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Obama Commutes Bulk of Chelsea Manning's Sentence — WASHINGTON — President Obama on Tuesday largely commuted the remaining prison sentence of Chelsea Manning, the army intelligence analyst convicted of an enormous 2010 leak that revealed American military and diplomatic activities across the world …
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Power Line, CNN, RedState, The Atlantic, ACLU, TalkLeft, Vox, Electronic Frontier Foundation, Gizmodo, CANNONFIRE, Washington Free Beacon, Outside the Beltway, Business Insider, The Nation, New York Magazine, The Talking Dog, Lawyers, Guns & Money, KTLA, The Last Refuge, Boing Boing, Common Dreams, Techdirt, Raw Story, Balloon Juice, VentureBeat, Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion, Hot Air, SFist, TheBlaze, Occupy Democrats, The Verge, Daily Kos, ThinkProgress, Hit & Run, Mother Jones, IJR, The Week, Towleroad, The Daily Caller, American Power, The Last Tradition and Althouse, more at Mediagazer »
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President Obama Has Now Granted More Commutations than Any President in this Nation's History — Today, 273 individuals learned that the President has given them a second chance. With today's 209 grants of commutation, the President has now commuted the sentences of 1,385 individuals …
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MichelleMalkin.com, Fox News, Mother Jones, New York Times, FOX6Now.com and Hit & Run

Obama commutes Chelsea Manning's sentence — President Obama on Tuesday commuted the prison sentence of former Army soldier Chelsea Manning, according to the White House. — Manning was convicted in 2013 of leaking classified information about U.S. national security activities that were later disclosed by WikiLeaks.
Discussion:
Vox, The Gateway Pundit, ABC News, Politico, The Guardian, Daily Wire, KTLA, emptywheel and Washington Free Beacon

Mr. Obama, Pick Up Your Pardon Pen
Discussion:
Politico, Common Dreams, Althouse and Washington Post


As GOP Pushes Repeal, Obamacare Has Never Been More Popular: NBC News/WSJ poll — As Republicans get closer to repealing it, President Barack Obama's federal health-care law — or Obamacare — has never been more popular, according to results from a new national NBC News/Wall Street Journal.
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Washington Post, Talking Points Memo, ThinkProgress, FiveThirtyEight, NPR, NBC News, Liberal Values, Mother Jones, The Gateway Pundit, Business Insider, Vox, CNBC, Politicus USA, The Week and Mediaite


How Repealing Portions of the Affordable Care Act Would Affect Health Insurance Coverage and Premiums — CBO reports on the estimated changes in health insurance coverage and premiums that would result from leaving the Affordable Care Act's insurance market reforms in place while repealing the law's mandate penalties and subsidies.
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CBO report: Obamacare repeal would lead to 32 million more uninsured by 2026
Discussion:
Daily Kos, Washington Monthly, Chris Jacobs on Healthcare, Politico, NPR, CNN and ACASignups.net

LePage says civil rights icon John Lewis should thank Lincoln for freeing the slaves — During his weekly radio appearance, the governor said that U.S. Rep. John Lewis should also thank presidents Rutherford Hayes and Ulysses Grant. — Listen to Gov. LePage's comments on WVOM.
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BostonGlobe.com, CNN, State & Capitol, ThinkProgress, The Week, alan.com and Raw Story
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Rep. Steve King: John Lewis trades on status as civil rights icon, hasn't contributed since
Discussion:
Raw Story

John Lewis, Democrats are boycotting America, not inauguration
Discussion:
Occupy Democrats


Betsy DeVos Wants to Use America's Schools to Build “God's Kingdom” — It's Christmastime in Holland, Michigan, and the northerly winds from Lake Macatawa bring a merciless chill to the small city covered in deep snow. The sparkly lights on the trees in downtown luxury storefronts illuminate …
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Vox, Raw Story, The Atlantic, NPR, The Guardian, Media Matters for America, twitchy.com, Washington Post and Politicus USA
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Betsy DeVos says guns in schools may be necessary to protect students from grizzly bears
Discussion:
The Slot

DeVos says she'll support ‘great’ public schools
Discussion:
ABC News and Common Dreams


The New Trump Defamation Lawsuit Is Daring Trump to Incriminate Himself in Court — LOS ANGELES—One of the women who accused Donald Trump of sexual misconduct last year has filed a defamation lawsuit against the president-elect. Summer Zervos, a former Apprentice contestant who alleged …
Discussion:
The Atlantic and New York Times
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Former ‘Apprentice’ contestant sues Trump for defamation for denying alleged groping


CNN/ORC Poll: Confidence drops in Trump transition — Washington (CNN)Donald Trump will become president Friday with an approval rating of just 40%, according to a new CNN/ORC Poll, the lowest of any recent president and 44 points below that of President Barack Obama, the 44th president.
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Trump Claims To Have Met Putin In Newly Resurfaced Interview From 2015 (AUDIO) — In a newly resurfaced 2015 radio interview, Donald Trump claimed that he met Russian President Vladimir Putin and that they “got along great,” contradicting his later campaign trail claims that he never met or spoke with Putin.
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Yahoo
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Michael Moore on Why Donald Trump Will Build a Wall and Ban Muslims — Michael Moore saw this coming. Last summer, when Hillary Clinton was enjoying a seemingly insurmountable lead over Donald Trump, the documentary filmmaker correctly predicted that the billionaire businessman would capture the White House.
Discussion:
Washington Times, The Daily Caller, Mediaite and Fox News Insider


Trump wrote inauguration speech himself — Washington (CNN)President-elect Trump has written his inauguration address draft himself, two senior Trump transition officials told CNN Tuesday. — Last month, Trump told guests at his Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida, as well as presidential historian …
Discussion:
Political Wire


Attacked by Trump, Lewis acknowledges he boycotted Bush inauguration, too — 1.3k Shares — Donald Trump reignited his feud with John Lewis on Tuesday, citing news reports that the Georgia congressman and civil rights icon also boycotted George W. Bush's inauguration 16 years ago.
Discussion:
Mediaite, Washington Post, Politicus USA, CBS New York, The Daily Caller, Talking Points Memo, BizPac Review and CNBC
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U.S. Abortion Rate Falls To Lowest Level Since Roe v. Wade — The abortion rate in the United States fell to its lowest level since the historic Roe v. Wade Supreme Court decision legalized abortion nationwide, a new report finds. — The report by the Guttmacher Institute …
Discussion:
The Guardian, Mediaite, Hot Air, AOL, Common Dreams, NBC News, Washington Free Beacon and KTLA
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Boom: Trump eyes 10% spending cuts, 20% slash of federal workers — Making good on a promise to slash government, President-elect Trump has asked his incoming team to pursue spending and staffing cuts. — Insiders said that the spending reductions in some departments could go as high …
Discussion:
The Daily Signal


Healthcare without Planned Parenthood: Wisconsin and Texas point to dark future — As Republicans prepare to defund Planned Parenthood nationally, those left to provide contraception and other services in states which have already done so say women of color and from low-income groups will surely be hit the hardest
Discussion:
Daily Kos

The Alt-Right Comes to Washington — East Lansing, Michigan—Lounging at the back of his tour bus in a parking lot behind the Springhill Suites, Milo Yiannopoulos, the flamboyant right-wing British provocateur known for his bleach-blond frosted tips and relentless campaign against Islam …
Discussion:
Vox Popoli and No More Mister Nice Blog

Philly mayor: 'I'd take George W. back in a minute' — With just days to go before Donald Trump takes office, Philadelphia Mayor Jim Kenney says he and his fellow mayors have no idea what to expect from the incoming administration. — “I'd take George W. back in a minute,” …
Discussion:
Political Wire

Trump set to take office without most of his Cabinet — When Bill Clinton was sworn into office 24 years ago, every single member of his Cabinet but one was confirmed by the Senate within two days. When Donald Trump is sworn in on Friday, he'll be lucky to have half that many installed.
Discussion:
The Nation and New York Magazine

Hair stylist to Marla Maples: No free services in exchange for Inauguration Day ‘exposure’ — Though Donald Trump and his family project an image of boundless wealth, a Washington-based hairstylist says the president-elect's second wife tried to get out of paying her to style her tresses …
Discussion:
Talking Points Memo, alan.com, New York Magazine, AOL, The Daily Caller and Mediaite


Donald Trump's Cabinet Pick Invested in 6 Drug Companies Before Medicare Fight — Donald Trump's nominee to be the country's next health care czar invested last year as much as $90,000 in six pharmaceutical companies shortly before leading a legislative and public relations effort that benefited those specific companies, records show.