memeorandum: This is what we were afraid of — When the new year begins next week … (Paul Waldman/Washington Post)

7:15 PM ET, December 24, 2018

Top Items:

Kalhan Rosenblatt / NBC News:

Dow drops 653 points in worst Christmas Eve trading day ever — The plummet followed a tumultuous few days in Washington, amid reports that Trump was discussing how to remove Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell. — Both major stock indexes nosedived on Monday in the worst …

Discussion: ABC News, CNBC, Washington Post, Washington Monthly, Mother Jones, The Gateway Pundit, Breitbart, The Guardian, The Daily Caller, Associated Press, Deadline and The Mahablog

CNBC:

Dow dives 600 points to below 22,000, S&P 500 enters bear market - worst Christmas Eve ever — Trump resumed his attack on the Fed on Monday, tweeting that the central bank is “the only problem” with the U.S. economy. — Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin held calls on Sunday with the heads …

Discussion: Politico, Breitbart, Raw Story, FOX31 Denver, The Week, The New Civil Rights Movement, The Guardian, TheStreet, Little Green Footballs, Joe.My.God., Mediaite, Washington Times and twitchy.com

Jordan Fabian / The Hill:

Trump hands out lumps of coal to enemies on Christmas Eve — President Trump unveiled his naughty list on Christmas Eve, the latest outburst of frustration from a president who is under siege on multiple fronts. — In a string of Monday morning tweets, Trump railed against Democrats …

Discussion: Associated Press, New York Times, USA Today, Mediaite and One America News Network, more at Techmeme »

Washington Post:

Markets stage one of worst Christmas Eves ever, closing down more than 600 points as Trump blames Fed for stock losses in a tweet — The Dow Jones industrial average followed its worst week in a decade with a 650- point drop Monday, and President Trump once again took to Twitter to interject himself into financial markets.

Discussion: Outside the Beltway and Splinter

Annie Lowrey / The Atlantic:

What Was Steve Mnuchin Thinking? Three Possibilities — Imagine having a runny nose, itchy eyes, congestion, and a sore throat, and your doctor telling you that you shouldn't worry about cancer—she consulted her colleagues and they're certain it is not cancer, and if it were, they could fight it.

Discussion: The Daily Beast, Mother Jones, Raw Story, Hullabaloo, Mediaite and Daily Wire

Alan Rappeport / New York Times:
Trump Renews Attack on Fed as Mnuchin Tries to Calm Markets

Discussion: Political Wire

Paul Waldman / Washington Post:
This is what we were afraid of — When the new year begins next week …

Discussion: The Week and The Guardian

CNN:
Dow's wild ride continues after Steven Mnuchin fails to calm markets

Discussion: KTLA, ThinkProgress, FOX2now.com, Joe.My.God., Bloomberg, The Week, twitchy.com, Mediaite and Raw Story

Niv Elis / The Hill:
Dow has worst Christmas Eve on record, S&P enters bear market

Discussion: Axios, CNBC, The Resurgent, Mediaite and Raw Story

Alex Veiga / Associated Press: Not very merry: US stocks plunge before Christmas

Neil Irwin / New York Times:
Economy Is Strong. Leadership Is Shaky. Which Will Win Out in 2019?

Discussion: Wall Street Journal and Mediaite

Bloomberg: U.S. Stocks Hit 19-Month Low as D.C. Tumult Weighs: Markets Wrap

Emily Flitter / New York Times:
Stocks Close in on Bear Market as Trump and Mnuchin Fuel Christmas Eve Drop

Discussion: TheStreet

Wall Street Journal:
Stocks Extend Fall Despite Mnuchin Bid to Reassure Investors

Discussion: Bloomberg, TheStreet and Contemptor

Politico:
POLITICO Playbook: Shutdown day 3, and Mnuchin talks with bank CEOs about liquidity

Discussion: Financial Times, Lawyers, Guns & Money, The New Civil Rights Movement and One America News Network

Robert J. Samuelson / Washington Post: Wake up. America's military isn't invincible.

John A. Nagl / New York Times: Jim Mattis and I Fought Together. No One Called Him Mad Dog.

Ryan Parker / Hollywood Reporter:

Kevin Spacey Charged With Felony Sexual Assault — The actor — who posted a bizarre 'House of Cards'-style video address on Monday — will be arraigned in Massachusetts on Jan. 7. — The Cape and Islands, Massachusetts, district attorney announced Monday that Kevin Spacey will face …

Discussion: YouTube, NPR, Breitbart, KTLA, Law & Crime, Mashable, CBS Boston, Daily Wire and Boing Boing

Matt Rocheleau / BostonGlobe.com:

Actor Kevin Spacey faces criminal complaint in alleged sexual assault at Nantucket bar — Actor Kevin Spacey faces a felony charge for allegedly sexually assaulting the teenage son of former Boston WCVB-TV news anchor Heather Unruh at a Nantucket bar in July 2016, authorities said Monday.

Discussion: Vox, The Guardian, New York Times, Joe.My.God., The Daily Beast, Associated Press, AOL, Gothamist, Contemptor, Althouse, PinkNews, The Daily Caller and Deadline

Andy Campbell / HuffPost:

Kevin Spacey Releases Bizarre Video Monologue Amid Sexual Assault Charge — “You never actually saw me die, did you? Conclusions can be so deceiving. Miss me?” — Kevin Spacey, fresh off the news that he faces a felony charge over an alleged sexual assault at a bar in 2016 …

Discussion: BostonGlobe.com, CBS Philly and Raw Story

Michael Burke / The Hill:
Kevin Spacey to be arraigned on charge of sexual assault

Discussion: Vox

Burgess Everett / Politico:

‘Hunker down like a jackass’: Shutdown could drag on for weeks — A large swath of the federal government is shut down — and so are negotiations to reopen it. — President Donald Trump's standoff with Democratic leaders over the border wall dragged into a third day on Monday …

Discussion: Political Wire

Associated Press:
Trump tweets he's alone at White House waiting for Dems deal

Discussion: WCCB Charlotte

Nicholas Fandos / New York Times:
A Shutdown for Weeks? Washington Merely Shrugs

Discussion: Outside the Beltway, Daily Kos, CNN and Politico

Thomas L. Friedman / New York Times:

Time for G.O.P. to Threaten to Fire Trump — Republican leaders need to mount an intervention. — Up to now I have not favored removing President Trump from office. I felt strongly that it would be best for the country that he leave the way he came in, through the ballot box.

Discussion: Raw Story

Manu Raju / CNN:

McCaskill warns Dems about ‘cheap’ rhetoric; says GOP senators privately believe Trump is ‘nuts’ — (CNN)Sen. Claire McCaskill has some advice for Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, the incoming freshman who has rapidly risen from obscurity to one of the most well-known figures in the Democratic Party: Talk is cheap.

Discussion: Political Wire

Benjamin Fearnow / Newsweek:

Lebron James Posts ‘Jewish Money’ Selfie With 21 Savage Rap Lyrics, Angering Conservative Critics — Los Angeles Lakers superstar Lebron James landed himself in a second racially-charged controversy this weekend after posting rap lyrics about “Jewish money.”

Discussion: The Gateway Pundit, The Daily Caller, Front Page Magazine and Breitbart

Dave McMenamin / ESPN:
LeBron James apologizes for ‘Jewish money’ Instagram post

Discussion: Breitbart, Algemeiner.com, twitchy.com, The Root, AOL, The Guardian, The Daily Caller, Mediaite and Jewish Telegraphic Agency

Tom Boggioni / Raw Story:

‘No bottom for Trump’: Disgusted conservative launches epic rant over ouster of Mattis on MSNBC — Conservative commentator Charlie Sykes battered Donald Trump on MSNBC's “Morning Joe,” calling him the “chaos candidate” and stating that there is “no bottom” to his lack of “decency.”

Discussion: RedState

Andrew Ross Sorkin / New York Times:

How Banks Unwittingly Finance Mass Shootings — The New York Times reviewed hundreds of documents including police reports, bank records and investigator notes from a decade of mass shootings. Many of the killers built their stockpiles of high-powered weapons with the convenience of credit.

Discussion: The Daily Caller, twitchy.com and Axios

Ed Rogers / Washington Post:

The vice president should be preparing for the worst — One good thing about holding a senior position in government is you get a lot of free advice — which brings me to the choice Vice President Mike Pence is about to make when he chooses a new chief of staff.

Discussion: Raw Story