memeorandum: Dow rises 100 points, hits record as Wall Street's monster 2019 rally extends into the new year (Fred Imbert/CNBC)

11:50 AM ET, January 2, 2020

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 …

Discussion: Talking Points Memo, Alternet.org and Raw Story

Tom Boggioni / Raw Story:
Pelosi has McConnell over a a barrel as she delays impeachment trial: ‘This is working beautifully for her’

Discussion: The Daily Beast

Jordain Carney / The Hill: Ten senators to watch on Trump impeachment trial

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

Discussion: Bloomberg, The American Conservative and The Nation

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

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: Politico, Breitbart, VICE, Mediaite, Axios and Contemptor

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: Talking Points Memo, The Hill, Wall Street Journal, Breitbart, Daily Sounder, The Daily Caller, CBS News and Sara A. Carter

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: Althouse, Florida Politics, Disrn, Associated Press and WND

New York Times:
Bernie Sanders Says He Raised $34.5 Million in the Fourth Quarter

Discussion: Axios, Reuters, The Daily Caller and IJR

Washington Times: Trump camp raises $46M in final quarter; reelect team says impeachment drove best haul to date

Washington Post:
Bernie Sanders campaign announces a massive cash haul of $34.5 million in the fourth quarter of 2019

Discussion: Politico, Associated Press, The Week, Balloon Juice and DNyuz

ABC News:
Bernie Sanders tops Democratic field with massive $34.5 million haul in Q4, as other candidates release totals

Discussion: The Hill and The Week

Axios:
Andrew Yang's campaign says it raised $16.5 million in Q4

Discussion: The Hill and CNN

Holly Otterbein / Politico:
Sanders delivers blowout fundraising number

Discussion: Washington Post

CBS News: Bernie Sanders beat Democratic rivals to raise $34.5 million in the 4th quarter

Devan Cole / CNN:
Andrew Yang raises $16.5 million in fourth quarter

Discussion: Vox and New York Times

New York Times:

Julián Castro Ends Presidential Campaign — 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. — Julián Castro, the former housing secretary …

Discussion: Talking Points Memo, Axios, HuffPost, The Daily Caller, The Week, UPI, Raw Story and Sara A. Carter

CNBC:
Julian Castro drops out of 2020 Democratic primary race

Discussion: The Root and Disrn

Bill Barrow / Associated Press:
Iowa congresswoman endorsing Joe Biden's presidential bid

Discussion: The Hill

Lissette Rodriguez / ABC News: Julian Castro drops out of 2020 presidential race

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: NBC News, Washington Post, Talking Points Memo and The Hill

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 and Raw Story

Politico:
POLITICO Playbook: Why holding the impeachment articles might not matter

Discussion: Breitbart, Raw Story and Daily Kos

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

Discussion: Raw Story, DNyuz, Lawfare and UPI

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.

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 civic sparring …

Larry McShane / New York Daily News: Family of anti-Semitic machete attack victim shares heartbreaking hospital photo of their Hasidic …

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: Disrn and IJR

Ross Ibbetson / Daily Mail:

By ROSS IBBETSON FOR MAILONLINE — The leader of an Iran-backed US embassy siege in Baghdad was welcomed to the White House by Barack Obama eight years ago before becoming Tehran's ‘point man’ in Iraq. — Hadi al Amiri joined Iraq's then-Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki as his Minister …

Seth Moskowitz / Larry J. Sabato's Crystal Ball:

The 2016 Electoral College Map: A Template for 2020 — KEY POINTS FROM THIS ARTICLE — In 2016, Hillary Clinton would have needed to flip 38 additional Electoral College votes to reach 270[1], thereby winning a majority in the Electoral College. — Using 2016 presidential election results …

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.

Andy Smarick / The Bulwark:

Civility and Its Critics — Some self-righteous writers believe that their goodness—and their opponents' badness—justifies incivility. — As long as there are political debates, there will be those who participate in nasty ways—lying, distorting, insulting.

Robert Burns / Associated Press:

Esper says Iran may be planning more attacks on US interests — WASHINGTON (AP) — Iran or its proxy forces may be planning further strikes on American interests in the Middle East, and the U.S. is prepared to take preemptive military action if it gets sufficient warning, Defense Secretary Mark Esper said Thursday.

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, Fox News and DNyuz

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.