memeorandum: No longer a ‘lonely battle’: How the campaign against the Mueller probe has taken hold (Michael Kranish/Washington Post)

3:40 PM ET, December 24, 2017

Top Items:

Suspicious Package Addressed to Treasury Secretary Mnuchin Contained Horse Manure: Officials — Multiple law enforcement sources tell NBC investigations that officers unwrapped the box to discover it was filled with manure — A Los Angeles Department bomb squad responded …

Discussion: Splinter, Business Insider and The Week

Nicole Hensley / New York Daily News:

Gift-wrapped horse poop sends bomb squad to Steven Mnuchin's Bel Air mansion — Los Angeles police got a whiff of horse manure intended for Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin at his Bel-Air home Saturday night. — A neighbor discovered the Christmas-themed package on the driveway …

Discussion: Axios and Mediaite

abc7.com:
Manure-filled package sent to Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin sends bomb squad to Bel Air

Discussion: ABC News and IJR

The Daily Beast: Bomb Squad Responds After Gift-Wrapped Horse Manure Sent to Steve Mnuchin's Home

Amy B Wang / Washington Post:
A package for Steven Mnuchin caused a bomb scare. It turned out to be filled with horse manure.

Discussion: CBS News and CBS Los Angeles

Mwenzke / KTLA:
LAPD Confirms Someone Sent Horse Manure in Holiday Gift Wrap to U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin

Discussion: New York Post and thecut

CBS News:

President Trump finishes out the year at Mar-a-Lago, tax reform accomplished — President Trump kicked off his holiday weekend at Mar-a-Lago Friday night at a dinner where he told friends, “You all just got a lot richer,” referencing the sweeping tax overhaul he signed into law hours earlier.

Discussion: Axios, ThinkProgress, The Hill, Business Insider, Politico, The Guardian, The Daily Caller, Politicus USA, Raw Story, Splinter, Washington Monthly, New York Magazine, Mediaite, AOL and The Gateway Pundit

Mark Moore / New York Post:
Trump tells Mar-a-Lago guests: ‘You all just got a lot richer’

Discussion: IJR and Althouse

Justin Jouvenal / Washington Post:

A teen is charged with killing his girlfriend's parents. They had worried he was a neo-Nazi. — Buckley Kuhn-Fricker was so disturbed by what she discovered about her teenage daughter's boyfriend that she spent a tumultuous week pushing for a breakup. By Thursday, she texted a friend saying the …

Discussion: Raw Story and AOL

New York Times:

Black Turnout in Alabama Complicates Debate on Voting Laws — MONTGOMERY, Ala. — Even before a defiant Roy S. Moore stood at a lectern this month and refused to concede the Alabama Senate race, one political reality was clear: An extraordinary turnout among black voters had helped push Doug Jones …

Michael Kranish / Washington Post:

No longer a ‘lonely battle’: How the campaign against the Mueller probe has taken hold … For months, efforts to discredit special counsel Robert S. Mueller III's investigation into Russian meddling in the 2016 campaign flickered at the fringes of political debate.

Discussion: CNBC, Vox and Politico

Natasha Bertrand / Business Insider:
‘Trump fears them’: Former officials defend FBI leaders swept up in the Trump-Russia firestorm

Discussion: Raw Story, RedState, AOL, The Atlantic, Politicus USA, Law & Crime and Scared Monkeys

Max Greenwood / The Hill:
Trump ratchets up feud with FBI

Discussion: Scared Monkeys and ThinkProgress

Adam Goldman / New York Times:
Andrew McCabe, F.B.I.'s Embattled Deputy, Is Expected to Retire

Discussion: ThinkProgress, Splinter, Axios, Fox News Insider, Politicus USA, ABC News, bizpacreview.com, The Week, The Gateway Pundit, The Daily Caller, AOL, Washington Monthly, RedState, Raw Story, Law & Crime, Business Insider, Mediaite, NBC News, KTLA and NPR

The Guardian:

FBI investigates Russian-linked Cyprus bank accused of money laundering — Request for financial information may be connected to inquiries into possible conspiracy between Trump and Kremlin … The FBI has asked officials in Cyprus for financial information about a defunct bank that was used …

John Sharp / al.com:

The color purple: How millennials and Gen X after electing Doug Jones could change a red state — Beth Clayton believes that she saw her home state's political future in the exit polls from the Dec. 12 Senate election. And it's not an Alabama that anyone has known lately.

John Frank / Denver Post:

Colorado's growing political divide leaves rural communities feeling forgotten and voiceless — A political transformation in Colorado is exacerbating the tension in elections and at the Capitol … ILIFF — Under a hard gray sky, Andrew Hernandez guides his combine through the cornfield …

Brett Samuels / The Hill:

Flake on chaos of Trump campaign: ‘Was that campaign even capable of colluding with anybody?’ … Frequent Trump administration critic Sen. Jeff Flake — (R-Ariz.) on Sunday said he's unsure if the Trump campaign was “capable of colluding with anybody.” — “I mean, I look at that last campaign …

Brent D. Griffiths / Politico:
Flake: If Trump fired Mueller, it would be a ‘big problem’

Discussion: Axios

Jenna Johnson / Washington Post:

In a pro-Trump town, they never stopped saying ‘Merry Christmas’ — LINDEN, Tenn. — In this rural Trump-supporting town, home to barely 1,000 people and at least 10 Christian churches, the word “holiday” doesn't seem to exist. — Outside the county courthouse there's an evergreen tree covered …

Justin Baragona / Mediaite:

Trump Retweets Meme Showing Him With CNN-Labeled Blood Spot on Sole of Shoe — Well, here we go again. — President Donald Trump began his Christmas Eve morning on Twitter, firing off tweets about FBI Deputy Director Andrew McCabe (again) and “Fake News.”

Molly Nagle / ABC News:

Loyalty to Trump the new Republican ‘litmus test’: GOP representative — Republican candidates used to be measured by their conservative ideology but now are judged according to how loyal they are to President Donald Trump, GOP Rep. Charlie Dent of Pennsylvania said.

Discussion: Fox News Insider and Politico

Matt Vespa / Townhall.com:

Are You Kidding Me? Liberal Rag Says Hallmark Channel Is A Bastion For Trumpian White Nationalism — When it comes to entertainment, I'm really not in the cultural conservative camp. I watch what I want to watch, whether that is Game of Thrones or Rocko's Modern Life. Yes, I like action movies.