Top Items:
Kate Brannen / Just Security:
Exclusive: Unredacted Ukraine Documents Reveal Extent of Pentagon's Legal Concerns — “Clear direction from POTUS to continue to hold.” — This is what Michael Duffey, associate director of national security programs at the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), told Elaine McCusker …
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Aaron Blake / Washington Post:
New coverup questions in Trump's Ukraine scandal — One of the GOP's chief talking points in its impeachment defense of President Trump has been this: The military aid to Ukraine was withheld, yes, but it was released without any quid pro quo being satisfied. Ipso facto, nothing to see here.
Discussion:
Raw Story
Jennifer Rubin / Washington Post:
Susan Collins sounds like she's covering for Trump — In her never-ending quest to undermine her reputation as a straight-shooting, independent voice, Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine) continues to give Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) leeway to rig President Trump's impeachment trial.
Discussion:
The Hill, Bloomberg, Law & Crime and The American Conservative
CNN:
White House budget official told Pentagon that order to hold Ukraine aid came from Trump, national security site reports — Washington (CNN)In the face of warnings from the Pentagon that the hold on military aid to Ukraine could be illegal, an official from the Office of Management and Budget …
Discussion:
Law & Crime and Raw Story
Greg Sargent / Washington Post:
A deceptively edited video of Joe Biden signals what's coming — If you thought the 2016 election was awash in disinformation and lies, get ready: The 2020 election is going to make that affair look like a knitting session. — A video that was edited in a monumentally dishonest fashion …
Discussion:
Latest from Crooks and Liars, Quartz, Raw Story, Hullabaloo and The Gateway Pundit
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Katelyn Burns / Vox:
A deceptively edited video of Joe Biden illustrates a big problem in 2020
A deceptively edited video of Joe Biden illustrates a big problem in 2020
Discussion:
Mother Jones and New York Magazine
NBC New York:
Anti-Semitism Grows in Jewish Communities in NYC Suburbs — The expansion of Hasidic communities in New York's Hudson Valley, the Catskills and northern New Jersey has led to some anti-semitic rhetoric — What to Know — With the expansion of Orthodox communities outside NYC has come some civic sparring
Discussion:
National Review, Redstate, Washington Free Beacon, Mediaite, The Daily Caller, Algemeiner.com and The Post Millennial
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Adam Kredo / Washington Free Beacon:
Manhattan DA Declines to Prosecute Anti-Semitic Attack as Hate Crime
Manhattan DA Declines to Prosecute Anti-Semitic Attack as Hate Crime
Discussion:
The Right Scoop and WND
CBS New York:
Lawmakers, Community Step Up Response Amid New Reports Of Anti-Semitic Attacks
Lawmakers, Community Step Up Response Amid New Reports Of Anti-Semitic Attacks
Discussion:
National Review, Law & Crime and New York Times
Ed Morrissey / HotAir:
Israeli Victim Attorneys: Manhattan DA Will Refuse To Charge Hate Crime Over Anti-Semitic Subway Attack
Israeli Victim Attorneys: Manhattan DA Will Refuse To Charge Hate Crime Over Anti-Semitic Subway Attack
Discussion:
The Lid and Jihad Watch
John DiStaso / WMUR:
Democrat Marianne Williamson lays off campaign staff nationally, including NH — Financial issues force spiritual author, lecturer to drastically scale back her unorthodox presidential campaign — MANCHESTER, N.H. — Marianne Williamson, who has been campaigning …
Discussion:
CNN, Breitbart, The Week, The Hill and New York Post
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Ed O'Keefe / CBS News:
Marianne Williamson lays off entire campaign staff
Anna Palmer / Politico:
POLITICO Playbook: Why holding the impeachment articles might not matter — HAPPY NEW YEAR, and thanks to Blake for filling in the last few days. Welcome to an election year. — HERE'S A LITTLE BIT OF FOOD FOR THOUGHT: What if it doesn't matter if Speaker NANCY PELOSI sends over the impeachment articles?
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Washington Post:
Trump needs to find a diplomatic exit from the Middle East hole he dug for himself
Trump needs to find a diplomatic exit from the Middle East hole he dug for himself
Discussion:
National Review, The Investigative Project … and Breitbart
Wendy R. Sherman / USA Today:
Attack on US Embassy in Iraq shows Trump is failing. He walked into Iran's trap.
Attack on US Embassy in Iraq shows Trump is failing. He walked into Iran's trap.
Ross Ibbetson / Daily Mail:
By ROSS IBBETSON FOR MAILONLINE
By ROSS IBBETSON FOR MAILONLINE
Discussion:
New York Post and The Right Scoop
New York Times:
Julián Castro Ends Presidential Run: 'It Simply Isn't Our Time' — Mr. Castro, the former housing secretary and mayor of San Antonio, was the only Latino candidate in the race. He championed progressive policies but did not find his footing in polls.
Discussion:
Politico, NPR, CNBC, Breitbart, DNyuz, ABC News, FiveThirtyEight, The Guardian, HuffPost, Talking Points Memo, The Daily Caller, Common Dreams, Axios, Slate, The Root, The Week, UPI, Mediaite, Raw Story, Disrn and Sara A. Carter
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Kyle Mantyla / Right Wing Watch:
Liz Crokin Predicts That Tom Hanks Will Soon Be Arrested for Involvement in Occult Pedophilia — Last year, right-wing “journalist” and Trump-worshiping conspiracy theorist Liz Crokin publicly declared that if the mass arrests long promised by those promoting the QAnon conspiracy theory …
Steve Holland / Reuters:
Trump re-election campaign raises $46 million in fourth quarter — WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Donald Trump's re-election campaign raised $46 million in the fourth quarter of 2019, a major haul that was boosted by a surge of donations in the wake of the Democrats' impeachment bid, a senior campaign official said on Thursday.
Discussion:
The Hill, Wall Street Journal, The Daily Caller, Talking Points Memo, BizPac Review, Breitbart, Vox, Daily Sounder, CBS News and Sara A. Carter
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Jacob Pramuk / CNBC:
Joe Biden raises $22.7 million in the fourth quarter, lagging Bernie Sanders and Pete Buttigieg
Joe Biden raises $22.7 million in the fourth quarter, lagging Bernie Sanders and Pete Buttigieg
Discussion:
Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion, Disrn, Florida Politics, Althouse and WND
Matt Stevens / New York Times:
Andrew Yang Raised $16.5 Million in the Last 3 Months, His Campaign Says
Andrew Yang Raised $16.5 Million in the Last 3 Months, His Campaign Says
Discussion:
Washington Post, Politico, Breitbart, Axios, TheBlaze, The Daily Caller, Daily Kos, One America News Network, DNyuz, VICE, Contemptor and Mediaite
Robbie Meredith / BBC:
Hillary Clinton appointed chancellor of Queen's University, Belfast — Hillary Clinton is to be the new chancellor of Queen's University, Belfast (QUB). — She is the university's 11th chancellor and first woman to take up the post. — In a statement, Mrs Clinton said it was a “great privilege” to become the chancellor of QUB.
Jay Greene / Greenwich Time:
Amazon threatens to fire critics who are outspoken on its environmental policies — SEATTLE - Amazon has warned at least two employees who publicly criticized the company's environmental policies that they could be fired for future violations of its communications policy.
Bob Fredericks / New York Post:
Andrew McCabe said he lied to FBI about Wall Street Journal leak — Former FBI deputy director Andrew McCabe apologized for lying to agents who spent weeks investigating the source of a leak to the Wall Street Journal that actually came from him, new documents reveal.
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Jeff Mordock / Washington Times:
Ex-FBI Deputy McCabe admits to leaking info to media, obstructing probe
Ex-FBI Deputy McCabe admits to leaking info to media, obstructing probe
Discussion:
Townhall
Jennifer Hansler / CNN:
Bill Taylor departs post as top US diplomat in Ukraine — Hear what Bill Taylor said to the House during impeachment — Washington (CNN)Bill Taylor, who led the US embassy in Ukraine and served as a key witness in the House impeachment inquiry, has departed his post.
Emma Dumain / The State:
Trey Gowdy won't join Trump's legal team. 'He doesn't need another lawyer' — Amid confusion late last year regarding his status on President Donald Trump's legal team, former Republican Rep. Trey Gowdy said Thursday he has no plans to formally assist the White House in its effort to defend …
Jonathan Chait / New York Magazine:
Trump Covering Up Scheme to Use Justice Department to Punish CNN — President Trump has made two major attempts (so far) to use his power to intimidate and control independent media. The second attempt was his intervention to deny Amazon a $10 billion Pentagon contract as retribution against the Washington Post.
Discussion:
The Atlantic, Raw Story and Mediaite
Miriam Berger / Washington Post:
Australia's prime minister visited families devastated by the wildfires. It did not go well. — The fire mercilessly tore through Cobargo, a small town near the coast in southern New South Wales, on Monday night, burning down the main street and killing two people, a father and son, caught in its destructive path.
Discussion:
New York Times, New York Post, Fox News and Daily Kos
Ross LaJeunesse / Medium:
I Was Google's Head of International Relations. Here's Why I Left. — The company's motto used to be “Don't be evil.” Things have changed. — When I walked out the door on my last day as Google's Head of International Relations, I couldn't help but think of my first day at the company.
Discussion:
Washington Post, Yahoo News, New York Post, Gizmodo, Press Herald, The Daily Caller, Mercury News, Mashable, DNyuz, Engadget, TechCrunch, The Week and Mediaite, more at Techmeme »
Dominic Cummings's Blog:
‘Two hands are a lot’ — we're hiring data scientists, project managers, policy experts, assorted weirdos... 'This is possibly the single largest design flaw contributing to the bad Nash equilibrium in which ... many governments are stuck. Every individual high-functioning competent person knows …
Discussion:
Bloomberg, Politico, The Guardian and Financial Times
Kaley Johnson / Fort Worth Star-Telegram:
Judge rules baby at Cook Children's can be taken off life support against family's wishes — A judge ruled Thursday that a 11-month-old baby can be taken off life support at Cook Children's Medical Center in Fort Worth against the family's wishes. — The family of Tinslee Lewis …
Discussion:
The Daily Caller
Tim Urban / Wait But Why:
It's 2020 and you're in the future — It's finally the 2020s. After 20 years of not being able to refer to the decade we're in, we're all finally free—in the clear for the next 80 years until 2100, at which point I assume AGI will have figured out what to call the two decades between 2100 and 2120.
Discussion:
Eschaton
Scott Bauer / Associated Press:
Conservatives seek immediate purge of voters in Wisconsin — FILE - In this Nov. 6, 2018 file photo, people vote at Jamestown Town Hall in Kieler, Wis. Conservatives are asking a judge to find the Wisconsin Elections Commission in contempt for not immediately purging more than 200,000 voters from the rolls.
Discussion:
Talking Points Memo, National Review, Wisconsin Institute …, TheBlaze and The Hill
John Bowden / The Hill:
Tulsi Gabbard draws crowd while surfing in New Hampshire — Rep. Tulsi Gabbard (D-Hawaii) drew a crowd in Hampton, N.H. on Wednesday as she joined a group of surfers in the frigid Atlantic Ocean. — The avid surfer and 2020 candidate for the Democratic Party's presidential nomination told reporters …
Charlie Cook / The Cook Political Report:
Taylor to Succeed Duffy at The Cook Political Report — After nearly 32 years with The Cook Political Report (CPR), Jennifer Duffy is retiring from the company. She wants a second act in her professional life and plans to do some political consulting and travel as she pursues new professional challenges.
Fredrik deBoer:
let me explain all of Star Wars to you heathens — So in the typical way of the internet a sad situation recently played out which had the effect of making all sides look bad. The actor John Boyega, who wonderfully realized the main character in Attack the Block and has played the character …
Associated Press:
Poll: White evangelicals distinct on abortion, LGBT policy — White evangelical Protestants stand noticeably apart from other religious people on abortion restrictions and LGBT discrimination protections, two of the most politically divisive issues at play in the 2020 presidential election, according to a new poll.
Discussion:
The American Independent and The Daily Caller