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:
CBS News, Associated Press, USA Today, NBC News, CNBC, Forbes, Talking Points Memo, Balloon Juice, Raw Story and Political Wire
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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:
The Hill and Talking Points Memo
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:
Washington Examiner, The Guardian, National Review, Twitchy, The Hill and Breitbart
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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
Paul Egan / Detroit Free Press:
Whitmer apologizes after violating social distancing rules at East Lansing bar
Whitmer apologizes after violating social distancing rules at East Lansing bar
Discussion:
National Review, IJR, Michigan Advance, Fox News, Associated Press and Townhall
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:
The Guardian, CNN, Mock Paper Scissors, KTAR.com, Raw Story and Political Wire
Washington Post:
E.U. promises swift retaliation after Belarus forces airliner to land and detains dissident — RIGA, Latvia — European leaders on Monday were considering a plan to sever Belarus from the rest of the continent's airspace, a day after Belarusian authorities forced a commercial airliner to land …
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Antony J. Blinken / United States Department of State:
Diversion of Ryanair Flight to Belarus and Arrest of Journalist
Diversion of Ryanair Flight to Belarus and Arrest of Journalist
Liudas Dapkus / Associated Press:
Belarus opposition figure detained when flight diverted
Belarus opposition figure detained when flight diverted
Discussion:
CNN, Mock Paper Scissors, Washington Post, New York Post, Washington Examiner, CBS News, Al Jazeera and KTAR.com
Edna Mohamed / The Guardian:
BLM activist Sasha Johnson in critical condition after gunshot to the head — Shooting in Southwark, London came after numerous death threats, says her Taking the Initiative party — The Black Lives Matter activist Sasha Johnson is in a critical condition after sustaining a gunshot wound …
Discussion:
Fox News
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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.
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 »
Matti Friedman / The Atlantic:
The Americanization of the Israeli-Palestinian Debate — 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 …
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Thomas L. Friedman / New York Times:
How Joe Biden Can Win a Nobel Peace Prize
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 …
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:
DemCast, Politico and Media Matters for America
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 …
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:
Los Angeles Times, The Nation and Althouse
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 …
Hunter Walker / The Uprising:
Trump Jokes About ‘Rough’ Treatment Of Press By North Korean Guards — Good morning! It's time to get up! — Welcome to week five of The Uprising! This is the first week that most of the newsletter will only be available to paid subscribers. — While I reserve the right …
Discussion:
BBC, Raw Story and Foreign Policy
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
Zak Cheney-Rice / New York Magazine:
His Name in Vain One year later, America is struggling to reform and reimagine the agencies that have been licensed to kill us. — Art: Kevin Claiborne and Photo by Julio Cortez/AP Photo — Most of them don't die. It's easy to mistake the worst outcome for the most urgent crisis …
Discussion:
Washington Post and Associated Press
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Tim Arango / New York Times:
A Year After George Floyd: Pressure to Add Police Amid Rising Crime
A Year After George Floyd: Pressure to Add Police Amid Rising Crime
Discussion:
Power Line and HotAir
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:
HotAir, The National Interest, Washington Post, IJR and BizPac Review
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
Ryan Leas / Stereogum:
80 Artists Pick Their Favorite Bob Dylan Song For Bob Dylan's 80th Birthday — ULTIMATE PLAYLIST — In the almost 60 years since Bob Dylan released his debut album, countless words have been spilled on his singular legacy. There are books and movies and over half a century's worth …
Tom Jones / Poynter:
The Associated Press fired a reporter over social media use — and what it means for other news outlets — Should journalists be expected to erase who they are for the sake of appearing to be objective? News outlets need to refine these policies. — The big buzz in the media the past few days …
Discussion:
The Hill, New York Times, PRESS RUN, CNN, Fox News and Columbia Journalism Review, more at Mediagazer »
Keith Osmun / The Bulwark:
Lame Duck: The End of the Most Gerrymandered District in Ohio — Ohio is losing a seat in Congress, but will it keep Jim Jordan? — Since the 1930s, Ohio's 4th Congressional District has been under Republican control. At R+14, it is arguably the safest Republican district in the country.
Discussion:
Morning Shots
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
Jonathan Swan / Axios:
Liz Cheney defends GOP's restrictive voting laws, denies link to Trump lie — Cheney is trying to put Trump's Big Lie about the election in a silo.
Discussion:
Washington Post, CNN, Insider, YouTube, New York Post, The Hill and Raw Story