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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, KTLA, IJR, Daily Kos, The Daily Beast, FOX31 Denver, Arkansas Blog, Arkansas Times, Joe.My.God., POLITICUSUSA, The Week, Raw Story and Mediaite
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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 …
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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 …


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 Daily Caller, The Week and Joe.My.God.


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
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Economic growth is slowing all around the world
Discussion:
Bloomberg


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, The Gateway Pundit, Hullabaloo, Splinter and Bloomberg
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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:
Talking Points Memo, Mediaite and Political Wire


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.


Huckabee Defends Trump: It's Not Like He's 'Boiling The Little Girl's Rabbit' — After President Trump was roasted for appearing to mock a 7-year-old girl for still believing in Santa Claus earlier this week, former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee (R) raised eyebrows when he took it upon himself to defend Trump …
Discussion:
twitchy.com and Mediaite
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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.


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, Townhall, The Hill, Vox, Breitbart, Joe.My.God., Raw Story, Talking Points Memo, The Week, Mediaite and CBS Baltimore


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, Joe.My.God., Talking Points Memo, IJR, Daily Kos, Raw Story and Political Wire


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, Joe.My.God., KTLA and Talking Points Memo
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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.

Maria Butina and the Criminalization of Citizen Diplomacy — Prosecuting Butina endangers NGO activists in both Russia and the US. — 30-year-old, flame-haired Maria “Red Sparrow” Butina plead guilty this month to one act count of conspiring to act as an unregistered foreign agent.


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
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