memeorandum: U.S. combat deaths in Afghanistan highest in years (Alexander Bolton/The Hill)

9:05 AM ET, January 2, 2020

Top Items:

Jacob Pramuk / CNBC:

Bernie Sanders' campaign says it raised more than $34.5 million in blowout fourth quarter — Bernie Sanders' presidential campaign raised more than $34.5 million in the fourth quarter, it said Thursday. — The total easily tops the fundraising hauls of Pete Buttigieg and Andrew Yang …

Discussion: Florida Politics, Althouse, Associated Press, WND and Mediaite

Matt Stevens / New York Times:

Andrew Yang Raised $16.5 Million in the Last 3 Months, His Campaign Says — Donations to Mr. Yang in the fourth quarter of 2019 were his highest in any such period and put him among the top fund-raisers in the Democratic presidential field. — The entrepreneur Andrew Yang's presidential campaign …

Discussion: Axios, Mediaite and Contemptor

New York Times:

Bernie Sanders Says He Raised $34.5 Million in the Fourth Quarter — Mr. Sanders's total is the largest three-month haul to be disclosed by any candidate so far in the Democratic primary race. — DES MOINES — Senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont raised more than $34.5 million in the fourth quarter of 2019 …

Discussion: Axios

Bill Barrow / Associated Press:

Iowa congresswoman endorsing Joe Biden's presidential bid — Joe Biden has landed a high-profile endorsement for his presidential bid as Rep. Abby Finkenauer becomes the first member of the Iowa congressional delegation to take sides in the Democratic nominating contest.

Discussion: The Hill

Axios:

Andrew Yang's campaign says it raised $16.5 million in Q4 — Andrew Yang's 2020 presidential campaign said Thursday that it raised $16.5 million during 2019's fourth quarter, reports the New York Times. — Why it matters: It's Yang's best quarter yet, topping the $10 million he raised …

Discussion: The Hill, New York Times and CNN

Washington Post:

Bernie Sanders campaign announces a massive cash haul of $34.5 million in the fourth quarter of 2019 — Sen. Bernie Sanders raised $34.5 million in the final three months of 2019 for his White House bid, his campaign said Thursday — a massive sum fueled by his online fundraising machine …

Discussion: The Week and DNyuz

ABC News:

Bernie Sanders tops Democratic field with massive $34.5 million haul in Q4, as other candidates release totals — The last quarter of the year covers October, November and December. — Presidential contenders ended 2019 with the close of books of the fourth fundraising quarter …

Discussion: The Hill and The Week

Holly Otterbein / Politico:

Sanders discloses $34.5 million haul for final quarter of 2019 — He brought in a total of nearly $96 million last year from more than 5 million contributions. — Sen. Bernie Sanders said nearly 300,000 new donors gave to him last quarter. Joe Raedle/Getty Images

Discussion: One America News Network and The Hill

Barbara Rodriguez / Des Moines Register: ‘I am one of the undecided’: With a month to go, many likely caucusgoers still unsure about their choice

Larry McShane / New York Daily News:

Family of anti-Semitic machete attack victim shares heartbreaking hospital photo of their Hasidic patriarch: ‘We shall not let this terrible hate-driven attack be forgotten’ — An Orthodox Jewish man hacked viciously by a machete-swinging anti-Semite will likely remain brain-damaged and paralyzed for life …

New York Post: Jewish man attacked by two women after trying to film anti-Semitic tirade

Joseph Berger / New York Times: 90,000 Jews Gather to Pray and Defy a Wave of Hate

New York Times:
March Against Anti-Semitism — A show of support for the true spirit of New York.

Discussion: DNyuz, WND and Algemeiner.com

Corey Kilgannon / New York Times:
Victim of Anti-Semitic Rampage Is Unlikely to Awake From Coma, Family Says

Discussion: UPI, Jewish Telegraphic Agency and Algemeiner.com

New York Post: Jewish teen robbed at knife-point on Brooklyn bus: cops

Tom Boggioni / Raw Story:

Pelosi has McConnell over a a barrel as she delays impeachment trial: ‘This is working beautifully for her’ — In a column for the Daily Beast, longtime political analyst Eleanor Clift stated that House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) has the upper hand as she deals with Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell …

Alexander Bolton / The Hill: U.S. combat deaths in Afghanistan highest in years

Eleanor Clift / The Daily Beast: How Long Can Nancy Pelosi Can Hold Back These Articles of Impeachment? Longer Than You Think

Washington Post:
The Senate and the public need to hear from Mulvaney and Bolton

Discussion: Bloomberg, Just Security, The American Conservative and The Nation

Rod Blagojevich / Newsmax:

House Democrats Would Have Impeached Lincoln — I, like most people from my home state of Illinois, am a great admirer of Abraham Lincoln. — Recently I've wondered what would have happened had Nancy Pelosi been the Speaker of the House when Abraham Lincoln was president.

Discussion: Washington Post

Charles Creitz / Fox News:
Rod Blagojevich: Abraham Lincoln would've been impeached by today's Democrats

Discussion: The Gateway Pundit

David E. Sanger / New York Times:

Trump Bet He Could Isolate Iran and Charm North Korea. It's Not That Easy. — The president assumed economic levers would guide the countries' national interests. Now, he confronts twin challenges in an election year. — President Trump entered the new year facing flare-ups …

Discussion: The Mahablog, The National Interest, HuffPost, DNyuz, Raw Story and Washington Post

New York Times:
Shock Waves From American Airstrikes in Iraq May Have Just Begun

Discussion: Raw Story, Lawfare, DNyuz and UPI

Stuart Stevens / Washington Post:

Wake up, Republicans. Your party stands for all the wrong things now. — Stuart Stevens is a writer and GOP political consultant who is working with a political action committee that backs Bill Weld for president. — Here's a question: Does anybody have any idea what the Republican Party stands for in 2020?

Discussion: HuffPost and Raw Story

The Guardian:

‘Unqualified, dangerous’: the oddball officials running Bolsonaro's Brazil — While the far-right president has trashed norms the lower ranks of his administration have shown jaw-dropping offensiveness — Brazil's far-right president, Jair Bolsonaro, and his gun-loving sons have hogged …

Mitch Smith / New York Times:

'It's Creepy': Unexplained Drones Are Swarming by Night Over Colorado — Sheriffs in western Nebraska and eastern Colorado say they don't know who's flying the drones — or why. The F.A.A. is investigating. — They come in the night: Drones — lots of them — flying in precise formations over the Colorado and Nebraska prairie.

Discussion: IJR and Denver Post

Nicholas Riccardi / Associated Press:

Presidential hopeful Bennet pledges $6 trillion ‘Real Deal’ — DENVER (AP) — Presidential hopeful Michael Bennet is releasing a $6 trillion plan that he calls “the Real Deal” in an attempt to offer what he says is a more realistic contrast with more liberal contenders for the Democratic nomination …

Discussion: Axios

Julia Zappei / Agence France-Presse:

Austria's conservatives, Greens agree to form government — Vienna (AFP) - Austria's conservatives led by Sebastian Kurz on Wednesday agreed to form an unprecedented coalition government with the Greens, capping almost three months of negotiations. — “We have succeeded to unite the best …

Elvia Díaz / USA Today:

Armed, even in church: Texas shooting is about a lot more than Jack Wilson's heroism — Jack Wilson is a hero. But why were so many other parishioners armed? And how did the shooter get his gun, given his criminal history? — Jack Wilson is a hero alright.

Discussion: Mediaite, Washington Free Beacon, NB Blog, Instapundit, PJ Media Home and Townhall