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Border talks at impasse as shutdown looms Friday, officials say — Bipartisan talks aimed at resolving the border wall dispute and averting a government shutdown Friday have broken down and are at an impasse, two people familiar with the situation said Sunday.
Discussion:
POLITICUSUSA, The Guardian and The Week
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Shutdown talks stalled — Negotiations to avert another government shutdown have stalled, leaving lawmakers in the same place they've been for months. — Although lawmakers were optimistic going into the weekend about reaching a border security deal and funding the government past Feb. 15 …


20 years, 700 victims: Southern Baptist sexual abuse spreads as leaders resist reforms — Thirty-five years later, Debbie Vasquez's voice trembled as she described her trauma to a group of Southern Baptist leaders. — She was 14, she said, when she was first molested by her pastor in Sanger …
Discussion:
Russell Moore and The American Conservative


Klobuchar's opening pitch sidetracked by staff horror stories — MINNEAPOLIS — Sen. Amy Klobuchar is pitching herself for the White House as the commonsense Midwestern answer to President Donald Trump — while former staffers portray her as a brutal boss who mistreated them.
Discussion:
Balloon Juice and TheBlaze
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Mother, 38, is arrested in front of her children and locked in a cell for seven HOURS after calling a transgender woman a man on Twitter — More than two months after her arrest and she has had neither her mobile phone or laptop returned — A mother was arrested in front of her children …
Discussion:
Louder With Crowder and Breitbart


This petty poster war says everything you need to know about the immigration debate in Congress — There may be no better way to understand the immigration debate on Capitol Hill than to take a walk through the second floor of the Rayburn House Office Building.
Discussion:
ImmigrationProf Blog


Michael Cohen's secret agenda … NEW YORK — At first, Michael Cohen appeared indifferent as he listened to the group of Republican leaders urge his boss to run for governor. — It was the fall of 2013, and Donald Trump was already fixated on “the big thing,” as he referred to running for president.


What If There Were 42 Million at the Border? — Here's a good question about caravans: How many more are coming? — Gallup asked the whole population of Latin America. There are 33 countries in Latin America and the Caribbean. Roughly 450 million adults live in the region.
Discussion:
RedState, The Daily Caller, The Gateway Pundit, Breitbart, illegal immigration … and Front Page Magazine


Republicans can't wait to debate Medicare for All — The only people more eager than progressive Democrats for hearings on Medicare for All are conservative Republicans. — GOP lawmakers, fresh off an electoral shellacking fueled in large part by health care concerns …
Discussion:
The Daily Beast and Partnership …


Bob Costas, unplugged: From NBC and broadcast icon to dropped from the Super Bowl — IN DECEMBER 2015, the movie “Concussion” was set for a Christmas Day release in nearly 3,000 theaters across America. The film told the story of the NFL's attempts to discredit research tying brain damage to football …


Scoop: Bob Woodward writes email to Jeff Bezos: “It's Watergate redux” — Bob Woodward — author of “FEAR: Trump in the White House,” and an associate editor of The Washington Post, where he has worked since 1971 — wrote an email of support on Friday to Post owner Jeff Bezos, following his Medium post defying the National Enquirer:
Discussion:
Bloomberg and Talking Points Memo
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What happens when billionaires battle gossipmongers? Prepare for explosions.
Discussion:
New York Post and New York Times, more at Mediagazer »

Virginians are split on governor's fate amid blackface scandal — Poll Questions — Q: Do you approve or disapprove of the way Ralph Northam is handling his job as governor of Virginia? Do you approve/disapprove strongly or somewhat? — Hide Results — Q: Northam has been governor for about one year.
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A surprise virtual visit from the president — WEBSTER SPRINGS, W.VA. — No president has ever visited here before. So, it was a pretty big deal when 14 local high-school students had President Trump in their classroom, talking to them Wednesday, all thanks to a Skype video call that Sen. Joe Manchin was having with a civics class.


Ocasio-Cortez's Adviser Went Viral For What He Told Tucker Carlson — But He Got It Wrong — A policy adviser for New York Democratic Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez claimed that her Green New Deal proposal did not include economic protections for those “unwilling to work” and claimed that the phrase came from a “doctored document.”
Discussion:
Washington Examiner, Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion, Hot Air, Daily Wire, Mediaite, Breitbart, TheBlaze and Patterico's Pontifications
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Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez's staff says a document that supported paying Americans 'unwilling …
Discussion:
twitchy.com and Townhall


McCaul Statement on Administration's Response to Magnitsky Act — Media Contact: caroline.campbell@mail.house.gov — Washington D.C. - House Foreign Affairs Lead Republican Michael McCaul (R-TX) released the following statement in response to the Administration's failure to meet …
Discussion:
Mediaite and New York Times, more at Mediagazer »


Democratic dirt defines start of 2020 — Democratic campaigns are secretly shopping dirt on their primary rivals much earlier than usual, reflecting the high stakes of surging or sinking quickly with so many people running so early. — The meltdown in Virginia politics is also infecting the race …
Discussion:
Vox and The Daily Beast


Day Care for All — The progressive to-do list is missing a very important idea. — Ms. Pollitt is a columnist at The Nation. — When Bernie Sanders ran for president, he promised to fight for free public college, universal health insurance and a $15 minimum wage.