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 …
Discussion:
Mediaite, The Atlantic, CBS News, The Hill, CNN, Axios, ABC News, Hot Air, New York Times, The Gateway Pundit, Talking Points Memo, Washington Free Beacon, Joe.My.God., Breitbart, Washington Times and Althouse
RELATED:
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
John Bresnahan / Politico:
Pelosi on verge of deal with rebels to reclaim speakership — House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi is on the verge of a deal with Democratic rebels once intent on denying her the speakership, an accord that could deliver her the decisive votes needed to reclaim the gavel, according to multiple Democratic sources Tuesday.
Erin Banco / The Daily Beast:
Trump Administration Won't Back Up President's Terror Claim
Trump Administration Won't Back Up President's Terror Claim
Discussion:
Mediaite, US Department of State, Vox, NPR, Media Matters for America and The Mahablog
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, Mediaite, The Root, Patterico's Pontifications, Axios and Washington Free Beacon
Jennifer Haberkorn / Los Angeles Times:
Trump says he would be ‘proud’ to shut down the government over border wall funding
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:
CNN, Shareblue Media, The Daily Beast, Talking Points Memo, Politico, The Root, Axios, Mother Jones, IJR, HuffPost and No More Mister Nice Blog
Greg Sargent / Washington Post:
After Trump's meltdown over his wall, Democrats cannot give any ground
After Trump's meltdown over his wall, Democrats cannot give any ground
Discussion:
Spectator USA, No More Mister Nice Blog, POLITICUSUSA and Washington Examiner
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:
The Atlantic, Townhall, Lawyers, Guns & Money, Booman Tribune and Washington Monthly
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 …
Discussion:
Mediaite
RELATED:
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:
Washington Post, Deadline, HuffPost and Mediaite
RELATED:
Reuters:
Exclusive: Trump says he is looking at 10 or 12 candidates for chief of staff job — WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Donald Trump said on Tuesday that he has 10 to 12 candidates he is considering for the post of new White House chief of staff and although he could move quickly to fill the job, he was in no particular rush.
Edvard Pettersson / Bloomberg:
Stormy Daniels Is Ordered to Pay Trump $293,000 in Fees and Sanctions
Stormy Daniels Is Ordered to Pay Trump $293,000 in Fees and Sanctions
Discussion:
CNBC and Joe.My.God.
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, Associated Press and TheStreet
RELATED:
New York Times:
Marriott Data Breach Is Traced to Chinese Hackers as U.S. Readies Crackdown on Beijing — WASHINGTON — The cyberattack on the Marriott hotel chain that collected passport information or other personal details of roughly 500 million guests was part of a Chinese intelligence-gathering effort …
Discussion:
Sputnik International, more at Techmeme »
Adam Goldman / New York Times:
Michael Flynn Asks Judge for Leniency for Lying to F.B.I. — WASHINGTON — Lawyers for Michael T. Flynn, President Trump's first national security adviser, asked a federal judge late on Tuesday to spare their client any prison time for pleading guilty to lying to investigators …
Discussion:
Boing Boing and CNN
RELATED:
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.
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 …
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
RELATED:
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:
Hmm Daily, Lawyers, Guns & Money, Splinter, Shakesville and twitchy.com
RELATED:
Alex Seitz-Wald / NBC News:
Beto O'Rourke narrowly tops wide-open MoveOn 2020 presidential straw poll; Biden runner up
Beto O'Rourke narrowly tops wide-open MoveOn 2020 presidential straw poll; Biden runner up
Discussion:
Hot Air, Breitbart, Big League Politics, Joe.My.God. and twitchy.com
Washington Post:
Trump has blasted Mueller's team for political donations. But attorney general nominee William P. Barr has given more than $500,000. — President Trump has repeatedly derided prosecutors investigating potential coordination between his presidential campaign and Russia as “angry Democrats …
Henry Samuel / Telegraph:
Strasbourg shooting: At least three dead, several injured in attack at Christmas market - latest news — Follow the author of this article Follow the topics within this article — A suspected terrorist was on the run last night after killing at least three people and injuring a dozen …
Discussion:
BBC, RTÉ, PJ Media Home, Front Page Magazine, Jihad Watch and Politico
RELATED:
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:
CNN, Raleigh News & Observer, New York Times, HuffPost, Talking Points Memo and electionlawblog.org
RELATED:
Zach Montellaro / Politico:
N.C. GOP says fresh misconduct allegation should trigger new House election
N.C. GOP says fresh misconduct allegation should trigger new House election
Discussion:
Joe.My.God.
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 and OpenSecrets.org
RELATED:
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, Media Matters for America, Mediaite and The Daily Beast
Alex Parker / RedState:
Condolences to Julia Roberts: The Absolute Worst Typo You've Seen All Year — Typos stnk. — They realy do. — For some of you who happen to view an article of mine as soon as it hits the web, I apologize — I always end up making corrections once it's posted.
Discussion:
Sputnik International and Instapundit
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 …
Helen Andrews / First Things:
Shame Storm — After a lifetime of impeccably correct opinions, Ian Buruma found himself on the wrong side of the liberal consensus in September 2018, when he was forced to resign as editor of the New York Review of Books for having commissioned a piece called “Reflections from a Hashtag” …
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.
Discussion:
Splinter
New Yorker:
Before She Leaves the Senate, Claire McCaskill Gives an Exit Interview — After twelve years of service, McCaskill is one of the most outspoken members of the Senate—and it's a lot easier to be outspoken after you've lost. — The New Year will bring a major change to the balance of power on Capitol Hill …
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