Top Items:
Ian Swanson / The Hill:
Sally Yates: Watch out for ghosts at Mar-a-Lago — Former Deputy Attorney General Sally Yates — is defending the FBI in response to President Trump — 's attacks on the law enforcement agency — and specifically Deputy Director Andrew McCabe. — Yates in a tweet on Sunday …
Discussion:
Raw Story, Law & Crime and Washington Post
New York Times:
Why Saad Hariri Had That Strange Sojourn in Saudi Arabia — BEIRUT, Lebanon — Lebanon's prime minister, Saad Hariri, was summoned at 8:30 a.m. to the Saudi royal offices — unseemly early, by the Kingdom's standards — on the second day of a visit that was already far from what he had expected.
Discussion:
Al Jazeera English
New York Times:
Democrats Leave Few Seats Unchallenged in Quest for House Control — WASHINGTON — Representative Pete Sessions, a veteran Republican, was re-elected to his affluent Dallas-area House seat in 2016 with 71 percent of the vote, the remaining 29 percent split between the Libertarian and Green Party candidates.
Jacey Fortin / New York Times:
Parents Killed After Warning Daughter About Boyfriend's Racist Views, Family Says — A husband and wife were shot dead in their Virginia home three days before Christmas by a 17-year-old boy they had warned their daughter not to date because of his racist views, according to officials and news accounts.
Discussion:
Fairfax County Police … and ABC News
Cristina Maza / Newsweek:
HOW TRUMP AND THE NAZIS STOLE CHRISTMAS TO PROMOTE WHITE NATIONALISM — President Donald Trump wants Americans to think he re-invented Christmas. — “We can say merry Christmas again,” he has said on numerous occasions both during his campaign for president and his presidency.
Discussion:
RedState and The Daily Caller
RELATED:
Karoun Demirjian / Washington Post:
Departing GOP lawmakers warn that their party could lose majorities in 2018 — Republicans could easily lose their congressional majorities in 2018, two retiring GOP lawmakers warned Sunday, pointing to a lack of diversity in the party and President Trump's pattern of catering …
Discussion:
Political Wire and Daily Kos
Philip Pullella / Reuters:
Mideast needs two-state solution, Pope says in Christmas message — VATICAN CITY (Reuters) - Pope Francis used his Christmas message on Monday to call for a negotiated two-state solution to end the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, after U.S. President Donald Trump stoked regional tensions …
Olivia Beavers / The Hill:
Guatemala announces plan to move Israel embassy to Jerusalem — The president of Guatemala on Sunday announced that the country plans to move its embassy in Israel to Jerusalem, days after the United Nations overwhelmingly voted against President Trump — 's decision to recognize the contested city as the Israeli capital.
usun.state.gov:
Ambassador Haley on the United States Negotiating a Significant Reduction in the UN Budget — Today, the United Nations agreed on a budget for the 2018-2019 fiscal year. Among a host of other successes, the United States negotiated a reduction of over $285 million off the 2016-2017 final budget.
Discussion:
The Hill and The Gateway Pundit
Julia Manchester / The Hill:
Sanders: Middle-class tax cuts in GOP bill a ‘very good thing’ that should have been permanent … Sen. Bernie Sanders — (I-Vt.) on Sunday agreed the tax cuts for the middle class in the GOP tax bill are a “very good thing” — but added they should have been made permanent.
Discussion:
twitchy.com, Mediaite, The Daily Caller and IJR
Jenna Johnson / Washington Post:
In a pro-Trump town, they never stopped saying ‘Merry Christmas’ — LINDEN, Tenn. — In this rural Trump-supporting town, home to barely 1,000 people and at least 10 Christian churches, the word “holiday” doesn't seem to exist. — Outside the county courthouse there's an evergreen tree covered …
Discussion:
Politico, Axios and The Daily Caller
New York Times:
Black Turnout in Alabama Complicates Debate on Voting Laws — MONTGOMERY, Ala. — Even before a defiant Roy S. Moore stood at a lectern this month and refused to concede the Alabama Senate race, one political reality was clear: An extraordinary turnout among black voters had helped push Doug Jones …
Discussion:
Axios
NBC Southern California:
Suspicious Package Addressed to Treasury Secretary Mnuchin Contained Horse Manure: Officials — Multiple law enforcement sources tell NBC investigations that officers unwrapped the box to discover it was filled with manure — A Los Angeles Department bomb squad responded …
Discussion:
CBS News, New York Times, Business Insider, IJR, Splinter, The Week, Washington Post, KTLA and abc7.com
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Nicole Hensley / New York Daily News:
Gift-wrapped horse poop sends bomb squad to Steven Mnuchin's Bel Air mansion
Gift-wrapped horse poop sends bomb squad to Steven Mnuchin's Bel Air mansion
Discussion:
CBS Los Angeles, The Mahablog, Axios, Mediaite and The Daily Beast