Top Items:
Jonathan V. Last / The Bulwark:
Biden Has Presidential Immunity. He Should Use It. — 1. Shiny Objects — I want to talk about all of the Trump insanity. I want to talk about his insistence on “taking” Greenland. And the Panama Canal. And making Canada a U.S. state. And renaming the Gulf of Mexico the “Gulf of America.”
Discussion:
The Atlantic and The Hill
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New York Times:
Justice Dept. to Hold Off Releasing Report on Trump Documents Case — But in a court filing, the department indicated that it would release a separate report about Donald J. Trump's efforts to overturn the 2020 election as soon as possible. — Federal prosecutors said on Wednesday …
Ashleigh Fields / The Hill:
Top DOJ officials may have tried to sway 2020 election to Trump: Watchdog — Justice Department officials who served under President-elect Trump's first administration may have influenced the 2020 presidential election through intentional media leaks targeted at Democratic state governors …
Discussion:
Reuters, American Thinker, Politico, ABC News and Raw Story
Susan Page / USA Today:
In exclusive sit-down, Biden reveals his biggest regret and the compliment Trump gave him — Interviews like this one have been rare in Biden's tenure. He has held fewer news conferences and individual sessions with reporters than any president since at least Ronald Reagan.
Discussion:
New York Times, Bloomberg, CNN, Politico, Scripps News, NBC News, The Post Millennial, Daily Kos, Breitbart, Raw Story, IJR, Townhall, Forbes, Mediaite, Washington Post, Daily Mail, RedState, acecomments.mu.nu, ABC News, The Bulwark, The Hill, The Daily Caller, Business Insider, Fox News, Power Line, Washington Examiner, The Independent, HuffPost and The Guardian
Emiliano Rodríguez Mega / New York Times:
Poking Fun at Trump, Mexico's President Suggests Renaming the U.S. — President Claudia Sheinbaum of Mexico also said Donald Trump was ill-informed when he said Mexico was “essentially run by the cartels.” — Mexico's president rejected several of President-elect Donald J. Trump's assertions …
Discussion:
CNN, Mediaite, Global News, The Hill, USA Today, Raw Story, IJR, ABC News, Daily Kos, The Independent, The Root, New York Post, Blaze Media, Fox News, Daily Caller News Foundation, The Daily Caller and RedState
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Associated Press:
Mexico President Sheinbaum has dig at President-elect Trump over ‘Gulf of America’ — Mexico's president on Wednesday responded sarcastically to Donald Trump's proposal to change the name of the Gulf of Mexico to the Gulf of America. Standing before a global map, Claudia Sheinbaum suggested dryly …
Irie Sentner / Politico:
Gulf of America? More like ‘America Mexicana,’ Mexican president says
Gulf of America? More like ‘America Mexicana,’ Mexican president says
Discussion:
Axios, Balloon Juice, The Independent, Townhall, Reuters, The Guardian, Los Angeles Times, New York Times, Associated Press, Bloomberg, CBS News, Mediaite and Daily Mail
Los Angeles Times:
5 dead, more than 1,100 structures destroyed as firestorm besieges L.A. County — More than 1,100 buildings have burned and at least five people are dead in wildfires burning across L.A. County, making this one of the most destructive firestorms to hit the region in memory.
Discussion:
Grist, Axios, Reuters, Vox, Politico, Deadline, East Bay Times, CBS News, Palo Alto Online, LAist, Governor of California, Mediaite, ARTnews, Hartford Courant, New York Daily News, Rolling Stone, NewsNation, American Greatness, Raw Story, The Gateway Pundit, Daily Caller News Foundation, Heatmap News, Campus Safety Magazine, The Atlantic, TheGrio, Fortune, Semafor, Extra, ChurchLeaders, The Hugh Hewitt Show and Us Weekly
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Los Angeles Times:
Lack of water from hydrants in Palisades fire is hurting firefighters, Caruso says — As wildfires raged across Los Angeles on Tuesday, crews battling the Palisades blaze faced an additional burden: Scores of fire hydrants in the Pacific Palisades had little to no water flowing out.
Discussion:
Politico, NBC News, Washington Examiner, New York Post, FOX 11 Los Angeles, Mercury News, RedState, The Hugh Hewitt Show, Associated Press, Megyn Kelly, HotAir, Courthouse News Service, Blaze Media, Twitchy, The Post Millennial, Page Six, The Sun, Townhall, Heatmap News, The Atlantic, Fox News, freebeacon.com, The Federalist and Breitbart
ABC News:
Trump speaks with Justice Alito amid push to halt criminal sentencing — Alito spoke to Trump to recommend an ex-clerk for a job in his administration. — President-elect Donald Trump speaks during a news conference at Mar-a-Lago, Jan. 7, 2024, in Palm Beach, Fla.
Costas Paris / Wall Street Journal:
Panama Canal CEO Says Meeting Trump's Demands ‘Will Lead to Chaos’ — Canal executive says China doesn't control route and U.S. ships can't get better rates than others — PANAMA CITY, Panama— The leader of the Panama Canal Authority denied President-elect Donald Trump's claims that China …
Discussion:
The Hill, New Republic, Raw Story, Washington Times and The Post Millennial
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Hadas Gold / CNN:
Trump camp was fed questions for Fox News town hall in advance from person inside network, new book says — New York CNN — President-elect Donald Trump's team was given the questions asked by Fox News anchors at an Iowa town hall last January in advance by someone inside the network …
Politico:
Dems to the GOP on budget reconciliation: ‘Good luck’ — As House Republicans publicly grapple over how to advance President-elect Donald Trump's agenda, House Democrats are looking across the aisle with some schadenfreude. Just four years ago, Democrats were hotly debating …
Discussion:
The Hill, Washington Times, Punchbowl News, USA Today and Daily Kos
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Brakkton Booker / Politico:
Watchdog group accuses RFK Jr. of voter fraud — The former independent candidate faces scrutiny over an address he used to vote in New York. — With less than two weeks before Donald Trump is sworn in as President, his pick to lead Health and Human Services is facing a new legal challenge — over alleged voter fraud.
Discussion:
The Guardian, The Hill, Semafor, Washington Examiner, Axios and Raw Story
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Jennifer Bendery / HuffPost:
Hawaii Gov: RFK Jr.'s Anti-Vax Misinformation Left Dozens Of Kids Dead In Samoa — The Senate is poised to make “an absolute life-or-death decision” in confirming Kennedy as HHS secretary, warned Gov. Josh Green, who is also a physician. — LOADING — WASHINGTON — Hawaii Gov. Josh Green …
Discussion:
Washington Post, Fox News, The Hill, New York Times and Politico
Liz Dye / Public Notice:
Merchan subtweets John Roberts ahead of Trump's sentencing — The chief justice thinks intimidating judges is bad — some of the time. — 👨⚖️ 🏛️ ⏳ With corporate outlets obeying in advance, independent political coverage will be more vital than ever in 2025.
Discussion:
Politico, NBC News, Fox News, Mediaite, Daily Mail, Law & Crime, CNN, Courthouse News Service and Blaze Media
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Ian Millhiser / Vox:
Trump asks the Supreme Court to place him even further above the law
Trump asks the Supreme Court to place him even further above the law
Discussion:
Washington Post, Ohio Capital Journal, SCOTUSblog, Blaze Media, Adam Kinzinger, New Republic and IJR
Emanuel Maiberg / 404 Media:
Facebook Is Censoring 404 Media Stories About Facebook's Censorship — Instagram, Facebook, and Threads are removing 404 Media stories for “nudity” as the company is paid to put ads with explicit pornography in front of its users. — In early December I got the kind of tip we've been getting a lot over the past year.
Caitlin Yilek / CBS News:
Capitol Police arrest man with machete amid Carter visitation and ahead of Trump meeting — Washington — Capitol Police said officers arrested a man with a machete and other knives on Wednesday afternoon at the Capitol Visitor Center. — The arrest comes hours ahead of President-elect …
Discussion:
Washington Examiner, New York Post, RedState, Townhall, The Gateway Pundit, The Post Millennial and Associated Press
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Joyce Vance / Civil Discourse with Joyce Vance:
Threatening Canada — Trump posted this last night on Truth Social. — A lot of people went off on him. A lot of other people chided those people for chasing a bright shiny object and ignoring important things, like Senator Majority Leader John Thune's claim he has the votes to confirm …
Discussion:
MSNBC
Adrian Carrasquillo / The Bulwark:
The Media Isn't Ready for Trump's Mass Deportation Moment — IMAGINE THIS SCENARIO: Department of Homeland Security agents storm a meatpacking plant in the South, a show of force in the largest workplace raid in a decade. Rounding up workers, they target those who appear to be Latinos, without regard for citizenship.
RELATED:
Eli Okun / Politico:
Playbook PM: The end of the Trump trials
Joe Biden / USA Today:
Read what Joe Biden said during his exclusive interview with USA TODAY: Transcript — Transcript of President Joe Biden's Oval Office interview with Susan Page, USA TODAY's Washington Bureau Chief, on Jan. 5, 2025: — PAGE: This is the limits of my technological ability. — BIDEN: Believe me...
Discussion:
NBC News, Axios, CBS News, New York Times, Washington Post, Rolling Stone, Daily Mail, HuffPost, The Hill, Fox News, Mediaite, Twitchy, HotAir, RedState, The Daily Caller, New York Post, Althouse, Business Insider and IJR
Danielle Greyman-Kennard / Jerusalem Post:
Body of hostage Youssef Ziyadne found in Gaza — The IDF confirmed Ziyadne was discovered in an underground tunnel in Rafah adding that it discovered “findings relating to Youssef's son.” — Israeli security forces have discovered the body of hostage Youssef al-Ziyadne, 53, in the Gaza Strip, his family was told on Wednesday.
Discussion:
The Times of Israel, The Hill and Le·gal In·sur·rec·tion
Joseph Choi / The Hill:
UnitedHealth shareholders demand review of policies that ‘delayed or denied’ health care access — Shareholders of UnitedHealth Group (UHG) are calling on the company's board of directors to release a report on how its policy of limiting or delaying access to health care may be impacting the company's brand and the economy overall.
Discussion:
Interfaith Center … and STAT
Kayla Tausche / CNN:
Trump is considering a national economic emergency declaration to allow for new tariff program, sources say — President-elect Donald Trump is considering declaring a national economic emergency to provide legal justification for a large swath of universal tariffs on allies and adversaries …
Discussion:
The Independent, Raw Story, The Guardian and Fortune
Aaron Blake / Washington Post:
The gravity of a GOP election challenge in N.C.: ‘Invites incredible mischief’ — Why the North Carolina state Supreme Court allowing the case to proceed two months after the election is so extraordinary. — When Republican Richard Dietz was running for the North Carolina state Supreme Court in 2022 …
Discussion:
ProPublica, Raw Story, NC Newsline, WRAL-TV and The Hill
Marina Dunbar / The Guardian:
Annual ‘winners’ for most egregious US healthcare profiteering announced — Selling body parts without consent and billing desperate parents $97,599 for air transport among worst examples — The 2024 “winners” of the annual Shkreli awards, given each year to perpetrators of the most egregious examples …
Jael Holzman / Heatmap News:
The Growing Push to Ban Renewable Energy in Oklahoma — There's a nascent, concerted effort to make Oklahoma the first state to ban new renewable energy projects. And it's picking up steam. — Across the U.S., activism against wind and solar energy has only grown in intensity, power …
New York Times:
Trump Inauguration, Awash in Cash, Runs Out of Perks for Big Donors — The president-elect has raised more than $170 million for his swearing-in, an inaugural record, as wealthy Americans flock to curry favor with him and some give money even without the prospect of V.I.P. access.
Discussion:
Sludge and The Dispatch
emptywheel:
Why and How to Hold John Roberts Accountable — I want to explain why and how to hold John Roberts accountable for Trump's corruption. It is based on the following presumptions. — Blaming Merrick Garland for Trump's reelection has required inventing facts about the timeline, which is why I argue it is conspiratorial thinking.
Paul Krugman / Krugman wonks out:
Is There an Insanity Premium on Interest Rates? — Something strange is happening in the bond market. Is it Trump? — The Federal Reserve responded to the inflation spurt of 2021-22 by sharply raising interest rates. It kept rates high for a long time, even though inflation was already …
Discussion:
New York Times, Associated Press, Balloon Juice, CBS News and The Hill
Philip Bump / Washington Post:
Pre-election leaks from the Justice Department have also aided Trump — A new report from Reuters shows that Trump and Republicans were the likely intended beneficiaries of leaks in 2020, as they were in 2016. — To hear Donald Trump and his allies tell it, the devious denizens scurrying through …
Discussion:
Digby's Hullabaloo