Top Items:

4 arrested in beating broadcast on Facebook Live — (CNN)A young woman who broadcast the beating and racial taunting of a man on Facebook Live has been arrested with three others in connection with the gruesome attack, Chicago police said Wednesday. — The disturbing 30-minute video shows …
Discussion:
Chicago Tribune, NPR, Associated Press, Liberty Unyielding, WPMT FOX43, WTVR-TV, WGN-TV, KTLA, New York's PIX11, fox8.com, Infowars, TheBlaze, Instapundit and Washington Post
RELATED:
Callum Borchers / Washington Post:
Pro-Trump narratives converge in one awful attack streamed on Facebook — If you believe discrimination against white people is rampant, that Donald Trump supporters face persecution, that Chicago is a war zone, and the media is dishonest, then your entire worldview is likely to be confirmed by one awful story.
Derek Hawkins / Washington Post:
4 held after Facebook video shows torture of disabled man by group railing against Trump, whites — The shaky video shows a terrified young man in a gray hooded sweatshirt and dark pants crouching in a corner, his wrists and neck bound with orange bands, his mouth taped shut.
Discussion:
Chicago Sun Times, New York Times, NBC News, Associated Press, USA Today, Vox, The Last Refuge, The Root, WREG-TV, Law News, The Daily Caller, Liberty Unyielding, LifeNews.com, BizPac Review, Patterico's Pontifications, Mediaite, Althouse, Fox News, CBS New York, CBS News, KTLA, FOX31 Denver, WHNT-TV, FOX40, FOX6Now.com, IJR, We Are Change, RedState and Fox News Insider

Second Torture Video Shows Teen Forced To Drink From Toilet — CHICAGO — A day after Chicago police said they were questioning four people about a “sickening” video showing the torture of a mentally disabled teen, a second video has surfaced showing the suspects forcing the young man to drink out of a toilet.
Discussion:
Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion, JONATHAN TURLEY, CBS San Francisco, CBS New York, CBS Pittsburgh, The Daily Caller and WFLD

House Republicans revive obscure rule that could allow them to slash the pay of individual federal workers to $1 — House Republicans this week reinstated an arcane procedural rule that enables lawmakers to reach deep into the budget and slash the pay of an individual federal worker …
RELATED:
Brooke Seipel / The Hill:
GOP revives rule allowing $1 salaries for government employees
GOP revives rule allowing $1 salaries for government employees
Discussion:
The Week
Hadas Gold / Politico:
Greta Van Susteren to join MSNBC — Greta Van Susteren is joining MSNBC, taking over the channel's 6 p.m. time slot with a new show called “For the Record,” the network announced Thursday. — Van Susteren's show will feature both news and analysis, working as a bridge from MSNBC's dayside news shows …
Discussion:
RedState and The Point, more at Mediagazer »
RELATED:
Drudge Report:
TUCKER NEW CABLE KING GETS 9 PM FOXNEWS
TUCKER NEW CABLE KING GETS 9 PM FOXNEWS
Discussion:
New York Times, New York Daily News, Fox News, Infowars, Politico, Mediaite, Hot Air, Althouse, The Week, BizPac Review, RedState, New York Magazine and Maggie's Farm, more at Mediagazer »
Gabriel Sherman / New York Magazine:
Rupert Murdoch Is Turning Fox News Into Trump TV
Rupert Murdoch Is Turning Fox News Into Trump TV
Discussion:
The Daily Beast, CNNMoney, Liberal Values, The Week, IJR and Media Matters for America, more at Mediagazer »
Jamelle Bouie / Slate:
Don't Forget That Megyn Kelly Is a Racial Demagogue
Don't Forget That Megyn Kelly Is a Racial Demagogue
Discussion:
New York Magazine, RedState, Eschaton and theGrio
Sean Sullivan / Washington Post:
Trump expected to name ex-senator Dan Coats as director of national intelligence — President-elect Donald Trump is expected to name former senator Dan Coats (R-Ind.) to be his director of national intelligence, according to a Trump transition team official.
Discussion:
New York Magazine, WKBN-TV, The Last Refuge and Wall Street Journal
RELATED:

Dan Coats Expected to Be Named Intelligence Director — Retired Senator Dan Coats of Indiana is expected to be named director of national intelligence. — Trump Toyota tweet has Republicans and allies divided over import tariffs. — Anti-Trump lawyers have one more Hail Mary to stop a President Donald J. Trump.
Kyle Cheney / Politico:
Democratic lawmakers considering challenge to Trump's Electoral College victory — Several House Democrats are weighing a formal challenge to Donald Trump's election on Friday, when Congress meets in joint session to certify Trump's Electoral College victory.
Discussion:
Political Wire, Raw Story and twitchy.com
RELATED:
Steven Rosenfeld / AlterNet:
At Least 50 Trump Electors Were Illegitimately Seated as Electoral College Members
At Least 50 Trump Electors Were Illegitimately Seated as Electoral College Members
Discussion:
portal.liberalamerica.org, Raw Story, alan.com and Joe.My.God.

Trump's Debts Are Widely Held on Wall Street, Creating New Potential Conflicts — More than 150 financial institutions hold debts connected to president-elect, analysis shows — The debts of President-elect Donald Trump and his businesses are scattered across Wall Street banks …
Discussion:
CNNMoney, Talking Points Memo, Daily Kos, CNBC and Political Wire
RELATED:
Judd Legum / ThinkProgress:
Trump said he had $315 million in debt. He left out $1.5 billion.
Trump said he had $315 million in debt. He left out $1.5 billion.
Discussion:
alan.com and Common Dreams

Planned Parenthood would lose funding as part of Obamacare repeal, Ryan says — Republicans plan to strip Planned Parenthood of hundreds of millions of dollars in federal funding as part of their rapid push to repeal President Obama's health-care reforms, House Speaker Paul D. Ryan said Thursday.
Discussion:
New York Magazine, Common Dreams and The Week
RELATED:

Paul Ryan: GOP will defund Planned Parenthood
Discussion:
Mother Jones, Right Wing Watch and Hot Air
Peter Sullivan / The Hill:
GOP to defund Planned Parenthood in ObamaCare repeal
GOP to defund Planned Parenthood in ObamaCare repeal
Discussion:
New York Magazine, RedState and TheBlaze

Donald Trump, Julian Assange, and the Control of the Republican Mind — The cruelest, most condescending, and also devastatingly correct indictment of Donald Trump's supporters was uttered not by a member of the liberal media but by Donald Trump himself, when he mentioned that he could shoot somebody …
Discussion:
The Atlantic, Vox, Wired, Telegraph, Politico, DCist, Foreign Policy, ThinkProgress and Lawyers, Guns & Money
RELATED:
Drew Altman / New York Times:
The Health Care Plan Trump Voters Really Want — This week Republicans in Congress began their effort to repeal and potentially replace the Affordable Care Act. But after listening to working-class supporters of Donald J. Trump — people who are enrolled in the very health care marketplaces created …
Discussion:
Washington Post, Common Dreams, Raw Story and Hullabaloo
RELATED:

2017: At the Dawn of the Age of Trump — It's already clear that the very strange political year of 2016 is bleeding over into the New Year. How could it be otherwise? President-elect Donald Trump, loved and hated by about equal numbers of Americans, continues to ignore or break with convention in a wide variety of areas.
RELATED:
David Weigel / Washington Post:
Democrats stumble toward a Supreme Court strategy
Democrats stumble toward a Supreme Court strategy
Discussion:
Above the Law

Seven Tests That Can Keep Republicans from Screwing Up — It didn't take long for Republicans to make their first tin-eared mistake after winning a broad victory in November. In fact, they had barely opened the new session of Congress before performing a pratfall that called into question whether …
Discussion:
Hot Air and Washington Post
RELATED:
Andrew Prokop / Vox:
The GOP's quickly learning that governing is difficult — as is working with Donald Trump
The GOP's quickly learning that governing is difficult — as is working with Donald Trump
Discussion:
Politico, CNBC, The Atlantic, Washington Post, NPR, Telegraph, USA Today, AOL and NBC News

Trump's Systematic Attack on U.S. Institutions — There is no T-E-A-M in “I.” — This was the obvious lesson as Donald Trump sold out House Republicans this week. GOP members had sought to quietly defang an anti-corruption watchdog office. After angry constituents phoned House offices …
Discussion:
The Guardian
Jessica Sidman / Washingtonian:
The Cheapest Cocktail at the Trump Hotel Is Now $24 — And you thought the $14 cocktail was too pricey? The Trump hotel's lobby bar has raised its cocktail prices yet again. The cheapest option now is $24, while the most expensive is $100. — It's safe to say the Trump hotel's Benjamin Bar & Lounge …
Discussion:
New York Magazine

GOP aims to rein in liberal cities — After consolidating power in Washington, D.C. and state capitals under President-elect Donald Trump — , Republicans are moving to prevent large cities dominated by Democrats from enacting sweeping liberal agendas. — Republican state legislatures …
Discussion:
No More Mister Nice Blog, Common Dreams and Political Wire

Less shrinkage: This is your aging brain on the Mediterranean diet — The study looked at a group of 562 Scots in their 70s over a three-year period. Those whose eating habits resembled the diet experienced, on average, half the brain shrinkage that was normal for the group. (Jan. 5, 2017)
Discussion:
Infowars and Instapundit

Former Bush operative Matthew Dowd mulls challenging Cruz for Senate — Matthew Dowd, a longtime Texas operative in both Republican and Democratic politics, is considering running against U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz. — WASHINGTON — Matthew Dowd, an Austin-based television news commentator …