Top Items:
New York Times:
Cease-Fire Deal Brings Hope and Painful Reminder for Villages Overrun by Hamas — The Israeli cabinet still has to ratify the deal, and some details remained unresolved. President Biden said hostages were to be released over 42 days. — Here are the latest developments.
Discussion:
Wall Street Journal, ABC News, Politico, Fox News, New York Post, Jewish Telegraphic Agency, CBS News, The Daily Caller, Digby's Hullabaloo, Daily Caller News Foundation, Slate, Foreign Policy, The Nation, DNyuz, New York Magazine, Jewish Insider, The Forward, Deseret News, Bloomberg, Lawyers, Guns & Money, Washington Examiner, IJR, masslive.com, Metro.co.uk, Associated Press and The Sun
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Andrew Wilks / Associated Press:
Live updates: Multiple officials tout Gaza ceasefire deal; Israel says details are still in flux — Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office says ceasefire deal with Hamas has still not been reached and that the final details were still being sorted out.
Discussion:
New York Times, NPR, The Times of Israel, Rolling Stone, Associated Press, Washington Examiner, The Daily Caller, The Hill, The Daily Register, Foreign Policy, The Hollywood Reporter, Crikey, The Sun, JURIST, NewsNation, HotAir, Reuters, Politico, The Daily Sceptic, Deadline, MeidasTouch News, One America News Network, Semafor, Balloon Juice, American Greatness and RedState
Bret Stephens / New York Times:
The Israeli Right May Soon Be Disenchanted With Trump — The most interesting detail of the hostage-cease fire deal that Israeli and Hamas officials agreed to on Wednesday lies neither in its terms, which mainly resemble what's been on the table for months, nor in the fact that Benjamin Netanyahu …
Discussion:
Daily Mail, Diplomatic,, Twitchy, Fox Business, Townhall, DNyuz and Fortune
The White House:
Statement from President Joe Biden — Today, after many months of intensive diplomacy by the United States, along with Egypt and Qatar, Israel and Hamas have reached a ceasefire and hostage deal. This deal will halt the fighting in Gaza, surge much needed-humanitarian assistance to Palestinian civilians …
Discussion:
Washington Examiner, UPI, NewsNation, The Gateway Pundit and The Independent
Alex Gangitano / The Hill:
Biden on if Trump will get credit over him for ceasefire deal: ‘Is that a joke?’ — President Biden brushed off a question about who would get the credit for the Israel-Hamas ceasefire deal struck on Wednesday. — “Is that a joke?” Biden responded, when asked by a reporter whether …
Washington Post:
Israel and Hamas agree to ceasefire deal, including hostage release, Biden says — Qatar announces Gaza ceasefire — A hostage and ceasefire deal between Hamas and Israel has been reached Wednesday following more than 15 months of extraordinary bloodshed and violence in Gaza, President Joe Biden said Wednesday.
Discussion:
Axios, The Hill, Reuters, Associated Press, Vox, Middle East Eye, DNyuz, Jerusalem Post, The Independent, New Republic, CNN, The Atlantic, Washington Times, Breitbart, Daily Mail, New York Post, Foreign Policy, Metro.co.uk, PoliticusUSA, Forbes, The Forward, Mediaite, The War Zone, Mother Jones, Raw Story, NewsNation and The Guardian
Rebecca Beitsch / The Hill:
AG nominee Pam Bondi won't say Trump lost 2020 election — Attorney general nominee Pam Bondi dodged a question from Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) on Wednesday about whether President-elect Trump lost the 2020 election. — Bondi echoed other Republicans in stating President Biden is now the president …
Discussion:
Washington Examiner, HuffPost, New York Times, Twitchy, Forbes, The Atlantic, CNBC, Florida's Voice, Jewish Insider, Louder With Crowder, Daily Kos, Raw Story, Courthouse News Service, Hollywood Life, UPI, The Guardian, New Jersey Online, The Independent, Washington Times, Twin Cities, The Gateway Pundit and USA Today
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Harry Litman / New Republic:
No, Merrick Garland Did Not Let Donald Trump Skate — Some time in the next five days, Merrick Garland will step down as the nation's eighty-sixth attorney general, bringing to a close one of the most distinguished careers in public service in the last century.
New York Times:
Zuckerberg Will Host a Party for Trump's Inauguration — Mark Zuckerberg, the Meta chief executive, is one of several tech leaders expected to play a high-profile role in celebrating the new administration next week. — Mark Zuckerberg, the Meta chief executive who has tried to keep …
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Mario Parker / Bloomberg:
Apple's Tim Cook Plans to Join Tech CEOs at Trump's Inauguration
Apple's Tim Cook Plans to Join Tech CEOs at Trump's Inauguration
Discussion:
Business Insider and 9to5Mac
Amie Parnes / The Hill:
Michelle Obama signals she's done with Trump
Michelle Obama signals she's done with Trump
Discussion:
Megyn Kelly, Breitbart, acecomments.mu.nu, Page Six, Plain Dealer, New Jersey Online, People, Daily Mail and New York Daily News
Politico:
Johnson removes Mike Turner as House Intelligence chair — The Ohio Republican has been an outspoken advocate for Ukraine funding and other hawkish national security stances. — Speaker Mike Johnson has removed Rep. Mike Turner as chair of the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence …
Discussion:
The Hill, NBC News, Fox News, Axios, Washington Examiner and The Gateway Pundit
David A. Fahrenthold / New York Times:
Nonprofit Founded by Stacey Abrams Admits Secretly Aiding Her 2018 Campaign — The New Georgia Project, whose leaders also included Raphael Warnock, now a senator, admitted violating campaign finance laws. It agreed to a $300,000 penalty. — A nonprofit founded by Stacey Abrams …
Discussion:
Washington Examiner, The Hill, HotAir, Associated Press, Instapundit, Daily Caller News Foundation and Twitchy
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Reuters:
Exclusive: Trump team asks three US senior career diplomats to resign, sources say — Aides to President-elect Donald Trump have asked three senior career diplomats who oversee the U.S. State Department's workforce and internal coordination to step down from their roles …
Washington Post:
Trump encourages Vivek Ramaswamy to seek Ohio's open Senate seat — The co-leader of the “Department of Government Efficiency” may move to replace JD Vance, though other contenders remain. — President-elect Donald Trump has encouraged billionaire biotech entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy …
Discussion:
HuffPost, Washington Examiner, Business Insider, Associated Press, USA Today, The Post Millennial, Semafor, Mediaite, New Republic, New Jersey Online and Raw Story
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US Food and Drug Administration:
FDA to Revoke Authorization for the Use of Red No. 3 in Food and Ingested Drugs — Constituent Update — The FDA is revoking the authorization for the use of FD&C Red No. 3 as a matter of law, based on the Delaney Clause of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (FD&C Act).
Discussion:
The Hill, Associated Press, Metro.co.uk, CNN, Roll Call, Fox Business, New York Times, IJR, Los Angeles Times, New York Daily News, Forbes, STAT, DNyuz, Deseret News, USA Today, Hollywood Life, The Follow, Fox News and E&E News
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Ian Millhiser / Vox:
The Supreme Court seems eager to curb First Amendment protections for porn — On Wednesday, the Supreme Court heard the first major First Amendment case involving pornography — or, for that matter, sexual speech of any kind — in more than two decades. It's also the first such case since …
Discussion:
Slate, Los Angeles Times, SCOTUSblog, The Independent and Bloomberg
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emptywheel:
How Right Wingers Rushed to DEI Hire Pete Hegseth — Pete Hegseth is wildly unqualified to run DOD. He described yesterday the most people he had ever supervised was 100. The non-profit budgets that went broke under his stewardship were in the $10 million range.
Discussion:
Wall Street Journal, Raw Story, The Midwesterner, DNyuz, New York Daily News, No More Mister Nice Blog and UPI
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Alana Goodman / freebeacon.com:
Jewish Voice for Peace Committed Fraud To Obtain Six-Figure COVID Relief Loan, DOJ Says — Jewish Voice for Peace, the prominent anti-Israel group that's organized illegal protests attacking the Jewish state, committed federal loan fraud to obtain a six-figure COVID relief check, the Department of Justice announced.
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Marc Caputo / Axios:
Scoop: Trump's $500 million post-election windfall … - “The money is just pouring in at Mar-a-Lago. … - “We're looking at half a billion [dollars] by June, and we're on track,” this adviser said. … - They include the president-elect's inauguration account, the MAGA Inc. super PAC …
Discussion:
New Republic, The Dispatch, New York Post and Raw Story
Maydeen Merino / Washington Examiner:
Energy secretary nominee Chris Wright gets friendly confirmation hearing — President-elect Donald Trump's pick to lead the Department of Energy, Chris Wright, who will play a key role in the incoming administration boosting domestic oil and gas production, faced fairly straightforward questions …
Discussion:
HuffPost, Senator Steve Daines, Roll Call, Twitchy, Heatmap News, RedState and E&E News
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Maxine Joselow / Washington Post:
Trump's pick for energy secretary rejects linking climate change and wildfires
Trump's pick for energy secretary rejects linking climate change and wildfires
Discussion:
Associated Press, Breitbart, Energy and Policy Institute, USA Today, Fox News, Democrats, Raw Story, The Federalist, DNyuz and Mother Jones
Christiaan Hetzner / Fortune:
UnitedHealth, employer of slain exec Brian Thompson, found to have overcharged some cancer patients for drugs by over 1,000% — OptumRx, the group's pharmacy benefit manager, along with its two main peers, Express Scripts and CVS Caremark Rx, have pocketed an extra $7.3 billion over cost thanks …
Kara Voght / Washington Post:
Jill Biden still hopes for a good ending — The first lady, after a half-century in public life, reflects on the past year — and looks to the future. — The first lady says she's at peace with this ending. But. — “Let's just say I was disappointed with how it unfolded.” — Why?
Discussion:
The Hill, USA Today, RedState, Washington Examiner, Mediaite, New York Post, IJR, New Jersey Online, The Independent, Fox News and New York Daily News
Joseph R. Biden Jr / The White House:
Notice to the Congress on the Continuation of the National Emergency with Respect to the Widespread Humanitarian Crisis in Afghanistan and the Potential for Deepening Economic Collapse in Afghanistan. — On February 11, 2022, by Executive Order 14064, I declared a national emergency pursuant …
David Folkenflik / NPR:
Will Lewis's first year at ‘Washington Post’: Cancellations, red ink and an exodus — One debacle after another has engulfed The Washington Post since veteran newspaper executive Will Lewis became CEO and publisher a year ago this month, with the charge from owner Jeff Bezos to make the storied newspaper financially sustainable.
Discussion:
HotAir, Fox News, New Republic and Daily Kos, more at Mediagazer »
Politico:
Trump transition puts up guardrails around RFK Jr. — The transition team hired trusted conservatives to key HHS positions. — Just months after Donald Trump promised to let Robert F. Kennedy Jr. “go wild” on health care as a member of his Cabinet, some of the president-elect's advisers are quietly trying to box him in.
Discussion:
The Hill, The Daily Wire, The Gateway Pundit, Talking Points Memo, Raw Story, Fox News and Washington Examiner
Alexander B. Howard / CIVIC TEXTS:
Good news for the open social web and open government data — Good evening from Washington, where I'm feeling cautious optimism about a ceasefire in Gaza, followed by a surge in humanitarian aid and return of hostages to their families. — Thanks to everyone who has subscribed to CivicTexts since …
Discussion:
Data Foundation
New York Times:
Musk Said to Have Intervened to Help Free Italian Jailed in Iran — The Italian journalist was released soon after Elon Musk met with an Iranian ambassador, officials in Iran said. So was an Iranian detained in Italy who was wanted by the U.S. — When an Italian journalist was arrested …
Discussion:
Raw Story, more at Mediagazer »
Domenico Montanaro / NPR:
Trump will begin his presidency in delicate position, poll finds — As Donald Trump prepares to once again assume the office of the presidency, a new NPR/PBS News/Marist poll finds that, despite his claims of an “unprecedented and powerful mandate,” Trump may have to be careful about how far he decides to go with what he wants to do.
Discussion:
CNN, Daily Kos, Fox News, Marist Poll, The Hill, New Jersey Online and PBS NewsHour
Mary Ann Akers / The Daily Beast:
RFK Jr. Admits He Didn't Come Clean on Anti-Vax Fortune — Robert F. Kennedy Jr. failed to disclose hundreds of thousands of dollars he made from his anti-vax crusade, Donald Trump's transition team has admitted to the Daily Beast.Trump's pick for health secretary previously said his career as the founder …
Discussion:
Democrats and New Republic
Politico:
GOP to California: Build back better — Republicans coalesce around putting policy strings on federal wildfire aid. — With wildfires still burning in Southern California, congressional Republicans are getting more detailed about how they plan to handle the politically sensitive topic …
Discussion:
Raw Story