A wonder to behold  Surely Rudy’s not going back for more, right? On the other hand, “If you voted, ‘Rudy can’t quit you,’ you were correct,” says Olivia Nuzzi. This time, the New York Magazine Washington correspondent and Giuliani confidante has A Conversation With Rudy Giuliani Over Bloody Marys at the Mark Hotel, and there are a number of lessons to be gleaned. For example, “Never do an interview with a journalist with your fly unzipped,” tweets Inga Saffron. As always, “Rudy Giuliani’s YOLO PR strategy remains a wonder to behold,” says Rob Pegoraro.
The part where Rudy rants about George Soros is getting a lot of attention on Twitter, and Adam Serwer notes, “Giuliani arguing that he is ‘more of a Jew’ than a literal Holocaust survivor is the logical conclusion of Trumpist Jews’ argument that liberal and left wing Jews (the majority of American Jews!) are not really Jewish. “ As Beth Fertig says, “There are so many bizarre moments in @Olivianuzzi’s new Giuilani interview, but THIS is a delight: ‘an innocent question resulted in a 15-minute rant about 'fucking Wayne Barrett,' a journalist who manages to enrage Giuliani even in death.’” Anyway, “I don’t know why Rudy keeps talking to @Olivianuzzi, but we should all be glad he does. This is hilarious from beginning to end. (And revealing),” says James Gleick. ‘Not simple questions to answer’ Nikole Hannah-Jones says, “I thought this was a good and fair analysis of the pushback by five historians against the #1619Project, and why so many others refused to sign. @AdamSerwer, not surprisingly, does an excellent job getting to the heart of the tensions.” She links to Adam Serwer’s new piece in The Atlantic about the clash between a group of historians and The New York Times over the New York Times Magazine’s 1619 Project. Serwer argues that the fight over the 1619 Project is not about the facts. Instead, “The clash between the Times authors and their historian critics represents a fundamental disagreement over the trajectory of American society,” he writes, adding that “These are not simple questions to answer, because the nation’s pro-slavery and anti-slavery tendencies are so closely intertwined.” As Josh Marshall says, “This is a good summary and meditation on key issues in this debate.” Extremely scary stuff “Merry Christmas!” tweets Julia Ioffe, and if that’s what you’re looking for, maybe skip this one. Mike Baker of The New York Times takes a deep dive into Washington state legislator Matt Shea’s background and reveals that the G.O.P lawmaker had visions of a Christian alternative government. Tweets Brian Floyd, “Been trying to tell y’all some wild stuff is happening over out this way.” “Alternative government” is putting it mildly. Wajahat Ali calls it “Christian Taliban with nicer suits.” In fact, Shea “networked with local militia groups, talked about plans to create a 51st state called Liberty and distributed to his closest followers a ‘Biblical Basis for War’ document that calls for the ‘surrender’ of those who favor abortion rights, same-sex marriage, ‘idolatry’ and communism. ‘If they do not yield — kill all males,’ it said.” Those are just a few of the details that explain why Allison Benedikt “Read this right before bed and had a good old nightmare.” Adds Eric Geller, “This is extremely scary stuff, and I’m afraid it’s only going to get worse.” Well, this is bonkers 
Jeremy Olshan links to the “Bill of the Month” story by Richard Harris of NPR, For Her Head Cold, Insurer Coughed Up $25,865. “I heard this story on @MorningEdition at around 5:20am and let me tell you it woke me up REAL quick,” tweets Kate Hinds. As Avi Asher-Schapiro says, “We’re at a stage of healthcare dystopia where journalists & citizens have to shame providers for predatory billing on a case-by-case basis. This time: Manhattan Specialty Care, found a way to rack up $28,000 in charges for....a routine throat swab.” The true cost of faster-than-fast Just in time for last-minute gift delivery: In a collaboration between BuzzFeed News and ProPublica, a new investigation by Ken Bensinger, James Bandler, Patricia Callahan and Doris Burke takes a look at Amazon’s Race To Build A Fast Delivery Network: “The Human Cost Of This Is Too Much.” Ariel Kaminer notes, “In building its faster-than-fast home delivery system, Amazon blew past all kinds of warning signs — including the death of its founding CFO, who was killed in a collision with a delivery van.” Investigations by ProPublica and BuzzFeed News this year revealed that drivers delivering Amazon packages had been involved in more than 60 crashes that led to serious injuries, including 10 deaths. Since then, the news organizations have learned of three more deaths. As Ryan Mac tweets, “Not sure how to describe it, but there’s a crippling anxiety that comes with reading this story while waiting for Christmas presents you ordered for your family to be delivered by Amazon.” Interesting strategy “This story about the new Sports Illustrated....” tweets Dan Steinberg. From Ben Strauss of The Washington Post, Sports Illustrated’s new owners say they’re saving the magazine. Staffers say it’s in chaos. And Tim Marchman says, “It’s a real shame the Washington Post doesn't use the word ‘dickhead.’”  Jason Gay thinks it’s an “Interesting strategy: purchasing legacy brand, then trashing legacy.” And Adam Cancryn points out, “Maven is paying $15 million a year for the next decade to run SI, including $45 million (!) up front. This is either a blatant lie or an admission they're terrible businessmen, or both.” “For anyone who ever looked forward to the next issue of Sports Illustrated, or saved a few copies (I still have my Miracle on Ice issue), this is a sad and maddening story about how it is being trashed,” says Judy Battista.
The biggest NBA story of the year 
“ICYMI, a deep dive on the Lakers’ pursuit of Kawhi Leonard last summer and why they're still not happy with the way it was handled. As if the Christmas Day game wasn’t interesting enough already.” Sam Amick links to his story at The Athletic, Improper requests, an investigation, and a superstar chase gone sideways: The untold stories from Kawhi Leonard’s free agency that left the Lakers fuming. Justin Block notes, “asking for an equity stake in the franchise, a house, a private plane, and guaranteed endorsement money isn’t all that crazy for An NBA Superstar, considering how they *are* the franchise. but salary cap rules mustn’t be damned, i guess.” Nick Kosmider calls it your “Must-read story by @sam_amick on the biggest NBA story of the year.” And as Les Perreaux reminds us, “Beware negotiating with anyone’s Uncle Dennis.” Global news Oh, THAT kind of People’s Government. Oliver Milne of the Mirror reports that Boris Johnson and Carrie Symonds ‘will jet off to luxury island Mustique for New Year.’ Carole Cadwalladr’s reaction to the news: “Oh. So the supreme leader of the People's Government is heading to the People's Private Island of Mustique for Xmas? That’s handy. Does anyone know if the owner of the People’s Popular Press, Mr Murdoch, will be there too? Jerry owns a house on Mustique.” Adds Kevin Maguire, “So by a ‘People’s Government’ it seems Boris Johnson meant a Government for the world’s billionaires, tax dodgers, hereditary privileged, power elite and private island owners.” In an exclusive for The Guardian, Josh Taylor reveals that the Australian government was warned by the Department of Home Affairs after the May election that Australia faced more frequent and severe heatwaves and bushfires, and that livelihoods would be affected without effective action on climate change. “In his first piece for The New Daily, award-winning novelist Richard Flanagan sees red over Scott Morrison’s attempt at redemption post- Hawaii holiday.” Andrea Hamblin links to that piece by Richard Flanagan for The New Daily, Aloha, Scotty from Marketing, is it resurrection you’re looking for? Jane Aubrey dubs it, “Just magic…” A German student in the Master’s course in the Department of Physics at IIT Madras, part of a one-year exchange program, has said that he was asked to leave the country “immediately” days after he attended protests against the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) and the proposed National Register of Citizens (NRC) in the campus. Arun Janardhanan has that story for The Indian Express, and “That's how much the @narendramodi govt is running scared of the growing clamour against it,” tweets Yogesh Pawar. 
And now for something completely different. Sui-Lee Wee shares, “Ever since I heard that seniors were hooking up in parks in China, I have been dying to do the story. I went out this fall to a park in Beijing and was charmed and delighted by many of them.” Read her latest for The New York Times, China’s Seniors, Looking for Love, Head to the Park. Best gift ever 
We leave you with this story from Amy Lieu at Fox 2 Detroit, More than a dozen volunteers form relay, travel 2,000 miles to return stolen dog to family. Tweets Kellie Rowe, “Oh my god. A Montana woman was robbed & they stole her dog. Guy was caught in West Virginia. Since many airlines ban pit bulls from flying, a relay team of 15 drivers was assembled to take Zeus home - 2,000 miles, 9 states, 4 days. I LOVE PEOPLE SOMETIMES.” As Aubrey Allegretti says, “If you're working Christmas Eve too, this story will 100% not fail to cheer you up.” Tuesday round-up - Napp Nazworth, an editor at The Christian Post, has abruptly quit the publication after it aligned itself with Donald Trump as part of a spiraling evangelical Christian civil war, Tom Sykes writes at The Daily Beast. Nazworth has worked for the publication’s website since 2011 and sits on the website’s editorial board as politics editor.
- Phillip M. Bailey and Tom Loftus of the Louisville Courier Journal report that the FBI is asking questions about former Kentucky Gov. Matt Bevin’s pardons.
- Driver Who Hit Girl Because She Was ‘a Mexican’ Is Charged in 2nd Hit-and-Run, as Neil Vigdor reports for The New York Times, and...wow, the lede alone on this: “An Iowa woman who said she ran over a girl because she thought she was ‘a Mexican’ was charged Monday in another hit-and-run involving a child, as well as in a separate hate crime — three attacks that the police said happened in a little over an hour.”
- Lisa Friedman of The New York Times writes about a Trump policy ‘clarification’ that all but ends punishment for bird deaths. Aaron Ellison calls it “Extinction by a thousand cuts. Shameful.” “Assholes,” is how Bob Gosford puts it.
- Former pro golfer and restaurateur David Correia was indicted alongside Lev Parnas and Igor Fruman in October, but we haven’t heard much about him up until now. As Vicky Ward reports, text messages obtained by CNN reveal his role in the Ukraine scandal.
- According to new reporting from Helene Cooper, Thomas Gibbons-Neff, Charlie Savage and Eric Schmitt of The New York Times, Pentagon Eyes Africa Drawdown as First Step in Global Troop Shift. “And this because security situation in #WestAfrica #Sahel is well under control!!!???” tweets James Bays. As Liz Sly notes, “The Pentagon wants to pull US troops away from fighting terrorism in order to confront Russia & China. West Africa is first in line. But when the US withdrew troops in Syria the gap was filled by....Russia.”
- In an exclusive for Yahoo News, Jenna McLaughlin and Zach Dorfman got access to a memo co-signed by the Defense Department’s top intelligence official warning members of the military not to use consumer DNA kits, saying the information collected by private companies could pose a security risk.
- And lastly today, Jenn Pelly tweets, ”wow merry xmas to us.” Adds Katie Mettler, “this gave me feelings.” They’re referring to the new Diary of Song by Joe Coscarelli of The New York Times, who shares How Taylor Swift Writes a Love Song. As Julie Bloom says, it’s the “Best thing you'll watch/listen to all day.”
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