Top Items:
CNN:
Exclusive: Robert Mueller met with Trump's pollster — Washington (CNN)Special counsel Robert Mueller sought information directly last year from one of Donald Trump's campaign pollsters who is also a former business associate of Paul Manafort's. — Mueller's team met with pollster Tony Fabrizio …
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CNBC:
Trump's ex-lawyer Michael Cohen will testify at House Oversight Committee before entering prison — President Donald Trump's former personal lawyer and fixer Michael Cohen will testify at the House Oversight Committee on Feb. 7, he said. — Cohen is due to begin a three-year prison term …
Discussion:
CCN, Raw Story, VICE News and Shakesville
New York Times:
Michael Cohen Agrees to Testify to Congress About Work for Trump — WASHINGTON — Michael D. Cohen, President Trump's former personal lawyer who implicated him in a scheme to pay hush money to two women claiming to have had affairs with him, has agreed to testify before the House Oversight …
Discussion:
The Real Deal New York, Law & Crime, Raw Story, Hot Air, Joe.My.God. and The Week
CNN:
As Robert Mueller writes his report, a potential battle brews over obstruction of justice — Washington (CNN)As special counsel Robert Mueller wraps up his Russia probe, investigators have focused on conflicting public statements by President Donald Trump and his team that could be seen …
Discussion:
Hullabaloo and Political Wire
NBC News:
Test of steel prototype for border wall showed it could be sawed through — NBC News obtained a photo showing results of a test on a steel wall prototype. — President Donald Trump has repeatedly advocated for a steel slat design for his border wall, which he described as …
Discussion:
Washington Post, Hit & Run, Hot Air, The Right Scoop, Shakesville, Liberty Unyielding, IJR, twitchy.com, The New Civil Rights Movement, Splinter, Times of San Diego, POLITICUSUSA, Patterico's Pontifications, Daily Kos, The Week, VICE News, USA Today, Joe.My.God., Mediaite, Raw Story and Eschaton
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NBC News:
Trump could take billions from disaster areas to fund wall — Under the proposal, Trump could dip into money set aside to fund civil works projects all over the country including storm-damaged areas of Puerto Rico. — President Donald Trump has been briefed on a plan that would use …
Discussion:
Washington Post, Washington Press, Curbed and Daily Kos
Washington Post:
Trump administration lays groundwork to declare national emergency to build wall — The White House has begun laying the groundwork for a declaration of national emergency to build President Trump's border wall, including searching for unused money in the Army Corps of Engineers budget …
Discussion:
National Review, Hot Air, The Gateway Pundit and Joe.My.God.
Kristina Peterson / Wall Street Journal:
White House Looking Into Diverting Army Corps Funds to Build Wall
New York Times:
Prosecutors Examining Ukrainians Who Flocked to Trump Inaugural — WASHINGTON — Hours after he was sworn in as America's 45th president, Donald J. Trump and his wife, Melania, swayed together to a rendition of the Frank Sinatra classic “My Way,” as hundreds of their wealthiest …
Discussion:
Raw Story and Talking Points Memo
Alexander Bolton / The Hill:
Democrats will object to Senate adjourning amid shutdown — Sen. Tim Kaine (D-Va.) plans to object to the Senate adjourning for the week Thursday afternoon amidst a 20-day government shutdown, according to Senate sources. — Kaine and his fellow Senate Democrats want to ratchet up pressure …
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Burgess Everett / Politico:
‘Never been more depressed’: Trump kills Graham effort to end shutdown — President Donald Trump has rejected a plan proposed by a bloc of Senate Republicans who had hoped to break an impasse over the government shutdown, leaving Congress and the White House with little obvious way out of the extended battle over Trump's border wall.
Ed Morrissey / Hot Air:
Rubio: Are You Ready For President Kamala Harris Declaring A National Emergency Over Climate Change?
Rubio: Are You Ready For President Kamala Harris Declaring A National Emergency Over Climate Change?
Discussion:
Liberty Unyielding, CNBC and The Week
Heather Caygle / Politico:
Dems eye legal challenge as Trump threatens national emergency
Dems eye legal challenge as Trump threatens national emergency
Discussion:
Townhall
Trip Gabriel / New York Times:
Before Trump, Steve King Set the Agenda for the Wall and Anti-Immigrant Politics — Before Trump, Steve King Set the Agenda for Anti-Immigrant Politics — The Iowa congressman, who has been denounced as a white supremacist, wrote the playbook on white identity politics and many of the issues that are ascendant in the G.O.P.
Discussion:
Politico, Washington Press, Shareblue Media, Right Wing Watch, Hit & Run, Popular Information, Splinter, The Atlantic, Des Moines Register, Raw Story, Associated Press, CNN, HuffPost, Jewish Insider, Political Wire, Joe.My.God., Media Matters for America, Contemptor, No More Mister Nice Blog, VICE News, The Guardian, Vox, Outside the Beltway, Booman Tribune, Mediaite, Observer, Breitbart, Law & Crime, Axios, twitchy.com, Daily Kos, The Daily Caller, RedState, National Review, The Week, Little Green Footballs, Talking Points Memo and Boing Boing
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Justin Wise / The Hill:
Steve King asks how terms ‘white nationalist’ and ‘white supremacist’ became offensive — Rep. Steve King (R-Iowa) is questioning how terms such as “white nationalist” and “white supremacist” became offensive in the U.S. — “White nationalist, white supremacist, Western civilization — how did that language become offensive?”
David Nakamura / Washington Post:
‘The story keeps changing’: Trump falsely asserts he never promised Mexico would directly pay for the border wall — It was a foundational promise of Donald Trump's historic presidential campaign: Mexico would pay for his 2,000-mile border wall. But as he desperately fights for $5.7 billion …
Discussion:
Hot Air, Mediaite and Outside the Beltway
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Caitlin Oprysko / Politico:
Trump: I never said Mexico would ‘write out a check’ for border wall
Trump: I never said Mexico would ‘write out a check’ for border wall
Discussion:
ABC News, Hullabaloo and Breitbart
Ellie Hall / BuzzFeed News:
Trump Admitted That Mexico Isn't LITERALLY Going To Pay For The Wall
Trump Admitted That Mexico Isn't LITERALLY Going To Pay For The Wall
Discussion:
Conservative News Today and Sputnik International
Martin Matishak / Politico:
‘The secretary barely testified’: Pelosi rebukes Mnuchin after Russia sanctions meeting — The Treasury secretary said he was ‘somewhat shocked’ by the remarks following a briefing about lifting sanctions on three Russian companies. — House Democrats excoriated Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin …
Discussion:
Axios and Political Wire
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Benjamin Siegel / ABC News:
Mnuchin defends plan to ease sanctions on Russian oligarch's companies before Congress
Mnuchin defends plan to ease sanctions on Russian oligarch's companies before Congress
Discussion:
Politico, Breitbart, NBC News, One America News Network and Political Wire
The Intercept:
Progressives Fought for Key Committee Spots, but Centrist New Dems Came Out on Top — Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez failed in her long-shot bid for a seat on the powerful Ways and Means Committee, according to an announcement from House Speaker Nancy Pelosi Wednesday evening.
Discussion:
Common Dreams and Speaker Nancy Pelosi
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Zachary Warmbrodt / Politico:
Ocasio-Cortez may take on Wall Street, fellow Democrats on finance panel
Ocasio-Cortez may take on Wall Street, fellow Democrats on finance panel
Discussion:
New York Post and Daily Wire
The Seattle Times:
Q13 FOX staffer fired after TV station airs altered Trump video — A staffer at local FOX affiliate Q13 has been fired after the station aired what appears to be a doctored video of President Trump's Tuesday night speech from the Oval Office. — A staffer at local FOX affiliate Q13 …
Discussion:
NewsBusters, Breitbart, The Right Scoop, Joe.My.God., TheBlaze and The Daily Caller
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Todd Herman / MyNorthwest.com:
Was video of President Trump's Tuesday address doctored?
Was video of President Trump's Tuesday address doctored?
Discussion:
Daily Wire, Power Line and The Gateway Pundit
Gabby Orr / Politico:
Trump White House urging allies to prepare for possible RBG departure — The White House is reaching out to political allies and conservative activist groups to prepare for an ailing Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg's possible death or departure from the Supreme Court — an event that would trigger …
Discussion:
RedState, CNN, Daily Wire, Washington Examiner, Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion, New York Post, The Daily Caller, Lawyers, Guns & Money, The Right Scoop, Joe.My.God., Raw Story, The Gateway Pundit, LifeNews.com, Law & Crime, CNBC, The Week, NTK Network, The New Civil Rights Movement, Splinter and TMZ.com
David Ignatius / Washington Post:
The Saudi engine of repression continues to run at full speed — One hundred days after the murder of Jamal Khashoggi, Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman is pressing ahead with anti-dissident campaigns and remains in regular contact with Saud al-Qahtani, the media adviser whom …
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Laura Rozen / Al-Monitor:
Pompeo's Cairo speech panned as ‘tone-deaf,’ ‘hyper-partisan,’ ‘offensive’
Pompeo's Cairo speech panned as ‘tone-deaf,’ ‘hyper-partisan,’ ‘offensive’
Discussion:
Brookings, New York Times, US Department of State and Common Dreams
Christopher Dickey / The Daily Beast:
Pompeo Ignores Saudi Crimes—and U.S. History—in Middle East Speech
Pompeo Ignores Saudi Crimes—and U.S. History—in Middle East Speech
Discussion:
Politico
Erica Newland / Washington Post:
I worked in the Justice Department. I hope its lawyers won't give Trump an alibi. — Erica Newland is a counsel for the nonprofit group Protect Democracy and a former attorney adviser in the Justice Department's Office of Legal Counsel. — President Trump said Thursday that he will …
Scott Sonner / Nevada Public Radio:
Harry Reid: Renewed But Ready to Rumble? — Harry Reid retired a little more than two years ago after serving decades in elected office, lastly as a U.S. senator who helped President Barack Obama get the Affordable Care Act through Congress. — He's been out of the limelight since, undergoing cancer treatment.
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Niels Lesniewski / Roll Call:
Harry Reid pushing for more UFO research
Kendra Pierre-Louis / New York Times:
Ocean Warming Is Accelerating Faster Than Thought, New Research Finds — Scientists say the warming of the world's oceans is accelerating more quickly than previously thought, a finding with dire implications for climate change given that the vast majority of the heat trapped by greenhouse gases ends up stored there.
Albany Times Union:
Gillibrand reps lease 5,000 square foot Troy building — Kenneth C. Crowe II and and Diego Mendoza-Moyers January 10, 2019 — Campaign representatives for Democratic U.S. Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand signed a lease for a 5,000 square foot space in downtown Troy, according to a local Democratic operative …
Discussion:
twitchy.com
New York Times:
Farm Country Stood by Trump. But the Shutdown Is Pushing It to Breaking Point. — DENVER, Colo. — In Georgia, a pecan farmer lost out on his chance to buy his first orchard. The local Farm Service Agency office that would have processed his loan application was shut down.
Dareh Gregorian / NBC News:
The ‘doomsday’ scenario: Here's what happens if the shutdown drags on — Economists warn that a catastrophe is in the making if the partial government closure continues for weeks or months. — The country would face an economic hellscape if the government shutdown lasts “months or even years …
Discussion:
The Democrats
Brianna Sacks / BuzzFeed News:
“I Felt Dirty”: Former Employees Of The Veteran Crowdfunding Trump's Wall Say He Pushed Fake News To Get Rich — “He never wanted the truth. It was all just for clicks, and the more inflammatory, the better,” a former employee said. “I felt dirty writing the stuff.”
Bret Stephens / New York Times:
What Real Border Security Looks Like — Republicans and Democrats should agree to build an Israeli-style “smart fence.” — ON THE ISRAEL-LEBANON BORDER — Other than the Korean Peninsula's DMZ, there's probably no border in the world as fraught with the potential for sudden violence as this one, known locally as the Blue Line.
Giulianna Di Lauro Velez / The Intercept:
I Was Sexually Harassed on Bernie Sanders's 2016 Campaign. I Will Not Be Weaponized or Dismissed. — Last week, my experience, and that of some of my female co-workers, became the focus of a New York Times story on the sexual harassment and sexism that took place in the 2016 Bernie Sanders campaign.
Discussion:
Politico, Daily Wire and The Daily Beast
Alan Butterfield / Daily Mail:
EXCLUSIVE: ‘I killed JonBenét Ramsey!’ Convicted pedophile Gary Oliva has confessed to the murder of six-year-old pageant princess in prison letters to his friend - claiming it was ‘an accident’ — Gary Oliva, 54, has long been a suspect in the murder of JonBenét Ramsey …
Discussion:
RedState, CBS Denver, The Daily Caller, TheBlaze and Daily Wire
Sam Biddle / The Intercept:
For Owners of Amazon's Ring Security Cameras, Strangers May Have Been Watching Too — The “smart home” of the 21st century isn't just supposed to be a monument to convenience, we're told, but also to protection, a Tony Stark-like bubble of vigilant algorithms and internet-connected sensors working ceaselessly to watch over us.
Discussion:
Boing Boing, Engadget, The Verge, Mashable and VentureBeat, more at Techmeme »
Paul Seamus Ryan / Just Security:
Trump Campaign in Legal Jeopardy Over Manafort's Sharing Data with Russian Agent — According to a court filing earlier this week, former 2016 Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort shared presidential campaign polling data with Konstantin Kilimnik, a Russian citizen with ties to Russian intelligence.
Discussion:
CNBC, American Prospect, Breitbart, emptywheel and Fox News Insider
John Hinderaker / Power Line:
The Great Issue of Our Time... ...is whether, as a people, we are too dumb to sustain a democracy. This question arises often; for me, most recently, upon seeing this Daily Mail headline: “Twitter user stuns the internet with math that proves one 18-inch pizza has more in it than TWO 12-inch helpings.”
Discussion:
Daily Mail
Toby Young / Spectator:
The unending war against masculinity and men — For the first time in its history, the American Psychological Association (APA) has issued guidelines for mental health professionals working with men and boys. That may not sound like a momentous event, but the APA is a powerful body in the US.