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:
Bloomberg, New York Magazine, Washington Examiner, Fox News, Politico, The Hill, Wall Street Journal, NBC News, HotAir, CNN, Chicago Tribune, The Daily Caller, Rolling Stone, CBS News and Semafor
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Nomaan Merchant / Associated Press:
Intel agencies: No sign adversaries behind ‘Havana syndrome’
Intel agencies: No sign adversaries behind ‘Havana syndrome’
Discussion:
New York Times, UPI, ABC News and WTOP News
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, Raw Story, HotAir, The Hill, Fox News, 19FortyFive, Hackwhackers, Alternet.org, Washington Examiner, Mediaite and emptywheel
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:
CNN, ACA Signups, Raw Story, CBS News, New York Post, ABC News, New York Daily News, Associated Press, CNBC, Chop Wood, Carry Water, Chicago Sun-Times, NewsNation, Financial Times, UPI, Reuters, Washington Examiner, Washington Press, Wall Street Journal, Fortune, The Daily Caller, PoliticusUSA, Washington Times, Plain Dealer, The Hill, Just The News and New York Times
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.
Discussion:
Raw Story and Political Wire
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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.
Discussion:
Washington Post, New Republic, The Daily Beast, The Wrap, Talking Points Memo, Washington Examiner, Associated Press, ABC News, CNN, CBS News, Media Matters for America, Washington Press, The Gateway Pundit, Progress Pond, HuffPost, PBS NewsHour, Breitbart, Raw Story, Forbes, Rolling Stone, Reuters and Politico, more at Mediagazer »
Politico:
DeSantis is championing medical freedom. GOP state lawmakers like what they see. — The “medical freedom” movement, mostly known for its opposition to vaccine requirements, was long consigned to the fringes of libertarian and left-wing politics. Then came Ron DeSantis.
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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:
Reason, Law & Crime, Insider and Washington Post, more at Mediagazer »
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:
The Mahablog, Florida's Voice, Mediaite, Alternet.org, Digby's Hullabaloo, RADAR, The Daily Beast, Axios, Big League Politics, The Gateway Pundit and Raw Story
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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Andrew Solender / Axios:
Capitol Hill swarmed by performers in straightjackets — Former Rep. Adam Kinzinger (R-Ill.) turned heads on Capitol Hill this week by sending performance artists dressed in straitjackets and blue-and-red tinted glasses to the House offices. — Why it matters: It's part of a campaign Kinzinger …
Annie Nova / CNBC:
Biden administration lawyer may have saved student loan forgiveness plan at Supreme Court, experts say — Experts have predicted the Supreme Court would rule against President Joe Biden's student loan forgiveness plan, but some changed their minds after oral arguments, praising the lawyer who presented the administration's case.
Discussion:
Just The News, USA Today, Higher Ed Dive, Newsbusters, CNN, Los Angeles Times, WWLP-TV, FOX31 Denver, abc7NY, The Hill, WFLA-TV, NewsNation, WKBN-TV and NPR
Molly Hensley-Clancy / Washington Post:
NBA star Ja Morant accused in police reports of punching teen, making threats — Ja Morant is among the brightest young stars in the NBA, with a new signature Nike shoe, a top-selling jersey and a team, the Memphis Grizzlies, poised for a deep postseason run.
Discussion:
New York Daily News and New York Post
Adam Edelman / NBC News:
Florida GOP lawmaker pitches bill to eliminate the Florida Democratic Party — A Republican in Florida's state Legislature has filed a bill that, if enacted, would eliminate the Florida Democratic Party. — “The Ultimate Cancel Act,” filed on Tuesday by state Sen. Blaise Ingoglia …
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
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:
Euromaidan Press, Associated Press, NBC News, StrategyPage, The Guardian and New York Times
Rebecca Shabad / NBC News:
Liz Cheney to join University of Virginia as a professor — WASHINGTON — Former Rep. Liz Cheney, R-Wyo., is joining the University of Virginia as a professor of practice, the university's Center for Politics announced Wednesday. — “With democracy under fire in this country and elsewhere around …
Discussion:
UPI
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Amy B Wang / Washington Post:
White House slams ‘despicable’ suggestion Beau Biden should have been indicted — Rep. James Comer (R-Ky.) criticized a Trump-appointed U.S. attorney for not prosecuting President Biden's late son when he was still alive — Rep. James Comer (R-Ky.) criticized a Trump-appointed U.S. attorney …
Discussion:
The American Independent, Washington Press, Mediaite, The Daily Beast, Digby's Hullabaloo and Talking Points Memo
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Gabriel Debenedetti / New York Magazine:
Biden's Translator — Kate Bedingfield explains the press to the president (and keeps the White House from leaking).
Biden's Translator — Kate Bedingfield explains the press to the president (and keeps the White House from leaking).
Discussion:
NBC News and jihadwatch.org
Michael Levenson / New York Times:
Whiskey Fungus Fed by Jack Daniel's Encrusts a Tennessee Town — The dark growth, fed by alcohol vapors from barrels of aging Jack Daniel's whiskey, has coated homes, cars, patio furniture and road signs in a sooty crust, residents said. One woman is suing Lincoln County.
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:
ABC News, Washington Examiner, New York Magazine, New York Daily News, The Times of Israel, Al Jazeera, WTOP News, Rolling Stone and Gothamist
Freddie deBoer:
The Left Has Never Stood for No Rules or Expectations on Personal Behavior — we've really gotten ourselves into a weird ass place — The woman whose account appears at the top of this picture started a Twitter storm, somehow, by publicly wishing that she could take her child onto …
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.
Discussion:
Jewish Telegraphic Agency
ABC News:
Explosive found in checked luggage at Pennsylvania airport, man in custody — The passenger is now in FBI custody. — An explosive device was found in a checked piece of luggage at Pennsylvania's Lehigh Valley International Airport on Monday, according to a criminal complaint.
Discussion:
ABC7
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:
The Daily Caller, Florida's Voice, Deadline and Washington Examiner
Barak Ravid / Axios:
U.S. says Israeli minister's call to wipe out Palestinian town is “disgusting” … - Smotrich later Wednesday issued a statement appearing to walk back the comments. … - Shortly after, hundreds of settlers went on a rampage in Hawara, attacking Palestinian and torching several homes and cars.
Discussion:
Fox News, Jewish Telegraphic Agency, DAWN, Al Jazeera, The Times of Israel and J.
CNN:
Exclusive: US Air Force fires leaders for failing nuclear safety inspection — Two US Air Force commanders and four of their subordinates at a key nuclear base in North Dakota were relieved of duty this week after their units failed an inspection designed to ensure that the nuclear weapons stockpile …
Discussion:
Associated Press
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, Digby's Hullabaloo and Talking Points Memo
Thomas B. Edsall / New York Times:
This Is Trump's ‘Magic Trick’ — In his effort to outflank Ron DeSantis, the governor of Florida — his most potent challenger-in-waiting for the Republican presidential nomination — Donald Trump goes only in one direction: hard right. — At the start of this year, Trump announced his education agenda …
Discussion:
Raw Story
Associated Press:
Trump set to headline diminished gathering of conservatives — The annual Conservative Political Action Conference was once one of the premier gatherings on the GOP campaign calendar — a must-stop for serious contenders testing the waters on presidential runs. No longer.
Discussion:
Morning Shots, The Hill, New Republic, Raw Story, Liberty Nation, USA Today, Balloon Juice, New York Times, Washington Times, CBS News and New York Daily News
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:
Balloon Juice and Alternet.org
CNN:
Senate votes to overturn Biden administration retirement investment rule Republicans decry as ‘woke’ — The Senate passed a politically charged resolution on Wednesday to overturn a Biden administration retirement investment rule that allows managers of retirement funds to consider the impact …
Discussion:
Fox News, CNBC, Washington Examiner and The American Independent
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:
Daily Mail, Chicago Tribune, WGN-TV, CNN, Slate, Alternet.org, Chicago Sun-Times, ABC7, National Review, Breitbart, Twitchy, HotAir, Big League Politics, New York Times, Washington Examiner, RedState, PinkNews, Fox News, CBS News, IJR, The Root, Sputnik News, Financial Times, Associated Press, HuffPost and NBC News
Matt Lavietes / NBC News:
Video appears to show Texas drag bill author dressed in drag — A Texas lawmaker who authored a bill that would restrict drag performances appears to have dressed in drag himself while a student. — A video that surfaced on Twitter and TikTok this week appears to show Texas state Rep. Nate Schatzline …
Discussion:
The Daily Beast, Metro.co.uk, Political Wire, HuffPost, City & State Florida and The Tennessean
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 …
Matthew Yglesias / Slow Boring:
Why are young liberals so depressed? — There's a neglected dimension beyond gender in America's troubled youth — Fresh episode of Bad Takes is out today, all about the war on fake license plates. — Earlier this month the CDC released the results of its Youth Risk Behavior Survey of American teenagers.
Discussion:
HotAir and Marginal REVOLUTION
Julia Shapero / The Hill:
Christie: Trump grand jury foreperson ‘did a lot of damage’ to case — Former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie (R) said on Wednesday that the foreperson of the Georgia special grand jury investigating former President Trump's efforts to overturn the state's 2020 election results “did a lot of damage” …
Discussion:
Mediaite