Top Items:
Will Wright / New York Times:
Covid-19 Live Updates: U.S. Breaks Record for Most Deaths in a Week — Trump officials passed when Pfizer offered to sell more vaccine doses months ago. Britain is readying a mass vaccination drive. — RIGHT NOW The U.S. has recorded its most Covid-19 deaths in a week. — Here's what you need to know:
Discussion:
Forbes, New York Magazine, Political Wire, COURIER, Boing Boing, The Week, Business Insider, USA Today, HotAir, Talking Points Memo, CNN, CBS News, Raw Story, Mediaite and SiouxlandProud
RELATED:
Lev Facher / STAT:
Leading Covid-19 vaccine makers Pfizer and Moderna decline invitations to White House ‘Vaccine Summit’ — Both Pfizer and Moderna, the two major drug manufacturers likely to receive emergency authorizations for a Covid-19 vaccine in the coming weeks, have rejected invitations from President Trump …
New York Times:
Trump administration officials passed when Pfizer offered in late summer to sell the U.S. more vaccine doses. — Trump administration officials passed when Pfizer offered in late summer to sell the U.S. government additional doses of its Covid-19 vaccine, according to people familiar with the matter.
Discussion:
Media Matters for America, POLITICUSUSA, The Hill, CNBC, New York Post and The Intellectualist
Washington Post:
Pfizer tells U.S. officials it cannot supply substantial additional vaccine until late June or July — Trump administration officials deny there will be availability issues, but others say problems are possible in the second quarter. — Pfizer has told the Trump administration …
Discussion:
Mother Jones, Denver Post, The Guardian, ABC7, KVIA-TV, Jezebel and HotAir
Brooke Singman / Fox News:
Trump to sign coronavirus vaccine executive order prioritizing Americans over foreign nations
Trump to sign coronavirus vaccine executive order prioritizing Americans over foreign nations
Discussion:
New York Times, Washington Examiner, ABC News, CNBC, Bloomberg, The Hill, New York Post, The Daily Caller, Breitbart, Washington Times, American Military News and Townhall
David Wallace-Wells / New York Magazine:
We Had the Vaccine the Whole Time — You may be surprised to learn that of the trio …
We Had the Vaccine the Whole Time — You may be surprised to learn that of the trio …
Discussion:
Daily Kos
Politico:
Biden picks retired general Lloyd Austin to run Pentagon — President-elect Joe Biden has selected Retired Gen. Lloyd Austin to serve as secretary of defense, according to three people with knowledge of the decision. If confirmed, Austin would be the first Black person to lead the Pentagon.
Discussion:
The Daily Beast, New York Post, Washington Examiner, CNN, Informed Comment, NPR, USA Today, Responsible Statecraft, Vox, Foreign Policy, National Review, ABC News, The Daily Caller, Fox News, The Week, Task & Purpose, ABC11, Townhall, Mediaite, Raw Story, Defense One, Axios, Business Insider, Mother Jones, Associated Press and The Guardian
RELATED:
Jim Golby / New York Times:
Sorry, Gen. Lloyd Austin. A Recently Retired General Should Not Be Secretary of Defense. — After a tumultuous four years, we need civilian leadership and a return to normalcy. — Mr. Golby has been a special adviser to Vice Presidents Joe Biden and Mike Pence.
New York Times:
Biden Plans to Tap Lloyd Austin, Former Iraq Commander, as Defense Secretary
Biden Plans to Tap Lloyd Austin, Former Iraq Commander, as Defense Secretary
Discussion:
CBS News, Bloomberg, Hamodia, Task & Purpose, New York Post and The Week
Jeffrey Schweers / Tallahassee Democrat:
Agents raid home of fired Florida data scientist who built COVID-19 dashboard — State police brandishing firearms raided the home of Rebekah Jones, the former Department of Health employee who built the state's much-praised COVID-19 dashboard before being fired over what she said was refusing to manipulate data.
RELATED:
CNN:
Florida police raid home of former state Covid-19 data scientist — (CNN)Florida police raided the home of a former state coronavirus data scientist on Monday, escalating a feud between the state government and a data expert who has accused officials of trying to cover up the extent of the pandemic.
Discussion:
Axios, TheBlaze, The Guardian, Florida Politics, The Daily Beast, INSIDER and Fox News
Sun-Sentinel:
Florida police raid COVID data whistleblower's house with guns drawn — State police raided the home of a former Department of Health data scientist who is accusing Florida officials of wrongfully firing her for refusing to manipulate COVID-19 statistics. — Rebekah Jones …
Discussion:
Tampa Bay Times, Washington Times, Fox News, CBS Miami, UPI, The Intellectualist and Lawyers, Guns & Money
Josh Feldman / Mediaite:
Lou Dobbs Snaps at Stephen Miller Over White House Not Doing More on Trump Legal Fight: 'Why Don't You Answer Me?!' — Fox Business' Lou Dobbs snapped at White House advisor Stephen Miller as he raged over why Republicans and the White House aren't doing more on the president's legal fight in multiple states.
Discussion:
Washington Examiner, POLITICUSUSA and National File
RELATED:
Kimberly Wehle / The Bulwark:
Ted Cruz Wants to Toss Out 7 Million People's Votes. Appalling. — The ‘constitutionalist’ senator volunteers to help make the case at the Supreme Court. — Ladies and gentleman, Fox News just learned—this is “breaking,” mind you—that the junior senator from Texas, Ted Cruz …
Jonathan Swan / Axios:
Scoop: Trump plots mass pardons, even to people not asking — President Trump isn't just accepting pardon requests but blindly discussing them “like Christmas gifts” to people who haven't even asked, sources with direct knowledge of the conversations told Axios.
Page Six:
Ivanka & Jared buy $30M lot on high-security Miami island — Ivanka Trump and Jared Kushner have splashed out on a $30 million-plus dollar lot of land on Miami's uber-swanky and high-security Indian Creek Island — known as the “Billionaire's Bunker” — Page Six can exclusively reveal.
Washington Post:
Trump asks Pennsylvania House speaker for help overturning election results, personally intervening in a third state — President Trump called the speaker of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives twice during the past week to make the extraordinary request for help reversing his loss in the state …
Discussion:
Business Insider, Washington Times, Washington Examiner, New York Times, KVIA-TV, The Hill, RedState, Associated Press, Raw Story, POLITICUSUSA, Vox, CNN, CBS Pittsburgh, The Week, BillMoyers.com, CBS News and ABC News
Aaron Reich / Jerusalem Post:
Former Israeli space security chief says aliens exist, humanity not ready — This “Galactic Federation” has supposedly been in contact with Israel and the US for years, but are keeping themselves a secret to prevent hysteria until humanity is ready. — Has the State of Israel made contact with aliens?
Discussion:
The Daily Caller, Balloon Juice, The Mary Sue, TMZ.com and The New Arab
CNN:
House conservatives urge Trump not to concede and press for floor fight over election loss — What Republicans are saying privately about the election — (CNN)President Donald Trump's staunchest defenders on Capitol Hill are urging him not to concede even after President-elect Joe Biden wins …
Discussion:
Political IQ, Vox, New York Magazine, Patterico's Pontifications, Political Wire and Election Law Blog
RELATED:
Aris Folley / The Hill:
Jim Jordan: ‘No way’ Trump should concede
Jim Jordan: ‘No way’ Trump should concede
Discussion:
CNN, POLITICUSUSA and Washington Examiner
Wall Street Journal:
MSNBC to Name Rashida Jones President, Succeeding Phil Griffin — Mr. Griffin, who has been with the cable news network for 25 years, will leave after the end of January — MSNBC is expected to name Rashida Jones as the network's president, people familiar with the matter said …
Discussion:
The Wrap, Fox News, Forbes, The Daily Caller, CNN, Mediaite, TheGrio, Washington Post, TVNewser, New York Times, Variety, UPI, REVOLT, The Hill and New York Post, more at Mediagazer »
RELATED:
Burgess Everett / Politico:
Hawley urges Trump to veto Covid bill absent stimulus checks — Sen. Josh Hawley is not happy that the leading coronavirus proposals lack another round of direct payments to Americans — and he's taking his case straight to President Donald Trump. — The Missouri Republican lobbied Trump …
RELATED:
Jordain Carney / The Hill:
McConnell says Senate will pass defense bill despite veto threat
McConnell says Senate will pass defense bill despite veto threat
Discussion:
CNN, Politico, Hamodia, National Review, New York Magazine, Business Insider, Raw Story, New York Post and IJR
Allison Pecorin / ABC News:
Bipartisan COVID-19 relief talks hit familiar snags on Capitol Hill
Bipartisan COVID-19 relief talks hit familiar snags on Capitol Hill
Discussion:
Associated Press, Politico, The Hill and New York Post
Wilson Wong / NBC News:
Former Alabama senator dies of Covid at age 78, and in his last words warns, ‘We messed up’ … A former Alabama state senator died of Covid-19 last week at age 78, officials said. — Former Sen. Larry Dixon, a Republican who also served as the executive director of the Alabama Board of Medical Examiners …
Bethany Allen-Ebrahimian / Axios:
Exclusive: Suspected Chinese spy targeted California politicians — A suspected Chinese intelligence operative developed extensive ties with local and national politicians, including a U.S. congressman, in what U.S. officials believe was a political intelligence operation run …
Discussion:
Raw Story
FiveThirtyEight:
What The Polls Say About Georgia's Senate Runoffs — Headed into the 2020 election, we knew that Election Day might turn into Election Week or even Election Month because of the huge increase in mail voting due to the coronavirus pandemic. While it thankfully didn't take a month to find …
Discussion:
Vox, Breitbart, New York Magazine, Washington Examiner, KVIA-TV, The American Independent and Washington Post
RELATED:
Jennifer Bendery / HuffPost:
Tribes Want Deb Haaland For Interior Secretary. Some Biden Advisers Are Trying To Thwart Her. — Anonymous Biden allies are telling news outlets the Indigenous congresswoman is not qualified. “Of course it's offensive,” said Rep. Raul Grijalva (D-Ariz.).
Marcus Weisgerber / Defense One:
Trump Admin to Rename Two Bases for Space Force Over Military Objections — The Air Force had quietly agreed with Congress not to change anything until the NDAA settles a way forward on Confederate base names. — The U.S. Air Force plans to change the names of two Florida military bases heavily involved …
Discussion:
Associated Press and Space Coast Daily
Zolan Kanno-Youngs / New York Times:
Armed Mexicans Were Smuggled In to Guard Border Wall, Whistle-Blowers Say — In a complaint unsealed on Friday, whistle-blowers working on President Trump's wall said that contractors were illegally bringing in Mexican guards to protect construction sites. — WASHINGTON — Two whistle-blowers …
Discussion:
New York Magazine and Raw Story
New York Times:
Elevating Fringe Theories, Ron Johnson Questions Virus Science — The Wisconsin Republican has transformed his Senate panel into a forum for amplifying dubious theories and questionable treatments pushed by President Trump. — WASHINGTON — In choosing a slate of doctors to testify …
Discussion:
Pandemics Explained, CNN, Press Watch and The Hill
Benjamin Zeisloft / Campus Reform the #1 Source …:
Cornell offers ‘person of color’ exemption for flu vaccine requirement — Students at Cornell University can use their status as a “person of color” to be exempt from the university's flu vaccine requirement. — “Students who identify as Black, Indigenous, or as a Person of Color (BIPOC) …
Discussion:
Washington Free Beacon
Nancy Cordes / CBS News:
ER doctor who criticized Trump's actions to be removed from Walter Reed schedule — Dr. James Phillips, the emergency room physician who publicly criticized President Trump's decision to drive with Secret Service agents to greet supporters while he was hospitalized with COVID-19 in October …
Washington Post:
NFL investigation of Washington Football Team uncovers confidential settlement — The NFL's investigation into allegations of workplace sexual harassment at the Washington Football Team has uncovered a confidential settlement from a decade ago, court records show, and an emergency motion filed Monday …
Discussion:
ProFootballTalk and Fox News
David Roberts / Volts:
Welcome to Volts — Clean energy and politics, electrified — Hey there! My name is David Roberts and this is Volts, a newsletter about clean energy and politics. (I'm on Twitter as @drvolts and you can email me at [email protected]) — Volts comes out twice a week, give or take.
J. Michael Luttig / Washington Post:
No, President Trump can't pardon himself — In June 2018, in the throes of the special counsel's investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election and possible obstruction of justice by President Trump, the president claimed “the absolute right to PARDON myself,” citing “numerous legal scholars.”
Daniel Lippman / Politico:
What Joe Biden reads and watches — With help from Renuka Rayasam and Myah Ward — HOW THE PRESIDENT-ELECT GETS HIS NEWS — In the Biden administration, the foreign policy establishment is expected to return to its usual position of influence for the occupant of the Oval Office.
Discussion:
The White House, The Hill, Associated Press and Washington Times
Helen Sullivan / The Guardian:
Christchurch inquiry report released - as it happened — Below are is our summary of today's key findings. With that, we will now be closing this blog. Thank you for following along. — Here is our full story on the report's findings: — More from AAP:
Discussion:
The Verge
David Harsanyi / National Review:
Journalists Turn on Free Expression — Mainstream journalists have used their access to a massive audience to mislead the public in many ways, but this isn't a free-speech problem. — In an interview MSNBC's Katie Hunt, The New Yorker's Steve Coll contends that Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg's …
HuffPost:
This Is How Trump's Executions Are Spreading The Coronavirus — The government admitted in a buried footnote of a court filing that “some” key staffers contracted COVID-19 after the last execution. — In late November, as health officials urged the public to avoid travel amid a new wave …