Top Items:
Washington Post:
'You're a bunch of dopes and babies': Inside Trump's stunning tirade against generals — There is no more sacred room for military officers than 2E924 of the Pentagon, a windowless and secure vault where the Joint Chiefs of Staff meet regularly to wrestle with classified matters.
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Josh Wingrove / Bloomberg:
White House Considers Changes to Law Banning Overseas Bribes — Kudlow says administration has heard complaints from companies — Book says Trump clashed with Tillerson over bribery law — President Donald Trump's administration is weighing whether to seek changes to a 1977 law …
Discussion:
Above the Law and Raw Story
Leo Shane III / Military Times:
Trump blasted top military generals as ‘a bunch of dopes and babies’ according to new book
Trump blasted top military generals as ‘a bunch of dopes and babies’ according to new book
Discussion:
Washington Post, Political Wire and Raw Story
Pete Williams / NBC News:
‘Faithless elector’: Supreme Court will hear case that could change how presidents are chosen — A ruling could come in the spring — just as the 2020 presidential race is heating up. — WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court agreed Friday to take up an issue that could change a key element …
Discussion:
The Hill and Associated Press
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Joe Otterson / Variety:
Hillary Clinton Urges Dems to ‘Vote for the Person Most Likely to Win’ in 2020 — Hillary Clinton called for Americans to come to grips with “basic facts” of reality in an appearance at the Television Critics Association winter press tour on Friday. — “We've got to somehow understand …
Susannah Luthi / Politico:
Supreme Court will again review Obamacare birth control mandate — The Supreme Court on Friday said it will revisit whether employers must guarantee free birth control coverage for their workers. — It marks the third high court review of the contraception mandate stemming from Obamacare …
Discussion:
NBC News and Associated Press
Denise Lavoie / Associated Press:
Virginia urges justices to uphold weapons ban at gun rally
Virginia urges justices to uphold weapons ban at gun rally
Discussion:
NBC News, Axios, The Hill and globalnews.ca
Brent Kendall / Wall Street Journal:
Supreme Court to Look at Electoral College Rules
Mark Sherman / Associated Press:
Justices to consider faithless electors, ahead of 2020 vote
Justices to consider faithless electors, ahead of 2020 vote
Discussion:
Fox News
Colby Hall / Mediaite:
Alan Dershowitz Distances Himself From Trump Legal Team: 'I'm Not a Full-Fledged Member' — Alan Dershowitz clarified his role on President Donald Trump's legal defense team in an interview with Mediate founder Dan Abrams Friday, stating he is NOT a “full fledged” member of the impeachment defense.
Discussion:
Axios, Law & Crime, The American Independent, Breitbart, The Gateway Pundit, The Federalist and Florida Politics
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KUSA-TV:
We caught up with Sen. Gardner at the airport to ask if he supports new witnesses in impeachment trial
We caught up with Sen. Gardner at the airport to ask if he supports new witnesses in impeachment trial
Discussion:
Raw Story
Aaron Blake / Washington Post:
Trump's defense will be led by a ‘lunatic,’ ‘wacko’ and ‘off his rocker’ Ken Starr, according to Trump himself
Trump's defense will be led by a ‘lunatic,’ ‘wacko’ and ‘off his rocker’ Ken Starr, according to Trump himself
Discussion:
Raw Story
Washington Post:
Impeachment trial live updates: Trump expands legal team to include Alan Dershowitz, Kenneth Starr and others
Impeachment trial live updates: Trump expands legal team to include Alan Dershowitz, Kenneth Starr and others
NBC News:
History shows Chief Justice John Roberts could cast tie-breaking votes at Trump's impeachment trial
History shows Chief Justice John Roberts could cast tie-breaking votes at Trump's impeachment trial
Discussion:
MSNBC, Breitbart, New York Post and Los Angeles Times
Politico:
Trump finally gets his TV-ready lawyers — thanks to impeachment
Trump finally gets his TV-ready lawyers — thanks to impeachment
Discussion:
Raw Story, CNN, Media Matters for America, Boston Magazine, Slate, Twitchy, Common Dreams, Contemptor, UPI and The Root
Laura Reiley / Washington Post:
USDA proposes changing school menus to allow more fries and fewer vegetables, reversing a Michelle Obama effort — The U.S. Department of Agriculture has taken another whack at former first lady Michelle Obama's signature achievement: Establishing stricter nutritional standards for school breakfasts and lunches.
Discussion:
Mother Jones and POLITICUSUSA
RELATED:
Lola Fadulu / New York Times:
Trump Targets Michelle Obama's School Nutrition Guidelines on Her Birthday — The Agriculture Department proposed a rule that would further unravel nutrition standards set by Mrs. Obama when she was first lady. — WASHINGTON — The Trump administration moved on Friday to roll …
Discussion:
UPI
Alicia Cohn / The Hill:
Trump to roll back Michelle Obama's school lunch rules on vegetables, fruits
Trump to roll back Michelle Obama's school lunch rules on vegetables, fruits
Discussion:
The Gateway Pundit and Raw Story
Justin Baragona / The Daily Beast:
Meghan McCain: McSally 'Didn't Earn' the Senate Seat She Inherited From My Dad — “She didn't win that seat. I think that's important.” — The View's Meghan McCain took some shots at Sen. Martha McSally (R-AZ) on Friday after the lawmaker personally insulted a CNN reporter …
Discussion:
Talking Points Memo, Twitchy and Contemptor
RELATED:
Tim Miller / The Bulwark:
The McSally Maneuver — At this point, the goal of impeachment …
The McSally Maneuver — At this point, the goal of impeachment …
Discussion:
Politico, NBC News, Washington Monthly, CNSNews, CNN and Vanity Fair
Chris Cillizza / CNN:
Martha McSally's staggering cynicism
Martha McSally's staggering cynicism
Discussion:
Vox, The American Independent and Sara A. Carter
Variety:
Disney Drops Fox Name, Will Rebrand as 20th Century Studios, Searchlight Pictures — The mouse has officially killed the fox. — In a move at once unsurprising and highly symbolic, the Walt Disney Company is dropping the “Fox” brand from the 21st Century Fox assets it acquired last March, Variety has learned.
Discussion:
The Independent, globalnews.ca, The Verge and The Week, more at Mediagazer »
RELATED:
Brooks Barnes / New York Times:
Disney Drops Fox From Names of Studios It Bought From Rupert Murdoch
Kathryn Krawczyk / The Week:
Lara Trump is making fun of Joe Biden's stutter
New York Times:
Joe Biden: Former vice president of the United States — The editorial board is a group of opinion journalists whose views are informed by expertise, research, debate and certain longstanding values. — This interview was conducted by the editorial board of The New York Times …
Discussion:
Vox, National Review, Mediaite, Washington Free Beacon, Variety, Reason, Jezebel, Common Dreams, Engadget, Mashable, Jewish Telegraphic Agency, The Week, East Bay Times and Politico, more at Mediagazer »
RELATED:
Makena Kelly / The Verge:
Joe Biden wants to revoke Section 230
Joe Biden wants to revoke Section 230
Discussion:
Washington Free Beacon and Mediaite
Matthew Lee / Associated Press:
Pompeo breaks silence on alleged threats to envoy in Ukraine — WASHINGTON (AP) — Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Friday broke nearly 72 hours of silence over alleged surveillance and threats to the former U.S. ambassador to Ukraine, saying he believed the allegations would prove to be wrong …
Discussion:
The Daily Caller
BBC:
Brazil's culture minister fired after echoing Goebbels — Brazil's culture minister has been sacked after using parts of a speech by Nazi Germany's propaganda chief Joseph Goebbels in a video, sparking outrage. — In the clip posted on the ministry's Twitter page, Roberto Alvim detailed an award for “heroic” and “national” art.
Discussion:
Observer, UPI, Bloomberg and Marginal REVOLUTION
RELATED:
Axios:
Trump tells HHS secretary he regrets wading into “that f***ing vaping thing” — President Trump told his health secretary yesterday that he regrets getting involved in the administration's policy on vaping, according to two sources familiar with the conversation.
Discussion:
Politico
RELATED:
Greg Sargent / Washington Post:
Hannity previews Trump's final defense: So what if he's guilty? — It has long been obvious that Republicans would ultimately converge on this final defense of President Trump: Even if he did everything he's been accused of doing, and perhaps a lot more that we don't know about, it's absolutely fine!
Discussion:
Raw Story, The Bulwark, Digby's Hullabaloo, NBC News, Fox News and HuffPost
Martin Indyk / Wall Street Journal:
The Middle East Isn't Worth It Anymore — With few vital American interests still at stake there, the U.S. should finally set aside its grandiose ambitions for the chaotic region — Last week, despite Donald Trump's repeated pledge to end American involvement in the Middle East's conflicts …
Wall Street Journal:
Men Discussed Opening Fire at Pro-Gun Rally in Richmond, Officials Say — Other suspected members of white-supremacist group the Base arrested in Georgia — Three suspected white supremacists arrested in Maryland and Delaware this week had discussed opening fire from different positions …
Discussion:
The Hill, Reason, Right Wing Watch and The Crime Report
Yaron Steinbuch / New York Post:
ISIS leader dubbed ‘Jabba the Jihadi’ captured in Iraq — He put the fat in fatwa. — A morbidly obese ISIS fanatic dubbed “Jabba the Jihadi” has been captured by Iraqi forces — who loaded him onto a flatbed truck because he couldn't fit in a police car.
Discussion:
Task & Purpose
Washington Post:
Black Americans deeply pessimistic about country under Trump, whom more than 8 in 10 describe as ‘a racist,’ Post-Ipsos poll finds — President Trump made a stark appeal to black Americans during the 2016 election when he asked, “What have you got to lose?”
Discussion:
CNN, The Hill, The American Independent, Raw Story and Axios
FiveThirtyEight:
Trump May Be Even More Unpopular Than His Approval Rating Shows — Polls have consistently shown that President Trump is pretty unpopular, with only about 42 percent of the American public approving of the job he is doing as president. These numbers are much lower than what one might expect given the bustling economy.
Discussion:
The Banter
Amy Walter / The Cook Political Report:
Checking in on Wisconsin — One of the hallmarks of the Trump presidency is that no matter how unpredictable and erratic he may be, opinions of him are incredibly stable. At this point in 2019, for example, the FiveThirtyEight tracker showed President Trump's job approval rating at 41percent …
Discussion:
Balloon Juice
Thomas Chatterton Williams / Harper's:
An Incoherent Truth — Last fall, Tobi Haslett, a young writer and critic with Marxist leanings, noticed a shift in the contours of popular intellectual debate. “Something is happening out there in the dark fields of ‘the discourse,’ ” Haslett wrote in Bookforum. “Incoherence is now a virtue.”