Top Items:
Jonathan Swan / Axios:
Scoop: West Wing fears COVID spread after Trump lawyer Jenna Ellis attends WH party — President Trump's lawyer Jenna Ellis has informed associates she has coronavirus, multiple sources tell Axios, stirring West Wing fears after she attended a senior staff Christmas party on Friday.
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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.
Discussion:
Business Insider, CNN, The US Sun, Washington Examiner, Talking Points Memo, Mediaite and Raw Story
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 …
Discussion:
Wall Street Journal, NPR, US Food and Drug …, Washington Post, Daily Kos, The Verge, UPI, National Review, NBC News, New York Post, STAT and Just The News
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Quint Forgey / Politico:
'I literally don't know': Operation Warp Speed scientist can't explain Trump's vaccine order — The chief scientist of the Trump administration's Operation Warp Speed was unable to explain President Donald Trump's latest executive order Tuesday, which aims to prioritize shipment …
Discussion:
Washington Post, The Daily Caller, Raw Story and The Week
Benjamin Mueller / New York Times:
Britain Begins Mass Inoculation Campaign With Fully Tested Vaccine — Britain has become the first nation to begin a mass inoculation campaign using a fully tested vaccine, kicking off a global effort to fight Covid-19. Doctors, nurses, certain people aged 80 or over and nursing home workers …
Discussion:
CNN, BBC, The Mary Sue, Fortune, CBS Los Angeles, The Daily Caller and Forbes
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 …
Will Wright / New York Times:
Covid-19 Live Updates: U.S. Breaks Record for Most Deaths in a Week
Covid-19 Live Updates: U.S. Breaks Record for Most Deaths in a Week
Discussion:
CNN, The Mary Sue, Talking Points Memo, Mediaite, Gothamist, STAT, Forbes, Daily Kos, One America News Network, IJR, CBS News, USA Today, The Week and New York Magazine
Hayes Brown / MSNBC:
A Covid vaccine is the last thing we need to think about right now
A Covid vaccine is the last thing we need to think about right now
Discussion:
IJR and New York Times
Oriana Gonzalez / Axios:
Gottlieb confirms U.S. government turned down Pfizer offer for more vaccine doses
Gottlieb confirms U.S. government turned down Pfizer offer for more vaccine doses
Discussion:
Washington Examiner, Bloomberg, New York Times, Reason, Slate, Raw Story and The Root
Emma Platoff / The Texas Tribune:
In new lawsuit, Texas contests election results in Georgia, Wisconsin, Michigan, Pennsylvania — Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton is asking the U.S. Supreme Court to block the battleground states from casting “unlawful and constitutionally tainted votes” in the Electoral College.
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Joel B. Pollak / Breitbart:
Texas Sues Georgia, Michigan, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin at Supreme Court over Election Rules — The State of Texas filed a lawsuit directly with the U.S. Supreme Court shortly before midnight on Monday challenging the election procedures in Georgia, Michigan, Pennsylvania …
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 …
Jordan Williams / The Hill:
Lou Dobbs goes after Stephen Miller for not doing enough for Trump
Lou Dobbs goes after Stephen Miller for not doing enough for Trump
Discussion:
Washington Examiner
Trip Gabriel / New York Times:
Presidential Transition Live Updates: ‘Safe Harbor’ Day Arrives, the Deadline to Resolve State Election Challenges — Today is the deadline for all state-level election challenges to be completed. President-elect Joe Biden will tap a retired four-star Army general to be the first Black secretary of defense.
Discussion:
The Hill, Washington Examiner, Talking Points Memo, Vox, The Week and Washington Post
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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 …
Arya Hodjat / The Daily Beast:
Ex-Cybersecurity Chief Sues Trump Lawyer Over Insane Death Threat
Ex-Cybersecurity Chief Sues Trump Lawyer Over Insane Death Threat
Discussion:
New York Times, Business Insider, Patterico's Pontifications, Forbes, Law & Crime, Mediaite and Raw Story
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:
Fox News, NBC News, Common Dreams and Washington Post
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Politico:
Biden picks retired general Lloyd Austin to run Pentagon
Biden picks retired general Lloyd Austin to run Pentagon
Discussion:
Washington Examiner, NPR, The Bulwark, Fox News, Washington Post, Vanity Fair, GovExec.com, National Review, Axios, American Prospect, HotAir, Task & Purpose, Jacobin, Common Dreams, New York Post, CNN, Glenn Greenwald, Slate, The Week, The US Sun, Foreign Policy, The Stream, POLITICUSUSA, UPI, TheBlaze, American Military News, The Daily Beast, USA Today, Informed Comment, ABC11, New York Times, Wall Street Journal and Responsible Statecraft, more at Mediagazer »
James Hohmann / Washington Post:
The Daily 202: Democrats would need to twist themselves into pretzels to give Biden's Defense pick a waiver
The Daily 202: Democrats would need to twist themselves into pretzels to give Biden's Defense pick a waiver
Discussion:
Washington Examiner, HotAir, Just Security and Vox
Bryan Bender / Politico:
Biden's reliance on retired military brass sets off alarm bells
Biden's reliance on retired military brass sets off alarm bells
Discussion:
Outside the Beltway and Washington Post
Eliot A. Cohen / The Atlantic:
This Is No Job for a General — On January 10, 2017, I sat at the witness table looking …
This Is No Job for a General — On January 10, 2017, I sat at the witness table looking …
Discussion:
Washington Post
Jonathan Tamari / The Philadelphia Inquirer:
Republican Sen. Pat Toomey calls Trump's campaign to overturn Pennsylvania election ‘completely unacceptable’ — Sen. Pat Toomey said Tuesday that it's “completely unacceptable” for President Donald Trump to pressure state lawmakers to overturn Pennsylvania's election result …
Discussion:
The Hill, Talking Points Memo, Washington Post, Raw Story, Washington Times, POLITICUSUSA, Washington Examiner, IJR and Fox News
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Melanie Zanona / Politico:
GOP Rep. Mooney wants to condemn lawmakers who call on Trump to concede
GOP Rep. Mooney wants to condemn lawmakers who call on Trump to concede
Discussion:
Washington Post, KVIA-TV and IJR
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:
New York Post, Breitbart, Washington Examiner, Israpundit, National Review, Conservative News Today, Just The News, The Gateway Pundit, RedState, POLITICUSUSA, The Western Journal, The US Sun, The Daily Caller, Twitchy, The Federalist, Townhall, The Right Scoop, The National Pulse, Business Insider, TheBlaze, Lucianne and Raw Story
RELATED:
Chuck Ross / The Daily Caller:
Report: Alleged Chinese Spy Raised Money For Eric Swalwell, Planted Intern In His Office
Report: Alleged Chinese Spy Raised Money For Eric Swalwell, Planted Intern In His Office
Discussion:
Sara A. Carter, The US Sun and Axios
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.
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Jeffrey Schweers / Tallahassee Democrat:
Agents raid home of fired Florida data scientist who built COVID-19 dashboard
Agents raid home of fired Florida data scientist who built COVID-19 dashboard
Discussion:
Washington Examiner, Techdirt, CBS Miami, Axios, HotAir, Mediaite, The Hill, The Week, The Verge and Florida Politics, more at Techmeme »
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 …
Discussion:
Washington Post, pjmedia.com, National Review, New York Times, Spectator USA, Raw Story, Daily Kos, The Dispatch and Boston Herald
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Ken Meyer / Mediaite:
Arizona Republican Party Now Calling on Voters to Fight and Die For Trump's Election War — The Arizona Republican Party escalated its rhetoric by urging people to fight to the death on behalf of President Donald Trump's attempts to dispute the 2020 Election.
Discussion:
The Daily Beast, The Hill, Forbes, Talking Points Memo, The Daily Caller, Crooks and Liars and The Intellectualist
Washington Post:
Christopher Krebs sues Trump campaign, lawyer Joe diGenova for defamation — The former top U.S. cybersecurity official responsible for securing November's presidential election sued the Trump campaign and one of its lawyers for defamation Tuesday, asserting that they conspired to falsely claim …
Discussion:
Bloomberg, CNBC, Axios, Deadline and Political Wire
Kim Masters / Hollywood Reporter:
Christopher Nolan Rips HBO Max as “Worst Streaming Service,” Denounces Warner Bros.' Plan — To many insiders, WarnerMedia's blindsiding of talent and their reps with news that it would send 17 films directly to HBO Max in 2021 felt like an insult. — For many in the movie business …
Ian Millhiser / Vox:
The $124 billion Supreme Court case that could throw the housing market into turmoil, explained — Collins v. Mnuchin is an early test of just how much chaos the Supreme Court's new majority is willing to impose on the government. — SHARE All sharing options
Discussion:
Pacific Legal Foundation and Just Security
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
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Jennifer Haberkorn / Los Angeles Times:
Republicans raise red flags over Becerra's nomination to lead Biden health department
Republicans raise red flags over Becerra's nomination to lead Biden health department
Discussion:
Townhall
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 …
America's Voice:
We Celebrate Along With Dreamers As DHS Officially Re-Opens New Applications for DACA — Yesterday, we highlighted how American public sentiment, led by the courage and first-person testimonials of Dreamers themselves, created the climate for the impressive work of the movement's litigators to win in the courts to keep DACA alive.
Washington Post:
Senate stimulus negotiations at risk of collapsing over whether companies can be sued for outbreaks — Democrats want protection for workers but Republicans warn of lawsuit frenzy, and debate is weighing on negotiations — The economic relief package attracting bipartisan interest in Congress …
Discussion:
Wall Street Journal, Hamodia, HotAir and Black Enterprise
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:
Salon, The US Sun, INSIDER, Washingtonian, Raw Story, Jewish Telegraphic Agency, TMZ.com and Lucianne
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:
New York Post, Vox, The Rush Limbaugh Show, The Hill and The Federalist
Alex Pareene / New Republic:
Neal Katyal and the Depravity of Big Law — The United States has a political class that mistakes its professional norms for ethics. Mainstream political journalists mindlessly grant anonymity to professional liars. Elected officials put collegiality and institutional procedure over the needs and interests of their constituents.