TOP STORIES

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Friday, December 27

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2 KICKED OUT OF NATIONAL GUARD FOR WHITE SUPREMACY TIES Two men have been kicked out of the Army National Guard after liberal activists uncovered their membership in a religious group with white supremacist ties. The Atlanta Antifacists group published a report this year saying Brandon East and Dalton Woodward were leaders of the Norse pagan group Ravensblood Kindred. The group is part of the Asatru Folk Assembly, which researchers say endorses white supremacy. [AP]

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NETANYAHU DECLARES VICTORY IN PRIMARIES Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu declared victory early Friday in his primary election battle for leadership of the Likud party, as TV stations predicted a landslide win for the longtime Israeli leader. Netanyahu will lead Likud into the country’s third election in less than a year. He is also likely to seize on the victory as he battles criminal corruption charges. [AP]

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TYPHOON LEAVES 28 DEAD IN PHILLIPINES A typhoon has barreled through the central Philippines leaving at least 28 people dead and 12 still missing. Thousands have fled their homes, devastating Christmas celebrations in the predominantly Catholic country. One disaster response officer described the battered coastal town of Batad in Iloilo province as a “ghost town” on Christmas Day. [AP]

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FURY GROWS AFTER DEATHS IN INDIAN MUSLIM NEIGHBORHOOD Zaheer Ahmed returned home from work in northern India last Friday afternoon and stepped out for a smoke. Minutes later, he was shot in the head. His death, and the killing by gunfire of four other Muslim men the same afternoon in the mainly Muslim neighborhood, made it the most intense burst of violence in two weeks of protests. [Reuters]

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PARANOID MOVEMENT CREATES 'SANCTUARIES' FOR GUNS New resolutions being passed in communities across the country are calling for rejecting gun control measures over fabricated fears that the government will attempt to take people’s guns. The paranoid movement began in 2018 when Bryan Kibler, a state’s attorney in Effingham County, Illinois, called for a “sanctuary county” that would reject proposed gun laws. [HuffPost]

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BLOOMBERG NEWS VIOLATES ITS CAMPAIGN COVERAGE RULES A Bloomberg News investigation into the fact that the campaigns of Sens. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) and Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) buy things from Amazon, allegedly at odds with their crusades against the corporate giant, violates an editorial policy adopted after the news outlet’s founder, former New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg, entered the presidential race in November. [HuffPost]

WHAT'S BREWING

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GOP CRACK IN TRUMP'S SENATE IMPEACHMENT WALL?

Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) said she was “disturbed” to hear Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) talk about coordinating with President Donald Trump for his impeachment trial, and she expressed her hopes for a “full and fair process.” [HuffPost]

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SANDERS: LOW UNEMPLOYMENT DOESN'T MEAN AMERICANS ARE BETTER OFF In a conversation with The Los Angeles Times editorial board, Bernie Sanders explained that despite the U.S. reaching decades-low unemployment this year, many jobs are low-paying. And wage growth has largely stagnated in recent decades as income inequality rises. [HuffPost]

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STATE OFFICIALS AT CORE OF 2020 ELECTION SECURITY Inside a hotel ballroom near the nation’s capital, a U.S. Army officer with battlefield experience told 120 state and local election officials that they may have more in common with military strategists than they might think. They're the linchpins in efforts to defend U.S. elections from an attack by Russia, China or other foreign threats. [AP]

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5 CLIMATE EXPERTS SHARE WHAT GIVES THEM HOPE For the first time, climate change has been a leading election issue in the United States, and for more than a year now, youth climate activists worldwide have been taking to the streets demanding change. We spoke to experts who have dedicated their time to tackling the science and developing solutions, to better understand what they hope for ― and what gives them hope. [HuffPost]

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TRUMP IS THE LONELIEST MAN IN AMERICA Of all the rinse-and-repeat stories of palace intrigue to come out of the Donald Trump administration, none is more enduring than the president raging in an empty White House as he drives away all his former friends. [HuffPost]

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FEMINISM WAS TRENDY. THEN, WOMEN GOT ANGRY When the decade opened, “feminist” was a label that was still considered unpalatable to the masses. It was a word female celebrities would probably be advised to sidestep, allowing them to capitalize on the amorphous concept of female “empowerment” without actually having to get political. As we look toward the decade’s close, the political and cultural climate has shifted dramatically. [HuffPost]

BEFORE YOU GO