Top Items:
Jonathan Swan / Axios:
Trump turns on Pence, McConnell and White House counsel Cipollone in desperate final days — President Trump, in his final days, is turning bitterly on virtually every person around him, griping about anyone who refuses to indulge conspiracy theories or hopeless bids to overturn the election, several top officials tell Axios.
Discussion:
Politico, The Daily Beast, Raw Story, Media Matters for America, Election Law Blog, New York Magazine, POLITICUSUSA, Vanity Fair, Alternet.org, The Guardian, Mediaite, Business Insider, The Week, Lawyers, Guns & Money, The Intellectualist, Mock Paper Scissors, Reason, Hackwhackers, Crooks and Liars, Associated Press and The Root
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Jonathan Swan / Axios:
“Sadly, Mitch forgot”: Trump trashes McConnell in astonishing email to GOP senators — President Trump lashed out at Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell on Monday night for acknowledging Joe Biden won the election, sending a slide to Republican lawmakers taking credit for saving McConnell's career with a tweet and robocall.
Stephen Collinson / CNN:
Trump threatens 30-day reign of destruction on the way out of office — (CNN)Joe Biden will be president in 30 days. Until then, the question is how much damage can be done by a vengeful, delusional soon-to-be ex-President swilling conspiracy theories, whose wild anti-democratic instincts …
Greg Sargent / Washington Post:
Don't let Mitch McConnell get away with his vile rewriting of history — As Congress passed a new $900 billion economic rescue package on Monday night, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) offered a choice bit of spin on how we got to this moment: … Getting the story right here is highly consequential.
Discussion:
Jacobin, Slate, New York Times, Raw Story, New Republic and Breitbart
Jordain Carney / The Hill:
McConnell: Senate to return Dec. 29 for potential Trump veto override vote
Discussion:
Roll Call, HotAir, Conservative News Today, American Thinker, National Review, Fox News, Bloomberg, The Week, New York Post and Election Law Blog
Washington Post:
Trump assembles a ragtag crew of conspiracy-minded allies in flailing bid to reverse election loss
Discussion:
Law & Crime, Bark Bark Woof Woof, Reuters and One America News Network
Nicholas Fondacaro / Newsbusters:
Uncontested CNN Guest: ‘There Was a Little Cheating’ to Reelect McConnell
Discussion:
Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion
Politico:
Feuds, Zoom and Italian food: How the stimulus got done
Discussion:
Conservative News Today, NPR, The Gateway Pundit, Breitbart, Business Insider, Twitchy and Fox News
Shawn Hubler / New York Times:
Alex Padilla Will Replace Kamala Harris in the Senate — Gov. Gavin Newsom of California selected Mr. Padilla to serve the final two years of Ms. Harris's term. Mr. Padilla will be the first Latino senator to represent the state. — SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Alex Padilla …
Discussion:
Washington Examiner and HotAir
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Los Angeles Times:
Alex Padilla becomes California's first Latino U.S. senator, replacing Kamala Harris — Alex Padilla, a Los Angeles Democrat who once developed software for satellites but later rose through local and state political office to become California secretary of state, was chosen Tuesday …
Discussion:
Reuters, One America News Network and Twitchy
Jeremy B. White / Politico:
Newsom appoints Alex Padilla to fill Harris' Senate seat — OAKLAND — Gov. Gavin Newsom is appointing California Secretary of State Alex Padilla to the U.S. Senate, elevating his longtime Democratic ally after months of fierce jockeying for the position and giving the state its first Latino senator.
Discussion:
Bloomberg, CBS News, Business Insider, CNN, Fox News, Talking Points Memo, KNSD-TV, Mediaite, The Daily Caller, Washington Times, CBS Sacramento and RedState
California Governor:
Governor Gavin Newsom Selects Secretary of State Alex Padilla as California's Next United States Senator
Discussion:
Business Insider, Axios, Roll Call, WGN-TV and ABC7
Kathleen Ronayne / Associated Press:
Newsom taps California election chief Padilla for US Senate
Discussion:
NBC News, CNBC, NPR and CBS San Francisco
Associated Press:
WH virus coordinator Deborah Birx says she will retire — WASHINGTON (AP) — Dr. Deborah Birx, coordinator of the White House coronavirus response, said Tuesday she plans to retire, but is willing to first help President-elect Joe Biden's team with its coronavirus response as needed.
Discussion:
Talking Points Memo, The Hill, IJR, The Daily Caller, New York Post, Mediaite, Conservative News Today and Raw Story
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Mike Brest / Washington Examiner:
Deborah Birx announces intent to retire citing treatment of family over Thanksgiving trip
Discussion:
Twitchy
Hans Nichols / Axios:
Joe Biden finally announces White House spot for longtime aide Bruce Reed
Discussion:
Fox News, Politico, Washington Examiner, Washington Post, New York Post and Bloomberg
Shay Khatiri / The Bulwark:
The Military Would Not Participate in a Coup. Trump Can't Understand Why. — Politicians from both parties have called on the armed forces to enforce election outcomes. The generals know better. — The president of the United States considered using the military to overturn an election, according to press reports.
Discussion:
Bangor Daily News, Crooks and Liars, The BRAD BLOG and CNN
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Barbara Starr / CNN:
Pentagon anxiety rises as officers wait for Trump's next unpredictable move
Discussion:
Just Security, Alternet.org and Raw Story
Jennifer Rubin / Washington Post:
Barr's refusal to worsen his atrocious legacy is not praiseworthy
Discussion:
Bangor Daily News, Alternet.org, The Unz Review and Digby's Hullabaloo
Benjamin Wermund / Houston Chronicle:
Texas AG Ken Paxton urged White House to revoke Harris County COVID relief — FILE- In this Sept. 10, 2020, file photo, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton speaks at the Austin Police Association in Austin, Texas. Paxton on Wednesday, Dec. 16, 2020, announced a multi-state lawsuit against Google …
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Nick Miroff / Washington Post:
Several Trump immigration restrictions will remain in place, Biden advisers say, urging patience — Top advisers to president-elect Joe Biden said Monday they will not immediately roll back asylum restrictions at the Mexico border and other restrictive Trump administration policies …
Molly Fischer / The Cut:
Who Did J.K. Rowling Become? Deciphering the most beloved, most reviled children's-book author in history. — Edinburgh Castle, many centuries old, has been called the most besieged place in Britain. In 2005, on the night Melissa Anelli arrived, it was besieged primarily by children.
Ryan J. Foley / Associated Press:
Iowa Democrat asks House to review 6-vote race, cites errors — Democrat Rita Hart is asking the U.S. House to investigate and overturn the race that Iowa says she lost by six votes, arguing that 22 ballots were wrongly excluded and others weren't examined during the recount.
Discussion:
The Hill, Iowa Capital Dispatch, Townhall, The American Independent and National Review
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David Enrich / New York Times:
Trump's Longtime Banker at Deutsche Bank Resigns — Rosemary Vrablic, who oversaw hundreds of millions of dollars in loans to President Trump's company, will leave the bank next week. — President Trump's longtime banker at Deutsche Bank, who arranged for the German lender to make hundreds …
Discussion:
Raw Story and The Intellectualist
Mike Stobbe / Associated Press:
US deaths in 2020 top 3 million, by far most ever counted — NEW YORK (AP) — This is the deadliest year in U.S. history, with deaths expected to top 3 million for the first time — due mainly to the coronavirus pandemic. — Final mortality data for this year will not be available for months.
Discussion:
The Hill, Associated Press, Defense One and FOX 5 San Diego
Tom Benning / Dallas Morning News:
Retiring Texas Republican, Rep. Mac Thornberry, chides GOP for ‘mindless sort of obedience’ to Trump — The top Republican on the House Armed Services Committee said Congress ‘was created to be and meant to be a separate independent branch of government.’ — WASHINGTON — Clarendon …
Discussion:
Washington Examiner, Talking Points Memo, Alternet.org, The American Independent and Raw Story
Eric Levitz / New York Magazine:
The Left's Most Naïve Cynics Have Turned on AOC — Jimmy Dore is undeniably good at swearing. A left-wing comedian turned pundit, Dore has earned himself a considerable YouTube following by giving expletive-laden expression to the rage that many American progressives feel when contemplating …
Rex Briggs / The Nevada Independent:
Trump supporters asked me to look into voter fraud in Nevada; what I found debunked what they were alleging — Clark County Election Department personnel process mail in ballots on Friday, Oct. 30, 2020. (Jeff Scheid/The Nevada Independent) — Regardless of your political party …
Mark Z. Barabak / Los Angeles Times:
Harry Reid made Nevada a presidential battleground. Now he wants more — When Harry Reid met Joe Biden it was 1987. Reid was new to the Senate and had a favor to ask the Judiciary Committee chairman. — “There was a Nevada person that had been nominated to be a federal judge …
Washington Post:
Washington Football Team settled sexual misconduct claim against Daniel Snyder for $1.6 million — The Washington Football Team paid a female former employee $1.6 million as part of a confidential settlement in 2009, according to a copy of the agreement reviewed by The Washington Post.
Discussion:
Forbes, New York Post, The Daily Caller, Washingtonian, Sports Illustrated and The Week
Mitch Daniels / Washington Post:
Senate Republicans could restore a bit of civility by confirming Neera Tanden — On a wall somewhere, I have a historical artifact. It's only two decades old, but it might as well be on papyrus in Aramaic. It's the Senate tally sheet from Jan. 23, 2001, recording my unanimous confirmation …
Discussion:
National Review and The National Interest
New York Times:
Misinformation Amplifiers Target Georgia Senate Races — The conservative social media personalities that spread baseless rumors of election fraud are starting to focus on the races that will decide control of the Senate. — Two weeks ago, the conservative media personalities Diamond …
Benjamin Weiser / New York Times:
Court Extends Manhattan U.S. Attorney's Term, as Inauguration Nears — A quirk of legal timing had left Audrey Strauss's tenure as acting head of the Southern District of New York set to expire just before the end of the Trump administration. — Six months ago, Audrey Strauss became …
Adam Klasfeld / Law & Crime:
President Trump's Post-Election Conduct and ‘Threats’ Violated the Ku Klux Klan Act, Civil Rights Groups Allege — Outgoing President Donald Trump's post-election campaign of “intimidation and coercion of election officials and volunteers” targets Black voters in violation of the Ku Klux Klan Act …
Discussion:
Raw Story
Peter Beinart / Jewish Currents:
How “Pro-Israel” Orthodoxy Keeps US Foreign Policymaking White — IN OCTOBER, Sen. Kelly Loeffler, who is seeking re-election in Georgia, released an ad called “Birds of Prey” attacking her Democratic opponent, Raphael Warnock. The title refers to a sermon Warnock gave during protests …
Newt Gingrich / Washington Times:
Why I will not accept Joe Biden as president — Unwillingness to accept election result grows out of a level of outrage unlike anything previously experienced — ANALYSIS/OPINION: — A smart friend of mine who is a moderate liberal asked why I was not recognizing Joe Biden's victory.
Discussion:
The Hill, The Unz Review and American Thinker
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