Immigration / Border / Government Shutdown
- In Immigrant Children’s Shelters, Sexual Assault Cases Are Open and Shut by Michael Grabell, Topher Sanders, Silvina Sterin Pensel (ProPublica)
- Trump threatens ‘long’ gov’t shutdown over border wall dispute (Al Jazeera)
- Trump Threatens Shutdown That Will “Last for a Very Long Time” by Inae Oh (Mother Jones)
- Trump Warns Of ‘Very Long’ Shutdown Unless Senate Approves Border Wall Funds by Brian Naylor (NPR)
- Trump vows ‘very long’ shutdown in border wall standoff (BBC)
- Mexico says it won’t deport refugees as it seeks details on U.S. plan (Reuters)
- Trump warns of shutdown that could last ‘a very long time’ by Louis Nelson (Politico)
- GoFundMe for Trump’s border wall raises more than $11 million by Morgan Gstalter (The Hill)
- Trump says he knows tech ‘better than anyone’ in bizarre tweet defending border wall: ‘It’s like the wheel’ by Tom Embury-Dennis (Independent)
- Government Shutdown 2018: Live Coverage (Politico)
- Democrats accuse Trump of throwing ‘temper tantrum’ over shutdown – live by Erin Durkin (The Guardian)
- Trump Says Democrats ‘Own The Shutdown’ That He Said He’d Own Last Week by Sebastian Murdock (Huffington Post)
- McConnell rejects using nuclear option on wall by Alexander Bolton (The Hill)
- Global stock indexes slide as U.S. government shutdown looms by David Randall (Reuters)
- US government employees will work without pay over Christmas if Trump goes ahead with shutdown by Andrew Buncombe (Independent)
- Here’s What Would Happen If the Government Shuts Down by Abby Vesoulis (TIME)
- Chief Justice John Roberts Joins the Liberals to Block Trump Asylum Restriction in 5–4 Decision by Mark Joseph Stern (Slate)
- Roberts, liberal justices snub Trump bid to enforce asylum policy by Andrew Chung and Lawrence Hurley (Reuters)
- Opinion: This wall debate is what happens when the only voices you hear agree with you by Philip Bump (Washington Post)
- Opinion: Judges Check Trump’s Immigration Cruelty by The Editorial Board
- Supreme Court Blocks Asylum Ban in a Rebuke to Trump by Noah Lanard (Mother Jones)
- Supreme Court rejects Trump plea to enforce asylum ban (Al Jazeera)
- Why Fights Over Immigration Keep Shutting Down The Government by Perry Bacon Jr. (FiveThirtyEight)
- US government heads towards shutdown as Donald Trump and Democrats fail to agree budget spending deal by Andrew Buncombe (Independent)
- The Republican Majority’s Last Act: A Government Shutdown by Russell Berman (The Atlantic)
- U.S. government heads for shutdown after lawmakers fail to make deal by Ginger Gibson, Richard Cowan, Humeyra Pamuk (Reuters)
- Partial government shutdown assured after lawmakers leave Capitol without budget deal by Erica Werner, Damian Paletta, and John Wagner (Washington Post)
- Analysis: MERRY CHRISTMAS!: A government shutdown is all but certain after Trump’s border-wall demands leave Congress in gridlock by Bob Bryan (Business Insider)
- Government set to shut down for the third time in a year as Congress adjourns for the night by Manu Raju and Sophie Tatum (CNN)
- As Trump battles Congress, federal workers are caught in the middle by Stephen Mufson and Lisa Rein (Washington Post)
- ‘He takes no ownership — that’s just Trump’: President eschews responsibility for a shutdown he once craved by David Nakamura (Washington Post)
- The Trump Shutdown Has Begun by Tonya Riley (Mother Jones)
Afghanistan
- U.S. to withdraw 7,000 troops from Afghanistan by Nicole Karlis (Salon)
- President Trump ‘to pull thousands of troops’ from Afghanistan (BBC)
- Afghan government says US withdrawal will not affect security (Al Jazeera)
- News of U.S. troop withdrawal comes as a shock in Afghanistan by Ali M. Latifi (ThinkProgress)
- Analysis: In Afghanistan, Alarm and a Sense of Betrayal Over U.S. Drawdown by Mujib Mashal
Syria
- Here’s Why Trump Is Pulling Out of Syria by Kevin Drum (Mother Jones)
- Much Ado About 2,200 Troops in Syria by Russell Berman (The Atlantic)
- Withdrawing US Troops From Syria Is the Right Thing to Do—Even If Trump Does It by John Nichols (The Nation)
- Opinion: Trump is right to withdraw US troops from Syria by Trevor Timm (The Guardian)
- Trump Impulsively Announced Syria Pull Out After Call with Turkish President by Ollie Ward (Hill Reporter)
- A tumultuous week began with a phone call between Trump and the Turkish president by Karen DeYoung, Missy Ryan, Josh Dawsey, and Greg Jaffe (Washington Post)
Mueller / Russia Investigations
- Will a Government Shutdown Shut Down Robert Mueller? (Mother Jones)
- The Special Counsel Is Bearing Down on Roger Stone by Natasha Bertrand (The Atlantic)
- Acting Attorney General Whitaker Won’t Recuse Himself From Mueller Inquiry by Ryan Lucas (NPR)
- Trump lashed out at Whitaker after explosive Cohen revelations by Laura Jarrett and Pamela Brown (CNN)
Mattis
- Three reasons that Jim Mattis’s resignation is not just unusual — but startling by Elizabeth N. Saunders (Washington Post)
- Lawmakers Sound Bipartisan Alarm After Resignation By Defense Secretary Jim Mattis by Jessica Taylor (NPR)
- Opinion: Mattis’s Resignation Shows a White House Spinning Out of Control by Harry Cheadle (VICE)
- Four People Who Could Be the Next Defense Secretary by Krishnadev Calamur (The Atlantic)
- Trump claims to be tough on Russia after Mattis resignation by Matthew Choi (Politico)
- Opinion: James Mattis helped keep Trump in check. The world will miss him by Peter Beaumont (The Guardian)
- Opinion: Why did Mattis resign? To issue a wake-up call to the world by Michael H Fuchs (The Guardian)
- Khashoggi editor: Please spare me the ‘Mattis stands up for US values’ takes by Morgan Gstalter (The Hill)
- Europe responds with alarm to US defense secretary’s resignation by Patrick Winter (The Guardian)
- Mattis resignation triggered by phone call between Trump and Erdoğan by Julian Borger (The Guardian)
- Mattis’s resignation was a scathing indictment of Trump’s foreign policy by Jen Kirby (Vox)
Other News
- Trump Administration Sends 81-Year-Old Commerce Secretary to Address Conservative Youth Summit by Stephanie Mencimer (Mother Jones)
- A decade-long rally on Wall Street looks like it’s ending by Marley Jay (AP)
- We Found 95 New, Undisclosed Trump Appointees by Derek Kravitz (ProPublica)
- Violence Against Women Act to Lapse — Again by Kathy Tully-McManus (Roll Call)
Analysis
- America’s Allies Fear That Traditional Ties No Longer Matter Under Trump by Steven Erlanger and Jane Perlez (NY Times)
Opinion
- Trump portrait: you couldn’t create a creepier Yuletide scene if you tried by Jonathan Jones (Guardian)
- The Year of the Old Boys by Lili Loofbourow (Slate)