Top Items:
Jonathan Chait / New York Magazine:
Do You Remember the Ecstasy of Electing Joe Biden? — How the coalition that defeated Donald Trump crumbled. — We danced in the streets when Joe Biden was elected. Do you remember? American cities staged the greatest spontaneous outpouring of joy since V-J Day with cars honking …
Discussion:
nationalinterest.org
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Stephen Kruiser / PJ Media:
The Morning Briefing: Trump Triggering the Lefties Never Ceases to Amuse and Entertain — Top O' the Briefing — Happy Wednesday, dear Kruiser Morning Briefing friends. Lozerendus felt that nothing in this mad world could be put right without a functional rotary phone in every home.
Discussion:
RedState and Daily Caller News Foundation
David Frum / The Atlantic:
The Ruin That a Trump Presidency Would Mean
The Ruin That a Trump Presidency Would Mean
Discussion:
The Moderate Voice, Big League Politics, The Daily Beast, Mediaite, Breitbart and New York Times
Christopher Heath / WFTV:
Florida Democrats flip Republican House seat in Special Election — ORANGE COUNY, Fla. — Florida Democrats scored a win Tuesday night in a special election to fill a vacant House seat with Tom Keen defeating Erika Booth in a closely watched race that saw major outside spending and an avalanche of mailers and TV ads.
Discussion:
Digby's Hullabaloo, Decision Desk HQ, Daily Kos and Florida Politics
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Steven Lemongello / Orlando Sentinel:
Democrat Keen wins state House 35 special election over GOP's Booth — In a race seen as a bellwether for Democratic chances in November, Democrat Tom Keen flipped what had been a Republican state House seat in Central Florida in a special election held Tuesday.
Discussion:
The Messenger, Raw Story, Florida Politics, The Capitolist, National Review, Political Wire and Saywhat Politics
Carl Hulse / New York Times:
The House G.O.P.'s Incredible Shrinking Majority — Another Republican resignation and medical absences are cutting into the party's already shaky hold on the chamber. — When Republicans assumed control of the House early last year after winning a narrow majority in the 2022 midterms …
Discussion:
Eschaton and Journal Sentinel
Jacob Ogles / Florida Politics:
Tom Keen flips HD 35 from red to blue in critical Special Election
Tom Keen flips HD 35 from red to blue in critical Special Election
Discussion:
The Hill, Balloon Juice, WESH-TV, Crooks and Liars, Daily Kos and Political Wire
Slate:
Judge Aileen Cannon Is Quietly Sabotaging the Trump Classified Documents Case — On Friday, District Judge Aileen Cannon issued a new order in the Donald Trump classified documents case adding to the mountain of evidence that she is firmly in the former president's pocket.
Discussion:
NBC News, Associated Press, Raw Story and Political Wire
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Steve Reilly / The Messenger:
Trump Lawyers Allege Jack Smith Prosecutors are Withholding Records in Florida Case
Trump Lawyers Allege Jack Smith Prosecutors are Withholding Records in Florida Case
Discussion:
New York Times, BizPac Review, Law & Crime and Raw Story
New York Times:
DeSantis Super PAC Begins Layoffs, Even as He Projects Confidence — The number of layoffs at the super PAC, Never Back Down, was unclear on Wednesday morning, but an official said that those being laid off were being paid through the end of January. — The super PAC supporting Gov. Ron DeSantis …
Discussion:
Highly Respected
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Marc Caputo / The Messenger:
The Inside Story of How Ron DeSantis Got Crushed by Donald Trump (Exclusive)
The Inside Story of How Ron DeSantis Got Crushed by Donald Trump (Exclusive)
Discussion:
The Hill, CBS News, Florida Politics, Washington Post, Raw Story, Business Insider, OpenSecrets.org, Politico and New York Times
NBC News:
Ron DeSantis is in survival mode as Nikki Haley battles Trump in New Hampshire
Ron DeSantis is in survival mode as Nikki Haley battles Trump in New Hampshire
Discussion:
RedState, CNN, New York Times, Boston Herald, New York Post, WCVB, USA Today, Semafor, Axios, WGN-TV, Washington Examiner, Raw Story, The Guardian, Vox, East Bay Times, Rolling Stone, CNBC and Vanity Fair, more at Mediagazer »
House Committee on Energy and Commerce:
E&C Investigation Uncovers Earliest Known SARS-CoV-2 Sequence Released Outside of China — Discovery that shows virus sequence existed two weeks earlier than previously known undercuts China's timeline of events — Washington, D.C. — The House Energy and Commerce Committee's investigation …
Discussion:
National Review
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Gabrielle M. Etzel / Washington Examiner:
Coronavirus was sequenced weeks before China disclosed existence, new documents show
Coronavirus was sequenced weeks before China disclosed existence, new documents show
Discussion:
Daily Caller News Foundation and MDPI Publishing
Judd Legum / Popular Information:
Right-wing media mogul buys the Baltimore Sun — David D. Smith, the executive chairman of Sinclair Broadcast Group (Sinclair), purchased the Baltimore Sun — the largest newspaper in Maryland — for an undisclosed sum. The acquisition means another powerful media outlet will be under …
Mel Frykberg / The Daily Beast:
Netanyahu Accused of Risking WWIII to Save His Own Skin — Critics of the Israeli PM say he is so desperate to avoid political consequences that he is prolonging the crisis and raising the specter of a full-blown war. — The Middle East is sitting on a powder keg and the longer …
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CNBC
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Associated Press:
Iran attacks alleged militant bases in Pakistan; Islamabad says ‘unprovoked’ strikes kill 2 children
Iran attacks alleged militant bases in Pakistan; Islamabad says ‘unprovoked’ strikes kill 2 children
Discussion:
Reuters, The Messenger, Al Jazeera, Taipei Times, The Daily Caller, Associated Press, Middle East Monitor, CNBC, BBC, New York Times, France 24, Los Angeles Times, The Times of Israel, Fox News, The Daily Beast, MyNorthwest.com, Radio Free Europe/Radio …, Le·gal In·sur·rec·tion, UPI, The Guardian, Bloomberg and The Japan Times
Charles P. Pierce / Esquire:
Let's Look at the Iowa Results With a Cold Eye — It was a huge win for Trump. Don't tell me it's all going to work out fine in November. — Let us be completely honest. There is no silver lining to the results of Monday's Iowa caucuses. What coverage I watched on TV—truth be told …
Discussion:
The Gateway Pundit and The Daily Caller
Felix Salmon / Axios:
Americans are actually pretty happy with their finances — Americans overall have a surprising degree of satisfaction with their economic situation, according to findings from the Axios Vibes survey by The Harris Poll. … - The Axios Vibes poll has found that when asked …
Nathaniel Weixel / The Hill:
New Biden rule cracks down on insurers' use of prior authorization — A new Biden administration rule released Wednesday aims to streamline the prior authorization process used by insurers to approve medical procedures and treatments. — Prior authorization is a common tool used by insurers …
Lauren Sforza / The Hill:
US police killed a record number of people in 2023: Research — The number of people killed by police officers in the United States reached a new high in 2023, according to new research. — The Mapping Police Violence project, which has been tracking police killings in the country since 2013 …
Discussion:
USA Today
Pluralistic:
The super-rich got that way through monopolies (permalink) — Just in time for Davos, here's 'Taken, not earned: How monopolists drive the world's power and wealth divide," a report from a coalition of international tax justice and anti-corporate activist groups:
Discussion:
The Guardian
Andrew Fleischman / The Daily Beast:
Why We Can't Just Shrug Off the Fani Willis Scandal — If the DA prosecuting Trump prolonged an investigation to justify a hefty salary for a romantic partner, that is a genuine conflict of interest that would require her dismissal. … In the past week, we've seen commentary from law professors …
Discussion:
Fox News, Outside the Beltway, Raw Story, Breitbart, PJ Media, The Hill, New York Post, Blaze Media, The Western Journal and USA Today
Emily Brooks / The Hill:
Johnson: Now is not ‘the time for comprehensive immigration reform’ — Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) voiced his skepticism of a deal being crafted in the Senate to pair border and migration policy changes with Ukraine aid, and said that now is not the time for comprehensive immigration reform.
The Messenger:
House GOP Hardliners Admit They Can't Stop New Spending Patch — 'I think it's tough with the way that the speaker changed,' one GOP House lawmaker said Wednesday, adding, ‘Our leader is not the problem’ — House conservatives vehemently opposed to a short-term spending bill …
Discussion:
UPI and Washington Times