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Trump Considering Full Withdrawal of U.S. Troops From Syria — WASHINGTON — President Trump is considering pulling 2,000 United States ground troops out of Syria in a move that would seek to describe the four-year American-led war against the Islamic State as largely won, officials said Wednesday.
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U.S. Military Preparing for a Full Withdrawal of Its Forces From Northeastern Syria — Move throws campaign against Islamic State into question — WASHINGTON—In an abrupt reversal, the U.S. military is preparing to withdraw its forces from northeastern Syria, people familiar with the matter …


Trump orders rapid withdrawal from Syria in apparent reversal — Washington (CNN)Planning is underway for a “full” and “rapid” withdrawal of US troops from Syria, a US defense official told CNN Wednesday. — The decision, which would be a reversal from previously stated US policy …
Discussion:
Mediaite, Jihad Watch, The Week and Reuters


Trump administration plans to pull U.S. troops from Syria immediately, defense official says — The Trump administration has decided to pull all U.S. troops out of Syria, a defense official said on Wednesday. — The official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss a decision …
Discussion:
Hill Reporter and Talking Points Memo


U.S. weighs complete withdrawal of troops from Syria: U.S. officials — WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The United States is considering a total withdrawal of U.S. forces from Syria as it nears the end of its campaign to retake all of the territory once held by Islamic State, U.S. officials told Reuters on Wednesday.
Discussion:
Washington Post, IJR and Mediaite

Pompeo to give Cairo address on U.S. role in Middle East
Discussion:
The American Conservative


Trump signed letter of intent for Trump Tower Moscow project despite Giuliani insisting he didn't — (CNN)A newly obtained document shows President Donald Trump signed a letter of intent to move forward with negotiations to build a Trump Tower in Russia, despite his attorney Rudy Giuliani claiming …
Discussion:
Axios, Vox, Talking Points Memo, Mediaite, The Independent, New York Post, Raw Story, Daily Kos, Hill Reporter, The Week, twitchy.com, Shakesville and AOL
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Rudy Giuliani admits President Trump signed ‘bulls—t’ letter of intent for Moscow tower during 2016 campaign — President Trump signed a “bulls—t” letter of intent to build a Trump Tower in Moscow during the 2016 campaign, Rudy Giuliani conceded Tuesday - just two days after the former …
Discussion:
Axios, Raw Story, ThinkProgress, Wonkette, Law & Crime, The Hill, The Root, Splinter, Washington Times, Talking Points Memo and Mediaite


Giuliani Walks It Back: Trump Signed ‘Bullsh*t’ Letter Of Intent For Moscow Tower
Discussion:
Balloon Juice


The Former National Security Advisor's Sentencing Hearing: Flynncompetent Judging — A number of years ago, a group of singing lawyers put together an excellent parody song about the egomania of federal district judges. Set to the tune of the old Turtles song, “Happy Together,” it opens: “Imagine me as God—I do.
Discussion:
Taylor Marsh, ABC News, WORLD, ThinkProgress, New York Times and Mediaite
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The Flynn Fiasco — A sentencing hearing devolves into a spectacle of misinformation. — By The Editorial Board — Well, that was bizarre. We're referring to the fiasco Tuesday of what was supposed to be the sentencing of Michael Flynn. The sentencing was postponed until next year …
Discussion:
Washington Examiner and Power Line



Reality deals more blows to Trump's alternative narrative
Discussion:
USA Today, Washington Post and Raw Story

'I'm not hiding my disgust, my disdain': Veteran judge upends hopes of Trump allies as he spotlights Flynn's misdeeds


As Facebook Raised a Privacy Wall, It Carved an Opening for Tech Giants — Internal documents show that the social network gave Microsoft, Amazon, Spotify and others far greater access to people's data than it has disclosed. — For years, Facebook gave some of the world's largest technology companies …
Discussion:
Politico, Vox, Washington Post, Fox News Insider, The Guardian, The Ringer, Raw Story, East Bay Times, The Daily Caller, WORLD, Investor's Business Daily, WCCO | CBS Minnesota, Shakesville, TVNewser, Sara A. Carter, Lawyers, Guns & Money, KTLA, Al Jazeera, CBS New York, Mashable, The Verge, Engadget, Breitbart, RAPPLER, New Republic, The Week, Mediaite and Meduza.io, more at Mediagazer »
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D.C. attorney general sues Facebook over alleged privacy violations from Cambridge Analytica scandal — The attorney general for the District of Columbia filed a lawsuit on Wednesday against Facebook for allowing Cambridge Analytica, a political consultancy, to gain access to the names …
Discussion:
Engadget, New York Times, Mashable, Vox and The Week, more at Techmeme »

Let's Clear Up a Few Things About Facebook's Partners
Discussion:
East Bay Times, TechCrunch, abc7chicago.com and AOL, more at Mediagazer »


In Party Switch, 3 Kansas Lawmakers Will Start The New Session As Democrats — When the Kansas state government reconvenes in January, three of its formerly Republican members will report as freshly minted Democrats. — The two state senators and one state representative, all women …
Discussion:
Shawnee Mission Post
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More Kansas lawmakers switch parties: Sykes, Clayton leave GOP, become Democrats — Two more Kansas lawmakers are leaving the Republican Party to become Democrats, shrinking the ranks of GOP moderates after the Legislature grew more conservative in the November election.
Discussion:
Axios and Shareblue Media


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 …


Cummings puts Trump on notice for wave of investigations — Democrats still have two weeks until they take control of the House, but a top Democratic investigator is already putting President Donald Trump on notice. — Incoming House Oversight and Government Reform Committee Chairman Elijah Cummings …
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Senate to pass bill that would keep government open, deny Trump wall funding — The Senate prepared Wednesday to pass a short-term spending bill that would keep the government open through the New Year but deny President Trump the money he wanted for his border wall — a stark retreat …
Discussion:
ABC News, Bloomberg, Politico, Talking Points Memo, Forbes, Axios, Daily Kos, The Gateway Pundit and Breitbart
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McConnell moves to avert shutdown disaster
Discussion:
The Hill, Breitbart, ABC News and Talking Points Memo


Federal judge strikes down Trump asylum rules for domestic and gang violence victims — In a ruling Wednesday, Judge Emmet Sullivan struck down large portions of Justice Department policies that made it harder for immigrants to claim asylum. — A federal judge on Wednesday dismissed Justice …
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Rep. Adam Schiff: If Michael Cohen Goes to Jail, Why Wouldn't Trump?
Discussion:
Washington Monthly


Hacked European Cables Reveal a World of Anxiety About Trump, Russia and Iran — WASHINGTON — Hackers infiltrated the European Union's diplomatic communications network for years, downloading thousands of cables that reveal concerns about an unpredictable Trump administration and struggles …
Discussion:
Politico, KXLF-TV, Raw Story, Bloomberg and EURACTIV.com, more at Techmeme »


Ousted NPR news chief, ex-Fox News execs team up on new site — One was ousted from NPR amid allegations of sexual harassment. The other left Fox News shortly after writing a column widely panned as racist and anti-gay. Now they've been recruited to help launch a digital news startup …
Discussion:
Talking Points Memo and Splinter, more at Mediagazer »


Why did Donald Trump's national security adviser want to meet with a Ukrainian billionaire? — An aide to National Security Adviser John Bolton sought to schedule a meeting for him with a Ukrainian billionaire Victor Pinchuk during Bolton's official trip to Ukraine last August …
Discussion:
Bloomberg, ThinkProgress and POLITICUSUSA


Revealed: Antifa Leader Relied On Anonymity To Push Radical, Violent Communist Agenda — Editor's note: The subject of this story is being identified because he's pushed radical rhetoric and has advocated for politically-motivated violence from behind a mask.
Discussion:
Instapundit


Warning To Democrats: Most Americans Against U.S. Getting More Politically Correct — Heading into the 2020 Democratic primaries, a new NPR/PBS NewsHour/Marist poll has a warning for Democrats: Americans are largely against the country becoming more politically correct.
Discussion:
Splinter, No More Mister Nice Blog and Roll Call

Temporary Newsperson, Politics … The Associated Press is the essential global news network, delivering fast, unbiased news from every corner of the world to all media platforms and formats. Founded in 1846, AP today is the largest and most trusted source of independent news and information.


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 Daily Caller


FT Person of the Year: George Soros — For a man facing daily attacks for his activism and liberal vision of the world, George Soros was in a curiously buoyant mood on a sunswept afternoon in Marrakesh. He had just visited South Africa, home to his first philanthropic foray in the late 1970s …
Discussion:
Breitbart and Talking Points Memo


Is the Working Class in Crisis? — There is a growing consensus that the working class is in crisis following years of difficult economic change and due in part to their being ignored by Washington. This view has been considerably strengthened in the conservative movement and within …
Discussion:
Mother Jones and Bloomberg


Nevada and Idaho Are the Nation's Fastest-Growing States — DEC. 19, 2018 — The U.S. population grew by 0.6 percent and Nevada and Idaho were the nation's fastest-growing states between July 1, 2017, and July 1, 2018. Both states' populations increased by about 2.1 percent in the last year alone.
Discussion:
Bloomberg and Capitol Fax.com


Exclusive: Nation of Islam receiving federal cash to teach prisoners — The Nation of Islam and its leaders have received hundreds of thousands of dollars from the U.S. government since 2008 to teach religious study programs for federal prison inmates, according to records reviewed by the Washington Examiner.
Discussion:
Daily Wire, Washington Free Beacon, The Daily Caller and Geller Report


Trump's Tweets Force CNN, MSNBC To Finally Discuss Flaws In The Steele Dossier — CNN and MSNBC interviewed veteran reporter Michael Isikoff on Tuesday about his recent comments undercutting the infamous Steele dossier. — Isikoff's appearances on the networks appears to have been spurred …
Discussion:
Conservative News Today, The Gateway Pundit and Mediaite