Top Items:
Washington Post:
McConnell blocks Senate Democrats' initial attempt to approve $2,000 stimulus checks amid growing pressure on GOP leader to act — Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (Ky.) on Tuesday blocked consideration of a House bill that would deliver a $2,000 stimulus payments to most Americans …
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Oriana Gonzalez / Axios:
Trump slams McConnell for blocking vote on $2,000 stimulus checks — Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) on Tuesday blocked Minority Leader Chuck Schumer's (D-N.Y.) request to hold a vote on a House standalone measure that would boost the size of stimulus checks from $600 to $2,000 per person.
Axios:
Senate tide begins to shift toward $2,000 checks after Trump's push — A couple of days ago, it looked impossible that $2,000 COVID relief checks — up from the $600 checks for individuals in the package President Trump signed Sunday — could pass the Senate.
Discussion:
Fox News, CNN, Associated Press, The Western Journal, Townhall, Breitbart, Real Clear Politics, KDFX-TV, HotAir, Michigan Advance, IJR, Washington Examiner and The Week
Jacob Pramuk / CNBC:
McConnell blocks Schumer's bid to unanimously pass $2,000 stimulus checks — Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell blocked an attempt by Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer to unanimously approve a House-passed bill to increase direct payments in the coronavirus relief package to $2,000 from $600.
Discussion:
USA Today, NBC News, The Hill, CBS News, Iowa Capital Dispatch, The Guardian, Breitbart, Associated Press, National Review, KDFX-TV, Washington Times, Townhall, HuffPost, The Week, Business Insider, The Right Scoop, Just The News, One America News Network, The Daily Caller, abc7NY, Mediaite, New York Post, Deseret News, TalkLeft, Warnock for Georgia and The Intellectualist
Tyler Clifford / CNBC:
GOP pollster says Trump's demand for $2,000 stimulus checks is a nightmare for Republicans in Georgia
GOP pollster says Trump's demand for $2,000 stimulus checks is a nightmare for Republicans in Georgia
Discussion:
The Hill, CNN, The Daily Caller, Mediaite and Raw Story
Wall Street Journal:
Trump Gives Schumer an Assist
Trump Gives Schumer an Assist
Discussion:
Bloomberg, New York Times, Axios, Mediaite, Washington Post, Raw Story, The Week, The Intellectualist and Talking Points Memo
Bloomberg:
McConnell Rebuffs Trump, Democrats by Blocking $2,000 Aid Checks
McConnell Rebuffs Trump, Democrats by Blocking $2,000 Aid Checks
Discussion:
Associated Press, New York Post, IJR, Big League Politics, The Right Scoop, COURIER, Mediaite, DCReport.org, NBC10 Philadelphia, POLITICUSUSA and The Daily Poster
Burgess Everett / Politico:
Trump leans on McConnell for $2,000 checks amid GOP resistance
Trump leans on McConnell for $2,000 checks amid GOP resistance
Discussion:
Esquire, Business Insider, HuffPost, NPR and Mediaite
Catherine Rampell / Washington Post:
$2,000 vs. $600 stimulus payments isn't the real issue
$2,000 vs. $600 stimulus payments isn't the real issue
Discussion:
CRFB Papers and Blog Posts, The Week, IJR, The US Sun, CBS San Francisco, Denver Post and Breitbart
Yahoo News:
L.A. County hospitals turn away ambulances, put patients in gift shop: 'I've never seen anything like this' — At Los Angeles County-USC Medical Center, the breaking point came Sunday night. — There was not one available bed for at least 30 patients who needed intensive or intermediate levels of care …
Discussion:
The Daily Beast, Los Angeles Times, Daily News, Breitbart, The Stranger and The Guardian
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Kate Bennett / CNN:
Trump angered by Mar-a-Lago renovations, sources say — (CNN)His mood darkened as soon as he walked into his members-only club Mar-a-Lago, three days before Christmas, according to multiple sources. The changes to his private quarters, many of which were overseen by his wife …
Discussion:
Raw Story
McKay Coppins / The Atlantic:
The Resistance's Breakup With the Media Is at Hand — The day after the 2016 election, I got a phone call from an old friend. Neither of us had slept much, and we spent most of the conversation exchanging shell-shocked comments of the Can you believe this? variety. Before we hung up, his voice took on a trace of irony.
Discussion:
Raw Story and Townhall, more at Mediagazer »
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Shelby Talcott / The Daily Caller:
CNN's Jim Acosta: 'I Don't Think The Press Should Be Trying To Whip Up The Biden Presidency'
CNN's Jim Acosta: 'I Don't Think The Press Should Be Trying To Whip Up The Biden Presidency'
Discussion:
HotAir, Twitchy and The Intellectualist
Chris Cioffi / Roll Call:
The Inaugural Luncheon is the latest pandemic casualty — The century-old tradition of the post-inauguration lunch is the latest pandemic casualty as COVID-19 continues to upend the ceremonies around the Jan. 20 swearing-in of President-elect Joe Biden. — The Inaugural Luncheon tradition …
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Jennifer Rubin / Washington Post:
Nikki Haley's mind-numbing inanity — Republicans have made clear for years that they lack constructive ideas to respond to Americans' real-world concerns. In lieu of rational responses to rising health-care costs or falling K-12 test scores or income inequality, they rant about Confederate flags …
Discussion:
Crooks and Liars, Townhall, Stand For America and Fox News
RELATED:
Zack Stanton / Politico:
The Worst Predictions of 2020 — On the last day of 2019, President Donald Trump joined in on New Year's Eve celebrations at Mar-a-Lago, ringing in 2020 with what was, in retrospect, a terrible prediction about the year ahead. — “We're going to have a great year, I predict,” the president told assembled guests.
Discussion:
USA Today, VICE, National Review and TheBlaze
Jeffrey M. Jones / Gallup:
Donald Trump, Michelle Obama Most Admired in 2020 — WASHINGTON, D.C. — Americans are most likely to name President Donald Trump and Michelle Obama as most admired man and woman in 2020. Trump tied former President Barack Obama for the honor last year but edged out his predecessor this year.
Discussion:
The Hill, The Gateway Pundit, RedState, NPR, New York Post, Washington Examiner, TheGrio, Power Line, HotAir, UPI, Breitbart, TheBlaze, Big League Politics, WHNT-TV, CNN, IJR, One America News Network, Washington Times, The Sun, The Daily Caller, Towleroad Gay News, Mediaite, Conservative News Today, Liberty Unyielding, Townhall and Washington Post
Politico:
Judge blocks voter purge in 2 Georgia counties — A federal judge in Georgia on Monday ordered two counties to reverse a decision removing more than 4,000 voters from the rolls ahead of the Jan. 5 runoff elections that will decide control of the U.S. Senate.
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Frances Robles / New York Times:
Presidential Transition Live Updates: McConnell Blocks Immediate Vote on $2,000 Stimulus Checks, While Tacking On Demands
Presidential Transition Live Updates: McConnell Blocks Immediate Vote on $2,000 Stimulus Checks, While Tacking On Demands
Carly Roman / Washington Examiner:
2012 tweet shows Ossoff encouraged supporters to follow Chinese state-run media
2012 tweet shows Ossoff encouraged supporters to follow Chinese state-run media
Discussion:
Twitchy, RedState and Washington Free Beacon
Andrea Salcedo / Washington Post:
Massachusetts GOP leader says he likely got covid-19 at a White House Hanukkah party: 'I'm paying the price' — Earlier this month, Tom Mountain, a Massachusetts Republican Party leader, posed for a maskless photo in front of a silver menorah as dozens of other guests without face coverings mingled nearby …
Discussion:
Business Insider and Mediaite
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Tyler Dumont / WJAR-TV:
Massachusetts GOP leader battling COVID-19 after attending holiday party at White House
Massachusetts GOP leader battling COVID-19 after attending holiday party at White House
Discussion:
The Hill, Slate, Towleroad Gay News and HotAir
Ryan J. Foley / Associated Press:
Federal judge in Iowa ridicules Trump's pardons — IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) — A federal judge in Iowa who has warned against political corruption is ridiculing President Trump's pardons, including those issued to convicted Republican campaign operatives and former members of Congress.
Discussion:
The Hill
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Haley Britzky / Task & Purpose:
The Army is planning a major overhaul of its hair and grooming regulations … Senior Army leaders are discussing making long-awaited changes to hair and grooming regulations and they plan to announce the finalized changes in January 2021, Task & Purpose has learned.
David Corn / Mother Jones:
Kelly Loeffler's Conflict of Interest Is Even Worse Than Reported — Let our journalists help you make sense of the noise: Subscribe to the Mother Jones Daily newsletter and get a recap of news that matters. — As she campaigns for reelection in the January 5 run-off, Kelly Loeffler …
Discussion:
Raw Story
Dani Alexis Ryskamp / The Atlantic:
The Life in The Simpsons Is No Longer Attainable — The most famous dysfunctional family of 1990s television enjoyed, by today's standards, an almost dreamily secure existence that now seems out of reach for all too many Americans. I refer, of course, to the Simpsons.
Ed Yong / The Atlantic:
Where Year Two of the Pandemic Will Take Us — Editor's Note: The Atlantic is making vital coverage of the coronavirus available to all readers. Find the collection here. — The influenza pandemic that began in 1918 killed as many as 100 million people over two years.
Discussion:
The Week
Joseph Krauss / Associated Press:
Record shows US sold ambassador's home in Israel for $67M — An official record shows that the United States sold the ambassador's residence in Israel for more than $67 million in July — Catch up on the developing stories making headlines. — JERUSALEM — The United States sold …
Discussion:
The Hill and Jewish Telegraphic Agency
Christian Schneider / The Bulwark:
Rubio vs. Fauci Is Amazing — Marco Rubio inadvertently told us what he thinks of Republican voters. — In the course of his young political career, Marco Rubio has been a Tea Partier, a Reformicon, and a neoconservative. Now he's auditioning for the role of MAGA FAN #7 by trying …
Discussion:
@politifact, Twitchy, Newsbusters, Raw Story, TheGrio, Mock Paper Scissors, The Right Scoop, Talking Points Memo and CNN
William J. Kole / Associated Press:
Statue of slave kneeling before Lincoln is removed in Boston — A statue of Abraham Lincoln with a freed slave appearing to kneel at his feet — optics that drew objections amid a national reckoning with racial injustice — has been removed from its perch in downtown Boston.
Discussion:
The Hill and The Daily Caller
Reed Albergotti / Washington Post:
Apple's longtime supplier accused of using forced labor in China — New documents show Lens Technology, which makes iPhone glass and is owned by China's richest woman, received Uighur Muslim laborers transferred from Xinjiang. — One of the oldest and most well-known iPhone suppliers …
Discussion:
Gizmodo, Business Insider, The Verge, National Review, The Daily Caller, Engadget and BuzzFeed News, more at Techmeme »
Arizona Republic:
Report: Phoenix police officer said, 'If the mayor defunds the police, I'm going to shoot her' — Uriel J. Garcia Jen FifieldArizona Republic — On the afternoon of October 21, seven Phoenix police officers gathered for a briefing in a Cave Creek station when the meeting diverged …
Discussion:
New York Post and Raw Story
Will Sommer / The Daily Beast:
Michael Flynn Is Now Selling QAnon Merch — Trump's former national security adviser is going all in on QAnon, selling QAnon T-shirts and launching a QAnon news site — Former Trump national security adviser Michael Flynn is going all in on the QAnon conspiracy theory …