Top Items:
Arizona Republic:
Hand count in audit affirms Biden beat Trump, as Maricopa County said in November — Jen Fifield Robert AnglenArizona Republic — A monthslong hand recount of Maricopa County's 2020 vote confirmed that President Joe Biden won and the election was not “stolen” from former President Donald Trump …
Discussion:
The Daily Beast, The Texas Tribune, CBS News, Raw Story and Insider
RELATED:
Ben Giles / KJZZ:
Arizona Election Audit Confirms Biden's Win In Maricopa County, But Also Casts Doubts — A widely criticized, GOP-led review of the 2020 election in Maricopa County concluded that Joe Biden received more votes for president than Donald Trump. — According to a draft copy of the findings obtained by KJZZ …
Discussion:
Politico, Washington Times, New York Times and Raw Story
New York Times:
Republican Review of Arizona Vote Fails to Show Stolen Election — The much criticized review showed much the same results as in November, with 99 more Biden votes and 261 fewer Trump ones. — PHOENIX — After months of delays and blistering criticism, a review of the 2020 election …
Discussion:
Wall Street Journal, Forbes, Associated Press, Townhall, CNN, The Philadelphia Inquirer and NBC Bay Area
Amy B Wang / Washington Post:
Texas secretary of state's office announces audit of 2020 election results after Trump calls for one — The Texas secretary of state's office announced late Thursday it would audit the results of the 2020 election in the state's four largest counties, hours after former president Donald Trump called …
Discussion:
USA Today, Associated Press and Politico
Melissa Blasius / KNXV:
First look at draft of election audit report ahead of Friday release — What will be the major takeaways of the audit report on the Maricopa County election set to be presented tomorrow? A draft copy obtained by ABC15 shows a glimpse at findings ahead of the release.
Discussion:
Mediaite
Hank Stephenson / Arizona Agenda:
We got the Senate audit report — And it says — no joke — that Biden won — The Arizona Senate is set to release its report on the Maricopa County 2020 election audit tomorrow, but we got our hands on a copy early. — Volume 1: Executive Summary and Recommendations — Volume 2: Methodology and Operations
Discussion:
Errata Security, Zero Day and Lawyers, Guns & Money
Rosalind Helderman / Washington Post:
Draft report of GOP-backed ballot review in Arizona confirms Biden's win — A Republican-commissioned review of nearly 2.1 million ballots cast last year in Arizona confirmed the accuracy of the official results and President Biden's win in Maricopa County, according to a draft report prepared …
Discussion:
CNN, Arizona Mirror, Raw Story and KION546
Neelam Bohra / The Texas Tribune:
Texas secretary of state's office auditing four counties' 2020 elections months after an official called the statewide process “smooth and secure”
Texas secretary of state's office auditing four counties' 2020 elections months after an official called the statewide process “smooth and secure”
Discussion:
Raw Story, Washington Examiner, The Hill and Washington Times
Reid J. Epstein / New York Times:
Texas, Spurred By Trump, Announces Election Audit in 4 Counties
Texas, Spurred By Trump, Announces Election Audit in 4 Counties
Discussion:
UPI, Insider and Political Wire
Select Committee to Investigate …:
SELECT COMMITTEE SUBPOENAS INDIVIDUALS TIED TO THE FORMER PRESIDENT IN THE DAYS SURROUNDING JANUARY 6TH — Washington—Chairman Bennie G. Thompson today announced that he has issued a round of subpoenas for documents and testimony to four individuals with close ties to the former President …
Discussion:
Financial Times, UPI, HuffPost, Raw Story, Rolling Stone, HillReporter.com, The Daily Caller, Roll Call, National Review, POLITICUSUSA, The Wrap, TheBlaze, Insider, Washington Examiner and CNN
RELATED:
Politico:
Jan. 6 committee subpoenas 4 from Trump's inner circle — The select panel investigating the Jan. 6 insurrection is issuing subpoenas to four current and former top aides to President Donald Trump, including his most recent chief of staff Mark Meadows. — The committee issued its first subpoenas …
Discussion:
CNN, USA Today, Associated Press, The Sun, National Review, WGN-TV, The Guardian, Raw Story, Bloomberg, Forbes, NPR, ABC News, Hackwhackers, The Gateway Pundit and Washington Times
CNN:
White House moving to release information on Trump to congressional investigators
White House moving to release information on Trump to congressional investigators
Discussion:
Bangor Daily News and Wall Street Journal
Luke Broadwater / New York Times:
The Jan. 6 committee subpoenaed top Trump advisers, ramping up its investigation.
The Jan. 6 committee subpoenaed top Trump advisers, ramping up its investigation.
Discussion:
New York Post, Mediaite, Townhall and d1994
Washington Post:
House Jan. 6 committee issues subpoenas for Trump aides and advisers, including Meadows and Scavino
House Jan. 6 committee issues subpoenas for Trump aides and advisers, including Meadows and Scavino
Discussion:
POLITICUSUSA and Raw Story
Washington Post:
Biden White House leans toward releasing information about Trump and Jan. 6 attack, setting off legal and political showdown
Biden White House leans toward releasing information about Trump and Jan. 6 attack, setting off legal and political showdown
Discussion:
Fox News, Vanity Fair, KION546, POLITICUSUSA, East Bay Times, Breitbart, Digby's Hullabaloo, Washington Examiner, Daily Kos, Metro.co.uk, HotAir, Balloon Juice, Raw Story and Politico
Robert Kagan / Washington Post:
Our constitutional crisis is already here — “Is there no virtue among us? If there be not, we are in a wretched situation.” — The United States is heading into its greatest political and constitutional crisis since the Civil War, with a reasonable chance over the next three to four years …
Discussion:
Raw Story, Washington Times, RedState, Vanity Fair and Lawyers, Guns & Money
Susan B. Glasser / New Yorker:
It's Too Early to Consign Joe Biden to the Ash Heap of History — But not too early for Democrats to start panicking. — Is Joe Biden's Presidency actually “dead,” “failed,” and all but “over,” as you have surely heard by now? The Republicans and their conservative allies in the commentariat …
Discussion:
Bloomberg, Sacramento Bee, KION546, Associated Press and The Week
RELATED:
Amy Walter / The Cook Political Report:
The Competency Question — When Biden was running for president, his message was pretty straightforward …
The Competency Question — When Biden was running for president, his message was pretty straightforward …
Discussion:
Townhall and Washington Post
Dan Diamond / Washington Post:
Trump's election challenges distracted from covid response, White House adviser told colleagues — Emails obtained by House panel detail priorities as virus surged last year — White House officials prioritized former president Donald Trump's attempt to challenge the election …
Hamed Aleaziz / BuzzFeed News:
Biden's Approach To Immigration Is Causing A Huge Internal Rift And Leading To A Lot Of Confusion — Unlike his predecessor, President Joe Biden doesn't obsess publicly over the southern border and the immigrants seeking to cross it. But on rare occasions, he is blunt about what he wants to happen there.
Discussion:
CNN, ImmigrationProf Blog, HotAir, New York Post, Forbes and New York Magazine
RELATED:
Amanda Batchelor / Associated Press:
Congresswoman ‘pissed’ about treatment of Haitians at Texas border, says some are being sheltered in Miami
Congresswoman ‘pissed’ about treatment of Haitians at Texas border, says some are being sheltered in Miami
Discussion:
The Daily Beast, Breitbart, The Hill and Associated Press
Carl Zimmer / New York Times:
Ancient Footprints Suggest Humans Arrived In Americas During Ice Age — Human footprints found in New Mexico are about 23,000 years old, a study reported, suggesting that people may have arrived long before the Ice Age's glaciers melted. — Ancient human footprints preserved in the ground across …
RELATED:
Jeffrey Goldberg / The Atlantic:
Adam Kinzinger: Republicans Are ‘Frigging Crazy’ — In each edition of my newsletter, I'll bring readers inside The Atlantic, and discuss the issues that concern us the most. Was this email forwarded to you? Sign up here to get future issues of Notes from the Editor in Chief.
Roger Sollenberger / The Daily Beast:
J.D. Vance Defends Texas Abortion Ban, Calls Rape ‘Inconvenient’ — J.D. Vance, who is trailing several GOP candidates in the Senate primary, told Spectrum News 1 that “in Texas they're trying to make it easier for babies to be born.” — In a local news interview published Wednesday …
Discussion:
Spectrum News 1 Ohio and The Hill
Washington Post:
CIA station chief in Vienna recalled amid criticisms of management and handling of ‘Havana Syndrome’ cases — The CIA has removed its top officer in Vienna following criticism of his management, including what some considered an insufficient response to a growing number of mysterious health incidents …
New York Times:
Sinema's Income Tax Stance Has Democrats Looking Anew at a Carbon Tax — With Arizona's iconoclastic senator cool to increased tax rates, the Senate Finance Committee is drafting a carbon dioxide fee to fund a budget bill. — WASHINGTON — Opposition from a single moderate Democrat …
Discussion:
The Gateway Pundit, Denver Post and Raw Story
Brianne Pfannenstiel / Des Moines Register:
Iowa Republican US Sen. Chuck Grassley will run for reelection in 2022 Senate race — After months of deliberation, U.S. Sen. Chuck Grassley announced early Friday morning he will run for reelection in 2022 — a decision Republicans believe will give them their best chance to hold onto the coveted Senate seat.
Elena Kadvany / San Francisco Chronicle:
El Farolito can't open taqueria in North Beach under chain ban, city says — But if the owners make “sufficient changes” on the concept, they could potentially still move ahead — El Farolito, the iconic San Francisco-born string of taquerias, cannot open a new location in North Beach under …
Kathy Gannon / Associated Press:
Taliban official: Strict punishment, executions will return — KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) — One of the founders of the Taliban and the chief enforcer of its harsh interpretation of Islamic law when they last ruled Afghanistan said the hard-line movement will once again carry out executions …
Discussion:
Townhall, TheBlaze, Fox News, Washington Examiner, HotAir, The Daily Caller and Twitchy
Joseph Wulfsohn / Fox News:
Ron Klain hasn't retweeted Jennifer Rubin since Politico reported on lovefest between Biden WH, WaPo columnist — Before last week, the WH chief of staff retweeted Rubin ‘more than three dozen times since mid-May’ — Biden's media coverage under scrutiny amid crises
Mary Margaret Olohan / The Daily Caller:
Leaked Documents Show Coast Guard's Plan To Grill Service Members Over Religious Vaccine Exemption — Guidance reportedly crafted by military attorneys urged Coast Guard chaplains to grill service members on their religious beliefs and practices, draft documents obtained by the Daily Caller News Foundation show.
Discussion:
Daily Caller News Foundation
Financial Times:
US arrests finance chief of Russian natural gas group Novatek — Mark Gyetvay indicted on tax charges connected to $93m in offshore accounts — The US has arrested one of the most influential executives in Russia's natural gas industry over alleged tax misconduct linked to tens of millions of dollars held in offshore accounts.
Discussion:
Radio Free Europe/Radio … and One America News Network
New York Times:
C.D.C. Chief Overrules Agency Panel and Recommends Pfizer-BioNTech Boosters for Workers at Risk — In a highly unusual decision, the C.D.C. director, Rochelle Walensky, reversed a move by agency advisers and endorsed additional doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine for health care workers, teachers and other workers at risk.
Discussion:
Forbes and Political Wire
Fiona Kelliher / Mercury News:
COVID-19: California considering school vaccine mandate for children over 12, top health official says — California is exploring the possibility of a statewide mandate requiring children ages 12 and older get vaccinated in order to attend schools, the state's top public health official said Wednesday.
Discussion:
San Francisco Chronicle, TheBlaze, The Oaklandside and The Hill