Top Items:
Theresa Vargas / Washington Post:
Va. Lt. Gov. Justin Fairfax denies sex assault allegation from 2004 — Virginia Lt. Gov. Justin Fairfax issued a statement early Monday denying a sexual assault allegation that appeared on the same conservative website that posted a racist photograph from Gov. Ralph Northam's medical school yearbook page.
Discussion:
Politico, The Federalist, RedState, National Review, Axios, Big League Politics, twitchy.com, RT, Hot Air, Chicks On The Right, TheBlaze, Lawyers, Guns & Money, Breitbart, thenewamerican.com, Mediaite, WTOP, CNBC, The Week, theGrio, Conservative News Today, NPR, Washington Free Beacon, Althouse and The Last Refuge
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Jonathan Martin / New York Times:
Lt. Gov. Justin Fairfax of Virginia Denounces Sexual Assault Allegation as a ‘Smear’ — RICHMOND, Va. — Lt. Gov. Justin Fairfax of Virginia on Monday emphatically denied a woman's claim that he sexually assaulted her in 2004, suggesting that Gov. Ralph Northam's supporters were trying …
Discussion:
Townhall, Richmond Times-Dispatch, Hot Air, Chicks On The Right, The Republican Standard and Political Wire
Eli Yokley / Morning Consult:
Virginia Voters Quickly Sour on Northam Amid Blackface Scandal — Democrat sees 41-point drop in net approval after yearbook photo emerges — Northam spoke to reporters Saturday, denying that he is in the picture on his medical school yearbook page. (Alex Edelman/Getty Images)
Discussion:
The Federalist, Political Wire, FiveThirtyEight, The Daily Caller, National Review, twitchy.com, Mediaite and Slate
Patrick Howley / Big League Politics:
Stanford Fellow Hints At Possible Justin Fairfax Sex Assault — A woman named Vanessa Tyson, who is a fellow at Stanford University, says that a man who allegedly sexually assaulted her at the 2004 Democratic National Convention is now an office-holder about to get a “very big promotion,” …
Discussion:
Vox, WWBT-TV, WVEC, Hit & Run, CNN, The Rush Limbaugh Show, Balloon Juice, Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion, The Daily Caller, Breitbart, TheBlaze, VICE News, RedState, WTOP, The Gateway Pundit, Daily Wire, Washington Times, Hot Air, WTKR-TV, Talking Points Memo, The Week, WUSA, Washington Free Beacon, twitchy.com, Washington Post, Splinter and Honolulu Star-Advertiser
David French / National Review:
Comparing the Allegations against Brett Kavanaugh and Justin Fairfax
Comparing the Allegations against Brett Kavanaugh and Justin Fairfax
Ashe Schow / Daily Wire:
Washington Post Refused To Run Sketchy Sex Assault Allegation Against A Democrat.
Caitlin Oprysko / Politico:
Virginia lieutenant governor says timing suspect for ‘smear’ allegations against him
Virginia lieutenant governor says timing suspect for ‘smear’ allegations against him
Discussion:
Washington Post
BuzzFeed News:
Lobbyist at Trump Tower Meeting Received Half A Million Dollars In Suspicious Payments — A Russian-born lobbyist who attended the controversial Trump Tower meeting in June 2016 received a series of suspicious payments totaling half a million dollars before and after the encounter.
Discussion:
Political Wire
Greg Sargent / Washington Post:
If Trump declares a national emergency, Pelosi can jam Republicans. Here's how. — Senate Republicans appear to be in a panic about President Trump's threat to declare a national emergency to realize his unquenchable fantasy of a big, beautiful wall on the southern border.
Discussion:
POLITICUSUSA, Daily Kos, Media Matters for America, CNN, Bloomberg, The Week and Townhall
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Jordain Carney / The Hill:
Graham: There could be GOP ‘war’ over border wall — Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) warned on Monday that there could be a “war” among Republicans if President Trump declared a national emergency to build the U.S.-Mexico border wall. — Graham, speaking in South Carolina …
Discussion:
ABC News, Hullabaloo and Political Wire
Steven T. Dennis / Bloomberg:
Graham Warns GOP to Back Trump on Wall Emergency
Graham Warns GOP to Back Trump on Wall Emergency
Discussion:
Fox Carolina News
Washington Post:
'It's way too many': As vacancies pile up in Trump administration, senators grow concerned — From the Justice Department to Veterans Affairs, vast swaths of the government have top positions filled by officials serving in an acting capacity — or no one at all.
Discussion:
The Week, Raw Story, Shareblue Media and Daily Kos
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Washington Post:
Trump to nominate David Bernhardt, a former lobbyist, as the next Interior secretary
Trump to nominate David Bernhardt, a former lobbyist, as the next Interior secretary
Discussion:
ThinkProgress, CNN, Vox and Mother Jones
Coral Davenport / New York Times:
Trump Chooses David Bernhardt, a Former Oil Lobbyist, to Head the Interior Dept.
Trump Chooses David Bernhardt, a Former Oil Lobbyist, to Head the Interior Dept.
Discussion:
Axios, Bloomberg, Townhall, Common Dreams and TheBlaze
Jonathan Chait / New York Magazine:
Howard Schultz's Own Polling Finds His Campaign Would Reelect Trump — Howard Schultz's presidential campaign opened up to mixed reviews — within the prized demographic of socially liberal, fiscally moderate billionaire moguls. (Michael Bloomberg expressed disapproval, while Schultz himself expresses strong enthusiasm.)
Discussion:
Political Wire, twitchy.com, Media Matters for America, NBC News and No More Mister Nice Blog
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Brian Schwartz / CNBC:
Democratic super PAC unleashes opposition research taking aim at Starbucks settling lawsuits with employees as Howard Schultz considers 2020 run — A major Democratic group targeting Howard Schultz unleashes opposition research focusing on Starbucks' history settling lawsuits with employees.
Discussion:
Political Wire
Ben White / Politico:
Soak the rich? Americans say go for it — The prospect of 70 percent tax rates for multimillionaires and special levies on the super-rich draw howls about creeping socialism and warnings of economic disaster in much of Washington. — But polling suggests that when it comes to soaking the rich …
Discussion:
Washington Post, Shareblue Media, Raw Story, Common Dreams and Axios
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Claire Williams / Morning Consult:
Warren's Proposed Tax on Wealthy Draws More Support Than Ocasio-Cortez's
Warren's Proposed Tax on Wealthy Draws More Support Than Ocasio-Cortez's
Discussion:
Washington Post and Vox
Aída Chávez / The Intercept:
Ana Maria Archila, Who Confronted Sen. Jeff Flake, Will Be Ocasio-Cortez's SOTU Guest
Ana Maria Archila, Who Confronted Sen. Jeff Flake, Will Be Ocasio-Cortez's SOTU Guest
Discussion:
Vox, National Review, Joe.My.God., Breitbart, CNN, Talking Points Memo, theGrio, The Hill, The Gateway Pundit, Hullabaloo, Shareblue Media, Conservative News Today, The Week, Daily Wire, IJR and Jezebel
Monmouth University Polling Institute:
Dems Prefer Electability in 2020 — Some GOP voters want a primary challenge but most would back Trump — West Long Branch, NJ - In the run-up to 2020, fewer than 4-in-10 voters back a second term for President Donald Trump. The Monmouth University Poll finds a sizable number of GOP voters …
Discussion:
Washington Monthly, Booman Tribune, POLITICUSUSA and Political Wire
Clémence Michallon / The Independent:
Liam Neeson interview: Rape, race and how I learnt revenge doesn't work — Exclusive: Sitting down with Clémence Michallon to discuss his latest action film ‘Cold Pursuit’, the actor recounts a disturbing incident from his past — Liam Neeson is sitting in an armchair with a flask of tea at his side.
Discussion:
USA Today, Daily Wire, WPIX 11 New York, Above the Law, BlackSportsOnline, Deadline, The Guardian, IndieWire, Chicks On The Right, EBONY, Breitbart, Mediaite and Jezebel
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Clémence Michallon / The Independent:
Liam Neeson: 'I walked the streets with a cosh, hoping I'd be approached by a “black bastard” so that I could kill him'
Liam Neeson: 'I walked the streets with a cosh, hoping I'd be approached by a “black bastard” so that I could kill him'
Discussion:
The Daily Beast, The Daily Caller, TheBlaze, The Week, theGrio, TMZ.com and Raw Story
Kyle Mantyla / Right Wing Watch:
Liz Crokin Warns of ‘Vigilante Justice’ if QAnon's Promised Mass Arrests Don't Happen Soon — Last week, right-wing “journalist” and Trump-worshiping conspiracy theorist Liz Crokin posted a video on her YouTube channel in which she suggested that she was beginning to lose faith …
Jim Morrison / Washington Post:
Northam's med school banned yearbooks in 2013 — after students posed in Confederate garb — NORFOLK — The first person Richard V. Homan hired after becoming provost of Eastern Virginia Medical School President seven years ago was Mekbib Gemeda, in the newly created position of vice president for diversity and inclusion.
Discussion:
Vox, Talking Points Memo and Splinter
Ian Parker / New Yorker:
A Suspense Novelist's Trail of Deceptions — Dan Mallory, who writes under the name A. J. Finn, went to No. 1 with his début thriller, “The Woman in the Window.” His life contains even stranger twists. — Dan Mallory, a book editor turned novelist, is tall, good-looking, and clever.
Discussion:
Vox and Balloon Juice, more at Mediagazer »
Erik Wemple / Washington Post:
McClatchy buyouts could claim chain's full-time Guantanamo reporter — Carol Rosenberg of the Miami Herald witnessed the arrival of the first al-Qaeda and Taliban prisoners at the Guantanamo Bay Naval Base in Cuba on Jan. 11, 2002. “They wore fluorescent orange jumpsuits, and those whose legs were shackled walked with baby steps.
Alexander Burns / New York Times:
Democrats Are Urging Stacey Abrams to Run for Senate. She's Listening. — Stacey Abrams's defeat in the Georgia governor's race was only a few weeks old when she arrived in New York in December to meet with campaign donors and political allies. At a reception in Manhattan's Chelsea neighborhood …
J. David Goodman / New York Times:
Senate Appoints Critic of Amazon Deal to Key Board (With Veto Power) — [What you need to know to start the day: Get New York Today in your inbox.] — When Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo and Mayor Bill de Blasio crafted a deal to bring a major new Amazon campus to New York City late last year, they tried to make it hard to block.
Carl Campanile / New York Post:
Cuomo announces income tax revenues have dropped by $2.3B … Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced Monday that state income tax revenues plummeted by $2.3 billion since he introduced his new budget plan last month — a bombshell that will force him to curb spending. — Cuomo attributed the revenue drop …
Discussion:
twitchy.com
Rebecca Ballhaus / Wall Street Journal:
Trump to Call for Bipartisanship as He Threatens to Declare Emergency — President Trump in Tuesday's State of the Union is expected to issue a plea for bipartisanship at a moment of deep partisan divisions, including an impasse over spending and a presidential threat to declare an emergency to pay for a border wall.
Tony Rizzo / Kansas City Star:
Kansas judge calls children the ‘aggressor’ in sex abuse case with 67-year-old man — Can children aged 13 and 14 years old be the aggressors in a sexual encounter with a 67-year-old man? — A Leavenworth County judge recently said he thought so when he reduced the prison sentence for a man …
Discussion:
Law & Crime, Raw Story and myfox8.com
Molly Osberg / Splinter:
Here Are The Racist Conspiracy Emails Rotting Right-Wing Billionaire Joe Ricketts' Brain — Welcome back to the Billionaire's Inbox, where we get a chance to hear from the other half, in its own words. Today we're looking at how racist conspiracy theories have the potential to influence policy …
Jamelle Bouie / New York Times:
Blackface Is the Tip of the Iceberg — The structural problems we need to solve lie at the roots of American society. — Over the last month, we've learned just how much racism is too much to sustain a career in American politics. — It took almost 16 years for House Republicans …
Discussion:
The Daily Beast, Florida Politics, Hullabaloo and NBC News
Stephanie Murray / Politico:
Steyer throws brushback pitch against powerful Democratic chairman — The billionaire-funded group dedicated to impeaching Donald Trump launched a television ad buy Monday targeting Rep. Richard Neal (D-Mass.) in his own backyard as part of an effort to prod the House Ways and Means chairman to subpoena the president's tax returns.
Discussion:
Political Wire, The Guardian and CNN
Edward-Isaac Dovere / The Atlantic:
Biden's Anguished Search for a Path to Victory — Joe Biden reliably blows through every public and private deadline for making a decision about running for president. But he's giving everyone he's seen in recent weeks the feeling that he's very close to saying yes.
Missy Ryan / Washington Post:
After bloody insurgent wars, Pentagon launches effort to prevent civilian deaths — The Pentagon has launched a major examination of civilian deaths in military operations, responding to criticism it has failed to protect innocent bystanders in counterterrorism wars worldwide.
CNN:
Intense competition for 2020 talent ramps up in South Carolina — Washington (CNN)The South Carolina Democratic primary is more than a year out, but the scramble for top political talent is well underway as the Democratic presidential campaigns jockey for advantage in the Palmetto State.