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McConnell ready to start impeachment trial with partisan power play — Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell is moving forward on a set of impeachment trial rules without Democratic support. — The Kentucky Republican said Tuesday he has locked down sufficient backing in his 53-member caucus …
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Associated Press, Axios, Vox, The Hill, Townhall, The Gateway Pundit, Breitbart, The Week, UPI, The Daily Beast, The Root, War Room, Raw Story and Twitchy
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Biden: Mitch McConnell Will Become ‘Mildly Cooperative’ With Democrats Post-Trump — The former vice president has also said Republicans will have an “epiphany” once Donald Trump leaves office. — Joe Biden believes that Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) ― …


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 …
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The Daily Caller, Lawyers, Guns & Money, Outside the Beltway, Blue Delaware, Bloomberg and POLITICUSUSA


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:
Politico, Daily Kos, National Review, Breitbart and Redstate


Why Is Mitch McConnell So Afraid of John Bolton?
Discussion:
Washington Post, Washington Monthly and Alternet.org

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

DNC says next debate will be rescheduled if it conflicts with impeachment trial
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Axios, Breitbart, The Hill and Outside the Beltway

Pelosi and McConnell Are Playing High-Stakes Poker
Discussion:
Redstate and No More Mister Nice Blog

McConnell says Senate impeachment trial will go forward without decision on witnesses
Discussion:
UPI, Law & Crime, Washington Post and Breitbart


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.
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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


Live updates: Iran prepares to bury Soleimani after deadly stampede — As U.S. officials defended the decision to kill Iranian commander Qasem Soleimani in Baghdad, Iranian leaders have stepped up calls for revenge against the United States on Tuesday. — The calls for retaliation came …
Discussion:
Talking Points Memo, Daily Kos, Politico, The Week, CNN, New York Post, The Moderate Voice and Slate


Iraq says unsigned U.S. troop-withdrawal letter sent by mistake COUNTS despite Arabic translation …
Discussion:
Washington Post and New York Post

Defense secretary insists U.S. isn't withdrawing from Iraq after PM calls for timetable
Discussion:
Washington Post and Raw Story

Pompeo: Trump Admin Ready to Launch More Strikes on Iran
Discussion:
middleeastmonitor.com


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:
Axios, New York Post, The Daily Caller 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:
National Review, BuzzFeed News, The Week, Raw Story and The Verge


CNN settles lawsuit with Nick Sandmann — COVINGTON, Ky. (FOX19) - CNN agreed Tuesday to settle a lawsuit with Covington Catholic student Nick Sandmann. — The amount of the settlement was not made public during a hearing at the federal courthouse in Covington, Kentucky.


Trump's Fox News Pals Are Picking New Iran Targets On-Air — Trump listened to Pete Hegseth on pardoning alleged and convicted war criminals. Will he listen to the ‘Fox & Friends’ host and others when it comes to bombing Iran? — In the wake of the U.S. airstrike that took …
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Trump walks back targeting cultural sites: “I like to obey the law”
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Associated Press, Politico, The Hill and Breitbart

‘I like to obey the law’: Trump backs off threat to target Iranian cultural sites
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New York Times, Politico and Breitbart

President Trump wavers on threat to hit Iranian cultural sites
Discussion:
Associated Press and Raw Story


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 …
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Trump to drop $10 million on Super Bowl ad — President Donald Trump's reelection campaign is planning to drop $10 million to advertise during the Super Bowl, the start of a massive election-year spending spree that will intensify over the coming months, according to four people briefed on the plans.
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NBC News, Axios, Washington Post and The Hill


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.


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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Trump Inaugural Committee Donor to Plead Guilty to Obstruction — Zuberi back-dated check to donor, deleted emails, U.S. says — Lawyer says Zuberi will plead guilty for a second time — A fundraiser for President Donald Trump will plead guilty to obstructing a federal investigation …
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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:
The Moderate Voice, Daily Mail, americandigest.org, Spectator USA and Hollywood Reporter


How to Talk to Your Kids About the Situation With Iran — On Jan. 3, the U.S. military carried out a drone attack in Iraq. The attack killed Qasem Soleimani, a top military leader from Iran. The action comes after increased tensions between the U.S. and Iran, and has fueled anxiety about what might happen as a result.
Discussion:
Louder With Crowder, Spectator USA, The Daily Caller, Twitchy and Sara A. Carter


Elizabeth Wurtzel, ‘Prozac Nation’ Author, Is Dead at 52 — Her startling 1994 memoir won praise for opening a dialogue about clinical depression and helped introduce an unsparing style of confessional writing that remains influential. — Elizabeth Wurtzel, whose startling 1994 memoir …
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Washington Post, Althouse, Above the Law, The Wrap, KTLA, Variety, Jewish Telegraphic Agency and The Hill

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, Alternet.org, Raw Story, Reason, The Morning Dispatch and CNN


Long-Shot GOP Candidate Joe Walsh on His New Book and His Secret Plan to Beat Trump — The last time we caught up with Joe Walsh, he had just announced his campaign for the Republican presidential nomination, joining an anemic primary field that included only Bill Weld, whom you've perhaps never heard of.


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 …


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 …
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Associated Press, WPRI-TV, The Hill, Al Jazeera and UPI


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


Rep. Duncan Hunter will resign from Congress on Jan. 13 — Rep. Duncan D. Hunter will resign from Congress effective Jan. 13, two congressional aides with knowledge of the move said Tuesday, more than one month after the California Republican pleaded guilty in federal court to misusing campaign funds.


Campaign Wire: 2020 Election — Follow the latest from the campaign trail, as Democratic hopefuls compete for the right to face President Trump in 2020. — Updates — HIGHLIGHTS — Trump to Hold Re-Election Rally in Iowa Ahead of Democratic Caucuses


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 …


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 …

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


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


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 …
Discussion:
The Hill, Alternet.org, Politico and Breitbart