Top Items:
Jonathan Swan / Axios:
Pressure mounts over acting Attorney General Matt Whitaker — Matt Whitaker has been acting attorney general for just one full day but he's already under extreme pressure. — Why it matters: President Trump, who shocked even some of his senior most staff with the hasty timing of his firing …
Discussion:
Vox, SHUGERBLOG, Associated Press, Politico, Just Security, NBC News, Political Wire and ABC News
RELATED:
CNN:
Whitaker backlash prompts concern at the White House — (CNN)There is a growing sense of concern inside the White House over the negative reaction to Matthew Whitaker being tapped as acting attorney general after Jeff Sessions' abrupt firing. — Whitaker, who was Sessions' chief of staff …
Discussion:
emptywheel, Politico, The Atlantic, The Guardian, Daily Kos, Splinter, Hullabaloo, Mediaite, Law & Crime, The National Memo, CANNONFIRE and Raw Story
Judith Miller / Wall Street Journal:
Jeff Sessions's Exit Interview — The departing attorney general leaves as gracious as ever, and doesn't regret his controversial recusal. — Jeff Sessions says he is “confident” that Robert Mueller's probe of alleged Russian interference in the 2016 election will be handled “appropriately and with justification.”
Greg Sargent / Washington Post:
Trump's authoritarian response to Florida shenanigans hints at worse to come
Trump's authoritarian response to Florida shenanigans hints at worse to come
Discussion:
Townhall, FiveThirtyEight and NPR
Ben White / Politico:
Sessions' job is hard to fill. Enter Chris Christie.
Sessions' job is hard to fill. Enter Chris Christie.
Discussion:
CNBC, CNN, Talking Points Memo, Raw Story, Bedford + Bowery, The Week and Breitbart
New York Times:
Acting Attorney General Sat on Board of Company Accused of Bilking Customers
Acting Attorney General Sat on Board of Company Accused of Bilking Customers
Discussion:
Politico, The Week, Lawfare, CNBC, Law & Crime, BloombergQuint and Raw Story
Ryan J. Foley / Associated Press:
Acting AG faced criticism for case against gay Iowa Democrat
Acting AG faced criticism for case against gay Iowa Democrat
Discussion:
St George News, LewRockwell and Las Vegas Review-Journal
The Daily Beast:
Matthew Whitaker, Mueller's New Boss, Said There Was ‘No Collusion’ With Russia
Matthew Whitaker, Mueller's New Boss, Said There Was ‘No Collusion’ With Russia
Discussion:
Talking Points Memo, New York Times, The Daily Caller, IJR, Gothamist, Hill Reporter, Raw Story, Reuters, Mother Jones, New Republic, VICE News, CNN, EURACTIV.com, Mediaite, Haaretz and Balloon Juice, more at Mediagazer »
Will Sommer / The Daily Beast:
Republicans Freak Out as New Ballots Threaten Florida Senate Win — New ballots in Broward County have conspiracy theorists — including the state's top elected officials — calling for an investigation of Democrats. — As the Republican margin in the Florida Senate race narrowed …
Discussion:
Politico, KAJ-TV, Right Wing Watch, miamiherald, CNN, The Gateway Pundit, Geller Report, Sun-Sentinel and twitchy.com
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WPLG-TV:
Broward County elections supervisor explains why it's taking so long to count ballots — 'Don't try to turn it around to make it seem like I'm making comedy out of this' — FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. - As Broward County appears to be at the epicenter of another recount, Supervisor of Elections …
miamiherald:
Rick Scott sues Broward, Palm Beach elections supervisors over ballot delays — TALLAHASSEE — A visibly frustrated Gov. Rick Scott on Thursday accused “unethical liberals” of trying to steal a U.S. Senate seat from him, as his campaign filed two lawsuits against Broward County Supervisor …
Discussion:
Vox, Tampa Bay Times, HuffPost, The Hill, Politico, CNN and Patterico's Pontifications
Ali Vitali / NBC News:
Gillum statement stokes intrigue as Florida vote margin tightens
Gillum statement stokes intrigue as Florida vote margin tightens
Discussion:
ThinkProgress, TheBlaze and Rewire.News
Patricia Mazzei / New York Times:
Rick Scott Cites Rampant Fraud in Florida, as Senate and Governor Races Tighten
Rick Scott Cites Rampant Fraud in Florida, as Senate and Governor Races Tighten
Krissah Thompson / Washington Post:
In revealing new memoir, Michelle Obama candidly shares her story — As Michelle Obama's highly anticipated memoir “Becoming” arrives, it's clear that the former first lady is occupying a space in the culture beyond politics. With an arena book tour featuring A-list special guests …
Discussion:
Mediaite, CNN, KAJ-TV, The Root, Politico, Hill Reporter, theGrio, CNBC, Associated Press, The Week, Essence, Joe.My.God., Balloon Juice, Jezebel, fox8.com, TheBlaze, Glamour and FOX 61
RELATED:
Deb Riechmann / Associated Press:
Michelle Obama rips Trump in new book — WASHINGTON (AP) — Former first lady Michelle Obama blasts President Donald Trump in her new book, recalling how she reacted in shock the night she learned he would replace her husband in the Oval Office and tried to “block it all out.”
Katie Kindelan / ABC News:
Michelle Obama opens up about her miscarriage, going through IVF and Donald Trump in ABC News prime-time special for new memoir ‘Becoming’ — Former first lady Michelle Obama said she felt “lost and alone” after suffering a miscarriage about 20 years ago, during an exclusive interview with “Good Morning America” anchor Robin Roberts.
Discussion:
Observer, POLITICUSUSA, Joe.My.God., Axios and Washington Free Beacon
Kansas City Star:
Inside Kris Kobach's losing Kansas campaign: ‘Check logic and reason at the door’ — Kris Kobach blamed money. He blamed history. He didn't blame himself for losing a race for governor in a state where Republicans outnumber Democrats nearly 2 to 1. — “Obviously, if we'd had more money …
Amy Walter / The Cook Political Report:
Why Aren't Democrats More Excited About the 2018 Results — For a party that had a great night on Tuesday, Democrats aren't really acting like it. Yes, they lost at least three Senate incumbents, but given the exposure they were up against, this is not such a bad result.
RELATED:
Gabriel Debenedetti / New York Magazine:
There's a New Electoral Map in Town
There's a New Electoral Map in Town
Discussion:
New Republic and FiveThirtyEight
Ruth Marcus / Washington Post:
Matthew Whitaker is a crackpot — The acting attorney general of the United States is a crackpot. — Matthew G. Whitaker, installed in the job by President Trump to replace Jeff Sessions, was asked in 2014, during an ill-fated run in the Republican senatorial primary in Iowa, about the worst decisions in the Supreme Court's history.
Discussion:
Politico, Law & Crime, Grist, ThinkProgress, LGBTQ Nation, Real Clear Politics, Wall Street Journal and New York Times
Katie Benner / New York Times:
Sessions, in Last-Minute Act, Sharply Limits Use of Consent Decrees to Curb Police Abuses — WASHINGTON — Former Attorney General Jeff Sessions has drastically limited the ability of federal law enforcement officials to use court-enforced agreements to overhaul local police departments accused …
Timothy Cama / The Hill:
Judge blocks Keystone XL pipeline — A federal judge blocked the controversial Keystone XL oil pipeline Thursday, saying the Trump administration's justification for approving it last year was incomplete. — In a major victory for environmentalists and indigenous rights groups …
Discussion:
Politico, Axios, One America News Network, Daily Wire, Washington Times and Front Page Magazine
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CBS News:
Democrat Kyrsten Sinema pulls ahead in razor-close Arizona Senate race — Democrat Kyrsten Sinema pulled ahead of Republican Martha McSally on Thursday in the Arizona Senate race by a margin of 2,000 votes. This marked the first time that Sinema has pulled ahead of McSally in the days since the election.
Discussion:
The Daily Caller, Politico and Arizona Republic
RELATED:
Rob O'Dell / Arizona Republic:
How many votes left to count in the McSally-Sinema race? Here's our latest estimate
How many votes left to count in the McSally-Sinema race? Here's our latest estimate
Discussion:
Breitbart, Outside the Beltway, Washington Post, The Week and Talking Points Memo
CBS Los Angeles:
Thousand Oaks Gunman's High School Coach Speaks About Sexual Assault — NEWBURY PARK (CBSLA) — The Thousand Oaks shooter's high school track coach says that he assaulted her. — “I turned on the news and I was watching it and when they said his name my jaw just dropped,” said Dominique Colell.
Discussion:
VICE News, Shakesville, POLITICUSUSA, Raw Story and Jezebel
Associated Press:
The Latest: Fire captain says wildfire destroys Calif. town — OROVILLE, Calif. (AP) — The Latest on California wildfires (all times local): — A fire official says the Northern California town of Paradise has been “pretty much” destroyed. — CalFire Capt. Scott McLean …
Discussion:
Gizmodo, Mashable, Chico Enterprise-Record, Splinter and Los Angeles Times
RELATED:
The White House:
Presidential Proclamation Addressing Mass Migration Through the Southern Border of the United States — The United States expects the arrival at the border between the United States and Mexico (southern border) of a substantial number of aliens primarily from Central America who appear …
Discussion:
Axios, RT, The Daily Caller, Jamie Dupree - AJC, HuffPost and ImmigrationProf Blog
RELATED:
Michael D. Shear / New York Times:
Trump Claims New Power to Bar Asylum for Immigrants Who Arrive Illegally
Trump Claims New Power to Bar Asylum for Immigrants Who Arrive Illegally
Discussion:
Fox News, Daily Wire and Jezebel
Chuck Ross / The Daily Caller:
Mueller Grand Jury Witness Cryptically Suggests He's In Legal Jeopardy — Jerome Corsi, a journalist known for pushing the Obama “birther” conspiracy theory, suggested on Thursday that he could face prosecution in the Mueller probe. — On his daily webcast, Corsi became emotional …
Reuters:
Supreme Court justice Ginsburg ‘up and working’ after fall — WASHINGTON/LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - U.S. Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg is already up and working in her hospital room, a day after breaking three ribs in a fall, her nephew said late on Thursday at the Hollywood premiere of a film about her life.
Discussion:
Axios, Washington Post, Talking Points Memo, The Daily Caller, Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion, HuffPost, Jezebel and The Daily Signal
RELATED:
Associated Press:
Expert: Acosta video distributed by White House was doctored — NEW YORK (AP) — A video distributed by the Trump administration to support its argument for banning CNN reporter Jim Acosta from the White House appears to have been doctored to make Acosta look more aggressive than he was during …
RELATED:
Caitlin Byrd / Post and Courier:
Katie Arrington blames Mark Sanford and his supporters for her defeat in SC — Eight hours after Republican Katie Arrington lost her South Carolina congressional race, she blamed her shocking defeat on U.S. Rep. Mark Sanford, the outgoing Republican congressman she bested in the primary.
Discussion:
Political Wire
Shane Goldmacher / New York Times:
Fresh Off Re-Election, Gillibrand Says She Is Giving ‘Long, Hard Thought’ to 2020 Run — Senator Kirsten Gillibrand on Thursday gave her strongest public indication yet that she was contemplating a run for president in 2020, telling the late-night show host Stephen Colbert she would “give it a long, hard thought of consideration.”
Discussion:
Political Wire and The Daily Beast