Top Items:
Keith Griffith / Associated Press:
MAGA turns on Mitch: Trump allies including Michael Flynn slam the GOP Senate majority leader for ‘caving to the mob and China’ for recognizing Biden as president-elect — Trump loyalists were furious after McConnell congratulated Biden on Tuesday — Top allies accused Senate majority leader of selling out the party's leader
Discussion:
Business Insider, Forbes and Deadline
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Politico:
McConnell warns Senate Republicans against challenging election results — Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell warned Republican senators Tuesday during a private caucus call not to object to the election results on Jan. 6, according to two sources familiar with the matter.
Alayna Treene / Axios:
Kevin McCarthy refuses to congratulate Biden on election victory — Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell alerted House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy Tuesday morning that he would congratulate President-elect Joe Biden for winning the Electoral College vote.
Burgess Everett / Politico:
How McConnell and the GOP let Trump down gently
How McConnell and the GOP let Trump down gently
Discussion:
Washington Post, Bloomberg, Issues & Insights, Associated Press, New York Times, The Week, Mediaite and KIFI-TV
Politico:
Why Biden thinks the GOP fever could break (really)
Why Biden thinks the GOP fever could break (really)
Discussion:
Bearing Arms, New York Times, abc7NY, IJR, New York Post, Washington Post, Wall Street Journal, CBS News and The Week
Alayna Treene / Axios:
Scoop: McConnell alerted White House before congratulating Biden
Scoop: McConnell alerted White House before congratulating Biden
Discussion:
Holy Bullies …, Mediaite, POLITICUSUSA, Washington Post and The Guardian
Nicholas Fandos / New York Times:
Defying Trump, McConnell Seeks to Squelch Bid to Overturn the Election
Defying Trump, McConnell Seeks to Squelch Bid to Overturn the Election
Discussion:
Washington Post, One America News Network, Townhall, David Harris Jr., Washington Times, POLITICUSUSA and TheBlaze
Bloomberg:
MacKenzie Scott Gives Away $4.2 Billion in Four Months — World's 18th-richest person announced contributions on Medium — Scott's total gifts this year are close to $6 billion — MacKenzie Scott is giving away her fortune at an unprecedented pace, donating more than $4 billion …
Discussion:
Gothamist
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Jazmin Goodwin / CNN:
MacKenzie Scott donates $4.2 billion to 384 organizations — New York (CNN Business)MacKenzie Scott announced on Tuesday her second major charitable contribution of the year, giving away nearly $4.2 billion to 384 organizations as part of a plan to donate a majority of her fortune.
MacKenzie Scott / Medium:
384 Ways to Help — Emily Dickinson lived much of her life isolated in a single room …
384 Ways to Help — Emily Dickinson lived much of her life isolated in a single room …
Discussion:
New York Times, WTOP, NewsOne, CBS News, Common Dreams, Vox, El Paso Matters, Orange County Register, The Wrap, GeekWire and The Hill
Michael Stratford / Politico:
DeVos urges career staff to ‘be the resistance’ as Biden takes over — Education Secretary Betsy DeVos urged career employees at the Education Department on Tuesday to “be the resistance” when the Biden administration comes into power next month, according to a recording of her remarks obtained by POLITICO.
Discussion:
The Hill, POLITICUSUSA, Raw Story, New York Magazine, Washington Examiner and Washington Times
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Politico:
Biden to tap former Michigan Gov. Granholm to lead Energy Department — President-elect Joe Biden will pick former Michigan Gov. Jennifer Granholm to run the Energy Department, the agency that would play a key role in helping develop the technologies needed fulfill his pledge to move the country off fossil fuels.
ABC13:
Alleged crusade to stop voter fraud lands former HPD captain in handcuffs — HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) — A former Houston Police Department Captain was arrested and charged for running a man off the road and pointing a gun at his head in an attempt to prove claims of a massive voter fraud scheme …
Discussion:
The Daily Beast, KIFI-TV, The Sun, TheBlaze, Washington Examiner, Raw Story, Lawyers, Guns & Money, Business Insider and The Intellectualist
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Erin Douglas / The Texas Tribune:
Former Houston police captain accused of violent attempt to prove election conspiracy was hired by GOP activist's group — Mark Aguirre is accused of running a man off the road and threatening him at gunpoint. The ex-cop was hired as a private investigator by a group whose CEO is GOP activist Steven Hotze.
Discussion:
NPR, WTOP and New York Post
John Hudson / Washington Post:
Hundreds of invitees skip Mike Pompeo's indoor holiday party at State Department — Only a tiny fraction of the more than 900 guests invited to an indoor holiday party hosted by Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and his wife Susan showed up on Tuesday following an outcry from public health officials …
Discussion:
The Week and Political Wire
Associated Press:
Trump asking about special prosecutor for Hunter Biden — Washington (AP) — President Donald Trump is considering pushing to have a special counsel appointed to advance a federal tax investigation into the son of President-elect Joe Biden, setting up a potential showdown with incoming acting attorney general Jeffrey Rosen.
Discussion:
emptywheel, New York Post, Business Insider, Mediaite, Washington Times, Washington Examiner, Los Angeles Times, Raw Story, Political Wire and Deadline
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Joyce Vance / MSNBC:
Barr's escape hatch isn't enough to shake Trump's stigma — Recently-resigned Attorney General William Barr left the Justice Department just like he came in — with a lie. His lack of honesty and steadfast refusal to understand his duty to serve justice and the people …
Discussion:
USA Today, CNN, New Republic, COURIER, Lawyers, Guns & Money, Raw Story, Real America's Voice and The Root
Vincent Marshall / Dodge City Daily Globe:
Mayor Warshaw resigns effective immediately — On Tuesday, Dec. 15, Dodge City Mayor Joyce Warshaw officially resigned from her position effective immediately. — “I understand people are under a lot of pressure from various things that are happening around society like the pandemic …
Discussion:
Axios and Political Wire
RELATED:
Associated Press:
‘I do not feel safe’: Kansas GOP mayor resigns after threats over backing mask mandate — A Republican mayor in western Kansas announced in a letter to city officials and on social media Tuesday that she is resigning, effective immediately, because of threats she has received after she publicly supported a mask mandate.
Washington Post:
The U.S. government spent billions on a system for detecting hacks. The Russians outsmarted it. — When Russian hackers first slipped their digital Trojan horses into federal government computer systems, probably sometime in the spring, they sat dormant for days, doing nothing but hiding.
RELATED:
Matthew Yglesias / Slow Boring:
17 theses on Pete Buttigieg and the Department of Transportation — Emergency blog post! — 3 hr ago — Trying something new, an emergency out-of-schedule post on Pete Buttigieg and the Department of Transportation! — I love transportation policy and know a fair amount about it.
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Rachel Sharp / Daily Mail:
San Francisco to rename Abraham Lincoln High School because former president did not demonstrate that ‘black lives mattered to him’ - as woke renaming committee also takes aim at Democrat senator Dianne Feinstein and Teddy Roosevelt — San Francisco Unified School District's renaming …
Discussion:
The College Fix, Washington Free Beacon, The Western Journal, Big League Politics and Townhall
RELATED:
Jill Tucker / San Francisco Chronicle:
Abraham Lincoln was once a hero. In some S.F. education circles, he's now a bad guy
Abraham Lincoln was once a hero. In some S.F. education circles, he's now a bad guy
Discussion:
Joanne Jacobs, The Daily Caller and Breitbart
MSNBC:
'There's now one pro-democracy political party': Steve Schmidt announces he's a Democrat — On becoming a Democrat, former Republican strategist Steve Schmidt says “At the end of the day, there's now one pro-democracy political party in the United States of America and that's the Democratic Party.
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Jordan Williams / The Hill:
Longtime GOP strategist Steve Schmidt announces he's registering Democrat
Longtime GOP strategist Steve Schmidt announces he's registering Democrat
Discussion:
POLITICUSUSA, RedState, The Intellectualist and CNN
Washington Post:
Mar-a-Lago neighbors to Trump: Spend your post-presidency elsewhere — Next-door neighbors of Mar-a-Lago, President Trump's private club in Palm Beach, Fla., that he has called his Winter White House, have a message for the outgoing commander in chief: We don't want you to be our neighbor.
Discussion:
Slate, The Week, New York Magazine and Raw Story
Hans Nichols / Axios:
Biden considering Republicans for Commerce secretary — President-elect Joe Biden is considering some well-known Republicans — think Meg Whitman types — for Commerce secretary as a way to signal to red-state Americans he understands their concerns and plans to address them.
Discussion:
The American Conservative
Edward Luce / Financial Times:
Joe Biden should beware liberal identity politics — Winning back white blue collar votes is a less fraught route to victory — There is a fine line between championing diversity and embracing identity politics. In practice, it should be a bright red one.
Discussion:
CNN, National Review, UnHerd, MyNorthwest.com, Sun-Sentinel, Florida Politics and American Thinker
Kadhim Shubber / Financial Times:
Prosecuting Donald Trump: the question that will roil Biden's first year — The US president could face investigation on a number of fronts when he leaves office — When Joe Biden is sworn in as president on January 20, his in-tray will include a pandemic that continues to kill thousands …
Discussion:
Associated Press, Raw Story, Politico, KIFI-TV and Just The News
RELATED:
Washington Post:
Biden picks former EPA chief Gina McCarthy as White House climate czar — McCarthy heads the Natural Resources Defense Council, which has sued the Trump administration more than 100 times. — President-elect Joe Biden has tapped Gina McCarthy, who ran the Environmental Protection Agency …
Discussion:
BuzzFeed News, Bloomberg, The Hill, New York Times, NPR, Axios and The Week
Andrew Desiderio / Politico:
Ron Johnson gambles his political future on Trump — President Donald Trump listens as Sen. Ron Johnson addresses the crowd during a campaign rally on Oct. 17, 2020, in Janesville, Wis. — Ron Johnson is linking himself to President Donald Trump's election challenge as tightly as possible …
Discussion:
Washington Post and Raw Story
The Daily Beast:
Trump Is Considering Clemency for Silk Road Founder — Two sources tell The Daily Beast that the president has expressed sympathy for the situation of Ross Ulbricht, who is serving a life sentence without the possibility of parole. … In his final weeks in office before Joe Biden's inauguration …
Brian Flood / Fox News:
CNN says Jeffrey Toobin still employed as report suggests he may get second chance after masturbation scandal — NY Times reports CNN's president is a ‘big fan’ of legal pundit — New Yorker fires Toobin — CNN has yet to terminate Jeffrey Toobin amid an ongoing masturbation scandal …
Discussion:
New York Post, The Sun and Mediaite
Sonia Moghe / CNN:
Trump Organization must turn over documents to NY attorney general, judge rules — (CNN)A state judge ruled Tuesday that the Trump Organization must turn over documents related to a property whose tax abatements were being investigated by New York Attorney General Letitia James' office.
Namita Singh / The Independent:
Husband arrested for throwing acid on wife after sending friends to gang rape her ‘because he lost a bet’ — India saw a sharp increase in domestic violence during the coronavirus lockdown — A gambler in India who bet his wife and lost then threw acid on her because she resisted his attempts …
Discussion:
The Daily Caller
CNN:
How Qanon's lies are hijacking the national conversation — How Trump is fueling the alarming growth of QAnon — (CNN)It started with a Tweet from a QAnon supporter at 2:09 in the morning: #SubpoenaObama. — Though devoid of context, the cryptic message made sense to anyone in tune …
Discussion:
Media Matters for America
Marc Thiessen / Washington Post:
Giving Trump credit for the vaccine is the best way for Biden to unite the country — Joe Biden promised in his victory speech to “unite us here at home” and told Trump supporters that he wanted to “put away the harsh rhetoric, lower the temperature [and] see each other again.”
Discussion:
USA Today