Top Items:
The Seattle Times:
Washington state Sen. Doug Ericksen dies after battle with COVID — OLYMPIA — State Sen. Doug Ericksen, a stalwart conservative voice in the Legislature, former leader of Donald Trump's campaign in Washington and an outspoken critic of COVID-19 emergency orders, has died, his family said Saturday.
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Kay Jones / CNN:
State senator dies a month after telling a local radio station he was sick with Covid-19 while in El Salvador — (CNN)A Washington state senator has died a month after confirming with a local radio station he was in El Salvador and sick with Covid-19. — State Sen. Doug Ericksen's family announced …
Associated Press:
Washington state Sen. Doug Ericksen dies at 52 after Covid-19 battle — SEATTLE — Washington state Sen. Doug Ericksen, a staunch conservative, has died at age 52. — Ericksen's death Friday came weeks after he said he had tested positive for the coronavirus while in El Salvador …
Discussion:
Insider
Benjamin Mullin / Wall Street Journal:
CNN Closes Offices as Covid-19 Cases Rise — President Jeff Zucker cited a surge of cases at the network in a memo on the decision — CNN is closing its offices to nonessential employees, network President Jeff Zucker told employees in a memo Saturday, as Covid-19 cases rise at the network and nationwide.
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New York Post
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NBC News:
Biden to deliver Tuesday speech on omicron variant as Covid cases rise — President Joe Biden will deliver a speech Tuesday to address the omicron variant and unveil new steps the administration is taking to help communities in need of assistance, a White House official told NBC News on Saturday.
Discussion:
CNN, The Gateway Pundit, Los Angeles Times, Townhall, The Hill and Political Wire
Chico Harlan / Washington Post:
Highly vaccinated countries thought they were over the worst. Denmark says the pandemic's toughest month is just beginning. — COPENHAGEN — In a country that tracks the spread of coronavirus variants as closely as any in the world, the signals have never been more concerning.
Jessica Gould / Gothamist:
NYC School Administrators Feel Pressure As COVID Outbreaks Grow Among Students and Staff — Mayor Bill de Blasio emphasized that he does not plan to shutter the public school system before winter recess - despite an increase in COVID-19 cases throughout the city and within classrooms.
Discussion:
New York Post
Whitney Wild / CNN:
‘Stop the Steal’ leader hands over communications with GOP lawmakers to January 6 committee — ‘Stop the Steal’ organizer says GOP lawmakers helped him — (CNN)"Stop the Steal" leader Ali Alexander has handed over to the House Select Committee investigating January 6 thousands of text messages …
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KDFX-TV
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Kyle Cheney / Politico:
‘Stop the Steal’ founder told Jan. 6 committee about contacts with GOP lawmakers
‘Stop the Steal’ founder told Jan. 6 committee about contacts with GOP lawmakers
Discussion:
Insider, ABC News, The American Spectator, Raw Story and The Hill
David Wallace-Wells / New York Magazine:
Gauteng's Omicron Wave Is Already Peaking. Why? — In Gauteng, South Africa's Omicron epicenter, the wave seems to be cresting. In other parts of the country, too, the terrifyingly fast rise of the new variant appears already to be slowing and even receding.
Jonathan Weisman / New York Times:
Congress Ends ‘Horrible Year’ With Divisions as Bitter as Ever — Democrats' achievements were overshadowed by legislative setbacks, fallout from the Jan. 6 attack and a sense that Congress was not rising to meet a perilous moment in history. — WASHINGTON — A congressional year that began …
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Azmat Khan / New York Times:
Hidden Pentagon Records Reveal Patterns of Failure in Deadly Airstrikes — The promise was a war waged by all-seeing drones and precision bombs. The documents show flawed intelligence, faulty targeting, years of civilian deaths — and scant accountability.
Brie Stimson / New York Post:
Kamala Harris interview with Charlamagne Tha God gets heated after he asks who is ‘real’ president — Vice President Kamala Harris bristled Friday after TV host Charlamagne Tha God asked her who the nation's “real” president is. — “I want to know who the real president of this country is — is it Joe Biden, or Joe Manchin?”
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Jasmine Wright / CNN:
Harris says Biden administration 'didn't see' Delta or Omicron coming
Harris says Biden administration 'didn't see' Delta or Omicron coming
Discussion:
Fox News, Daily Mail, The Guardian and HotAir
Barred / Barred in DC:
Tortilla Coast on Capitol Hill Closing For Good — Tortilla Coast, the Tex-Mex institution, is closing for good after three decades on Capitol Hill, owner (through his restaurant group) Geoff Tracy confirmed to me today. The last day the spot will be open to the public is tomorrow, Saturday …
Michael Levenson / New York Times:
New York's Surge in Virus Cases Shows No Signs of Slowing Down — Two U.S. Air Force aircrew members supporting Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken's international travel last week tested positive for the coronavirus, the Air Force confirmed on Saturday. — Mr. Blinken cut short his trip …
Associated Press:
OSHA vaccine mandate penalties to start Jan. 10 — The Occupational Health and Safety Administration said Saturday that it would not issue citations tied to its coronavirus vaccination mandate before Jan. 10, so that companies have time to adjust to and implement the requirements.
Discussion:
Forbes, Insider and POLITICUSUSA
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Andrea Hsu / NPR:
Biden's vaccine-or-test rule for 84 million workers is back after court lifts stay
Biden's vaccine-or-test rule for 84 million workers is back after court lifts stay
Discussion:
CNBC
Erin Doherty / Axios:
WHO: Omicron cases doubling in 1.5 to 3 days in places with local spread — The Omicron variant has been detected in 89 countries and has a “substantial growth advantage” over the Delta variant, the World Health Organization announced. — State of play: COVID-19 cases detected …
Discussion:
The National Interest
Wall Street Journal:
Ghislaine Maxwell Defense Aims to Discredit Witnesses Paid by Epstein Victims Fund — Women who testified that Maxwell enabled their sexual abuse by Jeffrey Epstein said they received $1.5 million to $5 million from fund — Lawyers for Ghislaine Maxwell are highlighting a fund …
Ross Barkan / Political Currents:
Pretending Problems Don't Exist Won't Make Them Disappear — This fall, Curtis Sliwa, the founder of the peculiar vigilante group known as the Guardian Angels, ran for mayor of New York City as a Republican. Sliwa was less threatening than liberals made him out to be …
Dodai Stewart / New York Times:
The Year in Limbo — So much happened in 2021. But did it? — If you managed to stay up late, you probably already knew: The very first moments of 2021 arrived with weird vibes. New York's traditional New Year's Eve celebration was uncharacteristically muted.
JONATHAN TURLEY:
“Our Pride is Showing”: NBC Settles With Nicholas Sandmann — Former Covington Catholic High School student Nicholas Sandmann has reached another settlement with a major news organization over the widespread false reporting of his encounter with a Native American activist in front of the Lincoln Memorial on January 18, 2019.
Discussion:
HotAir, Mediaite, Law & Crime, RedState and Twitchy
NBC News:
Trump International Hotel in Washington report exposes gaping corruption loopholes — Why does the House report matter? The D.C. hotel was the epicenter of Trump's graft. — Donald Trump should never have been allowed to retain ownership of his Washington, D.C., hotel while president.
Ed Morrissey / HotAir:
Today's deep question: How many restaurants did Biden desegregate during the Civil Rights Movement, anyway? Update: Two Pinocchios in 2020 — I for one think Joe Biden told the unadulterated truth about his actions during the Civil Rights Movement. Unfortunately for the 2021 version …
Discussion:
Washington Examiner, RedState and The Gateway Pundit
Zach Dorfman / Yahoo News:
More than two years after Trump tweeted a classified image of Iran, former officials are divided on fallout — On the morning of Aug. 30, 2019, then-President Donald Trump was receiving his daily intelligence briefing with a a select group of senior national security officials …