Depriving Melissa McCarthy second season of satire, embattled press secretary Sean Spicer quits as Trump names Tony Scarramucci communications director….--we serve up a couple of Spicer’s greatest hits; press briefings may be replaced by White House infomercials
--in Guardian op-ed, Thomas Frank comments on the war between media and Trump
--on the way to easy coronation, new FBI director Chris Wray gets unanimous vote of Senate Judiciary committee, watchdog Sue Udry lists key issues that Wray dodged
--in important story, LA Times explains how FBI profiler put an innocent man in prison for 10 years
--update by The Intercept on Reality Winner case excludes any mention of reporter Matthew Cole’s role in exposing her whistleblowing
--Trump’s lawyers are investigating 45’s pardon power, and the investigators of special counsel Mueller
--U of Chicago law professors comment: if Trump pardons to obstruct justice, it could be a crime that leads to impeachment
--Alabama corruption expert Roger Shuler notes that Jeff Sessions is, apparently, not corrupt enough for Trump
--even if Congress doesn’t kill Obamacare, Trump has a least 6 ways to undermine it
--Trump’s decision to end covert support for “moderate” Syrian fighters leaves those fighters exposed, exposes lack of plan to address power vacuum
--Maduro fights general strike in Venezuela
--in Mosul, bloodletting continues as Shia-Sunni scores are settled
--Vatican publication, likely approved by Pope Francis, slams the US political alliance between evangelical fundamentalists and neocon Catholics, reports Fr. Tom Reese
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