Top Items:
John Hudson / Washington Post:
Key impeachment witness Gordon Sondland sues Mike Pompeo and U.S. for $1.8 million in legal fees — President Donald Trump's former ambassador to the European Union, Gordon Sondland, is suing former secretary of state Mike Pompeo and the U.S. government for $1.8 million to compensate …
Discussion:
Associated Press, CBS News, USA Today, The Wrap, NBC News, One America News Network, CNBC, Forbes, Talking Points Memo, Raw Story, Balloon Juice and Political Wire
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Josh Gerstein / Politico:
Sondland sues Pompeo, U.S. for $1.8M in impeachment legal bills
Sondland sues Pompeo, U.S. for $1.8M in impeachment legal bills
Discussion:
ABC News, Washington Examiner and NPR
Anne Applebaum / The Atlantic:
If Belarus Gets Away With It, Other Dictators Will Follow — Autocrats around the world may have a new tool at their disposal. — Staff writer at The Atlantic — Even when our most basic civilizational values are in dispute, there are a few sets of rules and regulations that we nevertheless manage to share.
Discussion:
Politico, New York Times and The Guardian, more at Mediagazer »
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Washington Post:
E.U. promises swift retaliation after Belarus forces airliner to land and detains dissident
E.U. promises swift retaliation after Belarus forces airliner to land and detains dissident
Discussion:
Politico, KEYT-TV, The Guardian, Denver Post, HotAir, CNBC and Insider
Sergei Kuznetsov / Politico:
Why the Belarusian journalist was snatched from the Ryanair flight
Why the Belarusian journalist was snatched from the Ryanair flight
Discussion:
lrv.lt, Politico, Washington Free Beacon and ABC7
Hunter Walker / The Uprising:
Trump Jokes About ‘Rough’ Treatment Of Press By North Korean Guards
Trump Jokes About ‘Rough’ Treatment Of Press By North Korean Guards
Discussion:
BBC, Foreign Policy, Occupy Democrats, Raw Story, Washington Post and IJR
Tom Jones / Poynter:
The Associated Press fired a reporter over social media use — and what it means for other news outlets
The Associated Press fired a reporter over social media use — and what it means for other news outlets
Discussion:
Glenn Greenwald, PRESS RUN, The Hill, CNN, Columbia Journalism Review and Fox News, more at Mediagazer »
Shawn Boburg / Washington Post:
Commerce Department security unit evolved into counterintelligence-like operation, Washington Post examination found — An obscure security unit tasked with protecting the Commerce Department's officials and facilities has evolved into something more akin to a counterintelligence operation …
Discussion:
Gizmodo, Talking Points Memo and The Hill
Zach Montellaro / Politico:
They tried to overturn the 2020 election. Now they want to run the next one. — Republicans who sought to undercut or overturn President Joe Biden's election win are launching campaigns to become their states' top election officials next year, alarming local officeholders and opponents …
Discussion:
Insider, CNN, Vanity Fair, Occupy Democrats, Daily Kos, Steve Bannon's War Room, KTAR.com, Raw Story, Mock Paper Scissors and Political Wire
Craig Mauger / Detroit News:
Whitmer apologizes after photo shows her at bar violating her own order — Lansing — Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer issued an apology Sunday after a photo emerged showing her at a restaurant with 12 other people gathered around tables pushed together in violation of her health department's current epidemic order.
Discussion:
RedState, Washington Examiner, The Guardian, National Review, The Hill, Breitbart, Twitchy and Gov. Whitmer gives …
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Associated Press:
Michigan Democrat Gov. Gretchen Whitmer apologizes for violating her own state-mandated social distancing guidelines after she was pictured sitting maskless with 12 other people inside a bar
Michigan Democrat Gov. Gretchen Whitmer apologizes for violating her own state-mandated social distancing guidelines after she was pictured sitting maskless with 12 other people inside a bar
Discussion:
BizPac Review and Twitchy
Greg Sargent / Washington Post:
The campaign for D.C. statehood just got a big boost — One of the most nettlesome objections to extending congressional representation to the residents of Washington, D.C., is that it requires a constitutional amendment. Many Republicans say this, which is hardly surprising.
BBC:
Sasha Johnson: Black Lives Matter activist shot in London — Prominent Black Lives Matter activist Sasha Johnson is critically ill after being shot in the head, her party says. — The Taking the Initiative Party said she was being treated in intensive care after being “brutally attacked” in the early hours of Sunday.
Discussion:
Mynewsdesk, Breitbart, Politico, The Daily Beast, TheBlaze, Fox News and BizPac Review
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New York Times:
What the Tulsa Race Massacre Destroyed — THE MARQUEE BLOCK — More than 70 businesses operated in mostly one-, two- and three-story red brick buildings clustered along the block. All but a couple were owned by Black entrepreneurs. — In this stretch alone, there were four hotels …
Matti Friedman / The Atlantic:
Israel's Problems Are Not Like America's — Rereading Exodus, the schmaltzy 1958 best seller about Israel that became a Hollywood movie starring Paul Newman, I was surprised by something I hadn't noticed as a teenager. The author, Leon Uris, describes a utopia of brave young pioneers in khaki shorts …
Discussion:
HotAir
Matan Arad-Neeman / Medium:
Matan Arad-Neeman — We write to you as proud alumni of your campaign. Each of us worked tirelessly in your headquarters and in states across the country to ensure your victory. We were motivated by the unprecedented progressive platform of your campaign that believed in the dignity of every human being …
Discussion:
Washington Post, Common Dreams and The National Interest
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Fadel Allassan / Axios:
Over 500 ex-staffers urge Biden to “hold Israel accountable for its actions”
Over 500 ex-staffers urge Biden to “hold Israel accountable for its actions”
Discussion:
The Hill and New York Times
Luke Savage / The Atlantic:
If Democracy Is Dying, Why Are Democrats So Complacent? — If you've followed recent Democratic messaging, you'll have heard that American democracy is under serious attack by the Republican Party, representing an existential threat to the country. If you've followed Democratic lawmaking …
Discussion:
Politico, Breitbart and Media Matters for America
Marc Caputo / Politico:
Florida Rep. Stephanie Murphy will not challenge Rubio for Senate — Rep. Stephanie Murphy won't run for U.S. Senate, a decision that was sealed after fellow Florida Congresswoman Val Demings recently signaled she will likely challenge incumbent Marco Rubio.
Discussion:
The Hill and Florida Politics
Adam Entous / New Yorker:
Are U.S. Officials Under Silent Attack? — The Havana Syndrome first affected spies and diplomats in Cuba. Now it has spread to the White House. — During the final weeks of the Trump Administration, a senior official on the National Security Council sat at his desk …
Discussion:
Insider
Andrew Marantz / New Yorker:
Are We Entering a New Political Era? — The neoliberal order seems to be collapsing. A generation of young activists is trying to insure that it's replaced by progressive populism, not by the fascist right. — Last June, when most Americans could agree that their country was in crisis …
Ashley Parker / Washington Post:
Weightlifting, Gatorade, birthday calls: Inside Biden's day — During a speech in Pittsburgh in March, President Biden held up the index card he keeps in his right breast pocket to track the nation's covid deaths, inadvertently revealing a glimpse of his private schedule on the back side.
Discussion:
Insider
Anita Kumar / Politico:
Conservatives have a new target: Biden's IRS plan — Add another obstacle to the growing list President Joe Biden faces in his negotiations over his massive spending plans: mounting opposition to one of the ways to pay for his proposal — growing the IRS. — Conservative groups have launched …
Discussion:
Washington Post, The American Independent, HotAir, IJR, The National Interest and BizPac Review
Brian Steinberg / Variety:
CBS' ‘Late Show With Stephen Colbert’ Will Return to Live Crowds … Stephen Colbert will break free of his coronavirus-imposed restrictions and return to doing CBS' “Late Show” in front of live audiences starting June 14. — Colbert has led 205 episodes of the late-night program without …
Austin Evers / Just Security:
The Next Best Option if a January 6 Commission Fails — In a bipartisan vote last week, the House passed legislation to create an independent national commission to investigate the January 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol. A 9/11-style commission is the best option for uncovering the truth …
Discussion:
Spectrum News 1 Austin and Breitbart
Ben Smith / New York Times:
It's the Media's ‘Mean-Too’ Moment. Stop Yelling and Go to Human Resources. — In public radio, there is either an epidemic of bullying or an epidemic of whining, depending on whom you ask. — For 20 years, the WNYC radio show “On The Media” has been the sort of place where the hosts …
Discussion:
The Wrap, more at Mediagazer »
Mickey Kaus / Kausfiles:
45 + 2022 = 0 — #38: Why the GOP's new Trumpless Tower will collapse — Republicans seem to be coalescing around a delusional midterm strategy: The idea that they can get through the 2022 election while more or less ignoring Trump. Hey, they have all these great issues: Crime! Immigration!
Discussion:
Washington Examiner, The Nation, HotAir, Althouse and Political Wire
Marc Caputo / Politico:
Top MAGA ally under fire for ‘squishiness’ on Trump — During Jane Timken's tenure as Ohio's GOP chair, Donald Trump won the one-time bellwether state by a whopping 8 percentage points. She put 150,000 miles on her car driving to the state's 88 counties as a surrogate for the president.
Discussion:
Raw Story
Rachel M. Cohen / The Appeal:
The Pandemic Spurred Governors to Grant Clemency, But Advocates Say It Isn't Enough — Despite sentencing reforms, hundreds of thousands of people who have been incarcerated over the last several decades are ineligible for parole. — As the COVID-19 pandemic began last year …
Associated Press:
Samoa Elected Its First Female Leader. Parliament Locked Her Out — WELLINGTON, New Zealand — Samoa was plunged into a constitutional crisis Monday when the woman who won an election last month was locked out of Parliament and the previous leader claimed he remained in charge.
Discussion:
CNN, The Daily Caller and New York Times
Jonathan Martin / New York Times:
Why Arkansas Is a Test Case for a Post-Trump Republican Party — Sarah Huckabee Sanders seems likely to bring the Trump brand to Arkansas politics in a big way. But the state is a testing ground for different possible futures for the party. — LITTLE ROCK, Ark. — For decades …
Discussion:
New York Times
David Leonhardt / New York Times:
The Vaccine Class Gap — The biggest vaccination gap isn't based on race or partisanship. It's based on class. — It is common to hear about two different demographic groups that are hesitant to receive a Covid-19 vaccination: Republican voters and racial minorities, especially Black and Latino Americans.