Top Items:
McClatchy Washington Bureau:
Cell signal puts Cohen outside Prague around time of purported Russian meeting — A mobile phone traced to President Donald Trump's former lawyer and “fixer” Michael Cohen briefly sent signals ricocheting off cell towers in the Prague area in late summer 2016, at the height of the presidential campaign …
Discussion:
Talking Points Memo, Contemptor, The Week, Mediaite, Law & Crime, Hill Reporter, Daily Kos, Raw Story and Joe.My.God.
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.
Discussion:
Althouse
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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:
New York Post, ThinkProgress, Talking Points Memo, The Guardian, Associated Press, New York Magazine, Daily Kos, Joe.My.God., The Week, Raw Story, Splinter and NBC News
Philip Issa / Associated Press:
Iraqi lawmakers demand US withdrawal after Trump visit — Iraqi lawmakers Thursday demanded U.S. forces leave the country in the wake of a surprise visit by President Donald Trump that politicians denounced as arrogant and a violation of Iraqi sovereignty. — Politicians from both blocs …
Discussion:
CNN, Newsweek, Raw Story and Japan Today
Reuters:
Iraqi lawmakers criticize Trump visit as blow to Iraqi sovereignty
Iraqi lawmakers criticize Trump visit as blow to Iraqi sovereignty
Discussion:
Washington Post, Hullabaloo, Hill Reporter and Townhall
Kimberly Dozier / The Daily Beast:
Trump Takes a War-Zone Victory Lap—and Trips
Trump Takes a War-Zone Victory Lap—and Trips
Discussion:
IJR, Conservative News Today and ABC News
John Solomon / The Hill:
Giuliani calls for Mueller to be investigated for destruction of FBI evidence — Rudy Giuliani has an unmistakable New Year's message for special counsel Robert Mueller: It is time for the chief investigator in the Russia case to be investigated in 2019. — In wide-ranging interviews …
Discussion:
Washington Times, Joe.My.God., The Gateway Pundit, Mediaite and Splinter
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Felicia Sonmez / Washington Post:
Trump claims without evidence that ‘most of the people not getting paid’ in partial government shutdown are Democrats — President Trump on Thursday claimed that “most of the people not getting paid” in the partial government shutdown are Democrats, days after he contended that many federal workers support …
Discussion:
Politico and Political Wire
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Tara Golshan / Vox:
Trump's approval rating drops to Charlottesville levels during shutdown
Trump's approval rating drops to Charlottesville levels during shutdown
Discussion:
Wall Street Journal, Townhall and Talking Points Memo
Ariel Edwards-Levy / HuffPost:
Here's What Americans Make Of The Partial Government Shutdown
Here's What Americans Make Of The Partial Government Shutdown
Discussion:
Morning Consult
New York Times:
End of Government Shutdown May Depend on the Definition of ‘Wall’
End of Government Shutdown May Depend on the Definition of ‘Wall’
Discussion:
Washington Post, Associated Press, Outside the Beltway, The Week, Wall Street Journal and Politico
Eli Okun / Politico:
Trump tries to steer shutdown focus to financial impact for Democrats
Trump tries to steer shutdown focus to financial impact for Democrats
Discussion:
Washington Post and Associated Press
Patrick Radden Keefe / New Yorker:
How Mark Burnett Resurrected Donald Trump as an Icon of American Success — With “The Apprentice,” the TV producer mythologized Trump—then a floundering D-lister—as the ultimate titan, paving his way to the Presidency. — “Expedition: Robinson,” a Swedish reality-television program …
Discussion:
The Daily Beast and Mediaite, more at Mediagazer »
Jeffrey M. Jones / Gallup:
Michelle Obama Ends Hillary Clinton's Run as Most Admired — WASHINGTON, D.C. — For the first time in 17 years, a woman other than Hillary Clinton has been named by Americans as the woman they admire most. Former first lady Michelle Obama, who finished second to Clinton three times …
Discussion:
ABC News, Bloomberg, Talking Points Memo, CNN, The Week, WREG-TV, The Daily Caller, IJR, Hill Reporter, FOX31 Denver, Mediaite and CBS Baltimore
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Stef W. Kight / Axios:
Gallup: The Obamas are America's most admired man and woman
Gallup: The Obamas are America's most admired man and woman
Discussion:
Joe.My.God.
Allan Smith / NBC News:
Probe of Trump's charity could crash ‘like a Mack Truck’ into his real estate empire — “There seems to be entanglements in terms of people and probably in terms of money,” said Mimi Rocah, a former federal prosecutor and NBC News/MSNBC legal analyst. — The Trump Foundation …
Discussion:
Law & Crime, Raw Story and POLITICUSUSA
Patrick McGreevy / Los Angeles Times:
One year of legal pot sales and California doesn't have the bustling industry it expected. Here's why. … When Californians voted in 2016 to allow the sale of recreational marijuana, advocates of the move envisioned thousands of pot shops and cannabis farms obtaining state licenses …
Eli Watkins / CNN:
Troops bringing Trump hats to sign may violate military rule … (CNN)President Donald Trump made his first visit to a war zone on Wednesday, receiving an enthusiastic reception from many US troops there — some of whom may have run afoul of military rules. — Video footage and the written report …
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Nicholas Fondacaro / NewsBusters:
CNN Decries U.S. Troops in Iraq Who Had Their MAGA Hats Signed by Trump
CNN Decries U.S. Troops in Iraq Who Had Their MAGA Hats Signed by Trump
Discussion:
Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion, Washington Times and Townhall
Noah Gray / CNN:
How Trump's secret trip to Iraq became not-so-secret — (CNN)It was a crisp winter morning in Sheffield, England, when amateur photographer and plane enthusiast Alan Meloy looked out his kitchen window and noticed a large trail in the sky. He didn't know he was about to accidentally help uncover …
Discussion:
Talking Points Memo, Hill Reporter and Breitbart
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Andrew Restuccia / Politico:
How Trump gave away his secret war zone trip
How Trump gave away his secret war zone trip
Discussion:
ABC News, Breitbart and The Gateway Pundit
Kate Irby / McClatchy Washington Bureau:
California Republicans fear even bigger trouble ahead for their wounded party — House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., leaves the chamber after the Republican-led House approved funding for President Donald Trump's border wall in legislation that pushes the government closer …
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 …
Discussion:
Politico
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Jim Geraghty / National Review:
The Compromising Background of Jamal Khashoggi's Work — Making the click-through worthwhile: how customs and border-patrol agents can make the argument for a security fence, three easily overlooked comments from President Trump's visit in Iraq, and some surprising revelations about Jamal Khashoggi …
Discussion:
The Federalist and Spectator USA
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New York Times:
For Bernie Sanders, Holding Onto Support May Be Hard in a 2020 Bid — WASHINGTON — Some of his top congressional supporters won't commit to backing him if he runs for president again — and two may join the 2020 race themselves. A handful of former aides might work for other candidates.
Eli Blumenthal / USA Today:
Elon Musk looks to dismiss ‘pedo guy’ lawsuit, saying comments weren't serious and are protected by 1st Amendment — Billionaire Tesla and SpaceX founder Elon Musk is looking to dismiss a lawsuit from the British diver he called a “pedo” on Twitter in July during the rescue of 12 Thai soccer boys …
Discussion:
The Week
The Daily Beast:
$800 Million in Taxpayer Money Went to Private Prisons Where Migrants Work for Pennies — Detention for migrants is big business—and a Daily Beast investigation reveals new details about just how lucrative it's become. — For $3 a day, Yesica works the graveyard shift in the kitchens …
New York Times:
‘What the Hell Is This?’ Officer in Viral Subway Video Didn't Know He Had Gone Viral — [What you need to know to start your day: Get New York Today in your inbox.] — On late Sunday night a scuffle broke out between a New York police officer and five homeless men at a subway station in Manhattan.
Discussion:
abc7chicago.com, CBS New York and Gothamist
Jonathan Lemire / Associated Press:
Trump's presidency has changed Washington, defied convention — WASHINGTON (AP) — Mr. Trump went to Washington. And he changed it. — In his first two years in office, President Donald Trump has rewritten the rules of the presidency and the norms of the nation's capital …
Reuters:
Exclusive: White House mulls new year executive order to bar Huawei, ZTE purchases — WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Donald Trump is considering an executive order in the new year to declare a national emergency that would bar U.S. companies from using telecommunications equipment …
Discussion:
The Verge, The Week, VentureBeat and Politico