| | | | | Gingerbread versions of DC landmarks on display in the State Dining Room at the White House Monday. This year's theme of White House holiday decorations is "American Treasures." Credit: Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images | | | Trump Admin Report on Climate Change: New report warns of environmental, economic consequences
We Just Might Have Ourselves a Race for No. 1: The political books facing off to be 2018's bestseller
Kid Rock in the Clear: His fake campaign didn't violate campaign law, FEC says | | | What Washington is Talking About:
Congress returns this week for a lame-duck session that will include, among other things, a December 7 spending deadline to avoid a government shutdown. Also, the US Capitol Christmas Tree arrived this morning.
What America is Talking About:
NASA plans to land its InSight spacecraft on Mars today; "Ralph Breaks the Internet" and "Creed II" led a record Thanksgiving weekend at the box office; and the Camp Fire in California is now 100% contained after burning for two-and-a-half weeks and killing more than 85 people.
Poll of the Day:
The biggest change in the generational makeup of the House of Representatives in the incoming 116th Congress is the decline in Baby Boomer members, from 62.1% to 53.9%.
The biggest growth comes from Millennial members, who will go from 1.1% to 6%, followed by Generation X, who will go from 27.1% to 31.5%. | | Credit: Pew
Trump Administration Report Warns of Climate Change:
The new report, released on Black Friday, is pretty concerning. It warns of an increase in things like premature deaths, fires in California, asthma and allergies, and a decline in American food production. It also said the US could lose up to 10% of its GDP by the end of the century.
The report was compiled by more than 1,000 people across 13 federal agencies, including 300 scientists. FWIW, Trump doesn't seem to be on the same page as his administration, tweeting, "Whatever happened to Global Warming?," about the cold weather on the East Coast over the long holiday weekend.
Trump Heads to Mississippi for Final Senate Race:
We still have one Senate race to go, a runoff tomorrow in Mississippi. President Trump will head there today to hold two rallies for Republican Cindy Hyde-Smith, as well as a roundtable on criminal justice legislation.
Hyde-Smith has faced controversy for her revisionist view of the Civil War. Our KFile found she once pushed a bill to commemorate a Confederate soldier for defending "his homeland."
Papadopoulos Starts Prison Sentence:
Former Trump aide George Papadopoulos begins his 14-day sentence today at a federal prison in Oxford, Wisconsin. Papadopoulos was the first person indicted in Robert Mueller's investigation.
We Just Might Have Ourselves a Race for No. 1:
Watch out, "Fire and Fury," Michelle Obama's coming for you. Since last week, "Becoming" has jumped from No. 5 on Amazon's overall 2018 bestseller list to No. 3. Obama's publisher, Penguin Random House, announced the memoir has sold 1.4 million copies in its first week. By comparison, Michael Wolff's publisher, Macmillan, announced more than two weeks after "Fire and Fury" came out earlier this year that it had sold 1.7 million copies.
"Becoming" could benefit from strong holiday sales. It's currently No. 1 on the New York Times' nonfiction and Amazon New Releases lists, while the more-than-10-month-old "Fire and Fury" isn't on these lists anymore. Obama also faces competition from "Girl, Wash Your Face" by Rachel Hollis, which is at No. 2 on Amazon's 2018 list. | | Credit: Boston Globe/Contributor
Gary Hart on How Politics Has Changed:
Gary Hart, the former presidential candidate whose campaign was derailed in 1987 following allegations of an affair, spoke with "CBS Sunday Morning" about the controversy, chronicled in the new movie "The Front Runner" starring Hugh Jackman (I saw it this weekend and recommend). Hart said the media scrutiny paid to candidates like him can prevent "people of quality" from running for office.
"I think all the rules have changed (since 1987)," he added. "If Donald Trump can have a fan base of 30 to 40% despite everything he's done in life, all the bets are off. Anybody can be president." | | Credit: CBS
Kid Rock in the Clear:
The musician's promotional "Kid Rock for US Senate" campaign from last year was reviewed by the Federal Election Commission to determine if it broke election law. In a 3-1 decision, the FEC decided it did not.
The decision found Kid Rock didn't "appear to have taken even the most basic steps to become a candidate" and noted that throughout the promotion he used his stage name and not his birth name — Robert Ritchie — which would have appeared on a ballot. You can read the full decision here.
JVN Weighs in on Speaker Race:
"Queer Eye" star Jonathan Van Ness called opposition to Nancy Pelosi for speaker ageist and sexist in a tweet comparing her support to that for Joe Biden and Bernie Sanders to run for president again. He tweeted, "if you loathe her you got that info from the GOP henny." | | Credit: @jvn/Twitter
A Very Red White House Christmas:
Last year, the joke was that some of the White House Christmas decor was a little spooky. This year, it's the "blood red" trees. The 2018 theme of White House holiday decorations is "American Treasures," and that includes some bright red trees in the East colonnade as well as some "Be Best" ornaments and decorations in the Red Room.
Per a White House release, "The choice of red is an extension of the pales, or stripes, found in the presidential seal designed by our Founding Fathers. It's a symbol of valor and bravery." | | Credit: Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images
McCrystal on Throwing Out Confederate Painting:
Stanley McCrystal, the former Commander of U.S. and International Forces in Afghanistan, said he took down a painting of Confederate General Robert E. Lee he's had for more than 34 years and trashed it.
In an op-ed published by the Washington Post, McCrystal wrote that his wife, who originally bought him the painting, asked him to take it down following Charlottesville. "Initially, I argued that Lee was an example of apolitical loyalty and stoic adherence to duty," he wrote. "But as days passed, I reflected on the way that Lee's legacy looked to people who hadn't grown up with my perspective or my privilege." McCrystal has spoken about taking the painting down before, in an excerpt from his book in the Atlantic. | | Credit: James Steinberg for the Washington Post
Street Art Sighting:
Posters showing a skull mushroom cloud with Trump hair were spotted across Paris to promote a meeting with activists. It reads "c'est la guerre," which roughly translates to "that's war." | | Credit: Neil Grace
If you spot political street art, tweet me @hunterschwarz, tag me on Instagram @hunterschwarz, or email me at coverlinehunter@cnn.com with your sighting so I can feature it in COVER/LINE.
Kate Bennett is off. | | | | | | |
