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, Washington Times and Washington Post
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, IJR, Mediaite, CBS Miami 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
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
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:
Military.com, RedState, IJR and Business Insider
Rachael Bade / Politico:
Top FBI official linked to reporter who broke Trump dossier story — House Republicans are investigating contact between the FBI's top lawyer and a Mother Jones reporter in the weeks before the left-leaning outlet broke the first news story about the existence of a disputed dossier alleging …
Discussion:
Washington Post, The Gateway Pundit, Shareblue Media, IJR and Althouse
RELATED:
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:
Politico, Washington Post, Daily Kos, Associated Press, Axios, The Daily Beast and The Root
RELATED:
Mike Allen / Axios:
Warner sees fire in Russia probe
Warner sees fire in Russia probe
Discussion:
Associated Press, Hullabaloo, Raw Story, YouTube and CNN
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.
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 »
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, The Week and Balloon Juice
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:
ThinkProgress, Booman Tribune, Shareblue Media, Talking Points Memo and Axios
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
Fox News:
Sessions orders DOJ review after report Obama administration gave Hezbollah a pass — EXCLUSIVE: Attorney General Jeff Sessions is launching a review of a law enforcement initiative called Project Cassandra after an investigative report was published this week claiming the Obama administration gave …
Discussion:
The Gateway Pundit, Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion, Reason and Washington Free Beacon
RELATED:
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, The Daily Caller and Mediaite
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.”
David Weigel / Washington Post:
Democrats who supported spending bill face angry backlash over immigration — Democrats who voted on a spending bill this week to keep government open are facing an angry backlash from their own party for not demanding a permanent solution for thousands of undocumented immigrants brought to the U.S. as children.
Discussion:
Political Wire, The Daily Caller and Los Angeles Times
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
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 …
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 Caller, The Daily Banter, IJR, Shakesville, twitchy.com and The Gateway Pundit, 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, CNN, The Atlantic and ABC News
Gal Tziperman Lotan / Orlando Sentinel:
FBI expert on Noor Salman: ‘I realized ... that she knew’ about Pulse attack — Pulse nightclub (File photo) — Attorneys for the widow of the Pulse nightclub shooter are arguing that what she told the FBI the day of the attack should not be allowed into evidence during her trial.
Discussion:
AOL and Law & Crime
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
A. Odysseus Patrick / Washington Post:
Australian police: Melbourne driver says attack motivated by mistreatment of Muslims — SYDNEY — A refugee from Afghanistan who plowed a car through a teeming intersection in the heart of Australia's second-largest city made rambling references to God, the mistreatment of Muslims …
Discussion:
Hot Air and The Daily Caller
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
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, Washington Post, Raw Story, Politico, Project Republic, Mashable and HuffPost
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 »
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 »
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
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
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 …