Top Items:
Virginian-Pilot:
Virginia Sen. Tommy Norment was an editor for VMI yearbook filled with racist photos and slurs — Blackface and Confederate flag images are seen from the 1968 edition of Bomb: Virginia Military Institute's yearbook. — Virginia Senator Thomas K. Norment arrives on the floor of the Senate chamber on Thursday, Feb. 7, 2019.
CNN:
Trump furious after Schiff hires former NSC aides to help oversee his administration — Washington (CNN)House Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam Schiff has hired officials with experience at the National Security Council to help with its oversight of President Donald Trump's administration, according to a committee aide.
RELATED:
Bloomberg:
Trump Fears Schiff Is Recruiting White House Employees for Probe — Intelligence chairman hired former national security official — Schiff said not to be trying to learn about Trump via hires — Donald Trump believes House Intelligence Chairman Adam Schiff is trying …
Discussion:
Axios, Shareblue Media, Mediaite, The Gateway Pundit, Hullabaloo, POLITICUSUSA, Raw Story, The Daily Caller, Fox News Insider and Breitbart
Olivia Beavers / The Hill:
Dems ready to issue subpoena for phone records linked to Trump Tower meeting — Democrats on the House Intelligence Committee are preparing to issue a subpoena as soon as Thursday to obtain phone records linked to the June 2016 Trump Tower meeting between Trump campaign officials and a Russian lawyer …
Danielle Kurtzleben / NPR:
Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez Releases Green New Deal Outline — Whether it's a deadly cold snap or a hole in an Antarctic glacier or a terrifying new report, there seem to be constant reminders now of the dangers that climate change poses to humanity. — Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez …
Discussion:
Politico, The Atlantic, Townhall, RedState, Shareblue Media, HuffPost, The Week, National Review, The Hill, RT, Vox, The Daily Caller, Breitbart, Tampa Bay Times, Grist, Jacobin, Washington Post, Fox News, Daily Wire, Conservative Review, Conservative News Today, Common Dreams, Climate Depot, Portland Mercury, Gizmodo, VICE News, Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion, Mother Jones, The Rush Limbaugh Show, The Daily Beast, Hit & Run, Washington Free Beacon, Curbed, Daily Kos, Bloomberg, Axios, The Daily Signal, Hullabaloo, The Resurgent, The Verge, NTK Network, twitchy.com, Mediaite, Balloon Juice, NRCC, Crooked Media, Representative Alexandria … and Jezebel
RELATED:
John Bresnahan / Politico:
‘Too hot to handle’: Pelosi predicts GOP won't trigger another shutdown — Speaker Nancy Pelosi is vowing that the federal government will not shut down again, even as President Donald Trump ratchets up pressure for his border wall ahead of a fast-approaching deadline.
Discussion:
Vox, The Federalist, ThinkProgress, New York Times, Patterico's Pontifications, Breitbart, TheBlaze, The Hill, The Daily Caller, CNBC, Chicks On The Right, Conservative News Today, Louder With Crowder, Bloomberg, Washington Post, The Week, Splinter, twitchy.com, Daily Kos, Instapundit, Axios, CNN and Talking Points Memo
Sarah Ferris / Politico:
Pelosi announces Dems for new climate panel
Pelosi announces Dems for new climate panel
Discussion:
Vox, NPR, The Intercept, VICE News, Joe.My.God. and twitchy.com
Chris Cillizza / CNN:
Nancy Pelosi just threw some serious shade at Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez's Green New Deal
Nancy Pelosi just threw some serious shade at Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez's Green New Deal
Discussion:
Politico, Slate, Mother Jones, New York Post, Hot Air, The Daily Caller and Daily Wire
Betsy Woodruff / The Daily Beast:
‘They Hate This Guy’: Matt Whitaker Braces for Showdown With Dems — 'We don't know what we're up against with the House Judiciary Committee,' one Justice Department source told The Daily Beast. ‘We have no idea.’ — Betsy Woodruff — The Justice Department is bracing for impact.
Discussion:
Politico, Raw Story, The Gateway Pundit, CNN, Axios, emptywheel and Law & Crime
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Washington Post:
Whitaker says he won't testify unless Democrats drop their subpoena threat — Acting attorney general Matthew G. Whitaker said he will not appear before Congress Friday without assurances he won't be subpoenaed — giving Democrats a deadline of 6 p.m. Thursday to respond.
Discussion:
Vox, WLTZ-TV, Townhall, FiveThirtyEight and American Oversight
Betsy Woodruff / The Daily Beast:
Acting Attorney General Matt Whitaker Threatens to Stiff-Arm Congress
Acting Attorney General Matt Whitaker Threatens to Stiff-Arm Congress
Discussion:
Politico, Breitbart, Raw Story, New York Times and Axios
CNN:
Whitaker says he will not appear before House panel unless he gets guarantee he won't face subpoena
Whitaker says he will not appear before House panel unless he gets guarantee he won't face subpoena
CNN:
Former Fox News reporter expected to be named to lead counter-propaganda efforts at State — (CNN)A former Fox News reporter is expected to be appointed to lead the State Department agency in charge of efforts to counter foreign propaganda and disinformation, two officials told CNN.
Discussion:
Joe.My.God. and Mediaite
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John Bowden / The Hill:
Former Fox News reporter joining State to lead effort to counter foreign propaganda
Former Fox News reporter joining State to lead effort to counter foreign propaganda
Discussion:
Foreign Policy, USA Today, ABC News and Raw Story, more at Mediagazer »
CNN:
Transcript of closed-door Manafort hearing — A federal court released a partial transcript from Paul Manafort's four-and-a-half hour sealed court hearing held on Monday.
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NBC News:
Manafort kept working in Ukraine after Mueller indictment, transcript shows — According to prosecutors, Paul Manafort and Konstantin Kilimnik had a discussion that referred to a “backdoor.” — The newly released transcript of a sealed hearing held earlier this week reveals …
Washington Post:
The Mueller investigation has sprouted. Therein lies the jeopardy for Trump. — It's not the crime; it's the offspring of the crime. — If the old Watergate expression is “It's not the crime; it's the coverup,” then today's equivalent might be “It's not the crime; it's the crime's offspring.”
Discussion:
Mother Jones and Raw Story
RELATED:
New York Times:
Virginia Police Sergeant Suspended After Antifa Ties Him to White Nationalism — A police sergeant in Virginia who was assigned to monitor the protests related to Gov. Ralph Northam was suspended Wednesday after being identified by an anti-fascist group as having an “affinity with white nationalist groups.”
Discussion:
HuffPost, Washington Times, ThinkProgress, RedState, Antifa Seven Hills, Raw Story and WTVR-TV
RELATED:
John Sides / Washington Post:
Poll: Only 58 percent of Americans oppose blackface
Poll: Only 58 percent of Americans oppose blackface
Discussion:
The Atlantic, The Daily Caller, Daily Kos, Latest - Truthout, The Root and The Guardian
Jim Geraghty / National Review:
The Virginia Blackface Scandal Is Only Getting Worse
The Virginia Blackface Scandal Is Only Getting Worse
Discussion:
Salon, The Republican Standard, The Daily Caller and Above the Law
Tamar Hallerman / Atlanta Journal-Constitution:
BREAKING: U.S. Rep. Rob Woodall will not seek re-election — U.S. Rep. Rob Woodall, who narrowly won the closest congressional race in the nation last fall, will not seek re-election next year, all but ensuring his rapidly-diversifying suburban House district will become one of the country's fiercest political battlegrounds in 2020.
Discussion:
CNN, Shareblue Media, Washington Post, Politico, Daily Kos, Joe.My.God., POLITICUSUSA and Rob Woodall
Jeff Bezos:
No thank you, Mr. Pecker — Something unusual happened to me yesterday. Actually, for me it wasn't just unusual—it was a first. I was made an offer I couldn't refuse. Or at least that's what the top people at the National Enquirer thought. I'm glad they thought that, because it emboldened them to put it all in writing.
Greg Sargent / Washington Post:
Democratic focus groups may have identified a hidden vulnerability for Trump — This is the week that the broad outlines of President Trump's reelection strategy are coming into focus. Trump will continue pushing forward with his reactionary xenophobic nationalist agenda on immigration …
Discussion:
Raw Story
The Daily Beast:
Phoenix Police Refute Cindy McCain's Story of Human Trafficking at Airport — Phoenix police on Wednesday disputed Cindy McCain's account of human trafficking at an Arizona airport. McCain had told local news station KTAR on Monday that she intervened at Sky Harbor International Airport …
Discussion:
KTAR.com, KASW-TV, Daily Kos, Breitbart, Joe.My.God., twitchy.com, The Root, Washington Post, Jezebel, Raw Story and Eschaton
Antonia Noori Farzan / Washington Post:
A Florida politician allegedly made a habit of licking men's faces. She's now resigned. — It was supposed to be a fun, lighthearted alternative to typical government meetings, and one befitting a laid-back beach town. The city commission of Madeira Beach, Fla. — a coastal community …
Discussion:
The Daily Caller and Althouse
Tyler Cowen / Bloomberg:
Who Wants to Be a Billionaire? — Howard Schultz has a point: They don't deserve all the blame for America's wealth inequality. — I have found that when somebody or something is remorselessly mocked in my Twitter feed, there is usually something to be said in their defense.
Discussion:
Marginal REVOLUTION, Splinter and CNN
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Farhad Manjoo / New York Times:
Abolish Billionaires — A radical idea is gaining adherents on the left.
Abolish Billionaires — A radical idea is gaining adherents on the left.
Discussion:
Hit & Run, No More Mister Nice Blog, Daily Wire, JustOneMinute, National Review and The Daily Caller
Olivia Gazis / CBS News:
Richard Burr on the Senate Intelligence Committee's Russia investigation, 2 years on — The investigation into Russian intelligence activities by the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence turned two years old, without fanfare, last month. — For almost as long, the inquiry …
Discussion:
Politico
RELATED:
Wall Street Journal:
U.S. Military Sets April Target Date for Leaving Syria — The U.S. military is preparing to pull all American forces out of Syria by the end of April, even though the Trump administration has yet to come up with a plan to protect its Kurdish partners from attack when they leave, current and former U.S. officials said.
Discussion:
RT
Ryan Lizza / Esquire:
A Swamp Divided: How Trump's Arrival Turned D.C. Nightlife Upside Down — “Trump doesn't need to build a wall; he's built one here.” — Washington is one of the only places in America where an election transforms the city's social life. Plenty of people live here with no regard …
Ronald Brownstein / The Atlantic:
Trump Is Walling Off the GOP — The most misleading line in Donald Trump's State of the Union address this week might have also been the most revealing about how he is reconfiguring the Republican Party and reshaping America's electoral alignment. — “Legal immigrants enrich our nation …
Discussion:
Washington Post
Eli Yokley / Morning Consult:
Trump's Popularity Slumps to Record Low in January — (Photo by Jim Lo Scalzo-Pool/Getty Images) — A majority of voters in 12 states approved of Trump's job performance, while a majority disapproved in 27 states. — Trump's best numbers came in Wyoming and West Virginia …
Discussion:
courthousenews.com, IJR, Hullabaloo, Daily Kos and POLITICUSUSA
Washington Post:
‘I was up all night’ going through plagiarism claims, Jill Abramson says — Former New York Times executive editor Jill Abramson responded Thursday to allegations that she plagiarized portions of her new book, “Merchants of Truth: The Business of News and the Fight for Facts,” …
Discussion:
Vox, NPR, RedState, The Daily Beast, NB Blog, Washington Free Beacon, Associated Press, Conservative News Today, Breitbart and Splinter, more at Mediagazer »
Scott Thuman / WPEC:
Surveillance video from the January 25 FBI raid exclusively to Sinclair Broadcast Group (CBS12 WPEC) — FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. (Sinclair Broadcast Group) — With heavy guns drawn and approaching before sunrise, a swarm of FBI agents swiftly advanced at the home of Roger Stone in late January.
Discussion:
The Last Refuge, Raw Story and Mediaite
James Comey / Washington Post:
Blackface is a tool of white oppression. There are many more towering over us. — James Comey is a former director of the FBI and a former U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York. — White people designed blackface to keep black people down, to intimidate, mock and stereotype.
Paul Chi / Vanity Fair:
Liam Neeson Can't Be Racist Because of How He Kisses, Says Michelle Rodriguez — “Dude, have you watched Widows? His tongue was so far down Viola Davis's throat,” Neeson's onetime co-star said. — Michelle Rodriguez is certain that her Widows co-star Liam Neeson is not a racist.
Discussion:
BlackSportsOnline, news.avclub.com, The Week, Raw Story, Decider, Jezebel, The Root, The Daily Caller, IndieWire and Mediaite
Brian Slodysko / Associated Press:
Democratic group to spend $30M on voting rights effort — WASHINGTON (AP) — With the 2020 presidential election on the horizon, one of the largest outside Democratic groups announced on Thursday a $30 million effort to register voters, push ballot measures that expand voter rights …
Eliana Johnson / Politico:
Kushner to visit Mideast for peace plan push — Jared Kushner will crisscross the Middle East later this month seeking buy-in for his peace plan from leaders throughout the region. — During the trip, the president's son-in-law will for the first time share significant details …
Discussion:
Axios