News

The Washington Post reports: Early last August, an envelope with extraordinary handling restrictions arrived at the White House. Sent by courier from the CIA, it carried “eyes only” instructions that its contents be shown to just four people: President Barack Obama and three senior aides. The White House debated various options to punish Russia, but facing obstacles and potential risks, …

Swampity! The Washington Examiner reports: President Trump officially announced his intent to nominate New York Jets owner Woody Johnson to be ambassador to the United Kingdom. The White House confirmed the news Thursday night in a press release. If approved by the Senate, Johnson would be taking over one of the top American diplomatic posts. He contributed millions of dollars …

CNN reports: Four conservative Republican senators announced Thursday that they opposed the current version of GOP Senate leadership’s health care bill as written. Sens. Rand Paul of Kentucky, Ron Johnson of Wisconsin, Ted Cruz of Texas and Mike Lee of Utah said in a joint statement they’re “not ready to vote for this bill.” “Currently, for a variety of reasons, …

From President Obama’s personal Facebook page: The Senate bill, unveiled today, is not a health care bill. It’s a massive transfer of wealth from middle-class and poor families to the richest people in America. It hands enormous tax cuts to the rich and to the drug and insurance industries, paid for by cutting health care for everybody else. Those with …

The New York Daily News reports: The Congressional Black Caucus sends its regrets to “the Honorable Omarosa Manigault.” The CBC on Wednesday rejected the reality star villain-turned-adviser’s invite to meet with President Trump, citing his inaction on their key policy issues — and following a report some of its members had been miffed by Manigault’s grandiose sign-off. “Given the lack …

From the Hollywood Reporter: MSNBC, which has been soaring lately in both ratings and in advertising prices, is giving radio host Hugh Hewitt his own show, adding another conservative voice to a lineup that already includes Fox News poach Greta Van Susteren and former George W. Bush communications hand Nicole Wallace. Hewitt’s self-titled show will air on Saturday mornings at …

CBS News reports: Senate Republicans unveiled a “discussion draft” of the bill Thursday of their plan to repeal and replace Obamacare that would end the health care law’s penalties for people who don’t buy insurance, cut back an expansion of Medicaid, but would keep more protections for people with pre-existing conditions, compared to a House-passed bill. The measure would also …

TIME Magazine reports: Contradicting rhetoric from his presidential campaign, President Donald Trump explained why he chose Wall Street billionaires for several of his Cabinet roles during a campaign-style rally in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, Wednesday evening. “So somebody said, ‘Why did you appoint a rich person to be in charge of the economy?’ I said, ‘Because that’s the kind of thinking …

The Guardian reports: Donald Trump’s son-in-law and chief Middle East adviser, Jared Kushner, has arrived in Israel and the occupied Palestinian Territories for a whistlestop visit aimed at restarting the long-dormant Israeli-Palestinian peace talks. Kushner’s carefully managed visit – conducted far from media scrutiny and lasting less than a day – comes amid scant indication of any imminent breakthrough between …

Via press release from the United Nations: The world population is now at least 7.6 billion, up from 7.4 billion last year, spurred by the relatively high levels of fertility in developing countries – despite an overall drop in the number of children people have around the globe – the United Nations today reported. The concentration of global population growth …

Fox News reports: Democrats did hold on to a seat in California earlier this month. But Republicans are now boasting a “5-0” record in special elections for seats Democrats sought to flip — counting Georgia twice, as Ossoff was unable to lock down an outright win in the initial contest and lost to Handel in the runoff. The Georgia race …

Raw Story reports: Former Department of Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson on Wednesday bluntly shot down any doubts about whether Russia was responsible for the hacking of the Democratic National Committee that was intended to disrupt the 2016 presidential election. “The Russian government, at the direction of Vladimir Putin himself, orchestrated cyber attacks on our nation for the purpose of …

The Hill reports: A bill that slaps new sanctions on Russia, and passed the Senate almost unanimously, has hit a major stumbling block in the House. Rep. Kevin Brady (R-Texas) said the legislation has been flagged by the House parliamentarian as a “blue slip” violation, referring to the constitutional requirement that revenue bills originate in the House. “The House obviously …

CNN reports: Republican Karen Handel has won Georgia’s high-stakes special election, CNN projects, the most expensive US House race on record. A little after 9:45 p.m. ET, Handel led Democrat Jon Ossoff by 5.7 percentage points, with 136 out of 208 precincts counted and 190,000 votes reported. At a Hyatt Regency in northern Atlanta, more than 100 Handel supporters packed …

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports: Heavy rain made for a wet afternoon in Georgia’s 6th Congressional District, although it was unclear if the deluge will have much of an effect on voting as the hours ticked closer to the end of Tuesday’s nationally watched runoff between Republican Karen Handel and Democrat Jon Ossoff. The National Weather Service said storms would likely …

CNBC reports: A federal judge has rejected, for now, Martin Shkreli’s bid to reduce his criminal release bail from $5 million to $2 million during a hearing that exposed his high tax debts, legal fees, and off-beat collectibles. Shkreli’s lawyer Benjamin Brafman also said that the accused securities fraudster, who claimed to be worth up to $70 million when he …

Yahoo News reports: More than two years after leaving the Obama administration, former Attorney General Eric Holder is reentering the political fray. His goal: to lead the legal resistance to Donald Trump’s agenda — and perhaps even run against the president in 2020. Seized by a sense of urgency to oppose Trump and restore what he regards as America’s best …

The Hill reports: A Republican lawmaker introduced legislation on Tuesday to allow trained members of Congress to carry guns for self-defense in the wake of last week’s shooting at a GOP baseball practice. Rep. Brian Babin (R-Texas) wants to ensure all lawmakers can qualify for concealed-carry permits that could be used in any state, regardless of local laws. “The tragic …

Raw Story reports: President Donald Trump on Tuesday acknowledged that his plan to contain North Korea has been a failure — but he gave the Chinese government credit for at least putting forth a good effort to help him out. Trump’s plan at the start of his administration was to rely on the Chinese government to use its leverage over …

Will this be Sean Spicer’s final briefing? After yesterday’s flurry of reports, many are surprised that this one is even happening. CNBC reports: White House press secretary Sean Spicer holds a press briefing on Tuesday afternoon, his first on camera in more than a week. It comes after reports that the White House is considering moving Spicer out of the …