Top Items:
Bloomberg:
Obamacare Thrown Out by Judge, Raising Insurance Uncertainty — U.S. judge in Texas dismantles Obama's Affordable Care Act — Decision threatens health coverage for millions of Americans — Obamacare was struck down by a Texas federal judge in a ruling that casts uncertainty …
Discussion:
Daily Wire, The Gateway Pundit, One America News Network, ACA Signups, Townhall, Daily Kos, Axios, twitchy.com and Balloon Juice
RELATED:
Amy Goldstein / Washington Post:
Federal judge in Texas rules Obama health-care law unconstitutional — A federal judge in Texas threw a dagger on Friday into the Affordable Care Act, ruling that the entire health-care law is unconstitutional because of a recent change in federal tax law. — The opinion by U.S. District …
Sarah Kliff / Vox:
Federal court rules Obamacare unconstitutional — but the law stands for now — The lawsuit — backed by the Trump administration — threatens to overturn Obamacare's ban on preexisting conditions. — A federal judge in Texas has ruled the Affordable Care Act unconstitutional …
Discussion:
New York Times and Mother Jones
New York Times:
Texas Judge Strikes Down Obama's Affordable Care Act as Unconstitutional — WASHINGTON — A federal judge in Texas struck down on Friday the entire Affordable Care Act on the grounds that its mandate requiring people to buy health insurance is unconstitutional and the rest of the law cannot stand without it.
Discussion:
Wall Street Journal, Reason, Joe.My.God., Politico, Conservative News Today, CBS San Francisco and LifeZette
David K. Li / NBC News:
Federal judge in Texas strikes down Affordable Care Act — In a ruling sure to be appealed to Supreme Court, Texas court says the ACA, also known as Obamacare, can no longer stand without the penalty against the uninsured. — A federal judge in Texas struck down the Affordable Care Act on Friday night …
Discussion:
ABC News, Washington Times, Chicks On The Right, Liberty Unyielding and Power Line
CNN:
Federal judge in Texas strikes down Affordable Care Act
Federal judge in Texas strikes down Affordable Care Act
Discussion:
Fox News Insider, Mediaite and The Daily Caller
Peter Sullivan / The Hill:
Federal judge in Texas strikes down ObamaCare
Federal judge in Texas strikes down ObamaCare
Discussion:
Washington Examiner, Washington Post, LifeNews.com, Fortune, RedState and Breitbart
ProPublica:
Trump's Inauguration Paid Trump's Company — With Ivanka in the Middle — As the inaugural committee planned the landmark celebration, internal concerns were raised about whether Trump's Washington hotel was overcharging for event space. The spending could be a violation of the law.
Discussion:
POLITICUSUSA, CNN, Washington Press, The Mahablog, Washington Post, Mediaite, Shareblue Media, No More Mister Nice Blog, Hullabaloo, Axios, Daily Kos and New York Daily News
RELATED:
The Daily Beast:
Trump's Next Chief of Staff Called Him ‘A Terrible Human Being’ Just Before He Was Elected President — Mulvaney left his House seat the next year to serve Trump as both director of the Office of Management and Budget and Acting Director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.
Discussion:
Raw Story, Political Wire and Mediaite
RELATED:
Lee Moran / HuffPost:
Mick Mulvaney Trashes ‘Terrible’ Donald Trump In Newly Resurfaced Video
Mick Mulvaney Trashes ‘Terrible’ Donald Trump In Newly Resurfaced Video
Discussion:
Daily Wire, RedState and The Atlantic
Chris Mills Rodrigo / The Hill:
Chris Christie declines White House chief of staff role
Chris Christie declines White House chief of staff role
Discussion:
Washington Post, Outside the Beltway, New York Times, Politico, Washington Press, ABC News, Breitbart, Joe.My.God. and Big League Politics
Rachael Bade / Politico:
Trump considers delaying border wall fight until January
Trump considers delaying border wall fight until January
Discussion:
VICE News, Washington Post and Daily Kos
Associated Press:
Too old to run? Biden wrestles with age as he eyes 2020 run — As he considers running for president, Joe Biden is talking with friends and longtime supporters about whether, at 76, he's too old to seek the White House, according to several sources who have spoken with the former Democratic vice president.
RELATED:
Pamela Brown / CNN:
Mueller continues to be interested in interviewing Trump — (CNN)Special counsel Robert Mueller's team continues to be interested in interviewing the President Donald Trump, two sources familiar with the matter tell CNN. — Mueller's stance on interviewing the President has been constant …
Discussion:
HuffPost, POLITICUSUSA and Mediaite
RELATED:
CNN:
Mystery Mueller mayhem at a Washington court — Washington (CNN)Fridays at the DC federal courthouse are typically days of high alert for the press corps trying to discern what special counsel Robert Mueller's next legal action will be. — But this Friday, court officials went to extreme measures …
Discussion:
Raw Story, Politico, BuzzFeed News, Law & Crime and Jamie Dupree - AJC
hatch.senate.gov:
Hatch on Comments He Made Earlier This Week about Accusations Against President Trump — Washington,D.C.—Senator Orrin Hatch (R-UT) issued the following statement about comments he made earlier this week about accusations made against President Trump:
Discussion:
HuffPost, Daily Kos, Hot Air, Law & Crime, Talking Points Memo and Washington Post
RELATED:
Anna Silman / The Cut:
The Real Sex Lives of Historical Queens — Mild spoilers for The Favourite and Mary Queen of Scots below. — In 2018, we were treated to two films about historical monarchs that also featured prominent scenes of queer lovemaking. In The Favourite, set in the early 1700s, two of Queen Anne's …
Kyle Cheney / Politico:
FBI releases part of Russia dossier summary used to brief Trump, Obama — The FBI released for the first time Friday night a two-page summary former FBI Director James Comey used to brief President-elect Donald Trump nearly two years ago on a so-called dossier about Trump's ties to Russia.
Lindsay Wise / Kansas City Star:
Yoder wants ‘autopsy’ to determine reasons for heavy Republican losses in House — Outgoing U.S. Rep. Kevin Yoder of Kansas wants national Republicans to conduct a thorough “autopsy” to determine why the party lost so many seats in the House of Representatives — including his own.
Washington Post:
Drenched city: 2018 is now Washington's wettest year ever recorded. — An unprecedented series of drenching rain storms, culminating in this weekend's soaking, has catapulted 2018 to the wettest year on record in Washington. This year's rainfall tally shoves aside the previous top mark which stood for nearly 130 years.
Liz Sly / Washington Post:
America's hidden war in Syria — U.S. troops will now stay in Syria indefinitely, controlling a third of the country and facing peril on many fronts — RAQQA, Syria — This ruined, fearful city was once the Islamic State's capital, the showcase of its caliphate and a magnet for foreign fighters from around the globe.
Marc Fisher / Washington Post:
THE PARTISAN WARRIOR … What happened to Michael Flynn? — Before he pleaded guilty to lying to the FBI, before he became a folk hero to many of President Trump's most loyal supporters, before he pivoted from accomplished military officer to purveyor of shocking stories about the evils of Islam …
Discussion:
Hullabaloo, National Review and Wonkette
Yuval Levin / National Review:
A Toast to the Standard — Today brought the sad news that, as has been feared and rumored for months, The Weekly Standard is closing. The death of that other conservative magazine is a tragedy, pure and simple. And it's compounded by the chilling, spiteful, and pernicious manner of its execution.
Discussion:
Power Line, Vox, The Guardian and New York Times, more at Mediagazer »
RELATED:
Rod Dreher / The American Conservative:
Weekly Standard, RIP
Weekly Standard, RIP
Discussion:
Small Dead Animals, Power Line, The Daily Beast and RedState
Andrew Kaczynski / CNN:
VA secretary gave inaccurate answers on pro-Confederate ties during confirmation process — VA secretary praised Confederate president — (CNN)Veterans Affairs Secretary Robert Wilkie gave inaccurate answers to senators during his confirmation process about pro-Confederate speeches he delivered in 2009.
Jeffrey Toobin / New Yorker:
Adam Schiff's Plans to Obliterate Trump's Red Line — With the Democrats controlling the House, Schiff's congressional investigation will follow the money. — President Trump said some time ago that he believes his personal finances should be off limits to investigators.
Discussion:
The Gateway Pundit, Raw Story and Joe.My.God.
Seung Min Kim / Washington Post:
‘Stop,’ 'I wasn't there,' 'I don't know anything about that': Republicans dodge or dismiss Trump's legal woes — The Debrief: An occasional series offering a reporter's insights — A reporter hadn't even finished asking about President Trump and the sentencing of his former lawyer Michael Cohen …
Discussion:
Raw Story
Spencer Kornhaber / The Atlantic:
Bruce Springsteen Explains It All — As his wildly successful one-man Broadway show comes to Netflix, one thing is clear: Under his tutelage, everything makes sense. — Bruce Springsteen is a phony, and he wants you to know it. “I've never held an honest job in my entire life,” …
Jackie Speier / San Francisco Chronicle:
Strange real estate deal raises specter of Putin buying Trump — In July 2008, Donald Trump undertook one of his most infamous transactions. He sold a mansion in Palm Beach for $95 million to Dmitry Rybolovlev, Russian oligarch and billionaire. Trump had purchased it four years earlier for $41.35 million.
Discussion:
Raw Story
Hollie McKay / Fox News:
Venezuelans regret gun ban, ‘a declaration of war against an unarmed population’ — CUCUTA, Venezuela/Colombia border - As Venezuela continues to crumble under the socialist dictatorship of President Nicolas Maduro, some are expressing words of warning - and resentment …
Discussion:
Breitbart and Liberty Unyielding
Scott Stedman:
FBI actively investigating Papadopoulos days after his release from prison — Federal authorities out of Washington DC, working in coordination with Robert Mueller's team, have in recent days sought to arrange an interview with the author of a letter sent to Congress last month that claimed …
Discussion:
CANNONFIRE and The Gateway Pundit
New York Times:
Star Economist at Harvard Faces Sexual Harassment Complaints — CAMBRIDGE, Mass. — Before he turned 40, Roland G. Fryer Jr. had earned tenure at Harvard, received a MacArthur “genius” grant and won the most prestigious award for young American economists. He stoked a national debate …