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9:50 AM ET, December 8, 2020

memeorandum

 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:
RELATED:
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.
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 …
ABC News:
Coronavirus live updates: 90-year-old grandmother becomes 1st to receive Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine outside clinical trial  —  She's the first person in the world to receive the jab outside a clinical trial.  —  US crosses 250,000 coronavirus deaths  —  As the U.S. hits the grim milestone …
New York Times:
Pfizer's Vaccine Offers Strong Protection After First Dose  —  The Food and Drug Administration's first analysis of the clinical trial data also found that the coronavirus vaccine worked well regardless of a volunteer's race, weight or age.  —  WASHINGTON — The coronavirus vaccine …
Quint Forgey / Politico:
'I literally don't know': Operation Warp Speed scientist can't explain Trump's vaccine order
Discussion: Washington Post
Lev Facher / STAT:
Leading Covid-19 vaccine makers Pfizer and Moderna decline invitations to White House ‘Vaccine Summit’
Benjamin Mueller / New York Times:
National Health Service Delivers First Shots to Fight Covid-19
Discussion: Fox News
Jeffrey Schweers / Tallahassee Democrat:
Agents raid home of fired Florida data scientist who built COVID-19 dashboard  —  DeSantis “sent the Gestapo”: Video shows FDLE agents with guns drawn at home of woman fired over COVID-19 data.  —  View Comments  —  State police brandishing firearms Monday raided the Tallahassee home of Rebekah Jones …
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.
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 …
RELATED:
Politico:
Trump's options dwindle as safe harbor deadline looms  —  President Donald Trump's effort to snatch a second term through a series of state and federal court challenges has been flaming out for weeks.  Now, the calendar has all but extinguished it.  —  Dec. 8 is the so-called “safe harbor” …
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.
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.
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.
Discussion: NBC News and Washington Post
Hans Nichols / Axios:
Biden faces battle to land Austin at Pentagon
Discussion: Political Wire
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.
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 …
RELATED:
Adam Van Brimmer / USA Today:
Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp to state legislators: Picking own presidential electors ‘not an option’
Discussion: The Hill
David Siders / Politico:
Trump blows a hole in the GOP on his way out  —  Donald Trump's efforts to overturn the presidential election have met with defeat in every swing state and in nearly every court where his cases have been heard.  But Trump's campaign to pressure GOP elected officials to support his baseless claims …
RELATED:
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 …
Page Six:
Ivanka and Jared buy $30M lot on high-security Miami island  —  Ivanka Trump and Jared Kushner have splurged on a $30 million-plus 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.
Discussion: INSIDER, Raw Story, Lucianne and TMZ.com
HuffPost:
The Marines And The Racist Porn Actor Who Tried To Start A ‘Modern Day SS’  —  Four neo-Nazis arrested on gun charges wanted to spark a race war, prosecutors said, and their potential targets included Black Lives Matter protesters.  —  In 2016, Liam Collins, then just a teenager living in New Jersey …
Zeynep / Insight:
Is This a Coup?  Introducing The Counter  —  I present my own essay on the dangers of the moment and a strong counterargument against it  —  One of the best ways to think through and sharpen—or abandon—an argument is to confront the best case against it.  So I'm launching a feature of this newsletter: “The Counter.”
Discussion: Politico, Vox, The Hill and The Federalist
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
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?
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 …
RELATED:
Ahiza García-Hodges / NBC News:
Rashida Jones named next president of MSNBC
Discussion: Breitbart
Brian Niemietz / New York Daily News:
Howard Stern: Trump's COVID-19 handling is ‘treasonous’  —  Shock jock Howard Stern notched up his war of words on President Trump — a former regular on his show — by accusing the lame duck leader of criminal behavior against his country.  —  The charge came Monday when a man identifying himself …
Discussion: The Hill
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.).
Politico:
Stimulus stuck as Covid rages  —  Editor's Note: Morning Money is a free version of POLITICO Pro Financial Services' morning newsletter, which is delivered to our subscribers each morning at 6 a.m. The POLITICO Pro platform combines the news you need with tools you can use to take action on the day's biggest stories.
Discussion: HotAir and Bloomberg
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 …
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 …
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 …
RELATED:
New York Times:
Republicans Make Clear Their Georgia Senate Strategy: Attack Warnock
Discussion: BET, Roll Call and Esquire
Washington Examiner:
Biden's pick for healthcare boss is an unacceptable extremist  —  Joe Biden, after promising to unite the country as a centrist president, has taken a radical turn by tapping California Attorney General Xavier Becerra to oversee the vast Department of Health and Human Services.
Discussion: Bloomberg
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
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 …
Carl Swanson / Curbed:
Reasons We've Loved New York A send-off to the many places, big and small, that closed in 2020. … If you live in New York long enough — and it doesn't have to be very long — it gradually becomes unrecognizable.  And maybe, you begin to realize, it's for someone else entirely …
 
 
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 More Items: 
Jonathan S. Tobin / The Federalist:
Press Secretary Jen Psaki Will Help Joe Biden Lie To America
Greg Gutfeld / Fox News:
Gutfeld on the hypocrisy of COVID restrictions on bars and restaurants
Discussion: Fox Business
Kelly Weill / The Daily Beast:
Group That Protested at MI Official's Home Claims Ties to Local GOP
Discussion: Reuters, Salon and Raw Story
John Tierney / City Journal:
Pandemic Penitents  —  Lockdowns are more about faith than science.  —  Covid-19
Aaron Blake / Washington Post:
Newsmax and One America News gain prominence as they push Trump's baseless theories
Washington Post:
A $4.5 billion Trump food program is running out of money early, leaving families hungry and food assistance charities scrambling
James McElroy / The American Mind:
Woke Capital Isn't a Game
Jennifer Jacobs / Bloomberg:
Biden Administration Will Create Position to Reach Conservatives
Discussion: Townhall
 Earlier Items: 
Matt Lewis / The Daily Beast:
Rudy Giuliani's COVID Case Shows There's No Vaccine to Treat the Disease the GOP Has Become
Discussion: Raw Story
Politico:
Steakhouses, Hill bars and ski trips: GOP carries on amid the pandemic
Discussion: Raw Story
J. Michael Luttig / Washington Post:
No, President Trump can't pardon himself
Tim Prudente / Baltimore Sun:
Baltimore State's Attorney Marilyn Mosby hires public defender to free elderly prisoners
Nancy Cordes / CBS News:
ER doctor who criticized Trump's actions to be removed from Walter Reed schedule
Discussion: The Hill, Jezebel and Raw Story
 

 
From Mediagazer:

Jonathan Stempel / Reuters:
A New York judge finds Sirius XM liable for a difficult subscription cancellation process; Sirius says it will appeal but abide by a new “click-to-cancel” rule

Brian Steinberg / Variety:
Sources: NBCUniversal Vice Chairman Bonnie Hammer plans to leave the company at the end of the year; she has been with the company since 2004

Peter Kafka / Business Insider:
A Q&A with Chris Balfe, CEO of Red Seat Ventures, which has helped Tucker Carlson and Megyn Kelly set up their podcast and streaming businesses and sell ads

 
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