Top Items:
Politico:
Trump ousts State Department watchdog — President Donald Trump has removed State Department Inspector General Steve Linick and replaced him with an ally of Vice President Mike Pence — the latest in a series of moves against independent government watchdogs in recent months.
Discussion:
Vox, Mother Jones, Vanity Fair, The Hill, Daily Kos, NBC News, IJR, The Guardian, Axios, Raw Story, Breitbart and Mediaite
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Aaron Blake / Washington Post:
Trump's slow-motion Friday night massacre of inspectors general — The Friday news dump — also known as the Friday night news dump — is a political trick with plenty of precedent. Wait till the vast majority of the news business clocks out for on the week, and announce something you'd rather they not cover as much.
Discussion:
The Daily Caller
New York Times:
Trump Removes State Dept. Inspector General — Steve A. Linick will be replaced by an ambassador with close ties to Vice President Mike Pence, the department said Friday night. — WASHINGTON — President Trump continued his purge of inspectors general late Friday, moving to oust Steve A. Linick …
Conor Finnegan / ABC News:
Trump fires IG said to be investigating Pompeo, involved in impeachment probe — Inspector General Steve Linick will be replaced by a Trump appointee. — The White House fired the State Department Inspector General late Friday, according to a State Department spokesperson …
Speaker Nancy Pelosi:
Pelosi Statement on Late-Night Firing of State Department Inspector General — Washington, D.C. - Speaker Nancy Pelosi issued this statement after the President fired State Department Inspector General Steve Linick: — “The President's late-night, weekend firing of the State Department Inspector General …
Discussion:
The Hill
CNN:
State Department inspector general becomes the latest watchdog fired by Trump
State Department inspector general becomes the latest watchdog fired by Trump
Discussion:
Lawyers, Guns & Money
House Foreign Affairs Committee:
Engel Statement on the Firing of Inspector General Linick
Engel Statement on the Firing of Inspector General Linick
Discussion:
Letters from an American and Balloon Juice
Michele Kelemen / NPR:
Trump Removes State Department Inspector General Steve Linick
Trump Removes State Department Inspector General Steve Linick
Discussion:
Raw Story and POLITICUSUSA
Hannah Knowles / Washington Post:
State Department inspector general fired; Democrats decry ‘dangerous pattern of retaliation’
State Department inspector general fired; Democrats decry ‘dangerous pattern of retaliation’
Discussion:
Mother Jones and Politico
Matthew Lee / Associated Press:
Pompeo fires State Dept. watchdog critical of Trump moves
Pompeo fires State Dept. watchdog critical of Trump moves
Discussion:
Slate, New York Post, The Hill and Raw Story
ProPublica:
Two Coasts. One Virus. How New York Suffered Nearly 10 Times the Number of Deaths as California. — California's governor and San Francisco's mayor worked together to act early in confronting the COVID threat. For Andrew Cuomo and Bill de Blasio, it was a different story, and 27,000 New Yorkers have died so far.
Washington Post:
We could stop the pandemic by July 4 if the government took these steps — A $74 billion investment in testing, tracing and isolation could rescue the economy — quickly — With the unemployment rate at its highest level since the Great Depression — 14.7 percent and climbing …
Discussion:
Balloon Juice and Marginal REVOLUTION
Tal Axelrod / The Hill:
FDA halts Bill Gates coronavirus testing program — The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) halted a coronavirus testing program promoted by billionaire Bill Gates and Seattle health officials pending reviews. — The program sought to send test kits to the homes of people both healthy …
Discussion:
Raw Story, Instapundit and New York Times
New York Times:
A Sitting President, Riling the Nation During a Crisis — By smearing his opponents, championing conspiracy theories and pursuing vendettas, President Trump has reverted to his darkest political tactics in spite of a pandemic hurting millions of Americans.
Discussion:
Raw Story
USA Today:
I sent masks to health workers but the Trump administration seized them instead of helping — One month ago, as COVID-19 spread across the county and critical personal protective equipment (PPE) like masks, gloves, surgical gowns and face shields continued to be in short supply …
Discussion:
Raw Story
James Brooks / Anchorage Daily News:
Alaska legislator compares pandemic safety measures at Capitol to Nazi treatment of Jews — JUNEAU — A Nikiski Republican lawmaker opposed to pandemic safety measures at the Alaska Capitol compared them to Nazi Germany's labeling of Jews in an email exchange Friday with fellow members of the Alaska House of Representatives.
Discussion:
Raw Story
Elaina Plott / New York Times:
Stacey Abrams Wants More Than the Vice Presidency — She wants the Democrats to reach a different kind of swing voter — those who otherwise stay home. And she says she can help Joe Biden do it. — The clapping hands appeared on the screen one, two, a flurry of emojis flashing under …
Sister Toldjah / Redstate:
Reporter Asks Kayleigh McEnany to Explain Obamagate and the Crimes Allegedly Committed, Immediately Regrets It — White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany continues to impress. — During today's White House press briefing, McEnany was asked by CBS News Radio correspondent Steven Portnoy …
Discussion:
Power Line, RealClearPolitics, MRCTV and Althouse
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Washington Post:
Drug promoted by Trump as coronavirus ‘game changer’ increasingly linked to deaths — For two months, President Trump repeatedly pitched hydroxychloroquine as a safe and effective treatment for coronavirus, asking would-be patients “What the hell do you have to lose?”
Discussion:
Houston Chronicle
Kevin Rector / Los Angeles Times:
LAPD wants to give rapid-result coronavirus tests to everyone it arrests — The Los Angeles Police Department wants to give a rapid-result test to everyone its officers arrest to check for the coronavirus and are pushing city officials to secure the equipment to do so.
Peter Nicholas / The Atlantic:
Trump's Cordon Un-sanitaire — No White House reporter I've ever known was looking to harm anyone, much less the president of the United States, but the federal government never took chances. Covering Barack Obama and now Donald Trump, I can't recall a single instance when the security cordon surrounding the president frayed.
Paul Kane / Washington Post:
Trump's GOP ‘party of health care’ has no coverage plan for millions amid pandemic — President Trump left no doubt what he wanted his GOP allies to focus on, diverting to the TV cameras before he entered a private huddle of Senate Republicans. — “Let me tell you exactly what my message is …
New York Times:
Now More Than Ever, Facebook Is a ‘Mark Zuckerberg Production’ — For years, he was an obsessive C.E.O. in some ways, distant in others. Then Facebook's problems became too acute to leave to anyone else. — SAN FRANCISCO — On Jan. 27, at a regularly scheduled Monday morning meeting …
Carrie Campbell Severino / National Review:
The Woke Left's Assault on the Rule of Law — Ever since Donald Trump's election, liberal judges have aligned themselves with the political “resistance,” holding this administration to a different standard from its predecessors. As I have written before, we have seen this trend …
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Deb Riechmann / Associated Press:
Trump's emergency powers worry some senators, legal experts — FILE - In this March 12, 2020, file photo, President Donald Trump speaks during a meeting with Irish Prime Minister Leo Varadkar in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington. On March 12, during the meeting …
Associated Press:
Wisconsin again? Swing state a hotbed of virus politics — MADISON, Wis. (AP) — Wisconsin has been the battleground for political proxy wars for nearly a decade, the backdrop for bruising feuds over labor unions, executive power, redistricting and President Donald Trump.
Discussion:
Axios
WSMV-TV:
Tennessee to lift capacity restrictions on restaurants & retail, to allow large attractions to open — NASHVILLE, TN (WSMV) - The governor's office announced Tennessee will lift capacity restrictions on restaurants and shops and instead focus on social distancing best practices.
Allysia Finley / Wall Street Journal:
The Lockdown Skeptic They Couldn't Silence — Targeted for censorship in March, Aaron Ginn is becoming an influential voice in cities, states and Washington. — Does a pandemic demand the strong medicine of censorship? Social-media companies seem to think so.
Discussion:
Power Line
Jeremy Fowler / ESPN:
NFL proposal would improve draft picks for minority hires — The NFL is considering improving draft picks for teams that hire minority candidates as head coaches or general managers, sources confirmed to ESPN. — Under the proposal, aimed at fixing diversity problems leaguewide …
Discussion:
NFL.com, Just The News and Breitbart
Washington Post:
Trump sets goal of hundreds of millions of coronavirus vaccine doses by January, but scientists doubt it — Some warn it's dangerous to set a timetable, given the scientific unknowns and the danger of rushing testing. — President Trump formally unveiled an initiative Friday afternoon aimed …
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