Top Items:
Jon Shelton / Reuters:
Belarus releases political prisoners including Nobel winner — Minsk has released jailed Nobel laureate Ales Bialiatski along with another 122 political prisoners. The move comes as Belarus seeks to mend ties with Washington and the US lifts some sanctions.
Discussion:
Washington Examiner, France 24, The Guardian, Reuters, Associated Press, Al Jazeera, NewsMax.com and Los Angeles Times
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Reuters:
US lifts sanctions on Belarusian potash, state media cite Trump envoy as saying
Discussion:
Politico, UPI, Associated Press, France 24 and Bloomberg
New York Times:
Belarus Frees Prominent Political Prisoners as U.S. Lifts Some Trade Sanctions
Belarus Frees Prominent Political Prisoners as U.S. Lifts Some Trade Sanctions
Discussion:
Straight Arrow News, BBC, The Daily Caller, RSS BelTA, Bloomberg and France 24
Mark Trevelyan / Reuters:
Maria Kalesnikava, hero of Belarus opposition, freed after more than 5 years
Maria Kalesnikava, hero of Belarus opposition, freed after more than 5 years
Discussion:
New York Sun
Washington Post:
VA plans to abruptly eliminate tens of thousands of health care jobs — Strains on the system could grow with the elimination of as many as 35,000 mostly unfilled health care positions, including doctors, nurses and support staff. — Just now … Government reporters Meryl Kornfield …
Discussion:
Raw Story and NewsMax.com
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Joseph Choi / The Hill:
US set to lose measles elimination status: The ‘house is on fire’
US set to lose measles elimination status: The ‘house is on fire’
Discussion:
New York Times and Techdirt
Ali Swenson / Associated Press:
Higher cost, worse coverage: Affordable Care Act enrollees say expiring subsidies will hit them hard — For one Wisconsin couple, the loss of government-sponsored health subsidies next year means choosing a lower-quality insurance plan with a higher deductible. For a Michigan family, it means going without insurance altogether.
Discussion:
Wonkette and KFF Health News
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Politico:
Inside Republicans' new health bill — House Republican leaders plan to take a vote next week on conservative-friendly health policies they've pursued for years. It's the latest GOP counter to Democrats' push to extend expiring Obamacare subsidies. Here is what's in the bill, the text of which was released Friday.
Discussion:
RedState, Washington Times and The Daily Signal
Natalie Andrews / Wall Street Journal:
Republicans Relive Healthcare Nightmare as Midterms Loom
Republicans Relive Healthcare Nightmare as Midterms Loom
Discussion:
Axios, Mock Paper Scissors, Associated Press, CNN, Breitbart, Congressman Hakeem Jeffries and PoliticusUSA
Wall Street Journal:
U.S. Pours More Firepower Into the Caribbean as Trump Ramps Up Threats — American leader now has an array of options for Venezuela's Maduro, including land strikes and electronic warfare — The U.S. military is moving more weapons and units into the Caribbean that give President Trump powerful …
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New York Times:
Venezuela Oil Tanker Seized by U.S. Was Part of Effort to Finance Cuba
Discussion:
The Guardian, NewsMax.com, No More Mister Nice Blog, Joe.My.God., Washington Times, New York Sun, Breitbart, Reuters, ABC News and E&E News
Lauren Floyd / Axios:
U.S. unseals warrant behind oil tanker seizure near Venezuela
U.S. unseals warrant behind oil tanker seizure near Venezuela
Discussion:
US Department of Justice, Atlanta Black Star and Reuters
Meridith McGraw / Wall Street Journal:
Trump's Next Renovation Target: D.C.'s Golf Courses — The president wants to play a central role in redeveloping Washington's public courses, including one that sits on a prime stretch of real estate — WASHINGTON—President Trump needed a place to dump all the dirt from his demolition of the White House's East Wing.
Discussion:
The Independent, Joe.My.God. and Raw Story
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New York Times:
Biden Has Raised Little of What He Needs to Build a Presidential Library — His library foundation has told the I.R.S. that by the end of 2027 it expects to bring in just $11.3 million — not nearly enough for a traditional presidential library. — Former President Joseph R. Biden Jr …
Discussion:
IJR, NewsMax.com, twitchy.com and Althouse
Jack Healy / New York Times:
Colorado Officials Reject Trump's ‘Pardon’ of a Convicted Election Denier — The president's stated intention to pardon Tina Peters, jailed for tampering with election machines in 2020, has set off a legal fight over the extent of Mr. Trump's pardon powers.
Discussion:
The Atlantic, Raw Story, Alternet.org, MS NOW, Colorado Public Radio, NewsMax.com, LGBTQ Nation, RedState, ABC News, Gazette, Wall Street Journal, The Gateway Pundit, Plain Dealer, The National Pulse, New Jersey Online, The Hill, IJR, Forbes, The Independent, Mediaite, KDFX-TV and NBC News
Naftali Bendavid / Washington Post:
Trump leans into isolation as challenges mount at home — As the administration enters choppy political waters, it has redoubled its pushback against foreign people, products and cultures. … The Trump administration, amid a series of foreign and domestic challenges …
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James T. Areddy / Wall Street Journal:
ICE Holding Chinese Man Who Documented Uyghur Camps — Congressman and activists warn of risks to citizen-journalist if returned to China — A Chinese citizen who fled the country after gathering evidence of alleged human-rights violations against the nation's Uyghur population is at risk …
Hamilton Nolan / How Things Work:
If He Builds It, Tear It Down — The foremost task occupying the attention of United States President Donald J. Trump is the construction of an enormous ballroom. Like Trump himself, the project is tacky, grandiose to the point of stupidity, and can exist only by destroying a treasured part of America's history.
Erica Orden / Politico:
Trump seems to wave the white flag on his US attorneys gambit … The administration's tactics with U.S. attorneys — bypassing the Senate or sidestepping federal judges to keep unvetted prosecutors in place — are a crucial component of Trump's effort to deploy the Justice Department against his perceived enemies.
Discussion:
Raw Story, The Daily Beast, Washington Post and The Gateway Pundit
Madeline Fening / Cincinnati CityBeat:
Cincinnati ICE Leader Accused of Strangling Woman Held on $400k Bond — Prosecutors say the award-winning ICE agent has a history of domestic violence reports as DHS places him on suspension. — Click to email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email — Audio By Carbonatix
Public Notice:
Kevin Kruse on Trump making Nixon look like a choir boy — “Trump is engaged in a constant war with the media like we've never seen from a president before.” — ∙ Paid — PN is supported by paid subscribers. Become one ⬇️ — ✌️ Subscribe to PN ✌️
NBC News:
Trump attacks on political opponents spur a surge of threats, NBC News review finds — In recent weeks, nearly two dozen elected officials on both sides of the aisle said they were targeted after getting caught in the president's crosshairs. — President Donald Trump's heated rhetoric …
Discussion:
HuffPost and Joe.My.God.
E. J. Dionne Jr / New York Times:
Trump Is Losing the Reasonable Majority — Believing in democracy does not require faith that majorities are always right. It does mean having confidence that most of your fellow citizens will, over time, approach public questions with a basic reasonableness.
Discussion:
Raw Story and Washington Post
Marianna Sotomayor / Washington Post:
Trump called her ‘garbage.’ Rep. Ilhan Omar says she remains unfazed. — “There's this creepy obsession that he seems to have on me that just feels pretty obnoxious,” the Minnesota Democrat said of the president. — Just now … Over the past two weeks, the leader of the free world …
Zeteo:
Trump Is Already Discussing Preemptive Pardons For His Lawless Administration — The revelation comes as Pete Hegseth faces scrutiny for a possible war crime, and as a judge pursues a contempt inquiry into the defiance of his order. — ∙ Paid — Since he was sworn back into office nearly …
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David Rothkopf / The Daily Beast:
President Trump Is Now Triggering His Very Own MAGApocalypse
President Trump Is Now Triggering His Very Own MAGApocalypse
Discussion:
The Atlantic, Raw Story, New Republic and Axios
Heather Cox Richardson / Letters from an American:
Today former Alabama senator Doug Jones launched his campaign to become the state's next governor. He announced on November 24 that he would enter the race, but said in a speech tonight that he chose today for the official launch because the date marks exactly eight years since he won a 2017 special election for the U.S. Senate.
Discussion:
Washington Examiner, Associated Press and al.com
Lauren FitzPatrick / Chicago Sun Times:
Greg Bovino's the star of Trump's deportation show. We trace his roots. — As a boy, the Hollywood movie “The Border” set the course for his life. He couldn't believe the Border Patrol agents in the movie were the bad guys. Now that he's in charge of deportation efforts causing turmoil …
Phil Stewart / Reuters:
Two U.S. soldiers, one interpreter killed in Syria, Pentagon says — Two U.S. Army soldiers and a civilian interpreter were killed in an Islamic State attack on Saturday in Palmyra, Syria, where they were supporting counterterrorism operations, the Pentagon said.
