Pfizer's Novel COVID-19 Oral Antiviral Treatment Candidate Reduced Risk of Hospitalization or Death by 89% in Interim Analysis of Phase 2/3 EPIC-HR Study  — PAXLOVID™ (PF-07321332; ritonavir) was found to reduce the risk of hospitalization or death by 89% compared to placebo in non-hospitalized high-risk adults with COVID-19

People Tied to Project Veritas Scrutinized in Theft of Diary From Biden's Daughter  —  The F.B.I. carried out search warrants in New York as part of a Justice Department investigation into how pages from Ashley Biden's journal came to be published by a right wing website.

The media and the Steele dossier  —  A series by Erik Wemple on the media's handling of the Steele dossier  —  Just because the famous collection of memos by former MI6 agent Christopher Steele didn't pan out didn't mean that there wasn't plenty of fishy Russia business during the 2016 presidential campaign.

Former Trump DOJ official brings Sidney Powell co-counsel to Hill deposition  —  A top Trump Justice Department official who aided the former president's quest to overturn the 2020 election met Friday with congressional investigators probing the Jan. 6 Capitol attack — accompanied by a lawyer …

Job creation roars back in October as payrolls rise by 531,000  — Nonfarm payrolls increased by 531,000 in October, beating the estimate of 450,000.  — The unemployment rate fell to 4.6%, a new pandemic low and better than expectations.  — Wages rose 0.4% for the month and were up 4.9% from a year ago.

The Donald Trump threat is existential, yet Democrats practice politics as usual  —  The nine people in the focus group were from Madison, Eau Claire, Fontana, Green Bay, Evansville, Milwaukee and Brookfield.  Each identified as a political independent and as a Joe Biden voter.

No million-dollar checks: Democratic governors may sit out Florida  —  TALLAHASSEE — The Democratic Governors Association has no plans to give significant financial help to Florida Democrats as they seek to unseat Gov. Ron DeSantis in 2022, a major setback that will make it harder for challengers to take on the popular Republican.

Joe Manchin, Kyrsten Sinema, Know What Happened to Pols Who Did What They're Doing  —  It's a core principle of economics that people do what they are incentivized to do.  That may be why Senators Kyrsten Sinema, D-Ariz., and Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., haven't hesitated to oppose popular progressive policies …

The Surprising Strategy Behind Youngkin's Stunner  —  Sometimes you want to hear from the strategists rather than the candidate.  —  With all due respect to Governor-elect Glenn Youngkin — who, for a first-timer from the world of high finance, proved to be remarkably disciplined on the stump …

Deposition video shows Trump allies under oath discussing debunked election fraud claims  —  Washington (CNN)Allies of former President Donald Trump testified under oath that they had done little to verify debunked claims of fraud in the 2020 election before spreading them on the national stage …

Is Facebook Bad for You?  360 Million Users Say Yes, Company Documents Show  —  The app hurts sleep, work, relationships or parenting for about 12.5% of users, who reported they felt Facebook was more of a problem than other social media  —  Facebook researchers have found that 1 in 8 …

Sinema's raking in cash from MLMs.  They want to kill her party's labor bill.  —  They've been derided as spruced up pyramid schemes: Companies that incentivize their own customers to become salespeople for products.  Now, these so-called multilevel marketing businesses are flexing their political muscle.

California Tries to Close the Gap in Math, but Sets Off a Backlash  —  Proposed guidelines in the state would de-emphasize calculus, reject the idea that some children are naturally gifted and build a connection to social justice.  Critics say math shouldn't be political.

The rise and fall of the Jack Daniel's committee: How D.C.'s police union lodge made thousands selling whiskey online  —  In March 2017, the leaders of Washington's Fraternal Order of Police Lodge — an umbrella group for police unions in the capital — told their members about an exciting new idea.

Travis McMichael's Confederate License Plate Deemed Fair Game in Arbery Trial  —  DENIED  —  As legal teams prepared for opening arguments in the Ahmaud Arbery murder trial on Friday, the judge dealt an early blow to the defense, ruling that prosecutors can discuss a vanity Confederate license plate …

China says it will hold supporters of Taiwan's independence criminally responsible for life  —  China will make people who support Taiwan independence criminally liable for life, a spokeswoman for China's Taiwan Affairs Office said on Friday.  —  This is the first time that China has spelt …

Fed's Powell and Brainard Met With Biden at White House  —  President Biden is expected to decide soon on who will lead Federal Reserve  —  WASHINGTON—President Biden held separate meetings with Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell and Fed governor Lael Brainard at the White House on Thursday …

Democratic Aide Irritated with Biden: I'm Almost Ready to Chant 'Let's Go, Brandon'  —  To the extent President Biden commented about the seemingly endless negotiations over the spending bills on Capitol Hill, he has offered generic, optimistic assessments: “I believe that Joe [Manchin] will be there.”

Jayapal: It's worth passing spending plan even if Democrats lose House  —  Congressional Progressive Caucus Chair Pramila Jayapal (D-Wash.) said on Friday that it's worth Democrats passing the party's sweeping social spending and climate change package even if they lose the House in next year's midterm elections.

A Very Exciting Introduction  —  TGIF.  A weekly report from Nellie Bowles.  —  Hello and welcome to the Common Sense weekly news roundup.  I'm Nellie Bowles.  Until a couple weeks ago, I was a reporter at the New York Times.  Funky local paper.  —  During my four years at the Times …

Tucker Carlson Pumped Full of Fentanyl, Emerges With New Understanding of the Opioid Crisis  —  “I just thought that was the most interesting fucking thing that had ever happened to me,” he said after emergency back surgery.  —  TM  —  Something happened to Tucker Carlson Monday morning …

Facebook ‘Knew What It Was Doing,’ Former Google CEO Eric Schmidt Says  — Former head of Google speaks in an interview with Bloomberg TV  — Prefers ‘proper industrial restraint’ over regulation of tech  —  Facebook's conduct revealed in leaked documents is “pretty concerning,” …

Puck Presents: The Powers That Be … Join Puck writers Peter Hamby, Matt Belloni, Julia Ioffe, and Dylan Byers for an expert discussion about these topics and more:  —  A new conspiracy theory surrounding the Alec Baldwin shooting  —  Should Marvel be worried about the Eternals buzz?

Greene granted permission to enter ‘patriot wing’ of DC jail to visit Jan. 6 defendants  —  Republican Rep. Majorie Taylor Greene (Ga.) was finally granted access late Thursday night to enter the D.C. Department of Corrections to visit accused Jan. 6 rioters after months of trying.

New Jersey's Education Rebellion Was a Long Time Coming But Democrats didn't heed the signs.  —  On Wednesday night, 24 hours later than expected, news organizations announced that Phil Murphy had been reelected governor of New Jersey.  The narrow victory was a dumbfounding rebuke of the state's Democrats …