memeorandum: Bloomberg axes company using prisoners for campaign calls (Alexandra Jaffe/Associated Press)

10:45 AM ET, December 25, 2019

Top Items:

Murkowski ‘disturbed’ by McConnell's vow for ‘total coordination’ with White House for impeachment trial — ANCHORAGE (KTUU) - Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, says she was “disturbed” to hear Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell say there would be “total coordination” between the White House …

Discussion: CNN, The Hill, Joe.My.God. and Raw Story

John Washington / The Intercept:

Mike Bloomberg Exploited Prison Labor to Make 2020 Presidential Campaign Phone Calls — Former New York City mayor and multibillionaire Democratic presidential candidate Mike Bloomberg used prison labor to make campaign calls. Through a third-party vendor, the Mike Bloomberg 2020 campaign contracted …

Discussion: Redstate, Politico, Townhall, CBS News, New York Times, Raw Story, Al Jazeera, РБК, Sputnik News, Meduza.io, The Independent, The Gateway Pundit, NPR, CNN, HuffPost, VICE, NBC News, Gizmodo, Slate, Axios, The Slot, New York Post, The Daily Caller, Daily Kos, Fox News, The Hill, Breitbart, Twitchy and Mediaite

Alexandra Jaffe / Associated Press:

Bloomberg axes company using prisoners for campaign calls — Democratic presidential candidate Michael Bloomberg walks into the crowd of supporters and volunteers to speak to them and take photos after speaking in Philadelphia on Saturday, Dec. 21, 2019. (Tyger Williams/The Philadelphia Inquirer via AP)

Jason Lange / Reuters:

Michael Bloomberg says his White House campaign unknowingly used prison labor — WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Billionaire U.S. presidential candidate Michael Bloomberg on Tuesday said his campaign had unknowingly used prison workers to make telephone calls on his behalf.

Sasha Pezenik / ABC News:

Bloomberg campaign used prison labor to make 2020 campaign calls — The campaign said they cut ties with the contractor once they found out. — Former New York Gov. Mike Bloomberg's campaign contracted with a call center that employs prison inmates to make calls for his 2020 presidential campaign, ABC News confirmed on Tuesday.

Discussion: UPI and New York Post

Ruth Maclean / New York Times:

Speaking Out on Gay Rights and Corruption Costs Ambassador His Job — Zambia's president wanted U.S. Ambassador Daniel Foote gone after he criticized the government for corruption and for sending a gay couple to prison. — The United States recalled its ambassador to Zambia on Monday …

Maya King / Politico:

'We've never seen spending like this': Bloomberg, Steyer saturate airwaves — They entered the race late, but the two billionaires seeking the Democratic nomination are making up for lost time. — Together, Tom Steyer and Michael Bloomberg have poured nearly $200 million into television …

Drew Harwell / Washington Post:

Colleges are turning students' phones into surveillance machines, tracking the locations of hundreds of thousands — When Syracuse University freshmen walk into professor Jeff Rubin's Introduction to Information Technologies class, seven small Bluetooth beacons hidden around …

more at Techmeme »

Madison Feller / ELLE:

She Helped Inspire The Wire And Oversaw The Weinstein Investigation. Meet Rebecca Corbett. — Like many women in media who spend hours hunched over stories, tracing the news and pursuing stories, the — ' investigations editor Rebecca Corbett is powered by snacks.

more at Mediagazer »

Just Security:

The 2019 Just Security Holiday Reading List — As 2019 comes to a close, we'd like to thank everyone for reading Just Security during what has been an extremely busy year. We hope you'll continue to turn to us for analysis and legal commentary of today's pressing national security issues in the new year …

Rebecca Klar / The Hill:

Trump campaign launches website to help supporters ‘win arguments’ with ‘snowflakes’ during holidays — President Trump's reelection campaign launched a website Tuesday with videos containing pro-Trump talking points the campaign said can help supporters “win arguments with liberal friends …

Discussion: Breitbart

Lisa Friedman / New York Times:

A Trump Policy ‘Clarification’ All but Ends Punishment for Bird Deaths — WASHINGTON — As the state of Virginia prepared for a major bridge and tunnel expansion in the tidewaters of the Chesapeake Bay last year, engineers understood that the nesting grounds of 25,000 gulls, black skimmers …

Discussion: CNN

Alexandra Hutzler / Newsweek:

Legal Experts Slam Attorney General Barr Over Impeachment: He's ‘Up To His Eyeballs’ in Corruption — Attorney General William Barr's defense of President Donald Trump amid impeachment is raising questions about potential conflicts of interest as legal experts accuse the Justice Department chief …

Discussion: Raw Story and Alternet.org

Katrina vanden Heuvel / Washington Post:

The climate movement is gaining momentum in spite of Trump — The selection of 16-year-old climate activist Greta Thunberg as Time magazine's Person of the Year seemed to trigger many on the political right, led by President Trump, who called the choice “ridiculous” and mocked Thunberg …