Top Items:
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 and twitchy.com
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John Bresnahan / Politico:
Pelosi gets revenge against one of the Dem rebels — House Speaker Nancy Pelosi exacted revenge against one of her most outspoken detractors Tuesday night, blocking Rep. Kathleen Rice from landing a seat on the high-profile House Judiciary Committee. — Pelosi lobbied for other members …
Discussion:
Breitbart, ABC News, Talking Points Memo, Townhall and The Daily Caller
Rachael Bade / Politico:
Pelosi asks Trump to reschedule SOTU because of the shutdown — Speaker Nancy Pelosi on Wednesday asked President Donald Trump to reschedule his State of the Union address — or deliver it in writing — as long as the government remains shut down. — The president was set to give his annual speech to Congress on Jan. 29.
Discussion:
Washington Post, One America News Network and Contemptor
Pelosi / Speaker Nancy Pelosi:
Pelosi Sends Letter to President Trump Concerning the State of the Union Address — Washington, D.C. - Speaker Nancy Pelosi sent the following letter today to President Trump suggesting that the delivery of the State of the Union address to a Joint Session of Congress be delayed until government re-opens.
Colby Itkowitz / Washington Post:
Pelosi asking Trump to postpone his State of the Union is her latest power play in this shutdown impasse
Pelosi asking Trump to postpone his State of the Union is her latest power play in this shutdown impasse
Discussion:
Fox News Insider, Raw Story and The Atlantic
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:
National Review, Talking Points Memo, Washington Post, Chicks On The Right, Splinter, Raw Story and Mediaite
Reuters:
Four U.S. troops reported among 16 dead in north Syria attack — BEIRUT (Reuters) - A bomb attack claimed by Islamic State killed U.S. troops in northern Syria on Wednesday, weeks after President Donald Trump said group was defeated there and he would pull out all American forces.
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Jim Tankersley / New York Times:
Shutdown's Economic Damage Starts to Pile Up, Threatening an End to Growth — WASHINGTON — The partial government shutdown is inflicting far greater damage on the United States economy than previously estimated, the White House acknowledged on Tuesday, as President Trump's economists doubled projections …
Discussion:
Washington Post, Mediaite, Splinter, Outside the Beltway and The Week
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Cheyenne Haslett / ABC News:
Damage inflicted by shutdown shaves off projected US economic growth on Day 26
Damage inflicted by shutdown shaves off projected US economic growth on Day 26
Discussion:
Mediaite
Burgess Everett / Politico:
Bipartisan Senate group presses Trump to end shutdown — Senators in both parties are racing to deliver a letter to President Donald Trump indicating that if the government reopens they are willing to work on a border security package with the president, according to multiple people familiar with the matter.
Discussion:
Axios
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David M. Drucker / Washington Examiner:
Hoping to keep his seat and wary of angering the base, McConnell defers to Trump on the shutdown
Hoping to keep his seat and wary of angering the base, McConnell defers to Trump on the shutdown
Discussion:
Daily Kos
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:
CNN, Vox, The Verge and Daily Kos, more at Techmeme »
Des Moines Register:
The Register's editorial: Steve King should resign for the good of Iowa — Some may argue that 4th District voters are getting what they deserve. But the entire state needs a healthy rural economy. Low commodity prices and President Trump's tariffs have hit farmers hard. — CONNECT
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Sheryl Gay Stolberg / New York Times:
As Republicans Rush to Condemn Steve King, Some Ask: Why Not Trump?
As Republicans Rush to Condemn Steve King, Some Ask: Why Not Trump?
Discussion:
The Nation, Daily Wire, Decider and Splinter
Jonathan Martin / New York Times:
Republicans Rebuke Steve King but Face Vexing Question: Why Not Sooner?
Republicans Rebuke Steve King but Face Vexing Question: Why Not Sooner?
Discussion:
The Hill, Right Wing Watch, Mediaite, Talking Points Memo, NBC News and Roll Call
Rebecca Klein / HuffPost:
Karen Pence Is Working At A School That Bans LGBTQ Employees And Kids — The school discriminates against LGBTQ people in its job application and says LGBTQ kids aren't welcome. — Karen Pence, wife of Vice President Mike Pence, started at a job this week teaching art at Immanuel Christian School in Northern Virginia.
Discussion:
New York Post, Towleroad Gay News, The Daily Beast, VICE News, USA Today, Raw Story, Joe.My.God., Splinter and Boing Boing
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Eli Rosenberg / Washington Post:
The school that hired Karen Pence requires applicants to disavow gay marriage, trans identity
The school that hired Karen Pence requires applicants to disavow gay marriage, trans identity
Discussion:
Talking Points Memo, Daily Kos, Mediaite and LGBTQ Nation
Peter Baker / New York Times:
Trump and Putin Have Met Five Times. What Was Said Is a Mystery. — WASHINGTON — The first time they met was in Germany. President Trump took his interpreter's notes afterward and ordered him not to disclose what he heard to anyone. Later that night, at a dinner …
Discussion:
NBC News, Portland Mercury, The Week, Daily Kos, CNN, Front Page Magazine and Mediaite
Kenneth P. Vogel / New York Times:
Republicans Break Ranks Over Move to Lift Sanctions on Russian Oligarch's Firms — WASHINGTON — A group of 11 Republican senators broke ranks with their leadership and the administration on Tuesday to side with Democrats in a showdown over sanctions on Russia, underscoring the political sensitivity …
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Eliot Brown / Wall Street Journal:
WeWork's CEO Makes Millions as Landlord to WeWork — Adam Neumann has bought properties and leased them to his co-working startup, sparking conflict of interest concerns — For more than two months after employees at International Business Machines Corp. moved into a Manhattan building managed …
Discussion:
The Real Deal New York
James Pindell / BostonGlobe.com:
Seth Moulton to speak in N.H., restarting buzz he may run for president — US Representative Seth Moulton, Democrat of Salem, will travel to New Hampshire in two weeks, sources familiar with the planning tell The Boston Globe. — The trip to the first-in-the-nation presidential primary state …
Jonathan Swan / Axios:
“He's not a guy who likes a plan”: How Trump takes his strategic cues from Mike Tyson — When a frustrated adviser once tried to convince President Trump to consider a strategic plan, the president launched into a story about his friend Mike Tyson, the former world heavyweight boxing champion.
Discussion:
Raw Story
Jonathan Chait / New York Magazine:
If Only Obama Had Done the Things Obama Actually Did — Matt Stoller, who has repeatedly dismissed the Obama administration as a failure, tells the New York Times that candidates who sound like Obama will face suspicion from voters. “We tried that and it didn't work,” Stoller said.
Discussion:
Washington Post and Politico
Barry Meier / New York Times:
Sacklers Directed Efforts to Mislead Public About OxyContin, New Documents Indicate — A filing in a Massachusetts lawsuit contains dozens of internal Purdue Pharma documents suggesting the family was far more involved than the company has long contended. — Members of the Sackler family …
Discussion:
The Week
Dana Milbank / Washington Post:
Why would William Barr take this job? The answer should alarm Trump. — It was William P. Barr's confirmation hearing. But it was Robert S. Mueller III's affirmation hearing. — President Trump had nominated Barr to be his new attorney general to shield him from Mueller's hoax of a rigged witch hunt.
Discussion:
Raw Story, New York Times, Just Security, Outside the Beltway, NBC News, Talking Points Memo, The Week and Above the Law, more at Mediagazer »
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 …
Discussion:
Vox
Pew Research Center:
Most Border Wall Opponents, Supporters Say Shutdown Concessions Are Unacceptable — Partisan divide on whether shutdown is ‘very serious’ problem — With the partial shutdown of the federal government in its third week, both opponents and supporters of expanding the U.S.-Mexico border …
Discussion:
Washington Post, Vox and Politico
Jonathan V. Last / The Bulwark:
Is AOC the Future of Politics? Is Trump? — Do these two represent the future of politics? — Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Donald Trump could not be more different as people. Old vs. young; glamorous vs. fat; making ends meet vs. ultra-rich; democratic-socialist vs. populist-conservative.
Discussion:
Hot Air, Politico, CNN, NBC News and Washington Post
Kate O'Neill / Wired:
Facebook's ‘10 Year Challenge’ Is Just a Harmless Meme—Right? — If you use social media, you've probably noticed a trend across Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter of people posting their then-and-now profile pictures, mostly from 10 years ago and this year. — WIRED OPINION
Jeffrey M. Jones / Gallup:
Trump Job Approval Sets New Record for Polarization — WASHINGTON, D.C. — The average 79-percentage-point difference between Republicans' and Democrats' job approval ratings of President Donald Trump during his second year in office is the largest Gallup has measured in any presidential year to date.
Discussion:
Washington Post
Ronald J. Hansen / Arizona Republic:
Kelli Ward's husband accused of spitting on Martha McSally supporter — Former U.S. Senate candidate Kelli Ward's husband was accused of spitting in the eye of one of her former volunteers because the volunteer subsequently supported her former political foe, Martha McSally, police records obtained Tuesday show.
Discussion:
Joe.My.God. and Raw Story
Alexander Avilov / The Moscow Times:
Official Data Vastly Underestimates Russian Emigration - Report — At least six times more Russians are leaving the country than officially estimated, a comprehensive study conducted by the Proekt news outlet said on Wednesday. — Proekt's report highlights discrepancies between official data …
Spencer S. Hsu / Washington Post:
New court filing indicates prosecutors have extensive details on Manafort actions not yet made public — Prosecutors working for special counsel Robert S. Mueller III have intensively scrutinized Paul Manafort's activities after President Trump's election — including after Manafort was criminally charged …
RELATED:
The Intercept:
Amid Internal Investigation Over Leaks to Media, the Center for American Progress Fires Two Staffers — The Center for American Progress fired two staffers suspected of being involved in leaking an email exchange that staffers thought reflected improper influence by the United Arab Emirates within …
Lee Smith / Tablet Magazine:
Norman Podhoretz, 89 Today, Has Made It — The most famous first line in 20th-century American literature set in Kings County, New York, must be incomprehensible to many current residents of that highly literary territory. “One of the longest journeys in the world,” writes Norman Podhoretz …
Daniel Strauss / Politico:
Abrams and Gillum are likely 2020 kingmakers — Stacey Abrams and Andrew Gillum — two of the Democratic Party's breakout candidates of 2018, despite losing their elections for governor of Georgia and Florida — are looking to parlay their near-success into the defeat of Donald Trump in 2020.
Discussion:
Talking Points Memo