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:
Washington Examiner, Insider, HotAir, The Hill, New York Post, Fox News, RedState, The Federalist, Raw Story, Deadline, The Daily Caller, National Review, Townhall, POLITICUSUSA, The Wrap, Mediaite, The Gateway Pundit, Ace of Spades HQ, Fox Business, TheBlaze, Power Line and YouTube, 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:
Washington Examiner, The American Spectator, Raw Story and POLITICUSUSA
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:
Reason and Crooks and Liars, more at Mediagazer »
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Sara Fischer / Axios:
Scoop: Trump to sue Mark Zuckerberg, Jack Dorsey — Former President Donald Trump, who has complained about censorship by social media giants, plans to announce class action lawsuits today against Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg and Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey, sources tell Axios.
Discussion:
Insider, The Guardian, National Review, Washington Examiner, Wall Street Journal, NBC News, CNN, Politico, Law & Crime, The Verge, TheBlaze, Raw Story, Breitbart, Media Matters for America, The Gateway Pundit, The Hill, Fox News, POLITICUSUSA, Deseret News, BizPac Review, UPI, Townhall, The Western Journal, Louder With Crowder, IJR, YouTube, New York Post and Human Events
Washington Post:
Trump files class action lawsuits targeting Facebook, Google and Twitter over ‘censorship’ of conservatives
Trump files class action lawsuits targeting Facebook, Google and Twitter over ‘censorship’ of conservatives
Discussion:
The Atlantic, Raw Story, USA Today, Common Dreams, TechCrunch, The Western Journal, NPR, Gizmodo, Fox News, Al Jazeera, CNBC and Human Events, more at Techmeme »
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:
Gizmodo, Insider, IJR and Talking Points Memo
Paul Waldman / Washington Post:
Trump's latest ridiculous lawsuit shows how small he has become
Trump's latest ridiculous lawsuit shows how small he has become
Discussion:
One America News Network, New York Times, Talking Points Memo, Newsbusters, Raw Story and Vox
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 …
Discussion:
NBC News
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:
Talking Points Memo, USA Today, New York Magazine, Politico, One America News Network and Forbes
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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:
Balloon Juice
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.
Ben Collins / NBC News:
QAnon' new ‘plan’? Run for school board — Drake Wuertz came to the school board meeting in Seminole County, Florida, in late June with a message familiar to those who had heard him speak at previous meetings: America's children are at risk of systemic abuse. — And the way to stop it is to run for local office.
Discussion:
Raw Story and Political Wire
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David Gilbert / VICE:
Michael Flynn's Family: That QAnon Oath Video Is Just Our Family Motto
Michael Flynn's Family: That QAnon Oath Video Is Just Our Family Motto
Discussion:
Law & Crime, Gizmodo and Raw Story
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:
Political Wire and Blue Virginia
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:
HuffPost and CBS San Francisco
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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:
Los Angeles Times and Iowa Capital Dispatch
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. — Last Thursday, Donald Trump announced a new theme, with all his customary blunt-force subtlety. “Who shot Ashli Babbitt?,” he wrote on his official pseudo-presidential stationery.
Discussion:
Washington Post and Raw Story
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:
Raw Story
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
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 …
Paul J. Weber / Associated Press:
Judge: Air Force mostly at fault in 2017 Texas church attack — AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — A federal judge has ruled that the U.S. Air Force is mostly responsible for a former serviceman killing more than two dozen people at a Texas church in 2017 because it failed to submit his criminal history into a database …
Discussion:
The Hill, New York Post, The Daily Caller, CBS Dallas / Fort Worth and Faithwire
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Lynne Chandler García / Washington Post:
I'm a professor at a U.S. military academy. Here's why I teach critical race theory.
I'm a professor at a U.S. military academy. Here's why I teach critical race theory.
Discussion:
Daily Mail, RedState, Washington Free Beacon, Breitbart, The Daily Caller, Washington Examiner, New York Post, HotAir, Fox News and Denver Post
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 …
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.
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
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, Politico, Breitbart, POLITICUSUSA, Insider, Second Nexus and Forbes
Yascha Mounk / The Atlantic:
We Might Have Reached Peak Populism — Feeling optimistic about the state of American politics is hard. The country is deeply polarized. Much of the debate consists of name-calling and demonization. Dissatisfied with a strategy of maximal obstructionism in Congress …
Martin Pengelly / The Guardian:
Trump told chief of staff Hitler ‘did a lot of good things’, book says — Remark shocked John Kelly, author Michael Bender reports — Book details former president's ‘stunning disregard for history’ — On a visit to Europe to mark the 100th anniversary of the end of the first world war …
Discussion:
CNN, SFist, Digby's Hullabaloo, Crooks and Liars, Vanity Fair, USA Today, Algemeiner.com, CNBC, The American Independent, Slate, TMZ.com, Alternet.org, San Diego Jewish World, Talking Points Memo, Mediaite, Washington Examiner, The Times of Israel, The Wrap, The Hill, Raw Story, Insider, HuffPost, POLITICUSUSA, IJR and Joe.My.God.
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:
Fox News
Insider:
Where is Trump's White House staff now? We created a searchable database of more than 327 top staffers to show where they all landed — Insider set out to find 327 of the most prominent Trump administration alumni. — Nearly 100 have gotten “establishment” jobs.
Discussion:
The Daily Caller
Todd J. Gillman / Dallas Morning News:
Ted Cruz, perennial favorite at CPAC, cites family commitment for skipping Dallas gathering — Trump headlines 3-day conservative conference. Cruz spoke at CPAC in Orlando four months ago, as he almost always does. — WASHINGTON - Sen. Ted Cruz, a reliable presence and recurring star …
Discussion:
The Hill
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
Steve Benen / MSNBC:
Rep on bipartisanship: Republicans want ‘18 more months of chaos’ … On the surface, Rep. Chip Roy (R-Tex.) might seem like the kind of House Republican who might be willing to work with his Democratic colleagues. It's not because he's moderate — he's actually a very conservative Texas Republican …
Discussion:
Los Angeles Times, The Hill, Insider, Talking Points Memo, Alternet.org and Common Dreams
John Eligon / New York Times:
Jacob Zuma, Former South African President, Is Arrested — The Constitutional Court had found him guilty of contempt for failing to appear before a commission investigating corruption accusations that tainted a president once best known for fighting apartheid.
Discussion:
One America News Network, Honolulu Star-Advertiser and Political Wire
Greg Sargent / Washington Post:
Kevin McCarthy's struggles over the Jan. 6 committee reveal a dark GOP truth — Here's a puzzling development to ponder. Why is it that the Republicans most eager to join the Jan. 6 select committee are also among those most prone to sowing doubt about the legitimacy of the 2020 election …
Jason Douglas / Wall Street Journal:
Julian Assange Won't Be Held in Supermax Jail If Extradited, U.S. Assures U.K. — American government says the WikiLeaks founder, if convicted on espionage charges, can serve any custodial sentence in his native Australia — LONDON—The U.S. government has given assurances to the U.K …
Discussion:
National Review and The Daily Caller
Neil Irwin / New York Times:
A Planned Biden Order Aims to Tilt the Job Market Toward Workers — Noncompete clauses, licensing requirements and corporate mergers have tended to strengthen the hand of business. — According to an increasingly influential school of thought in left-of-center economic circles …
Discussion:
Washington Times, Associated Press and Talking Points Memo
Gallup:
Americans' Life Ratings Reach Record High — WASHINGTON, D.C. — The percentage of Americans who evaluate their lives well enough to be considered “thriving” on Gallup's Live Evaluation Index reached 59.2% in June, the highest in over 13 years of ongoing measurement and exceeding the previous high of 57.3% from September 2017.
Discussion:
CNN and The Daily Caller
Michael Edison Hayden / Southern Poverty Law Center:
‘We Make Mistakes’: Twitter's Embrace of the Extreme Far Right — Twitter gave far-right extremists the platform they needed to plan an attack on the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, and the website, if it maintains its current approach, will likely enable politically motivated violence again in the future.