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4:15 PM ET, December 29, 2023

Top Items:

Nick Robertson / The Hill:

John Dean: 'Trump's in trouble' after Maine ruling — Nixon White House attorney John Dean said Thursday he believes the Maine decision to remove former President Trump from the ballot will be difficult to overturn, calling it “very solid.” — Maine Secretary of State Shenna Bellows (D) …

Discussion: Politico, Raw Story, The Mahablog, New York Post, The Messenger, Digby's Hullabaloo, RedState, CBS News, The Post Millennial, IJR, Breitbart, Blaze Media, The Daily Caller, Le·gal In·sur·rec·tion, CNN and FOX 2

Ed Morrissey / HotAir:

Maine Democrat Official *Decrees* Trump Disqualified? — And now there are two states which have claimed to disqualify Donald Trump from the Republican primary. Colorado at least put on a pretense of due process with a civil lawsuit in state court that resulted in Trump being found guilty …

Discussion: Raw Story, Reason, Associated Press, The Daily Caller, UPI, acecomments.mu.nu, The Hill, Fox 8 Cleveland WJW, USA Today and Mock Paper Scissors

Donald J. Trump For President 2024:

Trump Campaign Statement on Maine Secretary of State Ruling — “The Maine Secretary of State is a former ACLU attorney, a virulent leftist and a hyper-partisan Biden-supporting Democrat who has decided to interfere in the presidential election on behalf of Crooked Joe Biden.

Discussion: RedState, Breitbart, The Maine Wire, The Daily Caller, Informed Comment, Lawyers, Guns & Money, Blaze Media, National Review, NPR, The Gateway Pundit, Business Insider and One America News Network

Debra Kahn / Politico:
Deep blue California keeps Trump on the presidential ballot

Patrick Marley / Washington Post:
Donald Trump removed from Maine primary ballot by secretary of state

Zach Montellaro / Politico:
Maine strips Trump from the ballot, inflaming legal war over his candidacy

Chris Cameron / New York Times:
Trump Rivals Criticize Maine Decision in His Defense

Discussion: Politico, Townhall, One America News Network, The Guardian, The Messenger, The Hill and Political Wire

Benjamin Weiser / New York Times:

Michael Cohen Used Fake Cases Cited by A.I. to Seek an End to Court Supervision — Donald Trump's former fixer had sought an early end to court supervision after his 2018 campaign finance conviction. He enlisted the help of Google Bard. — Michael D. Cohen, the onetime fixer …

Discussion: Fox News, Business Insider, The Daily Beast, The Hill, Bloomberg, Rolling Stone, Raw Story and New York Daily News, more at Techmeme »

Jo Yurcaba / NBC News:

Ohio's Republican governor vetoes trans care restriction and sports ban — Gov. Mike DeWine is one of only a few Republican governors to veto a restriction on transition-related care for minors or a ban on trans student athlete participation. — Ohio's governor vetoed a bill Friday …

Jose Pagliery / The Daily Beast:

Why Trump May Find Himself in Jail Sooner Than He Thinks — Donald Trump is doing his best to delay as many cases as possible. But there's a simple reason Trump may find himself behind bars sooner than he thinks: Trump himself. — The countdown is on for Donald Trump's D.C. trial in March.

Discussion: Raw Story and 77 WABC

New York Times:

After Rise in Murders During the Pandemic, a Sharp Decline in 2023 — The country is on track for a record drop in homicides, and many other categories of crime are also in decline, according to the F.B.I. — Detroit is on track to record the fewest murders since the 1960s.

Discussion: Washington Examiner, Digby's Hullabaloo, The Hill, The Messenger, Axios, ABC News and Off the Kuff

Heidi Przybyla / Politico:

Public Christian schools? Leonard Leo's allies advance a new cause — A tight-knit group of activists tied to Leo's non-profit network are rallying around an Oklahoma effort to create a public Catholic school. — POLITICO illustration by Emily Scherer/Photos by AP, Getty Images, iStock

Discussion: Raw Story and Digby's Hullabaloo

Lauren Irwin / The Hill:

Democrats go after GOP's ‘anti-history record’ with billboard ads — The Democratic National Committee (DNC) has launched four billboards in Iowa attacking Republican presidential candidates for their “anti-history record” as they spend the weekend campaigning in the Hawkeye state.

Discussion: Raw Story, The Messenger, The Moderate Voice and Crooks and Liars

NBC News:

Russia unleashes huge barrage of drones and rockets on Ukraine — Cities across the country were hit in what Kyiv said was one of the biggest aerial attacks of the war. — Russia unleashed rockets and drones throughout Ukraine early Friday, damaging schools, hospitals and homes across …

Discussion: Washington Examiner, Fox News, Al Jazeera, Associated Press, New Jersey Online, The Daily Beast, UPI, Bloomberg, The Guardian, Voice of America and Reuters

Kate Gibson / CBS News:

Magnetic balls sold by Walmart recalled due to choking and injury risks to kids — High-powered magnetic balls sold by Walmart are being recalled because similar products have led to serious injuries and even death for children who swallowed them. — The recall involves 5 millimeter …

Discussion: abc7NY, Fox Business, U.S. Consumer Product …, WAGA-TV, The Messenger, Fox 8 Cleveland WJW, UPI and NBC News

Marley Jay / NBC News:

The ‘wealth transfer’ from boomers won't save Gen X and millennials — Experts say baby boomers will give more than $50 trillion to their heirs. But for many, health care costs will claim the bulk of that wealth. — The story goes that baby boomers are going to give tens of trillions …

Discussion: acecomments.mu.nu

NBC News:

U.S. intelligence officials determined the Chinese spy balloon used a U.S. internet provider to communicate — An American intelligence assessment found that the balloon used a commercially available U.S. network to communicate, primarily for navigation, U.S. officials say.

Discussion: Fox News, RedState, Le·gal In·sur·rec·tion, The Free Press, The Post Millennial and The Messenger, more at Techmeme »

Catherine Rampell / Washington Post:

New Year's resolutions for the media (and those who love to hate us) — A new year is coming, but many of the same old problems plague journalism. So as we plow into 2024, join me in my intermittent tradition: New Year's resolutions for the news media. This election-year edition includes …