memeorandum: “I am not a traitor”: Reality Winner explains why she leaked a classified document (Scott Pelley/CBS News)

10:30 PM ET, December 5, 2021

Top Items:

Katharine Q. Seelye / New York Times:

Bob Dole, Old Soldier and Stalwart of the Senate, Dies at 98 — Mr. Dole, a son of the Kansas prairie who was left for dead on a World War II battlefield, became one of the longest-serving Republican leaders. — Bob Dole, the plain-spoken son of the prairie who overcame Dust Bowl deprivation …

Discussion: New Republic, CNN, RedState, The Western Journal, Townhall, Voice of America, Vanity Fair and The Daily Caller

Maggie Astor / New York Times:

A Chicken-Fried McGovern, Newt's Good Ideas and the Senate Zoo: A Dole One-Liner Sampler — Bob Dole, who died on Sunday at age 98, was generous with his sarcastic wit, using it against Democrats, Republicans and often himself. — At a vice-presidential debate against Walter Mondale in 1976 …

Discussion: Associated Press and Against the Grain

The White House:
Statement of President Joe Biden on the Passing of Senator Bob Dole

Discussion: Mother Jones, Fox News and POLITICUSUSA

George F. Will / Washington Post: The goodness of Bob Dole

The White House:
A Proclamation on the Death of Robert Joseph Dole

Discussion: The Hill

Associated Press: Memorable moments from Bob Dole's life and political career

Lauren King / ABC News:
Bob Dole, longtime public servant and WWII veteran, dies

Discussion: Politico, National Review, Breitbart, The Atlantic, Washington Examiner, New York Magazine and Fox News

Tevi Troy / City Journal: Senator and War Hero

Grayce McCormick / Washington Examiner:
Bob Dole, former Republican presidential candidate and longtime senator, dies at 98

Discussion: Kansas Reflector, Los Angeles Blade, Insider, NPR, Politico, BuzzFeed News, UPI, USA Today, Bloomberg, HuffPost, Al Jazeera, NBC News, Rolling Stone, RedState and Variety

James Gerstenzang / Washington Post:
Robert J. Dole, longtime GOP leader who sought presidency 3 times, dies at 98

Discussion: NBC News, CNBC, The Guardian, Lawyers, Guns & Money, Slate and Fox News

Greg Bluestein / Atlanta Journal-Constitution:

BREAKING: David Perdue plans to run for governor in 2022 — Former U.S. Sen. David Perdue plans to challenge Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp in the Republican primary next year, according to multiple people with knowledge of his decision, setting up a divisive contest between two of the state's …

Discussion: Associated Press, The Daily Beast, One America News Network, Breitbart, Raw Story and Insider

Marc Caputo / Politico:

Trump-backed former Sen. David Perdue will announce primary bid against Georgia governor this week — Former Sen. David Perdue plans to announce he'll challenge Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp, setting up an epic Republican Party primary clash in one of the nation's top battleground states.

Discussion: New York Times, CBS News, CNN, Talking Points Memo, RedState, Washington Post, The Hill, Mediaite, Townhall, Washington Examiner, Fox News, Forbes, Insider and New York Magazine

Charles Gaba / ACA Signups:

In which 2 NPR reporters pick my brain for over 2 hours, then fail to mention that. (update) … Throughout the piece, I see quotes from: — Liz Hamel, vice president of public opinion and survey research at the Kaiser Family Foundation — Peter Hotez, dean of the National School …

Daniel Wood / NPR:

Pro-Trump counties now have far higher COVID death rates. Misinformation is to blame — Since May 2021, people living in counties that voted heavily for Donald Trump during the 2020 presidential election have been nearly three times as likely to die from COVID-19 as those who live in areas that went for now-President Biden.

Discussion: Pitt's Newsletter, Yahoo News, Raw Story, Brad DeLong's Grasping Reality, Phil's Newsletter, Political Wire and Rolling Stone

Michael Schulman / New Yorker:

On “Succession,” Jeremy Strong Doesn't Get the Joke — “I take him as seriously as I take my own life,” he says of his character, Kendall Roy. … When Jeremy Strong was a teen-ager, in suburban Massachusetts, he had three posters thumbtacked to his bedroom wall: Daniel Day-Lewis in …

Kaitlan Collins / CNN:

Biden administration expected to announce diplomatic boycott of Beijing Olympics this week — (CNN)The Biden administration is expected to announce this week that no US government officials will attend the 2022 Beijing Olympics, implementing a diplomatic boycott of the games, according to several sources.

Discussion: Bloomberg, Insider and Raw Story

New York Times:

What an America Without Roe Would Look Like — Legal abortions would fall, particularly among poor women in the South and Midwest, and out-of-state travel and abortion pills would play a bigger role. — Last week's Supreme Court arguments on a Mississippi abortion law raised the prospect …

Discussion: RedState and Off The Mall

David Siders / Politico:
Why the threat to Roe may not save Democrats in 2022

Discussion: RedState and Washington Examiner

Claire Parker / Washington Post:

Denmark sees ‘concerning’ jump in omicron cases — a warning sign for Europe — The country is a leader in the sequencing of variants, acting as an early-warning system for the continent. — Danish health authorities on Sunday reported a “concerning” jump in cases of the omicron coronavirus variant …

Michael M. Phillips / Wall Street Journal:

China Seeks First Military Base on Africa's Atlantic Coast, U.S. Intelligence Finds — Alarmed officials at the White House and Pentagon urge Equatorial Guinea to rebuff Beijing's overtures — BATA, Equatorial Guinea—Classified American intelligence reports suggest China intends to establish …

Washington Post:

Seven days: Following Trump's coronavirus trail — When he first learned he had tested positive for the coronavirus, President Donald Trump was already aboard Air Force One, en route to a massive rally in Middletown, Pa. — With him on the plane that Saturday evening were dozens of people …

Discussion: The Western Journal

Will Bunch / The Philadelphia Inquirer:

3 words America forgot that explain gun insanity, vaccine denial, student debt, and more — In the middle of a crazy week signaling another long American winter of discontent, the former Montana governor Steve Bullock — that rare Democrat who could win an election in a blood-red rural state — published an op-ed in the New York Times.

Henry Foy / Financial Times:

US intelligence-sharing convinces allies of Russian threat to Ukraine — Sceptical capitals including Berlin persuaded of the need to draw up threat of robust sanctions — EU and Nato allies have swung behind the Biden administration's assessment that Russia may be poised to invade Ukraine …

Scott Pelley / CBS News:

“I am not a traitor”: Reality Winner explains why she leaked a classified document — A story about someone named Reality Winner has to start with the name. Her father, playing on the family name, explained he wanted “a real winner.” And so, Reality. Maybe that still doesn't make sense …

Nicole Chavez / CNN:

Students are fed up with racist slurs and bullying. Now they're walking out of class — Students and community members joined Brittany Tichenor- Cox, center, during a vigil in North Salt Lake, Utah, last month as she mourned the death of her daughter Isabella “Izzy.”

Discussion: The Root

Sarah Mucha / Axios:

Vulnerable Democrats: Less Trump talk — Vulnerable House Democrats are convinced they need to talk less about the man who helped them get elected: President Trump. — Why it matters: Democrats are privately concerned nationalizing the 2022 mid-terms with emotionally-charged issues …

Discussion: A More Balanced Force and Political Wire

San Francisco Chronicle:

Camera robberies, guard's slaying force reckoning for TV news crews: how to work safely in Oakland — Sixty people gathered over Zoom this past Tuesday to take part in what has become a routine discussion in the Bay Area since 2015: How to protect television news crews and other members …

Discussion: Breitbart, Fox News and BizPac Review

Amy B Wang / Washington Post:

Rep. Ilhan Omar says Pelosi will take ‘decisive action’ on Boebert's anti-Muslim rhetoric this week — Omar also called House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy “a liar and a coward” for refusing to publicly condemn Boebert's remarks — Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.) said she is confident House …