Top Items:
Kate Bennett / CNN:
Exclusive: Iconic White House tree to be cut down — STORY HIGHLIGHTS — Washington (CNN)The south facade of the White House will undergo a dramatic change this week: the historic Jackson Magnolia, a tree that has been in place since the 1800s, is scheduled to be cut down and removed.
Tom Newton Dunn / The Sun:
TRUMP SNUB FEAR Government pleads with Prince Harry not to invite Barack Obama to his wedding — Prince, 33, became friends with former US President after bonding with them at the Invictus Games — GOVERNMENT mandarins are urging Prince Harry not to invite the Obamas to his wedding for fear of infuriating Donald Trump.
Discussion:
AOL, The Daily Banter, Raw Story, Politico and Althouse
Dan Zak / Washington Post:
What's a Wendy's doing there? The story of Washington's weirdest traffic circle. — First things first. There's a Wendy's in the middle of the intersection. Hard to get around that. — It's been there since the mid-'80s, on a wedge of land bordered by First Street NE and Florida …
Sattkisson / Sharyl Attkisson:
Investigating the Investigators at DOJ and FBI — Why do heads seem to be rolling—or at least tilting—at the Department of Justice and FBI? — Eight high ranking Department of Justice and FBI officials have been removed, reassigned or are rumored to be leaving.
Discussion:
Business Insider, John Hawkins' Right Wing News, ThinkProgress, IJR, The Gateway Pundit, bizpacreview.com, Raw Story, Politico and AOL
Associated Press:
13 Days in July: The Trump White House's crucible — WASHINGTON (AP) — They were the 13 days that transformed the White House. — Even for an administration that spent most of 2017 throwing off headlines at a dizzying pace, events in the second half of July unfolded at breakneck speed.
Rebecca Savransky / The Hill:
GOP lawmaker calls for ‘purge’ of FBI … (R-Fla.) on Tuesday called for a “purge” of the FBI, warning of “deep state” figures at work in the agency. — Rooney said during an interview on MSNBC that the American people have “very high standards” for the country's government agencies, and suggested they aren't being met.
New York Times:
New York's Attorney General in Battle With Trump — Eric Schneiderman, New York's attorney general, reached a milestone of sorts recently. — By moving to sue the Federal Communications Commission over net neutrality this month, his office took its 100th legal or administrative action …
Discussion:
Washington Times, New York Daily News, Business Insider, The Daily Caller and Law & Crime
Michael Morell / Washington Post:
Russia never stopped its cyberattacks on the United States — Michael Morell is a former deputy director and twice acting director of the Central Intelligence Agency from 2010 to 2013. Mike Rogers, a Republican from Michigan, served in the House from 2001 to 2015 and was chairman of the Intelligence Committee from 2010 to 2015.
Emily Alpert Reyes / Los Angeles Times:
L.A. psychologist claims to have left manure outside Steve Mnuchin's home — A Los Angeles psychologist claims to have left a festively wrapped box of manure outside the Bel-Air home of U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven T. Munchin. — A Los Angeles psychologist claims to have left …
Discussion:
Daily Kos, Reuters, thecut, Power Line, YouTube, Balloon Juice, IJR and KTLA
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Annie Karni / Politico:
What happens when Trump targets you on Twitter — Five Americans named by the president on social media talk about the unexpected fallout in their real lives. … It was a fitting way to end the first year of his presidency, which has been punctuated by his targeting of individuals …
Discussion:
Mediaite
Edward-Isaac Dovere / Politico:
What's Bill de Blasio's Problem? — DES MOINES—The website for the Progressive Agenda Committee that Bill de Blasio launched in 2014 is now just an error message. — The mayors of Detroit, Chicago, New Orleans and Boston all declined or didn't return several requests seeking comment on him.
Discussion:
MichelleMalkin.com, Splinter and The Week
Rebecca Morin / Politico:
Trump: GOP and Dems ‘will eventually come together’ on new health care plan — President Donald Trump said Tuesday morning that Republicans and Democrats “will eventually come together” to create a new health care plan as a result of the recently passed tax reform bill.
Discussion:
The Root
RELATED:
Paul Krugman / New York Times:
America Is Not Yet Lost — Many of us came into 2017 expecting the worst. And in many ways, the worst is what we got. — Donald Trump has been every bit as horrible as one might have expected; he continues, day after day, to prove himself utterly unfit for office, morally and intellectually.
Discussion:
The Daily Caller
Reuters:
China halts oil product exports to North Korea in November as sanctions bite — Ryan Woo, Muyu Xu — BEIJING (Reuters) - China exported no oil products to North Korea in November, Chinese customs data showed, apparently going above and beyond sanctions imposed earlier this year …
Discussion:
Axios
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Emily Holden / Politico:
Where is Trump's Cabinet? It's anybody's guess. — The Cabinet members carrying out President Donald Trump's orders to shake up the federal government are doing so under an unusual layer of secrecy — often shielding their schedules from public view, keeping their travels under wraps …
Discussion:
Shareblue Media and Raw Story
Annie Karni / Politico:
Pro-Trump singer files assault claim against Lewandowski over butt-slap incident — The woman accusing President Donald Trump's former campaign manager, Corey Lewandowski, of unwanted touching at a Trump International Hotel party last month has filed a sexual assault report …
Discussion:
The Hill, Talking Points Memo and thecut
Associated Press:
Cities sue Defense Dept. over gun-check system failures — Three large U.S. cities filed a federal lawsuit Tuesday against the Department of Defense, arguing that many service members who are disqualified from gun ownership weren't reported to the national background check system.
Eugene Robinson / Washington Post:
Trump's first year was even worse than feared — Grit your teeth. Persevere. Just a few more days and this awful, rotten, no-good, ridiculous, rancorous, sordid, disgraceful year in the civic life of our nation will be over. Here's hoping that we all — particularly special counsel Robert S. Mueller III — have a better 2018.
Discussion:
Hullabaloo, Daily Kos and Raw Story
Josh Boak / Associated Press:
US home prices surge 6.2 percent, outpacing wage growth — WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. home prices climbed a robust 6.2 percent from a year ago, amid strong demand from would-be buyers and a shrinking supply of properties for sale. — Standard & Poor's said Tuesday that its S&P CoreLogic Case …
Discussion:
The Week and The Daily Caller
Avery Anapol / The Hill:
Hatch tweets praise for editorial criticizing him for ‘utter lack of integrity’ — (R-Utah) on Monday tweeted praise for a newspaper editorial that harshly criticized him and called for him to retire. — “Grateful for this great Christmas honor from the Salt Lake Tribune,” Hatch tweeted …
Discussion:
Talking Points Memo, ABC News, Raw Story, Shareblue Media, RedState, New York Times, ThinkProgress, The Guardian, NPR, New Republic and Daily Kos