Top Items:
Peter Baker / New York Times:
Trump's Top Aide Acknowledges ‘Score Settling’ Behind Prosecutions … President Trump's chief of staff said she tried to get him to end his “score settling” against political enemies after 90 days in office, but acknowledged that the administration's still ongoing push for prosecutions …
Discussion:
The Hill, New York Post, Raw Story and Election Law Blog
RELATED:
Vanity Fair:
Susie Wiles, JD Vance, and the “Junkyard Dogs”: The White House Chief of Staff On Trump's Second Term (Part 1 of 2) — Throughout the first year of Donald Trump's second administration, Vanity Fair writer Chris Whipple has interviewed Wiles amid each moment of crisis.
Discussion:
Associated Press, The Bulwark, New Jersey Online, Raw Story, So What, Deadline, New York Post and Daily Mail
Vanity Fair:
Susie Wiles Talks Epstein Files, Pete Hegseth's War Tactics, Retribution, and More (Part 2 of 2) — Trump's chief reveals her thoughts on the first year, and on the team she's built with JD Vance, Karoline Leavitt, Marco Rubio, and 3 more key players. Vanity Fair writer Chris Whipple reports.
Politico:
White House weighs risks of a health care fight as ACA subsidies set to expire … As congressional Republicans duke out their intraparty divisions on how to address the expiration of some Affordable Care Act subsidies, administration officials don't believe Trump should engage — more than he already has.
Discussion:
Raw Story
RELATED:
Politico:
House GOP moderates signal they'll fall in line with Johnson's health plan … “I haven't seen anything objectionable yet,” Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick (R-Pa.) said Monday. “For me to vote against it, I'd have to find something objectionable. I wouldn't vote against it in protest.”
Discussion:
Punchbowl News, The Hill, MS NOW, Axios, LGBTQ Nation and New Republic
Al Weaver / The Hill:
Senate health care talks flicker to life as ObamaCare deadline nears
Discussion:
American Greatness and Bloomberg
Politico:
Capitol agenda: Parallel pushes for an 11th-hour health deal
Capitol agenda: Parallel pushes for an 11th-hour health deal
Discussion:
New York Magazine
Peter R. Orszag / New York Times:
Why Both Republicans and Democrats Are Wrong About Health Care
Asawin Suebsaeng / Zeteo:
BREAKING: Trump Dances on Rob Reiner's Grave — On Sunday, news broke that acclaimed Hollywood filmmaker Rob Reiner and his wife, Michele Singer Reiner, were found stabbed to death in their Los Angeles estate. By Monday morning, the president of the United States - widely known …
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Cheyanne M. Daniels / Politico:
Republicans rebuff Trump's post on Rob Reiner … The director of “The Princess Bride” and his wife were found dead in their Los Angeles home Sunday. Police are currently investigating the deaths as an “apparent homicide.” Authorities announced on Monday that Reiner's son, Nick Reiner, is in custody as a suspect.
Discussion:
Axios, The Nation, New York Post, Straight Arrow News, Washington Post, HuffPost, Popular Information, CNN, Civil Discourse …, USA Today, The Stranger, Associated Press, The Daily Beast, Raw Story, Slate, All Rise News, Mediaite, Forbes, MeidasTouch News, Talking Points Memo, Gizmodo, NewsMax.com, WAGA-TV, The Hill, JONATHAN TURLEY, Washington Examiner, Newsweek, MS NOW, New Republic, PinkNews, The Independent, Salon, CBS News, Bloomberg, Washington Times, New Jersey Online, masslive.com, IJR, France 24, The Hollywood Reporter, The Wrap and Rolling Stone
Myles McCormick / Financial Times:
US unemployment rate hits four-year high of 4.6% — Jobless level for November indicates weakening labour market — The US unemployment rate rose to 4.6 per cent in November, the highest level in more than four years, in an indication of weakness in the labour market.
Discussion:
The Guardian, MS NOW and NewsMax.com
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Politico:
Jobless rate rises, adding to Trump's economic messaging woes
Discussion:
Associated Press and New York Times
Lauren Kaori Gurley / Washington Post:
Labor market lost 41,000 jobs over October, November; unemployment rate up
Labor market lost 41,000 jobs over October, November; unemployment rate up
Rebecca Davis O'Brien / New York Times:
Live Updates: Jobs Report Expected to Provide Overdue Clarity on Economy
Arden Farhi / CBS News:
Raskin to introduce bill to require review of White House renovation plans — Democratic Rep. Jamie Raskin of Maryland plans to introduce legislation Tuesday that would subject White House renovations like President Trump's ballroom project to the same reviews as other federal projects.
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Darlene Superville / Associated Press:
Trump administration says White House ballroom construction is a matter of national security
Discussion:
Washington Post, Fox News, Politico, The Daily Beast, NewsMax.com, The Independent, Washington Times, Newsweek, CBS News, Raw Story and ABC News
Associated Press:
US military says strikes on 3 boats in the eastern Pacific Ocean kill 8 people — The U.S. military said Monday that it attacked three boats accused of smuggling drugs in the eastern Pacific Ocean, killing a total of eight people. The military said in a statement on social media that the strikes targeted …
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Piper Hudspeth Blackburn / CNN:
US military strikes 3 more boats in the Pacific Ocean, killing 8
Discussion:
Straight Arrow News, CBS News, The Daily Wire, Semafor, UPI, The Hill, France 24, New York Post, The Gateway Pundit, Washington Examiner and Reuters
Nathan Willis / New York Times:
U.S. Strikes 3 More Boats in Eastern Pacific, Killing 8
U.S. Strikes 3 More Boats in Eastern Pacific, Killing 8
Discussion:
Daily Mail, Townhall, Axios and Bloomberg
Deutsche Welle:
Ukraine-US talks ‘real chance for peace process’ — Germany — Ukraine's Volodymyr Zelenskyy is in Berlin for talks with Germany's Friedrich Merz and other European allies. European leaders proposed a multinational force to enforce a Ukraine peace deal. Follow DW for more. — What you need to know
Discussion:
Associated Press, The Transom, Semafor, Scripps News, Bloomberg, The Gateway Pundit, NewsMax.com, Reuters, Al Jazeera, France 24 and The Japan Times
RELATED:
Financial Times:
Donald Trump says Ukraine peace deal ‘closer than ever’ after talks in Berlin — Germany says US to provide security guarantees as Kyiv and Washington admit differences on territorial issues — Max Seddon and Anne-Sylvaine Chassany in Berlin, Christopher Miller in Kyiv and Amy Mackinnon and Steff Chávez in Washington
Alex Isenstadt / Axios:
Scoop: Musk diving into 2026 midterms for the GOP — Elon Musk has begun funding the GOP's House and Senate campaigns for the 2026 midterms — an indication his relationship with President Trump has thawed since their messy breakup earlier this year.
Discussion:
HotAir, Raw Story and Election Law Blog
Liv McMahon / BBC:
Negotiations over US-UK tech deal stall — Negotiations over a technology deal between the UK and US have stalled due to stumbling blocks in wider trade negotiations between the two sides. — The Technology Prosperity Deal - which was billed as “historic” when it was unveiled during US …
Discussion:
The Register, more at Techmeme »
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Zack Beauchamp / Vox:
Trump's war on democracy is failing — If you want to understand how the US government works today, you should study President Donald Trump's attempt to pardon a woman named Tina Peters last week. — Peters is a former Colorado election clerk and a die-hard believer in the false claim that the 2020 election was stolen.
RELATED:
Matthew Yglesias / Slow Boring:
The most important open question about the political future
BBC:
Trump sues BBC for defamation over Panorama speech edit — US President Donald Trump has sued the BBC for defamation over an edit of his 6 January 2021 speech in a Panorama documentary. — Trump accused the broadcaster of defamation and of violating a trade practices law, according to court documents filed in Florida.
Discussion:
Associated Press, Straight Arrow News, Agence France-Presse, New York Times, The Guardian, Reuters, Breitbart, The National Pulse, CBS News, Politico, HuffPost, Bloomberg, UPI, The Hollywood Reporter, Variety, Axios, Rolling Stone, The Independent, The Hill, twitchy.com, NBC News, Washington Examiner, The Daily Wire, CNBC, Semafor, The Gateway Pundit and Mediaite, more at Mediagazer »
Axios:
Pentagon says it's “escalating” Kelly review to “official” investigation — The Pentagon said Monday it is “escalating” a “preliminary review” into “serious allegations of misconduct” leveled against Sen. Mark Kelly (D-Ariz.), a retired naval officer, after he clashed with President Trump.
Discussion:
Washington Examiner and Raw Story
RELATED:
Washington Post:
Pentagon plan calls for major power shifts within U.S. military — If adopted, the changes would complement other efforts by the Trump administration to shift resources away from the Middle East and Europe. … Senior Pentagon officials are preparing a plan to downgrade several …
Discussion:
Washington Examiner, The Independent and Just Security
Washington Post:
Statue of Black teen who fought segregation replaces Robert E. Lee at U.S. Capitol — Barbara Rose Johns was only 16 when she led a walkout in 1951 to protest horrendous conditions at her segregated high school for Black students in rural Farmville, Virginia.
Discussion:
Associated Press
Yair Rosenberg / The Atlantic:
'The More I'm Around Young People, the More Panicked I Am' — Anti-Jewish prejudice isn't a partisan divide—it's a generational one. — “The more I'm around young people, the more panicked I am,” Tim Miller told me recently. A prominent anti-Trump commentator, Miller hosts …
Discussion:
The Forward, Jewish Insider and NextDraft
New York Times:
Kushner's Firm Pulls Out of Trump-Branded Hotel Deal in Serbia — The announcement came just hours after prosecutors there charged four government officials with corruption in connection with the half-billion-dollar project. — The private equity firm headed by Jared Kushner …
Discussion:
Bloomberg, Associated Press, New Republic, Reuters, Raw Story and Wall Street Journal
New York Times:
Eager for Center Stage, Patel Casts Aside Caution in Statements as F.B.I. Leader — Kash Patel's impulse to publicize the work of the bureau under his leadership has revived questions about his competence and his future in the administration. — A heinous act of violence. A faceless killer on the loose.
Discussion:
The Independent, Salon, The Guardian, Washington Times, Washington Examiner, Mock Paper Scissors and New Republic
Jeffrey Mervis / Science:
NSF pares down grant-review process, reducing influence of outside scientists — Memo cites overburdened staff, but some say move also aims to elevate White House priorities — Skip backwardsGo ten seconds backward Skip forwardsGo ten seconds forward — Audio is AI-generated. Report an issue|

