Top Items:
New York Times:
Trump Withdraws U.S. Forces From Syria, Declaring ‘We Have Won Against ISIS’ — WASHINGTON — President Trump has ordered the withdrawal of 2,000 American troops from Syria, bringing a sudden end to a military campaign that largely vanquished the Islamic State but ceding a strategically vital country to Russia and Iran.
Discussion:
National Review, The Times of Israel, CBS News, Washington Post, Vox, Al Jazeera, Breitbart, CNN, Observer, NPR, Raw Story, The Atlantic, Townhall, The Defense Post, The Gateway Pundit, Test Feed Using Fields, CNBC, Common Dreams, WORLD, Hit & Run, Middle East Eye, Conservative Review, Roll Call, Mediaite, Bloomberg, FDD's Long War Journal, One America News Network, twitchy.com, The Week, The DC Chronicle, NY State of Politics, Commentary, New Republic, Balloon Juice, Outside the Beltway, Daily Kos, Jewish Insider and Talking Points Memo
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Washington Post:
Mattis, once one of ‘my generals,’ loses his influence with Trump — President Trump's decision to abruptly withdraw troops from Syria is a clear rebuke to Defense Secretary Jim Mattis, the last remaining member of a retinue of military men Trump once fondly called “my generals.”
Discussion:
Hill Reporter, Washington Free Beacon and Axios
Josh Rogin / Washington Post:
Trump undermines his entire national security team on Syria
Trump undermines his entire national security team on Syria
Discussion:
ThinkProgress, ABC News, New York Times, Axios, Breitbart, Raw Story and Balloon Juice
Washington Post:
Trump snubs Corker, as critics and allies alike lambaste Syria decision
Trump snubs Corker, as critics and allies alike lambaste Syria decision
Discussion:
Bloomberg, Politico, Political Wire and NBC News
Karen DeYoung / Washington Post:
Trump's decision to withdraw U.S. troops from Syria startles aides and allies
Trump's decision to withdraw U.S. troops from Syria startles aides and allies
Discussion:
ABC News, New York Times and USA Today
Eli Lake / Bloomberg:
Trump Courts Catastrophe in Syria
Trump Courts Catastrophe in Syria
Discussion:
Hill Reporter, Hot Air, Instapundit, New York Times and Raw Story
Dion Nissenbaum / Wall Street Journal:
U.S. Military Preparing for a Full Withdrawal of Its Forces From Northeastern Syria
U.S. Military Preparing for a Full Withdrawal of Its Forces From Northeastern Syria
Discussion:
CNN, Washington Post, NBC News, Hit & Run, Politico, Washington Free Beacon, Axios, Splinter, Raw Story, ThinkProgress, Vox, Jihad Watch, The Defense Post, Breitbart, The Week, fox8.com, Task & Purpose, The Mahablog, Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion, Mediaite, RedState, The American Conservative, Mother Jones, Daily Wire, Townhall, Talking Points Memo and Military Times, more at Mediagazer »
TASS:
US troops' withdrawal from Syria to create prospects for political solution, says diplomat
US troops' withdrawal from Syria to create prospects for political solution, says diplomat
Discussion:
Breaking Defense
Spencer Ackerman / The Daily Beast:
U.S. Officials Try to Slow Trump's ‘Everybody Out’ of Syria Order
U.S. Officials Try to Slow Trump's ‘Everybody Out’ of Syria Order
Discussion:
Raw Story, Washington Free Beacon and The Week
Chuck Ross / The Daily Caller:
BREAKING: John McCain Associate Gave Dossier To BuzzFeed — A longtime associate of late Republican Arizona Sen. John McCain provided a copy of the infamous Steele dossier to BuzzFeed News, according to an explosive court filing released Wednesday. — David Kramer, a former State Department official …
Discussion:
The Gateway Pundit, more at Mediagazer »
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Zoe Tillman / BuzzFeed News:
BuzzFeed News Has Won A Lawsuit Over Its Decision To Publish The Trump Dossier
BuzzFeed News Has Won A Lawsuit Over Its Decision To Publish The Trump Dossier
Discussion:
Townhall
Haley Britzky / Axios:
Judge sides with BuzzFeed in defamation lawsuit over Steele Dossier
Judge sides with BuzzFeed in defamation lawsuit over Steele Dossier
Discussion:
New York Times and Deadline
emptywheel:
In Defense of Emmet Sullivan: Van Grack Suggested Mueller Did Review Whether Flynn's Behavior Amounted to Treason — I'd like to defend Judge Emmet Sullivan's intemperate mentions of unregistered foreign agents and treason in the Mike Flynn sentencing hearing yesterday.
Discussion:
National Review, CANNONFIRE, Raw Story, Lawyers, Guns & Money, Taylor Marsh and The Atlantic
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Michael Ledeen / Wall Street Journal:
The Real Story of the Flynn Hearing — 'I've never presided over a treasonous offense and couldn't tell you what the elements are anyway.' — The dramatic Tuesday hearing for former national security adviser Mike Flynn didn't produce a sentence. Instead, Judge Emmet Sullivan gave Mr. Flynn a delay to reconsider his options.
New York Times:
Secret Experiment in Alabama Senate Race Imitated Russian Tactics — As Russia's online election machinations came to light last year, a group of Democratic tech experts decided to try out similarly deceptive tactics in the fiercely contested Alabama Senate race, according to people familiar with the effort and a report on its results.
Discussion:
Daily Wire
Wall Street Journal:
Trump Testimony From Decades Ago Indicates Knowledge of Campaign-Finance Laws — Legal experts say that could be critical if investigators pursue a case over hush-money payments to women in the 2016 campaign — Sworn statements by President Trump dating back several decades indicate …
Discussion:
Political Wire and Law & Crime
Washington Post:
Mueller seeks Roger Stone's testimony to House intelligence panel, suggesting special counsel is near end of probe of Trump adviser — Special counsel Robert S. Mueller III asked the House Intelligence Committee on Friday for an official transcript of Trump adviser Roger Stone's testimony …
Discussion:
Raw Story, Talking Points Memo, Townhall, POLITICUSUSA, The Week, Law & Crime, Political Wire, Mediaite and Shareblue Media
Anna Massoglia / OpenSecrets.org:
Trump 2020 campaign used a shell company to pay ad buyers at the center of alleged illegal coordination scheme with NRA — The Trump campaign funneled money to ad buyers alleged to have facilitated illegal coordination between the campaign and the NRA by routing funds through a secretive LLC …
Page Six:
Rudy Giuliani spotted chuckling about Mueller investigation — Turns out Rudy Giuliani isn't any more discreet about his biggest client's case at his local cigar club than he is on cable news. — Giuliani — who, for an active attorney, is surprisingly open about the Mueller investigation on TV …
Discussion:
Raw Story
ClickHole:
Legal Bombshell: Mueller Flipped Trump's Confidant's Lawyer's Friend's Associate Gorpman (Who Could Testify Against Bleemer!) And It's Not Even Lunchtime — The day's just getting started, and the Trump house of cards is already crumbling. This morning, Special Counsel Robert Mueller dropped …
Discussion:
The Week
RELATED:
Eliana Johnson / Politico:
‘It got a little heated’: GOP infighting almost killed criminal justice reform
‘It got a little heated’: GOP infighting almost killed criminal justice reform
Pete Kasperowicz / Washington Examiner:
Jeff Flake strikes out: Senate blocks his third push to protect Robert Mueller
Jeff Flake strikes out: Senate blocks his third push to protect Robert Mueller
Discussion:
Axios
Derek Hunter / The Daily Caller:
Coulter Unloads: ‘A Joke Presidency’ That ‘Scammed The American People’ With Promises Of A Wall — On today's podcast we cover a lot of ground. Bestselling author Ann Coulter talks about the apparent walk-back of President Donald Trump's demand for $5 billion to build the border wall …
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Kaitlan Collins / CNN:
Trump sensitive to criticism about so-far failed border wall promise
Trump sensitive to criticism about so-far failed border wall promise
Discussion:
Hot Air and Hullabaloo
Spiegel Online:
Answers to the Most Important Questions — In recent years, DER SPIEGEL published just under 60 articles by reporter and editor Claas Relotius. He has now admitted that, in several instances, he either invented stories or distorted facts. — What happened?
Discussion:
The Guardian, BBC, The Daily Caller, Samizdata, twitchy.com and National Post, more at Mediagazer »
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Brian X. Chen / New York Times:
How to Delete Facebook — Lost faith in Facebook after data leakages, breaches and too much noise? Here's a guide to breaking up with the social network and its photo-sharing app for good. — You may have decided enough is enough: It's time to delete Facebook.
Discussion:
NewsBusters, Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion and twitchy.com, more at Mediagazer »
RELATED:
Joe Simonson / The Daily Caller:
The New York Times Had Special Access To Facebook Data Without Users' Knowledge
The New York Times Had Special Access To Facebook Data Without Users' Knowledge
Discussion:
The Daily Beast, New York Times, CBC News and KXLF-TV, more at Techmeme »
NBC News:
United States added to list of most dangerous countries for journalists for first time — At least 63 professional journalists were killed doing their jobs in 2018, a 15 percent increase over last year, Reporters Without Borders said. — PARIS — The murder of the Saudi columnist Jamal Khashoggi …
Discussion:
The Hill, twitchy.com, TIME, National Review, Fortune, Breitbart and The Daily Caller
Adolfo Flores / BuzzFeed News:
A 5-Month-Old Girl Has Been Hospitalized With Pneumonia After Being Detained By Border Patrol — A five-month-old girl who traveled with the migrant caravan has been hospitalized with pneumonia after spending five days inside freezing cells operated by border authorities in California, her mother said.
Discussion:
Splinter
RELATED:
Heather Long / Washington Post:
Federal Reserve cuts its outlook for U.S. economy; stocks plunge — The Federal Reserve raised short-term interest rates Wednesday, a widely expected move that President Trump has called “foolish” but that the central bank felt was necessary to keep the U.S. economy thriving.
Discussion:
The Week
RELATED:
Jeff Cox / CNBC:
Fed hikes rate, lowers 2019 projection to 2 increases
Fed hikes rate, lowers 2019 projection to 2 increases
Discussion:
Board of Governors … and The Week
Eliza Dushku / BostonGlobe.com:
I worked at CBS. I didn't want to be sexually harassed. I was fired — The narrative propagated by CBS, actor Michael Weatherly, and writer-producer Glenn Gordon Caron is deceptive and in no way fits with how they treated me on the set of the television show “Bull” and retaliated …
Discussion:
East Bay Times, KXLF-TV, Deadline, AOL and IndieWire, more at Mediagazer »
Helena Andrews-Dyer / Washington Post:
Barack Obama dons a Santa hat and hands out gifts in surprise visit to D.C. children's hospital — Watch out, Santa: Former president Barack Obama is coming for your sleigh. — With a fluffy red cap and a bulging bag slung over his shoulder, Obama delivered presents (and more than a few gasps) …
Albert Burneko / The Concourse:
Visionary Brain Genius Elon Musk Has Invented The World's Worst And Most Expensive Subway — If you are anything like me, many times you have been riding the subway and have had the thought, “What is wrong with this dang subway is that it is not exponentially more expensive and slower than this.”
Discussion:
Los Angeles Times, Breitbart and Capitol Fax.com
Dan Mangan / CNBC:
New secret filing in case of former Trump lawyer Michael Cohen placed in NY federal court vault — A document that is sealed from public view was placed in a New York federal court vault in a criminal case against President Donald Trump's former lawyer Michael Cohen.
Zach Baron / GQ:
The Fresno Bee and the War on Local News — Local newspapers like The Fresno Bee have long been an endangered institution in America, and that was before California Rep. Devin Nunes began waging a public campaign against his hometown paper. Zach Baron spent time with the reporters fighting …
Carrie Levine / Center for Public Integrity:
Wilbur Ross said he divested a stock holding — but he didn't — Failure to dump BankUnited shares is the latest inaccurate statement by Trump's Commerce secretary. — U.S. Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross twice submitted sworn statements to ethics officials saying he had divested stock …
Discussion:
The Week
David M. Drucker / Washington Examiner:
South Carolina GOP could scrap 2020 primary to protect Trump — The South Carolina Republican Party could cancel its marquee presidential nominating contest in 2020 in a move to protect President Trump from any primary challengers. — Drew McKissick, chairman of the South Carolina GOP …
Discussion:
Hot Air, New Republic, Hullabaloo, Splinter, Raw Story, No More Mister Nice Blog, CNN, IJR, Hill Reporter and Politico
Rebecca Traister / The Cut:
The Imagined Threat of a Woman Who Governs Like a Man — On Tuesday, Politico posted a provocative, anonymously sourced piece claiming that New York congresswoman elect Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez might be planning, in concert with Justice Democrats, to recruit a Democratic primary challenger …
Discussion:
The Wrap, IJR, twitchy.com and Observer