Top Items:


The Democratic Agenda Dies of Delusions — Joe Biden's agenda is on life support. — For weeks, the White House and West Virginia senator Joe Manchin had been conducting cordial negotiations over the Build Back Better Act, the president's climate and social spending program.
Discussion:
CNN, Los Angeles Times, New York Post, Japan Times, Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion and New Yorker
RELATED:


Liberal lawmakers don't want to talk about scaling back their ambitions to revive some of what Joe Manchin killed — Liberals are furious. — Their hopes of enacting an expansive domestic policy bill focused on health care, education and climate change have been dashed.
Discussion:
Slow Boring, National Journal, The Hill, Los Angeles Times, The Daily Beast, The Bulwark and Althouse


West Virginians Ask Joe Manchin: Which Side Are You On? — The senator's blockade against programs that have helped his constituents escape poverty makes some question “who matters to Joe.” — Months ago, in the quiet, eagle-bedecked confines of his office on Capitol Hill, Senator Joe Manchin …
Discussion:
Truthout, Daily Kos, Letters from an American and The Nation


Biden and Manchin speak
Discussion:
New York Post, TheBlaze, The Hartmann Report, Washington Examiner, The Moderate Voice, Politico, Daily Kos, Joseph’s Newsletter, Talking Points Memo, Washington Post, PRIMER, The Daily Beast, Insider, The Federalist, The Independent, Fox News, Newsweek, Townhall, New York Magazine, The Hill, Politics with Pete, Reuters, Progressives Everywhere, WV MetroNews, ABC News, Progress Pond, The Western Journal, The Mahablog, The Intercept, The Signorile Report, Patterico's Pontifications, BuzzFeed News, HotAir, Digby's Hullabaloo, Lawyers, Guns & Money, RedState, POLITICUSUSA, Forbes, Political Junkie, Zandar Versus The Stupid and No More Mister Nice Blog

What's Next for the Democrats' Big Bill?
Discussion:
Politico, People's Policy Project, The Daily Wire, Nevada Current, Common Sense Now, The Atlantic and The Pulse

Behind Manchin's Opposition, a Long History of Fighting Climate Measures
Discussion:
Washington Post, Talking Points Memo, UMWA, New York Magazine and The Intercept


Biden to announce plan to mail 500 million free rapid tests to Americans next month — The president also aims to deploy 1,000 military doctors and nurses. — President Joe Biden will announce a plan on Tuesday to distribute 500 million free at-home rapid tests to Americans beginning …
Discussion:
Fox News, The Boston Globe, HotAir, HuffPost, USA Today, CNN, Bangor Daily News, Florida Politics, The Hill, Washington Times, Insider and Associated Press
RELATED:

FACT SHEET: President Biden Announces New Actions to Protect Americans and Help Communities and Hospitals Battle Omicron — Today, President Biden will announce new actions to protect Americans and help communities and hospitals battle Omicron, building on the robust plan he announced earlier …
Discussion:
RedState, MedTech Dive, The Verge, KLFY-TV, Forbes, The Daily Caller, Wide World of News and Twitchy


To Fight Omicron, Biden Plans Aid From Military and 500 Million Tests
Discussion:
NPR, Wall Street Journal, Raw Story, The Daily Wire, Roll Call and Associated Press

Biden administration to make 500 million at-home Covid tests available for free
Discussion:
Politico, Washington Post, CBS News, New York Times, CNN and New York Post


Jan. 6 Committee Weighs Possibility of Criminal Referrals — The House panel is examining whether there is enough evidence to recommend that the Justice Department pursue cases against Donald J. Trump and others. — When the House formed a special committee this summer to investigate …
Discussion:
CNN, Daily Kos, NPR, UPI, Zandar Versus The Stupid, Slate, CNN, Wall Street Journal, Raw Story, Washington Times, POLITICUSUSA, Washington Post, Washington Examiner, Roll Call, Talking Points Memo, NBC News and The Hill


‘The guy should be fired on the spot’: Fauci rebukes Fox News host over violent rhetoric — Anthony Fauci, the nation's top infectious disease expert, on Tuesday called on Fox News to fire host Jesse Watters for targeting him with violent rhetoric at a conservative conference earlier this week.
Discussion:
The Hill, The Daily Beast, Talking Points Memo, Deadline, East Bay Times, POLITICUSUSA, The Federalist, CNN, TheBlaze, IJR and Mediaite


Thomas Friedman's columns prompt a different kind of ethical question for the New York Times — In two dozen opinion columns published by the New York Times over the past 15 years, Thomas Friedman has favorably cited the environmental organization Conservation International.
Discussion:
Althouse, more at Mediagazer »


Jason Miller's ‘Free Speech’ Social Media Platform Gettr Boots White Nationalist — BANNED — Jason Miller's right-wing “free speech” social media alternative Gettr “suspended” the account of white nationalist Nicholas Fuentes on Monday. “My official Gettr account has been permanently suspended …


Gina. Rosanne. Guy. … They can't arrest us all," a future defendant had posted days before, and this was the vibe in the moment, the ecstatic invulnerability that leads someone to smear feces on the floor of the building in which the most powerful country on earth writes its rules.


A UAE agency put Pegasus spyware on phone of Jamal Khashoggi's wife months before his murder, new forensics show … Emirates flight attendant Hanan Elatr surrendered her two Android cellphones, laptop and passwords when security agents surrounded her at the Dubai airport.
Discussion:
Associated Press


Democrats riled by Spanish-language radio attacks on Kamala Harris — Florida Democrats are sounding alarms over what they believe is a sustained and coordinated campaign rapidly unfolding across Spanish-language media to tarnish the image of Vice President Kamala Harris.
Discussion:
Digby's Hullabaloo, Raw Story and CNN


The $1 Pizza Slice Becomes Inflation's Latest Victim — Dollar-slice businesses, a staple of New York City's dining scene, face an existential crisis as food prices rise at their fastest pace in decades. — To hear more audio stories from publications like The New York Times, download Audm for iPhone or Android.


Omicron now the dominant U.S. Covid strain at 73% of cases, CDC data shows — The rapidly spreading omicron variant is now the dominant Covid strain in the U.S., representing 73% of sequenced cases, according to data published Monday by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Discussion:
STAT, WV MetroNews, CNN, Houston Public Media and justoneminute.typepad.com
RELATED:

Omicron sweeps across nation, now 73% of US COVID-19 cases
Discussion:
Chicago Sun-Times, HotAir, Newsweek, Reason, The Hill, Bangor Daily News, Boston.com, NBC Chicago, KRON4, Breitbart, Foreign Policy, The Guardian, NewsNation Now, Balloon Juice, Outside the Beltway, The Liberty Loft, FOX40, CBS Philly, NBC Boston, The Hill, Broomfield Enterprise, ABC7, Washington Post, Los Angeles Times, The Guardian and The Daily Caller


FDA Expected to Authorize Pfizer and Merck Covid Pills This Week — Two drugs would be first at-home treatments for Covid-19 — U.S. has ordered 13 million courses of medicines so far — The U.S. Food and Drug Administration is poised to authorize a pair of pills from Pfizer Inc …


As the GOP sheds its moderates, a whirlwind approaches — Doug Sosnik was a senior adviser to Bill Clinton from 1994 to 2000 and is a counselor to the Brunswick Group. — We don't need to wait for the results of next year's midterm elections to know that a political shock wave is headed toward Washington.
Discussion:
Mediaite


Axios-Ipsos poll: Crime a top worry for Latinos — Latinos say crime and gun violence is their number two concern — behind COVID-19 and before immigration, social justice or voting rights — in our inaugural Axios-Ipsos Latino Poll in partnership with Noticias Telemundo.


Steve Bannon Threatens to Take Over the ‘Election Apparatus’ and ‘The Secretaries of State’ — Former senior Trump adviser Steve Bannon threatened on Monday to take over the U.S. “election apparatus.” — During his weekday internet show War Room Pandemic, Bannon, who was indicted last month …
Discussion:
YouTube


Spanberger privately says she's prepared to run in new Northern Virginia 7th District if map holds — Rep. Abigail Spanberger, D-7th, is telling state legislators privately that she will run in the newly configured 7th Congressional District in Northern Virginia if the state Supreme Court's …
Discussion:
Townhall


COVID-19, Declining Birth Rates and International Migration Resulted in Historically Small Population Gains — The U.S. population grew at a slower rate in 2021 than in any other year since the founding of the nation, based on historical decennial censuses and annual population estimates.
Discussion:
Politico


Lincoln County looks to eliminate all polling places but one — Lincoln County is trying to close all but one polling place for next year's elections, a move opposed by voting and civil rights groups. — Relocating voters from the county's seven precincts to a single location will make voting …
Discussion:
Atlanta Journal-Constitution


Fox tightens its vaccine rule, removing a test-out option for N.Y.C. office workers. — Fox Corporation, the owner of Fox News, told employees on Friday that those working in New York City would have to show proof they'd had at least one dose of the Covid vaccine by Dec. 27, removing the option to get tested weekly instead.
Discussion:
The Hill, POLITICUSUSA, The Daily Beast and Political Wire, more at Mediagazer »


Republican candidates across the country refuse to acknowledge Biden won legitimately — Mary Trump on the real danger of Trump's election lie — Washington (CNN)Five Republican candidates for governor of Minnesota were asked at a forum last Wednesday whether they thought President Joe Biden won a …
Discussion:
Alternet.org


Dan Bongino threatened to quit his radio show over a vaccine mandate. So, why hasn't he? — Two months later, the conservative host says he's still in an ‘ongoing fight’ about the mandate with his employer, Cumulus Media — Two months ago, Dan Bongino sounded ready to give …