memeorandum: Trump's Treasury Pick Moves in Secretive Hedge Fund Circles (New York Times)

9:10 AM ET, December 20, 2016

Top Items:

A Historic Number of Electors Defected, and Most Were Supposed to Vote for Clinton — The Electoral College on Monday voted for Donald J. Trump to win the presidency. Seven electors, the most ever, voted for someone other than their party's nominee. — Of 306 electors pledged to vote for Donald J. Trump

Discussion: Los Angeles Times, The Daily Caller, Politico, Outside the Beltway, The Week, Townhall.com, MichelleMalkin.com, New York Magazine and The Geller Report

CNN:

Electors remain faithful to Trump and select him as official winner — (CNN)Donald Trump has surpassed the necessary 270 votes in the Electoral College, the next step in the official process to become President. — Trump received 304 electoral votes to Hillary Clinton's 224.

New York Times:

Time to End the Electoral College — By overwhelming majorities, Americans would prefer to elect the president by direct popular vote, not filtered through the antiquated mechanism of the Electoral College. They understand, on a gut level, the basic fairness of awarding the nation's highest office …

Ben Kamisar / The Hill:
Electoral College: Where the vote stands

Discussion: Politico, New York Times, The Right Scoop, Hot Air, Townhall.com, The Point, Liberal Values, David Bright, The Portland Press Herald and RT

The Seattle Times:
Four Washington state electors break ranks and don't vote for Clinton

Discussion: Denver Post, RT, Grist, CBS Dallas, Business Insider, TheBlaze, CBS News and CNN

New York Times: Electoral College Settles Donald Trump's Victory, but Little Else

Jessie Hellmann / The Hill:
Trump touts ‘historic’ Electoral College victory

Discussion: Sputnik International, John Hawkins' Right Wing News, Mediaite, Raw Story and The Daily Caller

The Local:

LIVE: Berlin police ‘unsure’ if they have right man for truck attack — Live updates from Berlin after a truck ploughed into a Christmas market on Monday night, killing 12 people and injuring 48. — A large truck drove into a crowded Christmas market in west Berlin at around 8.30pm on Monday evening.

Discussion: The Guardian, Telegraph, Hot Air, Sputnik International, NPR, The Times of Israel, The Local, RT, The Gateway Pundit, CBS New York, twitchy.com, NBC News, Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion and Mediaite

CNN:
Berlin Christmas market attack suspect a refugee, security sources say

Discussion: Instapundit and ImmigrationProf Blog

Washington Times:
At least 9 dead, many injured in truck attack on Berlin Christmas market

Discussion: New York Post, The Jawa Report, Victory Girls Blog, The Gateway Pundit, The Geller Report, The Local, twitchy.com, The Week, TheBlaze and RT

Reuters:
Merkel says asylum-seeker may have carried out Christmas market attack

Discussion: Power Line, Fox News, Steyn Online, Independent Journal Review, RedState, The Week, Jezebel, Mediaite and TheBlaze

Darran Simon / CNN:
Berlin police: 9 dead, at least 50 injured in truck crash

Nick Bilton / Vanity Fair:

Inside the Desperate, Year-Long Hunt to Find Donald Trump's Rumored Apprentice Outtakes — Throughout the election, both the media and the Clinton camp were obsessed by outtakes from the reality show, amid allegations of hair-raising things said by the now president-elect.

Discussion: The Daily Beast

Travis Gettys / Raw Story:
Tom Arnold says he's got recordings of Trump using racial slurs and calling son a ‘retard’

Discussion: Mediaite

Eric Mandel / MyNorthwest.com:
Comedian Tom Arnold claims to have infamous unreleased Donald Trump outtakes

Discussion: AOL, Jezebel, No More Mister Nice Blog, Mediaite, Occupy Democrats and alan.com, more at Mediagazer »

Darren Samuelsohn / Politico:

Gingrich: Congress should change ethics laws for Trump — Newt Gingrich has a take on how Donald Trump can keep from running afoul of U.S. ethics laws: Change the ethics laws. — Trump is currently grappling with how to sufficiently disentangle himself from his multibillion-dollar business …

Discussion: Politicus USA, The Diane Rehm Show and Media Matters for America

Jessie Hellmann / The Hill:
Gingrich suggests Trump pardon advisers who break the law

Discussion: RedState

Matt Shuham / Talking Points Memo:
Gingrich Suggests Trump Simply Pardon Family That Breaks Anti-Nepotism Law

Discussion: Hullabaloo

Robbie Gramer / Foreign Policy:

Austrian Far-Right Politicians Travel to Moscow to Grease Ties Between Trump, Putin — If Putin can't mend ties with European governments, he'll at least always have its far-right parties. On Monday, the leaders of Austria's far-right Freedom party, fresh off an election loss …

Discussion: The Week and Bloomberg

Alison Smale / New York Times:

Austria's Far Right Signs a Cooperation Pact With Putin's Party — BERLIN — The leader of the Austrian far-right Freedom Party has signed what he called a cooperation agreement with Russia's ruling party and recently met with Lt. Gen. Michael T. Flynn, the designated national security adviser …

Carrie Levine / Center for Public Integrity:

Donald Trump's sons behind nonprofit selling access to president-elect — New Texas-based group not legally required to disclose its donors — A new Texas nonprofit led by Donald Trump's grown sons is offering access to the freshly-minted president during inauguration weekend …

Discussion: alan.com, New York Magazine, The Week, Occupy Democrats, Washington Post, Politico, Common Dreams, Talking Points Memo, Grist and The Hill

Catherine Rampell / Washington Post:

Trump's OMB pick seems poised to ignite a worldwide financial crisis — It's not the sexiest White House job. But it might soon be among the most dangerous. — Over the weekend, President-elect Donald Trump tapped Rep. Mick Mulvaney (R-S.C.) to be his director of the Office of Management and Budget.

Discussion: Rewire and New York Magazine

New York Times:

Russian Ambassador to Turkey Is Assassinated in Ankara — ISTANBUL — Russia's ambassador to Turkey was assassinated at an Ankara art exhibit on Monday evening by a lone Turkish gunman shouting “God is great!” and “don't forget Aleppo, don't forget Syria!” in what Russia called a terrorist attack.

Justin Baragona / Mediaite:
Obama Heads to Golf Course After Receiving Reports on Berlin Attack and Russian Ambassador Death

Discussion: Washington Free Beacon, The Gateway Pundit, Reuters and The Daily Beast

David Leonhardt / New York Times:

Democrats Had a Knife, and the G.O.P. Had a Gun — President Obama and Gov. Pat McCrory of North Carolina don't agree on many policy questions. But they have found themselves facing a similar political situation this year. And their very different reactions capture the deep — and alarming …

Ryan Cooper / The Week:
How Republicans' frightening power play in North Carolina will go national

Discussion: The Daily Caller, Daily Kos and Vox

John Sharp / al.com:

Mobile official apologizes for Christmas tree at Trump rally removed from public park — President-elect Donald Trump speaks during a rally at Ladd-Peebles Stadium on Saturday, Dec. 17, 2016, in Mobile, Ala. In the background is a large cedar tree that was cut down at Public Safety Memorial Park …

Discussion: Hullabaloo

Rebecca Savransky / The Hill:

Trump's vow to overturn DACA could cost US billions: report — 's plans to overturn President Obama's executive order protecting illegal immigrants brought to the U.S. as children could cost the country tens of billions of dollars, according to a new study.

Discussion: CNNMoney and alan.com

Stuart Rothenberg / Washington Post:

Can Republican senators get to 60 seats in 2018? — (Photo by Melina Mara/The Washington Post) — The GOP's strong 2016 election showing raises a crucial question: Do Republicans have any chance of netting eight Senate seats - and a filibuster-proof majority - in 2018?

Tierney Sneed / Talking Points Memo:

GOP Rep's Vision Of Post-ACA World: You Wait To Treat Your Kid's Broken Arm — A Republican congressman outlined the way he would like to see the health care system operate if Obamacare is repealed, as GOP lawmakers are promising. It is a brave new world in which parents would wait …

Discussion: ECHIDNE OF THE SNAKES, Lawyers, Guns & Money and ACASignups.net

Shandra Martinez / MLive.com:
Son's broken arm: Bill Huizenga says people must be responsible for own health care costs

Discussion: Occupy Democrats and Raw Story

Judd Legum / ThinkProgress:

Under political pressure, Kuwait cancels major event at Four Seasons, switches to Trump's D.C. hotel — After Election Day, everything changed. — By Judd Legum and Kira Lerner — The Embassy of Kuwait allegedly cancelled a contract with a Washington, D.C. hotel days after the presidential election …

Discussion: Politicus USA, The Talking Dog, Talking Points Memo and Mother Jones

Neil Eggleston / Blog Daily Listings RSS:

President Obama Grants 153 Commutations and 78 Pardons to Individuals Deserving of a Second Chance — Today, President Obama granted clemency to 231 deserving individuals — the most individual acts of clemency granted in a single day by any president in this nation's history.