Top Items:
New York Times:
Trump Names Richard Grenell as Acting Head of Intelligence — The move places a loyalist atop the intelligence agencies that the president has long battled. — WASHINGTON — President Trump on Wednesday named Richard Grenell, a vocal loyalist who quickly antagonized the German establishment …
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Washington Post:
Trump to name Richard Grenell, U.S. ambassador to Germany, as acting head of intelligence — President Trump plans to name Richard Grenell, the U.S. ambassador to Germany, as the next acting director of national intelligence, according to three people familiar with the matter.
Discussion:
UPI, Fox News, TheBlaze and Associated Press
Axios:
Trump to install loyalist Ric Grenell as acting intelligence chief — President Trump confirmed in a tweet Wednesday night that he will install Richard Grenell, the current U.S. ambassador to Germany and a staunch defender of the president, as the acting director of national intelligence.
Discussion:
Financial Times, Radio Free Europe/Radio …, One America News Network, Washington Blade, The Daily Beast, KTLA and Bloomberg
Grant Stern / Occupy Democrats:
Trump names unqualified far-right political hack to nation's top intelligence job — In a stunning move, President Trump has named a new Acting Director of National Intelligence (DNI) who has no experience in America's intelligence or national security agencies.
Discussion:
The Week
CNN:
Trump names staunch loyalist and current US Ambassador to Germany Richard Grenell as acting intelligence chief
Trump names staunch loyalist and current US Ambassador to Germany Richard Grenell as acting intelligence chief
Discussion:
The Week, The Hill and The Daily Caller
Tobias Hoonhout / National Review:
Trump Taps Richard Grenell as Acting Intelligence Head
NBC News:
Live Blog / Las Vegas Democratic debate live updates: Six candidates face off in Nevada — Former New York City Mayor Mike Bloomberg will take the stage for the first time. — The ninth Democratic presidential debate kicks off Wednesday night in Las Vegas, with five veteran debaters and one newcomer facing off on the stage.
Discussion:
New York Times, Associated Press, The Hill, Politico, Talking Points Memo, New York Times and Breitbart
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Politico:
Bloomberg takes a beating, Sanders defends socialism in fiery debate — Democrats came out hot in Las Vegas on Wednesday with a new target onstage: Mike Bloomberg. — For the first time since his late entry into the race and after a $400 million ad campaign, Bloomberg faced five …
Discussion:
The Hill, Associated Press, Axios, Slate and Breitbart
Paul Steinhauser / Fox News:
Warren mocks Klobuchar over ‘Post-it Note’ health care plan
Warren mocks Klobuchar over ‘Post-it Note’ health care plan
Discussion:
Axios, NBC News, New York Times and Breitbart
Politico:
POLITICO Playbook: The Dem ad campaign aimed at taking down Bernie
POLITICO Playbook: The Dem ad campaign aimed at taking down Bernie
Discussion:
New York Times, Washington Post and Breitbart
Josh Greenman / New York Daily News:
With the exception of that one exchange, Bloomberg's debate performance was good enough
With the exception of that one exchange, Bloomberg's debate performance was good enough
Associated Press:
Questions about Sanders' health linger after heart attack
Questions about Sanders' health linger after heart attack
Discussion:
Politico, Axios, One America News Network, The Hill, Daily Kos, Breitbart, The Daily Beast, NBC News, AGR Daily News, Washington Post and The Daily Caller
Morgan Phillips / Fox News:
Trump slams Bloomberg at Arizona rally, pushing MAGA message during Dem debate
Trump slams Bloomberg at Arizona rally, pushing MAGA message during Dem debate
Discussion:
Politico and Spectator USA
Brian Schwartz / CNBC:
Several Joe Biden fundraisers jump ship from his struggling campaign to back Mike Bloomberg
Several Joe Biden fundraisers jump ship from his struggling campaign to back Mike Bloomberg
Discussion:
Axios, PJ Media Home and IJR
Ezra Klein / Vox:
Bloomberg's plan to buy the presidency endangers democracy
Bloomberg's plan to buy the presidency endangers democracy
Discussion:
Mother Jones, New York Post, Politico and Reason
Vandana Rambaran / Fox News:
Klobuchar asks Buttigieg at debate: 'Are you trying to say that I'm dumb?'
Klobuchar asks Buttigieg at debate: 'Are you trying to say that I'm dumb?'
Andrew O'Reilly / Fox News:
Warren unloads on Bloomberg: ‘A billionaire who calls women fat broads’
Warren unloads on Bloomberg: ‘A billionaire who calls women fat broads’
Discussion:
Politico
Paul Steinhauser / Fox News:
Democracy 2020 Digest: Bloomberg wars with Biden ahead of debate debut
Democracy 2020 Digest: Bloomberg wars with Biden ahead of debate debut
Discussion:
Associated Press and Breitbart
Nico Hines / The Daily Beast:
Trump Offered Assange Pardon if He Covered Up Russian Hack, WikiLeaks Founder's Lawyer Claims — Lawyers acting for the WikiLeaks founder said Dana Rohrabacher, a former Republican congressman, had brought the message to London from Trump. — LONDON—President Trump offered to pardon Julian Assange …
Discussion:
The American Independent, CNBC, Law & Crime, The Last Refuge, New York Times, POLITICUSUSA, Mediaite, The Verge, Twitchy, The Week, The Daily Caller, Raw Story and Mother Jones
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Owen Bowcott / The Guardian:
Donald Trump ‘offered Julian Assange a pardon if he denied Russia link to hack’ — Donald Trump offered Julian Assange a pardon if he would say Russia was not involved in leaking Democratic party emails, a court in London has been told. — The extraordinary claim was made at Westminster magistrates court …
Discussion:
РБК, Talking Points Memo, Mother Jones, The Mahablog, The Hill, IJR and VICE
Washington Post:
Assange lawyer claims congressman offered pardon on behalf of Trump in exchange for absolving Russia in WikiLeaks DNC case — LONDON — A lawyer for Julian Assange said in a British court Wednesday that former Republican congressman Dana Rohrabacher, an ally of President Trump …
Discussion:
Vanity Fair
Aaron Blake / Washington Post:
The White House denies Julian Assange's pardon claim. Here's what we know about it.
The White House denies Julian Assange's pardon claim. Here's what we know about it.
Discussion:
Raw Story, Vox, Daily Kos and The Week, more at Mediagazer »
Associated Press:
Democrats won't commit to same-day release of Nevada results — LAS VEGAS (AP) — Democrats won't commit to releasing the unofficial results of Saturday's Nevada caucuses on the day of the vote, as they emphasize accuracy over speed in the aftermath of the chaos surrounding the Iowa caucuses.
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Nihar Kabinittal / ABC News:
Former Nevada Sen. Harry Reid says ‘not a chance in hell’ Medicare for All would pass
Former Nevada Sen. Harry Reid says ‘not a chance in hell’ Medicare for All would pass
Discussion:
The Hill
Edward-Isaac Dovere / The Atlantic:
The Hidden History of Sanders's Plot to Primary Obama
The Hidden History of Sanders's Plot to Primary Obama
Discussion:
The Independent, Washington Post, Raw Story, The Week, Twitchy, Fox News, National Review and Bloomberg
Politico:
Republicans plead with Trump to leave Barr alone — Senate Republicans are mounting an urgent campaign to save Attorney General William Barr's job — fearful that his dismissal or resignation would deprive President Donald Trump of an effective enforcer of his agenda and hand the Senate a vacancy that's nearly impossible to fill.
Discussion:
Associated Press and NBC News
RELATED:
Charlie Warzel / New York Times:
Twitter Is Real Life — Elites just pretend it's not. — Mr. Warzel is an Opinion writer at large. — For the better part of a year I've been hearing the same refrain. Friends, colleagues, peers, respected pollsters have cautioned: Twitter is not real life.
Josh Rogin / Washington Post:
Mike Pompeo and lawmakers spar over ‘deep state’ attacks in private Munich meeting — Congressional frustration with the perceived failure by Secretary of State Mike Pompeo to defend State Department personnel from political attacks spilled over during a “heated” private meeting last weekend in Munich.
Discussion:
Business Insider
Jonathan Mattise / Associated Press:
Bolton: Testimony wouldn't have changed impeachment outcome — NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Former national security adviser John Bolton on Wednesday denounced the House's impeachment proceedings against President Donald Trump as “grossly partisan” and said his testimony would not have changed Trump's acquittal …
Discussion:
Mediaite
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Nicolas Vega / New York Post:
Mark Zuckerberg reportedly gets his armpits blow dried before speeches — It's not one of Facebook's better perks. — Communications employees at the social network routinely blow-dry CEO Mark Zuckerberg's armpits before big speeches, a new book claims. — Zuckerberg — who became famous …
Discussion:
The Independent and Fox News
Ariane de Vogue / CNN:
Judges postpone emergency meeting to discuss Trump/Barr concerns — Source: Barr thought about resigning over Trump's interference — Washington (CNN)A group of federal judges hastily postponed an emergency meeting that was scheduled to take place Wednesday to discuss concerns …
Discussion:
The Gateway Pundit, Occupy Democrats, Raw Story, Slate, CNBC and The National Memo
Debra Heine / American Greatness:
K.T. McFarland Says Mueller Interrogators Put Her Through ‘Hell’ and Left Her ‘Traumatized’ — Longtime Republican politico K.T. McFarland said in a radio interview Wednesday that Special Counsel Robert Mueller's team pressured her for “20, 30, 40 hours of hell” to either cop a plea or implicate …
Josh Dawsey / Washington Post:
In speech, Mulvaney says Republicans are hypocritical on deficits — Acting White House chief of staff Mick Mulvaney said Wednesday night that the Republican Party is hypocritical when it comes to deficits, according to audio of an overseas speech obtained by The Washington Post.
Wall Street Journal:
Bloomberg Bankrolls a Social-Media Army to Push Message — Campaign is hiring workers for $2,500 per month to promote Bloomberg to all their contacts — Michael Bloomberg's presidential campaign is hiring hundreds of workers in California to post regularly on their personal social-media accounts …
Discussion:
The Daily Caller, The Daily Wire, CNET, Axios, Breitbart, Vox, Raw Story, The Week, National Review and Twitchy