Top Items:
BuzzFeed News:
Secret Files Show How Trump Moscow Talks Unfolded While Trump Heaped Praise On Putin — As a candidate, Donald Trump had a lot of praise for Vladimir Putin — and no business, he kept insisting, in Russia. These documents tell a different story. — When Michael Cohen …
Discussion:
CNN, Taylor Marsh, emptywheel, Law & Crime, Mediaite, Politico, Shakesville and Raw Story
RELATED:
CNN:
First on CNN: New York federal prosecutors seek interviews with Trump Organization executives — (CNN)Federal prosecutors in New York have requested interviews in recent weeks with executives at the Trump Organization, according to people familiar with the matter, signaling a growing potential threat …
Discussion:
Talking Points Memo, Joe.My.God., POLITICUSUSA, Law & Crime, Vox, fox13now.com and ABC News
Chris Riotta / The Independent:
Newly unearthed video shows Trump ‘meeting with Russians in Moscow in 1995’ over ‘building project’ — Video alleges to show US president meeting with former Russian officials in Moscow to discuss building an underground mall — The former mayor of Moscow has confirmed Donald Trump met …
Discussion:
Political Wire and Raw Story
emptywheel:
Felix Sater Promised a Putin Meeting with Michael Cohen Minutes after Don Jr Promised to Revisit Magnitsky Sanctions
Felix Sater Promised a Putin Meeting with Michael Cohen Minutes after Don Jr Promised to Revisit Magnitsky Sanctions
Discussion:
Hullabaloo and Lawyers, Guns & Money
Aaron Blake / Washington Post:
The 7 big investigations of Trump, explained
The 7 big investigations of Trump, explained
Discussion:
The Daily Beast, Shakesville, Law & Crime, VICE News and The National Memo
New York Times:
Before Expected Call for Unity, Trump Laced Into Democrats at Lunch for TV Anchors — WASHINGTON — For public consumption, President Trump planned to use his State of the Union address on Tuesday night to appeal for bipartisan unity. But at a private lunch for television anchors earlier …
Discussion:
Political Wire and Politico
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Peter Baker / New York Times:
Trump's State of the Union Speech Unlikely to Bring Harmony — WASHINGTON — President Trump is to deliver what aides called a message of bipartisan unity on Tuesday night in his first address to Congress in the new era of divided government, but any hope of harmony was dispelled long before he left the White House.
Discussion:
Vox, Politico, ABC News, CNBC, JustOneMinute, Los Angeles Times, The Daily Signal, Mediaite, TheBlaze and Towleroad Gay News
Devan Cole / CNN:
Here's who Nancy Pelosi is bringing to the State of the Union
Here's who Nancy Pelosi is bringing to the State of the Union
Discussion:
The Gateway Pundit, Washington Times and The White House
Mike DeBonis / Washington Post:
Sharing the State of the Union spotlight, Pelosi softly makes her own statement
Sharing the State of the Union spotlight, Pelosi softly makes her own statement
Discussion:
Vox, The Hill, Political Wire and Eater
Washington Post:
Elizabeth Warren apologizes for calling herself Native American — Sen. Elizabeth Warren said Tuesday that she was sorry that she identified herself as a Native American for almost two decades, reflecting her ongoing struggle to quiet a controversy that continues to haunt her as she prepares to formally announce a presidential bid.
Discussion:
Political Wire
Nancy Cook / Politico:
The plan to keep Trump's taxes hidden — The new House Democratic majority is widely expected to test one of Donald Trump's ultimate red lines by demanding the president's personal tax returns — and the Trump administration has been gearing up for months to fight back hard.
Discussion:
The Week, Daily Kos, Talking Points Memo and Raw Story
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Paul Waldman / Washington Post:
We may finally see Trump's tax returns, and Republicans are panicking — Washington is terribly divided these days, but there is at least one thing everyone — the Trump administration, members of Congress from both parties, journalists, cabdrivers — clearly agrees on …
Discussion:
Politico
Ellie Hall / BuzzFeed News:
Customs And Border Protection Apologized After An Agent Questioned A BuzzFeed News Reporter About Trump Coverage — A top official of the Customs and Border Protection apologized Tuesday to a BuzzFeed News reporter who was aggressively questioned by an agent about articles regarding President Donald Trump …
Discussion:
Mediaite
ProPublica:
Confidential Memo: Company of Trump Inaugural Chair Sought to Profit From Connections to Administration, Foreigners — The memo outlines how Colony, the company founded by Tom Barrack, an investor who chaired the inaugural, aimed to exploit its connections to Donald Trump.
Discussion:
Axios, Fortune, Talking Points Memo, NBC News, Political Wire, Raw Story, OpenSecrets.org, Washington Post and NPR
Tom Scocca / Hmm Daily:
Choose a Different Hill to Die On — The Worst Thing We Read Yesterday™ — Stacey Abrams, who narrowly lost the Georgia governor's race last year, is scheduled to give the official Democratic Party response speech after President Donald Trump's State of the Union address tonight …
Discussion:
Mediaite
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Chris Cillizza / CNN:
Why Bernie Sanders isn't helping his 2020 prospects with his own SOTU response
Why Bernie Sanders isn't helping his 2020 prospects with his own SOTU response
Discussion:
Vox, The Root, Mashable, Raw Story and Shakesville
Nancy Cook / Politico:
Trump tells TV anchors he plans to meet Kim Jong Un in Vietnam at end of the month — President Donald Trump told a group of television news anchors hours before his State of the Union address on Tuesday that he plans to meet North Korean Leader Kim Jong Un for a two-day summit in Vietnam on Feb. 27 and 28.
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Andrew O'Reilly / Fox News:
Cory Booker schooled by Kavanaugh replacement pick after question on ‘LGBTQ law clerks’ — Something about judicial confirmation hearings seems to trip up Sen. Cory Booker — who got corrected by a high-profile nominee on Tuesday during a heated exchange about diversity on her staff.
Discussion:
Louder With Crowder and Daily Wire
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Li Zhou / Vox:
Neomi Rao could take Brett Kavanaugh's old DC Circuit seat. She's under scrutiny for her views on sexual assault.
Neomi Rao could take Brett Kavanaugh's old DC Circuit seat. She's under scrutiny for her views on sexual assault.
Discussion:
Mother Jones, Axios, BuzzFeed News, Chicks On The Right, Rewire.News and Breitbart
Sarah McCammon / NPR:
Woman Alleging Sexual Assault By Virginia's Lt. Gov. Hires Washington Law Firm
Woman Alleging Sexual Assault By Virginia's Lt. Gov. Hires Washington Law Firm
Discussion:
RedState, Right Wing Watch, Politico, twitchy.com, Fox News, National Review, No More Mister Nice Blog, thenewamerican.com, Conservative News Today, Law & Crime, Townhall, IJR, The Daily Caller, TheBlaze, NRCC, Front Page Magazine, Hot Air, Richmond Times-Dispatch, Fox News Insider, Daily Wire, Washington Examiner, Chicks On The Right, KTLA and Axios
Kirk Mitchell / Denver Post:
How the trail runner attacked by a mountain lion in Larimer County killed the animal — Necropsy: Jogger suffocated mountain lion in life-or-death struggle west of Fort Collins — The bloodied Colorado trail runner who fought off a rare mountain lion attack pummeled the young cat with a rock …
Discussion:
Breitbart
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Alex Johnson / NBC News:
Runner kills mountain lion that attacked him on Colorado trail
Runner kills mountain lion that attacked him on Colorado trail
Discussion:
twitchy.com
Anna Silman / The Cut:
How I Get It Done: Merchants of Truth author Jill Abramson — In her new book Merchants of Truth: The Business of News and the Fight for Facts, out February 5, Jill Abramson chronicles the upheaval that has rocked the media industry over the past decade, as told through the stories of four outlets …
Discussion:
Instapundit
Kenneth P. Vogel / New York Times:
Firms Recruited by Paul Manafort Are Investigated Over Foreign Payments — WASHINGTON — Federal prosecutors in recent weeks have been interviewing witnesses about the flow of foreign money to three powerful law and lobbying firms that Paul Manafort recruited seven years ago to help improve …
Discussion:
Talking Points Memo
Lee Fang / The Intercept:
GOP Leadership Instructs Lawmakers to Play Up Gruesome Murders and Rapes by Immigrants — House Republican lawmakers are being encouraged by their party's leadership to play up gruesome murders, rapes, and other crimes committed by undocumented immigrants in the United States.
Discussion:
Raw Story and Political Wire
Justin Baragona / The Daily Beast:
Fox Guest Warns: Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez Trying to ‘Assimilate Us’ to ‘Latin American Values’ — “Instead of us assimilating them, they are assimilating us,” Peter Morici said of Ocasio-Cortez and her likeminded colleagues. — A week after former NBC News anchor Tom Brokaw faced intense backlash …
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Brad Reed / Raw Story:
‘I trusted you!’ Trump voters seethe after realizing they're getting screwed by the GOP's tax plan — Multiple supporters of President Donald Trump over the past couple of weeks have taken to Twitter to air their grievances about the president's signature tax cut plan.
Discussion:
The Resurgent
Judy Kurtz / The Hill:
Cory Booker confirms he has a girlfriend — Sen. Cory Booker says he's boo'd up. — The New Jersey Democrat and 2020 White House hopeful is confirming that he has a girlfriend. — Booker was asked about his noted bachelordom by co-host Charlamagne tha God during a Tuesday interview …
Discussion:
The Breakfast Club, Joe.My.God., The Root and Townhall
Amanda Darrach / Columbia Journalism Review:
McClatchy upgrades CEO's housing stipend to $35K a month amid buyouts — BuzzFeed, HuffPo, Gannett, Vice. This has already been a ruthless year for layoffs in digital journalism. On Friday morning, McClatchy President and CEO Craig Forman emailed employees to let them know 450 staffers across …
Sam Stein / The Daily Beast:
Top Progressive Firm Tells Dems to Leave Starbucks Alone — SKDKnickerbocker lists Starbucks as a client. And they want to separate the company from the presidential ambitions of its former CEO. — One of the top Democratic firms in the country is privately urging top officials in the party …
Discussion:
Splinter, Washington Free Beacon and CNBC
Ben Schreckinger / Politico:
MAGA all-stars visit border to plot private wall project — It could have been an outtake from a hard-right reboot of “Ocean's 11” for the Trump era: a gathering of some of President Donald Trump's most notorious and outspoken supporters, who descended last week on the Mexican border town of McAllen, Texas.
Ryan Grim / The Intercept:
Top Nancy Pelosi Aide Privately Tells Insurance Executives Not to Worry About Democrats Pushing “Medicare for All” — Less than a month after Democrats — many of them running on “Medicare for All” — won back control of the House of Representatives in November, the top health policy aide …
Discussion:
Mother Jones, Common Dreams, Splinter and The Week
CNN:
Northam says he doesn't know how a racist photo got on his yearbook page. This yearbook staffer explains why that's not likely — Childhood friend defends Northam: I believe him — (CNN)As Virginia's governor struggles to explain how a racist photo ended up on his personal yearbook page …
Discussion:
Axios, The Gateway Pundit, twitchy.com, The Daily Caller, The Rush Limbaugh Show, Townhall, The Republican Standard, Daily Wire and WTKR-TV
Tucker Reals / CBS News:
Pope Francis confirms priests' abuse of nuns included “sexual slavery” — Nuns have suffered and are still suffering sexual abuse at the hands of Catholic priests and bishops, and even being held as sexual slaves, Pope Francis confirmed on Tuesday. The abuse was so severe in one case …
Discussion:
Joe.My.God.
Politico:
Mulvaney invites bipartisan group of lawmakers to Camp David — White House Chief of Staff Mick Mulvaney has invited a small bipartisan group of lawmakers to Camp David Friday for what administration aides are describing as a casual gathering. — It's the second time in recent weeks …
Will Sommer / The Daily Beast:
PayPal Bans Anti-Muslim Fanatic Laura Loomer — They're not the first platform to say they've had enough. — PayPal banned far-right figure Laura Loomer on Tuesday, making her the latest right-wing figure to be banished from the online payment and funding platform.
Discussion:
Daily Wire and Right Wing Watch