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12:27 PM ET, December 25, 2020

memeorandum

 Top Items: 
The Tennessean:
Massive downtown Nashville explosion an ‘intentional act’, police say  —  Yihyun Jeong Brinley HinemanNashville Tennessean  —  Nashville authorities believe an explosion that occurred in downtown Nashville early Christmas morning was an “intentional act” and sparked by a vehicle.
RELATED:
New York Times:
Nashville Explosion Appears Intentional, Authorities Say  —  An explosion linked to a vehicle sent debris and shattered glass into the city streets, and has injured three people.  —  An explosion rocked downtown Nashville on Christmas morning, sending smoke rising high above the city, blowing out store windows and forcing evacuations.
Jon Swaine / Washington Post:
Sidney Powell's secret intelligence contractor witness is a pro-Trump podcaster  —  As she asked the U.S. Supreme Court this month to overturn President Trump's election loss, the attorney Sidney Powell cited testimony from a secret witness presented as a former intelligence contractor …
Politico:
POLITICO Playbook: Merry Christmas!  —  DRIVING THE DAY  —  MERRY CHRISTMAS!  —  THE PRESIDENT is complaining to people he speaks to that the coronavirus/government funding package has too much “pork,” as he says, and the direct payments are too low.  The bill has been flown to Florida from Washington for his signature.
CNN:
FBI team leader: How I know the Blackwater defendants didn't deserve a pardon from Trump  —  Thomas O'Connor served for 23 years as an FBI special agent before retiring in 2019.  The opinions expressed in this commentary are his own.  View more opinion at CNN.
New York Times:
Behind Trump Clemency, a Case Study in Special Access  —  Philip Esformes was sentenced last year to 20 years for Medicare fraud.  Then a well-connected organization supported by his family weighed in with the White House.  —  Philip Esformes acquired a $1.6 million Ferrari and a $360,000 Swiss watch …
Discussion: The Intellectualist
David Martosko / Newsweek:
Sidney Powell Wants to Fight for Donald Trump—But His Aides Won't Let Her, She Says  —  President Donald J. Trump says he wants a lawyer to probe “election theft,” but the president's leading candidate, Sidney Powell, says she has been barred from the White House by the president's own chief of staff.
RELATED:
Matt Naham / Law & Crime:
Lawyers for Dominion Voting Systems Sent 21 Retraction or Record Preservation Demand Letters This Week — Read Them All Here
Discussion: Business Insider and Raw Story
Nicole Sperling / New York Times:
An Oscar Winner Made a Khashoggi Documentary.  Streaming Services Didn't Want It.  —  Bryan Fogel's examination of the killing of the Saudi dissident Jamal Khashoggi had trouble finding a home among the companies that can be premier platforms for documentary films.
Josh Rogin / Washington Post:
China's atrocities in Tibet are growing too big to ignore  —  The world is finally responding to the Chinese government's mass atrocities against Uighurs and other ethnic minorities in China's northwest province of Xinjiang.  But now Beijing is replicating some of its worst practices …
Joe Walsh / Forbes:
Judge Tosses Out Rep. Nunes' Lawsuit Against Washington Post  —  A federal judge dismissed a defamation lawsuit against the Washington Post from Rep. Devin Nunes (R-Calif.) on Thursday, the latest development in a string of legal battles waged by Nunes against mainstream media outlets …
Politico:
Democrats shatter fundraising records ahead of Georgia Senate runoffs  —  Democrats Jon Ossoff and Raphael Warnock shattered fundraising records by hauling in more than $100 million each in the past two months, significantly outraising GOP Sens. David Perdue and Kelly Loeffler in the final stretch …
RELATED:
Gabriel T. Rubin / Wall Street Journal:
Trump Lawyers Get Little Backup From Their Firms or Universities  —  Chapman University becomes the latest organization to formally distance itself from the president's legal efforts to challenge the election results  —  LAWYERS HELPING TRUMP with his quixotic election challenges …
Discussion: Raw Story
Michael Balsamo / Associated Press:
Judge delays execution of only woman on US death row  —  WASHINGTON (AP) — A federal judge said the Justice Department unlawfully rescheduled the execution of the only woman on federal death row, potentially setting up the Trump administration to schedule the execution after president-elect Joe Biden takes office.
Discussion: The Hill
Washington Post:
Pence under pressure as the final step nears in formalizing Biden's win  —  Vice President Pence urged an audience of conservative youth activists earlier this week to “stay in the fight,” as they chanted “Four more years” and “Stop the steal” to trumpet their embrace of the groundless notion …
Discussion: The Pipeline
Kevin Johnson / USA Today:
What watchdogs?  Trump leaves office with key IG jobs vacant across govt  —  As President-elect Joe Biden continues to weigh critical Cabinet appointments, the new administration will be confronting widespread vacancies in watchdog offices across the government.
Discussion: Raw Story
Ashton Pittman / Mississippi Free Press:
Republican Mississippi Senator: Trump's Pardons ‘Smack of Cronyism and Political Favors’  —  Sen. Brice Wiggins, a prominent Republican member of the Mississippi Senate from Pascagoula, broke ranks with most members of his party in the state last night as he criticized President Donald Trump's ongoing pardon spree.
Discussion: Raw Story
RELATED:
Washington Post:
As Biden zeroes in on attorney general pick, some worry one contender is too moderate on criminal justice issues  —  As President-elect Joe Biden seeks an attorney general who can restore public faith in the Justice Department as an independent law enforcement institution while boosting internal morale …
NBC10 Philadelphia:
House GOP Blocks Dems Attempt to Pass $2,000 Stimulus Checks  —  House Republicans shot down a Democratic bid on Thursday to pass President Donald Trump's longshot, end-of-session demand for $2,000 direct payments to most Americans as he ponders whether to sign a long-overdue COVID-19 relief bill.
RELATED:
New York Times:
Answering Trump, Democrats Try and Fail to Jam $2,000 Payments Through House
CNN:
Frustrated Trump met with Pence before holiday break  —  Washington (CNN)Hours before President Donald Trump retweeted a message for his vice president to “act” in stopping the ratification of the Electoral College, he met for more than an hour in the Oval Office with Mike Pence …
Orlando Sentinel:
DeSantis spokesman Piccolo deletes his Twitter account after tweet about COVID-19 victims  —  Fred Piccolo, spokesman for Gov. Ron DeSantis, deactivated his Twitter account Wednesday after he tweeted in the middle of night that photos of each dead COVID-19 victim should be balanced with 99 photos of people who survive the disease.
Discussion: Florida Politics
 
 
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 More Items: 
Ashley Fetters / Washington Post:
Conceived in a pandemic, born in a pandemic: The first quarantine babies are arriving
Samya Kullab / Associated Press:
Relative of Blackwater victim in Iraq says pardons ‘unfair’
Tyler Van Dyke / Washington Examiner:
Hunter Biden ‘in the process’ of divesting share in Chinese firm: Report
Discussion: Fox News and Daily Mail
Elizabeth Neumann / Fox News:
Trump harmed national security by cutting refugee admissions to US — Biden will admit more
 Earlier Items: 
Mark Niesse / Atlanta Journal-Constitution:
Judge dismisses GOP lawsuit to limit Georgia ballot drop box hours
Discussion: Raw Story and The Hill
William A. Jacobson / Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion:
“If they don't like having me in the building, they can leave ... but I'm not going to leave”
Hunter Walker / Yahoo News:
Jared Kushner played a key role in White House pardon ‘free for all’
Discussion: Gothamist
Amber Phillips / Washington Post:
Could Trump declare martial law to try to steal the election?
Donald G. McNeil Jr / New York Times:
How Much Herd Immunity Is Enough?
 

 
From Techmeme:

Mishaal Rahman / Android Authority:
Source: Google has canceled the development of a second-generation Pixel Tablet, planned for release in 2025, due to concerns that it wouldn't sell very well

Mark Gurman / Bloomberg:
Sources: Apple is testing a more conversational version of Siri, dubbed “LLM Siri”, with plans to release it in spring 2026 as part of iOS 19 and macOS 16

The Information:
Sources: OpenAI considered making a browser, discussed deals to power AI features on Samsung devices and search on sites and apps from Condé Nast and others

 
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