Top Items:
Ryan J. Reilly / NBC News:
Trump administration drops Reflecting Pool case, blaming damage on ‘botched’ installation — The Justice Department said “it is difficult to attribute the widespread damage to the Reflecting Pool to vandalism, let alone to establish that fact beyond a reasonable doubt.”
Discussion:
OutsideTheBeltway, Raw Story and Little Green Footballs
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Aaron Parnas / MeidasTouch:
DOJ Seeks to Dismiss Charges Against Olympian It Indicted for “Vandalizing” the Lincoln Memorial. — The Justice Department is seeking to dismiss the felony case against David Hearn, an American Olympic canoeist from the 2000 Sydney Games, after admitting that the damage he was charged …
Discussion:
New York Post, CNN, The Gateway Pundit and emptywheel
Madaleine Rubin / New York Times:
Reflecting Pool Damage Was ‘Botched’ Job, Not Vandalism, Prosecutors Say — President Trump had repeatedly accused vandals of damaging the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool. On Friday, prosecutors acknowledged it was “the result of flawed installation” and moved to dismiss charges against a former Olympian.
Discussion:
New York Magazine, Honolulu Star-Advertiser, Lawyers, Guns & Money and Althouse
Washington Post:
Prosecutors drop Reflecting Pool damage charge against former Olympian — Trump has claimed that vandals deliberately damaged the pool, but prosecutors say internal documents suggest the problems were due to contractor errors. — Summary — Federal prosecutors on Friday moved to drop …
Discussion:
The Guardian, The Atlantic, France 24 and Raw Story
Associated Press:
Justice Department drops criminal case against ex-Olympian charged with damaging Reflecting Pool — The Justice Department moved Friday to dismiss a criminal case charging a former Olympian with deliberately damaging the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool. Government lawyers …
Discussion:
The Guardian, Axios, NewsNation, Raw Story, Daily Mail, CNBC, TMZ.com, Boing Boing, FOX 32 Chicago, The Independent, CBS News, Techdirt, ABC News, WTOP News and Al Jazeera
Jackson Thompson / Fox News:
Prosecutors move to dismiss felony vandalism case against Olympian David Hearn over reflecting pools
Discussion:
CBS News
Politico:
Trump says he wishes anti-weaponization fund wasn't dead, angering senators he needs to confirm Blanche — President Donald Trump said Friday that the $1.8 billion anti-weaponization fund for so-called victims of government abuse is “dead” - as much as he'd like it not to be.
Discussion:
Associated Press, NBC News, Deseret News, Townhall, Raw Story, Reason, ABC News, Roll Call, Washington Times, MS NOW, Reuters and Washington Examiner
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Michael Tomasky / New Republic:
We Now Have the Leading Charge in Trump's Next Impeachment
Discussion:
The Hill, New York Times, Raw Story, Blaze Media, Salon, Talking Points Memo, The Atlantic and The Guardian
Washington Post:
Why senators fear Trump's DOJ payout fund isn't dead, despite Blanche's promises
Why senators fear Trump's DOJ payout fund isn't dead, despite Blanche's promises
Discussion:
Axios, Daily Mail, NewsMax.com, Politico, Forbes, CNN and The Hill
Torrie Herrington / NOTUS:
Trump Files Appeal to Reinstate His ‘Anti-Weaponization’ Fund
Trump Files Appeal to Reinstate His ‘Anti-Weaponization’ Fund
Discussion:
CourtListener, Raw Story, New York Post, MS NOW, The Hill, NewsMax.com and Scripps News
New York Times:
Trump to Appeal Judge's Ruling Denouncing I.R.S. Suit as Exercise in Self-Dealing
Trump to Appeal Judge's Ruling Denouncing I.R.S. Suit as Exercise in Self-Dealing
Discussion:
MS NOW, Washington Times, Politico, New Republic and Raw Story
Glenn Thrush / New York Times:
Loyalty to Trump Proves a Double-Edged Sword for Attorney General Nominee
Loyalty to Trump Proves a Double-Edged Sword for Attorney General Nominee
Discussion:
Washington Examiner, The Gateway Pundit, New Republic and American Prospect
Azhar Sukri / CNBC:
Tankers near Oman come under fire as Iran threatens to choke off shipping routes … A tanker near Oman reported being struck overnight, with another saying it saw an explosion nearby as Iran warned Washington that the U.S. military's blockade of the Strait of Hormuz would result in the closure of key shipping routes.
Discussion:
Associated Press, France 24 and Reuters
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Wall Street Journal:
Trump Orders Fresh Attack on Iran — U.S. officials say the attacks could begin as soon as this weekend — WASHINGTON—President Trump has ordered a fresh attack on Iran aimed at getting Tehran to surrender that could begin as soon as this weekend and would last a few days, U.S. officials said.
Discussion:
CNN, The Gateway Pundit, NewsMax.com, Raw Story, Bloomberg, New York Post, CBS News, Washington Times and RedState
Margaret Brennan / CBS News:
U.S., Israel preparing to bombard energy-related targets in Iran, sources say
Discussion:
The Hill, UPI and NewsNation
Steven Erlanger / New York Times:
In Iran, the U.S. Appears Headed for a Strategic Defeat, Allies Fear
In Iran, the U.S. Appears Headed for a Strategic Defeat, Allies Fear
Discussion:
PolitiFact and Politico
NBC News:
Russia is sharing valuable electronic intel with Iran, officials say, as U.S. war drags on
Russia is sharing valuable electronic intel with Iran, officials say, as U.S. war drags on
Discussion:
USA Today
Barak Ravid / Axios:
Trump considering strikes on Iranian energy targets within days
Trump considering strikes on Iranian energy targets within days
Discussion:
Daily Mail, National Review, NewsMax.com, Washington Examiner, CBS News and Washington Post
Politico:
Ceuta crisis rattles European capitals — Chaotic images of people pouring into Ceuta, an autonomous Spanish city of about 80,000 people and one of the European Union's only two land borders with Africa, are reverberating across Europe — especially among right-wing and far-right parties …
Discussion:
Politico, The Atlantic, Townhall, Slate, The Daily Caller, Breitbart, The Free Press, The Spectator, WTOP News, Agence France-Presse, RedState, New York Post, Israpundit, The Daily Wire, Washington Examiner, RTÉ, UPI and Atalayar
RELATED:
Zeteo:
The Fake ‘Invasion’ of Spain: What You Need to Know — 9 things you should know about the so-called ‘crisis’ of Moroccan migrants forcing their way into the Spanish enclave of Ceuta - and the hysterical response from the right in the U.S., UK, and EU. — Team Zeteo — ∙ Paid
Discussion:
Washington Examiner, JURISTnews, The Free Press, The Times of Israel, Breitbart, Algemeiner.com, NewsMax.com, Associated Press, The Spectator, The Daily Wire, France 24, Agence France-Presse, The Gateway Pundit, New York Post, Al Jazeera, Business Insider, Middle East Monitor, Reuters, spiked, Politico, Straight Arrow, Semafor, Fox News, New York Times and Bloomberg
Associated Press:
Italy suspends Schengen with Spain over Ceuta migrant crisis, closes air and sea borders
Discussion:
Bloomberg, Agence France-Presse, RTÉ, Fox News, The Hill, RedState, HotAir, Chatham House, Breitbart, Politico, The Gateway Pundit and Al Jazeera
Associated Press:
Live Updates: Most of the Migrants Who Crossed Into Spanish Territory Have Returned, Officials Say
Live Updates: Most of the Migrants Who Crossed Into Spanish Territory Have Returned, Officials Say
Discussion:
CBS News, Washington Post, BBC, New York Times, National Review, Townhall, Beyond the Ideological, The Daily Wire, The Federalist, Associated Press, Newsbusters, Forbes, Media Matters for America, The Spectator, New York Post, HotAir, Public, FOX 32 Chicago, GZERO, Reuters, Breitbart, Washington Examiner, PBS NewsHour, The Daily Sceptic, RedState, Euronews, Los Angeles Times, Legal Insurrection, Al Jazeera, The Gateway Pundit, Human Events, Time, RTÉ, The Times of Israel, Fox News, El País, WTOP News and NewsMax.com
NBC News:
Hackers targeted municipal water systems in 7 states this week, FBI says — The federal warning comes after more than 30 water facilities in Minnesota were breached. … Cyberattacks targeting municipal water systems have been reported in at least seven states this week …
Discussion:
Staff Stories, WNYW-TV, Breitbart, E&E News, CISA, Joe.My.God., CBS News and CNN, more at Techmeme »
RELATED:
John Sakellariadis / Politico:
Trump blames Minnesota water hacks on Walz, while evidence points to Iran
Discussion:
MS NOW, One America News Network, Fox News, The Daily Wire, PolitiFact, MPR News, Associated Press, Straight Arrow, Raw Story, Scripps News, The Hill, Gizmodo and New Republic
Coral Davenport / New York Times:
Trump Administration Plans to Upend Head Start by Deregulating It — The White House tried but failed to block funding for preschool for poor children. Instead, it will seek to strip away standards on health, literacy — and brushing teeth. — The Trump administration is preparing …
Discussion:
Raw Story and NewsMax.com
Erik Wemple / New York Times:
Editor of Washington Post Opinion Section Resigns After 1 Year — Adam O'Neal inherited a mandate from the paper's owner, Jeff Bezos, to shift toward “personal liberties and free markets.” — Adam O'Neal, the top editor of The Washington Post's opinion section, resigned on Friday …
Discussion:
The Bulwark, Fox News, The Wrap and Deadline, more at Mediagazer »
New York Times:
How Ukraine Is Making Inroads Into Once-Hostile Territory: MAGA — Ukraine and its supporters have invested years in trying to undo the skepticism of the country's war effort harbored by President Trump's MAGA movement and the president himself. — Ken Bensinger and Constant Méheut
Discussion:
HuffPost, The Guardian, Washington Examiner and Al Jazeera
Joseph Cox / 404 Media:
Google Earth's New AI Lets Anyone Fabricate Completely Bullshit Satellite Images — On Thursday, Google introduced a new AI feature into Google Earth which lets anyone fabricate all sorts of misleading or straight up inaccurate satellite imagery, from making it look like a specific place …
Discussion:
Ars Technica, BBC, Federation of American …, The Atlantic, TechCrunch, NPR, Digital Digging …, Futurism and The Verge, more at Techmeme »
Los Angeles Times:
LAPD officer who recorded colleagues' racist comments charged with felony eavesdropping — 5 min Click here to listen to this article … - Prosecutors are expected to charge that LAPD officer Daniel Flores violated the California Invasion of Privacy Act, which prohibits recording others without their consent.
Discussion:
KTLA
New York Times:
Warsh Considers Reducing Frequency of Fed Policy Meetings — The Federal Reserve has met at least eight times a year for decades. Reducing the number of meetings would represent the biggest change by Kevin M. Warsh since he became chairman. — Kevin M. Warsh is considering reducing …
Discussion:
Drezner's World and Bloomberg
