview, former Immigration and Customs Enforcement spokesperson James Schwab opens up about why he abruptly resigned in March. Schwab admits both the Obama …
Discussion:
Law & Crime
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:
NY State of Politics and Greensburg Tribune-Review
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Washington Post:
The worst thing to be in many Democratic primaries? A white male candidate.
The worst thing to be in many Democratic primaries? A white male candidate.
Discussion:
Politico, Breitbart, BostonGlobe.com, The American Conservative and Mediaite
Eric Holthaus / Grist:
With Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez's victory, Congress will likely gain a new climate champion
With Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez's victory, Congress will likely gain a new climate champion
Discussion:
The American Conservative, Watts Up With That? and PinkNews
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:
Washington Post, Mediaite and Shareblue Media
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez / americamagazine.org:
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez on her Catholic faith and the urgency of a criminal justice reform
Jonathan Swan / Axios:
Scoop: Trump's private NATO trashing rattles allies — You've already read a hundred stories about President Trump's clashes with some of America's closest allies at the G7 summit in Canada. But we've got new details from his private conversations with heads of state that have put …
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The Texas Tribune:
Immigrant toddlers ordered to appear in court alone — As the White House faces court orders to reunite families separated at the border, immigrant children as young as three years old are being ordered into court for their own deportation proceedings, according to attorneys in Texas, California and Washington, D.C.
Rachael Bade / Politico:
‘I thought you were my friend’: Immigration meltdown exposes GOP hostilities — A seven-week effort to pass immigration reform ends in anger and distrust across the House Republican Conference. — Moderate House Republicans suspected they were being played.
Discussion:
Talking Points Memo
The Daily Beast:
Scott Pruitt Personally Involved in ‘Ratf*cking’ Ex-Aides Who He Feels Betrayed Him … On May 18, a top aide to Environmental Protection Agency chief Scott Pruitt testified to a congressional committee that she had been tasked with procuring her boss a used mattress from the Trump International Hotel …
Discussion:
Mediaite
Kyle Kondik / Sabato's Crystal Ball:
A Half-Dozen House Ratings Changes in Favor of Democrats — And the fall of Joe Crowley in New York — KEY POINTS FROM THIS ARTICLE — Rep. Joe Crowley's (D, NY-14) primary loss represents a changing of the guard in a diverse district. It does not necessarily suggest we should expect …
Associated Press:
North Carolina GOP ends nominee's support over racist posts — RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — The North Carolina Republican Party has withdrawn support from a legislative nominee after a website connected to him said God is a racist white supremacist and Jews are descended from Satan.
Discussion:
Jewish Telegraphic Agency
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Abbie Bennett / The Charlotte Observer:
‘God is racist,’ Jewish people ‘all descend from Satan,’ NC candidate says
‘God is racist,’ Jewish people ‘all descend from Satan,’ NC candidate says
Discussion:
Law & Crime and Raw Story
KGW-TV:
Federal cops move in on ICE protest in SW Portland — Federal officers in riot gear moved into the protest siege of ICE headquarters in Southwest Portland at 5:30 a.m. Thursday. — PORTLAND, Ore. — Federal officers in riot gear moved into the protest siege of ICE headquarters in Southwest Portland at 5:30 a.m. Thursday.
Ben Kamisar / The Hill:
Poll: Trump approval rating ticks up to 47 percent — 's approval rating has ticked up to 47 percent in the new Harvard CAPS/Harris poll released exclusively to The Hill, a 2 point hike from last month. — Trump's approval rating was lifted in part by a 10 point climb among Hispanic voters.
Discussion:
Daily Wire, Front Page Magazine and CNN
Aaron Lorenzo / Politico:
Trump's IRS nominee didn't disclose properties were at Trump-branded hotel — President Donald Trump's pick to run the IRS, tax lawyer Chuck Rettig, owns properties at the Trump International Hotel Waikiki and Tower. — He'd previously disclosed his 50 percent stake in a pair of Honolulu rental units …
Discussion:
Raw Story
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Kim Hjelmgaard / USA Today:
North Korea upgrades nuclear facility despite Trump-Kim summit, satellite images show — North Korea is upgrading a major nuclear research facility despite President Donald Trump's claim that leader Kim Jong Un has vowed to disarm, according to new satellite images and a research paper published by a North Korea monitoring group.
Chuck Ross / The Daily Caller:
Goodlatte: FBI Lawyers Instructed Strzok Not To Answer ‘Many, Many’ Questions In Deposition — FBI lawyers instructed Peter Strzok during a congressional deposition on Wednesday not to answer “many, many questions” about his involvement in the Hillary Clinton and Russia investigations …
Discussion:
Washington Post, CNN and Daily Caller News Foundation
Jason Schwartz / Politico:
New Fox chief cracks down on inflammatory statements — CEO Suzanne Scott summoned producers to a meeting to direct them to take more control over hosts and panelists. — Amid growing backlash against inflammatory statements by Fox News commentators, network CEO Suzanne Scott summoned top show producers …
Discussion:
Talking Points Memo, Mediaite and Media Matters for America