Top Items:
Wall Street Journal:
White House Meeting Started With Sweets, but Quickly Turned Sour — Trump and congressional leaders remain at odds over border-wall funding; ‘Bye bye!’ — WASHINGTON—President Trump opened the latest face-to-face negotiations with lawmakers like he was comforting members of one of his golf clubs.
RELATED:
Manu Raju / CNN:
Facing gridlock, GOP senators seek big immigration deal to end shutdown — (CNN) — Staring at a prolonged government shutdown, Republican senators are privately planning to court Democratic senators on an immigration deal that would give President Donald Trump money for his border wall …
Discussion:
illegal immigration …, TheBlaze, The Right Scoop and The Daily Caller
Burgess Everett / Politico:
Graham launches last-ditch push to end shutdown — Sen. Lindsey Graham is throwing a Hail Mary to reopen the government. — Graham brought together a half dozen Republican senators Wednesday afternoon in a last-ditch attempt to resolve the three-week stalemate before President Donald Trump deploys …
Discussion:
ABC News, IJR, Joe.My.God., Townhall and The Daily Caller
Yascha Mounk / Slate:
Trump's Speech Was Too Effective for Comfort — The president probably failed to win anyone over to his message. But that doesn't mean the public is immune to that message. — President Donald Trump's address to the nation on Tuesday night was unimaginative, lacking in energy …
New York Times:
Trump Storms Out of White House Meeting With Democrats on Shutdown — WASHINGTON — President Trump stormed out of a White House meeting with congressional leaders on Wednesday after Speaker Nancy Pelosi said she would not fund a border wall even if he agreed to reopen the government …
Discussion:
Shareblue Media, Townhall, CNN, Breitbart, The Gateway Pundit, KTLA, Jamie Dupree - AJC and Contemptor
Eli Watkins / CNN:
Trump walks out of shutdown meeting, calling talks ‘total waste of time’
Trump walks out of shutdown meeting, calling talks ‘total waste of time’
Discussion:
Raw Story, Fox News Insider, New York Times, Sputnik International, IJR, Washington Press, Roll Call, Common Dreams, National Review, The Week and The Daily Caller
Washington Post:
'He's a gut politician': Trump's go-to negotiating tactics not working in shutdown standoff
'He's a gut politician': Trump's go-to negotiating tactics not working in shutdown standoff
Discussion:
ThinkProgress, RedState, Washington Free Beacon and Mother Jones
CNBC:
Trump calls meeting with Chuck Schumer and Nancy Pelosi a ‘total waste of time’ after he storms out
Trump calls meeting with Chuck Schumer and Nancy Pelosi a ‘total waste of time’ after he storms out
Discussion:
Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion
Haley Britzky / Axios:
Democratic rebuttal had higher ratings than Trump's address
Democratic rebuttal had higher ratings than Trump's address
Discussion:
ABC News
Washington Post:
Shutdown impasse: 8 House Republicans break with Trump on shutdown strategy, back Democrats' plan …
Shutdown impasse: 8 House Republicans break with Trump on shutdown strategy, back Democrats' plan …
Discussion:
The Week, Conservative News Today, Raw Story, Axios and CNN
Joe Concha / The Hill:
Pelosi, Schumer response tops Trump speech in preliminary ratings
Pelosi, Schumer response tops Trump speech in preliminary ratings
Discussion:
Deadline
Wall Street Journal:
Trump Says Bypassing Congress Still an Option on Wall
Trump Says Bypassing Congress Still an Option on Wall
Discussion:
Mediaite, CCN, Hot Air and twitchy.com
Heidi Przybyla / NBC News:
House Democrats now asking questions about Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin — Mnuchin will give the House a classified briefing Thursday, after a request from the Democratic chairs of the main House investigative panels. — WASHINGTON — Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin has agreed …
Discussion:
Raw Story
RELATED:
John R. Schindler / Observer:
Exclusive: Mueller Is Holding Top Secret Intelligence That Will Sink the Trump Presidency — Another day, another bombshell emanating from the Special Counsel investigation into President Donald Trump and his links to the Kremlin. We now have more proof that Robert Mueller really does …
Discussion:
CNN, RedState, Sputnik International, Raw Story and Talking Points Memo
Christal Hayes / USA Today:
Trump's team had over 100 contacts with Russian-linked operatives, report shows — WASHINGTON - Members of President Donald Trump's campaign and transition team had more than 100 contacts with Russian-linked operatives, according to a new report. — The milestone illustrates …
Discussion:
Washington Post
Philip Bump / Washington Post:
That sophisticated, specific Russian 2016 voter targeting effort doesn't seem to exist
That sophisticated, specific Russian 2016 voter targeting effort doesn't seem to exist
Discussion:
ABC News, Talking Points Memo, Daily Kos and New York Times
Ken Meyer / Mediaite:
New York Times Makes Major Correction to Report on Manafort and Russian Oligarch
New York Times Makes Major Correction to Report on Manafort and Russian Oligarch
Discussion:
Talking Points Memo, Booman Tribune, Washington Monthly, twitchy.com and Washington Post
National Enquirer:
Married Amazon Boss Jeff Bezos Getting Divorce Over Fling With Movie Mogul's Wife — The ENQUIRER's blockbuster exclusive of world's richest couple's break-up! — The marriage of the world's richest couple is set to explode in all-out war — after billionaire Jeff Bezos was caught cheating …
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Robert Frank / CNBC:
How much could Mackenzie Bezos get in a divorce?
CNN:
Law firm that represented Russian interests part of mystery Mueller subpoena case — Supreme Court rules against mystery company — Washington (CNN)One law firm involved in a foreign government-owned company's challenge of a mysterious grand jury subpoena related to the Robert Mueller investigation …
Discussion:
Politico, Talking Points Memo, Raw Story and Washington Post
Carol D. Leonnig / Washington Post:
A beefed-up White House legal team prepares aggressive defense of Trump's executive privilege as investigations loom large — A beefed-up White House legal team is gearing up to prevent President Trump's confidential discussions with top advisers from being disclosed to House Democratic investigators …
Discussion:
Politico, Mother Jones, POLITICUSUSA, VICE News, Jewish Telegraphic Agency, Vox and TheBlaze
Washington Post:
Reduced inspections ‘put our food supply at risk’ — The furloughing of hundreds of Food and Drug Administration inspectors has sharply reduced inspections of the nation's food supply — one of many repercussions of the partial government shutdown that make Americans potentially less safe.
Discussion:
NBC News, The Hill, Splinter, Washington Press, Hullabaloo, VICE, The Week, Gizmodo, Shareblue Media and Axios
RELATED:
Sheila Kaplan / New York Times:
Government Shutdown Curtails F.D.A. Food Inspections
Government Shutdown Curtails F.D.A. Food Inspections
Discussion:
abc11.com, FOX40, WPMT FOX43 and FOX 4 Kansas City WDAF-TV
Dan Lamothe / Washington Post:
Coast Guard families told they can have garage sales to cope with government shutdown — Employees of the U.S. Coast Guard who are facing a long U.S. government shutdown just received a suggestion: To get by without pay, consider holding a garage sale, babysitting or serving as a “mystery shopper.”
Discussion:
Task & Purpose, Washington Press, Joe.My.God., Raw Story, Boing Boing and Daily Kos
Clare Lombardo / NPR:
Virginia Study Finds Increased School Bullying In Areas That Voted For Trump — After the 2016 presidential election, teachers around the country reported they were seeing increased name-calling and bullying in their classrooms. Now, research shows that those stories — at least in one state — are confirmed by student surveys.
Nomaan Merchant / Associated Press:
Texas landowners prepare wall fight; Trump to visit border — HIDALGO, Texas (AP) — As President Donald Trump travels to the border in Texas to make the case for his $5.7 billion wall, landowner Eloisa Cavazos says she knows firsthand how the project will play out if the White House gets its way.
Discussion:
Boing Boing
RELATED:
Sister Norma Pimentel / Washington Post:
Welcome to the border, Mr. President
Alexander Burns / New York Times:
Tom Steyer, Billionaire Impeachment Activist, Won't Run Against Trump — Tom Steyer, the California billionaire who has crusaded for President Trump's impeachment, said on Wednesday that he would not join the pack of Democrats running for president in 2020 and would instead redouble his efforts to topple Mr. Trump before the election.
Discussion:
LifeNews.com, BuzzFeed News, OpenSecrets.org, Washington Free Beacon, The Guardian, Wall Street Journal, Joe.My.God., Axios and Splinter
Casey Newton / The Verge:
People older than 65 share the most fake news, a new study finds — And the finding holds true across party lines — Older Americans are disproportionately more likely to share fake news on Facebook, according to a new analysis by researchers at New York and Princeton Universities.
Discussion:
Splinter, Gizmodo and Washington Post, more at Mediagazer »
Josh Barro / New York Magazine:
Modern Monetary Theory Doesn't Make Single-Payer Health Care Any Easier — You may have heard of Modern Monetary Theory, an approach to economics that is increasingly popular on the left, and which is sometimes mischaracterized (by advocates and especially detractors) as holding that budget deficits …
RELATED:
Eric Levitz / New York Magazine:
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez's Critique of Fact-Checking Is Valid
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez's Critique of Fact-Checking Is Valid
Discussion:
BostonGlobe.com, ThinkProgress, twitchy.com, National Review, Liberty Unyielding, RedState and IJR
Alexandra Desanctis / National Review:
Democratic Congresswoman Calls Out Fellow Democrats for ‘Religious Bigotry’ — Representative Tulsi Gabbard, a Democrat from Hawaii, published an op-ed in The Hill yesterday, implicitly criticizing two of her fellow Democratic congresswomen for subjecting a judicial nominee to a religious test …
Discussion:
Hawaii News Now, twitchy.com and RedState
Liam Stack / New York Times:
Pastor Who Praised Pulse Nightclub Gunman Resigns After Allegedly Paying for Sex — A Baptist minister in Texas who came to national attention in 2016 when he praised the gunman who killed 49 people at a gay nightclub in Orlando, Fla., resigned from his ministry last week after allegedly using drugs …
Discussion:
The Daily Caller and Raw Story
Lawrence Wright / New Yorker:
A Memorial for Jamal Khashoggi — On Thursday, I will be joining the documentarian Alex Gibney and the former F.B.I. special agent Ali Soufan, along with lawmakers, journalists, human-rights advocates, and friends, at the U.S. Capitol, in Washington, D.C., to honor Jamal Khashoggi …
Cathy Young / The Forward:
Sorry, Angela Davis Is No One's Human Rights Hero — The Birmingham Civil Rights Institute, the Alabama museum and research center dedicated to the history of the Civil Rights Movement, has rescinded a prestigious award to activist, academic and Birmingham native Angela Davis …
Discussion:
New York Times, Southern Jewish Life, Instapundit, CityLab and NPR
New York Times:
Trump Thinks He's His Own Best Messenger. Where Does That Leave Bill Shine? — WASHINGTON — At the beginning of the government shutdown, Bill Shine was about as far away from the capital as President Trump's most senior communications official could get.
Discussion:
Talking Points Memo
Brooke Sopelsa / NBC News:
Evangelical group wants gays removed from anti-lynching bill — Liberty Counsel Chairman Mat Staver opposes including the words “sexual orientation” and “gender identity” in a federal anti-lynching bill. — The U.S. Senate last month unanimously passed a bill that would explicitly make lynching a federal crime.
Discussion:
Joe.My.God. and PinkNews
Alex Thompson / Politico:
Top Bernie Sanders 2016 adviser accused of forcibly kissing subordinate — On the final night of the Democratic National Convention in July of 2016, Bernie Sanders' staffers went out to a Mediterranean restaurant and hookah bar in Center City Philadelphia to celebrate and mourn the end of the campaign.
Discussion:
CNN and Washington Post
Farhad Manjoo / New York Times:
You Should Meditate Every Day — Sure, it's become a wellness fad. But it's the best way I've found to keep digital monsters at bay. — Because I live in Northern California, where this sort of thing is required by local ordinance, I spent New Year's Day at a meditation center …
Andrew Egger / The Bulwark:
Iowa Rep. Steve King Draws a Primary Challenger for 2020 — Iowa Rep. Steve King, the nine-term lawmaker whose history of making xenophobic statements and palling around with white supremacists made him a flashpoint of controversy during the 2018 election, will face a primary challenger in 2020.