Top Items:
Washington Post:
Conservatives mount a whisper campaign smearing Khashoggi in defense of Trump — Hard-line Republicans and conservative commentators are mounting a dark whisper campaign against Jamal Khashoggi that is designed to protect President Trump from criticism of his handling of the dissident …
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NBC News:
Trump's closing argument is full of conspiracy theories and brute force. And it just might work. — First Read is your briefing from “Meet the Press” and the NBC Political Unit on the day's most important political stories and why they matter. — WASHINGTON — In the final days …
Discussion:
Washington Post
Ian Pannell / ABC News:
Pompeo listened to an alleged recording of the murder of Jamal Khashoggi: Turkish Source — Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has heard an alleged audio recording of Washington Post columnist Jamal Khashoggi's murder inside the Saudi consulate in Istanbul, according to a senior Turkish official.
Discussion:
Washington Free Beacon, Just Security, The Daily Beast, Talking Points Memo, Raw Story, Washington Post, The Daily Caller, The Week, Common Dreams, Daily Kos, CNN, Mediaite, Outside the Beltway, ThinkProgress, Breitbart, National Review, Al Jazeera English, Fox News Insider, Daily Caller News Foundation, WORLD, The New Arab and Bloomberg, more at Mediagazer »
Maggie Haberman / New York Times:
A President Who Believes He Is Entitled to His Own Facts — WASHINGTON — He accepts less-than-credible denials from autocratic heads of state about nefarious acts. He disputes the existence of man-made climate change and insists that photographic evidence of the crowd at his inauguration is fake, part of a media plot to harm him.
Reuters:
As Khashoggi crisis grows, Saudi king asserts authority, checks son's power: sources — DUBAI (Reuters) - So grave is the fallout from the disappearance of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi that King Salman has felt compelled to intervene, five sources with links to the Saudi royal family said.
Ed Pilkington / The Guardian:
Trump praises Gianforte for assault on Guardian reporter: 'He's my guy' — President's comments at Montana rally in praise of violence against US journalist come amid international outcry over Khashoggi — Play Video — Donald Trump has praised Greg Gianforte, the Congress member from Montana …
Discussion:
ThinkProgress, New York Times, The Week, Politico, BBC, Breitbart, Washington Post, Shakesville, Common Dreams, ABC News, Joe.My.God., New Republic, VICE News, HuffPost and Mediaite, more at Mediagazer »
NBC News:
Exclusive: Twitter pulls down bot network that pushed pro-Saudi talking points about disappeared journalist — Twitter became aware of some of the bots on Thursday when NBC News presented the company with evidence of coordinated activity. — Twitter suspended a network of suspected Twitter bots …
Discussion:
Hullabaloo, Engadget, The Verge, The New Arab, Boing Boing and Axios, more at Mediagazer »
Jonathan Schanzer / The Atlantic:
The Experts Were Wrong About the Middle East — “I know what I'm going to do: I'm going to sanction the hell out of Saudi Arabia.” — That's what Republican Senator Lindsey Graham said last week, to the delight of Saudi Arabia's detractors on social media.
Discussion:
The Federalist, Breitbart and New York Times
Jonathan Chait / New York Magazine:
Trump Praises Republican Criminal for Attacking Journalist — President Trump took a brief respite from his campaign to brand Democrats as an angry mob to campaign on behalf of a violent criminal. In the course of endorsing Greg Gianforte, who slammed a reporter to the ground for having …
Discussion:
Mother Jones, HuffPost and The Gateway Pundit
Betsy Woodruff / The Daily Beast:
Obama's First National Security Adviser Now Works for the Saudis
Obama's First National Security Adviser Now Works for the Saudis
Discussion:
Business Insider
New York Times:
Saudi Arabia Weighs Blaming Intelligence Official for Khashoggi Killing
Saudi Arabia Weighs Blaming Intelligence Official for Khashoggi Killing
Discussion:
Talking Points Memo, Bloomberg, Washington Post, Outside the Beltway, Raw Story, The Week, The Wrap, Middle East Eye, Daily Wire, Weekly Standard, JustOneMinute, Politico, Mother Jones, Washington Free Beacon, Al Jazeera English, Daily Kos, Vox, Meduza.io, The American Conservative, The Guardian, Media Matters for America, Mediaite, ABC News, The Hill, HuffPost, Hot Air and VICE News, more at Mediagazer »
Fareed Zakaria / Washington Post:
Khashoggi's alleged murder says as much about America as Saudi Arabia
Khashoggi's alleged murder says as much about America as Saudi Arabia
Discussion:
Breitbart, LifeZette and The Nation
New York Times:
In Shift on Khashoggi Killing, Trump Edges Closer to Acknowledging a Saudi Role
In Shift on Khashoggi Killing, Trump Edges Closer to Acknowledging a Saudi Role
Discussion:
CNN, Talking Points Memo, The Week, NPR, Althouse, Bloomberg, Joe.My.God., Hot Air, CNBC, The Atlantic and Washington Post
Washington Post:
How the current crown prince changed Saudi Arabia — for the worse
How the current crown prince changed Saudi Arabia — for the worse
Discussion:
Middle East Eye
Burgess Everett / Politico:
Corker rails against Trump administration's intel ‘clampdown’ on Khashoggi
Corker rails against Trump administration's intel ‘clampdown’ on Khashoggi
Discussion:
Talking Points Memo and Mediaite
Rebecca Morin / Politico:
Haley breaks with Trump: ‘In America, our political opponents are not evil’ — Outgoing U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley insisted Thursday night that “in America, our political opponents are not evil,” a shark rhetorical break from her boss, President Donald Trump …
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Andrew Restuccia / Politico:
Trump considering Richard Grenell for U.N. ambassador — President Donald Trump is now seriously considering Richard Grenell, the controversial U.S. ambassador to Germany, to replace Nikki Haley at the United Nations, according to three people familiar with the matter.
Discussion:
Talking Points Memo and Joe.My.God.
Jennifer Jacobs / Bloomberg:
Kelly, Bolton Get in Profane Shouting Match Outside the Oval Office — President Donald Trump's chief of staff and his national security adviser engaged in a profanity-laced argument outside the Oval Office on Thursday, according to three people familiar with the episode.
Discussion:
CNN, WayneDupree.com, The Week, Raw Story, Mediaite, Breitbart, New Republic, The Root, Axios and Splinter
John Wagner / Washington Post:
At charity dinner, Nikki Haley takes playful jabs at Trump and other political elites
At charity dinner, Nikki Haley takes playful jabs at Trump and other political elites
Discussion:
ABC News
Annie Karni / Politico:
How Do You Solve a Problem Like Hillary? — She's not going away—and Democrats aren't sure what to do about it. — In recent months, some reporters who cover the Trump White House have received phone calls from the last person they would expect: Hillary Clinton.
Discussion:
The Week, Townhall, The Daily Caller, Washington Free Beacon, Mediaite and Mother Jones
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Ruth Marcus / Washington Post:
Why Hillary Clinton's comments were even more painful than Trump's
Why Hillary Clinton's comments were even more painful than Trump's
Discussion:
ThinkProgress and New York Times
Theodore R. Johnson / Politico:
How 2018 Became the ‘Year of the Black Progressive’
How 2018 Became the ‘Year of the Black Progressive’
Discussion:
BuzzFeed News
The Guardian:
I pulled a 1,500-year-old sword out of a lake — People are saying I am the queen of Sweden because of the legend of King Arthur — Every summer, my parents, my six-year-old brother and I go to stay in a cabin by a lake called Vidöstern in Tånnö in southern Sweden, not far from where we live.
Discussion:
Maggie's Farm
Bryan Lowry / Kansas City Star:
Fake intern who recorded McCaskill campaign had access to voter info, campaign says — A conservative activist with Project Veritas posed as an intern with U.S. Sen. Claire McCaskill's campaign and had access to voter information, according to a stack of documents McCaskill's lawyer delivered …
Discussion:
twitchy.com
Darren Samuelsohn / Politico:
Mueller report PSA: Prepare for disappointment — And be forewarned that the special counsel's findings may never be made public. — President Donald Trump's critics have spent the past 17 months anticipating what some expect will be among the most thrilling events of their lives …
Discussion:
USA Today
Katie Benner / New York Times:
Justice Dept. Rank-and-File Tell of Discontent Over Sessions's Approach — WASHINGTON — During his 20 months in office, Attorney General Jeff Sessions has swept in perhaps the most dramatic political shift in memory at the Justice Department, from the civil rights-centered agenda of the Obama era …
Discussion:
Law & Crime and Raw Story
Michael Gerson / Washington Post:
What does Trump's ascendance mean about America? — It is a sign of the times — the kind involving the seven-horned beast, and the rain of fire, and the end of days — that recent news has been dominated by Kanye, Stormy and the misogynist boor who is president of the United States.
Discussion:
Raw Story
Washington Post:
Trump administration does about-face on announcement that top HUD aide would lead Interior watchdog — Interior Department officials said Thursday that they did not approve the hiring of a political appointee as the agency's acting watchdog, calling the announcement of her move by Housing …
Discussion:
ABC News, Politico, The Week, New Republic, Axios, Daily Kos, Talking Points Memo and Political Wire
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Ben Lefebvre / Politico:
Interior Dept. probe faults Zinke for travels with wife
Interior Dept. probe faults Zinke for travels with wife
Discussion:
Political Wire, HuffPost, ThinkProgress and Talking Points Memo
Henry Foy / Financial Times:
Vladimir Putin uses speech to herald end of US hegemony — Russian president Vladimir Putin shrugged off worsening relations with the west and talked up Moscow's burgeoning diplomatic friendships in Asia and the Middle East, as he hailed the end of a US-dominated unipolar world.
Discussion:
Shareblue Media, HuffPost and Raw Story
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Amanda Macias / CNBC:
Putin says Russia will deploy hypersonic missiles in ‘coming months,’ surpassing US and China
Putin says Russia will deploy hypersonic missiles in ‘coming months,’ surpassing US and China
Discussion:
Yahoo and Shakesville
Becket Adams / Washington Examiner:
PolitiFact is forced to retract a story claiming Claire McCaskill didn't say what she definitely said — At some point, we may have to consider the possibility that certain media fact-checkers are not so dispassionate and free from partisan biases as they'd like us to believe.
Burlington Free Press:
Burlington police chief reacts to Madelyn Ellen Linsenmeir obituary: ‘I have a problem’ — Burlington police Chief Brandon del Pozo posted this to his Facebook account on Wednesday, Oct. 17, 2018. — I have a problem with this obituary. — Born here in Burlington, Madelyn was the 30-year old mother of a toddler.
Indianapolis Star:
HBO's ‘Veep’ gag and new Joe Donnelly political ad are basically the same — Dwight Adams, dwight.adams@indystar.com — Many Hoosiers who saw the latest Joe Donnelly ad entitled “Axe” may have viewed it and thought, “well, there's a fella who likes to chop his own wood!”
Discussion:
IndieWire, The Federalist and Mediaite
John Harwood / CNBC:
Republicans are short on policy wins so they are trying to fire up Trump's base with extreme attack ads — With Election Day just two weeks away, GOP candidates seek to alarm a conservative base disproportionately composed of older, less-educated whites in small towns and rural areas.
Silvia Sciorilli Borrelli / Politico:
Italian government splits over budget — ROME — The Italian government isn't just at loggerheads with Brussels, it's also at war with itself. — Economic Development Minister Luigi Di Maio, leader of the 5Star Movement, threatened to block passage of the country's budget after claiming …
Discussion:
One America News Network
Laura Nahmias / Politico:
‘Fiasco’: The short life and ignominious death of de Blasio's national progressive agenda — Mayor Bill de Blasio's first major attempt to be a national player was a monthslong comedy of errors involving City Hall staffers and some of the biggest political operatives in New York …