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12:10 PM ET, December 21, 2018

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 Top Items: 
Axios:
Pre-Christmas Trump: Rebuked, rampaging  —  The last member of an informal alliance of top Trump officials with enough swat or stature to stand up to President Trump — the Committee to Save America, as Jim VandeHei and I called these officials 16 months ago — resigned in epic fashion.
RELATED:
Axios:
What should worry Trump most: Republican allies are turning on him  —  Another reason this is a historic week — and what President Trump should really worry about — is that lots of different Republicans have been turning on him over different topics.  —  Why it matters: A former Trump aide …
Helene Cooper / New York Times:
Jim Mattis, Defense Secretary, Resigns in Rebuke of Trump's Worldview  —  WASHINGTON — Defense Secretary Jim Mattis, whose experience and stability were widely seen as a balance to an unpredictable president, resigned Thursday in protest of President Trump's decision to withdraw American forces …
Ken Meyer / Mediaite:
Brian Kilmeade Goes Off on Sarah Sanders Over Syria: Trump Just ‘Refounded ISIS’ By Leaving  —  Brian Kilmeade grilled Sarah Huckabee Sanders on Friday by saying President Trump essentially “refounded ISIS” if he pulls the U.S. military out of Syria.  —  The White House press secretary gave …
Discussion: Taylor Marsh and Joe.My.God.
Colby Hall / Mediaite:
Maggie Haberman: ‘Disgusted’ Republicans Now Privately Admitting They Regret Supporting Trump  —  New York Times reporter and CNN contributor Maggie Haberman appeared on New Day Friday morning and revealed insight into the current turmoil in Washington D.C.  —  In light of the many issues challenging …
Discussion: The Week
Washington Post:
‘A tailspin’: Under siege, Trump propels the government and markets into crisis  —  President Trump began Thursday under siege, listening to howls of indignation from conservatives over his border wall and thrusting the government toward a shutdown.  He ended it by announcing the exit …
Jamie Ross / The Daily Beast:
Trump Already Souring on Next Chief of Staff Mick Mulvaney Over ‘Terrible Human Being’ Jibe, Says Report  —  Donald Trump is reportedly already turning on Mick Mulvaney—who hasn't even started his new job as acting White House chief of staff yet—due to a two-year-old video uncovered by The Daily Beast …
Discussion: The Resurgent and POLITICUSUSA
The Daily Beast:
Fear Mounts as Mattis Quits Pentagon  —  Mattis bent the knee to Trump on the border stunt, Yemen war, and transgender troop ban.  National security professionals worry that his Pentagon replacement will be far worse.  —  Sometime during the “fire and fury” summer of 2017 …
Eli Lake / Bloomberg:
Mattis Puts Trump's Presidency in Peril  —  This resignation stings because it's not about policy, it's about values.  —  Donald Trump may not know it yet, but his presidency is collapsing.  —  His tweets Thursday announcing the resignation of Defense Secretary James Mattis by the end of February were polite and respectful.
Discussion: Jewish Insider
Associated Press:
Analysis: As advisers leave, Trump's guardrails come off  —  WASHINGTON (AP) — Last year, during one particularly frenetic stretch in Donald Trump's presidency, a top Republican senator said there were three men guarding the country from chaos: Defense Secretary Jim Mattis …
Discussion: The Week and Politico
Susan B. Glasser / New Yorker:
The Year in Trump Freakouts
Discussion: The Atlantic
Timothy L. O'Brien / Bloomberg:
Jim Mattis Leaves the Kids in Charge at Trump's White House
Ken Meyer / Mediaite:
Kilmeade Blasts Trump's Syria Withdrawal: We're Abandoning Kurds Who are ‘Three Weeks from Total Slaughter’
Discussion: Splinter
Fred Kaplan / Slate:
The Last Grown-Up Is Gone  —  James Mattis is not “retiring with distinction.”
RELATED:
Dan Crenshaw / Washington Post:
Why guys like me go to places like Syria  —  Dan Crenshaw, a former Navy SEAL, is a Republican representative-elect from Texas.  —  President Trump's announcement to withdraw troops completely from Syria comes on the heels of a long-standing political debate over the “right” level of military involvement overseas.
Discussion: Townhall, Washington Times and Politico
Joyce Karam / The National:   Trump decided to leave Syria after call with Erdogan, says US defence official
Erin Dunne / Washington Examiner:
In leaving Syria, the US sells out its Kurdish allies to bloodthirsty Turkey
Hugh Hewitt / Washington Post:   In withdrawing from Syria, Trump makes a major error
Washington Post:   Turkish president announces delay of planned offensive in Syria, welcomes Trump decision to pull out troops
Julia Ioffe / Washington Post:
Please don't wish me ‘Merry Christmas’  —  It's impolite and alienating to assume I follow your religion.  —  'Twas five nights before Christmas, and my Lyft driver was the umpteenth person to wish me a “Merry Christmas” that day.  He probably just meant it the way most people do …
Discussion: twitchy.com
Jeffrey Goldberg / The Atlantic:
Mattis Always Understood Trump's Severe Defects  —  In the spring of 2016, not long after The Atlantic published an article I had written about President Obama's foreign-policy record, I visited the Hoover Institution, a think tank on the campus of Stanford University, where James Mattis …
Discussion: The Week and The Daily Signal
RELATED:
David Frum / The Atlantic:
No More Excuses  —  For almost two full years, James Mattis has provided the nation with a collective security blanket—and national-security-minded Republicans with a credible excuse.  Whatever outrageous or weird or even suspicious things President Donald Trump might do …
John Podhoretz / Commentary:   What the Mattis Resignation Means
New York Times:
A Top Aide's Exit Plan Raises Eyebrows in the White House  —  WASHINGTON — After weeks of discussions about his future, Zachary D. Fuentes, the 36-year-old deputy White House chief of staff, had a plan.  —  Mr. Fuentes told colleagues that after his mentor, John F. Kelly …
NBC News:
Mueller may submit report to attorney general as soon as mid-February, say sources  —  “They clearly are tying up loose ends,” said a lawyer who has been in contact with the Mueller team.  —  WASHINGTON — Special counsel Robert Mueller is nearing the end of his historic investigation …
Discussion: Law & Crime and The Week
RELATED:
Natasha Bertrand / The Atlantic:
The Special Counsel Is Bearing Down on Roger Stone
Discussion: Daily Kos, Washington Post and Politico
Washington Post:
Ethics officials said Whitaker should recuse from the Mueller probe, but his advisers told him not to, officials say
Jonathan Andrews / ODNI Newsroom:
DNI Coats Statement on the Resignation of Secretary Mattis  —  I was deeply saddened to learn the news that General Mattis will resign from his post as Secretary of Defense at the end of February.  —  DIRECTOR OF NATIONAL INTELLIGENCE  —  WASHINGTON, DC 20511  —  December 21, 2018
Discussion: Politico
RELATED:
Robert Morrison / The Guardian:
The death of our Siemens factory is the result of another Trump lie  —  Trump has the power to tell companies such as Siemens to keep plants open.  All he would have to do is sign an executive order  —  This week, days before Christmas, I will clock into my good, union job one last time.
Discussion: Raw Story
Washington Post:
As stocks drop, Trump fears he's losing his best argument for re-election  —  President Trump has kept an almost obsessive watch on the stock market as it has lurched lower in recent weeks.  —  He has complained to aides how unfair it is that he is blamed for the market's slide …
Discussion: Political Wire
RELATED:
Thomas Heath / Washington Post:   Dow's dive reaches nearly 500 points after White House ups the chance of government shutdown
Alex Marshall / New York Times:
Barack Obama Joins Lin-Manuel Miranda on a ‘Hamilton’ Remix  —  In the early hours of Friday morning, Lin-Manuel Miranda, the creator of “Hamilton,” released “One Last Time (44 Remix),” a gospel reworking of a song from the hit musical.  Halfway through, Barack Obama — the 44 in question …
Discussion: IJR
John Wagner / Washington Post:
Trump threatens government shutdown ‘will last for a very long time’ if Democrats oppose House bill that includes border wall money  —  President Trump on Friday threatened that a partial government shutdown would last “for a very long time” if Congress does not meet his demand Friday …
Tyler Pager / New York Times:
After Big Losses, a N.Y. House Republican Clashes With Her Party  —  She arrived in Washington as a rising star, the youngest woman ever elected to Congress, and she quickly won leadership positions and garnered effusive praise from her party leaders.  —  Now, not even four years later …
 
 
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 More Items: 
Alexander Bolton / The Hill:
Schumer: House-passed border wall bill dead in the Senate
Discussion: Breitbart
Matt Lewis / The Daily Beast:
What Does Trump Really Care About? What Ann Coulter Thinks
David Roberts / Vox:
The Green New Deal, explained
Discussion: HuffPost, Longreads and EcoWatch
Azi Paybarah / New York Times:
N.Y. Today: The Great Taxi Fee Battle of 2018 (and Beyond)
Susan Snyder / Philly.com:
North Philly to Oxford
Michael Gerson / Washington Post:
If Trump's actions aren't impeachable, then what is?
Discussion: RedState
David Sims / The Atlantic:
Aquaman Has No Business Being This Good
Sonny Bunch / Washington Free Beacon:
‘Vice’ Review  —  The best superhero origin story of the year
 Earlier Items: 
Julie Zauzmer / Washington Post:
‘Hand yourself over to human justice’: Pope Francis tells priests guilty of abuse that the church won't shield them
Nouransalahiehktla / KTLA:
Signage Up for Section of 134 Highway Renamed After President Barack Obama
Eli Lake / Bloomberg:
Nikki Haley Isn't So Sure About the UN
Associated Press:
After Year of the Woman, 2020 buzz so far focuses on the men
Discussion: Talking Points Memo
Caitlin Flanagan / The Atlantic:
Kirsten Gillibrand's Invocation of ‘Intersectionality’ Backfires
Jacqueline Thomsen / The Hill:
Trump faces new test with midterm election interference report
Discussion: Raw Story and POLITICUSUSA
Steven Shepard / Politico:
Gallup retreats from political polling again under new leadership
Paul Kane / Washington Post:
In budget brinkmanship, Republicans once again hold themselves hostage
 

 
From Techmeme:

Lee-Anne Mulholland / The Keyword:
Google files its proposed remedies in the DOJ's search antitrust lawsuit, including letting browser companies have multiple default agreements across platforms

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

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
 
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