Top Items:
Wall Street Journal:
U.S. Special Forces Raid Syrian Site in Search of Terrorist Leader — The operation was carried out in northwest Syria near the Turkish border — WASHINGTON—U.S. special operations forces carried out a combat operation to kill or capture a high-level terrorist in northwest Syria along the Turkish border …
Discussion:
Outside the Beltway, U.S. Department of Defense and KRON4
RELATED:
New York Times:
U.S. Commando Raid in Syria Targets a Senior Jihadist Figure — Helicopter-borne Special Operations troops carried out the risky predawn assault. Rescue workers on the ground say women and children were among at least 13 people killed in the raid. — U.S. Special Operations forces carried …
Associated Press:
US forces launch raid in Syria, civilians also reported dead — ATMEH, Syria (AP) — U.S. special forces carried out what the Pentagon said was a large-scale counterterrorism raid in northwestern Syria early Thursday. First responders at the scene reported 13 people were killed, including six children and four women.
Discussion:
Washington Examiner, The Daily Beast, The Hill, CBS News, USA Today, Common Dreams, WTOP News and Voice of America
Washington Post:
At least a dozen killed, including children, after U.S. raid in northern Syria, first responders say
At least a dozen killed, including children, after U.S. raid in northern Syria, first responders say
Discussion:
Metro.co.uk
Suleiman Al-Khalidi / Reuters:
U.S. forces conduct ‘successful’ raid in Syria, sources believe jihadist was target
U.S. forces conduct ‘successful’ raid in Syria, sources believe jihadist was target
Discussion:
Al Jazeera and NPR
Mike Fleming Jr / Deadline:
Unmasking Of Rudy Giuliani On Fox's ‘The Masked Singer’ Prompts Judges Ken Jeong & Robin Thicke To Walk Off In Protest — EXCLUSIVE, SPOILER ALERT: Rudy Giuliani was last week unmasked as an exiting costumed contestant in the taping of the first episode of Fox's popular prime time show The Masked Singer.
RELATED:
Blake Montgomery / The Daily Beast:
Judges Walk Out After ‘The Masked Singer’ Reveals Rudy Giuliani
Judges Walk Out After ‘The Masked Singer’ Reveals Rudy Giuliani
Discussion:
Mediaite
Kayla Brantley / Daily Mail:
EXCLUSIVE: ‘Brian Stelter should start looking for another job.’ Attention turns to the CNN anchor following Jeff Zucker's ousting for his failure to report on the open secret affair while bashing other news networks — Insiders are calling for Brian Stelter to be fired after failing …
Discussion:
RADAR, Twitchy, New York Post and The Guardian, more at Mediagazer »
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Joseph Wulfsohn / Fox News:
CNN insider says network ‘needs to step up and fire Brian Stelter’ for not exposing Jeff Zucker affair: report — The network employee said Stelter's 'been sitting on his moral high horse doing Jeff's biddling' — Zucker's actions an ‘embarrassment’ for CNN: Kurtz
Benjamin Mullin / Wall Street Journal:
CNN President Jeff Zucker Resigns, Citing Relationship With Colleague
CNN President Jeff Zucker Resigns, Citing Relationship With Colleague
Discussion:
Puck, Mediaite, The Wrap, TVNewser, Newsbusters, KTLA and RADAR, more at Mediagazer »
Shawn McCreesh / New York Magazine:
The Mystery Behind the Zucker Shocker
The Mystery Behind the Zucker Shocker
Discussion:
CNN, Vanity Fair, Outside the Beltway, RADAR, CNN, New Republic, RedState, The Daily Caller, IJR, The Gateway Pundit, HotAir, Mediaite, Discourse Blog, Breitbart and Insider, more at Mediagazer »
New York Times:
Memos Show Roots of Trump's Focus on Jan. 6 and Alternate Electors — Just over two weeks after Election Day, lawyers working with the Trump campaign set out a rationale for creating alternate slates of electors as part of an effort to buy time to overturn the results.
Discussion:
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, Raw Story, Insider, Four Freedoms, Political Wire and National Zero
Politico:
POLITICO Playbook: What Eric Adams taught Joe Biden about the politics of crime — DRIVING THE DAY — BREAKING OVERNIGHT — via AP's Ghaith Alsayed, Lolita Baldor and Bassem Mroue: “U.S. special forces carried out what the Pentagon said was a large-scale counterterrorism raid in northwestern Syria early Thursday.
Discussion:
Washington Post, Washington Examiner, The Hill and GovExec.com
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Washington Post:
Labor groups wary of potential Supreme Court pick backed by top House Democrat
Labor groups wary of potential Supreme Court pick backed by top House Democrat
Discussion:
New Republic, New York Post, The Editorial Board, Slate and Insider
CNN:
How Schumer explains his Senate dilemma
How Schumer explains his Senate dilemma
Discussion:
The Bulwark, HotAir, National Review, The Hill, The Right Scoop, Fox News and UPI
Tom Tapp / Deadline:
L.A. Mayor Garcetti Says He Held His Breath For Maskless Photo With Magic Johnson — Los Angeles Mayor — and Biden Administration ambassadorial nominee — Eric Garcetti today defended his actions after maskless photos surfaced of him and Lakers great Magic Johnson, along …
Discussion:
HuffPost, The Gateway Pundit, OutKick, Fox News, ABC7, New York Post and Washington Examiner
Edward Luce / Financial Times:
America is in Europe to stay — thanks to Putin — By threatening Ukraine's sovereignty, Moscow has achieved something Biden could not do on his own: unite the west — So much for America's shift from the Atlantic to the Indo-Pacific. By demanding concessions that have shocked a divided …
RELATED:
Storer H. / Washington Monthly:
The Curious Timing of Putin's Aggression Toward Ukraine 
The Curious Timing of Putin's Aggression Toward Ukraine 
Discussion:
Washington Examiner, The Daily Beast, Washington Post and Digby's Hullabaloo
Cameron Cawthorne / Fox Business:
Nasdaq bell-ringing ceremony featured Chinese official who called genocide of Uyghur Muslims ‘lies’ — Chinese state-run media outlets quickly exploited Nasdaq's invitation for Huang Ping to speak at bell ringing ceremony — A Chinese government official who claimed reports …
Discussion:
Wired, more at Techmeme »
RELATED:
Josh Rogin / Washington Post:
Olympic athletes are getting ready to boycott the opening ceremony in Beijing
Olympic athletes are getting ready to boycott the opening ceremony in Beijing
Discussion:
Outsports, Facts for Christians, Washington Examiner, Committee to Protect …, OutKick, CNN, HotAir, Mediaite, New York Times and National Review
Finbarr Bermingham / South China Morning Post:
UN accused of colluding with China to delay Xinjiang human rights report until after Beijing Winter Olympics
UN accused of colluding with China to delay Xinjiang human rights report until after Beijing Winter Olympics
Discussion:
TheBlaze
Molly Minta / Mississippi Today:
Inside Mississippi's only class on critical race theory — As Republican lawmakers push to ban critical race theory, here's how the class changed the mind of one conservative Mississippian. — Brittany Murphree was born and raised in Rankin County, Mississippi, one of the most Republican counties …
Discussion:
Carl Beijer
Washington Post:
Memo circulated among Trump allies advocated using NSA data in attempt to prove stolen election — The proposal to seize and analyze “NSA unprocessed raw signals data” raises legal and ethical concerns that set it apart from other attempts that have come to light.
Insider:
3 more women say Barstool Sports founder Dave Portnoy filmed them without asking during sex … In November 2021, three young women came forward about sexual encounters they had with Barstool Sports' founder, Dave Portnoy. These women told Insider the experiences with Portnoy turned frightening …
Discussion:
Barstool Sports and New York Post
Cayla Harris / Houston Chronicle:
National Butterfly Center on Texas border closing indefinitely after attacks from right-wing conspiracy theorists — The National Butterfly Center on the Texas border is closing “for the immediate future” after conspiracy-fueled attacks against the center on social media escalated in recent days.
Discussion:
Outside the Beltway, National Zero, Insider and Talking Points Memo
Chris Sommerfeldt / New York Daily News:
NYC Mayor Adams dines with ex-Gov. Cuomo at Midtown restaurant — Mayor Adams enjoyed a two-hour dinner with Andrew Cuomo at a popular Italian restaurant in Manhattan on Tuesday night, raising eyebrows from critics of the former governor who resigned last year amid a flurry of sexual misconduct accusations.
Discussion:
Washington Examiner
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Justin Glawe / The Daily Beast:
He's Head of a Georgia Election Board—and Fixated on QAnon — Ben Johnson of Spalding County dabbles in election conspiracies even as he holds power over voting. … The Republican chair of a rural Georgia election board—which has the power to restrict or expand access to voting …
John F. Harris / Politico:
Take The Hint, John Roberts — It's Time For You To Retire, Too — “Judges are like umpires,” John Roberts famously said at his confirmation hearing as Chief Justice. “Umpires don't make the rules, they apply them ... They make sure everybody plays by the rules, but it is a limited role.
Discussion:
Raw Story
Stephen Gutowski / The Reload:
Exclusive: NRA Revenues Cut in Half Since 2018, Legal Spending Spiked in 2021 — The National Rifle Association of America shrank significantly through the first eight months of 2021, according to detailed financial records obtained by The Reload. — The contraction came in membership …
Adam Cancryn / Politico:
So long, Omicron: White House eyes next phase of pandemic — The White House is preparing to move on from Omicron. — Emboldened by falling case counts, the Biden administration is plotting a new phase of the pandemic response aimed at containing the coronavirus and conditioning Americans to live with it.
Discussion:
Wall Street Journal
Rebecca Mansour / Breitbart:
Peter Schweizer's ‘Red-Handed’ Hits #1 on New York Times Bestseller List — Peter Schweizer's blockbuster new book Red-Handed: How American Elites Get Rich Helping China Win hit number one on the New York Times bestseller list, one week after its release by HarperCollins.
Angela Swartz / AlmanacNews.com:
Woodside freezes SB 9 projects, citing an exemption for mountain lion habitats — New housing law allows up to four residential units per lot — Mountain lions and housing policy aren't often uttered in the same sentence, but that was the case last week in Woodside.
Discussion:
The Daily Beast
Darragh Roche / Newsweek:
Donald Trump's Old ‘Grudge’ Helped Propel Ron DeSantis to GOP Stardom: Lev Parnas — Ukrainian-American businessman Lev Parnas has said that former President Donald Trump's boosted Florida Governor Ron DeSantis' political career because of a “grudge” against former Florida Agriculture Commissioner Adam Putnam.
Discussion:
CNN
James Kirchick / Tablet Magazine:
When the Pope Hits Your Eye Like a Big Pizza Pie, That's Ahmari — From neoconservatism to integralist cosplay to active worship of China and Russia, the ‘post-liberal’ right has had a giddy five years — I first met Sohrab Ahmari, one of the most influential and controversial writers …
Phil Rosen / Insider:
Metaverse mortgages are being issued to buy virtual land — and one of the first ever was just signed for a property in Decentraland — TerraZero Technologies facilitated one of the first ever “metaverse mortgages” for a client buying virtual property in Decentraland.
Washington Post:
Virginia judge declines to act immediately on school boards' suit seeking to halt Youngkin's mask-optional order — An Arlington County Circuit Court judge is weighing how to act on a request from seven Virginia school boards to halt implementation of Gov. Glenn Youngkin's order making masks optional in schools.
Meagan Flynn / Washington Post:
Senate moves to confirm new D.C. judges amid vacancy crisis — The Senate on Wednesday confirmed three D.C. judicial nominees after the city's courts warned in December about the severity of its long-standing crisis of judicial vacancies. — The D.C. Superior Court and D.C. Court of Appeals …