Top Items:
Meredith Lee Hill / Politico:
Johnson confirms ‘discussions’ on tying wildfire aid to debt limit — House Speaker Mike Johnson confirmed to reporters Monday there's “been some discussion” of tying California wildfire aid to a debt limit increase, after GOP members raised the issue with Donald Trump in several meetings …
Discussion:
The Hill, Digby's Hullabaloo, Vanity Fair, Daily Kos, E&E News and Washington Examiner
RELATED:
Malcolm Ferguson / New Republic:
Mike Johnson Vows to Hold Aid to California Hostage After Deadly Fires — Republican leadership continues to use one of the worst natural disasters in U.S. history as political leverage. — On Monday, House Speaker Mike Johnson told CNN's Manu Raju that there should be “conditions” …
Discussion:
Washington Examiner, The Independent and Raw Story
Wall Street Journal:
Trump Planning to Visit California as Soon as Next Week
Trump Planning to Visit California as Soon as Next Week
Discussion:
Washington Examiner, The Post Millennial, NOTUS, HuffPost, CBS News and New York Times
Lauren Peller / ABC News:
Speaker Mike Johnson suggests ‘conditions’ needed on disaster aid for LA wildfires
Speaker Mike Johnson suggests ‘conditions’ needed on disaster aid for LA wildfires
Discussion:
Axios, Politico, The Hill, Raw Story, New York Post, Deadline and The Post Millennial
Philip Bump / Washington Post:
Republicans want concessions before California gets its tax dollars back
Republicans want concessions before California gets its tax dollars back
Discussion:
Semafor, NOTUS and PoliticusUSA
Josh Fiallo / The Daily Beast:
Star Washington Post Columnist Torches Paper on Her Way Out the Door — The star Washington Post columnist Jennifer Rubin resigned from the paper Monday and took a parting shot at Jeff Bezos, its billionaire owner.Driving her departure was recent executive decisions at the Post, she told CNN.
Discussion:
CNN, freebeacon.com, New York Post, Instapundit and Diane Ravitch's blog
RELATED:
Brian Stelter / CNN:
Jen Rubin exits Washington Post, joins Norm Eisen to launch new outlet countering ‘authoritarian threat’ — New York CNN — Veteran opinion columnist Jennifer Rubin is becoming the latest in a long list of Washington Post figures to leave the troubled institution.
Jennifer Rubin / The Contrarian:
I Have Resigned from The Washington Post, effective today
I Have Resigned from The Washington Post, effective today
Discussion:
HotAir, New Jersey Online and Townhall
Associated Press:
Judge clears the way for release of special counsel Smith's report on Trump's 2020 election case — The Justice Department can publicly release special counsel Jack Smith's investigative report on President-elect Donald Trump's 2020 election interference case, a federal judge said Monday …
Discussion:
Washington Post, The Guardian, Raw Story, The Hill, CBS News, New York Post, The Daily Signal, Washington Times, Forbes, The Independent, Law & Crime, Washington Examiner, Bloomberg, Daily Caller News Foundation, NPR, Mediaite, RedState, Associated Press, The Post Millennial and The Gateway Pundit
RELATED:
Ella Lee / The Hill:
Arizona attorney general asks for Jack Smith's full case file
Arizona attorney general asks for Jack Smith's full case file
Discussion:
Townhall, Raw Story, Arizona Mirror, PoliticusUSA and Washington Times
Steve Benen / MSNBC:
Trump appears desperate to keep Jack Smith's findings under wraps
Trump appears desperate to keep Jack Smith's findings under wraps
Discussion:
One First, Deseret News, The Daily Signal and The Gateway Pundit
The White House:
Statement from President Biden Announcing the Names of CVN 82 and CVN 83 — I am proud to announce that the next two Gerald R. Ford-class nuclear-powered aircraft carriers will be named for two former presidents: Bill Clinton and George W. Bush. — When I personally delivered the news to Bill and George, they were deeply humbled.
Discussion:
The Hill, UPI, Agence France-Presse, USNI News and Task & Purpose
RELATED:
Bloomberg:
China Discusses Sale of TikTok US to Musk as One Possible Option — ByteDance's preferred strategy is to fight ban, sources say — Trump has said he would like to delay ban to seek resolution — Chinese officials are evaluating a potential option that involves Elon Musk acquiring …
Discussion:
Dexerto, Forbes, The Gateway Pundit, The Independent, Washington Examiner and NOTUS, more at Mediagazer »
Andrew Solender / Axios:
House GOP crafts bill to let Trump purchase Greenland … - Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) last week introduced a bill that would have the Gulf of Mexico renamed the “Gulf of America” on official documents and maps. — Rep. Dusty Johnson (R-S.D.) also introduced a bill last week along …
Discussion:
Fox News, Bloomberg, Reuters, Talking Points Memo, RedState, Raw Story and Scripps News
RELATED:
New York Times:
Greenland to Trump: We're Not for Sale but Let's Talk Business
Greenland to Trump: We're Not for Sale but Let's Talk Business
Discussion:
HotAir, El País, Townhall and Washington Examiner
Thomas L. Friedman / New York Times:
Trump's Reckless Greenland Comments Are Not a Joke
Trump's Reckless Greenland Comments Are Not a Joke
Discussion:
Raw Story
Axios:
Scoop: Trump team sets red line on Hegseth's FBI background check … - That means no FBI background check access for rank-and-file senators, according to two people familiar with the matter. — Senate Armed Services chair Roger Wicker (R-Miss.) and ranking member Jack Reed (D-R.I.) have been briefed on the report.
Discussion:
Raw Story, USA Today, The Post Millennial and The Gateway Pundit
RELATED:
NBC News:
Pete Hegseth's FBI background check does not include interviews with key women from his past
Pete Hegseth's FBI background check does not include interviews with key women from his past
Discussion:
Fox News, Mediaite and The Federalist, more at Mediagazer »
Rebecca Traister / New York Magazine:
Pete Hegseth Is a Test
Pete Hegseth Is a Test
Discussion:
Axios, Fox News, Politico, The 19th, New York Times, The Atlantic, Raw Story, The Independent, CBS News, Washington Examiner, The Hill, Bloomberg and Boston Herald
Jonathan Chait / The Atlantic:
Maybe It Was Never About the Factory Jobs — The theory that populist economic policies can win back the working class for Democrats has been tried, and it has failed. — if there was any place in America where President Joe Biden's economic agenda ought to have won him votes, it would have been Lordstown, Ohio.
Discussion:
Digby's Hullabaloo
Jonathan V. Last / The Bulwark:
Begun, the MAGA Wars Have — 1. #TeamBannon — Over the weekend Steve Bannon unleashed on Elon Musk: … That was Bannon's marker. His actual critique of Musk? Buckle up, Francis. … Bannon went on to describe Musk's preferred objective as “techno-feudalism.” — Some observations:
Discussion:
Vanity Fair, The Dispatch, Fortune, Washington Examiner, Rolling Stone, Esquire, Fox News, New Republic, The Hill, HuffPost, The Gateway Pundit and Daily Mail
RELATED:
Devlin Barrett / New York Times:
Special Counsel Report on Hunter Biden Denounces President's Criticism of Case — The report by the special counsel, David C. Weiss, criticized President Biden for making “baseless accusations” that threatened “the integrity of the justice system as a whole.”
Discussion:
Axios, Fox News, The Hill, Washington Examiner, Associated Press, CBS News, USA Today, NBC News, Townhall, New York Post and Raw Story
RELATED:
Darlene Superville / Associated Press:
Trump flies US flag at full height before end of 30-day mourning period following Carter's death — U.S. flags at President-elect Donald Trump 's private Mar-a-Lago club are back to flying at full height. Flags are supposed to fly at half-staff through the end of January out of respect …
Discussion:
RADAR, FOX 7 Austin, New York Magazine, Florida Politics, The Hill, New York Daily News, New York Post, The Independent, KFMB, Fox News and Washington Times
RELATED:
Mastodon Blog:
The people should own the town square — For any enquiry regarding this announcement, please contact press@joinmastodon.org — Mastodon was founded on the principles that people should be able to control their social circle online, curate their own timeline, and convene freely with any community of their choosing.
Discussion:
The Verge, Daring Fireball and TechCrunch, more at Mediagazer »
Rebecca Carballo / Politico:
Biden's parting gift: Student loan debt relief — More than 5 million borrowers have had loans forgiven since the president took office. — In the waning days of Joe Biden's presidency, his administration announced on Monday that it will provide student debt relief to 150,000 borrowers.
Associated Press:
Trump team is questioning civil servants at National Security Council about commitment to his agenda — Incoming senior Trump administration officials have begun questioning career civil servants who work on the White House National Security Council about who they voted for in the 2024 election …
Discussion:
Rolling Stone, GovExec.com, Daily Kos, Raw Story and New Republic
Rachel Selzer / Democracy Docket:
North Carolina Judge Denies Republicans' Request To Toss 60,000 Ballots — Today, a North Carolina judge rejected a request from the Republican National Committee (RNC), North Carolina GOP, Wake County GOP and two voters to toss out nearly 60,000 ballots cast in all November 2024 statewide races.
Discussion:
Democrats and Diane Ravitch's blog
Jason Koebler / 404 Media:
Meta Is Blocking Links to Decentralized Instagram Competitor Pixelfed — Meta is deleting links to Pixelfed, a decentralized Instagram competitor. On Facebook, the company is labeling links to Pixelfed.social as “spam” and deleting them immediately. — Pixelfed is an open-source …
Politico:
Gavin Newsom and California Democrats reach $50M deal to Trump-proof the state — The first-of-its-kind agreement would fund litigation against the incoming White House and protect against a potential mass deportation of immigrants. — SACRAMENTO, California — California Democrats …
Discussion:
Washington Post, PJ Media, freebeacon.com, The Gateway Pundit, Law & Crime, Breitbart, The Daily Caller, The Hill, Washington Examiner and Twitchy
Hafiz Rashid / New Republic:
Elon Musk Exposed Over Right-Wing Lie on L.A. Fires — Elon Musk was fact-checked on his own livestream after making false statements about the California wildfires, and Gavin Newsom was quick to call out the tech mogul on social media. — In a post on X Sunday night …
Discussion:
TMZ.com, New York Times and Daily Mail
New York Post:
Suspect arrested with ‘flamethrower’ near LA Fire is an illegal immigrant: sources — The homeless man tackled and zip-tied by onlookers who say he was trying to start fires with a blowtorch near a Los Angeles wildfire is an illegal immigrant who will likely be protected by California's sanctuary city status, according to sources.
Discussion:
Washington Post, Fox News, American Greatness, Townhall, The Sun and PBS NewsHour
David E. Sanger / New York Times:
Biden Aides Warned Putin as Russia's Shadow War Threatened Air Disaster — The White House scrambled to get a message to President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia last year after U.S. intelligence agencies said a Russian military unit was preparing to send explosive packages on cargo planes.
Discussion:
19FortyFive, The Independent, The Atlantic and Raw Story
Bloomberg:
Trump Team Studies Gradual Tariff Hikes Under Emergency Powers — Plan would boost import duties 2%-5% a month on trade partners — Supporters include Trump advisers Bessent, Hassett and Miran — Members of President-elect Donald Trump's incoming economic team are discussing slowly ramping …
Discussion:
Erick Erickson's Show Notes
Paul Krugman / Krugman wonks out:
In Praise of California — It has its flaws — what place doesn't? — but it plays a big role in America's greatness — One of the unwritten rules of American politics is that it's OK to sneer at and smear our big cities and the people who live in them, while it's an outrageous act …
Discussion:
Raw Story