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2:05 PM ET, February 2, 2019

Top Items:

Virginia Governor Ralph Northam Resists Calls to Resign — Gov. Ralph Northam of Virginia, facing intense pressure to resign from fellow Democrats after admitting that he posed for a photo in a racist costume as a medical student more than 30 years ago, was calling state Democrats on Saturday …

Washington Post:

Va. Gov. Northam is refusing to step down, despite flood of calls for his resignation for ‘racist and offensive’ photo, party says — RICHMOND — Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam (D) is refusing to resign despite overwhelming pressure from within his own party and has told at least one lawmaker …

Discussion: Associated Press, The Guardian, Essence, TheBlaze, Instapundit, Big League Politics, Political Wire, Joe.My.God., Outside the Beltway, Breitbart, Mediaite and twitchy.com

Politico:

POLITICO Playbook: DNC convention buzz ... DRIVING THE DAY — DNC CONVENTION BUZZ ... Our sources tell us MILWAUKEE is the odds-on favorite for the 2020 Democratic National Convention. (John Bresnahan's sources tell him this too.) Houston and Miami are also still in the hunt …

Discussion: Washington Post, CBS News, Axios, Los Angeles Times and thenationalsentinel.com

Aaron Blake / Washington Post:

Ralph Northam is done, whether he knows it or not — Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam (D) may not know it yet, but in all likelihood he is done. — On Friday, images emerged of Northam's medical school yearbook page, on which there is a photo of a man in blackface next to a man in a Ku Klux Klan robe.

Discussion: Politico, Breitbart, NorthJersey.com, The Daily Caller, The Gateway Pundit and Chicks On The Right

Associated Press:

The Latest: Virginia governor to speak again about photo — RICHMOND, Va. (AP) — The Latest on Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam and racist photo in 1984 yearbook (all times local): — Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam is planning a news conference where he's expected to say he's not resigning …

Discussion: Townhall, Daily Wire, Breitbart, The Post & Email, thenationalsentinel.com, The Daily Beast and The Daily Caller

Ryan Nobles / CNN:
Northam tells Virginia Democrat it wasn't him in racist photo, won't resign despite mounting pressure to do so

Discussion: WTKR-TV and The Root

Karen Tumulty / Washington Post:
Ralph Northam must resign. And that's just a start.

Discussion: Townhall, Chicks On The Right and The Gateway Pundit

Richmond Times-Dispatch:
Northam must resign

Discussion: Conservative News Today, WPIX 11 New York, Breitbart, Political Wire and Mediaite

Tal Axelrod / The Hill:
Northam says he will not resign over blackface, KKK photo

Discussion: Washington Post, IJR and Breitbart

Tyler O'Neil / PJ Media Home: Reminder: Ralph Northam Won After Calling Ed Gillespie Racist

Virginian-Pilot:
Ralph Northam yearbook page shows men in blackface and KKK robe

New York Times:
Ralph Northam, Virginia Governor, Admits He Was in Racist Photo

Discussion: NPR, The Nation, Fox News Insider, Mediaite, Refinery29, abc7ny.com, fox8.com and Arkansas Blog, Arkansas Times

Brianne Pfannenstiel / Des Moines Register:
Sherrod Brown: Va. Gov. Northam should resign after ‘racist’ photo surfaces of the governor

Discussion: Baltimore Sun, Mother Jones, Talking Points Memo, Big League Politics and Daily Wire

Washington Post:
Va. Gov. Northam's medical school yearbook page shows men in blackface, KKK robe

New York Times:

Trump Sought a Loan During the 2016 Campaign. Deutsche Bank Said No. — Donald J. Trump was burning through cash. — It was early 2016, and he was lending tens of millions of dollars to his presidential campaign and had been spending large sums to expand the Trump Organization's roster of high-end properties.

Discussion: CNBC and Raw Story

Wall Street Journal: Trump Organization Sought Loan From Deutsche Bank in 2016, Was Rebuffed

Axios:

The Schultz effect: Liberals own 2020 — The rising Democratic enthusiasm for big government liberalism is forcing a trio of leading 2020 contenders to rethink jumping in, several sources tell Axios. — What's happening: Michael Bloomberg and former Virginia Gov. Terry McAuliffe …

Discussion: Splinter

Change Research:

Polling on Howard Schultz for President — Change ResearchBlockedUnblockFollowFollowing — There's been much speculation about the impact of Howard Schultz running for president as an independent. — Change Research conducted a poll from January 31-February 1 of 1,338 likely 2020 general election voters …

Discussion: Lawyers, Guns & Money, Outside the Beltway, Washington Post and Political Wire

Kristen Soltis Anderson / Washington Post:

Sorry, Howard Schultz. You're not the centrist American voters are looking for. — Kristen Soltis Anderson is a Republican pollster and columnist at The Washington Examiner. — “How many of you would consider yourselves fiscally more conservative but socially more liberal?”

Discussion: Common Dreams and National Review

Bret Stephens / New York Times:
Howard Schultz Derangement Syndrome

Discussion: Outside the Beltway

DJ Judd / CNN: Sherrod Brown calls Howard Schultz ‘a total idiot’ over possible independent campaign for president

Marlow Stern / The Daily Beast:

Bill Maher Makes Racist ‘Popeyes Chicken’ Remark to Black Congressman Will Hurd — On ‘Real Time’ Friday night, the HBO host did the unthinkable... again. — Marlow Stern — Two years ago, comedian Bill Maher got in hot water after using the N-word on his HBO program Real Time.

Discussion: RT, The Root and Washington Free Beacon

Katie Rogers / New York Times:

In the Pale of Winter, Trump's Tan Remains a State Secret — WASHINGTON — The trees in the capital are barren, spindly things. The temperature has dipped, requiring puffy coats. With the government open — for now — President Trump has left the frigidity of governing for a weekend in Palm Beach.

Discussion: Joe.My.God.

NBC News:

Russia's propaganda machine discovers 2020 Democratic candidate Tulsi Gabbard — Experts who track websites and social media linked to Russia have seen stirrings of a possible campaign of support for Hawaii Democrat Tulsi Gabbard. — The Russian propaganda machine that tried to influence …

Discussion: Raw Story, HuffPost and Washington Free Beacon

John Walcott / TIME:

‘Willful Ignorance.’ Inside President Trump's Troubled Intelligence Briefings — In the wake of President Donald Trump's renewed attacks on the U.S. intelligence community this week, senior intelligence briefers are breaking two years of silence to warn that the President is endangering American security …

Michael Morell / Washington Post:
Trump plays with fire when he insults his intelligence officers

Discussion: Raw Story and New York Times

Alexander Mallin / ABC News:
White House reveals title, themes of Trump's State of the Union

Discussion: Joe.My.God. and Breitbart

Aaron Blake / Washington Post:

Why Putin won't be mad about Trump pulling out of the INF treaty — Given Russia's interference in the 2016 election, this question has stalked Trump throughout his presidency: Why hasn't he taken tougher action against Moscow, beyond the occasional sanction?

Discussion: Raw Story, IJR and Bulletin of the Atomic …

Vladimir Isachenkov / Associated Press:
Russia to pull plug on nuclear arms pact after US does same

Discussion: Reuters, Politico, POLITICUSUSA and NATO

Joseph Cirincione / Washington Post:
John Bolton is a serial arms control killer

Discussion: Raw Story and Common Dreams

Yashar Ali / HuffPost:

Top Schumer Aide Was Pushed Out After Inappropriate Sexual Encounters With Staff — The sudden departure of Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer's communications director followed reports of sexual misconduct. — When Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer's longtime communications director …

Discussion: twitchy.com, Talking Points Memo, The Daily Caller, The Week, TheBlaze and Politico

Morgan Gstalter / The Hill:

Colorado Senate passes bill favoring popular vote over Electoral College — The Colorado Senate this week passed a bill that would award the state's electoral votes to the presidential candidate who wins the nationwide popular vote. — The Senate passed the measure along party lines …

CNN:

Author of controversial Nunes memo joining National Security Council — (CNN)A congressional aide who was key in crafting the controversial Republican House Intelligence Committee memo that accused FBI and Justice Department officials of abusing their surveillance authority is set to join …

Discussion: Talking Points Memo and Raw Story