Top Items:
New York Times:
How the Russia Inquiry Began: A Campaign Aide, Drinks and Talk of Political Dirt — WASHINGTON — During a night of heavy drinking at an upscale London bar in May 2016, George Papadopoulos, a young foreign policy adviser to the Trump campaign, made a startling revelation to Australia's top diplomat …
Jennifer Rubin / Washington Post:
Trump's media neediness — In President Trump's interview with the New York Times, he declared: … On one level, the comment is ludicrous. Despite the frenzied paranoia of the Fox News crowd, the Times doesn't determine election winners. If it did, he wouldn't be president.
RELATED:
Jacqueline Thomsen / The Hill:
Trump travels to golf club for fifth straight day — visited his private Florida golf course for the fifth straight day on Saturday, according to a White House pool report. — Trump, who is staying at his Mar-a-Lago resort for the holidays, traveled to Trump International Golf Club in West Palm Beach, Fla., on Saturday morning.
Discussion:
Politicus USA and Mediaite
Charles P. Pierce / Esquire:
Interview Is a Portrait of a Man in Cognitive Decline
Interview Is a Portrait of a Man in Cognitive Decline
Discussion:
ECHIDNE OF THE SNAKES and Lawyers, Guns & Money
Julia Manchester / The Hill:
White House surprised, frustrated by Trump's New York Times interview: report
White House surprised, frustrated by Trump's New York Times interview: report
Discussion:
AOL, RedState, Power Line, Joe.My.God. and NPR
John Harwood / CNBC:
Trump displays delusions in his New York Times interview
Benjamin Brown / Fox News:
Man arrested in ‘Call of Duty’ ‘swatting’ hoax that led to fatal police shooting — A 25-year-old California man was arrested in connection to an online quarrel between two “Call of Duty” gamers that prompted a hoax call and led to a man being killed by police in Kansas.
Discussion:
RedState and The Daily Caller
RELATED:
abc7.com:
Man arrested in South LA in connection to Kansas swatting incident that left man dead
Man arrested in South LA in connection to Kansas swatting incident that left man dead
Discussion:
Wichita Eagle and ABC News, more at Techmeme »
Nichole Manna / Wichita Eagle:
Family says son killed by police in ‘swatting’ was unarmed, didn't play video games
Family says son killed by police in ‘swatting’ was unarmed, didn't play video games
Discussion:
ThinkProgress, Washington Post, New York Times, RedState, The Week, Polygon, Balloon Juice and Hit & Run
New York Times:
After Saving Many From Fire, Soldier Died Trying to Rescue One More — Emmanuel Mensah was a handsome, strongly built young man in his late 20s who immigrated to the Bronx from Ghana about five years ago. He joined the Army but returned to his apartment on Prospect Avenue in December after undergoing training.
Discussion:
CBS New York, JustOneMinute, New York's PIX11 and Washington Post
RELATED:
Joe Marino / New York Post:
Soldier home for holidays died saving lives in Bronx inferno — An Army solider died in the Bronx inferno Thursday night — while heroically rushing in and out of the apartment building to save several other lives, his grieving dad told The Post. — “That's his nature,” said Kwabena Mensah …
Discussion:
IJR
Justin Elliott / ProPublica:
Trump Justice Department Pushes for Citizenship Question on Census, Alarming Experts — “This is a recipe for sabotaging the census,” said one. The administration's stated reason for the controversial move: protecting civil rights. — The Justice Department is pushing for a question …
Discussion:
ThinkProgress and Joe.My.God.
Jason Auslander / Aspen Times:
VP Mike Pence gets message from Aspen neighbors: Make America Gay Again — For Vice President Mike Pence, the message was unmistakable and the banner that carried it unmissable. — “Make America Gay Again,” the rainbow banner reads. — Neighbors of the home near Aspen where Pence and his wife …
Discussion:
Washington Post, Fox News, Splinter, The Daily Caller, Mashable, Raw Story, The Week and Towleroad
Michael Grunwald / Politico:
Donald Trump Is a Consequential President. Just Not in the Ways You Think. — On January 20, 2017, as President Donald Trump began his inaugural address, a cold rain began to fall. — A few hours later, Trump claimed the rain had not begun to fall. — “The crowd was unbelievable today …
Discussion:
Hullabaloo
BBC:
Iran protests: Citizens told to avoid ‘illegal gatherings’ — The Iranian government has told people to avoid “illegal gatherings” in the wake of two days of angry anti-establishment protests in the country. — Scores have been arrested in protests over corruption and living standards.
Discussion:
The Daily Caller and The Week
RELATED:
Thomas Erdbrink / New York Times:
Scattered Protests Erupt in Iran Over Economic Woes
Scattered Protests Erupt in Iran Over Economic Woes
Discussion:
Axios, Associated Press, JustOneMinute, Reuters, BBC and US News
Kansas City Star:
Gov. Brownback, it's time to resign and let Kansas move on — By The Kansas City Star Editorial Board — Governor Brownback, it's time to walk away. — As a convert to Catholicism — someone who wasn't just born into the faith, but chose it — maybe think of it this way …
Discussion:
Political Wire
Jack Shafer / Politico:
Week 32: Trump Binges on Collusion Talk to Ring Out Year — In what otherwise would have to be counted as a sleepy week in the annals of the Trump Tower scandal, President Donald Trump gave the press a much-needed news peg by granting New York Times reporter Michael S. Schmidt a 30-minute interview …
Discussion:
Politicus USA
Laurel Wamsley / NPR:
Erica Garner, Who Became An Activist After Her Father's Death, Dies — Activist Erica Garner has died, after suffering brain damage following a heart attack. She was 27 years old. — Her official twitter account announced her death Saturday morning. — She entered the public eye …
Discussion:
ABC News, Refinery29, Splinter, Al Jazeera English, Mediaite, The Week, New York's PIX11, theGrio, IJR and CBS New York
RELATED:
Nicole Russell / New York Post:
How the ‘feminist’ left let women down in 2017 — Merriam-Webster has named “feminism” its word of the year. The popular dictionary defines feminism as “the theory of the political, economic and social equality of the sexes” and the “organized activity on behalf of women's rights and interests.”
Matt Vespa / Townhall.com:
Does Sheila Jackson Lee Know The Person She's Accused Of Racism For Airline Fiasco Is A Human Rights Activist? — So, I bet you've heard about the airline incident between a woman and Texas Democratic Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee. Katie wrote about it.
Discussion:
Scared Monkeys
Michael S. Schmidt / New York Times:
Our Reporter Mike Schmidt on His Golf Club Interview With President Trump — WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. — Shortly after 1 p.m. on Thursday, President Trump came off the 18th hole of his golf course here and walked into the club house's Grill Room. Waiters scurried to bring menus and drinks …
Discussion:
IJR, more at Mediagazer »
Katherine Rosman / New York Times:
Of All the Blogs in the World, He Walks Into Mine — A man born to an Orthodox Jewish family in Toronto and schooled at a Yeshiva and a Japanese-American man raised on the island of Oahu, Hawaii, were married in the rare books section of the Strand Bookstore in Greenwich Village before a crowd of 200 people …
Paul Callan / CNN:
Trump is right about the FBI — Trump lashes out at top leaders of his own FBI — Paul Callan is a CNN legal analyst, a former New York homicide prosecutor and current counsel at the New York law firm of Edelman & Edelman PC, focusing on wrongful conviction and civil rights cases.
Discussion:
bizpacreview.com
Bruce Vielmetti / Milwaukee Journal Sentinel:
Months after decision not to charge David Clarke, email search warrant filed — Long after federal prosecutors decided not to pursue criminal charges against then-Sheriff Dave A. Clarke Jr. over his treatment of a fellow airline passenger, an FBI agent's request to search Clarke's private gmail account …
Discussion:
Joe.My.God. and IJR