Top Items:
Jonathan V. Last / The Bulwark:
Vice Is a Moat — 1. Secretary Pete — Here is the thing about Pete Hegseth: — Imagine that his character was sterling. That he was a fine, upstanding man, admired by all who know him. That he had dedicated his life to service and been judged to be as good a human being as Mister Rogers or Dolly Parton.
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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.
Sarah Fitzpatrick / NBC News:
Former Fox anchor Gretchen Carlson makes request ahead of hearing
Former Fox anchor Gretchen Carlson makes request ahead of hearing
Discussion:
Al Jazeera
New York Times:
Live Updates: Pete Hegseth to Face Sharp Questions at Confirmation Hearing
Live Updates: Pete Hegseth to Face Sharp Questions at Confirmation Hearing
Discussion:
Washington Post, Associated Press, NBC News, Washington Examiner, CBS News, The 19th, The Federalist, Florida Politics, CNN, IJR, NOTUS, Semafor, The Gateway Pundit, The Hill, Townhall, NewsNation, Courthouse News Service, Twin Cities, The Independent, New York Post, CNBC, Wall Street Journal, HuffPost, Bloomberg and The Hollywood Reporter
New York Times:
Hegseth's Drinking, Once ‘Self-Medication,’ Could Prompt Questions at His Hearing
Hegseth's Drinking, Once ‘Self-Medication,’ Could Prompt Questions at His Hearing
Discussion:
Axios, MeidasTouch News, HuffPost, CBS News, Vanity Fair, The Gateway Pundit, Mother Jones, Louder With Crowder, Raw Story, UPI and USA Today
Alexander Bolton / The Hill:
Hirono grills Hegseth over allegations of drinking on the job
Hirono grills Hegseth over allegations of drinking on the job
Discussion:
HotAir, Fox News, New York Post, RedState, USA Today, New Republic, Townhall, Twitchy and Washington Times
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.
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Hafiz Rashid / New Republic:
The Most Damning Lines in Jack Smith's Brutal Trump January 6 Report — Special counsel Jack Smith did not hold back in his final report on the investigation into Donald Trump's attempt to overturn the 2020 election. — While much of it contains information already made public …
Discussion:
CBS News, New York Magazine, Associated Press, The Floridian, NewsNation, The Times of Israel and Los Angeles Times
Wall Street Journal:
Trump Plans ‘Energy Dominance’ Executive Orders After Inauguration
Trump Plans ‘Energy Dominance’ Executive Orders After Inauguration
Discussion:
Twitchy, Fox News and Press Herald
Norman Eisen / The Contrarian:
A Contrarian Take on Volume One of Jack Smith's Report
A Contrarian Take on Volume One of Jack Smith's Report
Discussion:
The Atlantic
Washington Post:
Justice Dept. releases Trump special counsel report on Jan. 6 case
Justice Dept. releases Trump special counsel report on Jan. 6 case
Discussion:
NBC News, Fox News, CNN, Townhall, New York Daily News, Raw Story, New York Times, Axios, The Hill and Semafor
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:
Chicago Sun Times, New York Magazine, ABC News, Mercury News, The Hill, USA Today, The Guardian, RedState, The Post Millennial and Vibe
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New York Times:
Michelle Obama Will Skip Trump's Inauguration — Mrs. Obama also declined to attend the funeral of Jimmy Carter last week, which would have put her face-to-face with Mr. Trump. — Michelle Obama, the former first lady, will not attend the inauguration of President-elect Donald J. Trump, her office said in a statement on Tuesday.
NBC News:
Elon Musk, Jeff Bezos and Mark Zuckerberg to attend Trump's inauguration — The three will be seated together on the inauguration platform with other prominent guests. — Elon Musk, Jeff Bezos and Mark Zuckerberg will attend President-elect Donald Trump's inauguration on Monday …
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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, New Republic, USA Today and Vanity Fair
Associated Press:
Biden moves to lift state sponsor of terrorism designation for Cuba, part of deal to free prisoners — The Biden administration on Tuesday is notifying Congress of its intent to lift the U.S. designation of Cuba as a state sponsor of terrorism, the White House announced …
Discussion:
Politico, Reuters, Fox News, CBS News, Bloomberg, The Hill, El País, Al Jazeera, The White House, Semafor, New York Post, Hartford Courant, The Post Millennial and Associated Press
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New York Times:
Biden Will Remove Cuba From List of State Sponsors of Terrorism — The decision is the latest in a series of conflicting U.S. approaches to Cuba by different administrations. — President Biden will remove Cuba from a list of state sponsors of terrorism, U.S. officials announced on Tuesday …
Discussion:
Fox News, USA Today, The Hill, Reuters, Washington Examiner and The White House
The White House:
Certification of Rescission of Cuba's Designation as a State Sponsor of Terrorism — Certification of Rescission of Cuba's Designation — Pursuant to the Constitution and the laws of the United States, and consistent with sections 1754(c) and 1768(c) of the National Defense Authorization Act …
Discussion:
Breitbart
Juliegrace Brufke / The Daily Beast:
GOP Senator Flames Dems for ‘Cheating’ and Voting ‘Drunk’ — “And don't tell me you haven't seen it, because I know you have,” the Republican senator said.
Discussion:
Washington Post
Caitlin Yilek / CBS News:
House passes ban on transgender students in girls sports — Washington — The House on Tuesday passed a Republican measure banning transgender girls and women from competing on school sports teams that match their gender identity after the party leaned into the issue during the 2024 campaign.
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Annie Karni / New York Times:
House Passes Bill to Bar Trans Athletes From Female School Sports Teams
House Passes Bill to Bar Trans Athletes From Female School Sports Teams
Discussion:
USA Today, Wall Street Journal, The Hill, Politico, Axios, Washington Examiner, The Independent, NOTUS and Erin In The Morning
CBS News:
Israel and Hamas agree in principle to ceasefire and hostage deal, sources say — A draft deal for a ceasefire in Gaza and hostage release has been agreed to in principle and, if all goes well, will be finalized by Israel and Hamas this week, Arab, U.S. and Israeli officials told CBS News.
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Associated Press:
Hamas OKs draft agreement of a Gaza ceasefire and the release of some hostages, officials say
Hamas OKs draft agreement of a Gaza ceasefire and the release of some hostages, officials say
Discussion:
Reuters, New York Times, Commentary Magazine, The National, Atlantic Council, The Times of Israel, Breitbart, Los Angeles Times, Just Security, Al Jazeera, Fox News, Algemeiner.com, HotAir, New York Post, Channel 4 News, Power Line, CBS News, Crikey, Foreign Policy, Jewish Telegraphic Agency and The Sun
Politico:
Trump and DeSantis golf, with Rubio replacement looming — President-elect Donald Trump and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis are meeting over a round of golf on Tuesday, as key decisions loom in the state they both call home. The meetup is taking place as Trump backed DeSantis' recent call …
Discussion:
Twitchy, Raw Story, Florida Politics and Florida Phoenix
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Nahal Toosi / Politico:
Marco Rubio Isn't Likely to Last Long as Secretary of State
Marco Rubio Isn't Likely to Last Long as Secretary of State
Discussion:
The Forward, Just Security, Raw Story, The Conversation and Bloomberg
Charlie Spiering / Daily Mail:
I was fully indoctrinated into the Democrat ‘cult.’ Here's why I left my liberal influencer life behind to raise money for Trump — A former high energy Democratic fundraiser, failed congressional candidate and social media influencer is now raising money for President-elect Donald Trump's inaugural committee.
Discussion:
The Hill
Robert Jimison / New York Times:
Speaker Orders Capitol Hill Flags Raised for Inauguration — President-elect Donald J. Trump had complained that flags were scheduled to fly at half-staff — a symbol of mourning for former President Jimmy Carter — on the day of his inauguration. — Speaker Mike Johnson on Tuesday announced …
Discussion:
MeidasTouch News, Townhall, Esquire, Washington Examiner, ABC News, WPMT, USA Today, Daily Kos, CBS News, The Hill, Raw Story, FOX 11 Los Angeles, Associated Press, RADAR, UPI, FOX 7 Austin, The Independent, KFMB, Washington Times, New York Post and Fox News
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Alexander Bolton / The Hill:
Kaine clashes with Hegseth over infidelity, drinking, scandals — Sen. Tim Kaine (D-Va.) clashed sharply with secretary of Defense nominee Pete Hegseth over his infidelity and reports of public drunkenness and drunkenness on the job, repeatedly pressing Hegseth on his character and judgment.
Jamison Foser / Finding Gravity:
The Washington Post just endorsed 19 Trump nominees. Here are the 5 worst. — Remember when Washington Post owner Jeff Bezos spiked the paper's planned editorial board endorsement of Kamala Harris and then Bezos piously insisted that endorsements demonstrate bias and his publisher William Lewis claimed …
Discussion:
New Republic
Myah Ward / Politico:
‘Days of thunder’: Steve Bannon on the second coming of the Trump administration — The former adviser sat for a wide-ranging interview with POLITICO this week. — Steve Bannon had some thoughts on what the next four years have in store for Donald Trump as he returns to the White House.
Discussion:
New York Post
New York Times:
How to Fix America's Two-Party Problem — Mr. Wegman is a member of the Times editorial board, where he writes about democracy, law and politics. Mr. Drutman is a senior fellow at New America and the author of “Breaking the Two-Party Doom Loop: The Case for Multiparty Democracy in America.”
Discussion:
Election Law Blog
Politico:
Johnson backs away from go-it-alone debt ceiling plan — The speaker acknowledged the borrowing limit could be included in government funding talks — where he'll need Democratic votes. — Speaker Mike Johnson on Tuesday backed away from a plan to address the approaching federal debt cliff …
Discussion:
PoliticusUSA, The Hill, Washington Examiner and Balloon Juice
Jonathan Alter / Washington Monthly:
A Life Sentence of Disgrace — It goes without saying that the big historic event of last week—maybe of the year—is the catastrophic L.A. Fire, which I will write about in the weeks ahead. But before we say farewell to Jimmy Carter's Long Goodbye, I wanted to tell you a bit about my experience …
Aaron Parnas / MeidasTouch News:
Pete Hegseth Refuses To Answer Whether He Would Follow Donald Trump's Unconstitutional Order — This is just one highlight from a hearing where Hegseth has dodged most questions posed. — Pete Hegseth, Donald Trump's nominee to be the next Secretary of Defense, has refused to answer whether …
Discussion:
NBC News, PBS NewsHour, NPR, acecomments.mu.nu and Fox News