Top Items:
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, Hollywood Reporter, Daily Wire, Hot Air and twitchy.com
Doha Madani / NBC News:
‘Empire’ actor Jussie Smollett indicted on 16 felony counts by grand jury — Smollett was charged last month with felony disorderly conduct for the allegedly false report he made with Chicago police in January. — “Empire” actor Jussie Smollett has been indicted by a grand jury in Chicago …
Discussion:
Slate, Breitbart, The Wrap and Washington Free Beacon
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:
RedState, TheBlaze, The Daily Caller, Washington Post, IJR, TVNewser and Recode
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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:
Vanity Fair, Bloomberg, Washington Post, Hullabaloo, Raw Story, Politico, Mediaite, The Daily Beast, Talking Points Memo, Hot Air, Fortune and Splinter, more at Mediagazer »
John F. Harris / Politico:
Why Trump Loves the Fake News
Why Trump Loves the Fake News
Discussion:
Washington Post, Mediaite, Media Matters for America, The Daily Caller, TVNewser, POLITICUSUSA, Longreads, Raw Story, Balloon Juice, Daily Kos and claytoonz
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, CNN, Mother Jones, FOX 4 Kansas City WDAF-TV, FOX6Now.com, Associated Press, Roll Call, The Daily Beast, VICE News, Vanity Fair, Raw Story, Hullabaloo, POLITICUSUSA, Washington Times, New York Post, Splinter, Lawyers, Guns & Money, Talking Points Memo, Daily Kos and Mediaite
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, The New Neo, The Gateway Pundit, Breitbart, VICE News and twitchy.com
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
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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 Washington Post
Rachel Weiner / Washington Post:
Chelsea Manning sent to jail for refusing to testify in WikiLeaks case — Former Army intelligence analyst Chelsea Manning will be held in jail until she testifies before a grand jury or that grand jury is no longer operating, a federal judge in Alexandria ruled Friday.
Discussion:
The Verge, Task & Purpose and Fortune
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Ali Dukakis / ABC News:
Chelsea Manning taken into custody for refusing to testify before secret grand jury
Chelsea Manning taken into custody for refusing to testify before secret grand jury
Discussion:
The Gateway Pundit and Breitbart
Matthew Barakat / Associated Press:
Chelsea Manning jailed for refusing to testify on Wikileaks
Chelsea Manning jailed for refusing to testify on Wikileaks
Discussion:
NBC News, Shadowproof, Townhall, VICE News, Slate and Daily Wire
Charlie Savage / New York Times:
Chelsea Manning Is Jailed for Refusing to Testify in WikiLeaks Case
Chelsea Manning Is Jailed for Refusing to Testify in WikiLeaks Case
Discussion:
BuzzFeed News, Common Dreams, Outside the Beltway, Hit & Run, The Daily Beast, Towleroad Gay News and New York 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 Monthly, Axios, Washington Post, Yahoo Finance, The Register, Mashable, The Resurgent, TechCrunch, Bloomberg, Slate, CNN, TheStreet, Vanity Fair, Washington Free Beacon, The Verge, The Intercept, GeekWire, MIT Technology Review, Techdirt, Reuters, 9to5Mac, Recode, ABC News, BuzzFeed News, Vox, Multichannel News, POLITICUSUSA, The Guardian, Common Dreams, Roosevelt Institute, One America News Network, twitchy.com, VICE News, The Daily Caller, 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 — Senator Elizabeth Warren, the Massachusetts Democrat who is bidding to be the policy pacesetter in the Democratic presidential primary, announced another expansive idea on Friday: a regulatory plan aimed at breaking …
Discussion:
Splinter, Breitbart, Big League Politics and The Stranger
John McCormack / National Review:
Why Some Republicans Voted against the ‘Anti-Hate’ Resolution — Has the controversy surrounding Democratic congresswoman Ilhan Omar's anti-Semitic comments actually turned into an embarrassing scandal for Republicans? In some quarters of the media, the answer to that question is a resounding “yes.”
Discussion:
Power Line, Washington Free Beacon, Townhall, Fox News, New York Post, Breitbart, Hot Air, RedState and Mother Jones
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Michelle Goldberg / New York Times:
Ilhan Omar's Microaggression
Ilhan Omar's Microaggression
Discussion:
Jewish Insider, Salon, Mondoweiss, Vox, Commentary, JNS.org, twitchy.com, Slate and USA Today
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, POLITICUSUSA, Patterico's Pontifications, Shakesville and Raw Story
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:
Hullabaloo, Al Jazeera, Common Dreams, Raw Story and Mediaite
Daniel Hemel / Politico:
Democrats Demanded Trump's Tax Returns. Then They Dragged Their Feet. — Demanding the president's tax returns “is one of the first things we'd do” when Democrats control the House of Representatives, now-Speaker Nancy Pelosi told her hometown San Francisco Chronicle less than a month …
Discussion:
CNN, Washington Post and taxpolicycenter.org
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John Bresnahan / Politico:
Terri McCullough to be new chief of staff in speaker's office
Terri McCullough to be new chief of staff in speaker's office
Discussion:
Axios
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
Bloomberg:
Trump Seeks Huge Premium From Allies Hosting U.S. Troops — ‘Cost Plus 50’ plan could worsen tensions with key allies — Frustration over spending by NATO countries behind proposal — For years, President Donald Trump has complained that countries hosting American troops aren't paying enough.
Discussion:
Defense One, The Resurgent, Daily Kos, Big League Politics, Politico, Balloon Juice, Raw Story, Axios, Talking Points Memo and Task & Purpose
Kelly Weill / The Daily Beast:
‘Whiter Every Election Cycle’: How Identity Evropa, a Far-Right Hate Group, Joined the GOP — According to leaked chat logs, the white supremacist group has actively reinvented itself as a ‘respectable’ group in order to entice Republicans. — The white nationalist group Identity Evropa …
Discussion:
Raw Story
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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.
New York Times:
Endeavor Returns Money to Saudi Arabia, Protesting Khashoggi Murder — There was much to celebrate last spring when Ariel Emanuel, the chief executive of the talent agency Endeavor, helped throw a splashy Hollywood party for Saudi Arabia's crown prince, Mohammed bin Salman.
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Chris Riotta / The Independent:
Jared Kushner goes rogue in Saudi Arabia, prompting national security concerns
Jared Kushner goes rogue in Saudi Arabia, prompting national security concerns
Discussion:
Washington Post, Right Wing Watch and Raw Story
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:
RedState, Daily Wire, The Daily Caller, electionlawblog.org and The Resurgent
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 …
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
Michael Finnegan / Los Angeles Times:
Michael Avenatti law firm files for bankruptcy protection again; creditor objects — Eagan Avenatti, the longtime firm of lawyer Michael Avenatti, filed late Thursday for federal bankruptcy protection. It's the second time in two years that it has sought court protection from its creditors.
Discussion:
Breitbart
Associated Press:
Biden eyes fundraising challenge amid new sense of urgency — NEW YORK (AP) — On the cusp of another White House run, Joe Biden faces a daunting challenge that could complicate his path to the 2020 Democratic presidential nomination: money. — Those close to the former vice president believe …