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:
The Hill, Politico, Washington Post, Axios, Talking Points Memo, Daily Kos, IJR, Mediaite, Conservative News Today and Deadline
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 …
Nicholas Fandos / New York Times:
Could Congress overturn Biden's Electoral College win? Possibly. Will it? No.
Could Congress overturn Biden's Electoral College win? Possibly. Will it? No.
Alayna Treene / Axios:
Kevin McCarthy refuses to congratulate Biden on election victory
Kevin McCarthy refuses to congratulate Biden on election victory
Discussion:
Politico
Grace Segers / CBS News:
McConnell says “we're getting closer and closer” to deal on COVID relief
McConnell says “we're getting closer and closer” to deal on COVID relief
Discussion:
Business Insider, Washington Post, New York Post, NBC Los Angeles, The Week, ABC7, Politico and Bloomberg
Politico:
Congressional leaders near deal on Covid relief
Congressional leaders near deal on Covid relief
Discussion:
Washington Post, Forbes and The Guardian
Stephen Collinson / CNN:
McConnell sets stage for new face-off with Biden after delivering blow to Trump's election fantasy
McConnell sets stage for new face-off with Biden after delivering blow to Trump's election fantasy
Discussion:
ABC News, Pirate's Cove, Raw Story, The Guardian, Washington Times, The Daily Signal, American Thinker, NBC 6 South Florida and New York Times
Politico:
McConnell warns Senate Republicans against challenging election results
McConnell warns Senate Republicans against challenging election results
Discussion:
The Last Refuge, Townhall, Washington Post, The Sun, Just An Earth-Bound Misfit, I, POLITICUSUSA, David Harris Jr., Reuters, One America News Network, Big League Politics, abc7NY, Power Line, No More Mister Nice Blog, The Moderate Voice, Raw Story, USA Today, Colorado Pols, Axios and KIFI-TV, more at Mediagazer »
Axios:
Mitch McConnell is outmuscling Trump as the dominant GOP powerbroker on Capitol Hill
Mitch McConnell is outmuscling Trump as the dominant GOP powerbroker on Capitol Hill
Discussion:
Reuters, Associated Press, Business Insider, The Bulwark, The Sun, The Week and Raw Story
Annie Linskey / Washington Post:
Biden launches a quiet effort to tame the Senate, a mission critical to his presidency
Biden launches a quiet effort to tame the Senate, a mission critical to his presidency
Discussion:
The Guardian, New York Times, Washington Examiner and Florida Politics
Alayna Treene / Axios:
Scoop: McConnell alerted White House before congratulating Biden
Scoop: McConnell alerted White House before congratulating Biden
Discussion:
Washington Examiner, Bloomberg, Washington Post, Mediaite, Holy Bullies …, POLITICUSUSA, TASS and The Guardian
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 …
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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 …
RELATED:
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 Daily Beast, Raw Story and The Week
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, The Week, Raw Story, POLITICUSUSA, New York Magazine, Washington Examiner and Washington Times
RELATED:
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:
Talking Points Memo, The Week and Political Wire
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:
The Hill, Business Insider, Crooks and Liars, Raw Story, Mediaite, Slate and New York Magazine
RELATED:
Peter Weber / Yahoo News:
Trump's Mar-a-Lago neighbors don't want him to move there. They may be able to stop him, too.
Trump's Mar-a-Lago neighbors don't want him to move there. They may be able to stop him, too.
Discussion:
The Week
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:
CBS News, Washington Examiner, Fox News, Washington Post, Forbes, Axios, New York Post 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.
Discussion:
Raw Story
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 …
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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:
CNBC, CNN, New York Times, New York Post, CBS News, WTOP, NewsOne, Common Dreams, Vox, El Paso Matters, Orange County Register, The Wrap, GeekWire and The Hill
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:
Raw Story
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.
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 Daily Caller and The American Conservative
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
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 …
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 and Spectator USA
Eli Lake / Commentary Magazine:
Framed and Guilty … Hunter Biden, son of the man who will be America's 46th president, tried to profit from his father's name abroad—as we learned anew from some of the contents of a computer hard drive that were leaked in the weeks before the election. What is also true is that the tale …
Discussion:
The Unz Review
NBC News:
Restaurants worry bipartisan coronavirus deal is cutting them out — The White House and congressional leaders are nearing the finish line on a bipartisan Covid-19 relief deal. But they're running up against objections from a coalition of restaurants who argue the emerging plan will leave …
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.
Discussion:
The Federalist
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.
Patreon:
Bill Barr and Other Hacks — We are halfway through the attempted coup - formerly known as the presidential transition process - and the United States has not completely collapsed (yet) so, yay? This week we discuss the massive Russian cyberattack on American institutions and businesses …
Roque Planas / HuffPost:
USPS Finally Releases Louis DeJoy's Calendar — And Everything's Redacted — The agency pretended to release the postmaster general's calendar in a lawsuit looking to get to the bottom of mail slowdowns ahead of the election. — After being hit with a lawsuit in federal court …
Discussion:
Raw Story
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
Will Bunch / The Philadelphia Inquirer:
A notable death in 2020: American democracy | Will Bunch Newsletter — As I wrote this, I was watching the Electoral College coverage on CNN and I have to say the whole thing seemed suspicious as hell. Every hour or so, there was another “mysterious” dump of 20 or 30 more votes for Biden.
Discussion:
Newsmax, The Atlantic and Daily Kos
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:
Just Security, Progressive Eruptions and Raw Story
Derek Thompson / The Atlantic:
How 2020 Shattered Shared Reality — 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 …
New York Times:
From Voter Fraud to Vaccine Lies: Misinformation Peddlers Shift Gears — Election-related falsehoods have subsided, but misleading claims about the coronavirus vaccines are surging — often spread by the same people. — Sidney Powell, a lawyer who was part of President Trump's legal team …