Top Items:
New York Times:
The Republicans' Fake Investigations — A generation ago, Republicans sought to protect President Richard Nixon by urging the Senate Watergate committee to look at supposed wrongdoing by Democrats in previous elections. The committee chairman, Sam Ervin, a Democrat, said that would be …
Discussion:
Politico, The Daily Caller, Raw Story, Mediaite, Politicus USA, The Week, CANNONFIRE and Fox News Insider
Richard Johnson / Page Six:
Russia probe grand jury looks like ‘a Black Lives Matter rally,’ says witness — The federal grand jury handing down indictments for special counsel Robert Mueller doesn't appear to include any supporters of President Donald Trump, according to one witness who recently testified before the panel.
Discussion:
Raw Story, ThinkProgress, Politicus USA and The Gateway Pundit
Mandy Mayfield / Washington Examiner:
Roy Moore's Jewish lawyer voted for Doug Jones, raised money for his campaign — The Jewish attorney who Roy Moore's wife touted employing in an attempt to fight off claims of anti-Semitism is actually a longtime friend and supporter of Senator-elect Doug Jones, who defeated Moore last month.
Discussion:
Weekly Standard, Mediaite, The Week and The Stranger …
Jason Samenow / Washington Post:
Monster storm to blast East Coast before polar vortex uncorks tremendous cold late this week — Unforgiving cold has punished the eastern third of the United States for the past 10 days. But the most severe winter weather conditions will assault the area late this week.
Discussion:
Mother Jones, Mashable and thecut
Sahil Kapur / Bloomberg:
Romney Changes Location on Twitter as Utah Senate Seat Opens — Mitt Romney was mum on whether he plans to run for Senate after Republican Senator Orrin Hatch of Utah announced he'll retire after 2018. But Romney's Twitter profile may give a hint about his thinking.
Discussion:
The Daily Caller
RELATED:
Callum Borchers / Washington Post:
Utah could be Steve Bannon's next battleground, especially if Mitt Romney runs
Utah could be Steve Bannon's next battleground, especially if Mitt Romney runs
Mitt Romney:
I join the people of Utah in thanking my friend, Senator Orrin Hatch …
I join the people of Utah in thanking my friend, Senator Orrin Hatch …
Discussion:
Washington Post, KTLA, The Daily Caller, NBC News, FOX 4 Kansas City WDAF-TV, Business Insider, IJR, TheBlaze and twitchy.com
Jonathan Martin / New York Times:
Orrin Hatch, Utah Senator, to Retire, Opening Path for Mitt Romney
Orrin Hatch, Utah Senator, to Retire, Opening Path for Mitt Romney
Toronto Star:
Joshua Boyle, Canadian hostage in Afghanistan, arrested and faces list of charges in Ottawa — Boyle appears in court Wednesday to face 15 charges, including sexual assault and forcible confinement. — OTTAWA—Joshua Boyle, the Canadian man who was held hostage with his American wife …
Discussion:
FOX 4 Kansas City WDAF-TV and Business Insider
RELATED:
Rob Gillies / Associated Press:
Ex-hostage Boyle charged with sex assault, confinement — TORONTO (AP) — A Canadian man recently freed with his American wife and children after years being held hostage in Afghanistan has been arrested and faces at least a dozen charges including sexual assault, his lawyer said Tuesday
Discussion:
RedState
John Solomon / The Hill:
Congressional investigators find irregularities in FBI's handling of Clinton email case — Republicans on key congressional committees say they have uncovered new irregularities and contradictions inside the FBI's probe of Hillary Clinton — 's email server.
Discussion:
RedState, JustOneMinute, The Gateway Pundit and Mediaite
Greg Sargent / Washington Post:
How bad is the Republican coverup on Trump and Russia? We may soon find out. — THE MORNING PLUM: — As we head into 2018, one big, looming unknown is this: Just how far will congressional Republicans go to prevent a full accounting of Russia's interference in our election and any possible Trump campaign conspiracy with it?
Discussion:
Fox News, CNN, Power Line, Politico, The Hill, The Daily Caller, The Guardian, Talking Points Memo, John Hawkins' Right Wing News, Raw Story, The Gateway Pundit, Breitbart, Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion, Hullabaloo, ABC News, Business Insider, emptywheel, IJR, Roll Call, USA Today, Washington Free Beacon, theGrio, Washington Times, Shakesville, The Week and Little Green Footballs
Washington Post:
The NSA's top talent is leaving because of low pay and flagging morale … The National Security Agency is losing its top talent at a worrisome rate as highly skilled personnel, some disillusioned with the spy service's leadership and an unpopular reorganization, take higher-paying, more flexible jobs in the private sector.
Discussion:
Axios
Justin Baragona / Mediaite:
MSNBC Guest Rips Bill Kristol's Support of Iran Protests: 'You've Been Advocating Killing Iranians' — Things got a bit tense today on MSNBC when neo-conservative commentator and Weekly Standard editor-at-large Bill Kristol was directly challenged over his hawkish Middle East policy positions as they relate to Iran.
Discussion:
New Republic, Washington Post and IJR
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Spencer Ackerman / The Daily Beast:
The Iran Nuclear Deal Could Be Dead in 11 Days
The Iran Nuclear Deal Could Be Dead in 11 Days
Discussion:
Hot Air, Associated Press, CNN, Breitbart, ThinkProgress, Politico and IJR
Eliana Johnson / Politico:
Iran protests could move Trump to kill nuclear deal
Maegan Vazquez / CNN:
Michele Bachmann eyeing run for Franken's Senate seat — STORY HIGHLIGHTS — (CNN)Former GOP congresswoman and presidential candidate Michele Bachmann says she is considering running for Democratic former Sen. Al Franken's Minnesota seat. — Bachmann, who was a member …
Discussion:
Fox News Insider, FOX 4 Kansas City WDAF-TV, Axios and Washington Times
RELATED:
Kyle Mantyla / Right Wing Watch:
Michele Bachmann Is Asking God Whether She Should Run For Al Franken's Senate Seat
Michele Bachmann Is Asking God Whether She Should Run For Al Franken's Senate Seat
Discussion:
Breitbart, AOL, Talking Points Memo, Washington Blade, thecut, Daily Kos, Raw Story, The Week, Mediaite, TheBlaze and Political Wire
Mark Zdechlik / mprnews.org:
Al Franken officially resigns Senate seat
Al Franken officially resigns Senate seat
Discussion:
Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion and Democrats.com
Anita Kumar / miamiherald:
Foreign governments are finding ways to do favors for Trump's business — WASHINGTON — In Indonesia, a local government plans to build a road to shorten the drive between the main airport on the island of Bali and the new high-end Trump resort and golf course.
Discussion:
Washington Post, Common Dreams, Shareblue Media and Daily Kos
Emily Chang / Vanity Fair:
“Oh My God, This Is So F—ed Up”: Inside Silicon Valley's Secretive, Orgiastic Dark Side — Some of the most powerful men in Silicon Valley are regulars at exclusive, drug-fueled, sex-laced parties—gatherings they describe not as scandalous, or even secret, but as a bold, unconventional lifestyle choice.
Discussion:
naked capitalism and Longreads, more at Techmeme »
Salena Zito / Washington Examiner:
GOP Rep. Bill Shuster to retire, spend final year working with Trump on massive infrastructure bill — Rep. Bill Shuster, chairman of the House Transportation Committee, will not seek re-election in November, telling the Washington Examiner that he wants to focus exclusively on working …
Discussion:
The Hill, RedState, Roll Call, Axios, Politico, The Atlantic, Shareblue Media and Washington Free Beacon
Peter Baker / New York Times:
Trump Tweets His ‘Nuclear Button’ Is ‘Much Bigger’ Than Kim Jong-un's — WASHINGTON — President Trump again raised the prospect of nuclear war with North Korea on Tuesday night, boasting that he commands a “much bigger” and “more powerful” arsenal of devastating weapons than the outlier government in Asia.
RELATED:
Jake Tapper / CNN:
Sheriff David Clarke temporarily blocked on Twitter after violating terms of service — Clarke plagiarized portions of thesis (May 2017) — STORY HIGHLIGHTS — Washington (CNN)Former Milwaukee Sheriff David A. Clarke, Jr., a vocal surrogate for President Donald Trump on the campaign trail …
Discussion:
Gizmodo, Mashable, Deadline, Talking Points Memo, twitchy.com, Mediaite, ThinkProgress and USA Today, more at Mediagazer »
Philip Bump / Washington Post:
Trump's claim that he prevented air-traffic deaths is his most questionable yet — See, what happened is that the boy cried wolf so many times that, when there actually was a wolf, no one believed him. That's the moral of the story: Keep saying something is happening when it isn't and no one will believe you when it is.
Discussion:
CNN, Althouse, The Hill, Instapundit, Raw Story, IJR, Common Dreams and Balloon Juice
RELATED:
John Bowden / The Hill:
2017 was safest year ever for commercial air travel, with zero deaths
2017 was safest year ever for commercial air travel, with zero deaths
Discussion:
Shareblue Media, Politico, Reuters, NPR, Mother Jones, Vox, IJR, The Independent and The Week
Jon Ostrower / CNNMoney:
Flying in 2017 was safer than it's ever been
Flying in 2017 was safer than it's ever been
Discussion:
FactCheck.org, The Hill, New York Times, ThinkProgress, Forbes, NBC News, The Daily Caller, IJR, The Atlantic, Raw Story, RedState, New York Magazine, Mediaite, AOL, Mother Jones and Business Insider
Tyisha Fernandes / WSB-TV:
Dozens arrested at a house party over less than an ounce of marijuana, police say — Ten of the nearly 100 people arrested during a 21st birthday party over the weekend spoke exclusively to Channel 2 Action News for the first time since the incident. — Cartersville police said officers responded …
Discussion:
ThinkProgress, WXIA-TV and The Daily Tribune News
Cristiano Lima / Politico:
Trump floats cutting payments to Palestinians — President Donald Trump suggested on Tuesday that the U.S. should consider cutting payments to the Palestiniana, saying their officials “don't even want to negotiate a long overdue peace treaty with Israel.” — “[W]e pay the Palestinians HUNDRED …
Discussion:
Political Wire
RELATED:
The Weather Channel:
Arctic Outbreak Setting Record Lows as Dangerously Cold Wind Chills Infiltrate Plains, Midwest and East — Story Highlights — Arctic cold air will keep the eastern half of the nation shivering through the first week of January. — A reinforcing shot of bitter, Canadian air is expected to arrive late this week.
Discussion:
Mother Jones and Breitbart
Amir Ahmadi Arian / New York Times:
Why Iran Is Protesting — This is the third mass uprising in Iran in my lifetime. In July 1999, the peaceful protest of students over freedom of speech spread into a considerable uprising. In June 2009, people took to streets to demand a recount of disputed votes in the presidential election, which began the Green Movement.
Discussion:
Patterico's Pontifications
Daniel Strauss / Politico:
Doug Jones hires African-American chief of staff — Sen.-elect Doug Jones (D-Ala.) has hired former transportation official and congressional aide Dana Gresham as his new chief of staff. — Jones will be the only Senate Democrat to have an African-American chief of staff once Gresham comes on board.
Discussion:
Washington Monthly and Axios
RELATED:
David Weigel / Washington Post:
Alabama Sen.-elect Doug Jones picks an African American for chief of staff
Alabama Sen.-elect Doug Jones picks an African American for chief of staff
Discussion:
The Root
Scott Johnson / Power Line:
Fear & loathing at the DoJ — In the memoir Cardiac Arrest: Five Heart-Stopping Years as a CEO on the Feds' Hit List (written with Stephen Saltarelli), Howard Root tells the story of his experience as chief executive officer of Vascular Solutions caught in the crosshairs of the federal government …