memeorandum: Judge orders Starbucks to rehire, give back pay to fired Colorado union leader; Starbucks to appeal (CBS News)

2:05 PM ET, December 27, 2023

Top Items:

Holly Otterbein / Politico:

John Fetterman isn't the politician you thought he'd be — and he doesn't care — John Fetterman's had a rollercoaster of a year. — In January, he was sworn into office as Pennsylvania's new Democratic senator despite suffering from a debilitating stroke on the campaign trail.

Discussion: The Hill, The Messenger, Business Insider, The Daily Caller, Raw Story, IJR, Mediaite and Fox News

Daniel Barnes / NBC News:

Special counsel Jack Smith seeks to block Trump from making ‘political attacks’ during trial — Smith also asked the court to prohibit Trump from blaming law enforcement for the attack on Jan. 6, 2021. — WASHINGTON — Special counsel Jack Smith filed a motion Wednesday …

Discussion: HotAir, Raw Story and New York Daily News

Eric Bazail-Eimil / Politico:
Trump shares cryptic ‘dictatorship’ word cloud on Truth Social

Discussion: NBC News, Sun-Sentinel, The Messenger, DNyuz, New Republic, The Independent, HuffPost, Raw Story, CNN, Althouse, The Daily Beast, Axios, Twitchy, The Hill and Business Insider

Axios:
Exclusive data: Trump lowers his own social media punch

Discussion: New York Times, The Messenger, The Hill and Raw Story

Marshall Cohen / CNN:

Michigan Supreme Court rejects ‘insurrectionist ban’ case and keeps Trump on 2024 primary ballot — The Michigan Supreme Court has rejected an attempt to remove former President Donald Trump from the 2024 ballot based on the US Constitution's “insurrectionist ban.”

The Guardian:
FBI investigating threats directed at Colorado supreme court justices after Trump ruling

Discussion: 77 WABC, No More Mister Nice Blog, Raw Story, DNyuz, The Post Millennial, FOX31 Denver, Associated Press, National Review, CBS News, UPI, USA Today, HuffPost, New York Post, Daily Kos and The Hill

Dan Ladden-Hall / The Daily Beast:

Trans Actress Accuses Delta Staff of ‘Human Rights Violation’ in Viral Row — Tommy Dorfman claimed one of the airline workers had “intentionally” referred to her with the wrong pronoun. — Transgender actress Tommy Dorfman accused Delta Air Lines workers of committing a “human rights violation” …

Discussion: RedState

Maura Zurick / Newsweek:

Viral Video of Trans Actress Being Misgendered by Delta Staff Sparks Debate — A video by transgender actress Tommy Dorfman, in which she accuses Delta Air Lines Employees of “intentionally” misgendering her, quickly went viral and sparked a fiery debate on social media.

Discussion: TMZ.com, The Messenger, Page Six, Washington Examiner, RedState, Louder With Crowder, The Daily Caller, IJR, The Gateway Pundit and The Post Millennial

Caroline Petrow-Cohen / Los Angeles Times:

Nobody's ever lost their star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. Will Trump be the first? — (Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times) — Hollywood Hills resident Andrew Rudick is on a mission. — Over the last three years, he's submitted public records requests, retrieved case documents …

Discussion: Raw Story

Jacob Knutson / Axios: Thousands — and some city officials — want Trump's Hollywood star removed

Rolling Stone:

Trump Demands MAGA Group Give Him ‘Millions.’ That's Not Legal, Experts Say — Trump wants a cut from a think tank raising money to support his agenda and staff his administration, sources tell Rolling Stone. … At least that's how former President Donald Trump sees it.

Discussion: Raw Story

Jonathan Larsen / Salon:

GOP congressman traveled to Uganda to support anti-LGBTQ death penalty law — Rep. Tim Walberg co-chairs the National Prayer Breakfast — and urged Uganda to “stand firm” on “death to gays” law — In a little-noticed October speech in Uganda, Rep. Tim Walberg, R-Mich. …

Discussion: DNyuz and Raw Story

Danny Hakim / New York Times:

A Fake Trump Elector in Michigan Told Prosecutors of Regret, Anger — The Trump supporter is the only one of the 16 fake Michigan electors who has agreed to cooperate with the authorities and had charges against him dropped. — One of the Republicans in Michigan who acted as a fake elector …

Discussion: The Hill, Raw Story, HuffPost, Election Law Blog and Political Wire

Connor O'Brien / Politico:

Alabama lawmakers vow to keep fighting on Space Command, and it could involve Trump — “We've got two paths, both of which are good,” House Armed Services Chair Mike Rogers said. — Despite President Joe Biden's decision this summer to reverse a Trump-era move and keep U.S. Space Command in Colorado …

Discussion: Washington Examiner and The Messenger

Michael Hirsh / Politico:

The Biden Administration Is Quietly Shifting Its Strategy in Ukraine — For two years, Biden and Zelenskyy have been focused on driving Russia from Ukraine. Now Washington is discussing a move to a more defensive posture. — President Joe Biden has shifted from promising the U.S. would back Ukraine for …

Discussion: New York Post

Sahil Kapur / NBC News:

Democratic group makes a $5.9 million bet on flipping George Santos' House seat — First on NBC News: House Majority PAC plans to spend heavily on TV, digital and mail ads to win a special election that it is calling a harbinger for the November battle over the chamber.

Discussion: The Hill, Washington Examiner, Washington Times, New York Post, House Majority PAC and The Messenger

Washington Post:

After Sandy Hook, they voted no. Now these senators want new gun laws. — Reflecting on a decade of mass killings and surging AR-15 sales, four current and three former senators recant some or all of their 2013 positions on gun laws in emotional interviews with The Post

Discussion: The Hill and Mediaite

Stuart Lau / Politico:

Jacques Delors, architect of a united Europe, is dead at 98 — BRUSSELS — Jacques Delors, who headed the European Commission between 1985 and 1995 and is seen as one of the most important architects of a European internal market and single currency, died on Wednesday, aged 98.

Discussion: Reuters, Associated Press and The Sun

NBC News:

Matt Napolitano, Fox News audio anchor and reporter, dies at 33 after a brief illness — Napolitano wrote and produced segments for all Fox News audio platforms. He contributed sports-related coverage for Fox Business Network's “Cavuto: Coast to Coast” weekday series anchored by Neil Cavuto.