Top Items:
Washington Post:
Kennedy Center adds Trump's name to building — The signage change follows a vote by the board of trustees to rename the performing arts complex “the Trump Kennedy Center.” … The Kennedy Center began updating signage on the exterior of the building Friday morning, a day after its board voted …
Discussion:
The UnPopulist, One America News Network, MS NOW, Deseret News, Straight Arrow News, The Hill, Salon, ABC News, Los Angeles Times, NOTUS and The Wrap
RELATED:
Helene Cooper / New York Times:
Trump Administration Live Updates: Kennedy Center Adds Trump's Name to Facade — Where Things Stand — Kennedy Center: President Trump's name was already being added to the performing arts center in Washington early Friday, just a day after its board moved to rename it the Trump-Kennedy Center.
Discussion:
Wall Street Journal, NBC News, The Art Newspaper, The Hollywood Reporter, Associated Press, RTÉ, CBS News and Daily Mail
Jonathan V. Last / The Bulwark:
Trump, Hunger Games, and the Kennedy Center — The dystopia everyone said was impossible is already here. — ∙ Paid — The Secret Podcast will drop later today. It's a long one. — 1. Back to the Future — Imagine that it's October 2024.
Discussion:
CNN and NBC4 Washington
Matt Vespa / Townhall:
What Trump Did to the Kennedy Center Triggered a Level-Five Lib Meltdown — When Rep. Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY), aka Temu Obama, says this move was illegal, a) you know you struck a chord with the Left, and b) prepare to watch some fireworks. President Trump, who has low-key assimilated the Kennedy Center …
Discussion:
The Hill, New York Times, Fox News, Axios, The UnPopulist, New Republic, NBC News, The Moderate Voice, Wall Street Journal, Deadline, The Wrap, IJR, Newsweek, Raw Story, The Independent, HuffPost, New York Times, NewsNation, Showbiz411, Gazette, Fortune, UPI, Plain Dealer, Associated Press, Breitbart, Rolling Stone, New York Sun, Roll Call, New York Magazine, Variety, LGBTQ Nation, MS NOW, New Jersey Online, New York Daily News, Mediaite, FOX 11 Los Angeles and Scripps News
William Kristol / The Bulwark:
Screw It. Let's Rename the Moon.
Screw It. Let's Rename the Moon.
Discussion:
Julie's Substack and America, America
Gregory Svirnovskiy / Politico:
DOJ won't meet Friday deadline to release all the Epstein files … “I expect that we're going to release more documents over the next couple of weeks, so today several hundred thousand and then over the next couple weeks, I expect several hundred thousand more,” Blanche said.
Discussion:
NOTUS, The Guardian, Wall Street Journal, Bloomberg, WWL-TV, Fox News, Axios, Los Angeles Times, The Mahablog, New York Post, Salon, CBS News, Raw Story, Mediaite, The Wrap and The Hill
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Rebecca Beitsch / The Hill:
Blanche says DOJ won't release full Epstein files to Congress by Friday deadline — Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche said the Department of Justice (DOJ) would not be releasing the full Epstein files to Congress Friday as required under new legislation, instead sending over a partial batch.
Discussion:
Fox News, Straight Arrow News, NPR, Associated Press, Raw Story, CBS News, NewsNation, NBC News, HuffPost, NOTUS, The Post Millennial, The Daily Wire, The National Pulse, Vox, NewsMax.com, New Jersey Online, The Guardian and ABC News
New York Times:
Live Updates: Justice Department Releases Trove of Epstein Files — The material is expected to include some, but not all, documents related to investigations of Jeffrey Epstein. Congress set a Friday deadline for the Trump administration to release the files.
Washington Post:
Justice Department releases huge trove of Jeffrey Epstein documents — Hundreds of thousands of files are to be released today, with more in the weeks to come. … The Justice Department began releasing a huge trove of documents Friday connected to the deceased financier …
Jacob Wendler / Politico:
Justice Department releases some of the Epstein files after monthslong pressure campaign
Justice Department releases some of the Epstein files after monthslong pressure campaign
Discussion:
Bloomberg, New York Sun, Metro.co.uk, Washington Examiner, The Independent, MS NOW and Fox News
Jacob Knutson / Democracy Docket:
DOJ Chickens Out on Epstein Files Release in Violation of New Law
DOJ Chickens Out on Epstein Files Release in Violation of New Law
Discussion:
Wall Street Journal, Politico, Scripps News, CBS News, Fox News, New York Times, The Guardian, Business Insider, New Jersey Online, PoliticusUSA, The Independent, Roll Call, Vox, The Hill and CNN
Rebecca Beitsch / The Hill:
Democrats ‘examining all legal options’ over partial Epstein files release
Democrats ‘examining all legal options’ over partial Epstein files release
Discussion:
NewsMax.com, CNBC and Mediaite
Nicholas Fandos / New York Times:
Elise Stefanik Drops Out of N.Y. Governor's Race and Will Leave Congress — Ms. Stefanik, a Republican congresswoman and staunch ally of President Trump, abruptly ended her bid to unseat Gov. Kathy Hochul and said she would not seek another House term. — Representative Elise Stefanik of New York …
Discussion:
Fox News
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Ben Jacobs / New York Magazine:
Stefanik Says She Is Quitting the Governor's Race and Won't Run for Reelection
Discussion:
Washington Post, NBC News, NOTUS and The Daily Caller
Anthony Izaguirre / Associated Press:
Rep. Elise Stefanik says she's suspending her campaign for New York governor, won't seek reelection
Rep. Elise Stefanik says she's suspending her campaign for New York governor, won't seek reelection
Discussion:
Spectrum News 1 Central NY and Le·gal In·sur·rec·tion
Caroline Vakil / The Hill:
Stefanik drops New York governor bid, plans to leave Congress
Stefanik drops New York governor bid, plans to leave Congress
Discussion:
Axios, Wall Street Journal, New York Post, Bloomberg, Washington Examiner, Gothamist and The Daily Wire
Zach Schonfeld / The Hill:
Trump's win streak on Supreme Court emergency docket breaks — The Supreme Court refused to intervene Friday in a battle concerning immigration judges' speech restrictions, for now, snapping the Trump administration's months-long winning streak on the court's emergency docket.
Discussion:
Associated Press and SCOTUSblog
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Josh Gerstein / Politico:
Supreme Court rebuffs Trump in immigration judges' free-speech case … No justice noted any dissent from the ruling. — The ruling sullies the Trump administration's near-perfect record at the Supreme Court this year on emergency appeals filed on the so-called shadow docket.
Discussion:
New York Times
Jesse Arm / City Journal:
Everyone Wants to Know What Gen Z Republicans Think. We Asked Them. — Twenty GOP Zoomers on Trump, Hitler, dating, racism, politics, the economy, and more — Gen Z conservatives are often portrayed by the media as a cohort radicalized by economic despair.
Mitt Romney / New York Times:
Tax the Rich, Like Me — In 2012, political ads suggested that some of my policy proposals, if enacted, would amount to pushing grandma off a cliff. Actually, my proposals were intended to prevent that very thing from happening. — Today, all of us, including our grandmas …
Discussion:
The Hill, The Lever, Washington Examiner, Breitbart, Raw Story and New Jersey Online
HuffPost:
ICE Says U.S. Citizen's Birth Certificate Is Fake After Arresting Her: Attorneys — Dulce Consuelo Diaz Morales was arrested on Sunday. ICE won't release her despite extensive documentation of her citizenship, her attorneys told HuffPost. — A Maryland woman has spent days …
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Hafiz Rashid / New Republic:
Trump Judge Threatens to Hold Government in Contempt Over ICE — A Trump-appointed judge was so upset with the living conditions in which ICE detained an immigrant in Long Island, New York, that he threatened to hold the government in contempt. — U.S. District Judge Gary Brown …
Discussion:
Courthouse News Service, Gothamist, Law & Crime, Raw Story and New York Daily News
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Washington Post:
Trump's pardons wipe out payments to defrauded victims — In addition to clearing prison sentences, the president's clemency actions have erased millions in restitution payments. … By the time a federal judge in 2023 sentenced convicted fraudster Trevor Milton to four years in prison …
Samuel Moyn / The Guardian:
It's time to accept that the US supreme court is illegitimate and must be replaced — We need to remake the US high court so Americans don't suffer future decades of oligarchy-facilitating rule — The justices of the US supreme court - even its conservatives - have traditionally valued their institution's own standing.
Discussion:
The Moderate Voice, Divided Argument and Raw Story
Associated Press:
Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy's daughter calls TSA ‘unconstitutional’ after pat-down — One of U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy's daughters said she experienced an “absurdly invasive” pat-down Thursday at an airport security checkpoint and suggested her father would limit …
Discussion:
Raw Story and The Gateway Pundit
RELATED:
Christine Chung / New York Times:
After Airport Pat-Down, Sean Duffy's Daughter Calls T.S.A. ‘Unconstitutional’
After Airport Pat-Down, Sean Duffy's Daughter Calls T.S.A. ‘Unconstitutional’
Discussion:
Fox News, HuffPost, NewsMax.com, NewsNation, New York Post and Raw Story
NBC News:
Jack Smith says Americans should ‘hear the fact’ of Trump probes, wants deposition tapes released — Jack Smith wants the American public to “hear the facts” about his two criminal cases against Trump, asking Trump ally Jim Jordan to release video of his eight-hour testimony during …
Discussion:
Politico, NewsMax.com and The Daily Caller
RELATED:
Madeline Fening / Cincinnati CityBeat:
Cincinnati ICE Leader Charged Federally, Booked into Butler County Jail — “This may be the first time an ICE agent is incarcerated in his own ICE jail,” said Lynn Tramonte, executive director of the Ohio Immigrant Alliance. — Click to email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email
Faris Tanyos / CBS News:
Motive sought after suspect in Brown University shooting, MIT professor's killing found dead, officials say — What to know about the investigations into the Brown University shooting and the killing of an MIT professor: — The suspect in the Dec. 13 mass shooting on the campus …
Discussion:
CNBC, New York Times, New Republic, NBC News, The Hill, New York Post, WBUR, Gizmodo, NewsNation, Reuters, Breitbart, Blaze Media, masslive.com, NPR, Associated Press, Straight Arrow News, Le·gal In·sur·rec·tion, Axios, The Daily Signal, WTTG-TV, Mediaite, Metro.co.uk, UPI, Los Angeles Times and Channel2 NOW
Catherine Rampell / The Bulwark:
Trump Is Walloping Construction Businesses. The Industry Stays Quiet. — Raids on work sites. Roofers under siege. But builders keep mum. — ∙ Paid — WHEN LEO FELER GOT HOME, there was blood everywhere. On his front door, the window sills, the foyer.
New York Post:
Zohran Mamdani appointee resigns after vile antisemitic social media posts resurface — A high-profile Zohran Mamdani appointee resigned Thursday after newly unearthed posts revealed a series of antisemitic comments online — including rants about “money hungry Jews” and defunding NYPD “piggies.”
Discussion:
The Washington Free Beacon, HotAir, NBC New York, New York Times, Daily Caller News Foundation, Blaze Media, Breitbart, Townhall, IJR, Fox News, Jewish Insider, NBC News, Associated Press, The Times of Israel, One America News Network, The Gateway Pundit, Gothamist, New York Daily News, twitchy.com and Jewish Telegraphic Agency
Andrew Howard / Politico:
MAGA infighting erupts at Turning Point USA Conference … “The conservative movement is in serious danger,” Shapiro said, arguing the danger is not just on the left, but “from charlatans who claim to speak in the name of principle but actually traffic in conspiracism and dishonesty.”
Discussion:
Washington Post, Mother Jones, Raw Story, Fox News, The Independent, Blaze Media, Straight Arrow News, To the Contrary, MS NOW, New Republic, Deseret News, Gazette, LGBTQ Nation, Mediaite and NBC News
CNN:
Exclusive: Top lawyer for military joint chiefs told chairman that officers should retire if faced with an unlawful order — How should a military commander respond if they determine they have received an unlawful order? — Request to retire — and refrain from resigning in protest …
Discussion:
Raw Story
Rebecca Falconer / Axios:
Trump pauses green card lottery program after Brown University, MIT shootings — President Trump ordered the suspension of a green card lottery program that enabled the suspect in the Brown University mass shooting and killing of an MIT professor to live in the U.S, a top official announced late Thursday.
Discussion:
Associated Press, The Hill, CBS News, Washington Post, Washington Examiner, New York Post, The Washington Free Beacon, masslive.com, Mother Jones, CT Mirror, Megyn Kelly, Blaze Media, Salon, WTTG-TV, MS NOW, UPI, The Gateway Pundit, Washington Times, RTÉ, The Daily Wire, The National Pulse, NewsMax.com, New York Sun, One America News Network, Bloomberg, American Greatness, New Republic, Fox News, Business Insider and New York Daily News
Al Weaver / The Hill:
Lummis announces retirement from Senate — Sen. Cynthia Lummis (R-Wyo.) announced on Friday that she will not seek reelection to the upper chamber next year, setting up an open seat primary in the ruby red state. — Lummis made the announcement after the Senate adjourned for the holiday break …
Radley Balko / The Watch:
104 murders in 107 days — One of the more surreal phenomena of the last year is the way in which our fleeting news cycle and plodding legal system combine to distract us from this administration's atrocities. — On the legal side, the federal courts operate on a “doctrine of regularity” …
Discussion:
CBS News and New York Times

