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How Biden Destroyed His Legacy — During his four years in office, Joe Biden notched significant legislative victories with the narrowest of majorities in the Senate. He presided over a virtuoso rollout of the COVID vaccines, the rapidity of which saved hundreds of thousands of lives …
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HuffPost, Washington Examiner, New York Times, Breitbart and The Japan Times
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Biden says he spent too much time on policy, not enough on politics — President Biden said that he spent too much time on policy and not enough time on politics while reflecting on his presidency in his final interview just days away from leaving office. — Biden sat down with MSNBC host …
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CNN, MSNBC, HuffPost, Fox News, Raw Story, Deseret News, New York Post, Washington Examiner, DNyuz, PoliticusUSA and Deadline

'I'm Urging You Not to Run': How Schumer Pushed Biden to Drop Out — The New York senator, who swallowed concerns for months and then dragged his feet on sharing them with President Biden, ultimately told him he risked going down as one of the “darkest figures.”
Discussion:
The Hill, Power Line and The Daily Caller
The White House:
Statement from President Joe Biden on Additional Clemency Actions — Today, I am commuting the sentences of nearly 2,500 people convicted of non-violent drug offenses who are serving disproportionately long sentences compared to the sentences they would receive today under current law, policy, and practice.
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Fox News, MeidasTouch News, UPI, IJR and Power Line
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Biden to Commute Sentences of Nearly 2,500 Drug Offenders — The action, aimed at inmates who received harsher sentences based on old disparities in drug laws, will be the broadest commutation of individual sentences ever issued by a U.S. president. — President Biden announced on Friday …
Discussion:
Wall Street Journal, USA Today, Washington Examiner and DNyuz

Biden sets record by commuting sentences of nearly 2,500 people convicted on nonviolent drug charges — President Joe Biden announced Friday that he was commuting the sentences of almost 2,500 people convicted of nonviolent drug offenses, using his final days in office on a flurry …
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Washington Post, NBC News, Washington Examiner, Townhall, The Hill, Bloomberg, USA Today, Reuters, NPR, DNyuz, The Leadership Conference … and Mother Jones

China will dispatch an envoy to Trump's inauguration — China will send an envoy, Vice President Han Zheng, to Donald Trump's inauguration as president, the country's foreign ministry said in a news release. Karoline Leavitt, who will serve as press secretary in Trump's new administration …
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fmprc.gov.cn, The Diplomat, Washington Post, Business Insider, Bloomberg, Associated Press, The Hill, DNyuz, Reuters and Axios
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Trump inauguration signals a warmer tone than 2017
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The Hill, The Guardian and Fox Business

1/17/25 ☀️ AM: — Freedom Caucus-backed freshmen aren't joining hardline group yet — Cocktails & Conversation: Inauguration 2025 — Democrats' TikTok dilemma … Democrats thought they'd be able to back the Chinese government into a corner with legislation forcing the sale of TikTok …
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Eric Adams Heads to Mar-a-Lago to Meet With Trump — The New York mayor, who is under federal indictment, has spoken warmly about President-elect Donald J. Trump in recent weeks and has said he is open to receiving a pardon from him. — Mayor Eric Adams of New York City was on his way to Florida …
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Johnson gives House Intel a MAGA makeover — The speaker elevated a new, Trump-friendly chair and added a swath of like-minded new members to the panel. — Speaker Mike Johnson is remaking the House Intelligence Committee in President-elect Donald Trump's image, a shakeup with immense implications …
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The Hill, Breitbart, Associated Press, New York Post, Raw Story, New York Times, New Republic, NBC News, Washington Times, Speaker of the House …, Axios, NPR, ABC News, UPI and Mediaite
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Andrew Solender / Axios:
Mike Johnson faces bipartisan shock, fury for ousting Intel chair
Mike Johnson faces bipartisan shock, fury for ousting Intel chair
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Jewish Insider, Esquire, Daily Kos, The Hill, Talking Points Memo, USA Today, HuffPost, Plain Dealer, Bloomberg, Breitbart, Politico, NBC News and ABC News

Pamela Paul Is Out at the Times Opinion Section — The New York Times Opinion section is negotiating the exit of columnist Pamela Paul, according to multiple sources familiar with the matter. Her impending departure is part of a handful of job cuts being made at the section.

Acosta at a Midnight Crossroads — CNN chief Mark Thompson wants Jim Acosta to take up the network's graveyard shift, delivering the anchor the proposal days before Donald Trump takes office. … Thompson, I'm told, delivered the veteran journalist a sudden and strange proposal: Move your show to midnight and anchor it until 2am ET.
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RedState, New York Post, Mediaite, Twitchy, Daily Mail, HotAir and Variety

Scoop: Trump team sweats McConnell's vote on Tulsi Gabbard … - Gabbard's team isn't banking on McConnell's vote, sources tell Axios. — McConnell is studiously avoiding public or private indications that he'll support Trump's nominees, three people familiar with the matter tell Axios.
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Raw Story, New Jersey Online and Townhall
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Doris Kearns Goodwin: ‘The robber barons probably thought they were God too’ — The presidential biographer on tech titans, what Trump could learn from Lincoln and why she remains optimistic about America — Doris Kearns Goodwin is already seated in the foyer, bantering with a well-wisher, when I arrive a few minutes early.

This Storm-Battered Town Voted for Trump. He Has Vowed to Overturn the Law That Could Fix Its Homes. — Cynthia Robertson could be forgiven for feeling that the banner was aimed at her. Its white-on-black lettering — “FUCK BIDEN AND FUCK YOU FOR VOTING FOR HIM” — hung from the wooden house right across the street from her own.
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Arizona Mirror
The White House:
Statement from President Joe Biden on the Next Fifteen Drugs Selected for Medicare Drug Price Negotiation — Today, I'm proud to announce that my Administration has selected the next 15 drugs for Medicare drug price negotiation. The drugs treat conditions such as diabetes and cancer, and seniors across the country rely on them.

White House's Pandemic Office, Busy With Bird Flu, May Shrink Under Trump — The White House office in charge of preparing for the next pandemic is down a wide black-and-white checkerboard hallway in the Eisenhower Executive Office Building. Its windows look out across an alleyway toward the West Wing.
Discussion:
MPR News

Donald Trump taps Sylvester Stallone, Mel Gibson and Jon Voight to be Hollywood ‘ambassadors’ — Lights, camera, action. — President-elect Donald Trump tapped a group of well-known actors to become “special ambassadors” − not to represent the U.S. overseas but rather at home.
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Trump selections for top jobs advance, despite initial controversy — No lawmakers have said they will oppose Hegseth, though a handful have not made their intentions clear.

Watch live: Noem faces Senate confirmation hearing to lead DHS — South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem (R), President-elect Trump's choice to lead the Department of Homeland Security, will testify before the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee (HSGAC) Friday morning.
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NBC News, CBS News, USA Today, Washington Examiner, Washington Post, Reuters, ABC News, UPI, RedState, The Gateway Pundit, The Independent, New York Times, NPR, Associated Press, PBS NewsHour, Breitbart, Accountable US and Fox News

Jonathan Taplin on our new Trumpian oligarchy — “It's just people who are craven cowards bowing down and kissing the ring.” — ∙ Paid — 🧑💻 Subscribe to Public Notice 🧑💻 — As you've probably noticed by now, it's discount season on big tech billionaires.

Lawmakers in at Least Seven States Seek Expanded Abortion Access — Some of the bills were filed in direct response to ProPublica's reporting on the fatal consequences of abortion bans. — Life of the Mother: How Abortion Bans Lead to Preventable Deaths — In advance of this year's …
Discussion:
Florida Phoenix

How Democrats Drove Silicon Valley Into Trump's Arms — Marc Andreessen explains the newest faction of conservatism. … Ross Douthat: I'm someone who follows politics primarily and Silicon Valley secondarily. And the alliance between the tech industry and the Democratic Party has always seemed …

Trump's official portrait released - and it looks like his mugshot — Unlike his smiling photo from his first term, Trump is seen glaring at the camera like he does in the image taken at Fulton County Jail — The official US presidential and vice-presidential portraits of Donald Trump …
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Althouse, Spectrum News NY1, PinkNews, CNBC, Sky News Australia, Twitchy, New Republic, HuffPost, The Guardian, al.com, USA Today, Digby's Hullabaloo, The Hill, Daily Kos, Metro.co.uk, RedState, ABC News, The Independent, Fox News, The Gateway Pundit and Axios

Fetterman was elected to challenge convention. Now, he's challenging his fellow Democrats — When Democrat John Fetterman got elected to Pennsylvania's U.S. Senate seat, many backers hoped he'd challenge convention and the status quo. He did and has — just not in the way many had expected.
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The Hill, USA Today, The Daily Beast and Townhall