Top Items:
Manu Raju / CNN:
Facing gridlock, GOP senators seek big immigration deal to end shutdown — (CNN) — Staring at a prolonged government shutdown, Republican senators are privately planning to court Democratic senators on an immigration deal that would give President Donald Trump money for his border wall …
Discussion:
Daily Kos, The Week, The Right Scoop, illegal immigration … and TheBlaze
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Wall Street Journal:
White House Meeting Started With Sweets, but Quickly Turned Sour — Trump and congressional leaders remain at odds over border-wall funding; ‘Bye bye!’ — WASHINGTON—President Trump opened the latest face-to-face negotiations with lawmakers like he was comforting members of one of his golf clubs.
Bloomberg:
For Trump, Storming Out of a Meeting Is a Signature Ploy — He has long used dramatic exits as a negotiating tactic — Trump once walked out on a judge during a divorce proceeding — President Donald Trump's decision to abruptly storm out of a meeting with congressional leaders on Wednesday shocked some on Capitol Hill.
Discussion:
BloombergQuint, Raw Story and Politico
Gail Collins / New York Times:
Trump Hits the Wall — And what's all that sniffling about? — We need to look at the bright side of Donald Trump's border wall fixation. — Sure, he's shut down the government and thrown the nation into chaos. But it could be worse. He could be demanding a fiery moat between us and Canada.
Discussion:
Raw Story, CNN and Fox News Insider
Politico:
POLITICO Playbook: Trump's one way out — DRIVING THE DAY — SHUTDOWN ... DAY 20 ... TRUMP'S ONLY WAY OUT ... THERE IS AN INCREASING RECOGNITION in the White House and among his most important allies on Capitol Hill that the only way for PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP to get movement …
Discussion:
Political Wire, Fortune, Washington Press and POLITICUSUSA
Michael Tackett / New York Times:
Trump Heading to Texas Border Town to Press His Case for a Wall — WASHINGTON — President Trump was set to embark Thursday on a trip to McAllen, Texas, that he did not want to take to discuss a crisis on the border that Democrats say does not exist. — Their disagreement has led …
Discussion:
The Guardian, Joe.My.God. and ABC News
New York Times:
Trump Thinks He's His Own Best Messenger. Where Does That Leave Bill Shine?
Discussion:
Talking Points Memo
Burgess Everett / Politico:
Graham launches last-ditch push to end shutdown
Discussion:
ABC News, Talking Points Memo, No More Mister Nice Blog, Conservative News Today, Joe.My.God., The Daily Caller, IJR and Townhall
Washington Post:
'He's a gut politician': Trump's go-to negotiating tactics not working in shutdown standoff
Jacqueline Alemany / Washington Post:
Power Up: The Art of Prolonging a Government Shutdown
Discussion:
IJR, KTLA and Common Dreams
NBC News:
Test of steel prototype for border wall showed it could be sawed through — NBC News obtained a photo showing results of a test on a steel wall prototype. — President Donald Trump has repeatedly advocated for a steel slat design for his border wall, which he described as …
Discussion:
Raw Story
Christal Hayes / USA Today:
Trump's team had over 100 contacts with Russian-linked operatives, report shows — WASHINGTON - Members of President Donald Trump's campaign and transition team had more than 100 contacts with Russian-linked operatives, according to a new report. — The milestone illustrates …
Discussion:
Washington Post
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Heidi Przybyla / NBC News:
House Democrats now asking questions about Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin — Mnuchin will give the House a classified briefing Thursday, after a request from the Democratic chairs of the main House investigative panels. — WASHINGTON — Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin has agreed …
Discussion:
Talking Points Memo and Raw Story
National Enquirer:
Married Amazon Boss Jeff Bezos Getting Divorce Over Fling With Movie Mogul's Wife — The ENQUIRER's blockbuster exclusive of world's richest couple's break-up! — The marriage of the world's richest couple is set to explode in all-out war — after billionaire Jeff Bezos was caught cheating …
Discussion:
The Guardian, more at Techmeme »
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Trip Gabriel / New York Times:
Before Trump, Steve King Set the Agenda for the Wall and Anti-Immigrant Politics — Years before President Trump forced a government shutdown over a border wall, triggering a momentous test of wills in Washington, Representative Steve King of Iowa took to the House floor to show off a model of a 12-foot border wall he had designed.
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Christopher Mathias / HuffPost:
White Supremacist Rep. Steve King Gets A Primary Challenger — Iowa state Sen. Randy Feenstra will try to unseat the congressman. — White supremacist Rep. Steve King (R-Iowa) will have a Republican primary challenger next year. — Iowa state Sen. Randy Feenstra announced Wednesday …
Discussion:
Splinter
Nomaan Merchant / Associated Press:
Texas landowners prepare wall fight; Trump to visit border — HIDALGO, Texas (AP) — As President Donald Trump travels to the border in Texas to make the case for his $5.7 billion wall, landowner Eloisa Cavazos says she knows firsthand how the project will play out if the White House gets its way.
Discussion:
Boing Boing
Doug Sovern / KCBS 740AM:
Kamala Harris Ready To Enter Race For President, Sources Say — She's Finalizing Plans For Bay Area Rally To Announce Candidacy — Sen. Kamala Harris has decided to run for president in 2020 and will announce her candidacy on or around Martin Luther King Jr. Day, probably at a campaign rally in Oakland …
Discussion:
Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion, Political Wire and Mediaite
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Meagan Flynn / Washington Post:
'If there's a concrete wall in front of you, go through it,' Trump said in 2004 speech — Donning an emerald green graduation gown, Donald Trump stood grinning on the stage at Wagner College in Staten Island as a faculty member offered a glowing introduction in May 2004: “A New York original.
Discussion:
POLITICUSUSA, Mediaite, Slate, Talking Points Memo and Fox News Insider
Nate Silver / FiveThirtyEight:
The 5 Key Constituencies Of The 2020 Democratic Primary — Over the long course of the Republican presidential nomination process in 2015 and 2016, we frequently featured a diagram called “The Republicans' Five-Ring Circus.” The chart was based on the idea that the GOP essentially consisted …
Discussion:
Political Wire
John R. Schindler / Observer:
Exclusive: Mueller Is Holding Top Secret Intelligence That Will Sink the Trump Presidency — Another day, another bombshell emanating from the Special Counsel investigation into President Donald Trump and his links to the Kremlin. We now have more proof that Robert Mueller really does …
Discussion:
CNN, RedState, Sputnik International, Raw Story and Talking Points Memo
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Alan Cross / The Bulwark:
Jerry Falwell Jr.'s Trumpian Theology — Do Christians have a moral duty to support Trump, no matter what? — Like many Christians, I read Jerry Falwell, Jr's New Year's Day interview with the Washington Post with both my mouth open and my heart racing. “He can't be saying what I'm reading!”
Discussion:
Raw Story and New Yorker
Alex Thompson / Politico:
Top Bernie Sanders 2016 adviser accused of forcibly kissing subordinate — On the final night of the Democratic National Convention in July of 2016, Bernie Sanders' staffers went out to a Mediterranean restaurant and hookah bar in Center City Philadelphia to celebrate and mourn the end of the campaign.
Discussion:
Talking Points Memo, Washington Free Beacon, CNN and Washington Post
Washington Post:
‘This is ridiculous’: Small-business owners can't get loans as shutdown enters Day 20. — Brooks Troxler is a small-business owner in North Carolina who's known as “Trox the tech” for his ability to fix any computer problem. Business is growing and he had big plans to start 2019 by cutting …
Alan Blinder / New York Times:
Doug Jones Seeks Inquiry Into Misinformation Efforts in Alabama Senate Race — Senator Doug Jones, the Democrat who was an unwitting beneficiary of misinformation tactics during a special election in Alabama in 2017, asked the Federal Election Commission on Wednesday to investigate the episodes.
Discussion:
Talking Points Memo, Political Wire and Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion
Yascha Mounk / Slate:
Trump's Speech Was Too Effective for Comfort — The president probably failed to win anyone over to his message. But that doesn't mean the public is immune to that message. — President Donald Trump's address to the nation on Tuesday night was unimaginative, lacking in energy …
RELATED:
Matt Dixon / Politico:
Rick Scott blindsides DeSantis on his way out — Scores of 11th-hour appointments by outgoing Gov. Rick Scott. Roadblocks for the new transition team. A rival inaugural ball. — The contentious handoff of the Florida governor's office from Scott to fellow Republican Ron DeSantis …
Clare Lombardo / NPR:
Virginia Study Finds Increased School Bullying In Areas That Voted For Trump — After the 2016 presidential election, teachers around the country reported they were seeing increased name-calling and bullying in their classrooms. Now, research shows that those stories — at least in one state — are confirmed by student surveys.
Carol D. Leonnig / Washington Post:
A beefed-up White House legal team prepares aggressive defense of Trump's executive privilege as investigations loom large — A beefed-up White House legal team is gearing up to prevent President Trump's confidential discussions with top advisers from being disclosed to House Democratic investigators …
Discussion:
Politico, POLITICUSUSA, VICE News, Mother Jones and Jewish Telegraphic Agency
Liam Stack / New York Times:
Pastor Who Praised Pulse Nightclub Gunman Resigns After Allegedly Paying for Sex — A Baptist minister in Texas who came to national attention in 2016 when he praised the gunman who killed 49 people at a gay nightclub in Orlando, Fla., resigned from his ministry last week after allegedly using drugs …
Discussion:
The Daily Caller and Raw Story
Lawrence Wright / New Yorker:
A Memorial for Jamal Khashoggi — On Thursday, I will be joining the documentarian Alex Gibney and the former F.B.I. special agent Ali Soufan, along with lawmakers, journalists, human-rights advocates, and friends, at the U.S. Capitol, in Washington, D.C., to honor Jamal Khashoggi …
Brendan Cole / Newsweek:
Evangelical Pastor Robert Jeffress Defends Trump's Border Wall: ‘Heaven Itself Is Going to Have a Wall Around It’ — An evangelical preacher who is a prominent supporter of President Donald Trump has said that if a wall is good enough for heaven, then it is good enough for the U.S. southern border.
Farhad Manjoo / New York Times:
You Should Meditate Every Day — Sure, it's become a wellness fad. But it's the best way I've found to keep digital monsters at bay. — Because I live in Northern California, where this sort of thing is required by local ordinance, I spent New Year's Day at a meditation center …
James Randerson / Politico:
Jeremy Corbyn dodges question on timing of no-confidence vote — If MPs vote against the Brexit deal, leader of the opposition Jeremy Corbyn said he would call a motion of no confidence in the government “at the moment we judge it to have the best chance of success.”
Discussion:
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