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:
Joe.My.God., Associated Press, Raw Story, The Week, Splinter, Washington Post and Bloomberg
RELATED:
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
Kimberly Dozier / The Daily Beast:
Trump Takes a War-Zone Victory Lap—and Trips — The president used his first visit to Iraq to defend his decision to outsource the ISIS fight to a fickle ally. It wasn't a very convincing case. — This should have been a victory lap for a president hailed by the military for letting …
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 …
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NBC Universal:
MSNBC IS THE #1 CABLE NEWS NETWORK FOR WEEK OF DEC. 17, BEATING FOX NEWS FOR 1ST TIME IN 17 YEARS — MSNBC Dominates Cable News in Sales Day (M-F 6a-2a) with Total Viewers, Finishing #1 for the Week and Topping FOX News for 1st Time Since 2000; MSNBC Also Tops FOX News in A25-54 for 1st Time Since 2001
David Bauder / Associated Press:
Bad headlines for Trump also means ratings slump for Hannity
Bad headlines for Trump also means ratings slump for Hannity
Discussion:
The Week and Joe.My.God.
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
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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:
TheStreet, Raw Story, The Resurgent, Mediaite and Talking Points Memo
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.
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Jessica Menton / Wall Street Journal:
Dow Industrials Leap More Than 1,000 Points — Rebound pulls Dow industrials, S&P 500 from brink of bear market — The Dow Jones Industrial Average surged more than 1,000 points for the first time in a single session Wednesday, rebounding after a bruising four-day selloff put the blue-chip index …
Discussion:
Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion and Mediaite
CNBC:
Dow gives back 282-point gain as Wall Street's wild ride continues
Dow gives back 282-point gain as Wall Street's wild ride continues
Discussion:
CNN, The Last Refuge, Bloomberg, The Gateway Pundit, The Week, Daily Wire and The Daily Caller
Thomas Heath / Washington Post:
Dow Jones industrial average rises over 2 percent as U.S. stock markets try to recover …
Dow Jones industrial average rises over 2 percent as U.S. stock markets try to recover …
Discussion:
Townhall and Wall Street Journal
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
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New York Times:
As Shutdown Continues, Resolution May Depend on Definition of ‘Wall’ — WASHINGTON — With a partial government shutdown stretching past Day 5, the impasse over funding a wall at the southwestern border has highlighted the debate over effective border security, with a breakthrough possibly hinging …
Discussion:
The Week
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Michael Burke / The Hill:
Trump says he wants to visit border wall before State of the Union
Trump says he wants to visit border wall before State of the Union
Discussion:
Hit & Run and Political Wire
Garrett Ross / Politico:
Trump says he will do ‘whatever it takes’ to secure funding for border wall
Trump says he will do ‘whatever it takes’ to secure funding for border wall
Discussion:
Washington Post, Associated Press, ABC News and Breitbart
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:
The Week and Joe.My.God.
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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.
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
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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
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 …
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Audrey McNamara / The Daily Beast:
Russia Warns United States: Don't Interfere in Saudi Royal Succession
Russia Warns United States: Don't Interfere in Saudi Royal Succession
Discussion:
Bloomberg
Associated Press:
AP Exclusive: Migrant teen tent city staying open into 2019 — The Trump administration said Wednesday it will keep open through early 2019 a tent city in Texas that now holds more than 2,000 migrant teenagers, and also will increase the number of beds at another temporary detention center for children in Florida.
Bret Stephens / New York Times:
Donald Trump Is Bad for Israel — As usual, the president makes his predecessors look better. — Suppose you're the type of smart conservative reluctantly inclined to give Donald Trump a pass for his boorish behavior and ideological heresies because you like the way the economy …
Paul Mirengoff / Power Line:
Are you now or have you ever been a member of the Knights of Columbus? — Recently, Sen. Mazie Hirono claimed that Democrats have a hard time connecting with voters because they (Democrats) are so “smart” and “know so much.” If Democrats are smart and knowledgeable, you can't prove it by Hirono.
Discussion:
National Review, American Thinker and Real Clear Politics