Top Items:
New York Times:
Trump Pardons Two Russia Inquiry Figures and Blackwater Guards — The pre-Christmas wave of 20 pardons and commutations are not likely to be the last before Mr. Trump leaves office on Jan. 20. — In an audacious pre-Christmas round of pardons, President Trump granted clemency on Tuesday …
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Axios:
Trump unleashes signature chaos with stimulus threat and wave of controversial pardons — Advisers to President Trump tell Axios three forces drove last night's twin bombshells — a slew of pardons for his allies, and a last-hour attack on the $900 billion stimulus bill as a “disgrace.”
Discussion:
Washington Post, New York Magazine, Associated Press, Raw Story, The Daily Caller, Alternet.org, Fortune, The Guardian and New York Times
The White House:
Statement from the Press Secretary Regarding Executive Grants of Clemency — Today, President Donald J. Trump granted Full Pardons to 15 individuals and commuted part or all of the sentences of an additional 5 individuals. — Alfonso Costa — President Trump granted a full pardon to Alfonso Costa, a dentist from Pittsburgh.
Discussion:
Breitbart, The Last Refuge, TheBlaze, Wall Street Journal, The Guardian, Reason, The Texas Tribune, Politico, UPI, American Military News, Greensburg Tribune-Review, NPR and HotAir
Washington Post:
Trump grants clemency to 20 people, including three former GOP members of Congress and two men convicted in the Russia probe — President Trump granted clemency on Tuesday to 20 people, including three former Republican members of Congress and two people who were convicted of crimes as part …
Discussion:
Fox News, Politico, National Review, Washington Examiner, Associated Press, Axios, POLITICUSUSA, Business Insider, Talking Points Memo, NPR, RedState and The Intellectualist
Washington Post:
Trump calls on Congress to approve $2,000 stimulus checks, hinting that he might not sign economic relief bill into law without changes — The president has still not signed the measure even though it passed Monday night. He called the measure “a disgrace.”
Discussion:
CBS News, No More Mister Nice Blog, Business Insider, New York Times, Reason, American Military News, Newsweek, The Daily Caller, National Review, Mock Paper Scissors, Digby's Hullabaloo, Talking Points Memo, The American Independent, Axios, Sara A. Carter, IJR, The Federalist, CNBC, USA Today, The Week, Townhall, Conservative News Today, Raw Story, New York Magazine, Crooks and Liars, Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion, Mediaite, Bangor Daily News, WISC-TV, Breitbart, Deadline, Fortune, The Daily Beast, Newsy, Hackwhackers and Bark Bark Woof Woof
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Anneken Tappe / CNN:
Another 803,000 Americans filed for unemployment benefits last week — New York (CNN Business)Claims for unemployment benefits fell across most categories in Wednesday's Labor Department report. Still the job market recovery has stalled while more than 20 million Americans need aid to make ends meet.
Discussion:
WKRN-TV, New York Times and KTVZ-TV
New York Times:
Trump Demands Changes to Coronavirus Relief Bill, Calling It a ‘Disgrace’
Trump Demands Changes to Coronavirus Relief Bill, Calling It a ‘Disgrace’
Discussion:
CBS News, The Hill, Mediaite, Bloomberg, The Daily Caller, UPI, Washington Post, CNBC, HotAir, OutKick, Crooks and Liars, Raw Story, NECN, The Federalist and middleeastmonitor.com, more at Mediagazer »
Amara Omeokwe / Wall Street Journal:
U.S. Jobless Claims Retreat From Three-Month High
U.S. Jobless Claims Retreat From Three-Month High
Discussion:
The Daily Caller
Washington Post:
Republicans plunge into open battle over attempts to overturn Trump's loss to Biden — The GOP is plunging into open warfare over President-elect Joe Biden's election victory — with President Trump taunting Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell in a passive-aggressive email blast …
Discussion:
Raw Story, ABC News, HotAir, Los Angeles Times, The Week, POLITICUSUSA, Business Insider, Denver Post, Mediaite, Breitbart, Bloomberg, Forbes, Washington Times, Townhall and NBC News
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Politico:
Trump orchestrates final loyalty test in dying bid to subvert election
Trump orchestrates final loyalty test in dying bid to subvert election
Discussion:
Business Insider, Wall Street Journal, Front Page Magazine, Fox News, Washington Post, RedState, IJR, The Week and Alternet.org
Edward Foley / Washington Post:
It's time for Mike Pence to choose: Trump, or the truth
It's time for Mike Pence to choose: Trump, or the truth
Discussion:
What The Fuck …, American Thinker, Alternet.org and Forbes
Stephen Battaglio / Los Angeles Times:
What happened to Maria Bartiromo? The Trump election fraud story has the TV news biz asking — When a public company makes news, a chief executive can expect a text or call from Maria Bartiromo. — The veteran business journalist, now an anchor at Fox News, made her bones by getting sit-downs …
Discussion:
Washington Post and Raw Story
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Erik Wemple / Washington Post:
Fox News management failures invited legal threat from Smartmatic
Fox News management failures invited legal threat from Smartmatic
Discussion:
Media Matters for America, Business Insider and Colorado Public Radio
Politico:
Trump White House staffers receive departure instructions — Staffers in the Executive Office of the President were informed Tuesday that they “will start departing” on the week of Jan. 4, according to an email from the White House Management Office. — The memo, which was obtained by POLITICO …
Discussion:
HotAir, Forbes, POLITICUSUSA, Raw Story and Associated Press
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Robin Bravender / Business Insider:
Bidenworld is worried Trump will trash tradition and force the president-elect to fire thousands of GOP holdovers on his first day in the White House
Bidenworld is worried Trump will trash tradition and force the president-elect to fire thousands of GOP holdovers on his first day in the White House
Discussion:
The Hill, CNN, Variety, Politico, Vanity Fair and Salon, more at Techmeme »
Mark Niesse / Atlanta Journal-Constitution:
Top Trump aide Mark Meadows visits Georgia ballot signature audit
Top Trump aide Mark Meadows visits Georgia ballot signature audit
Discussion:
Talking Points Memo, Forbes, Reuters and One America News Network
Marc Ambinder / The Daily Beast:
Sources: Secret Service Has No Plan if Trump Refuses to Go — But they do have procedures for handling trespassers. — If there are any checklists or plans, procedures or guidelines for the Secret Service to follow in the event of an autogolpe—a Latin American-style crisis …
Discussion:
National Review, Hackwhackers, Alternet.org and Raw Story
Bradford Betz / Fox News:
Warnock's wife told officer that her husband is ‘a great actor’ after domestic dispute — Medical officials did not find visible signs of injury on his wife's foot and Warnock was never charged with a crime. — Ossoff, Warnock would embrace ‘far-left liberal policies’ in Senate: Alyssa Farah
Discussion:
Washington Times, Washington Examiner, TheBlaze, HotAir, Townhall, Business Insider, Geller Report News, WABC, The Daily Caller, Georgia Memo and Instapundit
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Greg Bluestein / Atlanta Journal-Constitution:
Warnock's ex-wife calls him ‘great actor’ in police footage of dispute's aftermath
Warnock's ex-wife calls him ‘great actor’ in police footage of dispute's aftermath
Discussion:
New York Post and Conservative News Today
New York Times:
Pfizer Nears Deal With Trump Administration to Provide More Vaccine Doses — The company could provide at least tens of millions of additional doses of a coronavirus vaccine under an agreement that would give it better access to the supplies it needs to expand manufacturing.
Discussion:
Mediaite, CBS News, Just The News and The Week
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Rebecca Shabad / NBC News:
Gov't agrees to buy additional 100 million doses of Pfizer Covid-19 vaccine
Gov't agrees to buy additional 100 million doses of Pfizer Covid-19 vaccine
Discussion:
WMTV, CNBC, HotAir, Mock Paper Scissors, NPR, WSPA-TV, ABC13, One America News Network and UPI
Washington Post:
FBI links Iran to online hit list targeting top officials who've refuted Trump's election fraud claims — The FBI has concluded that Iran was behind online efforts earlier this month to incite violence against the bureau's director, a former top U.S. cyber expert and multiple state elections …
Discussion:
The Daily Caller, CyberScoop, Crooks and Liars and Political Wire
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Ben Collins / NBC News:
As Trump meets with QAnon influencers, the conspiracy theory's adherents beg for dictatorship — On Friday, President Donald Trump met with current and former advisers in the Oval Office, including retired Lt. Gen. Michael Flynn, and one person familiar with the meeting said Flynn advocated …
Discussion:
Bulwark+ and Mock Paper Scissors
Zach Abolverdi / USA Today:
Florida's Keyontae Johnson diagnosed with heart inflammation that has been associated with COVID-19 — GAINESVILLE, Fla. — Florida forward Keyontae Johnson, who collapsed on the court during a game Dec. 12 at Florida State, has been diagnosed with a heart inflammation that may be related to an earlier infection for COVID-19.
Discussion:
The Daily Caller
Phil Helsel / NBC News:
U.S. reports more Covid deaths than ever before — The United States on Tuesday saw the highest number of Covid-19 deaths in a single day, according to a count of reports by NBC News. — The 3,350 reported deaths break a previous single-day high that was set just last week, on Dec. 16.
Discussion:
Balloon Juice, Axios and NPR
Washington Post:
Despite Trump's intense hunt for voter fraud, officials in key states have so far identified just a small number of possible cases — In Pittsburgh, the local police department this year received 10 complaints of possible fraudulent voting in the November election.
Discussion:
Conservative News Today, RedState, Raw Story and The Bulwark
Roger Sollenberger / Salon:
Jared Kushner signed off on secret payments to top campaign officials, source says — Source tells Salon that dubious shell-company arrangements to pay top officials were approved by Kushner and Trump — Top White House adviser Jared Kushner, President Trump's son-in-law …
Discussion:
The Intellectualist
Eddie Scarry / Washington Examiner:
Biden's coronavirus health adviser is a prop — If President-elect Joe Biden is paying his coronavirus adviser anything, he should try getting a refund. Michael Osterholm doesn't seem to know much more about the pandemic than the average cable news anchor, and that kind of knowledge is basically free of charge.
Patrick Lohmann / Syracuse Post-Standard:
Brindisi-Tenney race narrows even more: 3 to 5 votes separate candidates — OSWEGO, N.Y. — The incredibly close race for the 22nd Congressional District got even closer Tuesday, as about 90 new votes from a bundle of about 2,500 affidavit ballots from Oneida County were counted.
Discussion:
Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion
Borzou Daragahi / The Independent:
Iran's Rouhani says ‘madman’ Trump will suffer similar grim fate as hanged Saddam Hussein — ‘One imposed a military war on us, while the other imposed an economic war’ — Iran's president on Wednesday described Donald Trump as a “madman”, likened him to former Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein …
Discussion:
The Daily Caller
Kara Scannell / CNN:
Trump's private bankers resign from Deutsche Bank — New York (CNN Business)The private bankers responsible for lending to President Donald Trump and Jared Kushner have resigned from Deutsche Bank, the bank said. — “Rosemary Vrablic and Dominic Scalzi have tendered their resignations …
Josh Kraushaar / National Journal:
The case for a Chris Christie comeback — The former New Jersey governor has the perfect political résumé to bridge the party's divides in a post-Trump world. — Talk to enough mainstream Republican operatives , who are already brainstorming for the type of presidential nominee …
Aaron Sibarium / Washington Free Beacon:
How the Centers for Disease Control Went Woke — In 2015, Dayna Bowen Matthew, the dean of George Washington University Law School, published a paper concerning racial disparities in health care. She traced those disparities back to the Founding Fathers and argued their persistence today reflects the …
Discussion:
Power Line
Politico:
New DCCC chair draws diversity warning from colleagues as he names top staffer — The selection by new chair Sean Patrick Maloney is resurrecting concerns about diversity in its top ranks. — Rep. Sean Patrick Maloney also announced that Reps. Linda Sánchez (D-Calif.), Ami Bera …
Discussion:
Washington Examiner and Washington Free Beacon
CBS News:
Officer in Columbus, Ohio fatally shoots Black man and only then turns on body camera, officials say — Columbus, Ohio — A police officer who shot and killed a Black man holding a cellphone in Ohio's capital city early Tuesday did not activate his body camera beforehand …
Discussion:
Forbes, Repository, New York Times and CBS Pittsburgh