Top Items:
Glenn Platt / Washington Post:
Trump's purge just got much more corrupt. Here's what's coming next. — President Trump's abrupt decision to remove the inspector general of the State Department constitutes the latest in a string of corrupt efforts to remove public servants who prioritize real oversight and accountability over protecting Trump at all costs.
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Carol Morello / Washington Post:
Pompeo says he didn't know fired inspector general was investigating him — Secretary of State Mike Pompeo confirmed Monday that he asked President Trump to fire the State Department inspector general because his work was “undermining” the department's mission, but he declined to describe any specific concerns.
Discussion:
Talking Points Memo, Axios, The Hill, CNBC, Raw Story and Law & Crime
Zachary Cohen / CNN:
Democrats claim watchdog fired by Trump was probing Pompeo's fast-tracking of $8 billion Saudi arms sale — Washington (CNN)The State Department inspector general fired by President Donald Trump on Friday, Steve Linick, had nearly completed an investigation into Secretary of State Mike Pompeo's decision …
Discussion:
emptywheel, Washington Post, Bloomberg, Investor's Business Daily and Raw Story
Aaron Blake / Washington Post:
Hypocrisy watch: Republicans who championed inspectors general under Obama stand by as Trump purges them
Hypocrisy watch: Republicans who championed inspectors general under Obama stand by as Trump purges them
Discussion:
Washington Examiner, The Hill, Breitbart and Chuck Grassley
NBC News:
Saudi arms sale was a second area of investigation for fired State Department watchdog
Saudi arms sale was a second area of investigation for fired State Department watchdog
Discussion:
IJR, POLITICUSUSA, Talking Points Memo and CNBC
Andrew Desiderio / Politico:
Fired watchdog was investigating Trump administration arms sales to Saudi Arabia
Fired watchdog was investigating Trump administration arms sales to Saudi Arabia
Discussion:
Axios, Mediaite, Law & Crime and Raw Story
HuffPost:
Fired Inspector General Was Probing Pompeo Over Saudi Arms Deal, Mistreating Staffer: Reports
Fired Inspector General Was Probing Pompeo Over Saudi Arms Deal, Mistreating Staffer: Reports
Discussion:
Washington Post, American Greatness and CNN
Washington Post:
Barr installs top DOJ aide, prosecutor of Trump's Mar-a-Lago trespasser, as deputy over U.S. prosecutors in Washington — Attorney General William P. Barr has installed a new top deputy over the federal prosecutor's office for Washington, raising concerns that a key U.S. attorney's office …
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CNN:
Trump to nominate new top prosecutor for Washington, DC
Trump to nominate new top prosecutor for Washington, DC
Discussion:
Raw Story and Florida Phoenix
Jason Wilson / The Guardian:
US lockdown protests may have spread virus widely, cellphone data suggests — Devices associated with protesters travelled up to hundreds of miles after rallies where few precautions were taken — Cellphone location data suggests that demonstrators at anti-lockdown protests …
Discussion:
Raw Story and POLITICUSUSA
Yaron Steinbuch / New York Post:
Man who called coronavirus ‘fake crisis’ gets infected, issues warning — A Florida man who initially believed the coronavirus is a “fake crisis” that was “blown out of proportion” is now hospitalized along with his wife — and is sounding a cautionary note about the deadly bug.
CNBC:
Trump says he takes hydroxychloroquine to prevent coronavirus infection even though it is unproven as a treatment — President Donald Trump said Monday that he has been taking anti-malaria drug hydroxychloroquine for over a week to prevent coronavirus infection even though it is not yet a proven treatment.
Discussion:
Raw Story and Political Wire
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Denise Grady / New York Times:
Moderna Coronavirus Vaccine Trial Shows Promising Early Results — The company said its preliminary test in 8 healthy volunteers was safe. It is on an accelerated timetable to begin a larger human trial soon. — The first coronavirus vaccine to be tested in people appears to be safe …
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Peter Loftus / Wall Street Journal:
Moderna Says Initial Covid-19 Vaccine Results Are Positive
Moderna Says Initial Covid-19 Vaccine Results Are Positive
Discussion:
Townhall, Moderna, Inc., MIT Technology Review and National Review
Dexter Filkins / New Yorker:
The Twilight of the Iranian Revolution — For decades, Ayatollah Khamenei has professed enmity with America. Now his regime is threatened from within the country. — One night last December, the chief resident physician at a hospital in the Iranian city of Gorgan was asked to consult on a baffling case …
Matt Zapotosky / Washington Post:
Barr says he does not expect Obama or Biden will be investigated by prosecutor reviewing 2016 Russia probe — Attorney General William P. Barr said Monday that he did not expect the prosecutor he handpicked to review the 2016 FBI investigation into President Trump's campaign …
Discussion:
Daily Kos
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Jennifer Rubin / Washington Post:
This is why Trump is back to attacking Obama
This is why Trump is back to attacking Obama
Discussion:
POLITICUSUSA, Raw Story, National Review, Contemptor and NBC News
Alayna Treene / Axios:
McConnell taps Rubio as acting chairman of Senate Intelligence Committee — Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) announced Monday that Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) will serve as the acting chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee while a federal investigation into Sen. Richard Burr (R-N.C.) is ongoing.
Discussion:
The Hill and One America News Network
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David M. Drucker / Washington Examiner:
McConnell-aligned PAC to spend $10M in Montana as danger to Senate majority grows
McConnell-aligned PAC to spend $10M in Montana as danger to Senate majority grows
Discussion:
The Hill
Michael Wines / New York Times:
Freed by Court Ruling, Republicans Step Up Effort to Patrol Voting — Officials seek to recruit 50,000 poll watchers and spend millions to fight voter fraud. Democrats say the real goal is to stop them from voting. — WASHINGTON — Six months before a presidential election in which turnout …
Discussion:
Washington Post
Margaret Sullivan / Washington Post:
The media is helping Trump turn the bogus ‘Obamagate’ into the 2020 version of Clinton's emails — It's becoming clear that journalists never fully reckoned with the mistakes of 2016 campaign coverage. We know this because they seem poised to repeat them.
Discussion:
Daily Kos, more at Mediagazer »
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CNN:
Former Australian PM calls out the ‘Murdoch mafia’ — Kevin Rudd, a former prime minister of Australia, argues that Rupert Murdoch's media empire is a “cancer on democracy” in the U.S., U.K. and Australia, using “mafia"-like intimidation tactics against dissenting voices.
Ben Lefebvre / Politico:
Biden White House would yank Keystone XL permit — The Monday statement is the first from Biden's campaign about how he would handle the project. — Former Vice President Joe Biden. Sean Rayford/Getty Images — Joe Biden would rescind President Donald Trump's permit allowing …
Discussion:
One America News Network, The Hill and Breitbart
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New York Times:
F.B.I. Finds Links Between Pensacola Gunman and Al Qaeda — The gunman in December's shooting, a Saudi cadet who had trained with the U.S. military, had been in contact with the terrorist group, officials said. — WASHINGTON — The gunman in last year's deadly shooting at a military base …
Discussion:
The Daily Caller and Axios
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Bloomberg:
Over 100 Million in China's Northeast Face Renewed Lockdown — Conditions return to height of China's epidemic in February — Frustration as restrictions tighten again after earlier easing — Some 108 million people in China's northeast region are being plunged back under lockdown conditions …
Discussion:
Gizmodo
Joan E Greve / The Guardian:
Democrats feel tide turning their way in battle to flip US Senate — The electoral map does not favor Republicans and the pandemic has helped put them on defense in states they once thought safe — Just three months ago, centrist Democrats were panicking.
Discussion:
Raw Story
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CBS News:
Full Transcript: Fed Chair Jerome Powell's 60 Minutes interview on economic recovery from the coronavirus pandemic — Jerome Powell lays out his thoughts on getting the economy back to its pre-coronavirus numbers. The transcript from the Federal Reserve chairman's interview with Scott Pelley.
Discussion:
CNBC, HuffPost, Reason, Fox News, IJR, New York Post, Just The News, The American Independent, Axios and Politico
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Matthew Daly / Associated Press:
Report: Treasury fund to ease virus crisis off to slow start
Report: Treasury fund to ease virus crisis off to slow start
Discussion:
One America News Network
Maxine Bernstein / Oregonian:
Judge finds Oregon governor's coronavirus restrictions on religious gatherings ‘null and void.’ Governor to seek state Supreme Court review — A Baker County judge on Monday ruled that Gov. Kate Brown's restrictions on religious gatherings were “null and void” because her emergency order amid …
Discussion:
Twitchy
detroitnews:
Whitmer: Reopening for Northern Michigan, U.P. includes bars, restaurants — Lansing — Gov. Gretchen Whitmer announced Monday the partial reopening of Northern Michigan and the Upper Peninsula. — Starting Friday, two regions — 6 and 8, which include 17 northern Michigan counties …
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Andrew O'Reilly / Fox News:
Defiant Whitmer slams anti-lockdown protests, questions political motives behind demonstrations
Defiant Whitmer slams anti-lockdown protests, questions political motives behind demonstrations
Discussion:
Washington Times
Alex Isenstadt / Politico:
Swing-state Republicans warn Trump's reelection is on shaky ground — Donald Trump has made clear he will attack Joe Biden unmercifully in order to ensure the election is a choice between him and Joe Biden — rather than an up-or-down vote on the president's handling of the coronavirus.
Discussion:
The American Independent, The Hill, Big League Politics and Raw Story
Nicholas Riccardi / Associated Press:
GOP chair: ‘We will not be holding a virtual convention’ — Ronna Romney McDaniel, the chair of the Republican National Committee, speaks during the RNC winter meeting at the Trump National Doral Resort in Miami, Friday, Jan. 24, 2020. (Matias J. Ocner/Miami Herald via AP)
Discussion:
Talking Points Memo, The Hill and The Wrap
Nick Valencia / CNN:
Senior CDC official rebukes White House trade adviser's criticism as tensions escalate over reopening strategy — (CNN)A senior official from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Sunday offered a pointed rebuke of White House trade adviser Peter Navarro's scathing criticism …
Discussion:
New York Post, Raw Story, Talking Points Memo, The Hill, Daily Kos, Washington Post and NBC News