Top Items:
CNN:
First on CNN: US intelligence indicates Russia preparing operation to justify invasion of Ukraine — Washington (CNN)The US has information that indicates Russia has prepositioned a group of operatives to conduct a false-flag operation in eastern Ukraine, a US official told CNN on Friday …
Discussion:
Politico, Metro.co.uk, The Drive, Bloomberg, Raw Story, UPI, Washington Times, New York Times and TASS
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Helene Cooper / New York Times:
U.S. Considers Backing an Insurgency, After Battling One — Conversations about supporting Ukrainian insurgents in the event of a Russian invasion has revived the specter of a new Cold War. — WASHINGTON — For years, U.S. officials have tiptoed around the question of how much military support …
Discussion:
Orange County Register, Washington Examiner and Wall Street Journal
Washington Post:
Russia planning potential sabotage operations in Ukraine, U.S. says — The Russian government has sent operatives into eastern Ukraine in preparation for potential sabotage operations that would serve as a pretext for invasion, the Biden administration said Friday.
Discussion:
Atlantic Council and Insider
David E. Sanger / New York Times:
U.S. Charges Russia Sent Saboteurs Into Ukraine to Create Pretext for Invasion
U.S. Charges Russia Sent Saboteurs Into Ukraine to Create Pretext for Invasion
Discussion:
The Daily Beast, Associated Press, Financial Times, Radio Free Europe/Radio … and Anti-bellum
Mike Brest / Washington Examiner:
Ukrainian government targeted by cyberattack as heightened tension with Russia continues
Ukrainian government targeted by cyberattack as heightened tension with Russia continues
Discussion:
Fox News, ABC News, Wall Street Journal, Engadget, CNN, Anti-bellum, Metacurity, Politico and Just The News
Wall Street Journal:
Russia Moves More Weaponry Toward Ukraine, Keeps the West Guessing
Russia Moves More Weaponry Toward Ukraine, Keeps the West Guessing
Discussion:
Insider, Reuters, New York Times, Bloomberg, The Guardian, CBS News, Financial Times, csis.org, Bloomberg, Al Jazeera, UPI, One America News Network, Radio Free Europe/Radio …, One America News Network, Voice of America, Washington Post, Insider, WTOP News, MyNorthwest.com, MyNorthwest.com and Political Wire, more at Techmeme »
Pavel Polityuk / Reuters:
Massive cyberattack hits Ukrainian government websites as West warns on Russia conflict
Massive cyberattack hits Ukrainian government websites as West warns on Russia conflict
Discussion:
New York Post, Slate, The Guardian, The Register, One America News Network, NPR, Associated Press, Al Jazeera and Politico
Peggy Noonan / Wall Street Journal:
Biden's Georgia Speech Is a Break Point — He thought he was merely appealing to his base. He might have united the rest of the country against him. — It is startling when two speeches within 24 hours, neither much heralded in advance—the second wouldn't even have been given without the first …
Discussion:
The Western Journal, Townhall, National Review, The American Spectator and BuzzFeed News
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The Economist:
Joe Biden was set up to fail — The Democratic president is a flawed politician in an impossible job — Have any voters demanded more of their leaders than modern Americans? The thought occurred to your columnist while listening to a group of eight Georgians, Ohioans and Pennsylvanians …
Amanda Carpenter / The Bulwark:
Sedition Charges Demolish a Right-Wing Talking Point — Steve Bannon and other Trump defenders had bizarrely contended that Jan. 6th was no big deal because there were no indictments for sedition. — Steve Bannon thought he had a really great point on his podcast last Wednesday …
Discussion:
The Daily Beast, Washington Post, Reuters, Occupy Democrats, Raw Story and Morning Shots
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Madeline Peltz / Media Matters for America:
Tucker Carlson repeatedly hosted an Oath Keeper charged with seditious conspiracy
Tucker Carlson repeatedly hosted an Oath Keeper charged with seditious conspiracy
Discussion:
America, America, emptywheel and Associated Press
Byron York / Washington Examiner:
Byron York's Daily Memo: The LARP rebellion
Byron York's Daily Memo: The LARP rebellion
Discussion:
The Daily Beast, File411's Newsletter, HotAir and Insider
CNN:
In days after January 6, McCarthy said Trump admitted bearing some responsibility for Capitol attack — (CNN)House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy said publicly and privately in the days following the deadly riots at the US Capitol that President Donald Trump admitted personally bearing …
Discussion:
Washington Post, Insider, Mediaite, Alternet.org, Raw Story and POLITICUSUSA
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The Columbus Dispatch:
Redistricting: Ohio Supreme Court strikes down congressional map, forcing another round of drawing — Jessie Balmert Laura A. BischoffThe Columbus Dispatch — The Ohio Supreme Court struck down the state's congressional district map, saying Republicans violated the Ohio Constitution by drawing districts that favored GOP candidates.
Discussion:
Washington Post and Salon
James Pindell / The Boston Globe:
A Democrat won a US House seat this week with 79 percent of the vote. Her GOP opponent has not conceded. — An election in South Florida this week may serve as a marker for where the Republican Party stands in 2022, and how much American democracy has already changed since Donald Trump lost reelection.
David Ignatius / Washington Post:
Biden is failing politically, and not just because of Republican obstruction — President Biden hit a political wall this week in his push for voting-rights legislation, just as he did last year in trying to pass his Build Back Better spending package. It's time for Biden to ask himself why he's in this morass.
Discussion:
TheBlaze, Axios, Roll Call, Wide World of News, Washington Examiner, Townhall, HuffPost, WTOP News, The Floridian, NBC News, Washington Times, Insider, New Republic and Bloomberg
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Christopher Cadelago / Politico:
With Biden's signature legislation stalled, Democrats stare into political void
With Biden's signature legislation stalled, Democrats stare into political void
Discussion:
Bloomberg, Insider, New York Post and New Republic
Gillian Brockell / Washington Post:
Hey, Virginia lawmakers, the Lincoln-Douglas debates did not involve Frederick Douglass — Of all the paragraphs in a bill to ban “divisive concepts” from being taught in Virginia public schools, Section B3 may have seemed the most innocuous. After all, it was in the part of the proposal …
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Reid Wilson / The Hill:
Virginia bill targeting critical race theory cites wrong Lincoln debate
Virginia bill targeting critical race theory cites wrong Lincoln debate
Discussion:
Townhall
David Leonhardt / New York Times:
Maskless and Inaccurate — The Supreme Court offers a window into partisan Covid fallacies. — When the Supreme Court justices emerged from the red drapes at the front of the courtroom last Friday and took their seats — to hear arguments about President Biden's vaccine mandate …
Discussion:
The Racket News, CNBC, Wall Street Journal, BuzzFeed News and NPR
Jason Paladino / Grid News:
Why didn't the FBI see the Capitol siege coming? — A year later, the bureau still won't come clean on why it ignored piles of evidence and outside warnings about political violence before the attack on January 6, 2021. — In the lead-up to the Capitol siege, the FBI received at least …
Margaret Sullivan / Washington Post:
How NPR's Steve Inskeep cracked the code for interviewing Trump — The veteran host used a ‘truth sandwich’ approach to counter the former president's election lies — How can journalists interview Donald Trump — or other politicians who consistently spread misinformation — without magnifying their lies?
Politico:
What Joe Manchin told Steve Clemons at dinner — Steve Clemons is a D.C. institution — an operator who connects some of the biggest power players in the capital. He also happens to be the confidant of the most powerful senator in Washington, Democrat Joe Manchin.
Discussion:
HotAir
Houston Chronicle:
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton violated open records law, says Travis County DA — AUSTIN — The Travis County district attorney has determined that Attorney General Ken Paxton violated the state's open records law by not turning over his communications from last January …
Discussion:
The Texas Tribune, Washington Post, Talking Points Memo, Insider and Political Wire
Lexi Lonas / The Hill:
GOP senator plans to introduce FAUCI Act after clash at hearing — Republican Sen. Roger Marshall (Kan.) plans to introduce a bill named after Anthony Fauci after he clashed with the nation's top infectious diseases expert at a Senate hearing this week. — Marshall will be introducing …
Washington Post:
Australia cancels Novak Djokovic's visa again, upending tennis star's quest for record 21st Grand Slam title — SYDNEY — Australian authorities canceled the visa of Novak Djokovic on Friday and threatened to detain him again, reigniting the legal battle over the unvaccinated tennis star's controversial entry …
Discussion:
The Guardian, Al Jazeera, BBC, Washington Examiner, CBS News, Reuters, Deseret News, The Daily Beast, NBC Chicago, Bloomberg, Euractiv, Voice of America, Deadline, UPI and LifeSite
James R. Hagerty / Wall Street Journal:
Terry Teachout, Wall Street Journal Drama Critic, Dies at Age 65 — Missouri-born author and musician wrote biographies of Louis Armstrong, Duke Ellington and H.L. Mencken — Terry Teachout, a prolific New York-based biographer and essayist who wrote exuberantly about drama for The Wall Street Journal …
Discussion:
NPR, National Review, Althouse, Power Line, Outside the Beltway, Commentary Magazine and Instapundit
Sarah Kliff / New York Times:
Why Rapid Covid Tests May Not Be Free Upfront at First — Not all health plans will be ready for the Covid tests to be free upfront at stores, relying at first on receipts and reimbursement. — Starting Saturday, new federal rules will require private insurers to cover the at-home coronavirus tests …
Timothy Bella / Washington Post:
Doctors call out Spotify over Joe Rogan spreading ‘false and societally harmful’ covid-19 claims — A coalition of hundreds of doctors and public health experts have called out Spotify for allowing Joe Rogan to spread “false and societally harmful assertions” about the coronavirus and vaccination …
Discussion:
Newsbusters, The Guardian, Mediaite and Daily Kos, more at Mediagazer »
Azeen Ghorayshi / New York Times:
Doctors Debate Whether Trans Teens Need Therapy Before Hormones — Clinicians are divided over new guidelines that say teens should undergo mental health screenings before receiving hormones or gender surgeries. — An upsurge in teenagers requesting hormones or surgeries to better align …
Matthew Kassel / Jewish Insider:
Former Michigan state legislator mounts challenge to Rashida Tlaib — Detroit native Shanelle Jackson served in the Michigan House of Representatives from 2007 to 2012 — Shanelle Jackson, a former Michigan state legislator in Detroit who now works in the private sector …
Discussion:
Political Wire
Erik Wemple / Washington Post:
Ruth Shalit Barrett sues the Atlantic and bashes this media critic — Ruth Shalit Barrett wrote a feature for the Atlantic's November 2020 issue on college-admissions-crazed parents — “The Mad, Mad World of Niche Sports.” It clocked in at nearly 7,000 words.
Discussion:
Navigating News
Alexa Ura / The Texas Tribune:
Hundreds of mail-in ballot applications are being rejected under Texas' new voting rules — Texas Republicans last year enacted new identification requirements for voting by mail as part of sweeping legislation that further restricted the state's voting process and narrowed local control of elections.
Tara Palmeri / Politico:
POLITICO Playbook: Bill and Hillary peek their heads out — DRIVING THE DAY — SENATE SKIPS TOWN — Just before 10 p.m. Thursday night, Senate Majority Leader CHUCK SCHUMER ditched plans to keep the Senate in town through the weekend in order to meet an MLK Day deadline to pass voting rights legislation.
Discussion:
Boston Herald, The Friday Letter …, Washington Examiner and The Daily Beast