Top Items:
New York Times:
Trump Tells Pentagon Chief He Does Not Want War With Iran — WASHINGTON — President Trump has told his acting defense secretary, Patrick Shanahan, that he does not want to go to war with Iran, according to several administration officials, in a message to his hawkish aides …
Discussion:
Townhall, Axios, Political Wire, The American Conservative and Defense One
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Chris Sommerfeldt / New York Daily News:
Company owned by Brazilian crooks received $62 million in Trump bailout cash meant for struggling U.S. farmers — The Trump administration has forked over more than $62 million — taxpayer cash that was supposed to be earmarked for struggling American farmers — to a massive meatpacking company owned …
Discussion:
Washington Monthly, Raw Story and Mediaite
Eliana Johnson / Politico:
‘Get Scavino in here’: Trump's Twitter guru is the ultimate insider — Shortly after President Donald Trump announced plans to yank U.S. troops out of Syria last December, a group of lawmakers came to the White House to talk him out of the idea, which critics called a threat to national security.
Discussion:
Mediaite, Talking Points Memo, Observer, The Week, Raw Story and Axios, more at Mediagazer »
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CNN:
Trump reports making at least $434 million in 2018 — (CNN)President Donald Trump made at least $434 million in 2018, according to his annual financial disclosure released Thursday by the White House. — That includes $40.8 million from his Trump International Hotel in Washington, DC, just blocks from the White House.
Katie Galioto / Politico:
Trump's Mar-a-Lago resort took a financial hit last year
Trump's Mar-a-Lago resort took a financial hit last year
Discussion:
Raw Story
Greg Sargent / Washington Post:
Democrats are badly blowing it against Trump. A brutal new TV ad shows how. — Nancy Pelosi has succeeded in stifling impeachment talk. The Post reports that the House Speaker privately told Democrats to stick to policy and forget about an impeachment inquiry, and not a single Democrat uttered a word in protest.
Discussion:
Hullabaloo, Washington Monthly, The Week, Washington Free Beacon, Althouse and Raw Story
Rod Rosenstein:
“I Was Always on the Same Team” — Based on Remarks to the Greater Baltimore Committee, May 13, 2019 — Thank you, Don. I am very grateful for your longstanding support. And I am very happy to be back home in Maryland. — I last spoke to this organization at your annual dinner two years ago, almost to the day.
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Washington Post:
Top House Republican McCarthy says he opposes Alabama abortion law — House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) said Thursday that he opposes a new Alabama law that outlaws virtually all abortions, even in cases of rape and incest, arguing that it “goes further than I believe.”
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Jonathan V. Last / The Bulwark:
The Alabama Abortion Law Is the Best Thing to Ever Happen to Planned Parenthood — 1. Alabama — I know: Who would have thought that the state party organization that gave us this guy would come up with an abortion bill designed to piss off everyone in America. — Thanks, Alabama.
Discussion:
The Resurgent, CNN and Talking Points Memo
Jennifer Rubin / Washington Post:
Republicans will lose the ‘reasonableness’ fight on abortion
Republicans will lose the ‘reasonableness’ fight on abortion
Discussion:
Common Dreams, New York Times and CNN
Bill de Blasio / YouTube:
Working People First | Bill de Blasio 2020 — When we put working families first in New York City, the city got stronger. That can happen for our country, too. Learn about my candidacy for president of the United States of America to put working families first.
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Isaac Stanley-Becker / Washington Post:
A 17-year-old politics junkie scooped Bill de Blasio on news of his own presidential launch
A 17-year-old politics junkie scooped Bill de Blasio on news of his own presidential launch
Discussion:
NBC News, New York Post, Power Line and Politico
Associated Press:
Facebook busts Israel-based campaign to disrupt elections — JERUSALEM (AP) — Facebook said Thursday it banned an Israeli company that ran an influence campaign aimed at disrupting elections in various countries and has canceled dozens of accounts engaged in spreading disinformation.
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Facebook:
Removing Coordinated Inauthentic Behavior From Israel
Removing Coordinated Inauthentic Behavior From Israel
Discussion:
CNN, Quartz, The Daily Caller and The Verge
Washington Post:
EPA watchdog suggests agency recover $124,000 in Pruitt's ‘excessive’ travel expenses — The Environmental Protection Agency should consider recovering nearly $124,000 in improper travel expenses by former EPA chief Scott Pruitt, the agency's inspector general recommended Thursday.
Discussion:
The Daily Caller, Mediaite and Political Wire
Bloomberg:
Ukraine Prosecutor Says No Evidence of Wrongdoing by Bidens — Hunter Biden, Burisma not targets, despite Giuliani's pleas — Long-running investigation said to focus on another Ukrainian — Ukraine's prosecutor general said in an interview that he had no evidence of wrongdoing …
Discussion:
Political Wire, Raw Story and News Agency UNIAN
Douglas Belkin / Wall Street Journal:
SAT to Give Students ‘Adversity Score’ to Capture Social and Economic Background — New score comes as college admissions decisions are under scrutiny — The College Board plans to assign an adversity score to every student who takes the SAT to try to capture their social and economic background …
Discussion:
US News, CNN, National Review, New York Times, New York Post, Rolling Stone, PJ Media Home, Daily Wire, Fox News, The Daily Caller, The College Fix, IJR, FOX31 Denver and TheBlaze
Aaron Blake / Washington Post:
The very political pattern of Trump's pardons — Trump pardons his own hagiographer and a family ‘friend’ who criticized Mueller. — President Trump's pardons were self-serving before, and they became even more so Wednesday night, after he pardoned two prominent conservatives who had already completed their sentences.
Discussion:
The Guardian, Raw Story, Mediaite and Politico, more at Mediagazer »
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Aaron Rupar / Vox:
Trump pardons billionaire fraudster who wrote glowing book about him
Trump pardons billionaire fraudster who wrote glowing book about him
Discussion:
ThinkProgress, Shareblue Media and Washington Post
Russ Choma / Mother Jones:
Donald Trump's Latest Financial Disclosure Was Just Released — President Donald Trump's latest personal financial disclosure was just released, showing that Trump, who already owed more money than any other president in history, borrowed millions more in 2018.
Daniel Chaitin / Washington Examiner:
Nellie Ohr deleted emails sent from husband's DOJ account — Nellie Ohr, the wife of Justice Department official Bruce Ohr, told her husband she was deleting emails sent from his government account. — The revelation comes as both Ohrs remain under intense scrutiny for their ties to Fusion GPS …
Lori Jhons / Kay Ivey:
Governor Ivey Issues Statement After Signing the Alabama Human Life Protection Act — MONTGOMERY - Governor Kay Ivey on Wednesday signed into law the Alabama Human Life Protection Act, after both houses of the Alabama Legislature passed HB314. — Upon signing the bill, Governor Ivey released the following statement:
Discussion:
CBS News, Observer, Daily Wire, Friendly Atheist, Conservative Review, TheBlaze, Breitbart, Mother Jones, Washington Post, checkyourfact.com, Talking Points Memo, The Resurgent, lc.org, Faithwire, UPI, The Daily Caller, New York Times, PJ Media Home, Raw Story, USA Today, Mad Dog PAC, VICE News, Mercury News, Slate, Townhall, Students For Life and The Guardian
Richard Morgan / Washington Post:
We asked ambassadors where they eat when they're homesick. We did not expect Taco Bell and Ikea. — In our stateless capital, everyone handles the hunger of homesickness differently. Most of us have our take-me-home go-tos, whether we're transplants from Texas or Thailand, Ohio or Oman.
Washington Post:
Trump unveils plan to overhaul the legal immigration system — President Trump unveiled a new immigration plan Thursday to move U.S. immigration toward a “merit-based system” that prioritizes high-skilled workers over those with family already in the country.
Discussion:
ThinkProgress, Breitbart, The Week and New York Times
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John Parkinson / ABC News:
Pelosi condemns merit-based immigration reform as Trump unveils proposal
Pelosi condemns merit-based immigration reform as Trump unveils proposal
Discussion:
One America News Network and Axios
Jonathan Bernstein / Bloomberg:
De Blasio, Etc.: Why Are So Many Implausible Democrats Running? — The party has created incentives for hopeless candidates to prolong their campaigns. You can't blame them for trying. — Okay, I was wrong. Earlier this year, I guessed repeatedly that the Democratic presidential field …
Discussion:
Washington Post
Summer Ballentine / Associated Press:
Missouri Senate passes bill to ban abortions at 8 weeks — JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) — Missouri's Republican-led Senate has now passed a bill to ban abortions at eight weeks of pregnancy. — Senators approved the legislation 24-10 early Thursday with just hours left before a Friday deadline to pass bills.
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Merrit Kennedy / NPR:
Missouri Senate Passes Bill That Would Ban Abortions After 8 Weeks
Missouri Senate Passes Bill That Would Ban Abortions After 8 Weeks
Discussion:
Mother Jones, The Daily Caller, News Blog, Riverfront Times and Boston Magazine
Elizabeth Nolan Brown / Reason:
White House Seeks Social Media Sob Stories from Conservative Snowflakes — Was someone mean to you on Twitter? The White House wants to know about it. As of Wednesday, a new tool on the White House website allows visitors to report suspected “political bias” from social media companies.
Discussion:
Talking Points Memo, New York Times, Gothamist, The Daily Beast, Vanity Fair and Raw Story
Salvador Rodriguez / CNBC:
Facebook has struggled to hire talent since the Cambridge Analytica scandal, according to recruiters who worked there — KEY POINTS — Among top schools, Facebook's acceptance rate for full-time positions offered to new graduates has fallen from an average of 85% for the 2017-2018 school year to between 35% and 55% as of December.
Margaret Sullivan / Washington Post:
Trump won't stop coining nasty nicknames for his foes — but the media must stop amplifying them. — I was talking to an acquaintance recently about Elizabeth Warren's presidential campaign. — He liked the Massachusetts Democrat's detailed policies and was impressed with her recent CNN town hall presentation.
Popular Information:
The corporations backing Alabama's war on women — On Wednesday, Alabama Governor Kay Ivey signed a draconian bill that would effectively ban all abortions in the state. The radical legislation would be a dramatic step backward for women's rights and gender equality — banning abortion even in cases of rape or incest.
Charles M. Blow / New York Times:
White Supremacy Beyond a White Majority — President Trump is trying to maintain white dominance as the nation's demographics change. — The white male racist patriarchy will not be denied. It is having a moment. It has its own president. — According to a Pew Research Center analysis …
Stacey Abrams / New York Times:
We Cannot Resign Ourselves to Dismay and Disenfranchisement — As more people of color claim political power, efforts to block them will accelerate — unless we act. — Ms. Abrams is the founder of the voting rights group Fair Fight Action. — ATLANTA — In the mid-1960s, when my father was a teenager, he was arrested.
Discussion:
IndieWire
Gabby Orr / Politico:
Pence income: No bounce from Marlon Bundo — As it turns out, literary trilogies involving vice presidential pets are not moneymakers. — Marlon Bundo, the beloved pet bunny of Vice President Mike Pence's family, has his own Instagram account, his own acronym (BOTUS) and three children's books documenting his time in Washington.