Top Items:
Ken LaCorte / Mediaite:
I Stopped the Stormy Daniels Story at Fox News. Here's Why. — Two weeks before the 2016 presidential election, as the editorial head of Fox News online, I reviewed a draft news story that said porn actress Stormy Daniels had confirmed having an affair with Donald Trump a decade earlier.
Discussion:
Orlando Sentinel, Washington Post, TheBlaze, RedState, The Daily Caller, IJR, Politico, TVNewser and Recode
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Gabriel Sherman / Vanity Fair:
“Trump Has Been Calling Him Bill ‘No Shine’”: Why Roger Ailes's Former Right Hand Is Leaving the West Wing — Sean Hannity lobbied for Shine to get the job, but things quickly soured. “Trump needs someone to blame for his bad press,” said a former West Wing official.
Discussion:
Raw Story, Media Matters for America, Washington Post, Talking Points Memo and Hot Air
Alexi McCammond / Axios:
Scoop: White House leak to House Dems on Jared and Ivanka's clearances — From a White House source, the House Oversight Committee has obtained documents related to Jared Kushner and Ivanka Trump's security clearances that the Trump administration refused to provide, according …
Discussion:
POLITICUSUSA, Talking Points Memo, Politico, Daily Kos and Raw Story
New York Times:
Bill Shine Resigns as White House Message Chief — Bill Shine, the former Fox News executive who joined the White House staff last summer to manage President Trump's communications operation, has resigned and will move to the re-election campaign, the White House announced Friday.
Discussion:
Washington Post, Bloomberg, The Daily Beast, Politico, Raw Story, Hullabaloo, The Daily Caller, Fortune, Mediaite, TVNewser, Breitbart, POLITICUSUSA, Longreads, Splinter, Balloon Juice and Daily Kos, more at Mediagazer »
Chris Riotta / The Independent:
Jared Kushner goes rogue in Saudi Arabia, prompting national security concerns — Jared Kushner has gone rogue. — Donald Trump's senior White House adviser once again abandoned government normalities during an official state trip to Saudi Arabia, reportedly discussing US-Saudi cooperation …
Discussion:
Right Wing Watch, Washington Post and Raw Story
Ylan Mui / CNBC:
White House to unveil unbalanced budget on Monday, sources say
White House to unveil unbalanced budget on Monday, sources say
Discussion:
Associated Press, Axios, TalkLeft, Bloomberg and Hit & Run
miamiherald:
Trump cheered Kraft's team to Super Bowl victory with founder of spa where he was busted — Seated at a round table littered with party favors and the paper-cutout footballs that have become tradition at his annual Super Bowl Watch Party, President Donald Trump cheered the New England Patriots …
Discussion:
Shareblue Media, Towleroad Gay News, The Stranger, Mother Jones, CNN, Polipace Insider …, Vanity Fair, Raw Story, FOX 4 Kansas City WDAF-TV, FOX6Now.com, Hullabaloo, VICE News, The Daily Beast, Daily Kos, Washington Times, Roll Call, POLITICUSUSA, New York Post, Splinter, Lawyers, Guns & Money, Talking Points Memo and Mediaite
WLS / ABC7:
Jussie Smollett update: ‘Empire’ actor indicted on 16 felony counts by grand jury … There have been dozens of twists and turns since “Empire” start Jussie Smollett reported being attacked. Here are some key moments from the start of this story. — WLS
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Crime In Boystown / CWB Chicago:
Exclusive: Grand jury returns 16 felony counts against Jussie Smollett — Embattled TV star Jussie Smollett's legal problems have just become significantly more serious as a Cook County grand jury has returned a 16-count true bill of charges against him in connection with his alleged falsification …
Discussion:
CBS Chicago, RedState, Bounding Into Comics, Daily Wire, Hollywood Reporter, Hot Air and twitchy.com
Doha Madani / NBC News:
‘Empire’ actor Jussie Smollett indicted on 16 felony counts by grand jury
‘Empire’ actor Jussie Smollett indicted on 16 felony counts by grand jury
Discussion:
The Wrap, Slate, Breitbart and Washington Free Beacon
Tim Alberta / Politico:
The Democrats' Dilemma — MINNEAPOLIS—They have gathered in defiance of the freezing temperatures on a late February's night, scores of them twirling Somali flags in one hand and American flags in the other, crowding around the arrivals terminal and waiting to welcome one of their own.
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Bob Fredericks / New York Post:
Ilhan Omar: Obama's a ‘pretty face’ who got ‘away with murder’
Ilhan Omar: Obama's a ‘pretty face’ who got ‘away with murder’
Discussion:
Power Line, RedState, TheBlaze, Mondoweiss, The New Neo, Hot Air and The Gateway Pundit
John McCormack / National Review:
Why Some Republicans Voted against the ‘Anti-Hate’ Resolution
Why Some Republicans Voted against the ‘Anti-Hate’ Resolution
Discussion:
Washington Free Beacon, Power Line, Fox News, Hot Air, Townhall, Breitbart, The American Spectator, New York Post and Mother Jones
New York Times:
‘She Had a Poor Choice of Words’: Ilhan Omar's Constituents Grapple with Her Remarks
‘She Had a Poor Choice of Words’: Ilhan Omar's Constituents Grapple with Her Remarks
Discussion:
Washington Free Beacon, JustOneMinute, Religion News Service, Algemeiner.com, IJR, Townhall, Hot Air and The Atlantic
Michelle Goldberg / New York Times:
Ilhan Omar's Microaggression
Ilhan Omar's Microaggression
Discussion:
Jewish Insider, Salon, twitchy.com, JNS.org, Commentary, Vox, USA Today, Slate and Washington Post
Elizabeth Warren / Team Warren:
Here's how we can break up Big Tech — Twenty-five years ago, Facebook, Google, and Amazon didn't exist. Now they are among the most valuable and well-known companies in the world. It's a great story—but also one that highlights why the government must break up monopolies and promote competitive markets.
Discussion:
Washington Post, The Daily Beast, The Verge, Washington Monthly, Yahoo Finance, Axios, The Register, Vanity Fair, Techdirt, Mashable, 9to5Mac, The Resurgent, Slate, TheStreet, Reuters, The Intercept, TechCrunch, GeekWire, The Guardian, Vox, Recode, ABC News, Roosevelt Institute, BuzzFeed News, MIT Technology Review, Bloomberg, twitchy.com, Multichannel News, POLITICUSUSA, Q13 FOX News, Washington Free Beacon, Common Dreams, One America News Network, The Daily Caller, VICE News, Fortune, IJR, Politico, Engadget, Observer and Mediaite, more at Techmeme »
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Astead W. Herndon / New York Times:
Elizabeth Warren Proposes Breaking Up Tech Giants Like Amazon and Facebook
Elizabeth Warren Proposes Breaking Up Tech Giants Like Amazon and Facebook
Discussion:
Big League Politics, The Stranger, Splinter and Breitbart
Chuck Ross / The Daily Caller:
In Surprise Move, House Republican Releases Bruce Ohr Transcript — Georgia Rep. Doug Collins unilaterally released a 268-page transcript Friday of a deposition that Justice Department official Bruce Ohr gave to Congress in August. — Collins, the top Republican on the House Judiciary Committee …
Discussion:
The Gateway Pundit and twitchy.com
Andrew Sullivan / New York Magazine:
How Should We Talk About the Israel Lobby's Power? — Let's get this out of the way first: Using the phrases “all about the Benjamins” and “allegiance to a foreign country” when referring to the Israel lobby in D.C., as freshman Democratic representative Ilhan Omar recently did, is anti-Semitic.
Discussion:
The American Conservative
Mehdi Hasan / The Intercept:
Did Blackwater's Erik Prince Lie to Congress About a Trump Tower Meeting? I Asked Him. — Did Erik Prince perjure himself in front of Congress? — The founder and former CEO of the notorious private security firm Blackwater — and younger brother of hapless Education Secretary Betsy DeVos …
Discussion:
Raw Story, Al Jazeera, Hullabaloo, Common Dreams and Mediaite
John Bresnahan / Politico:
Terri McCullough to be new chief of staff in speaker's office — Speaker Nancy Pelosi has tapped Terri McCullough to be her new chief of staff in the speaker's office, the first woman in modern times to serve in the role in a paid, full-time capacity. — McCullough will replace Danny Weiss …
Discussion:
Axios
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Daniel Hemel / Politico:
Democrats Demanded Trump's Tax Returns. Then They Dragged Their Feet.
Democrats Demanded Trump's Tax Returns. Then They Dragged Their Feet.
Discussion:
CNN, Washington Post and taxpolicycenter.org
Alan Gomez / USA Today:
Judge: Trump administration may have to reunite thousands of additional migrant families — Amid public outcry over the thousands of migrant children separated from their parents at the U.S.-Mexico border, President Donald Trump signed an executive order to keep families together.
Jeff Stein / Newsweek:
Where Is Robert Levinson? Inside the Secret Campaign to Find Ex-FBI Agent Who Disappeared on Mission to Iran — The plans were ready; the $250,000 payoff cash was committed. On December 10, 2018, a former Air Force intelligence officer named Bob Kent was planning to board a plane in New York …
Jon Swaine / The Guardian:
Trump inauguration took money from shell companies tied to foreigners — Creators of firms that donated revealed by Guardian as Indian financier, lobbyist with links to Taiwan and Israeli real estate developer — Donald Trump's inauguration received tens of thousands of dollars …
Discussion:
Vanity Fair, Patterico's Pontifications, POLITICUSUSA, Shakesville and Raw Story
BuzzFeed News:
Military Doctors Told Them It Was Just “Female Problems.” Weeks Later, They Were In The Hospital. — From body armor to health care, the US military has been slow to adapt to women in its ranks. Female service members are paying the price, often with lifelong consequences. — Reporting From
David Roth / Deadspin:
What You Need To Know About Meghan McCain's Jewish Heritage — Meghan McCain, daughter of the late statesman and presidential candidate John McCain and co-host of ABC's The View, has taken an increasingly prominent role during the recent national conversation over the troubling rise of antisemitism in American politics.
Discussion:
Splinter
Robin George Andrews / New York Times:
If We Blow Up an Asteroid, It Might Put Itself Back Together — Despite what Hollywood tells us, stopping an asteroid from creating an extinction-level event by blowing it up may not work. — Faced with the prospect of a sizable asteroid heading toward Earth and causing doomsday, humanity has come up with various responses.
Darryl Fears / Washington Post:
A Trump official said seismic air gun tests don't hurt whales. So a congressman blasted him with an air horn. — Rep. Joe Cunningham's stunt made a bang in a subcommittee hearing that questioned the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's decision to permit seismic testing, which harms whales.
politics.theonion.com:
Bored Iowa Town Trying To Convince Kirsten Gillibrand It Local Tradition To Eat Live Tarantula — SAYLORVILLE, IA—Assuring the New York senator the custom has been observed by seven generations of proud Saylorville citizens, several bored Iowans reportedly decided Friday they would try …
Bryan Curtis / The Ringer:
Dan Jenkins Was More Than a Sportswriter. He Was a Sportswriterly State of Being. — The legendary author and Sports Illustrated writer died Thursday night at the age of 89 — Dan Jenkins died Thursday night at the age of 89. He wasn't just a sportswriter. He was a sportswriterly state of being.
Discussion:
Sports Illustrated and The Wrap
Nadja Popovich / New York Times:
America's Light Bulb Revolution — '11 — '12 — '13 — '14 — '15 — Percentages may not add up to 100 due to rounding. Source: Department of Energy — Solar panels and wind turbines get a lot of attention, but a more inconspicuous instrument is helping …
David Byler / Washington Post:
Everyone is underestimating Trump. It could hurt Democrats and Republicans alike. — We live in an era of horribly misinformed political decision-making. In 2015, the Trump-skeptical Republican elite believed that Trump would naturally fade over the course of the primary …
Discussion:
CNN
Stephen Dinan / Washington Times:
House votes in favor of illegal immigrant voting — House Democrats voted Friday to defend localities that allow illegal immigrants to vote in their elections, turning back a GOP attempt to discourage the practice. — The vote marks a stunning reversal from just six months ago …
Discussion:
The Gateway Pundit, RedState, Daily Wire, The Daily Caller, electionlawblog.org and The Resurgent
John Bowden / The Hill:
Conway's husband: ‘Banana republic’ if Trump got his wish to go after investigators — George Conway, husband of White House counselor Kellyanne Conway, warned Friday that the U.S. would be a “banana republic” if President Trump's threats against members of the Justice Department went fulfilled.
Discussion:
Breitbart and One America News Network
Matthew Barakat / Associated Press:
Chelsea Manning jailed for refusing to testify on Wikileaks — ALEXANDRIA, Va. (AP) — Former Army intelligence analyst Chelsea Manning, who served years in prison for leaking one of the largest troves of classified documents in U.S. history, has been sent to jail for refusing to testify to a grand jury investigating Wikileaks.
Discussion:
Washington Post, PinkNews, NBC News, Shadowproof, VICE News, Daily Wire, Townhall, Slate and Fortune
Kurt Wagner / Recode:
Inside Twitter's ambitious plan to change the way we tweet — Twitter wants to limit snark and get “healthy.” So far, it's gone nowhere. — There are few things the internet loves more than a vicious Twitter dunk. — Whether it's a celebrity ripping on President Donald Trump …
Jonathan Lemire / Associated Press:
‘He said, he said’ - Who can you trust in Cohen-Trump saga? — NEW YORK (AP) — It's a “he said, he said” where the “he” — no matter who he is — has a credibility problem. — The latest White House legal drama — whether or not the president's former legal fixer asked him for a pardon …