"The President Has Been Acting on Russia's Behalf": US Officials Are Shocked by Trump's Asset-Like Behavior

16 January 19 AM It's Live on the HomePage Now: Reader Supported News WE MUST HAVE AT LEAST A SHOESTRING BUDGET: Reader Supported News is a post-industrial meltdown organization. We are a lean organization with minimal overhead. Pretty much stripped down for survival. We do not take corporate money and we are prepared to take less because of it. Still we are falling short on this fundraising drive. If you are not an active donor and you believe in what we do, please get behind Reader Supported News with a contribution. Thanks sincerely to all. / Marc Ash Founder, Reader Supported News Sure, I'll make a donation! "The President Has Been Acting on Russia's Behalf": US Officials Are Shocked by Trump's Asset-Like Behavior  Abigail Tracy, Vanity Fair Tracy writes: "Amid interpreter-gate and fears of a NATO exit, House Democrats are once again considering a nuclear option to force transparency on the president." READ MORE John Bolton. (photo: Jose Luis Magana/AP) Trump Discussed Pulling US From NATO, Aides Say Amid New Concerns Over Russia Julian E. Barnes and Helene Cooper, The New York Times Excerpt: "There are few things that President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia desires more than the weakening of NATO, the military alliance among the United States, Europe and Canada that has deterred Soviet and Russian aggression for 70 years." READ MORE Senator Lindsey O. Graham said, 'I’m confident we're never going to get a deal with the government shut down, but if we had an opportunity to negotiate without the government shut down I think it'd fall pretty quickly in place.' (photo: Andrew Harrer/Bloomberg News) To Blunt Shutdown's Impact, Nearly 50,000 Called Back to Work, Unpaid Erica Werner, The Washington Post Werner writes: "The Trump administration on Tuesday said it has called back tens of thousands of federal workers to fulfill key government tasks, including disbursing tax refunds, overseeing flight safety and inspecting the nation's food and drug supply, as it seeks to blunt the impact of the longest government shutdown in U.S. history." READ MORE The administration's own Census Bureau warned that adding such a question 'is very costly, harms the quality of the census count, and would use substantially less accurate citizenship status data than are available from administrative sources.' (photo: Getty Images) Census Question: The Trump Administration's Racism Was Just Blocked by Its Incompetence Ian Millhiser, ThinkProgress Millhiser writes: "On Tuesday, a federal district court held that this citizenship question must be removed from the Census form." READ MORE Scott Warren stands next to a community mural project created by the Ajo Samaritans, one of the humanitarian aid groups he works with in the region. (photo: Laura Saunders/The Intercept) Arizona Activists Face Jail Time for Providing Life-Saving Aid to Migrants Crossing Sonoran Desert Democracy Now! Excerpt: "In Tucson, Arizona, activists with the humanitarian group No More Deaths go to trial facing charges for a slew of federal crimes, all due to their efforts to leave water and food in the harsh Sonoran Desert to help refugees and migrants survive the deadly journey across the U.S. border." READ MORE Theresa May's deal was voted down by a massive majority of 230 MPs. (photo: Frank Augstein/AP) Theresa May Cornered as She Faces No-Confidence Vote Over Brexit Al Jazeera Excerpt: "A day after British MPs voted down her preferred deal for Brexit, Prime Minister Theresa May faces a no-confidence vote put forward by opposition Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn." READ MORE BP's Deepwater Horizon oil spill in 2010, which killed 11 workers, poured 4 million barrels of oil into the Gulf of Mexico. (photo: HO/AFP/Getty Images) Trump Plans to Relax Obama Rules for Oil Companies Put in Place After BP Disaster Stephanie Kirchgaessner, Guardian UK Kirchgaessner writes: "The Trump administration is expected to give BP and other big oil companies more power to self-regulate their offshore drilling operations, years after investigators found that lax regulatory oversight was one of the leading culprits behind the BP Deepwater Horizon disaster, the worst environmental catastrophe in US history." READ MORE Contribute to RSN Update My Monthly Donation