Washington Post

The Trump administration labored to clarify on Jan 29 that it currently has no plans to build its own ultra-fast 5G wireless network, despite publication of a memo that suggested the idea was under consideration. At issue is a proposal put forth by an unnamed official at the National Security Council, a White House-based body that advises the president on critical U.S. and foreign policy matters. The document called for the U.S. government to effectively nationalize a portion of the telecom sector — a radical departure from current policy — in a bid to combat Chinese influence.

Convincing President Donald Trump not to blink first during the government shutdown was a challenge that required coaxing by Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY), according to The Washington Post's Ashley Parker and Josh Dawsey. Parker and Dawsey reported that the president's aides employed another tactic, too, as they tried to curb President Trump's urge to offer a deal that might have cost the GOP more than it ultimately gave: "The White House also made sure that senior administration officials, as well as top surrogates, were out on television pushing the president's message.

Rupert Murdoch — the Fox News founder and executive chairman of News Corp, which owns the Wall Street Journal — said that Facebook should support credible news organizations by paying them for their content. Beyond publishers receiving money for their content, it isn't clear how Murdoch envisions his cable analogy playing out on the Internet.