Attention to the Unseen

The New York Times reports: Almost immediately after ending his White House employment, Stephen K. Bannon, the former chief strategist to President Trump, forged a lucrative financial relationship with a mysterious Chinese billionaire who was sought by Beijing for extradition from the United States. China’s government had already accused Guo Wengui, a real estate magnate also known as Miles Kwok, of money laundering, bribery and rape when he and Mr. Bannon developed a mutually beneficial relationship that began with a…

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The New York Times reports: By the summer of 2017, Dave Trott, a two-term Republican congressman, was worried enough about President Trump’s erratic behavior and his flailing attempts to repeal the Affordable Care Act that he criticized the president in a closed-door meeting with fellow G.O.P. lawmakers. The response was instantaneous — but had nothing to do with the substance of Mr. Trott’s concerns. “Dave, you need to know somebody has already told the White House what you said,” he…

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The New York Times reports: The Russian assassin used an alias, Sergei Fedotov, and slipped into Bulgaria unnoticed, checking into a hotel in Sofia near the office of a local arms manufacturer who had been selling ammunition to Ukraine. He led a team of three men. Within days, one man sneaked into a locked parking garage, smeared poison on the handle of the arms manufacturer’s car, then left, undetected, except for blurry images captured by surveillance video. Shortly after, the…

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The Guardian reports: The Lebedev family insist that they are merely entrepreneurs and media proprietors. Nonetheless, the party – held to celebrate Alexander’s 60th birthday – was a practical demonstration of how extensive their connections are, stretching all the way to Downing Street. Johnson was one of several top politicians who turned up to the event, held at the Lebedev family’s £6m stuccoed mansion overlooking Regent’s Park. Guests included David and Samantha Cameron and George Osborne, now a Lebedev employee…

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The Washington Post reports: Senior Trump administration officials in recent days threatened a presidential veto that could have led to a government shutdown if House Democrats refused to drop language requiring prompt release of future military aid for Ukraine, according to five administration and congressional officials. The language was ultimately left out of mammoth year-end spending legislation that passed the House and Senate this week ahead of a Saturday shutdown deadline. The White House said President Trump would sign the…

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The New York Times reports: Christianity Today, a prominent evangelical magazine, called for President Trump to be removed from office in a blistering editorial on Thursday, a day after he became the third president in history to be impeached and face expulsion by the Senate. The move was the most notable example of dissent among the religious conservative base that has supported Mr. Trump through controversy after controversy, and came at one of the most vulnerable moments of his presidency….

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The Washington Post reports: On Jan. 2, 2016, in a remote stretch of southeastern Oregon, a cadre of anti-government militiamen carrying pistols and long guns stationed themselves at the headquarters of the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge, a federally owned park. Their armed occupation ended 41 days later with one protester shot dead by police and more than two dozen others facing federal charges. Now, investigators commissioned by the Washington State House of Representatives say the anti-government occupiers had a high-profile…

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The New York Times reports: The federal prosecutor scrutinizing the Russia investigation has begun examining the role of the former C.I.A. director John O. Brennan in how the intelligence community assessed Russia’s 2016 election interference, according to three people briefed on the inquiry. John H. Durham, the United States attorney leading the investigation, has requested Mr. Brennan’s emails, call logs and other documents from the C.I.A., according to a person briefed on his inquiry. He wants to learn what Mr….

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The Washington Post reports: The Trump administration gave old-fashioned, incandescent lightbulbs a holiday gift Friday: a new lease on life. The Energy Department made a final determination Friday that it would not impose stricter energy efficiency standards for “general service” lightbulbs set to take effect Jan. 1, on the grounds that they “are not economically justified.” The move affects roughly 3 billion — nearly half — of the bulbs in sockets in U.S. homes. Consumer groups estimate that the reversal…

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The Guardian reports: Britain has taken a pivotal step towards leaving the European Union as Boris Johnson was rewarded for the Conservatives’ thumping general election victory with a majority of 124 for his Brexit deal in the House of Commons. Addressing MPs on Friday morning, the prime minister sought to draw a line under three years of bitter parliamentary conflict, urging his colleagues to “discard the old labels of leave and remain”. After comfortably passing its second reading by 358…

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