memeorandum: I Was A Cable Guy. I Saw The Worst Of America. (Lauren Hough/HuffPost)

10:05 PM ET, December 30, 2018

Top Items:

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 …

Discussion: twitchy.com, Political Wire, Raw Story, Splinter, POLITICUSUSA, The Daily Beast, Washington Press, Hullabaloo, Bloomberg, IJR, Vox, Mediaite, The Daily Caller, Daily Wire, Fox News Insider, CNN, New York Times, CBS News, Axios, Politico, Washington Post, NPR, fox8.com and The Gateway Pundit

New York Times:

Trump Digs In, Darkening Hopes for a Deal to End the Shutdown — WASHINGTON — The television is on. The phone is never far away. And President Trump is repeatedly calling allies such as members of Congress and conservative radio hosts, telling them privately that he will not give in on his demand for funding for a border wall.

Discussion: CNN, Wall Street Journal, Raw Story, FOX31 Denver, Bloomberg and Washington Post

Maggie Haberman / New York Times:

Kelly, on His Way Out, Says Administration Long Ago Abandoned Idea of Concrete Wall — The concrete border wall that President Trump has repeatedly called for as a signature campaign promise is not actually a wall and has not been since “early on in the administration,” …

Discussion: POLITICUSUSA, Raw Story, Mediaite and Splinter

Aaron Blake / Washington Post:

John Kelly paints yet another dim portrait of Trump — A few months ago, a senior Trump administration official wrote a controversial anonymous op-ed in the New York Times that said forces within the administration were working to rein in President Trump's potentially damaging whims.

Discussion: Daily Kos, Mother Jones, Raw Story and POLITICUSUSA

Zeke Miller / Associated Press:
Trump's promise of a wall may not be fulfilled as advertised

Discussion: Axios and Raw Story

Politico:
POLITICO Playbook: Who will replace Mattis?

Discussion: Mediaite

Martin Pengelly / The Guardian:
John Kelly: judge me on what Trump didn't do while I was chief of staff

Discussion: Mediaite, Contemptor and Breitbart

Kris Schneider / ABC News:
Trump administration border chief says US needs ‘to invest in Central America,’ …

Discussion: CNN, Politico, Breitbart, The Guardian and Bangor Daily News

Bart Jansen / USA Today:

Trump's tweets: Judges in government secrecy cases say they are ‘speculation’ and not ‘pure fact’ — “Speculation.” “Unofficial information.” “Political statements rather than assertions of pure fact.” — Those are words federal judges have used to describe President Donald Trump's tweets …

Lauren Hough / HuffPost:

I Was A Cable Guy. I Saw The Worst Of America. — A glimpse of the suburban grotesque, featuring Russian mobsters, Fox News rage addicts, a caged man in a sex dungeon, and Dick Cheney. — I can't tell you about a specific day as a cable tech. I can't tell you my first customer was a cat hoarder.

Jonathan Turley / The Hill:

Donald Trump is completely transforming the Democrats — Washington has long been a stranger to principle other than the principle of self advancement. Yet, something new seems to be emerging across the country. Politicians have long felt the need to disguise raw political agendas in the pretense of principle.

Quint Forgey / Politico:
Jeffries: Trump's border wall request ‘a ransom note’

Discussion: Breitbart

David Cohen / Politico:
McAuliffe says Democrats shouldn't ‘give an inch’

Discussion: Breitbart

Alex Thompson / Politico:

Bernie alumni seek meeting to address ‘sexual violence’ on '16 campaign — More than two dozen women and men who worked on Bernie Sanders' 2016 presidential campaign are seeking a meeting with the senator and his top political advisers to “discuss the issue of sexual violence and harassment …

Daniel Marans / HuffPost: The Real Reason Why Some Bernie Sanders Fans Have It In For Beto O'Rourke

Will Sommer / The Daily Beast:

Sen. Graham Floats Temporary DACA Permits Deal For Wall Funding — Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) floated the idea of a compromise deal to end the government shutdown on Sunday, proposing an extension of work permits for “Dreamers” who entered the country illegally as children in exchange …

Discussion: Breitbart and One America News Network

Shannon Vavra / Axios:
Lindsey Graham to tell Trump to reconsider Syria decision

Discussion: Associated Press, Washington Post, Politico and One America News Network

David Cohen / Politico:
Graham sees potential for deal to end shutdown

Discussion: Breitbart and Washington Post

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.

CNN: California's largest utility provider could face murder charges for wildfires, AG says

Alexandra Topping / The Guardian:

French Resistance hero who saved hundreds of Jewish children dies aged 108 — Georges Loinger escaped from German camp and spent rest of the war helping children cross Swiss border — Georges Loinger used all his skill and cunning - and a large dash of chutzpah - to rescue Jewish children …

The Times of Israel: French hero who saved hundreds of Jewish children dies aged 108

Nelson W. Cunningham / Politico:

A Holiday Mystery: Why Did John Roberts Intervene in the Mueller Probe? — A mysterious grand jury subpoena case has been working itself through the D.C. courts since August. Doughty reporting by Politico linked the grand jury case to special counsel Robert Mueller.

S.M. / The Economist:
The Supreme Court's term is likely to heat up in 2019

Discussion: Axios

Hunter Walker / Yahoo News:

Stephen Miller steps into spotlight amid chaos in ‘zombie’ White House press shop — WASHINGTON — In recent weeks, the White House has been shaken by an ongoing government shutdown, tumbling markets and the abrupt departure of Secretary of Defense Jim Mattis. With

Discussion: Raw Story and Taylor Marsh

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: The Atlantic, IJR, CNN, Task & Purpose, Breitbart and Mother Jones

Felicia Sonmez / Washington Post:
Former U.S. commander calls Trump dishonest and immoral

Discussion: New York Times

Sheryl Gay Stolberg / New York Times:

Glorified and Vilified, Representative-Elect Ilhan Omar Tells Critics: ‘Just Deal’ — WASHINGTON — As a 12-year-old refugee from Somalia adjusting to life in the Virginia suburbs, Ilhan Omar fended off bullies who stuck gum on her scarf, knocked her down stairs and jumped her when she changed clothes for gym class.

Andrew Kugle / Washington Free Beacon:

Bloomberg: U.S. Meeting Paris Climate Goals Without Being Part of the Agreement — Former New York City Mayor and possible 2020 candidate Michael Bloomberg said Sunday that the United States is meeting the goals of Paris Climate Accords despite withdrawing from the agreement.

Discussion: twitchy.com

Ben Geman / Axios: Climate change gets a network's spotlight

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.

Discussion: Breitbart, ThinkProgress, The Daily Caller and Franklin Graham, more at Mediagazer »