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Molly O'Toole / Los Angeles Times:
Outgoing White House Chief of Staff John F. Kelly defends his rocky tenure … In August 2017, shortly after John F. Kelly became White House chief of staff, he convened crucial meetings on Afghanistan at President Trump's golf club in Bedminster, N.J. — Top officials from the Pentagon and the CIA …
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Martin Pengelly / The Guardian:
John Kelly: judge me on what Trump didn't do while I was chief of staff — As Donald Trump attracted criticism for blaming the deaths of children in US custody on Democrats opposed to his demands for a border wall, outgoing White House chief of staff John Kelly said he had “nothing but compassion” …
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Breitbart, Fox News Insider and Washington Post
Holly Rosenkrantz / CBS News:
Kelly says Sessions “surprised” White House with child separation policy
Kelly says Sessions “surprised” White House with child separation policy
Kris Schneider / ABC News:
Trump administration border chief says US needs ‘to invest in Central America,’ …
Trump administration border chief says US needs ‘to invest in Central America,’ …
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Politico, The Globe Post and Hullabaloo
Quint Forgey / Politico:
On shutdown, White House wants Trump's tweets to do the talking
On shutdown, White House wants Trump's tweets to do the talking
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Breitbart, IJR, Raw Story and xinhuanet.com
Los Angeles Times:
Cyberattack from outside the U.S. hits newspapers across the country, preventing distribution, source says — A cyberattack that appears to have originated from outside the United States caused major printing and delivery disruptions at several newspapers across the country on Saturday including …
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Hollywood Reporter, Deadline and Ventura County Star, more at Techmeme »
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Los Angeles Times:
Foreign cyberattack hits newspapers: Here is what we know — The Los Angeles Times and other newspapers were the victims of an apparent cyberattack. — A source with knowledge of the situation said a “foreign entity” launched the attack using malware, which prevented The Times and others …
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Deadline
Roey Hadar / ABC News:
Retired Army Gen. Stanley McChrystal: President Donald Trump immoral, doesn't tell the truth — The former top commander of U.S. and international forces in Afghanistan, retired four-star Army Gen. Stanley McChrystal, criticized President Donald Trump's behavior and handling of the presidency …
Discussion:
Washington Post, Mother Jones and Political Wire
David Cohen / Politico:
Graham sees potential for deal to end shutdown — Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) said Sunday on CNN a compromise on border security that “might save the day in the Senate” was possible in the Senate. — “At the end of the day, there's a deal to be had,” he said to “State of the Union” …
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Breitbart
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Shannon Vavra / Axios:
Lindsey Graham to tell Trump to reconsider Syria decision
Lindsey Graham to tell Trump to reconsider Syria decision
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Politico
Nylah Burton / New York Magazine:
Alice Walker's Terrible Anti-Semitic Poem Felt Personal — to Her and to Me — When I first read Alice Walker's The Color Purple, I leaned into every word, inhaling Celie's tragic and triumphant story. In Celie, I felt the presence and pain of my female family members brought up in rural Alabama.
Los Angeles Times:
Here's how Paradise ignored warnings and became a deathtrap … The fate of Paradise was cast long before a windstorm last month fueled the deadliest fire in California history. — The ridge settlement was doomed by its proximity to a crack in the mighty wall of the Sierra Nevada, a deep canyon that bellowed gale-force winds.
Daniel Marans / HuffPost:
The Real Reason Why Some Bernie Sanders Fans Have It In For Beto O'Rourke — They worry that defections from Sanders' 2016 team will “whitewash” O'Rourke's policy record. — The progressive commentariat has been buzzing in recent weeks about the barrage of unflattering reporting …
Discussion:
Politico
Ben Geman / Axios:
Climate change gets a network's spotlight — NBC will devote the full hour of Sunday's “Meet the Press” to climate change, featuring an interview with Michael Bloomberg vowing to elevate its prominence in the White House race. — Why it matters: It's a rare star turn for climate change …
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Washington Free Beacon
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George Packer / The Atlantic:
No Peace for Them and No Honor for Us — Nothing in the presidency of Donald Trump combines tragedy and farce so perfectly as his decision to withdraw the 2,000 American troops in Syria. — “We have defeated ISIS in Syria, my only reason for being there during the Trump Presidency,” he tweeted on the morning of December 19.
Mary Papenfuss / HuffPost:
Taxpayers Dish Out $54,000 For Mar-a-Lago Party Tents For New Year's Eve — The public eats the costs of a bash at Trump's Florida resort while federal workers go without pay amid the partial government shutdown. — Whether or not President Donald Trump ultimately decides to party …
S.M. / The Economist:
The Supreme Court's term is likely to heat up in 2019 — The justices are about to consider a number of Donald Trump's most controversial policies — IT HAS been a fairly quiet few months at the Supreme Court. Since early October, the justices have heard 32 oral arguments in mostly tame cases …
Marlene Lenthang / Daily Mail:
‘F**k your president!’ Vape shop worker is FIRED after going on furious expletive-filled rant and refusing to serve a customer because he was wearing MAGA hat and Trump T-shirt — He entered the shop on Friday to purchase some items for his wife but was asked to leave allegedly after the employee saw his MAGA hat and Trump shirt
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RedState and Daily Wire
Joe Marusak / The Charlotte Observer:
Facebook apologizes for banning evangelist Franklin Graham for 24 hours — Facebook is apologizing to evangelist Franklin Graham for banning him from posting on the site for 24 hours last week, a Facebook spokesperson told The Charlotte Observer on Saturday.
Mary Papenfuss / HuffPost:
Trump Lies Again About 19,000 ‘Deleted’ FBI Text Messages — The inspector general of the president's own Justice Department concluded the texts were missing due to technological glitches; 20,000 were recovered. — As President Donald Trump raged against “angry Democrats” in a tweet Saturday …
Discussion:
swampdrain.com, emptywheel and IJR
Chris Mills Rodrigo / The Hill:
Video shows migrant children dragged, pushed at since-shuttered shelter — Videos from a since-shuttered migrant shelter in Arizona show children being pushed and dragged by staffers, The Arizona Republic reported Friday. — The shelter, Hacienda Del Sol, was shut down in late October.
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USA Today
Emily Wax-Thibodeaux / Washington Post:
FBI, New Jersey investigators gathered evidence of undocumented immigrants who say they worked at Trump golf course, lawyer says — Federal and state investigators are scrutinizing the employment documents of immigrants without legal status who say they worked at President Trump's golf club in New Jersey, according to their attorney.
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