Top Items:
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 …
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Vox, Politico, RedState, New Republic, HuffPost, New York Magazine, The Daily Beast, Washington Times, The Daily Caller, The Guardian, Raw Story, Shakesville, Talking Points Memo, The Federalist, CNBC, KXLF-TV, The Week, Mediaite and NBC News
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Laura Jarrett / CNN:
Exclusive: Whitaker told he does not need to recuse himself from overseeing Mueller investigation — (CNN)Acting Attorney General Matt Whitaker has consulted with ethics officials at the Justice Department and they have advised him he does not need to recuse himself from overseeing special …
Discussion:
Axios, Talking Points Memo, CNBC and The Week
Charlie Savage / New York Times:
Trump's Attorney General Nominee Criticized Russia Investigation
Discussion:
Axios and Law & Crime
Fox News:
Acting AG Matthew Whitaker cleared to oversee Trump-Russia investigation, source says
Discussion:
The Gateway Pundit, Chicks On The Right and Dan Bongino
Tierney Sneed / Talking Points Memo:
READ: William Barr's Memo Bashing Robert Mueller's Obstruction Probe
Discussion:
Raw Story
Andrew E. Kramer / New York Times:
Vladimir Putin Welcomes U.S. Withdrawal From Syria — MOSCOW — President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia on Thursday welcomed President Trump's announcement of a withdrawal of American troops from Syria, calling it “the right decision.” — Mr. Trump said on Wednesday that he was ordering …
Discussion:
Mother Jones, United States Senator …, The Hill, Boing Boing, Shakesville, Althouse, Jewish Insider, Politico, The Week, ThinkProgress and Talking Points Memo
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Anton Troianovski / Washington Post:
Putin backs Trump's move to withdraw U.S. troops from Syria, says Islamic State dealt ‘serious blows’ — MOSCOW — Russian President Vladimir Putin praised President Trump's decision to withdraw U.S. troops from Syria, describing the American presence there as illegitimate and the Islamic State as largely defeated on the ground.
Karen DeYoung / Washington Post:
Trump's decision to withdraw U.S. troops from Syria startles aides and allies — In April, President Trump repeated his campaign promise to end U.S. military involvement in Syria. “I want to get out,” he said. “I want to bring our troops back home.” — In September, senior administration aides …
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ThinkProgress, Talking Points Memo, The Daily Beast, Axios, Washington Examiner, CNN, The Resurgent, NBC News, Daily Wire, Hot Air, Washington Free Beacon, Fox News, Middle East Eye, Al Jazeera, Foreign Policy, New York Times, Wonkette, Just Security, POLITICUSUSA, The Week, Mediaite and Florida Politics, more at Mediagazer »
Melissa Healy / Los Angeles Times:
More than 15% of childhood deaths in America are due to guns, study says — More than 3,000 children and adolescents died of a gunshot wound in the United States in 2016, a new tally of childhood deaths finds. These episodes accounted for 15.4% of all Americans between the ages of 1 and 19 …
Washington Post:
Mattis, once one of ‘my generals,’ loses his influence with Trump
Discussion:
Politico, Associated Press, Shareblue Media, Task & Purpose, CNN, Vox, One America News Network, Hot Air, Raw Story, Wonkette, Hill Reporter, ThinkProgress and Daily Kos
Jonathan Allen / NBC News:
With 2020 Democrats waiting in the wings, Trump's latest moves go beyond his base
Discussion:
Washington Free Beacon, MSNBC, Mediaite and twitchy.com
New York Times:
Kurdish Fighters Discuss Releasing Almost 3,200 ISIS Prisoners
Discussion:
Task & Purpose, Breitbart and National Review
Caitlin Oprysko / Politico:
Trump defends surprise Syria withdrawal despite withering GOP criticism
Discussion:
Washington Post and ABC News
Emily Cochrane / New York Times:
Conservative Revolt Endangers Deal to Avoid a Shutdown — WASHINGTON — A deal to avert a Christmastime government shutdown teetered on Thursday amid growing anger from President Trump and a conservative revolt in the House that could block a bill to keep funds flowing past midnight Friday.
Discussion:
ABC News, Mediaite, Townhall, Talking Points Memo, Breitbart and Contemptor
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John Bresnahan / Politico:
Chaos in House as battle over wall upends shutdown talks — The House Republican caucus was thrown into chaos Thursday as conservatives revolted against a funding bill that includes no new money for President Donald Trump's border wall. — On the brink of a Christmastime shutdown …
Discussion:
ThinkProgress, Breitbart, Outside the Beltway, IJR, Roll Call and Politico
Washington Post:
Trump ‘at this moment’ opposes deal to avert shutdown, wants more border funding
Discussion:
Vox, Wall Street Journal and Wonkette
Associated Press:
Democrats to Start Presidential Primary Debates in June 2019 — (AP) — Democrats will hold at least a dozen presidential primary debates starting in June 2019 and running through April 2020, with party Chairman Tom Perez promising rules that will give everyone in a potentially large field a fair shot at voters' attention.
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Alex Thompson / Politico:
Perez nixes ‘undercard’ debates for 2020 primary — With the prospect of upwards of 20 Democrats running for president in 2020, Democratic National Committee Chairman Tom Perez announced on Thursday that the party would split up candidates by random selection and host debates on consecutive nights if there were too many candidates.
Gabriel Debenedetti / New York Magazine:
The Democratic Party Is Getting Ready for a Very Messy 2020 Primary Race
Discussion:
POLITICUSUSA
Sam Stein / The Daily Beast:
Democrats Plan Two Night Debate Events For Massive 2020 Field
Discussion:
Axios
Kim Tong-Hyung / Associated Press:
N. Korea says it won't denuclearize unless US removes threat — SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — North Korea said Thursday it will never unilaterally give up its nuclear weapons unless the United States removes its nuclear threat first, a statement that raises further doubts on whether leader Kim Jong Un …
Discussion:
New Republic, The Resurgent, Shakesville, Mediaite and The Week
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Min Joo Kim / Washington Post:
North Korea rejects denuclearization unless U.S. ‘nuclear threat’ is eliminated
Discussion:
Outside the Beltway
Michele Anderson:
Der Spiegel journalist messed with the wrong small town — In February 2017, my husband and I attended a concert at our local theater, and were sipping some wine in the lobby before the show started. Several people came up to us at separate times excitedly, and asked, “did you meet the German guy yet?!”
Discussion:
New York Times, BBC, The American Conservative, Spiegel Online and Instapundit, more at Mediagazer »
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Lukas Mikelionis / Fox News:
Writer touted by CNN as ‘Journalist of the Year’ forced to resign for fabricating stories
Discussion:
Townhall, CNN, Geller Report and Dan Bongino
Kate Connolly / The Guardian:
Der Spiegel says top journalist faked stories for years
Discussion:
The Federalist, Hollywood Reporter, The Wrap, NPR, The Daily Caller, twitchy.com, Samizdata and National Post
Anne Flaherty / ABC News:
DHS Secretary Nielsen says asylum seekers will be forced to wait in Mexico — The U.S. has reached a deal with the Mexican government to force asylum seekers at its southern border to remain in Mexico while they wait to bring their case before an American immigration judge, the Trump administration announced Thursday.
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Dara Lind / Vox:
Trump is officially turning back all asylum seekers who come to the US through Mexico
Discussion:
Axios and Associated Press
HuffPost:
And What Can You Say About Paul Ryan? — How much time do you have? — WASHINGTON Paul Ryan was furious. — He'd been caught in a trap lured into an auditorium by the promise of a speech about fiscal responsibility. Instead, President Barack Obama was lecturing the crowd …
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Jonathan Bernstein / Bloomberg:
So Long Paul Ryan, You Won't Be Missed
Discussion:
Townhall, Washington Post, Raw Story and Speaker.gov
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:
Conservative News Today, Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion, Althouse, Front Page Magazine, The Daily Caller and Daily Wire
Ben Schreckinger / Politico:
‘Oh, no’: The day Trump learned to tweet — The content of the tweet @RealDonaldTrump posted on the night of Feb. 5, 2013, was bland: a simple thank you to the actress Sherri Shepherd for flattering comments she'd made about Trump on television. — But its implications were historic.
Washington Post:
Trump administration aims to toughen work requirements for food stamp recipients — The Trump administration unveiled a plan Thursday to force hundreds of thousands more Americans to hold jobs if they want to keep receiving food stamps, pursuing through executive powers what it could not achieve in Congress.
Discussion:
The Week, Hill Reporter and Axios
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David Sirota / The Guardian:
Beto O'Rourke frequently voted for Republican legislation, analysis reveals — Review of his six-year record in Congress shows Democrat frequently opposed own party, and supported bills that boosted the fossil fuel industry and Trump's immigration policy — Beto O'Rourke's spirited run …
Discussion:
KABE-LP
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Jamelle Bouie / Slate:
Republican Leadership Is Slowly Backing Away From Trump — Trump's popularity with voters is only one part of the picture. Leaders within the GOP are clearly hedging their bets as 2020 approaches. — “The Wall” began as just a slogan. By the end of the 2016 presidential campaign …
Discussion:
Shareblue Media, Mediaite, Raw Story, HuffPost, Washington Post and Hullabaloo
CNN:
House Intelligence panel votes to send Roger Stone transcript to Mueller — Rep. Himes: Concerned about Stone's honesty — (CNN)The House Intelligence Committee voted Thursday to send the transcript of its 2017 interview with Roger Stone to special counsel Robert Mueller, according to two sources familiar with the matter.
Discussion:
Hill Reporter, Raw Story, Hullabaloo and KXLF-TV
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Charles M. Blow / New York Times:
It Is So Much Worse Than I Thought — How can a family that can't run a charity run a country? — I will be going on book leave soon — today is my last column for a while because of the holiday schedule — to write what I believe to be the most important thing that I've ever written.
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