Top Items:
Business Insider:
EXCLUSIVE: Jared Kushner helped create a Trump campaign shell company that secretly paid the president's family members and spent $617 million in reelection cash, a source tells Insider … - Jared Kushner approved the creation of a shell company that spent almost half of the Trump campaign's $1.26B war chest …
Discussion:
Lawyers, Guns & Money, The Intellectualist and Alternet.org
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New York Times:
Trump's Future: Tons of Cash and Plenty of Options for Spending It — When President Trump departs the White House, he will have a huge pile of cash to fuel his future ambitions. He can hold rallies, hire staff and even lay groundwork for a potential 2024 run.
Axios:
Scoop: Pentagon halts Biden transition briefings — Acting Defense Secretary Chris Miller ordered a Pentagon-wide halt to cooperation with the transition of President-elect Biden, shocking officials across the Defense Department, senior administration officials tell Axios.
Discussion:
Politico, Washington Examiner, The Dispatch, The Sun, Vanity Fair, GovExec.com, Mic, American Military News, The Daily Caller, Forbes, Daily Kos, Alternet.org, New York Post, Defense One, Raw Story, POLITICUSUSA, NOQ Report, Sara A. Carter, The Gateway Pundit, The Week, The Guardian and The Intellectualist
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David Folkenflik / NPR:
‘New York Times’ Retracts Core Of Hit Podcast Series ‘Caliphate’ On ISIS — 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 …
Discussion:
New York Times, The Hill, Washington Post, Forbes, Twitchy, The Daily Caller, Reason, HotAir and Eschaton, more at Mediagazer »
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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.
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 …
Discussion:
Washington Examiner, Washington Post, HotAir, New York Post and Mediaite
Los Angeles Times:
The wealthy scramble for COVID-19 vaccines: ‘If I donate $25,000 ... would that help me?’ — They're offering tens of thousands of dollars in cash, making their personal assistants pester doctors every day, and asking whether a five-figure donation to a hospital would help them jump the line.
Discussion:
HotAir, New York Post, The Week and The Daily Caller
Oriana Gonzalez / Axios:
Pelosi and McConnell receive first doses of COVID-19 vaccine — House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) both received their first doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech coronavirus vaccine from the attending physician of Congress on Friday.
Discussion:
The Hill, Washington Examiner, abc7NY, ABC13, SFist, Politico and Washington Post
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Alice Miranda Ollstein / Politico:
Biden to receive coronavirus vaccine in public on Monday — Vice President-elect Kamala Harris and second gentleman Doug Emhoff will receive the shot the following week. — WASHINGTON — President-elect Joe Biden will receive the Covid-19 vaccine in public on Monday, the transition confirmed.
Discussion:
Axios, Washington Examiner and Politico
Maeve Reston / CNN:
Trump fights for a job that he's not doing as coronavirus rages
Trump fights for a job that he's not doing as coronavirus rages
Discussion:
New York Times, USA Today, KIFI-TV, Real Clear Politics, Daily Kos and Los Angeles Times
Washington Post:
Interior shuts Washington Monument after interior secretary tests positive for the coronavirus — Park Service staff say they may have been exposed when David Bernhardt led a private, after-hours tour — Officials have taken the extraordinary step of closing the Washington Monument starting Friday …
Discussion:
Raw Story and NBC4 Washington
The Daily Beast:
Inside the Ivanka-Melania War — Melania Trump's one-time confidant takes us deep into one of the White House's nastiest battles. — They're the two most important women in Donald Trump's life. And they absolutely loathe one another. — Stephanie Winston Wolkoff, the former Melania Trump confidant …
Discussion:
Raw Story
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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.
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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:
The Root, Raw Story and The Intellectualist
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:
Lawfare, CNN, CREW, The Sun, Washington Post, The Daily Caller, The Federalist, Political Wire and Fox News
Alexander Sammon / American Prospect:
The Establishment Strikes Back — Henry Cuellar and centrist Democrats mutiny against progressives in a key committee fight. — AOC in August during a House Oversight and Reform Committee hearing — Committee assignments are one of the least eye-catching parts of politics …
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John Kruzel / The Hill:
Supreme Court tosses challenge to Trump's immigrant census plan — The Supreme Court ruled 6-3 on Friday to dismiss a challenge to the Trump administration's exclusion of undocumented immigrants from the U.S. census, the once-per-decade population count used to allocate House seats among the states.
Discussion:
NPR, New York Times, Reuters, USA Today, Slate, Boundless, Los Angeles Times, Roll Call, Common Dreams, Forbes, Washington Times and Talking Points Memo
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Politico:
Disarray consumes Capitol ahead of critical deadline — Frustrations are boiling over as Congress moves closer to a midnight shutdown deadline with a number of disagreements still hindering a bipartisan deal on a $900 billion coronavirus aid package. — Democrats are blaming GOP …
Discussion:
The Hill, Axios, Washington Times and HotAir
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Sahil Kapur / NBC News:
Congress hits a new snag on Covid relief bill as shutdown deadline looms
Congress hits a new snag on Covid relief bill as shutdown deadline looms
Discussion:
CNBC, The Guardian, ABC30 and NBC Boston
Jeff Stein / Washington Post:
White House aides talked Trump out of last-minute demand for stimulus checks as big as $2,000 — Chaotic chain of events at White House illustrates why stimulus bill remains in flux — White House aides intervened Thursday to prevent President Trump from issuing a statement calling …
Discussion:
New York Magazine, CNBC, New York Post, American Prospect, NBC News, The Week, Politico, Talking Points Memo, FiveThirtyEight, The Sun, Business Insider, Bloomberg, Political Wire and The Hill
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:
Alternet.org and Raw Story
Lauren Gibbons / MLive.com:
Michigan House votes to repeal 1945 emergency law used by Whitmer to issue coronavirus orders — Legislation that would overturn one of the emergency laws Gov. Gretchen Whitmer used as authority to issue COVID-19 orders during the first several months of the pandemic cleared the Michigan House early Friday morning.
Discussion:
Detroit News and Breitbart
Rosie Gray / BuzzFeed News:
The Next Tea Party Is Lurking Inside Trump's Election Results Denial — People actually believe Trump when he says he won the election. What happens next isn't clear — but the president's increasingly radicalized supporters are already shaping the future of Republican politics. — Reporting From
Discussion:
Chicago Tribune, Bloomberg, Right Wing Watch, The American Independent and Slate
Axios:
Scoop: Democrats try to tuck Pentagon waiver into spending bill — Democrats are trying to tuck a waiver allowing retired Gen. Lloyd Austin to serve as President-elect Joe Biden's defense secretary into a year-end government funding bill that must pass by tonight to avoid a shutdown, three sources familiar with the push tell Axios.
Justin Baragona / The Daily Beast:
Tucker Carlson Tells His Giant Fox Audience Not to Trust COVID Vaccines — “On the question of the corona vaccine, our leaders definitely are not pro-choice. Their view is do as you are told and don't complain,” Carlson said on Thursday. — Fox News host Tucker Carlson dipped his toe …
Discussion:
The Daily Beast, The Intellectualist, Fox News, No More Mister Nice Blog and CBS Denver
Jordain Carney / The Hill:
GOP senator blocks bill to provide $1,200 stimulus checks — GOP Sen. Ron Johnson (Wis.) on Friday blocked an effort to pass a second round of stimulus checks, arguing coronavirus relief needs to be targeted and raising concerns about the country's debt. — Sen. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) …
Discussion:
Axios, The Daily Caller and Balloon Juice
Nicole Gaudiano / Politico:
Trump appoints 1776 Commission members in last-minute bid to advance ‘patriotic education’ — President Donald Trump is still trying to advance “patriotic education,” announcing 33 days before his departure from office his intent to appoint members of a 1776 Commission.
Discussion:
Washington Examiner
Eliza Goren / Washington Post:
The Washington Post asked readers to describe 2020 in one word or phrase. Here's what they said. — See their responses — Shefali S. Kulkarni and By Shefali S. Kulkarni — Operations editor for the financial and tech section — Community editor, with a focus on comments, live chats and reader submissions.
Archie Bland / The Guardian:
Rupert Murdoch receives dose of Covid vaccine in UK — Exclusive: 89-year-old News Corp boss gives thanks to key workers, NHS staff and scientists — Rupert Murdoch has become the latest public figure to have the coronavirus vaccine, visiting his local GP's surgery late on Wednesday to receive his first dose.
Discussion:
CNN
Henry Ergas / New York Post:
Obama trafficked in anti-Semitic tropes — lefty media didn't notice — The words leap out and grab you. Former President Barack Obama characterizes no other world leader in anything like the terms he reserves for former French President Nicolas Sarkozy. — In his recent memoir …
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 …
Stephen Kruiser / pjmedia.com:
The Morning Briefing: If Lockdowns Work Why Is California a Global COVID-19 Hotspot? — The Mother of All Lockdown Failures — Happy week before Christmas Friday, dear Kruiser Morning Briefing friends. My favorite vegetarian food is beef brisket. — Whilst wrapping up my evening walk …
Alexandra Garrett / Newsweek:
Tommy Tuberville Suggests He Will Join Mo Brooks in Challenging Joe Biden's Electoral Win — Republican Alabama Senator-elect Tommy Tuberville suggested he would back Representative Mo Brooks's attempt to challenge the 2020 presidential election results in a video that surfaced Thursday.
Discussion:
Yellowhammer News, Washington Post, CNN, Alternet.org, Los Angeles Times, Breitbart and Bloomberg
Ali Watkins / New York Times:
An Unprepared N.Y.P.D. Badly Mishandled Floyd Protests, Watchdog Says — “I look back with remorse,” Mayor Bill de Blasio said after a city oversight agency found the department's tactics “produced excessive enforcement.” — A city oversight agency on Friday sharply criticized …