Top Items:
Wall Street Journal:
Two False Narratives About the Capitol Riot — As the Jan. 6 committee meets, politics drowns out the actual story. — By The Editorial Board — The House inquiry on the events of Jan. 6 held its opening hearing Tuesday, and it showed why no Republican should try to brush aside the ugliness of the Capitol riot.
Discussion:
CNN, Raw Story, The Western Journal and The Hill
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Politico:
Jan. 6 select-panel Dems confident they can corral ex-Trump aides — House Democrats investigating the Jan. 6 Capitol riot are newly optimistic about securing testimony from former Trump officials. That doesn't mean they're close to hauling in big names from the ex-president's turbulent final days.
Discussion:
Washington Post, CNN, Washington Examiner and Raw Story
John Wagner / Washington Post:
Rep. Jordan acknowledges speaking with Trump on Jan. 6
Rep. Jordan acknowledges speaking with Trump on Jan. 6
Discussion:
The Hill, Spectrum News 1 Ohio, CNN and HuffPost
Washington Post:
CDC reversal on indoor masking prompts experts to ask, 'Where's the data?' — New recommendations from federal health officials this week on when vaccinated Americans should don face masks came with a startling bolt of news: People who have had their shots and become infected with the delta variant …
Discussion:
HotAir, National Review, Twitchy and CNN
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Jim Geraghty / National Review:
What the Biden Administration Fears
What the Biden Administration Fears
Discussion:
HotAir, New York Times and Virginia Mercury
Tiana Lowe / Washington Examiner:
The CDC's idiotic mask reversal is based on disinformation
The CDC's idiotic mask reversal is based on disinformation
Discussion:
Townhall, BizPac Review and The Daily Caller
Sarah Chaney Cambon / Wall Street Journal:
U.S. Economy Grows Beyond Pre-Pandemic Level — Slower growth is expected in coming months, with Delta variant of Covid-19 and materials and labor disruptions clouding economic outlook — U.S. gross domestic product grew at a 6.5% annual rate in the second quarter, up slightly from earlier in the year …
Discussion:
Associated Press, Reuters, The Daily Caller and National Review
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U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis:
Gross Domestic Product, Second Quarter 2021 (Advance Estimate) and Annual Update — Real gross domestic product (GDP) increased at an annual rate of 6.5 percent in the second quarter of 2021 (table 1), according to the “advance” estimate released by the Bureau of Economic Analysis.
Jim Newell / Slate:
Turns Out Mo Brooks Was Wearing Body Armor to Trump's Very Peaceful Jan. 6 Rally — Rep. Mo Brooks may be done with Jan. 6, but Jan. 6 isn't done with him. — The Alabama representative, notorious for his speaking role at the Jan. 6 rally leading up to the invasion of the Capitol …
Discussion:
Zandar Versus The Stupid, The Root, Crooks and Liars, The Intellectualist and Insider
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Mark Joseph Stern / Slate:
Mo Brooks Accidentally Gave Up His Immunity From Eric Swalwell's Insurrection Lawsuit — On Tuesday, the Department of Justice announced that it would not shield Rep. Mo Brooks from Rep. Eric Swalwell's lawsuit against the fomenters of the Jan. 6 insurrection.
Discussion:
Roll Call, Raw Story, Associated Press, NPR, POLITICUSUSA, Vanity Fair, Washington Post, Forbes, CBS News and 6abc
Max Greenwood / The Hill:
Trump blows fuse over GOP moving forward on infrastructure deal — Former President Trump lashed out at Senate Republicans on Thursday after the upper chamber voted to take up debate on a bipartisan infrastructure package, accusing Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) and “RINOs” for surrendering to Democrats.
Discussion:
Mock Paper Scissors and The Carpentariat
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Sen. Thom Tillis / NBC News:
Senate infrastructure deal is a win for bipartisanship, thanks to Sen. Sinema
Senate infrastructure deal is a win for bipartisanship, thanks to Sen. Sinema
Discussion:
Washington Examiner, The Hill, The American Spectator, Washington Post, BizPac Review, Politico, The Daily Caller, Raw Story and HotAir
Mike Spies / New Yorker:
How the Head of the N.R.A. and His Wife Secretly Shipped Their Elephant Trophies Home — The couple had their names removed from the shipment, and placed an order for the animals' feet to be turned into “stools,” an “umbrella stand,” and a “trash can.” — In the early fall of 2013 …
Discussion:
The Intellectualist
Doug Jones / USA Today:
Pass ‘Manchin Plus’ voting and election protection with or without Republicans — I implore my former Republican colleagues to step forward. If they don't, Manchin and other Democrats must override the filibuster to save democracy. — American democracy is at a critical juncture.
Discussion:
Washington Post and Common Dreams
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Atossa Araxia Abrahamian / New York Times:
There Is No Good Reason You Should Have to Be a Citizen to Vote
There Is No Good Reason You Should Have to Be a Citizen to Vote
Discussion:
Althouse
Dennis Aftergut / The Bulwark:
Meet the Corporations That Went Back on Their Word Not to Support the Sedition Caucus — They promised not to support Republicans who voted not to certify the election results. And then they changed their minds and hoped Americans wouldn't notice. — Following the January 6 insurrection …
Discussion:
OpenSecrets.org
News Blog, Riverfront Times:
St. Louis County Health Director: I Was Assaulted, Called ‘Brown C— ’ After Mask Plea — Dr. Faisal Khan, acting director of the St. Louis County Department of Health. … Dear Chairwoman Days, — I appreciated the opportunity to share the latest data, scientific research …
Discussion:
Raw Story
RELATED:
Karen Hao / MIT Technology Review:
She risked everything to expose Facebook. Now she's telling her story. — The world first learned of Sophie Zhang in September 2020, when BuzzFeed News obtained and published highlights from an abridged version of her nearly 8,000-word exit memo from Facebook.
Ari Berman / Mother Jones:
GOP Could Retake the House in 2022 Just by Gerrymandering Four Southern States — Fight disinformation. Get a daily recap of the facts that matter. Sign up for the free Mother Jones newsletter. — Before Georgia voted for Joe Biden, the biggest upset in recent state politics came …
Discussion:
The Texas Tribune, Political Wire and Washington Post
The White House:
Statement by White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki on Biden-Harris Administration Eviction Prevention Efforts — For nearly 11 months, the CDC's eviction moratorium has served as a critical backstop to prevent hard-pressed renters and their families who lost jobs or income due …
Discussion:
Associated Press and The Hill
Jeremy Duda / Arizona Mirror:
Election conspiracy theorist groups paid $5.7 million for the Arizona ‘audit’ — Protestors in support of former President Donald Trump gather outside Veterans Memorial Coliseum where Ballots from the 2020 general election wait to be counted on May 1, 2021.
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Rosalind Helderman / Washington Post:
Arizona's GOP-backed ballot review has raised more than $5.7 million in private donations, organizers say
Arizona's GOP-backed ballot review has raised more than $5.7 million in private donations, organizers say
Discussion:
New York Times, NBC News, The Hill, Insider, The Daily Caller, ABC News, Election Law Blog and Politico
Washington Post:
Something strange is happening in Britain. Covid cases are plummeting instead of soaring. — LONDON — This is a puzzler. Coronavirus cases are plummeting in Britain. They were supposed to soar. Scientists aren't sure why they haven't. — The daily number of new infections recorded …
Discussion:
Politico and Metro.co.uk
Edward Luce / Financial Times:
Republicans have become the party of nihilism — US conservatives who might once have criticised Trump are now falling in line with disturbing speed — As long as Donald Trump is breathing, the odds are that he will run again in 2024. This has become clear not because his ambitions have changed …
Discussion:
Patterico's Pontifications
Financial Times:
Property donors provide one-quarter of funds given to Tory party — UK governing party has received nearly £18m from donors with property interests in the past two years — The Conservative party has received almost £18m in donations from 154 donors with property interests …
Anne Applebaum / The Atlantic:
The MyPillow Guy Really Could Destroy Democracy — When you contemplate the end of democracy in America, what kind of person do you think will bring it about? Maybe you picture a sinister billionaire in a bespoke suit, slipping brown envelopes to politicians.
Discussion:
The Dispatch
Will Weissert / Associated Press:
Pro-Sanders group rebranding into ‘pragmatic progressives’ — WASHINGTON (AP) — Stinging from the disappointment of Bernie Sanders' loss in the 2016 Democratic presidential primary, supporters pumped millions into the powerful advocacy group Our Revolution to keep the progressive fight alive …
Ben Brasch / Atlanta Journal-Constitution:
Georgia Republicans take first step to Fulton elections takeover — Georgia Republicans have taken the first step on their freshly blazed path toward a possible takeover of Fulton County's elections. — A letter obtained by The Atlanta Journal-Constitution shows two dozen state senators support …
Discussion:
Atlanta Civic Circle and Washington Examiner
Brooke Singman / Fox News:
House Republicans call for renewal of wall construction contracts in new border security plan — House GOP leadership calls for return to Trump-era border security approach — Border surge is not slowing down: Rep. Cuellar — House Republicans on Thursday are introducing their solution …
Discussion:
Washington Examiner, Washington Times and The Daily Caller
Alayna Treene / Axios:
Infrastructure bills face House chaos — The infrastructure agreement cinched Wednesday by senators faces several changes in the House before it — and a companion reconciliation bill — have any chance of becoming law. — Why it matters: The myopic focus on the bipartisan group …
Discussion:
HotAir and Common Dreams
Aaron Maté / RealClearInvestigations:
A Fresh Reminder of Russiagate's Failed Guardian(s) of Integrity — Above left, RCI writer Aaron Maté in a tense 2017 interview with Luke Harding of the Guardian (full video below). Harding was lead author on a supposed blockbuster this month ignored by major news outlets …
New York Times:
The Infrastructure Plan: What's In and What's Out … Sources: Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget; White House — The infrastructure bill that started moving forward again Wednesday is undeniably large: It calls for new federal spending of about $550 billion, an amount roughly equivalent …
Discussion:
The Daily Dot, CNN, The White House, Breitbart, WV MetroNews, Associated Press, Maryland Matters and Bloomberg, more at Techmeme »
Washington Post:
As Trump pushed for probes of 2020 election, he called acting AG Rosen almost daily — President Donald Trump called his acting attorney general nearly every day at the end of last year to alert him to claims of voter fraud or alleged improper vote counts in the 2020 election, according to two people familiar with the conversations.
Discussion:
Insider, Election Law Blog, The Hill, Raw Story, Political Flare, Lawyers, Guns & Money and Political Wire
The Intercept:
CIA Drove Spike in Media Leak Investigation Requests Under Trump … In partnership with — New data obtained by The Intercept adds considerable detail to what we already know about former President Donald Trump's relentless campaign against whistleblowers and leakers in the intelligence community.
Discussion:
Raw Story
Logan Hullinger / York Dispatch:
‘Election integrity committee’ in York County accused of voter intimidation — A group calling itself an “election integrity committee” drew allegations of voter intimidation after its members reportedly knocked on doors across York County asking about how and for whom residents voted.
Discussion:
Raw Story
New York Times:
After Adams Criticizes the Left, New York Democrats Try to Clear the Air — In a meeting in Washington, Representative Nydia Velázquez reminded Eric Adams to treat everyone with respect. — When Eric Adams arrived on Capitol Hill on Wednesday, he received a warm welcome from members …
Discussion:
Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion, Politico and New York Post