Top Items:
New York Times:
Prosecutors Said to Seek Kushner Records From Deutsche Bank — Federal prosecutors in Brooklyn have sought bank records about entities associated with the family company of Jared Kushner, President Trump's son-in-law and senior adviser, according to four people briefed on the matter.
Discussion:
Talking Points Memo, Business Insider and Raw Story
Michael C. Bender / Wall Street Journal:
Trump Deputy Chief of Staff to Step Down — Rick Dearborn, latest high-profile departure from West Wing, plans to pursue private sector work — WASHINGTON—Rick Dearborn, one of President Donald Trump's top aides, will step down early next year to pursue private-sector work …
Discussion:
The Hill, Politico, CNN, bizpacreview.com, Talking Points Memo, Washington Free Beacon, Business Insider, Mediaite and Washington Times
RELATED:
Brian Stelter / CNNMoney:
Trump bucks White House tradition by skipping end-of-year presser
Trump bucks White House tradition by skipping end-of-year presser
Discussion:
New York Times, Mediaite, CBS Miami, IJR and AOL, more at Mediagazer »
Washington Post:
It's ‘very gold’: The presidential coin undergoes a Trumpian makeover … For two decades, the commander in chief has doled out distinguished-looking coins as personal mementos. Now, the presidential “challenge coin” has undergone a Trumpian transformation.
Discussion:
Business Insider and Raw Story
abc7news.com:
FBI: Man planned Christmas terror attack for SF's Pier 39 … <iframe width="476" height="267" src="http://abc7news.com/video/embed/ ?pid=2812618" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe> — Officials have stopped a man who reportedly stated that “Christmas was the perfect day” …
Discussion:
The Gateway Pundit, twitchy.com, Jihad Watch and The Daily Caller
Billy House / Bloomberg:
Bannon and Lewandowski Are Asked to Testify to House Russia Investigators — President Donald Trump's former chief strategist Steve Bannon and his former campaign manager Corey Lewandowski have been asked to testify to House lawmakers investigating Russian interference in the 2016 election.
Josh Delk / The Hill:
Top Marine general: 'There's a war coming' — The commandant of the Marine Corps, Gen. Robert Neller, told troops Thursday that “there's a war coming” and urged them to be prepared. — “I hope I'm wrong, but there's a war coming,” Neller told Marines stationed in Norway, during a visit there, according to Military.com.
Discussion:
RedState, Military.com, IJR and Business Insider
Jane Mayer / New Yorker:
A Conservative Nonprofit That Seeks to Transform College Campuses Faces Allegations of Racial Bias and Illegal Campaign Activity — On Tuesday, in a convention center in West Palm Beach, Florida, amid chants of “USA!” and “The wall is going to be built!,” Donald Trump, Jr. …
Discussion:
Washington Monthly, ThinkProgress, Shareblue Media, Talking Points Memo and Axios
Associated Press:
Russian hackers targeted more than 200 journalists globally — PARIS (AP) — Russian television anchor Pavel Lobkov was in the studio getting ready for his show when jarring news flashed across his phone: Some of his most intimate messages had just been published to the web.
Discussion:
Mashable and Towleroad, more at Mediagazer »
Jill Colvin / Associated Press:
Former US attorneys, GOP officials come to Mueller's defense — WASHINGTON (AP) — More than 40 former U.S. attorneys and Republican and conservative officials are pushing back against efforts to discredit the special counsel investigating Russian interference in the 2016 election.
Discussion:
Raw Story
Ana Swanson / New York Times:
Trump Promised to Protect Steel. Layoffs Are Coming Instead. — CONSHOHOCKEN, Pa. — At this sprawling steel mill on the outskirts of Philadelphia, the workers have one number in mind. Not how many tons of steel roll off the line, or how many hours they work, but where they fall on the plant's seniority list.
Discussion:
Shareblue Media, Mother Jones, Outside the Beltway, Raw Story and The Week
BBC:
Jerusalem: UN resolution rejects Trump's declaration — The UN General Assembly has decisively backed a resolution effectively calling on the US to withdraw its recognition of Jerusalem as the capital of Israel. — The text says that any decisions regarding the status of the city are “null and void” and must be cancelled.
Discussion:
Haaretz, YouTube, The Federalist, The Daily Caller, IJR, WTKR-TV, The Week and usun.state.gov
RELATED:
Julia Manchester / The Hill:
Haley sends ‘friendship’ invites to countries that didn't vote against US Jerusalem decision
Haley sends ‘friendship’ invites to countries that didn't vote against US Jerusalem decision
Discussion:
ABC News, The Atlantic and RedState
Arizona Republic:
Our View: John McCain and Jeff Flake tried to save us from ourselves — Editorial: John McCain and Jeff Flake stood for core American values. That's what makes them 2017 Arizonans of the Year. — CONNECT — Arizona's Republican senators distinguished themselves globally and nationally …
Chris Ariens / TVNewser:
James Rosen Out at Fox News — James Rosen, a stalwart of Fox News Channel's Washington D.C. bureau, is leaving the network, TVNewser has learned. — “James Rosen is exiting the company at the end of the year,” a Fox News spokesperson confirms, without providing further detail.
Discussion:
The Gateway Pundit, Mediaite and The Daily Caller
Amanda Erickson / Washington Post:
Trump's ambassador to the Netherlands just got caught lying about the Dutch … A Dutch journalist just asked new U.S. Ambassador Pete Hoekstra why he said there are “no go” areas in the Netherlands, where radical Muslims are setting cars and politicians on fire. — Hoekstra denied it, and called the claim “fake news.”
Veronica Stracqualursi / ABC News:
President Trump signs tax bill into law — President Donald Trump signed the $1.5 trillion rewrite of the tax code into law at the White House on Friday capping off a victory lap before leaving to spend the holidays in Mar-a-Lago. — “Everything in here is really tremendous things for businesses …
Discussion:
Washington Post, Politico, Daily Kos, The Daily Beast, Associated Press, Axios and The Root
RELATED:
Mike Allen / Axios:
Warner sees fire in Russia probe
Warner sees fire in Russia probe
Discussion:
Hullabaloo, Raw Story, YouTube and CNN
Ron Dicker / HuffPost:
Mark Hamill Rips His Role In ‘Last Jedi’: 'He's Not My Luke Skywalker' — The actor dishes on his creative differences with director Rian Johnson. — The actor Mark Hamill just lasered in on why he disliked how director Rian Johnson had him play Luke Skywalker in “Star Wars: The Last Jedi.”
Discussion:
RedState and The Daily Caller
Jon Levine / The Wrap:
‘Young Turks’ Founder Cenk Uygur Apologizes for ‘Ugly,’ ‘Insensitive’ Old Blog Posts (Exclusive) — Liberal host once wrote that women are genetically “flawed” because they don't want to have sex often enough — “Young Turks” creator and host Cenk Uygur made multiple graphic and disparaging remarks …
Discussion:
The Daily Banter, Shakesville, The Daily Caller, IJR, twitchy.com and The Gateway Pundit, more at Mediagazer »
Matt Lewis / The Daily Beast:
My Theory on Why Mike Pence Kisses Donald Trump's, uh, Ring So Fulsomely … By now, you've seen the adoration heaped upon President Donald Trump by members of his team and congressional leaders on Wednesday. — House Speaker Paul Ryan praised his “exquisite leadership …
Discussion:
New York Times, Politico, Washington Post, Raw Story, Project Republic, Mashable and HuffPost
Jillian Kay Melchior / Wall Street Journal:
What Happened to Teen Vogue? — Hillary Clinton guest-edits an issue of the magazine, and it's all about her. — Donald Trump may be president of the United States, but he'll never get to edit an issue of Teen Vogue. — Hillary Clinton expanded her already impressive résumé …
Discussion:
Weekly Standard
Yashar Ali / HuffPost:
The Miss America Emails: How The Pageant's CEO Really Talks About The Winners — Internal correspondence reveals name-calling, slut-shaming and fat-shaming in emails between the Miss America CEO, board members and a pageant writer. — In late August 2014, the CEO of the Miss America Organization …
Discussion:
Fox News, New York Times, WTKR-TV, Associated Press, IJR, NBC News, The Daily Caller, bizpacreview.com, Mediaite, CBS Chicago, Mashable and thecut
The Guardian:
Ex-Trump adviser Carter Page accused academics who twice failed his PhD of bias — Carter Page, Donald Trump's former foreign policy adviser, accused his British examiners of “anti-Russian bias” after they took the highly unusual step of failing his “verbose” and “vague” PhD thesis, not once but twice.
Discussion:
Raw Story
Media Matters for America:
Morning Joe's Mika Brzezinski chastises Mark Halperin's sexual harassment victims for not wanting to see him so he can apologize — MIKA BRZEZINSKI (CO-HOST): We also have — some men who are willing to face the music, who are willing to face the facts, who are willing to admit to their actions 10, 20 years ago, even five years ago.
Discussion:
Washington Post, Raw Story, Daily Kos, The Daily Beast, ThinkProgress and Eschaton
Caleb Ecarma / Mediaite:
EXCLUSIVE: James O'Keefe Believes Roy Moore's Accusers Despite Attempt to Debunk Their Stories — Not only does James O'Keefe not regret paying a woman to pose as a rape victim in a botched hit-job that would serve to discredit Roy Moore's accusers — in a surprising twist …
Discussion:
ThinkProgress, more at Mediagazer »
Matt Dixon / Politico:
Trump endorses DeSantis for governor via Twitter — TALLAHASSEE — President Donald Trump shook up the race for Florida governor on Friday by giving what amounts to an endorsement of Republican Rep. Ron DeSantis despite White House denials that the president would get involved with the race.
Discussion:
Washington Post, Talking Points Memo, The Atlantic and CNN
Kerry Howley / New York Magazine:
'The World's Biggest Terrorist Has a Pikachu Bedspread' — Not every leaker is an ideological combatant like Edward Snowden and Chelsea Manning. Reality Winner may be the unlikeliest of all. — Reality Winner grew up in a carefully kept manufactured home on the edge of a cattle farm 100 miles north …
Evelyn Cheng / CNBC:
Coinbase, one of the biggest bitcoin marketplaces, says buying and selling is temporarily disabled amid price rout — The interruption in service comes as bitcoin briefly tumbled below $11,000, down 44 percent from its record high hit Sunday. — On Thursday, Coinbase had temporarily disabled buys …
Discussion:
The Daily Caller and GeekWire, more at Techmeme »
Elissa Strauss / CNN:
Why kids love ‘fascist’ cartoons like ‘Paw Patrol’ and ‘Thomas’ — (CNN)Parents like to see themselves as purveyors of possibility. We want our children to inhabit a world in which identities are both mutable and equal, and imagination and empathy reign supreme!
Discussion:
The Daily Caller and Washington Free Beacon
New York Times:
Opioid Deaths Are Spreading Rapidly Into Black America — 2016 drug overdose deaths per 100,000 residents — In counties with fewer than 10 drug overdose deaths, the map combines observed totals with modeled estimates. — The epidemic of drug overdoses, often perceived as a largely white rural problem …
Discussion:
Vox
Naomi Jagoda / The Hill:
JCT: New tax law won't pay for itself — Congress's tax scorekeeper said Friday that the tax-cut package President Trump — signed earlier in the day won't fully pay for itself through economic growth. — After accounting for macroeconomic effects, the bill would reduce federal revenue …
Orlaith Farrell / CNN:
Swipe left if you voted for Trump — How dating in New York is changing under the new administration — It's your typical midtown Manhattan happy-hour crowd: Groups of co-workers with buckets of beer, a family of tourists and a couple at the bar enjoying the tense chemistry of a successful-looking early date.
Discussion:
Raw Story
Timothy Cama / The Hill:
Court faults Obama administration for elephant hunting policy — A federal appeals court ruled Friday that the Obama administration did not follow the right procedures when it banned importing elephant hunting trophies from Zimbabwe. — The Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit …
Discussion:
The Daily Caller
New York Times:
E.P.A. Officials, Disheartened by Agency's Direction, Are Leaving in Droves — This article was written through collaboration between The New York Times and ProPublica, the independent, nonprofit investigative journalism organization. — WASHINGTON — More than 700 people have left …
Discussion:
New York Post and New York Magazine
Jacqueline Maley / Sydney Morning Herald:
Men, hush now. Let us womansplain it to you — Is there any way men can speak up about sexual harassment and the #metoo movement without sounding stupid, sexist and part of the problem? — It is a question that male celebrities have been interrupting women to answer ever since reports …