Top Items:
Miriam Jordan / New York Times:
Making President Trump's Bed: A Housekeeper Without Papers — At the president's New Jersey golf course, an undocumented immigrant has worked as a maid since 2013. She said she never imagined she “would see such important people close up.” — BEDMINSTER, N.J. — During more than five years …
Discussion:
Talking Points Memo, Raw Story and The Guardian
Washington Post:
William Barr is leading attorney general candidate in Trump discussions — Former attorney general William P. Barr is President Trump's leading candidate to be nominated to lead the Justice Department — a choice that could be made in coming days as the agency presses forward with a probe …
Discussion:
Politico, The Gateway Pundit, The Week and Political Wire
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Burgess Everett / Politico:
Trump's slow-motion staff ‘shakeup’ stunts 2019 planning — President Donald Trump is still looking for a new United Nations ambassador. He has no deputy national security adviser. His attorney general and Environmental Protection Agency administrator are serving in acting capacities …
Discussion:
New Republic, Raw Story and Talking Points Memo
CNBC:
Stocks drop again with Dow's two-day slide now totaling more than 1,000 points — Stocks fell sharply on Thursday as continuing fears over U.S.-China trade relations and concern over a possible global economic slowdown kept investors on edge. — The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 451 points …
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Paul Wiseman / Associated Press:
Record imports push US trade gap to $55.5 billion in October — WASHINGTON (AP) — Record imports in October drove the U.S. trade deficit to the highest level in a decade. — The Commerce Department said Thursday that the gap between the United States sells and what it buys …
Discussion:
Axios
Emily Stewart / Vox:
The US got Canada to arrest a top Chinese tech executive
The US got Canada to arrest a top Chinese tech executive
Discussion:
New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Nextgov, One America News Network and Breitbart, more at Techmeme »
Elaina Plott / The Atlantic:
The White House Has No Plan for Confronting the Mueller Report — Nobody knows how the White House plans to respond to the Mueller report—including the people who work at the White House. — The special counsel is reportedly nearing the end of his probe. Sentencing memos are dropping.
Discussion:
Shareblue Media, New York Magazine, New York Times, Raw Story, Talking Points Memo, Law & Crime, Splinter and Vox
RELATED:
Betsy Woodruff / The Daily Beast:
Senate Intelligence Committee Grilled Steve Bannon About Cambridge Analytica — The notorious “psychographic” data firm remains of interest to Senate investigators—as does the former Trump strategist. — Betsy Woodruff — Steve Bannon found himself back in the hot seat last month …
Discussion:
Shakesville and Political Wire
Astead W. Herndon / New York Times:
Elizabeth Warren Stands by DNA Test. But Around Her, Worries Abound. — WASHINGTON — The plan was straightforward: After years of being challenged by President Trump and others about a decades-old claim of Native American ancestry, Senator Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts would take a DNA test …
Washington Post:
Republican officials had early warnings of voting irregularities in North Carolina — BLADENBORO, N.C. — When GOP Rep. Robert Pittenger lost his primary by a narrow margin in May, he suspected something was amiss. — The congressman turned to a group of friends and family who had gathered …
Discussion:
The Charlotte Observer, The Atlantic, Hullabaloo and electionlawblog.org
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Eric Bradner / CNN:
North Carolina GOP director open to new election in disputed House race — Alleged voter fraud probe in NC intensifies — (CNN)The executive director of the North Carolina Republican Party says he supports a new election if allegations of fraud in the 9th Congressional District race …
Discussion:
Politico, National Journal, WSOC-TV, Political Wire and Common Dreams
NBC News:
North Carolina election fraud allegations: Investigators zero in on absentee ballots in Bladen County
North Carolina election fraud allegations: Investigators zero in on absentee ballots in Bladen County
Discussion:
Talking Points Memo, BuzzFeed News, Splinter, HuffPost, Axios and Roll Call
Tal Axelrod / The Hill:
Over a thousand absentee ballots possibly destroyed in controversial North Carolina House race: report
Over a thousand absentee ballots possibly destroyed in controversial North Carolina House race: report
Discussion:
CNN, Daily Kos and Washington Post
Joe Perticone / Business Insider:
Nancy Pelosi says funding for Trump's ‘immoral, ineffective, expensive’ border wall is off the table — Nancy Pelosi called for a yearlong continuing resolution on funding for homeland security. — Pelosi dismissed a compromise of exchanging border wall funding for a DACA solution.
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Greg Sargent / Washington Post:
Democrats have a big opportunity to deal Trump a crushing blow
Democrats have a big opportunity to deal Trump a crushing blow
Discussion:
Washington Monthly, Roll Call and Booman Tribune
Paul Szoldra / Task & Purpose:
General McChrystal Told Pompeo To ‘Muddle Along’ In Afghanistan, Leaked Audio Reveals — Stanley McChrystal, the former commander of NATO forces in Afghanistan, recently told Secretary of State Mike Pompeo that he did not know what to do in Afghanistan but offered his “best suggestion” …
Discussion:
New Republic and Political Wire
The Guardian:
Trump aide's appearances on RT channel are focus for Russia inquiry — Ted Malloch, a Trump campaign adviser, has been questioned about his relationship with the Kremlin-controlled broadcaster — Robert Mueller is allegedly examining a Trump campaign adviser's appearances …
Discussion:
Raw Story and Political Wire
Matt Wilstein / The Daily Beast:
Fox Business Network Apologizes for Louie Gohmert Spreading Anti-Semitic George Soros Conspiracy — The openly anti-Semitic attack initially went unchallenged by host Stuart Varney, who later issued an apology. — Matt Wilstein — Rep. Louie Gohmert (R-TX) on Thursday morning managed …
Discussion:
Washington Post, Vox, Washington Press, Splinter, Contemptor and YouTube
Mike Spies / The Trace:
Documents Point to Illegal Campaign Coordination Between Trump and NRA — The National Rifle Association spent $30 million to help elect Donald Trump — more than any other independent conservative group. Most of that sum went toward television advertising, but a political message loses …
Rick Wilson / Washington Post:
Trump could've ruined Bush's funeral. Bush didn't let him. — By including the current president, the late president preempted his successor's proclivity for draining the dignity out of solemn occasions. — Rick Wilson is a Republican political consultant, a Daily Beast columnist and the author of …
Discussion:
Raw Story, Washington Press and Mediaite
Brian Schwartz / CNBC:
Beto O'Rourke's team has been talking to Obama political operatives in Iowa and New Hampshire as 2020 momentum builds — Democratic rising star Beto O'Rourke's team has been fielding calls from senior operatives who worked on President Obama's campaign in the pivotal states of Iowa and New Hampshire
Discussion:
Breitbart
RELATED:
Elizabeth Bruenig / Washington Post:
Why this progressive Texan can't get excited about Beto O'Rourke
Why this progressive Texan can't get excited about Beto O'Rourke
Discussion:
Washington Monthly, New Republic, Current Affairs and CBS News
Pete Williams / NBC News:
In potential blow to Manafort, Supreme Court unlikely to change double jeopardy rule — A presidential pardon could keep Trump's former campaign chairman out of federal prison, but it would not free him from being prosecuted on similar state charges. — WASHINGTON — The U.S. Supreme Court …
Alexei Koseff / Sacramento Bee:
Kamala Harris aide resigns after harassment, retaliation settlement surfaces — A longtime top staff member of U.S. Sen. Kamala Harris resigned Wednesday after The Sacramento Bee inquired about a $400,000 harassment and retaliation settlement resulting from his time working for Harris at the California Department of Justice.
Associated Press:
Ecuador: Enough UK guarantees for Assange to leave embassy — QUITO, Ecuador (AP) — Ecuador's president says Britain has provided sufficient guarantees for Julian Assange to leave his government's embassy in London, where the WikiLeaks founder has been living under asylum since 2012.
Discussion:
Politico, Law & Crime and Breitbart
Zack Beauchamp / Vox:
The Wisconsin power grab is part of a bigger Republican attack on democracy — The GOP's turn against democracy may be a greater threat to the American experiment than President Trump. — The Wisconsin Republican Party is nullifying the results of the 2018 election.
Discussion:
PoliticalCharge, Political Wire, HuffPost, Right Wing Watch and The Atlantic
Alex Morrell / Business Insider:
People aren't paying their credit cards and more accounts are being shut down, and it could be a sign that ‘economic clouds are darkening’ — Credit-card delinquencies, application rejections, and involuntary account closures are all on the upswing, according to a report from the Federal Reserve Bank of New York.
Discussion:
Media Matters for America
Cleve R. Wootson Jr / Washington Post:
An escaped inmate kicked down a sleeping woman's door. But she had a gun. — The prisoners had been planning their escape for days. — Bruce McLaughlin Jr. and Timothy Dill put the jailbreak into motion sometime after 2 a.m. Tuesday. It was the graveyard shift at the jail in Pickens County …
Discussion:
Power Line, Newsweek, IJR and Louder With Crowder
Deval Patrick:
After a lot of conversation, reflection and prayer, I've decided that a 2020 campaign for president is not for me. I've been overwhelmed by advice and encouragement from people from all over the country, known and unknown. Humbled, in fact. But knowing that the cruelty of our elections process …
Discussion:
CNN
Bloomberg:
Kushners' Beachfront Strip Eligible for Trump's Poor-Area Tax Perks — The opportunity zones in the new tax law are supposed to attract investment to low-income areas. But some of these neighborhoods aren't exactly struggling. — Pier Village promotes itself as a “jewel on the New Jersey coast.”
Discussion:
The Real Deal New York and Raw Story
US Census / The United States Census Bureau:
Five-Year Trends Available for Median Household Income, Poverty Rates and Computer and Internet Use — American Community Survey Releases New Data for All Communities Nationwide — DEC. 6, 2018 — Today, the U.S. Census Bureau announced the release of the 2013-2017 American Community Survey …
Discussion:
Daily Caller News Foundation and twitchy.com
Marc Caputo / Politico:
Trump hotel feud erupts between Lewandowski and Florida senators — MIAMI — It was supposed to be a friendly introduction between Republicans at the Trump International Hotel in Washington on Wednesday night, when the president's former campaign manager and the Republican leader of the Florida Senate met.
Philip Bump / Washington Post:
How Trump's approval rating has evolved, according to data scientist Donald Trump — Late Wednesday night, President Trump tweeted a celebratory image. … Polling from Rasmussen Reports has Trump at 50 percent approval, the tweet notes, something Trump credits to his hard work.
Discussion:
Rasmussen Reports and The Daily Caller
Emily Stewart / Vox:
The Senate just confirmed a director for CFPB who has no background in consumer issues — No one had heard of Kathy Kraninger before Trump's nomination. — The US Senate voted to confirm Kathy Kraninger as the next head of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), the federal government's top consumer watchdog.
Discussion:
Politico and Washington Post