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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 …
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Breitbart, 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 …
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ThinkProgress, Hill Reporter, Raw Story, Talking Points Memo and The Guardian


U.S. weighs complete withdrawal of troops from Syria: U.S. officials
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Washington Post, Shakesville, IJR and Mediaite


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 …
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Axios, Mediaite, Vox, The Independent, Talking Points Memo, New York Post, Daily Kos, Hill Reporter, Raw Story, twitchy.com, The Week, 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 …
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Politico, 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
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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.
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Media Matters for America, Taylor Marsh, ABC News, WORLD, ThinkProgress and Mediaite
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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.



The Flynn Fiasco — A sentencing hearing devolves into a spectacle of misinformation.
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Washington Examiner and Power Line

Reality deals more blows to Trump's alternative narrative
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USA Today, Washington Post and CNBC


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 …
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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 …
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Engadget, The Week, The Daily Caller, New York Times, Mashable and Vox, more at Techmeme »

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


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 …


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 …
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Shawnee Mission Post
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More Kansas lawmakers switch parties: Sykes, Clayton leave GOP, become Democrats
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Axios and Shareblue Media

Kansas Sen. Dinah Sykes, Rep. Stephanie Clayton flip from Republican to Democrat
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Raw Story and Political Wire


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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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 …
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Is Trump Blowing His Last Chance To Get The Wall?
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Townhall, Mediaite, Fox News Insider and Hot Air

McConnell moves to avert shutdown disaster
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The Hill, Breitbart, twitchy.com and ABC News


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
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Rep. Adam Schiff: If Michael Cohen Goes to Jail, Why Wouldn't Trump?
Discussion:
Washington Monthly


Fed hikes rate, lowers 2019 projection to 2 increases — Central bank officials now forecast two hikes next year, down from three rate raises previously projected. — However, the Fed continued to include in its statement that further ‘gradual’ rate hikes would be appropriate.
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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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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


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 …
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Vox, Politico, The Guardian, Reuters, Raw Story, Bloomberg, KXLF-TV and EURACTIV.com, more at Techmeme »


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


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:
Splinter and Talking Points Memo, more at Mediagazer »

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.


U.S. Treasury Levies Fresh Sanctions Against Russian Agents for 2016 U.S. Election Interference And Nerve-Agent Attack — *U.S. Treasury Also Cites Russian Government Interference in Elections Worldwide In New Sanctions — *U.S. Treasury Blacklists Two Russian Companies For Alleged Role in Election Interference

Treasury Targets Russian Operatives over Election Interference, World Anti-Doping Agency Hacking, and Other Malign Activities — Washington - Today, the U.S. Department of the Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) took action in response to Russia's continued disregard for international norms.
Discussion:
The Verge