MSDNC lifts its blackout of impeachment advocates during holidays, will Pelosi permit investigations to begin, as Dems take over House?--when Maddow interviews Tom Steyer, we’ll know things have changed
--Trump fired Maddog Mattis for resigning with attitude, installs 31-year Boeing exec as Acting Pentagon boss, in a cabinet filled with Temps
--Dem hawks and media play the Kurd card, and slam Trump for making the right call in all the wrong ways; Turkey delays plan to slaughter Kurds
--Gareth Porter reveals the backstory, showing that Trump’s pullout order has been simmering since April
--one source reports that Israel’s Christmas Day bombing of Damascus put commercial flights at risk
--Roberts leads SCOTUS in decision that flatly rejects Trump’s claims in effort to restrict asylum for migrants
--after forcing GOP into partial government shutdown, Trump is meeting with Congressional leaders for first time
--“Foxy Friends” and “El Rushbo” pressured Trump to go to The Wall
--tear gas fired at San Diego border fence on New Year’s Day, as AZ prosecutors are shamed into charging detention employees with abuse at holding pen for kids
--with help from CA sheriff, Trump blasts more lies about immigrants after arrest of undocumented man charged with killing cop
--Pelosi will be elected Speaker on first vote, but the second one tomorrow, on House rules and PAYGO, will be contentious
--Democratic presidential field for 2020 balloons as Elizabeth Warren announces and others prepare
--activists square off as critical reporting of their favorite is seen as “attacks”
--as he gets sworn in as Utah senator, Mitt Romney blasts Trump; but like Flake and Corker, will he really fight?
--that December 17 NY Times report of Russian “meddling” with black voters gets well-deserved rebuttals from Aaron Maté and Dan Cohen
--Greenwald stalks his former pals at The Guardian, clocking 5 weeks since its unproven claim that Manafort visited Assange in London
--lapsing into coherence, Giuliani says Assange shouldn’t be prosecuted
--my colleague at WhoWhatWhy, Russ Baker, builds speculation on leaked hearsay in covering McClatchy report that Michael Cohen’s cellphone was in Prague in ‘16
--Russia allows consular visit for Detroit man who is held on spying charges
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