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5:30 PM ET, December 18, 2024

memeorandum

 Top Items: 
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.
RELATED:
HuffPost:
Mike Johnson Faces Growing GOP Backlash As Elon Musk Calls For Government Shutdown  —  Johnson's push for a short-term government funding bill met louder resistance than usual from Republicans in the House.  —  LOADING  —  WASHINGTON — House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) …
Catie Edmondson / New York Times:
What's Inside the Spending Bill to Avoid a Government Shutdown?  —  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.
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.
Washington Post:
Under pressure from Elon Musk, House GOP prepares to scrap spending bill  —  Unless Congress acts, a shutdown deadline looms just past midnight Saturday.  —  Republicans are preparing to scrap House Speaker Mike Johnson's bipartisan plan to avert a government shutdown …
Discussion: New York Post and The Hill
Ari Natter / Bloomberg:
US Government Shutdowns Come With Economic, Productivity Costs
Discussion: NBC News
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.
RELATED:
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 …
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.
RELATED:
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.
Hayes Brown / MSNBC:
Democrats missed a huge opportunity by not elevating AOC
RELATED:
Reuters:
US confirms first severe human case of bird flu  —  The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said on Wednesday that a patient has been hospitalized with a severe case of H5N1 infection in Louisiana, marking the first known instance of a severe human illness linked to the bird flu virus in the United States.
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 …
RELATED:
Lauren Irwin / The Hill:   Democratic senator says Trump's plan to ‘cripple our democracy’ underway
Andrew Howard / Politico:
Trump: Liz Cheney ‘could be in a lot of trouble’ over Jan. 6 committee
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.
RELATED:
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: Raw Story and 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 …
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 …
RELATED:
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.
RELATED:
Katherine Tully-McManus / Politico:
Lawmakers are primed to get a pay bump. Some aren't happy about it.
Discussion: Rolling Stone and Alternet.org
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.
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
Financial Times:
‘What choice do they have?’:  America's CEOs bend the knee to Donald Trump  —  Even the president-elect's corporate opponents are rushing to embrace him at Mar-a-Lago  —  Ted Sarandos, the 60-year-old chief executive of Netflix, has been a prominent Democratic donor for years.
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 …
 
 
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 More Items: 
Washington Post:
Majority of Americans oppose Trump's proposals to test democracy's limits
Anthony Capaccio / Bloomberg:
Musk's Alleged Russia Contacts Worry Air Force's Kendall
Discussion: Semafor
The Guardian:
‘Everything is so bad’: Argentina's poor hit hard by Milei's ‘chainsaw’ measures
Discussion: Semafor
Brian Beutler / Off Message:
More On Ethical Populism  —  The sweet spot lies in demagogic appeals that can withstand factual scrutiny.
Discussion: New Republic
Holly Otterbein / Politico:
Are Democrats coconut-pilled? Some want to see Kamala Harris run again.
Discussion: RedState and The Hill
Bret Stephens / New York Times:
Done With Never Trump
Discussion: The Federalist and The Bulwark
 Earlier Items: 
Politico:
What it's like to cook for Donald
Discussion: The Independent and HuffPost
Marina Dunbar / The Guardian:
Feeling at home? New app lets US homebuyers see neighbors' politics
Discussion: RedState and Joe.My.God.
Erum Salam / The Guardian:
Ice deports mother and children, including newborn twins, to Mexico
Discussion: CBS News
Gina Kolata / New York Times:
In Trump World, RFK Jr. and Elon Musk Highlight Debate Over Obesity Treatment
Discussion: Raw Story and Reuters
David R. Lurie / Public Notice:
The upcoming GOP assault on Social Security
Discussion: Alternet.org
 

 
From Mediagazer:

Erik Wemple / Washington Post:
A look at GOP attacks on local news outlets across the US, including the Lancaster County Board of Commissioners' harrassment of LNP reporter Tom Lisi

Mark Kleinman / Sky News:
Letter: The Scott Trust's deal to sell the Observer to Tortoise came despite a last-minute bid from Ecotricity founder Dale Vince to thwart the deal

Erik Hayden / The Hollywood Reporter:
The California Production Coalition, a group of 33 businesses and organizations including the MPA, organizes to lobby for state incentives for film and TV shows
 
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