MATT LAUER FIRED. Citing one report of “inappropriate sexual behavior in the workplace”—but conceding it “may not have been an isolated incident”—NBC has dismissed its Today cohost after more than two decades with the show.
■ On Twitter, the president celebrates—and demands an investigation of NBC.
■ On further review: Lauer, two months ago, to disgraced Fox News host Bill O’Reilly: “You don’t let your No. 1 guy go unless …” (Photo: Max Goldberg.)
■ NPR’s chief news editor is out, too.
■ Update, 11:42 a.m.: And now, Garrison Keillor is gone.
■ News organizations are struggling with coverage of scandals in their midst.
‘MR. CONYERS MUST RESIGN.’ Pressure’s growing for a civil rights icon accused of sexual harassment to step down from Congress.
■ Developing coverage: The U.S. House is set to vote on requirements that all members and staffers undergo anti-sexual harassment training.
■ Developing coverage: The U.S. House is set to vote on requirements that all members and staffers undergo anti-sexual harassment training.
■ A rich Illinois Republican’s big contributions to disgraced Senate candidate Roy Moore have triggered residual headaches for another of his beneficiaries, Illinois Gov. Bruce Rauner.
■ Ex-White House strategist Steve Bannon says he’ll campaign for Moore next week.
■ An updated list of who’s been accused of sexual harassment in entertainment, media, politics and sports.
■ Ex-White House strategist Steve Bannon says he’ll campaign for Moore next week.
■ An updated list of who’s been accused of sexual harassment in entertainment, media, politics and sports.
LADIES AND GENTLEMEN, THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. Trump today shared an anti-Muslim “snuff film” tweeted by an ultranationalist British politician previously charged with “religious aggravated harassment.”
■ … But on The Daily Show, Trevor Noah gives the president credit: “In his own racially offensive way, Donald Trump was being woke” about Sen. Elizabeth Warren’s claims of Native American heritage.
‘WE DO NOT FEEL IT IS APPROPRIATE TO CELEBRATE WITH HIM.’ CNN says it will boycott the White House Christmas party.
■ Politico’s Jack Shafer: “Will Trump ever crack down on the press in a meaningful way? No. He can’t quit us.”
■ The Atlantic’s Derek Thompson: “How to Survive the Media Apocalypse.”
■ The Atlantic’s Derek Thompson: “How to Survive the Media Apocalypse.”
■ Media watcher Margaret Sullivan in The Washington Post: “Newspeople used to joke that readers should never be allowed to see how the sausage is made. Now we need to show that messy process as clearly as possible. Our very credibility depends on it.”
■ Columnist Kathleen Parker: The “absurdly named” Project Veritas’ “James O’Keefe shows what real fake news is.”
■ Seconds after his sentencing in UN war crimes court, former military commander Slobodan Praljak drank poison and died.
■ For the first time in decades, Hawaii resumes nuclear attack drills Friday.
EXPRESS TO O’HARE. Chicago City Hall is moving ahead with plans for an alternative to the Blue Line for moving people between downtown and the airport in “20 minutes or less.”
■ Columnist Kathleen Parker: The “absurdly named” Project Veritas’ “James O’Keefe shows what real fake news is.”
‘GROWING CHAOS.’ Three months after Secretary of State Rex Tillerson hired a CEO to overhaul the State Department, she’s quit, adding to what Vox calls “declining morale” in the department.
■ For the first time in decades, Hawaii resumes nuclear attack drills Friday.
EXPRESS TO O’HARE. Chicago City Hall is moving ahead with plans for an alternative to the Blue Line for moving people between downtown and the airport in “20 minutes or less.”
■ A Chicago flower-delivery company founder opposes Chicago’s bid to become Amazon’s new HQ2.
GUTIERREZ FOR PRESIDENT? The Sun-Times’ Mark Brown says a campaign’s taking shape for retiring U.S. Rep. Luis Gutierrez.
■ The Tribune’s John Kass recalls “how Gutierrez, a former chairman of the Chicago City Council’s Committee on Real Estate, lived almost tax-free in a spacious, new Bucktown home.” (2010 photo of Rahm Emanuel by Daniel X. O’Neil.)
‘IF THIS WERE A RICH WHITE KID, THEY WOULD’VE GLADLY TAKEN HIS $50 AND LET HIM WALK.’ A lawyer talks to the Tribune about police conduct in the case of a minor traffic offense that ended with a young man’s catastrophic brain damage in jail.
COLUMBIA COLLEGE STRIKE. Part-time faculty members say they’re walking off the job today and tomorrow to protest low wages and compensation.
■ Politico: Republican plans to slap unprecedented taxes on higher education reflect “a growing culture war on a higher education system seen as elitist and out of touch.”
TOOLS FOR THE FUTURE.
■ Upgrades to the Waze navigation app today include a new “motorcycle mode,” high-occupancy vehicle lane routing and expanded support for voice commands.
■ A primer: What is bitcoin?
■ Politico: Republican plans to slap unprecedented taxes on higher education reflect “a growing culture war on a higher education system seen as elitist and out of touch.”
BROADCASTERS RETIRING. After 30 years delivering weather forecasts on the TV, Steve Baskerville is stepping down from Ch. 2.
■ Bruce DuMont is retiring as president of the Museum of Broadcast Communications, which he founded.
■ Keith Olbermann ends his video series for GQ: “My work here is done. Matter of fact, so is Trump’s.”
■ Keith Olbermann ends his video series for GQ: “My work here is done. Matter of fact, so is Trump’s.”
TOOLS FOR THE FUTURE.
■ Upgrades to the Waze navigation app today include a new “motorcycle mode,” high-occupancy vehicle lane routing and expanded support for voice commands.
■ A primer: What is bitcoin?