Top Items:
Washington Post:
ICE plans $100 million ‘wartime recruitment’ push targeting gun shows, military fans for hires … U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials are planning to spend $100 million over a one-year period to recruit gun-rights supporters and military enthusiasts through online influencers …
Discussion:
Mediaite and NewsMax.com
Politico:
The plot to redraw America … Donald Trump was confused. — His top political aide, James Blair, arrived in the Oval Office one afternoon this April to pitch a novel gambit: Republicans could begin padding their narrow U.S. House majority well before voters went to the polls in November 2026.
Discussion:
Raw Story, Scripps News and Talking Points Memo
RELATED:
Joseph Dye / Public Notice:
How Dems can win the Senate in 2026
Discussion:
Signal Ohio, Cardinal News and Washington Examiner
Heather Cox Richardson / Letters from an American:
The hallmark of the first year of President Donald J. Trump's second term has been the attempt …
The hallmark of the first year of President Donald J. Trump's second term has been the attempt …
Discussion:
The Hill and The Federalist
New York Times:
Trump Is the Jan. 6 President
Trump Is the Jan. 6 President
Discussion:
The Western Journal and Congressman Hakeem Jeffries
Daniella Diaz / NOTUS:
Political Violence Tore Through 2025. Will 2026 Be Any Better?
Political Violence Tore Through 2025. Will 2026 Be Any Better?
Discussion:
Raw Story
Wall Street Journal:
The Incident That Prompted Trump to Ban Epstein From Mar-a-Lago's Spa — Mar-a-Lago sent an 18-year-old spa worker on a house call to Jeffrey Epstein in 2003. She complained to her bosses that Epstein pressured her for sex. — Jeffrey Epstein wasn't just a frequent visitor to Donald Trump's Mar …
Discussion:
HotAir, Daily Mail, The Daily Caller, New Republic, Raw Story, The Parnas Perspective, Mediaite, The Independent, Newsweek and NewsMax.com
KUSA-TV:
Trump vetoes bill to fund Arkansas Valley Conduit in Colorado — President Trump vetoed a bill to fund a pipeline project to bring clean drinking water to communities on the Eastern Plains between Pueblo and Lamar. … DENVER — President Donald Trump is using his first veto of his current term …
Discussion:
Washington Examiner, The White House, The Hill, The Parnas Perspective, CBS News, Newsweek, NewsMax.com, Raw Story, KREM-TV and Mediaite
RELATED:
Avery Lotz / Axios:
Trump's first second-term vetoes reject bipartisan bills
Trump's first second-term vetoes reject bipartisan bills
Discussion:
New York Times, NewsNation, NBC News, Roll Call, The Independent, New Jersey Online, The Daily Wire, The Colorado Sun and The Western Journal
Joyce Vance / Civil Discourse with Joyce Vance:
Unsealed: Abrego Garcia — The sealed order in the Abrego Garcia case that I wrote about in Sunday night's “The Week Ahead” column was unsealed today. This is in the government's hastily manufactured criminal case against him, which seemed, at the time, to be some sort of face-saving gesture …
Discussion:
Raw Story, Democracy Docket and Fox News
RELATED:
Alan Feuer / New York Times:
Justice Dept. Leaders Pushed to Charge Abrego Garcia, Emails Show
Discussion:
The Hill
Aaron Pellish / Politico:
Comer wants Walz to appear before Congress amid Minnesota fraud allegations … “Minnesota Governor Tim Walz and Attorney General Keith Ellison have either been asleep at the wheel or complicit in a massive fraud involving taxpayer dollars in Minnesota's social services programs,” Comer said in a statement.
Discussion:
NewsNation, United States House Committee …, The Gateway Pundit and NewsMax.com
RELATED:
Jacob Wendler / Politico:
HHS freezes all child care funding for Minnesota
Discussion:
HotAir, The Hill, ABC News, Associated Press, CBS News, MPR News, Blaze Media, American Greatness, Straight Arrow News, WNYW-TV, Ace of Spades HQ, CNN, The Guardian, The Last Refuge, Washington Examiner, One America News Network, UPI, New York Times, Washington Times, The Gateway Pundit, Raw Story, NewsMax.com, The Daily Caller, The Daily Wire, NBC News, twitchy.com, Fox News and Matzav.com
Sabrina Siddiqui / Wall Street Journal:
Trump Administration Freezes Child Care Funding to Minnesota Amid Fraud Probes
Trump Administration Freezes Child Care Funding to Minnesota Amid Fraud Probes
Discussion:
77 WABC
Washington Post:
Kennedy Center changed board rules months before vote to add Trump's name — The new rules say only trustees appointed by the president can vote, barring other members, including Democrats who hold seats, from decisions. The center said the change reflects “longstanding precedent.”
Discussion:
The Wrap, The Guardian, The Independent, Mediaite, Rolling Stone, Raw Story and MS NOW
Nora Benavidez / New York Times:
Trump Spent the Past Year Trying to Crush Dissent — “We took the freedom of speech away.” — That was part of President Trump's explanation in October of his executive order that purports to criminalize burning the American flag. Though his words fail as a constitutional rationale …
Adam Entous / New York Times:
The Separation: Inside the Unraveling U.S.-Ukraine Partnership — As President Trump sought a peace deal and Vladimir V. Putin sought victory, factions in the White House and Pentagon bled the Ukrainian war effort.
Discussion:
19FortyFive and emptywheel
US Department of Justice:
McLean man charged with sending threatening messages and lying to investigators — For Immediate Release — U.S. Attorney's Office, Eastern District of Virginia — ALEXANDRIA, Va. - A McLean man was charged by criminal complaint with transmitting threats in interstate commerce and making false statements.
Discussion:
RedState, Breitbart and NewsMax.com
RELATED:
Gabe Castro-Root / New York Times:
Phone Searches at U.S. Borders: What Travelers Need to Know — Customs agents have broad authority to search the electronic devices of travelers entering and leaving the U.S. Here are tips for keeping your data safe. — When U.S. border agents turned away a French scientist in March …
Sejal Govindarao / Associated Press:
Former Republican Sen. Jon Kyl of Arizona announces dementia diagnosis — Former Republican U.S. Sen. Jon Kyl of Arizona on Tuesday announced his withdrawal from public life following a dementia diagnosis. Kyl, 83, represented Arizona in both chambers of Congress for nearly three decades.
Discussion:
The Hill and NewsNation
RELATED:
Devlin Barrett / New York Times:
Justice Dept. Now Said to Be Reviewing 5.2 Million Pages of Epstein Files — The number represents a more precise, and potentially much larger, figure than earlier estimates. The department is seeking to enlist about 400 lawyers to help in the review. — The Justice Department is seeking …
Discussion:
The Guardian, CNBC, Salon, Washington Times, The Independent, Mock Paper Scissors, Raw Story, Reuters, New York Post, MS NOW and Washingtonian
Barak Ravid / Axios:
Netanyahu raised possible “round 2” strikes on Iran with Trump — Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu discussed the possibility of attacking Iran again in 2026 during his meeting with President Trump on Monday, according to a U.S. official and two additional U.S. sources familiar with the details of the meeting.
Discussion:
The Guardian, The Times of Israel, Mondoweiss, NewsMax.com, Matzav.com, Washington Times, CBS News, Al Jazeera, Grabien and Jewish Insider
Associated Press:
Israel says it will halt operations of several humanitarian organizations in Gaza — The Ministry of Diaspora Affairs said the organizations that will be banned Thursday didn't meet new requirements for sharing staff members, funding and operations information.
Discussion:
Associated Press, CNN, The Times of Israel, France 24, The Guardian, Al Jazeera, Middle East Monitor, New York Times, Canadian Press, RNS, Mother Jones, The Forward and CBS News
Sophia Cai / Politico:
Trump says construction of the ‘Triumphal Arch’ to begin in ‘2 months’ … The proposed structure — modeled loosely on European victory monuments — is one of several high-profile projects Trump has personally championed as part of the semiquincentennial celebrations, a sprawling effort expected …
Katherine Stewart / The UnPopulist:
A Banner Year for Domestic and Global Censorship by the US — The Trump administration is using state muscle in unprecedented ways to suppress speech it dislikes — It's been a banner year for state-sponsored censorship in the name of “free speech.” Just before Christmas …
Discussion:
Politico and Newsbusters
Paul Krugman:
Immigrant Derangement Syndrome — Blaming brown-skinned people for everything bad — Americans suffered a litany of horrors thanks to the Trump administration during 2025 - refusal to disburse emergency aid, soaring measles cases, collapsing small businesses, vindictive prosecutions …
Discussion:
Raw Story
Michael Acton / Financial Times:
Trump Mobile delays plan to launch gold-coloured smartphone this year — Move marks latest setback for project that originally promised to sell a US-made device — Trump Mobile, the phone company launched by the Trump Organization, has delayed plans to ship its gold-coloured smartphone by the end of this year.
Discussion:
Business Insider and CBS News, more at Techmeme »
Politico:
The many ways Zohran Mamdani's mayoralty could go wrong — fast … “Just like with FDR, it's the first 100 days that people remember,” said George Arzt, a lobbyist and public relations doyen who was the longtime spokesperson for the late Mayor Ed Koch. “Everyday, I walked into City Hall and wondered what's going to happen.”
Discussion:
Wall Street Journal, Bloomberg, The Nation and New York Times
Spencer Ackerman / FOREVER WARS:
Watching Bari Weiss Murder Investigative Journalism at CBS — I'M NOTICING A PATTERN among certain people within my profession who've jumped to the defense of Bari Weiss, the oligarch functionary installed at CBS by new owner David Ellison to enforce ideological discipline upon its journalists.
Discussion:
Mother Jones, more at Mediagazer »
Carol Rosenberg / New York Times:
Even as Trump Targets Boats in Strikes, Coast Guard Continues Anti-Drug Operations — Cutters are still stopping smugglers and seizing drugs, but the prosecutions of go-fast boat crews are dwindling in a realignment of federal resources. — Long before the U.S. military began blowing …
Martin Arnold / Financial Times:
US fines for dirty money drop 61% as Trump retreats from enforcement — Total penalties imposed by financial watchdogs fell to $1.7bn in the year to December 19 — US regulators collected 61 per cent less in fines for money laundering and sanctions breaches in 2025, after watchdogs took …
