Here we go again  So, it looks like Russia’s still listening. Nicole Perlroth and Matthew Rosenberg of The New York Times broke the story yesterday that the Russians hacked the Ukrainian gas company at the center of impeachment. “The Russian attacks on Burisma appear to be running parallel to an effort by Russian spies in Ukraine to dig up information in the analog world that could embarrass the Bidens,” they report. As Alan Boyle says, “Here we go again.” Shane Goldmacher agrees: “More than a little bit of shades of 2016 here. “yawn 2020 is so boring,” adds Matthew Garrahan.
Jill Lawrence admits, “I actually gasped when I saw this and read they were likely looking for dirt on Joe Biden. What a tangled web.” Andy Greenberg thinks, “It would be good to see some more evidence of the GRU’s fingerprints on this. But given the political value of Burisma as a hack-and-leak target and Russia’s national pastime of penetrating Ukrainian networks, nothing in the world would make more sense.” But also, Josh Marshall finds this “Fascinating. This article is proceeding along until the line ‘The Biden campaign sought to cast the Russian effort’ and then heavily into both sides more.” Bout to get ugly :/ 
There’s a Democratic debate tonight, but right now, the Twitterverse is much more interested in what Bernie Sanders told Elizabeth Warren in a private 2018 meeting — that a woman can’t win the presidency (93,000+ shares). That’s according to what sources told CNN’s MJ Lee, and Alex Kane thinks it means one thing: “Bout to get ugly :/” Warren has backed up the account; Sanders has denied it. Josh Kraushaar also points to the “Reminder that Bernie has always been ill at ease with the growing identity politics movement within the Dem party. ‘That evening, Sanders expressed frustration at what he saw as a growing focus among Democrats on identity politics…’” Overall, “Holy smokes huge scoop from @mj_lee,” says Liz Goodwin. Over at The Washington Post, Sean Sullivan tweets, “Two ppl w/knowledge of the conversation at the dinner said that Warren brought up the issue by asking Sanders whether he believed a woman could win. (H/T @mj_lee for breaking this story wide open earlier today before anyone else.)” He links to his reporting with Annie Linskey about the meeting, Sanders-Warren feud takes a turn onto the dangerous turf of gender. Matt Binder’s take: “this latest info from this WaPo piece is how i think the conversation went and is the exact kind of frank discussion you have with a friend in private.” The hallmark of a Trump lie 
State Department officials tell Kylie Atwood of CNN that State Department officials involved in US embassy security were not made aware of imminent threats to four specific US embassies. “Just so we’re clear: The President ordered a guy killed and then made up a story about why,” Jason Kander explains. For a deeper dive, turn to Philip Rucker, John Hudson, Shane Harris and Josh Dawsey of The Washington Post and their latest, ‘Four embassies’: The anatomy of Trump’s unfounded claim about Iran. Brian Stelter shares a few excerpts from that piece on Twitter: “WaPo: ‘Based on what is known so far, Trump’s statement was at best an unfounded theory and at worst a falsehood... The result is a credibility crisis for an administration that has long struggled to communicate factual information to the public…’” As Dennis Romero points out, “The hallmark of a Trump lie, as we saw on day one with the inauguration crowd size claim, is its outlandishness.” And Jennifer Rubin thinks, “the BEST explanation is that he doesn’t comprehend what is being said and grabs onto something, twists it and then exaggerates.” Meanwhile, Britain, France and Germany formally accused Iran of breaking the 2015 agreement that limited its nuclear program, taking the first step toward reimposing further United Nations sanctions, writes Steven Erlanger of The New York Times. Aaron Miller says this “Move by Europeans will reinforce Trump Administration’s conviction it’s winning and Iran’s that it’s losing. Any serious diplomacy would have to await a win/win opening. Right now, we only got win/lose.” The climate crisis In his latest for The Guardian, Damian Carrington writes about a new analysis that shows ocean temperatures have hit a record high as the rate of heating accelerates (64,000+ shares). He explains that oceans are the clearest measure of climate crisis as they absorb 90% of the heat trapped by greenhouse gases. In a rare rebuke, Rupert Murdoch’s younger son James Murdoch slammed Fox News and News Corp over their climate change denial during Australia’s bushfire crisis. One longtime News Corp executive told Lachlan Cartwright of The Daily Beast that the comments by James and his wife Kathryn are an intentional attack on his father and his older brother Lachlan, who oversees the Fox News Channel. “Trouble in the House of @Succession_HBO,” as Peter Himler puts it. “So it looks like Larry Fink finally wrote that letter to himself after all,” says Lionel Laurent, who links to the report by Andrew Ross Sorkin of The New York Times, BlackRock C.E.O. Larry Fink: Climate Crisis Will Reshape Finance. In his influential annual letter to chief executives, Fink said his firm would avoid investments in companies that “present a high sustainability-related risk.” Tweets Frank Scandale, “This is where the rubber meets the road on this issue #FollowTheMoney.” Sickening betrayal Fair warning from Manchester Evening News journalist Jennifer Williams about this next one, as she says this is “Up there with the most shocking reports I’ve ever covered.” Her new special report reveals that a paedophile grooming gang was left to roam the streets of Manchester — and police knew who they were and exactly what they were doing. At least 57 young girls are thought to have been exploited by the network. “They were hooked on drugs, groomed, raped and emotionally broken — one youngster, aged fifteen, died,” she writes. Darren Thwaites calls it a “Sickening betrayal by police and social services, who effectively turned a blind eye to paedophile gangs they knew were grooming, drugging and raping vulnerable young girls in Manchester.” Sports news Ken Rosenthal and Evan Drellich of The Athletic have the exclusive as MLB hands down unprecedented penalties for Astros after sign-stealing investigation. “In the most dramatic ruling of his five-year tenure, baseball commissioner Rob Manfred came down hard on the Astros Monday for illegally stealing signs during their World Series championship season in 2017,” they write. The penalties include one-year suspensions for GM Jeff Luhnow and manager AJ Hinch, losses of 1st and 2nd round draft picks in both 2020 and ’21, a fine of $5 million and the placement of former assistant GM Brandon Taubman on MLB’s ineligible list. Meanwhile, “This @billplaschke column captures the infuriating nature of this cheating scandal.” Sam Farmer links to Bill Plaschke’s column for the Los Angeles Times, Dodgers definitely were cheated out of 2017 World Series title by Astros’ sign-stealing. At The New York Times, Howard Megdal has the details on a tentative contract agreement between the W.N.B.A. and its players’ union that would sharply increase salaries and provide generous maternal benefits. He tweets, “My latest @NYTSports: a landmark agreement between @WNBA, @TheWNBPA. Hear from @CathyEngelbert and @Nnemkadi30 on the new eight-year deal #WNBA.” Show, don’t tell Michelle Ruiz says this is “For all of the delusional royal correspondents with selective memory loss claiming the press welcomed Meghan and gave her ACRES of positive coverage! Brava @ellievhall.” At BuzzFeed News, Ellie Hall invites us to Compare These 20 Headlines To See How Differently Royal Reporters Treated Kate Middleton And Meghan Markle (271,000+ shares). “I knew there was a double standard in media coverage of Kate vs. Meghan, but yeesh, seeing all the headlines side by side,” tweets Emma Gray. As Stacy-Marie Ishmael reminds us, “Show, don’t tell. This is a good example of what that can mean.” Adds Albert Samaha, “This, by @ellievhall, is one of the most damning & revealing works of journalism I’ve ever seen.” A few more - Clifford Levy links to the “Big @nytimes announcement: • NYT just passed goal of $800 million annual digital revenue, ahead of schedule • Added more than 1 million net digital subscriptions last year • Now has more than 5 million total subscriptions, all-time record.” In other words, 2019 was a Record Year for Digital Growth at The New York Times Company.
- Ben Tracy and Kathryn Watson of CBS News are reporting that the White House expects Republican defections on calling new witnesses in the Senate trial. In addition to Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, Susan Collins of Maine, Mitt Romney of Utah and possibly Cory Gardner of Colorado, the White House also views Rand Paul of Kentucky as a “wild card” and Lamar Alexander of Tennessee “as an ‘institutionalist’ who might vote to call witnesses, as one official put it.”
- The Daily Beast has published an adapted excerpt from “The Fixers: The Bottom-Feeders, Crooked Lawyers, Gossipmongers, and Porn Stars Who Created the 45th President,” the new book out today by Pulitzer Prize-winning investigative reporters Joe Palazzolo and Michael Rothfeld. The excerpt details The Untold Story of How Trump’s Fixers Silenced Stormy Daniels Just Days Before the 2016 Election. Choice quote, from Dylan Howard, then the editor of American Media’s National Enquirer: “At least if he wins, I’ll be pardoned for electoral fraud.”
- Declan Walsh of The New York Times reports that an American held in a prison in Egypt has died after a hunger strike. Detained in Cairo in 2013 and suffering from serious medical problems, Moustafa Kassem had protested his innocence.
- Nick Miroff of The Washington Post has the latest on Trump’s border wall: He’s planning to divert additional $7.2 billion in Pentagon funds for barrier construction. That’s five times what Congress authorized him to spend on the project in the 2020 budget.
- Beth Williams Liou says, “Here is quite a lede: ‘JPMorgan Chase & Co. just posted the best year for any U.S. bank in history.’ What could go wrong from here? More here from @business.” She links to the report by Michelle F. Davis of Bloomberg, JPMorgan (JPM) Trading Surge Helps Fuel Most Profitable Year Ever.
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