Trump administration fires all members of HIV/AIDS advisory council -- Snopes.com

The controversial move followed the highly publicized resignation of six members in August 2017 and has been described as unusual...
https://www.snopes.com/2017/12/30/trump-fires-remaining-members-advisory-council-hivaids/

In a 30-minute interview, President Trump made 24 false or misleading claims -- The Washington Post: Analysis

Here's a roundup of misleading claims made by the president in his interview, many of which we've fact-checked before...
 https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/fact-checker/wp/2017/12/29/in-a-30-minute-interview-president-trump-made-24-false-or-misleading-claims/

Bernie Sanders to Republicans: Stop saying I support your tax bill -- My San Antonio

Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., clarified his opposition to the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act this week, after Republicans and Fox News cited him to argue that the largely business-focused legislation was a boon for the working class. ...
http://www.mysanantonio.com/news/article/Bernie-Sanders-to-Republicans-Stop-saying-I-12462705.php

Incoherent, authoritarian, uninformed: Trump’s New York Times interview is a scary read -- Vox

The president of the United States is not well. ....
https://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2017/12/29/16829806/trump-interview-new-york-times

As Team Trump shouts about violent crime, new FBI crime report gets trimmed to omit key statistics

Yeah, it is pretty surprising that just as Trump and his attorney general Jeff Sessions are screaming about an uptick in violent crime and gang crime and immigrant crime and opioid abuse and what-have-you, much of the data used to back up their assertions just happens to have been inexplicably removed from the annual FBI report summarizing such crimes.....
https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2017/12/29/1728231/-As-Team-Trump-shouts-about-violent-crime-new-FBI-crime-report-gets-trimmed-to-omit-key-statistics

Russian tankers have smuggled oil to North Korea, a breach of U.N. sanctions - NBC News

Russian tankers have supplied fuel to North Korea on at least three occasions in recent months by transferring cargoes at sea, according to two senior Western European security sources, providing an economic lifeline to the secretive Communist state.....
https://www.nbcnews.com/news/world/russian-tankers-have-smuggled-oil-north-korea-breach-u-n-n833531

China Tells Trump 'This is Not How a U.S. President Should Behave' After North Korea Tweet

China has rejected President Donald Trump's accusations that it was illegally supplying oil to North Korea, criticizing Friday the Republican leader's evidence, and his demeanor.....
http://www.newsweek.com/china-tells-trump-not-how-us-president-should-behave-north-korea-tweet-764757

Trump: Even if there was collusion with Russia, 'it’s not a crime' | TheHill

President Trump in a new interview denied any collusion between his 2016 presidential campaign and Russia, adding “even if there was, it’s not a crime.”....
http://thehill.com/homenews/administration/366746-trump-even-if-there-was-collusion-with-russia-its-not-a-crime

#ThanksObama: Trump knows Obama is responsible for rosy economy but plans on taking credit anyway -- Raw Story

President Donald Trump is building his 2018 messaging around the thriving economy, even though economists say the current economic trends are the result of President Barack Obama's policies. ....
https://www.rawstory.com/2017/12/thanksobama-trump-knows-obama-is-responsible-for-rosy-economy-but-plans-on-taking-credit-anyway/

Here's Every Single Order That Obama Passed, But Trump Overturned -- Bustle

One year ago, Donald Trump prevailed in the 2016 presidential election ― at least, in the electoral college, which is the only part that mattered ― and ensured that the former Apprentice host would take over from former president Barack Obama. ....
https://www.bustle.com/p/what-did-obama-pass-trump-overturn-its-a-lot-5506775

This Should Freak Everyone Out: The Arctic Will Never Be Frozen Again

Last week, at a New Orleans conference center that once doubled as a storm shelter for thousands during Hurricane Katrina, a group of polar scientists made a startling declaration: The Arctic as we once knew it is no more....
http://www.motherjones.com/environment/2017/12/this-should-freak-everyone-out-the-arctic-will-never-be-frozen-again/

GOP Candidate for TX Gov: “I’d Gladly Execute” Gay People (Like the Bible Says) – Friendly Atheist

The race to replace Greg Abbott as Governor of Texas already has a number of candidates who plan to run in the primaries. While most are Democrats, Abbott himself will face a Republican primary challenger in Larry SECEDE Kilgore. (His middle name is literally “SECEDE.”) Four years ago, Kilgore took 1.4% of the primary votes compared to Abbott’s 91.5%, so you can call this an uphill climb, but Kilgore also takes the party’s anti-LGBTQ agenda to its logical extremes. ....
http://www.patheos.com/blogs/friendlyatheist/2017/12/24/gop-candidate-for-tx-gov-id-gladly-execute-gay-people-like-the-bible-says/

America is on the brink of a historic break with Europe, thanks to Trump -- USA TODAY

Foreign service officers like me saw ourselves as guardians of this vital alliance. But Trump isn't interested in leading it or writing its next chapter. ...
https://www.usatoday.com/story/opinion/2017/12/26/donald-trump-leading-america-brink-historic-break-europe-nicholas-burns-column/973290001/

Your Periodic Reminder About the Republican Corporate Tax Cut of 2017 -- Mother Jones

Under the new Republican tax law, big corporations will get a permanent tax cut of 14 percentage points. You will get a tax cut of about 1 percentage point—until it expires, that is, at which point your taxes will be higher than they are today. That is all. ...
http://www.motherjones.com/kevin-drum/2017/12/your-periodic-reminder-about-the-republican-corporate-tax-cut-of-2017/

Making Of The Adventures Of Tintin - VFX - Animation Progress - Weta Dig...

And The Adventures of Tintin is streaming now on Netflix!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wRgAXQk5VZ4&feature=youtu.be

It’s time to stop seeking “dialogue” with the hateful - Salon.com

Talking nicely with racists, sexists, homophobes and other bigots hurts more than it helps....
https://www.salon.com/2017/12/23/its-time-to-stop-seeking-dialogue-with-the-hateful/

Atomic Tests During the 1950s Probably Killed Nearly Half a Million Americans -- Mother Jones

You probably need something to cheer you up after the tax follies of this week. So how about a scholarly examination of how many Americans were killed by atomic bomb testing in the 50s? I think that should do the trick. Here's the background. ....
http://www.motherjones.com/kevin-drum/2017/12/atomic-tests-during-the-1950s-probably-killed-half-a-million-americans/

Sundays at the Altar of Science - The New York Times

“I think it’s sad that you feel like you’re alone in the universe,” my mom recently said to me.

We were talking about the fact that I’m an atheist. Unspoken but understood was her dismay that my son and daughter aren’t religious, either. At ages 6 and 3, I’m not sure they’ve ever heard of God. I was raised differently.....
https://www.nytimes.com/2017/12/22/well/sundays-at-the-altar-of-science.html?_r=2

Coach Red Pill Craps on Atheists and The Religious

Coach Red Pill made a video called 'Atheists are Stupid', where he explains why he thinks vocal atheists are mean and he says he'd never strip someone of their beliefs because it gives them comfort.

I thought it was a very strange argument by a guy calling himself Coach Red Pill. Instead of offering the red pill of uncomfortable truth, he seems to argue for the opposite.
Interview:
https://youtu.be/EmrKmMMho94

Why the Gospels are Myth | Richard Carrier

American historian, atheist, author, public speaker and blogger Richard Carrier gives a talk in Toronto, ON on the historicity of Jesus and corresponding Christian Gospels.
Interview:
https://youtu.be/bQmMFQzrEsc

A return to debtors' prisons: Jeff Sessions' war on the poor -- Salon

One day after President Donald Trump invited Republican lawmakers to the White House to celebrate the historic tax cuts they passed for corporations and wealthy business leaders, his attorney general, Jeff Sessions, quitely reinstated a draconian policy that effectively serves as a regressive tax on America's poorest people. ....
https://www.salon.com/2017/12/29/a-return-to-debtors-prisons-jeff-sessions-war-on-the-poor/

Trump: US could use some ‘good old Global Warming’ to heat up cold states | TheHill

President Trump took to Twitter Thursday to note the record-breaking cold weather currently slamming much of the eastern U.S., saying the country could use some “global warming” during the cold snap.....
http://thehill.com/homenews/administration/366734-trump-us-could-use-some-good-old-global-warming-to-heat-up-cold

The 2017 News Roundup — Domestic (Joshua Johnson, The 1A)

We look back over the major headlines that shaped the year and ones we’re not likely to forget in 2018.
Interview:
https://the1a.org/shows/2017-12-29/the-2017-news-roundup-domestic

Donald Trump’s Global Warming Tweet Shows How Little President Understands Science -- International Business Times

President Donald Trump has had a lot to say about global warming and climate change, almost all of it completely contrary to scientific evidence. But that's little surprise, coming from a man who thinks something like "clean coal" can exist and that he has the "best words." ...
http://www.ibtimes.com/donald-trumps-global-warming-tweet-shows-how-little-president-understands-science-2634506

2017 News Roundup – International (Joshua Johnson, The 1A)

While many of the big stories about President Donald Trump concern domestic politics, America’s new leader has had a major impact on the world.

Whether it’s the investigation into Russian election meddling or the growing tension with North Korea, President Trump’s presence is felt globally.

Meanwhile, this year also saw persecution of Rohingya Muslims in Myanmar, an attempted coup in Turkey and major elections in Britain and France.

We look at the stories that shook the world in 2017.
Interview:
https://the1a.org/shows/2017-12-29/2017-news-roundup-international

On Point's Look Back At The Biggest Stories Of 2017 (Tom Ashbrook, On Point)

Big news and lots of it in 2017. It was a year of storms — presidential tweet storms, real hurricanes and political cyclones. Multiple assaults on Obamacare, a big tax cut for the wealthy, as Robert Mueller’s probe moved closer to President Trump’s inner circle. Nuclear tensions with North Korea intensified. And allegations of predatory sexual misconduct from Hollywood to Washington spawned hashtag-me-too. This hour, On Point: catching our breath to assess the year that was. — Anthony Brooks
Interview:
http://www.wbur.org/onpoint/2017/12/29/on-points-biggest-stories-of-2017-review

Trump’s fake news works: Nearly half of Republicans believe he repealed Obamacare -- Salon

It's become increasingly apparent that conservatives continue to divorce themselves from objective reality, as a new poll shows that a near majority of Republicans believe President Donald Trump successfully repealed the Affordable Care Act, known as Obamacare. ....
https://www.salon.com/2017/12/28/trumps-fake-news-works-nearly-half-of-republicans-believe-he-repealed-obamacare/

Turn Your Android Smartphone Into A Personal Surveillance System With Snowden's New App -- Fossbytes

Now there is another addition to the list of ways you can reuse your old smartphone: by turning it into a personal surveillance system to catch any unexpected guest or intruder trying to circumvent your privacy and security. ....
https://fossbytes.com/snowden-haven-android-survelliance-system/

CNN’s John King brutally fact-checks Trump’s claim of setting a record for legislative accomplishments: ‘You have one’ -- Raw Story

Despite substantial evidence to the contrary, Donald Trump on Friday claimed he "broke Harry Truman's" record of legislative approvals in his first year in office, prompting CNN's John King to bluntly correct the president's lie. ....
https://www.rawstory.com/2017/12/cnns-john-king-brutally-fact-checks-trumps-claim-of-setting-a-record-for-legislative-accomplishments-you-have-one/

Elizabeth Warren & Bernie Sanders: Democratic Priorities in our Budget

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lj1zh_U2CWo&feature=youtu.be

Open thread for night owls: Koch Brothers fund corporate foes of municipal broadband projects

Susan Crawford, a professor at Harvard Law School, is the author of The Responsive City and Captive Audience. At Wired, she writes—Koch Brothers Are New Obstacle to Cities’ Broadband. The case of Louisville, Kentucky, is examined. An excerpt:....
https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2017/12/16/1725125/-Open-thread-for-night-owls-Koch-Brothers-fund-corporate-foes-of-municipal-broadband-projects

GOP lawmaker claims FBI purged training documents. Here's what we found | PolitiFact

Did the Barack Obama administration ditch FBI material used to train counterterrorism agents? At a House committee hearing on worldwide terror threats, Rep. Scott Perry, R-Pa., claimed the former administration purged information that could "allow us to see in totality the threat that faces America."....
http://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/statements/2017/dec/15/scott-perry/gop-lawmaker-claims-fbi-purged-training-documents-/

Goodbye Russia: A generation packs its bags -- BBC News

More than a million people have left Russia to live and work abroad, including some of the brightest and best. ....
http://www.bbc.com/news/stories-42431009

'Going Breitbart': Fox News staffers appalled as website moves from hard news to anti-Hillary, pro-Trump propaganda -- Raw Story

Staffers who work on the Fox News website say under new leadership it is moving away from hard news and becoming more like the network's talk show hosts, promoting President Donald Trump and harping on so-called Hillary Clinton conspiracies. ....
https://www.rawstory.com/2017/12/going-breitbart-fox-news-staffers-appalled-as-website-moves-from-hard-news-to-anti-hillary-pro-trump-propaganda/

Republican climate activists visited a disappearing island to convince Americans the threat of sea-level rise is real — these photos show how grave the situation has become -- Business Insider

Boys who live on Tangier Island, a sliver of land in Virginia that is disappearing due to climate change-fueled sea level rise. Across the United States, communities are seeing the effects of climate change: more severe flooding, rising water levels, and hotter temperatures. There is one place where climate change is perhaps most imminent. ....
http://www.businessinsider.com/climate-change-republicans-trump-executive-order-tangier-island-2017-12/#tangier-island-has-been-eroding-for-over-100-years-but-lately-rising-water-levels-and-more-frequent-storms-have-increased-the-rate-of-land-loss-1

Viral video shows 14-year-old Muslim girl being beaten 'gang-style' by three white classmates in Florida -- Raw Story

Disturbing footage published by the Council on American-Islamic Relations' Florida chapter shows a 14-year-old Muslim girl being savagely beaten by three white teen girls for her religion. ....
https://www.rawstory.com/2017/12/viral-video-shows-14-year-old-muslim-girl-being-beaten-gang-style-by-three-white-classmates-in-florida/

Unhinged white man broke into black neighbor's house -- then threatened to lynch him with a chain: police -- Raw Story

A New York man is being charged with a hate crime after he allegedly broke into his black neighbor's house and threatened to lynch him. Finger Lakes Times reports that 32-year-old Adam J. Doucet broke into his neighbor's house using a crowbar and plumber's wrench, before proceeding to make racist threats against him. ....
https://www.rawstory.com/2017/12/unhinged-white-man-broke-into-black-neighbors-house-then-threatened-to-lynch-him-with-a-chain-police/

Minnesota man may get new trial after jurors admit they thought he must be guilty because he's black -- Raw Story

A Minneapolis man may get a new trial after two jurors came forward and admitted that racism was a major reason why they chose to convict him. ....
https://www.rawstory.com/2017/12/minnesota-man-may-get-new-trial-after-jurors-admit-they-thought-he-must-be-guilty-because-hes-black/

Top U.S. & World Headlines — December 29, 2017

Interview:
https://youtu.be/xCx6HeIDUV0

Trump’s Christian Advisor Suggests Obama Threw Baby Jesus Out of the White House – Friendly Atheist

During an appearance yesterday on Fox News Channel, Donald Trump‘s “spiritual advisor” Paula White celebrated Christians’ victory in the War on Christmas that no one else knew was even being fought. And how do sell a gullible audience on a fake war? (Again?) Simple. You do what evangelicals do these days and just lie about it, since lying to promote Jesus is always acceptable in their code of conduct. ....
http://www.patheos.com/blogs/friendlyatheist/2017/12/26/trumps-christian-advisor-suggests-obama-threw-baby-jesus-out-of-the-white-house/

Bernie Sanders Clarifies Comments About Middle-Class Tax Cuts In GOP Bill | HuffPost

Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) dismissed attempts to construe one of his recent comments as praise for the Republican tax legislation, declaring in a statement on Wednesday that the GOP law is “one of the worst pieces of legislation in the modern history of our country.”

https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/bernie-sanders-middle-class-tax-ctuts-gop-bill_us_5a4439b3e4b0b0e5a7a499e8

Donald Trump Said He Passed More Laws Than Any Other President In His First Year. He Didn’t. -- Newsweek

Speaking to first responders at a firehouse in West Palm Beach Florida, the president bragged he had signed more laws than Harry Truman. ....
http://www.newsweek.com/donald-trump-said-he-passed-more-laws-any-other-president-his-first-year-he-761181

Texas police fatally shoot 6-year-old, unarmed woman -- ThinkProgress.org

Sheriff's deputies in San Antonio, Texas fatally shot a woman being pursued for multiple alleged crimes Friday night. As she was attempting to break into a home, a stray bullet from the officers struck and a killed a 6-year-old boy who was home early from holiday break. ....
https://thinkprogress.org/6-year-old-san-antonio-shooting-100a30e70207/

If This Is America - The New York Times

If this is America, with a cabinet of terrorized toadies genuflecting to the Great Leader, a vice president offering a compliment every 12 seconds to Mussolini’s understudy, and a White House that believes in “alternative facts,” then it is time to “keep your head when all about you are losing theirs.”....
https://www.nytimes.com/2017/12/22/opinion/america-trump-united-nations.html

'We're under attack': young conservatives gather to reject political correctness | US news | The Guardian

This week 3,000 college students met near Trump’s Mar-a-Lago resort for a summit on free speech, the ‘culture wars’, and the dangers posed by the left....
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2017/dec/23/conservative-student-summit-florida-turning-point-usa-trump

AP FACT CHECK: Trump considers ambitions to be achievements -- ABC News

AP FACT CHECK: Trump's tax plan shows 2 things can be true at once, that the rich are favored but there's something in it for middle class ....
http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/wireStory/ap-fact-check-trump-considers-ambitions-achievements-51967220

Why Trump Continues to Forge An Unlikely Bond with Religious Conservatives : NPR

A Senate election in Alabama. A Republican tax bill moving through Congress. Violent protests in the Middle East following U.S. recognition of Jerusalem as the capital of Israel. What could these widely disparate matters have in common, besides heavy news coverage? It turns out that they all have enabled President Trump to send a message to one distinct and crucial category of his supporters.....
https://www.npr.org/2017/12/18/571459409/why-trump-continues-to-forge-an-unlikely-bond-with-religious-conservatives

These are the obscure Trump staffers who are systematically dismantling the federal government -- ThinkProgress.org

In August 2016, a day after then-presidential candidate Donald Trump announced some of his economic plans, he called in to Fox Business Network to discuss those plans with host Maria Bartiromo. In their conversation, Trump insisted his assault on government programs would not have any negative ramifications. ....
https://thinkprogress.org/donald-trump-secret-hatchet-team-e6504833c75d/

What Roy Moore's Narrow Loss Says About Evangelical Christianity | Playboy

Americans love stories of faith and redemption, of apocalyptic struggle and good versus evil. This ethos is embedded in our national DNA. As our physical landscape is dotted with active churches, so our cultural landscape is dotted with phrases and concepts from the Bible, even if most Americans perform poorly on tests of Biblical literacy (tellingly, atheists and agnostics score best). For reasons like this, Americans have a hard time admitting that any large, widely recognized Christian group might be undeserving of a seat at the mainstream table. Should not “sincerely held religious beliefs” cover a multitude of societal sins?....
http://www.playboy.com/articles/roy-moore-evangelical-christianity

Smartphones aren't a smart choice in middle school -- CNN

There is a correlation between cell phones and teen depression, writes Delaney Ruston, so US schools should follow France's lead and ban students' from having them during school. ....
http://www.cnn.com/2017/12/22/opinions/smartphones-middle-school-opinion-ruston/index.html

Bitcoin Commercial: What Is It and How Does It Work? - YouTube

Seth takes a moment to share a commercial he recently saw that explains what Bitcoin is and how it works.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aeMv9uKpAZg

The single biggest reason America is failing in its response to the opioid epidemic -- Vox

We need to stop treating addiction as a moral failure — or more people will die. ....
https://www.vox.com/science-and-health/2017/12/18/16635910/opioid-epidemic-lessons

How you'll be able to tell if Trump's corporate tax cuts are actually raising wages like he promised

Republicans pitched their tax bill by arguing that cutting corporate rates would boost business investment and eventually lead to higher wages for American workers. Now that the legislation has passed Congress, a number of companies have announced on cue that they are planning to either boost pay, hand out bonuses, or ramp up their investment spending.....
https://slate.com/business/2017/12/how-youll-be-able-to-tell-if-trumps-corporate-tax-cuts-are-actually-raising-wages-like-he-promised.html

Top U.S. & World Headlines — December 27, 2017

Interview:
https://youtu.be/VVDTkFsfSHw

Trump's voter suppression group hasn't met in months. Its Democratic members wonder what's going on.

The NBC News headline is "Trump’s voter fraud panel has gone dark. Members don’t know why." But it seems more accurate to say “Democratic members of Trump’s voter suppression panel are being kept in the dark.”....
https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2017/12/18/1725559/-Trump-s-voter-suppression-group-hasn-t-met-in-months-Its-Democratic-members-wonder-what-s-going-on

Pennsylvania governor vetoes 20-week abortion ban | TheHill

Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf vetoed a bill Monday that would have banned abortions after 20 weeks of pregnancy. The bill, passed by the state's Republican-controlled legislature last week, is a "vile assault on women's ability to make their own decisions about their own health care," Wolf, a Democrat, said at a press conference.....
http://thehill.com/policy/healthcare/365482-pennsylvania-governor-vetoes-20-week-abortion-ban

Ex-CIA head: It's 'scary' that Don Jr. is peddling FBI conspiracies -- and shows the probe isn't 'going to a happy place -- Raw Story

Former head of the CIA, Retired Gen. Michael Hayden, on Wednesday told CNN's Don Lemon that Donald Trump Jr.'s stoking of an anti-Trump FBI conspiracy is "scary," arguing it's "an appeal to the heart of autocracy." ....

https://www.rawstory.com/2017/12/ex-cia-head-its-scary-that-don-jr-is-peddling-fbi-conspiracies-and-shows-the-probe-isnt-going-to-a-happy-place/