Top Items:
The Guardian:
Trump Fed pick was held in contempt for failing to pay ex-wife over $300,000 — Records obtained by Guardian show Stephen Moore reprimanded by judge for not paying alimony, child support and other debts — Stephen Moore, the economics commentator chosen by Donald Trump for a seat …
Discussion:
Political Wire, Raw Story and Vanity Fair
New York Times:
After Trump Casts Blame for a Special Olympics Cut, Betsy DeVos Flashes Pique — WASHINGTON — After a two-day thrashing over her department's proposal to eliminate funding for the Special Olympics, Education Secretary Betsy DeVos sat before senators on Thursday ready to defend it again.
Discussion:
Eduwonk
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Washington Post:
With social program fights, some Republicans fear being seen as the party of the 1 percent — President Trump boasted this week that the Republican Party will soon be known as “the party of great health care.” — But a growing number of Republicans fear that it risks being tagged as the party …
Discussion:
Raw Story, POLITICUSUSA, Politico, Washington Examiner, KGAN, Christian Science Monitor, The Root, The Democrats, Vanity Fair and Daily Kos
Michael Warren / CNN:
WH budget office, not DeVos, pushed for proposed Special Olympics cuts, official says
WH budget office, not DeVos, pushed for proposed Special Olympics cuts, official says
Discussion:
Rolling Stone and IJR
Marc Caputo / Politico:
Biden blindsided by dose of 2020 reality — The former vice president slogs through a rough stretch as he considers a third bid for the White House. — Joe Biden is enduring the roughest stretch of any candidate in the Democratic presidential primary, and he's not even a candidate yet.
Discussion:
Political Wire, RedState, Fox News and twitchy.com
RELATED:
Laura McGann / Vox:
Lucy Flores isn't alone. Joe Biden's got a long history of touching women inappropriately.
Lucy Flores isn't alone. Joe Biden's got a long history of touching women inappropriately.
Lucy Flores / The Cut:
An Awkward Kiss Changed How I Saw Joe Biden
An Awkward Kiss Changed How I Saw Joe Biden
Discussion:
Mother Jones, Townhall, The College Fix, USA Today, Politico, New York Post, RedState, The Gateway Pundit, The Daily Beast, New York Times, Chicks On The Right, NPR, Outside the Beltway, Fox News, Conservative News Today, Liberty Unyielding, The Daily Caller, IJR, The Sun, Mercury News, Instapundit, Patterico's Pontifications, The Week, Althouse, Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion, Breitbart, Daily Wire, twitchy.com, Washington Free Beacon, TheBlaze, Front Page Magazine, CNN, FOX31 Denver, Mediaite, Vanity Fair, Slate and Splinter
Alexi McCammond / Axios:
The Beto effect": Republicans starting to lose their grip in Texas — EL PASO — Beto O'Rourke, announcing for president Saturday with three rallies in Texas, is a sign of changing Lone Star politics: Republicans have started to lose their grip. — Catch up quick: Brendan Steinhouser …
RELATED:
Calvin Woodward / Associated Press:
AP FACT CHECK: Trump twists facts of a migrant girl's death — FILE - In this Dec. 15, 2018, file photo, Annunciation House director Ruben Garcia answers questions from the media after reading a statement from the family of Jakelin Caal Maquin, pictured at left, during a press briefing at Casa Vides in downtown El Paso, Texas.
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Douglas Preston / New Yorker:
The Day the Dinosaurs Died — A young paleontologist may have discovered a record of the most significant event in the history of life on Earth. — If, on a certain evening about sixty-six million years ago, you had stood somewhere in North America and looked up at the sky …
Discussion:
GeekWire and New York Times
New York Times:
2020 Democrats Love Small Donors. But Some Really Love Big Donors, Too. — Senator Cory Booker spun through a San Francisco fund-raiser hosted on Friday afternoon by high-tech titans and wealthy venture capitalists, including the investor Ron Conway. That evening, in New York …
Coral Davenport / New York Times:
Trump's Order to Open Arctic Waters to Drilling Was Unlawful, Federal Judge Finds — WASHINGTON — In a legal blow to President Trump's push to expand offshore oil and gas development, a federal judge ruled that an executive order by Mr. Trump that lifted an Obama-era ban on oil and gas drilling in the Arctic Ocean was unlawful.
Bret Stephens / New York Times:
The Foreign Policy Fiasco That Wasn't — Withdrawing from the Iran nuclear deal has paid dividends. — It's been nearly a year since Donald Trump made the decision to withdraw from the Iran nuclear deal, to loud cries that it would bring nothing but woe to the United States and our interests in the Middle East.
Discussion:
The American Conservative
Sally Yates / Washington Post:
William Barr should release the full Mueller report as soon as possible — The writer served as deputy attorney general from January 2015 to January 2017. — America's justice system is built upon one thing — truth. When witnesses give testimony, they are sworn to tell “the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth.”
Discussion:
The Hill
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Washington Post:
Trump's barometer for success following Russia investigation's end — TV ratings — After President Trump vowed to take credit for shutting down the government over border wall funding during a televised Oval Office meeting with Democratic leaders in December, West Wing aides sprung into overdrive to clean up the mess.
Discussion:
Contemptor, Mediaite and Liberty Unyielding
James Arkin / Politico:
Stacey Abrams builds massive political network ahead of 2020 decision — Stacey Abrams is set to reveal soon whether she'll run for president or senator or something else. — But in recent months, the Democrat has mounted a nationwide, largely below-the-radar effort to expand her donor …
Discussion:
POLITICUSUSA
Alex Emmons / The Intercept:
In Leaked Recording, Cory Booker Says He and AIPAC President “Text Message Back and Forth Like Teenagers” — In a closed-door meeting with activists from the American Israel Public Affairs Committee on Tuesday, presidential candidate Sen. Cory Booker, D-N.J., spoke about working closely …
Discussion:
Jerusalem Post
Scott Johnson / Power Line:
John Brennan: From spittle to flop sweat — Among the high former Obama administration officials who have disgraced themselves by their public comments since leaving office, John Brennan deserves special recognition. Marc Thiessen has done us the favor of making the case in the Washington Post column …
Discussion:
Instapundit, Tennessee Star and Fox News
Kim Foxx / Chicago Tribune:
Commentary: Kim Foxx: I welcome an outside review of how we handled the Jussie Smollett case — Cook County State's Attorney Kim Foxx prepares to speak to the media on Jan. 8, 2019. (Brian Cassella/Chicago Tribune) — Let's talk about the Jussie Smollett case.
Discussion:
Fox News, Page Six, Chicago Sun-Times and The Daily Beast
Jordain Carney / The Hill:
GOP shifts focus to investigating Obama officials — Republicans are setting their sights on top Obama-era officials as they plan their own probe into the 2016 election. — Eager to move on from special counsel Robert Mueller's investigation into Russian election interference and the Trump campaign …
Discussion:
Hullabaloo and POLITICUSUSA
Rob Price / Business Insider:
Years of Mark Zuckerberg's old Facebook posts have vanished. The company says it ‘mistakenly deleted’ them. — Some old Facebook posts by CEO Mark Zuckerberg have disappeared, and the company says it “mistakenly deleted” them. — “A few years ago some of Mark's posts were mistakenly deleted due to technical errors.
Katie Rogers / New York Times:
White House Blames Fed for Slowing Economic Growth — President Trump and his top economic adviser criticized the Federal Reserve's recent interest rate increases again on Friday, blaming the central bank for hindering economic growth while denying any suggestion of a looming slowdown.
Discussion:
Outside the Beltway and TheStreet
Emily Shugerman / The Daily Beast:
Heartbeat Abortion Bills Were Once a Fringe Idea. Could They Overturn Roe v. Wade? — Three states have enacted heartbeat bills. Ten more are considering them. — When anti-abortion activist Janet Porter first introduced the idea of a “heartbeat” bill in 2011, she was almost laughed out of the room.
Andrew Sullivan / New York Magazine:
Why the Mueller Summary Is a Big Win for America — Why do I find the summary of the Mueller report by Attorney General William Barr to be something of a relief? — Firstly, I'm relieved as an American that a serious and dogged prosecutor deemed it impossible to prove beyond a reasonable doubt …