Top Items:
William Cummings / USA Today:
Trump bashes CIA, dismisses Russian hacking report — 21k Shares — President-elect Donald Trump's transition team questioned the credibility of the CIA late Friday in response to a report the agency found Russia intervened in the election to boost his prospects.
Discussion:
CNNMoney, Talking Points Memo, ThinkProgress, RedState, Townhall.com, BuzzFeed, France 24, Political Wire, Independent Journal Review, TheBlaze, Balloon Juice, The Last Tradition, The Gateway Pundit, The Guardian, Washington Monthly, Infowars, BizPac Review, Boing Boing and KTLA, more at Mediagazer »
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Aaron Blake / Washington Post:
The CIA concluded that Russia worked to elect Trump. Republicans now face an impossible choice. — This post has been updated with a defiant statement from the Trump transition team. — The Washington Post is now reporting that the CIA has concluded something widely suspected …
Discussion:
Occupy Democrats, Politico, Politicus USA, Wall Street Journal, Lawyers, Guns & Money, RedState and Morning Consult
CNN:
Donald Trump takes aim at US intelligence community on Russia — (CNN)President-elect Donald Trump's transition team slammed the CIA Friday, following reports the agency has concluded that Russia intervened in the election to help him win. — In a stunning response to widening claims …
Discussion:
RedState, Reuters, The Week, AOL, Mediaite, Balloon Juice, The Daily Caller and New York Magazine
Seung Min Kim / Politico:
Schumer demands congressional inquiry on Russian meddling — Incoming Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer is calling for a full, bipartisan congressional investigation into reports of Russian interference in the 2016 election that would likely continue after President Barack Obama leaves office.
New York Times:
Russia Hacked Republican Committee but Kept Data, U.S. Concludes — WASHINGTON — American intelligence agencies have concluded with “high confidence” that Russia acted covertly in the latter stages of the presidential campaign to harm Hillary Clinton's chances and promote Donald J. Trump, according to senior administration officials.
Discussion:
Vox, New York Magazine, Mediaite, The Daily Caller, Independent Journal Review, Outside the Beltway, The Root, Business Insider, Politico, The BRAD BLOG, Millennial, The Guardian, Hullabaloo, Althouse, Liberty Unyielding, Raw Story, The Last Refuge, Hot Air, Occupy Democrats, emptywheel, NBC News, Mother Jones, Balloon Juice, Taylor Marsh, The Reality-Based Community, Techdirt and Bloomberg
Paul Mirengoff / Power Line:
Obama to probe alleged Russian election meddling; Senate might too — President Obama has ordered his intelligence agencies to conduct a review of hacking during the 2016 presidential election and present their findings before he leaves office. Alleged Russian hacking during the election might …
Discussion:
Los Angeles Times, Gothamist and Mother Jones
Michael Kinsley / Washington Post:
Donald Trump is actually a fascist — Michael Kinsley is a columnist for Vanity Fair magazine and a contributing columnist for The Post. — Donald Trump is a fascist. — When you call somebody a fascist, you can mean any number of things. Often, it means no more than “somebody I don't like.”
Andrew Biggs / Forbes:
At Last: A New Social Security Reform Plan — Social Security has been a quiet subject for Republicans since the collapse of President Bush's reform efforts in 2005. In the late 1990s and early 2000s, Republican Members of Congress were seemingly lining up to present new plans …
Discussion:
Scripting News, Viking Pundit, New York Magazine and Occupy Democrats
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Joseph Lawler / Washington Examiner:
Key GOP lawmaker introduces Social Security reform plan
Key GOP lawmaker introduces Social Security reform plan
Discussion:
Politicus USA and Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi
Tierney Sneed / Talking Points Memo:
Key House GOPer Introduces Bill With Major Cuts To Social Security
Key House GOPer Introduces Bill With Major Cuts To Social Security
Discussion:
Forbes and The Mahablog
Josh Marshall / Talking Points Memo:
GOP Plans Major Social Security Cuts
GOP Plans Major Social Security Cuts
Discussion:
Viking Pundit and Suburban Guerrilla …
New York Times:
Exxon Mobil Chief Rises as Trump's Choice for Secretary of State — Rex W. Tillerson, the president and chief executive of Exxon Mobil, has emerged as President-elect Donald J. Trump's top choice to become secretary of state, according to a person with direct knowledge of the search process.
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Steve Holland / Reuters:
Exxon CEO is now Trump's secretary of state favorite - transition official — Exxon Mobil Corp Chief Executive Officer Rex Tillerson emerged on Friday as President-elect Donald Trump's leading candidate for U.S. secretary of state, a senior transition official said.
Discussion:
Common Dreams, Politicus USA and RedState
Joy-Ann Reid / The Daily Beast:
Hey, White Working Class, Donald Trump Is Already Screwing You Over — You're probably going to read this as sour grapes, and I certainly am sour about a family of kleptocrats moving into the White House because 80,000 of your votes in states that get more federal tax dollars than they put …
Discussion:
emptywheel, more at Mediagazer »
Michael M. Grynbaum / New York Times:
An ‘Apprentice’ Role for Trump Opens Door Wide for Questions — President-elect Donald J. Trump is entering office with financial entanglements that are exotic and far-flung: a condominium project in Manila, a luxury furniture maker in Istanbul, golf courses in Scotland and Ireland, and a hotel in Azerbaijan.
Discussion:
Diane Ravitch's blog
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Bob Fredericks / New York Post:
Hillary Clinton's losing campaign cost a record $1.2B — More On: — Hillary Clinton and her supporters spent a record $1.2 billion for her losing presidential campaign — twice as much as the winner, Donald Trump, according to the latest records. — The president-elect …
Discussion:
RedState, JONATHAN TURLEY and Washington Free Beacon
Martin Kaste / NPR.org:
Military-Trained Police May Be Less Hasty To Shoot, But That Got This Vet Fired — There are plenty of recent stories involving white police officers who have shot and killed black men, including some who are on trial for those shootings. Then there's the case of a white cop who did not shoot …
Discussion:
Guns.com
John Wagner / Washington Post:
Trump says blacks who stayed home were ‘almost as good’ as those who voted for him — President-elect Donald Trump claimed Friday night that African Americans came through for him “big league” in the November election and said those who stayed home were “almost as good” as those who voted for him.
Discussion:
ThinkProgress, MLive.com and alan.com
Ronn Blitzer / Law News:
Videographers Sue State Because They Don't Want to Film Gay Weddings — A religious Minnesota couple who run a video production company are suing the state's Attorney General and the Department of Human Rights Commissioner, claiming that the Minnesota Human Rights Act (MHRA) …
Anita Kumar / McClatchy Washington Bureau:
Obama is rushing to Trump-proof the White House — WASHINGTON — Since Election Day, President Barack Obama has appointed 56 people to boards, commissions and offices in the hopes that they remain in those posts for years to come. — He has reduced the prison sentences of 79 federal inmates.
Jim Geraghty / National Review:
Obama's Second Term Was a Complete Failure — There's no other way to describe it. — Every December, Chris Cillizza of the Washington Post picks the biggest political loser of the past year. — In 2013, Cillizza's selection was Barack Obama. He cited the botched rollout of Healthcare.gov …