Top Items:
CBS News:
Possible pay-to-play scheme for ambassador role in Trump administration uncovered by CBS News — A CBS News investigation has uncovered a possible pay-for-play scheme involving the Republican National Committee and President Donald Trump's nominee for ambassador to the Bahamas.
Discussion:
Raw Story
NBC News:
Trump's impeachment ire turns on Pompeo amid diplomats' starring roles — Impeachment hearings have created a rift between the president and one of his staunchest allies in the administration. — WASHINGTON —The Ukraine impeachment inquiry has created the first rift between President Donald Trump …
Discussion:
Raw Story and Political Wire
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Sheryl Gay Stolberg / New York Times:
Republicans Shift Defense of Trump While He Attacks Another Witness — With Gordon Sondland prepared to testify this week, Republicans backed away from complaints about secondhand information and instead offered a blunter defense: The president did nothing wrong.
Discussion:
Washington Post, CNBC, CNN, Bloomberg, NBC News, The Week and Talking Points Memo
Erin Banco / The Daily Beast:
Gordon Sondland Stepped In ‘and Things Went Really Off the Rails’ — “Erratic,” “very emotional,” and “lots of yelling.” Those are some of the words used to describe Sondland's performance in a White House meeting with top Ukrainian officials. — Ukrainian officials arrived at the White House …
Jacqueline Alemany / Washington Post:
Power Up: Ok Boomer: We're more pragmatic than you think, say young voters in new study
Power Up: Ok Boomer: We're more pragmatic than you think, say young voters in new study
Discussion:
Political Wire, Axios and The Week
Rishika Dugyala / Politico:
Trump labels top Pence aide a ‘Never Trumper’
Trump labels top Pence aide a ‘Never Trumper’
Discussion:
The Daily Beast, Raw Story, Associated Press, his vorpal sword, Slate, Axios, Mother Jones and The Hill
Kendall Karson / ABC News:
70% of Americans say Trump's actions tied to Ukraine were wrong: POLL — An overwhelming 70% of Americans think President Donald Trump's request to a foreign leader to investigate his political rival, which sits at the heart of the House of Representatives' impeachment inquiry, was wrong, a new ABC News/Ipsos poll finds.
Discussion:
Bloomberg, Political Wire, The Week, Twitchy, Washington Times, 6abc and Mediaite
Will Sommer / The Daily Beast:
Conservative Group Fires Michelle Malkin Over Support for Holocaust Denier — Malkin's firing from Young America's Foundation marks the latest battle between supporters of Holocaust denier Nick Fuentes and more establishment conservative figures. — A conservative group cut ties …
Discussion:
Mediaite
New York Times:
President Trump Bet Big This Election Year. Here's Why He Lost. — In Louisiana and Kentucky, Mr. Trump's political pleas appeared to energize Democrats and political moderates as much as his own base, sending turnout in cities and suburbs soaring. — WASHINGTON — When President Trump showed …
Discussion:
Political Wire
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Alexander Burns / New York Times:
How Moderates Are Seizing the Moment in the Democratic Primary
How Moderates Are Seizing the Moment in the Democratic Primary
Discussion:
Political Wire, Lawyers, Guns & Money and Washington Post
Rod Dreher / The American Conservative:
Trump Loses Louisiana
Trump Loses Louisiana
Discussion:
PJ Media Home, The Advocate, Axios and Breitbart
New York Times:
The Iran Cables: Secret Documents Show How Tehran Wields Power in Iraq — Hundreds of leaked intelligence reports shed light on a shadow war for regional influence — and the battles within the Islamic Republic's own spy divisions — In mid-October, with unrest swirling in Baghdad …
RELATED:
The Intercept:
Leaked Iranian Intelligence Reports Expose Tehran's Vast Web of Influence in Iraq — In mid-October, with unrest swirling in Baghdad, a familiar visitor slipped quietly into the Iraqi capital. The city had been under siege for weeks, as protesters marched in the streets …
New York Times:
Trump Retreats From Flavor Ban for E-Cigarettes — Advisers say the president pulled back from proposed restrictions intended to curb teenage vaping after he was warned of the political fallout among voters. — WASHINGTON — It was a swift and bold reaction to a growing public health crisis affecting teenagers.
Discussion:
Washington Post, National Review, CNN, The Hill, KTLA and The Week
RELATED:
Washington Post:
Trump pulls back from flavored vaping ban — Everything seemed ready to go: President Trump's ban on most flavored e-cigarettes had been cleared by federal regulators. Officials were poised to announce they would order candy, fruit and mint flavors off the market within 30 days …
Discussion:
Talking Points Memo, Townhall, Slate, The Week and Axios
Kim Tong-hyung / Associated Press:
North Korea says it won't give Trump a summit for free — In this undated photo provided on Monday, Nov. 18, 2019, by the North Korean government, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, center, poses with North Korean air force sharpshooters and soldiers for a photo at an unknown location in North Korea.
Discussion:
Political Wire
Eric Felten / RealClearInvestigations:
Analysis: Media's Biden Standard of ‘No Evidence’ Is a Double Standard — For three years many of journalism's most prestigious news outlets won acclaim for making and repeating claims President Trump and his team had colluded with Russia to steal the 2016 election.
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Ryan Goodman / Just Security:
Chart: Side-by-Side Comparison of Kurt Volker's vs Other Witnesses' Testimony in Impeachment Inquiry — Introduction by Ryan Goodman: — Ambassador Kurt Volker faces a serious credibility problem for having denied knowledge or involvement in President Donald Trump and Rudy Giuliani's efforts …
Jim Waterson / The Guardian:
New York Times editor says Trump has put his reporters' lives at risk — Dean Baquet decries abuse of journalists and defends not calling president racist — The executive editor of the New York Times has accused Donald Trump of putting his reporters' lives at risk by subjecting …
Discussion:
Political Wire and The Hill
Byron York / Washington Examiner:
Democrats don't want public to know origins of Ukraine probe like they didn't want public to know origins of Russia probe — Why are House Democrats stonewalling questions about the identity of the Trump-Ukraine whistleblower? — Start by taking them at their word.
Discussion:
emptywheel
National Review:
Bloomberg, Once a Tough Talker, Becomes a Pander Bear — His recent apology for stop-and-frisk probably won't win him the nomination. — We now know Michael Bloomberg is going to run for president. He's turning himself into a pander bear. — During his three terms as New York City's mayor …
Discussion:
Mike Bloomberg
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Shane Goldmacher / New York Times:
Michael Bloomberg Pushed ‘Stop-and-Frisk’ Policing. Now He's Apologizing.
Michael Bloomberg Pushed ‘Stop-and-Frisk’ Policing. Now He's Apologizing.
Discussion:
The Hill, The Week, New York Daily News, BuzzFeed News, PJ Media Home, Law & Crime, Politico, Washington Free Beacon, Mother Jones, HuffPost, Mediaite, Slate, Axios and Washington Post
Vanessa Swales / New York Times:
Denver Radio Host Fired in Mid-Show After Criticizing Trump — Craig Silverman, who said he felt frozen out on a station that solidly backed the president, had angered managers over appearances on competing media. — Craig Silverman had clearly worn out his welcome on KNUS, a conservative talk-radio station in Denver.
Discussion:
Talking Points Memo
RELATED:
Caitlin Owens / Axios:
Warren's path to Medicare for All is rocky — Sen. Elizabeth Warren's two-part plan to pass a public option as a transition into Medicare for All — and then full-blown Medicare for All a few years later — has revealed the difficulty of appealing to both the pragmatic and progressive wings of the party.
Discussion:
Washington Post, Political Wire, Common Dreams and Raw Story
David Catron / The American Spectator:
Impeachment by Focus Group — The Democrats try to get traction by dumbing down the narrative. — A Democratic focus group (YouTube screenshot) — Anyone following the increasingly desperate Democratic impeachment effort will by now be aware that they have exchanged the term “quid pro quo” for “bribery” and “extortion.”
Discussion:
Power Line, Politico and The Week
Karen Tumulty / Washington Post:
We need a second opinion on the president's health — The only thing of which we can be fairly certain about President Trump's mysterious Saturday-afternoon trip to Walter Reed National Military Medical Center is this: The White House is not telling the truth when it claims the president was there …
Cory A. Booker / New York Times:
Stop Being Dogmatic About Public Charter Schools — We can't dismiss good ideas because they don't fit into neat ideological boxes or don't personally affect some of the louder, more privileged voices in the party. — Mr. Booker is a Democratic senator from New Jersey and a presidential candidate.
Justin Baragona / The Daily Beast:
Chris Wallace Accuses Top Republican of ‘Very Badly’ Mischaracterizing Impeachment Testimony — “No, sir, they are career foreign service officers and these are people who worked in the Trump administration,” Wallace snapped back at Scalise. — Fox News Sunday anchor Chris Wallace repeatedly …
Discussion:
Mother Jones, Occupy Democrats and Contemptor