Top Items:
Craig Whitlock / Washington Post:
AT WAR WITH THE TRUTH … A confidential trove of government documents obtained by The Washington Post reveals that senior U.S. officials failed to tell the truth about the war in Afghanistan throughout the 18-year campaign, making rosy pronouncements they knew to be false and hiding unmistakable evidence the war had become unwinnable.
Discussion:
Mother Jones, National Review, CNN, emptywheel, Outside the Beltway, Politico, The Daily Caller, New York Post, Task & Purpose, Reason, New York Times, Mediaite, IJR, Raw Story and Instapundit
Katie Benner / New York Times:
Barr Allows for Release of Additional Details About Ex-Spy Behind Steele Dossier — The British former spy was told on the eve of its release that a highly anticipated inspector general's report would contain further information about him than he had expected.
Discussion:
CNN, Redstate, Talking Points Memo, Daily Kos and Fox News
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The Daily Beast:
DOJ Report Has Trump Fanboys Quivering With Anticipation — Right-wing media and QAnon fans have promised massive bombshells. What happens if it fizzles? — Donald Trump's staunchest allies have continuously built up expectations that the Department of Justice inspector general's report …
Discussion:
Politico, Right Wing Watch and ABC News
New York Times:
The Indispensable Man: How Giuliani Led Trump to the Brink of Impeachment — Not so long ago, it seemed to Rudolph W. Giuliani that he would be presiding over a hefty part of the world. — Holding court a few nights after the 2016 election in a private cigar bar on Fifth Avenue …
Discussion:
Raw Story
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Franklin Foer / The Atlantic:
Donald Trump's Lawyer Is Benjamin Franklin's Night Sweats — It can sometimes seem as if Donald Trump has outsourced the defense of his presidency to an erratic buffoon. Rudy Giuliani is the self-styled security expert who can't stop butt-dialing. He is the trusted attorney whom journalists routinely bait into damning admissions.
Susan Simpson / Just Security:
Seven Outright Falsehoods in GOP Staff Report on Impeachment — On December 2, 2019, Republican staff of the three committees overseeing the impeachment inquiry published a report prepared for the GOP Chairs: Representatives Devin Nunes, Jim Jordan, and Michael McCaul.
Discussion:
Raw Story and emptywheel
Bloomberg:
Pelosi, White House Near Handshake Deal on New Nafta Agreement — Mexico's chief negotiator Seade returns to Washington Monday — Democrats want to show they can legislate amid impeachment — The Trump administration and House Democrats are on the verge of announcing a handshake deal …
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Firehouse Strategies:
BREAKING: As Impeachment Moves Ahead Trump Surges in Battleground States — Firehouse/Optimus December Battleground State Poll: As Impeachment Moves Ahead, President Trump Well-Positioned Against Leading Democratic Contenders — This week we continued our quarterly battleground polling series in Michigan …
Discussion:
Redstate, Axios, Washington Times, Disrn, Political Wire and Breitbart
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Li Zhou / Vox:
Joe Biden maintains a massive lead in a new South Carolina ranked-choice poll
Joe Biden maintains a massive lead in a new South Carolina ranked-choice poll
Discussion:
Washington Times
ABC News:
Judiciary Committee Trump impeachment hearing: Live updates — Committee attorneys are laying out evidence from the House Dems' Ukraine probe. — LIVE NOW — The House Judiciary Committee on Monday is hearing testimony from Democratic lawyers laying out their case for President Donald …
Discussion:
NBC News, The Hill, Breitbart, One America News Network, C-SPAN.org and House Judiciary Committee
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New York Times:
Paul A. Volcker, Fed Chairman Who Waged War on Inflation, Is Dead at 92 — Mr. Volcker helped shape American economic policy for decades, notably by leading the Federal Reserve's brute-force campaign to subdue inflation in the 1970s and '80s. — Paul A. Volcker, who helped shape American economic policy …
Discussion:
UPI
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Marty Steinberg / CNBC:
Paul Volcker, the Carter-Reagan Fed chairman who beat inflation, dies at age 92
Paul Volcker, the Carter-Reagan Fed chairman who beat inflation, dies at age 92
Discussion:
New York Times
Greg Sargent / Washington Post:
The massive triumph of the rich, illustrated by stunning new data — The triumph of the rich, which is one of the defining stories of our time, is generally described as largely the reflection of two factors. The first, of course, is the explosion of income among top earners …
Christopher Mathias / HuffPost:
Kamala Harris Leads Senators In Demanding ‘Immediate Removal’ Of Stephen Miller — More than half of Senate Democrats say Miller's “demonstrable white nationalist ideology has been directly translated” into Trump administration policy. — Sen. Kamala Harris (D-Calif.) …
Discussion:
Vanity Fair, VICE, The Independent and Mediaite
David K. Li / NBC News:
Supreme Court upholds Kentucky abortion law mandating ultrasounds — The Supreme Court on Monday upheld a Kentucky law, mandating doctors perform ultrasounds and show fetal images to patients before they can perform abortions. — The high court declined, without comment …
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Kimberly Winston / Washington Post:
Church nativity displays Jesus, Mary and Joseph in cages, separated at the border — A Southern California church flipped the lights on its outdoor manger scene Saturday evening to reveal Jesus, Mary and Joseph as border detainees, each figure isolated in its own chain-link cage with a barbed-wire top.
Discussion:
Fox News and American Greatness
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James Queally / Los Angeles Times:
Claremont Nativity scene depicts Jesus, Mary and Joseph as refugees separated in cages
Claremont Nativity scene depicts Jesus, Mary and Joseph as refugees separated in cages
Discussion:
CNN, Karen Clark Ristine, Breitbart and Common Dreams
New York Times:
India Prepares to Block Naturalization for Muslims — A bill establishing a religious test for immigration to India is expected to pass Parliament, a major step for Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Hindu-nationalist agenda. — HYDERABAD, India — India took a major step toward …
Scott Stump / TODAY.com:
Michelle Obama speaks out on impeachment proceedings: 'It's surreal' — The former first lady opened up about a number of issues in an exclusive interview with TODAY's Jenna Bush Hager. — Michelle Obama views the impeachment proceedings involving President Donald Trump as “surreal,” …
Aidan McLaughlin / Mediaite:
Exclusive: Fox News to Replace Shep Smith With Veteran Anchor Bill Hemmer — Fox News anchor Bill Hemmer is taking over Shepard Smith's 3 p.m. slot at Fox News, Mediaite has learned. — Hemmer, who joined the network in 2005 after working as an anchor at CNN, currently co-hosts Fox News show America's Newsroom with Sandra Smith.
Greg B. Smith / The City:
Mob Looted Tax-Break Towers Rising Along The High Line: Feds — They'll stand as shining symbols of affluence next to The High Line: two towers known as The XI, housing a hotel and 234 condos going for up to $25 million, rising to take their place in the city skyline.
Jenny Vrentas / Sports Illustrated:
2019 Sportsperson of the Year: Megan Rapinoe — Playing the world's game, on the world's stage, under attack by a world leader, she dominated. And in doing so without fear, Megan Rapinoe became a voice for so many across the world. — Before the final whistle, before the chants of …
Lydia Saad / Gallup:
More Americans Delaying Medical Treatment Due to Cost — WASHINGTON, D.C. — A record 25% of Americans say they or a family member put off treatment for a serious medical condition in the past year because of the cost, up from 19% a year ago and the highest in Gallup's trend.
Ian Millhiser / Vox:
What Trump has done to the courts, explained — No president in recent memory has done more to change the judiciary than Donald Trump. — In less than three years as president, President Trump has done nearly as much to shape the courts as President Obama did in eight years.
Discussion:
Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion
U.S. Department of the Treasury:
Treasury Sanctions Corruption and Material Support Networks — Global Magnitsky and Venezuela designations target corruption on International Anti-Corruption Day — Washington - Corruption is a global problem. It undermines the abilities of governments to adequately care for their citizens …
Discussion:
Bloomberg
New York Times:
Sanna Marin of Finland to Become World's Youngest Prime Minister — At 34, Ms. Marin will head a coalition made up of five parties, in a government led by women. — HELSINKI, Finland — Sanna Marin, 34, is set to become the world's youngest sitting prime minister when she is sworn in this week in Finland …
Andrea González-Ramírez / GEN:
What Happened When I Tried to Find Someone Who Bought a Bloomberg T-Shirt — Who is buying and wearing T-shirts for the late-entering moderate billionaire candidate for the Democratic presidential nomination? — omething curious happens when you visit the official campaign website of Mike Bloomberg …