Top Items:
New York Times:
Prosecutors Seek Trump Lawyer's Testimony, Suggesting Evidence of Crime — The Justice Department cited the crime-fraud exception to attorney-client privilege in demanding testimony from a lawyer representing former President Donald Trump in his documents case.
Discussion:
The Guardian, NBC News, New York Daily News, Talking Points Memo, Mediaite, Insider, Rolling Stone, Alternet.org and Raw Story
RELATED:
CNN:
Justice Department tells court there's evidence of a crime in bid to force more answers from Trump attorney — Federal prosecutors investigating former President Donald Trump's handling of classified documents are asking a court to force his attorney Evan Corcoran to provide additional testimony …
Discussion:
NBC4 Washington, Politico, New York Post, Associated Press, Raw Story and Mediaite
Jason Easley / PoliticusUSA:
DOJ Says They Have Evidence Of A Trump Crime — In a court filing to get one of Trump's attorneys to offer more testimony DOJ Special Counsel Jack Smith wrote that they have evidence of a crime. — CNN reported: … Trump's spokesperson insists that this is all part of the witch hunt …
Discussion:
The Hill, CNN and New York Post
Kelly Laco / Fox News:
Nikki Haley endorsed by top Trump ally Ralph Norman who says GOP needs ‘new leadership’ — Norman addressed the elephant in the room, saying that the Republican Party is looking for a “new vision” at the top of the ticket — How will Nikki Haley's candidacy for president shake up a potentially crowded GOP field?
Discussion:
Insider, The Hill, Washington Examiner, Washington Times, Florida Politics, Politico and IJR
RELATED:
New York Times:
They're Trying to Topple Trump. But They Barely Utter His Name. — The former president's Republican rivals appear highly reluctant to criticize him, and Nikki Haley didn't even mention him as she jumped into the race this week. — Nikki Haley's leap into the 2024 presidential campaign …
Natalie Allison / Politico:
Haley enters the fray, a female candidate against a man known for mocking them
Haley enters the fray, a female candidate against a man known for mocking them
Discussion:
CNN, The Atlantic, The Guardian, FiveThirtyEight, Washington Post, Patterico's Pontifications, National Review, USA Today and WFLA-TV
Andrew McDonald / Politico:
Scotland's Nicola Sturgeon quits — Nicola Sturgeon is resigning as Scotland's first minister in a move that stunned her pro-independence party and fired the starting pistol on the race to succeed her. — The Scottish National Party leader — who has led the party and the country's devolved …
Discussion:
BBC, Bloomberg, Semafor, UPI, The Sunday Times, Associated Press, New York Times and Conter Newsletter
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New York Times:
Scotland's Leader Nicola Sturgeon Says She Will Step Down in Surprise Move … Sturgeon says she will remain in her role until a successor is in place. — LONDON — Nicola Sturgeon, the leader of Scotland's government and a fiery campaigner for Scottish independence, said on Wednesday …
The Guardian:
Revealed: the hacking and disinformation team meddling in elections — Group sells hacking services and access to vast army of fake social media profiles — Evidence unit behind disinformation campaigns across world — Mastermind Tal Hanan claims covert involvement in 33 presidential elections
Discussion:
Haaretz, more at Techmeme »
Jonathan Stempel / Reuters:
Fox News must face Smartmatic's lawsuit over election-rigging claims — A New York state appeals court rejected Fox News' bid to dismiss a multibillion-dollar defamation lawsuit accusing the network of falsely accusing an electronic voting systems company of helping rig the 2020 U.S. presidential election …
Discussion:
Washington Post, Forbes, NPR, Steve Kirsch's newsletter and Reason, more at Mediagazer »
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The Guardian:
New York rejects Fox News' bid to end voting firm's lawsuit
New York rejects Fox News' bid to end voting firm's lawsuit
Discussion:
Insider, Deadline, Associated Press and Raw Story
Erik Larson / Bloomberg:
Giuliani, Pirro Thrown Back Into 2020 Vote-Fraud Defamation Case
Giuliani, Pirro Thrown Back Into 2020 Vote-Fraud Defamation Case
Discussion:
Raw Story
Esther Wang / Hell Gate:
New York Times Writers Call Out the Paper's Anti-Trans Onslaught — “This is not quite business as usual anymore,” one of the organizers of an open letter to the NYT told Hell Gate. — On Wednesday morning, a group of almost 200 journalists and writers released an open letter addressed …
Discussion:
BuzzFeed News and NBC News, more at Mediagazer »
John McCracken / Grist:
‘This is absurd’: Train cars that derailed in Ohio were labeled non-hazardous — Ohio governor calls on Congress to investigate how that could happen. — Nearly two weeks after a train carrying hazardous chemicals derailed in rural Ohio, questions still linger about the lasting effects …
RELATED:
Natalie Allison / Politico:
Club for Growth endorses Scott and dings McConnell — Sen. Rick Scott (R-Fla.) has nabbed an early endorsement in his bid for reelection, with the conservative Club for Growth, one of the top-spending GOP super PACs, offering its support. — The Club's endorsement of the Florida Republican …
Discussion:
The Hill, Washington Examiner, Raw Story and Florida Politics
RELATED:
Burgess Everett / Politico:
McConnell vs. Scott: The Senate beef that won't die
McConnell vs. Scott: The Senate beef that won't die
Discussion:
MSNBC, Alternet.org, Washington Examiner, New York Magazine, Fox News, The Hill, Florida Politics, Talking Points Memo and Raw Story
Jack Ewing / New York Times:
Tesla Will Open Some Chargers to All Electric Vehicles — An agreement with the White House to allow electric cars made by other automakers is part of a broad drive to improve charging and increase sales of battery-powered vehicles. — Tesla will open some of its fast chargers …
Discussion:
Wall Street Journal, CNBC and Political Wire
RELATED:
Washington Post:
U.S. tracked China spy balloon from launch on Hainan Island along unusual path — The large Chinese surveillance device that flew across Alaska and the continental United States may have been diverted on an errant path caused by unusual weather conditions — By the time a Chinese spy balloon crossed …
RELATED:
Burgess Everett / Politico:
Justice strongest candidate against Manchin, GOP poll says — Republicans are coming to an increasingly popular consensus: Gov. Jim Justice is by far the best candidate to take on Joe Manchin. — In fact, the two-term governor and Democrat-turned-Republican is the only potential challenger …
Discussion:
The Hill
Jacqueline Sweet / Politico:
The time George Santos tried to raise crazy money to host a simple rally for Trump — NEW YORK — One of Rep. George Santos' first-known forays into politics was an attempt to raise $20,000 for a pro-Trump rally in 2019 in Buffalo, N.Y. that never happened.
Discussion:
Raw Story and Alternet.org
Peter Baker / New York Times:
From George to Barack: A Look at Secret Bush Memos to the Obama Team — Newly declassified memos offer a window into how the world appeared as the Bush administration was winding down. — WASHINGTON — The world was a volatile place when President George W. Bush was leaving office.
Discussion:
Raw Story
Andrew Prokop / Vox:
The rise of the Trump-Russia revisionists — The attempt to rewrite the Trump-Russia scandal is underway. But the critics leading the charge are showing their own blind spots. — Nearly four years after the Mueller investigation concluded, the Trump-Russia scandal has largely faded from the nation's political consciousness.
Discussion:
Raw Story
The Guardian:
Revealed: Mississippi bill would carve out separate judicial district for 80% of white residents in majority-Black city … Eighty per cent of the white residents in Mississippi's majority-Black capital city would be included in a proposed new judicial district with hand-selected prosecutors and judges …
Discussion:
The Black Wall Street Times
Eddy Wax / Politico:
European Parliament suspended as Kurdish protest erupts — STRASBOURG — EU lawmakers were briefly evacuated from the European Parliament on Wednesday after a group of Kurdish independence activists disrupted proceedings. — Around midday, a group of around 15 to 20 people began shouting loudly …
Discussion:
Associated Press
Platformer:
Yes, Elon Musk created a special system for showing you all his tweets first — After his Super Bowl tweet did worse numbers than President Biden's, Twitter's CEO ordered major changes to the algorithm — This story is based on interviews with people familiar with the events involved …
Discussion:
New York Times, CoinDesk, Bloomberg, Mediaite, Eschaton, Alternet.org, Gizmodo, Metro.co.uk, Fortune, Rolling Stone, Washington Examiner, Mashable and Forbes, more at Techmeme »
Associated Press:
Ukraine aid support softens in the US: AP-NORC Poll — 1 of 2 — Support among the American public for providing Ukraine weaponry and direct economic assistance has softened as the Russian invasion nears a grim one-year milestone, according to a new poll from The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research.
Discussion:
Fox News, The Hill and Florida Politics
Punchbowl News:
2/15/23 ☀️ Punchbowl News AM — Senate Republicans are warning their House GOP counterparts to stay away from the Pentagon's budget as part of any proposed spending cuts tied to upcoming debt-limit talks. — Republican senators are generally supportive of Speaker Kevin McCarthy …
Discussion:
Associated Press, Bloomberg and USA Today
Kimberly Leonard / Insider:
DeSantis got a glowing reception during a secretive, high-profile conservative summit at Trump Doral — then the ex-president called in — An influential conservative group, the Council for National Policy, held one of its summits this weekend. — DeSantis was one of the speakers at the dinner …
Washington Post:
Youngkin opposes effort to shield menstrual data from law enforcement — By Laura Vozzella and Gregory S. Schneider — RICHMOND — The administration of Gov. Glenn Youngkin (R) helped defeat a bill this week to put menstrual data stored on period-tracking apps beyond the reach of law enforcement …
Discussion:
Virginia Mercury, Abortion, Every Day, Blue Virginia and Progress Report
Ursula Perano / The Daily Beast:
The ‘Only Democrat Who Can Win’ in Montana Might Not Run — Sen. Jon Tester (D-MT) is undecided about running for re-election. If he chooses not to, it could be disastrous for Democrats. — He has a flat-top haircut, seven fingers after a meat grinder accident, and a Twitter profile picture …
Discussion:
Raw Story
Jose Pagliery / The Daily Beast:
Charlottesville Tiki Torcher Killed Himself Before Drug Smuggling Trial — Teddy Joseph Von Nukem, one of the most prominent faces from the 2017 neo-Nazi rally, was set to face trial for smuggling fentanyl across the southern border. … Teddy Joseph Von Nukem, one of the most prominent faces lit …
Discussion:
Raw Story, New York Post, Lawyers, Guns & Money and Washington Press
The 19th:
An Oklahoma judge just transferred a lesbian mom's parental rights to her son's sperm donor — A ruling citing the state's parentage act could have substantial implications for marriage equality and LGBTQ+ parental rights nationwide, legal experts warn.
Discussion:
KFOR-TV and Common Dreams
Charlie Savage / New York Times:
Biden Administration to Brief ‘Gang of Eight’ on Mishandled Classified Files — The disclosure won't include sharing the specific documents that improperly accompanied top officials when they left office, which lawmakers of both parties have demanded to see.
Discussion:
Washington Examiner
Nick Anderson / Washington Post:
DeSantis threatens to rid Florida of Advanced Placement classes — Florida's Republican leader has been critical of a new AP course in African American studies — Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis threatened Tuesday to withdraw state support for Advanced Placement programs and expand other methods …