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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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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 …
Discussion:
MichelleMalkin.com, Fox News, New York Times, Hit & Run, FOX6Now.com and Mother Jones


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

Obama commutes Chelsea Manning's sentence
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ABC News, The Guardian, New York Magazine, The Gateway Pundit, Vox, KTLA, Daily Wire, Politico, emptywheel, Mediaite and Washington Free Beacon

Betsy DeVos says guns in schools may be necessary to protect students from grizzly bears — Trump's Education nominee tells Newtown's former representative that bears justify the presence of guns in schools. — On Tuesday, Betsy DeVos, President-elect Donald Trump's Education Secretary nominee …
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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


Betsy DeVos Wants to Use America's Schools to Build “God's Kingdom”
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Raw Story, Vox, Media Matters for America, The Guardian, The Atlantic, NPR, twitchy.com, The Concourse, Washington Post and Politicus USA

DeVos dodges toughest questions about public school plans
Discussion:
ABC News and Common Dreams

Senate Democrats to grill Trump education pick Betsy DeVos
Discussion:
Politicus USA and Mediaite

Ethics paperwork still missing for Trump's billionaire Cabinet picks
Discussion:
Daily Kos, Daily Wire and Business Insider


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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Talking Points Memo, Washington Post, FiveThirtyEight, NBC News, Daily Wire, FOX6Now.com, NPR, Business Insider, Liberal Values, The Week, Politicus USA, Vox, ThinkProgress, Mother Jones, CNBC, Mediaite, The Gateway Pundit, FOX News Radio, Sputnik International, Politico, Fox News Insider, The Daily Caller, Political Wire, The Hill and Towleroad


Rep. Steve King: John Lewis trades on status as civil rights icon, hasn't contributed since — Rep. John Lewis returns to the Edmund Pettus Bridge — Iowa Rep. Steve King said Tuesday that Georgia Rep. John Lewis trades on his status as a civil rights icon.
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LePage says civil rights icon John Lewis should thank Lincoln for freeing the slaves
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BostonGlobe.com, CNN, ThinkProgress, The Week, alan.com, State & Capitol and Raw Story

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


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


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


Trump: 'I don't like tweeting' — declared in an interview released late Tuesday that he dislikes tweeting and uses Twitter as a defense against media. — “Look, I don't like tweeting,” Trump insisted during a Fox News interview scheduled to air Wednesday. “I have other things I could be doing.”
Discussion:
RedState
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Attacked by Trump, Lewis acknowledges he boycotted Bush inauguration, too
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Mediaite, Washington Post, Politicus USA, The Daily Caller, CBS New York, Talking Points Memo, BizPac Review and Politico


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
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Daily Kos, Chris Jacobs on Healthcare, NPR, Booman Tribune, Politico, Washington Monthly and CNN


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:
The Daily Caller, Washington Times, Mediaite and Fox News Insider

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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U.S. Abortion Rate Continues to Decline, Hits Historic Low — Improvements in Contraceptive Use Are Likely Contributing to the Decline, But Punitive Abortion Restrictions May Also Be a Factor — For the first time since 1975, the number of abortions in the United States dropped under one million …
Discussion:
Washington Post, Rewire, LifeNews.com, Mother Jones, FOX News Radio and New York Magazine
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U.S. Abortion Rate Falls To Lowest Level Since Roe v. Wade
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The Guardian, Mediaite, AOL, Common Dreams, KTLA, Hot Air, NBC News and Washington Free Beacon


Japanese toilet industry agrees to standardize complex bidet controls — The Japan Sanitary Equipment Industry Association, a consortium of companies producing plumbing products including Toto, Panasonic, and Toshiba, has agreed to unify the iconography used on the often baffling control panels for Japanese toilets.
Discussion:
Gizmodo

An open letter to Trump from the US press corps — Dear Mr. President Elect: — In these final days before your inauguration, we thought it might be helpful to clarify how we see the relationship between your administration and the American press corps. — It will come as no surprise …
Discussion:
Common Dreams, Occupy Democrats, Raw Story and Media Matters for America, more at Mediagazer »

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:
No More Mister Nice Blog and Vox Popoli

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


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


FALN mastermind Oscar López Rivera does not deserve President Obama's pardon — Rumor has it that President Obama might pardon FALN mastermind Oscar López Rivera. He shouldn't. — Now 74-years old, López Rivera has served 35 years of a 55-year sentence for seditious conspiracy and weapons-related charges.
Discussion:
The Guardian, MichelleMalkin.com, Chicago Tribune, Patterico's Pontifications, Hot Air and twitchy.com