Top Items:
CNN:
In reversal, key House panel votes to release Matt Gaetz ethics report — The House Ethics Committee secretly voted earlier this month to release its report into the conduct of former Rep. Matt Gaetz before the end of this Congress, according to multiple sources with knowledge of the matter.
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Fox News, Washington Post, CBS News, Rolling Stone, USA Today, Mediaite, The Hill, Truthout, New York Times, Raw Story, Politico, CNBC, Washington Examiner, New Jersey Online, Townhall, Sun-Sentinel, UPI, The Guardian, Forbes, Hollywood Life, Joe.My.God., The Independent, The Gateway Pundit, Florida Politics, RedState, Scripps News, NBC News, New Republic and HuffPost
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New York Times:
House Ethics Panel Voted Secretly to Release the Gaetz Report — Lawmakers agreed the report would come out after the House has completed legislative business for the year and once they have left Washington to return to their districts. — The House Ethics Committee secretly voted this month …
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Raw Story, ABC News, New York Post, Daily Kos, Mediaite, Reuters, BizPac Review, Joe.My.God. and CBS News
Kaia Hubbard / CBS News:
Senate passes $895 billion defense bill with controversial gender-affirming care restriction — Washington — The Senate approved the mammoth $895 billion National Defense Authorization Act on Wednesday, despite concern from some Democrats over a controversial policy restricting gender-affirming care for children of servicemembers.
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The Guardian, NBC News, The Hill, Washington Post, Washington Examiner, Washington Times, Townhall and New York Post
Tal Axelrod / ABC News:
Democrats' playbook to beat Republicans in 2 years: work with them now — “I think we are telling them that we're here to govern,” one Democrat said. — DCCC chair Rep. Suzan DelBene, D-Wash., speaks during the House Democrats' post-caucus meeting news conference in the Capitol, Sept. 18, 2024.
Discussion:
Wonkette, Balloon Juice and Associated Press
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Jamelle Bouie / New York Times:
What Do Democrats Need to Do? Act Like an Opposition Party. — Democrats may be in the minority, but they are not yet an opposition. — What's the difference? — An opposition would use every opportunity it had to demonstrate its resolute stance against the incoming administration.
Discussion:
No More Mister Nice Blog
William Kristol / The Bulwark:
Trump's Vengeance Tour Has Already Started — Going forward, how are we going to hash out how much the government spends and on what? Through a combination of public edicts from Elon Musk and harried Fox News appearances from Speaker Mike Johnson, apparently.
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NBC News, Reuters, House Administration, Daily Kos, Raw Story, Le·gal In·sur·rec·tion, One America News Network, RedState, New York Magazine, Mediaite, New Jersey Online, BizPac Review, The Gateway Pundit, New York Post, New Republic, The Federalist, Fox News, Breitbart, Patterico's Pontifications, HotAir, HuffPost, Washington Examiner, American Greatness, Townhall, The Post Millennial, Alternet.org, Washington Times and The Hill
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Politico:
Johnson weighs spending plan B as Elon Musk stokes opposition — Speaker Mike Johnson's leadership team is quietly discussing a plan B to fund the government amid conservative opposition and vocal criticism from incoming President Donald Trump's top ally Elon Musk.
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The Hill, CBS News, Axios, Washington Examiner, Fox News, CNBC, New Jersey Online, Daily Caller News Foundation, The Daily Caller, IJR, Mediaite, The Post Millennial, New York Magazine, Raw Story, The Federalist, HuffPost, PoliticusUSA, Washington Times, ABC News, The Gateway Pundit, The Independent, Business Insider, New York Daily News, New Republic and Bloomberg
Catie Edmondson / New York Times:
Inside a Huge Spending Deal: Disaster Money, a Football Stadium and More — The mammoth year-end federal funding measure congressional leaders agreed on does far more than just keep the government running. It is stuffed with all manner of policy and other changes.
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Bloomberg, Fox News, Washington Examiner, BizPac Review, CBS News, Associated Press, MPR News, NPR, UPI and Washington Times
Punchbowl News:
A stadium, a pay raise for lawmakers, music tourism — and gov't funding
A stadium, a pay raise for lawmakers, music tourism — and gov't funding
Discussion:
HotAir, Reuters, The Hill, Blaze Media, Twitchy, Breitbart, The Transom and Fox News
Leah Barkoukis / Townhall:
Mike Johnson Responds to Elon Musk Over Spending Bill Criticism
Mike Johnson Responds to Elon Musk Over Spending Bill Criticism
Discussion:
Axios, Digby's Hullabaloo, The Post Millennial, Le·gal In·sur·rec·tion, Twitchy and Mediaite
Apoorva Mandavilli / New York Times:
California Declares an Emergency Over Bird Flu — Officials have discovered the virus in 645 herds of dairy cattle, more than in any other state so far. — Gov. Gavin Newsom of California declared on Wednesday that the outbreak of bird flu among the state's dairy cattle constituted an emergency …
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Hartford Courant, Joe.My.God., The Post Millennial, Governor of California and Fox News
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Reuters:
US confirms first severe human case of bird flu
US confirms first severe human case of bird flu
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Missouri Independent, The Hill, CBS News, Los Angeles Times, Washington Examiner, NPR, UPI, NewsNation, STAT and WHDH-TV
Nathaniel Weixel / The Hill:
CDC confirms first case of severe bird flu
Annie Karni / New York Times:
House Republicans Call for Liz Cheney to Be Investigated Over Jan. 6 Committee Role — Ms. Cheney defended her work on the select committee in a detailed statement, and called the report “a malicious and cowardly assault on the truth.” — House Republicans on Tuesday said their one-time colleague …
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Raw Story, RedState, Mediaite, Breitbart, New York Post, American Thinker, The Independent, Roll Call and Just The News
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Annie Grayer / CNN:
After investigating January 6, House GOP sides with Trump and goes after Liz Cheney
After investigating January 6, House GOP sides with Trump and goes after Liz Cheney
Discussion:
The Independent, HuffPost, BizPac Review, Raw Story, Rolling Stone, Mother Jones and Associated Press
New York Times:
Trump Sues The Des Moines Register, Escalating Threats Against the Media
Trump Sues The Des Moines Register, Escalating Threats Against the Media
Discussion:
New Republic, Committee to Protect …, Democrats, Al Jazeera, Commentary Magazine, HotAir, Reuters, USA Today and Deadline
Andrew Howard / Politico:
Trump: Liz Cheney ‘could be in a lot of trouble’ over Jan. 6 committee
Trump: Liz Cheney ‘could be in a lot of trouble’ over Jan. 6 committee
Discussion:
Washington Post, New York Daily News, Axios, Reuters, Mediaite, The Hill, Daily Mail, New Republic, UPI, Associated Press, Joe.My.God., The Gateway Pundit, Raw Story and Twitchy
Paul Krugman / Krugman wonks out:
Health Insurance is a Racket — What value do these companies add, really? — It's not news that many Americans dislike health insurance companies. In fact, Brian Thompson, the CEO of UnitedHealthcare who was murdered two weeks ago, reportedly warned his colleagues months ago that the industry had a public relations problem.
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Wendell Potter / New York Times:
I Was a Health Insurance Executive. What I Saw Made Me Quit. — I left my job as a health insurance executive at Cigna after a crisis of conscience. It began in 2005, during a meeting convened by the chief executive to brief department heads on the company's latest strategy: “consumerism.”
Discussion:
STAT
Brooks Barnes / New York Times:
Inside Disney's Decision to Settle a Trump Defamation Suit — Talks started and finished on the same day, after Disney decided that fighting the lawsuit could potentially hurt the company and protections for the press. — When Disney reached a settlement last week with President-elect Donald J. Trump …
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Wall Street Journal, New York Post, Politico, Truthout, New Republic, Newsbusters, The Independent, Bloomberg, The Federalist and HotAir, more at Mediagazer »
Jason Koebler / 404 Media:
The No-Win ‘Mystery Drone’ Clusterfuck — To political grifters boosting their profiles, government inaction is unacceptable, and government action cannot be trusted. There is no acceptable explanation. — If you are wondering what to think of the New Jersey mystery drone situation …
Discussion:
One America News Network, Washington Post, Bloomberg, Vanity Fair, USA Today, Al Jazeera, New Jersey Online and The Register
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Bryan Walsh / Vox:
The drone hysteria is a glimpse of the future
The drone hysteria is a glimpse of the future
Discussion:
Staten Island Advance, The Verge, Ian Haworth, Washington Examiner, Joe.My.God. and The Onion
Punchbowl News:
What's in the CR for members — a pay raise, plus an Obamacare opt-out — Two provisions that directly impact lawmakers were quietly added to the CR: a pay raise and an Obamacare opt-out. … It's complicated, but Congress has proactively blocked lawmakers from getting a cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) since 2009.
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Katherine Tully-McManus / Politico:
Lawmakers are primed to get a pay bump. Some aren't happy about it.
Lawmakers are primed to get a pay bump. Some aren't happy about it.
Discussion:
Rolling Stone, Bloomberg Government and Alternet.org
David Smith / The Guardian:
Trump planning to target progressive non-profits, US watchdog warns — Congressional Integrity Project creates initiative to counter growing ‘authoritarianism’ and defend progressives — Donald Trump and his Republican allies are planning to target progressive groups they perceive …
Discussion:
The Independent
Brian Beutler / Off Message:
More On Ethical Populism — The sweet spot lies in demagogic appeals that can withstand factual scrutiny. — ∙ Paid — The competition is stiff, but for me the most demoralizing spectacle from November 5 through the Nancy Pelosi-led whip operation to deny AOC Democrats' top oversight role …
Discussion:
New Republic
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New Republic:
Transcript: Trump's Angry New Tirade on Truth Social Signals Dark 2025 — The following is a lightly edited transcript of the December 17 episode of the — Daily Blast podcast. Listen to it here. — Greg Sargent: This is The Daily Blast from The New Republic, produced and presented by the DSR network.
Discussion:
NBC News, Alternet.org, Digby's Hullabaloo, The DSR Network and Raw Story, more at Mediagazer »
Columbia University Irving Medical Center:
Sexism Is a Risk Factor for Memory Decline Among Women — Share on X (formerly Twitter) — Share by email — Women born in the most sexist U.S. states experienced faster memory decline in later years compared to women born in the least sexist states, a new study by researchers …
Filip Timotija / The Hill:
Trump: Canada becoming 51st state ‘great idea’ — President-elect Trump questioned Canada early Wednesday, asking why the U.S. provides its northern neighbor with subsidies, and suggesting that it should become the 51st state. — “No one can answer why we subsidize Canada to the tune of over $100,000,000 a year?
Discussion:
Washington Examiner, The Daily Beast, Canadian Press, The Gateway Pundit, The Independent, Fox News, Washington Times, Twitchy and Politico
The Guardian:
‘Everything is so bad’: Argentina's poor hit hard by Milei's ‘chainsaw’ measures — Rightwing president vowed to rescue country from years of ‘impoverishment’ - but for many the situation is desperate — Harriet Barber, Tom Phillips and Facundo Iglesia in Buenos Aires
Discussion:
Semafor
Erum Salam / The Guardian:
Ice deports mother and children, including newborn twins, to Mexico — Despite the infants being US citizens, Christina Salazar and all four of her children were put on a plane on 11 December — After his wife and children, including newborn twins, were suddenly deported to Mexico …
Discussion:
CBS News
David R. Lurie / Public Notice:
The upcoming GOP assault on Social Security — 🌎 Public Notice is made possible by paid subscribers. If you aren't one, please click the button below to sign up and support our independent journalism. 🌎 — 👉 Subscribe to Public Notice 👈
Discussion:
Alternet.org