Top Items:
Sarah Ferris / Politico:
Pelosi privately disses Trump's manhood after White House meeting — Nancy Pelosi was on fire with her fellow Democrats. — Minutes after a very public showdown with Donald Trump on Tuesday over his border wall with Mexico, the House minority leader returned to the Capitol and railed …
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Erin Banco / The Daily Beast:
Trump Administration Won't Back Up President's Terror Claim — Data provided by his own administration shows that the issue is more complex than he implied in pushing for the border wall. — President Donald Trump on Tuesday cited the recent apprehension of ten suspected terrorists …
Discussion:
Mediaite, US Department of State, Vox, Media Matters for America, The Mahablog and NPR
Politico:
Trump jams Republicans with shutdown vow — The president's eagerness to take ownership of a partial government shutdown if he doesn't get border wall funding has painted Republicans into a corner. — President Donald Trump just made it nearly impossible for Republicans to blame Democrats …
Discussion:
POLITICUSUSA
William Cummings / USA Today:
Twitter users mercilessly mock Mike Pence for ‘Elf on the Shelf’ performance in Oval Office — WASHINGTON - Vice President Mike Pence drew Twitter users' attention Tuesday with his restrained performance during a heated Oval Office meeting between President Donald Trump and Democratic congressional leaders.
Discussion:
HuffPost
Greg Sargent / Washington Post:
After Trump's meltdown over his wall, Democrats cannot give any ground — President Trump just gave us all yet another glimpse of those brilliant negotiating skills he keeps boasting about: … Despite voluntarily taking ownership of the shutdown, Trump, needless to say …
Discussion:
Washington Examiner, Spectator USA and POLITICUSUSA
Mike DeBonis / Washington Post:
'It's like a manhood thing for him': Pelosi's power play with Trump serves as message to opponents
'It's like a manhood thing for him': Pelosi's power play with Trump serves as message to opponents
Discussion:
Shareblue Media, Axios, The Root and Washington Free Beacon
John Bresnahan / Politico:
Pelosi on verge of deal with rebels to reclaim speakership
Pelosi on verge of deal with rebels to reclaim speakership
Discussion:
ABC News
Washington Post:
Trump welcomes a shutdown during Oval Office squabble with Pelosi, Schumer
Trump welcomes a shutdown during Oval Office squabble with Pelosi, Schumer
Discussion:
The Atlantic, Political Wire, Patterico's Pontifications, Townhall, Daily Kos, Spectator USA and Shareblue Media
John Wagner / Washington Post:
Kelly to remain as White House chief of staff through Jan. 2 or longer, official says
Kelly to remain as White House chief of staff through Jan. 2 or longer, official says
Discussion:
Talking Points Memo, Politico, Shareblue Media, The Root, Mother Jones, IJR, HuffPost, No More Mister Nice Blog and New York Post
Zachary Basu / Axios:
Trump: “I'm proud to shut down the government” over border wall
Trump: “I'm proud to shut down the government” over border wall
Discussion:
ABC News, Associated Press, Political Wire, Politico, Mediaite, Breitbart, Washington Post and Talking Points Memo
Washington Post:
Trump's extraordinary Oval Office squabble with Chuck Schumer and Nancy Pelosi, annotated
Trump's extraordinary Oval Office squabble with Chuck Schumer and Nancy Pelosi, annotated
Discussion:
Washington Monthly, Lawyers, Guns & Money, Booman Tribune and Townhall
Benjamin Siegel / ABC News:
'It's like a manhood thing for him': Pelosi on Trump and border wall
'It's like a manhood thing for him': Pelosi on Trump and border wall
Discussion:
LGBTQ Nation
Reuters:
Exclusive: Trump says he could intervene in U.S. case against Huawei CFO — WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump said on Tuesday he would intervene in the Justice Department's case against a top executive at China's Huawei Technologies [HWT.UL] if it would serve national security interests …
Discussion:
CNN, Politico and Associated Press
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Reuters:
Exclusive: Trump says standing by Saudi crown prince despite pleas from Senate — WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump said on Tuesday that he stood by Saudi Arabia's crown prince despite a CIA assessment that he ordered the killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi and pleas …
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David Lawder / Reuters:
Exclusive: Trump says China buying ‘tremendous amount’ of U.S. soybeans — WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump said on Tuesday that China was buying a “tremendous amount” of U.S. soybeans and that trade talks with Beijing were already underway by telephone, with more meetings likely among U.S. and Chinese officials.
Tim Stelloh / NBC News:
Time's 2018 ‘Person of the Year’ is killed and imprisoned journalists
Time's 2018 ‘Person of the Year’ is killed and imprisoned journalists
Discussion:
Conservative News Today, Townhall and Breitbart, more at Mediagazer »
Alex Seitz-Wald / NBC News:
Beto O'Rourke narrowly tops wide-open MoveOn 2020 presidential straw poll; Biden runner up — The progressive group had backed Bernie Sanders in 2016 over Hillary Clinton. — An early straw poll of members of the progressive group MoveOn.org shows a wide-open competition for liberal voters …
Discussion:
Breitbart, Joe.My.God., Big League Politics and twitchy.com
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Juleanna Glover / Politico:
Biden Should Run on a Unity Ticket With Romney — Last summer, John McCain told the world that he regretted not picking Joe Lieberman, the former senator and Democrat, to be his vice presidential running mate in the 2008 presidential election. A McCain/Lieberman ticket might not have won the White House …
Discussion:
Lawyers, Guns & Money, Splinter, Shakesville and twitchy.com
Reuters:
Exclusive: Trump says he is not concerned about being impeached, defends payments to women — WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Donald Trump said on Tuesday he was not concerned that he would get impeached and that payments made ahead of the 2016 election by his former personal attorney Michael Cohen …
Discussion:
Political Wire, Law & Crime and Washington Free Beacon
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Edvard Pettersson / Bloomberg:
Stormy Daniels Is Ordered to Pay Trump $293,000 in Fees and Sanctions — Judge cuts Trump requested attorneys fees by 25 percent — Michael Avenatti vows actress won't have to pay a dime — Stephanie Clifford, the adult-movie star professionally known as Stormy Daniels …
Discussion:
CNBC and Joe.My.God.
Khorri Atkinson / Axios:
Judge orders Stormy Daniels to pay Trump $293,052 in attorneys' fees
Judge orders Stormy Daniels to pay Trump $293,052 in attorneys' fees
Discussion:
Fox News, RedState, ABC News, Talking Points Memo, Associated Press and The Daily Beast
Associated Press:
AP: Ivanka, Kushner could profit from tax break they pushed — WASHINGTON (AP) — An Associated Press investigation finds President Donald Trump's daughter and son-in law stand to benefit from a program they pushed that offers massive tax breaks to developers who invest in downtrodden American areas.
Brian Murphy / The Charlotte Observer:
Bladen counted early votes too soon in 2018. Witness alleges numbers were leaked. — Bladen County election workers tallied the results of early voting before Election Day in violation of state rules and are accused of allowing outsiders to view them, a precinct worker wrote in an affidavit released by state Democrats.
Discussion:
Talking Points Memo, New York Times, HuffPost and electionlawblog.org
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Greg Miller / Washington Post:
Gap continues to widen between Trump and intelligence community on key issues — President Trump continues to reject the judgments of U.S. spy agencies on major foreign policy fronts, creating a dynamic in which intelligence analysts frequently see troubling gaps between the president's public statements …
Washington Post:
Maria Butina set to plead guilty to conspiring to act as agent of Kremlin, documents shows — The young Russian operative called her strategy the “Diplomacy Project,” an elaborate, multiyear scheme to infiltrate the conservative movement in the United States in hopes of cementing bonds to benefit the Kremlin.
Discussion:
Washington Press, Talking Points Memo, Balloon Juice and OpenSecrets.org
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Erin Banco / The Daily Beast:
Paul Erickson, Maria Butina's Boyfriend, Reacts to Her Plea Agreement
Paul Erickson, Maria Butina's Boyfriend, Reacts to Her Plea Agreement
Discussion:
Law & Crime, Mediaite, Media Matters for America and The Daily Beast
BBC:
Strasbourg shooting: Gunman at large after two killed and 12 injured — At least two people have been killed and 12 others wounded in a shooting in the eastern French city of Strasbourg. — The gunman, known to security services, is on the run and is being hunted by police.
Discussion:
Telegraph, The Guardian, Politico, Daily Wire and News Agency UNIAN
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Foo Yun Chee / Reuters:
At least two dead, 11 wounded in French Christmas market shooting
At least two dead, 11 wounded in French Christmas market shooting
Discussion:
The Gateway Pundit
ProPublica:
How the IRS Was Gutted — An eight-year campaign to slash the agency's budget has left it understaffed, hamstrung and operating with archaic equipment. The result: billions less to fund the government. That's good news for corporations and the wealthy. — In the summer of 2008 …
Discussion:
Hit & Run and Mother Jones
Colby Itkowitz / Washington Post:
Congresswoman to Google CEO: Why when I search ‘idiot’ do I get pictures of Trump? — In an effort to understand how Google search algorithms work, a Democratic congresswoman asked the tech company's chief executive a simple question: “If you Google the word ‘idiot’ under images, a picture of Donald Trump comes up.
Discussion:
Breitbart
Jacob T. Levy / New York Times:
The Democrats' Best Response to Republican Power Grabs — The best option goes beyond retaliation or restraint. — Mr. Levy is a professor of political theory at McGill University. — In Michigan and Wisconsin, lame duck Republican-majority legislatures are enacting laws to limit the powers of incoming Democratic governors.
Discussion:
Washington Post and Vox
Josh Eidelson / Bloomberg:
Slate's Newly Unionized Writers and Editors Give OK to Strike — Outlet's editorial staff authorize walkout by 52 to 1 vote — Company's “right-to-work” stance riles its employees — Writers and editors at Slate have voted nearly unanimously to green-light a strike …
Discussion:
Washington Examiner, Townhall, Daily Wire, Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion, The Daily Caller and twitchy.com, more at Mediagazer »
Ronald Brownstein / CNN:
The foundation of Trump's coalition is cracking — (CNN)Cracks have emerged in Donald Trump's hold on his core constituency of white working class voters, new data from the 2018 election reveals. — Though Republican candidates almost everywhere registered large margins among white voters without …
Discussion:
Raw Story and Grasping Reality …
Timothy Cama / The Hill:
Coal supporter Manchin named top Dem on Senate Energy Committee — Senate Democrats on Tuesday named Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) as the ranking member of the Energy and Natural Resources Committee, despite objections by progressive groups. — Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) …
Chris Mooney / Washington Post:
The Arctic is in even worse shape than you realize — The Arctic Ocean has lost 95 percent of its oldest, thickest ice. If this thinning trend continues, scientists fear an added boost to global warming. — Over the past three decades of global warming, the oldest and thickest ice …
Discussion:
ThinkProgress, Common Dreams and Earther
Washington Post:
Trump loyalist at VA forced out after collecting pay but doing little work — The Trump administration has forced out a senior White House political appointee at the Department of Veterans Affairs who spent months on the federal payroll doing little to no work.
Wall Street Journal:
The Loneliest Generation: Americans, More Than Ever, Are Aging Alone — Loneliness undermines health and is linked to early mortality—and baby boomers are especially feeling the effects — Danny Miner, a 66-year-old retired chemical plant supervisor, spends most days alone in his Tooele …