Top Items:
David Edwards / Raw Story:
Stephen Miller was writing SOTU to blame Democrats for shutdown — until Nancy Pelosi pulled the rug out: report — House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) may have thrown a wrench into President Donald Trump's primetime plan to blame Democrats for the shutdown. — Citing security concerns on Wednesday …
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Emily Stewart / Vox:
Nancy Pelosi uninvites Trump from the State of the Union until the shutdown is over — She also says he can deliver it in writing if he wants. — House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has uninvited President Donald Trump from delivering the State of the Union address because of the partial government shutdown …
Discussion:
Politico, The Atlantic, CNN, Los Angeles Times, WORLD, The Daily Caller, National Review, Mother Jones, twitchy.com and Mediaite
Jeff Greenfield / Politico:
Nancy Pelosi Might Have Just Blown Up the State of the Union. And That's OK. — In 1974, the Watergate investigation was blowing up around the White House, and Congress looked well on its way to impeaching President Richard Nixon. But on January 30 it all came to a standstill as Nixon walked …
Discussion:
Vox
Speaker Nancy Pelosi:
Pelosi Sends Letter to President Trump Concerning the State of the Union Address
Pelosi Sends Letter to President Trump Concerning the State of the Union Address
Discussion:
USA Today, Atlanta Journal-Constitution, RT, POLITICUSUSA, Chicks On The Right, Lawyers, Guns & Money, Observer, IJR, Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion, The Lid, Conservative News Today, TheBlaze, The American Mirror, The Federalist, Outside the Beltway, The Gateway Pundit, Conservative Review, Washington Press, Roll Call, twitchy.com, CBS Boston, Axios, Townhall and Towleroad Gay News
Rachael Bade / Politico:
Pelosi asks Trump to reschedule SOTU because of shutdown
Pelosi asks Trump to reschedule SOTU because of shutdown
Discussion:
Washington Post, National Review, Hot Air, No More Mister Nice Blog, ABC News, Daily Wire, ThinkProgress, Breitbart, Townhall, Outside the Beltway and Contemptor
Erin Banco / The Daily Beast:
Rick Gates Tells Mueller About Trump Team's Dealings With Israeli Intelligence Firm — Psy Group delivered plans for ‘social media manipulation’ in 2016 and the special counsel is digging in as part of his probe into Mideast influence. — Rick Gates, the former campaign aide to Donald Trump …
Discussion:
Joe.My.God., Boing Boing and Raw Story
Washington Post:
Top HUD official's departure follows disagreements over housing policy and Puerto Rico disaster funds — A top Department of Housing and Urban Development official is leaving the agency Thursday following disagreements with other members of the Trump administration over housing policy …
Atlanta Journal-Constitution:
BREAKING: Cumming man threatened to attack White House, authorities say — Federal authorities on Wednesday announced a terrorist case against a metro Atlanta resident accused of plotting to destroy the White House and other Washington D.C. government buildings.
Discussion:
Jihad Watch, WXIA-TV, Daily Wire and Breitbart
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Beto O'Rourke:
A lot of big trucks rolling down Pancake Blvd and there aren't any sidewalks. Gloomy early morning sky in Liberal Kansas. Snow melt on the side of the road where I'm running. I find a vacant lot to cut through to another street, also busy and without sidewalks.
Discussion:
CNN, Politico, National Review, Splinter and twitchy.com
Washington Post:
Federal agency ‘improperly’ ignored constitutional concerns before allowing Trump to keep lease to his hotel, internal watchdog says — The General Services Administration “ignored” concerns that President Trump's lease on a government-owned building — the one that houses his Trump International Hotel …
Discussion:
ABC News, Politico, Washington Press, Axios and Joe.My.God.
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Jessica Taylor / NPR:
Federal Watchdog Finds Government Ignored Emoluments Clause With Trump Hotel
Federal Watchdog Finds Government Ignored Emoluments Clause With Trump Hotel
Discussion:
Hullabaloo and Shareblue Media
Greg Sargent / Washington Post:
Trump advisers are cynically feeding his raging ego, and we're all the victims
Trump advisers are cynically feeding his raging ego, and we're all the victims
Discussion:
The Mahablog and Daily Kos
Eliza Collins / USA Today:
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, a social media star, to school House Democrats on Twitter use — WASHINGTON - Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez dances outside her office, solicits instant-pot recipes and gets into fights on Twitter. Soon you may see other Democrats taking a page from her social media playbook.
Discussion:
CNN, Billboard, Splinter, The Verge and Talking Points Memo
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Kenneth P. Vogel / New York Times:
Democrats Fall Short in Effort to Rebuke Administration on Russia Sanctions — WASHINGTON — Senate Republicans on Wednesday narrowly staved off an effort by Democrats to deal the Trump administration's Russia sanctions policy an embarrassing rebuke. — Eleven Republicans joined Democrats …
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New York Times:
Will We Ever See Mueller's Report on Trump? Maybe. — WASHINGTON — The swirl of speculation surrounding the Russia investigation often assumes that the special counsel, Robert S. Mueller III, will release a report of his findings that will serve as the definitive explanation …
Discussion:
Just Security, The Guardian and Outside the Beltway
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Aaron Blake / Washington Post:
The Democrats' capitulation to William Barr
The Democrats' capitulation to William Barr
Discussion:
Hullabaloo and LGBTQ Nation
Garrett M. Graff / Wired:
Trump Must Be a Russian Agent; the Alternative Is Too Awful — IT WOULD BE rather embarrassing for Donald Trump at this point if Robert Mueller were to declare that the president isn't an agent of Russian intelligence. — THE PATTERN OF his pro-Putin, pro-Russia, anti-FBI …
Discussion:
Law & Crime, The Nation and Daily Kos
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Sebastian Gorka / American Greatness:
The FBI Has Become Too Dangerous
The FBI Has Become Too Dangerous
Discussion:
Bloomberg, 1A and Washington Post
FiveThirtyEight:
Most Personality Quizzes Are Junk Science. Take One That Isn't. — Compare your results to those of your friends and family. — What's your personality, and what can it tell you about your true self? Those questions have launched a thousand online personality quizzes.
Zoe Tillman / BuzzFeed News:
A Lawsuit Claims Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee Retaliated Against A Staffer Who Planned To Sue The Congressional Black Caucus Foundation Over An Alleged Rape — The woman, identified by a pseudonym, claimed in a lawsuit that she was raped by a former employee of the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation.
John Solomon / The Hill:
FISA shocker: DOJ official warned Steele dossier was connected to Clinton, might be biased — When the annals of mistakes and abuses in the FBI's Russia investigation are finally written, Bruce Ohr almost certainly will be the No. 1 witness, according to my sources.
Farhad Manjoo / New York Times:
There's Nothing Wrong With Open Borders — Why a brave Democrat should make the case for vastly expanding immigration. — The internet expands the bounds of acceptable discourse, so ideas considered out of bounds not long ago now rocket toward widespread acceptability.
Discussion:
Mediaite
Axios:
Exclusive excerpt: Chris Christie torches Jared — Former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie settles scores in “Let Me Finish,” a memoir out Jan. 29 from Hachette Books, writing that President Trump “trusts people he shouldn't, including some of the people who are closest to him.”
Discussion:
Washington Monthly, National Review, Joe.My.God., Chicks On The Right, Daily Kos, Splinter, Talking Points Memo, Washington Post, Raw Story and Mediaite
Lesley Goldberg / Hollywood Reporter:
Steve Carell to Star in Netflix Comedy Based on Trump's ‘Space Force’ — Picked up straight to series, the show is co-created by the actor and ‘The Office’ boss Greg Daniels. — Steve Carell and The Office creator Greg Daniels are reuniting for a Netflix series inspired by President Trump's idea …
Discussion:
YouTube, Investor's Business Daily, The Week, news.avclub.com, Hit & Run, Mashable, The Daily Caller, Portland Mercury, Daily Wire, IJR, Engadget, Deadline and Towleroad Gay News
Lauren Walsh / WBMA-TV:
Jeff Sessions: Do the right thing everyday and usually things work out, but not always — For the first time since former United States Attorney General Jeff Sessions returned home to Alabama after being fired, he gave ABC 33/40 an exclusive interview. — We talked with Sessions after Monday's inaugural activities in Montgomery.
Philly.com:
John Bogle, who founded Vanguard and revolutionized retirement savings, dies at 89. — John C. Bogle, 89, who revolutionized the way Americans save for the future, championed the interests of the small investor, and railed against corporate greed and the excesses of Wall Street …
Discussion:
The Big Picture
Anna Giaritelli / Washington Examiner:
Border rancher: 'We've found prayer rugs out here. It's unreal' — LORDSBURG, N.M. — Ranchers and farmers near the U.S.-Mexico border have been finding prayer rugs on their properties in recent months, according to one rancher who asked to remain anonymous for fear of retaliation by cartels.
Discussion:
Jihad Watch, The Gateway Pundit and Liberty Unyielding
Washington Post:
Steve King says he was just defending ‘Western Civilization.’ That's racist, too. — After years of making racist statements and promoting racist policies, Rep. Steve King (R-Iowa) may finally have gone too far. In a recent interview, he told the New York Times, “White nationalist …
Discussion:
Raw Story, Bleeding Heartland, Conservative News Today and IJR, more at Mediagazer »
Eliana Larramendia / ABC News:
Michael Cohen fears Trump rhetoric could put his family at risk: Sources — Michael Cohen is having reservations about his highly anticipated public appearance before Congress next month, fearing that President Donald Trump's frequent diatribes against him could put his family in danger, according to sources close to Cohen.
Hussein Kesvani / MEL Magazine:
When YouTube Red-Pills the Love of Your Life — What it's like to watch, terrified and helpless, as your partner becomes radicalized by hate on the fringe right — Sarah clearly remembers the moment she lost the love of her life to the “Red Pill.” — She was sitting inside a dark closet next …
Nate Silver / FiveThirtyEight:
The Shutdown Is Hurting Trump's Approval Rating. But Will It Hurt Him in 2020? — The partial government shutdown is beginning to drag on President Trump's approval rating, which is at its lowest point in months. As of early Wednesday evening, his approval rating was 40.2 percent …
Discussion:
Raw Story, Daily Kos and Washington Post
New York Times:
Goldman's Tactic in Huge Malaysian Fraud Case: Smear an Ex-Partner — They sound like the ingredients of a pulpy thriller: Bigamy. Secret religious conversions. A doctorate from a mail-order diploma mill. Affairs with powerful women. — The sordid list — a mixture of facts …
Charles Sykes / The Bulwark:
When It Comes to Trump and Russia, Should We Apply Hanlon's Razor or Occam's? — It's getting harder to believe that this can be explained by stupidity rather than malice. — This is, I suppose, an awkward time to bring up razors, since we are in the midst of a heated debate …
Washington Post:
T-Mobile announced a merger needing Trump administration approval. The next day, 9 executives had reservations at Trump's hotel. — Last April, telecom giant T-Mobile announced a megadeal: a $26 billion merger with rival Sprint, which would more than double T-Mobile's value and give it a huge new chunk of the cellphone market.
Discussion:
Politico, Shareblue Media, Vox, CNN, What The Fuck …, The Verge, Daily Kos and Shakesville, more at Techmeme »
New York Times:
Theresa May Survives No-Confidence Vote in British Parliament — LONDON — Prime Minister Theresa May narrowly survived a vote of no-confidence in Parliament on Wednesday, but the result did little to quell the turmoil gripping the British government over her plan for leaving the European Union …
Discussion:
Outside the Beltway, The Week, EU Press Room, Women in the World and Shakesville
Washington Post:
Fake editions of The Washington Post handed out at multiple locations in D.C. — Fake editions of The Washington Post claiming that President Trump was leaving office were handed out Wednesday morning at multiple locations in Washington, D.C. — The print papers — dated May 1, 2019 …
Josh Mitchell / Wall Street Journal:
Fed Says Student Debt Is Hurting U.S. Housing Market — Report finds student debt has prevented 400,000 young Americans from buying homes, may help explain urban-rural economic divide — WASHINGTON—Student debt has prevented hundreds of thousands of young Americans from buying a home …
Discussion:
Splinter
Siobhán O'Grady / Washington Post:
Jason Spindler survived 9/11. Then he died at the hands of terrorists in Nairobi. — After Jason Spindler graduated from the University of Texas at Austin in 2000, he moved to New York to work as an investment banker on Wall Street. — Then 9/11 happened.
Andrew Egger / The Bulwark:
Larry Hogan Takes on Trump — Maryland's Republican governor used his inaugural address to address the elephant in the White House. — During last year's election, when he became Maryland's first Republican to win a second term as governor in more than 60 years, Larry Hogan mostly steered clear of talk of Donald Trump.
Discussion:
Washington Post
David Gauthier-Villars / Wall Street Journal:
Turkey to Seek Extradition of NBA Player as Feud Escalates — Turkey said it would seek the extradition of a prominent NBA player, part of a global hunt President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has launched to capture supporters of a Pennsylvania-based cleric he accuses of fomenting the 2016 coup that nearly swept him from power.