Obama bids farewell amid showers of praise

Earlier

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AMERICA IN TRANSITON

https://twitter.com/RosieGray/status/818947168883113984

https://twitter.com/dangillmor/status/818957851121111041

https://twitter.com/fmanjoo/status/818962303999614976

errrr…?

https://twitter.com/WesleyLowery/status/818956546646429697

https://twitter.com/BenjySarlin/status/818897616222191617

and if all that wasn’t enough..

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WORLD

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BUSINESS

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MEDIA

 

 

Northern Ireland on brink of election

Belfast: Northern Ireland is facing an election for its local Assembly eight months after the last one, after the Deputy First Minister Martin McGuinness resigned on Monday evening, primarily over handling of the controversial Renewable Heat Incentive scheme.

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WORLD

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AMERICA IN TRANSITION

https://twitter.com/xeni/status/818576029866487808

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BUSINESS

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CULTURE

 

Performance

https://twitter.com/ezraklein/status/818437638155829249

 

Four young soldiers killed in Jerusalem truck attack

Four members of the Israeli military – three of them women – were killed on Sunday when a truck plowed into a group of IDF soldiers in Jerusalem. All four were in their twenties. More than 10 other people were injured. The truck driver, identified as a 28-year-old Palestinian man, was shot dead at the scene.

CNN reported that the US State Department condemned the “glorification of terrorism now or at any time” saying “there is absolutely no justification for these brutal and senseless attacks.”

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WORLD

https://twitter.com/Liam_O_Hare/status/818115519333203968

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AMERICA IN TRANSITION

https://twitter.com/JeffreyGoldberg/status/818113804483592194

https://twitter.com/TheFix/status/818113377834770432

https://twitter.com/scottbix/status/818092729246842880

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MEDIA

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BUSINESS

In a tale of two cities…

and

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SPORTS

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CULTURE

Trump says any Russian hack had ‘no effect’ on election outcome

Intelligence chiefs told President-Elect Trump that Russian President Vladimir Putin “aspired to help Donald Trump win the election” and ordered an “influence campaign” to undermine faith in the democratic process and “denigrate” Trump’s rival, Hillary Clinton.

After the briefing, while Trump appeared to accept the “possibility” of Russian hacking, he insisted there had been “no effect” on the election outcome.

Good thread on the background here…

https://twitter.com/Susan_Hennessey/status/817521825639002112

https://twitter.com/ElizabethDrewOH/status/817532434627629057

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WORLD 

Five people were killed in a shooting incident at Fort Lauderdale airport in Florida. The gunman is apparently in custody.

And perhaps predictably…

Northern Ireland’s First Minister attempted to relieve some of the pressure on her over the Renewable Heat Initiative. Did it work? I’ll leave that to you. But some sort of accommodation between the DUP and SF may be closer.

https://twitter.com/SteekieNolan/status/817407492187688960

In Scotland, meanwhile..

and if that wasn’t scary enough..

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AMERICA IN TRANSITION

And after their twitter spat over ratings…

(Almost) the last word…

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BUSINESS

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SPORT

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CULTURE

https://twitter.com/michaelwhitney/status/817537194269310976

That kind of year, really… Have a good weekend.

 

 

Trump set for tense intel meeting

The President-Elect will on Friday receive a classified briefing on Russian hacking from top intelligence officials, including Director of National Intelligence James Clapper, who on Thursday told Senators that Russia was a “full-scope cyber actor that poses a major threat” to the United States.

When asked about Mr Trump’s apparent skepticism over intelligence assessments, Clapper said “I think there is an important distinction here between healthy skepticism, which policymakers … should always have for intelligence, but I think there’s a difference between skepticism and disparagement.”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zogpd_vn9ms

And in a sign of where the new administration is going..

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WORLD

Back to earth in Northern Ireland, meanwhile…

https://twitter.com/hancocktom/status/816854390258606080

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AMERICA IN TRANSITION

Well, that was totally unexpected…

https://twitter.com/tarapalmeri/status/817076701440122882

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BUSINESS

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MEDIA

https://twitter.com/raju/status/816974591637803008

Everyone makes mistakes. There but for the grace of God…

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SPORTS

The end, though…

https://twitter.com/HockeyWebCast/status/816728109668036608

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CULTURE

Finally, and sadly..

Britain gets new EU mandarin as May prepares major Brexit speech

Britain has a new Ambassador to the EU. Another vastly experienced civil servant, Sir Tim Barrow, replaces Sir Ivan Rogers who resigned yesterday. His appointment was generally welcomed by both sides of the Brexit debate. But the episode has drawn more pressure on  Downing Street over plans – or the lack thereof – for the UK’s coming approach to negotiations.

Meanwhile..

And of course the day wouldn’t be complete without…

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WORLD

If the Northern Ireland Assembly isn’t falling apart over RHI, its boss appears to be shredding her own credibility with each passing day…

https://twitter.com/ornayoung/status/816565454244290560

https://twitter.com/SophieLong01/status/816616043221282816

Elsewhere…

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AMERICA IN TRANSITION

https://twitter.com/rezaaslan/status/816749699021426688

https://twitter.com/maliagriggs/status/816768819108675585

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MEDIA

Grooming. Ewww..

https://twitter.com/dangillmor/status/816753991514144768

https://twitter.com/rezaaslan/status/816429684946702336

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BUSINESS

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CULTURE

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SPORTS

https://twitter.com/maxjrosenthal/status/816768930815639552

GOP, seeking to appear decisive, appears anything but

In the first 24 hours of the 115th Congress, Republicans hoping to make a firm first  impression on the new political landscape staged a remarkable about-turn, reversing their move to weaken the Office of Congressional Ethics. Internal opposition, criticism by President-Elect Trump, and  a wave of public dissent may all have contributed to the outcome.

https://twitter.com/DrRimmer/status/816418405972471808

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WORLD

In Northern Ireland…

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AMERICA IN TRANSITION

Just the 168 days since the last one, then..

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MEDIA

https://twitter.com/jrnlsm/status/816386625857089542

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CULTURE

https://twitter.com/MatthewKick/status/816428592997498881

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SPORTS

Manhunt continues as ISIS claims Istanbul attack

Turkish police raided an apartment in Istanbul late on Monday as the search continues for the man who attacked a nightclub in the city on New Year’s Eve, killing 39 people. Government officials have said authorities are “close” to identifying the gunman after obtaining fingerprints and a description.

Latest updates from the AP here.

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WORLD

https://twitter.com/CameronJJJ/status/816077178567872512

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AMERICA IN TRANSITION

https://twitter.com/BoingBoing/status/816000403284361216

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MEDIA

https://twitter.com/BoingBoing/status/815994919399673857

https://twitter.com/anylaurie16/status/816054911385432064

In real people’s lives, though…

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BUSINESS

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CULTURE

Because, of course…

Let this be a lesson…