Top Items:
New York Times:
Special Counsel Report Says Trump Would Have Been Convicted in Election Case — “But for Mr. Trump's election and imminent return to the presidency, the office assessed that the admissible evidence was sufficient to obtain and sustain a conviction at trial,” the report said.
Discussion:
Daily Mail, USA Today, The Daily Signal, Scripps News, No More Mister Nice Blog, RedState, Election Law Blog, New Jersey Online, The Hill, Washington Examiner, Forbes, Wait - what ?, Digby's Hullabaloo, UPI, Lawyers, Guns & Money, Politico, The Japan Times, The Independent, Associated Press and Law & Crime
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Washington Post:
Justice Dept. releases Trump special counsel report on Jan. 6 case — President-elect Donald Trump has tried to prevent the release of special counsel Jack Smith's report before he takes office next week. — If Donald Trump wasn't elected president in November, the Justice Department …
Norman Eisen / The Contrarian:
A Contrarian Take on Volume One of Jack Smith's Report — The fact that we are already familiar with almost all of the facts in the first volume of Jack Smith's final report on January 6th and Donald Trump's attempted self-coup, makes them no less horrifying.
Ryan Bort / Rolling Stone:
The Report on Trump's 2020 Election Subversion Is Damning — “The admissible evidence was sufficient to obtain and sustain a conviction at trial,” Jack Smith's team wrote in the 130-page report … The 130-page report is damning, and concludes that “the admissible evidence was sufficient to obtain and sustain a conviction at trial.”
Discussion:
The Guardian, Washington Post, Axios, CBS News, HuffPost, USA Today, MSNBC, Wall Street Journal, The Moderate Voice, Law & Crime, Courthouse News Service, The Floridian, Politico, New Jersey Online, Mercury News, Raw Story, Deadline, Reuters, Bloomberg, The Independent, NewsNation, Mediaite and Washington Times
NBC News:
Justice Dept. sends Congress Jack Smith's report on Trump's effort to overturn 2020 election
Justice Dept. sends Congress Jack Smith's report on Trump's effort to overturn 2020 election
Discussion:
The Guardian, The Independent, Axios, Reuters, Bloomberg and Mercury News
Chris Geidner / Law Dork:
Breaking: Special counsel's report on the January 6 case is now public
Breaking: Special counsel's report on the January 6 case is now public
Discussion:
Forbes, Talking Points Memo, Axios, USA Today, ABC News, New York Daily News, Washington Examiner and Washington Times
Filip Timotija / The Hill:
Trump rages after Smith report release: ‘Lamebrain prosecutor’
Trump rages after Smith report release: ‘Lamebrain prosecutor’
Discussion:
The Bulwark, Washington Times, IJR, The Post Millennial, New York Post, The Independent, Mediaite, The Sun and Raw Story
Jane Mayer / New Yorker:
The Pressure Campaign to Get Pete Hegseth Confirmed as Defense Secretary — Supporters of Donald Trump's nominee have intimidated potential witnesses and suppressed the F.B.I. background check of the former Fox News host in the run-up to his Senate hearing.
Discussion:
Wall Street Journal, Associated Press, Axios, Politico, New York Daily News, Balloon Juice, Raw Story, Punchbowl News, The Gateway Pundit, HuffPost, Robert Reich, Mediaite, Daily Mail, New York Post, Must Read Alaska, Daily Kos, The Hill, Townhall, Washington Examiner and New York Times, more at Mediagazer »
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Sarah Fitzpatrick / NBC News:
Former Fox anchor Gretchen Carlson makes request ahead of hearing — Former Fox News anchor Gretchen Carlson and her nonprofit group sent a letter yesterday asking the Senate Armed Services Committee to allow an alleged victim of sexual assault to testify anonymously at Hegseth's confirmation hearing.
Discussion:
CBS News, USA Today, Al Jazeera, Politico and Axios
Bloomberg:
Hegseth Says He'd Be Pentagon ‘Change Agent,’ Rebuffing Critics at Confirmation Hearing
Hegseth Says He'd Be Pentagon ‘Change Agent,’ Rebuffing Critics at Confirmation Hearing
Discussion:
Washington Examiner, Axios, CNN, ABC News, Scripps News, RedState, The Daily Signal, New York Post, Fox News, NBC News, Reuters, Washington Post, Associated Press, CBS News and Wall Street Journal
Mike Allen / Axios:
Read: Full text of Pete Hegseth's opening statement
Read: Full text of Pete Hegseth's opening statement
Discussion:
The Post Millennial, Mediaite, IJR and Fox Business
Military Times:
Hegseth's track record falls short of military standards: Dem senators
Hegseth's track record falls short of military standards: Dem senators
Discussion:
New York Daily News and Associated Press
CBS News:
Watch Live: Pete Hegseth confirmation hearing begins as Trump's defense pick faces senators
Watch Live: Pete Hegseth confirmation hearing begins as Trump's defense pick faces senators
Discussion:
NBC News, Politico, The Hill, Washington Examiner, Default, Daily Kos, The Independent, USA Today, Breitbart, The Gateway Pundit, New York Times, UPI, Roll Call and Bloomberg
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:
Wide World of News, Time, NPR, Mock Paper Scissors, Washington Post, The Independent, Lawyers, Guns & Money, Raw Story, RedState, Fox News and The Federalist
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:
The Hill, BBC, Wall Street Journal, Washington Examiner, Semafor, Vanity Fair, RedState, The Verge, Reuters, The Gateway Pundit, Forbes, New York Times, Fortune, Music Ally, UPI, Al Jazeera, The Sun, Raw Story, Interesting Engineering, BGR, HuffPost, Fox Business, TechCrunch, The Post Millennial, Dexerto, Deadline, Althouse, Consequence, The Information, Variety and Daring Fireball, more at Mediagazer »
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CNN:
What is RedNote, the Chinese social media app that US TikTokers are flocking to?
What is RedNote, the Chinese social media app that US TikTokers are flocking to?
Discussion:
Vibe, New York Times, CleanTechnica, The Sun, 9to5Mac, Gay Pride, TechCrunch, Space Pirate Seeks and The Independent
New York Times:
Elon Musk Is Expected to Use Office Space in the White House Complex
Elon Musk Is Expected to Use Office Space in the White House Complex
Discussion:
New Republic, The Independent, New Jersey Online, Raw Story, The Dispatch, Rolling Stone, Business Insider and Axios
Zeyi Yang / Wired:
With a TikTok Ban Looming, Users Flee to Chinese App ‘Red Note’
With a TikTok Ban Looming, Users Flee to Chinese App ‘Red Note’
Discussion:
Courthouse News Service, Fortune, Metro.co.uk, TechCrunch, Newsweek, RedState, NPR, IJR, The Verge, The 19th, Dexerto, New York Post and The Independent, more at Mediagazer »
Tara Suter / The Hill:
Bannon: Zuckerberg 'can't be trusted' — Steve Bannon, a former adviser to President-elect Trump, went after Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg in a Monday episode of his “Bannon's War Room” podcast. — “Zuckerberg can't be trusted, at all,” Bannon said on his show, in a clip highlighted by Mediaite.
Discussion:
Mediaite and Vanity Fair
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Wall Street Journal:
Zuckerberg Debuts ‘Real Mark’ in Push to Woo Trump — Meta pursues a MAGA makeover, in the latest political pivot for a company that once banned the now-president-elect from its platforms — Mark Zuckerberg wants Donald Trump to get to know the “real Mark.”
Nahal Toosi / Politico:
Marco Rubio Isn't Likely to Last Long as Secretary of State — He's being undermined by fellow Republicans, and that's before he shows up to lead a workforce Trump distrusts. — Congratulations, Marco Rubio! You'll soon be secretary of State. — Condolences, too. You're not likely to last long in the job.
Discussion:
Just Security, Fox News, The Conversation, Bloomberg and Commentary Magazine
Jennifer Jacobs / CBS News:
Harris declines to invite Vance for courtesy visit to vice president's residence before inauguration — When JD Vance, his wife Usha and their three young children move into the Naval Observatory residence on Jan. 20, it will be their first time inside the white Queen Anne-style mansion …
Discussion:
New Jersey Online, Breitbart, RedState, IJR, Twitchy, Raw Story, Townhall and Washington Examiner
Darlene Superville / Associated Press:
Michelle Obama will skip Trump inauguration, but ex-Presidents Obama, Clinton and Bush will be there — Former first lady Michelle Obama will skip the inauguration of President-elect Donald Trump, the second time in two weeks that she is not attending a gathering of former U.S. leaders and their spouses …
Discussion:
CNN, Chicago Sun Times, CBS News, The Hill, Washington Examiner, New York Post, New Jersey Online, The Independent and UPI
Politico:
Bannon taunts Musk: He doesn't have that much power — As Trump's big-tent GOP returns to power, Bannon and Musk have served as a prime example of the infighting already underway. — Steve Bannon taunted his fellow Trump ally Elon Musk on Tuesday, telling POLITICO that the president-elect's …
Discussion:
Israpundit and USA Today
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Dylan Matthews / Vox:
The president who could not choose — Joe Biden's fatal flaw led to four years of weakness. … Build Back Better was a sweeping agenda of economic reform on the scale of the New Deal, meant to solidify its author as the “FDR-sized” president he wanted to be. — Dusting the text off now, you can feel that ambition.
Camille Mumford / Emerson Polling:
January 2025 National Poll: Democrats, Republicans, and Independents Agree U.S. is on the Wrong Track — Home Polls January 2025 National Poll: Democrats, Republicans, and Independents Agree U.S. is on the Wrong Track — A majority of voters think climate change contributed to raging California wildfires.
Discussion:
Washington Examiner, USA Today and The Hill
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New York Times:
Rashida Jones, MSNBC President, Steps Down — Rebecca Kutler, senior vice president of content strategy at MSNBC, will succeed Ms. Jones as interim president. — The president of MSNBC, Rashida Jones, is stepping down from that position, the company said on Tuesday, a major change …
Discussion:
The Hill, New York Post, RedState, Los Angeles Times, Fox News, Variety, The Independent, TheGrio, The Hollywood Reporter, Mediaite, Deadline, Raw Story, Status and The Daily Caller, more at Mediagazer »
Jennifer Rubin / The Contrarian:
It was the Best of Biden, It was the Worst of Biden — As President Biden's final days in public service wind down, his legislative accomplishments and the stumbles of his presidency are laid bare — The release of the first volume of Special Counsel Jack Smith's report provides …
David R. Lurie / Public Notice:
Putin needs Trump's help more than ever — And Trump is signaling that he'll deliver. — It's been nearly three years since Vladimir Putin's despotic regime began its reign of terror against Ukraine by attempting to conquer the country and, in Putin's words, put an end to the “fictional” Ukrainian nation.
Discussion:
New York Times, Euromaidan Press and 19FortyFive
USA Today:
‘Conditions’ should be placed on California wildfire aid: House Speaker Mike Johnson — A number of Republicans are calling for conditions to any federal aid that goes to California as the state struggles with catastrophic wildfires. One Democrat says it could come back to bite them.
Discussion:
Washington Examiner, Reuters, New Republic, Politico, E&E News, UPI, The Bulwark, Axios, The Independent, Raw Story, Deadline, The Hill, New York Post, ABC News and The Post Millennial
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Zach Montague / New York Times:
Biden's Push to Cancel Student Debt Surpasses 5 Million Borrowers — With Monday's authorization and 27 previous ones, the Biden administration has forgiven over $180 billion in student loans, even as its larger policy vision never took root. — The Education Department announced on Monday …
Taylor Giorno / The Hill:
Consumer bureau sues Capital One for ‘cheating’ customers on savings account interest — The government's consumer watchdog on Tuesday sued Capital One for alleging “cheating” customers out of billions in interest payments. — The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) …
Discussion:
New York Times, Forbes and Consumer Financial …
Jordain Carney / Politico:
Democrats will get amendments to Senate immigration bill, says key Republican — Sen. Katie Britt (R-Ala.) said on Tuesday that there will “absolutely” be amendments to the Senate GOP's first immigration bill — indication that Republicans will agree to Democratic demands for a more expansive legislative debate.
Discussion:
The Hill, Washington Examiner and Semafor