Top Items:


Transition Live Updates: House Approves Stopgap Funding Bill Hours Ahead of Shutdown Deadline — The new legislation would keep the government open but did not include the debt ceiling increase that President-elect Donald J. Trump had demanded. It now goes to the Senate. — Here are the latest developments.
Discussion:
New Jersey Globe, Fox News, New Republic, American Greatness and The Hill
RELATED:


Live updates: Government shutdown disarray offers preview of Trump term battles — Just as the government funding deadline arrived early Saturday, Congress passed an interim plan to prevent a shutdown after a chaotic few days and nights in Washington. — President Biden is expected to sign the funding bill on Saturday.
Discussion:
DCReport.org, CNBC, Washington Post and WNYW-TV


House passes bill to avert government shutdown after whirlwind funding fight — The House approved legislation to avert a government shutdown hours before the deadline Friday, sending the bill to the Senate for consideration after a whirlwind week on Capitol Hill.


House Republicans just exposed the limits of Trump's power — Support independent journalism that matters — become a Vox Member today. — This week's installment of the long-running saga, “House Republicans cannot govern,” will soon be forgotten. Elon Musk's decision to blow …
Discussion:
New York Times, Axios, Regular Order, Fortune, Source New Mexico, Raw Story, New York Magazine, Washington Examiner, Politico, Washington Times, Business Insider, WSVN-TV, NPR, Reuters and Reason


8 policies stripped from GOP bill after Trump, Musk rebellion — Research for children's health, a crackdown on junk fees, pay hikes for lawmakers and more were jettisoned from the legislation. — The House of Representatives approved legislation Friday to keep the government funded …
Discussion:
Politico, Rolling Stone, Salon, NewsNation, USA Today, Consequence, The Atlantic, Steady, Townhall and Washington Times


Trump's claims of a mandate run into reality of narrow majorities — Donald Trump's last-minute demands for a congressional funding package were rejected by Republicans, foreshadowing the challenges he could face next year. — President-elect Donald Trump's last-minute demands …
Discussion:
Politico, Fortune, Talking Points Memo, LewRockwell and New York Times


Musk helped kill a congressional spending bill. But much of what he spread was misinformation
Discussion:
Associated Press, Talking Points Memo, PJ Media, Fortune, Semafor, Slate and The Guardian, more at Techmeme »

House passes 11th-hour bill to avert government shutdown
Discussion:
Raw Story, News 5 Cleveland WEWS, Must Read Alaska, Fox News, New York Times, Twitchy, The Hill, CBS News, Breitbart, New York Post, Political Wire and New Jersey Online

Mike Johnson's magic debt ceiling promise
Discussion:
Mediaite, The Gateway Pundit, CNN, Politico and Washington Times

Republicans Own This Government Shutdown S—t Show
Discussion:
New York Times, Semafor, Al Jazeera, New Republic, The Independent, Daily Kos, Truthout, The Hill, Washington Examiner, CBS News, Blue Virginia, El País, Politico, Washington Post and Raw Story

House GOP picks new funding plan that will need wide Democratic support
Discussion:
Washington Examiner, Fox News, STAT, Daily Caller News Foundation, Townhall, Joe.My.God. and The Hill

The Government Is Shutting Down Because Elon Musk Has Factories in China
Discussion:
Bloomberg, The Hill, New Republic, Newsweek, Fox News and Washington Examiner

Meet the 38 Republicans Who Defied Trump on the Spending and Debt Deal
Discussion:
Fortune, acecomments.mu.nu, The Post Millennial, The Guardian and Politico

12-20-24-A-PREMIUM ONLY Special Edition
Discussion:
Letters from an American, The Post Millennial, Blaze Media and Daily Mail

Government funding bill clears Congress and heads to President Biden, averting a shutdown
Discussion:
NBC News, Joe.My.God., Slate, The i Paper, The Gateway Pundit, Regular Order, HuffPost, Fox News, Mediaite, Roll Call, New York Times, Reuters, The Guardian, Washington Post, Maryland Matters, NewsNation, Semafor, Bloomberg, The Independent, MPR News, WSVN-TV, Daily Mail, Washington Times, WNEP-TV, Fortune, Breitbart, UPI, Raw Story, WBRZ, CBS News, WNYW-TV, The Daily Caller and Politico


Justice Thomas Did Not Disclose Additional Trips, Democrats Say — The revelation was included in a report by Democratic staff members on the Senate Judiciary Committee who had conducted a 20-month investigation into ethics practices at the Supreme Court. — Justice Clarence Thomas failed …
Discussion:
Associated Press
RELATED:


Breaking: Senate Dems' report on SCOTUS ethics inquiry decries “culture of misconduct” — Judiciary Dems' majority staff report calls for Congress to act given that “the justices have allowed ethical misconduct to persist for decades.” — For the past 20 months, the Senate Judiciary Committee's Democrats …
Discussion:
The Hill and Rolling Stone


Senate Democrats blast Supreme Court's ‘ethical crisis’ as investigation concludes — With Republicans about to take control of the Senate, Democrats on the Judiciary Committee issued a report detailing alleged ethical lapses by justices. — WASHINGTON — A lengthy investigation …
Discussion:
Washington Post, Politico, Raw Story and Joe.My.God.


Senate confirms Biden's 235th judge, beating Trump's record — It's an important milestone for Joe Biden as he tops his predecessor Donald Trump's total number of judicial nominees confirmed before handing the White House back over to him. — WASHINGTON — The Democratic-led Senate confirmed …
Discussion:
Reuters, New York Times, The Hill, Raw Story, Alternet.org, HuffPost, Utah News Dispatch, The White House, Axios and The Japan Times
RELATED:


Senate confirms 2 Biden judicial nominees, boosting total over Trump — President Joe Biden's diverse cohort of judges includes more women, people of color and LGBTQ+ individuals than any other U.S. president. — The Senate on Friday confirmed President Joe Biden's last two judicial nominees …
Discussion:
Bloomberg, San Diego Union-Tribune and The Hill

Senate approves 235th judge of Biden's term, beating Trump's tally
Discussion:
Law Dork, WNYW-TV, CBS News, Washington Examiner, Politico and San Diego Union-Tribune


Outrage as Elon Musk claims ‘only AfD can save Germany’ — German health minister calls US billionaire's intervention weeks before election ‘undignified and problematic’ — Elon Musk has caused outrage in Berlin after appearing to endorse the far-right, anti-immigrant Alternative für Deutschland.
Discussion:
Business Insider and Joe.My.God.
RELATED:


Elon Musk Applauds the German Neo-Nazi Party
Discussion:
BizPac Review, The Daily Sceptic, Raw Story, NBC News, Daily Kos, Mediaite, Los Angeles Times, Agence France-Presse, RedState, New York Magazine, Semafor, HuffPost, Truthout, Bloomberg, Al Jazeera, New Republic, Digby's Hullabaloo, Washington Examiner, The Times of Israel, The Gateway Pundit, Joe.My.God. and Deadline

Elon Musk Boosting German Fascists, What Could Possibly Go Wrong
Discussion:
Financial Times

Elon Musk endorses far-right Alternative for Germany party in upcoming election
Discussion:
Mother Jones, Axios, Futurism, Associated Press, Raw Story, UPI, Washington Post, Lawyers, Guns & Money, New York Times, Politico and Reuters


Senate approves bill to expand Social Security to millions of Americans — Legislation to expand Social Security benefits to millions of Americans passed the U.S. Senate early Saturday and is now headed to the desk of President Biden, who is expected to sign the measure into law.
Discussion:
CNN, The Hill, Associated Press, RedState, Joe.My.God. and Washington Examiner


Biden Weighs Commuting Sentences of Death Row Inmates — Amid pleas from religious and civil-rights groups, president is considering whether to convert death sentences to life without parole — WASHINGTON—President Biden is considering commuting the sentences of most, if not all …
Discussion:
RedState, New York Post, Breitbart, Fox News, Twitchy, Raw Story, The Independent, The Gateway Pundit, NPR and NBC News


Iceland's Social Democrats Reach Deal for New Government — Three-party coalition vows prudent budgets, war on inflation — Referendum on resuming EU entry talks seen before 2027 — Iceland's new ruling coalition agreed on a platform of budget restraint to fight inflation …
Discussion:
Reuters


Sentencing closes chapter for Oath Keeper seeking redemption after Jan. 6 — Joshua James pleaded guilty to seditious conspiracy but later became a crucial cooperator for prosecutors. — Joshua James earned his Purple Heart in 2007, when an IED tore through a bridge he was crossing in Baghdad …
Discussion:
Washington Post, Raw Story, Associated Press, Daily Kos and Hartford Courant