Top Items:
Alan Henry / Broadway World:
Rockettes Union Calls Boycotting Inauguration ‘Invalid’ — BroadwayWorld has obtained and confirmed the authenticity of an email sent from the American Guild of Variety Artists to what appears to be Rockettes in its membership as a response to the announcement that some Rockettes …
Discussion:
alan.com, OnStage, The Guardian, Mashable, Lawyers, Guns & Money, Fox News Insider, New York Magazine, Mediaite, Gothamist, East Bay Times and The FADER
RELATED:
Matt Shuham / Talking Points Memo:
Rockettes Parent Company Says Inauguration Participation Is ‘Voluntary’ — The parent company of the Rockettes said Friday that participation in President-elect Donald Trump's inauguration, which had reportedly been protested by at least one dancer when it was announced Thursday, was “voluntary,” contradicting earlier reports.
Joe Tacopino / New York Post:
Rockette goes on Instagram rant over Trump inauguration gig
Rockette goes on Instagram rant over Trump inauguration gig
Discussion:
alan.com, New York's PIX11 and AOL
Phoebe Pearl / PerezHilton:
EXCLUSIVE! The Rockettes Are Performing At Donald Trump's Inauguration — And The Dancers …
EXCLUSIVE! The Rockettes Are Performing At Donald Trump's Inauguration — And The Dancers …
Discussion:
New York Times, The Atlantic, CNN, Deadline, alan.com and Mediaite
Steve Marinucci / Billboard:
Beach Boys Considering Invitation to Perform at Trump Inauguration
Beach Boys Considering Invitation to Perform at Trump Inauguration
Discussion:
The Gateway Pundit, The Guardian, Mediaite, Jezebel, Maryland Scramble and The Week
David Filipov / Washington Post:
Putin to Democratic Party: You lost, get over it — MOSCOW — Russia's President Vladimir Putin has a message for the White House and Democratic leaders who accuse him of stealing their victory: Don't be sore losers. — That was how Putin answered a question Friday about whether Russia interfered …
Discussion:
Mother Jones, New York Magazine, Occupy Democrats, No More Mister Nice Blog and TheBlaze
RELATED:
Harper Neidig / The Hill:
Trump shares letter from Putin: ‘His thoughts are so correct’ — on Friday praised Vladimir Putin and shared a Christmas letter the Russian president sent him. — “A very nice letter from Vladimir Putin; his thoughts are so correct,” Trump said in a statement.
Yochi Dreazen / Vox:
Trump seemed to call for more nuclear weapons. His aides say he didn't mean it. He says he did. — Donald Trump often talks about trying to keep America's adversaries scrambling to sort out his true intentions by being deliberately vague — and sometimes contradictory — in his public comments.
Discussion:
Washington Post, CNN, Motherboard, Business Insider, The Huffington Post, NBC News, WKRG-TV, New York Times, Mediaite, New York Magazine and The Guardian
New York Times:
Vladimir Putin, Unsurprised by Trump's Remarks, Says Russia Wants No Nuclear Arms Race
Vladimir Putin, Unsurprised by Trump's Remarks, Says Russia Wants No Nuclear Arms Race
Discussion:
The Point, Mediaite, Telegraph, Talking Points Memo, Engadget, The Federalist, The Week, The Daily Caller, Mother Jones, The Guardian, RedState and Infowars
David Wright / CNN:
Trump receives ‘very nice’ Christmas letter from Putin
Trump receives ‘very nice’ Christmas letter from Putin
Discussion:
Politicus USA, The Guardian and CBS Philly
The Buffalo News:
On Paladino's ‘wish list’ for 2017: Obama dead of mad cow disease — When Artvoice asked Buffalo developer and School Board member Carl Paladino what he wanted to see happen in 2017, he didn't filter his responses — and the controversial, crude answers are causing a firestorm on social media.
Discussion:
Mediaite, No More Mister Nice Blog and AOL
RELATED:
Jamie Moses / artvoice.com:
WHAT DO WE WANT FOR 2017? We have a Lot of Different Opinions — THE QUESTIONS WE POSED: — 1. What would you most like to happen in 2017? — 2. What would you like to see go away in 2017? — 3. Who would you like to see run for mayor of Buffalo in next year's election?
Discussion:
Little Green Footballs, BuzzFeed, alan.com, Political Wire, Business Insider, Jezebel and Mediaite
Abby Phillip / Washington Post:
Trump ‘friend’ and N.Y. campaign co-chair says he wants Obama dead of ‘mad cow disease’ in 2017 — Carl Paladino, a former Republican nominee for governor of New York and an adviser to president-elect Trump, included the death of President Obama and “return” of first lady Michelle Obama …
Allegra Kirkland / Talking Points Memo:
Trump Ally's '17 Wish List: Prez Obama ‘Dies’, Michelle ‘Set Loose’ In Africa
Trump Ally's '17 Wish List: Prez Obama ‘Dies’, Michelle ‘Set Loose’ In Africa
Discussion:
Mediaite
New York Times:
Was Barack Obama Bad for Democrats? — President Obama will be remembered as a thoughtful and dignified president who led a scrupulously honest administration that achieved major changes. — People argue over whether his impatience with politicians and Republican intransigence denied …
Discussion:
EPIC JOURNEY
RELATED:
Paul Krugman / New York Times:
Populism, Real and Phony — Authoritarians with an animus against ethnic minorities are on the march across the Western world. They control governments in Hungary and Poland, and will soon take power in America. And they're organizing across borders: Austria's Freedom Party …
Discussion:
The Moderate Voice
Daily Mail:
QUESTIONS OVER BLUNDERS IN WAKE OF THE ATTACK — The killing of Anis Amri comes after an embarrassing four days for German authorities. — An hour after the mass murder, a 23-year-old Pakistani man was arrested, but police were later forced to admit he was not involved in the attack.
RELATED:
Sheena McKenzie / CNN:
Berlin Christmas market attack suspect killed in Milan shootout
Berlin Christmas market attack suspect killed in Milan shootout
Discussion:
Fox News, Scared Monkeys, Victory Girls Blog and RedState
Julian Robinson / Daily Mail:
'It's all too convenient': Questions over how police missed Berlin attack suspect's ID in truck …
'It's all too convenient': Questions over how police missed Berlin attack suspect's ID in truck …
Discussion:
Victory Girls Blog and Vocativ
Andrew Reynolds / Raleigh News & Observer:
North Carolina is no longer classified as a democracy — In 2005, in the midst of a career of traveling around the world to help set up elections in some of the most challenging places on earth - Afghanistan, Burma, Egypt, Lebanon, South Africa, Sudan and Yemen, among others - my Danish colleague …
Discussion:
ThinkProgress, Grist, Raw Story and The Week
Darren Samuelsohn / Politico:
Trump's driver's license casts doubt on height claims — Donald Trump and his doctor claim he's 6-foot-3, but his New York driver's license says he's actually an inch shorter. — A copy of Trump's license, obtained by POLITICO through an open-records request, lists the president-elect at 6-foot-2.
Discussion:
MichelleMalkin.com, RedState, Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion, The Daily Caller and Mediaite
Nate Cohn / New York Times:
How the Obama Coalition Crumbled, Leaving an Opening for Trump — It is entirely possible, as many have argued, that Hillary Clinton would be the president-elect of the United States if the F.B.I. director, James Comey, had not sent a letter to Congress about her emails in the last weeks of the campaign.
Discussion:
Washington Monthly
Dana Milbank / Washington Post:
A new solution for Trump and his team of billionaires: Ignore the law — Trump lieutenant Newt Gingrich this week proposed an elegant solution for all the conflicts of interest swirling around the president-elect and his team of billionaires: Ignore the law.
Discussion:
Fox News, The Hill, CNBC, The Daily Beast, CBS Dallas, Deadline and Mediaite
Somini Sengupta / New York Times:
U.N. Resolution Condemning Israeli Settlements Is Approved; U.S. Abstains — UNITED NATIONS — Defying extraordinary pressure from President-elect Donald J. Trump and furious lobbying by Israel, the Obama administration on Friday allowed the United Nations Security Council to adopt …
Discussion:
Washington Post, The Week, The Resurgent and Instapundit
RELATED:
Karen DeYoung / Washington Post:
In a day of tweets, Trump suggests major change on national security issues
In a day of tweets, Trump suggests major change on national security issues
Discussion:
The Right Scoop, CNN, Reuters and The Week
Bloomberg:
Trump Aide Partnered With Firm Run by Man With Alleged KGB Ties — Michael Flynn worked with ‘brain fingerprinting’ company — Its co-director convicted of selling stolen biotech material — Donald Trump's national security adviser, Michael Flynn, partnered this year …
RELATED:
Jim Geraghty / National Review:
Happy Hoax-idays! — Today is the last Jim-written Morning Jolt until December 27. From all of us to all of you, Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah, and a joyful anything else you may celebrate at this time of year. — We constantly argue that the national news media has to be more discerning …
Bloomberg:
GOP Wants Trump to Trim ACA Benefits, Say Congress Aides — Trump White House could limit insurance benefit requirments — Essential health benefits cover drugs, mental care, wellness — Facing a years-long wait before they can fully implement a planned repeal of Obamacare …
Discussion:
Political Wire and Daily Kos