Top Items:
Mike Dorning / Yahoo News:
Trump Senate Impeachment Trial Finds Scant Precedent in History — (Bloomberg) — Bill Clinton's impeachment two decades ago set the modern template for President Donald Trump's upcoming trial in the Senate. But the process may be even more contentious this time given sharper tribal divisions in Washington.
RELATED:
Sadie Gurman / Wall Street Journal:
Murkowski ‘Disturbed’ by McConnell's Senate Impeachment Strategy
Alexander Bolton / The Hill:
McConnell flexes reelection muscle with $1B gift for Kentucky
Meg Cunningham / ABC News:
Sen. Lisa Murkowski said she's ‘disturbed’ by McConnell's comments on White House coordination
Sen. Lisa Murkowski said she's ‘disturbed’ by McConnell's comments on White House coordination
Discussion:
Fox News, The Hill, Alternet.org, Florida Politics, Slate and The Gateway Pundit
David Siders / Politico:
Democratic insiders: Bernie could win the nomination — Suddenly, Bernie Sanders' presidential campaign is being taken seriously. — For months the Vermont senator was written off by Democratic Party insiders as a candidate with a committed but ultimately narrow base who was too far left to win the primary.
Ellen Nakashima / Washington Post:
U.S. Cybercom contemplates information warfare to counter Russian interference in 2020 election — Military cyber officials are developing information warfare tactics that could be deployed against senior Russian officials and oligarchs if Moscow tries to interfere in the 2020 U.S. elections …
Maggie Fitzgerald / CNBC:
Trump stock market rally is far outpacing past US presidents — The S&P 500 has returned more than 50% since President Trump was elected, more than double the average market return of presidents three years into their term, according to Bespoke Investment Group.
RELATED:
Jesse Pound / CNBC:
Global stock markets gained $17 trillion in value in 2019
Bill Scher / Politico:
The 2019 Presidential Campaign Dropouts, Ranked — The 2020 Democratic primary field was stuffed with long-shot candidates convinced that a presidential campaign can only improve a politician's reputation. Even if you don't become president, a presidential campaign can help score a cable TV contract …
Jay Rosen / PressThink:
The Christmas Eve Confessions of Chuck Todd — That disinformation was going to overtake Republican politics was discoverable years before he says he discovered it. — 'Round midnight on Christmas eve, Rolling Stone posted a short interview with Chuck Todd, host of “the longest running show on television,” NBC's Meet the Press.
Lauren Fruen / Daily Mail:
Now a new picture of the famed Wall of Sound producer — taken at the California Health Care Facility in Stockton on November 19 and exclusively obtained by DailyMail.com - shows him sporting a new look. — Spector looks to be in good spirits ahead of turning 79 on Thursday.
Discussion:
Althouse
Tamar Lapin / Page Six:
Ari Behn, Norwegian princess' ex and Kevin Spacey accuser, dead at 47 — Ari Behn, a former member of Norway's royal family who was one of Kevin Spacey's sexual assault accusers, died by suicide on Wednesday, his manager said. He was 47. — “It is with great sadness in our hearts …
Discussion:
The American Mirror and Joe.My.God.
Patrick J. McDonnell / Los Angeles Times:
Seeing a Central American surge, Mexicans join the asylum line at the U.S. border — Emma Sánchez waited patiently in line at the foot of a bridge leading across the Rio Grande and into Texas, one of tens of thousands of people stuck on Mexico's northern border seeking political asylum in the United States.
James Arkin / Politico:
Democrats seize on anti-Obamacare ruling to steamroll GOP in 2020 — A court ruling last week putting the Affordable Care Act further in jeopardy may provide the opening Democrats have been waiting for to regain the upper hand on health care against Republicans in 2020.
Discussion:
Raw Story
Regina Garcia Cano / Associated Press:
Nonstop violence as Baltimore nears record homicide rate — BALTIMORE (AP) — Baltimore could wrap up 2019 with its highest per-capita homicide rate on record as killings of adults and minors alike for drugs, retribution, money or no clear reason continue to add up and city officials appear unable to stop the violence.
Amanda Marcotte / Salon:
Hallmark movies are fascist propaganda — Forget “Triumph of the Will” — the most insidious authoritarian propaganda comes in the form of schmaltz — The Hallmark Channel has been having a rough go of it in the past few weeks. The cable TV behemoth, which has been minting money …
Discussion:
Althouse
Associated Press:
Israeli PM Netanyahu hustled off stage at campaign event amid rocket attack — The rockets were fired while the prime minister was appearing in the southern city of Ashkelon. — JERUSALEM — Israel said a rocket was fired from the Gaza Strip into its southern territory Wednesday …
Discussion:
One America News Network, middleeastmonitor.com and Axios
RELATED:
Eric W. Dolan / Raw Story:
Psychiatry expert says Trump's rambling Merry Christmas rant includes three signs of serious mental impairment — President Donald Trump's speech in Florida over the weekend provides evidence that he is suffering from cognitive decline, according to a psychiatric expert.
Discussion:
Alternet.org and Althouse
Zolan Kanno-Youngs / New York Times:
A Barrier to Trump's Border Wall: Landowners in Texas — Construction of President Trump's border wall has been slow going, in part because the Texans who own the land have to be coaxed or coerced to sell it, whether they want to or not. — PROGRESO, Texas — Two days after giving …