Top Items:
Washington Post:
‘Havana syndrome’ not caused by energy weapon or foreign adversary, intelligence review finds — After a years-long assessment, five U.S. intelligence agencies conclude it is ‘very unlikely’ an enemy wielding a secret weapon was behind the mysterious ailment
Discussion:
Associated Press, The Guardian and Semafor
Washington Post:
Showdown before the raid: FBI agents and prosecutors argued over Trump — An exclusive look at behind-the-scenes deliberations as both sides wrestled with a national security case that has potentially far-reaching political consequences — Months of disputes between Justice Department prosecutors …
Discussion:
The Independent, Washington Examiner, Alternet.org, Raw Story, 19FortyFive, Mediaite, Hackwhackers and emptywheel
Lillian Rizzo / CNBC:
Schumer, Jeffries pressure Murdoch, Fox News over Trump's false election fraud claims — Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries are calling foul on Rupert Murdoch. — The top Democrats in Congress sent a letter to Murdoch, urging Fox News leadership …
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Judd Legum / Popular Information:
Murdoch, exposed — It's not a secret that Fox News is a political operation seeking to bolster the prospects of Republicans. Jeanne Pirro, co-host of Fox News' The Five, regularly appears at Republican fundraisers. Mark Levin, who hosts a weekly Fox News program, appeared at a rally …
Discussion:
The Guardian, RADAR, Election Law Blog, Digby's Hullabaloo, CNN, Political Wire, Washington Post and Insider
Jeremy W. Peters / New York Times:
Fox Leaders Wanted to Break From Trump but Struggled to Make It Happen
Fox Leaders Wanted to Break From Trump but Struggled to Make It Happen
Philip Bump / Washington Post:
The ‘trust’ Fox News seeks from its viewers isn't about truth
The ‘trust’ Fox News seeks from its viewers isn't about truth
Discussion:
Raw Story, The Daily Beast and NPR
Berkeley Lovelace Jr / NBC News:
Drugmaker Eli Lilly caps the cost of insulin at $35 a month, bringing relief for millions — Eli Lilly will cap the out-of-pocket cost of its insulin at $35 a month, the drugmaker said Wednesday. The move, experts say, could prompt other insulin makers in the U.S. to follow suit.
Discussion:
The Hill, Washington Press, Plain Dealer, CBS News, New York Times and Reuters
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Andrew E. Kramer / New York Times:
In an Epic Battle of Tanks, Russia Was Routed, Repeating Earlier Mistakes — A three-week fight in the town of Vuhledar in southern Ukraine produced what Ukrainian officials say was the biggest tank battle of the war so far, and a stinging setback for the Russians.
Discussion:
Morning Shots and StrategyPage
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Mithil Aggarwal / NBC News:
What could Chinese artillery and ammunition mean for Putin's war in Ukraine?
What could Chinese artillery and ammunition mean for Putin's war in Ukraine?
Discussion:
Defense One and The Daily Beast
Maggie Severns / Grid News:
Ron DeSantis is using a new breed of local right-wing media to make national news — These websites didn't exist five years ago. — The Florida Standard is a fledgling website, launching last July. It lists only five writers and editors on its site. But in January, it landed a blistering scoop …
Discussion:
The Nation
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Jonathan Chait / New York Magazine:
DeSantis Promises Florida Will Control Disney's Content
DeSantis Promises Florida Will Control Disney's Content
Discussion:
Law & Crime, Washington Post and Insider, more at Mediagazer »
The Hill:
McCarthy, GOP pump brakes on release of Jan. 6 footage to Tucker Carlson — House Republicans are pumping the brakes on the release of Jan. 6 surveillance footage they've offered to Fox News host Tucker Carlson and going on offense against Democrats who have spent the past week slamming the move.
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Scott Macfarlane / CBS News:
Senior McCarthy aide, House Oversight chairman each met with mother of Jan. 6 rioter Ashli Babbitt — A senior staffer to House Speaker Kevin McCarthy met this week with Micki Witthoeft, mother of Ashli Babbitt, the woman shot and killed by police as she breached a set of doors to the Speaker's Lobby on Jan. 6, 2021.
Jim Geraghty / National Review:
We Told You the Truth about Covid (and a Whole Lot More) — On the menu today: Day after day, week after week, unscrupulous actors in the world of politics pelt you with a hurricane of BS and try to get you to believe that two plus two equals five. A big part of the mission of National Review …
Discussion:
Public and The Daily Signal
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Adam Sabes / Fox News:
FBI director says COVID pandemic ‘most likely’ originated from Chinese lab
FBI director says COVID pandemic ‘most likely’ originated from Chinese lab
Discussion:
UPI, Financial Times, Daily Mail, NBC News, Fox News, BBC, Politico, USA Today, Los Angeles Times, Insider, JONATHAN TURLEY, NBC News, The Post Millennial, GZERO, Breitbart, New York Post, Fox News, Raw Story, Political Wire, HuffPost, Power Line, Metro.co.uk, The Dispatch, ABC News, Twitchy, CNN, Al Jazeera, The Hill, Alaska Public Media, HotAir, Wholistic, Axios, New York Post, Breitbart, FOX News Radio, IJR, Sputnik News, Washington Examiner, RedState, NPR, Washington Times, National Review, The Daily Caller, Just The News, TASS, Vox, The Daily Beast, New York Daily News, Talking Points Memo and Associated Press
Al Weaver / The Hill:
Vance pitches PPP for Ohio while other Republicans say to wait — Sen. J.D. Vance's (R-Ohio) call for a Paycheck Protection Program (PPP)-style plan to help workers and businesses affected by the East Palestine train derailment is being greeted skeptically by Senate Republicans …
Discussion:
Washington Examiner
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Politico:
GOP urges no ‘burdensome regulations’ on freight rail, after derailment
GOP urges no ‘burdensome regulations’ on freight rail, after derailment
Discussion:
CBS News, New York Times, CNN, Brotherhood … and E&E
Jeff Stein / Washington Post:
Biden aides weigh economic aid for East Palestine after derailment
Biden aides weigh economic aid for East Palestine after derailment
Discussion:
Political Wire, NBC News, Washington Free Beacon, Washington Examiner, Big League Politics, US EPA, WKBN-TV and BBC
Yaron Steinbuch / New York Post:
Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot blames election loss on racism, gender — Democratic Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot blamed racism and her gender for her landslide defeat in her re-election bid, as Chicagoans wary of the rising crime of her watch celebrated her fall from “political rock star to rock bottom.”
Discussion:
New York Times, HotAir, RedState, NBC Chicago, Twitchy, National Review, Chicago Tribune, Fox News, PinkNews, Associated Press and IJR
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Fran Spielman / Chicago Sun-Times:
2023 Chicago Election: How Lori Lightfoot wound up a one-term mayor
2023 Chicago Election: How Lori Lightfoot wound up a one-term mayor
Discussion:
Politico, New York Post, CBS News, Fox News, Sputnik News, UPI, National Review, HuffPost and WTOP News
Natasha Korecki / NBC News:
Lori Lightfoot becomes the first Chicago mayor in 40 years to lose re-election
Lori Lightfoot becomes the first Chicago mayor in 40 years to lose re-election
Discussion:
Fox News, New York Post, Chicago Tribune, The Root, New York Times, PinkNews, ABC7, Financial Times, Bloomberg, National Review, One America News Network, Washington Examiner, Chicago Sun-Times, ABC News, Just The News, Eschaton, CBS News, Associated Press, The Hill, USA Today, New York Daily News, NBC Chicago, Forbes and Politico
Ron DeSantis / Wall Street Journal:
Why I Stood Up to Disney — On Monday, I signed the law ending the Walt Disney Co.'s self-governing status over 43 square miles in central Florida, an area almost as big as Miami. Disney no longer has its own government. It has to live under the same laws as Universal Studios …
Discussion:
Washington Examiner, Florida's Voice, The Daily Caller and Deadline
Politico:
Trump ties GOP in knots over Medicare and Social Security — Donald Trump is driving a wedge through the GOP over one of American politics' thorniest issues: the future of Medicare and Social Security. — The former president's attacks on potential GOP primary opponents …
Discussion:
Washington Examiner, Raw Story, CBS News, Political Wire, The Bulwark, Just The News and National Review
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Aris Folley / The Hill:
Senate group wades into tough talks on Social Security
Senate group wades into tough talks on Social Security
Discussion:
CNBC, Washington Examiner and Semafor
Josh Kraushaar / Axios:
Trump's February bump — Four new polls show former President Trump has received a boost in Republican support — with one survey showing him hitting 50% support in a crowded GOP field. … - His visit to the derailment site in East Palestine, Ohio — ahead of President Biden …
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Martin Pengelly / The Guardian:
Ron DeSantis called a ‘tyrant’ as Trump supporters barred from book signing
Ron DeSantis called a ‘tyrant’ as Trump supporters barred from book signing
Discussion:
Mediaite, RADAR, The Daily Beast, Alternet.org, Big League Politics, The Gateway Pundit and Raw Story
Heidi Przybyla / Politico:
Dark money and special deals: How Leonard Leo and his friends benefited from his judicial activism — A network of political non-profits formed by judicial activist Leonard Leo moved at least $43 million to a new firm he is leading, raising questions about how his conservative legal movement is funded.
Discussion:
Alternet.org and Talking Points Memo
Maria Cramer / New York Times:
New York Will Pay Millions to Protesters Violently Corralled by Police — The police boxed in racial justice demonstrators in 2020, an anti-protest practice known as “kettling,” then hit them with batons and pepper spray. Hundreds will receive $21,500 each.
Discussion:
WTOP News, Rolling Stone, Gothamist, Al Jazeera and Bloomberg
Barak Ravid / Axios:
Scoop: Trump's former ambassador to Israel slams Bibi's judicial overhaul plan — Former U.S. Ambassador to Israel David Friedman used a recent conservative conference in Tel Aviv to express concern and push back against the Netanyahu government's judicial overhaul plan, according to two people with direct knowledge of the issue.
Gabriel Debenedetti / New York Magazine:
Biden's Translator — Kate Bedingfield explains the press to the president (and keeps the White House from leaking). — Kate Bedingfield, the White House communications director, first tried to leave in July. She had started working for Joe Biden in 2015 and was looking forward to spending …
Discussion:
jihadwatch.org
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Katrina Manson / Bloomberg:
The Satellite Hack Everyone Is Finally Talking About … Andreas Wickberg loves snowmobiling to the house he built in the icy reaches of Lapland, north of the Arctic Circle. Each month come spring, he and his wife relocate for a week or so to a “very, very isolated” spot about 335 miles northwest …
Jennifer Rubin / Washington Post:
Trump's enablers must face consequences, too — There's no doubt that Donald Trump was the instigator of the 2020 insurrection. But the former president's schemes never would have gotten far (or even off the ground) without the participation of right-wing media executives, lawyers and pliant state officials.
Discussion:
Alternet.org
Sally Jenkins / Washington Post:
The NFL deserves every bit of its raging Daniel Snyder headache — Dan Snyder is being unreasonable, is he? Making irrational, insulting and perhaps even extortive demands? Stifle for a moment your heavy, knowing sigh over the predictability of Snyder's conduct and the fact that he hasn't sold the Washington Commanders yet.
Discussion:
New York Post, NBC4 Washington and FOX News Radio