Top Items:
Jeff Cox / CNBC:
Weekly jobless claims post stunning decline to 199,000, the lowest level since 1969 — The ranks of those submitting jobless claims tumbled to their lowest level in more than 52 years last week, the Labor Department reported Wednesday. — New filings totaled 199,000, a number not seen since Nov. 15 …
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Washington Post:
Weekly jobless claims plunge to 199,000, the lowest level in more than 50 years — Claims fell more than 71,000 from last week, marking the eighth straight week of declines — The number of Americans filing initial unemployment claims fell to 199,000 — the lowest level since November 1969 — the Labor Department reported Wednesday.
Gwynn Guilford / Wall Street Journal:
U.S. Jobless Claims Drop Sharply — Initial claims for jobless benefits fell 71,000 last week to 199,000 — Jobless claims fell sharply to a pandemic low of 199,000 last week, below pre-pandemic levels as employers curbed layoffs amid a tightening labor market.
Hunter Walker / Rolling Stone:
Jan. 6 Organizers Used Anonymous ‘Burner Phones’ to Communicate with White House and Trump Family, Sources Say — A key planner of the Jan. 6 rally near the White House insisted the burner phones be purchased with cash, a source says — Some of the organizers who planned the rally …
Discussion:
emptywheel, Politico, Twitchy, Raw Story, Select Committee …, BuzzFeed News, UPI, National Review, Washington Post, Fox News, Mediaite, CNBC, Forbes and Joe.My.God.
John Wright / Raw Story:
Trump welcomes ‘nice young man’ Kyle Rittenhouse to Mar-a-Lago in wake of murder trial — Kyle Rittenhouse reportedly visited former president Donald Trump at Mar-a-Lago in the wake of the Kenosha shooter's murder trial. — Trump revealed the visit during an interview with Fox News' Sean Hannity on Tuesday night.
Discussion:
The Hill, National Review, CNN, BizPac Review, Twitchy, IJR, Fox News, Insider, Politico, The Gateway Pundit, NOQ Report and Mediaite
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Kenneth Garger / New York Post:
Kyle Rittenhouse met with Donald Trump at Mar-a-Lago after acquittal
Kyle Rittenhouse met with Donald Trump at Mar-a-Lago after acquittal
Discussion:
The Wrap, Joe.My.God. and Insider
YouTube:
President Biden Announces OMB Director and Deputy Director Nominees — to lead the Office of Management and Budget — Shalanda Young as Director and Nani Coloretti as Deputy Director.
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Washington Post:
White House to nominate new budget director months after Congress rejected Biden's initial pick — Biden will ask the Senate to confirm Shalanda Young for the important role. She currently serves as the Office of Management and Budget's acting director. — The White House …
Discussion:
CNN, ABC7, NC Policy Watch, Politico, Wall Street Journal, New York Times, USA Today, Documented and The American Independent
Andrew Malcolm / RedState:
Do Not Fall for Joe Biden's Slick New Oil Trick — Joe Biden felt a need to escape the luxury of the White House for the holiday. — So just before burning a few tons of jet fuel and emitting fresh carbon emissions on the four-hour flight to Nantucket, President Climate Change ordered …
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Washington Post:
Spencer, Kessler, Cantwell and other white supremacists found liable in deadly Unite the Right rally … Prominent white supremacists Richard Spencer, Jason Kessler and Christopher Cantwell and others engaged in a conspiracy in advance of the deadly Unite the Right rally in Charlottesville in 2017, a jury has ruled.
Discussion:
Lawyers, Guns & Money, Raw Story, Vanity Fair, Slate, The Daily Beast, New York Times, CNN, BuzzFeed News, Talking Points Memo, Associated Press, Slate, Mother Jones, UPI, ABC News, Integrity First for America, Wall Street Journal, Becker News, Law & Crime, Balloon Juice, Raw Story, National Review, Gizmodo, Metro.co.uk, Joe.My.God. and NPR
Ken Dilanian / NBC News:
FBI acknowledges some agents may have Havana Syndrome symptoms — The FBI is promising to make sure employees who have symptoms consistent with Havana Syndrome get access to medical care after a former agent suffering almost daily headaches was rebuffed when he sought testing and treatment, according to documents obtained by NBC News.
Maggie Astor / New York Times:
Despite vaccines, the U.S. has lost more lives to Covid this year than last. — This was supposed to be the year vaccines brought the pandemic under control. Instead, more people in the United States have died from Covid-19 this year than died last year, before vaccines were available.
Discussion:
Fox News
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Natasha Frost / New York Times:
Covid Live Updates: New Zealand Will Reopen to Tourists Within Months
Covid Live Updates: New Zealand Will Reopen to Tourists Within Months
Discussion:
Outside the Beltway
Daily Mail:
EXCLUSIVE: ‘The old white ppl...knock dem TF out!’ Waukesha suspect shared social media posts promoting violence towards white people and claiming black people were the ‘true Hebrews’ — Darrell Brooks Jr., 39, allegedly drove the red Ford SUV that plowed through crowds on Sunday and charged …
Discussion:
New York Post
The Daily Beast:
Trumpist Election-Deniers Descend Into High School Drama — Lin Wood, Sebastian Gorka, Sidney Powell, and Michael Flynn are hurling accusations of money woes, betrayals, “fraud,” and ghosting. — In the aftermath of the contested 2020 vote, Trump's biggest election-fraud cheerleaders …
Discussion:
Raw Story, Mediaite and Boing Boing
Washington Examiner:
Still thankful for the best country on Earth — Americans began celebrating Thanksgiving long before there was a United States. For hundreds of years, the colonies celebrated a day for local communities to come together and give thanks to God. — It was not until the height of national division …
Domenico Montanaro / NPR:
Biden hits a new low in the NPR/Marist poll as inflation concerns rise — Americans' most pressing economic concern is inflation, and it's contributing to a decline in how they view President Biden, according to a new NPR/Marist poll. — Biden's approval is down to 42%, the lowest recorded in the survey since Biden took office.
Discussion:
Marist Poll
Alex Thompson / Politico:
The Buttigieg presidential buzz has penetrated the White House — PHOENIX — Pete Buttigieg has long been a man in a hurry. — Since 2010, he has run for treasurer of Indiana, mayor of South Bend, chair of the Democratic National Committee, and president of the United States.
Desmond Butler / Washington Post:
Exxon lobbyist questions urgency of climate's catastrophic risks — Speaking on panel, ExxonMobil lobbyist highlights carbon capture's potential and says of global warming: ‘Is it catastrophic inevitable risk? Not in my mind.’ — Just last month, ExxonMobil CEO Darren Woods assured lawmakers …
Zach Dorfman / Yahoo News:
Frustrated with CIA, Trump administration turned to Pentagon for shadow war with Iran — In the final month of his presidency, Donald Trump signed off on key parts of an extensive secret Pentagon campaign to conduct sabotage, propaganda and other psychological and information operations in Iran …
Discussion:
Political Wire
Daniel Greenfield / Front Page Magazine:
The Democrats Are a Communist Party Now — The Communist Democrats don't want to defeat China. They seek to replicate its totalitarian system. — Daniel Greenfield is a Shillman Journalism Fellow at the David Horowitz Freedom Center specializing in investigative reporting on the Left and Islamic terrorism.
American Greatness:
Here's a List of Leftist Liars Whose Hands Are Stained with Waukesha's Blood — These media lies are both intentional and pernicious. They spread like wildfire, and they are specifically meant to gin up racial hatred against white people. — It turns out that propaganda has consequences.
Discussion:
The Daily Wire, Wisconsin Right Now and No More Mister Nice Blog
Rachel Frazin / The Hill:
O'Rourke seizes on Texas power grid in bid against Abbott — Former Rep. Beto O'Rourke (D) is seizing on Texans' concerns over their energy grid following the devastating winter storm earlier this year in his bid to oust Gov. Greg Abbott (R). — The O'Rourke campaign sees the grid …
Felicia Sonmez / Washington Post:
Republican National Committee dismisses call for Ronna McDaniel to resign as chairwoman over outreach to LGBTQ voters — The Republican National Committee is pushing back against a state party leader's call for Ronna McDaniel to resign as RNC chairwoman over her outreach to the LGBTQ community.
Discussion:
Insider, The Hill and The Daily Beast
Politico:
Susan Rice needs those TPS reports — Welcome to POLITICO's West Wing Playbook, your guide to the people and power centers in the Biden administration. With Allie Bice. — When people applied to join SUSAN RICE's staff at the White House Domestic Policy Council (DPC) this year …
Discussion:
Outside the Beltway
Kyle Cheney / Politico:
‘Jesus Christ Superstar’ actor charged with joining Oath Keepers during Capitol breach — A Broadway actor and Michael Jackson impersonator starring as Judas in a traveling performance of “Jesus Christ Superstar” joined the Oath Keepers who breached the Capitol on Jan. 6, prosecutors alleged Tuesday.
Discussion:
U.S. Department of Justice, Insider, Joe.My.God. and Raw Story
Russell Berman / The Atlantic:
America's Pandemic Star Loses Some Luster — Is Vermont the envy of America no more? The state long hailed for its pandemic response is experiencing one of the most intense COVID-19 surges in the country. Cases are twice as high as they've been at any other point.
U.S. Department of Defense:
DoD Announces the Establishment of the Airborne Object Identification and Management Synchronization Group (AOIMSG) — Today, Deputy Secretary of Defense Kathleen Hicks, in close collaboration with the Director of National Intelligence, directed the Under Secretary of Defense for Intelligence & Security …
Discussion:
CBS News
Washington Free Beacon:
EXCLUSIVE: Kamala Harris Bought $375 Pot on Paris Trip — Amid economic turmoil and calls to buy local in the United States, Vice President Kamala Harris dropped nearly $400 for a single pot at a boutique shop in Paris, the Washington Free Beacon has learned.
The Philadelphia Inquirer:
Sean Parnell is out. What's next for Republicans in Pa.'s 2022 Senate race? — Pennsylvania's Republican Senate race is hitting reset.Just three months after he looked like the GOP front-runner, Sean Parnell's rapid collapse — sealed Monday by a judge's decision against him in his bitter custody battle …
Garrett Epps / Washington Monthly:
Are the Courts Getting Ready to Crack Down on Reporters? — A ruling blocking The New York Times from covering a far-right activist group has ominous implications for the First Amendment. — In 1994, the CBS program 48 Hours prepared to air explosive video about unsanitary conditions …
Discussion:
Reuters, New Republic and Media Matters for America, more at Mediagazer »
Laurence Norman / Wall Street Journal:
U.N. Nuclear Chief Leaves Iran Without a Deal on Factory Inspection, Diplomats Say — Talks between the IAEA and Iran continue — BERLIN—The head of the United Nations atomic watchdog agency left Iran late Tuesday after failing to reach a deal to allow inspectors access to a factory making equipment …
Discussion:
Bloomberg
Joseph Simonson / Washington Free Beacon:
AOC Rails Against ‘Excessive Bail’ After Waukesha Massacre — Alleged attacker in Wisconsin was out on ‘inappropriately low bail’ — Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D., N.Y.) on Monday called for a “federal intervention” against the use of “excessive bail” just one day after the horrific attack …
Discussion:
The New Neo