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10:35 PM ET, December 19, 2018

memeorandum

 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.
RELATED:
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.”
Washington Post:
Trump snubs Corker, as critics and allies alike lambaste Syria decision
Dion Nissenbaum / Wall Street Journal:
U.S. Military Preparing for a Full Withdrawal of Its Forces From Northeastern Syria
TASS:
US troops' withdrawal from Syria to create prospects for political solution, says diplomat
Discussion: Breaking Defense
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 …
RELATED:
Zoe Tillman / BuzzFeed News:
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
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.
RELATED:
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.
Washington Post:   We were FBI agents. We want to know why Flynn lied to the bureau.
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: Law & Crime and Political Wire
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
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 …
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 …
Wall Street Journal:
Trump's Attorney General Pick Criticized an Aspect of Mueller Probe in Memo to Justice Department  —  William Barr said obstruction of justice inquiry by special counsel is ‘fatally misconceived’  —  WASHINGTON—William Barr, President Trump's choice for attorney general …
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
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?
RELATED:
Michele Anderson:
Der Spiegel journalist messed with the wrong small town
RELATED:
Nancy Cook / Politico:
Mick Mulvaney as chief of staff: Let Trump be Trump
Discussion: ABC News
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
Discussion: Splinter, Raw Story and Vox
Pete Kasperowicz / Washington Examiner:
Jeff Flake strikes out: Senate blocks his third push to protect Robert Mueller
Discussion: Axios
Joe Simonson / The Daily Caller:
The New York Times Had Special Access To Facebook Data Without Users' Knowledge  —  The New York Times was one of the companies that had access to private user data from Facebook, a key point brushed over in a report released by the paper.  —  While the Tuesday bombshell focused …
RELATED:
Washington Post:
D.C. attorney general sues Facebook over alleged privacy violations from Cambridge Analytica scandal
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 …
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:
Washington Post:
Attorneys for father of deceased migrant girl say border agents did not provide water
Discussion: Daily Kos, HuffPost and BuzzFeed News
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) …
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: Splinter 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 …
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.”
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
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.
Discussion: Raw Story and The Root
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 …
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 …
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
 
 
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 More Items: 
Washington Post:
Blackwater security guard convicted in 2007 Iraqi civilian massacre at third U.S. trial
C.J. Ciaramella / Hit & Run:
Syracuse Cops Force Doctors to Probe a Man's Rectum for Drugs, Then Bill the Man For It
Avery Miller / ABC News:
Sen. Jeff Merkley: Family on board for a 2020 presidential run and he won't defer to Sen. Bernie Sanders
Discussion: Political Wire
Splinter:
Documents: ICE, CBP Seize Billions In Assets Including Human Remains
Los Angeles Times:
Democrats' House takeover could mean big changes for California water policy
 Earlier Items: 
Caleb Howe / Mediaite:
Eric Bolling Signs Long-Term Deal with Newly Formed Blaze Media
Laura Miller / Slate:
Why Alice Walker Got All That Space in the Times to Tout the Anti-Semitic Lizard People Guy
Associated Press:
North Carolina officials sought to charge political operator
Discussion: ThinkProgress
New York Times:
Illinois Attorney General Says Catholic Church Withheld Names of at Least 500 Accused Priests
Discussion: The Week
Karen K. Ho / Columbia Journalism Review:
Sinclair fires reporter as she battles cancer
Discussion: Wonkette and AOL
Jennifer Rubin / Washington Post:
Why not indict the Trump Organization?
 

 
From Techmeme:

Wall Street Journal:
Gina Raimondo says holding back China in the chips race is a “fool's errand”, and investment, more than export controls, will keep US ahead of Beijing

Timothy B. Lee / Ars Technica:
Exploring the scaling challenges of transformer-based LLMs in efficiently processing large amounts of text, as well as potential solutions, such as RAG systems

Reuters:
Albania bans TikTok for a year from January 2025, part of a broader plan to make schools safer following the killing of a 14-year-old near a school in November
 
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