Top Items:
New York Times:
Intercepted Russian Communications Part of Inquiry Into Trump Associates — WASHINGTON — American law enforcement and intelligence agencies are examining intercepted communications and financial transactions as part of a broad investigation into possible links between Russian officials …
New York Times:
A Trump Administration, With Obama Staff Members Filling In the Gaps — WASHINGTON — Donald J. Trump arrived in Washington the day before his inauguration as the nation's 45th president in a swirl of cinematic pageantry but facing serious questions about whether his chaotic transition …
Discussion:
Political Wire, CNBC, The Week, No More Mister Nice Blog, The Daily Caller, New York Magazine, CBS New York, The Verge and Gizmodo
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Clemence Michallon / Daily Mail:
‘Thank you, baby’: Donald Trump pays tribute to Kellyane Conway for going on CNN to ‘destroy’ his critics when ‘my men are petrified to go on’ — Donald Trump paid a vibrant tribute to his former campaign manager Kellyanne Conway at his campaign donors' dinner Thursday night.
Discussion:
BizPac Review
Edward-Isaac Dovere / Politico:
‘None of us knows what is going to happen’ — No one knows. — Everything in Washington is a question—what kind of bills are going to come through Congress, how radically Republicanism and conservatism are going to be reshaped, what the Democratic Party is going to do in an attempt to be relevant again …
Camille Dodero / Hollywood Reporter:
Robert De Niro, Alec Baldwin Address Crowd at Anti-Trump Rally in NYC — Baldwin assured the crowd that “there is hope. Trump and Pence think you're going to lay down. That's one thing about New Yorkers: You don't lay down.” — The anti-Trump demonstration held just a half-mile from Trump Tower kicks off Thursday.
Discussion:
RedState and The Daily Caller
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Brooke Seipel / The Hill:
Michael Moore leads massive anti-Trump protest in NYC
Michael Moore leads massive anti-Trump protest in NYC
Discussion:
Hollywood Life and MichelleMalkin.com
David Fahrenthold / Washington Post:
Trump to be sworn in, marking a transformative shift in the country's leadership — Donald John Trump will be sworn in as the 45th president of the United States at noon on Friday, on a day that is expected to offer less ceremony and flourish than previous inaugurations …
Discussion:
The Week
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Jessica Schulberg / The Huffington Post:
Trump Sought Military Equipment For Inauguration, Granted 20-Plane Flyover — “It's very Red Square,” said Stephen Kerrigan, who oversaw the past two inaugurations. — Foreign Affairs Reporter, The Huffington Post — WASHINGTON Part of being a great president is showing off America's …
Discussion:
Business Insider, Talking Points Memo, Occupy Democrats and Politicus USA
Cyra Master / The Hill:
Report: Trump has given up personal cellphone — Less than 24 hours before his inauguration, the Associated Press reports President-elect Donald Trump — has given up his personal cellphone. — Trump apparently told a friend on Thursday that he has given up the phone on the advice of security agencies.
Karoun Demirjian / Washington Post:
Senate set to confirm two Trump Cabinet nominees Friday; others will wait — President-elect Donald Trump's two least controversial Cabinet nominees are expected to be confirmed by the Senate Friday afternoon, but the rest may have to wait before they can officially join the Trump administration.
Discussion:
USA Today and Talking Points Memo
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Max Greenwood / The Hill:
Trump says his Cabinet has ‘highest IQ of any Cabinet’
Trump says his Cabinet has ‘highest IQ of any Cabinet’
Discussion:
TheBlaze and Politicus USA
Hugh Hewitt / Washington Post:
It's time to relax about Trump — Hugh Hewitt hosts a nationally syndicated radio show and is author of the forthcoming “The Fourth Way: The Conservative Playbook for a Lasting GOP Majority.” — My wife and I welcomed Mike and Debbie for dinner at our California home Tuesday night.
New York Times:
Can President Trump Be Presidential? — A special strength of American democracy has been the desire of newly elected presidents to unite the public with healing words after the sound and fury of the campaign. — Now comes President-elect Donald Trump. He has won the office and yet …
Discussion:
Patterico's Pontifications
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Ernesto Londoño / New York Times:
Malia Obama's Secret Trip to Bolivia and Peru
Bloomberg:
Wright Under Consideration as Trump's Antitrust Chief, Source Says — Ex-FTC commissioner said in running for Justice Department job — Courts have countered Wright dissents in FTC enforcement cases — The Trump team is considering giving a top antitrust post to a former U.S. trade …
Shane Goldmacher / Politico:
Trump aides jockey for best White House real estate — In the two months since Donald Trump won the most coveted office in the United States, his aides have quietly jostled for the next most valuable workspace—the short corridor just down the hall from the Oval Office.
Claudia Koerner / BuzzFeed:
Trump's Inaugural Concert Didn't Fill The National Mall — Here's the crowd outside the Lincoln Memorial on Thursday for a concert celebrating President-elect Donald Trump's upcoming inauguration. … The National Park Service declined to estimate how many people attended the concert.
Discussion:
Washington Post, The Week and Politicus USA
Matt Pearce / Los Angeles Times:
Protests already underway in Washington ahead of Trump's inauguration — This video contains graphic content and language. Protests erupt outside Thursday's “DeploraBall,” a Washington event celebrating Donald Trump's election. — As the nation's capital prepares to welcome Donald …
Ariane de Vogue / CNN:
Trump on Supreme Court pick: ‘I think in my mind I know who it is’ — Washington (CNN)President-elect Donald Trump suggested to an audience on Thursday that he has a good sense of who he plans to nominate to the Supreme Court. — “I think in my mind I know who it is,” …
Discussion:
Hot Air and Talking Points Memo
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Meghan Keneally / ABC News:
First on ABC: George W. Bush's Inauguration Day Letter to Barack Obama — Writing a letter to the next commander-in-chief has been a tradition for outgoing presidents. — As Barack Obama prepares to hand the baton to Donald Trump, ABC News has obtained an exclusive look at the missive …
Discussion:
The Week, Politico, Mediaite and Associated Press
Christy Gutowski / Chicago Tribune:
Dennis Hastert seeks repayment of $1.7 million from sex abuse accuser — Former U.S. House Speaker Dennis Hastert is serving a 15-month sentence in a Minnesota federal prison hospital after pleading guilty in October to a financial crime. — Imprisoned former U.S. House Speaker Dennis Hastert …
Discussion:
Suburban Guerrilla …
Paul Mirengoff / Power Line:
Jim Brown backs Donald Trump — Who are the most formidable and iconic male African-Americans of the 1960s? Martin Luther King and Cassius Clay/Muhammad Ali are surely the top two. — Who is third? For me, it's Jim Brown (and not John Lewis). — Brown is as great an athlete as I've ever seen.
Discussion:
Washington Post and USA Today
Ted Barrett / CNN:
Wyden objection to Pompeo could push vote to Monday — Trump CIA pick backs intel on Russian hacking — (CNN)Sen. Ron Wyden of Oregon, a Democratic member of the Senate Intelligence Committee and a vocal privacy advocate, has formally objected to the Senate voting Friday on CIA director nominee …
Alex Felton / CNN:
From Russia with love: A $10,000 Trump coin — Moscow (CNN)Money, the saying goes, can't buy love. But $10,000 will buy you the perfect Donald Trump inauguration keepsake — a coin with the words “In Trump we trust.” — It's the handiwork of a Russian mining company because …
Discussion:
John Hawkins' Right Wing News and BizPac Review
Nate Cohn / New York Times:
Is Trump Stronger Than He Seems? — New polls suggest that Donald J. Trump has the lowest approval and favorability ratings of any incoming president in the polling era — by a lot. Unsurprisingly, he is not buying it. — He tweeted that the polls are “rigged” just like the “phony” …
Devin Henry / The Hill:
Dems blast Trump plans for deep spending cuts — Several Democratic senators harshly criticized spending cuts planned by the Trump administration during a confirmation hearing Thursday for Rick Perry, who is nominated to lead the Energy Department. — “This is absolutely nuts in terms …