Top Items:
Erwin Chemerinsky / New York Times:
Trump's ‘Compact’ With Universities Is Just Extortion — On Wednesday, the Trump administration sent letters to nine major universities proposing a “compact.” As The Times reports, the agreement would, among other things, require these universities to freeze tuition rates for five years …
Discussion:
The Post Millennial, The Guardian and UPI
RELATED:
Lois Beckett / The Guardian:
California vows to ‘instantly’ cut funding to universities that cave to Trump ‘compact’ — Governor Gavin Newsom urges schools not to sign ‘radical agreement’ to cuts to departments, students and speech — Any California universities that sign the Trump administration's proposed …
Discussion:
The Daily Signal, The Hill, Wall Street Journal and NewsMax.com
Associated Press:
Trump asks 9 colleges to commit to his political agenda and get favorable access to federal money — The White House is asking nine major universities to commit to President Donald Trump's political priorities in exchange for more favorable access to federal money.
Discussion:
CNN, CalMatters, Breitbart, Forbes, Blaze Media, Washington Times, WBEZ Chicago, Truthout, Daily Kos, Ars Technica, LGBTQ Nation, City Journal, Washington Examiner, Reuters, Reason and New York Times
Sophia Bollag / San Francisco Chronicle:
Newsom threatens state funding for California universities that agree to Trump demands
Discussion:
The Hill and Washington Examiner
Los Angeles Times:
Newsom threatens to cut state funding to universities that sign Trump's political compact
Ashley Zavala / KQCA-TV:
Gov. Newsom threatens to withhold billions from California colleges that sign Trump's ‘compact’
Gov. Newsom threatens to withhold billions from California colleges that sign Trump's ‘compact’
Discussion:
Breitbart
New York Times:
Trump Offered Universities an Invitation for a Deal. Some See a Trap.
Trump Offered Universities an Invitation for a Deal. Some See a Trap.
Discussion:
Semafor
Governor Gavin Newsom / Governor of California:
Governor Newsom: No state funding for sell-out universities
Governor Newsom: No state funding for sell-out universities
Discussion:
NOTUS, NewsMax.com and Bloomberg
Joseph Cox / 404 Media:
ICEBlock Owner After Apple Removes App: ‘We Are Determined to Fight This’ — The developer of ICEBlock, an app that lets people crowdsource sightings of ICE officials, has said he is determined to fight back after Apple removed the app from its App Store on Thursday.
Discussion:
Reuters and New York Times
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Ashley Oliver / Fox Business:
Apple takes down ICE tracking apps after pressure from Bondi DOJ — Bondi confirmed the department reached out to Apple Thursday to demand it remove ICEBlock — FIRST ON FOX: Apple dropped ICEBlock, a widely used tracking tool, from its App Store Thursday after the Department …
Discussion:
BBC, Forbes, The Verge, Townhall, Washington Examiner, 9to5Mac, New York Post, Axios and The Hill, more at Techmeme »
Dan Mangan / CNBC:
Apple removes ICE tracking apps after Trump AG pressure
New York Times:
After Declining to Give Trump a Sword for King Charles, a Museum Leader Is Out — The departure of Todd Arrington, who led the Dwight D. Eisenhower Presidential Library and Museum, came after the administration sought a sword from its collection as a gift for King Charles.
Discussion:
Mediaite and The Last Campaign
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Susan B. Glasser / New Yorker:
Donald Trump's Shutdown Power Play — The President learned in 2019 how to undercut Congress in a funding fight, and he's been making the same move ever since. — Ever since Newt Gingrich brought the federal government to a halt for three weeks in 1995, “birthing a new era of American gridlock …
Discussion:
Washington Post, Raw Story, The Daily Signal and The Hill
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Jordain Carney / Politico:
Jeanne Shaheen is Democrats' shutdown whisperer
Discussion:
New Hampshire Public Radio
NBC News:
Early polls show Trump and GOP taking more blame than Democrats for shutdown
Early polls show Trump and GOP taking more blame than Democrats for shutdown
Discussion:
Washington Examiner, Newsbusters, Claytoonz, Politico, ACA Signups, New York Sun, Truthout, CNN, Raw Story, The Independent, ABC News, Newsweek, Mediaite, New Jersey Online, Washington Post, HuffPost, PoliticusUSA, Grabien, al.com, The Hill, Daily Mail, Fox News, Roll Call and San Diego Union-Tribune
James Hibberd / The Hollywood Reporter:
Dave Chappelle Criticizes Free Speech in America at Saudi Arabia Comedy Festival — “It's easier to talk here than it is in America,” the comedian told an audience at the Riyadh Comedy Festival. … The comedian was one of more than 50 performers participating in the event …
Discussion:
Deadline, Mediaite, Rolling Stone, Variety, The Wrap and The A.V. Club
RELATED:
New York Times:
At Saudi Comedy Fest, American Free Speech Becomes the Punchline — American comics used Saudi Arabia's first global comedy festival to skewer a debate raging at home. Critics said the event was part of Saudi efforts to draw attention away from a political crackdown.
Sarah Rumpf / Mediaite:
Paramount Officially Acquiring The Free Press and Making Bari Weiss CBS News Editor in Chief: Report — Paramount Skydance will be officially acquiring The Free Press and hiring its founder Bari Weiss as editor in chief of its CBS News division, with the deal to be announced this coming Monday …
Discussion:
AMC All the Time, OutKick and Fox News
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Alexandra Steigrad / New York Post:
Bari Weiss to lead CBS News as part of major Paramount Skydance shakeup: sources — Paramount Skydance is poised to name Bari Weiss as editor in chief of CBS News in the coming days — giving the hard-charging journalist unusual clout to revamp the struggling network as it also acquires …
MSNBC:
Kash Patel fires FBI agent trainee for displaying gay pride flag — The FBI employee was fired on the first day of the government shutdown as President Trump threatened more terminations. — FBI Director Kash Patel on Wednesday fired an agent in training for displaying a gay pride flag …
Discussion:
CNN, The Independent, Mediaite and Raw Story
New York Times:
Trump ‘Determined’ the U.S. Is Now in a War With Drug Cartels, Congress Is Told — A notice calls the people the U.S. military recently killed on suspicion of drug smuggling in the Caribbean Sea “unlawful combatants.” — President Trump has decided that the United States is engaged in a formal …
Discussion:
The Guardian, The Intercept, Politico, Semafor, Associated Press, Fox News, The Hill, Vox, France 24, CBS News, FOX 32 Chicago, Letters from an American, Washington Times, NBC News, Press Watch, The National Pulse, Al Jazeera, Washington Post, Raw Story, Times Now, Washington Examiner, UPI, Salon, New Republic, El País, Bloomberg, New York Post, ABC Columbia, Scripps News, San Diego Union-Tribune, RedState, The Independent, The American Conservative, IJR, Reuters, Mediaite, NewsMax.com and Forbes
RELATED:
Janelle Griffith / People:
ICE Agents Rappel from Helicopter in Overnight Chicago Raid, Dragging Kids from Beds to U-Hauls — “It was heartbreaking to watch,” said a neighbor who described seeing “buck naked” children getting separated from their mothers during the raid on a South Side apartment building.
Discussion:
WBEZ Chicago
Congressman Jamie Raskin:
Raskin Statement on Trump Administration's Use of Federal Departments and Agencies for Propaganda Purposes; Possible Violations of the Hatch Act — Washington, D.C. - Rep. Jamie Raskin (MD-08) released the following statement: — “I have been contacted by numerous constituents outraged …
Discussion:
MSNBC, Public Citizen, Raw Story, NewsMax.com, UPI, The Hill, E&E News, Washington Examiner and WTOP News
RELATED:
Joyce Vance / Civil Discourse with Joyce Vance:
A Note About the Comey Case — In the wake of the Comey indictment, The Washington Post is reporting tonight that “Lawyers inside the high-profile U.S. attorney's office [for the Eastern District of Virginia] prosecuting former FBI director James B. Comey are unnerved by what they see as an unprecedented push …
Discussion:
Washington Post, CBS News and Newsweek
Washington Post:
Senior government officials privately warn against firings during shutdown — The Trump administration has telegraphed that mass firings are coming, but officials have cautioned that such moves could violate appropriations law. — Senior federal officials have quietly counseled several agencies …
Discussion:
Punchbowl News, Breitbart, Dogwood, The Hill, Al Jazeera, Daily Mail, NewsMax.com, Raw Story and NBC News
RELATED:
NPR:
As the shutdown drags on, the threat of permanent cuts is mired in politics
Discussion:
NBC News, Axios, Deseret News, New York Post, Washington Times, Reuters, Fox News, Scripps News, The Guardian, Bloomberg, Times Now, al.com, Townhall, Wall Street Journal, WTOP News, Mediaite, The Western Journal, Grabien, E&E News and Forbes
Jordain Carney / Politico:
Thune warns Democrats about Russ Vought: 'We don't control what he's going to do'
Thune warns Democrats about Russ Vought: 'We don't control what he's going to do'
Discussion:
Bloomberg, The Atlantic, The Hill, Axios, New Republic, CNN, Daily Kos, Ace of Spades HQ, New York Sun, Associated Press, The Daily Signal, Newsweek, HuffPost, The Guardian, Esquire, Fox News, Townhall, CBS News, Washington Examiner, Mock Paper Scissors, New Jersey Online, Raw Story, Washington Times, Michigan Advance, UPI and The Daily Caller
Mike Hixenbaugh / NBC News:
Robert Morris, Texas megachurch pastor, pleads guilty to sexually abusing a child — Under a plea agreement, Morris was given a 10-year sentence, but he will serve only six months in an Oklahoma jail. — PAWHUSKA, Okla.— Robert Morris, the Texas megachurch pastor who built Gateway Church …
Discussion:
NewsNation, UPI, Associated Press, Washington Examiner, Blaze Media, Raw Story, FOX 4 News Dallas-Fort Worth and Times Now
Sam Meredith / CNBC:
Putin warns of ‘new stage of escalation’ if U.S. supplies long-range missiles to Ukraine … Russian President Vladimir Putin warned the potential supply of long-range missiles to Ukraine would mark a “completely new stage of escalation” between Washington and Moscow.
Discussion:
Times Now, New York Post and NewsMax.com
RELATED:
Mike Fox / Orange County Register:
Rejecting injustice: The jury's role in a politicized justice system — The acquittal of Brayan Ramos-Brito is more than just a legal victory for one individual; it is a powerful reaffirmation of the American jury system. After a federal jury in Los Angeles took just over an hour …
Meredith Lee Hill / Politico:
Trump making plans to send billions in cash bailouts to farmers with taxpayer money … Trump officials are still working on estimates of how big the first tranche of aid will be, according to the three people, who were granted anonymity to share private details.
Discussion:
Axios, Newsweek, NewsMax.com and Reuters
RELATED:
Mack Liederman / Block Club Chicago:
South Shore Residents Return To Ransacked Apartments After ICE Raid: ‘It Looks Like Hell’ — A “now renting” sign outside touts granite countertops. Inside, residents are trying to make sense of the raid that made their already neglected building even worse. — Click to email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email
Discussion:
Salon, New Republic and CWB Chicago
Wall Street Journal:
White House Senses Political Risk on Healthcare Despite Shutdown Bravado — Trump aides are discussing proposals to extend Obamacare subsidies on which millions of Americans rely — Loading... WASHINGTON—President Trump has projected unwavering confidence that he is winning the messaging war over the government shutdown.
Discussion:
Steady

