Top Items:
New York Times:
Pence Will Control All Coronavirus Messaging From Health Officials — Government health officials and scientists will have to clear statements with the vice president's office, one of three people designated as the administration's primary coronavirus official.
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Gail Collins / New York Times:
Let's Call It Trumpvirus — If you're feeling awful, you know who to blame. — So, our Coronavirus Czar is going to be ... Mike Pence. Feeling more secure? — “I know full well the importance of presidential leadership,” the vice president said as soon as he was introduced in his new role.
Discussion:
Townhall, NOQ Report, Big League Politics, New York Post, Politico, HuffPost, The Wrap, Washington Post, Talking Points Memo, NBC News, Twitchy and The American Independent
New York Times:
Coronavirus Patient in California Was Not Tested for Days — A California coronavirus patient had to wait days to be tested because of restrictive federal criteria, despite doctors' suggestions. — The patient, who has tested positive, may be the first person to be infected through community spread …
Discussion:
Washington Post, Centers for Disease Control …, Slate, SFist and Raw Story
Monmouth University Polling Institute:
Biden Maintains Lead — Sanders and Steyer jockey for second — West Long Branch, NJ - Joe Biden stays well atop the field in South Carolina, according to the third Monmouth ("Mon-muth") University Poll of likely Democratic primary voters there. Tom Steyer and Bernie Sanders are fighting for the second spot.
Discussion:
The Hill, Politico, The National Interest, National Review and New York Times
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Nate Silver / FiveThirtyEight:
What The Race Looks Like If Biden Wins — Or Wins Big, Or Loses — In South Carolina — Joe Biden didn't get off to the start his campaign was hoping for in Iowa and New Hampshire. But the news has been better for him lately. He finished a (distant) second place in Nevada behind Bernie Sanders …
Discussion:
Patterico's Pontifications, ABC News, Raw Story, Daily Kos, Brutal South, Washington Post, The Independent and TheBlaze
Politico:
Bloomberg tumbles heading into Super Tuesday
Bloomberg tumbles heading into Super Tuesday
Discussion:
Associated Press, The Hill, The Last Refuge and The Daily Beast
Aaron Blake / Washington Post:
How Joe Biden could soon be the Bernie Sanders alternative
How Joe Biden could soon be the Bernie Sanders alternative
Discussion:
The Hill
Elena Schneider / Politico:
Buttigieg is unlikely to win any states on Super Tuesday. Here's his strategy to stay alive.
Buttigieg is unlikely to win any states on Super Tuesday. Here's his strategy to stay alive.
Discussion:
Redstate
Caitlin Oprysko / Politico:
Bloomberg campaign manager: ‘South Carolina is not going to matter’
Bloomberg campaign manager: ‘South Carolina is not going to matter’
Discussion:
Associated Press
New York Times:
Democratic Leaders Willing to Risk Party Damage to Stop Bernie Sanders — Interviews with dozens of Democratic Party officials, including 93 superdelegates, found overwhelming opposition to handing Mr. Sanders the nomination if he fell short of a majority of delegates.
Wall Street Journal:
Michael Bloomberg's Campaign Sought Andrew Yang's Backing, Floated Vice- Presidential Slot — Yang didn't commit to join forces — Michael Bloomberg's presidential campaign has made overtures to Democrat Andrew Yang, courting the former candidate's endorsement and floating the possibility …
Jasper Scherer / Houston Chronicle:
Bloomberg says he would close campaign offices if Sanders wins nomination and rejects his support — Democratic presidential candidate Mike Bloomberg said Thursday he would shutter his presidential campaign operation if someone else wins the nomination and rejects his support …
Discussion:
New York Post and Vanity Fair
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A.G. Gancarski / Florida Politics:
Latest poll: Joe Biden surging, Mike Bloomberg fading in Florida primary
Latest poll: Joe Biden surging, Mike Bloomberg fading in Florida primary
Discussion:
Washington Post
Max Greenwood / The Hill:
Poll: Biden retakes lead in Florida
Poll: Biden retakes lead in Florida
Discussion:
Florida Politics and Breitbart
Corey Brettschneider / Politico:
Why President Trump Can't Pardon Roger Stone — Speculation that President Donald Trump might pardon Roger Stone has reached a fever pitch after Stone's sentencing by a federal judge and the president's repeated hints that he thinks the verdict unfair. But fortunately, the Constitution's framers imagined …
Discussion:
Reason, Sentencing Law and Policy and Raw Story
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Mario Loyola / The Atlantic:
Trump's DOJ Interference Is Actually Not Crazy
Lindsay Crouse / New York Times:
My Ex-Boyfriend's New Girlfriend Is Lady Gaga — How do you compare yourself with one of the most famous women in the world? — Ms. Crouse is a senior staff editor in Opinion. — I was eating bodega grapes at my desk on a recent Monday morning, gearing up to wrangle my inbox, when my phone started buzzing:
Discussion:
Page Six
Martyn McLaughlin / Scotsman:
Scots ministers told to seek ‘unexplained wealth order’ for Donald Trump resorts — The Scottish Government has been urged to apply for an unexplained wealth order to investigate Donald Trump's deals to acquire his Scottish properties. — Patrick Harvie MSP, co-leader of the Scottish Greens …
Bloomberg:
Pence Says He's in Charge of U.S. Virus Response, Not HHS's Azar — Trump appointed Pence to take over U.S. response on Wednesday — Vice President added Birx, top AIDS official, to virus team — Vice President Mike Pence said he is now leading the government's coronavirus task force instead …
Discussion:
Twitchy
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Los Angeles Times:
California grapples with growing coronavirus threat as businesses pull out of state events — California is coming to terms with the growing threat posed by coronavirus, as two communities issued emergency orders and a patient in Northern California was described by authorities as potentially …
Discussion:
San Francisco Chronicle, National Review, The Seattle Times, UC Davis and LiveScience
BBC:
China prepares 100,000 ducks to battle Pakistan's locust swarms — China is preparing to deploy 100,000 ducks to neighbouring Pakistan to help tackle swarms of crop-eating locusts. — Chinese agricultural experts say a single duck can eat more than 200 locusts a day and be more effective than pesticides.
MJ Lee / CNN:
Bloomberg releases new heart health information and calls on Sanders to do the same — (CNN)Michael Bloomberg's campaign disclosed new information on Thursday about the health of the presidential candidate's heart, and called on Bernie Sanders, who suffered a heart attack last year …
Baltimore Sun:
Former Baltimore Mayor Catherine Pugh sentenced to 3 years for ‘Healthy Holly’ children's book fraud scheme — Former Baltimore Mayor Catherine Pugh, who held elected offices in Baltimore for two decades and was elevated by voters to lead the city following the upheaval of 2015 …
Discussion:
National Review, The Hill, The Last Refuge, Fox News, UPI and NPR
BuzzFeed News:
Clearview's Facial Recognition App Has Been Used By The Justice Department, ICE, Macy's, Walmart, And The NBA — The United States' main immigration enforcement agency, the Department of Justice, retailers including Best Buy and Macy's, and a sovereign wealth fund in the United Arab Emirates …
Discussion:
All Systems Go, The Independent, CNN and UPI
David Wasserman / New York Times:
To Beat Trump, Democrats May Need to Break Out of the ‘Whole Foods’ Bubble — Election results in places near Whole Foods, Lululemon, Urban Outfitters and Apple — It's no secret that Democratic primary voters prize fall “electability.” But for all the clamor about progressive versus moderate choices …
Allan Smith / NBC News:
'I can't even': Emails reveal EPA officials' reaction to Trump rant on toilets, showers — The president's claims about water pressure caught the attention of his environmental agency. — When the top EPA official overseeing its WaterSense program first heard President Donald Trump's rant …
Discussion:
Raw Story
Ruth Graham / Slate:
The Bible That Oozed Oil — A small Georgia town, a prophecy about Donald Trump, and the story of how a miracle fell apart. — In the summer of 2016, God gave Johnny Taylor a prophecy. It wasn't a specific vision, but something more like a promise. After the presidential election that fall …
Megan Leonhardt / CNBC:
Americans are skipping medically necessary prescriptions because of the cost — For many Americans, the cost of regularly taking and filling their medications is too much. So much so, 44% of respondents in a new online poll say that within the last year, they did not purchase at least …
Discussion:
Washington Post and The Wrap
Zachary Petrizzo / Mediaite:
‘You Guys Are Total A**holes’: Dan Bongino Berates Mediaite Writer at CPAC — Fox News contributor Dan Bongino gave this writer an earful in the empty hallways of the Conservative Political Action Conference after it closed up for the night on Wednesday. — After Bongino's Fox News hit …
Tim Miller / The Bulwark:
Sierra Blanca Is How Trump Crushes Bernie — There's an avalanche of opposition research coming for Bernie Sanders. The story of Sierra Blanca is just the start. — There's a lot of discussion about the “oppo” that is coming down the mountain for Bernie Sanders if he's the Democratic nominee.
Discussion:
Townhall
Paul Kane / Washington Post:
An unsung aide equal parts air traffic controller and caddie exits the Senate — Laura Dove often struggles to explain what her job is, exactly, given the vague title of “secretary for the majority” of the Senate. — Sometimes she uses “Game of Thrones” references, comparing herself …
Madison Pauly / Mother Jones:
Mark Halperin Says Murderers Are Treated More Fairly Than Canceled People — The disgraced pundit is now portraying himself as a victim. Of cancel culture. — One afternoon last week, disgraced political pundit Mark Halperin and three women settled onto stools in the basement …
Discussion:
Fast Company
Matt Gertz / Media Matters for America:
The Fox-Trump feedback loop is channeling Trump's coronavirus attacks on journalists, Democrats — Public health officials are struggling to contain the novel coronavirus COVID-19, which has now spread to at least 47 countries. The Centers for Disease Control is warning that it expects …
Discussion:
New Republic, Mediaite and Washington Post
Darren Samuelsohn / Politico:
Judge may hold Mueller-ensnared Russia firm in contempt — A Donald Trump-appointed federal judge on Thursday said she's considering holding in contempt of court a Russian firm charged with interfering in the 2016 presidential election after it failed to comply with a government subpoena.
Discussion:
Raw Story
Jeff Schogol / Task & Purpose:
Marine commandant banishes Confederate symbols from all Corps installations — Marine Corps Commandant Gen. David Berger has ordered all Confederate paraphernalia to be removed from Marine Corps installations, his spokesman confirmed on Wednesday — Marine Corps Commandant Gen. David Berger …
Wall Street Journal:
White House Wants Signoff on Coronavirus Messaging — Officials are instructed to seek approval from vice president's office on public comments — WASHINGTON—The White House is taking steps to better coordinate messaging on the coronavirus outbreak, instructing senior officials …