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Why the Trump-Zelenskyy meeting imploded — The View From A Pro-Ukraine Republican — President Donald Trump's perception that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy was overtaking the day's planned emphasis on a US-Ukraine minerals deal partly set off Friday's Oval Office blowup, according to a White House official.
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HuffPost, CBS News, Vox, ABC News, Fox News, The Daily Caller, New York Daily News, U.S. Constitution.net, RedState, CityNews Toronto, E&E News, Twitchy and Euromaidan Press
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Russian state media briefly enters Oval Office during Zelenskyy meeting — The White House did not address how the unapproved reporter was able to gain access to the Oval Office. — The White House last week announced that “all journalists deserve a seat” in the Oval Office press pool.
Discussion:
Reuters, Bloomberg, The Moscow Times, Daily Mail, Waddy Is Right, New Republic, Baltimore Sun, Townhall, New Jersey Online, Raw Story and Euromaidan Press


At Least Now We Know the Truth — Sign up for Trump's Return, a newsletter featuring coverage of the second Trump presidency. — At least the Oval Office meeting held by President Donald Trump and Vice President J. D. Vance with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky was held in front of the cameras.
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Fox News, Raw Story, The Moderate Voice, Euromaidan Press, NOTUS, Breitbart and The Kyiv Independent


A president just disrespected America in the Oval Office. It wasn't Zelensky — It's time to say it plainly. America's leadership has switched sides in the war. The American people have not, and they should speak up. — In the past several weeks, the U.S. leadership …
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Bloomberg, The Contrarian, CNBC, Fox News, Business Insider, Reuters, Meduza, Associated Press, New York Magazine, Euromaidan Press, New York Post, Townhall, Mediaite, Asia Times, Raw Story, Los Angeles Times and TMZ.com


Live updates: Trump cuts short talks with Ukraine's Zelenskyy after Oval Office blow up — Watch live as U.S. President Donald Trump greets Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in Washington, D.C. — President Donald Trump has cut short talks with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy …
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NBC News, The Hill, New Jersey Online, Fox News, Breitbart, USA Today, Semafor and Associated Press


The Real Reason Trump Berated Zelensky — Of the many bizarre and uncomfortable moments during today's Oval Office meeting between Donald Trump, J. D. Vance, and Volodymyr Zelensky—during which Trump finally shattered the American alliance with Ukraine—one was particularly revealing: What …
Discussion:
Christian Science Monitor, Raw Story, Deseret News and Hollywood Life


Excerpts From the Fiery Exchange Between Trump and Zelensky at the White House — During the Oval Office meeting, President Trump told the Ukrainian leader: “You're either going to make a deal or we're out.” — A meeting between President Trump and President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine …
Discussion:
Forbes, BBC, Raw Story, Breitbart, The Independent and American Greatness


“The free world needs a new leader”: Allies defend Zelensky after Trump debacle … - “He disrespected the United States of America in its cherished Oval Office. … - The verbal clash was triggered when Zelensky asked Vice President Vance “what kind of diplomacy” he envisioned with Vladimir Putin …


Trump, Zelensky and Vance Argue Over Ukraine War — “Do you disagree that you've had problems bringing people into your military?” “We have problems.” “And do you think that it's respectful to come to the Oval Office of the United States of America and attack the administration that is trying …
Discussion:
Robert Reich, Atlantic Council, New York Daily News and Diane Ravitch's blog


Trump cancels news conference with Zelensky after contentious Oval Office meeting
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New York Times, New York Post, Raw Story, USA Today, The Daily Caller, Associated Press, The Hill, Breitbart, NPR, The Independent, Fox News, The Gateway Pundit, Washington Times, Mediaite, The New Civil Rights Movement, IJR, FOX 32 Chicago, CBS News, Voice of America, Human Events, CNBC, Townhall, Foreign Policy, RedState, NewsNation, Twitchy, Blaze Media, The Federalist, One America News Network, The National Pulse and The Daily Sceptic

Trump And Vance Ambush Zelensky In Prelude To Betrayal
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The Atlantic, Politico, HuffPost, The Hill, Washington Examiner, New Republic, Foreign Policy, New York Post, Breitbart, Associated Press, New Jersey Online, Townhall, The Maine Wire, PoliticusUSA, Twitchy, The Daily Wire, The Independent, The Daily Signal, Raw Story, Irish Examiner, Rolling Stone, Fox News, USA Today, New York Magazine, Mediaite and CNBC

Zelenskyy leaves the White House early after Trump meeting gets heated
Discussion:
The Hill, Axios, RedState, New Republic and The Floridian

A confrontation in the Oval Office and a fractured wartime alliance
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Associated Press, ABC News and The Hill

The Guardian view on Zelenskyy in Washington: Trump turns his fire on the beleaguered president
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CNN, Daily Mail, One America News Network and Washington Examiner

Democrats Are About to Eat Their Own
Discussion:
Off Message and Mother Jones

Trump, Vance go off on Zelensky in contentious Oval Office spat
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Breitbart, The Gateway Pundit, NewsNation, New Republic, The Daily Caller, RedState, The Independent and The Kyiv Independent

Contentious Trump-Zelensky meeting threatens U.S. support for Ukraine
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Reuters, The Hill, Axios, NBC News, Breitbart, Fortune, Fox News, Raw Story, Mediaite, New York Times, The Independent, Daily Mail, Washington Times and Sanity Clause

A Russian state media reporter gained entry to the Oval Office for Trump-Zelensky sit-down
Discussion:
The Hill, New York Post and Mediaite, more at Mediagazer »

Screaming Match Erupts As Donald Trump And JD Vance Berate President Zelensky
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The Hill, Twitchy, Reuters, The Kyiv Independent, RedState, Raw Story, New York Post and Associated Press

‘Free world needs a new leader’: Europe defends Zelenskyy after Trump attack
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Politico, Fox News, The Hill, Reuters, Washington Examiner, The European Conservative and Digby's Hullabaloo

Zelenskyy to visit Trump and finish negotiation over Ukraine's minerals
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Bloomberg, HuffPost, Washington Examiner, New Jersey Online, The Hill, USA Today, Associated Press, Axios, Fox News, New York Times, New York Post, The Daily Signal, Deseret News, Breitbart, The Daily Wire, The War Zone, Christian Science Monitor, Hartford Courant, Al Jazeera, The Guardian, Daily Mail, El País, Agence France-Presse, Washington Times, Daily Caller News Foundation, HotAir, DCReport.org, The Independent and Raw Story

Ukraine ally Graham suggests Zelensky be replaced after Trump clash
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The Hill, Scripps News, New York Post, Washington Post, Ace of Spades HQ, Roll Call, The National Pulse, Mediaite, RedState, The Gateway Pundit and TMZ.com


Exclusive: Hegseth orders Cyber Command to stand down on Russia planning — Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth last week ordered U.S. Cyber Command to stand down from all planning against Russia, including offensive digital actions, according to three people familiar with the matter.
Discussion:
Raw Story, alicublog and Digby's Hullabaloo, more at Techmeme »


Exclusive: US intel shows Russia and China are attempting to recruit disgruntled federal employees, sources say — Foreign adversaries including Russia and China have recently directed their intelligence services to ramp up recruiting of US federal employees working in national security …
Discussion:
SpyTalk, The Independent, RedState and DefenseScoop


Bezos' changes at ‘Washington Post’ lead to mass subscription cancellations — again — More than 75,000 digital subscribers to The Washington Post have cancelled since its owner, billionaire Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, announced on Wednesday that he would radically overhaul the paper's opinion pages …
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Axios, Business Insider, The Atlantic, CNN, New York Post, The Hill, The Daily Wire and The National Pulse, more at Mediagazer »


Voice of America Journalists Face Investigations for Trump Comments — The broadcaster placed a longtime journalist on leave amid growing concerns about its editorial independence. — Voice of America, the federally funded broadcaster to the world, has long prided itself on serving …
Discussion:
Voice of America and The Daily Signal, more at Mediagazer »


Ex-Biden staffer: Campaign was ‘gaslighting’ public with ‘denial’ of age, ability concerns — A former staffer for the Biden White House argued that then-President Biden's campaign was “gaslighting” the public by denying concerns about his cognitive fitness for office.
Discussion:
Mediaite, New York Post, One America News Network and Daily Mail
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A Biden Family Insider Tells All
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New York Post, The Washington Free Beacon, Fox News, The Daily Caller, RedState, HotAir, Washington Examiner, Twitchy and The Independent


RFK Jr. moves to eliminate public comment on HHS decisions — In notice to Federal Register, health agency says public participation is not needed in many decisions — Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. — Friday proposing to strip public participation from much of the business his department conducts.


Hundreds of weather forecasters fired in latest wave of DOGE cuts — Hundreds of weather forecasters and other federal National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration employees on probationary status were fired Thursday, lawmakers and weather experts said. Federal workers who were not let …
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OPB, Los Angeles Times, Vox, Axios, Washington Post, Sun-Sentinel, Associated Press, The Atlantic, WUSA, Gizmodo, NPR, Twitchy, The Colorado Sun, The Independent, USA Today, New Republic, Oregonian, Mediaite and Mock Paper Scissors


State Department terminates U.S. support of Ukraine energy grid restoration — The USAID initiative had invested hundreds of millions of dollars in helping Ukraine's energy grid recover from attacks from Russia. — WASHINGTON — The State Department this week terminated a U.S. Agency …
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Washington Examiner, The Gateway Pundit, RedState, Euromaidan Press, The Kyiv Independent and Fox Business


HPV vaccine credited for declining cervical precancer rates — Fewer precancerous lesions are being found in young women undergoing cervical cancer screenings thanks to the human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine. — Rates of precancerous lesions in women between the ages of 20 and 24 dropped …
Discussion:
Forbes, Centers for Disease Control … and Axios


Trump administration retreats in fight against Russian cyber threats — Recent incidents indicate US is no longer characterizing Russia as a cybersecurity threat, marking a radical departure: ‘Putin is on the inside now’ — Don't let a billionaire's algorithm control what you read.


Trump to Sign Executive Order Making English Official U.S. Language — The U.S. has never had a national language in its nearly 250-year history — WASHINGTON—President Trump is planning to sign an executive order that would for the first time make English the official language of the U.S., according to White House officials.
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Reuters, Associated Press, New York Times, NBC News, Washington Post, Fox News, CNBC, The Hill, The Guardian, The Daily Wire, New York Daily News, UPI, El País, Townhall, MeidasTouch News, USA Today, Mediaite, One America News Network, Axios, Breitbart, Daily Kos, RedState, The Independent, The National Pulse, PoliticusUSA and The Root


Speaker Mike Johnson Is Living in a D.C. House That Is the Center of a Pastor's Secretive Influence Campaign — ProPublica is a nonprofit newsroom that investigates abuses of power. Sign up to receive our biggest stories as soon as they're published. — In 2021, Steve Berger …
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Talking Points Memo


Musk Makes Big Mistake While Trying to Smear CNN Legal Analyst Norm Eisen — CARELESS — The billionaire DOGE chief found a woman with the same last name as a lawyer he hates. Cue the conspiracy.


U.S. Mint takes Jan. 6 coin honoring officers who protected the Capitol off its website — The coins are duplicates of Congressional Gold Medals issued to law enforcement officers who protected the Capitol during the Jan. 6, 2021, riot. — The U.S. Mint has removed from its website …
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Georgia Nonprofit That Produces Life-Saving Food For Kids Has Federal Contract Cut — An estimated 300,000 children globally are expected to lose access to a nutrient-dense peanut butter that's specially formulated to treat severe acute malnutrition. — A Georgia nonprofit that produces emergency aid …
Discussion:
CNN and Atlanta Journal-Constitution


Elon Musk's plans for mass government firings just hit a legal roadblock — A judge ruled Thursday that the Trump administration's directive to fire tens of thousands of workers across the federal government is likely illegal. But it's not yet clear what that means for current employees …
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AFSCME, New York Times, Associated Press, WUSA, Baltimore Sun and Reason
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Hegseth Warned of Military Action if Mexico Fails to Meet Trump's Border Demands — The defense secretary's closed-door comments have unnerved Mexican officials negotiating to avoid 25% tariffs — MEXICO CITY—It was the first call U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth held …
Discussion:
Bloomberg and Lawyers, Guns & Money