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Mike Pompeo Is Said to Decide Against Running for Senate in Kansas — The secretary of state's decision most likely ends Republicans' hopes of securing a potentially dominant candidate for the open seat in Kansas, his home state. — Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Monday told Mitch McConnell …
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Romney wants ‘to hear from John Bolton’ in impeachment trial — Sen. Mitt Romney (R-Utah) said on Monday that he wants to hear from John Bolton after the national security advisor offered to testify in President Trump's impeachment trial if subpoenaed. — Romney, leaving a briefing …
Discussion:
NBC News, National Review, John Bolton PAC, The Daily Caller, Common Dreams and Washington Post


GOP moderates side with McConnell over Bolton testimony — Despite John Bolton's willingness to testify about the Ukraine scandal, the GOP-controlled Senate has no immediate plans to subpoena him in President Donald Trump's impeachment trial — a win for Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and the White House.
Discussion:
The Hill, Washington Post, National Review, The Daily Caller, NBC News, Talking Points Memo, The Week and Task & Purpose

McConnell has the votes to block Democrats' witness demands in Trump impeachment trial
Discussion:
Outside the Beltway, New York Times, Redstate, Blue Delaware, Politico and NBC News


Stampede kills 32 at funeral for Iran general killed by US — TEHRAN, Iran (AP) — A stampede erupted on Tuesday at a funeral procession for a top Iranian general killed in a U.S. airstrike last week, killing 32 people and injuring 190 others, state television reported.
Discussion:
Washington Post, CNBC, The Daily Caller, New York Times, The Week, Common Dreams, Raw Story, VICE, Соб … and Axios
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Khamenei Wants to Put Iran's Stamp on Reprisal for U.S. Killing of Top General — In a departure from Iran's usual tactics of hiding behind proxies, the country's supreme leader wants any retaliation for the killing of a top military commander to be carried out openly by Iranian forces.
Discussion:
National Review, Financial Times, New Yorker, The Week, Fox News, The American Independent and Foreign Policy


Trump Administration Blocks Iran's Top Diplomat From Addressing the U.N. Security Council — Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif had sought to give a speech condemning the U.S. assassination of Qassem Suleimani. — The Trump administration is barring Iran's top diplomat from entering …
Discussion:
Common Dreams, Law & Crime, Raw Story, HuffPost and Mediaite


U.S. Media Outlets Fail to Disclose U.S. Government Ties of ‘Iranian Journalist’ Echoing Trump Talking Points
Discussion:
NB Blog and The Daily Caller

Don't believe Iranian propaganda about the mourning for Soleimani
Discussion:
Redstate, The Gateway Pundit, ABC News, Foreign Policy, NB Blog, The Daily Caller, Townhall and CBS San Francisco


Trump administration begins drafting possible sanctions against Iraq following Trump's economic threat — No decision has been made on whether to implement the penalties, but aides scrambled following presidential warning to Baghdad — Senior administration officials have begun drafting sanctions …
Discussion:
The Hill, The Moderate Voice, CNN, Соб …, Eschaton, Vanity Fair, Alternet.org, Foreign Policy, Mediaite, Mother Jones and The Root
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The Nightmare Stage of Trump's Rule Is Here — Unstable and impeached, the president pushes the U.S. toward war with Iran. — There are no more adults in the room. — After three harrowing years, we've reached the point many of us feared from the moment Donald Trump was elected.
Discussion:
Defense One, Bangor Daily News, Los Angeles Times and Washington Post
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War with Iran is still less likely than you think
Discussion:
New York Times and Vox

Iran crisis demands Donald Trump spell out endgame after killing Gen. Qassem Soleimani
Discussion:
Vox, LewRockwell and Arab News

How U.S. Troops Are Preparing for the Worst in the Middle East
Discussion:
Associated Press, Task & Purpose, Stars & Stripes and The Briefly Series


Why Trump should fear Sanders much more than Warren in 2020 — It is conventional political wisdom that President Trump stands his best chance in 2020 if Democrats nominate a far left candidate like Bernie Sanders or Elizabeth Warren. That is half right. I have witnessed both of these candidates …
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Three ways the next 28 days could reset the Democratic primary
Discussion:
NBC News, Alternet.org, Washington Post and National Review

A Month Ahead of Iowa Caucuses, Biden Is Democrats' Best Bet to Beat Trump
Discussion:
The Hill

Sanders shuttle: Trump trial could trap candidates in D.C. One senator has an escape plan.
Discussion:
The Hill


Pentagon Rules Out Striking Iranian Cultural Sites, Contradicting Trump — The defense secretary acknowledged that “the laws of armed conflict” prohibited attacking antiquities and said the military had no plans to do so, even though the president declared them targets.
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“War Crimes” Hysteria on the Left
Discussion:
New York Times, Redstate and Marginal REVOLUTION


Iranian-Americans Questioned at the Border: 'My Kids Shouldn't Experience Such Things' — Up to 200 people were held by border agents, with some of them reportedly asked to share their opinions about the situation in Iran and Iraq. — SEATTLE — Arriving at the United States border …
Discussion:
Slate, CAIR, Daily Kos and Q13 FOX News
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The 57-Page PowerPoint Harvey Weinstein's Team Is Sending Reporters — As New York prepared to publish this week's look at the coming trial of Harvey Weinstein, along with a portfolio of women who have made allegations against him, I reached out to his current publicist, Juda Engelmayer, for comment.
Discussion:
Page Six, Common Dreams, BuzzFeed News, New York Times and Jezebel, more at Mediagazer »
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How Lindsey Graham Lost His Way — The senator once enjoyed respect on both sides of the aisle. Why has he become a blind loyalist to Trump? — Lindsey Graham and Donald Trump were born nine years and one month apart. Trump came first, but when they appear side by side …
Discussion:
Raw Story


Trump says Zuckerberg told him he's Facebook's ‘number one’ — Washington (AFP) - President Donald Trump boasted Monday that Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg told him at dinner he is “number one” on the global social media platform. — “I had dinner with Mark Zuckerberg the other day and he …


Puerto Rico earthquake Tuesday morning triggers blackout, reports of injuries and at least one dead — A powerful 6.4-magnitude earthquake off Puerto Rico's southwestern coast early Tuesday morning has triggered a widespread blackout, interrupted telecommunications and sent homeowners scrambling …
Discussion:
Daily Kos


ICE Detention Center Captain Was on a Neo-Nazi Website and Wanted to Start a White Nationalist Group — A senior employee at a for-profit immigrant detention center in Nevada was active on the neo-Nazi site Iron March and aspired to establish a white nationalist chapter in his area.


Number Of Animals Feared Dead In Australia's Wildfires Soars To Over 1 Billion — Ecologists at the University of Sydney and WWF Australia estimate that a billion is a conservative figure. — SYDNEY ― The number of wildlife estimated to have died in Australia's wildfire catastrophe has skyrocketed to more than 1 billion.
Discussion:
Townhall, Common Dreams and Daily Kos


FBI seeks Apple's help unlocking phones of suspected Pensacola naval station gunman — Phones thought to belong to the Saudi air force member accused in the deadly attack are password-protected. — The FBI is asking Apple Inc. to help unlock two iPhones that investigators think were owned …


A Near-Extinct Language Finds a Home in One Brooklyn Building — There are just 700 Seke speakers left in the world, and 100 live in New York — half of them in one building. — The apartment building, in Brooklyn's Flatbush neighborhood, is a hive of nationalities.


Russian trolls are targeting American veterans, and Trump's government isn't helping, group says — The Trump administration has for nearly two years ignored mounting evidence that Russian operatives and other foreign actors were deliberately targeting U.S. troops and veterans …


Come clean, CNN — Ninth in a series on the media's handling of the Steele dossier. Please see Parts 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 and 8. — “We stand by our reporting.” That phrase is a go-to in media industry public relations, unleashed when events appear to debunk an outlet's precious scoop.
Discussion:
Power Line and Fox News


Facebook to ban deepfakes, sources say, but new policy may not cover controversial Pelosi video — Facebook plans to issue new rules as soon as Tuesday that would ban users from posting computer-generated, highly manipulated videos, known as deepfakes, seeking to stop the spread of a novel form …
Discussion:
About Facebook, Mashable, TechCrunch, New York Times and The Verge, more at Techmeme »


Elizabeth Warren's new plan to reform bankruptcy law, explained — A return to her political roots. — With a new plan out Tuesday, Sen. Elizabeth Warren is returning to her roots — proposing to roll back bankruptcy changes made in 2005 while also pitching a series of new reforms.


Pompeo Explains the Iran Policy — And he promises to focus on competition with China and better relations with Russia. — Washington — Last year's conventional wisdom was that when it came to Iran, President Trump was all bark and no bite. His aversion to war, especially in the Middle East …


Buttigieg releases 4 early-state ads — with 4 distinct messages — Buttigieg: Donors not ‘disqualified’ from ambassador posts — (CNN)Democratic presidential candidate Pete Buttigieg will begin airing four distinct ads in the early-nominating states on Tuesday, tailoring a message ranging …


YouTube overhauls advertising, data collection on kids content — Video site will halt targeted advertising on children's videos after FTC settlement. — YouTube said Monday it is rolling out new protections for children viewing videos on its site, an effort to satisfy federal regulators …
Discussion:
New York Times