Top Items:
Washington Post:
White House seeks list of programs that would be hurt if shutdown lasts into March — White House acting chief of staff Mick Mulvaney has pressed agency leaders to provide him with a list of the highest-impact programs that will be jeopardized if the shutdown continues into March and April, people familiar with the directive said.
Discussion:
ThinkProgress, CNBC, Raw Story and Political Wire
RELATED:
Washington Post:
‘Master negotiator’ or ‘nonentity’? Kushner thrusts himself into middle of shutdown debate — Jared Kushner spoke up at a recent Oval Office meeting about cutting a deal to end the government shutdown, which has been the latest project for President Trump's son-in-law and senior adviser.
Discussion:
Raw Story
New York Times:
Trump Says He Will Explore Alternatives After Pelosi Says No State of the Union Until Shutdown Ends — WASHINGTON — President Trump said he would look for alternative venues for his State of the Union address on Tuesday, appearing to capitulate after Speaker Nancy Pelosi again told …
Discussion:
Associated Press, Power Line, Hullabaloo, Hot Air, Politico, Raw Story and Political Wire
Washington Post:
Pelosi tells Trump: No State of the Union address in the House until government is opened — House Speaker Nancy Pelosi on Wednesday rescinded her invitation to President Trump to deliver the State of the Union in the House next week — denying him a national platform for the annual speech …
Pelosi / Speaker Nancy Pelosi:
Pelosi Sends Letter to President Trump on the State of the Union Address
Discussion:
CNN, National Review, IJR and The Stream
The White House:
A Letter from the President to Speaker Pelosi
Discussion:
POLITICUSUSA, Daily Kos, IJR, Common Dreams, TheBlaze, RedState and Splinter
Paul Waldman / Washington Post:
The Trump-Pelosi war just intensified. We're in for two years of crisis.
Discussion:
Shareblue Media, ABC News and The Mahablog
Associated Press:
AP-NORC poll: Shutdown drags Trump approval to yearlong low — WASHINGTON (AP) — A strong majority of Americans blame President Donald Trump for the government shutdown and reject his primary rationale for a border wall. That's according to a new poll that shows the turmoil in Washington …
Discussion:
POLITICUSUSA, The Hill and Washington Post
RELATED:
CBS News:
Pelosi has edge over Trump on budget negotiations, CBS News poll shows — Seven in 10 Americans don't think the issue of a border wall is worth a government shutdown, which they say is now having a negative impact on the country. But partisans don't want their own side to budge …
Rebecca Morin / Politico:
Poll: Shutdown, Russia drive Trump to all-time high disapproval
Discussion:
Vox, The Hill, The Nation, Outside the Beltway, Mediaite, POLITICUSUSA, The Week, Axios, Political Wire and Public Policy Polling, more at Mediagazer »
Jonathan Cohn / HuffPost:
Medicare For All Looks Good In New Poll, But There's A Big Asterisk
Discussion:
The Henry J. Kaiser …, The Guardian, Gallup, Washington Monthly, Washington Post and TheBlaze
Aaron Blake / Washington Post:
The GOP is in a very familiar shutdown position: Losing it badly
Discussion:
Washington Monthly and Booman Tribune
Ana Vanessa Herrero / New York Times:
Maduro Cuts Ties with U.S. After Trump Recognizes New Leader in Venezuela — CARACAS, Venezuela — President Nicolás Maduro of Venezuela scrapped all diplomatic ties with the United States on Wednesday and gave American diplomats 72 hours to leave, ordering them out with a derisive …
Discussion:
Home Page Rotator, Wall Street Journal, NPR, Hit & Run, Vox and TheBlaze
RELATED:
Eli Lake / Bloomberg:
Trump Makes the Right Decision for Venezuela
Discussion:
RedState, Common Dreams, Daily Wire and New York Times
Wall Street Journal:
BuzzFeed to Cut 15% of Its Workforce — Layoffs could affect about 250 jobs across the company — BuzzFeed is planning to lay off about 15% of its workforce, according to people familiar with the situation, as the company seeks to reorient itself in a shifting digital-media landscape.
Discussion:
RedState, The Daily Caller and Mediaite, more at Mediagazer »
RELATED:
CNN:
BuzzFeed to cut 15% of staff in new round of layoffs — New York (CNN)BuzzFeed is preparing to announce a significant round of layoffs, according to sources familiar with the matter. — The coming contraction is the latest example of digital media companies having to make cutbacks in a difficult operating environment.
Discussion:
New York Times and TheBlaze
Taylor Garland / Media Releases:
Air Traffic Controllers, Pilots, Flight Attendants Detail Serious Safety Concerns Due to Shutdown — Washington, D.C. — On Day 33 of the government shutdown, National Air Traffic Controllers Association (NATCA) President Paul Rinaldi, Air Line Pilots Association (ALPA) President Joe DePete …
Jordain Carney / The Hill:
McConnell blocks bill to reopen most of government — Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) blocked legislation on Wednesday that would reopen most of the government currently closed during the partial shutdown. — Sen. Tim Kaine (D-Va.) went to the Senate floor to ask for consent …
Discussion:
Washington Post, VTDigger and TheBlaze
RELATED:
Cristina Marcos / The Hill:
Top Dem: We would support $5.7B for a ‘smart wall’ — House Majority Whip James Clyburn (D-S.C.) on Wednesday said Democrats would be willing to provide $5.7 billion in border security funding to end the shutdown if the money is used for measures like a “smart wall.”
Discussion:
Politico, Splinter and Common Dreams
Jennifer Jacobs / Bloomberg:
Republican Senator Joni Ernst Says She Was Raped in College — Ernst speaks in first interview since divorce details divulged — Fourth-ranking Senate Republican up for re-election in 2020 — Republican Senator Joni Ernst says that she was raped in college by someone she knew …
Discussion:
Politico
RELATED:
Stephen Gruber-Miller / Des Moines Register:
Sen. Joni Ernst denies ex-husband's allegation that she had an affair, says she is ‘a survivor’
Discussion:
TheBlaze
Cliff Sims / Vanity Fair:
“She Was a Cartoon Villain Brought to Life”: A Former Trump Aide Recalls Conway's Leaking Tactics in the West Wing Viper's Nest — In this exclusive excerpt from Team of Vipers: My 500 Extraordinary Days in the Trump White House, a former Trump aide recalls the leaking, the gossiping …
Discussion:
Mediaite
Katherine Clarke / Wall Street Journal:
Billionaire Ken Griffin Buys America's Most Expensive Home for $238 Million — The record-breaking purchase of a New York City penthouse is the latest in a string of multimillion-dollar real-estate deals by the hedge-fund manager — Billionaire Ken Griffin, who is becoming almost as known …
Discussion:
Curbed NY, New York Times, Joe.My.God., Mother Jones and The Real Deal New York
RELATED:
Farhad Manjoo / New York Times:
Never Tweet — The controversy over the Covington students shows why American journalism should disengage from Twitter. — Friends, reporters, fam: It's time we journalists all considered disengaging from the daily rhythms of Twitter, the world's most damaging social network.
Discussion:
The Federalist, The Atlantic and Patreon
RELATED:
Jonathan Capehart / Washington Post:
Nothing justifies what the Covington students did
Discussion:
The American Conservative, Washington Free Beacon and ThinkProgress
CNBC:
Michael Cohen postpones congressional testimony because of threats to family from Trump and Giuliani — President Donald Trump's former personal lawyer, Michael Cohen, is postponing his plan to testify before Congress in February because of concerns about his family's safety, according to Lanny Davis, Cohen's advisor.
Discussion:
CNN, Townhall, Vox, Wall Street Journal, New York Post, Raw Story and TheBlaze
RELATED:
Zachary Basu / Axios:
Michael Cohen postpones House testimony, blames Trump “threats”
Discussion:
Politico, ABC News and One America News Network
Alexander Burns / New York Times:
Biden's Paid Speech Buoyed the G.O.P. in Midwest Battleground — A speech by Joe Biden in October helped Fred Upton, a vulnerable Republican, win re-election in Michigan. — Mr. Biden, who earned $200,000 for the speech, stunned Democrats and elated Republicans by praising Mr. Upton …
Discussion:
The Daily Caller, Splinter, The Week, Lawyers, Guns & Money, Raw Story and Detroit Metro Times
Jonathan V. Last / The Bulwark:
Kamala Harris's Logo Is a Disaster. Here's Why. — Does bad graphic design doom good candidates? Or do lousy candidates inspire bad graphic design? — Back in 2016, I was pretty bullish on Marco Rubio's presidential prospects—right up until the moment I saw this: — The candidate's name in lower case?
CNN:
At least 5 people killed at SunTrust Bank in Sebring, Florida, police say — (CNN)A gunman who barricaded himself in a SunTrust Bank in Florida killed at least five people in the branch on Wednesday, Sebring Police Chief Karl Hoglund said. — The suspect called authorities to say he had entered …
Discussion:
WTVR-TV, KFOR-TV, myfox8.com and TheBlaze
RELATED:
Olivia Messer / The Daily Beast:
Covington Catholic Teen on ‘Fox & Friends’: Blackface Is ‘School Spirit’ — 'We haven't been able to wear black paint because of the video, but I know the kids meant nothing by it,' one senior explained to Steve Doocy. — Covington Catholic High School's increasing notoriety has only pushed it further into the mud.
Discussion:
Vox, The Daily Banter, HuffPost and Shareblue Media
Tim Murphy / Mother Jones:
Here's Video of Beto O'Rourke Singing “Blitzkrieg Bop” in a Sheep Mask and Onesie — By now, most people who follow national politics have probably heard that Beto O'Rourke, the former Democratic congressman from El Paso who is contemplating a run for president, once played bass in a punk rock band called Foss.
Discussion:
YouTube, Splinter, The Week, The Daily Caller and twitchy.com
Maxwell Tani / The Daily Beast:
Gawker 2.0 Implodes as Its Only Reporters Quit — The new site's only two full-time writers exited Wednesday in protest of editorial director Carson Griffith's offensive remarks about everything from race to penis size. — Gawker 2. is blowing up on the launchpad just two weeks after the site's …
Discussion:
Breitbart and Mediaite, more at Mediagazer »
Dan Lamothe / Washington Post:
A group representing Nathan Phillips wrongly said he served in Vietnam. Then came the accusations. — There's no evidence that he's ever claimed to have served in Vietnam, a representative said — Nathan Phillips, the U.S. veteran whose standoff with high school students on the steps …
Discussion:
Daily Wire, Indian Country Today, Snopes.com, The Guardian and RedState
Hamza Shaban / Washington Post:
Billionaires in Davos hate Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez's 70% tax on the rich — When billionaire chief executive Michael Dell was asked on Wednesday whether he would support a proposal put forth by Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) to tax millionaires at a 70 percent tax rate …
Discussion:
Mother Jones
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