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3:10 PM ET, December 22, 2020

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 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.
RELATED:
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.
CNN:
House conservatives strategize with Trump and Pence in push to challenge Biden's win
Melanie Zanona / Politico:
House Republicans meet with Trump to discuss overturning election results
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 …
RELATED:
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 …
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.
Kathleen Ronayne / Associated Press:
Newsom taps California election chief Padilla for US Senate
Discussion: NBC News, 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: New York Times and Raw Story
RELATED:
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 …
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.
RELATED:
CREW:
Ken Paxton urged Mnuchin to revoke CARES Act aid given to Texas, new records show … Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton wrote a letter urging Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin to investigate and potentially revoke CARES Act funds awarded to Harris County, Texas, Treasury Department records obtained by CREW show.
Discussion: Raw Story
RELATED:
Benjamin Wermund / Houston Chronicle:   Texas AG Ken Paxton urged White House to revoke Harris County COVID relief
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 …
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.
RELATED:
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.
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.
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 …
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 …
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 …
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 …
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 …
Kevin R. Brock / The Hill:
The tangled webs of Christopher Krebs and Russia's cyberattack  —  Have you ever made a boastful statement and then been undercut by harsh reality?  “My kid has never been in trouble in school because we raised him right!”  The next day, little Johnny sets a fire in the boys' bathroom.
Discussion: Brief19 and UPI
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 …
Discussion: Vox and Vanity Fair
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 …
Judy Maltz / Haaretz:
Morocco to Israel: Normalization Pact Not Part of Trump-brokered Abraham Accords  —  Rabat says not interested in signing normalization deal with Israel, as was inked with the UAE and Bahrain, while Joint Israel-U.S. delegation lands in Morocco to advance ties
Matthew Continetti / New York Times:
Is Trump Really All That Holds the G.O.P. Together?  —  The Republican Party has embraced reality-TV authoritarianism not out of strength but weakness.  —  Mr. Continetti is a resident fellow at the American Enterprise Institute.  —  Republican officials who have indulged or assisted …
Discussion: Washington Examiner and The Hill
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.
 
 
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 More Items: 
Liz Essley Whyte / Center for Public Integrity:
South Dakota's coronavirus surge is turning nursing homes into a ‘battle zone’
Discussion: National Review
CRFB Papers and Blog Posts:
What's in the Final COVID Relief Deal of 2020?
Discussion: National Review
Zack Budryk / The Hill:
Gingrich: Trump should attend Biden inauguration
Dana Mattioli / Wall Street Journal:
How Amazon Wins: By Steamrolling Rivals and Partners
 Earlier Items: 
Drew Johnson / Washington Examiner:
The North Face is the new king of environmental hypocrisy
Discussion: InsideSources
Wall Street Journal:
Iran Isn't Afraid of B-52s and Aircraft Carriers
Nicholas Fondacaro / Newsbusters:
Uncontested CNN Guest: ‘There Was a Little Cheating’ to Reelect McConnell
Jop de Vrieze / Science:
Suspicions grow that nanoparticles in Pfizer's COVID-19 vaccine trigger rare allergic reactions
Discussion: LiveScience and Washington Post
New York Times:
Why on Earth Is Someone Stealing Unpublished Book Manuscripts?
more at Mediagazer »
NBC News:
Feds have discussed making a legal request for Giuliani's electronic communications, say two sources
 

 
From Techmeme:

Financial Times:
Sources: TSMC told Chinese customers it would no longer manufacture AI chips at advanced process nodes of 7nm or smaller as of this coming Monday

Forbes:
AI startup founders and VCs hope that a Trump administration will lead to lighter regulations and the return of real acquisitions, not “contorted” ones

Umar Shakir / The Verge:
Google rolls out its Gemini-powered Vids app that lets users create video presentations using a prompt, with full access for Workspace users until at least 2026
 
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