Top Items:
New York Times:
For Trump, ‘a War Every Day,’ Waged Increasingly Alone — At the midpoint of his term, the president has grown more sure of his own judgment and more isolated from anyone else's than at any point since he took office. — WASHINGTON — When President Trump grows frustrated with advisers during meetings …
Discussion:
Axios, Mother Jones, Mediaite and Raw Story
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Philip Rucker / Washington Post:
‘A rogue presidency’: The era of containing Trump is over — For two years, they tried to tutor and confine him. They taught him history, explained nuances and gamed out reverberations. They urged careful deliberation, counseled restraint and prepared talking points to try …
Discussion:
The Atlantic
Mike Allen / Axios:
Slat man: Trump's Christmas shutdown spooks GOP — President Trump's self-inflicted shutdown before Christmas has left Republicans with a debacle as their last act in control of the House. And now the party is even more worried about the outlook beginning Jan. 3, when Democrats take over.
Discussion:
Washington Post, Politico and Raw Story
Margaret Brennan / CBS News:
Brett McGurk, top U.S. envoy in ISIS fight, resigns — Brett McGurk, special presidential envoy for the Global Coalition to Defeat ISIS, had been planning to exit his post in February 2019. But sources tell CBS News that he informed Secretary of State Mike Pompeo that he will accelerate …
Discussion:
The Guardian, The Gateway Pundit, The Last Refuge, Mother Jones, Politico, Axios, FOX31 Denver, POLITICUSUSA, Joe.My.God., KXLF-TV and Mediaite
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Matthew Lee / Associated Press:
US envoy to anti-IS coalition quits over Trump's Syria move — WASHINGTON (AP) — Brett McGurk, the U.S. envoy to the global coalition fighting the Islamic State group, has resigned in protest to President Donald Trump's abrupt decision to withdraw U.S. troops from Syria …
Discussion:
BBC, ThinkProgress, Washington Post, Splinter, Chicks On The Right and Hill Reporter
Josh Lederman / NBC News:
White House says Erdogan promised Trump he'd finish off ISIS in Syria — What took place during Trump's phone call with the Turkish leader has been a central question in the debate over Trump's decision to pull all U.S. troops out of Syria. — In his phone call with President Donald Trump …
The Times of Israel:
Departing Mattis said to cancel Israel trip, as Israel feels ‘betrayed’ on Syria — TV report says US defense secretary was set to hold talks with in Israel next week on Iran and Syria; senior Israeli officials said to harshly criticize Syria pullout decision
Discussion:
New York Times
New York Times:
Brett McGurk, Top U.S. Diplomat Leading Fight Against Islamic State, Resigns
Brett McGurk, Top U.S. Diplomat Leading Fight Against Islamic State, Resigns
Discussion:
NPR, The Daily Beast, Raw Story and Daily Kos
Washington Post:
U.S. envoy to coalition fighting ISIS resigns in protest of Trump's Syria decision
U.S. envoy to coalition fighting ISIS resigns in protest of Trump's Syria decision
Discussion:
Washington Press
Stephen M. Walt / Foreign Policy:
Good Riddance to America's Syria Policy
Good Riddance to America's Syria Policy
Discussion:
Althouse, The American Conservative and Breitbart
Elise Labott / CNN:
US envoy in ISIS fight, Brett McGurk, resigns over US withdrawal from Syria
US envoy in ISIS fight, Brett McGurk, resigns over US withdrawal from Syria
Discussion:
The Week
New York Times:
Government Shutdown to Continue for Days as Senate Adjourns Until Thursday — WASHINGTON — The partial government shutdown that began early Saturday will continue for the next several days, as Senator Mitch McConnell, the majority leader, adjourned the Senate until Thursday and the White House indicated …
Discussion:
Mother Jones, Politico, Outside the Beltway and The DC Chronicle
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The Daily Beast:
Trump Plan to Win the Shutdown: A Noun, a Verb, and ‘Caravan’ — The White House intends to send surrogates on television to hammer Democrats and to accuse them of wanting drugs, terror, and ‘trafficking’ pouring over the southern border. — With the latest government shutdown …
Discussion:
Associated Press
The Hill:
GOP discord on wall prolongs shutdown fight — The government shutdown fight is increasingly shaping up as a battle among Republicans for the president's ear. — President Trump summoned a group of Republicans to lunch at the White House Saturday afternoon as negotiators struggled to reach an agreement to reopen the government.
Washington Post:
Shutdown to stretch on until at least Thursday as Senate adjourns with no deal over budget, Trump's border wall — Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) announced Saturday afternoon that the Senate would shutter for legislative business until Thursday, leaving many federal agencies closed until later next week at the earliest.
Discussion:
Splinter, Daily Kos, Political Wire, Outside the Beltway and Townhall
Robert Windrem / NBC News:
Russians launched pro-Jill Stein social media blitz to help Trump win election, reports say — Building support for Stein was one of a “roster of themes” the Moscow-sanctioned internet trolls “turned to repeatedly,” report says. — Two days before the 2016 presidential election …
Discussion:
The Daily Caller, ThinkProgress, Raw Story, Contemptor and Hill Reporter
Bloomberg:
Trump Discusses Firing Fed's Powell After Latest Rate Hike, Sources Say — Advisers warn ousting Fed chairman would lead to market rout — President's legal authority to remove Powell is unclear — President Donald Trump has discussed firing Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell …
Discussion:
CNBC, Political Wire, Raw Story, Axios, CNN, Outside the Beltway, AOL, Hullabaloo, POLITICUSUSA, Hill Reporter, Mediaite, Townhall and The Daily Beast
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Brendan Murray / Bloomberg:
Fed Scholar Expects Immediate ‘Market Chaos’ If Trump Ousts Powell
Fed Scholar Expects Immediate ‘Market Chaos’ If Trump Ousts Powell
Discussion:
Raw Story
Antonia Noori Farzan / Washington Post:
A reporter's dispatch from Trump country featured a ‘Mexicans Keep Out’ sign. But he made it all up. — When an out-of-town journalist showed up in Fergus Falls, Minn., in February 2017, Michele Anderson couldn't help but feel skeptical. Claas Relotius had been telling residents …
Greg Stohr / Bloomberg:
Mystery Filing Appears to Ask High Court to Act in Mueller Probe — Grand jury dispute has been long been shrouded in mystery — Special counsel is investigating Russian election meddling — A new legal filing appears to ask the U.S. Supreme Court to intervene …
Discussion:
Raw Story
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John Bowden / The Hill:
Supreme Court refuses to restore Trump's temporary asylum restrictions
Supreme Court refuses to restore Trump's temporary asylum restrictions
Discussion:
RedState, POLITICUSUSA and CNN
BuzzFeed News:
Cory Booker Is Building A 2020 Campaign That's Just Like Him: Vegan, Hyperactive, And Unapologetically Unconventional — French fries with Iowans in Newark. Eager big donors. A clearly defined message of “radical love.” Cory Booker has spent a year laying the groundwork for an ambitious possible presidential bid.
Discussion:
twitchy.com
Jelani Cobb / New Yorker:
The Enduring Russian Propaganda Interests in Targeting African-Americans — In the spring of 2010, I taught a college course on the watershed moments in the American struggle for racial equality, from Plessy v. Ferguson, the 1896 Supreme Court decision that enshrined segregation …
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Dana Milbank / Washington Post:
It's official. We lost the Cold War.
It's official. We lost the Cold War.
Discussion:
Washington Monthly, U.S. DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE and CNN