Top Items:
Benjamin Weiser / New York Times:
Iranian Operatives Planned to Kidnap a Brooklyn Author, Prosecutors Say — Masih Alinejad spoke critically of her native country's autocracy. Now an Iranian intelligence official and three others have been indicted in New York. — An Iranian American journalist living in Brooklyn …
Discussion:
NPR, Justice News, Bloomberg, UPI, Mediaite, The Hill, HotAir, Twin Cities and Political Wire
RELATED:
U.S. Department of Justice:
Iranian Intelligence Officials Indicted on Kidnapping Conspiracy Charges — Iranian Intelligence Services Allegedly Plotted to Kidnap a U.S. Journalist and Human Rights Activist from New York City for Rendition to Iran — A New York federal court unsealed an indictment today charging four Iranian nationals …
Discussion:
Washington Examiner, The Guardian, Associated Press, Insider, Radio Free Europe/Radio …, Forbes and Politico
Brett Kelman / The Tennessean:
Tennessee abandons vaccine outreach to minors — not just for COVID-19 — The Tennessee Department of Health will halt all adolescent vaccine outreach - not just for coronavirus, but all diseases - amid pressure from Republican state lawmakers, according to an internal report and agency emails obtained by the Tennessean.
RELATED:
CNN:
Tennessee vaccine official's story reveals an ugly truth about GOP and children's rights — State fires vaccine chief after she shares policy about vaccinating teens — Jill Filipovic is a journalist based in New York and author of the book “OK Boomer, Let's Talk: How My Generation Got Left Behind.”
Discussion:
CBS News, The Tennessean, Daily Kos and Mercury News
Rick Rojas / New York Times:
Top Tennessee Vaccine Official Says She Was Fired Over Shots for Teens
Top Tennessee Vaccine Official Says She Was Fired Over Shots for Teens
Discussion:
NPR, Vanity Fair and Daily Kos
Washington Post:
William Barr clashes with former Trump appointee from Pa. over handling of election-fraud claims — A war of words broke out Tuesday among former senior Justice Department officials over Pennsylvania politics and the aftermath of the 2020 election, fueled by former president Donald Trump's release …
Discussion:
RedState, Talking Points Memo, Politico and Sputnik News
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New York Times:
Attempt to Seize Post Reporters' Email Data Came Day Before Barr Left Office — Newly unsealed court files shed more light on a contentious leak investigation. — WASHINGTON — The Justice Department sought the email records of three Washington Post reporters the day before William P. Barr stepped …
Ed Pilkington / The Guardian:
Ken Starr helped Jeffrey Epstein with ‘scorched-earth’ campaign, book claims — Book by Miami Herald journalist details extraordinary efforts by special prosecutor who hounded Bill Clinton to aid sex trafficker — Ken Starr, the lawyer who hounded Bill Clinton over his affair with Monica Lewinsky …
Discussion:
Raw Story
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Judi Hershman:
Ken Starr, Brett Kavanaugh, Jeffrey Epstein and Me — As a former professional partisan, I never thought I'd look back decades to my political beginnings and find the map that points to our current moment, when there is serious doubt whether the democracy we took for granted at the time will continue to exist.
Discussion:
ArkansasTimes and IJR
Natalie Fertig / Politico:
Schumer launches long-shot bid for legal weed — Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer released sweeping draft legislation Wednesday to legalize weed, officially kickstarting a difficult debate in his chamber that also makes a major splash for one of his campaign promises.
Discussion:
ABC News and Political Wire
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Washington Post:
Inside the secret plan for the Texas Democratic exodus: A phone tree, a scramble to pack and a politically perilous trip — They activated the plan with a phone tree late Sunday: Pack your bags — and make sure they weigh no more than 45 pounds. Be ready to leave Austin at noon tomorrow.
Discussion:
New York Times, Washington Examiner, CBS News, CBS Dallas / Fort Worth, One America News Network, KXAN-TV and ABC7
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The Texas Tribune:
Senate presses forward passing GOP voting and bail bills, as Texas House in chaos over Democrats' decampment — If the House Democrats who skipped town to block voting legislation don't return before the special session ends, the Senate bills will languish without becoming law. — Copy link
Discussion:
HuffPost, Townhall, oann.com, Lucianne, WATE-TV, National Review, The Hill, Fox News and Just The News
Rebekah Riess / CNN:
Norwegian Cruise Line sues Florida surgeon general over vaccine passport ban — (CNN) — Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings is suing Florida's surgeon general over the state's law that prohibits companies from requiring customers and employees to provide documentation of Covid-19 vaccination status.
Discussion:
New York Times, Gizmodo, NBC 6 South Florida and Bangor Daily News
RELATED:
Arizona Republic:
Biden names Arizona Republican Jeff Flake as his ambassador pick for Turkey — Ronald J. Hansen Yvonne Wingett SanchezArizona Republic — President Joe Biden intends to nominate former Sen. Jeff Flake as ambassador to Turkey, putting the Arizona Republican on the front lines diplomatically …
Discussion:
Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion, Reuters and CNN
RELATED:
Jeff Flake / Medium:
Nomination to be U.S. Ambassador to The Republic of Turkey
Nomination to be U.S. Ambassador to The Republic of Turkey
Discussion:
Wall Street Journal, UPI, New York Times, Forbes, The Daily Caller, Insider, The Hill, TheBlaze, NBC News and CNBC
Tyler Pager / Washington Post:
Biden to nominate former GOP senator Flake to be ambassador to Turkey
Biden to nominate former GOP senator Flake to be ambassador to Turkey
Discussion:
Washington Examiner, Washington Times, Bloomberg, Fox News and Politico
Sarah Jackson / Insider:
Facebook staffers were told by execs to scrap any mention of Russia in a 2017 white paper on the platform's security concerns: ‘We started to feel like we were part of a cover-up’ — Facebook's 2017 white paper initially mentioned Russian election interference, a new book says.
Paul Steinhauser / Fox News:
House GOP reelection committee smashes fundraising records, outpacing Democrats — Republicans need a net gain of 5 seats to regain the House majority in 2022 midterm elections — Fox News Flash top headlines for July 13 — Building up resources as it aims to recapture the House …
Discussion:
CNN and Washington Examiner
RELATED:
Patrick Svitek / The Texas Tribune:
Texas House Republicans vote to track down absent Democrats and arrest them if necessary
Texas House Republicans vote to track down absent Democrats and arrest them if necessary
Discussion:
Texas Monthly, Off the Kuff, Austin American-Statesman, Axios, Townhall, TheBlaze, NOQ Report, Washington Examiner, Slate, New York Times, The Texas Observer, Joe.My.God., Rolling Stone, Louder With Crowder, Mother Jones, Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion, Forbes, IJR, Political Wire, The Western Journal, The Hill and POLITICUSUSA
David Frum / The Atlantic:
There's a Word for What Trumpism Is Becoming — “I became worse.” That's how double impeachment changed him, Donald Trump told a conservative audience in Dallas last weekend, without a trace of a smile. This was not Trump the insult comic talking. This was the deepest Trump self.
Jonathan Stempel / Reuters:
Sacha Baron Cohen, Showtime win dismissal of Roy Moore defamation lawsuit — British comedian Sacha Baron Cohen on Tuesday won the dismissal of a $95 million defamation lawsuit by Roy Moore, a former U.S. Senate candidate from Alabama who claimed he was tricked into being portrayed falsely …
Discussion:
Politico, Sputnik News, Washington Examiner, POLITICUSUSA, Courthouse News Service, New York Post and Insider, more at Mediagazer »
RELATED:
Paul Gattis / al.com:
Judge dismisses Roy Moore lawsuit against comedian Sacha Baron Cohen
Judge dismisses Roy Moore lawsuit against comedian Sacha Baron Cohen
Discussion:
HuffPost, Joe.My.God. and Raw Story
Hugo Gurdon / Washington Examiner:
Crime and Cuba backfire on Democrats — Two apparently unconnected issues that top the headline news endanger Democrats' election hopes. I say “apparently” because although the events are taking place in different countries, both are tied indissolubly to the Left and to the party in power in Washington.
RELATED:
Miami Herald:
DeSantis' anti-riot law didn't apply as Cuba protesters shut down a Miami-Dade road. Hmmm . . . Gov. DeSantis should have just laid it on the line when a reporter asked about the hundreds upon hundreds of Cuban-American demonstrators and their supporters who shut down a portion of the Palmetto Expressway in Miami-Dade County.
Discussion:
Sun-Sentinel, Joe.My.God. and TheGrio
Michael Kranish / Washington Post:
How Tucker Carlson became the voice of White grievance — Tucker Carlson huddled in a low-ceilinged dungeon that had served as a holding pen for Africans bound for enslavement in the United States. It was a July day in 2003 in Ghana, and Carlson stood alongside some of America's most prominent civil rights leaders.
Marina Villeneuve / Associated Press:
New York takes conservative approach counting virus deaths — ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) — The federal government's count of the COVID-19 death toll in New York has 11,000 more victims than the tally publicized by the administration of Gov. Andrew Cuomo, which has stuck with a far more conservative approach to counting virus deaths.
Discussion:
New York Magazine and New York Post
Max Greenwood / The Hill:
Harris emerges as main GOP foil on campaign trail — Republicans on the campaign trail are zeroing in on Vice President Harris as their political target of choice as the midterm battle draws closer. — The attacks against Harris come as Republicans have struggled to define President Biden …
Discussion:
Political Wire
CBS News:
George W. Bush calls withdrawal of U.S. and other NATO troops from Afghanistan “a mistake” — Former President George W. Bush on Wednesday criticized the withdrawal of NATO troops from Afghanistan and said civilians were being left to be “slaughtered” by the Taliban.
Discussion:
ABC News
Ben White / Politico:
New concern for Biden: Could Larry Summers be right about inflation? — There is a new fear circulating inside the West Wing of the White House: Maybe Larry Summers was right. — The former Treasury secretary has been warning since February that President Joe Biden's big-spending agenda …
Discussion:
Politico, The American Spectator, The Hill, Fortune, TheBlaze, Breitbart, Twitchy, The Daily Caller and Associated Press
Jeremy Barr / Washington Post:
Newsmax vouches for vaccines after host Rob Schmitt says shots are ‘against nature’ — “From time to time, a guest or host may not be as supportive of these efforts,” the conservative network said. “However, they do not reflect the position of Newsmax.” — Rob Schmitt, a primetime host …
Discussion:
Raw Story, HuffPost, The Daily Beast and Patterico's Pontifications
Greg Sargent / Washington Post:
The good and the bad in Biden's blistering attack on GOP voter suppression — President Biden just delivered a slashing indictment of the GOP's ongoing assault on democracy in a speech in Philadelphia, and it contained good news and bad news. — The good news is that Biden went further …