Top Items:
Steve Contorno / CNN:
DeSantis proposes a new civilian military force in Florida that he would control — St, Petersburg, Florida (CNN)Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis wants to reestablish a World War II-era civilian military force that he, not the Pentagon, would control. — DeSantis pitched the idea Thursday …
Discussion:
Washington Examiner, Twitchy, Zandar Versus The Stupid, RedState, The Hill and Raw Story
RELATED:
Charles C. W. Cooke / National Review:
It's Different When Ron DeSantis Does It: CNN Edition — There's some choice DeSantis Derangement Syndrome on CNN this morning. Check out this headline: … Gosh! A “civilian military force in Florida that he would control”! That sounds terrifying — especially when paired with the piece's artwork …
Discussion:
Digby's Hullabaloo, Twitchy and CNN
Kyle Cheney / Politico:
Eastman takes the Fifth with Jan. 6 committee — John Eastman, the attorney who helped former President Donald Trump pressure then-Vice President Mike Pence to overturn the 2020 election, has asserted his Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination, according to a letter he delivered …
Discussion:
Insider, Raw Story and Citizens of the American …
RELATED:
Raheem J. Kassam / The National Pulse:
John Eastman's Lawyers Just Destroyed the Jan 6 Committee and Its ‘Subpoenas’.
John Eastman's Lawyers Just Destroyed the Jan 6 Committee and Its ‘Subpoenas’.
Discussion:
Washington Post and Rolling Stone
Irin Carmon / New York Magazine:
Amy Coney Barrett's Adoption Myths — “They're co-opting our lives and our stories.” — Twice in oral arguments this week for the abortion case that could overturn Roe v. Wade, Supreme Court Justice Amy Coney Barrett asked pro-choice advocates: Would banning abortion be so bad if women …
RELATED:
Elizabeth Spiers / New York Times:
Amy Coney Barrett Doesn't Understand the Trauma of Adoption — Ms. Spiers, a Democratic digital strategist, was adopted as an infant. — On Wednesday, as the Supreme Court heard oral arguments from state attorneys seeking to uphold Mississippi's 15-week abortion ban …
Discussion:
Men Yell at Me and Patterico's Pontifications
Jeff Cox / CNBC:
Job growth disappoints in November, with a gain of just 210,000, despite high hopes — November job growth falls far short of expectations, unemployment rate hits 4.2% — The U.S. economy created far fewer jobs than expected in November, before a new Covid threat created a scare that growth …
Discussion:
HotAir, Fox Business, NPR, New York Times, The Gateway Pundit, Conservative Brief, The Daily Caller, CNN, TheBlaze, The Federalist, Twitchy and Mediaite
RELATED:
Christian Datoc / Washington Examiner:
‘Dramatic improvement’: Biden pumps up disappointing November jobs report
‘Dramatic improvement’: Biden pumps up disappointing November jobs report
David Harrison / Wall Street Journal:
U.S. Added Just 210,000 Jobs in November
U.S. Added Just 210,000 Jobs in November
Discussion:
The Daily Caller
Axios:
McConnell: No legislative agenda for 2022 midterms — Mitch McConnell has told colleagues and donors Senate Republicans won't release a legislative agenda before next year's midterms, according to people who've attended private meetings with the minority leader.
Discussion:
New York Magazine, Mock Paper Scissors and Political Wire
RELATED:
Reuters:
EXCLUSIVE U.S. State Department phones hacked with Israeli company spyware … Apple Inc iPhones of at least nine U.S. State Department employees were hacked by an unknown assailant using sophisticated spyware developed by the Israel-based NSO Group, according to four people familiar with the matter.
Discussion:
The Nation and Political Wire, more at Techmeme »
UnHerd:
Video15:08 Inside Australia's Covid internment camp — Freddie Sayers spoke to Hayley Hodgson, who has returned from a 14-day detention — Hayley Hodgson, 26, moved to Darwin from Melbourne to escape the never-ending lockdowns — only to find herself locked up in a Covid Internment Camp without even having the virus.
Discussion:
YouTube, Louder With Crowder, The Federalist, Twitchy and BBC
Washington Post:
Parents of Michigan high school shooting suspect charged with four counts of involuntary manslaughter — Prosecutors said Friday they would file charges against the parents of the student accused of fatally shooting classmates at a Michigan high school. — James and Jennifer Crumbley …
Discussion:
The Daily Beast and New York Post
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Murray Waas / The Guardian:
Sidney Powell filed false incorporation papers for non-profit, grand jury finds — Trump's lawyer falsely claimed two men as fellow directors of Defending the Republic in an apparent effort to attract donors — A federal grand jury investigating Donald Trump's former attorney Sidney Powell …
Associated Press:
Kremlin: Putin to seek guarantees over Ukraine from Biden — MOSCOW (AP) — The Kremlin said Friday that President Vladimir Putin will seek binding guarantees precluding NATO's expansion to Ukraine during a planned call with U.S. President Joe Biden, while the Ukrainian defense minister warned …
Discussion:
Washington Examiner, CNN, Bloomberg, One America News Network, The National Interest and Al Jazeera
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John Wright / Raw Story:
‘Bags and bags’ of money found stashed in bathroom wall at Joel Osteen's megachurch: report — A plumbing repair at televangelist Joel Osteen's megachurch in Houston reportedly led to the discovery of “bags and bags” of cash and checks in a bathroom wall. — The discovery came several years …
Discussion:
Click2Houston.com, Reason, Todd Starnes, TheBlaze, Washington Examiner, Orange County Register and ABC13
medRxiv:
Increased risk of SARS-CoV-2 reinfection associated with emergence of the Omicron variant in South Africa — Juliet R.C. Pulliam, Cari van Schalkwyk, Nevashan Govender, Anne von Gottberg, Cheryl Cohen, Michelle J. Groome, Jonathan Dushoff, Koleka Mlisana, Harry Moultrie
Discussion:
New York Times, Wall Street Journal, CBS News, Lawyers, Guns & Money and The Red Queen
RELATED:
Linda Greenhouse / New York Times:
The Supreme Court's End Game on Abortion — There are many reasons for dismay over the Supreme Court argument in the Mississippi abortion case, but it was the nonstop gaslighting that really got to me. — First there was Justice Clarence Thomas, pretending by his questions actually …
Discussion:
Juliette Masch Writes, Morning Shots and The Hill
Greg Sargent / Washington Post:
Lauren Boebert and Marjorie Taylor Greene aren't fringe. They're leading indicators. — In the past week or so, some of the most notorious hard-right Republican members in the House have been under fire for anti-Muslim bigotry. So they and their media allies have now hatched a creative new defense for it:
Discussion:
Media Matters for America, Wolf and Mother Jones
RELATED:
Jenny Jarvie / Los Angeles Times:
A drama professor told students they got their feelings hurt too easily. They decided to fight back — It all started with a misunderstanding. — A Black theater student at Coastal Carolina University told a visiting drama teacher she wanted to connect with nonwhite students …
Discussion:
Althouse
American Greatness:
Why I Can't Support Trump, the GOP, or Conservatism, Inc. Anymore — How many disappointments, betrayals, and failed promises do people need to endure before they say, “Never again?” — That the “woke” are anything but awake is a fact that needs no underscoring for readers of this website.
Discussion:
The Howard Beale Society …
Axios:
Burnout, money, concern drive Harris turnover — Burnout, better opportunities and concern about being permanently branded a “Harris person” is driving some of the turnover in Vice President Kamala Harris's office, people familiar with the situation tell Axios.
Discussion:
Fox News, The Daily Caller, Washington Examiner, The Guardian, Breitbart and CNN
Lucien Bruggeman / ABC News:
Alec Baldwin on ‘Rust’ shooting: 'Someone is responsible ... but I know it's not me' — Actor spoke with George Stephanopoulos for an exclusive interview on ABC, Hulu. — On the morning of Oct. 21, Alec Baldwin had an epiphany. — Sitting in a church pew on the set of “Rust,” …
American Prospect:
As Buttigieg Eyes a Presidential Run, His DOT Is Floundering — The transportation secretary has a major role to play in easing the supply chain crisis. Pete Buttigieg isn't doing the job. — The transportation secretary has had very little to say about actual transportation policy during this crisis.
Discussion:
Eschaton
Daniel Bates / Daily Mail:
Epstein visited the White House on 14 separate days and stopped by twice in one day on three occasions during Bill Clinton's first term — The disclosure puts renewed scrutiny on Clinton's friendship with Epstein, who was known to have flown the former president on his private jet …
Discussion:
National Review, New York Post, The Western Journal, The Gateway Pundit, RedState, Summit News, cryptogram and Political Wire
Josh Gerstein / Politico:
Feds could release ‘alternative’ Mueller report soon — An unpublished investigative compilation sometimes referred to as the “Alternative Mueller Report” has been located in Justice Department files and could be released soon, according to a letter filed in federal court Thursday.
Discussion:
Insider, Meaning In History and Raw Story
Caroline Vakil / The Hill:
North Dakota school superintendent slams critical race theory, calls to teach ‘Christian heritage’ — A North Dakota school district superintendent sent an email that says racial injustice is being pushed by a “political ideology,” called for a “Christ centered Republic” and deemed critical race theory …
Discussion:
Grand Forks Herald and POLITICUSUSA
Philip Bump / Washington Post:
The U.S. has added nearly 1 million more jobs in 2021 than initially reported — The economic news that came first thing Friday morning was not what President Biden had hoped: the country added only 210,000 jobs in November, well below expectations and below the pace needed to replace the jobs lost since the start of the pandemic.
Ruy Teixeira / The Liberal Patriot:
Democrats, Not Republicans, Need to Defuse the Culture Wars — It's not exactly a secret the Republicans are running hard against the Democrats on sociocultural issues like crime, immigration, ideology in the schools and cancel culture. Their strategy is to combine attacks …
Discussion:
New York Magazine, Townhall and Bloomberg
Jamelle Bouie / New York Times:
The Trump Conspiracy Is Hiding in Plain Sight — Antebellum pro-slavery radicals spoke freely of secession and violence; Democratic Party paramilitaries planned their attacks on Reconstruction governments in public view; and the men who codified segregation into Jim Crow did so in the open.
Eugene Scott / Washington Post:
Raspy-voiced Biden says cough is due to grandson's cold, not the coronavirus — President Biden explained Friday that his cough and raspy voice is due to a grandson who had a cold and not the coronavirus. He is tested for the virus every day and recent results were negative, he said.
New York Times:
Thefts, Always an Issue for Retailers, Become More Brazen — In recent months, robberies have been more visible, with several involving large groups rushing into stores and coming out with armloads of goods. — “Flash mobs” swarm through a Nordstrom in Northern California and two Best Buy stores …