Top Items:
New York Times:
For CNN, a Change in Ownership Means a Suddenly Uncertain Future — Paramount's apparent victory over Netflix in securing Warner Bros. Discovery has led to concerns within the CNN newsroom. — Once again, CNN is facing an uncertain fate. — Netflix's stunning surrender on Thursday …
Discussion:
Deadline, Mediaite, The Wrap and Bloomberg, more at Mediagazer »
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Oliver Darcy / Status:
CNN Braces for Ellison's Control … On Thursday afternoon, shortly after Netflix boss Ted Sarandos departed the White House following meetings with Donald Trump's chief of staff and the Justice Department, the streamer issued a statement stunning the entertainment industry.
Discussion:
The Wrap, CNN, The Guardian, The Hollywood Reporter, Deadline and Mediaite, more at Mediagazer »
David Dayen / American Prospect:
States Can Block the Paramount-Warner Deal — But thanks to some clever maneuvering, they are already running out of time. — Email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email — What started as a bidding war for Warner Bros. Discovery became an unconditional surrender Thursday.
Discussion:
Bloomberg, Media Matters for America, Deadline, NBC News, The Hollywood Reporter, The Bulwark, AOL, The Wrap, Variety and NPR, more at Mediagazer »
New York Times:
Netflix Backs Out of Bid for Warner Bros., Paving Way for an Ellison Takeover
Discussion:
Techdirt, About Netflix, Bloomberg, The Hollywood Reporter, The Wrap, New Republic, Ars Technica, Poynter, No More Mister Nice Blog, Variety, New York Sun, Rolling Stone, Deadline, New York Post, MacRumors, NewsMax.com, Semafor, The National Pulse, TechCrunch, Mediaite, Adweek, World of Reel, Joe.My.God., The Post Millennial, UPI, The Verge and 9to5Mac
Joe Flint / Wall Street Journal:
Paramount Wins Bidding War for Warner Discovery After Netflix Drops Out
Paramount Wins Bidding War for Warner Discovery After Netflix Drops Out
Discussion:
CNBC, Forbes, The Free Press, Fargo | KFGO, Agence France-Presse, RedState, Lawyers, Guns & Money, Raw Story, KVIA-TV, ABC7, KXTV, Newsweek, Associated Press, Los Angeles Times and Mediaite, more at Mediagazer »
New York Times:
U.S. Says Staff Can Leave Israel, Urging Speed, as Possible Iran Strike Looms — In an email to embassy workers Friday morning, Ambassador Mike Huckabee warned them that if they wanted to leave Israel, they “should do so TODAY.” — With the threat of a U.S. strike on Iran looming …
Discussion:
HotAir, New York Post, The Washington Free Beacon, Mediaite, MeidasTouch News, UPI, RedState, New York Sun, Agence France-Presse, KVIA-TV, New Republic, Washington Times, Balloon Juice, Axios, Forbes, The Daily Caller, Washington Examiner, The Forward, Joe.My.God., Fox News, NewsMax.com and IJR
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U.S. Embassy Jerusalem:
Travel Advisory Update: Authorized Departure of Non-Emergency U.S. Government Personnel and Family Members of Personnel from U.S. Mission Israel. — Updated to reflect the authorized departure of non-emergency U.S. government personnel and family members of U.S. government personnel to leave Israel.
Discussion:
Politico, The Hill, The Daily Wire, Bloomberg, Raw Story, CBS News, The Post Millennial, France 24 and Middle East Monitor
Natalie Allison / Washington Post:
Vance: ‘No chance’ U.S. will be in drawn-out war in Middle East
Vance: ‘No chance’ U.S. will be in drawn-out war in Middle East
Discussion:
The National Pulse, MS NOW, The Wrap, New York Post, NewsMax.com, Fox News, The Independent, Mediaite, The Hill, The Forward and Jewish Insider
G. Elliott Morris / Strength In Numbers:
New poll: Democrats' real problem isn't being too liberal — it's being seen as too weak — This article is the last in a four-part series presenting findings from the latest Strength In Numbers/Verasight poll, conducted February 18-20 among 1,566 U.S. adults. The margin of error is +/- 2.5 percentage points.
Discussion:
Off Message
Reuters:
Trump Iranian missile claim unsupported by U.S. intelligence, say sources — U.S. President Donald Trump's claim that Iran will soon have a missile that can hit the United States is not backed by U.S. intelligence reports, and appears to be exaggerated, according to three sources familiar with the reports …
Discussion:
19FortyFive, Daily Mail, MeidasTouch News and Breitbart
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Joshua Keating / Vox:
A new poll shows just how quickly Israel has lost America's sympathy — For the first time, a Gallup survey found more Americans sympathize with Palestinians than Israelis in the long-running Middle East conflict, a watershed moment in relations between the US and one of its closest — but most controversial — allies.
Discussion:
ABC News, Al Jazeera, Algemeiner.com and New York Times
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Linley Sanders / Associated Press:
Americans' sympathies in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict have shifted dramatically, new poll shows — American sympathies in the Middle East have shifted dramatically toward the Palestinians, according to new Gallup polling, after decades of overwhelming support for the Israelis.
Discussion:
Gallup and Associated Press
Avery Lotz / Axios:
America's slipping sympathy for Israel
Associated Press:
Lawmakers say US military used laser to take down Border Protection drone — The U.S. military used a laser Thursday to shoot down a Customs and Border Protection drone, according to members of Congress, and the Federal Aviation Administration responded by closing more airspace near El Paso, Texas.
Discussion:
CBS News, Axios, KVIA-TV, Reuters, NewsNation, Straight Arrow News, Raw Story, Associated Press, Al Jazeera, Wall Street Journal, Forbes, Newsweek, UPI, VINnews, FOX 10 Phoenix, Bloomberg, Washington Examiner, Roll Call, Mediaite, The Japan Times, Just An Earth-Bound Misfit, I, Lawyers, Guns & Money and WEB OF EVIL
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William Kristol / The Bulwark:
Same Brutal ICE. Now Stealthier. — What approach should Donald Trump take to rigging this year's midterms? A coalition of hardcore MAGA activists has a few ideas. The Washington Post reports that activists “who say they are in coordination with the White House” are circulating …
Discussion:
New York Times, Washington Post, Associated Press and The Independent, more at Techmeme »
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Wall Street Journal:
Government Agencies Raise Alarms About Use of Elon Musk's Grok Chatbot
Discussion:
Washington Examiner, New Republic and KVIA-TV, more at Techmeme »
Anthropic:
Statement from Dario Amodei on our discussions with the Department of War
Statement from Dario Amodei on our discussions with the Department of War
Discussion:
TechCrunch, The Hill, Axios, Fox News, Breitbart, CNBC, UPI, Tom's Hardware, Washington Times, Fortune, Washington Post, Council on Foreign Relations, The Verge, The Atlantic, Straight Arrow News, 404 Media, CNN, RedState, NPR, France 24, Forbes, Raw Story, New York Times, Wonkette, Semafor, Notes from the Circus, The Japan Times, KVIA-TV, Defense One, Rolling Stone, NOTUS, The Register, Vox, CBS News, Breaking Defense, NewsMax.com, Los Angeles Times, Politico, The Cross Section, New York Post, MS NOW, WTOP News, The Argument, Bloomberg and ABC News, more at Techmeme »
Punchbowl News:
Senate Dems ramp up pressure for tariff refunds … Two dozen Democrats, led by Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer and Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.), are sending a letter today to Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent demanding that tariff refunds begin immediately. — The Supreme Court struck …
Discussion:
Raw Story
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Sarah Davis / The Hill:
Moore demands Trump tariff reimbursements for Maryland consumers, businesses
Moore demands Trump tariff reimbursements for Maryland consumers, businesses
Discussion:
Fargo | KFGO
Mike Hixenbaugh / NBC News:
911 calls capture kids burning with fever, struggling to breathe at ICE detention center — EMS crews were called to the Dilley Immigration Processing Center in Texas at least 11 times since September for children in medical distress, records show. — ADD NBC NEWS TO GOOGLE
Discussion:
The Parnas Perspective, The Independent and ICE, more at Techmeme »
Hailey Fuchs / Politico:
Democrats say they have the votes to subpoena Lutnick in Epstein probe — Democrats on the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee have the votes to force Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick to testify before their panel about his relationship with convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein …
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Emily Brooks / The Hill:
‘I did nothing wrong’: Bill Clinton denies knowledge of Epstein abuse in deposition
‘I did nothing wrong’: Bill Clinton denies knowledge of Epstein abuse in deposition
Discussion:
Associated Press, Washington Examiner, New York Times, Scripps News, New York Post, Axios, CNBC, Washington Post, The Guardian, New York Sun, KUSA-TV, The Daily Wire, Newsweek, The Post Millennial, NBC News, Bloomberg, Reason, The Independent, CBS News, Fox News, WTOP News, NewsNation, WLT Report, FOX 26 Houston, Politico, FOX 10 Phoenix, UPI, Al Jazeera and TheJournal.ie
Josh Halliday / The Guardian:
Green party wins Gorton and Denton byelection, pushing Labour to third place — Hannah Spencer elected as party's first MP in northern England as vote share for Keir Starmer's party plummets — The Green party has pulled off a landmark victory in the Gorton and Denton byelection …
Discussion:
HuffPost, Byline Times, The American Conservative, PinkNews, LabourList, spiked, Metro.co.uk, Zeteo, Politico, UPI and Breitbart
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ACLU:
New ACLU Report Reveals How the Trump Administration is Using Local Police to Build a National Deportation-Policing Force Through the 287(g) Program — Report Finds At Least 77.2 Million People Live in Counties Where Local Law Enforcement Participates in the Program
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Ashley Splawinski / Can We Still Govern?:
A Federalism Bottleneck? — Across America, officials in small government offices are reviewing …
A Federalism Bottleneck? — Across America, officials in small government offices are reviewing …
Discussion:
BizPac Review
Sara Braun / The Guardian:
Kansas revokes driver's licenses from trans residents in latest assault on rights — Law demanding IDs match ‘sex at birth’ also includes bathroom ban provision for trans people in public buildings — Transgender Kansas residents have begun receiving letters from the state's department …
Discussion:
American Greatness, Kansas City Star, Erin In The Morning, Slate, Washington Times, The Bulwark, Fox News, UPI, NewsMax.com, New Republic, Reuters and Truthout
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Punchbowl News:
Crenshaw has Texas primary problems … House GOP leaders are growing increasingly concerned about Crenshaw's fate next Tuesday as he faces a strong challenge from state Rep. Steve Toth. … That's a clear sign that the incumbent's allies see the challenger as a serious threat, even though Toth has spent very little money himself.
Discussion:
New York Times, CNN, Joe.My.God., Raw Story, Congressman Dan Crenshaw, Washington Examiner and Mediaite
RELATED:
Christine Wang / Axios:
Trump Media & Technology Group in talks to spin off Truth Social — Trump Media & Technology Group said Friday it is in talks to spin off Truth Social into a new publicly traded company. … - TMTG businesses including Truth Social would merge with a blank-check company called Texas Ventures Acquisition III Corp.
Discussion:
CBS News and Forbes, more at Mediagazer »
Geoff Kelly / Investigative Post:
Timeline: Burmese refugee's arrest to death — Police body camera footage of confrontation between police and Nurul Amin Shah Alam in February of last year. — Buffalo police last year Tasered, beat and arrested the Burmese refugee who was found dead Tuesday in downtown …
E.J. Dionne Jr / New York Times:
Why Trump's Fearmongering Is Falling Flat With Voters — President Trump did the nation a big favor in his State of the Union message: He brought home the dark secret behind his success. His one and true genius is hating on other people — Democrats always, immigrants and racial minorities …
Discussion:
Washington Examiner
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New York Times:
Elon Musk's Secret Web of Companies in Texas — The megabillionaire was tied to about 90 companies in the state, which he uses for everything from paying nannies to buying land to supporting Donald Trump's re-election, according to a Times examination. — In 2020, Elon Musk announced …
Discussion:
Raw Story
Kyle Cheney / Politico:
‘ICE will comply’: Top Minnesota judge threatens criminal contempt for continued defiance … “The Court is not aware of another occasion in the history of the United States in which a federal court has had to threaten contempt — again and again and again — to force the United States government …
Discussion:
New York Times, MS NOW, Associated Press, Joe.My.God., Courthouse News Service, Raw Story, Washington Times, The Independent, Fargo | KFGO and MPR News


