memeorandum: MSNBC IS THE #1 CABLE NEWS NETWORK FOR WEEK OF DEC. 17, BEATING FOX NEWS FOR 1ST TIME IN 17 YEARS (NBC Universal)

12:40 AM ET, December 27, 2018

Top Items:

James LaPorta / Newsweek:

Donald Trump Twitter Account Video Reveals Covert U.S. Navy SEAL Deployment During Iraq Visit — President Donald Trump and the White House communications team revealed that a U.S. Navy SEAL team was deployed to Iraq after the president secretly traveled to the region to meet …

Discussion: Raw Story and Splinter

Wall Street Journal:

The Constant Spin Zone — How one publication reported Trump's trip to see troops in Iraq. — By The Editorial Board — President Trump and his wife Melania made a surprise visit to American soldiers in Iraq on Wednesday, and you would think that would be a straightforward event to write up.

Reuters:

Iraqi lawmakers criticize Trump visit as blow to Iraqi sovereignty — BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Iraqi political and militia leaders condemned U.S. President Donald Trump's surprise visit to U.S. troops in Iraq on Wednesday as a violation of Iraq's sovereignty, and lawmakers said a meeting between Trump …

Discussion: Townhall

Benjamin Siegel / ABC News:

President Donald Trump makes surprise Christmas visit to troops in Iraq in first trip to combat zone — President Donald Trump went to Al Asad Air Base in Iraq on his first visit to U.S. troops in the Middle East as president. — First lady Melania Trump joined him on the unscheduled Wednesday visit.

Discussion: CNBC, twitchy.com, The Daily Caller, The Hill, The Last Refuge, Politico, Breitbart, Washington Times, abc7chicago.com, Joe.My.God., One America News Network, Mediaite, The Root and The Gateway Pundit

The Daily Beast:
Trump to Troops in Iraq: 'We're No Longer the Suckers, Folks'

Discussion: The Last Refuge, Wall Street Journal and Breitbart

Darlene Superville / Associated Press:
Trump in Iraq on first visit to troops in troubled region

Discussion: Task & Purpose

Mark Maremont / Wall Street Journal:

Acting Attorney General Matthew Whitaker Incorrectly Claims Academic All-American Honors — Claim from Whitaker's University of Iowa football days listed on résumé and government documents — Matthew Whitaker, the acting U.S. Attorney General, has incorrectly claimed …

Discussion: Splinter, Daily Kos, POLITICUSUSA, Contemptor, Joe.My.God. and Mediaite

Josh Kovensky / Talking Points Memo: WSJ: Whitaker Fudged Academic Honors On Resume, Gov Documents

Matt Wilstein / The Daily Beast:

MSNBC Beats Fox News in Weekly Cable News Ratings for First Time Since 2000 — MSNBC ended the week of Dec. 21st with the #1 cable news ratings on television, beating Fox News for the first time in 17 years. For the Monday through Friday leading up to the Christmas holiday …

NBC Universal: MSNBC IS THE #1 CABLE NEWS NETWORK FOR WEEK OF DEC. 17, BEATING FOX NEWS FOR 1ST TIME IN 17 YEARS

David Bauder / Associated Press:
Bad headlines for Trump also means ratings slump for Hannity

Discussion: Joe.My.God.

Brandon Kochkodin / Bloomberg:

Here Are Three Crazy Market Statistics on a Wild Day of Trading — To say that U.S. stocks trading has been odd this week seems like an understatement. — All three major U.S. indexes gained at least 4 percent on Wednesday. That's the first time that's happened since 2011.

Jessica Menton / Wall Street Journal:
Dow Industrials Leap More Than 1,000 Points

Discussion: Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion and Mediaite

Thomas Heath / Washington Post:
Dow Jones industrial average rises over 2 percent as U.S. stock markets try to recover …

Discussion: Townhall and Wall Street Journal

Cameron Easley / Morning Consult:

Trump's Popularity Revisits Low as Government Agencies Shut Down — Plurality of voters say president mostly to blame for funding lapse amid fight over border wall — President Donald Trump told Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) on Dec. 11 that he would be “proud” to shut down the government over border security.

Discussion: Raw Story, Mediaite, Bloomberg, The Guardian and CNBC

New York Times:

Trump Makes Surprise Visit to American Troops in Iraq — President Trump visited American military forces on Wednesday in Iraq, making his first trip to troops stationed in a combat zone only days after announcing his intention to withdraw the United States from foreign wars in Syria and Afghanistan.

Discussion: Raw Story, AOL, BuzzFeed News, The Resurgent, RedState, Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion, Outside the Beltway and Daily Kos

Elyse Perlmutter-Gumbiner / NBC News:
Trump becomes first president since 2002 not to visit troops at Christmastime

Discussion: Salon, Power Line, Reuters, CNN, Patterico's Pontifications, People.com, IJR, The Gateway Pundit, Breitbart, The Hill, The Week, Complex, Joe.My.God., HuffPost, Daily Wire, Mediaite, Talking Points Memo, Deadline and Daily Kos

USA Today:

USA TODAY/Suffolk Poll: What do Democrats want in 2020? Someone new - and Biden. But definitely not Hillary — Former Vice President Joe Biden hints at a 2020 run, saying he thinks he's “the most qualified person” in this Country to be president. Veuer's Justin Kircher has the story. — CONNECT

Discussion: Joe.My.God.

Chris Smith / Vanity Fair:
“Democrats Don't Like to Be Told Who to Vote For”: Obama Has Flirted with Beto and Other Potential …

Discussion: Breitbart, Conservative News Today, The Week and Politico

Jamelle Bouie / Slate:
The Path to the Presidency Could Be Harder for White Democrats in 2020

Discussion: Washington Monthly and New York Times

Steve Eder / New York Times:

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 …

Brian Krassenstein / Hill Reporter:
Trump's Bone Spur Diagnosis Also Appears to be Fraudulent, According to Doctor's Family

Discussion: Quartz, POLITICUSUSA and Raw Story

New York Times:
Donald Trump's Selective Service Records

Discussion: Washington Post

Max Read / New York Magazine:

How Much of the Internet Is Fake? Turns Out, a Lot of It, Actually. — In late November, the Justice Department unsealed indictments against eight people accused of fleecing advertisers of $36 million in two of the largest digital ad-fraud operations ever uncovered.

more at Mediagazer »

Michael Burke / The Hill:

Trump says he wants to visit border wall before State of the Union — President Trump said Wednesday that he wants to visit the U.S.-Mexico border wall before he gives his State of the Union address next month. — Trump, speaking with reporters during an unannounced trip to Iraq …

Discussion: Hit & Run and Political Wire

Rachael Bade / Politico:
Federal workforce starts to feel pinch of prolonged shutdown

Discussion: ABC News, Splinter, Breitbart, Associated Press, Talking Points Memo and Arkansas Blog, Arkansas Times

Annie Grayer / CNN:
Mark Meadows says Trump is still ‘very firm’ on the wall as shutdown drags on

Discussion: Joe.My.God. and The Daily Signal

politics.myajc:

‘Deportation bus’ candidate reports to jail following indictment — State senator and former Republican gubernatorial candidate Michael Williams turned himself into Hall County jail Wednesday, days after news broke that he had been indicted on charges that included insurance fraud.

Discussion: Raw Story

Associated Press: Georgia ‘deportation bus’ GOP candidate reports to jail

Carla Herreria / HuffPost:

Homeland Security Chief Faults Parents, ‘Open Border’ Supporters In Migrant Kids' Deaths — Kirstjen Nielsen ordered an overhaul of medical screening procedures at the Mexican border after Felipe Gómez Alonzo, 8, died on Christmas Eve. — Secretary of Homeland Security Kirstjen Nielsen …

Discussion: Washington Post, Los Angeles Times and RedState

David Beavers / Politico:
Nielsen deflects blame for boy's death in Border Patrol custody

Discussion: The Guardian, CNN, The Daily Caller, Conservative News Today, ThinkProgress and Daily Wire

Andrew Restuccia / Politico:

How Trump gave away his secret war zone trip — The tweets stopped and soon the jig was up. — President Donald Trump's trip to Iraq this week, his first to a war zone as president, was supposed to be a surprise. But the White House couldn't keep the sensitive trip a secret for long.

Discussion: Breitbart and The Gateway Pundit

Wall Street Journal:

Investors Fret Over Khashoggi Killing but Still Maintain Saudi Ties — Many businesses have linked their future to Saudi money and the kingdom's sweeping economic overhauls — On Oct. 12, Virgin Group founder Richard Branson announced he was pulling out of talks on a $1 billion deal …

more at Mediagazer »

Audrey McNamara / The Daily Beast:
Russia Warns United States: Don't Interfere in Saudi Royal Succession

Discussion: Bloomberg

Washington Post:

Internet billionaire Reid Hoffman apologizes for funding a group behind disinformation in Alabama race — Internet billionaire Reid Hoffman apologized on Wednesday for funding a group linked to a “highly disturbing” effort that spread disinformation during last year's Alabama special election …

Discussion: The Verge, The Daily Caller, Gizmodo, CNBC and Axios, more at Techmeme »

Angie Leventis Lourgos / Chicago Tribune:

As national Women's March leaders face claims of anti-Semitism, Chicago group says it won't host January march, citing costs — Women's March Inc. co-President Tamika Mallory, shown in 2017, has praised Nation of Islam leader Louis Farrakhan on social media.

Discussion: Breitbart, Townhall, RedState, The Daily Caller, Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion and Daily Wire

Adam Skolnick / New York Times:

Colin O'Brady Completes Crossing of Antarctica With Final 32-Hour Push — The final miles of a nearly two-month race across Antarctica — a lonely effort marked by long days, short nights and stunning endurance — ended Wednesday with a sprint to the finish.