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Trump's threat to place conditions on fire aid outrages Democrats — Withholding aid to a blue state would mark a major Republican escalation but is gaining traction within the GOP. — President-elect Donald Trump's long-standing threats to place conditions on California wildfire aid …
Discussion:
Associated Press, NPR and Wall Street Journal
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Playbook: Joe Biden's Irish goodbye — With help from Eli Okun, Garrett Ross and Bethany Irvine — DRIVING THE DAY — TODAY — Six big confirmation hearings dominate Capitol Hill. AG-designate PAM BONDI kicks things off at 9:30 a.m. At 10, would-be Secretary of State MARCO RUBIO goes …


Trump transition live updates: Senate confirmation hearings set for Pam Bondi, Marco Rubio today
Discussion:
Axios, Scripps News, The Hill, USA Today, CBS News, Washington Post, CNN, The Independent, NPR, HuffPost and E&E News

Thinking About the Confirmations — There are a few things that are critical to understanding …
Discussion:
The Daily Beast, masslive.com and NOTUS

Biden Races to Cement His Legacy Through a Series of Actions
Discussion:
The Daily Caller, Axios, Althouse, The Japan Times, Sun-Sentinel, Metro.co.uk, The Independent, Semafor, CBS News, USA Today and The Hill

By Targeting Hegseth, Democrats Open a Path for Gabbard
Discussion:
Reuters, The Hill, Wall Street Journal, Raw Story, Breitbart, Axios, Washington Examiner, freebeacon.com, New York Magazine, New Jersey Online, Twitchy, Balloon Juice and 19FortyFive

Rubio vows to place US interests ‘above all else’ as Trump's top diplomat
Discussion:
NPR, The Hill, USA Today, Townhall, RedState, New York Times, ABC News, NewsNation, E&E News, The Bulwark, Fox News, Agence France-Presse, Politico, The Forward, Just Security and Raw Story

Biden to Deliver Farewell Address, Capping a 5-Decade Political Career
Discussion:
Scripps News, CBS News and USA Today


Joni Ernst Says She Will Vote to Confirm Pete Hegseth — The Iowa Republican's decision dramatically increases the likelihood that Mr. Hegseth will have enough votes to be confirmed as President-elect Donald J. Trump's defense secretary. — Senator Joni Ernst, Republican of Iowa …
Discussion:
HotAir, The Hill, Simon Conway, USA Today, MeidasTouch News, UPI, Daily Caller News Foundation, Daily Mail, RedState, One America News Network, Townhall, Breaking Defense, Althouse, Fox News, Lawyers, Guns & Money, NBC News, Deadline, acecomments.mu.nu, Digby's Hullabaloo, Al Jazeera and NPR
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Joni Ernst says she'll vote to confirm Pete Hegseth — Pete Hegseth has won over Sen. Joni Ernst. The Iowa senator said Tuesday she will be voting to confirm Hegseth to the next Defense secretary, a crucial endorsement for a nomination that seemed to be on shaky ground a few weeks ago.

Ernst will vote for Hegseth, handing Trump big win
Discussion:
Politico, The Guardian, Townhall, Raw Story, New York Post, Deseret News, Breitbart, Washington Times, Roll Call, PBS NewsHour and acecomments.mu.nu

Hegseth softens stance on women in combat, calls for policies already in place
Discussion:
The Daily Caller, The Dispatch, IJR, Daily Caller News Foundation, LGBTQ Nation, @amuse and Washington Times

GOP Sen. Joni Ernst officially backs Pete Hegseth for DOD after initial uncertainty

Pete Hegseth seems open to ordering soldiers to shoot protesters
Discussion:
Raw Story, The Guardian, Washington Times, USA Today, New Republic, TMZ.com, CBS News, The Hill, WPMT, Twitchy, ABC News, The Independent and New York Post

Search SEC.gov & EDGAR — Securities and Exchange Commission v. Elon Musk, No. 1:25-cv-00105 (D.D.C. filed Jan. 14, 2025) — SEC Charges Elon Musk for Violating the Beneficial Ownership Reporting Requirements of the Federal Securities Laws — The Securities and Exchange Commission announced today …
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SEC Sues Musk Over Securities Violation in Federal Court — The Securities and Exchange Commission sued Elon Musk in federal court over an alleged securities violation, according to a court docket. — The agency claimed Musk failed to timely disclose a major purchase of Twitter Inc. shares ahead …


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 …


Michelle Obama signals she's done with Trump — Michelle Obama is done with President-elect Trump, if her decision to skip next week's inauguration means anything. — The former first lady, who once called on Democrats to go high when Trump's Republican Party goes low …
Discussion:
Daily Mail, RedState and Washington Examiner
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Michelle Obama Will Skip Trump's Inauguration
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Washington Examiner, Forbes, Chicago Sun Times, USA Today, Axios, Washington Post, The Hill, CBS News, One America News Network, New York Magazine, The Gateway Pundit, Townhall, Fox News, UPI, NBC News, Washington Times, Deadline, New York Post, The Independent, New Jersey Online, Los Angeles Times, Scripps News, The Guardian, ABC News, The Post Millennial, Vibe and Daily Mail

Michelle Obama to skip Trump inauguration
Discussion:
Washingtonian, Raw Story, Daily Kos and USA Today


The Situation: The Cult of Unqualified Authenticity — On Pete Hegseth and the first hearing for a Trump nominee for a major cabinet position — Meet The Authors — Published by The Lawfare Institute in Cooperation With — The Situation on Friday reflected on the sentencing of Donald Trump in New York.
Discussion:
The Bulwark, Townhall, emptywheel, Letters from an American, Forbes, Courthouse News Service and Wall Street Journal
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The Greatest DEI Disaster Ever — Democratic Senators—especially the women—shed an even brighter light on a sketchy, uninformed nominee who has no business lording over the Pentagon — Watching Secretary of Defense nominee Pete Hegseth demonstrate his appalling lack of credentials …
Discussion:
TheGrio, Washington Examiner, Just Security, CBS News, ABC News and Raw Story


Meta just flipped the switch that prevents misinformation from spreading in the United States — I. — Last week, Meta announced a series of changes to its content moderation policies and enforcement strategies designed to curry favor with the incoming Trump administration.
Discussion:
The Hill, more at Techmeme »


Jeff Bezos, Elon Musk and Mark Zuckerberg to attend Trump's inauguration — They will be sitting on the dais during the swearing-in as Silicon Valley leaders aim to make inroads with Trump, who attacked Big Tech during his first presidency. — Tech moguls Jeff Bezos …


Yoon becomes South Korea's first sitting president to be detained after martial law chaos — South Korea's impeached president, Yoon Suk Yeol, was detained in a major law enforcement operation at the presidential compound Wednesday, defiantly insisting the anti-corruption agency …


Jack Smith reminds us of the futility of truth in the Trump era — Yesterday unfolded in a sort of perfectly stupid synchronicity, with the past crimes of Donald Trump, as detailed in the just-released Jack Smith report, being overshadowed by the confirmation hearing for Trump's secretary of defense nominee, Pete Hegseth.
Discussion:
Daring Fireball


Paul Krugman Issues Dire Warning On How ‘A Lot’ Of Trump Voters Will Be ‘Brutally Scammed’ — The economist also slammed one of the president-elect's policies as “terrible.” — LOADING — “A lot of people” who voted for Donald Trump in the 2024 presidential election …
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The Biden-Harris Administration Record — Letter from President Biden — Four years ago, we stood in a winter of peril and a winter of possibilities. We were in the grip of the worst pandemic in a century, the worst economic crisis since the Great Depression, and the worst attack on our democracy since the Civil War.


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:
Fox News, Marist Poll, PBS NewsHour, Issues & Insights, Townhall and Emerson Polling

Russia plotted terror attacks on airlines around the world, Poland's Tusk says — Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk on Wednesday accused Russia of planning a major terrorist campaign against aircraft. — “I can only confirm that Russia planned acts of air terror, not just against Poland …
Discussion:
Reuters and Euromaidan Press


I have struggled with how to respond to Mark Zuckerberg and Facebook's descent into toxic masculinity and Neo-Nazi madness. While I have thought about quitting Facebook, I find great value in the connections and friends I have here, and it doesn't seem fair that I should lose that because Zuckerberg is having a mid-life crisis.


Trump Said He'd Solve Ukraine on Day One. Republicans Say He Didn't Mean ‘Day One.’ — “I don't think the media pressing Day One is specifically ‘Day One,’” Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene told NOTUS. — Copy — Early on in his latest campaign for president, Donald Trump unveiled a headline-grabbing campaign promise on Ukraine.