memeorandum: World's Wealthiest Became $1 Trillion Richer in 2017 (Bloomberg)

12:20 PM ET, December 27, 2017

Top Items:

BBC:

Prince Harry interviews Barack Obama — 2017 began with Barack Obama leaving the White House and handing over the baton of the presidency to Donald Trump. — Our guest editor today, Prince Harry, met President Obama, in Toronto in September during the Invictus Games to talk about his memories …

Discussion: New Republic, Politico, Talking Points Memo, Deadline, ABC News, Washington Monthly, IJR, Washington Times, thecut, CNBC, The Guardian, Mashable, twitchy.com, The Root, Towleroad and The Week

Jeffrey M. Jones / Gallup:

Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton Retain Most Admired Titles — WASHINGTON, D.C. — Americans once again are most likely to name Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton as the man and woman living anywhere in the world they admire most, as they have for the past 10 years.

Discussion: The Hill, Raw Story, Politico and Politicus USA

Laura Smith-Spark / CNN:

Prince Harry sidesteps Obama-Trump wedding guest list controversy — London (CNN)Britain's Prince Harry has avoided opening up a diplomatic rift between the British and US governments over the guest list for his wedding to Meghan Markle, saying plans had yet to be finalized.

Discussion: Business Insider, AOL and The Daily Caller

Ceylan Yeginsu / New York Times:

When Harry Met Barry: The BBC Obama Interview — LONDON — It was a case of the famous interviewing the famous. The BBC aired an interview on Wednesday that was unusual in at least a couple of respects: The man answering the questions was former President Barack Obama, and the man asking them was his friend Prince Harry.

Discussion: RedState, Althouse, The Daily Caller, Mashable, AOL, The Daily Banter and The Sun

Eli Watkins / CNN:
Gallup: Obama, Hillary Clinton remain most admired

Discussion: Shareblue Media

Tom Sykes / The Daily Beast: Prince Harry: ‘Royals Are the Family Meghan Never Had’

Axios:
Obama's first post-presidency interview was with Prince Harry

Discussion: Sputnik International

Brent Bozell / Townhall.com: The Year of Media Freakouts

BBC:
Obama warns against irresponsible social media use

Discussion: CNN, IJR and The Daily Caller

Udi Shaham / Jerusalem Post:

New Western Wall train station to be named after Trump — “The Western Wall is the holiest place for the Jewish people, and I decided to call the train station that leads to it after President Trump.” — A train station that will be built next to the Western Wall will be named after US President Donald Trump.

Discussion: Politico, Reuters, Axios, bizpacreview.com, IJR and Washington Times

Ruth Eglash / Washington Post:
Israel's transport minister wants to name a new Jerusalem train station after Trump

Discussion: The Daily Caller and The Week

Ilan Ben Zion / Associated Press: Israel minister plans Trump train station at Western Wall

Maggie Astor / New York Times:

Mike Huckabee Says Trump Is Like Churchill. Historians Disagree. — Former Gov. Mike Huckabee of Arkansas drew a swift and intense response with a provocative claim on Tuesday: President Trump, he wrote, is similar to Winston Churchill, one of history's most iconic leaders.

Discussion: Washington Monthly, Raw Story, RedState, IJR and Mediaite

Robert Pear / New York Times:

Years of Attack Leave Obamacare a More Government-Focused Health Law — WASHINGTON — The Affordable Care Act was conceived as a mix of publicly funded health care and privately purchased insurance, but Republican attacks, culminating this month in the death of a mandate that most Americans have insurance …

Discussion: DCReport.org, Washington Examiner, RedState, Talking Points Memo, IJR, Washington Times, The Daily Caller and New Republic

Diane Black / Fox News:
Rep. Diane Black: I'm stepping down as chairman of the House Budget Committee after a successful year with Trump

Discussion: Associated Press and The Daily Caller

Max Kutner / Newsweek:

TRUMP SHOULD PARDON MICHAEL FLYNN, WHO TOOK ‘THE BIGGEST FALL,’ FAMILY SAYS — President Donald Trump should pardon his former national security adviser and campaign aide Michael Flynn, who “has taken the biggest fall,” Flynn's brother said Tuesday. — In a since deleted tweet …

Discussion: RedState, Talking Points Memo, The Hill, IJR, bizpacreview.com, Raw Story, Mediaite, Politicus USA and The Daily Caller

Joe Tacopino / New York Post:
Michael Flynn's brother to Trump: It's ‘about time you pardoned’ him

Discussion: IJR

Sydney Pereira / Newsweek:

MELANIA TRUMP ORDERS REMOVAL OF NEAR-200-YEAR-OLD TREE FROM WHITE HOUSE — The historic Jackson magnolia has been on the south facade of the White House since the 1800s—making it the oldest on the grounds. But Tuesday, Melania Trump reportedly made the decision to have it removed …

Discussion: twitchy.com, The Daily Caller, Mediaite, Betsy's Page, bizpacreview.com, Sputnik International, The Gateway Pundit, Althouse, IJR, AOL, CNN, RedState and Axios

Susan Collins / Portland Press Herald:

Sen. Susan Collins: New tax law will benefit hardworking Mainers, not Washington elites — Among the positives are a larger standard deduction, relief for small businesses and an expanded child tax credit. — BY SUSAN COLLINSSPECIAL TO THE PRESS HERALD — I have heard a number …

Conor Friedersdorf / The Atlantic:

‘Never Trump’ Will Be the Only Faction Still Standing When He's Gone — As Donald Trump's first year in the White House ends observers are taking stock. Eugene Robinson speaks for many Democrats and disaffected independents: “Just a few more days,” he wrote, “and this awful, rotten …

Discussion: Washington Post

Bloomberg:

World's Wealthiest Became $1 Trillion Richer in 2017 — Richest fortunes rise 23 percent this year to top $5 trillion — Bloomberg Billionaires Index uncovered 67 billionaires in 2017 — The richest people on earth became $1 trillion richer in 2017, more than four times last year's gain …

Discussion: Daily Mail

Betsy Woodruff / The Daily Beast:

Robert Mueller May Indict Paul Manafort Again … From its inception, two things about special counsel Robert Mueller's investigation were clear: first, the White House's biggest concern was that Mueller would follow the money; and second, Mueller is following the money.

Discussion: The Gateway Pundit and Raw Story

Washington Post:

Putin may be in more trouble than we know — VLADIMIR PUTIN boasts of popularity ratings that Western leaders, Donald Trump included, can only dream of — 85 percent and above since Russia's invasion and annexation of Crimea in 2014. Yet Mr. Putin remains unwilling to test those numbers against real competition.

Andrew Higgins / New York Times: Putin Will Win in Russia. So Why Exclude Navalny?

John Harwood / CNBC:

Paul Ryan wants to cut entitlements to trim the deficit, but political reality stands in his way — Revenue shortfalls created by the new GOP tax law could make House Speaker Paul Ryan's political goals easier to achieve. — Ryan wants to cut so-called entitlement programs such as Medicare …

Discussion: Shareblue Media and Business Insider

David Von Drehle / Washington Post:

Could we be wrong? — A couple of decades ago, I was the editor of the Style section of Katharine Graham's newspaper, The Washington Post. My boss came to me with a copy of her soon-to-be published memoirs and the assignment to carve out an excerpt to run in the paper.

Justin Jouvenal / Washington Post:

A swastika was mowed into a field. Was it part of a chain of events that led to murder? — Neighbors said the display of hate in a Lorton, Va., community was as large as it was shocking: a swastika roughly 40 feet across mowed into the grass of a community field.

Discussion: The Root and The Stranger …

David Siders / Politico:

‘We have tapped into something’: Impeachment drive builds digital army to take on Trump — SAN FRANCISCO — When billionaire Democratic donor Tom Steyer launched a digital petition drive to impeach President Donald Trump two months ago, some Democratic Party leaders dismissed …

Discussion: Raw Story

Trip Gabriel / New York Times:

Tied Virginia Race That Was Headed for Name-Drawing Gets Another Twist — RICHMOND — A race that would tip control of Virginia's House of Delegates, whose constant and nearly comic pendulums between candidates has attracted national attention, took one more twist on Tuesday when a drawing to break a tie was unexpectedly postponed.

Discussion: Outside the Beltway

Emily Atkin / New Republic:

Trump is quietly cementing his bird-killing legacy. — Trump is quietly cementing his bird-killing legacy. — The Washington Post revealed Tuesday that the Trump administration will no longer use the Migratory Bird Treaty Act (MBTA) to punish energy companies for accidentally killing birds.

Discussion: Balloon Juice and Washington Post