Top Items:
Washington Post:
Russian disinformation teams targeted Robert S. Mueller III, says report prepared for Senate — Months after President Trump took office, Russia's disinformation teams trained their sites on a new target: special counsel Robert S. Mueller III. Having worked to help get Trump into the White House …
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New York Times:
Russian 2016 Influence Operation Targeted African-Americans — The Russian influence campaign on social media in the 2016 election made an extraordinary effort to target African-Americans, used an array of tactics to try to suppress turnout among Democratic voters and unleashed a blizzard …
Discussion:
Wired, Talking Points Memo, Raw Story, Washington Monthly, The Root, Vox, Lawyers, Guns & Money, The Guardian, RedState, Hullabaloo, The Week, Conservative News Today, HuffPost, Shareblue Media, Washington Post, Mashable, No More Mister Nice Blog, Daily Kos, Bangor Daily News and FOX2now.com, more at Techmeme »
Margaret Sullivan / Washington Post:
It's high time for media to enter the No Kellyanne Zone — and stay there — Lies are coming at the American public in torrents — raining down on them everywhere they turn. — A report prepared for the Senate Intelligence Committee, and obtained by The Washington Post, made that breathtakingly clear over the weekend.
Discussion:
Mediaite, more at Mediagazer »
Washington Post:
Russia's support for Trump's election is no longer disputable
Russia's support for Trump's election is no longer disputable
Discussion:
BuzzFeed News, Media Matters for America and Shakesville
Cindy Ma / The Computational Propaganda Project:
The IRA and Political Polarization in the United States
The IRA and Political Polarization in the United States
Discussion:
CNBC, POLITICUSUSA, Axios, Mother Jones, ABC News, Vox and NewsBusters
Ken Dilanian / NBC News:
Russia favored Trump, targeted African-Americans with election meddling, reports say
Russia favored Trump, targeted African-Americans with election meddling, reports say
Discussion:
Bloomberg, Washington Post, Mother Jones, Raw Story and Daily Kos, more at Mediagazer »
Wall Street Journal:
Roger Stone Admits Spreading Lies on InfoWars — Trump adviser made the admission in settling a defamation suit brought against him by an exiled Chinese businessman — As questions swirl about his credibility, former Trump campaign adviser Roger Stone settled a defamation suit seeking $100 million …
Gary Baum / Hollywood Reporter:
Woody Allen's Secret Teen Lover Speaks: Sex, Power and a Conflicted Muse Who Inspired ‘Manhattan’ — In 1976, 16-year-old model Babi Christina Engelhardt embarked on a hidden eight-year affair with the 41-year-old filmmaker that mirrors one of his most famous movies.
Discussion:
The Week, Mediaite, Daily Wire and East Bay Times, more at Mediagazer »
Yair Rosenberg / Tablet Magazine:
‘The New York Times’ Just Published an Unqualified Recommendation for an Insanely Anti-Semitic Book — The book, recommended by author Alice Walker, repeatedly cites the ‘Protocols of the Elders of Zion,’ dubs the Talmud ‘among the most appallingly racist documents on the planet,’ and says Jews funded the Holocaust and control the KKK
Discussion:
The Daily Caller, Algemeiner.com, twitchy.com, The Guardian, Washington Free Beacon and Instapundit
Alexis Levinson / BuzzFeed News:
Tulsi Gabbard Is Moving Toward An Unconventional Presidential Campaign. Her Fans See “Bernie 2.0.” — Tulsi Gabbard, a Democratic member of Congress from Hawaii, is known — insofar as she is known — for bucking her party. She criticized President Barack Obama's handling of ISIS.
Discussion:
New York Times
Ed Krassenstein / Hill Reporter:
As Tucker Carlson Insults Immigrants, Here's a List of His Advertisers — Last week, Tucker Carlson made a statement on his Fox News show which has led one advertiser to head for the doors. … Carlson then proceeded to refer to members of the Central American caravan as “cynical shakedown artists”.
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Erik Wemple / Washington Post:
Tucker Carlson wants his advertisers to know: ‘I like immigrants’
Tucker Carlson wants his advertisers to know: ‘I like immigrants’
Discussion:
The Daily Beast, Hollywood Reporter, Splinter, Vox and Talking Points Memo
emptywheel:
Mike Flynn Steps in It: In a Bid to Feed the Frothy Right, He Leads to Release of Damning New Details Showing He Lied to Protect Trump — Last week, I suggested that Mike Flynn's cute trick of publicly releasing information from Andy McCabe's memo and Peter Strzok's 302 might backfire.
Discussion:
CNN, Hullabaloo and Salon
Andrew Kaczynski / CNN:
Mick Mulvaney in October 2016: Trump would be disqualified from office in an ‘ordinary universe’ — (CNN)Incoming White House acting-chief of staff Mick Mulvaney once said Donald Trump's past words and actions would disqualify him from becoming president in an “ordinary universe.”
Discussion:
Contemptor and Mediaite
Natalie Delgadillo / DCist:
After Bloodbath, The National Zoo's Naked Mole-Rats Finally Choose Their Queen — At last, we've reached the conclusion of this scintillating drama: the National Zoo's naked mole-rat colony has chosen its queen. — In case you've been living under a rock, let us catch you up …
Rachel Weiner / Washington Post:
Michael Flynn's business partner charged with illegally lobbying for Turkey — A business partner of Michael Flynn is being charged with acting as an agent of a foreign government and conspiracy for attempting to get Turkish cleric Fethullah Gulen extradited from the United States.
Discussion:
The Atlantic, Hill Reporter, ThinkProgress, Wonkette, Talking Points Memo, Raw Story, Shareblue Media, Breitbart, Daily Kos, New York Times, Shakesville and HuffPost
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Brianne Pfannenstiel / Des Moines Register:
Sen. Elizabeth Warren calls Iowa Democrats as she considers a 2020 run for president — Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren has yet to make an appearance in Iowa, but she's personally reaching out to Iowa Democrats as she considers a possible 2020 run for president.
Discussion:
Political Wire and IJR
RELATED:
Natasha Korecki / Politico:
Poll: Klobuchar rising in Iowa
Evgenia Peretz / Vanity Fair:
“Men for Others, My Ass”: After Kavanaugh, Inside Georgetown Prep's Culture of Omertà — For generations, the renowned Jesuit prep school groomed its students to live up to the mantra “men for others.” But after Christine Blasey Ford's testimony, the school and its alumni are contending with other demons.
United States Senator Lamar Alexander:
Alexander Statement on 2020 Senate Election — NASHVILLE, Tenn., December 17, 2018 - United States Senator Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.) today released the following statement: — “I will not be a candidate for re-election to the United States Senate in 2020.
Discussion:
Politico, Raw Story, KXLF-TV, Daily Wire, Washington Free Beacon, Townhall, Bloomberg and Breitbart
RELATED:
Joel Ebert / The Tennessean:
Tennessee US Sen. Lamar Alexander will not seek re-election in 2020
Tennessee US Sen. Lamar Alexander will not seek re-election in 2020
Discussion:
The Daily Caller, HuffPost and Conservative Review
Todd May / New York Times:
Would Human Extinction Be a Tragedy? — Our species possesses inherent value, but we are devastating the earth and causing unimaginable animal suffering. — Mr. May is a professor of philosophy at Clemson University. — There are stirrings of discussion these days in philosophical circles about the prospect of human extinction.
Discussion:
The Daily Caller, twitchy.com and Breitbart
Glenn Greenwald / The Intercept:
A Texas Elementary School Speech Pathologist Refused to Sign a Pro-Israel Oath, Now Mandatory in Many States — so She Lost Her Job — A children's speech pathologist who has worked for the last nine years with developmentally disabled, autistic, and speech-impaired elementary school students in Austin …
Discussion:
The Daily Beast, Hit & Run, Talking Points Memo and Splinter
Andrew Desiderio / The Daily Beast:
Comey Blasts GOP, ‘Lying’ Trump: ‘At Some Point Someone Has to Stand Up’ — “In the face of fear of Fox News, fear of their base, fear of mean tweets, stand up for the values of this country and not slink away into retirement,” the ex-FBI director said. — Former FBI Director James Comey went …
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Rebecca Morin / Politico:
Comey bashes GOP after latest closed-door hearing on Capitol Hill
Comey bashes GOP after latest closed-door hearing on Capitol Hill
Discussion:
Townhall, Daily Wire and Mediaite
Will Sommer / The Daily Beast:
Witches to Trump: Stop Calling the Mueller Investigation a ‘Witch Hunt’ — The witch community is tired of the president invoking the worst moment in their history to serve his political needs. — It may, on the surface, seem like a harmless way to trivialize Special Counsel Robert Mueller's investigation …
Discussion:
Daily Kos, Daily Wire, twitchy.com, The Daily Caller and Breitbart
RELATED:
Timothy L. O'Brien / Bloomberg:
How Donald Trump Got Caught in a Legal Vise
How Donald Trump Got Caught in a Legal Vise
Discussion:
Wired, Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion, POLITICUSUSA, Snopes.com, Washington Post, Daily Wire and New Republic
New York Times:
CBS Says Les Moonves Will Not Receive $120 Million Severance … CBS has undertaken a companywide re-evaluation in the wake of the #MeToo movement. — FINANCE — Wall Street Touches New 2018 Lows as Stock Market Decline Continues … New Criminal Charges Deepen Crisis for Goldman Sachs
Discussion:
The Daily Caller, more at Mediagazer »
Luciano Guerra / Washington Post:
I voted for Trump. Now his wall may destroy my butterfly paradise. — The Republican party is abandoning the conservative principles I treasured. — Right now, in Mission, Tex., we don't worry about immigrants who crossed the border illegally or drug smugglers.
Discussion:
Balloon Juice, Splinter and Raw Story
Tosten Burks / SPIN:
It Sounds Like Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey Really Mailed His Beard Hair to Azealia Banks — Vanity Fair's Nick Bilton dropped a parenthetical bombshell in his report today on how little Twitter's board of directors reportedly cares about CEO Jack Dorsey's public antics and college-stoner management style.
Associated Press:
US sportswear traced to factory in China's internment camps — HOTAN, China (AP) — Barbed wire and hundreds of cameras ring a massive compound of more than 30 dormitories, schools, warehouses and workshops in China's far west. Dozens of armed officers and a growling Doberman stand guard outside.
Discussion:
New York Times
Michael Sheetz / CNBC:
The stock market is on pace for its worst December since the Great Depression — Two benchmark U.S. stock indexes are careening toward a historically bad December. — Both the Dow Jones Industrial Average and the S&P 500 are on pace for their worst December performance since 1931 …
Discussion:
The Week
Aaron Blake / Washington Post:
Giuliani stumbles into admitting Trump's hush money payments were probably illegal — One comment Rudolph W. Giuliani made Sunday has been getting short shrift. In one fell swoop, he offered a false legal argument that both watered down the Trump team's previous denials and — most important …
Discussion:
AOL
NBC News:
New White House legal team gears up for House investigations — A team of four deputies will help White House Counsel Pat Cipollone navigate congressional inquiries into the administration. — WASHINGTON — A White House already sidetracked by special counsel Robert Mueller's probe …
Bryan Lowry / McClatchy Washington Bureau:
‘Purple’ Kansas? Former federal prosecutor mulls Senate run against Pat Roberts — Former U.S. Attorney for Kansas Barry Grissom — Sen. Pat Roberts looks vulnerable to Democrats — and some Republicans, and that's a big reason the 2020 race has quickly drawn a prominent potential challenger …
Discussion:
Political Wire
David Edwards / Raw Story:
Fox & Friends segment calls on Trump voters to each give $80 to fund the wall: 'It could be a people's wall' — A Fox & Friends segment on Monday suggested that each Trump voter should give $80 to fund the president's border wall even though he has promised Mexico would pay for it.
Lawrence S. Robbins / Politico:
How Trump Could Get Away With It — This weekend, President Donald Trump raged against Michael Cohen, calling his former lawyer and accuser a “rat” for cooperating with federal prosecutors. Cohen has accused Trump of directing him to make secret hush-money payments to two women …
Aidan McLaughlin / Mediaite:
Napolitano Corrects Wall Street Journal on Fox Business: FBI Agents Did Not Entrap Mike Flynn — Fox News senior judicial analyst Andrew Napolitano dismissed claims that FBI agents “entrapped” former national security adviser Michael Flynn when they interviewed him at the start of the Trump administration.
Discussion:
Washington Post, CNN and Raw Story
Alex Kotch / Sludge:
Democrats on Key Energy Subcommittees Have Financial Stakes in Oil and Gas Companies — Seven Democratic members of the House Energy Committee's Energy and Environment subcommittees collectively own at least $2.3 million worth of stock in the oil and gas industry. — EDITED BY
Alan Dershowitz / The Hill:
Did Michael Flynn lie? Or did the FBI act improperly? — The media is asking the wrong question about the Michael Flynn case. They are asking whether Flynn lied or the FBI acted improperly, as if the answers to those two questions are mutually exclusive.
Discussion:
Hot Air, The Last Refuge, Raw Story and Law & Crime
Cheryl Wischhover / Vox:
How spray-on hair does (and doesn't) work — In case Stephen Miller has you wondering. — On Sunday, White House senior adviser Stephen Miller appeared on Face the Nation. His contentious interview included the assertion that President Donald Trump was quite willing to shut down the government …
Discussion:
The Daily Beast, Esquire, twitchy.com and CBS News