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4:00 PM ET, December 16, 2020

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 Top Items: 
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 …
RELATED:
House Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Crisis:
Chairman Clyburn Releases Memo With New Evidence Of Political Interference In Pandemic Response
Discussion: Talking Points Memo
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
RELATED:
Margaret Sullivan / Washington Post:
Journalists, it's time for a cold-turkey breakup with Trump  —  Long before he glided down that golden escalator at Trump Tower in 2015 to announce his presidential candidacy, Donald Trump was an object of media fascination.  He could never actually become president, of course …
Discussion: Forbes and Raw Story
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 NBC News
Axios:
Mitch McConnell is outmuscling Trump as the dominant GOP powerbroker on Capitol Hill
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 …
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 …
RELATED:
NBC News:
White House counsel's office warned Trump not to fire Chris Wray  —  WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump has come so close to firing FBI Director Christopher Wray in recent months that the White House counsel's office has warned him not to do so because it could put him in potential legal jeopardy …
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 …
RELATED:
John Hudson / Washington Post:
Pompeo cancels final holiday party after he comes into contact with coronavirus
Discussion: The Hill, ABC News and The Week
Nahal Toosi / Politico:
Pompeo in quarantine after coronavirus exposure
Discussion: Talking Points Memo
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.
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.
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 …
RELATED:
John Bowden / The Hill:
Republican NC state senator: Trump should ‘invoke the Insurrection Act’
Discussion: Election Law Blog
RELATED:
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.
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 …
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.
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.
RELATED:
Politico:
Hill leaders close in on Covid stimulus deal
Derek Thompson / The Atlantic:
We're Never Going Back to the 1950s  —  Twenty years ago, the sociologist Robert Putnam in Bowling Alone used the decline of bowling leagues since the middle of the 20th century to symbolize America's declining social engagement.  This year, he published a sequel of sorts, The Upswing …
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 …
Suzanne Venker / Washington Examiner:
Traditional marriage roles make for much better sex  —  In 2014, author and psychologist Lori Gottlieb wrote an article for the New York Times about a study that found egalitarian, or “50-50,” marriages (in which both parents work full time outside the home and split household and childcare right …
RELATED:
Erin Douglas / The Texas Tribune:
Former Houston police captain accused of violent attempt to prove election conspiracy was hired by GOP activist's group
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 …
Ewan Palmer / Newsweek:
QAnon Supporters Vow to Leave GOP After Mitch McConnell Accepts Election Result  —  Supporters of the QAnon conspiracy theory have unsurprisingly turned their backs on Mitch McConnell after he finally congratulated President-elect Joe Biden on his election victory.
Ben Lindbergh / The Ringer:
MLB Is Finally Recognizing the Negro Leagues as the Major Leagues They Always Were  —  Negro League statistics from 1920 to 1948 will now be officially classified as “major league,” marking a long-overdue acknowledgment of the accomplishments of players who didn't have the opportunity to play in the American or National Leagues
Christian Middleton / Mississippi Free Press:
UM Fires History Professor Who Criticizes ‘Powerful, Racist Donors’ and ‘Carceral State’  —  During a period of what University of Mississippi faculty are calling a time of increasing paranoia, the university is set to terminate a celebrated professor of history.
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.”
Jennifer Jacobs / Bloomberg:
Trump Spy Chief Stirs Dispute Over China Election-Meddling Views  — Disagreement is over the extent of interference by China  — Ratcliffe may withhold certification of a report to Congress  —  President Donald Trump's spy chief is considering holding up a report to Congress …
Zack Budryk / The Hill:
Sen. Angus King proposes Netflix, Disney, HBOMax stream free over holidays to stop COVID-19 spread  —  Sen. Angus King (I-Maine) called on video streaming platforms to make their content available for free during the holiday season to encourage people to stay home during the coronavirus pandemic.
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.
James Verini / New York Times:
He Wanted to Count Every Vote in Philadelphia.  His Party Had Other Ideas.  —  When Donald Trump's campaign tried to overturn the election results in Pennsylvania, Al Schmidt found himself trapped between his party and his principles.  —  To hear more audio stories from publishers like The New York Times …
Heather Long / Washington Post:
Nearly 8 million Americans have fallen into poverty since the summer  —  Nation's poverty rate has risen at the fastest pace ever this year after aid for the unemployed declined.  —  The U.S. poverty rate has surged over the past five months, with 7.8 million Americans falling into poverty …
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.
 
 
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 More Items: 
Matt Dixon / Politico:
Lauren Book considering statewide bid in 2022
Discussion: Florida Politics
Albert Hunt / The Hill:
The ‘Biden Team’ is risk-averse, but capable and ready
Discussion: The Originalism Blog
Wall Street Journal:
U.S. Expected to Unseal Charges Against New Suspect in 1988 Lockerbie Bombing
Discussion: New York Post
Douglas MacMillan / Washington Post:
America's biggest companies are flourishing during the pandemic and putting thousands of people out of work
 Earlier Items: 
Greg Giroux / Bloomberg Government:
Four California Districts Split Tickets for President, Congress
Discussion: National Review
Emily Cochrane / New York Times:
Congressional Leaders Close In on a Stimulus Deal
Daniel Funke / @politifact:
Lie of the Year: Coronavirus downplay and denial
Discussion: CNN, Poynter and Raw Story
New York Times:
From Voter Fraud to Vaccine Lies: Misinformation Peddlers Shift Gears
Marc Thiessen / Washington Post:
Giving Trump credit for the vaccine is the best way for Biden to unite the country
Discussion: USA Today