Top Items:
Sonia Moghe / CNN:
Exclusive: Ex-Trump World Tower doorman releases ‘catch-and-kill’ contract about alleged Trump affair — (CNN)A former Trump World Tower doorman who says he has knowledge of an alleged affair President Donald Trump had with an ex-housekeeper, which resulted in a child, is now able to talk …
Discussion:
Talking Points Memo, FOX6Now.com, Splinter, Raw Story, Joe.My.God., Hill Reporter, POLITICUSUSA, Booman Tribune, Political Wire, Balloon Juice and Daily Kos
Will Sommer / The Daily Beast:
Trump Meets QAnon Kook Who Believes Democrats Run Pedophile Cult … President Donald Trump posed for Oval Office photos on Thursday with one of the leading promoters of the QAnon conspiracy theory, which claims that top Democrats are part of a global pedophile cult.
Discussion:
ThinkProgress, Washington Post, New Republic, Boing Boing, Balloon Juice and twitchy.com
Philip Bump / Washington Post:
The three illegal acts that may have helped Trump win the presidency — The nation heard this week accusations that Donald Trump was personally involved in the decision to offer two women money shortly before the 2016 election to keep them from sharing stories of alleged affairs.
Discussion:
POLITICUSUSA
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New York Times:
Allen Weisselberg, Top Trump Organization Official, Was Granted Immunity for Testimony — Federal prosecutors in Manhattan struck a deal earlier this summer with Allen Weisselberg, the longtime chief financial officer of the Trump Organization, granting him immunity for his grand jury testimony …
Discussion:
emptywheel, Salon, Politico, Wall Street Journal, The National Memo, The Guardian and Axios, more at Mediagazer »
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Nancy Cook / Politico:
Aides expect Trump to go rogue on Manafort pardon
Aides expect Trump to go rogue on Manafort pardon
Discussion:
Daily Caller News Foundation, Joe.My.God., AOL, The Hill, Yahoo and The Daily Caller
Adam Davidson / New Yorker:
Allen Weisselberg, the Man Who Knows Donald Trump's Financial Secrets, Has Agreed to Become a Coöperating Witness
Allen Weisselberg, the Man Who Knows Donald Trump's Financial Secrets, Has Agreed to Become a Coöperating Witness
Discussion:
The Daily Beast, Vox, The Atlantic and Daily Kos
Michael Kruse / Politico:
Trump on Weisselberg: ‘He Did Whatever Was Necessary’
Trump on Weisselberg: ‘He Did Whatever Was Necessary’
Discussion:
USA Today, The Atlantic, The Real Deal New York, MSNBC and Towleroad Gay News
Anne Gearan / Washington Post:
Bad blood between McCain and Trump lingers, even as the Arizona Republican nears the end — It got off to a bad start, and President Trump's venomous relationship with Sen. John McCain probably won't end well either. — The president was reportedly disinvited to McCain's funeral months ago …
Discussion:
Politico, POLITICUSUSA, Joe.My.God., The Week, CNN and Reuters
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Jonathan Allen / NBC News:
At GOP event, Trump is silent on dying McCain
Grace Segers / CBS News:
Beto O'Rourke says “nothing more American” than NFL players protesting the national anthem — Rep. Beto O'Rourke, the Democratic candidate challenging Texas Sen. Ted Cruz, was featured in a viral video posted to Twitter on Tuesday giving an answer at a town hall defending NFL players who kneel during the national anthem before games.
Discussion:
Mediaite, New York Times, The Hill, Hot Air, theGrio and Conservative News Today
Matt Apuzzo / New York Times:
What Will Mueller Do? The Answer Might Lie in a By-the-Book Past — The special counsel, Robert S. Mueller III, has approached law enforcement consistently for decades: leading aggressive investigations marked by adherence to precedent and higher office. — WASHINGTON — Long …
Ali Rogin / ABC News:
Trump renews attack on Attorney General Jeff Sessions, claiming ‘real corruption goes untouched’ — President Trump lashed out again at Attorney General Jeff Sessions, saying he lets “real corruption” go untouched while special counsel Robert Mueller's team is “having a field day.”
Discussion:
Wall Street Journal, CNN and Breitbart
Noam Scheiber / New York Times:
Judge Strikes Down Key Parts of Trump's Orders Easing the Firing of Federal Workers — A federal district judge in Washington struck down most of the key provisions of three executive orders that President Trump signed in late May that would have made it easier to fire federal employees.
Discussion:
Washington Post, Axios, Joe.My.God. and The Guardian
Bill Barrow / Associated Press:
APNewsBreak: DNC, TV networks discuss presidential debates — CHICAGO (AP) — The Democratic Party has begun conversations with television networks about a series of presidential primary debates in 2019, a top party official has told The Associated Press. — The talks are “in the very early stages …
Discussion:
Political Wire and Daily Caller News Foundation
Scott Bixby / The Daily Beast:
TPUSA Members Quit in Protest of ‘Exploiting’ Mollie Tibbetts' Death … The University of Iowa chapter of a conservative student organization declined a proposal that the campus host two of the group's highest-profile national leaders for an “immigration event” following the alleged murder …
Discussion:
POLITICUSUSA, Althouse and Mediaite
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Nick Gillespie / New York Times:
Republicans Are Exploiting the Murder of Mollie Tibbetts
Republicans Are Exploiting the Murder of Mollie Tibbetts
Discussion:
Hit & Run
Roger Cohen / New York Times:
How Far America Has Fallen — The thing with every shocking revelation about Trump is that it's already baked into his image. I've never met a Trump supporter who did not know exactly who he is. — RIDGWAY, Colo. — It's different in the West. It's easier to feel in touch with some essence of what America is.
Washington Post:
A dirty plan that would kill Americans — OF THE many negative results stemming from President Trump's election, this was perhaps the most predictable: The Environmental Protection Agency revealed Tuesday a sorry new climate-change plan, seemingly designed to weaken as much as legally possible …
Discussion:
nrdc.org, New York Times and CleanTechnica
Cory Bennett / Politico:
Trump anxiety spreads through South Korea — Many South Koreans worry that the U.S. president — though hailed for bringing Kim Jong Un to the table — lacks the patience for a true breakthrough with the North. — SEOUL — South Koreans are growing more anxious about President Donald Trump's commitment …
Discussion:
Axios, Shareblue Media and Joe.My.God.
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Jessica Schulberg / HuffPost:
Chapel Hill Police Officer With Anti-Government Militia Tattoo Will Keep His Job — The North Carolina officer's Three Percenters tattoo was visible as he stood guard near the “Silent Sam” Confederate memorial. — The Chapel Hill Police Department will not discipline a police officer …
Spencer S. Hsu / Washington Post:
Paul Manafort's trial in D.C. to take 3 weeks, probe Ukraine lobbying world — The Paul Manafort trial set for September in Washington is expected to last three weeks and, on the basis of a list of 1,500 possible exhibits, will delve far more deeply into how he operated as a lobbyist …
Discussion:
Political Wire
Chelsea Deffenbacher / Register-Guard:
Las Vegas shooting survivor becomes Springfield police officer to help others — Ten months ago, Lauren Card was running from danger. — Now she's ready to run toward it, after taking an oath to serve and protect the residents of Springfield as the newest member of its police force.
Discussion:
Fox News Insider, IJR and Daily Caller News Foundation
Chris Sommerfeldt / New York Daily News:
Rudy Giuliani distances himself from Trump over his ‘flipping’ comments: ‘The President is not a lawyer’ — When it comes to flipping, Rudy Giuliani won't budge. — The former federal prosecutor — famous for coaxing New York mobsters into spilling the beans on their bosses …
Discussion:
Joe.My.God. and Talking Points Memo
Grace Gottschling / Campus Reform:
Clemson RAs freed from mandated ‘commitment to social justice’ — Clemson University has dropped its requirement that Resident Assistants “demonstrate a commitment to social justice” in order to qualify for the position. — This year's position description does asks RAs to interact with residents …
Discussion:
The College Fix
Liz Sly / Washington Post:
Baghdad gets its groove back — Violence is receding and Iraq's capital is partying again — It's nearing midnight on a Thursday and the streets are jammed with traffic. There are people heading home after dinner with family and friends, and people for whom the night has just begun.
Caroline Orr / Shareblue Media:
Devin Nunes silent after Trump gang's 16 convictions and guilty pleas — Rep. Devin Nunes seems to hope that ignoring the damning news will make it go away. — Rep. Devin Nunes (R-CA) is one of Trump's most outspoken defenders. He even admitted, during a private fundraiser …