memeorandum: Blackwater founder Erik Prince's new company is building training center in Xinjiang (Anna Fifield/Washington Post)

9:25 AM ET, February 1, 2019

Top Items:

Trump, in Interview, Calls Wall Talks ‘Waste of Time’ and Dismisses Investigations — WASHINGTON — A defiant President Trump declared on Thursday that he has all but given up on negotiating with Congress over his border wall and will build it on his own even as he dismissed any suggestions …

Discussion: Politico, Washington Post, CNN, Talking Points Memo, VICE News, Law & Crime, AOL, Mediaite, Joe.My.God., CNBC, Raw Story, Splinter, POLITICUSUSA, Contemptor, Conservative Daily News, The Guardian, The Week and Washington Free Beacon

New York Times:

Excerpts From Trump's Interview With The Times — President Trump spoke with The New York Times on Thursday, sitting in the Oval Office for an interview with two White House correspondents, Peter Baker and Maggie Haberman, and A. G. Sulzberger, the newspaper's publisher.

Discussion: thenationalsentinel.com, POLITICUSUSA, CNN, Raw Story and Mediaite

The Daily Beast:

White House Abruptly Canceled Trump's Meeting With Intel Chiefs — The cancellation came a day after top officials gave testimony to congress seemingly contradicting key parts of the president's foreign policy. — The White House abruptly canceled the President's daily intelligence briefing on Wednesday …

Discussion: Talking Points Memo, Just Security, Mediaite, Politico and Joe.My.God.

New York Times:

5 Takeaways From The Times's Interview With President Trump — WASHINGTON — President Trump wanted to talk. He initially invited A. G. Sulzberger, the publisher of The New York Times, to an off-the-record dinner. Mr. Sulzberger countered with a request for an on-the-record interview that included Times reporters.

Discussion: Raw Story, POLITICUSUSA, Shareblue Media, Just Security, Mediaite and Roll Call

Susan B. Glasser / New Yorker:

Trump Lost the Shutdown, But At Least God Made Him President, and He's Building That Wall — Shortly after 7 a.m. on Thursday, President Trump began doing what increasingly passes for his workday: looking at the television and tweeting about it. “So great to watch & listen to all these people …

David Priess / Lawfare:

Why Intelligence Leadership Won't Resign in Response to Trump's Criticisms — Earlier this week, CIA Director Gina Haspel, FBI Director Christopher Wray, NSA Director Paul Nakasone, National Geospatial Intelligence Agency Director Robert Cardillo, Defense Intelligence Agency Director Robert Ashley …

Discussion: CNN, Washington Post and Voice of America

Michael M. Grynbaum / New York Times:
Trump Discusses ‘Fake News,’ and Its Repercussions, With New York Times Publisher

Discussion: Mediaite

Zachary Basu / Axios:
Trump says Kamala Harris has had best “opening act” out of 2020 Democrats

Discussion: Washington Post and Politico

Shane Harris / Washington Post:
Intelligence officials were ‘misquoted’ after public hearing, Trump claims

Discussion: VICE News and CNN

Tom Moran / New Jersey Online:

Booker is running. I've watched him for 20 years. Here's what I've learned — It was inevitable, and now it's official: Sen. Cory Booker is running for president. — That means he's about to face brutal and unrelenting attacks from competing Democrats, wary Republicans, and probably a few dozen Russian bots.

The Hill:

Booker tells lawmakers he is running for president and seeks their support — Sen. Cory Booker (D-N.J.) on Thursday began calling members of Congress informing them he is running for president and is quietly making overtures to members for support, three congressional sources told The Hill.

Discussion: NorthJersey.com, NJ Spotlight, VICE News, Conservative News Today and The Root

Washington Post:

Sen. Cory Booker of New Jersey joins the 2020 presidential race — Sen. Cory Booker of New Jersey said Friday that he will seek the Democratic nomination for president, adding his name to a growing and increasingly diversified field of 2020 candidates intent on taking on President Trump.

Discussion: POLITICUSUSA

Rebecca Buck / CNN:
Cory Booker announces he is running for president

Discussion: Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion and Political Wire

New York Times:
New Jersey Senator Cory Booker Announces 2020 Run

Discussion: The Week

Edward-Isaac Dovere / The Atlantic: Cory Booker Launched His Presidential Campaign in the Most Cory Booker Way Possible

Natasha Korecki / Politico:
Cory Booker launches bid for president

Discussion: Power Line and Observer

CNN:

Exclusive: Senate investigators told Trump Jr.'s mysterious calls weren't with his father — (CNN)Senate investigators have obtained new information showing Donald Trump Jr.'s mysterious phone calls ahead of the 2016 Trump Tower meeting were not with his father, three sources with knowledge of the matter told CNN.

Discussion: Talking Points Memo, Conservative News Today, The Week, Raw Story, The Gateway Pundit, twitchy.com, TheBlaze and Joe.My.God.

New York Times:

Senate Evidence Clarifies Mystery Call Around Trump Tower Meeting — WASHINGTON — Democrats have long stoked suspicions about whether President Trump knew his son met with Russians offering dirt on Hillary Clinton during the 2016 campaign, pointing to phone calls that Donald Trump Jr. received …

Discussion: Fox News and Raw Story

John Santucci / ABC News:
Blocked calls, long a mystery, went to longtime Trump family friends: Sources

Discussion: Conservative News Today and The Gateway Pundit

Zachary Basu / Axios:
Reports: Don Jr.'s blocked phone calls before Russia meeting weren't to Trump

Discussion: Townhall, Raw Story, The Week and Talking Points Memo

Fox Business:

Howard Schultz ‘freaked out’ by Democratic backlash to independent presidential run, rethinks effort — Howard Schultz on opposition to his potential presidential bid: Democrats need a little less caffeine — Howard Schultz is getting burned, like a bad cup of Starbucks coffee and it may force …

Discussion: Splinter

Kirk Johnson / New York Times:
Howard Schultz Draws Protesters in His Hometown, Seattle

Discussion: GeekWire

Cory Booker / YouTube:

We Will Rise … The lines that divide us are nowhere near as strong as the ties that bind us. When we join together and work together — we will rise.

Discussion: BuzzFeed News, Washington Free Beacon and Roll Call

Max Boot / Washington Post:

On Wednesday, the Twitter mob came for me — In mid-January, waves of outrage swept over the Internet because of a confrontation on the Mall in Washington between a group of conservative high school students from Kentucky and an elderly Native American Marine Corps veteran.

Discussion: The American Conservative, Power Line and RT

Catie Edmondson / New York Times:
Senate Rebukes Trump Over Troop Withdrawals From Syria and Afghanistan

Discussion: The National Memo, The American Conservative, Raw Story, RT, Daily Wire, Slate and POLITICUSUSA

Jonathan Amos / BBC:

America colonisation 'cooled Earth's climate' — Colonisation of the Americas at the end of the 15th Century killed so many people, it disturbed Earth's climate. — That's the conclusion of scientists from University College London, UK. — The team says the disruption …

Discussion: Front Page Magazine

Jeffrey Young / HuffPost:

Utah Voters Approved Medicaid Expansion At The Ballot Box. The GOP Is Trying To Undo It. — The Republican majority in the Utah Legislature is moving fast to defy the will of Utahns who approved the proposition. — On Election Day, a majority of Utah voters approved a ballot initiative …

Discussion: Salt Lake Tribune, fox13now.com and Washington Post

Jonathan Swan / Axios:

What Trump is asking friends about the shutdown and 2020 — Over the past week, President Trump has asked friends and advisers how they think the shutdown has affected him politically and what he should be doing to recover his standing in Pennsylvania, Wisconsin and Michigan.

Ben Casselman / New York Times:

U.S. Economy Added 304,000 Jobs in January; Unemployment at 4% — The strong Labor Department report indicated that private-sector employers shrugged off the government shutdown. — The Labor Department released its monthly estimate of hiring, unemployment and wages for January on Friday morning.

Discussion: NPR and Political Wire

Anna Fifield / Washington Post:

Blackwater founder Erik Prince's new company is building training center in Xinjiang — BEIJING — Frontier Services Group, the security contractor led by Erik Prince, who created the controversial Blackwater company, will build a training base in Xinjiang, the western Chinese region …

Melanie Zanona / Politico:

Freedom Caucus plots with GOP leaders to cause Dem misery — The House Freedom Caucus was created to make life hell for the majority. Now, it's the Democrats' turn to suffer. — After last fall's 40-seat electoral disaster, the conservative hard-liners have agreed to a cease-fire …

Discussion: Raw Story and Washington Post

ico.org.uk:

ICO to audit data protection practices at Leave.EU and Eldon Insurance after fining both companies for unlawful marketing messages — The Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) has issued fines totalling £120,000 to an EU referendum campaign and an insurance company for serious breaches …

Discussion: Politico and Guido Fawkes

The Daily Beast:

Bezos' Investigators Question the Brother of His Mistress, Lauren Sanchez, in National Enquirer Leak Probe — Michael Sanchez is an outspoken Trump supporter with ties to Roger Stone and Carter Page. — Jeff Bezos' top personal security consultant has questioned his mistress' brother …

Discussion: Vox, The Week, Talking Points Memo and East Bay Times

Will Bunch / Philly.com:

A domestic terrorist slaughtered 5 women in a Florida bank and hardly anyone noticed — It was a quiet, normal Wednesday at the SunTrust Bank branch in Sebring, Florida right up until about 12:30 p.m. or so. A teller, Marisol Lopez, was behind the counter dealing with any customers.

New York Times:

Trump Returns This Weekend to Mar-a-Lago, His Gilded Comfort Zone — WASHINGTON — After two months spent scorching the earth in Washington and complaining about being cooped up in the White House, President Trump is planning to return this weekend to the one place where he knows he will receive …

Andrew Restuccia / Politico:

Trump to throw spotlight on abortion in State of the Union — President Donald Trump is telling conservative allies he wants to incorporate firm anti-abortion language into his State of the Union address Tuesday, and potentially include an anti-abortion figure among his list of invitees …

Discussion: Talking Points Memo, Political Wire, CBS New York and The Daily Caller

Nahal Toosi / Politico:

Trump makes it official: U.S. to quit missile treaty with Russia — The United States is suspending its participation in a key arms control agreement with Russia, and will leave the pact completely in six months, the Trump administration announced Friday. — The decision to abandon …

Discussion: One America News Network and EURACTIV.com

Dell Cameron / Gizmodo:

Fake FCC Comments Linked to Ex-Trump Campaign Director's Org, Boosted By Roger Stone — An organization run by a former Trump campaign statewide director is being investigated by the New York attorney general's office for its role in submitting potentially hundreds of thousands of fraudulent comments …

New York Times:

Book Written by Detainee via WhatsApp Gets a Top Prize — SYDNEY, Australia — A stateless Kurdish-Iranian asylum-seeker detained by the Australian government won the country's highest-paying literary prize on Thursday. But he could not attend the festivities to accept the award.

Discussion: NPR

Morgan Gstalter / The Hill:

House Democrat warns ethics committee about Steve King promoting white nationalism website — Rep. Tim Ryan (D-Ohio) alerted the House Ethics Committee to Rep. Steve King (R-Iowa) using his official government website to promote a white nationalist blog. — Ryan sent a letter to the committee …

Discussion: HuffPost, Roll Call and Iowa Informer

James A. Gagliano / CNN:

Retired FBI agent: The Roger Stone raid was totally by the book — Trump may ask FBI to review policies after Stone raid — James A. Gagliano is a CNN law enforcement analyst and a retired FBI supervisory special agent. He also is an adjunct assistant professor at St. John's University in Queens, New York.

Discussion: NPR, Front Page Magazine, thenationalsentinel.com, New Republic and Contemptor

Mike Brest / The Daily Caller:

Tucker: Congress Should Ban Smartphones For Children — Tucker Carlson called for Congress to ban smartphones for children during his show on Thursday night. — WATCH: — It's not surprising then rates of mental illness and suicide among teens began to surge right around 2012.

Marianne LeVine / Politico:

‘Everything stays on the table’: 2020 Dems weigh killing the filibuster — Democrats have a lot of big ideas if they win back the White House and Congress in 2020. But it's not clear they are willing to do a key thing needed to implement them: eliminating the filibuster.