Top Items:

Live Updates: Trump to Be Sentenced in N.Y. Criminal Case — The proceedings are set to begin at 9:30 a.m. in Manhattan. Though the president-elect is expected to avoid jail time, his sentencing on 34 counts will formalize his status as a felon and make him the first to carry that distinction into the White House.
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Trump sentencing live updates: Judge sentences Trump to 'unconditional discharge in hush money case — The sentence means the conviction stands without any further penalties, making the president-elect a convicted felon just days ahead of his inauguration. … Trump's former lawyer, Rudy Giuliani, is also in court today
Discussion:
Raw Story, Hollywood Life, TMZ.com, UPI, New York Daily News, Boston.com, Blaze Media, CBS News, IJR, Forbes and NewsNation
Aysha Bagchi / USA Today:
Trump faces sentencing in New York hush money case: live updates from courthouse
Trump faces sentencing in New York hush money case: live updates from courthouse
Discussion:
MSNBC, The Daily Caller, CBS News, Politico, Washington Post, The Hill, New York Times, Fox News, NPR, The Guardian, El País, Hollywood Life, HotAir, The Independent, Gay Pride, CNN, Scripps News, Al Jazeera, Deadline, New York Daily News, RedState, Forbes, Balloon Juice, Daily Caller News Foundation, Daily Kos, HuffPost, The Daily Signal, NewsNation, The Post Millennial, Courthouse News Service, Lawyers, Guns & Money, CNBC, Los Angeles Times and Daily Mail
Washington Post:
Trump, after sentencing, maintains case should never have been brought
Trump, after sentencing, maintains case should never have been brought
Discussion:
Variety, ABC News, NBC News, Raw Story, New Republic, Election Law Blog and Talking Points Memo
Associated Press:
Live updates: Judge sentences Donald Trump in hush money case but declines to impose any punishment
Live updates: Judge sentences Donald Trump in hush money case but declines to impose any punishment
New York Times:
How a Phone Call Drew Alito Into a Trump Loyalty Squabble
How a Phone Call Drew Alito Into a Trump Loyalty Squabble
Discussion:
Bloomberg, New Republic, The Hill, Reason, acecomments.mu.nu, Townhall, Slate, Fox News and USA Today
Jose Pagliery / NOTUS:
Donald Trump Gets Off Without Punishment in His New York Criminal Case
Donald Trump Gets Off Without Punishment in His New York Criminal Case
Discussion:
NBC News, ABC News, Washington Examiner, Digby's Hullabaloo, The Gateway Pundit, New Republic, CBS News and Reuters

Exclusive: Meta kills DEI programs … - The moves come just three days after Meta ended many of its efforts to fact-check and police speech on Facebook, Instagram and Threads. — The announcement also follows a host of public moves by tech companies and executives to align with the politics …
Discussion:
The Hill, TechCrunch, The Gateway Pundit, Mediaite, The Post Millennial, The Verge and Fox Business, more at Techmeme »

House GOP puts Medicaid, ACA, climate measures on chopping block — The menu of potential spending offsets has been circulated by House Budget Chair Jodey Arrington. — House Republicans are passing around a “menu” of more than $5 trillion in cuts they could use to bankroll President-elect …
Discussion:
Indiana Capital Chronicle
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1/10/25 ☀️ AM: — Arrington ‘accidentally’ pitches raising taxes in presentation to House GOP — Gabbard reverses course on key intel-gathering tool as nomination teeters — The Vault: Warren's Senate Banking team is here — Longtime key House GOP aide departing for Peterson Foundation

Meta Deletes Trans and Nonbinary Messenger Themes — Meta deleted nonbinary and trans themes for its Messenger app this week, around the same time that the company announced it would change its rules to allow users to declare that LGBTQ+ people are “mentally ill,” 404 Media has learned.
Discussion:
New York Times, The Intercept and Platformer, more at Techmeme »

US adds whopping 256K jobs in December — The U.S. added 256,000 jobs and the unemployment rate ticked down to 4.1 percent in December, according to data released Friday by the Labor Department. — The December jobs report showed the U.S. economy blowing past expectations to end the year.
Discussion:
Washington Post, Politico, NPR, El País, Los Angeles Times, Fox Business, CBS News and Associated Press
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U.S. payrolls grew by 256,000 in December, much more than expected; unemployment rate falls to 4.1% … Job growth was much stronger than expected in December, likely providing the Federal Reserve less incentive to cut interest rates this year. — Nonfarm payrolls surged by 256,000 for the month …
Discussion:
Deseret News, Associated Press, UPI, Breitbart, Quartz, New York Post, USA Today, Washington Examiner, Axios and Semafor
Lydia DePillis / New York Times:
Live Updates: U.S. Job Growth Ends the Year Strong
Live Updates: U.S. Job Growth Ends the Year Strong
Discussion:
Kevin Drum and Scripps News

DOGE is dispatching agents across U.S. government — Federal officials are already dealing with surrogates from Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy's nongovernmental body before Donald Trump is sworn in again. — Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy are sending representatives to agencies across …
Discussion:
The Guardian, The Independent, Washingtonian, New Republic and Magnolia Tribune

How Outlets on the Left and Right Have Covered the Los Angeles Wildfires — Media outlets reported similarly on the destruction caused by the fires that raced through Southern California. But partisan publications attributed them to very different causes.
Discussion:
LGBTQ Nation, Newsweek, No More Mister Nice Blog, New York Post, freebeacon.com and Rolling Stone
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Amanda Marcotte / Salon:
“DEI is deadly”: Fox News spin on California wildfires exposes MAGA's total incoherence
“DEI is deadly”: Fox News spin on California wildfires exposes MAGA's total incoherence
Discussion:
HuffPost, Media Matters for America, Lead Stories, Raw Story, Daily Kos, The Independent and Louder With Crowder

Barry Blitt's “Two's a Crowd” — Elon Musk takes center stage. — In cartoonist Barry Blitt's portrayal of the upcoming Inauguration Day, the new President is sidelined into a dash of yellow hair and a sliver of red tie. “On January 20, 2025, the next leader of the United States—and of the free world—assumes power,” Blitt said.

As a Climate Scientist, I Knew It Was Time to Leave Los Angeles — I am utterly devastated by the Los Angeles wildfires, shaking with rage and grief. The Altadena community near Pasadena, where the Eaton fire has damaged or destroyed at least 5,000 structures, was my home for 14 years.
Discussion:
MM Press and Courthouse News Service

A time for truth and reconciliation — Trump's return to the White House augurs the ‘apokálypsis’ of the ancien regime's secrets — The writer is a technology entrepreneur and investor. — In 2016, President Barack Obama told his staff that Donald Trump's election victory was “not the apocalypse”.
Discussion:
Raw Story

Biden job gains top Trump and Obama … - Trump oversaw 2.1 million job losses, although there were 6.6 million jobs added during his first three years in office (i.e., pre-pandemic years). — Obama oversaw 7.1 million job gains, with losses at the beginning of his first term due to the Great Financial Crisis.
Discussion:
CNN, Courthouse News Service, Breitbart, TMZ.com and Townhall
Department of Homeland Security:
DHS to Extend Temporary Protected Status for Venezuela — Extension Allows Eligible Venezuelan Nationals Who Arrived on or Before July 31, 2023, to Maintain TPS and Employment Authorization Following Vetting — WASHINGTON -The Department of Homeland Security announced today the extension …
Discussion:
Axios, Washington Examiner, Florida Politics and Associated Press
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Rafael Bernal / The Hill:
DHS extends TPS for Salvadorans, potentially complicating Trump's plans
DHS extends TPS for Salvadorans, potentially complicating Trump's plans
Discussion:
Department of Homeland …, Daily Caller News Foundation, Associated Press and Balloon Juice

Meta never cared about factchecking. What it wants is friction-free oligarchy — The company's plan to end its factchecking program is about appeasing Trump. That signals the making of a mafia state — This week Meta announced the elimination of its factchecking program in the US …
Discussion:
The Bulwark, more at Techmeme »

US announces $25m reward for arrest of Venezuela's Maduro — The US has announced an increased $25m (£20.4m) reward for information leading to the arrest of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro on the day he was sworn in for a third six-year term in office.
Discussion:
The Hill, Reuters, El País, Fox News, One America News Network, Associated Press and Semafor
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Another Fox News alum invited to join the new Trump administration — Donald Trump has picked Fox News contributor Leo Terrell to serve as senior counsel to the assistant attorney general for civil rights in the Justice Department, Harmeet K. Dhillon. Trump said Terrell …
Discussion:
Media Matters for America, HuffPost, Mediaite, The Daily Caller, Raw Story, The Hill, RedState and djt.nucleusemail.com

Kash Patel's Emails Offer Insight Into How He Might Run the FBI — More than 800 pages of Patel's emails obtained by FOIA Files, from the Office of Director of National Intelligence, raise questions about whether he'll weaponize the FBI to settle scores if he's confirmed as the bureau's next director.

Economists Are in the Wilderness. Can They Find a Way Back to Influence? — Economists have long helped to shape policy on issues like taxes and health care. But flawed forecasts and arcane language have cost them credibility. — Partway through a panel discussion at a recent economics conference …

University of West Florida braces for leadership changes — The University of West Florida is bracing for significant changes in leadership following a wave of new appointments to its Board of Trustees. — Over the past month, the Florida Board of Governors replaced three trustees …

‘Pizzagate’ gunman killed by police in North Carolina after traffic stop, authorities say — A man who fired a gun inside a restaurant in the nation's capital after a fake online conspiracy theory called “Pizzagate” motivated him to do so nearly a decade ago was shot and killed by North Carolina police during a weekend traffic stop.

Opening the DNC's Black Box — Why we're publishing a previously undisclosed list of all 448 members of the Democratic National Committee — Three weeks from now, the Democratic National Committee will convene in National Harbor, Maryland, to elect a new party chair and other national officers.
Discussion:
The Hill, Digby's Hullabaloo, Lawyers, Guns & Money, Alpha News, Punchbowl News and USA Today

Trump Organization Says Incoming President Will Separate Himself From Family Business — The company is set on Friday to release a series of ethics rules governing the incoming president's interactions with his business empire — WASHINGTON—President-elect Donald Trump won't be involved …
Discussion:
The Hill, CNBC, New York Times and Bloomberg