memeorandum: Despite smooth election, GOP leaders seek vote restrictions (Associated Press)

12:35 PM ET, December 26, 2020

Top Items:

Trump rebukes FBI, DOJ, Congress, and Supreme Court in morning Twitter tantrum — President Trump spent part of his Saturday morning rebuking federal officials who have not helped him win a second term since losing the election and Congress for stimulus negotiations.

Discussion: The Hill, Washington Times, Bangor Daily News and Florida Politics

Jennifer Bendery / HuffPost:

Trump's Presidency Is Over. His Judges Will Be Here For Decades. — Thanks to Mitch McConnell, Trump has put more than 230 people into lifetime federal court seats. Most are white, male, right-wing ideologues. — Donald Trump's presidency is ending in a few weeks.

Discussion: Associated Press, MyNorthwest.com and Real America's Voice

Evan Semones / Politico:

Trump rails at Justice Dept., Supreme Court as stimulus bill deadline nears — The president took aim at the FBI and DOJ for not pursuing baseless claims of voter fraud in the 2020 election. — President Donald Trump. On the day millions of Americans left unemployed by the coronavirus pandemic prepare …

Discussion: Business Insider and POLITICUSUSA

Ashley Fetters / Politico:

Washington's Secret to the Perfect Zoom Bookshelf? Buy It Wholesale. — In a place like Washington—small, interconnected, erudite, gossipy—being well-read can create certain advantages. So, too, can seeming well-read. The “Washington bookshelf” is almost a phenomenon in itself …

Discussion: Althouse

Alan Rappeport / New York Times:

Unemployment Aid Set to Lapse Saturday as Trump's Plans for Relief Bill Remain Unclear — At least a temporary lapse in expanded unemployment benefits for millions of Americans is now inevitable because of President Trump's delay in signing a $900 billion pandemic relief bill.

Discussion: Axios, The Guardian, Mock Paper Scissors, Reuters and The Week

Kevin Liptak / CNN:
Trump's mind is elsewhere as unemployment benefits run out for millions of Americans

Discussion: ABC30

Adam Edelman / NBC News:
Trump again calls for $2,000 checks as Covid aid bill remains in flux

Discussion: The Hill, One America News Network, Reuters and The Sun

CBS News:
COVID relief bill flown to Florida, where Trump went golfing

Discussion: Al Jazeera, CBS Chicago and Business Insider

Patricia Cohen / New York Times:

A ‘Great Cultural Depression’ Looms for Legions of Unemployed Performers — With theaters and concert halls shuttered, unemployment in the arts has cut deeper than in restaurants and other hard-hit industries. — In the top echelons of classical music, the violinist Jennifer Koh is by any measure a star.

Adam Nagourney / New York Times:

A Stinging Setback in California Is a Warning for Democrats in 2022 — Democrats lost four swing House districts in the state, suggesting that their hold on a number of formerly Republican seats is tenuous at best. — LOS ANGELES — Two years ago, Democrats celebrated a sweep …

Discussion: HotAir

Chris Megerian / Los Angeles Times:

Families are turning obituaries into final pleas to avoid COVID-19 — When Pamela Caddell died of COVID-19 last month, there was no funeral — her family knew that, as a former nurse, she wouldn't want anyone else to be exposed to the disease. — But there was still something her husband …

Associated Press:

Despite smooth election, GOP leaders seek vote restrictions — ATLANTA (AP) — Changes to the way millions of Americans voted this year contributed to record turnout, but that's no guarantee the measures making it easier to cast ballots will stick around for future elections.

Discussion: Axios and Associated Press

Associated Press:

AP sources: Human remains found near Nashville explosion — NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Two law enforcement officials tell The Associated Press that authorities have found human remains in the vicinity of the explosion that rocked downtown Nashville early Christmas morning.

Discussion: WTVF-TV, Breitbart, BBC, WITF, The Root, TheBlaze, CBS News, The Week, Outside the Beltway, The Federalist, COURIER, Fox News, The Daily Caller, Boston Herald, The Tennessean, WKRN-TV, ABC13, KTVZ-TV, abc7NY, The Gateway Pundit, Townhall, RedState, CNBC, The Hill, Raw Story and UPI

Associated Press:
Downtown Nashville explosion knocks communications offline

Discussion: CNN, CBS News, NPR, The Other McCain, American Military News, Tennessee Star, TASS, FOX 5 San Diego, The Hill, RedState and Alternet.org

ABC News:
Human remains found at site of Nashville RV explosion described as apparent ‘intentional act’: Sources

Discussion: Mediaite, Washington Post, WKRN-TV, Meduza.io, Conservative News Today, Great American Politics, WPHM, Wisconsin Right Now, WISC-TV, The Gateway Pundit, Breitbart, Press Enterprise and The Sun

Steven Overly / Politico:

Anti-Facebook agitators see their moment under Biden — Facebook endured a deluge of political scrutiny in Donald Trump's Washington. It's poised to face even worse in the Joe Biden era. — From lawmakers on Capitol Hill to antitrust enforcers at the Federal Trade Commission …

Discussion: Mother Jones

Sune Engel Rasmussen / Wall Street Journal:

U.S.-Trained Afghan Fighter Pilot Is in Hiding After Being Denied Safe Passage — The case of a top Afghanistan pilot facing death threats from the Taliban has drawn ire from inside U.S. military ranks — Maj. Naiem Asadi, an Afghan pilot trained by the U.S. military …

Anthony Powell / The New Criterion:

The “Dr.” will see you now — On Joseph Epstein and the “big gun” of identity politics. — Trelawney was always changing his style—even his name, too, I believe, which is, of course, no more Trelawney than my own is. Nor does anyone know why he should be addressed as Doctor.

Discussion: Power Line

Igor Derysh / Salon:

Did we defund the police? No, but “big changes are happening” even after protests die down — Despite intense criticism coming from across the political spectrum, new city budgets show the protests worked — After weeks of nationwide protests over the police killings of unarmed Black people this summer …