Top Items:
Washington Post:
Gaetz investigation complicated by overture to his father about ex-FBI agent who went missing — Rep. Matt Gaetz, a Florida Republican known for his fierce allegiance to former president Donald Trump, had been under Justice Department investigation for months for a possible sex crime …
Discussion:
Liberty Unyielding, HotAir, New York Magazine, RedState, New York Post, POLITICUSUSA, Crooks and Liars, Raw Story, Insider, The Week and The Intellectualist
RELATED:
Jeff Stein / SpyTalk:
Gaetz ‘Extortion’ Figure's Levinson Obsession — Former USAF Intel officer Bob Kent raised $250,000 from ‘ex-CIA’ circles in aborted rescue plan years before approaching Trump Republican's father — The mystery man at the center of Florida Republican Rep. Matt Gaetz's charges …
Discussion:
The Daily Beast, HuffPost and Washington Post
Oliver Darcy / CNN:
Tucker Carlson livid after Rep. Matt Gaetz tries to rope him into controversy, source says — New York (CNN Business)Fox News host Tucker Carlson was angered after Congressman Matt Gaetz attempted to rope him into a scandal involving allegations related to sex trafficking of a minor, a person familiar with the matter said.
Discussion:
Washington Post, Raw Story, The Intellectualist, Vox and Washington Examiner
ABC News:
Feds looking beyond Florida in investigation of Rep. Gaetz, sources say — “I have not had a relationship with a 17-year-old,” Gaetz said Tuesday night. — Catch up on the developing stories making headlines. — Jim Watson/AFP via Getty Images, FILE — The federal investigation …
Discussion:
MSNBC, Raw Story, Political Wire and Eschaton
Politico:
Matt Gaetz's dad says he wore a wire for FBI probe into DOJ extortion claims — TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — Rep. Matt Gaetz's father, Don, a former Florida Senate president, said he is working with the FBI, including wearing a wire on more than one occasion as part of an investigation …
Tracy Connor / The Daily Beast:
Documents Detail Alleged ‘Hostage Release’ Scheme to Extort Gaetz
Documents Detail Alleged ‘Hostage Release’ Scheme to Extort Gaetz
Discussion:
Florida Politics
Catherine Garcia / The Week:
The Matt Gaetz case now involves a missing FBI agent last seen in Iran
Emily Brooks / Washington Examiner:
Documents detail wild alleged $25 million Gaetz extortion scheme
Documents detail wild alleged $25 million Gaetz extortion scheme
The Daily Beast:
Matt Gaetz: I've Talked With Newsmax, OAN, and Fox About Potential Post-Congress Gigs
Matt Gaetz: I've Talked With Newsmax, OAN, and Fox About Potential Post-Congress Gigs
Josh Kovensky / Talking Points Memo:
Former FBI Agents Have A Lot Of Questions About Matt Gaetz's Story
Former FBI Agents Have A Lot Of Questions About Matt Gaetz's Story
Discussion:
Washington Times, The Hill, Raw Story and New York Post
New York Times:
Johnson & Johnson's vaccine is delayed by a U.S. factory mixup. — Workers at a plant in Baltimore manufacturing two coronavirus vaccines accidentally conflated the ingredients several weeks ago, contaminating up to 15 million doses of Johnson & Johnson's vaccine and forcing regulators …
Discussion:
Washington Post, National Review, CBS San Francisco, New York Post, The Daily Caller, NBC Boston, CBS Baltimore, KRDO, WRIC-TV, HotAir, The Verge, Mediaite, FiercePharma, Townhall, Washington Examiner, UPI and The Week
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Politico:
White House knew more than a week ago of J&J contractor vaccine-supply problems — Senior Biden administration health officials, including some within the White House, knew two weeks ago that a Johnson & Johnson contractor's production problems could delay delivery of a significant number …
Discussion:
The Guardian, FiercePharma, Hamodia, KTLA, Associated Press, Raw Story, abc7NY, Cyprus Mail, OutKick, Reuters, FOX40 and Boston Herald
Lachlan Markay / Axios:
Obama Cabinet official took undisclosed foreign cash — Former U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood took $50,000 from an associate of a Lebanese-Nigerian billionaire at the center of a sprawling scheme of illegal foreign campaign contributions, federal prosecutors revealed Wednesday.
Discussion:
Raw Story
RELATED:
Josh Gerstein / Politico:
Ray LaHood admitted hiding $50K loan from foreign billionaire
Ray LaHood admitted hiding $50K loan from foreign billionaire
Discussion:
Fox News and New York Times
People.com:
Sarah Palin Reveals COVID Diagnosis and ‘Bizarre’ Symptoms, Urges Others to Continue Wearing Masks — “My case is perhaps one of those that proves anyone can catch this,” Palin tells PEOPLE — Sarah Palin has tested positive for COVID-19, and she's urging others to continue taking the pandemic seriously.
Discussion:
Raw Story, Fox News, HillReporter.com, HuffPost, The Sun, Forbes, The Week, The Western Journal and IJR
RELATED:
Cameron Jenkins / The Hill:
Sarah Palin encourages mask wearing after revealing COVID-19 diagnosis
Sarah Palin encourages mask wearing after revealing COVID-19 diagnosis
Discussion:
CBS News, POLITICUSUSA and HotAir
New York Times:
N.Y. Seeks Trump Insider's Records, in Apparent Bid to Gain Cooperation — State prosecutors in Manhattan subpoenaed the personal bank records of the Trump Organization's longtime C.F.O. and are scrutinizing gifts he received from the former president. — State prosecutors …
Discussion:
Vanity Fair, The Week, HillReporter.com, Forbes, Law & Crime, The Hill, Raw Story, National Review, The Intellectualist and Insider
Heather Long / Washington Post:
Biden's infrastructure plan faces controversy over price tag and design — While there's widespread support for a large infrastructure bill, the details, especially Biden's plan to pay for it, are drawing early fire — When the White House released what it hailed as its historic infrastructure …
Discussion:
Fox News, The Week, New York Times, Georgia Recorder, The Daily Signal, KRDO, Politico, Power Line, Boston Herald, NBC Boston and WAVY-TV
RELATED:
Politico:
Infrastructure Year: Dems brace for brutal slog to pass Biden's $2.5T plan
Infrastructure Year: Dems brace for brutal slog to pass Biden's $2.5T plan
Discussion:
Associated Press, abc7NY, New York Times, New York Post and Roll Call
David M. Drucker / Washington Examiner:
Republicans swiftly dismiss Biden infrastructure proposal in bid to avoid repeat of COVID relief defeat
Republicans swiftly dismiss Biden infrastructure proposal in bid to avoid repeat of COVID relief defeat
Discussion:
National Review, Politico and MyNorthwest.com
New York Times:
As Cuomo Sought $4 Million Book Deal, Aides Hid Damaging Death Toll — Gov. Andrew Cuomo boasted, “I am not a superhero,” in early versions of his book, drafted as his aides scrubbed a politically damaging Health Department report. — ALBANY, N.Y. — As the coronavirus subsided in New York last year …
Discussion:
The Journal News, The Sun, New York Post, Mediaite, Fox News and Lawyers, Guns & Money
William Saletan / Slate:
The Bogus Rap on Deborah Birx — Her critics think she lied for Trump while Fauci stood up to him. The truth is way more complicated. — Deborah Birx, the former response coordinator for the White House coronavirus task force, is widely hated. According to her critics …
Sarah K. Burris / Raw Story:
‘My God’: Former White House lawyer says ‘Donald Trump is in serious trouble’ with new lawsuit — Former acting White House Solicitor General Neal Katyal explained to MSNBC's Nicolle Wallace that the new lawsuit in Washington, D.C. court saying former President Donald Trump is to blame …
Discussion:
POLITICUSUSA and CNN
E.J. Dionne / Washington Post:
The infrastructure plan is Exhibit A in the paradox of Bidenism — Although he may not have planned it, President Biden picked an auspicious date for unveiling his big infrastructure program. Exactly 34 years ago Wednesday — March 31, 1987 — the House voted overwhelmingly across party lines …
Discussion:
New York Times, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette and Common Dreams
Jane Recker / Washingtonian:
A Donald Trump Painting Is Coming to the National Portrait Gallery — But it won't be the Donald Trump painting. His official portrait is still in the works. — When the National Portrait Gallery reopens in the coming months, there will be a new face greeting visitors in the America's Presidents gallery: that of Donald J. Trump.
Discussion:
The Hill
Los Angeles Times:
4 killed, including child, in mass shooting at Orange office complex — Four people, including a child, were killed Wednesday evening and a fifth person was injured in a mass shooting at an Orange office complex. — It marks the third mass shooting in the United States in two weeks …
Discussion:
Orange County Register, ABC7, Associated Press, UPI, Breitbart and The Week
Steve Berkowitz / USA Today:
Supreme Court justices grill NCAA, calling arguments ‘entirely circular’ and ‘somewhat disturbing’ — The Supreme Court's justices on Wednesday expressed significant questions about the NCAA's athlete-compensation limits, but they also showed concerns that a case challenging those limits …
Discussion:
Politico, Breitbart, Insider, CBS News and SCOTUSblog
Andrew Stiles / Washington Free Beacon:
ANALYSIS: Biden's Bloodthirsty, Floor-Pooping Canine Companion Is a Window Into His Soul — President Joe Biden's dog Major was involved in yet another biting incident requiring medical attention. The notoriously unruly canine attacked a National Park Service employee just days after being returned to the White House.
Discussion:
Twitchy, MyNorthwest.com and Associated Press
RELATED:
Lauren Feiner / NBC News:
Facebook removes video interview with Trump, citing his ban from the platform — Facebook removed a video featuring former President Donald Trump, a company spokesperson confirmed on Wednesday, citing his indefinite suspension from the platform. — The removal tests just how far Facebook …
RELATED:
Brooke Singman / Fox News:
Trump ‘moving forward’ with plans to start social media platform: sources
Trump ‘moving forward’ with plans to start social media platform: sources
Discussion:
JONATHAN TURLEY, USA Today, The Sun, Breitbart, The Daily Caller, Sean Hannity and New York Post
Ryan Heath / Politico:
Ivanka Trump's flagship policy program slammed by government auditors — The Government Accountability Office has issued a damning report about the implementation of legislation supporting Ivanka Trump's signature women's empowerment initiative, from her time as an adviser to her father, President Donald Trump.
Associated Press:
AP-NORC poll: Biden bolstered by strong marks on pandemic — WASHINGTON (AP) — Americans are broadly supportive of President Joe Biden's early handling of the coronavirus pandemic, a new poll finds, and approval of his stewardship of the economy has ticked up following passage of a sprawling $1.9 trillion relief bill.
Discussion:
IJR, Forbes, The Western Journal, Duluth News Tribune, Al Jazeera, New York Post, The Hill and Fox News
J. David McSwane / ProPublica:
Documents Show Trump Officials Skirted Rules to Reward Politically Connected and Untested Firms With Huge Pandemic Contracts — House Democrats investigating the COVID-19 response say Trump adviser Peter Navarro pressured agencies to award deals worth hundreds of millions of dollars. … Coronavirus
CREW:
DHS IG should investigate Ken Cuccinelli's invalid immigration enforcement agreements — DHS Inspector General Joseph Cuffari should investigate immigration enforcement “agreements” between former DHS political appointee Kenneth Cuccinelli and several states—agreements which experts …
Jeremy Duda / Arizona Mirror:
Arizona Senate hires a ‘Stop the Steal’ advocate to lead 2020 election audit — The audit team that Senate President Karen Fann selected to examine the 2020 general election in Maricopa County will be led by a company owned by an advocate of the “Stop the Steal” movement who repeatedly alleged …
Discussion:
USA Today
Chad Pergram / Fox News:
Republicans want Democrats to stop probing Iowa race, but silent on similar Illinois challenge — GOP candidate Jim Oberweis took his case to the House Administration Committee earlier this year — Potential 2024 presidential contenders visit Iowa — House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy …
Discussion:
Townhall, ABC News and Washington Examiner
RELATED:
Politico:
Democrat drops election contest in Iowa House race
Democrat drops election contest in Iowa House race
Discussion:
Des Moines Register, The Hill, Iowa Capital Dispatch, Washington Times, Newsbusters, Wall Street Journal, The 19th, Breitbart, New York Times, New York Magazine, Associated Press, Courthouse News Service, NPR, Talking Points Memo, NBC News, Bloomberg, Roll Call, The Gateway Pundit, KRDO, TheBlaze, Fox News, CBS News, National Review, Townhall, The Week, Raw Story and CNN
Victoria Guida / Politico:
Janet Yellen: Climate change poses ‘existential threat’ to financial markets — Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen on Wednesday called climate change “an existential threat” and the biggest emerging risk to the health of the U.S. financial system, pledging to marshal regulatory forces to guard against its harmful effects.
Discussion:
U.S. Department …, Townhall and Wall Street Journal