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, RedState, Breitbart, Paste, twitchy.com, IJR, Politico, Althouse, Roll Call, Mediaite, Fox News and Vanity Fair, more at Mediagazer »
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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
George T. Conway III / Washington Post:
George Conway: Trump is guilty — of being unfit for office
George Conway: Trump is guilty — of being unfit for office
Discussion:
American Enterprise Institute, Talking Points Memo, Politico, CNN, The Daily Caller, The Week and Mediaite
Chris Kahn / Reuters:
Despite report findings, almost half of Americans think Trump colluded with Russia: Reuters/Ipsos poll
Despite report findings, almost half of Americans think Trump colluded with Russia: Reuters/Ipsos poll
Discussion:
Politico, The Hill, Fox News, POLITICUSUSA, Shareblue Media, The Week, New York Magazine and Morning Consult
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, The Daily Caller, The Week, Raw Story, Political Wire, Washington Post and ABC News
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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, WCSH, USA Today, Shareblue Media, National Review, New York Times, 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, Lawyers, Guns & Money, Hullabaloo, Outside the Beltway, Mother Jones, Vox, twitchy.com, Slate and The Hill
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
The Daily Beast:
‘WTF Is Wrong With Them’: Republicans Horrified as Trump Goes After Obamacare Again
‘WTF Is Wrong With Them’: Republicans Horrified as Trump Goes After Obamacare Again
Discussion:
Shareblue Media, Daily Kos, Raw Story, CNN, Washington Monthly, YouTube, Splinter, Bloomberg, Denver Post, Fortune, Washington Post and Talking Points Memo
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
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 and CNN
John Kass / Chicago Tribune:
Column: Kim Foxx cleans Jussie Smollett up, the Chicago Way — The office of Cook County State's Attorney Kim Foxx, shown speaking Jan. 24, 2019, on Tuesday dropped all charges that actor Jussie Smollett staged a fake attack. (Zbigniew Bzdak/Chicago Tribune)
Discussion:
TMZ.com, twitchy.com and Contemptor
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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
Guy Benson / Townhall:
Whitewash: Cook County Clerk's Office Stunned as Smollett Case File Vanishes From Records System
Whitewash: Cook County Clerk's Office Stunned as Smollett Case File Vanishes From Records System
Discussion:
New York Daily News, CBS News and The Wrap
Chicago Tribune:
Indefensible: With no good explanation, prosecutors give Jussie Smollett a pass
Indefensible: With no good explanation, prosecutors give Jussie Smollett a pass
Discussion:
Daily Wire, Instapundit, New York Post, TheBlaze, The Federalist and EBONY
Mark Konkol / Chicago, IL Patch:
Jussie Smollett: Did Top Prosecutor's Deal Break The Law?
Jussie Smollett: Did Top Prosecutor's Deal Break The Law?
Discussion:
Chicago Tribune, Breitbart, Jezebel, Law & Crime and Power Line
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:
New York Daily News, Mediaite, Politico, CNN, Slate, Breitbart, Washington Times, NB Blog, Political Wire, Axios, Fox News, Raw Story, HillReporter.com, Talking Points Memo, New York Post, Contemptor, FOX31 Denver, IJR, The Week and The Daily Caller
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:
TechCrunch, Washington Post, The Week and New York Post, more at Mediagazer »
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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:
Motherboard and Common Dreams, more at Techmeme »
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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 …
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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, Paste, The Hill, Breitbart and Shareblue Media
Doha Madani / NBC News:
Betsy DeVos grilled in Congress over proposed elimination of Special Olympics funding — “What is it that we have a problem with, with children who are in special education?” a Democratic representative asked the education secretary. — Education Secretary Betsy DeVos struggled …
Discussion:
Washington Post, Shakesville, KTLA and Fox News
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Philip Bump / Washington Post:
Five Trump trips to Mar-a-Lago would cover Betsy Devos's proposed Special Olympics cuts
Five Trump trips to Mar-a-Lago would cover Betsy Devos's proposed Special Olympics cuts
Discussion:
Philly.com, Rolling Stone and Raw Story
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 …
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Robert L. Tsai / Politico:
Trump's Travel Ban Faces Fresh Legal Jeopardy
Reis Thebault / Washington Post:
GOP legislator prays to Jesus for forgiveness before state's first Muslim woman swears in — State Rep. Stephanie Borowicz was on the ninth “Jesus” of her opening prayer in the Pennsylvania statehouse when other lawmakers started to look uncomfortable. — Speaker Mike Turzai …
Discussion:
Talking Points Memo, The Root, Raw Story, Common Dreams and HillReporter.com
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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.
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
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
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