NBC's Chuck Todd claimed in an interview with Rolling Stone that "the right" has "an incentive structure" to spread misinformation, specifically with respect to the conspiracy theory that Ukraine interfered in the 2016 election.
The big picture: Todd's popular show "Meet the Press" has consistently led its Sunday competitors in total viewers in 2019. Todd has had a number of combative interviews with Republicans and members of the Trump administration, and will host a special edition of MTP on Dec. 29 centered on the weaponization of disinformation.
Tulsi Gabbard spent $678,790 on billboards for her 2020 presidential campaign during the first three quarters of 2019, making her one of the only candidates to do so, NBC News reports.
Why it matters: Gabbard's investment in billboards is unique as most of her competitors are focusing their funds on television advertising in early voting states.
Why it matters: Soybeans are China's largest U.S. import, but the country stopped purchasing them in the midst of a trade war spurred by U.S. tariffs. While specific details surrounding the "phase one" agreement have yet to be released, the portions unveiled earlier this month amount to little more than an agriculture purchase agreement, per Axios' Dan Primack.
The year started with a record-breaking government shutdown and is ending with the third presidential impeachment in U.S. history — in between an onslaught of investigations, conspiracies, scandals and memes.
Why it matters: The chart, based on search trends compiled by Google News Lab, highlights how short the public's attention span was as the media darted from one big thing to another.
More and more shoppers are getting their Christmas gifts delivered to their homes with just a click — but that comes with consequences.
The big picture: Around a quarter of Americans had packages stolen from their doorsteps last year. As online shopping keeps growing, the holidays have turned into a windfall for porch pirates.
