Top Items:
Nick Miroff / Washington Post:
Smugglers are sawing through new sections of Trump's border wall — SAN DIEGO — Smuggling gangs in Mexico have repeatedly sawed through new sections of President Trump's border wall in recent months by using commercially available power tools, opening gaps large enough for people and drug loads …
Discussion:
Mediaite, Slate, Axios, POLITICUSUSA and News Breaking
Kim Sengupta / The Independent:
'It's like nothing we have come across before': UK intelligence officials shaken by Trump administration's requests for help with counter-impeachment inquiry — As impeachment inquiries heat up, president's people are busy pursuing a counter offensive aimed at discrediting Mueller's findings that Russia interfered in 2016 election
Discussion:
Daily Kos and POLITICUSUSA
Sahil Kapur / Bloomberg:
Nancy Pelosi Is Worried 2020 Candidates Are on Wrong Track — Speaker questions appeal of Medicare For All, Green New Deal — Ideas could repel voters in swing Midwestern states, she says — Nancy Pelosi is issuing a pointed message to Democrats running for president in 2020 …
Discussion:
Townhall, Mediaite, PJ Media Home and New York Post
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Natasha Korecki / Politico:
In Iowa, Biden confronts a growing threat: Pete Buttigieg — DES MOINES — Joe Biden dropped to fourth place in Iowa, according to a new poll released Friday, his worst showing to date in the pivotal early state. — A few hours later, at the largest gathering to date for any 2020 event, it was clear why.
Discussion:
Des Moines Register, Breitbart, The Hill, CNN and New York Times
Giovanni Russonello / New York Times:
5 Takeaways From the Latest Iowa Poll
5 Takeaways From the Latest Iowa Poll
Discussion:
DemCast, Associated Press and Siena College Research …
Jesse Dougherty / Washington Post:
Sean Doolittle on declining White House invite: 'I don't want to hang out with somebody who talks like that' — Ever since Sean Doolittle was traded to the Washington Nationals in the summer of 2017, the reliever was often asked whether he would visit the White House after winning the World Series.
Discussion:
CNN, The Guardian, Fox News, Political Wire, Mediaite, Axios, Blue Virginia, The Hill, New York Post, Sports Illustrated, DCist and The Nation
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Josh Dawsey / Washington Post:
RNC pays face value for Trump party's luxury seats at World Series game
RNC pays face value for Trump party's luxury seats at World Series game
Discussion:
Raw Story
New York Times:
In Trump's Twitter Feed: Conspiracy-Mongers, Racists and Spies — In September, an obscure Twitter account promoting a fringe belief about an anti-Trump cabal within the government tweeted out a hashtag: #FakeWhistleblower. — It was typical for the anonymous account …
Discussion:
Political Wire
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New York Times:
How Trump Reshaped the Presidency in Over 11,000 Tweets — With a single tweet last fall, Mr. Trump sent his administration into a tailspin. “I must, in the strongest of terms, ask Mexico to stop this onslaught,” he wrote in October 2018, angry about a caravan of migrants from Central America.
Discussion:
Althouse
Alexander Burns / New York Times:
Beto O'Rourke Drops Out of the Presidential Race — The former Texas congressman, who energized Democrats in a Senate race last year, began his White House run to great fanfare but failed to build significant support. — Former Representative Beto O'Rourke of Texas announced that he is dropping …
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Geoffrey Skelley / FiveThirtyEight:
Why Beto O'Rourke's Campaign Failed
Why Beto O'Rourke's Campaign Failed
Discussion:
The Hill, New York Times, ABC News and Breitbart
Beto O'Rourke:
Thank you. — Our campaign has been about seeing clearly …
Thank you. — Our campaign has been about seeing clearly …
Discussion:
Slate, The Gateway Pundit, Dallas Morning News, The Daily Beast, New York Times, Breitbart, The Guardian, Fox News, The Federalist, Off the Kuff, The Daily Caller, Texas Monthly, Power Line, The Wrap, Vanity Fair, Vox, Hot Air, Variety, duluthnewstribune.com, Occupy Democrats, The Week, Rolling Stone, BuzzFeed News, Chicago Sun-Times, CBS Dallas / Fort Worth, New York Post, HuffPost, Twitchy, NPR, Roll Call, Axios, Consequence of Sound, VICE, fox8.com, Patterico's Pontifications, Redstate, Mediaite and KXAN-TV
New York Times:
The Whimpering Terrorist Only Trump Seems to Have Heard — President Trump offered a vivid account of the ISIS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi “crying and screaming” in the final minutes before his death. The only problem: No one else knows what he's talking about.
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Tom McCarthy / The Guardian:
Experts on Trump's conduct: ‘Plainly an abuse of power, plainly impeachable’ — Republicans may argue Trump's actions were not impeachable - but scholars say it's a solid example of a high crime — Was what he did really so bad? And even if it was bad - was it truly impeachable?
Washington Post:
Growing number of GOP senators consider acknowledging Trump's quid pro quo on Ukraine — A growing number of Senate Republicans are ready to acknowledge that President Trump used U.S. military aid as leverage to force Ukraine to investigate former vice president Joe Biden and his family …
Discussion:
Mediaite, Daily Kos, The Hill, Raw Story and Lawyers, Guns & Money
Everton Bailey Jr / Oregonian:
Baton attack during June protests in downtown Portland lands man in prison for nearly 6 years — June 29 2019 downtown Portland baton attack — A 24-year-old man who hit another man over the head with a baton in June during dueling downtown Portland demonstrations was sentenced Friday to nearly six years in prison.
Discussion:
Big League Politics and The Gateway Pundit
CNN:
'I'm the best-paid interpreter in the world': Indicted Giuliani associate Lev Parnas touted windfall from Ukrainian oligarch — New York (CNN)Earlier this year, Lev Parnas, the indicted associate of Rudy Giuliani, received a sudden windfall of money from a prominent Ukrainian oligarch …
Discussion:
Politico, CANNONFIRE, Raw Story and Contemptor
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Amy Chozick / New York Times:
Adam Neumann and the Art of Failing Up — WeWork's chief risk-taker found a kindred spirit with an open checkbook: SoftBank's Masayoshi Son. Now he's walking away from the wreckage with more than $1 billion. — Adam Neumann stood on the 57th floor of the Woolworth Building …
Justin Fishel / ABC News:
Rules of impeachment, then and now: ANALYSIS — Republicans say the impeachment process isn't fair. Democrats say it's the fairest ever. — The cleanest answer to this question is that the truth probably lies somewhere in the middle. — When it comes to these new impeachment rules …
Bret Stephens / New York Times:
The NeverTrump Vindication — They may be on respirators. But conscientious conservatives still count. — Even by Donald Trump's standards, his tweet of Oct. 23 — the one that called NeverTrumpers “human scum” — plumbed new depths in the debasement of presidential speech. — But what else has changed?
CNN:
Facebook will allow UK election candidates to run false ads — Facebook's political ad policy under pressure — London and New York (CNN Business)A controversial policy allowing politicians to run false ads on Facebook will extend to the United Kingdom as the country prepares to vote …
Discussion:
Gizmodo, more at Mediagazer »
Jerry Dunleavy / Washington Examiner:
‘Divorced from the facts’: DOJ shoots down claims Strzok and the FBI trapped Flynn — The Justice Department shot down claims by former Trump national security adviser Mike Flynn's lawyers that former FBI agent Peter Strzok and others at the bureau “set up” their client in a court filing.
Discussion:
Power Line, American Greatness and Politico
Dana Blanton / Fox News:
Fox News Poll: Record support for Trump impeachment — Just over half of voters want President Trump impeached and removed from office, according to a Fox News Poll released Wednesday. — A new high of 51 percent wants Trump impeached and removed from office, another 4 percent want him impeached …
Discussion:
Associated Press, Informed Comment and Mediaite
Alex Thompson / Politico:
‘This is going to cause down-ballot damage’: Warren's $20 trillion health plan fails to quiet critics — The most-vulnerable Democrat in Colorado's state House, Bri Buentello, is dreading door-knocking in her rural district now that Elizabeth Warren dropped her massive “Medicare for All” plan into the presidential arena.
Discussion:
Associated Press, GOP.com and naked capitalism
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Daniel Marans / HuffPost:
Virginia Is On The Brink Of Cementing Its Democratic Status — Republicans risk losing their last footholds of power in the Old Dominion. — Democrats are poised to take control of both of Virginia's state legislative chambers on Tuesday, bringing the state under unified Democratic control for the first time in a quarter century.
HuffPost:
Kamala Harris Sheds Significant Portion Of Staff In New Hampshire — The 2020 presidential candidate is down to a “skeleton staff,” an aide confirmed. — California Sen. Kamala Harris' presidential campaign laid off the vast majority of its field staff in New Hampshire this week, sharply limiting her presence in the Granite State.
Discussion:
Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion, Politico and Hot Air
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