Top Items:

Obama orders ‘deep dive’ of election-related hacking — President Barack Obama has ordered a “deep dive” into the cyberattacks that plagued this year's election, the White House said Friday. — Obama has asked the intelligence community to deliver its final report before he leaves office.
Discussion:
The Atlantic, ABC News, NBC News, Gothamist, Townhall.com, Mediaite, John Hawkins' Right Wing News, The Verge, NPR, Occupy Democrats, The Week, Mashable and Washington Post
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Learn from His Mistakes — Shortly after his inauguration in 2009, President Obama invited Republican leaders in Congress to a White House meeting. The House members brought a proposal with ideas for stimulating the economy, then suffering through the Great Recession.
Discussion:
Betsy's Page and Sabato's Crystal Ball


Obama orders review of Russian hacking during presidential campaign
Discussion:
Political Wire and Towleroad

Obama orders review of Russian election-related hacking
Discussion:
MichelleMalkin.com, ThinkProgress, Morning Consult, Politicus USA, BizPac Review, New York Magazine, AOL, twitchy.com, Washington Post and The Root

Obama Orders Investigation Into Election-Related Hacking
Discussion:
Politico, Talking Points Memo and Washington Free Beacon


Trump Expected to Pick Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers to Run Interior — If confirmed by the Senate, she would lead administration's efforts to open up federal lands and waters to fossil-fuel development — WASHINGTON—President-elect Donald Trump is expected to tap Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers …
Discussion:
RedState, Politico and Morning Consult
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Donald Trump's Interior Secretary Doesn't Want to Combat Climate Change — On Friday the Wall Street Journal reported that Donald Trump has chosen Washington Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers, chair of the House Republican Conference, to be his Secretary of Interior.
Discussion:
Wall Street Journal


Oil drilling advocate expected to be Trump pick for Interior Dept.: sources
Discussion:
Talking Points Memo, The Guardian and Washington Free Beacon

Transition Questionnaire Raises Worries of a Purge; Dreamers Are Offered a Bridge; Goldman Sachs Adds to the Team
Discussion:
Talking Points Memo

Trump to pick Rep. McMorris Rodgers for Interior secretary
Discussion:
TheBlaze

Trump Team's Memo Hints at Broad Shake-Up of U.S. Energy Policy — Advisers seeking to identify staff involved in climate policy — Advisers to President-elect Donald Trump are developing plans to reshape Energy Department programs, help keep aging nuclear plants online and identify staff …
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Trump transition team for Energy Department seeks names of employees involved in climate meetings
Discussion:
Jezebel, ThinkProgress and The Week

McConnell exploring options for potential open North Dakota Senate seat — Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell met with North Dakota Rep. Kevin Cramer this week to discuss a potential open Senate seat, POLITICO has confirmed. — The Tuesday meeting at the National Republican Senatorial …
Discussion:
Political Wire and Hot Air
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Senate Dems facing likely defeat in shutdown fight — Senate Democrats are fighting a legislative battle they appear unlikely to win, demanding new negotiations on a critical spending bill after Senate Republicans have already closed off talks and the House has gone home for the holidays.
Discussion:
Washington Post, Hot Air and The Resurgent


Conway on Trump ‘Apprentice’ role: He'll do it in his spare time — (CNN)Kellyanne Conway on Friday defended President-elect Donald Trump's decision to remain an executive producer on NBC's “Celebrity Apprentice” even as he takes office, arguing that “presidents have a right to do things in their spare time.”
Discussion:
RedState, Washington Post and The Daily Caller, more at Mediagazer »
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Conway On Trump Decision Not To Leave ‘The Apprentice’: Obama Played Golf!
Discussion:
The Week

Donald Trump to Remain Executive Producer on ‘Celebrity Apprentice’ (EXCLUSIVE)
Discussion:
Business Insider, The Hill, Hollywood Reporter, No More Mister Nice Blog, Outside the Beltway, Hot Air, NPR, Media Matters for America, The Huffington Post, Washington Post, Mediaite, Politico, Mother Jones, ThinkProgress, Raw Story, The Week, Hullabaloo, Washington Free Beacon, VICE, Towleroad, New York Times, FTVLive, Political Wire, NBC News, Politicus USA, Gothamist, reverbpress.com, Jezebel, KXAN-TV, Mashable, TheBlaze, The Verge, Talking Points Memo, Occupy Democrats, The Guardian and Balloon Juice, more at Mediagazer »

Paul Ryan: I had a ‘very exciting meeting’ with Trump today — Speaker Paul Ryan said he had a “very exciting meeting” with President-elect Donald Trump at Trump Tower on Friday. — “I really enjoyed coming up here and meeting with the president-elect. We had a great meeting.
Discussion:
Talking Points Memo and ABC News
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Carrier says it will spend millions automating Indiana plant, plans to lay off workers Trump ‘saved’ — The deal keeps getting worse. — As part of the deal President-elect Donald Trump and Vice President-elect Mike Pence struck with Carrier, the company has promised to make a $16 million investment …
Discussion:
Daily Kos, Jezebel, Common Dreams, Lawyers, Guns & Money, Washington Post, NBC News, Mediaite and Raw Story
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Carrier to ultimately lose some jobs Trump saved: report
Discussion:
Washington Post, The Resurgent, Washington Monthly, The Daily Caller, TheBlaze, The Week, New York Magazine and KTLA

GOP Plans Major Social Security Cuts — We'll have a story coming shortly on what I just mentioned a short time ago: that Republicans are now planning to pass major cuts to Social Security this year. Specifically, this bill is being introduced by Rep. Sam Johnson, Chairman of the House Ways …
RELATED:

Going for the Big Enchilada
Discussion:
Washington Examiner, Johnson, Sam, alicublog and Mother Jones


COULD BREITBART BREAK WITH TRUMP? — The front page of Breitbart right now seems surprisingly critical of the Trump transition: — From that lead story: … Wow — the Trump News Network is linking a Trump appointee to the hated rootless cosmopolitan gun-grabber Mike Bloomberg. Them's fightin' words.
Discussion:
Salon, Washington Monthly, Hot Air and Breitbart
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Let's relocate a bunch of government agencies to the Midwest — Time to shift economic activity from the overcrowded coasts to places that need more of it. — America's post-industrial Midwest is far from being the country's poorest region. To find the direst economic conditions in the United States …


Could a Last-Minute Suitor Woo Megyn Kelly Away from Fox News? — Despite an offer of more than $20 million from Fox, Kelly appears to be listening to some surprising suitors. — On Wednesday morning, Megyn Kelly was once again promoting her new memoir, Settle for More …
Discussion:
The Hill, AOL, RedState, USA Today, John Hawkins' Right Wing News, Mediaite, FTVLive and TVNewser, more at Mediagazer »


Balloon Pilot Who Killed 16 Was on Drugs and Had Five DWI Raps — NTSB documents on July crash reveal loopholes in oversight — Accident was worst fatal U.S. aviation accident since 2009 — The pilot of a hot-air balloon that crashed last summer in Texas, killing himself and 15 sight-seeing passengers …


Trump just offered yet another Goldman veteran a spot in his administration — Goldman's Cohn offered NEC director job - NBC — Donald Trump has offered Goldman Sachs executive Gary Cohn a key economic post, which would add to the administration another veteran of the powerful firm …
Discussion:
RedState, Vox, Common Dreams, Raw Story, Jewish Telegraphic Agency, Mediaite, New York Magazine, Morning Consult and The Week


This is what happens when Donald Trump attacks a private citizen on Twitter — About a year ago, 18-year-old college student Lauren Batchelder stood up at a political forum in New Hampshire and told Donald Trump that she didn't think he was “a friend to women.”
Discussion:
Occupy Democrats, The Daily Caller and New York Magazine, more at Mediagazer »


Trump gets one presidential intelligence briefing a week: sources — President-elect Donald Trump is receiving an average of one presidential intelligence briefing a week, according to U.S. officials familiar with the matter, far fewer than most of his recent predecessors.
Discussion:
Mother Jones, Common Dreams, Mediaite, Talking Points Memo, Jezebel, CBS News, Political Wire and Hot Air


T.J. Miller — Arrested for Uber Fight Over Trump ... 'Tis the Season?? — “Silicon Valley” star T.J. Miller got arrested in Hollywood for allegedly making his Uber driver see stars, and not the good rating kind either. — Law enforcement sources tell us T.J.'s driver picked him up from the GQ Men …
Discussion:
LAist, Washington Times, East Bay Times and SFist