Top Items:
ABC News:
‘Take her out’: Recording appears to capture Trump at private dinner saying he wants Ukraine ambassador fired — Trump apparently heard discussing firing Ukraine ambassador Marie Yovanovitch. — A recording reviewed by ABC News appears to capture President Donald Trump telling associates …
Discussion:
Washington Post, Fox News, Mother Jones, Vox, Power Line, NBC News, Talking Points Memo, New York Times, Vanity Fair, Common Dreams, Daily Kos, Raw Story, Law & Crime, Little Green Footballs, The Week, POLITICUSUSA, National Review, The Hill, The Nation, Al Jazeera, Mediaite, HuffPost, The Gateway Pundit, The Daily Caller, Twitchy, Contemptor, The American Independent, Eschaton, Political Wire, The Guardian and Fortune, more at Mediagazer »
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Betsy Swan / The Daily Beast:
Rudy Pal Igor Fruman Taped Trump Trying to Fire Ukraine Ambassador: Lawyer — The tape may contradict Trump's claim that he does not know the two Giuliani associates who worked to have the U.S. ambassador to Ukraine be removed. — A recently-indicted associate of Rudy Giuliani taped …
Discussion:
The Atlantic, Politico, Vox, Axios, emptywheel, Law & Crime, The Week and Mediaite
Robert Burns / Associated Press:
Pentagon: 34 US troops had brain injuries from Iran's strike — WASHINGTON (AP) — The Pentagon said Friday that 34 U.S. troops were diagnosed with traumatic brain injuries suffered in this month's Iranian missile strike on an Iraqi air base, and that half of the troops have returned to their military duties.
Discussion:
Mother Jones, Raw Story, Press Herald and The Hill
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CNN:
34 US service members diagnosed with traumatic brain injuries after Iranian missile strike — Washington (CNN)Thirty-four US service members have been diagnosed with traumatic brain injuries following the Iranian missile attack on US forces in Iraq earlier this month, Pentagon spokesman Jonathan Hoffman said Friday.
Discussion:
The Week
Helene Cooper / New York Times:
34 Troops Have Brain Injuries From Iranian Missile Strike, Pentagon Says — Pentagon spokesman Jonathan Hoffman said that eight of the affected service members have returned to the United States from an American military hospital in Germany. — WASHINGTON — The Defense Department said Friday …
BBC:
Neo-Nazi Rinaldo Nazzaro running US militant group The Base from Russia — The American founder of US-based militant neo-Nazi group The Base is directing the organisation from Russia, a BBC investigation has found. — Rinaldo Nazzaro, 46, who uses the aliases “Norman Spear” and “Roman Wolf” …
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Chris Cillizza / CNN:
Joe Biden goes to his secret weapon to close the deal in Iowa — In a new ad entitled “Threat” running across Iowa starting Friday, a female narrator makes the stakes of the Democratic primary plain: … On screen a series of polls are shown — all of which show Biden running ahead of Trump.
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Alexander Bolton / The Hill:
Lindsey Graham will oppose subpoena of Hunter Biden — Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) says he will vote against a motion to subpoena Hunter Biden if a majority of colleagues agree next week that additional witnesses and documents need to be summoned for President Trump's impeachment trial.
Discussion:
National Review, Newsweek, Breitbart, The Gateway Pundit and Politico
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Kyle Cheney / Politico:
Democrats launch last bid to break Trump's impeachment firewall
Democrats launch last bid to break Trump's impeachment firewall
Discussion:
Breitbart, No More Mister Nice Blog and Redstate
David Edwards / Raw Story:
Lindsey Graham screeches at reporters over impeachment: Trump ‘did nothing wrong in his mind’
Lindsey Graham screeches at reporters over impeachment: Trump ‘did nothing wrong in his mind’
Discussion:
HuffPost and HuffPost Canada
Aaron Blake / Washington Post:
When Senate Republicans were quite concerned about Trump and Ukraine
When Senate Republicans were quite concerned about Trump and Ukraine
Discussion:
The Hill, Omaha World-Herald and Talking Points Memo
Ezra Klein / New York Times:
Why Democrats Still Have to Appeal to the Center, but Republicans Don't — Polarization has changed the two parties — just not in the same way. — Mr. Klein is the author of “Why We're Polarized.” — American politics has been dominated by the Democratic and Republican Parties since the Civil War.
Discussion:
Mother Jones
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Mason Walker / Pew Research Center:
U.S. Media Polarization and the 2020 Election: A Nation Divided
U.S. Media Polarization and the 2020 Election: A Nation Divided
Discussion:
courthousenews.com
New York Times:
Trump May Skip Debates, or Seek New Host, if Process Isn't ‘Fair’ — The nonprofit Commission on Presidential Debates has sponsored every general election debate since 1988, but the Trump campaign has raised concerns about its 2020 events. — WASHINGTON — President Trump's campaign …
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Washington Post:
Trump campaign warns debate commission the president may not participate if process is not ‘fair’ — Senior Trump campaign officials lobbied the nonpartisan presidential debate commission last month over the makeup of its board of directors and its moderator choices, pushing for a process they deemed as …
Michael Tomasky / The Daily Beast:
Adam Schiff Stands Up and Speaks the Truth at Mitch McConnell's Upside-Down Stalinist Show Trial — Yes, say Senate Republicans, we know there's evidence that makes Trump's guilt even clearer. But we will sit as judges to disallow it before we sit as jurors to “exonerate” him. — BEAST INSIDE
Discussion:
NBC News, Breitbart, Washington Post and Raw Story
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Damon Linker / The Week:
Donald Trump and the moral decline of the pro-life movement — Donald Trump's decision to become the first president ever to attend the annual March for Life in Washington on Friday is a very big deal for both the Republican Party and the pro-life movement — though not in the way that either of them fully realizes.
Discussion:
Washington Examiner, Breitbart and Las Vegas Review-Journal
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Scott Clement / Washington Post:
Americans still divided on Trump's removal from office, but a strong economy is boosting his approval rating, Post-ABC poll finds — President Trump's approval rating has climbed to match the highest of his presidency, boosted by majority approval of his economic stewardship …
Discussion:
Washington Times
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Nihar Kabinittal / ABC News:
66% call for witnesses in Trump's impeachment trial: Poll
66% call for witnesses in Trump's impeachment trial: Poll
Discussion:
HuffPost and The Banter
Pranshu Verma / The Philadelphia Inquirer:
‘I will not vote’ for Trump, Jeff Van Drew vowed in a voicemail. Then he pledged ‘undying support’ for the president. — Three weeks before New Jersey Rep. Jeff Van Drew cemented his defection to the Republican Party with a pledge of “undying support” for President Donald Trump, he sent a constituent a very different message.
New York Times:
Coronavirus Live Updates: Infections Exceed 900 and Reach Europe, as Travel Limits in China Encircle 35 Million — Shanghai Disneyland shut down, hospitals pleaded for help, France reported two cases — the first in Europe — and the youngest victim so far was identified as a 36-year-old man in central China.
Discussion:
CNBC, STAT, Chicago Tribune, Jezebel, Popular Science, Mediaite, ITV, Gothamist, The Week, LewRockwell, Fox News, Balloon Juice and Vox
Aidan McLaughlin / Mediaite:
Exclusive: Trump to Sit Down With Hannity For Super Bowl Interview — Fox News host Sean Hannity is set to interview President Donald Trump during the Super Bowl pregame show, Mediaite has learned. — Trump will be sitting down at the White House for the interview with Hannity ahead of Super Bowl LIV on Feb. 2.
Neil Vigdor / New York Times:
Vice Officers Fired Over Stormy Daniels's 2018 Arrest at Ohio Strip Club — The misdemeanor charges of illegal sexually oriented activity were dropped within 24 hours after the pornographic film actress was arrested in 2018. — Two vice officers were fired on Thursday by the city of Columbus …
Discussion:
The Hill, The Columbus Dispatch and Sputnik News
Richard L. Hasen / Washington Post:
The loser of November's election may not concede. Their voters won't, either. — It's all too easy to imagine scenarios where the results are contested. — When the polls closed on Nov. 5, 2019, the initial count showed the governor of Kentucky, Republican Matt Bevins, losing to his Democratic challenger, Andy Beshear.
Discussion:
New York Times
Gabriel Sherman / Vanity Fair:
“He Really Thinks His Call Was Perfect. It Wasn't”: Trump at Odds With GOP, Kushner, His Campaign as Impeachment Bites — Angry at Kushner for the Time magazine cover and at GOP allies for their lukewarm impeachment defense, the president is veering off his campaign message. And advisers are worried.
Discussion:
Raw Story
Bill McMorris / Washington Free Beacon:
Twitter Attaches Warning to Trump Campaign's Pro-Life Video — Twitter attached a warning reserved for graphic, gory, or violent content to a pro-life video from the Trump campaign, prompting accusations of censorship against the social media giant. — Hours before Trump is scheduled …
Discussion:
Breitbart, The Gateway Pundit, TheBlaze and NB Blog
Tim Alberta / Politico:
How the Gun Show Became the Trump Show — AUTHOR'S NOTE: Late last year, I moved home to Michigan. I did so primarily for family reasons, but also because I wanted to get back in touch with parts of the country where D.C. journalists often visit but rarely stay for long.
Axios:
Trump impeachment team looks at shorter trial defense — President Trump's team is considering using just a portion of the 24 hours they're given for arguments in his impeachment trial. — Why it matters: A truncated defense would likely reflect a decision not to contest facts …
Discussion:
Vanity Fair, The Hill, Breitbart, Raw Story and Althouse