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8:15 PM ET, December 30, 2020

memeorandum

 Top Items: 
Washington Post:
Hawley's move to contest electoral college vote certification ensures drawn-out process  —  Sen. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) announced Wednesday that he will object next week when Congress convenes to certify the electoral college vote before President-elect Joe Biden's victory is cemented …
RELATED:
Kyle Cheney / Politico:
How Congress and coronavirus could quash Trump's Electoral College gambit  —  President Donald Trump's last-gasp bid to overturn his 2020 election defeat appears doomed on Jan. 6, when Congress is set to certify President-elect Joe Biden's victory.  —  But the byzantine process …
Jonathan V. Last / The Triad:
You Should Be Angry.  —  Before we get started: Shortly after I finished writing today's newsletter, Josh Hawley announced that he is going to buck Mitch McConnell and join House Republicans to force a roll-call vote on whether or not to accept the Electoral College votes.
CNN:
GOP senator to delay affirming Biden victory by forcing votes on Electoral College results
Max Greenwood / The Hill:
Trump calls on Georgia Gov. Kemp to resign
Washington Post:
McConnell says push for $2,000 stimulus checks has “no realistic path to quickly pass the Senate”  —  The Senate leader said the measure would be too costly, would not be targeted towards needy, and help families that are living comfortably.  —  Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) …
RELATED:
Burgess Everett / Politico:
McConnell and GOP reject House's $2,000 stimulus checks  —  Mitch McConnell and Senate Republicans finished off any imminent chance of approving $2,000 stimulus checks on Wednesday, ending a push from President Donald Trump and Democratic leaders to approve bigger direct payments as the congressional term comes to an end.
Jason Sattler / USA Today:
I underestimated Biden in 2020 and have hope for 2021. Post-Trump detox is just the start.
Catie Edmondson / New York Times:
‘No Realistic Path’ for Quick Vote on $2,000 Checks, McConnell Says
Taryn Ryder / Yahoo Entertainment:
Dr. Drew reveals COVID-19 diagnosis months after apologizing for downplaying coronavirus  —  Celebrity doctor Drew Pinsky has tested positive for COVID-19.  Pinsky, known as “Dr. Drew,” is “under surveillance” according to a message shared on his Instagram account.
Discussion: POLITICUSUSA
NBC News:
Feds probing if Nashville bomber believed in lizard people conspiracy  —  Investigators are exploring several conspiracy theories as potential motives behind the Christmas Day bombing outside an AT&T building in Nashville, including evidence that the bomber believed in lizard people …
Axios:
Scoop: Trump administration declassifies unconfirmed intel on Chinese bounties  —  The Trump administration is declassifying as-yet uncorroborated intelligence, recently briefed to President Trump, that indicates China offered to pay non-state actors in Afghanistan to attack American soldiers …
Discussion: Raw Story and The Gateway Pundit
RELATED:
CNN:   Trump was briefed that China sought to pay non-state actors to attack US forces in Afghanistan
Jennifer Bendery / HuffPost:
Biden's Team Tells Senate Democrats To Send Him Judicial Nominees ASAP  —  The president-elect wants recommendations for all existing district court vacancies by Jan. 19, says his incoming White House counsel.  —  President-elect Joe Biden is signaling that he's ready to move quickly with nominating judges once he's sworn into office.
Discussion: The Hill, Reason, KDFX-TV and Political Wire
Isaac Stanley-Becker / Washington Post:
Shots are slow to reach arms as Trump administration leaves final steps of mass vaccination to beleaguered states  —  Federal and state officials say the pace will soon accelerate, but the logistical challenges are also expected to intensify in the new year  —  In suburban Milwaukee …
RELATED:
Apoorva Mandavilli / New York Times:   Discovery of Virus Variant in Colorado and California Alarms Scientists
Summer Concepcion / Talking Points Memo:
GOP Gov Cancels Inaugural Ceremony Over Armed Protesters Outside His Home  —  New Hampshire Gov. Chris Sununu (R) on Wednesday announced that he is canceling his outdoor inauguration ceremony next month, citing “ongoing public safety concerns” over armed protesters who have gathered outside …
Discussion: UPI
RELATED:
Kathy Mccormack / Associated Press:
Governor cancels inaugural, citing mask protests at his home  —  CONCORD, N.H. (AP) — New Hampshire's Republican governor said Wednesday that he is canceling his outdoor inauguration ceremony next month because of public safety concerns — namely, armed protesters who have been gathering outside …
Discussion: WMUR
Tom Nichols / The Atlantic:
Trump Could Still Start a Last-Ditch War With Iran  —  Donald Trump is intent on creating as much chaos as possible on his way out of the White House.  Could that include saddling Joe Biden with another war in the Middle East?  —  We already know that Trump is thinking about attacking Iran.
Discussion: Fox News and Raw Story
RELATED:
Katherine Rosman / New York Times:
Hilaria Baldwin Talks About Her Heritage, Spain, Boston, Alec and Instagram  —  Accused of a “decade long grift where she impersonates a Spanish person,” the entrepreneur and spouse of Alec Baldwin talks about Spain, Boston, her children, Instagram and more.
Lachlan Markay / The Daily Beast:
Ted Cruz's Georgia Runoff Fundraising Is Actually Going to His Campaign.  He's Not Alone  —  The runoff is a gold mine for politicians.  And now that they can run Facebook ads in Georgia, they're rushing for it.  —  Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) needs your help to keep the U.S. Senate in Republican hands.
RELATED:
James Arkin / Politico:
Strong early-vote turnout gives Dems hope in Georgia runoffs
David Wallace-Wells / New York Magazine:
America's Vaccine Rollout Is Already a Disaster  —  It's happening all over again.  For months, Americans who despaired about the country's coronavirus-suppression efforts looked desperately to the arrival of a vaccine for a kind of pandemic deliverance.  Now that it has arrived …
Discussion: Washington Post
Missy Ryan / Washington Post:
Biden to tap longtime officials for top Pentagon roles  —  President-elect Joe Biden plans to nominate two former senior officials to fill the Pentagon's No. 2 and No. 3 jobs, transition officials said, further signaling the new administration's intent to forge a more predictable foreign policy …
RELATED:
President-Elect Joe Biden:
NATIONAL SECURITY NOMINEES AND APPOINTEES
Discussion: The Daily Caller and UPI
David Brand / Queens News:
Man hospitalized for COVID-19 after Queens Republican club Christmas party  —  At least one person has been hospitalized for COVID-19 after attending an indoor Christmas dance party hosted by the Whitestone Republican Club earlier this month, the Eagle has learned.
OHCHR:
US pardons for Blackwater guards an “affront to justice” - UN experts  —  A group of UN experts* said the pardons granted to four convicted private security contractors for war crimes in Iraq violated US obligations under international law, and called on all States parties to the Geneva Conventions to condemn the pardons.
RELATED:
Mike Schneider / Associated Press:
Census Bureau to miss deadline, jeopardizing Trump plan  —  The Census Bureau plans to announce it will miss a year-end deadline for handing in numbers used for divvying up congressional seats, a census official said.  That delay could undermine President Donald Trump's efforts to exclude people …
RELATED:
Hansi Lo Wang / NPR:
Census To Miss Year-End Deadline For Delivering Numbers For House Seats
Discussion: CNN and Political Wire
Transition / President-Elect Joe Biden:
President-elect Joe Biden and Vice President-elect Kamala Harris Announce Additional Members of White House Staff  —  Transition Names 100 Accomplished, Diverse White House Staff Members by End of 2020  —  WASHINGTON - Today, President-elect Joe Biden and Vice President-elect Kamala Harris …
Discussion: The Hill
RELATED:
PBS NewsHour:   Biden team announces new staff picks, highlighting effort to ‘build an administration that looks like America’
Rachel Roubein / Politico:
Trump misses 20 million Covid shot target  —  The calendar will flip over into 2021 with the U.S. well short of its goal of vaccinating 20 million Americans against the coronavirus.  —  With the pandemic still raging, at least 2.6 million have received the first of two Covid shots …
Discussion: HuffPost, New York Times and CNN
RELATED:
NBC News:
Operation Warp Speed at a crawl: Adequately vaccinating Americans will take 10 years at current pace
Clay Risen / New York Times:
Ted DeLaney, Conscience of a Roiled University, Dies at 77  —  He worked his way up from custodian to department head at Washington and Lee, then led a reckoning with the Confederate general its very name honored, Robert E. Lee.  —  Ted DeLaney, who began his nearly 60-year career at Washington …
 
 
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 More Items: 
Carol D. Leonnig / Washington Post:
Secret Service to make changes to presidential detail to bring on agents who worked with Biden
Discussion: UnHerd
Alexis Ty / International Business Times:
National Bacon Day 2020: 12 Facts You Never Knew About The Delicious Pork Slab
Discussion: Power Line
Greg Bluestein / Atlanta Journal-Constitution:
In final week, GOP resurfaces Warnock dispute with then-wife
Discussion: HotAir and Washington Times
Christina Goldbaum / New York Times:
Penn Station's New Moynihan Train Hall Set to Open Jan. 1
Discussion: Gothamist
Michael Kranish / Washington Post:
Sen. David Perdue became wealthy outsourcing work to Asia. Now the former CEO stands with Trump, who wants to ‘end our reliance on China.’
Discussion: Raw Story
CNN:
The multiple hypocrisies of officials who flout Covid precautions
Betsy DeVos / Fox News:
Education Secretary Betsy DeVos: Stop indoctrinating students with insidious anti-American lies
 Earlier Items: 
Greg Bluestein / Atlanta Journal-Constitution:
Head of Georgia NAACP resigns from Raffensperger's election task force
Discussion: WALB-TV, Business Insider, UPI and WTOC
Kevin Breuninger / CNBC:
Appeals court sends lawsuit over Trump financial records back to lower court
Discussion: Bloomberg, The Week and The Hill
Washington Post:
Washington Football Team ownership dispute escalates with allegations of financial malfeasance
Todd Frankel / Washington Post:
Trump's big policy win: Stronger showers, faster dishwashers. It's something almost no one asked for.
Discussion: The Moderate Voice
Austin Carr / Bloomberg:
The Cruise Ship Suicides
Discussion: New York Post
Washington Free Beacon:
2020 Man of the Year: MAGA Matt Yglesias
 

 
From Techmeme:

Jody Godoy / Reuters:
Filing: Apple asks to participate in the remedial phase of Google's US antitrust case, saying it can't rely on Google to defend their revenue-sharing agreements

Bloomberg:
Iran's Supreme Council of Cyberspace approves lifting its ban on “certain widely used foreign platforms”, naming WhatsApp and Google Play as the first two apps

Tharin Pillay / Time:
A look at the more challenging AI evaluations emerging in response to the rapid progress of models, including FrontierMath, Humanity's Last Exam, and RE-Bench
 
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