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Lev Parnas Reveals Why He Turned on Trump World — The Soviet-born businessman at the center of Rudy Giuliani's dirt-digging crusade in Ukraine tells The Daily Beast he's determined to speak out despite backlash. — In an interview with The Daily Beast, Lev Parnas—an ex-associate …
Discussion:
Vanity Fair, The Hill, Breitbart, Politico and One America News Network
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“THE RACHEL MADDOW SHOW” SCORES HISTORIC RATING OF 4.5M TOTAL VIEWERS IN EXPLOSIVE INTERVIEW WITH LEV PARNAS — Maddow's Exclusive Interview with Giuliani Associate Lev Parnas Dominates News Cycle and Draws Largest-Ever Audience for “The Rachel Maddow Show,” Kicking Off 2020 With Huge Ratings Win
Discussion:
The Moderate Voice


‘It was like a breeding ground’: Trump hotel's mix of GOP insiders and hangers-on helped give rise to impeachment episodes — They are key locations in the drama that led to President Trump's impeachment: the steakhouse table where Trump's private lawyer set out a nameplate, “Rudolph W. Giuliani, Private Office.”
Discussion:
emptywheel and National Review


Here's what the Parnas revelations mean for Trump — Lev Parnas, the indicted Rudy Giuliani associate at the center of the Ukraine controversy, has disrupted the days leading up to President Donald Trump's impeachment trial. — With a slate of newly released documents from House investigators …
Discussion:
New York Times, TheBlaze, Vanity Fair, The Daily Signal and CNN


Giuliani associate points to Pence snub as Ukraine pressure point — Lev Parnas said he arrived for his May meeting in Kyiv with a top aide to Ukraine's president-elect, Volodymyr Zelensky, with a clear directive from Rudolph W. Giuliani, President Trump's personal lawyer …
Discussion:
The Gateway Pundit, Slate, Digby's Hullabaloo, The Editorial Board and Vox


Lev Parnas says he watched Trump tell aide to fire the US ambassador to Ukraine
Discussion:
The Hill, The Week, KTLA, IJR and HillReporter.com

Fact-checking Republican Sen. Susan Collins' confusing comments about the new documents from Lev Parnas
Discussion:
Roll Call, The Root, The Federalist and The Week


Justice Dept. Investigating Years-Old Leaks and Appears Focused on Comey — An inquiry into years-old disclosures of classified information is highly unusual and leaves law enforcement officials open to accusations of politicizing their work. — WASHINGTON — Federal prosecutors in Washington …
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Feds Reportedly Target Comey In Previously Unreported Leak Probe
Discussion:
The Gateway Pundit


GOP senator's vicious outburst shows the corruption of Trump's defenders — If you were a United States senator who just snapped angrily at a reporter for politely asking whether compelling new information about a matter of great import to the nation was weighing on your understanding …
Discussion:
The American Independent, Redstate, POLITICUSUSA, The Independent, The Gateway Pundit, Breitbart, ABC13, HillReporter.com, Spectator USA, Raw Story and Twitchy
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Martha McSally takes a cheap shot at CNN reporter — Everybody knows CNN has a liberal bias. But it's still not appropriate for a sitting Republican senator to bash one of its reporters when he asks a perfectly legitimate question. — That's what happened Thursday afternoon.
Discussion:
American Greatness, Big League Politics, Washington Post, The Federalist, HuffPost and Mediaite

Impeachment Trial Set to Put Vulnerable Senate Republicans in a Familiar Bind
Discussion:
Denver Post, The Hill, Raw Story, The Daily Caller, Twitchy, Deadline, The Week and Redstate


Eleven US Troops Were Injured in Jan. 8 Iran Missile Strike — The troops were medevaced this week to Germany and Kuwait to be treated for traumatic brain injury after experiencing concussion symptoms. — Nearly one dozen American troops were wounded in Iran's Jan. 8 missile attack on Iraq's al-Asad air base.
Discussion:
Radio Free Europe/Radio …, Sputnik News and fox8.com
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US troops were injured in Iran missile attack despite Pentagon initially saying there were no casualties — (CNN)Several US service members were injured during last week's Iranian missile attack on Al-Asad airbase in Iraq despite the Pentagon initially saying that no casualties had taken place.
Discussion:
Mediaite and New York Post


Spoiler Alert: There Will Be No Impartial Justice for Donald Trump — Shortly after 2 p.m. on Thursday, ninety-nine of the hundred members of the United States Senate raised their hands and swore en masse to do “impartial justice” in the impeachment trial of President Donald J. Trump.
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Reporters getting 1st taste of impeachment restrictions
Discussion:
The Hill, Washington Post and Politico


Sanders-Warren: An Alliance, if Not a Close Friendship, Suddenly Fractures — The dispute has led to negative attacks and doubts about party unity, exactly what Democratic leaders do not want to happen, for fear of handing an advantage to President Trump. — WASHINGTON — For a year …
Discussion:
Vanity Fair
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Bernie ‘will play dirty’: Ex-Vermont governor slams Sanders
Discussion:
The Hill, Washington Post, NBC News, FiveThirtyEight, BuzzFeed News and The Guardian


Virginia Capital on Edge as F.B.I. Arrests Suspected Neo-Nazis Before Gun Rally — The three men had obtained guns and discussed traveling to Virginia for protests against new gun control measures, officials said. — RICHMOND, Va. — Alarming calls online for a race war. The arrest of three suspected neo-Nazis.
Discussion:
CBC News, U.S. Department of Justice, Breitbart, ABC News, The Daily Beast, Daily Kos, Right Wing Watch, Washington Free Beacon, NBC News, American Military News, HuffPost, National Observer, The Daily Caller, Law & Crime, Talking Points Memo, Jewish Telegraphic Agency, National Post and The Hill
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Why This Antifa Group Is Siding With Thousands of Pro-Gun Conservatives In Virginia
Discussion:
Redstate, The Daily Caller, Big League Politics and Daily Kos


Georgia election server showed signs of tampering, expert says — The server was left exposed to the open internet for at least six months, a problem the same expert discovered in August 2016. — BOSTON — A computer security expert says he found that a forensic image of the election server central …
Discussion:
The Hill
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Exclusive: Evelyn Yang reveals she was sexually assaulted by her OB-GYN while pregnant — Washington (CNN)Evelyn Yang was reading letters that voters had sent to her husband, Democratic presidential candidate Andrew Yang, and suddenly stopped in her tracks.
Discussion:
Axios, Fox News, New York Times and New York Post


A Meticulous Account of Trump's Tenure Reads Like a Comic Horror Story — The essence of irony, Henry Fowler wrote in “A Dictionary of Modern English Usage,” is that it “postulates a double audience” — one that's in on the joke, and another that isn't. The title of Philip Rucker …


An Impeachment Trial That Could Unfold Out of Public View — President Trump's trial will feature bitter debates and intense legal wrangling. Much of it is likely to unfold behind closed doors. — WASHINGTON — Americans tuning in to witness electrifying exchanges in the Senate impeachment trial …
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HBO won't pursue second season of ‘Watchmen’ after creator bows out — PASADENA, Calif. - “Watchmen” won a loyal following and critical acclaim, as the superhero comics series was adapted into a politically relevant drama about race and the criminal justice system.
Discussion:
Mashable and Vanity Fair


Senator Chris Van Hollen on new GAO report: ‘This is a bombshell’ — Nonpartisan U.S. Government Accountability Office, the GAO, concluded that the Trump administration violated the law in withholding the aid to Ukraine. Democratic Senator Chris Van Hollen, who last month …
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Central California DA quits state association over its opposition to criminal justice reforms — A Republican Central California district attorney made a surprising decision last week to quit the California District Attorneys Association — whose president is Alameda County District Attorney Nancy O'Malley …


South Korea Is an Ally, Not a Dependent — Seoul can and should contribute more to its own national defense. — American presidents have long asked allies to pay more for their own defense—often with lackluster results. But both the U.S. and South Korea now face strategic challenges …


Where Are the (Reform) Candidates in Ohio? — Few of Ohio's local elections feature candidates talking of criminal justice reform, but there are some notable exceptions such as in Cincinnati. Some activists are pressing ahead through other organizing. — Ohio's criminal legal system can lay claim to many distinctions.


“It's Quite an Upheaval”: In an Ongoing Makeover of the Times Opinion Babel, the Old Editorial Voice of God Is Being Rationed — Even as controversies (Bret Stephens) explode like bombs, Opinion chief James Bennet, the second-most powerful journalist at the Times, pursues his cacophonous plans.


Teacher of the Year Takes a Knee — Kelly Holstine is a left-wing Minnesota teacher who was honored as the state's Teacher of the Year for 2018-19, and made headlines locally by refusing to attend the White House ceremony at which the states' honorees were recognized last spring.
Discussion:
The Hill, The College Fix and American Experiment


Exclusive: Rep. Ayanna Pressley Reveals Beautiful Bald Head and Discusses Alopecia for the First Time — We'd like to have A Word with you. In The Root's op-ed video series, thought leaders across various disciplines give their perspectives on the important issues you should know about.
Discussion:
The Hill, Slate, NBC News, ABC News, Boston Magazine, The Guardian, The Independent, CBS Boston, New York Times, CNN, New York Post and Mediaite


A Partisan Impeachment, a Profile in Courage — JFK lauded the senator who bucked his party and voted to acquit Andrew Johnson. — The John F. Kennedy Library Foundation is accepting nominations for its annual “Profile in Courage” award. The award recognizes “a public official …


This Trump Supreme Court Short-Lister Says God Can Instruct Juries on Guilt and Innocence — Judge William Pryor of the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, a jurist from Alabama with a long record in law enforcement, has twice now been high on President Donald Trump's short list of potential Supreme Court nominees.
Discussion:
Raw Story


Twitter apologises for letting ads target neo-Nazis and bigots — Twitter has apologised for allowing adverts to be micro-targeted at certain users such as neo-Nazis, homophobes and other hate groups. — The BBC discovered the issue and that prompted the tech firm to act.
Discussion:
The Verge and Engadget, more at Mediagazer »