Top Items:
CNN:
'It's turned crazy': Inside the scramble for Trump pardons — Washington (CNN)President Donald Trump may not be willing to accept his term is ending, but as the clock ticks down on his time in office, hundreds of his allies — including some of his closest business associates …
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Axios:
O'Malley Dillon's line that GOP are “f-ckers” worries some Biden aides — Some advisers close to President-elect Joe Biden are frustrated over a Glamour magazine interview in which incoming White House deputy chief of staff Jen O'Malley Dillon referred to Republicans on Capitol Hill as “f*ckers.”
Discussion:
Fox News, The Hill, Talking Points Memo, HotAir, The Federalist, New York Magazine, IJR, RedState, Commentary Magazine, National Review, Washington Post, The Week, Mediaite, Twitchy, TheBlaze, Liberty Unyielding, Breitbart, Conservative News Today, Townhall, The Daily Wire, Washington Examiner, The Daily Caller and Raw Story
Ron Kampeas / Jewish Telegraphic Agency:
Trump names Rudy Giuliani's son and 2 other aides to Holocaust Museum Council
Trump names Rudy Giuliani's son and 2 other aides to Holocaust Museum Council
Discussion:
New York Times and Forbes
Dan Diamond / Politico:
‘We want them infected’: Trump appointee demanded ‘herd immunity’ strategy, emails reveal — A top Trump appointee repeatedly urged top health officials to adopt a “herd immunity” approach to Covid-19 and allow millions of Americans to be infected by the virus, according to internal emails obtained …
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Noah Weiland / New York Times:
‘Like a Hand Grasping’: Trump Appointees Describe the Crushing of the C.D.C. — Kyle McGowan, a former chief of staff at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and his deputy, Amanda Campbell, go public on the Trump administration's manipulation of the agency.
Discussion:
American Interregnum, Mediaite, COURIER, Raw Story, Business Insider, Talking Points Memo and The Intellectualist
Emily McCullar / Texas Monthly:
Texas Wedding Photographers Have Seen Some $#! + — They know what you did this summer. — NOTES — The wedding photographer had already spent an hour or two inside with the unmasked wedding party when one of the bridesmaids approached her. The woman thanked her for still showing up …
Discussion:
Patterico's Pontifications, Mediaite and Discourse Blog
Sarah Owermohle / Politico:
FDA says Pfizer vaccine vials hold extra doses, expanding supply — Pharmacists have found a way to squeeze extra doses out of vials of Pfizer's vaccine, potentially expanding the nation's scarce supply by up to 40 percent. — The Food and Drug Administration said late Wednesday …
Discussion:
UPI, Forbes, Raw Story and U.S. DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE
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Katie Thomas / New York Times:
Hospitals Discover a Surprise in Their Vaccine Deliveries: Extra Doses — Pharmacists have found that they can squeeze an additional dose from some of the glass vials that were supposed to contain five doses of the Pfizer vaccine. — As boxes of Pfizer vaccines began arriving around the country this week …
New York Times:
Alaska Health Worker Had a Serious Allergic Reaction After Pfizer's Vaccine
Alaska Health Worker Had a Serious Allergic Reaction After Pfizer's Vaccine
Discussion:
Breitbart, CBS News, The Daily Caller, New York Post, The Western Journal, The Sun, Townhall and Reuters
Tyler Van Dyke / Washington Examiner:
Confusion roils vaccine rollout as governors claim states aren't getting expected doses
Confusion roils vaccine rollout as governors claim states aren't getting expected doses
Discussion:
Associated Press and Chicago Sun-Times
Dana Milbank / Washington Post:
We've finally identified the source of fraud in the 2020 election. It's Ron Johnson. — Finally, significant fraud has been identified in the 2020 election. It is being perpetrated by Sen. Ron Johnson, Republican of Wisconsin. — President Trump lost the election. He lost the recounts.
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Douglas Braff / Sara A. Carter:
Rand Paul: ‘The fraud happened. The election in many ways was stolen’
Rand Paul: ‘The fraud happened. The election in many ways was stolen’
Discussion:
Talking Points Memo, Bloomberg, Conservative News Today and Mediaite
Emily Brooks / Washington Examiner:
Ron Johnson says he regrets ‘rancorous’ nature of committee investigations
Ron Johnson says he regrets ‘rancorous’ nature of committee investigations
Discussion:
Forbes, ABC News, Fox News, CBS News, Geller Report News, Sara A. Carter, New York Post, The Daily Beast, Townhall and UPI
Andrew Mark Miller / Washington Examiner:
Rand Paul: Voter fraud ‘happened’ and election was in ‘many ways stolen’
Rand Paul: Voter fraud ‘happened’ and election was in ‘many ways stolen’
Discussion:
The Hill, Washington Times, RedState, IJR and TheBlaze
Washington Post:
Congressional leaders add stimulus checks to $900 billion relief package as they near deal — New direct payments will likely be included, but leaders are scrapping aid to states and cities as well as liability protections for companies as they try to finish negotiations.
Discussion:
Business Insider, CNN, IJR, Politico, Gothamist, Iowa Capital Dispatch, New York Post, NBC Los Angeles, USA Today, The Hill, ABC13, HotAir, TheGrio, Axios, Fox News, Mediaite and Forbes
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Greg Sargent / Washington Post:
Mitch McConnell gives away the game: ‘Kelly and David are getting hammered’
Mitch McConnell gives away the game: ‘Kelly and David are getting hammered’
Discussion:
Raw Story, Reuters, IJR, The Atlantic and Daily Kos
Ewan Palmer / Newsweek:
QAnon Supporters Vow to Leave GOP After Mitch McConnell Accepts Election Result
QAnon Supporters Vow to Leave GOP After Mitch McConnell Accepts Election Result
Discussion:
The Mahablog, Associated Press, Politico and Mic
New York Times:
People Thought Covid-19 Was Relatively Harmless for Younger Adults. They Were Wrong. — New research shows that July may have been the deadliest month for young adults in modern American history. — Dr. Faust is a doctor at Brigham and Women's Hospital Department of Emergency Medicine.
Richard Fowler / Fox News:
Trump's defeat is now final, bringing a disastrous presidency to a welcome end — Biden's victory was not the result of fraud, as Trump falsely claims — Biden calls for unity, blasts Trump after Electoral College vote — The former reality TV performer who is now president …
Discussion:
POLITICUSUSA, Democrats and New Yorker
RELATED:
CNN:
Biden expected to get coronavirus vaccination early next week — (CNN)President-elect Joe Biden is expected to get his first Covid-19 vaccination early next week, CNN has learned, and plans to get his shot in public. — “I don't want to get ahead of the line, but I want to make sure …
Discussion:
Politico, The Hill, Axios, USA Today, POLITICUSUSA, New York Post, MyNorthwest.com and UPI
CISA:
Joint Statement by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA), and the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI) — Over the course of the past several days, the FBI, CISA, and ODNI have become aware of a significant and ongoing cybersecurity campaign.
Discussion:
Slate
Jonathan Swan / Axios:
Scoop: Vice President Pence to receive televised vaccine shot — Vice President Mike Pence plans to receive his coronavirus vaccine shot on camera Friday morning at the White House to build “vaccine confidence” among the American people, according to an administration official with direct knowledge of the plans.
Discussion:
BuzzFeed News, Washington Examiner, HotAir, Political Wire and The Hill
Washington Post:
Biden order to halt border wall project would save U.S. $2.6 billion, Pentagon estimates show — The U.S. government would save about $2.6 billion if President-elect Joe Biden halts construction on the border wall project on his first day in office, according to U.S. Army Corps of Engineers estimates reviewed by The Washington Post.
Discussion:
Boing Boing, American Military News and Political Wire
Alex Ward / Vox:
Dutch prosecutors say Trump's Twitter account was hacked by guessing his password: maga2020! — This is not a joke. Trump's old Twitter password was “maga2020!” — The first rule of securing yourself on the internet is to ensure your password isn't easily guessable.
Discussion:
Agence France-Presse and Raw Story, more at Techmeme »
Kyle Smith / National Review:
Jill Biden's Doctorate Is Garbage Because Her Dissertation Is Garbage — Her dissertation is not an addition to the sum total of human knowledge. — You can tell someone is smarting from an inferiority complex when he insists on being addressed as “Dr.” on the basis of holding an academic doctorate rather than being a physician.
Discussion:
Arizona Mirror, Washington Post and Real Clear Politics
Katie Shepherd / Washington Post:
North Carolina GOP lawmaker urges Trump to suspend civil liberties to keep power: ‘Invoke the Insurrection Act’ — On Facebook, North Carolina state Sen. Bob Steinburg (R) paraphrased a conservative commentator to make a radical suggestion: President Trump should declare a national emergency …
Discussion:
Daily Kos, Florida Politics, Just Security, The American Independent, Raw Story, The Hill, The Sun, Progressive Eruptions, CANNONFIRE, NBC News and abc7NY
RELATED:
John Hudson / Washington Post:
Pompeo cancels final holiday party after he comes into contact with coronavirus — Secretary of State Mike Pompeo canceled his final major holiday party of the year Wednesday after his exposure to a person who tested positive for the coronavirus forced him into quarantine, according to two officials familiar with the situation.
Discussion:
CNN, Washington Examiner, Politico, Daily Mail, CNBC, ABC News, LGBTQ Nation, The Hill, The Week, The American Independent and Daily Kos
McKay Coppins / The Atlantic:
The Most American Religion — Image above: The Oquirrh Mountain Temple sits about 20 miles south of Temple Square in Salt Lake City, where the Church is based. — This article was published online on December 16, 2020. — To meet with the prophet during a plague, certain protocols must be followed.
Michael Safi / The Guardian:
‘He ruined us’: 10 years on, Tunisians curse man who sparked Arab spring — Thanks in part to Mohamed Bouazizi's self-immolation, Tunisians are freer than before, but many are miserable and disillusioned — His act of despair still shakes the Arab world.
Sun-Sentinel:
A mysterious gap in COVID-19 deaths appeared in Florida before the presidential election — An astonishing pattern has emerged in Florida's COVID death tally — one that suggests the state manipulated a backlog of unrecorded fatalities, presenting more favorable death counts in the days leading up to the 2020 presidential election.
Discussion:
The Intellectualist, Raw Story, Washington Post, The Hill, Balloon Juice, The Daily Beast and The Week
Craig Stirling / Bloomberg:
Fifty Years of Tax Cuts for Rich Didn't Trickle Down, Study Says — Paper looks at fiscal policies in 18 countries over 50 years — Governments shouldn't worry about taxes on rich, author says — Tax cuts for rich people breed inequality without providing much of a boon to anyone else …
Discussion:
Business Insider, New York Post, Raw Story and The Intellectualist
The Daily Beast:
Value of Loeffler's Mansion Dropped $6M Overnight—and Nobody Can Explain Why — The estate went from a $10.5 million appraisal to $4.1 million, resulting in a much lower tax bill for the senator and her husband. — When Sen. Kelly Loeffler (R-GA) and her husband, Jeffrey Sprecher …
Discussion:
Raw Story, Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Business Insider, DSCC and Crooks and Liars
Politico:
How suspected Russian hackers outed their massive cyberattack — A cybersecurity firm says a suspicious log-in to its network prompted it to investigate what turned out to be a gaping security hole for the U.S. government and many large companies. — Foreign hackers who pulled off …
Deb Riechmann / Associated Press:
Rules eased for water from showerheads, a Trump pet peeve — WASHINGTON (AP) — The Trump administration has relaxed a regulation restricting water flow from showerheads, a pet peeve of President Donald Trump, who complained that he wanted more water to make his hair “perfect.”
Discussion:
New York Magazine
Bethan McKernan / The Guardian:
Saudi prosecutor seeks maximum jail sentence for women's rights activist — Loujain al-Hathloul, one of kingdom's most prominent human rights campaigners, may face 20 years behind bars — The state prosecutor's office in Saudi Arabia is seeking the maximum possible jail sentence …
Andrew Cain / Richmond Times-Dispatch:
State panel recommends Barbara Johns statue to replace Lee at U.S. Capitol — A state panel on Wednesday recommended that a statue of teenage civil rights heroine Barbara Rose Johns replace Virginia's Robert E. Lee statue at the U.S. Capitol. — The Commission For Historical Statues …
Discussion:
WRIC-TV and Washington Times
Aída Chávez / The Intercept:
AOC: Nancy Pelosi Needs to Go, but There's Nobody to Replace Her Yet … Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez believes the Democratic Party needs new leadership, telling The Intercept in an interview that it's time for House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer to go.
Jonathan Martin / New York Times:
Senator Jon Tester on Democrats and Rural Voters: ‘Our Message Is Really, Really Flawed’ — Mr. Tester, a Montana farmer, said in an interview that Democrats had failed to connect with much of the country: “You cannot have Chuck Schumer talking rural issues to rural people.”
Discussion:
Fox News, The Daily Caller, Lawyers, Guns & Money, Washington Free Beacon and The Hill
Tatiana Siegel / Hollywood Reporter:
Bob Iger, Jeffrey Katzenberg In the Mix for Biden Ambassadorship Roles — The Disney executive chairman is at the top of the president-elect's wish list for a diplomatic assignment with the DreamWorks and Quibi mogul also in the mix. — It appears that Bob Iger might have a future in public service after all.
Discussion:
Washington Free Beacon, The Federalist, Foreign Policy, National Review, The Hill and The Week, more at Mediagazer »
Tyler Cowen / Marginal REVOLUTION:
John O. Brennan on UFOs — I thought I would give this segment its own post, again here is the audio, video, and transcript of my Conversation with John O. Brennan, head of the CIA for four years under President Obama: — BRENNAN: I've seen some of those videos from Navy pilots …