memeorandum: USA Gymnastics Reached Settlement Over Abuse Claims With Gold Medalist McKayla Maroney (Rebecca Davis O'Brien/Wall Street Journal)

4:20 PM ET, December 20, 2017

Top Items:

CNN:

Democrats' 2018 advantage expands — STORY HIGHLIGHTS — WASHINGTON (CNN)Democrats' already wide advantage over Republicans in a hypothetical Congressional matchup has grown, according to a new CNN poll conducted by SSRS. At the same time, enthusiasm about voting next year …

Discussion: Washington Post, US News, Paste, The Daily Caller and Political Wire

Ryan Struyk / CNN:

Trump's approval rating just entered a league of its own — STORY HIGHLIGHTS — Washington (CNN)President Donald Trump's approval rating sank to a new low in CNN polling on Tuesday, earning the approval of just 35% of Americans less than a year into his first term.

Discussion: New York Times and Lawyers, Guns & Money

Brooke Singman / Fox News:
Hillary Clinton popularity hits all-time low, poll shows

Discussion: CANNONFIRE, The Hill, The Daily Caller, IJR, Scared Monkeys, RedState and Gallup

United States Senator Lamar Alexander:

Alexander, Collins Statement on Bills to Lower Health Insurance Premiums — WASHINGTON, December 20, 2017—United States Senators Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.) and Susan Collins (R-Maine) today jointly released the following statement: — “Rather than considering a broad year-end funding agreement …

Discussion: Talking Points Memo, Business Insider, Daily Kos and Politico

Gideon Resnick / The Daily Beast:

States' Christmas Letter to Kids: No Health Care for You … Kristy Kirkpatrick Johnson is a 32-year-old stay-at-home mom in Brewton, Alabama, with two small kids and an impending medical crisis. — Her son, Thomas, needs EpiPens for his nut allergies and they aren't cheap.

Discussion: Vox, Denver Post, Daily Kos, Washington Post and The Hill

Alexander Bolton / The Hill:
Collins lets McConnell slide on promise to shore up insurance markets in 2017

Discussion: Lawyers, Guns & Money, Washington Post and Daily Kos

Wall Street Journal:

Over Golf and an Airport Chat, Trump and GOP Hashed Out a Historic Tax Plan — Defeat of health-care bill hung over the tax legislation efforts, shaping the strategy used to pass it and mobilizing Republicans eager to show they could govern — Over rounds of golf at President Donald Trump's club …

Discussion: New York Magazine

Bernie Becker / Politico:
Confusion and chaos ahead as new tax rules take immediate effect

Discussion: Axios, Roll Call, Business Insider and Daily Kos

Judson Berger / Fox News:
Congress approves final tax reform bill, handing Trump year-end victory

Discussion: Townhall.com, Al Jazeera English, TheBlaze, The Gateway Pundit, Washington Free Beacon and bizpacreview.com

Bruce Bartlett / USA Today:

After tax cuts, Republicans may suddenly find Trump is more trouble than he's worth — After months of debate, Congress has released a final tax reform bill. The bill eliminates some personal exemptions while increasing the standard deduction. — The GOP members of Congress had a brilliant plan …

Discussion: No More Mister Nice Blog and The Root

Emily Steel / New York Times:

2 Women Who Settled With O'Reilly Over Sexual Harassment Sue for Defamation — Two women who reached sexual harassment settlements with Bill O'Reilly joined a defamation lawsuit against Mr. O'Reilly and Fox News on Wednesday, asserting that statements that he and the network made depicted them as liars …

Discussion: thecut and Mediaite, more at Mediagazer »

Washington Post:

Court tosses out one-vote victory in recount that had briefly ended a Republican majority in Virginia — A three- judge panel declined to certify the recount of a key House race today, saying that a questionable ballot should be counted in favor of the Republican and tying a race that Democrats …

Discussion: Raw Story, Shareblue Media, Hullabaloo, FiveThirtyEight, Shakesville, Mashable, Vox, ThinkProgress, Weekly Standard, New York Magazine, Axios, IJR and Lawyers, Guns & Money

Jennifer Bendery / HuffPost:

The GOP's Tax Bill Kicks Puerto Rico When It's Down — The island is getting slapped with new taxes as it drowns in debt and tries to recover from a catastrophic hurricane. — WASHINGTON The hits just keep coming for Puerto Rico. — As the U.S. island struggles to climb …

Discussion: Washington Post, Daily Kos, Associated Press, Splinter and CNN

Seung Min Kim / Politico:
Tax victory may be fleeting for Ryan and McConnell

Discussion: Raw Story and ABC News

Will Wilkinson / New York Times:

The Tax Bill Shows the G.O.P.'s Contempt for Democracy — The Republican Tax Cuts and Jobs Act is notably generous to corporations, high earners, inheritors of large estates and the owners of private jets. Taken as a whole, the bill will add about $1.4 trillion to the deficit in the next decade …

New York Times:
Republican Tax Bill Passes Senate in 51-48 Vote

U.S. Department of the Treasury:

Treasury Targets Individuals Involved in the Sergei Magnitsky Case and Other Gross Violations of Human Rights in Russia — A total of 49 individuals have been designated under the Magnitsky Act — WASHINGTON - The U.S. Department of the Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) …

Discussion: Axios

U.S. Department of the Treasury:
Resource Center

Discussion: Metro Weekly

Oliver Darcy / CNNMoney:

Breitbart went all out for Roy Moore. Now its top editor says he was a ‘weak candidate’ — Breitbart Editor-in-Chief Alex Marlow was in his home office last Tuesday night running the front page of the far-right website when he learned that Judge Roy Moore would not be elected as the next senator from Alabama.

Discussion: Mediaite, Axios, The Daily Beast, Splinter and Washington Post

AT&T:

With Tax Reform, AT&T Plans to Increase U.S. Capital Spending $1 Billion and Provide $1,000 Special Bonus to more than 200,000 U.S. Employees — Today, Congress approved legislation representing the first comprehensive tax reform in a generation. The President is expected to sign the bill in the coming days.

Discussion: CNBC, Mother Jones, Washington Free Beacon, Business Insider, The Gateway Pundit, AOL, The Daily Caller and Speaker.gov

Stephen Galloway / Hollywood Reporter:

Tom Hanks Wouldn't Screen ‘The Post’ at the White House, Decries Attacks on First Amendment — “We have to decide when we take to the ramparts,” the Oscar-winner tells THR, noting that he would not attend a screening of his new film at the White House if invited.

Discussion: Axios, Paste, The Daily Caller and Mediaite

German Lopez / Vox:

Cornel West's attacks on Ta-Nehisi Coates, explained — Coates is the latest target in West's war against Obama. — A public feud between two of America's top black intellectuals has led one of them to abandon Twitter. — Cornel West, author of the well-known Race Matters …

Discussion: Salon, The Guardian, The Stranger … and bradford-delong.com

Fox News:

McCabe draws blank on Democrats' funding of Trump dossier, new subpoenas planned — EXCLUSIVE: Congressional investigators tell Fox News that Tuesday's seven-hour interrogation of Deputy FBI Director Andrew McCabe contained numerous conflicts with the testimony of previous witnesses …

Discussion: The Gateway Pundit

Melanie Schmitz / ThinkProgress:

Paul Ryan was asked if Trump's accusers are liars. His response was abysmal. — During an interview with TODAY's Savannah Guthrie on Wednesday, House Speaker Paul Ryan punted when asked about the official White House stance on President Trump's sexual harassment accusers.

Discussion: The Hill, Washington Post, HuffPost and Business Insider

David Corn / Mother Jones:

Donald Trump's Holiday Gift to America: A Fundamental Crisis — In a commencement speech years ago, author David Foster Wallace told this story: Two young fish are swimming along, and they pass an older fish swimming the other way. The older fish says, “Morning, boys, how's the water?”

Rebecca Davis O'Brien / Wall Street Journal:

USA Gymnastics Reached Settlement Over Abuse Claims With Gold Medalist McKayla Maroney — Settlement brings into sharp relief the potential exposure USA Gymnastics faces — Olympic gold-medal-winning gymnast McKayla Maroney signed a confidential $1.25 million settlement agreement …

Discussion: SI.com, ThinkProgress, Los Angeles Times, Lansing State Journal, New York Times, NPR, The Ringer and ESPN

Associated Press:

Author of online hit ‘Cat Person’ has 7-figure book deal — NEW YORK — The author of the online sensation “Cat Person” has a seven-figure book deal. — Scout Press, an imprint of Simon & Schuster, told The Associated Press on Tuesday that Kristen Roupenian's debut story collection …

Discussion: Mediaite, more at Mediagazer »

Steve Buchiere / Finger Lakes Times:

Rare hate crime alleged in Lyons — LYONS — Acting Wayne County District Attorney Chris Bokelman said his office hasn't prosecuted many hate crimes since it was instituted several years ago. — “It doesn't get enforced a lot up here,” he said Tuesday. — That is changing.

Discussion: The Root and Raw Story

Caitlyn Hitt / New York Daily News:

Meryl Streep #SheKnew posters pop up in Los Angeles amid backlash over Harvey Weinstein comments — A street artist is calling Meryl Streep on her bluff. — Posters showing the “The Post” actress standing with disgraced producer Harvey Weinstein have been popping up across Los Angeles, Twitter posts indicate.

Discussion: USA Today and Althouse

Sasha Lekach / Mashable:

‘Misinformer of the Year’ award goes to Mark Zuckerberg — Rupert Murdoch, Sean Hannity, Glenn Beck. — Those are some of the big media figures Facebook founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg is joining with this year's dubious distinction of “Misinformer of the Year.”

Discussion: The Atlantic

Darren Samuelsohn / Politico:

Mar-a-Lago hikes New Year's Eve party ticket prices — Partying with President Donald Trump on New Year's Eve is getting more expensive. — Ticket prices for the annual Dec. 31 bash at Trump's Mar-a-Lago club in South Florida are going up to $600 for dues-paying members and $750 for their guests …

Discussion: ThinkProgress and Palm Beach Post

Esquire:

On the Front Lines of the GOP's Civil War — In 2016, a group of Republicans broke ranks with their party to try to stop Donald Trump from winning the presidency. Now they're rallying once more to keep him from destroying the country. Sam Tanenhaus reports on the Never Trumpers.

Discussion: New York Magazine and Media Matters for America

Page Six:

Koch heir sues ex-fiancée to get giant ring back — Wyatt Koch — the son of billionaire Bill Koch — is suing his ex-fiancée to get back an 8.24-carat ring after she broke off their engagement, according to court documents. Wyatt's lawyers claim that he purchased …

Discussion: Raw Story, thecut and Balloon Juice

Brian Flood / Fox News:

Press watchdogs, female employees want answers about NBC News' sexual harassment issues — The influential Media Research Center, an independent press watchdog, is now calling on NBC News to hire an outside investigator to review its culture of sexual misconduct after NBC News Chairman Andy Lack …

Aaron Elstein / Crain's New York Business:

New York golfers avoiding Trump's course — The president opened a big, beautiful course in the Bronx two years ago that players are increasingly shunning — Donald Trump enjoys few things more than golf and has built some well-regarded courses. Yet many New Yorkers clearly prefer …

Discussion: Political Wire

Joe Concha / The Hill:

Trump to reporters before prayer: ‘You need it more than I do’ … President Trump — told reporters that they were allowed to stay for his prayer with Cabinet secretaries on Wednesday because “you need it more than I do.” — “You need the prayer more than I do, I think.

Discussion: RedState and ABC News