Top Items:
Jeff Stein / Washington Post:
White House secures ‘three martini lunch’ tax deduction in draft of coronavirus relief package — President Trump has long seized on the tax break as a way to revive the restaurant industry. But economists have panned it as ineffective and largely benefitting the wealthy.
Discussion:
Mother Jones
RELATED:
Washington Post:
Here's what's in the new $900 billion stimulus package — Jobless benefits, aid to small businesses, stimulus checks and money for vaccine distribution are in. New aid for local governments and corporate liability shields are out. — Congressional leaders brokered a deal …
Discussion:
CNN, BuzzFeed News and The Hill
Washington Post:
Details emerge on $600 stimulus checks, jobless benefits as Congress rushes to finalize deal — House leadership tells lawmakers to prepare to be ready to vote as early as Sunday, but there are still details that need to be worked out, according to people familiar with the conversations.
Discussion:
NBC News, The Daily Poster, The Hill, New York Times, Vox, CNBC, Forbes, New York Post, Business Insider, USA Today, WISC-TV, The Guardian, Los Angeles Times and Cafe Hayek
Emily Cochrane / New York Times:
Congress Strikes Long-Sought Stimulus Deal to Provide $900 Billion in Aid
Congress Strikes Long-Sought Stimulus Deal to Provide $900 Billion in Aid
NBC News:
Congress inches closer to deal on Covid relief package after clearing major hurdle
Congress inches closer to deal on Covid relief package after clearing major hurdle
Discussion:
The Hill, Washington Examiner, NPR, Jezebel, Alternet.org and Townhall
Evie Fordham / Fox News:
McConnell expects coronavirus relief package to be finalized ‘in a matter of hours’
McConnell expects coronavirus relief package to be finalized ‘in a matter of hours’
Discussion:
Washington Examiner
Stephanie Clifford / Elle:
The Journalist and the Pharma Bro — Why did Christie Smythe upend her life and stability for Martin Shkreli, one of the least-liked men in the world? — Almost every weekday for six years, Christie Smythe took the F train from Park Slope downtown to her desk at Brooklyn's federal court …
Discussion:
Jezebel, New York Post and Law & Crime, more at Mediagazer »
Ben Smith / New York Times:
The ‘Red Slime’ Lawsuit That Could Sink Right-Wing Media — Voting machine companies threaten “highly dangerous” cases against Fox, Newsmax and OAN, says Floyd Abrams. — Antonio Mugica was in Boca Raton when an American presidential election really melted down in 2000 …
Discussion:
Twitchy, Mediaite and Crooks and Liars, more at Mediagazer »
Erica Newland / New York Times:
'I'm Haunted by What I Did' as a Lawyer in the Trump Justice Department — No matter our intentions, lawyers like me were complicit. We owe the country our honesty about what we saw — and should do in the future. — Ms. Newland worked in the Office of Legal Counsel at the Justice Department from 2016-18.
Donald J. Trump for President:
Trump Campaign taking Constitutional fight to Supreme Court — President Trump's campaign today issued the following statement: — “Donald J. Trump for President, Inc., President Trump's campaign committee, today filed a petition for writ of certiorari to the US.
Discussion:
Just The News, The Gateway Pundit and UPI
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Mica Soellner / Washington Examiner:
Trump campaign independently filing with Supreme Court over election results — The Trump campaign issued its first independent filing with the Supreme Court on Sunday, in hopes of reversing actions taken by Pennsylvania's high court. — The campaign aims to reverse three Pennsylvania Supreme Court cases …
Discussion:
The Philadelphia Inquirer, Townhall, Associated Press, Business Insider, Washington Times, Reuters, Forbes, Bloomberg, Law & Crime and New York Post
Patrick Marley / Milwaukee Journal Sentinel:
Shirley Abrahamson, longest-serving member of Wisconsin Supreme Court, dies at 87 — MADISON - Shirley Abrahamson crashed through barriers for women, but her son was only dimly aware of it as he was growing up. — Daniel Abrahamson was about 12 when his mother became the first woman to serve on the Wisconsin Supreme Court in 1976.
Bradford Betz / Fox News:
Trump campaign takes fight over Penn. election, ballot laws to Supreme Court
Trump campaign takes fight over Penn. election, ballot laws to Supreme Court
Discussion:
Election Law Blog, Political Wire and RedState
Peter Wehner / The Atlantic:
Trump Is Losing His Mind — Donald Trump's descent into madness continues. — The latest manifestation of this is a report in The New York Times that the president is weighing appointing the conspiracy theorist Sidney Powell, who for a time worked on his legal team, to be special counsel …
Discussion:
The Mahablog, Business Insider, Strangely Blogged, New York Post, The Daily Caller, emptywheel, Media Matters for America and CNBC
RELATED:
Max Boot / Washington Post:
Trump saved the worst for last
Trump saved the worst for last
Discussion:
The Indian Express, Digby's Hullabaloo and IJR
Harry Enten / CNN:
How voters rank Trump a historically bad president
How voters rank Trump a historically bad president
Discussion:
Digby's Hullabaloo
Jonathan Swan / Axios:
Top Trump aides pushed back on Sidney Powell during a chaotic West Wing meeting
Top Trump aides pushed back on Sidney Powell during a chaotic West Wing meeting
Discussion:
Vox, Washington Examiner, NBC News, Washington Monthly and Patterico's Pontifications
Associated Press:
Birx travels, family visits highlight pandemic safety perils — WASHINGTON (AP) — As COVID-19 cases skyrocketed before the Thanksgiving holiday weekend, Dr. Deborah Birx, coordinator of the White House coronavirus response, warned Americans to “be vigilant” and limit celebrations to “your immediate household.”
Discussion:
RedState, TheBlaze, Slate, Forbes, Business Insider, New York Post, The Hill, Twitchy, Townhall and Eschaton
RELATED:
The Citizen Lab:
Journalists Hacked with Suspected NSO Group iMessage ‘Zero-Click’ Exploit — Summary & Key Findings — In July and August 2020, government operatives used NSO Group's Pegasus spyware to hack 36 personal phones belonging to journalists, producers, anchors, and executives at Al Jazeera.
Discussion:
TechCrunch and AppleInsider, more at Techmeme »
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Washington Post:
Ex-cop hits truck thinking it held 750,000 fraudulent ballots, police say. It held air conditioning parts. — David Lopez-Zuniga, an air-conditioner installer, had just left his mobile home for his typical predawn commute when he noticed an SUV's headlights closely trailing his small cargo truck.
Discussion:
Buttermilk Sky
Apoorva Mandavilli / New York Times:
The Coronavirus Is Mutating. What Does That Mean for Us? — Officials in Britain and South Africa claim new variants are more easily transmitted. There's a lot more to the story, scientists say. — Just as vaccines begin to offer hope for a path out of the pandemic …
Reuters:
Canada halts passenger flights from UK for 72 hours due to new virus strain — TORONTO (Reuters) -Canada is halting passenger flights from the United Kingdom for 72 hours, the health ministry said on Sunday, joining a growing list of countries barring British travelers to prevent the spread of a new coronavirus strain from the country.
New York Times:
Frontline Workers and People Over 74 Should Get Shots Next, C.D.C. Panel Says — The recommendation was a compromise aimed at getting the coronavirus vaccine to the most vulnerable of two high-risk groups. — Striking a compromise between two high-risk population groups …
Discussion:
Talking Points Memo, Associated Press, Townhall, CBS News, The Verge and The Sun
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Betsy McKay / Wall Street Journal:
CDC Panel Recommends People Aged 75 and Over, Essential Workers Be Next for Covid-19 Vaccines
CDC Panel Recommends People Aged 75 and Over, Essential Workers Be Next for Covid-19 Vaccines
Discussion:
Washington Post, Reuters, Bloomberg, Mother Jones and STAT
Washington Post:
A frustrated Trump redoubles efforts to challenge election result — President Trump has intensified efforts to overturn the election, raising a series of radical measures in recent days, including military intervention, seizing voting machines and a 13th-hour appeal to the Supreme Court.
Denver Post:
What happened to the Colorado Republican Party? — Out of power in a changing state, the GOP is in soul-searching mode — The Jefferson County GOP began its annual assemblies in the 1990s by asking all elected Republicans in attendance to say a few words.
Michael Lee / Washington Examiner:
NYC restaurants band together to ban Andrew Cuomo from dining in their establishments — A group of New York City restaurants has joined together to ban Gov. Andrew Cuomo from dining at their establishments in reaction to his lockdown policies. — “He can eat at some sh—
Discussion:
RedState, Conservative News Today and The Gateway Pundit
Juleanna Glover / USA Today:
Don't cut in line for the COVID vaccine. Elites who do will be named and shamed. — The optics of the privileged jumping the COVID vaccine line ahead of essential workers will be terrible and should be damaging. — Concierge medical practices are fielding inquiries from their wealthy patients wondering …
Discussion:
HotAir
Amy Gardner / Washington Post:
How Trump drove the lie that the election was stolen, undermining voter trust in the outcome — Elena Parent, a Democratic state lawmaker from the Atlanta area, listened incredulously in a small hearing room in early December as a stream of witnesses spun fantastical tales of alleged election fraud …
Discussion:
American Greatness, Digby's Hullabaloo, Associated Press and Washington Examiner