Top Items:


McConnell prepares to move forward on impeachment trial rules without Democrats — Senate Republican leaders are preparing to move forward on a set of impeachment trial rules without Democratic support. — Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell has locked down sufficient backing …
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Schumer vows to force votes on impeachment witnesses — Senate Minority Leader Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) said Tuesday that Democrats will force votes on witnesses at the start of the impeachment trial even as Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) has secured enough support to delay the decision until mid-trial.
Discussion:
National Review, Breitbart, Political Wire and Redstate


McConnell Says He Will Proceed on Impeachment Trial Without Witness Deal — The Senate majority leader said he had the votes to begin President Trump's trial without committing to calling witnesses or admitting new evidence, over Democrats' objections. — WASHINGTON — Senator Mitch McConnell …
Discussion:
Washington Post, No More Mister Nice Blog and Outside the Beltway


Pelosi and McConnell Are Playing High-Stakes Poker
Discussion:
Redstate

Impeachment live updates: McConnell says he is ready to proceed with Trump impeachment trial …
Discussion:
Townhall, National Review, Houston Chronicle, Political Wire, Twitchy, Althouse and Common Dreams

McConnell appears to have the votes to set impeachment trial rules without Democratic support
Discussion:
Raw Story

New pressures greet Pelosi following Bolton's willingness to testify
Discussion:
Politico, Alternet.org and Washington Post


Stampede kills 32 at funeral for Iran general killed by US — TEHRAN, Iran (AP) — A stampede erupted on Tuesday at a funeral procession for a top Iranian general killed in a U.S. airstrike last week, killing 32 people and injuring 190 others, state television reported.
Discussion:
CNN, USA Today, CNBC, Common Dreams, The Daily Caller, Raw Story, VICE, New York Times, The Week, Соб … and Axios
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Iran is considering 13 ‘revenge scenarios’ over the death of General Soleimani as top official vows to create ‘historic nightmare’ for the US — Iran is considering 13 ‘revenge scenarios’ in retaliation for the US airstrike that killed General Qassem Soleimani in Iraq, a top official has said.
Discussion:
Daily Mail


Iran's military displaying “heightened state of readiness,” U.S. defense official says — What you need to know — Qassem Soleimani, the head of Iran's elite Quds military force and one of the most powerful figures in the Islamic Republic, was killed early Friday in an airstrike in Baghdad.
Discussion:
Redstate, USA Today and Patterico's Pontifications


Pompeo: Trump Admin Ready to Launch More Strikes on Iran — Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said the Trump administration would not hesitate to conduct further military strikes against Iran following the killing of Iranian military leader Qassem Soleimani. — Speaking before reporters on Tuesday …


Live updates: Iran prepares to bury Soleimani after deadly stampede
Discussion:
Politico and Talking Points Memo

Trump administration begins drafting possible sanctions against Iraq following Trump's economic threat
Discussion:
The RAND Blog, NBC News, Соб …, CNN, The Hill, Eschaton, The Moderate Voice, Alternet.org, Vanity Fair, Mediaite, Foreign Policy and Mother Jones


New incident at Mar-a-Lago under ‘criminal investigation’ by Secret Service — Palm Beach police say they are conducting an “open and active criminal investigation” at Mar-a-Lago, President Donald Trump's South Florida estate, following an unspecified incident Monday night.
Discussion:
Raw Story


Don't Tilt Scales Against Trump, Facebook Executive Warns — In an internal memo, Andrew Bosworth said he “desperately” wanted the president to lose. But, he said, the company should avoid hurting Mr. Trump's campaign. — SAN FRANCISCO — Since the 2016 election, when Russian trolls …
Discussion:
Boz and The Verge, more at Techmeme »
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Lord of the Rings, 2020 and Stuffed Oreos: Read the Andrew Bosworth Memo — On Dec. 30, Andrew Bosworth, a longtime Facebook executive and confidant of Mark Zuckerberg, wrote a long memo on the company's internal network. — In the post, titled “Thoughts for 2020,” Mr. Bosworth …
Discussion:
Axios


Prosecutors recommend Michael Flynn serve up to 6 months in prison — Federal prosecutors recommended in a sentencing memo Tuesday that President Trump's former national security adviser Michael Flynn receive a sentence of zero to six months in prison, arguing that he should not receive credit …
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Michael Flynn deserves up to six months in prison, U.S. Justice Department says in reversal for former Trump national security adviser — Federal prosecutors on Tuesday recommended that former national security adviser Michael T. Flynn serve up to six months in prison, reversing …
Discussion:
Law & Crime


6.4 quake strikes Puerto Rico, killing at least 1 amid heavy seismic activity — “We've never been exposed to this kind of emergency in 102 years,"said the governor as the island grapples with ongoing aftershocks and assesses the damage. — A 6.4-magnitude earthquake struck Puerto Rico early Tuesday …
Discussion:
Associated Press, The Hill, Politico, Al Jazeera and UPI, more at Mediagazer »
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The Nightmare Stage of Trump's Rule Is Here — Unstable and impeached, the president pushes the U.S. toward war with Iran. — There are no more adults in the room. — After three harrowing years, we've reached the point many of us feared from the moment Donald Trump was elected.
Discussion:
Politico, Raw Story, Washington Post, Defense One, Bangor Daily News, Los Angeles Times and New York Magazine
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Bloomberg Takes On Trump With a $10 Million Super Bowl Ad — Michael R. Bloomberg's presidential campaign has secured a 60-second advertising spot to be aired nationally during the game on Feb. 2, campaign officials said. — Michael R. Bloomberg's presidential campaign has secured …


‘Tweets, threats and tantrums’: Biden tears into Trump's handling of Iran crisis — The Democratic frontrunner accused the president of isolating the U.S. on the international stage while potentially bolstering Iran, China and Russia. — Joe Biden. Spencer Platt/Getty Images
Discussion:
Breitbart
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Bernie Sanders can unify Democrats and beat Trump in 2020 — The first in a Vox series making the best case for each of the top Democratic contenders. … The case for Bernie Sanders is that he is the unity candidate. — The Vermont senator is unique in combining an authentic …
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Anatomy of a Screw-Up: The Story Behind the Letter Withdrawing Our Troops — In a letter dated January 6, Brigadier Gen. William Seely III, the commanding general of Task Force Iraq, wrote to his Iraqi counterpart with big news: The United States military was preparing to leave Iraq.
Discussion:
Slate, Reason, Alternet.org, Raw Story, The Morning Dispatch and CNN


Russian trolls are targeting American veterans, and Trump's government isn't helping, group says — The Trump administration has for nearly two years ignored mounting evidence that Russian operatives and other foreign actors were deliberately targeting U.S. troops and veterans …


Mysterious repeating fast radio burst traced to nearby galaxy — (CNN)Astronomers have traced the signal of an enigmatic repeating fast radio burst for only the second time — and it's in a spiral galaxy similar to our own, not so far away. — Fast radio bursts, or FRBs, are millisecond-long bursts of radio waves in space.
Discussion:
ScienceAlert and UPI


Ball of Confusion — As noted below, in the broadest sense we know why President Trump ordered the assassination of Soleimani: it was an attempt to dominate a weaker power by dramatically escalating a simmering conflict. This squares with how states act and it squares with President Trump's personality.


Ricky Gervais, Man of the People — In a room filled with self-absorbed narcissists, one brave, slightly less self-absorbed narcissist had the balls to speak truth to power—and his name is Ricky Gervais. — If courage had a face, it would be a slightly overweight, pasty British multi-millionaire drinking a pint.
Discussion:
americandigest.org


Trump Inaugural Committee Donor Accused of Obstructing Probe — Zuberi back-dated check to donor, deleted emails, U.S. says — Fundraiser had pleaded guilty to campaign-finance charges — A fundraiser for President Donald Trump back-dated a check to a fellow donor and deleted emails …


Trump's Foreign Policy Is A Growing Point Of Contention In Democratic Primaries — Progressive House challengers see a chance to distinguish themselves following the killing of Qassem Soleimani. — Progressive candidates challenging Democratic members of Congress in primaries …
Discussion:
Common Dreams


Fox News's Tucker Carlson: In San Francisco, ‘Civilization Itself Is Coming Apart’ — Fox News host and Daily Caller co-founder Tucker Carlson described San Francisco as a place where “civilization itself is coming apart.” — “The reality of that city we discovered when we spent …


D.C. Council member Jack Evans to resign over ethics violations; was city's longest-serving lawmaker — Longtime D.C. Council member Jack Evans announced Tuesday that he will resign Jan. 17, ending a 29-year political career that helped revive a foundering city but in the end was deeply tainted by ethics violations.


Windshield … To stay connected with the campaign: — About Pete: — Pete Buttigieg is a husband, Afghanistan veteran, and the Mayor of his hometown, South Bend, Indiana. — Pete is running for president because this is a now or never moment for our nation.
Discussion:
CNN, The Daily Caller and The Hill


Ivanka Trump's CES keynote address sparks backlash — Some critics say there are women with more technical experience who are better qualified to speak at the annual technology conference — LAS VEGAS — Ivanka Trump may face an icy reception today at one of the world's largest technology conferences …


Coal's Collapse Has America's Greenhouse Gas Emissions Falling — Greenhouse gas emissions have dipped two of past three years — U.S. coal power declined last year to lowest level since 1975 — Greenhouse gas emissions in the U.S. slipped last year as coal-fired power plants continue to close.

Trump Is The Most Unpopular President Since Ford To Run For Reelection — Now that the 2020 election has gone from “next year” to “this year,” it's worth taking a step back and asking a question that we first posed in early 2017: How popular is Donald Trump?
Discussion:
Raw Story and Alternet.org

Republicans clear Wisconsin primary field for Trump — MADISON, Wis. (AP) — Republicans decided Tuesday to place only President Donald Trump's name on Wisconsin's primary ballot this spring, making it a challenge for any long-shot GOP candidates to run against him in the state.
Discussion:
The Hill and Milwaukee Journal Sentinel