Top Items:
Nicholas Fandos / New York Times:
House Expands Russia Inquiry as Pelosi Declares Democrats Will Not Be Cowed — WASHINGTON — The House Intelligence Committee on Wednesday launched a broad inquiry into the potential influence that Russia and other foreign powers may be exercising over President Trump, acting just hours …
Discussion:
Shareblue Media, Hullabaloo, Washington Post, Talking Points Memo, Common Dreams and The Week
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Spencer Ackerman / The Daily Beast:
House Intel Democrats Just Restarted and Supercharged the Trump-Russia Probe — Armed with subpoena power, Schiff will look at whether anyone connected to Trump was at risk of being co-opted by a foreign power—and if ‘those in Congress’ obstructed any probes.
CNN:
House intelligence chair announces sweeping investigation into Trump's finances and Russia — (CNN)House Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam Schiff announced Wednesday a broad investigation his committee would undertake “beyond Russia” into whether President Donald Trump's financial interests are driving his actions.
Discussion:
The Hill, Washington Press, Talking Points Memo, Breitbart, The Last Refuge, twitchy.com, The Gateway Pundit, Law & Crime, ThinkProgress, Daily Kos, Axios and Mediaite
U.S. House of Representatives Permanent …:
Chairman Schiff Statement on House Intelligence Committee Investigation
Chairman Schiff Statement on House Intelligence Committee Investigation
Discussion:
Shareblue Media, The Daily Caller and Jamie Dupree - AJC
Andrew Desiderio / Politico:
House Intel votes to send witness transcripts to Mueller for possible perjury charges
House Intel votes to send witness transcripts to Mueller for possible perjury charges
Discussion:
ABC News, Joe.My.God., IJR and Washington Post
Nancy Cook / Politico:
Trump to make last-ditch wall pitch on U.S.-Mexico border
Trump to make last-ditch wall pitch on U.S.-Mexico border
Discussion:
CBS News, One America News Network and Joe.My.God.
Morgan Chalfant / The Hill:
Mueller probe filings raise prospect of more indictments
Mueller probe filings raise prospect of more indictments
Discussion:
POLITICUSUSA, The Root and Raw Story
HuffPost:
Sen. Amy Klobuchar's Abuse Of Staff Scared Off Candidates To Manage Her Presidential Bid — At least three people withdrew from consideration to lead the senator's nascent campaign — in part because of Klobuchar's history of mistreating her staff. — At least three people have withdrawn …
Discussion:
Political Wire
Matt Flegenheimer / New York Times:
Beto O'Rourke Was Once Adrift in New York City. Now He's Searching Again. — As the former Texas congressman weighs a run for president, his rebel-in-moderation youth offers revealing parallels to his search for direction now. — All at once, New York City seemed to be conspiring against Beto O'Rourke.
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Washington Post:
Congressional negotiators seek contours of border deal as shutdown looms
Congressional negotiators seek contours of border deal as shutdown looms
Discussion:
El Paso Times, The Guardian, WHYY and Mother Jones
Max Greenwood / The Hill:
Trump to hold first rally of 2019 in El Paso
Trump to hold first rally of 2019 in El Paso
Discussion:
Townhall, Texas Monthly, Hullabaloo, CBS Dallas, Daily Wire and IJR
Caitlin Emma / Politico:
Negotiators have deal within sight in talks to avert shutdown
Negotiators have deal within sight in talks to avert shutdown
Discussion:
El Paso Times
Betsy Woodruff / The Daily Beast:
Paul Erickson, Russian Agent Maria Butina's Boyfriend, Indicted for Fraud — The federal indictment in South Dakota alleges that he ran a criminal scheme from 1996 to 2018 using a chain of assisted living homes. — Betsy Woodruff — Paul Erickson, the American political operative …
Discussion:
Raw Story and The Guardian
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Associated Press:
Virginia Attorney General Says He Wore Blackface at College Party — Richmond, Va. (AP) — Virginia sank deeper into political turmoil Wednesday when another top Democrat — Attorney General Mark Herring — admitted putting on blackface in the 1980s, when he was a college student.
Discussion:
New York Times, Breitbart, Instapundit, RedState, The Resurgent, The Last Refuge, Joe.My.God., Jezebel, Power Line, Vox, Daily Wire and Washington Examiner
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Will Sommer / The Daily Beast:
Hillary Clinton Blackface Hoax Explodes After Virginia Scandals — The photo is clearly not the 2016 Democratic nominee. And yet, it's finding its way around pro-Trump Twitter. — See What's Happening in Right-Wing Media From the Safety of Your Inbox. — Blackface scandals …
Discussion:
NaturalNews.com
Washington Post:
Virginia Attorney General Herring says he wore blackface in college — RICHMOND — Virginia Attorney General Mark Herring (D) said Wednesday he dressed in blackface during college, elevating the Capitol's scandals to a new level that engulfed the entire executive branch of government.
Discussion:
KTLA, Outside the Beltway, Religion News Service, Daily Wire, Shakesville, The Root, Daily Kos, Essence, National Review, Vox, Mediaite, twitchy.com and Balloon Juice
Ben Paviour / Community Idea Stations:
Fairfax Retained Kavanaugh's Lawyers After Allegations Surfaced — Lt. Gov. Justin Fairfax at a rally on Capitol Square in Jan. 2017. — Democratic Lt. Governor Justin Fairfax has retained the law firm of Wilkinson Walsh + Eskovitz—the same firm that represented then-Supreme Court nominee …
Discussion:
WTVR-TV, ThinkProgress, TheBlaze, Law & Crime, The Root, NBC News, Mediaite, Splinter, DCist and RedState
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Marc Caputo / Politico:
‘Utterly shocked and terrified’: Fairfax accuser details alleged assault — Vanessa Tyson, the college professor who accused Virginia Lt. Gov. Justin Fairfax of sexual assault in 2004, issued a lengthy statement Wednesday detailing the alleged incident. — “With tremendous anguish …
Discussion:
Power Line, Washington Examiner, Townhall, RedState and The Daily Beast
Jack Crowe / National Review:
National Organization for Women Calls on Fairfax to Resign
National Organization for Women Calls on Fairfax to Resign
Discussion:
Washington Post, National Organization … and Big League Politics
Ken Cuccinelli / Washington Examiner:
Got governor trouble? Here's how Virginia's succession law works
Julia Prodis Sulek / Mercury News:
Virginia Lt. Gov. Fairfax accuser told friend at Stanford about 2004 sexual assault
Virginia Lt. Gov. Fairfax accuser told friend at Stanford about 2004 sexual assault
Discussion:
Richmond Times-Dispatch, Vox, Hot Air, The Gateway Pundit, Law & Crime, WTKR-TV, Daily Wire, The Daily Caller and Townhall
Julie K. Brown / miamiherald:
Justice Department opens probe into Jeffrey Epstein plea deal — The Department of Justice has opened an investigation into Secretary of Labor Alex Acosta's role in negotiating a controversial plea deal with a wealthy New York investor accused of molesting more than 100 underage girls in Palm Beach.
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Khorri Atkinson / Axios:
DOJ probes misconduct by prosecutors working on Jeffrey Epstein case
DOJ probes misconduct by prosecutors working on Jeffrey Epstein case
Discussion:
Politico, One America News Network, The Daily Beast, Law & Crime and CNBC
Pete Williams / NBC News:
Justice Department opens probe into Jeffrey Epstein's plea deal
NPR:
Fact Check: Trump's State Of The Union Address — President Trump is delivering his State of the Union address Tuesday night, a speech that had been delayed during the government shutdown. — The annual remarks come as a bipartisan group of lawmakers continue to negotiate border security funding …
Discussion:
The Daily Caller, twitchy.com, LGBTQ Nation, Daily Wire, IJR, Townhall, USA Today, RedState, Mediaite, Media Matters for America, CBS San Francisco, NB Blog, Washington Post and New York Times
RELATED:
Susan B. Glasser / New Yorker:
Trump Vows to Stop America from Turning Into a Venezuelan Socialist Hellscape
Bill Chappell / NPR:
N.M. Governor Pulls National Guard From Border, Citing A ‘Charade’ At Federal Level
N.M. Governor Pulls National Guard From Border, Citing A ‘Charade’ At Federal Level
Discussion:
Office of the Governor, Daily Wire, VICE News, Shareblue Media and Mediaite
Lindsey Bever / Washington Post:
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez didn't take kindly to being called ‘sullen’ at State of the Union address — During President Trump's State of the Union address, Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez stood out among a sea of women wearing white as a tribute to U.S. suffragists. — At times she remained seated as others stood.
Discussion:
Plain Dealer, Raw Story, Talking Points Memo and The Daily Beast
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Juliegrace Brufke / The Hill:
Ocasio-Cortez, progressives accuse Trump of using socialism as scare tactic
Ocasio-Cortez, progressives accuse Trump of using socialism as scare tactic
Discussion:
Washington Free Beacon, RT, CNBC, Chicks On The Right, twitchy.com and Breitbart
Brian Stelter / CNN:
Trump's second State of the Union clocks higher ratings than his first
Trump's second State of the Union clocks higher ratings than his first
Discussion:
Vox and The Week, more at Mediagazer »
Sophie Tatum / CNN:
CNN to host town hall with Howard Schultz — Howard Schultz: Both parties have failed at immigration — Washington (CNN)CNN will host a town hall next week in Houston with former Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz as he mulls a presidential bid in 2020. — Schultz, who said last month …
Discussion:
twitchy.com
Zack Whittaker / TechCrunch:
Many popular iPhone apps secretly record your screen without asking — And there's no way a user would know — Many major companies, like Air Canada, Hollister and Expedia, are recording every tap and swipe you make on their iPhone apps. In most cases you won't even realize it.
Discussion:
The Verge and 9to5Mac, more at Techmeme »
Wall Street Journal:
‘This One Here Is Gonna Kick My Butt’—Farm Belt Bankruptcies Are Soaring — Throughout much of the Midwest, U.S. farmers are filing for chapter 12 bankruptcy protection at levels not seen for at least a decade, a Wall Street Journal review of federal data shows.
Discussion:
Axios
David Harsanyi / The Federalist:
The State Of American ‘Fact-Checking’ Is Completely Useless — With a veneer of impartiality, fact-checkers engage in a uniquely dishonest style of partisanship. — If media wants to challenge the context and politics of Republican arguments, that's their prerogative.
Discussion:
National Review, Breitbart and Washington Post
Joe Concha / The Hill:
Daily Caller reporter Benny Johnson joining Turning Point USA — Benny Johnson, a former reporter at the Daily Caller, is joining Charlie Kirk's Turning Point USA, The Hill has confirmed. — In his new role, Johnson, whose past work has included serving as a viral politics editor at BuzzFeed and TheBlaze …
Discussion:
Mediaite and The Daily Beast, more at Mediagazer »
Debra J. Saunders / Las Vegas Review-Journal:
Trump: Dean Heller lost re-election because he didn't excite voter base — WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump called former Sen. Dean Heller “a terrible senator” who lost his re-election bid because he had been “extraordinarily hostile” to Trump during the 2016 election.
Discussion:
Joe.My.God.
John Solomon / The Hill:
Mueller hauled before secret FISA court to address FBI abuses in 2002, Congress told — Robert Mueller, the former FBI director and current special prosecutor in the Russia case, once was hauled before the nation's secret intelligence court to address a large number of instances …
Discussion:
The Gateway Pundit
Chris Stirewalt / Fox News:
Dems grow uneasy with their new moralism — **Want FOX News Halftime Report in your inbox every day? Sign up here. On the roster: Dems grow uneasy with their new moralism - The Rulebook: Thucydides, FTW - Warren stumbles again on native heritage question - Outlook brightens on a deal after Trump speech …
Discussion:
Associated Press
Henry J. Gomez / BuzzFeed News:
Top Democrats In The Early 2020 Primary States Haven't Heard Anything From Joe Biden — As Joe Biden decides whether or not to run for president in 2020, top Democratic leaders in the first caucus and primary states have heard little, if anything, from the former vice president.
Discussion:
CNN
Avery Anapol / The Hill:
Florida state GOP lawmaker says high school blackface photo is ‘decontextualized’ — A Florida state lawmaker is resisting calls to resign over a resurfaced high school photo showing him wearing blackface. — A photo of state Rep. Anthony Sabatini (R) surfaced last year before he was elected …
Discussion:
Orlando Sentinel, Raw Story and Splinter
NBC News:
On Trump's calendar, just 17 intelligence briefings in 85 days — U.S. officials also say Trump does not regularly read the written intelligence briefing sent over daily. — WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump, who doesn't regularly read the daily intelligence summary prepared for him …