Today in 5 Lines
House Intelligence Committee Chairman Devin Nunes confirmed that he was on White House grounds to meet with a source, who’d allegedly given the congressman intelligence information about Trump transition officials. White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer didn’t rule out the possibility that Nunes met with a source from the White House, but he added that the idea “doesn’t really pass the smell test.” The New York Times reports that the Senate Intelligence Committee will question Jared Kushner, Trump’s son-in-law and close adviser, about his meetings with Russian officials. During a White House press briefing, Attorney General Jeff Sessions announced that local governments seeking federal funding must certify that they are not “sanctuary cities” and are in compliance with federal-immigration law. An Associated Press analysis shows that North Carolina’s “bathroom bill,” the law that limits anti-discrimination protections for LGBT people, will cost the state $3.76 billion over 12 years.
Today on The Atlantic
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The Unexpected Saviors of Obamacare: The failure to repeal and replace Obamacare can be blamed, in part, on years of misleading right-wing news coverage. It wasn't until voters learned of the actual costs of repeal that they began to push back against the GOP health-care bill. (Conor Friedersdorf)
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The Will of the People: State legislators around the country are working to reverse a number of ballot measures passed by voters in November. “This isn’t how democracy works,” said Justine Sarver, executive director of the Ballot Initiative Strategy Center. “You don’t get to pick and choose when you like a process and when you don’t.” (David A. Graham)
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Women’s Health on the Line: Republicans in Iowa are pushing to defund Planned Parenthood, and telling low-income women they can visit community-health centers for their family-planning needs instead. But can local clinics pick up the slack? (Elaine Godfrey)