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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 …
Discussion:
Redstate, Associated Press, Axios, ABC News, The Hill, The Daily Beast, The Gateway Pundit, One America News Network, UPI, Vox, Breitbart, Law & Crime, The Root, The Week, Townhall, Raw Story, War Room 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
Discussion:
The Daily Caller, Lawyers, Guns & Money, Washington Post, Outside the Beltway, Blue Delaware and Bloomberg

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

Schumer vows to force votes on impeachment witnesses
Discussion:
Politico, Axios, Associated Press, UPI, Daily Kos, The Daily Beast and National Review

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

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

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

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
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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:
The Hill, Daily Kos, Defense One, Talking Points Memo, The Smoke Eater, Politico, The Week, CNN, New York Post and The Moderate Voice


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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Tasnim News Agency, New York Times, CNN, Financial Times, USA Today, CNBC, The Daily Caller, Common Dreams, Raw Story, The American Independent, Politico, VICE, The Week, National Review, Соб … and Axios


Iran's retaliation for Soleimani is to race toward a nuclear bomb
Discussion:
New Republic, The Federalist and Townhall

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

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


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, Washington Free Beacon, The Week, Raw Story and The Verge


Bloomberg and Trump Buy Super Bowl Ads at $10 Million Each — Michael R. Bloomberg's presidential campaign has secured 60 seconds' worth of advertising during the game on Feb. 2. President Trump's re-election campaign announced it had done the same. — Michael R. Bloomberg's presidential campaign …
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National Review, ABC News, NBC News, The Independent, Axios, The Hill, Deadline, The Week, Mediaite and IJR
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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.
Discussion:
Axios, Washington Post, The Hill and The Wrap


Trump Is Running Hundreds Of Facebook Ads Praising Himself For The Killing Of Iranian Gen. Qassem Soleimani — President Donald Trump's reelection campaign is wasting little time capitalizing on the assassination of Iranian Gen. Qassem Soleimani. — Just three days after the death of the head …

Trump donor charged with obstructing inauguration inquiry — NEW YORK (AP) — Federal prosecutors on Tuesday charged a major donor to President Donald Trump's inaugural committee with obstructing a federal investigation into whether foreign nationals unlawfully contributed to the inaugural celebrations.
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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 …
Discussion:
Law & Crime



California investor charged with obstructing probe of Trump inaugural donation
Discussion:
Raw Story


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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How Donald Trump thinks about Iran
Discussion:
CBS News, New York Times and New Republic

Trump walks back targeting cultural sites: “I like to obey the law”
Discussion:
Associated Press, Politico, The Hill and Breitbart

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


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.
Discussion:
Redstate, Townhall, Cincinnati.com, CNN, The Daily Wire, Fox News, The Gateway Pundit, Big League Politics, Mediaite, Breitbart, Washington Free Beacon, LifeNews.com, PJ Media Home, New York Post, Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion, The Hill, NB Blog, The Daily Caller, Twitchy and The Post Millennial, more at Mediagazer »


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.


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 and Spectator USA
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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, HuffPost, Above the Law, The Week, The Wrap, Variety, KTLA, The Hill and Jewish Telegraphic Agency


Donald Trump Jr. shares image of AR-15 with depiction of Hillary Clinton behind bars — Donald Trump Jr. on Sunday posted three photos on Instagram of his AR-15 that features a depiction of Hillary Clinton apparently behind bars. In the images, President Trump's eldest son smiles while holding the assault rife.
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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:
Spectator USA, PJ Media Home, Louder With Crowder, The Daily Caller, Twitchy and Sara A. Carter


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.
Discussion:
The Hill


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 …


Fair or dangerous? Days after ending cash bail, New York has second thoughts — “Bail reform is well meaning, but there are unintended consequences,” a prosecutor said. — On Jan. 1, a landmark New York law curtailing the use of cash bail went into effect, signaling a leap …


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, WPRI-TV, The Hill, Al Jazeera and UPI


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 …


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.
Discussion:
Twitchy


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


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 …

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