Top Items:
Jonathan Swan / Axios:
Scoop: Tucker Carlson sought Putin interview at time of spying claim — Tucker Carlson was talking to U.S.-based Kremlin intermediaries about setting up an interview with Vladimir Putin shortly before the Fox News host accused the National Security Agency of spying on him, sources familiar with the conversations tell Axios.
Discussion:
Talking Points Memo, Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion, The Federalist, RealClearPolitics, BizPac Review, New York Post, Alternet.org, The Daily Caller, BuzzFeed News, Raw Story, Fox News, Washington Examiner, emptywheel, RedState, The Hill, National Review, Deadline, Insider, Ace of Spades HQ, The Wrap, Power Line, Mediaite, Fox Business, Summit News, HotAir, Townhall, The Gateway Pundit, POLITICUSUSA, YouTube, TheBlaze, Media Matters for America and VICE, more at Mediagazer »
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Jordan Davidson / The Federalist:
Check Out All The Blue Check Morons Who Swore The Corrupt Intel Community Would Never Spy On Tucker Carlson — Instead of questioning or expressing outrage at the NSA, blue checkmarks banded together to write Carlson off as a right-wing conspiracy theorist.
Discussion:
Fox News, POLITICUSUSA, RedState, Gizmodo, The Daily Caller, Raw Story, Washington Examiner and Power Line, more at Mediagazer »
Zoe Tillman / BuzzFeed News:
Trump's Social Media Lawsuits Are Full Of Arguments Courts Have Repeatedly Rejected — WASHINGTON — Former president Donald Trump's latest attempt at getting back on mainstream social media platforms came in the form of lawsuits on Wednesday against Twitter, Facebook, and YouTube …
Discussion:
The Atlantic, Reason, NBC News, Raw Story, Crooks and Liars, Washington Post and WSVN-TV, more at Mediagazer »
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Paul Waldman / Washington Post:
Trump's latest ridiculous lawsuit shows how small he has become — For someone who filed thousands of lawsuits during his career in business, former president Donald Trump has been rather quiet on the legal front since he left office — particularly if you don't count the criminal charges …
Discussion:
Vox, New York Times, One America News Network, Vanity Fair, The Register, Mother Jones, Newsbusters, Raw Story, Fox News and YouTube
Paul Sperry / RealClearInvestigations:
Naming the Capitol Police Officer Who Killed Unarmed Jan. 6 Rioter Ashli Babbitt — At top, pistol drawn in the House chamber, a plainclothes black officer who fits the description of Michael L. Byrd. His name was apparently divulged at a hearing as the cop who shot Ashli Babbitt.
Discussion:
Townhall, Insider, The Gateway Pundit and BizPac Review
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Jonathan Chait / New York Magazine:
The Chilling Message of Trump's Embrace of Ashli Babbitt Martyrdom January 6 is now a heroic uprising for the movement.
The Chilling Message of Trump's Embrace of Ashli Babbitt Martyrdom January 6 is now a heroic uprising for the movement.
Discussion:
Washington Post and Raw Story
Wajahat Ali / The Daily Beast:
Why Trump Is Anointing Ashli Babbitt as MAGA's First Martyr
Why Trump Is Anointing Ashli Babbitt as MAGA's First Martyr
Discussion:
TheBlaze, Raw Story, Washington Examiner and Arizona Republic
Felicia Sonmez / Washington Post:
Trump says ‘there was no reason’ for officer to shoot rioter who stormed the Capitol on Jan. 6
Trump says ‘there was no reason’ for officer to shoot rioter who stormed the Capitol on Jan. 6
Discussion:
TheBlaze, IJR, Gizmodo and Talking Points Memo
Molly Ball / TIME:
Breakfast with J.D. Vance, Anti-Trump Author Turned Pro-Trump Candidate — “I'm not just a flip-flopper, I'm a flip-flop-flipper on Trump,” J.D. Vance says with a laugh, slicing into a half-stack of breakfast pancakes. The Hillbilly Elegy author and newly minted Republican Senate candidate …
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Tessa Weinberg / Missouri Independent:
‘Surge response team’ arrives in Missouri amid COVID spike caused by Delta variant — As federal officials land in Missouri at the request of the state to assist with combatting a wave of new COVID cases spurred by the Delta variant, Gov. Mike Parson publicly rebuffed outreach strategies President Joe Biden touted.
Discussion:
Alabama Political Reporter, New York Times and ABC17NEWS
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David Wenner / PennLive:
COVID-19 vaccine rollout fast enough to save nearly 300,000, study says — 4,325 — The U.S. COVID-19 vaccination campaign prevented up to 279,000 deaths and 1.25 million hospitalizations, according to a study released Wednesday. — The study from the Yale School of Public Health …
Discussion:
The Guardian
Ashish K. Jha / The Boston Globe:
Masking indoors in the age of the Delta variant
Masking indoors in the age of the Delta variant
Discussion:
Outside the Beltway, Iowa Capital Dispatch and Los Angeles Times
Rachel Weiner / Washington Post:
Rudy Giuliani suspended from practicing law in D.C. court — The D.C. Court of Appeals has temporarily barred Rudolph W. Giuliani from practicing law, following a similar decision in New York. — A committee of judges in New York determined last month that Giuliani was unfit to keep practicing law …
Discussion:
CBS News, Talking Points Memo, USA Today, One America News Network, Politico, Forbes and New York Magazine
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Washington Post:
Conservative groups mount opposition to increase in IRS budget, threatening White House infrastructure plan — The new funding is supposed to be a cornerstone of a bipartisan deal negotiated by the White House and moderate senators — Conservative political groups are mobilizing …
Discussion:
Alternet.org and Balloon Juice
Yvonne Wingett Sanchez / Arizona Republic:
Secretary of State Katie Hobbs asks Attorney General Mark Brnovich to investigate possible election interference by Donald Trump, allies — Arizona Secretary of State Katie Hobbs on Wednesday asked Attorney General Mark Brnovich to open a criminal investigation into possible efforts …
Discussion:
The Hill, Raw Story, Insider and Political Wire
Emily Singer / The American Independent:
Virginia GOP gubernatorial nominee admits to hiding extreme abortion views to win election — Glenn Youngkin said he won't talk publicly about some of his more severe positions on abortion because that 'won't win my independent votes that I have to get.' — Virginia's Republican nominee …
Discussion:
HuffPost, Political Wire and Blue Virginia
Simon Shuster / TIME:
Exclusive: Documents Reveal Erik Prince's $10 Billion Plan to Make Weapons and Create a Private Army in Ukraine — On the second night of his visit to Kyiv, Erik Prince had a dinner date on his agenda. A few of his Ukrainian associates had arranged to meet the American billionaire at the Vodka Grill that evening, Feb. 23, 2020.
Discussion:
The Daily Beast, Joe.My.God. and Insider
New York Times:
Mark Zuckerberg and Sheryl Sandberg's Partnership Did Not Survive Trump — The company they built is wildly successful. But her Washington wisdom didn't hold up, and neither did their close working relationship. — Sheryl Sandberg knew she'd be asked about the attacks on the Capitol.
Adam Klasfeld / Law & Crime:
Michigan Judge Refuses to Allow Sidney Powell, Lin Wood, and Other ‘Kraken’ Attorneys to Skip Sanctions Hearing — Mere hours after lawyers for the so-called “Kraken” litigation to overturn the 2020 presidential election asked to skip attending an upcoming sanctions hearing …
Discussion:
Raw Story
Alexander Ward / Politico:
Biden's new Cold War with China will result in climate collapse, progressives warn — As a new Cold War takes shape between the U.S. and China, progressives fear the result will be a dramatically warming planet. — Over 40 progressive groups sent a letter to President Joe Biden and lawmakers …
Discussion:
Washington Examiner, RedState and Fox News
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Mona Charen / The Bulwark:
What We Lost When We Won the Cold War
David Fahrenthold / Washington Post:
Trump charged Secret Service nearly $10,200 in May for agents' rooms — Former president Donald Trump's golf club in Bedminster, N.J., charged the Secret Service nearly $10,200 for guest rooms used by his protective detail during Trump's first month at the club this summer, newly released spending records show.
Discussion:
Raw Story
Aidin Vaziri / San Francisco Chronicle:
California Capitol reinstates mask mandate after COVID outbreak — California has reinstated a mask mandate for all lawmakers and employees at the state Capitol regardless of vaccination status following an outbreak of nine COVID-19 cases there. — All nine people who contracted the coronavirus …
Discussion:
CBS San Francisco and HuffPost
Shawn Boburg / Washington Post:
From corporate America to conspiracy theory promotion: How a Minnesota man made a career out of anonymously amplifying dark plots — STILLWATER, Minn. — Sean G. Turnbull displays many of the hallmarks of a successful upper-middle-class family man, a former film producer and marketing manager …
Discussion:
Raw Story
Jenni Fink / Newsweek:
Marjorie Taylor Greene Shuts Down Idea That Trump Will be Reinstated in August, ‘Not True’ — Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene is still a staunch ally of former President Donald Trump but she's not in the camp of people who believe he'll return to office before fall.
Discussion:
POLITICUSUSA and Mediaite
Patrick Svitek / The Texas Tribune:
Allen West's final days as state GOP chair filled with intraparty drama — With only days before he steps down from the helm of the state GOP, West is embroiled in a fight with his vice chair and under attack by county GOP chairs. — Copy link — Allen West's final days as Texas GOP chairman …
Discussion:
Joe.My.God.
Commonwealth Fund:
Deaths and Hospitalizations Averted by Rapid U.S. Vaccination Rollout — The U.S. COVID-19 vaccination campaign has significantly curbed the virus's spread and national death toll, saving an estimated 279,000 lives and averting up to 1.25 million hospitalizations
Libby Cathey / ABC News:
Biden taunts McConnell for ‘bragging’ about relief bill he voted against — McConnell has vowed to wage a “hell of a fight” on Biden's infrastructure plan. — President Joe Biden taunted Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell on Wednesday for having acknowledged his home state of Kentucky …
Discussion:
The Hill, Washington Post, Politico, Breitbart, POLITICUSUSA, Insider, Second Nexus and Forbes
Daniela Galarza / Washington Post:
Stop calling food ‘exotic’ — “One of the nicest things about Afghan restaurants is that they appeal to even the most timid of diners,” Mark and Gail Barnett wrote in the May 16, 1993, edition of The Post. “Your visiting aunt from Spokane, Wash., can enjoy the adventure of an exotic cuisine …
Bonnie Kristian / The Week:
Election fraud is the GOP's new fundamentalism — False, but not fringe. — “Vote for us in this election because we lost the last election” might seem a strange campaign appeal, but it's a theme many Republican candidates have embraced for the 2022 midterms. — They wouldn't phrase it quite that way, of course.
Discussion:
Bloomberg and Crooks and Liars
Rep. Roger Williams / Washington Examiner:
Biden's border crisis looks even worse in person — There is no denying a crisis on our southern border exists, unless you're President Joe Biden and his border czar Vice President Kamala Harris. Only five months into 2021, Border Patrol experienced 929,868 encounters with illegal migrants crossing our southern border.
Discussion:
Boston Herald
CBS News:
FBI orders new look at autopsy of Black motorist Ronald Greene after release of graphic bodycam video — The FBI is taking the unusual step of ordering a new look at the autopsy of Black motorist Ronald Greene to consider evidence not provided after his 2019 death, including graphic body camera video …
Lara Seligman / Politico:
Sources: U.S. troop withdrawal from Afghanistan complete ‘for all intents and purposes’ — The U.S. military's withdrawal from Afghanistan is essentially complete, despite President Joe Biden's comments last week that American troops will leave by late August, according to two U.S. officials.
Discussion:
Washington Post and Task & Purpose
Theodoric Meyer / Politico:
As Bezos called for tax hikes, Amazon lobbied to keep its tax bill low — As Amazon publicly embraced President Joe Biden's plan to raise the corporate tax rate across the board, it has also lobbied Congress to preserve a prized tax break that's helped it lower its corporate tax bill.
Ken Dilanian / NBC News:
Top lawyer for U.S. cyberwarriors calls for military cyber response to global criminal hackers … WASHINGTON — A top lawyer for America's cyberwarrior force is calling publicly for military operations against transnational criminal hackers, shedding light on a debate inside and outside …
Jonathan Weisman / New York Times:
In Michigan, Pro-Impeachment Republicans Face Voters' Wrath — Representative Peter Meijer, a Republican who voted to impeach Donald J. Trump, seeks “decency and humility” in Western Michigan, but has found anger, fear and misinformation. — GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — Representative Peter …
Discussion:
Forbes