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2:40 PM ET, December 20, 2017

memeorandum

 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: Political Wire
RELATED:
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.
Heather Long / Washington Post:
The Republican tax bill was the easy part.  The next debate could be much uglier.  —  The Republican overhaul of the tax code sets the stage for years of politically fraught debate over what the government should provide for its citizens and how much it should demand in taxes.
RELATED:
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: The Root
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 …
RELATED:
New York Times:
Republican Tax Bill Passes Senate in 51-48 Vote
Cristiano Lima / Politico:
Trump boasts of individual mandate repeal in GOP tax bill
Discussion: Axios
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 …
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
RELATED:
U.S. Department of the Treasury:
Resource Center
Discussion: Metro Weekly
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
RELATED:
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 …
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.
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?”
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, Balloon Juice and thecut
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 …
Pew Research Center:
Hispanic Identity Fades Across Generations as Immigrant Connections Fall Away  —  11% of American adults with Hispanic ancestry do not identify as Hispanic  —  More than 18% of Americans identify as Hispanic or Latino, the nation's second largest racial or ethnic group.
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.
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 …
Associated Press:
Last uncounted ballots: Moore can't close 20,000-vote loss  —  MONTGOMERY, Ala. (AP) — Republican Roy Moore hasn't conceded his 20,000-vote loss to Democrat Doug Jones in Alabama's Senate race, and provisional ballots and military votes still being counted show Moore can't close the deficit.
Discussion: Daily Kos
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
Noa Landau / Haaretz:
Nikki Haley in Threatening Letter to UN Members: Trump ‘Will Be Watching’ Who Votes Against U.S. Recognition of Jerusalem  —  U.S. envoy's letter, obtained by Haaretz, sent one day before resolution rejecting U.S. move expected to pass by sweeping majority at the General Assembly
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
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
Mara Siegler / Page Six:
The Mooch rips ‘loser’ Steve Bannon at Hanukkah party  —  Potty-mouthed flameout White House communications director Anthony Scaramucci spoke to NYC Jews about his inspiring pilgrimage to Israel — but still couldn't resist laying into his nemesis Steve Bannon as a “messianic loser.”
Bernie Becker / Politico:
Confusion and chaos ahead as new tax rules take immediate effect  —  Accountants, IRS and taxpayers scramble to figure out how to comply.  —  The most sweeping tax code overhaul in a generation will soon head to President Donald Trump's desk — and Republicans are enjoying a victory dance.
Discussion: Business Insider and Daily Kos
Julia Reinstein / BuzzFeed:
A Man Got Stranded On A Fountain After Taking A Ton Of Molly And Stealing A Swan Boat  —  The man told police he “wanted to go be with the swans because they don't judge him.”  —  A man had to be rescued early Friday morning in Orlando after taking “a large quantity of Molly,” stealing a swan boat …
Discussion: thecut
Bloomberg:
Saudi Arabia to Freeze More Bank Accounts in Crackdown  —  Matthew Martin, Glen Carey and Archana Narayanan  —  More people said to be questioned, some detainees released  —  Kingdom could recover as much as $100 billion in purge  —  Saudi Arabia's crackdown on alleged corruption showed …
Discussion: Instapundit
Janet Hook / Wall Street Journal:
Republican Tax Bill Has Grown More Unpopular, Poll Shows  —  Overall, 41% of Americans in the survey said the tax plan was a bad idea, up from 35% in October.  —  The Republican tax-cut bill has grown more unpopular in the two months it has taken to usher it through Congress …
Atlanta Journal-Constitution:
‘Racist’ trees separating a black neighborhood from a golf course will come down  —  PALM SPRINGS, Calif. — Palm Springs will remove a row of trees blocking a historically African-American neighborhood from a city-owned golf course.  —  At an informal meeting with neighborhood residents Sunday …
News 12 Connecticut:
Parents pull kids from class as Ivanka Trump visits CT school  —  NORWALK -  —  First daughter Ivanka Trump made a surprise visit to the Norwalk Early College Academy Monday, prompting some parents who oppose the president's views to pull their kids out of school.
Kyle Swenson / Washington Post:
Fox News contributor, channeling Alex Jones, suggests FBI plot to assassinate Trump  —  For weeks, Fox News and far-right pundits have been working overtime to discredit the FBI and special counsel Robert Mueller's investigation into Russian election interference in the U.S. 2016 presidential election.
 
 
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 More Items: 
Amanda Mull / Racked:
Why Aren't Fashion ‘Disruptors’ Serving Plus-Size Customers?
Discussion: Longreads
Robert D. McFadden / New York Times:
Bernard Law, Powerful Cardinal Disgraced by Priest Abuse Scandal, Dies at 86
Travis J. Tritten / Washington Examiner:
Here's the Pentagon's guidance for processing transgender recruits
Discussion: RedState and Splinter
Heather Caygle / Politico:
Nadler wins top Democratic post on Judiciary Committee
Discussion: Axios
Bob Dreyfuss / The Nation:
Maxine Waters Connects the Dots on Trump, Deutsche Bank, and Russia
Discussion: Shakesville and NewsBusters
Andrew Ujifusa / Politics K-12:
Here's Where the GOP Tax Bill Could Hit School Funding the Hardest
Discussion: ThinkProgress and Daily Kos
NBC News:
Sizing up the 2017 scorecard for Trump and the GOP
Discussion: Taylor Marsh
 Earlier Items: 
Gus Garcia-Roberts / Los Angeles Times:
The ‘Lost Boys’: Hollywood producer Gary Goddard accused of sexual misconduct by 8 former child actors
Discussion: Deadline
Zaid Jilani / The Intercept:
Corporations Say Publicly They'll Pocket the Tax Cut, But Republicans Aren't Listening
David Ignatius / Washington Post:
What North Korea told a U.N. envoy trying to prevent war
Discussion: Just Security and The Hill
Mike Allen / Axios:
Trump triumphant: a consequential, lasting end to 2017
Discussion: Washington Post
Charlie Warzel / BuzzFeed:
Internal Emails Show Twitter Struggled To Interpret Its Own Verification Rules While Hunting Trolls
Associated Press:
9,000-plus died in battle with Islamic State group for Mosul
Discussion: Paste, Honolulu Star-Advertiser and NPR
Joseph A. Wulfsohn / Mediaite:
Tucker Carlson Hits Media Over Mueller: Journalists Shouldn't Be ‘Cheerleaders For Prosecutions’
 

 
From Mediagazer:

Alex Sherman / CNBC:
Sources: Paramount Global's board is preparing to fire CEO Bob Bakish as soon as Monday, after he lost the trust of controlling shareholder Shari Redstone

Ashley Capoot / CNBC:
Meta, Alphabet, and Snap beat analysts' estimates in their Q1 results, showing acceleration in advertising growth after struggling to rebound from a dismal 2022

Reggie Ugwu / New York Times:
A look at the rise in video podcasts, as YouTube leads in podcast consumption in the US and companies invest in video to gain new audiences and boost ad revenue
 
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