LAST GENERATION NETWORK NEWS / News Edition / Thursday / PM READ.

Obama’s team worked for months on a Syria plan. Trump’s team swiftly tossed it. To the incoming Trump administration, President Obama’s plan to take Raqqa from ISIS was so incremental and risk-averse that it was almost certain to fail. “We found huge gaps in it,” said a senior Trump administration official. “It was poor staff work.” By Adam Entous, Greg Jaffe and Missy Ryan  •  Read more » Tehran shrugs off pressures from ‘inexperienced’ U.S. president President Trump and Iran traded sharp statements, with Trump amplifying warnings over Tehran’s missile tests and a top adviser to Iran’s leader saying it was not the first time an “inexperienced person has threatened” his country. Trump tweeted that Tehran was "put on notice." By Anne Gearan and Erin Cunningham  •  Read more »   ‘This was the worst call by far’: Trump badgered, bragged and abruptly ended phone call with Australian leader President Trump blasted Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull over a refu­gee agreement and boasted about the magnitude of his electoral college win, according to senior U.S. officials. About 25 minutes into what was expected to be an hour-long call, Trump suddenly ended it. By Greg Miller and Philip Rucker  •  Read more »   Trump’s unorthodox speech at the National Prayer Breakfast Speaking at an event that continues a tradition dating back decades, President Trump talked about how the show “The Apprentice” has declined since Arnold Schwarzenegger took his place and said of Vice President Mike Pence that “on the scale of zero to 10, I rate him a 12.” Here’s a transcript, with annotation by The Fix. By Chris Cillizza  •  Read more »

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White House considering religious-freedom action allowing Americans to opt out of federal regulations President Trump is contemplating how to make it possible for Americans not to comply with federal policies on the grounds of religion, White House press secretary Sean Spicer said, a move that critics said could open the door to discrimination. By Juliet Eilperin and Sandhya Somashekhar  •  Read more »   Life, death and demolition For more than a century, hundreds of people called this patch of East Baltimore home. Now the 900 block of North Bradford Street is about to be torn down as a city with 17,000 boarded-up houses lays waste to its blight and its history. By Steve Hendrix  •  Read more »   Trump’s vaccine views are at odds with those of most Americans, study says Americans overwhelmingly support requiring public school children to be vaccinated for measles, mumps and rubella, according to a Pew Research Center survey. By Lena H. Sun  •  Read more »   Civil liberties lawyers say the travel ban is unconstitutional. But legal analysts say it’ll be tough to overturn. Analysts across the political spectrum say that the president has vast authority to bar the entry of people to the United States, and to do so without the consent of other branches of government. By Matt Zapotosky, Spencer S. Hsu and Ellen Nakashima  •  Read more »   Austin has become the first battleground in the fight over ‘sanctuary cities’ In a liberal enclave in the heart of conservative Texas, a county sheriff joins the local resistance to Trump immigration policies. By Abigail Hauslohner  •  Read more »

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Hostage standoff in Delaware prison ends with one guard dead The standoff inside Delaware's largest state prison for men ended after state police stormed the building. Officials did not immediately elaborate on a cause of death for the corrections officer. By Katie Mettler and Mark Berman  •  Read more »   You can learn a lot about Steve Bannon by watching the films he made The first two weeks of the Trump administration suggest that it’s Bannon’s movie — and now we’re in it. By Ann Hornaday  •  Read more »   Are ‘24: Legacy’ and ‘Homeland’ really worth the added anxiety right now? Once praised for prescience, counterterrorism shows now seem out of step in the current political environment. By Hank Stuever  •  Read more »   The Baylor rape allegations involve a recruiting ‘hostess’ program. Do these things really still exist? "Hostess clubs" are known as groups of women selected by appearance to greet prized recruits. The NCAA passed a rule to move such groups out of athletic departments in 2004, but recent scandals illustrate their persistence — and perils. By Will Hobson  •  Read more »   Planning a Super Bowl party? Here are some recipes to start. Whether you’re hosting a big gathering or headed to a potluck for the Super Bowl, check out this selection of wings, pizza, sandwiches, dips and healthful options for the game. By Kara Elder  •  Read more »