memeorandum: Missouri health department found mask mandates work, but didn't make findings public (Rudi Keller/Missouri Independent)

8:10 AM ET, December 2, 2021

Top Items:

Dahlia Lithwick / Slate:

SCOTUS Will Gaslight Us Until the End — Perhaps it would be refreshing if the conservatives on the U.S. Supreme Court no longer felt the need to lie to us. The lying, after all, is becoming nearly untenable—especially for an institution that relies on public confidence.

Discussion: Mother Jones, Off the Kuff, Insider, Raw Story, The Mahablog, National Review and No More Mister Nice Blog

Noah Feldman / Bloomberg:

The Supreme Court Seems Poised to Overturn Roe v. Wade — The chief justice suggested a way to restrict abortion without going that far, but the swing voters didn't engage his potential compromise. — Chief Justice John Roberts is searching for a compromise to preserve some basic right …

Discussion: Althouse, New York Magazine, CNN, Slate, Washington Post, RedState, LifeNews.com, The Daily Wire and Digby's Hullabaloo

Washington Post:

Potential collapse of Roe shakes up political landscape — The volatile issue of abortion catapulted to the center of the political debate Wednesday after the Supreme Court signaled it would uphold a law undermining Roe v. Wade, creating the potential for the polarizing issue to reshape the electoral battlefield.

Discussion: NBC News, Pennsylvania Capital-Star, Sacramento Bee, The Daily Beast, New York Times, The Dispatch, Bloomberg, USA Today and NPR

Sahil Kapur / NBC News:

GOP Sen. Susan Collins supports codifying Roe v. Wade abortion protections into law — Future of Roe v. Wade at stake after Supreme Court arguments — WASHINGTON — Sen. Susan Collins, the moderate Republican from Maine, favors passing legislation to enshrine the protections of Roe v. Wade into law, her office said Wednesday.

Discussion: A Pryori, The Guardian, Digby's Hullabaloo, The Daily Beast, Raw Story, Washington Post, The Daily Caller, MSNBC and UPI

Josh Marshall / Talking Points Memo:

Abortion Will Be Outlawed in Purple States Too — The only mild saving grace to today's SCOTUS arguments is that the pretenses are removed. These are ideologues and politicians. Their entire political movement has been propelled by the goal of overturning Roe v Wade and outlawing abortion.

Discussion: New York Magazine

Michael Lee / Fox News:
Supreme Court abortion case: 5 key moments from oral arguments

Discussion: The Federalist, The American Spectator and LifeNews.com

Charlie Savage / New York Times:
Roberts Searches for Middle Ground in Abortion Case

Discussion: The Moderate Voice, Human Events and Georgia Recorder

Amy Howe / SCOTUSblog:
Majority of court appears poised to roll back abortion rights

E.J. Dionne Jr / Washington Post:
The Supreme Court's pro-gun, pro-life problem

Discussion: Mediaite, Mother Jones, Fox News and New Republic

Washington Post:
Gutting ‘Roe’ would devastate millions of Americans — and the court itself

Discussion: New York Times, The Daily Wire, VTDigger, Today's Edition Newsletter and HuffPost

Dana Milbank / Washington Post:
‘Roe’ is dead. The Roberts Court's ‘stench’ will live forever.

Discussion: Zandar Versus The Stupid, The Atlantic and The Western Journal

Claire Cain Miller / New York Times:
Mississippi Asks: If Women Can Have It All, Is Roe Necessary?

Discussion: The 19th, Fox News, New York Magazine, Washington Post, The Transom, Washington Examiner, HuffPost, TheBlaze, NPR, Politico, DCReport.org, LifeNews.com and FOX 5 San Diego

Adam Liptak / New York Times:
Supreme Court Hears Arguments on Mississippi Abortion Law

Politico:

Symone Sanders to leave the VP's office — Symone Sanders, the senior adviser and chief spokesperson for Vice President Kamala Harris, is expected to leave the White House at the end of the year, according to five administration officials familiar with the matter.

Discussion: Fox News, Axios, CNN, BizPac Review, Washington Post, NBC News, Shore News Network, The Gateway Pundit, New York Post, Washington Examiner, Townhall, The Hill and Twitchy

David Shepardson / Reuters:

Exclusive: U.S. to extend transit mask mandate through mid-March - sources … President Joe Biden's administration will extend requirements for travelers to wear masks on airplanes, trains and buses and at airports and train stations through mid-March, sources briefed on the matter told Reuters …

Discussion: The Hill, NBC News, Townhall, Insider, Fox News, HuffPost, Page Array, CNN and TheBlaze

Zeke Miller / Associated Press:
Biden launching winter COVID-19 booster, testing campaign

Discussion: The Hill, CNN, USA Today, ABC News, Florida Phoenix, Washington Post, Voice of America, Washington Times, Raw Story, The Guardian, STAT, NPR and New York Post

Associated Press:
Bidens, Harris, Emhoff celebrate Hanukkah at White House

Discussion: The Hill, Inquirer News and CNN

Martin Pengelly / The Guardian:

‘Handful of fanatics’ to blame for Capitol riot, Trump ally Meadows says in book — Ex-chief of staff downplays Trump involvement in insurrection and says mob had ‘absolutely no urging’ from the president — In his new memoir, former White House chief of staff Mark Meadows blames just …

Justin Baragona / The Daily Beast:

Mark Meadows Agrees With Trump That His New Book Is ‘Fake News’ — BEND THE KNEE — Former Trump chief of staff Mark Meadows went on Newsmax on Wednesday night and agreed with his old boss that his new book is “fake news.” After former President Donald Trump (sort of) …

Discussion: Insider, Raw Story and The Bulwark

David Brody / CBN News:

‘I Believe There Were Irregularities’ in the 2020 Election: What Pence Says to Angry MAGA Fans About What He Did on Jan. 6 — ‘I Believe There Were Irregularities’ in the 2020 Election: What Pence Says to Angry MAGA Fans About Jan. 6 — For former Vice President Mike Pence …

Discussion: Washington Examiner

Greg Bluestein / Atlanta Journal-Constitution:

Stacey Abrams is mounting a rematch against Kemp. What's next? — Stacey Abrams ended the guessing game about her future when she announced a second bid for Georgia governor, setting up a possible rematch against her archnemesis Brian Kemp. — She focused her campaign launch on the several …

Discussion: Raw Story and Georgia Recorder

Greg Bluestein / Atlanta Journal-Constitution:
BREAKING: Stacey Abrams is running for Georgia governor in 2022

Washington Post:

U.S. and Mexico reach deal to restart Trump-era ‘Remain in Mexico’ program along border — The Biden administration has reached a deal with the Mexican government to restart the Trump-era “Remain in Mexico” program that requires asylum seekers to wait outside U.S. territory while their claims are processed …

Discussion: Forbes

Perry Bacon Jr / Washington Post:

We may have already missed our last, best chance to bolster American democracy — In last year's election, Americans did not punish Republicans for their radical, anti-democratic turn with a resounding electoral defeat. Now, more than a year later, we can clearly see horrible and potentially irreversible implications of that.

Krystal Hu / Reuters:

Exclusive: Trump's social media venture seeks $1 billion raise, sources say … Former President Donald Trump's new social media venture is seeking to raise up to $1 billion by selling shares to hedge funds and family offices at several times the valuation it commanded in a deal …

Discussion: Washington Examiner

CNBC:
Trump SPAC social media company appears to miss its first product deadline

Discussion: Insider, Raw Story and Political Wire

Mohamed Younis / Gallup:

Inflation Causing Hardship for 45% of U.S. Households — WASHINGTON, D.C. — As the peak of holiday shopping approaches and winter temperatures drive up heating costs across the U.S., 45% of American households report that recent price increases are causing their family some degree of financial hardship.

BuzzFeed News:

CIA Files Say Staff Committed Sex Crimes Involving Children. They Weren't Prosecuted. — Over the past 14 years, the Central Intelligence Agency has secretly amassed credible evidence that at least 10 of its employees and contractors committed sexual crimes involving children.

The Daily Beast:

Chilling Videos, Journal Found as Parents Face Scrutiny in Michigan School Shooting — Ethan Crumbley, 15, had displayed “behavior in the classroom” that school officials “felt was concerning.” — OXFORD, Michigan—The shooter who allegedly killed four students and injured seven …

Discussion: Detroit Free Press, New York Times, Raw Story, Insider, BizPac Review, Detroit Metro Times, NewsNation Now and WTOP News

Alex Isenstadt / Politico:

Trump intervenes in Ohio Senate primary — for himself — The Ohio Senate race is turning into one of the most brutal contests of next year's midterm elections — and former President Donald Trump is worried it could hurt him if he waged a 2024 comeback bid.

Ovetta Wiggins / Washington Post:

Katie Curran O'Malley, retired judge and former first lady, launches bid for Maryland attorney general — Katie Curran O'Malley is running for Maryland attorney general, setting the stage for an unprecedented battle between the former first lady and her husband's lieutenant governor.

Discussion: WTOP News and The Hill

Rudi Keller / Missouri Independent:

Missouri health department found mask mandates work, but didn't make findings public — Mask mandates saved lives and prevented COVID-19 infections in Missouri's biggest cities during the worst part of the delta variant wave, an analysis by the state Department of Health and Senior Services shows.

Vanessa Romo / NPR:

Chris Cuomo says he's hurt and embarrassed about his suspension from CNN — Chris Cuomo says he's hurt and embarrassed about being indefinitely suspended as a primetime host from CNN. — A day after the cable news network distanced itself from the top-rated host, Cuomo addressed …

David M. Drucker / Washington Examiner:

‘Matter of integrity’: Top official at Koch-backed Americans for Prosperity resigns amid troubling conduct — Tim Phillips has resigned as the president of Americans for Prosperity after the Koch-backed conservative organization made clear he was no longer welcome following an internal investigation …

Discussion: Washington Post

Emily Baker-White / BuzzFeed News:

“This Is Blackface”: Inside The Virtual Reality Company Trying To Scale Diversity Training — Mursion tells big corporate clients that its VR simulations will help teach racial sensitivity. But the actors playing its Black characters are often white. — Copy

Discussion: HotAir

Ralph Cipriano / Big Trial:

Krasner Strikes Again! Suspect In Murder Of Temple Student Walked After D.A. Dropped Armed Carjacking Charges Against Him — for BigTrial.net — The suspect in the murder of a 21 year-old Temple University student was arrested on Aug. 14th and charged with eight crimes in connection …

Discussion: Power Line

Ryan J. Reilly / HuffPost:

Michael Fanone: ‘Moron’ Capitol Rioter Who Electroshocked Me Was ‘Manipulated’ By Trump — Danny Rodriguez drove a stun gun into Fanone's neck on Jan. 6. The D.C. police officer says Rodriguez's FBI confession tape is revealing. — D.C. Metropolitan Police Officer Michael Fanone …

Politico:

Majority blues: House Dems not done limping for the exit — Joe Manchin once quipped that “Washington sucks.” House Democrats are starting to come to the same conclusion. — Their retirements are piling up, with Rep. Peter DeFazio the latest announced departure on Wednesday.