An incredible piece of journalism Welcome to the working week, and we start things off with “Another trove of leaked docs, this one revealing how deeply the Iranians have infiltrated Iraq’s govt and outmaneuvered the US at nearly every turn,” tweets Rick Gladstone. The documents — 700 pages worth — are contained in an archive of secret Iranian intelligence cables obtained by The Intercept and shared with The New York Times for this article, which is being published simultaneously by both news organizations (here’s the Intercept version). Tim Arango, James Risen, Farnaz Fassihi and Ronen Bergman did the reporting on this unprecedented leak which “exposes Tehran’s vast influence in Iraq, detailing years of painstaking work by Iranian spies to co-opt the country’s leaders, pay Iraqi agents working for the Americans to switch sides and infiltrate every aspect of Iraq’s political, economic and religious life.” Tweets Sharon Weinberger, “Several years ago at The Intercept, I started a project I believed was the most stunning leak of secret docs since Snowden. Perhaps more powerful b/c it’s an unprecedented leak from Iran. Today it’s live.” Adds Julie Bloom, “For almost a year @tarangonyt has been at work on this incredible piece of journalism w/@theintercept. Worth a read.” Liz Sly highlights, “When the US gave Iraq a secret program for monitoring phones it was promptly handed over to Iran. This & other insights into the ways Iran outmaneuvers the US & controls Iraq in this terrific @nyt & @theintercept scoop.” Local #journalism Closer to home, an undercover investigation reveals evidence of unequal treatment by Long Island real estate agents. Newsday sent white, black, Hispanic and Asian testers undercover to see if they would be treated equally by Long Island real estate agents. Many were not. As Ann Choi, Bill Dedman, Keith Herbert and Olivia Winslow report, “In one of the most concentrated investigations of discrimination by real estate agents in the half century since enactment of America’s landmark fair housing law, Newsday found evidence of widespread separate and unequal treatment of minority potential homebuyers and minority communities on Long Island.” Victor Manuel Ramos notes, “This project represents a significant commitment to local #journalism; proud of colleagues’ work here | In fully 40% of tests, evidence suggested that brokers subjected minority testers buying houses on Long Island to disparate treatment.” “Home Buying While Black: A massive deep dive by @Newsday into housing discrimination in Long Island shows many real estate agents still give black home buyers the runaround - and worse,” tweets Tom Robbins. Classic 
So how are those tax cuts panning out for you? We’re guessing not as good as they’re panning out for corporate America. If you can stomach it, at The New York Times, Jim Tankersley, Peter Eavis and Ben Casselman offer a look at How FedEx Cut Its Tax Bill to $0. Paula Froelich cuts to the chase: “Lobbied Donald John then, like Donald John, didn’t make good on its promises.” Tweets Ed Bott, “The tax bill was a windfall for FedEx execs and shareholders. For workers and communities, not so much. Well reported story, and a pretty disgusting portrayal of raw greed.” And then...as David Wessel tweets, “Fed Ex CEO Fred Smith comes out fighting, challenges NYTimes publisher Sulzberger and business editor to public debate on tax policy, dissects NYT’s tax payments.” He links to the Statement from Frederick W. Smith, Chairman and CEO of FedEx Corporation, about which John Schwartz says, “I must admit being surprised that the response from the CEO of FedEx to the NYT story is DEBATE ME COWARD.” On Twitter, New York Times’ PR says, “@FedEx’s colorful response does not actually challenge a single fact in our story. We’re confident in the accuracy of our reporting, which you can read here.” As Tom Gara notes, “FedEx statement is a classic of a certain genre of corporate flackery: in response to a brutal & detailed piece of reporting, claim inaccuracies without naming any, say the media is failing, demand a duel, do anything but point to a single incorrect detail.” Fill ’er up 
Gara weighs in on this next one, too, highlighting the fact that “This article contains an all-time non-ironically great Trump quote: ‘He was offered the Bahamas post the day after Mr. Trump was sworn in. Manchester said Trump told him, ‘I should probably be the ambassador to the Bahamas and you should be president.’” The story: A CBS News investigation has uncovered a possible pay-for-play scheme involving the Republican National Committee and Trump’s nominee for ambassador to the Bahamas. Jim Axelrod reports on emails showing that the nominee, San Diego billionaire Doug Manchester, was asked by the RNC to donate half a million dollars as his confirmation in the Senate hung in the balance. As Greg Dworkin says, “the swamp? fill ’er up,” while Dan Janison thinks, “If you hear the details, it sounds like Manchester should take this up with Consumer Affairs.” Tuning out...or not? 
‘No One Believes Anything’: Voters Are Worn Out by a Fog of Political News, according to the latest from Sabrina Tavernise and Aidan Gardiner of The New York Times. The dek: “Paying attention to the impeachment inquiry and other developments means having to figure out what is true, false or spin. Many Americans are throwing up their hands and tuning it all out.” “Somewhere, Hannah Arendt is weeping; she saw this ‘fog’ as poison to self-government,” Diana Henriques points out. Michael Balter is sympathetic to their plight: “Oh, the poor American voter. Being a good citizen means following events closely and understanding what’s going on. Who needs that?” Nikki Usher says, “I love seeing @TaliaStroud @BenjaminToff in @nytimes when I wake up. I don't love blaming people for tuning out in a democracy, nor the normative judgment against their choice of what to get information from. In a democracy, people can read what they want.” She adds, “I just can't get too sad over the fact that people make choices about what news to consume and when to tune out.” Meanwhile, “‘lol nothing matters’ is just not true in this poll,” John Harwood points out. Kendall Karson of ABC News reports on a new ABC/Ipsos poll that shows 70% of Americans say Trump’s actions tied to Ukraine were wrong. Also from that poll, 51% of Americans say Trump should be impeached and removed, and 58% say they’re following the impeachment hearings. Folding to big vape Yes, everything seemed ready to go, but as Josh Dawsey and Laurie McGinley of The Washington Post report, Trump has now reversed course on the flavored vape ban, leaving it unclear whether the government will act against the youth epidemic. Dawsey explains on Twitter, “Trump admin was prepared to roll out vaping rules, but Trump nixed on AF1 to Kentucky. Not pleased w/HHS Sec. Azar. Worried about re-election and jobs. Inside how Trump went from agreeing w/ban to likely doing little or nothing.” 
That piece quotes a senior administration official, who explained, “He didn’t know much about the issue and was just doing it for Melania and Ivanka.” Laura Helmuth highlights the fact that “Trump’s helicopter flew over a few hundred vaping enthusiasts protesting a ban on flavored e-cigarettes he had promised, and that was it.” But also, write Dawsey and McGinley, “Trump campaign manager [Brad] Parscale shared polling he commissioned from pollster John McLaughlin that showed vapers could abandon the president if he followed through on the prohibition.” Steven Greenhouse calls it a “Profile in Non-Courage & Non-Coherence.” In confirming the Washington Post’s reporting, Annie Karni and Maggie Haberman of The New York Times note that McLaughlin is a Trump campaign pollster whose survey was commissioned by a vaping industry group. Josh Fruhlinger finds it “hard to imagine a more on-the-nose encapsulation of our times than ‘president trump folds under pressure from Big Vape.’” Around the world Aman Sethi links to “🚨🚨The first of #PaisaPolitics @nit_set MASSIVE 5 part investigation for @HuffPostIndia detailing all the dirty tricks used by the Modi government to funnel untraceable funds corporate funds into Indian politics.” That’s Nitin Sethi’s piece for HuffPost India on Electoral Bonds: Seeking Secretive Funds, Modi Govt Overruled RBI. “Close to a year’s reporting in the making -- our investigation of Madagascar’s mica supply and the thousands of children at work there. Please read and watch.” Lisa Cavazuti links to her reporting with Christine Romo, Cynthia McFadden and Rich Schapiro of NBC News, which reveals, kids as young as 4 are mining mica in an often overlooked part of Africa. Casey Quackenbush, Anna Kam and Gerry Shih of The Washington Post report that hundreds of pro-democracy protesters were surrounded by riot police Monday inside a besieged Hong Kong college campus, as almost six months of intensifying anti-government unrest appeared headed for a bitter and perhaps bloody climax. Richard Hartley-Parkinson of Metro reports that a man dropped dead in a Job Centre queue in south Wales after being declared fit to work. Tweets Frances Ryan, “This is truly horrendous. I can only hope it shines a light on what the Tories are doing to disabled people going through the benefits system.” Meanwhile, Zing Tsjeng shares, “I wrote about the 20 universities all located in key Tory marginal seats – places where just a handful of student votes could make the difference between a Conservative government or.... Not.” Read her exclusive for Vice, Your Vote Could Swing the Election If You Study at These Unis. Breaking bad, breaking out OK, stop us if you’ve heard this one before, but Johnny Diaz is reporting at The New York Times that 2 Arkansas chemistry professors are facing charges of making meth. As James Cobb says, “That would make a crazy TV show.” And Spencer Jakab points out, “These guys would be free men today if they had invested in an RV.” 
This would also make a crazy, and awesome, TV show (or Disney movie, as Chris Wetterich suggests). Antonia Noori Farzan of The Washington Post shares the inspiring story of Quilty, the rogue cat who ‘will not be contained’ and keeps trying to free his shelter comrades. Mary Tyler March notes, “this headline was designed for me and I'm not upset about it.” As Andrea González-Ramírez says, “We stan a smol revolutionary.” Above all, “Good job cat,” tweets Tanvi Misra. And just ignore the “Lolita” reference. Monday round-up -
Frank Fitzpatrick and Gary Miles have the obituary for Philadelphia Inquirer sports columnist Bill Lyon, who died on Sunday at 81, “a literate, sensitive, and affable Midwesterner who endeared himself to this cynical Northeastern city during more than three decades as a must-read Inquirer sports columnist.” “A giant. R.I.P.,” tweets Daniel Rubin. Also at The Inquirer, Mike Sielski pays tribute to Lyon, writing that he set the standard here, as a writer, as a mentor, as a man. -
Joshua Tehee, Brianna Cali, and Larry Valenzuela of The Fresno Bee report that 4 are dead and 6 have been wounded in a mass shooting in a southeast Fresno home. -
Conservative Group YAF Fires Michelle Malkin Over Support for Holocaust Denier, reports The Daily Beast’s Will Sommer, who calls it “the latest clash in a growing conservative civil war.” -
President Trump Bet Big This Election Year. Here’s Why He Lost, as Jonathan Martin and Maggie Haberman explain at The New York Times. Haberman tweets, “Some in Trumpland have been confused about why he’s making travel to deep-red states with 2020 race well underway, noting he could do rallies anywhere and still get the sugar high.” -
Meanwhile, Courtney Kube, Andrea Mitchell and Carol Lee of NBC News report that Trump’s impeachment ire is turning on Pompeo amid diplomats’ starring roles. -
The Washington Post’s Thomas Boswell breaks this news to us: What once seemed impossible is now undeniable: The Redskins have lost Washington. Dan Steinberg highlights this line: “Boz: ‘Why tolerate, and support, an atrociously run and constantly embarrassing franchise with a moral compass that is as twisted as a corkscrew?’” You hate to see it,” tweets Will Bunch. | 
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