Top Items:
The Daily Beast:
MSNBC's Trump-Russia Ratings Fizzle: ‘Time to Pivot to 2020’ — The Mueller report and its potential implications have driven the network's coverage—and monster ratings—for two years. Now it's ended with a whimper, leaving execs in a bind. — Attorney General William Barr's short …
Discussion:
Hot Air, National Review, Breitbart, RedState, Paste, twitchy.com, IJR, Politico, Althouse, Roll Call, Mediaite, Fox News and Vanity Fair, more at Mediagazer »
RELATED:
Julia Ainsley / NBC News:
James Comey says he is confused by Mueller's decision on obstruction — “The entire rationale for a special counsel is to make sure the politicals aren't making the key charging decisions,” the former FBI chief said. — CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Former FBI Director James Comey told an audience …
Discussion:
ABC News, Mediaite, Breitbart, Talking Points Memo, Raw Story, Axios, Washington Times and New York Post
Peter Baker / New York Times:
Mueller's Investigation Erases a Line Drawn After Watergate — WASHINGTON — After Watergate, it was unthinkable that a president would fire an F.B.I. director who was investigating him or his associates. Or force out an attorney general for failing to protect him from an investigation.
Karoun Demirjian / Washington Post:
‘Undoubtedly there is collusion’: Trump antagonist Adam Schiff doubles down after Mueller finds no conspiracy
‘Undoubtedly there is collusion’: Trump antagonist Adam Schiff doubles down after Mueller finds no conspiracy
McKay Coppins / The Atlantic:
The Resistance Media Weren't Ready for This
The Resistance Media Weren't Ready for This
Discussion:
Washington Post, The Daily Beast and patribotics
emptywheel:
The Roger Stone Indictment Proves Barr's Memo Understates Trump Flunkies' Complicity
The Roger Stone Indictment Proves Barr's Memo Understates Trump Flunkies' Complicity
Discussion:
PolitiFact, Raw Story and NB Blog
Kim Wehle / The Bulwark:
Debunking Three Myths About Barr's Summary of the Mueller Report
Debunking Three Myths About Barr's Summary of the Mueller Report
Discussion:
The Atlantic, Media Matters for America, Common Dreams and Quartz
Axios:
Scoop: Kevin McCarthy tells Trump new health care push makes no sense — Reflecting widespread concerns within his party, House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy has told President Trump he disagrees with the Trump administration's attempt to get the entire Affordable Care Act thrown out in court.
Discussion:
Mother Jones, Politico, HillReporter.com, The Daily Caller, The Week, Raw Story, Political Wire, Lawyers, Guns & Money, Washington Post and ABC News
RELATED:
New York Times:
In Divided White House, Trump Sided With Mulvaney in Push for Nullifying Health Act — WASHINGTON — The Trump administration's surprise decision to press for a court-ordered demolition of the Affordable Care Act came after a heated meeting in the Oval Office on Monday …
Discussion:
Raw Story
Burgess Everett / Politico:
White House Obamacare reversal made over Cabinet objections — The Trump administration's surprising move to invalidate Obamacare on Monday came despite the opposition of two key Cabinet secretaries: Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar and Attorney General William Barr.
Discussion:
CNN, USA Today, WCSH, Shareblue Media, National Review, New York Times, Lawyers, Guns & Money, Vanity Fair, Quartz, The Daily Caller, The Resurgent, The Week, Raw Story, Talking Points Memo, Big League Politics, Washington Post, No More Mister Nice Blog, Hullabaloo, Outside the Beltway, Mother Jones, Mercury News, Vox, twitchy.com, Slate and The Hill
Sarah Kliff / Vox:
Donald Trump is very committed to taking away your health insurance
Donald Trump is very committed to taking away your health insurance
Discussion:
Shareblue Media, Off the Kuff, POLITICUSUSA, CNN and Contemptor
Susan Page / USA Today:
Barbara Bush: Did she still consider herself a Republican? 'I'd probably say no today.' — Barbara Bush, in a forthcoming book, had given up on the Republican Party. Susan Page expounds upon the story from her book, “The Matriarch.” — CONNECT — EXCLUSIVE: This story is adapted …
Discussion:
Washington Post, New York Daily News, Mediaite, Politico, Mercury News, CNN, Vanity Fair, Slate, Washington Times, Breitbart, Political Wire, NB Blog, Fox News, Raw Story, HillReporter.com, Talking Points Memo, Althouse, New York Post, Contemptor, Axios, FOX31 Denver, IJR, The Week and The Daily Caller
Guy Benson / Townhall:
Whitewash: Cook County Clerk's Office Stunned as Smollett Case File Vanishes From Records System — Chicago is still reeling from yesterday's extraordinary development in the Jussie Smollett case, in which the office of the State's Attorney chose to drop all 16 felony charges against the disgraced actor.
Discussion:
New York Daily News, Chicago Tribune, CBS News and The Wrap
RELATED:
Crime In Boystown / CWB Chicago:
Exclusive: Chicago Police Department's complete investigative file of Jussie Smollett case — CWBChicago is posting the complete Chicago Police Department investigative file on the Jussie Smollett “hate crime” investigation that we have received in response to a Freedom of Information Act request.
Discussion:
RedState, Fox News, JustOneMinute, VICE News, Daily Wire, The Gateway Pundit, twitchy.com, Conservative Review, Hot Air, New York Times, The Daily Caller and Townhall
John Kass / Chicago Tribune:
Column: Kim Foxx cleans Jussie Smollett up, the Chicago Way
Column: Kim Foxx cleans Jussie Smollett up, the Chicago Way
Discussion:
Chicago, IL Patch, TMZ.com and twitchy.com
Darren Samuelsohn / Politico:
Mueller grand jury ‘continuing robustly,’ prosecutor says — The special counsel grand jury that investigated Russian collusion into the 2016 presidential election is “continuing robustly” despite the end of Robert Mueller's probe, a federal prosecutor said in court Wednesday.
Discussion:
HillReporter.com, Daily Kos, Law & Crime, Raw Story and Political Wire
Motherboard:
Facebook Bans White Nationalism and White Separatism — After a civil rights backlash, Facebook will now treat white nationalism and separatism the same as white supremacy, and will direct users who try to post that content to a nonprofit that helps people leave hate groups.
Discussion:
Boing Boing, TechCrunch, Washington Post, The Week and New York Post, more at Mediagazer »
RELATED:
Facebook:
Standing Against Hate — Today we're announcing a ban on praise, support and representation of white nationalism and separatism on Facebook and Instagram, which we'll start enforcing next week. It's clear that these concepts are deeply linked to organized hate groups and have no place on our services.
Des Moines Register:
EXCLUSIVE: Elizabeth Warren lays out plan to target corporate agriculture, support family farms — Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren is taking aim at some of the nation's largest agribusiness companies, such as Tyson and Bayer-Monsanto, continuing her campaign's assault on corporate consolidation.
Discussion:
Common Dreams and Motherboard, more at Techmeme »
RELATED:
Los Angeles Times:
For Michael Avenatti, a luxury lifestyle built on a purported house of cards — Long before he was Stormy Daniels' lawyer, well before he was accused of trying to shake down Nike for millions of dollars, Michael Avenatti was an Orange County plaintiff's attorney living a luxe life adorned with fast cars …
Washington Post:
Theresa May says she will resign as prime minister after she ‘delivers Brexit’ — BREAKING NEWS: The British leader bowed to pressure from her Conservative Party and said she will resign before the next phase of Brexit talks. She is seeking to win majority backing for her twice-rejected …
RELATED:
Philip Bump / Washington Post:
Five Trump trips to Mar-a-Lago would cover Betsy Devos's proposed Special Olympics cuts — It's not Education Secretary Betsy DeVos's fault that her department has to cut its budget. That's a mandate coming down from her boss, President Trump. — But DeVos is the one to make specific recommendations …
Discussion:
Politico, Philly.com, Splinter, Rolling Stone and Raw Story
RELATED:
Doha Madani / NBC News:
Betsy DeVos grilled in Congress over proposed elimination of Special Olympics funding
Betsy DeVos grilled in Congress over proposed elimination of Special Olympics funding
Discussion:
Washington Post, Shakesville, KTLA, Fox News and Splinter
Chris Cillizza / CNN:
129 seconds that perfectly explain why liberals go wild for Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez — (CNN)On the day that the Senate rejected — by a vote of 0-57 — the broad strokes of the so-called “Green New Deal,” New York Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D), one of the leading voices for the legislation …
Discussion:
New York Post, twitchy.com, Paste, The Hill, Fox News, Breitbart and Shareblue Media
Niklas Magnusson / Bloomberg:
Swedbank Laundering Case Explodes With Alleged Manafort Link — Swedish bank is now reportedly being investigated in the U.S. — Bank's headquarters in Stockholm were raided on Wednesday — The Swedbank AB money laundering scandal grew considerably more serious this week amid reports …
RELATED:
Anita Kumar / Politico:
Departing Trump aides failed to disclose next job as law requires — Seven former senior Trump aides, including the White House's top ethics official, may have violated federal law by failing to disclose their future employment on financial reports, according to records obtained by POLITICO.
Discussion:
Heritage Foundation
RELATED:
Nancy Cook / Politico:
How Frank Luntz went from Trump enemy to White House insider
How Frank Luntz went from Trump enemy to White House insider
Discussion:
ABC News
Associated Press:
Gay sex and adultery will be punishable by stoning to death and thieves will be amputated under ‘vicious’ new Sharia laws brought in by Brunei — Brunei could start whipping or stoning gay people to death next week when strict new laws are introduced, human rights groups have warned.
Discussion:
No More Mister Nice Blog
David Leonhardt / New York Times:
John Roberts, Legislator — A new book tells of political horse-trading at the Supreme Court. — During a 10-day break for the Supreme Court in April 2012, several justices left Washington to give lectures or take short vacations. But both John Roberts and Anthony Kennedy remained in Washington …
RELATED:
Robert L. Tsai / Politico:
Trump's Travel Ban Faces Fresh Legal Jeopardy
Sean McElwee / New York Times:
People Actually Like the Green New Deal — Mitch McConnell's show vote in the Senate on Tuesday rejected the plan, but Republicans may come to regret their mockery. — Mr. McElwee is one of the founders of Data for Progress. — Mitch McConnell, the Senate majority leader …
Discussion:
Curbed, Common Dreams and Mercury News
Wall Street Journal:
Former NSA Contractor Expected to Plead Guilty This Week for Theft of Top Secret Documents — A former National Security Agency contractor who was scheduled to go to trial in June on charges of removing a huge amount of classified material from the agency's headquarters is expected to plead guilty on Thursday.
Samantha Schmidt / Washington Post:
Teen boys rated their female classmates based on looks. The girls fought back. — Yasmin Behbehani had just walked into her third-period health class when her friend asked her if she had seen the list. — “There's a list of the girls' names,” her friend Nicky Schmidt …
Discussion:
Jezebel
Amy Goldstein / Washington Post:
A job-scarce town struggles with Arkansas's first-in-nation Medicaid work rules — Marianna, ARK. — At the center of Court Square in this old Mississippi Delta town, the monument to the county's Confederate dead is inscribed: “No braver bled for a brighter land. No brighter land had a cause so grand.”
Discussion:
Splinter
Washington Post:
U.S. has hit ‘breaking point’ at border amid immigration surge, Customs and Border Protection commissioner says — EL PASO — Outside a Border Patrol station overflowing with Central American families, the top U.S. border security official made an urgent appeal to lawmakers Wednesday …
Discussion:
Fox News, ABC7, The American Mirror and ABC News