Top Items:
Anne Applebaum / The Atlantic:
Liberation Without Victory — Kyiv is halfway normal now. Burnt-out Russian tanks have been removed from the roads leading into the city, traffic lights work, the subway runs, oranges are available for purchase. A cheerful balalaika orchestra was performing for returning refugees …
Discussion:
NBC News and Europe Renaissance
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Karen DeYoung / Washington Post:
Russia warns U.S. to stop arming Ukraine … Russia this week sent a formal diplomatic note to the United States warning that U.S. and NATO shipments of the “most sensitive” weapons systems to Ukraine were “adding fuel” to the conflict there and could bring “unpredictable consequences.”
Discussion:
HotAir, The Hill, CNN, Wide World of News, РИА …, The Carpentariat and Washington Examiner
Washington Post:
U.S. to train Ukrainian troops, confirms attack sank Russian warship … Russia's premier warship in the Black Sea sustained severe damage and sank on its way back to port early Thursday, a major symbolic blow to Moscow as the invasion of Ukraine entered its eighth week and both sides prepare …
Drew Harwell / Washington Post:
Ukraine is scanning faces of dead Russians, then contacting the mothers … Ukrainian officials have run more than 8,600 facial recognition searches on dead or captured Russian soldiers in the 50 days since Moscow's invasion began, using the scans to identify bodies and contact hundreds …
Discussion:
Mediaite
Washington Post:
Russia believed the West was weak and decadent. So it invaded. … In recent weeks, many analysts — especially those trying to find a logical justification for the Russian war in Ukraine — have argued that the Kremlin was reacting to a perceived threat from NATO encroachment …
Discussion:
New York Times
Adam Schreck / Associated Press:
The AP Interview: UN food chief says Mariupol is starving — KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — The head of the U.N. World Food Program said people are being “starved to death” in the besieged Ukrainian city of Mariupol, and he predicted the country's humanitarian crisis is likely to worsen as Russia intensifies its assault in the coming weeks.
Discussion:
Politico
The Moscow Times:
Moscow Times' Russian Service Blocked Over War Coverage — Russia blocked The Moscow Times' Russian-language service on Friday after it published what authorities call a false report on riot police officers refusing to fight in Ukraine. — The Moscow Times' English-language edition is not affected by the block.
Discussion:
Radio Free Europe/Radio …, more at Mediagazer »
Dustin Jones / NPR:
Meet the activists who projected a giant Ukrainian flag on Russia's Embassy in D.C. — Anti-war activists engaged in a light beam battle against Russian diplomats in Washington, D.C., Wednesday evening in a display of disapproval over the country's ongoing war in Ukraine.
Discussion:
Radio Free Europe/Radio …, Washington Examiner, MyNorthwest.com, Balloon Juice and The Gateway Pundit
Andrew E. Kramer / New York Times:
As two U.S. lawmakers visit Kyiv, the trip's organizer says he hopes more officials, and weapons, will follow.
As two U.S. lawmakers visit Kyiv, the trip's organizer says he hopes more officials, and weapons, will follow.
Discussion:
Wall Street Journal, The Dispatch, New York Post, NBC News, The Hill, Axios, TheBlaze, NDTV, Washington Post, Morning Shots, Just The News, Insider, Talking Points Memo and РИА …
Brad Lendon / CNN:
Russian warship sinks in the Black Sea after Ukraine claims it was hit by a missile
Russian warship sinks in the Black Sea after Ukraine claims it was hit by a missile
New York Times:
C.I.A. Director Airs Concern That Putin Might Turn to Nuclear Weapons
C.I.A. Director Airs Concern That Putin Might Turn to Nuclear Weapons
Discussion:
Euractiv, Russia's War on Democracy, NDTV, Insider, Voice of America and The Hill
Washington Post:
Ukraine seizes 55 homes, 26 cars and yacht from Putin ally Medvedchuk
Ukraine seizes 55 homes, 26 cars and yacht from Putin ally Medvedchuk
Discussion:
UPROXX, Washington Examiner, Insider, CNBC, New York Times, The Hill and Channel 4 News
Katha Pollitt / The Nation:
Cancel Culture Exists
CNN:
CNN Exclusive: 'We need ammo. We need fraud examples. We need it this weekend.' What the Meadows texts reveal about how two Trump congressional allies lobbied the White House to overturn the election. — The texts, which have not been previously reported, were sent by Republican Sen. Mike Lee …
Discussion:
Raw Story
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CNN:
READ: Mark Meadows' texts with Mike Lee and Chip Roy — (CNN)CNN has obtained text messages of separate conversations that then-White House chief of staff Mark Meadows had with Republican Sen. Mike Lee of Utah and Republican Rep. Chip Roy of Texas after the 2020 presidential election and through early January 2021.
Liz Hoffman / Wall Street Journal:
Twitter Weighs Poison Pill to Prevent Musk From Increasing Stake Significantly — Tesla CEO's $43 billion offer contains as many questions as answers — Twitter is weighing a poison pill that would prevent Elon Musk from increasing his stake in the company significantly, a person familiar with the situation said.
Discussion:
Protocol, New York Times, Vanity Fair, MarketWatch, The Daily Wire, TechCrunch, NOQ Report, The Wrap, Daily Mail, Forbes, The Verge, #hottakeoftheday, New York Post, Trending Politics, Bloomberg, Hollywood Reporter, POLITICUSUSA, Washington Examiner, Associated Press, Ace of Spades HQ, HotAir, The Hill, Substack, Political Wire and Space.com, more at Techmeme »
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Christine Emba / Washington Post:
Elon Musk's Twitter takeover bid is ‘peak billionaire’ — So now Elon Musk wants to buy Twitter. — It wasn't enough to loudly criticize the platform — on the platform — for not adhering to his personal standards. — It wasn't enough to secretively buy a 9.2 percent stake in the social media company …
Discussion:
Wall Street Journal, Washington Examiner, Bloomberg, Puck, CNN, New York Post, Breitbart, Washington Examiner, The Information, The Wrap, Patterico's Pontifications, Protocol, New York Times, Bloomberg, Global Community Weekly, Hollywood Reporter, The Daily Beast, Vox, New York Post, TheBlaze, Newsbusters, NPR, Silicon Republic, HotAir, Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion, Breitbart, E! Online, CoinDesk, Metro.co.uk, Big League Politics, American Greatness, Gotrade Daily, Talking Points Memo, RedState, The Wrap, Louder With Crowder, Twitchy, Washington Examiner, Just The News, The Daily Caller, NDTV and The Daily Beast, more at Techmeme »
Uriel J. García / The Texas Tribune:
Gov. Greg Abbott announces deals with two more Mexican governors to halt Texas' vehicle inspections at the border — The announcements come a day after Abbott reached a similar deal with Nuevo León's governor, who agreed to add security at a major border bridge in exchange for an end …
Discussion:
Associated Press, MyNorthwest.com and Daily Kos
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Washington Post:
Economic toll in Texas worsens as trucks remain stopped at Mexico border
Economic toll in Texas worsens as trucks remain stopped at Mexico border
Discussion:
Reuters
Catherine Rampell / Washington Post:
Greg Abbott is starving his own voters to own the libs
Greg Abbott is starving his own voters to own the libs
Discussion:
Off the Kuff, Raw Story, The Mahablog and National Review
Adam Murphy / WGCL-TV:
GOP Primary poll reveals front runners in Georgia — ATLANTA (CBS46) — The race for Georgia's Governorship begins with the GOP primary in just six weeks. — Former President Donald Trump has endorsed David Perdue, but his attempt to unseat Brian Kemp isn't showing up in the polls.
Discussion:
Atlanta Journal-Constitution and Peach State Politics …
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James Salzer / Atlanta Journal-Constitution:
Federal judge rejects Abrams bid to use fundraising law that helps Kemp
Federal judge rejects Abrams bid to use fundraising law that helps Kemp
Discussion:
Associated Press, CNN and TheBlaze
Politico:
Ohio Republicans gang up to stop Vance endorsement — Republican rivals to J.D. Vance have embarked on a last-ditch effort to stave off an endorsement from Donald Trump in Ohio's Senate primary, a response prompted by swirling speculation that the former president is close to backing Vance in the contentious race.
Discussion:
Associated Press, Insider, Raw Story and Mediaite
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Matthew Ormseth / Los Angeles Times:
Ed Buck to face judgment for injecting two men with fatal doses of drugs in sexually deviant pattern — Ed Buck, once a fixture of West Hollywood's political scene, was sentenced Thursday to 30 years in prison for drug and sex crimes that included providing lethal doses of methamphetamine to two men.
Discussion:
New York Times, New York Post, TheBlaze, CNN, KTLA, Breitbart, CBS News, Raw Story, WHDH-TV, The Hill, The Daily Caller, ABC7, RedState, UPI, The Guardian, Law & Crime, NBC Los Angeles, The Gateway Pundit, NOQ Report and Instapundit
Politico:
Seeking: GOP dealmakers who won't ‘burn the House down’. Apply to: Kevin McCarthy. — When Rep. Fred Upton announced his retirement from Congress, colleagues in both parties lined up to lament. The one who misses him the most, in the end, may be Kevin McCarthy.
Discussion:
Raw Story
Michael Schaffer / Politico:
Inside the Campaign Against “Putin's Pope” — Like a lot of insiders associated with Vladimir Putin, Vladimir Mikhailovich Gundyayev has faced calls for international ostracism in the weeks since the invasion of Ukraine. It's no surprise why: He's used his powerful Moscow perch to endorse …
Discussion:
Radio Free Europe/Radio … and The Bulwark
New York Times:
Jan. 6 Panel Presses Stephen Miller on Whether Trump Sought to Incite Crowd — In about eight hours of questioning, investigators pressed the former White House aide on former President Donald J. Trump's use of “we” in his speech to supporters before the riot. — Give this article- - - Read in app
Kara Scannell / CNN:
US says three Russians offered congressman a free trip as part of a propaganda and disinformation campaign — (CNN)Federal prosecutors in New York on Thursday unsealed an indictment charging a member of Russia's legislature and two of his staffers with orchestrating a propaganda and disinformation campaign targeting US lawmakers.
Discussion:
UPI, The Russia Report, U.S. Department of Justice, Bloomberg, Radio Free Europe/Radio …, The Hill, Raw Story, Justice News, Insider and Heartland Signal
Mike DeBonis / Washington Post:
Democrats in tough races revolt over Biden administration border move … President Biden is facing a growing mutiny from Democratic candidates — including five vulnerable senators — who are questioning his administration's decision to lift a pandemic health order that has drastically …
Discussion:
ABC News, The Hill and New York Times