Top Items:
CNN:
Fire hits building next door to White House — WASHINGTON (CNN) — Firefighters battled thick smoke and flames Wednesday inside the historic Eisenhower Executive Office Building, next door to the White House, which houses the vice president's ceremonial offices.
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New York Times:
Bush Lawyers Discussed Fate of C.I.A.Tapes — WASHINGTON — At least four top White House lawyers took part in discussions with the Central Intelligence Agency between 2003 and 2005 about whether to destroy videotapes showing the secret interrogations of two operatives from Al Qaeda …
Discussion:
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White House:
Statement by the Press Secretary — The New York Times today implies that the White House has been misleading in publicly acknowledging or discussing details related to the CIA's decision to destroy interrogation tapes. — The sub-headline of the story inaccurately says that the …
Associated Press:
Fire controlled at White House compound — WASHINGTON - Thick black smoke billowed from a fire Wednesday in Vice President Dick Cheney's suite of offices in the historic Eisenhower Executive Office Building next to the White House. — Cheney's office was damaged by smoke and water from fire hoses …
Howard Kurtz / Washington Post:
For Clinton, A Matter of Fair Media — Senator's Camp Insists That the Press Holds Her To a Tougher Standard — After weeks of bad news, Hillary Clinton and her strategists hoped that winning the endorsement of Iowa's largest newspaper last weekend might produce a modest bump in their media coverage.
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Dan Smith / Sacramento Bee:
Clinton loses big chunk of her lead in California — Story appeared in MAIN NEWS section, Page A1 — In a sign that Californians are tapping into a presidential primary season largely playing out elsewhere, the race here between Democrats Hillary Rodham Clinton and Barack Obama …
Discussion:
Taegan Goddard's …
Harold Meyerson / Washington Post:
Hard-liners for Jesus — As Christians across the world prepare to celebrate the birth of Jesus, it's a fitting moment to contemplate the mountain of moral, and mortal, hypocrisy that is our Christianized Republican Party. — There's nothing new, of course, about the Christianization of the GOP.
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National Enquirer:
UPDATE: NATIONAL ENQUIRER WORLD EXCLUSIVE: JOHN EDWARDS LOVE CHILD SCANDAL! — Presidential candidate John Edwards is caught up in a love child scandal, a blockbuster ENQUIRER investigation has discovered. — The ENQUIRER has learned exclusively that Rielle Hunter, a woman linked to Edwards …
Adi Ignatius / Time:
Person of the Year: Vladimir Putin — A Tsar Is Born — No one is born with a stare like Vladimir Putin's. The Russian President's pale blue eyes are so cool, so devoid of emotion that the stare must have begun as an affect, the gesture of someone who understood that power might be achieved …
Karen DeYoung / Washington Post:
All Iraqi Groups Blame U.S. Invasion for Discord, Study Shows — Iraqis of all sectarian and ethnic groups believe that the U.S. military invasion is the primary root of the violent differences among them, and see the departure of “occupying forces” as the key to national reconciliation …
Jonathan Martin / The Politico:
Tancredo to get out? — Tom Tancredo has scheduled a press conference in Des Moines tomorrow afternoon to make a “major announcement regarding the campaign,” according to a media advisory his campaign sent out today. — Asked whether Tancredo intended to drop out of the race …
Donna J. Miller / Cleveland Metro News:
Dennis Kucinich's 52-year-old brother found dead — Perry Kucinich, 52, was found dead in his home in the 4100 block of East 71st Street. — His brother Larry found him about 9 a.m. There were no signs of violence, officials said. The Cuyahoga County Coroner is performing an autopsy this hour.
Maureen Dowd / New York Times:
Rush to Judgment — One of my male colleagues was explaining why men age better than women. — “It's evolutionary,” he said. “As we wear out our wives, who are running around taking care of the kids, we know we're going to have to get another younger wife, so we stay good-looking.”
Brent Budowsky / The Hill:
Torture Tapes are the Watergate of Our Times — As I write these words on the morning of Wednesday, Dec. 19, high- and low-level officials of the Bush administration involved in torture, and the destruction of the torture tapes, are consulting their criminal lawyers as The New York Times reports …
Discussion:
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