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Jeff Flake says he won't stall Supreme Court pick over tariff dispute — U.S. Sen. Jeff Flake said Wednesday he would not try to strong-arm the Trump administration on tariffs — or other issues — by withholding his support from a Supreme Court nominee. — The outgoing Arizona Republican …
Discussion:
Talking Points Memo, Outside the Beltway, Washington Post, Political Wire, twitchy.com and Washington Times
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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 …


Jeff Flake Shopping Around for a Possible Post-Senate Cable News Gig … When Sen. Jeff Flake (R-AZ) leaves his current job at the beginning of 2019, he could already have a new one lined up: cable-news pundit. — Over the past several days, the Arizona Republican—who is not seeking re-election amid …
Discussion:
Joe.My.God., Mediaite, Political Wire and FiveThirtyEight


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.”


With Kennedy Gone, Justice Must Be Won at the Ballot Box
Discussion:
Slate, SCOTUSblog, CNN, Above the Law, The Week, NPR and Constitution Daily

Don't want a right-wing Supreme Court? Do everything you can to stop it.
Discussion:
Althouse, Politico, Slate and FiveThirtyEight

Mitch McConnell Has Already Won
Discussion:
HuffPost, The Intercept and Salon

Trump takes over America
Discussion:
The Week, Chuck Grassley and Talking Points Memo

The Uncertain Political Ramifications of Justice Kennedy's Exit
Discussion:
ABC News

After Kennedy's retirement, are we entering 'Handmaid's Tale' territory?
Discussion:
The Federalist

Democrats Want to Fight Trump's Supreme Court Pick. They Just Have No Power to Do It.
Discussion:
Wall Street Journal, Scared Monkeys, RedState, Just Security, CNN, Washington Post and Politico

Kennedy's Replacement Should Be Judge Amy Coney Barrett
Discussion:
The Federalist, Washington Examiner, The Hill and Politico

Anthony Kennedy's Exit May Echo for Generations
Discussion:
Vox, National Review, USA Today and ThinkProgress

Conservatives in Charge, the Supreme Court Moved Right
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Washington Post, Shareblue Media, The Week, The Daily Beast and POLITICUSUSA


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:
HuffPost, Daily Kos, Splinter and Law & Crime


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 …
Discussion:
New Republic, ABC News, The Atlantic, CBS Los Angeles, Shareblue Media, The Week and Raw Story
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Why Trump Shouldn't Meet Putin — Americans should worry when the two men are in any kind of one-on-one negotiation. — After announcing that there will indeed be a U.S.-Russia summit in the coming weeks, National Security Adviser John Bolton issued a challenge to the skeptical scrum of reporters at his Moscow press conference.


Trump and Putin will meet July 16 in Helsinki, Washington and Moscow announce
Discussion:
Washington Monthly, Mediaite, New York Times, Townhall, Outside the Beltway, Washington Free Beacon and Shakesville

U.K. Worries About What Trump Could Promise Putin
Discussion:
ThinkProgress, Washington Post and AOL


Jill Abramson, Ex-New York Times Editor: The ‘Narcissistic’ NYT Is Making ‘Horrible Mistakes,’ Needs a ‘Course Correction’ … It may not have been the tweet heard ‘round the world, but it was certainly heard—like a thunderclap—at The New York Times’ headquarters at 620 Eighth Avenue in Manhattan.
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An Upset in the Making: Why Joe Crowley Never Saw Defeat Coming
Discussion:
NY State of Politics and Greensburg Tribune-Review

The worst thing to be in many Democratic primaries? A white male candidate.
Discussion:
BostonGlobe.com, Breitbart, Politico, The American Conservative and Mediaite

Democrats need to choose: Are they the party of Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez or the party of Michael Bloomberg?
Discussion:
ThinkProgress


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 …


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.


Ex-Aide to Roger Stone Is Subpoenaed in Russia Investigation — A former aide to Roger J. Stone Jr., the longtime Trump adviser and self-described “dirty trickster,” was subpoenaed to appear before the grand jury hearing evidence in the Russia investigation and to hand over documents …
Discussion:
Raw Story


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.
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KATU-TV, Hit & Run, Breitbart, Conservative News Today, The Gateway Pundit and The Daily Caller
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What Do The Teens Know About This Tweet That We Don't? — Eighty-thousand retweets for, uh, this. — On the evening of June 22, 21-year-old Karter Machen decided to tweet. — “I'm not a party guy,” he wrote, “but I'd be down if someone threw a real roaring 20's party for 2020.


‘God is racist,’ Jewish people ‘all descend from Satan,’ NC candidate says — RALEIGH — A website tied to a candidate for the North Carolina General Assembly says God is a racist white supremacist and that Jews are descended from Satan. — Russell Walker is a Republican candidate running …
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President Trump announces a major U.S. Steel expansion — that isn't happening — “The head of U.S. Steel called me the other day, and he said, 'We're opening up six major facilities and expanding facilities that have never been expanded.' They haven't been opened in many, many years.”
Discussion:
Mother Jones, Shareblue Media and MSNBC


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 and CNN
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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 …


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:
Breitbart, IJR, Front Page Magazine, Daily Wire and CNN


‘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