Politics

Bloomberg reports: Author Michael Wolff’s pitch to the White House to win cooperation for his book included a working title that signaled a sympathetic view, a counter-narrative to a slew of negative news stories early in Donald Trump’s presidency. He called it “The Great Transition: The First 100 Days of the Trump Administration.” And in part due to that title, …

From the Hollywood Reporter: The Guardians of the Galaxy filmmaker doesn’t quite believe the results of the president’s physical. Donald Trump’s first physical assessment as president was made public on Tuesday — and filmmaker James Gunn isn’t buying it. Dr. Ronny Jackson told reporters that Trump is 6 feet 3 inches tall and weighs 239 pounds, among other information released …

CNN reports: The Wall Street Journal reported on Friday that Trump attorney Michael Cohen had arranged a $130,000 payment to keep Clifford silent about the alleged relationship in October 2016. Cohen, Clifford, and the White House denied the report. The allegation of a relationship was no secret to Fox News, though. One of the network’s reporters, Diana Falzone, had filed …

CNN reports: President Donald Trump asked the White House doctor to perform a cognitive exam during his physical last week, despite the doctor’s determination that such testing wasn’t necessary. “I have no concerns about his cognitive ability,” Dr. Ronny Jackson told reporters on Tuesday. He said the testing was conducted at the President’s wishes, and the results were normal. Ahead …

The Washington Post reports: The Justice Department on Tuesday said it would take the “rare step” of asking the Supreme Court to clear the way for the Trump administration to dismantle a federal program that provides work permits to undocumented immigrants who have lived in the United States since childhood. The Department of Justice said it filed a notice of …

The Kansas City Star reports: Republican lawmakers are calling for Gov. Eric Greitens to resign after allegations that he blackmailed a woman in an effort to keep her quiet about an extramarital affair. Rep. Kathie Conway, a St. Charles Republican and former criminal investigator, encouraged the governor to step down in a piece published by The Missouri Times. “As a …

Raw Story reports: While questioning Nielsen about the DHS’s response to white supremacist hate groups, Booker rant down a litany of all Trump’s past racist remarks and shamed her for claiming she couldn’t recall whether Trump had called African countries “shitholes.” “The commander in chief, in an Oval Office meeting, referring to people from African countries and Haitians with the …

The Hill reports: Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) said Tuesday said negotiations to protect young undocumented immigrants enrolled in the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program have turned into an “s-show” amid the fight over vulgar comments President Trump reportedly made in a White House meeting. Graham said it was clear that both President Trump and Democrats, particularly Sen. Dick …

NJ.com reports: New Jersey has now banned “bump stocks,” controversial firearm accessories allegedly used by the shooter in last year’s Las Vegas massacre. The devices can be affixed to semiautomatic riffles to allow them to fire bullets, mimicking automatic weapons. But under the new law — which takes effect immediately — anyone who owns one has 90 days to surrender …

The Washington Examiner reports: Thirty-five percent of voters asked give Trump an “F” after his first year in office, while about half of that, 18 percent, gave him an “A,” according to a Morning Consult/Politico poll released Tuesday. The Jan. 4-5 survey found that 17 percent said Trump was worthy of a “B,” 14 percent gave him a “C,” and …

The Associated Press reports: North Korea’s state-run media say U.S. President Donald Trump’s tweet about having a bigger nuclear button than leader Kim Jong Un’s is the “spasm of a lunatic.” A summary of the commentary by North Korea’s official news agency described the tweet as “the spasm of a lunatic.” “The spasm of Trump in the new year reflects …

The Miami Herald reports: A year after the discovery of foods that could sicken people at President Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago Club in Palm Beach, his Winter White House was just cited by inspectors for poor maintenance. Never mind that it costs $200,000 in initiation fees to join the exclusive club, which has two restaurants and a bed-and-breakfast. Fresh state records …

The Wall Street Journal reports: U.S. counterintelligence officials in early 2017 warned Jared Kushner, President Donald Trump’s son-in-law and senior adviser, that Wendi Deng Murdoch, a prominent Chinese-American businesswoman, could be using her close friendship with Mr. Kushner and his wife, Ivanka Trump, to further the interests of the Chinese government, according to people familiar with the matter. U.S. officials …

The Hill reports: Mitt Romney tore on Monday into President Trump for reportedly referring to Haiti and African nations as “shithole countries.” “The poverty of an aspiring immigrant’s nation of origin is as irrelevant as their race,” Romney, the 2012 GOP presidential nominee who is reportedly considering a Senate run in Utah, tweeted. Romney has in the past been a …

Salon reports: Chelsea Manning, a transgender woman and whistleblower convicted of leaking thousands of classified documents to Wikileaks, has released the first campaign advertisement for her bid for a U.S. Senate seat in Maryland. The ad opens with visuals of recent violent protests, clashes with police and the rally of white supremacists in Charlottesville, Virginia, Manning narrated, “We live in …

Politico reports: Sen. Jeff Flake (R-Ariz.) said Sunday that President Donald Trump’s declaration that media is “the enemy of the people” is a throwback to Josef Stalin that should have no place in political discourse. “I’m saying he borrowed that phrase,” Flake told MSNBC’s Kasie Hunt of Trump’s choice of words. “It was popularized by Josef Stalin, used by Mao …

CNN reports: Republican Rep. Mia Love deplored President Donald Trump for reportedly criticizing immigrants coming to the United States from what he called “shithole countries.” “I can’t defend the indefensible. You have to understand that there are countries that struggle out there. But their people, their people are good people and they’re part of us. We’re Americans,” Love, the first …

The Washington Examiner reports: Rep. Trey Gowdy, R-S.C., is stepping down from his role on the House Ethics Committee, citing a “challenging workload” as the reason for his departure. Gowdy informed House Speaker Paul Ryan of his decision in a letter on Jan. 10, the details of which were not made public until Saturday. The South Carolina Republican was tapped …

The Washington Post reports: Chelsea Manning, the transgender former Army private who was convicted of passing sensitive government documents to Wikileaks, has filed to run for the U.S. Senate in Maryland, according to federal election filings. Manning, who did not immediately respond to a request for comment, would be challenging Democrat Ben Cardin, who has served two terms in the …

What would be the name of this planet? Former President Obama said in an interview that Fox News viewers and NPR listeners are living on different planets in terms of what news they consume. “If you watch Fox News, you are living on a different planet than you are if you, you know, listen to NPR,” Obama told David Letterman …