memeorandum: NAACP occupies Alabama Sen. Jeff Sessions' Mobile office, calls for him to withdraw U.S. Attorney General nomination (Jason Silverstein/New York Daily News)

1:20 AM ET, January 4, 2017

Top Items:

Dylan Matthews / Vox:

Senate Republicans just introduced an Obamacare repeal plan Democrats can't stop — The new Congress was sworn in on Tuesday, and the first thing it did was prepare to repeal Obamacare. — Senate Budget Committee Chair Michael Enzi (R-WY) introduced a budget resolution Tuesday that includes …

Discussion: National Review, U.S. Senate Committee …, The Democratic Daily, Politico, Hullabaloo, Business Insider, Mother Jones, Instapundit, Wall Street Journal, FiveThirtyEight and Washington Free Beacon

Health Affairs Blog:

The Problems With ‘Repeal And Delay’ — Republican leaders in Congress and the incoming Trump administration have said that they plan to move quickly to repeal the Affordable Care Act (ACA) in the early weeks of 2017, with a delay in the date of when key aspects of the repeal would become effective until perhaps 2019 or 2020.

Discussion: NPR

New York Times:

Turmoil Overshadows First Day of Republican-Controlled Congress — WASHINGTON — The Republican-controlled Congress opened the turbulent Trump era in Washington on Tuesday, as the new Senate moved instantly to begin the repeal of President Obama's signature health care law while the House descended …

Discussion: Wall Street Journal, The Democratic Daily, Raw Story, Washington Post, Daily Kos and The Hill

Bloomberg:
Hill Republicans Try to Temper the Hopes Trump Gave His Supporters

Discussion: Politico

Nancyl / Washington Monthly:
What Republicans Have Promised on Health Care Reform

Discussion: MSNBC, Mother Jones, Politico, Shareblue and Talking Points Memo

Sen. Rand Paul / Rare:
Rand Paul: Repeal all of Obamacare and replace immediately

Discussion: Morning Consult, Daily Kos, The Hill, STAT, Infowars and CNN

Jim Rutenberg / New York Times:

Megyn Kelly Is Said to Be Leaving Fox News for NBC — Megyn Kelly, who arrived at Fox News 12 years ago as a television news neophyte but rose to become one of its two biggest stars, has decided to leave the network to take on a broad new role at NBC News for an undisclosed amount, people briefed on the negotiations said on Tuesday.

Gabriel Sherman / New York Magazine:

Megyn Kelly's Departure Is a Big Clue About the Future of Fox News — Megyn Kelly's decision to jump from Fox News to NBC resolves one of the last unanswered questions of the Roger Ailes scandal: Would she stay or would she go when her contract ended? With her last show set to air on Friday …

Discussion: NPR, Mediaite and Media Matters for America

Megyn Kelly / Facebook:
Over a dozen years ago I started at Fox News in a job that would change my life.

Discussion: Politico, The Last Tradition, Hot Air, IJR, Full Feed, The Gateway Pundit, Raw Story, Gothamist, The Guardian, AOL and Mediaite

Erika Masonhall / press.nbcnews.com:
MEGYN KELLY JOINS NBC NEWS

Discussion: Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion, Vocativ, Mediaite, Conservative Daily Post, IJR and Politicus USA, more at Mediagazer »

Los Angeles Times:

Mass murderer Charles Manson seriously ill, moved to hospital, sources say — Charles Manson and other members of his so-called family were convicted of killing actress Sharon Tate and six other people during a bloody rampage in the Los Angeles area during two August nights in 1969.

Discussion: Telegraph, Fox News, New York's PIX11, KTLA, WTVR-TV, FOX6Now.com and Associated Press

TMZ.com:
Charles Manson — Temporarily Out of Prison Hospitalized

Discussion: New York Daily News and RedState

Yashar Ali / New York Magazine:

Bill and Hillary Clinton Will Attend the Trump Inauguration — Bill and Hillary Clinton have decided to attend the inauguration of Donald Trump as the 45th President of the United States, according to two sources with knowledge of their plans. The Clintons will join former Presidents George W. Bush …

Discussion: New York Post, Politico, AOL, Mediaite, Hot Air, Washington Free Beacon, DCist, New York Times, The Times of Israel, IJR and The Daily Caller

Ben Kamisar / The Hill:
George W. Bush to attend Trump's inauguration

Discussion: Politico, The Resurgent and RedState

Jason Silverstein / New York Daily News:

NAACP occupies Alabama Sen. Jeff Sessions' Mobile office, calls for him to withdraw U.S. Attorney General nomination — A protest is in Sessions. — More than a dozen NAACP members occupied the Mobile office of Alabama Sen. Jeff Sessions Tuesday, calling for him to turn down his controversial nomination …

Discussion: Power Line, Law News and Washington Monthly

Howard Koplowitz / al.com:
NAACP occupies Jeff Sessions' Mobile office in protest of AG nomination

Discussion: New York Times, CNN, ABC News, The Montgomery Advertiser, WHNT-TV, Daily Kos, Raw Story, Vox, Common Dreams, KTLA, twitchy.com, NBC News, Talking Points Memo, Shakesville, The Week, Mashable, WIAT-TV, The Daily Caller and theGrio

Sari Horwitz / Washington Post:
More than 1,100 law school professors nationwide oppose Sessions's nomination as attorney general

Discussion: The Week

Chris Sommerfeldt / New York Daily News:

SEE IT: Donald Trump appears alongside convicted felon with mobster ties at New Year's Eve party — President-elect Donald Trump rang in the new year together with Joseph “Joey No Socks” Cinque — a convicted felon with ties to notorious Gambino crime family boss John Gotti, a recently released video has revealed.

Discussion: Post On Politics, Hullabaloo, The Guardian, Mediaite and Political Wire

Brendan Gauthier / Salon:
Donald Trump spends New Year's Eve with convicted felon, Dubai billionaire: “The taxes are coming down”

Discussion: Daily Kos and Post On Politics

Jen Juneau / People.com:

Janet Jackson Welcomes Son Eissa — It's a boy! — Janet Jackson and husband Wissam Al Mana welcomed their first child, a son, on Tuesday, Jan. 3, her rep confirms to PEOPLE exclusively. — “Janet Jackson and husband Wissam Al Mana are thrilled to welcome their new son Eissa Al Mana into the world …

Discussion: East Bay Times, AOL, ABC News, Mashable, The Huffington Post, The Week, TMZ.com, New York Magazine and theGrio

CNBC:

Omarosa Manigault joining Trump's White House staff to focus on public engagement: AP — Omarosa Manigault is getting hired. — A memorable contestant in the first season of “The Apprentice,” Manigault is expected to join President-elect Donald Trump's White House staff, according to two people familiar with the decision.

Discussion: BuzzFeed, Raw Story, IJR, Talking Points Memo, TheBlaze, Fox News Insider, Political Wire and New York Magazine

Ricky Young / sandiegouniontribune.com:

Congressman spent campaign funds for rabbit air travel — Rep. Duncan Hunter and his wife, Margaret, who is paid $3,000 a month in campaign funds to serve as his campaign manager. (AP file/Alex Brandon) — Rep. Duncan Hunter used campaign funds to pay for $600 of airline fees to fly a family rabbit …

Marisa M. Kashino / Washingtonian:

Ivanka Trump Will Move into a House in Kalorama — Washington Fine Properties co-owner William F.X. Moody tells Washingtonian that Ivanka Trump has completed a deal for a house in DC. A team of Washington Fine Properties agents represented Trump. The firm also represented the house's owner in the transaction.

Discussion: The Hill, The Daily Caller, Washington Post, DCist, IJR, Raw Story, Jewish Telegraphic Agency, Mediaite, The Week, New York Magazine and TheBlaze

Kaitlin Menza / Marie Claire:

Rockette Management Tells Dancers to “Tolerate Intolerance” — In the wake of more inauguration backlash, Madison Square Garden executive chairman James Dolan calls a meeting with the Rockettes to make his stance clear. — There's been an unusual amount of turmoil behind the scenes at Radio City Music Hall this Christmas season.

Discussion: Raw Story, portal.liberalamerica.org, Mashable, Mediaite, New York Times, The Huffington Post, AOL, CNBC and New York Magazine

KFTC-TV:

Family: Soldier attacked after Mummers Parade — PHILADELPHIA (WTXF) - A soldier's mom is speaking out after a brutal attack on her son. The serviceman became a target for a violent group after the Mummers parade. He is now in the hospital with a long recovery ahead of him. — “He's such a good kid.

Discussion: Fox News

John Kopp / PhillyVoice:
Investigation continues into mob attack on local serviceman after Mummers Parade

Discussion: IJR

Burgess Everett / Politico:

Senate push for new Russia hacking probe fizzles — John McCain and Lindsey Graham are backing off of their push for a select committee on cybersecurity after Russian interference in the election, bowing to the political reality that the Senate Republican Conference largely does not back their idea.

Discussion: We Are Change, The Last Refuge, Mediaite, Daily Kos and Oliver Willis

Lydia Saad / Gallup:

U.S. Conservatives Outnumber Liberals by Narrowing Margin — PRINCETON, N.J. — Many more Americans have considered themselves politically conservative than liberal since the early 1990s. That remained the case in 2016, when an average of 36% of U.S. adults throughout the year identified themselves as conservative and 25% as liberal.

Discussion: Power Line, The Democratic Daily, Hot Air, The Week and Pew Research Center

Eugene Scott / CNN:

Schumer: I wish we hadn't triggered ‘nuclear option’ — Washington (CNN)Sen. Chuck Schumer lamented Tuesday the Democrats' move to diminish the number of senators needed to confirm Cabinet picks from 60 votes to 51, because the new rule now hurts his party. — “I argued against it at the time.

Discussion: Hot Air, Talking Points Memo and Outside the Beltway

Shane Goldmacher / Politico:

Jack Abramoff slams GOP over House ethics changes — Jack Abramoff, the disgraced former lobbyist whose felony crimes eventually helped lead to the creation of the independent Office of Congressional Ethics, ripped House Republicans for their move to gut the independent watchdog.

Rachael Bade / Politico:
House GOP reverses course on gutting ethics panel

Discussion: The Hill, ABC News, Washington Post, New York Times, Talking Points Memo, Liberal Values, USA Today, Common Dreams, The Daily Beast, Washington Monthly, CNBC, Daily Kos, zerohedge.com/fullrss2 …, alan.com, The Mahablog, ThinkProgress, New York Magazine and Political Wire

Aleksandra Sandstrom / Pew Research Center:

Faith on the Hill — The religious composition of the 115th Congress — The share of U.S. adults who describe themselves as Christians has been declining for decades, but the U.S. Congress is about as Christian today as it was in the early 1960s, according to a new analysis …

Discussion: NPR, Hot Air, The Atlantic, Washington Post, The Times of Israel, New York Times, The Daily Caller, Jewish Telegraphic Agency and Religion News Service

David Dayen / The Intercept:

Treasury Nominee Steve Mnuchin's Bank Accused of “Widespread Misconduct” in Leaked Memo — OneWest Bank, which Donald Trump's nominee for treasury secretary, Steven Mnuchin, ran from 2009 to 2015, repeatedly broke California's foreclosure laws during that period, according …

Discussion: Politico

Mallory Shelbourne / The Hill:

Schumer: Trump ‘really dumb’ for attacking intelligence agencies … New Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer — (D-N.Y.) said Tuesday that President-elect Donald Trump — is “being really dumb” by taking on the Intelligence Community and its assessments on Russia's cyber activities.

Discussion: NBC News and Political Wire