memeorandum: Black Voters, a Force in Democratic Politics, Are Ready to Make Themselves Heard (Astead W. Herndon/New York Times)

11:20 AM ET, December 26, 2018

Top Items:

Did a Queens Podiatrist Help Donald Trump Avoid Vietnam? — In the fall of 1968, Donald J. Trump received a timely diagnosis of bone spurs in his heels that led to his medical exemption from the military during Vietnam. — For 50 years, the details of how the exemption came about …

Discussion: CNN, Talking Points Memo, IJR, Daily Kos, The Daily Beast, FOX31 Denver, Arkansas Blog, Arkansas Times, POLITICUSUSA, Joe.My.God., The Week, Raw Story and Mediaite

Jamelle Bouie / Slate:

The Path to the Presidency Could Be Harder for White Democrats in 2020 — Before Barack Obama's election in 2008, the relationship between white racial views and partisanship wasn't as clear-cut as one might think. Yes, Republicans won the large majority of white voters who believed black disadvantage …

Astead W. Herndon / New York Times:

Black Voters, a Force in Democratic Politics, Are Ready to Make Themselves Heard — BALTIMORE — The first “Amen!” rang out after a couple of minutes, as Senator Elizabeth Warren, speaking to an almost all-black audience at Morgan State University's winter commencement, described how America has …

Daniel Strauss / Politico:

Brown seeks Obama meeting as he considers presidential run — Sen. Sherrod Brown hasn't decided whether he's running for president — but he's checking off a lot of the boxes that come along the way. — The Ohio Democrat is reaching out to fellow senators and party officials in early primary and caucus states.

Discussion: The Week and Joe.My.God.

Politico:
POLITICO Playbook: Shutdown standoff continues

Discussion: Political Wire

CNN:

Trump's frustration with Mnuchin rising after failed attempt to calm markets, source says — (CNN)President Donald Trump's frustration with Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin is ratcheting up further after markets suffered their worst Christmas Eve drop ever following Mnuchin's attempts …

Discussion: Talking Points Memo, New York Magazine and CNBC

David J. Lynch / Washington Post:
Economic growth is slowing all around the world

Discussion: Bloomberg

Wall Street Journal:
As Market Rout Continues, Trump Stands Firm on Fed, Border Wall

Discussion: Washington Post, Splinter and Reuters

Washington Post:
Trump vows not to reopen federal government until wall funding is secured

Discussion: POLITICUSUSA and The Week

Department of Homeland Security:

CBP Shares Additional Information about Recent Passing of Guatemalan Child — An eight year-old Guatemalan national, previously apprehended by U.S. Customs and Border Protection, died shortly before midnight on December 24 at Gerald Champion Regional Medical Center in Alamogordo, New Mexico.

Discussion: Townhall, Hullabaloo, Splinter and Bloomberg

Associated Press:
US says 2nd Guatemalan child dies in immigration custody

Discussion: NBC News and Mediaite

Nomaan Merchant / Associated Press:
CBP orders medical checks after second child's death

Discussion: Axios, YouTube, The Gateway Pundit, Daily Kos, The Guardian, The Week, No More Mister Nice Blog, Law & Crime and KTLA

Lenny Bernstein / Washington Post:
An 8-year-old migrant has died in U.S. custody on Christmas Day

Discussion: ThinkProgress, NBC News, CBS News and RedState

New York Times:
8-Year-Old Migrant Child From Guatemala Dies in U.S. Custody

Discussion: Lawyers, Guns & Money, CNBC, Balloon Juice and Department of Homeland …

Eliott C. McLaughlin / CNN:
8-year-old Guatemalan boy dies in US custody on Christmas

Discussion: ImmigrationProf Blog and The Gateway Pundit

Veronica Stracqualursi / CNN:

Ruth Bader Ginsburg released from hospital after cancer surgery — Washington (CNN)Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg was discharged from the hospital on Tuesday and is recuperating at home after undergoing surgery, according to a court spokesperson.

Discussion: BuzzFeed News, Vox, Townhall, Joe.My.God., Raw Story, Talking Points Memo, The Week, Mediaite and CBS Baltimore

Elyse Perlmutter-Gumbiner / NBC News:

Trump becomes first president since 2002 not to visit troops at Christmastime — Though he called military personnel on Tuesday, Trump did not visit a hospital or a military base. — On Christmas Day, President Donald Trump took part in a long-running practice of presidents …

Discussion: HuffPost, Talking Points Memo, IJR, Daily Kos, Raw Story and Political Wire

Washington Post:

More than 4 million children endured lockdowns last school year, a groundbreaking Washington Post analysis found. The experience left many traumatized. — Locked behind their green classroom door, MaKenzie Woody and 25 other first-graders huddled in the darkness.

Darlene Superville / Associated Press:

Post-holiday, partial government shutdown to gain impact — WASHINGTON (AP) — Christmas has come and gone but the partial government shutdown is just getting started. — Wednesday brings the first full business day after several government departments and agencies closed up over the weekend due …

Discussion: Axios and KTLA

Charles Lane / Washington Post:

I thought fraud in reporting was done for. I was wrong. — Nearly 30 years ago, the Cold War's end opened Germany's border to the formerly Soviet-dominated east. Asylum seekers from poor and war-torn nations poured across it. A violent backlash from ultra-right-wing Germans ensued.

Daily Mail:

Ivanka Trump wears a summer dress and a bizarre full straw visor hat — Ivanka Trump rang in the holiday on Tuesday by heading out for a stroll near her family's Palm Beach, Florida estate on Christmas Day with husband Jared Kushner.

Discussion: Political Wire and Mediaite

New York Times:

A Gutted I.R.S. Makes the Rich Richer — With enforcement enfeebled, as much as 20 percent of potential tax revenues go uncollected. — The editorial board represents the opinions of the board, its editor and the publisher. It is separate from the newsroom and the Op-Ed section.

Gabby Orr / Politico:

The campaign to confirm a diplomatic novice to America's top U.N. post — Less than two years ago, Heather Nauert was conducting interviews on “Fox & Friends.” Now, she's preparing to navigate the world's raging geopolitical issues as one of America's top diplomats.

Rebecca Kheel / The Hill:

Mattis works from Pentagon on Christmas, tells troops: ‘You hold the line’ — Defense Secretary James Mattis wished U.S. troops a merry Christmas and worked Christmas Day after President Trump pushed the secretary out two months earlier than he planned to resign.

Discussion: Breitbart, Joe.My.God., The Daily Caller, Mediaite and IJR