memeorandum: Operation Whistle Pig: Inside the secret CBP unit with no rules that investigates Americans (Jana Winter/Yahoo News)

7:25 PM ET, December 11, 2021

Top Items:

At least 50 dead as tornadoes devastate Kentucky; Amazon warehouse collapses in Illinois — One tornado was on the ground for over 200 miles. — A devastating tornado outbreak in western Kentucky has claimed the lives of at least 50 people, according to Gov. Andy Beshear.

Discussion: Bounding Into Comics, Breitbart, New York Post, Twitchy, KSNT-TV, The Daily Wire, The Gateway Pundit, TMZ.com, The Daily Beast, The US Sun, KAIT-TV and Insider

The White House:

President Joseph R. Biden, Jr. Approves Kentucky Emergency Declaration — Today, President Joseph R. Biden, Jr. declared that an emergency exists in the Commonwealth of Kentucky and ordered Federal assistance to supplement Commonwealth and local response efforts due to the emergency conditions resulting …

Discussion: New York Times, Fox News, RedState and FOX 9 Minneapolis-St. Paul

New York Times:

Live Updates: Tornadoes Leave Trail of Devastation Across Six States, With Scores Dead — Here's what you need to know: — ‘We need your prayers.’ Residents begin digging out and assessing the toll from tornadoes. — Dozens of people were feared dead, and communities across the Midwest …

Discussion: Washington Post, Reuters, BBC, New York Post, UPI, Forbes and Fox 8 Cleveland WJW, more at Techmeme »

Jasmine Demers / 89.3 WFPL News Louisville:

Here's how you can help tornado victims — Communities are scrambling to assess the damage after one of the worst tornado events in state history swept across western Kentucky overnight. — Gov. Andy Beshear declared a state of emergency early Saturday morning, saying at least 50 people are dead.

NBC News:
‘Quad-State Tornado’ crossed four states in four hours, a rare December tornado

Discussion: Mother Jones, New York Times and Obsessions and Digressions

CNN:
At least 50 likely dead in Kentucky alone, governor says, after tornadoes hit central and southern US

Discussion: New York Times, CBS News, Breitbart, WSYR, The US Sun, Daily Kos, Mediaite, Zandar Versus The Stupid, The Daily Wire, CITIZEN STRINGER, The Western Journal and Forbes

NBC News:
At least 50 feared dead in Kentucky as tornadoes strike swaths of U.S.

Discussion: The Full Belmonte, The Hill, New York Times, Insider, Associated Press, New York Post, The Oakland Press and NBC 5 Dallas-Fort Worth

Washington Post:

Election denier who circulated Jan. 6 PowerPoint says he met with Meadows at White House — A retired U.S. Army colonel who circulated a proposal to challenge the 2020 election, including by declaring a national security emergency and seizing paper ballots, said that he visited the White House …

Discussion: Mother Jones, Bipartisan Report, Slate, Rolling Stone, Salon, Raw Story, Zandar Versus The Stupid, Lawyers, Guns & Money and New York Times

Jana Winter / Yahoo News:

Operation Whistle Pig: Inside the secret CBP unit with no rules that investigates Americans — It was almost 10 p.m. on a Thursday night, and Ali Watkins was walking around the capital following instructions texted by a stranger. One message instructed her to walk through …

Discussion: Associated Press and MyNorthwest.com

Rudy Takala / Mediaite:

CNN Staffer Charged with Enticing Women and Their Underage Daughters to Engage in Sexual Activity — A CNN employee was charged Friday on three counts that he used a facility of interstate commerce to abuse underage girls. — Officials said a grand jury in Vermont indicted 44-year-old Stamford …

Discussion: Page Array, Townhall, RedState, Louder With Crowder, Instapundit, The Gateway Pundit and TheBlaze

CT Insider:

Stamford man, a CNN staffer, allegedly coerced women to sexually ‘train’ daughters at his Vt. home — A Connecticut resident and CNN employee is facing federal charges after enticing women and their underage daughters to engage in illegal sexual activity at his home in Vermont, federal prosecutors said Friday.

Discussion: VTDigger and Trending Politics

James Gordon / Daily Mail:
Chris Cuomo's CNN producer is accused of luring mom and nine-year-old daughter to his Vermont ski home to ‘train’ …

Discussion: New York Post and Washington Times

Julie Johnson / San Francisco Chronicle:

Omicron in Oakland: How a Wisconsin wedding with ‘super responsible’ vaccinated people led to outbreak — Most if not all of the guests wore masks when the Nov. 27 wedding ceremony started at a Wisconsin celebration that is now the suspected origin of an outbreak of COVID-19 …

Washington Post:

This Amazon program has funneled thousands to anti-vax activists during the pandemic — The e-commerce giant helped fund the operations of anti-vaccine advocates and groups opposed to government-mandated vaccination through its AmazonSmile program. — SEATTLE — Groups trying …

Pippa Crerar / Mirror.co.uk:

Boris Johnson pictured hosting Number 10 Christmas quiz ‘in breach of Covid laws’ — Boris Johnson faces more questions over a Downing Street quiz he hosted while London was under Tier 2 “no mixing” restrictions — Boris Johnson was tonight accused of personally breaking Covid laws by hosting a Christmas quiz in No10 last year.

Discussion: The Guardian

Charles Homans / New York Times:

In Bid for Control of Elections, Trump Loyalists Face Few Obstacles — A movement animated by Donald J. Trump's 2020 election lies is turning its attention to 2022 and beyond. — ELIZABETHTOWN, Pa. — When thousands of Trump supporters gathered in Washington on Jan. 6 for the Stop …

Discussion: Raw Story and Digby's Hullabaloo

The White House:

Readout of President Biden's Call with Governors of States Impacted by Severe Weather — President Biden spoke with Arkansas Governor Asa Hutchinson, Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker, Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear, Missouri Governor Mike Parson, and Tennessee Governor Bill Lee to express …

Politico:

I Left QAnon in 2019. But I'm Still Not Free. — Since it became clear that the QAnon conspiracy theory was a driving force in the siege of the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, Anastasiia Carrier has been interviewing former QAnon believers and hearing from them, in their own words, how they were drawn into that world and how they got out.

Discussion: Raw Story

Dan Diamond / Washington Post:

Navarro defies House subpoena in coronavirus probe — The former trade adviser, who urged Trump in February 2020 to prepare for virus, has emerged as a focus of Democrats' probe — A senior Trump administration official told the House panel probing the government's coronavirus response …

Discussion: Bloomberg, The Hill, One America News Network and Raw Story

Lindsey Bever / Washington Post:

Hundreds of people are fired, online learning set to return amid vaccine resistance at nation's second-largest school district — The second-largest school district in the United States is facing mounting woes over its coronavirus vaccine mandate, recently terminating hundreds of employees …

Discussion: Los Angeles Times and Page Array

Washington Post:

Gulf Arab states that opposed the Iran nuclear deal are now courting Tehran — Persian Gulf countries that once vociferously opposed the nuclear deal with Iran now say they support its revival, even as they have embarked on their own efforts to engage with Tehran during a period of uncertainty about U.S. staying power in the region.

YouTube:

President Biden on the Importance of Bipartisanship & Vaccines, Rejecting Extremism in Trump's GOP — President Biden makes his first late-night appearance as president to discuss his Build Back Better plan, the importance of his bipartisan friendship with th...