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9:50 AM ET, December 18, 2020

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 Top Items: 
David Folkenflik / NPR:
‘New York Times’ Retracts Hit Podcast Series ‘Caliphate’ On ISIS Executioner  —  Toggle more options  —  The New York Times has retracted the core of its hit 2018 podcast series Caliphate after an internal review found the paper failed to heed red flags indicating that the man it relied upon …
RELATED:
New York Times:
New York Times Says ‘Caliphate’ Podcast Fell Short of Standards  —  The Times cited an institutional failure and determined the “Caliphate” team gave too much credence to the claims of a supposed former terrorist.  —  After an internal review that took more than two months …
New York Times:
A Riveting ISIS Story, Told in a Times Podcast, Falls Apart  —  A Canadian's gruesome account as an Islamic State executioner in Syria, which was the subject of the “Caliphate” podcast by The New York Times, was fabricated, officials say.  A Times review found no corroboration of his claim to have committed atrocities.
The Daily Beast:
New York Times Admits Its Caliphate Podcast Fell for ISIS Hoaxer's Bullshit
Politico:
Democrats in Georgia: ‘Trump is helping our case.’  —  President Donald Trump has been waging war on Georgia Republicans the past month, spreading disinformation and conspiracy theories about the Senate runoffs — and Democrats are praying he keeps on talking.
RELATED:
Greg Bluestein / Atlanta Journal-Constitution:
An outraged Kemp blasts pro-Trump conspiracy theorists harassing his family  —  Gov. Brian Kemp is fed up with the unrelenting attacks from conspiracy theorists calling on him to overturn President-elect Joe Biden's victory in Georgia.  But he's even more enraged that some of those peddlers …
Greg Bluestein / Atlanta Journal-Constitution:
Kamala Harris to arrive in Georgia on Monday for Senate runoff rallies  —  Vice President-elect Kamala Harris will travel to Georgia on Monday to campaign for Senate candidates Jon Ossoff and Raphael Warnock ahead of Jan. 5 runoffs for control of the U.S. Senate.
Discussion: Forbes
Brad Smith / Microsoft On the Issues:
A moment of reckoning: the need for a strong and global cybersecurity response  —  The final weeks of a challenging year have proven even more difficult with the recent exposure of the world's latest serious nation-state cyberattack.  This latest cyber-assault is effectively an attack …
RELATED:
Politico:
Nuclear weapons agency breached amid massive cyber onslaught  —  The Energy Department and National Nuclear Security Administration, which maintains the U.S. nuclear weapons stockpile, have evidence that hackers accessed their networks as part of an extensive espionage operation that has affected …
RELATED:
Bloomberg:
Pfizer, U.S. Wrangle Over Vaccine Pace While Working Toward Pact
Discussion: The Week
Kirby Wilson / Tampa Bay Times:
DeSantis says Florida shipments of vaccines are ‘on hold.’ Pfizer disagrees.
John F. Harris / Politico:
Joe Biden Wears a ‘Kick Me’ Sign  —  President-elect Joe Biden went on a rampage early this morning, lashing out at critics within his own party who say his appointments so far lack ideological and demographic diversity and hinting that lawmakers who cross him can expect retribution once he moves into the White House on Jan. 20.
RELATED:
Jeremy B. White / Politico:
Garcetti won't serve in Biden administration
Discussion: MyNorthwest.com
Politico:
Top Biden aide walks back expletive description of Republicans
Maeve Reston / CNN:
Trump fights for a job that he's not doing as coronavirus rages  —  (CNN)When the history of the pandemic is written, one of the great mysteries will be what President Donald Trump was doing in the waning days of his presidency as the number of Covid-19 deaths in the US soared past 3,000 each day …
RELATED:
Jonathan Swan / Axios:
Scoop: Ben Carson makes plans for his post-Trump life
Discussion: CNN
Rob Crilly / Washington Examiner:
Mike Pence gets coronavirus vaccine on live TV  —  Vice President Mike Pence became the highest-profile world leader to be vaccinated against coronavirus, receiving his shot on live television Friday morning.  —  “I didn't feel a thing,” he said moments later.
RELATED:
Quint Forgey / Politico:
‘Hope is on the way’: Pence gets coronavirus vaccine on live television
Discussion: CBS News and ABC News
Susan B. Glasser / New Yorker:
Trump's New Brand Is Loser  —  His post-election tantrum is forcing conservatives to affirm, again and again, that he lost the election fair and square.  —  In the six weeks since the Presidential election, various theories—many of them persuasive—have been advanced to explain President Trump's refusal to accept Joe Biden's victory.
RELATED:
Timothy P. Carney / Washington Examiner:
Dear Republicans in Congress: Please don't become Barbara Boxer or Maxine Waters
Discussion: The Bulwark and Raw Story
Axios:
Democrats fret about Garland for attorney general  —  If Joe Biden picks Merrick Garland to be his attorney general, he could cost his party control of one of the most important judicial appointments in America — and many Democrats do not want the president-elect to take that chance.
RELATED:
Tina Nguyen / Politico:
MAGA leaders call for the troops to keep Trump in office  —  An 1807 law invoked only in the most violent circumstances is now a rallying cry for the MAGA-ites most committed to the fantasy that Donald Trump will never leave office.  —  The law, the Insurrection Act, allows the president …
Discussion: Raw Story and The Intellectualist
The Daily Beast:
Trump Bows to Reality, Asks Confidants: Should I Do ‘The Apprentice’ Again?  —  And the show's creator Mark Burnett is intrigued by the money-making potential of a post-presidency reboot, too. … As he begins his final weeks in office, amid a winter surge in coronavirus deaths …
Christopher Mathias / HuffPost:
Kelly Loeffler Keeps Posing For Photos With White Supremacists And Other Extremists  —  The senator recently disavowed a photo of her with a former KKK leader, but she's repeatedly aligned herself with racists and far-right supporters.  —  Earlier this week a photo of Georgia GOP …
Politico:
O Rahm, where art thou?  —  Welcome to POLITICO's 2020 Transition Playbook, your guide to one of the most consequential transfers of power in American history.  —  RAHM EMANUEL had never lost a political campaign.  Until this week.  —  Over the past few weeks, the former Chicago mayor …
Discussion: Raw Story
RELATED:
Matt Viser / Washington Post:
45,000 names, 130 packets of information, and gut instincts: How Biden is managing his transition
Discussion: American Greatness and CNN
Luke Money / Los Angeles Times:
ICU availability in Southern California at 0%, and it's going to get worse, officials warn  —  The availability of intensive care unit beds throughout Southern California reached critical mass Thursday with 0% open, and officials warned that conditions in hospitals are expected to erode further COVID-19 continues to spread unchecked.
Amanda Carpenter / The Bulwark:
The Top 10 Worst Trump-Enabling Takes of 2020  —  As we bid a not-so-fond farewell to 2020, here's a look back at some of the political lowlights.  —  As we close out the year, it's tempting but futile to compile a list of President Trump's worst lies.  But reprinting all of his tweets …
Discussion: Raw Story
James Baker / Washington Post:
Trump's recognition of Western Sahara is a serious blow to diplomacy and international law  —  James Baker served as the 61st U.S. secretary of state from 1989 to 1992 and as the U.N. secretary-general's personal envoy for Western Sahara from 1997 to 2004.  —  President Trump's recent …
Discussion: The Economist, Raw Story and Politico
Jack Beyrer / Washington Free Beacon:
Dem Tapped to Run Interior Smeared Covington Students  —  Rep. Deb Haaland accused Covington students of ‘hate’ and ‘intolerance’ … Media reports at the time portrayed the group of high school students as harassing Phillips.  Additional reports revealed, however, that Phillips approached …
RELATED:
Washington Post:
With historic picks, Biden puts environmental justice front and center
Axios:
Trump expected to issue wave of pre-Christmas pardons today  —  President Trump plans to issue a wave of pardons today, moving to expedite acts of clemency before Christmas, according to a source with direct knowledge and advocates who have been briefed on the plans.
Discussion: The Federalist and Fox News
Mark Ferbrache / The Hill:
Not the FBI I remember: William Barnett's troubling interview  —  So, where is John Durham and what has become of his investigation into the origins of the Trump-Russia probe?  After serving nearly 28 years in the FBI, I'd like to know just how bad things are for the FBI — or not.
Politico:
Kathleen Rice beats out AOC for spot on coveted House committee  —  Rep. Kathleen Rice has captured a prized seat on the House Energy and Commerce Committee after a contentious showdown with fellow New Yorker, Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez.  —  Rice and Ocasio-Cortez have been battling behind …
 
 
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 More Items: 
Sun-Sentinel:
South Florida parties on: No mask, no distancing, no problem inside bars and clubs
MSNBC:
Former NH GOP chair announces she's leaving the GOP
Dave Gilson / Mother Jones:
Trump Has Sent 729 Tweets Since the Election. Not a Single One Was About the COVID Death Toll.
Jason Rantz / MyNorthwest.com:
Seattle radicals occupy park, yellow house in new ‘autonomous zone’
Eleanor Clift / The Daily Beast:
This California Representative Survived Jonestown and Says Trumpers Have Definitely Drunk the Kool Aid
Discussion: Raw Story
Reem Abdellatif / Haaretz:
How Saudi Arabia Terrorizes Women
 Earlier Items: 
Reuters:
Exclusive: U.S. to blacklist dozens of Chinese firms including SMIC, sources say
Glenn H. Reynolds / New York Post:
It's time for the ‘Deplorables’ to become the Unconquerables
Brandy Zadrozny / Nieman Lab:
Misinformation fatigue sets in
Washington Post:
John Roberts's self-defeating attempt to make the court appear nonpolitical
Discussion: SCOTUSblog and Reason
Alex Kirshner / Slate:
How Offshore Oddsmakers Made a Killing off Gullible Trump Supporters
Discussion: PRESS RUN, Forbes and Axios
 

 
From Mediagazer:

Financial Times:
Similarweb: Bluesky app usage in the US and UK grew ~300% to 3.5M DAUs after Nov. 5; Threads now has 1.5x Bluesky's DAUs in the US, down from 5x before Nov. 5

Peter White / Deadline:
Fox and Hulu extend their content partnership, including in-season streaming rights for Fox's programming; sources: the deal is worth $1.5B over four years

Shawn Musgrave / The Intercept:
A federal court allows a claim by The Intercept that DMCA prevents OpenAI from stripping a story's title or byline but throws out its claims against Microsoft

 
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